It has been a while since my last post. Things here have been so busy. School is winding down for the year and we are gearing up for summer!  There are tons of end of school activities.  Plans to  be made for summer.

What summer plans do you have?  We haven’t planned an official vacation but we are looking at some places. Where are you going this summer?  Natalie will be attending a summer day camp twice a week and Phoebe is going to VBS and church camp! She is really excited about church camp. It is only one night (for kindergarten and first graders) but the cool thing is, it is the camp I went to when I was a kid. I have heard it has changed and been updated. When I went we slept in modified barns, having to drape a sheet over the rafters to keep the bugs out. We did have running water for showers and toilets but we saw spiders the size of kittens…of course I haven’t told Phoebe about any of this or she would totally back out. Not a bug liking girl.

I really just want to relax this summer. I don’t want to have my days so planned out that there is no wiggle room. I want to be able to sleep in, rest, spend time with family and friends, enjoy our evenings grilling and just relax. Is that even possible? How do you plan on relaxing this summer?

I love to read. There is a group of gals that’s reading Growing Grateful Kids by Susie Larson.  It is really good and Susie has such a passion for Christ. We are reading 2 chapters a week and hopefully going to be able to meet throughout the summer to chat about what we are reading and learning. I have 6 more books in line to read (not all this summer) but I just placed a book on hold at our local library and can’t wait to get it this upcoming week. It is by the season 5 winner of The Biggest Loser, Ali Vincent. She wrote, Believe it, Be it. I enjoy Biggest Loser and have watched it since season 3.  I will let you know how the book is and be sure to watch the season finale of Biggest Loser Tuesday at 8pm.

Have a great weekend, throw out some tips on having a relaxing, fun summer!  What do you do to make summer memorable?

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.

Have a great Monday!!

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

I am a mix of these:

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

 The venue was great.  There were close to 5,000 moms in attendnce.  You could sense God all over this thing.  On Friday evening we had a moms night out with GO FISH.  Talk about a fun group of dads.  These guys rocked the house.  They sing fun, interactive bible songs and more.  It felt like a rock concert.

Go Fish

   Dr. Kevin Leman, the author of several awesome books including,  Have a New Kid by Friday, was a featured speaker.  He was hysterical.  We laughed until our sides hurt.  He was so real and spoke such truth.  Bill and Pam Farrel spoke about marriage and added plenty of laughter to it.  Than we had the comedic fun of Sally Baucke, the minivan mom.   The worship was led by a group that is so gifted.  4ever is a mom and daughters group.  There are four of them and this mom home schooled all of them to college.  They were such a blessing to the weekend.  Jill Savage brought realness, fun, honesty and passion to the weekend.   We laughed, cried, shared and shopped!  The resource center was great!  It had tons of freebies and fun things that us women get into.  Clothes, jewelry, books, etc. 

Needless to say I came away with so much to ponder and pray about.  I sensed the whole weekend was about reclaiming your family.  Building a firm foundation in Jesus Christ and focusing on what is truly important. 

I look forward to next year, which by the way is already scheduled for March 12-13, 2010.  You can go to www.hearts-at-home.org and get tons of resources, sign up for eNews which is emailed twice a month and more. 

It was fun to get away with girlfriends all who are on different walks in their faith and on very different  journeys.   Those of us who have gone more than once have made it a tradition to stop at a Cracker Barrel for dinner and recap the weekend.  Here we are,

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

Tricia (left) and Karla (right)

Now we are home and I know that I have a lot to work on.  My desire is to be the best wife, mom, friend, daughter, and sister I can be.  This means that I have to be walking hand in hand with Jesus.  Making my relationship with Him  number one.  I want to be obedient to him and what he has called me to do and be.  This is radical but with Christ all things are possible!

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!!

When life hands lemons, make lemonade

can I,  HE can,  HE will

Now it is your turn.  Have fun!!