The Beavin Family

Animal Kingdom - Disney World 2011-2012

2012-01-22T15:25:00.011-06:00

It's been a while since I've posted on our family blog, but I decided I need to get on the ball and start showing our pictures before ALL the kids are grown up!

We had a wonderful Christmas and we enjoyed every moment of the holidays. This year, right after Christmas, we went to Florida to go to Disney World. Abby has never been there and Timothy was only four when we were there last and doesn't remember very much about it. Thankfully, Sarah and Mandie were old enough to have very vivid memories. So, we decided that the time has come to take another family vacation to Disney!

We left Thursday after Christmas and drove two days to get there, but we finally made it! The day after we arrived we thought there was no reason to wait, so off to Disney we went. The first park we went to was The Animal Kingdom. We were fortunate enough to have beautiful weather the whole time we were there, except for one day that was in the low 30's. We took a much needed day of rest that day and stayed at the condo. We enjoyed that immensely since our feet were sore from all the walking. :)

Here are some random pictures from Animal Kingdom. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out how to move my pictures around on the blog to make them go in order since Blogger changed their format, which of course I couldn't figure out. But, here are a few pictures...

This is the restaurant we ate at.
This tour guide is holding an actual imprint of a tiger's paw. Huge!

We got to go on an African Safari ride. We got to see a baby elephant! A highlight of the ride!! So cute!!!

On the bus...

More pictures to come. Next stop - The Magic Kingdom!

Doing Laundry...

2009-01-13T14:17:00.002-06:00

Look what I found today when doing laundry...

Yes, it's Abigail hiding. So cute!!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-25T16:51:00.003-06:00

What a beautiful day we had today. We started our Christmas at 6:00am. It took us 2 hours to open up all the gifts. Of course, we only allow one gift at a time to be opened. That way we can all enjoy what everyone else got. It's such fun.

Sarah got a digital camera which she did not expect. Now she is ready to take tons of pictures of her friends to put on Facebook. I can't wait to see them! Unfortunately, the picture I took of her with her camera did not come out (blurry) so you can't see it. I'll try to take another photo. Also, she got tons of books, clothes, music and jewelry.

Mandie got a beautiful jewelry box (which is actually a piece of furniture) for her bedroom. She outgrew the jewelry box we gave her last year for Christmas. She loved all her gifts! She's been building her K-Nex all day. It looks like it's going to be huge!

What a great Dad to put the legs on her jewelry box! :)

I bought Mandie and Sarah quite a bit of handmade jewelry this year from my fellow Mom Packers and also from my favorite "handmade shops" - Etsy, Shophandmade.com, and Artfire. I actually bought several of our gifts this year from those sites. I even made a sale yesterday from Shophandmade. That was a nice surprise for me. Mandie's favorite jewelry was from my friend, Lisa, in Illinois. She does awesome work! (www.mycolorfultreasures.com). Check out her website!

Timothy got his very own junior golf clubs. He's looking forward to learning how to play golf with his Dad :) I'm not sure who is more excited about that - Phil or Timothy. He also got a remote control robot, detective kit and a bunch of other smaller things.

We all love "Guess Who." What a great game!

Abby got tons of clothes for Christmas this year. She's so girly and is definitely a "fashion bug." And of course, everything had "pink" in it. :) She also got a toy ironing board and iron. She's been ironing her new clothes all day :) She, of course, got tons of Polly Pockets and Barbies. I still think the iron was her favorite gift.

Last night was the first Christmas Eve that we didn't attend the IBC Christmas Program in 8 years. We decided to go to Valley Creek instead. It was wonderful. I love this church! The worship is awesome and the message was just what we all needed to hear to be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas. It was beautiful!

We had another wonderful Christmas! It was very relaxing and fun. I'm so blessed. Thank you, Lord!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Mandie's Art Picture

2008-11-07T17:22:00.002-06:00

Mandie's friend made this cool picture from a photo of her. He's a very talented artist! Don't you love it?

Timothy's Art Work - Fall 2008

2008-10-28T20:02:00.005-05:00

October 28, 2008

Last year for Christmas we got Timothy a sketch pad. Since he loves to draw and has done so many of them, I thought I would post them on our blog so others can enjoy them.

Timothy's Baseball Season - Fall 2008

2008-10-28T19:43:00.007-05:00

October 28, 2008

Another baseball season for Timothy. But, this time it was more fun because Dad (Phil) got to be his coach! What a great time they had together playing baseball together. Timothy spent a lot of the season being the catcher. He really had a great time doing it and did it very well.

Since Phil was the coach he got to choose the name for the team. So, being from Baltimore, he chose The Orioles. What a great idea!

Below are some pictures from the season...

Abby Is Learning to Read...

2008-09-28T12:26:00.005-05:00

Fall 2008

Instead of starting Abby in Kindergarten, I've decided to spend this school year helping her learn her letter sounds and alphabet (pre-school stuff). But, to my surprise, she has already learned most of her letter sounds, even though she can't always remember all the letter names. I've decided to use the "Sing, Spell, Read and Write" curriculum with her and she is loving it!

She is very proud to have her "school work" displayed on our kitchen wall. We hang up all her letter pages as she completes the workbook pages for it. After she gets to the letter "z," we plan to put the pages in sheet protectors and make a book out of them. She is really enjoying learning and keeps asking me when she is going to be reading. I tell her it will be very soon. She's very excited about reading!

Vacation Bible School 2008

2008-09-28T11:59:00.005-05:00

This summer we decided to participate in the VBS program at a church near our home instead of through our home church, IBC. The theme of VBS was "Power Lab." The kids absolutely loved every minute of it. It was so much fun for all of us. Friday night they had a carnival to celebrate the end of the week. They had pony rides. Abby was the only one able to do this, of course, because of her age - she loved it! This was her first time on a pony. They also had a rock climbing wall that Timothy and Mandie enjoyed. Below are the pictures that we took...

Webelo's Camp Out - September 2008

2008-09-21T13:53:00.004-05:00

September 19-20, 2008

It's been some time since I've updated our blog, but I have quite a few things to add. I will start with this weekend. Timothy and Phil went to a campout with the Webelos. They went camping in Flower Mound. They had a wonderful time!

Abby with Sarah's Graduation Hat - May 31, 2008

2008-06-01T12:39:00.007-05:00

May 31, 2008

Abby looked so cute with Sarah's graduation cap on. This rose was given to me (Crystal) during the ceremony when all the seniors gave roses to their mothers as a token of their appreciation for homeschooling them. I seriously got choked up during this part of the ceremony. It was beautiful!

CLICK HERE TO SEE SARAH'S GRADUATION PICTURES...

Mom Visiting Us For Sarah's Graduation - May 2008

2008-06-01T12:34:00.003-05:00

May 2008

We were so happy to have Mom come visit us. She wanted to come to see Sarah graduate. Here are a few snapshots of our visit so far. We love having her here!

Sarah's Graduation Party - May 31, 2008

2008-06-01T12:17:00.007-05:00

Sarah's Graduation Party

After the ceremony at the church, we came back to our house to have a small lunch reception in Sarah's honor. It was wonderful spending time with our friends. Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures of everyone, but here are the ones I got. I hope you enjoy.

Sarah's Graduation - May 31, 2008

2008-06-01T11:52:00.010-05:00

We got to watch our little girl walk across the stage this morning at Cross Timbers Community Church to receive her diploma. We are so proud of her! I'm so glad that Mom was able to be here to celebrate with us. We are also so grateful for the friends that came to the church to see Sarah graduate and for those who came back to our home for the lunch reception. We had a wonderful time! Thank you for helping us to make the day a little more special for Sarah (and for all of us)!

Mom doing the "Gansta." Who taught her how to do that anyway?

Timothy's First Harvest - Garden Update - June 1, 2008

2008-06-01T11:46:00.002-05:00

June 1, 2008 - Timothy's Garden Update...

Timothy's First Harvest was four tomatoes and one green pepper. We had the green pepper in our scrambled eggs this morning. They were delicious thanks to Timothy!

We have washed up the tomotoes, but haven't eaten them yet.

His garden is coming along wonderfully.

Sarah Receives Her Graduation Gift

2008-05-23T12:38:00.004-05:00

May 23, 2008

For graduation, we gave Sarah her own laptop. The way she loves to write stories made it an easy decision as to what to buy her. She is loving it! We gave it to her early because we didn't want to try to hide it for three weeks.

Enjoy the pictures...

Abby Loves to Swing

2008-05-23T11:40:00.002-05:00

May 23, 2008

This spring Abby has been having so much fun on the swings. She has learned how to go very high and feels she has accomplished the world. Here are some pictures of her enjoying the great outdoors!

Mandie And Abby With Our Rose (May 2008)

2008-05-23T11:29:00.004-05:00

May 23, 2008

Our rose bushes are really starting the bloom. They are gorgeous! Here are a few pictures of Mandie and Abby with the roses.

May 23, 2008 - Timothy's Garden Update

2008-05-23T11:23:00.004-05:00

Friday, May 23, 2008

As you can see from the above picture, Timothy's garden is starting to grow. He even has a few tomatoes on the vine and a tiny green pepper (which is so cute). The green bean's stem are starting to pop its head out from the soil So far, Timothy's garden is doing wonderful!

I'll will try to get more photos soon!

Camping Trip - May 2008 - Hugo Lake State Park

2008-05-12T07:49:00.014-05:00

Our camping trip to Hugo Lake State Park in Hugo, Oklahoma was wonderful! We arrived Thursday night, May 1, and stayed for the weekend. It was a beautiful cabin with a gorgeous view from the wrap-around patio. We had a great time riding bikes, playing frisby, playing chicken foot (a dominos game) at night, roasting marshmallows and making s'mores. We called it our "critter vacation" because we had a little furry house guest. We only saw him that one day, but as we were cleaning up to come home, we saw some "evidence" that he was still in the cabin. Anyway, we survived the mouse and still had a wonderful time!

Below are tons of pictures that we took. I hope you enjoy them. Let us know what you think.

Crystal

Thanks for stopping by our blog! Have a great day!

Dance Lessons for the Prom 2008

2008-04-30T17:32:00.003-05:00

For two Saturdays before the prom they offered dance lessons for the teens going to the prom. Sarah and Amanda went together and loved it! Here are a few pictures. See if you can spot Sarah.

Sarah and Phil at the Prom 2008

2008-04-30T17:17:00.009-05:00

Here are pictures at the prom. The people in the costumes are chaperones. Check out Phil's monk costume. I loved it!

The theme was called "Once Upon A Time." They even had Cinderella at the Prom and she and Prince Charming danced together. At the stroke of midnight, the clock striked and Cinderella ran out of the prom. I thought that was such a great touch to the theme! Here is a picture of Cinderella dancing with her prince. Sorry it's so dark.

Sarah - Prom Night 2008 - "The Gangsta"

2008-04-29T17:53:00.008-05:00

I don't know about the other parts of the country, but in Texas there is a look that all the teenagers give. We call it the "gangsta" look. It doesn't look like a gangster to me, but that's the name of it. So, we had a lot of fun getting everybody's picture doing the "Gangsta."

Oh dear, I look like my grandmother here. I'm getting old.

Sarah - Leaving For Prom 2008

2008-04-29T17:46:00.007-05:00

Here are pictures of Phil and Sarah leaving for the prom and posed pictures of Sarah after getting dressed.

Sarah - Getting Ready For Prom 2008

2008-04-28T17:42:00.011-05:00

Our princess, Sarah, got to attend her first prom on April 26, 2008. It was put on by the Christian Homeschool Prom committee. It was all done by parent participation. It was at held at The Adams Mark Hotel - Sheraton in downtown Dallas in the Grand Hall and Dallas Ballroom. It looked beautiful!

Sarah and Phil went together. She met her friend, Amanda, there. They had a great time together. Phil stayed the whole time and was one of the chaperones. He said it was a lot of fun and a wonderful event for teens. There were 900 teens there! Phil and Sarah spent the night at the hotel (I think a lot of the parents did) so that they wouldn't have to drive late at night. The prom wasn't over until 1 a.m.

Here are pictures of Mandie helping Sarah with her hair. She looked beautiful and could have passed for a princess (words of a mother, huh?).

Enjoy the pictures...

Spring 2008 News!

2008-04-16T11:06:00.003-05:00

April 16, 2008

Not too much is happening this spring around here. We are trying to finish up our school work so that we can have a nice summer vacation. We should be finished by the middle of May if we can stay on task and if we have no more sicknesses. For three weeks straight we have had someone sick every week. But, now, everyone seems to be feeling fine.

Phil and Sarah are getting ready to go to the Homeschool prom next weekend. It sounds like this is a very strict prom. It's being put on by several homeschool moms. There are 900 kids coming to it. It's suppose to be very, very fancy. It's being held at a very elegant hotel in downtown Dallas. Sarah and Phil will be spending the night because the prom is not over until 1 a.m. and Phil has to help break down the tables, decorations, etc. He will be working probably until 3 a.m. Yikes! He is getting his costume tonight at a costume rental place nearby. He has to dress up from the Medievel time period. I'm hoping to take Sarah later this week to get her prom dress. She wants a blue dress. That's her favorite color. I'm sure they are going to have a wonderful time!

Sarah will be graduating on May 31st. Mom is planning on coming here for it. Everyone is welcome! We are in the process now of getting her announcements. Everyone will get one soon. She is hoping to get enough money to go to beach camp in Florida with her youth group for her Senior Trip. She's been working hard to save up her money. Her boss from Chick-Fil-A has given her some extra hours and she also has a babysitting job for this weekend. She went to this camp last summer and loved it and is wanting to go back.

Phil and Timothy are making a vegetable garden in our backyard. Timothy is very excited about this. I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that he loves to eat? Here is a picture of them planting. I'll keep you posted on how the garden is coming along. :)

We are going camping May 1-4 in Oklahoma. We're all looking forward to that. It looks like a beautiful place. The kids are excited about making S'mores.

Well, I think that is about it on our end. Please browse around the blog because I've just added a lot of pictures. Don't forget to leave comments so that we know you viewed them.

We love you all very much! Please come see us soon, if you can.

Crystal

Teen Girls' Bible Study Pictures

2008-04-16T10:54:00.006-05:00

We have decided to gather a group of teen girls together this spring and have a Bible study. This has turned out to be such a fun time. We have about 10-12 girls and 3 moms attending. It's been wonderful. Here are a few pictures from the study.

April 2008

Easter 2008

2008-04-16T10:43:00.004-05:00

We had a beautiful Easter this year. The kids enjoyed their gifts and we all enjoyed the church service that evening. Here are a few pictures...

Sarah's Cap and Gown

2008-04-16T10:32:00.006-05:00

April 2008

Sarah is excited about her upcoming prom and graduation. One nice spring day, she tried on her cap and gown and let me take tons of pictures. We'll have more, of course, on her actual graduation day on May 31st.

Enjoy the pictures...

Abby Loves To Color

2008-04-16T10:27:00.004-05:00

Spring 2008

Abby loves to do anything that Timothy loves to do. She is his shadow. When she sees Timothy drawing or coloring she has to join in on the fun.

Here is a picture of her coloring in her new coloring book:

Timothy's Art Work and Cooking Projects

2008-04-16T10:07:00.006-05:00

April 16, 2008

Our Timothy is quite an artist and chef. This is something he truly enjoys. He also enjoys anything that has to do with photography. He saved up his money for about a year and a half to buy himself a video camera. He got it a few weeks ago. I'm hoping to get some of his videos on our blog soon.

Here are a few pictures of Timothy working hard at drawing his picture of hot air balloons and licking the bowl after making brownies.

Let's Go Fishing and Camping!

2008-04-12T14:23:00.006-05:00

Saturday, April 12, 2008

We had one excited little boy in our house this morning! Phil and Timothy got up at 5:30 and went fishing in Denton. A planned father and son trip. Timothy has been talking about this all week. After their fishing trip, they are going to Aubrey, TX at a camp called, "Rancho de la Roca." That means the "Ranch of the Rock" in English. They will be spending the night there with Timothy's cub scout troop.

This is Timothy's first camp out with his troop! I'm so thankful that Phil can be home more now and be able to take him on these outings. He is such a wonderful father!

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Phil and Timothy got back around noon today. They didn't get any pictures from the fishing trip because they left early. It was very windy and cold. They did get pictures from the camp out. They are below.

Mandie's Highlights -3.22.08

2008-03-24T18:01:00.007-05:00

Mandy has wanted her hair highlighted for a long time. She saved up her money and we made an appointment to get it done. She was very excited! Her friend, Rebecca, went with her to help keep her company during this long process. Here are some pictures...

Sarah's Senior Pictures

2008-03-18T19:38:00.011-05:00

Sarah had her Senior Pictures done in a beautiful park in Flower Mound, TX. If you would like to see her proof photos click on the link below. You will not believe how grownup she looks! We would love to hear your comments!

Crystal

The password is Beavin (with a capital B)

Here are some pictures that we took at the park while Sarah was having her pictures taken.

CLICK HERE TO SEE SARAH'S PROOFS.

Joyce's Photography took Sarah's photos. She does awesome work (as you can tell by looking at the proofs). We are extremely pleased with her work. She is so friendly and great to work with. I highly recommend her to you!

CLICK HERE TO GO TO JOYCE'S WEBSITE.

The Act

2008-03-17T20:08:00.007-05:00

The Actors Conservatory Theatre is our favorite theatre. We have done 3 plays there this year. It is very family friendly and a lot of fun for the whole family. We highly recommend it. It's also a wonderful way to meet other families in our community.

Check out their website at http://www.getintotheact.org/.

If you live in the Lewisville area, stop by and check it out!

Snow In Texas

2008-03-11T11:07:00.014-05:00

March 6, 2008

In Our Backyard

Snow in Texas doesn't happen that often, but when it does our kids love it! We actually had 2 days in one week where it snowed. One inch the first day and about three inches the second day.

Check out our cute Abby. She loves the snow!

Making snowballs

Warming up by the fire...

Poor Timothy was sick with a fever that day and wasn't able to go outside. He was so disappointed.

Teen Girls Bible Study

2008-03-05T12:35:00.013-06:00

Click here to go to the Teen Girls' Bible Study Blog...

Wild About You!

You are invited to attend a teen girls Bible Study starting Tuesday, March 25, 2008 from 7:00pm - 8:30 pm at Crystal's home.

The study is called "Wild About You". A DVD curriculum featuring Angela Thomas. It is recommended for girls 7-12 grade.

Am I really beautiful?

This six week study is designed to help teen girls answer that question, and in doing so, discover a foundation upon which to build their lives - the foundation of God's amazing, unrelenting, and faithful love for them.

The study will run for six consecutive Tuesday nights as follows:

Session 1: Am I invisible... or what?

Session 2: What Does God See In Me Anyway?

Session 3: The Voices of Other Loves

Session 4: Whispers of Unbelief

Session 5: What Lies Do I Believe?

Session 6: Celebrating As the Beloved

Tuesday, March 25 - Session 1

Tuesday, April 1st - Session 2

Tuesday, April 8th - Session 3

Tuesday, April 15th - Session 4

Tuesday, April 22nd - Session 5

Tuesday, April 29th - Session 6

This study is limited to 10 girls, so please let me know right away if you are interested in attending.

This study is not an indepth study and does not require homework. It will be a great time of watching the DVD, discussing it, playing games to bring home the message of the DVD and having fun. There is a workbook that is recommended, but is not required, for $12 at Lifeway Christian Book Store. The workbook is called, "Wild About You" and it looks like a teen magazine.

Moms are welcome to attend!! Refreshments served each week.

Moms In Touch International

2008-03-04T17:31:00.009-06:00

About Moms In Touch International . . .

Moms In Touch International is two or more moms who meet for one hour each week to pray for their children, their schools, their teachers, and administrators. Mothers, grandmothers, or anyone who is willing to pray for a specific child and school.

Moms who believe that prayer makes a difference.

Our Purpose is . . . .

To stand in the gap for our children through prayer. To pray that our children will receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, then stand boldly in their faith.

To pray for teachers and staff. To pray that teachers, administrative staff, and students would come to faith in Jesus Christ.

To provide support and encouragement to moms who carry heavy burdens for their children.

To pray that our schools may be directed by Biblical values and high moral standards.

To be an encouragement and a positive support to our schools

For more information regarding Moms In Touch, please visit their website at http://www.momsintouch.org/.

Christmas 2007

2008-03-04T14:29:00.005-06:00

Christmas 2007 Photos...

Sarah- 17

Mandie- 14

Timothy- 8

Abby- 4

Jungle Book Play - March 2008

2008-03-04T13:03:00.009-06:00

Our kids was in a Jungle Book play in March 2008. They had such a wonderful time playing their parts. Sarah played Massua (Mowgli's mother), Mandie played a wolf, and Timothy played a monkey. Abby was too young to be in it. Maybe next time, Abby!

Click here to see our Shutterfly Photo Book of the Jungle Book Play.

http://www.shutterfly.com/action/sharedproject/0IaMmrZu2aMWLz/project/view