Afternoon Show with Liz

Share this with your kids, what beautiful words…

Martin Luther King Jr.

Even though singer songwriter Aaron Ivey and his family live in Austin, Texas, they’ve been affected by the earthquake in Haiti in a very personal way. Their adopted son Amos, who they’ve been working to bring home to the States for nearly two years, is still there in Haiti. And by the grace of God, he is safe.

I was so moved by their story, their conviction, and their advocacy for adoption and felt you’d be blessed by this as well. Watch the interview with the Ivey’s from CNN here.

Then watch the music video of the song written for Amos here.

Just read this in the Houston Chronicle, had to share!
“Sarah Ward and her 16-year-old son, Zach, weren’t runners. Before last spring, neither had ever attempted to jog more than a couple miles. And on those rare occasions when they had put their feet to the pavement, the experience didn’t speak to them in a particularly meaningful way.

“I never really thought about running,” Zach said, “although I might have run four miles once. I didn’t enjoy it that much.”

“I’ve never been athletic,” his mother admitted. “Not at school, not intramurals, nothing at all really.”

But getting blindsided by a tragedy brought on a dramatic change in both of them. “

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the story!

Helping keep Houston’s homeless men and women warm during these brutally cold nights, Search Homeless is an incredible organization providing coats and blankets to as many as possible. But their supplies have run out and they are in great need of any new or gently used blankets and coats.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN HOW YOU CAN HELP!

If you’d like to help rebuild the Beaches’ home, you can volunteer by clicking here!!

The Beach family lives right here in our own great city who have dedicated their lives to loving and raising their 13 children, some adopted and with special needs. Their home was devastated by Hurricane Ike in 2008 and we are THRILLED to see them blessed in this way.

Stay tuned as we keep you up to date on the progress of their new home and how you can get involved! - Liz

In case you missed it, this was how my boyfriend proposed to me live on my Afternoon Show… and though everyone else knew about it, I was completely clueless!!

For the full story on his proposal, CLICK HERE!

And to listen to his proposal live, click the links below!

DK Proposes!

And as if that wasn’t exciting enough, they then aired this special message…

Special Announcement!

Thank you to everyone who has been a huge part of our lives just by praying for, laughing with, and believing in DK and me. We love you very much!

Kristen Hilyard is one of the most creative and gifted designers and stylists I’ve ever known. She primarily works with Chef and Author Domenica Catelli styling food for TV segments, photo shoots and much more.

Kristen has traveled all over the U.S. using her gift for design and eye for a bargain to help others discover creative ways to decorate, celebrate and make lasting, colorful memories.

Kristen is pictured here with her family and you can watch her live tomorrow morning on Fox Morning Extra just after 9 a.m. Click here for her recent appearance with awesome tips on setting the table!

Check out some of her latest decorating and memory making ideas for the entire family!

Gingerbread Man Decorating Race!
·Pre-bake Gingerbread men
·Race kids vs. kids / Adults vs. adults - decorate gingerbread men and then have an adult race where kids cheer on adults. Give extra time for kids and minimal time for adults to decorate the cookies.
· Everyone vote and declare winners for the race.  Make a crown for the winners to wear and maybe give a gift.
·Turn on KSBJ Christmas music to create an atmosphere of excitement and Christmas cheer!

Making Simple Tree Ornaments:   
· It can be as simple as tracing your hand on felt and decorating it.
· Get a plain ornament and decorating it. Place a photo inside as well!
· Make sure to write year and name of the person who decorated it on ornament creating memories for years to come! 
 
Extra Fun Stuff:
Go watch a Christmas movie with the family
Go look at lights and bring a thermos of hot cocoa with you
Go pick up a Christmas tree and decorate
Go help out at a charity
Make your own hot cocoa mix.
 
Staying Jesus Focused:
Have everyone sit around and read scriptures from the Bible about the birth of Jesus
Go to Christmas Eve service at church
Bake a cake and sing Happy Birthday to Jesus
Sit around and sing Christmas songs and teach them to kids
Ask what Christmas means to everyone? Favorite Christmas memories from the past!
 
Santa Focused:                                            
Read T’was The Night Before Christmas out loud
Bake cookies and leave out for Santa! (Parents: make sure you take a bite out of cookie so kids know Santa really came!)
Make reindeer treats and eat while you watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Santa Clause the movie or Miracle on 34th Street
Follow Santa at http://www.noradsanta.org/en/index.html
 
My Family’s Tradition:
Easy dinner: Turkey Chili from Domenica Catelli’s Mom-a-licious cookbook
The children wrap each other’s Christmas gifts for mama and we all watch The Christmas story  movie over and over again
Every year we get new p.j.’s from my mom and wear them that night for Christmas morning!

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,  HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
        IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF PLASTER AND STONE.
        I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY  WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
        AND TO SEE JUST WHO  IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.

        I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,  A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
        NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,
        NOT EVEN A TREE.

        NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,  JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
        ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES  OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.

        WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,  AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
        A SOBER THOUGHT CAME THROUGH MY MIND.

        FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,  IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
        I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,  ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.

        THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,  SILENT, ALONE,
        CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.

        THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE, THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
        NOT HOW I PICTURED A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.

        WAS THIS THE HERO OF WHOM I’D JUST READ?
        CURLED UP ON A PONCHO, THE FLOOR FOR A BED?

        I REALIZED THE FAMILIES THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
        OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS
        WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT..

        SOON ROUND THE WORLD, THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
        AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE
        A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.

        THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
        BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,  LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.

        I COULDN’T HELP WONDER HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
        ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME..

        THE VERY THOUGHT BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
        I DROPPED TO MY KNEES AND STARTED TO CRY.

        THE SOLDIER AWAKENED AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
        ‘SANTA DON’T CRY,
        THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;

        I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,  I DON’T ASK FOR MORE,
        MY LIFE IS MY GOD, MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS.’

        THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
        I COULDN’T CONTROL IT,  I CONTINUED TO WEEP.

        I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,  SO SILENT AND STILL
        AND WE BOTH SHIVERED FROM THE COLD NIGHT’S CHILL.

        I DIDN’T WANT TO LEAVE ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
        THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR SO WILLING TO FIGHT.

        THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,

WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE, WHISPERED,

‘CARRY ON SANTA, IT’S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE.’
        ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH, AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
        ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT.’

        This poem was written by a Marine.

        The following is his request. I think it is reasonable…..

        PLEASE. Would you do me the kind favor of sending
        this to as many people as you can? Christmas will be coming
        soon and some credit is due to our U.S. service men and
        women for our being able to celebrate these festivities..
        Let’s try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we
        owe. Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and
        dead, who sacrificed themselves for us. Please, do your
        small part to plant this small seed.