Hency Girls Take Houston! Siesta Scripture Memory Challenge...

This post has been over a year in the making!  Last year for Christmas (not this past Christmas, but Christmas of 2012) my mom challenged all the girls in our family to take the "Beth Moore Siesta Sister Scripture Memory 2013" challenge.  Every other year, women from all over the United States memorize verses with her.  To participate, we had to pick a memory verse on the first and fifteenth of every month.  We had to write our verse down in our little spiral scripture notebook and post it on Beth Moore's blog.  Over the course of 2013 we all memorized 24 verses.  Anyone who posts with Beth each month get to participate in her celebration conference that January.

All that to say...my grandma, my two aunts, all my cousin and "cousin-in-laws", my mom, my sister, and I ALL completed the challenge!  YAY!  Not everyone could go to the conference in Houston, but 6 of us could go and we had A BLAST!  We did a lot of driving, visiting, laughing, eating, and just had a BLAST having a girls weekend together.  And hearing Beth Moore speak and teach RIGHT in front of us was truly a HUGE blessing and something I will remember forever.

We left Thursday morning (I should probably pause right here and just say a HUGE thank you to my husband.  I don't know many dads that would willingly keep a fourth month old baby for over three days ALL by themselves, but he did awesome!  I wasn't super worried because we have pretty good sleepers and the girls are on a good schedule, but to know that I could go spend a stress-free weekend catching up with my family, hear a WORD from the Lord through Beth Moore, and have a refreshing mommy break was wonderful!).

Okay...so back to Thursday morning.  We left Thursday and drove to Dallas.  We hung out Thursday evening at Erika's house and just laid around and watched Young and the Restless (another Hency family girls thing...).  We were ready for bed by like 9:00 or 9:30, which was AMAZING.  My sister was like "seriously?? we're all going to bed?"  And I was thinking...HALLELUJAH...a full ten hours of sleep ahead of me sounds like HEAVEN!  HA!

Friday morning we got up and left around 10:00 to drive to Houston.  We played some FUN car games and chatted about EVERYTHING, including ex-boyfriends (my grandma had a few more than I thought! HA!)  We stopped for lunch at Cheesecake Factory.





After checking in at our hotel in Houston, we headed to this amazing galleria nearby and shopped.  SO FUN!  We even tried on some swimsuits...not sure if that was a good idea though...HA!  One of Erika's good friends is Schaffer from the blog "Pinterest Told Me To."  Well...earlier in the week she had posted this swimsuit from Nordstrom.  Erika and I both thought it was so cute and we wanted to try it on.  Let me just say...SHOCKINGLY when I put it on I didn't look NEARLY as cute as this model.  HAHA!  I took a picture of me in the suit but I'll spare you that picture.  I really thought it would be great at hiding the "mommy tummy" but the tummy just kind of squeezed itself through the mesh in the middle of the suit instead.  WE WERE DYING!  But let me say, it was so much fun even though it made me want to eat celery sticks for the rest of the winter and spring.  (Which, if you ask my Aunt Tina I clearly DID NOT let the swimsuit debacle slow down my eating...my appetite while nursing is out of this world, and my aunt was joking me about it all weekend!  HA!)





Saturday morning we got up and headed to First Baptist Houston to CELEBRATE with Beth Moore and 500 other "Siesta Sisters."


One of the coolest parts was that since there were only about 500 women who could attend (10,000 started the challenge in January of 2013, and 1000 finished in December.  Of those 1000, about 500 made the trip to Houston) we got to have the celebration conference in a smaller room at their church instead of the huge sanctuary.  We were so close to her and we found out it was actually the room she used to teach Sunday School in!


We had a morning session where Travis Cottrel led worship with his praise team and then Beth did a session of teaching.  After a break (I got to spend my break pumping in a nursing room, while hanging out with Linz and Erika) we had another session with Beth.  Then it was lunchtime.


They had a big meet and greet and groups took pictures with Beth (yes, we are clearly on a first name basis...ha!)  We were at the very beginning of a group picture, so we got to sit down right next to her.  Of course we told her how all the girls in the family did the challenge and she was so funny.  She was yelling to her staff "oh Y'ALL...listen to this!  These girls are all family and everyone from grandma down to her granddaughters did the challenge!"  She was so excited for us and she was SO GENUINE.

The lady who took this picture on my phone totally cut Erika out...WHOOPS!

I am so thankful that my mom challenged us to do this.  Learning 24 verses has been challenging but we all did it!  God has brought those verses to my mind MANY a time over this past year during hard times, during times of thanksgiving, etc.  I KNEW my mom wanted a picture with Beth Moore, so I just asked her to take one with my mom and she was so sweet!  I know my mom was THRILLED!  She always jokes that she wants to be a "christian women's motivational speaker" as her "dream job."





During the last session Beth finished her teaching and then we said some of our verses to partners.  It was an incredible sight seeing 500 women saying verses to each other.  I saw Beth on the stage closing her eyes in praise and thanksgiving and she was crying as she was watching everyone recite their verses.  It was amazing.

Everyone was holding up the spirals we had to record our verses in.

Reciting our verses...

Then she asked people to stand up and share what their verses had helped them get through this year.  The very first lady explained how she had made it through Stage 4 breast cancer this year as she was memorizing her verses.  Then Beth had a time of prayer over ANYone in the room who was struggling with physical disease and illness.  She did this multiple times and used whatever the person had talked about to pray over that situation for anyone in the room (family issues, younger women, divorce, etc.)  I really can't describe those few moments...they were just incredible.  She is truly anointed of the Lord.  Her prayers were so mighty and powerful.  It was AMAZING.  It has really really challenged me to be more of a prayer warrior.  WOW!


We drove back to Dallas and then home the next day.  What an incredible weekend of hearing from the Lord and celebrating with our family.  I would encourage EVERYONE reading this to participate the next time around (she will do it again starting next January)!!

Emory - 4 Months!

Whew!  Time is FLYING by and our precious Emory is already 4 months old!  I cannot say enough what a SWEET and HAPPY baby she is.  Wow...we are so blessed!  Some special things right now...

• We have her 4-month check-up next week so we will find out her height and weight then.  So many people have commented on how long she is...it will be interesting to find out if she is longer than Brynn was or not.  We also think maybe she doesn't weigh as much as Brynn did at this age.  Who knows...we will find out next week.  I think it will be interesting to compare the two.
• When she was around 15 weeks and we started rice cereal her schedule changed a bit.  Now we are waking her at 7:30 and she nurses and has rice cereal.  Then she naps from about 9:30 to 11.  We wake her at 11 and she nurses.  Naps from about 1-2:30 or 3.  Then nurses.  Catnaps around 4:30 or 5.   Nurses at 6 (then rice cereal).  We put her down around 8:15 or 8:30.  If she stays asleep then I get her up at 9:30 to nurse and then we put her down for the night.  If she catnaps and is awake by 9ish, then we just hold her and give her the paci a bit before I nurse.  That is such a sweet and special time!
• She is still exclusively on breast-milk!  YAY!  I've definitely made more milk this time around.
• We started swaddling her with one-arm out because she has been rolling over!  
• She went through a phase where she was only napping for like 45 minutes.  YUCK!  She would be super content and wasn't hungry once we got her up, but she just couldn't sleep past that 45 minute transition.  Luckily, her night sleep hasn't been affected.  It lasted for about a week.
• She LOVES to suck on her fingers and fist.
• She LOVES to roll onto her side.
• She had her first ear infection this month after a nasty cold.  She was on anti-biotics for 10 days and that cleared it up.  
• She is SO content and the nursery people tell us all the time what a great baby she is.  That is fun to hear!  They were like "wow, even really loud noises don't bother her at all."  HA!  We were like "well...have you seen her sister?"  I guess she is used to her loud sister! 
• She is the most smiley little thing EVER!  And she has been laughing a LOT!  She is ticklish under her neck and you can always get her to do that belly laugh if you tickle her there. 
• I know it's just a second child thing but poor Emory sometimes just has to lay there while I'm helping Brynn do something, etc.  She is so content to just lay and look around.  Thank you Emory!
• Brynn gets her to smile a lot...and when Emory laughs back at Brynn I could just MELT!
• This month there were rough patches with her cold and her weird nap thing, but overall I just can't say enough how totally blessed we are with such a sweet little baby.  We love her SO VERY MUCH!

Some outtakes from the picture session...HA!

HILARIOUS!

And for comparison sake...here is Emory at 4 months and then Brynn.  Ryan thinks they look similar but I think they look quite a bit different.  I always love hearing what other people think about their resemblance.  Do you guys see it or think they look different?

Emory at 4 months...

Brynn at 4 months..

We cannot thank God ENOUGH for the blessing our two girls are to us!

Cotton Bowl - Part 2

Before the game, the guys headed to their locker room to change into their "official Cotton Bowl Chain Crew" shirts...big stuff!

My dad has been the "crew chief" of SEMO's "chain gang" for like 20 years...but Ryan had NEVER done the chains in his life!  It was pretty funny in the days leading up to the game...he was asking my dad all these questions, and even looking up stuff on the internet about it.  I think he was a tad nervous...but super excited!

I guess Ryan got a few more pictures of the team warming up before the game officially began...

Here they go!

The game was awesome!  It was back and forth and a major NAIL BITER!  Lindsey said at the beginning...as long as Mizzou wins I hope it's close and a great game...well she got her wish!  WHEW!  And on that note...my sister had so much fun at the game that she had to call in sick to work the next day! HA!  (AKA - When she decided to come to the game she knew she was supposed to work on Saturday...the day after the game.  Well of course with the game being in Dallas and being a night game, she knew there was no way she was going to be able to work that Saturday in Nashville.  So she made my Dad bring a thermometer with him and she wanted him to put it in boiling water first.  Then she put it in her mouth and shockingly, she had to call in sick with a fever!  OH MY...hilarious!

SO GLAD SHE WAS ABLE TO COME!

 The guy from Train sang the National Anthem!

During the fourth quarter we were able to move down much lower and sit with one of my very best friends from college!  Guthrie and his wife Bailey live in Dallas and we had so much fun getting to visit with them and hang out at the end of the game.  My phone battery was dead, and someone took a picture of us for me, but I have no idea where it is!  Love you Guth!

 

 MIZZOU WINS!  Ryan was able to take our camera onto the field after the game and took some pictures!  They had confetti everywhere and it was pretty cool to watch!

Mizzou's star wide-receiver...DGB

This guy will be in the NFL...should have gotten him to sign something for my Mizzou basement!  HA!

The trophy...

What an awesome little 48-hour getaway to watch our Mizzou Tigers WIN the Cotton Bowl!  HUGE thanks to Erika and Tab for letting us stay with them and for Tab working it out so the boys could do the chains.  Ryan said it was just an awesome experience!

Cotton Bowl - Part 1

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Last weekend we had the time of our lives...watching Mizzou WIN the Cotton Bowl at the Dallas Cowboy's Stadium!

When we found out that Mizzou was going to the Cotton Bowl (and knew that it was played in Dallas) we started thinking that maybe it would be a great little getaway over the holidays.  We could stay with my cousin Erika in their new house and get to see our FIRST Mizzou game of the season.  Before we even called Erika and Tab to ask about it, Tab called Ryan and asked if we wanted to come...but not just come.  The coolest part is that Tab is in charge of all the chain crews that do the games at Cowboy's Stadium, and he asked if Ryan and my dad wanted to help him and work the chains for the game.  WHAT?  I was so excited for the boys (and definitely a little jealous!  Why can't girls do the chains?  HA!)  We quickly bought tickets and made plans to go (Pam offered to keep our girls...THANK YOU PAM!)...and we were counting down the days!

Ryan and my mom both worked half the day on Thursday and then we drove to Dallas and got there by around 10 Thursday night.

Friday morning we woke up and had our first IKEA experience before picking up my sister at the airport.  (She flew in for the game.)  Then the girls met up with Shay (Erika's BFF, whose brother Sean was the Bachelor...she also has the super cute blog "Mix and Match Mama") to TOUR HER NEW HOUSE.  They are currently building and she gave us the grand tour.  And by GRAND, I mean GRAND.  HOLY MOLY!  It was so much fun!  THANK YOU SHAY!

Then around 3 we headed to the stadium!  We dropped the boys off and headed to a Mexican restaurant right nearby.

Little windy...

Tab and Ryan were getting pumped up I guess??

Even the restaurant was showing some Mizzou love...

Tab had an extra parking pass from the chain crew.  He gave it to us and said we could give it away, so naturally we looked for some Mizzou fans at the restaurant and gave it to them.  They were so thankful and grateful.  Right before they left the restaurant, they came over to our table and thanked us again and visited for a bit.  About five minutes later the manager came over and told us that they had BOUGHT OUR ENTIRE MEAL!  WHAT?  I think we all squealed really loudly and kept saying "seriously...oh my gosh!"  And then my next thought was "I hope they didn't care that we bought cheese dip and guacamole!"  HA!  The pass said it was worth $45 and our meal was definitely more than that.  I don't know if that's ever happened to me before...having someone we didn't know buy our entire meal!  WOW!

Since the boys chain crew passes were "all access" passes, they could pretty much go anywhere in the stadium.  When we dropped them off, Ryan took the camera with him.  I'm wondering if he secretly was hoping to run into some Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders and take a picture with them?  HA!  

All the chain crew guys heading in...

My Dad was SO EXCITED!

The chain crew had their own locker room...they thought they were BIG STUFF!

Just remember...Ryan took all these pictures...I guess he was proud of his "locker spot?"

While we ate our Mexican, they were having an all-you-can-eat buffet...

Hency family chain crew...Dad, Tab, and Ryan

 And I'm just now going through these pictures and I have NO IDEA who these girls are below...HAHA!  (I guess my Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders joke wasn't too far off earlier!  LOL!)  So...here is Ryan with two girls...Ryan, when you read this, you'll have to fill me in on your friends...HA!

Oh, and then Dad must have met "the girls."  HA!  I'm thinking they are trainers?

We walked down as far as we could to see the guys...we couldn't come pass these guardrails, but the guys saw us and took a picture before we made our hour-long trek up to the very top of the stadium to our seats.  Okay...an hour might be an exaggeration, but we were up HIGH.  And I think we probably burned all the calories from dinner just walking up all those million flights of stairs.

Ryan snapped a few more pictures before the game...

Mizzou's defensive coordinator...

 I am cracking up as I'm picturing Ryan walking through the hallways, snapping pictures of the players.

The guys headed back to the chain crew locker room to put on their gear.  Then it was almost GAME TIME!

Even Tab hung out with Truman!

LET THE GAME BEGIN!