Grace's 11th Birthday

Grace has she put it.."My dreams came true this year! I got my dog and a pool"! She spent her birthday with her bestie Ashton, Jeffrey and her new puppy Penny.

Catching up...

I have not blogged in so long and it's not for lack of things going on or to say. I have just been so busy.

Let's see my last post was Easter..so shortly after on the 16th we had eight bunnies born. Oh my goodness so darn cute!! We were also in full baseball/softball mode and with school and AWANA going on..well it's such a busy time of the year, I get tired just thinking of it.



May kept us busy with again sports and the last full month of school reports and activities. Grace did her state report on Alabama (cuz of RW) and she did an amazing job and was rewarded with an A+ and an artistic award as well. Each of the kids classes had field trips and Cassie was preparing to head to Colorado to welcome RW home from Afgha***tan. During this time I was plagued by vertigo which was horrible..come to find out it was allergy related!



So June came quick and here we were the last day week of school! While Cassie was welcoming home her hubby and they were house hunting we were having field day at school and the talent show. Grace and Ashton sang I am not ashamed by Newsboys and they did a great job. We have some mighty fine talent here in Siskiyou County.

So just a week into June Cassie and David came home while RW had some military things to take care of. It was so nice to have them back home for VBS. June brings the annual Gold Rush Days in Yreka. There are a lot of great antiques, reenactments, old time pictures, food, & antiques...I loved the antiques! Next Grace was headed to Kidder Creek Ranch Camp for a week. This was her fourth year and she loves it so much. They are amazing out there and have such a great staff of youth that love the Lord. When I drop Grace off she is teary eyed about saying goodbye and when I pick her up she is crying as she says goodbye to her horse. She loves BIG my girl!



We also said goodbye once again to Cassie & David as they met up with RW and all headed to TN for vacation. After dropping them off it was just me and my little man..so Jeffrey and I had a date! We went to a couple stores and then out to dinner. I sure love him he is still my sweet cuddle bug.



Well..after camp Grace's birthday was around the corner..and so between my Folk's and In Laws they gave the kids the money for a swimming pool. So that Friday after camp BBQ and showdeo we went and bought the pool and got it put up on Saturday the kids were having a blast and so Sunday I got in and out..well it was getting out the.. not sure what time and I fell and twisted my ankle and hit my knee. PAIN!!! I had to crawl to the lawn chair. All the while Grace asking if she should call 911 or a friend and me Screaming, "NO"! I was in my swimsuit for goodness sakes! I didn't care if it was fractured..nobody was seeing me in my swimsuit! Thank goodness for my sweet kids who took very good care of me and on Monday I was able to see the Dr. who said it was a bad sprain and a bruised knee bone that would take quite some time to heal. It is getting better slowly.

Things running through my head!

Do you ever wish you could crawl into the arms of Jesus? Or ever feel like you know your gifts that the Lord gave you and yet Satan creeps in and tells you that you are not worthy or good enough? I am having that struggle right now. I have been blessed with a love for children having had one the natural way and two adopted loves. I have felt a pull towards doing foster care and yet here is where the struggle comes in.

Having lost my husband five years ago to cancer there have been times over the years that I feel I just can't do it all. Note the "I"... I am so thankful to serve a Lord and Savior that is there 24/7. Because let me tell you I have been on my knees! It is so hard being a single parent..the loneliness alone is deafening, the chores..come on seriously I need a man around! But, the Lord reminds me in..

James 1:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4.Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

..that he is not done with me! My hearts desire is to serve God with all my heart. I will continue to pray about foster care and go to scripture to hear my Lord tell me that I am worthy of His love and that He promises to continue caring for me and my children as He has by placing such dear friends in our lives.

He has Risen!

Happy Easter everyone! We have had a wonderful day! Started the morning with Easter baskets and hidden eggs and then off to church for an awesome service. The weather today however was anything but warm...we have had wind, rain, and snow today. So the pictures with the bunnies will have to wait till we have a warmer day. Instead I put the kids in front of the family room window for pictures!:)






We came home and made some yummy food which included this Blueberry Crumb Cake..

Blueberry Crumb Cake

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs(beaten)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups unsifted flour
1 cup sour cream
2 cups blueberries

Cream butter and sugar - add rest up to flour, alternately add flour and sour cream and fold in blueberries. Pour into a buttered 9x13 pan.

Mix and crumble on top -

1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until toothpick come out clean.



I hope you all have had a great Resurrection Sunday! My greater wish is that everyone knows Christ as their own personal Savior. May God Bless all my friends far and wide. I really love the friends I have made through blogging you all bless me with your great stories, recipes and craft ideas!

THE LORD'S BASEBALL GAME

Freddy and the Lord stood by to observe a baseball game. The Lord's team was playing Satan's team.

The Lord's team was at bat, the score was tied zero to zero, and it was the bottom of the 9th inning with two outs. They continued to watch as a batter stepped up to the plate named 'Love.'

Love swung at the first pitch and hit a single, because 'Love never fails.'

The next batter was named Faith, who also got a single because Faith works with Love.

The next batter up was named Godly Wisdom. Satan wound up and threw the first pitch.


Godly Wisdom looked it over and let it pass: Ball one. Three more pitches and Godly Wisdom walked because he never swings at what Satan throws.

The bases were now loaded. The Lord then turned to Freddy and told him He was now going to bring in His star player. Up to the plate stepped Grace. Freddy said, 'He sure doesn't look like much!'

Satan's whole team relaxed when they saw Grace.
Thinking he had won the game, Satan wound up and fired his first pitch. To the shock of everyone, Grace hit the ball harder than anyone had ever seen! But Satan was not worried; his center fielder let very few get by.



He went up for the ball, but it went right through his glove, hit him on the head and sent him crashing on the ground; the roaring crowds went wild as the ball
continued over the fence . . for a home run!


The Lord's team won!

The Lord then asked Freddy if he knew why Love, Faith and Godly Wisdom could get on base but couldn't win the game. Freddy answered that he didn't know why.

The Lord explained, 'If your love, faith and wisdom had won the game, you would think you had done it by yourself.Love, Faith and Wisdom will get you on base but only my Grace can get you Home:


'For by Grace are ye saved through faith; and not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast.' Ephesians 2:8-9

Psalm 84:11, 'For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them who walk uprightly.'

'I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.'
Phil 4:13

Mom's moment

I get daily emails from Proverbs 31 and this was today's...


Backwards Bumper-Stickers
29 Mar 2010
Karen Ehman

"But the LORD said to Samuel, 'Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.'" I Samuel 16:7 (ESV)

Yesterday, when I was finished running—okay, so it was more of a slow trot—anyway, as I was leaving the gym where I work out, I ran into an old friend. She is a woman who attended the church where my husband was on staff twenty years ago when we were first married. She was raising her kids when he was the youth pastor and she saw us begin our family with the birth of our daughter Mackenzie, who is soon to turn 19.

Naturally, the conversation turned to where her children are now—marriage, kids, careers, location, etc. She asked what the future held for our three kids. Where would they go to college? What career path would they choose? She has offspring who all ended up in high-paying, prestigious careers, including one who is a prominent surgeon.

That afternoon encounter made me think about what we say 'success' is, especially when it comes to our sons and daughters. Is it having kids who grow up to do a job that society deems important? How do we measure success in our kids when they are still young and in our homes? Is it by having ones who are outwardly obedient, saying 'yes ma'am' and 'no sir' and 'pleased to meet you' on cue?

The more seasoned I become as a mom, the more I find this to be true: obedience, while it manifests itself in outward actions, begins in the heart. While I want to teach my kids to behave—sometimes not an easy lesson to instill—more importantly, I want to teach them to have their hearts right with God.

I used to want kids who did no wrong. Now, I have a different goal. When they do do wrong—as all kids and adults sometimes do—I want them to correct it rather than hide it. To be sensitive to the times they hurt someone's feelings or disobey God and His wishes. Then to listen to the Spirit's prompting, admit their fault, and right the wrong. I want the very same thing for myself.
As today's verse asserts, so often we humans look at what we can see on the outside—beauty, talents, smarts and such. God sees straight to the heart—motives, intent and character. His measuring stick is far more accurate and important than ours. So many spend countless hours and dollars perfecting the former while completely ignoring the latter. God's Word to us is clear. Who we are inside is really who we are.

One year, our daughter proudly brought home a bumper sticker we could display on our aging mini-van. Having completed seven years of scripture memory at our church's children's program, her sticker read, "My child earned a Timothy Award in AWANA." She had worked diligently and were we ever proud of her!

However, her younger siblings did not have the same knack for memorization nor the academic leanings she had. They too plugged away at their verses and assignments in the same program but just couldn't quite finish all the requirements for earning that high award and its accompanying bumper sticker.

It made me think, should we only be proud of outward skills and academic outcomes? Perhaps we should be just as pleased with character qualities and whole-hearted attempts that, on the outside, seem to fall short. Maybe we should be just as thrilled to display the following bumper sticker prominently on our family vehicle:

"Proud parent of a kid who nearly flunked math, but whose heart is tender toward the Lord."

Dear Lord, help me strive to please You most with my inward self—my motives, intent and character— and to model for those in my life the importance of doing just that. I want who I am at the core to accurately reflect who You are to the world. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

*************

It's so easy to let the world creap into how we feel about sucess. I want children to have a heart after the Lord and to always seek him.

Blessed

It's been awhile since I have blogged. We have been so busy the past two weeks. Over the course of time we have had RW come home on R&R, three sick kiddos, games played, movies watched, a lot of laughs, fires in the fire pit, BBQ's, smores, watched Grace teach RW how to ride a rip stick..he couldn't do it..very hard!, bowling, more laughs, and a great time of fellowship with family and friends! Can you say BLESSED?

It has been a great time. It's always hard to say goodbye. RW has really taken on the role of big brother with Grace and Jeffrey which has been a blessing to watch. Now he is headed back over yonder and we will continue to cover him with prayer. Please continue to pray for our troops.

Now to put the house back together again!

Watcha Working on Wednesday...well Tuesday night!

Today our school is celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday with characters of all shapes and sizes and Green Eggs & Ham of course! Here are my loves.




A few quotes from Dr. Seuss:

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”

“How did it get so late so soon? Its night before its afternoon. December is here before its June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?”

“"I'm sorry to say so but, sadly it's true that bang-ups and hang-ups can happen to you"”