FUN Weekend!!

We had the fun opportunity to host some of our dearest friends this weekend. We took the kids to see the Festival of Lights, make sugar cookies, have a leisurely breakfast, go to Playworld, play Blokus, and catch up on life. Thanks for coming and seeing us! Can't wait to do it again!

Such a pretty family!

While making the cookies, Sam was more interested in shoving huge chunks of sugar cookie dough into his mouth and treating his dough as if it were playdough than forming cute shapes.

The next "Iron Chef" will probably not be one of our kids. Have you ever seen such huge and formless shapes? Oh, but they tasted mighty good!

Look at these lashes...and the dusting of flour on her nose!

Trying to Obey....lest I get the Shoulder Death Grip

This past Tuesday, a sweet couple in our church lost their precious son. He died way too early, at an age way to similar to Kiley's. While I am thankful that God has removed my burden over my sister's death, I was not eager to force myself into a room of mourning and grief. Even after 10 months, the bile still raises up and the dam that holds back the reservoir of tears threatens to break once again when put into a situation where I am forced to feel again. Eric wanted us to attend the visitation, and while I wanted to support this family, secretly, I was coming up with ways that I was going to get out of it.

All day yesterday, I wrestled back and forth with the Lord on this. I would tell him that it would be easier to not find someone to watch the boys and that I would just send Eric by himself to represent our family. Every time I had this discussion with the Lord, He would come back with "go." Not just "go" but "GO!!!" The last time I uttered my great idea to Him, He said "GO" and then my shoulder was struck with the most awful nerve pain in the world. It definitely got my attention! It made me think that He was literally grabbing my shoulder and giving it a little (OK, painful!) squeeze.

I sighed and said, "OK, Lord, I will go, but ONLY if you give me a specific verse...right now!" (Maybe my attitude was just a tad sassy considering I had just been released from my death grip!) I turned my Bible open to Psalm 23 and these words popped off the page: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

So, go I did. The Lord was faithful and He did comfort while I was there. I am not sure why my presence was imperative in this situation, but just maybe it was comforting for this couple and the young man's wife.

If you think to, please say a prayer for this young man's wife, parents, and all others who loved him.

ramblings...

I took Sam in for his 3 year old check up this morning. He is 75% height and 75% weight. They proceeded to take his blood pressure. They tried twice, but since you have to be super still, or the machine won't read, it was pretty much impossible. What is up with taking blood pressure on 3 year olds, anyway? Really, if you know, please leave a comment!

On the way out the door, we saw some friends from church that recently had the cutest little twins. They captured my heart...still don't know what to do about desiring a little baby again and yet being completely content with what God has blessed us with already.

On the way home, as I was singing "Holy Holy, Alleluia, He Reigns", Sam chimed in with "Holy, Holy SMACK-ER-EL"!! Well, I guess that is one way to put it!

I am off to the annual fundraiser for Haven House. It is always at a very very very nice home. I always feel intimidated entering, sporting my new duds from Target. (I could say they are from Targe' and if I emphasize the e' part, maybe they will think I said Cache'.) Oh well, it is still fun to eat a trillion horse doovers and see the pretty decorations! And I am sure they will be super excited to see me dropping two dollar bills into the donation jar. Yep, they look forward to me coming every single year!

The "P" Family!

Just a little brotherly love that's all!

What's going on with me!!

These are two of my new favorite things! I have liked every recipe out of "BOB", so far! And this little baby at the top...let me tell you! It is a KitchenAid santoku knife...complete with red handle. The first time I sliced through a raw chicken breast, joy started coursing through my veins! Oh, go buy it and feel the power for yourself! ($13 at Target!)

I have been busy filling out Christmas cards, killing baby maggots (I will spare you the squishy details), taking tons of pictures, taking kids to birthday parties, Christmas shopping, playing cards, doing tons of laundry, trying new recipes, going to the funnest Progressive dinner ever, and praising Sam for remembering to go potty by himself!!

Marvin and Friends

This is my friend, Marvin. He and his group of musicians are so gifted, I could listen to them all day long! They are in the midst of producing a Christmas album. Marvin asked me to take a few snapshots of them for the cover. Talk about a request that was absolutely humbling! It was a fun photo shoot, that is for sure! Thanks for giving me the opportunity, guys!

My Kiddos with Uncle Zach...ummm, I mean Santa!

Thanks for a fun day, disco Santa!

Santa Baby Photo Shoot!

Quarter Mania!!

Let the games begin! Every year, when we are able to get with Lee and Kelli, Eric's parents do something pretty fun! They save, save, and save all of their change...converting it all to quarters. Then, Lee, Kelli, Zach, Eric, and I get to go on some sort of scavenger hunt in order to find them! This year, the hunt went beyond the boundaries of the house and extended to the city! (If you can call our town a city.)
Step 1: Sonshine Academy


Step 2: Go get a Frosty! (Not sure what happened to this pic...guess I didn't download it!)
Step 3: Hop on a caboose!

Step 4: Go take your pic with Jean at the Kitchen Store. Since we didn't know Jean, I wandered around til I found someone that looked like a "Jean." Whew...I was right.

Step 5: Go visit Uncle Dois. I really don't know if I spelled his name right, but when he told us his weight and it was eerily similar to my weight, I wasn't sure I liked him anymore. (Speaking of old fashioned, unique names, I had a great uncle Auffe...not sure if I spelled that one right, either!)

After 2 more clues at home, we found the BOUNTY! It was worth the hunt.

Can you seeeeee all the quarters? You can click on the picture to make it bigger so that you can get the real effect!

My OCD husband, making sure his rows are perfect.

Who said stacks of money wasn't pretty?

Our dirty hands after handling the loot!

Thanks for the payday, Herb and Barbara!

So, what is your guess? How many dollars worth of quarters do you think are in that heaping pile???

The "Fa La La La" W kiddos

Here are the "W" kids...all decked out! We had such a good time...and were nice and sticky at the end! This second pic is undeniably my favorite...a little character just shining through!

Casting Burdens

When Eric found out last Monday that he lost his main client and our income, I was mentally able to brush it aside with Thanksgiving in a few days. I wasn't about to let someone ruin my time with my family and my turkey. And enjoy myself, I did. Then, yesterday, things came crashing down. I took huge burdens. I am sure Satan was prancing around as I was engulfed in doubt and pity. The load got heavier as I thought about it more and more.

Last night at 2 am, as I stumbled to find the potty without tripping over myself, the Holy Spirit uttered these words very clearly: "Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." This morning I found the reference (Matthew 11:28) and also found these interpretations: "loaded down with burdens" and "carrying heavy loads."

I almost laughed at this because last night as I was flipping channels, the Lord gave me a very insightful visual of someone carrying a heavy load. John Hagee was promoting a new movie based on the "Pilgrim's Progress" book. The actor was literally carrying around a huge load on his back...so big that I couldn't figure out how he was even walking. It was only when he reached the foot of the cross that he was able to cast the load off.

This morning, as I read a praise devotional to the boys, I came across this verse: "Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried." (Isaiah 53:4) At the cross, our Savior carried my griefs and my sorrows...not to mention my sins. Jesus experienced all of my pain.

When fear and doubt set in, my I be given the grace to boldy approach the foot of the cross and throw off the weight.