Worn out....

Memorial Day

We had a quiet Memorial Day at home this year.  The kids played hard outside most of the day.  We had chili dogs, watermelon and peach pie.  Isn't that so "Memorial Dayish"? :o)

 Yes, our Easter flag is still flying.  *Mental note to self: Get a new flag. :o)

                                                             Sweet baby boy.

 Mariah -  not really wanting her picture taken. :o)

 "Pa"- chillin' out watching the kiddos play.

                                                                          Matt

 Myles our little "dare devil"!

                                                         Malachi

                            Daddy bought them bubbles.  When daddy does something....... he does it BIG!

McKenzie was gone to a friend's birthday party and Madeline didn't want her picture taken.  She has a burned chin from roasting marshmallows the other night. :o)

The Ultimate Decision

An exciting thing took place at our house this weekend.  Malachi prayed to receive Christ as his savior!  This is such an answer to prayer!  It has been exciting to see each one of our older children make that decision for themselves.  Each one with their own story...........

Malachi came into the world with a very exuberant personality!  He is strong-willed and at times it has been tough parenting him! :o)  I remember when he was three years old, Marc came down the stairs after putting him to bed shaking his head and said,  "I am failing him miserably."  With Malachi's personality we have always said, he could do mighty things for the Lord........or it could be really bad!  When he was around four years old, Malachi was being very disagreeable and Marc said,  "Malachi, you need to get saved!"  Malachi's response,  "That makes me tired."  More recently he has been going through some tough spots.  Marc purposed to pray hard for Malachi's salvation, but we didn't want to "push" him on it.  We wanted it to be the Holy Spirit drawing him and not the "pressure" of us putting expectations on him.  Out of the blue Friday night while walking through Wal-Mart with Marc he said,  "Daddy, I am ready to ask Jesus into my heart."  No, Marc didn't stop in the middle of the store to pray with him. :o)  When they got home Malachi didn't say anything and Marc waited for him to mention it again.  Early the next morning, on May 25th, Malachi told him again,  "I want to ask Jesus into my heart."  Our entire household was very excited!  Malachi has been on "Cloud 9" all weekend!

 

 ^"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." 3 John 1:4

Stopping to smell the roses....

Life has been hard for quite a while now.  Lots of things have happened over the past year that are completely out of my control.  It can all be very overwhelming, and I catch myself just going through the motions of my day.  I read this story the other day and it was a good reminder to stop and enjoy each day. Life can change so fast and I don't want to miss out on the blessings of today by worrying about the unknowns of tomorrow.

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A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by, and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace, and stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping, and continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?"

By: Josh Nonnenmoc
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My spontaneous children that ALWAYS stop to smell the roses and enjoy each day! :)

 

 The thrill of "homemade" fun!

 

"But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You;

                                      Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them;
                                                 Let those also who love Your name
                                                                Be joyful in You.
                                                                     For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous;
                              With favor You will surround him as with a shield."  Psalm 5:11-12

 

*BTW..... I looked up the story and it is true.  It happened in 2007. :o)

Good Quote

"[Alot of people] think that Christianity is you doing all the righteous things you hate and avoiding all the wicked things you love in order to go to Heaven. No, that's a lost man with religion. A Christian is a person whose heart has been changed; they have new affections."~Paul Washer

Silly Boy...

Macheus' Baby Dedication

 We had Macheus dedicated on Mother's Day Sunday.  Like every other special day since my mom died, it was bittersweet.
Our church asked for a family picture to put on the screen during his dedication.  We hadn't taken one since Macheus was born, so a friend came to our house and took some for us.  I guess for nine people, it turned out decent. :o)

                                                           "Brotherly love"

Marc and our pastor did a wonderful job during the dedication.  It was a very special and meaningful service.  Some friends from our old church came and spent the day with us and of course my dad was here.

 



 

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." Deuteronomy 6:5-7

Thankful.....

for these seven blessings that made me a mama. :o)

Hope those of you that are moms have a Happy Mother's Day!

He marches to the beat....

of his own drum.

 Myles is a determined, very independent little boy.

 My prayer for him is that he uses that strong personality to stand strong for the Lord one day!

                                                      I sure do love him! :o)

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”  Joshua 1:9

One year...

This past Sunday, May 5th was the first anniversary of my mom's death.  I can't believe we have now gone through all of the "firsts without her".  The year has definitely been an emotional roller coaster.

I wanted to do something out of the normal routine with my dad that day.  We packed a picnic and took off for a trip to a wild animal zoo.  It had rained ALL week long and was calling for rain that day too.  We decided to risk it and go anyway.  I am so glad we did because the weather couldn't have been more perfect!  God definitely showed His favor on us that day.

 Grandpa took the two little boys on a train ride.  It was precious.  I said the only thing that could have made it more perfect was if Grandma was sitting there too. :o(

                         Madeline, Myles and I were the only ones that didn't touch the snake!

                                                 Matt showing us how strong he is! :o)

                                                     

                  He actually slowed down enough for me to take a picture!

It was a good day,  and I know we will all cherish the memories we made with "Pa".  At the end of the day we all said that Grandma would have approved.  We did something fun AND had ice cream.  She always wanted the grand kids to have fun!

Psalm 91:1-2

 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

Three Months

I can't believe he is already three months old!  He has been such a joy!

 We snapped a few pictures of him today, just for fun.  This next one cracked me up.  He is getting so round! :o)

 His hair is really curly when I wash it.  It gets straighter on the "non-washing" days, except for the little curl on the side always sticks up.

 At three months:  he sleeps all night long (as in 10 hours straight!)  very happy in the mornings,  coos and laughs out loud, stares very seriously and even scowls sometimes, fussy in the evenings and wants to be held, we spend lots of evening time on the front porch swing- he loves it,  rolls over from front to back, (he did it the first time a few weeks ago when we were at my parents' old house- kind of sad that it was on grandma's bed- she would have thought that was neat), still loves his bouncy seat, swats at the toys hanging in front of him, loves to be held and has many willing arms!

 It always amazes me how much love I have for yet another baby.  I think one of  the bonuses of having babies when you are older and have already raised others is that you appreciate every little moment.  I look at him in awe sometimes, how perfectly formed he is.  Every little detail- from his eyes, ears, fingernails..... all so perfectly made.  It is humbling that God blessed us with him.  I am very thankful!  He is a precious gift!

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."  Psalm 139:14