Welcome Spring???

It would be nice to trust that I could add flowers to my stones in front of my welcome sign...but I am kinda nervous! Seeing as though I often get excited about getting plants this time of year, and typically I freeze them!

My Big Girl and a special birthday wish!

Well today was Kyla's physical for kindergarten. Here she is posing with her completed physical form and her new webkinz that she got for being so brave while she got 4 shots!!!

And here is a picture of Gracie and Kyla while Gracie is saying "look rain" and looking out the window...classic!

And just for grins I thought I would post one of my favorite pictures of my friend Beth. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BETH!!!!! May you continue to experience moments of absolute peace!

Here's an awesome UL video

Especially for those of you who have never heard of uppercase living.

It is here

Barbie Girl!

I realize that typically all girls when the reach a certain age enjoy playing with barbies...but that was not the case for the twins who are now 7 and I think never picked up a barbie(even when I would find them at garage sales and bring them home). So when dd#3 was WAY into barbies and played so nicely by herself with them I always wondered if she would be the only one.

Well...as you can see from these pictures...she was not! This morning while I was on the computer only a few feet from dd#4 she proceeded to lay out all of dd#3's barbie and pick out her favorites and started giving them voices. I thought it was adorable so here she is "posing" with her barbies!(ahem...kyla's barbies)

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

I know that it is always mentioned how time fly's...but here I am again amazed at how fast this year has gone by and how much change we have had within the year.

Kendell is one year old today. Here are a few pictures of her past year and some of today. She is very happy to have lots of extra attention today and will only remember this birthday from photos and stories. Ahhh...the good old years...when children don't even remember what you get them as a gift!!!LOL!

Last year right after I had Kendell, I got very emotional. I remember during labor literally coming to realization that it was "ok" and that we would get through having another baby and the ups and downs that follow, and I will never forget seeing her and thinking "oh yeah...I know you...you fit!" How strange it was to look back on it and think that I wasn't sure of myself yet again.

Hmmm...kinda dead on.... :o) !!!!!!!!!!!

You Are An Exclamation Point

You are a bundle of... well, something. You're often a bundle of joy, passion, or drama. You're loud, brash, and outgoing. If you think it, you say it. Definitely not the quiet type, you really don't keep a lot to yourself. You're lively and inspiring. People love to be around your energy. (But they do secretly worry that you'll spill their secrets without even realizing it.) You excel in: Public speaking You get along best with: the Dash

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

Wondering when the Magic Money will appear???

Check out this link...I went a wondering today and figured it out!

I AM SHOUTING FROM THE RAFTERS!!!!

I DID IT, I DID IT, I DID IT!!!!!!!!!

I hit my goal weight by my goal!!!!!!

Last July I set out on a journey with the goal set to be 150 by the time Kendell was 1. And so with the invites sent out and the last 5 pounds still lingering I am so happy to report that I stepped on the scale this morning at 149.2!!!!! WOO HOO!

One thing that I have learned along the way is that if I can do it anyone can! Really!

Moving on...

I would like to say thank you to those of you who are praying for our youth at our church and all of those who are impacted by William's death. Sean and I both went to the funeral on Thursday and ironically yesterday and today Sean is with about 35 junior highers and high schoolers at the Dare to Share conference.

I had a few thought from the funeral...

We were sitting among the youth. Mostly high schoolers who knew William well. And I just couldn't help but really soak in the fact that these kids are really just that...KIDS! Today's youth has been packaged to "look" like they are in their young 20's and perhaps more equipt to deal with struggles in their life...but as I was watching them crumble I could really tell...they really didn't know how to deal with something like this.

Now, William's "crowd" were what the high schoolers would call the punks or perhaps even goth punks. Some would call them emo's. BUT the crowd was filled with Williams people. Black hair, heavy eye makeup, dark clothes...you know...the kids who a mother of five *might* be afraid to walk up to on the street and strike up a conversation because well...it almost seems like the kids don't want attention or want the wrong kind of attention.

BUT here's the thing. I think that these kids are the ones that need all the "good" attention that we as adults can give them. They need us to look them in the eye and greet them if we see them walking in our path. They need acknowlegement that they are human. Because I would rather have my "hello" rejected than to wonder if I should have said hello.

And please don't take lightly...that these kids just like all the other kids...NEED JESUS.

Please continue to pray for William's family. I have learned in recent days that not only did they lose a son and brother, but they have also lost a grandson and son in the last two weeks. A newborn who didn't live past birth. Heartbreaking...

Also please pray for Joey. He is just one of the kids who means the world to Sean who is struggling.

Thank you again for your prayers.

Please Pray

Only because I don't want to "re-hash" what I am thinking I am copying this blog the letter that will be passed out to the parents of our junior high students tonight. Please pray.

April 7, 2008

Dear Parents:

It is with heavy hearts that Sean and I share the following information.

On Friday April 5th one of our students named William took his own life. William has been to many of the game night overnights that we have had in the past years and although was high school aged continued to come to Yess occasionally to hang out with the kids and his friends.

We want to inform you of this for a few reasons. First and foremost to let you know that we believe whole heartedly that William is in Heaven now. He had accepted Christ and wasn’t afraid to talk about it with Sean. We also wanted to give you the information that we have so that you can talk with your kids about suicide. We will be talking about William at Yess tonight and the topic will more than likely come up in the future as we tend to discuss topics that impact this age group in a real way.

Please if you would, pray for these students. There are some who feel guilt, sadness, and frustration at not being able to help. Please pray for this weekends conference that the students will be going to. Pray that the students step up to the challenge of talking to their friends about God. Also please pray for the leaders at Yess. Pray that we have the God given words when it seems there just aren’t any.

I thank you so much for entrusting your kids into our hands during the two hours a week that we have. I cannot explain to you just how precious each and every one of them is to us. We count it a blessing to have parents who bring their kids each week and students who come eager to have fun and learn about God.

May God bless your family,

A fine line between judging and acceptance???

After watching Oprah this morning...(I know some of you are rolling your eyes)

I realized that I just don't know how to feel about this morning's topic. For those of you who don't watch, this mornings show featured Thomas a pregnant male. I know all of you are thinking...Male??? I think not. He was born a female, transitioned into a male but kept his reproductive parts that would make "him" still a "her" but...for the purpose of the show...they are calling him a male.

Now...what do I think about this...especially as a Christian mother. WOW! I have a hard time accepting this as a good thing. Especially considering God created women to be pregnant and my view on that doesn't change(and really...Thomas is a woman). God didn't create man to be pregnant.

I just wonder if the Christian community will make this couple(Thomas and his wife)feel like they are being judged. Are they not worthy of feeling God's love? Who am I to judge? I guess that's where my frustration lies. I don't know if showing them acceptance and God's love means that I am accepting their decision.

And for the record...I have dealt with something like this before. My cousin lives her life as a lesbian. And I have chosen to NOT ignore her, banish her, or make her feel like a bad person....because after all...we all make bad choices or UNGODLY choices. And when it feels like all the "Christians" in her life have chosen to look down at her I don't want to be in that group. Because I would prefer to LOVE.

Sin is sin is sin right? There are no levels of sin. So my sin is the same as Thomas's sin, and who am I to judge him/her?