Natalie had such a great 10th birthday.  There was a snow day on her birthday but my terrific friend called and said  she was bringing her kids over to celebrate the joyous occasion having a “spa” day with Natalie.  They had so much fun.  Natalie got her nails painted, and her hair fixed.  The crew sang Happy Birthday and ate some cookies.  It was such a sweet and thoughtful way to celebrate her day.  Great friends!!   Over the weekend we had family over to celebrate.  We served pizza, salad and cupcakes!  Just love cupcakes.  Here are some photo’s.

Birthday Girl

Natalie and her friend Samantha

delicious cupcakes..yummy!!

Over the past week I  had some really interesting conversations with Phoebe about the bible.  They have been such a blessing!  I love to see  God’s word residing in her heart.  Truly a treasure moment as a mom.  I wanted to share with you one of Phoebe’s favorite music groups.

This group is fun and very entertaining!!  Here is the link to their website.

Jump over to Lysa Terkeurst’s blog, she is chatting about Studying the Bible and Loving it, how to go about it and some tips and tools.  I know that my day’s can get ahead of  me and before I know it it is dinner time, bath time, bed time and I collapse onto the couch.  I need to  make sure I am aware of how I spend my  time.  I NEED to be in God’s word daily.  This is such a pull at your heart strings topic, especially for moms.  Our days are full and life is busy, but girls it is so important that we drench our days with God.   That is what she is going over for the next few days so I wanted to copy cat her.  ( I think that is legal in bloggy world??)  So how do you drench yourself with God’s truth?  When is your daily quiet time?  Do you blast Christian music, we do.  Do you hang post it notes with scriptures all over your house, I have a friend who does, what a great idea.   Please do share, let’s support and encourage one another. 

Have a wonderful Monday!

 (this was posted on 2-16-2010 but Natalie’s birthday is on 2-17)

Happy 10th Birthday Natalie!!  I can’t believe you are ten, time flies.  You are such a blessing to our family.  From your smile, to your laugh, to the sparkle in your eyes, we adore you!  You have touched so many lives and I know that God has a mighty plan in store for you.

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Your life has been a journey, one that has taught me how to love with my whole being.  You have taught me perseverance, compassion, gentleness, patience and how to advocate for others!  In one tear I  think of how your life would have been but in the next tears I have tremendous joy that floods my heart for you.  You are my precious firstborn and I love you so much.  I thank God for you.  You are a trooper in this life but know that in the next life where you will be whole, you girly will have many rewards.  I can’t wait to see you run, dance, skip, speak, sing praises to Jesus and wrap my arms around you holding you for forever!  I know  you will find me taking  me to the feast table showing  me all the different foods and we are gonna have a meal,  making up for what you missed out on.  We are gonna have a BLAST with our KING!!

Revelation 21:4
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

We CELEBRATE you Natalie, may God bless you every day of your life.  I firmly believe that you have a special connection with Jesus.  Your light shines for HIM!! 

so smart in mommy's glasses

Sept. 7, 2001; 9 days prior to Natalie's brain injury

2002

Christmas 2003

2004

2005

2006 (one of my favorites)

 

2007

valentines 2008

2009

2010...look at that hair!

 

 Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Radically Blessed is getting a new look!!  Can’t wait to see it.  We’ll also have some new topics to discuss, stay tuned.

Have a great Monday!!

This is a fun little quiz.  Check out this site and see how accurate it is.  Leave me a comment too!! 

http://www.martinarmand.com/Lipstick_Shapes.html

I am a mix of these:

I am back from the Hearts at Home national conference.  We had a blast.  I had so much fun I forgot to take lots of pictures, but here are some. 

from left to right: Karla, Carol, Jennifer, Lori and Tricia

  (more…)

Well I head out for the Hearts at Home conference tomorrow morning.  I am so excited to go and be spiritually fed.  The laundry is done, groceries are bought, house is clean…

The theme for this conference is REAL MOMS.  I adore this theme.  I have found that being real is really difficult.  We want others to think we have it all together.  We don’t want others to see our weakness.  I struggled with this early on as a mom.  I eventually learned to remove the masks and be real.  This is it.  I am who I  am, period.   Christ has made me this way for a reason and I have to find my security in Him.  We sometimes throw ourselves into different things so that others don’t see the “real”.  Like, hobbies, careers, serving, church, sports, bible studies, how we look, what we drive, where we live, etc.   In the big scheme of things none of this matters.  It is our hearts that we should be concerned about.  What are we cultivating in our hearts? 

Do we have patience, joy, love, kindness, gentleness, peace, respect, laughter, faithfulness or contentment?  That is what God’s word calls us to have in our hearts to be more like Christ.  Pick one or two that you struggle with and do some research on them.  Pray about them, asking God to grow you in those areas. 

I will touch base when I get home and will load some pics of our adventure.  It is about a 5 hour car ride.  It is gonna be heavenly.  Being able to hold an adult conversation in the car with no interruptions.  I will miss my family and will call home to check in, but I am looking forward to whatever crazy, zany, things our gang is gonna get into!!

I read this on another blog that I follow and thought this would be fun.  Describe you or your life in 6 words.  It can only be 6 words so be fun and creative.  I can’t wait to see what we come up with…I will start.

When life hands lemons, make lemonade

can I,  HE can,  HE will

Now it is your turn.  Have fun!!