Birthday boy!

 Happy Birthday to me...Happy Birthday to me...Happy Birthday to me...Happy Birthday to me!

Its always a challenge for us in trying to make Davis' birthday feel special.  December 29th he turned 6. We went out to eat as a family.  We asked him what he wanted for his birthday and he couldn't think of anything.  So we offered him money.  He's deciding what to do with his cash.  He is richer than me at this point.  Which isn't hard!  Here are some pics I took last night as we sang to him with his cake ball.

Singing to himself...

 Being silly...

Davis is such a blessing to our family.  He makes us laugh and most of all reminds of what a 

child like faith in Christ looks like.  We really can't believe his 6.  He can no longer use one hand to tell us how old he is.  Time has flown!

Check this out!

I'm just so excited and...well frankly, my family is tired of me showing them what I'm learning:)!  My camera has a color effect setting that will bring out any color that is in the frame.  Below is the color red.

 Above is the color blue and below...gold.

This is my good friend Sarah and her daughter Reagan and her soon to be here... baby.  Love the pink lips:)

Experimenting

Well, I got my new camera.  I have been busy snapping pictures.  Some good...some not so good.  I realize its going to take me a while to get the hang of it.  There are so many options and at times I feel overwhelmed. For those of you who do this as a hobby or more, I'm sure its nothing to you.  But for me who has always owned a point n shoot...its a lot!  Here are some of my decent pics.  

 This one of Owen was taken across the room.  Love the zoom~

 This was also taken while sitting on the couch and I zoomed in on an ornament.

Below is Davis posing.  I've asked them so many times to pose so I can practice taking pictures of people.  They have been good sports for the most part.

 Above is taken in Sepia.

 Love this taken while the sun was setting.  Although I cant remember what setting I had it in!  Aahhh~!

Yay for Organization!

My father-in-law is retired and is very gifted in carpentry.  He recently asked what he could be working on for possible gifts for my birthday and/or Christmas.  Of course I had lots of ideas.  I gave him a picture I had found in a magazine of what I had in mind for our recent addition, hallway/mudroom.  Here has been our constant dilemma...shoes.  Each person has at least 2 pair of shoes.  Multiply that by 7...we have 28 shoes (14 pairs) needing a home.  Coats...don't even get me started.  Last winter was a nightmare.  Kids don't take the time to hang coats on a hanger and our hall tree could only take so much:)

So....Here is what he made me.  It's not quite finished yet but so close.  I had the idea to take the old door that came off the bedroom upstairs and cut it into 4 pieces and make 4 benches.  My father-in-law then made these shelves for me to display some of the boys' artwork over the years.  We now have 22 hooks and 4 benches to hide shoes under.  So far its working out great.  I plan to put end pieces on each side and paint the wall white to make it look like a 'built in'.  But for now, we are happy to have hooks!

37

It was my birthday last Thursday.  We spent the day home doing some projects.  It was also Scott's day off so that was extra special.  The sun was out which I took as a little gift from the Lord!  Scott and the boys made a small cake for us to eat. Both Hudson and Reis had home basketball games that night so I enjoyed going to those as a family.  Every week Scott sends out a journal entry to our church family.  He is very gifted in writing and everyone enjoys hearing from him.  He's doing a series on prayer and I loved how transparent he was in this entry.  I thought I'd share it with you.

This week was my wife’s birthday.  As birthdays go, it’s a meaningful part to give a person you are close to a gift to express to them that you appreciate their life.  Gift giving has never been a strength of mine (not a love language so to speak).  My wife on the other hand loves to give gifts and be creative in what she gives.  Her view is that the giving and receiving of that gift is an expression of care and love.  As you can immediately notice, this has been one of those shall we say…”tension points” in our marriage over the years.  I have had to learn the importance of this to her and she has had to learn to understand it just doesn’t come natural for me.  The primary point of learning for me is to LISTEN for those subtle hints she gives along the way of things that she would enjoy receiving.  I’ve had my share of blunders in this over the years (like the sweater that got returned and the jewelry that doesn’t get worn much…no bitterness here…just reality).  In listening, I’ve learned my wife is very very practical.  She doesn’t like spending money on things that won’t get used or won’t be around for a long time (therefore, things like flowers don’t get purchased very often).  I’ve had to fine tune my listening skills over the years (16.5 years to be exact!)

So, what’s the point in sharing this with you? The point is that it is similar to our  prayer life.  Because I love my wife I want my gifts to her to mean a great deal.  I’ve had to listen in order to accomplish this.  Likewise, each person that prays I believe would say, “I want my prayers to count” or “I want my prayers to work”.  Otherwise you wouldn’t pray.  If you find yourself with that desire in your heart, I submit to you that the best place to turn is God’s Word and learn to listen for what God desires us to pray.

(P.S. – To avoid answering all your questions on Sunday, yes, I did a good job of giving a gift this week.  She had to get it herself but it was exactly what she wanted and it will be used !!)

He and the boys surprised me last week and told me that they voted unanimously that they'd like to get me a nice camera.  ( I guess my hints worked:) I had been talking with a friend about buying her camera that she no longer uses, but didn't feel like it was a good time to spend the money on myself with Christmas coming.  I am very excited to get my gift...its on its way!  

Some of my favorite things...

Last week I was able to paint our kitchen.  I have been waiting to do this for over a year now.  I had to wait for our door to be put in, trim to be switched out etc.  Construction has such a domino effect!  But finally...it was time.  The kitchen was beautiful to begin with.  Brand new cabinets and flooring.  It just wasn't "me". There are 4 large lights in the kitchen.  These lights were with the house when we bought it.  In efforts to not spend more money, I decided I could spray paint them.  I was able to get 2 of the 4 done before the cold weather came. They were a hunter green color.  The creme softens them up a lot.  We also have barn red counter tops.  Something else I would probably change..well...if money grew on trees:)  So we'll make them work for now.  I chose a blue/gray color for the kitchen.  I love the result.  Here is a before and after picture. Of course the before picture was taken in the summer when no one lived in the house.  

 Scott helped me arrange this area.  It serves as a buffet table/coffee area.  In the past I've stacked the cabinets but last week we had a thought to separate them.  We also hung this verse. 

It's definitely Christmas inside our home.  I put up our fake tree in our family room with all of 

my Shiny Bright  glass balls.  

 We had fun cutting down our real tree this past weekend as well.  It sits in the family room and is decorated with the boys' ornaments they have made over the years.  

I hope you are enjoying the season!  We had our first snow fall tonight. 

 Although it didn't stick, the boys are very excited.  I am too...I guess:)

Broken to Beautiful

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to work with some others in the planning/coordinating our annual Celebration Service.  The theme that was chosen was "Broken to Beautiful".  We have seen so many people come to Christ this past year and others who have grown so much in their walk.  It was an opportunity to hear testimonies and reflect on the work of God in our lives.  Looking back, we wish so badly we would have filmed the services.  One of the many fun parts I was involved in was to set the stage.  We wanted old junky things placed in a way that was beautiful.  If you know me well...you know that's my house!  It wasn't hard to find what we wanted.  We hung signs with words that many of us face in our lives.  Words like hopeless, broken, bitterness, doubt, lost etc.  Two members of our worship team sang the song "Beautiful Things" (playing in the background)  with our worship band and did an incredible job!  During that song those words were turned into Hope, Healed, Forgiveness, Faith, Found...

It was an amazing service to be a part of.  I took some pics before and after.  You'll have to imagine the cool lighting that we had during the service:)

Grateful

 Last week I had the incredible opportunity to go to the Dominican Republic.  I was a little anxious leaving my family at home alone, but they did great without me.  Of course we were all excited to be reunited when I got home.  I took it as a compliment when the comment was made, "our family without mom is like the Colts without Peyton Manning".  WOW!  I'll take that:)

A good friend of mine and I flew from Chicago and met her mom and my mom in Santo Domingo.  We joined 80 other women from the U.S. for an annual women's conference.  We were pampered at the Embassy Suites for most of the week.  It was definitely the most 'cushy-est' missions trip I've been on but believe me...it was packed full of ministry none the less! 

Before the conference started we had a morning of shopping in the capital which is the picture below.  Notice the 'not so safe' electricity wires hanging in the streets.  We met a man, who was making beautiful bracelets for many of our women, whose 19 year old son was killed the week before from a telephone wire that fell on him.  This made me grateful for the safety we have here in our country!

 Our first morning of ministry was to a Maternity Ward at a hospital.  Boy was that difficult.  Our missionary with our group explained how this was a county hospital where there would be 6-8 women in each room, most had their own bed, but not all.  In those rooms there would be women laboring, women who had just  given birth with the baby lying next to them or possibly women no longer pregnant and whose baby was either in intensive care or even deceased.  So in one room, you could have a mother celebrating with her family with a new baby and in the bed next to her, another woman mourning the death of her newborn baby.  Our focus that morning was to simply share Christ with them.  We shared how our hope is in the Lord, no matter what happens here on earth.  We rejoiced as the woman below prayed with us to accept Christ.  The missionary took down several names and phone numbers (if they had phone numbers) and was going to pass them along to the local church for follow up.  We will never know what seeds were planted there that day.  

I'm grateful for modern medicine and hospitals!

 Another day of ministry was putting on a wedding for this sweet couple below in their 70's.  They have been together for years but recently received Christ and wanted to make things right before the Lord.  They could not afford a "real" wedding so we granted that wish and became "wedding crashers".  The group I was with all week, had brought everything from the wedding dress, to flowers, to decor, to the cake to celebrate.  It was humbling to be apart of this day.  After the wedding, we invited all of the women to stay for a craft and hear the gospel presented in a way that correlated with us being the 'bride of Christ'.  That day the local town witch stood up when asked if anyone would like to commit their life to Christ.  The church leaders are excited for this conversion and to see what God does as a result of this decision.  

I'm grateful for celebrations that honor Christ!

 Every time I go, there are certain children that tug at my heart:)  I took the picture above as we were driving home from the wedding.  I imagined what my boys would be doing if they didn't attend school and possibly no supervision all day!

Below is a picture of a beautiful baby girl whose mother recently left a life of prostitution to work at Lily's house. We are excited to hear how God will change the course of her life as a result.

 We also had the opportunity to go to a day care run by a woman whose mission is to get kids off the streets during the day.  In order for children to attend school, they need to be able to afford uniforms.  She has over 80 children that she cares for each day and prepares them for school.  She feeds them, clothes them and teaches them about the Lord.  She was doing this alone in her tiny upstairs apartment until God led people from the U.S. to help her in her endeavor. Now she has a beautiful building to minister in and lives in the upper level.  This little girl below is in need a surgery that one church from the US has offered to pay for.  She has a tumor growing on her brain.  She suffers from headaches and complications every day of her life, and yet she had the biggest smile for us. I'm grateful for people with BIG hearts!

 Our last day, a couple of us, were able to attend a local women's meeting.  These women have shown leadership skills and abilities in the local churches.  The missionary gathered them together to hear testimony and encouragement from a couple of us then at the end we were able to grant a simple wish by giving them a 'sandwich maker'.  Fresh bread is a rarity, so a sandwich maker is great for making stale bread taste good! I compared it to Oprah's giveaways.  They were so excited and hugs were all around.  It was fun to bless them in this way. I'm grateful for women around the world making a difference for Christ! 

One ministry I don't have a picture of was when I and few others from my group, went out and walked the streets witnessing to the local prostitutes.  This is a weekly commitment that a few of the missionaries do.  Women are waiting at open bars for a phone call from a man up in a hotel room.  One of the women we met told us that she has 3 sons under 11yrs old at home alone and that she couldn't go home until she had made enough money to buy food to feed them the next morning.  Every week the missionaries talk to woman after woman about Christ and how He loves them so much and wants so much more for them.  A small group went out each evening and invited them to a luncheon at the Embassy just for them!  About 30 women came to that event. They heard the gospel and about Lily's House where they offer hope and healing from this devastating lifestyle.  We are praying that God uses that in a might way to reach them for HIM!  It was exciting to be a part of.  I'm grateful that I find my hope and significance in HIM and not anyone here on earth.

 Above are some 'new' friends' ministering in the D.R. as missionaries. 

  Below is the beauty of the Caribbean!  I tried my best to soak it up until I return again:)

I'm truly grateful for those who made it possible for me to go.  From a provided ticket, conference fee, transportation and those who went above and beyond at home to care for my family.  

It was a highlight of my life!

Birthday fun and football

We had a great time celebrating Chapman's birthday.  His request for dessert?  Peanut butter pies and cake balls.  Of course everyone was happy with that.  He has a great bunch of friends that we are so thankful for.  Anxious to see this group grow up together.

Football season is well underway.  The boys are having fun and learning a lot.  A pretty intense program with practice 2x's a week for 2 hrs each and games every Saturday.  Although they are both doing great, they don't think they want to play again.  We'll see!

Owen in green #22 and Chapman in Red #6