this mosaic life

time

2010-07-17T17:13:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how fast time goes but yet some days seem to never end. I realized recently that we really only have 4 summers left after this one to have our son at home with us....he may come home for the summers but it won't be the same. How can it be possible that this boy will be entering high school in a September??? It seems like he was a little toddler not that long ago!

Summer has always been my favorite time with my kids....no schedules, lots of sand, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, games, friends, trips, parks, saltwater sandals & evening fires. It has always been a time that I have savored & cherished. It always seems to go too fast while the school year can drag on so miserably at times. For some reason this summer feels like a little pressure. Pressure to make lasting memories, have fun, get everything in. Maybe it is because we are entering a new phase and this summer may the last of its kind for our family. Maybe it is because I am feeling a little older now that I am almost the mother of a high school student. Whatever the reason, I do not want to let the pressure ruin my summer. I want to still savor and cherish. I want to enjoy the sounds of my kids engaging together, playing, laughing, and even fighting. I want to play intentionally and accomplish special memories but also do nothing together! Thank you Lord for THIS summer!

goodbye 2009

2010-01-21T15:56:00.000-08:00

I decided that since I really haven't posted much of 2009 I would give a quick recap of some highlights from the summer, fall & winter.

The summer of 2009 I said goodbye to something that has been part of my life since we married 19 years ago. Miss Sadie finally had to be put to sleep. She was 19 years old. Even though she drove us all nuts with her strange ways....we do miss having her around. She was a very loyal (and demanding) cat that put up with a lot of moves, changes & additional pets over they years. Good bye dear Sadie girl.

Both the kids were gone to summer camp for the first time. Several of us made the 4 hour trek up on the last day of camp to baptize our precious Emma. It was such an honor and a special day for all of us!

My brother brought home a wonderful addition to our family this last summer. He met his soon-to-be wife while serving as a missionary this last year in Laos. We had a fun shower for Melissa right after we met her. We were so excited for both of them!!
We enjoyed several days in August up north to see my brother marry this fabulous girl. We couldn't be more pleased with his choice of a mate and look forward to more opportunities to get to spend time with them. They will be leaving for Laos this next summer and we will really miss them. The wedding was beautiful.

The fall of 2009 my kiddos started 6th and 8th grade. I cannot believe how quickly time has gone and how next year I will have a high school freshman! I really still feel like I am only 25 so I don't how my kids can be this old!! I really do enjoy them at this age though - it is so fun to see them having more independence.

Emma participated in CYT after school got underway. She auditioned for Les Miserables and had a great time performing. She was a wedding dancer, beggar & revolutionary. She got to participate with her good friend Aimee and made many new friends during those two months.

In November Curtis and Cody helped with several building projects over in Harrah, Washington. Harrah is one of the poorest communities in our state. They worked very hard for 4 long days and got a LOT accomplished.

I got to attend several field trips this year but my favorite is always the 6th grade trip to the Ape Caves. I went to the Ape Caves several times as a kid and love attending this one. My group of girls and I had a great time heading into the darkness for an hour or so. We had a lot of fun hiding and jumping out to scare other groups!

In the fall we also had a great day in the mud at the pumpkin patch. My children humored me and let me get a photo of them on these "little" kid tractors.

We had a lovely fall and our Christmas season was nice and quiet this year. Our Emma ended up with a sprained ankle and so we had a lot of forced down time. We did get to do quite a few fun things but also had a lot of time to rest. We also did started some new traditions on Christmas eve which was really fun!Tucker and I enjoyed watching Cody cut down the tree.

We even got to have a great day of snow play during Christmas vacation. We made a fun snow man, made snow angels and did some sledding on our little hill. While 2009 brought many difficult things our way....many challenges, heartbreaks and disappointments we still were able to find joy in the midst. It was a year of much character building and overcoming. I look forward to 2010 with a little apprehension honestly but am trusting a big God who already knows the details of this year. He has proven Himself faithful and will again.

Thank You God

2010-01-07T22:03:00.000-08:00

We are praising the Lord in a big way right now for a miracle that has occurred for our 4 year old friend Claudia. She has been recently diagnosed with Leukemia and has been undergoing treatment for only 22 days. She has already received the news of her being in remission! Thank you God!!!
Check out her caringbridge site!

art lovers

2009-11-19T11:49:00.001-08:00

My hubby is taking an art class this semester and he was required to take a free field trip to the Portland Art Museum. Since my kids go to a school where they are home schooled in their art credits, we decided to tag along. Did you know it is free for kids under 18? We had such a great time exploring, studying and laughing at some of the pieces....especially some on the modern floor. Boy....it is amazing what some people call art. We were thinking we could probably paint a canvas solid orange and sell it for a lot of money! They wouldn't allow any photos inside the buildings so we took some out in the courtyard before the sun set at closing.

Emma of course wanted a picture with the horse, since she has wanted her own horse since she was born!

We laughed about how many times we had seen naked bodies.....naked bodies (men & women) everywhere! One could really get an education there! My hubby and I talked about how much we love our kids ages right now. They are so fun to hang out with and spend time doing "grown up" things with.Afterwards we went to happy hour at our favorite....PF Chang's. My kids were goofing off with the camera and this was my favorite one!

blah

2009-10-28T13:22:00.000-07:00

my brain feels foggy.
can't really complete a thought.
i am feeling pretty blah.

there are many things i have thought about posting about. all the fun summer activities, my little brother's wedding to a wonderful girl, the beauty i have been surrounded by, fun with friends, the first day of 6th & 8th grade....the list could go on. but for some reason i just feel worn out, depleted and uninspired. i feel burdened by other's trials, their prayer requests, their heartaches, their grief. i feel the need to be praying for so many.

would love to run away to a monastery for a few days. to spend time with Him and have some needed time of forced silence to find my thoughts again. maybe i should.....

prayers needed

2009-08-29T16:02:00.001-07:00

Please join me in praying for a sweet couple we know from our Olympia days. Visit their blog at www.katieandbenupdates.blogspot.com

summer days here we come...

2009-07-01T20:12:00.000-07:00

I really love summer time! I love lazy days with my kids - not having to have an agenda but being able to move at a slower pace.

We had a good school year this year. Seventh grade wasn't my son's favorite by any stretch of the imagination, but he survived with the help of good friends and is looking forward to eighth grade. My daughter made a school change this year and settled in quite easily. She enjoyed the teachers, the academic challenge and the new friends were a breath of fresh air! I truly am thankful for the school my children attend. As we have had a challenging year financially, our teachers have blessed us so very much! It has ministered to me in more ways than one and made me very thankful God put us where He did for such a time as this.

Emma and a bunch of her girlfriends gathered around after school on our last day to see each other off for the summer.

Here is a shot of Emma with our favorite 5th Grade teachers - they are a great teaching team and both my kids loved them!!

Cody and a few of his friends got together on the last day of school to go swimming at one of the guy's houses. Cody is so great at choosing friends and I really love these boys! He has been friends with a couple of them since they were all in 1st grade.

Both my kids are gone to the middle school summer camp this week and next week they will be helping with the VBS at our church. My little brother gets home next Friday and will be getting married at the end of August. That will most definitely be one of the highlights of our summer!! We are so excited for him and pray for he and his bride-to-be every day.

being a mom

2009-05-27T08:10:00.000-07:00

Since I have been working many days over the last 5 weeks life has been a little hectic. Not to mention the normal crazy that comes this time of year with two in school that have activities. Why is it that every year beginning May 1st the teachers put everything into overdrive?!?! I swear they try to cram in as many projects as possible those last six weeks of school.

Last week I had an ah-ha moment as I was peeling an orange. It was a morning I did not get called to work and I sat down to peel an orange for my kids' lunches. Both my kids are a little picky about the way they like their oranges peeled. They don't like much of the white "stuff" on it. If I don't peel it the way they like they end up either not eating it or spending a good portion of the 15 minute lunch time "cleaning" it more and then leaving other food uneaten. I love to be able to spend the time wanted to care for my kids. I LOVE to be able to have the time to do things the way they love. I am very thankful to have been home these thirteen years and being a mother is what I love to do. It has been such a blessing to be able to really be here instead of rushing off to somewhere else.

As I am typing this I just got called to do a day of special ed at a local high school. Gotta run....

thoughts

2009-04-09T09:41:00.000-07:00

Honestly, I have pretty much been avoiding this blog. Should I just post happy thoughts or cool events that everyone is interested in? Should I talk about my darling children or my cute hubby who turns 41 tomorrow? Should I post all the cute pictures of my 40th birthday celebration last month? Or talk about how stinking excited I am for my brother's upcoming wedding? (which I am super excited about!!!)

Life has many many blessings and many fun things to celebrate! But right now when I sit quiet and try to type on this computer there are just too many bottled up emotions to get it out in a way no one will judge or think poorly of me. I am a "leader" after all. Was asked to be a leader as soon as I can remember and have never really been anything else. What if I really share the things I struggle with....will I be told I am bitter, will I be told it isn't good to wrestle with those things, will I be told I need to have more faith? Funny thing is....I feel more peace inside than I have ever felt in my life!!! If I never had to be around any people I would be pretty near perfect right now.

I wrote out a post awhile back. Deleted it. Started again and again. Tried posting cute pictures. It felt meaningless. So here is my latest attempt at a post and it may be a little raw in some parts. But it is where I am at. I feel secure that God is in charge but terrified at the same time. I know He will care for me and love me even if I end up homeless and sleeping in my car. I know His heart towards me is good and that He is giving me many gifts (they just aren't earthly gifts)!

Hmmmm...what a crazy couple of years this has been. And while there are moments I wish calgon would take me away, I wouldn't really trade this trial for anything.

God has blessed me tremendously with so many wonderful life lessons in trust and waiting. God has proven over and over that He is more interested in my character than my comfort. I am following God in this crazy adventure and learning every day to follow man less.

I spent many years of my life hearing "what you need to do is". (And no, mom & dad I am not referring to you). Who really says what I need to do? Does God always call us to do the thing that makes the most "sense"? Sense to who - the world? I wonder about that crazy Noah who God asked to build an ark? Bet his friends thought he was insane! Wasn't another guy to march around a city for 7 days? What the heck kind of common sense was that! And what about the guy that was to leave his boat and become a "fisher of men". I am sure no one thought he was crazy!!

Why do we humans always feel the need to give each other advice? Why do we Christians think we know what everyone else should be doing? I am sure that I am the only one who has thought many times...."what is he doing? she can't afford those clothes? shouldn't he take the job no matter what if he needs one? why is she doing that with her kid - doesn't she know how to parent?"

I am soooo tired of the judgement in myself and around me! If someone decides to have way more kids than I would, that is between them and God. If someone decides to buy expensive clothes with gift cards, that is between her and God. If someone decides not to take a job even though they need a job, that is between them and God. Is buying those clothes a sin? Is having too many kids a sin? And what is too many kids anyway? Obviously there are moral issues that God does call us to take a stand on. But God clearly says in his word "Judge not, lest you be judged".

I want to NOT judge the way I have in the past and I would never have learned this in such a powerful way but during this financial trial we have been going trough. According to the world and what common sense would say a lot of things in our life right now would make NO sense. We are following God and holding on to words we know HE has given us. He has repeatedly given us words from people we respect that all match other words He has given us. And while many may judge our decisions we believe we are following Him on a crazy adventure - a scary and exciting adventure.

One of my struggles is worrying about what others will think of us. Boy, God must really want me to lay that down because it keeps coming to the surface in huge ways. Every where I turn is another opportunity to let it go and not worry what others think. The only one that it truly matters what He thinks of me, is GOD. And I am sure that I am sure that God is pleased with me. While I still have sin and many issues to work through...God is so into ME. He loves me and sees me with all this junk. Isn't that what the whole message of Easter is really about? He died for each of us...
each of us as we are...
screwed up...
broken...
sinning...
glorious...
forgiven...
heaven or hell bound!

So I choose to thank you Lord for this season - even when I want to scream at You. Thank You for giving me the opportunity to stretch, experience deep pain, continue to grow in letting go of myself, learning hard lessons, learning to be content & peaceful in all circumstances, loving me as only a heavenly Father can!

Both Curtis and I feel that we are sitting here waiting for our life to begin. We are sitting on the edge of something and I feel peace that I have never felt. Can't wait to see what You are up to God! As much as we want to be in control and plan it out, You are asking us to trust You. It is a daily process of trusting...taking deep breaths...getting quiet with You...pulling ourselves out of the pit sometimes...crying tears of joy as Your provision comes through. Thank You God for loving us enough to build our faith & character. May we be able to keep swimming, waiting on You and riding the waves ahead.

virtual open house

2009-03-06T15:24:00.001-08:00

When we moved downstairs into the remodeled house in November we had every intention of hosting an open house in January. But with money being tight we haven't been able to do that. So...I decided to post some pictures of the mostly finished project so you could see it as it is now. Maybe some day we will have that open house.
The living room is part of the original house - built in the 30s. It has very low ceilings and I really didn't think I would like this room. But is is so cozy in the evenings. I am working on a mosaic tile project on the floor in front of the fireplace. Here is a picture of the fireplace that was bright red. I will put another picture of the mosaic when I get that done.

This is the opposite wall in the living room that has my grandma's piano she gave me.
The front door is in the living room but we barely seem to use it. Most everyone comes in the back door through the laundry room.

Our coffee table in this room used to be Curtis' grandparents dining room table. The legs were chopped down and it was made into a coffee table many years ago.

Here is a wall in our dining room. The dining room is a walk-through to the kitchen. Not my favorite but it works.

Our kitchen is really functional. We got these cabinets for free and they were a perfect fit! God totally took care of it!
They turned out great but painting them was a big project that I do not want to do again for a long time!
The kitchen and family room is the new part of the house. It has concrete floors and high ceilings. It is where we spend most of our time.

This is the spiral staircase I showed a long time ago. It is in the corner of the family room and leads to a TV room upstairs.

I thought I would show you the finished closet in Cody's room that Curtis and Cody designed and built themselves. It turned out pretty cool. Here is what the closet looks like lowered to the floor....

And this is what it looks like raised up into the ceiling....

I guess that is pretty cool when you are a thirteen year old boy. This closet makes mom a little nervous - I don't want anyone standing under it at all!

So...there are some of the pictures. I will show more later. You can come by any time you want and see it in person. While this house is definitely not our dream house that we left behind 2 years ago, it is still our home. We miss our old house and our old yard. I drive past it about 5 days a week taking the kids to school and it is sad to not live there anymore. It was our dream home and this one has many things about it that we would not choose - especially it's location. But God has us here for a reason and we look forward to seeing what He has in store for us. We are grateful to have a home.

simple things

2009-03-02T18:50:00.000-08:00

It really is the simple things in life that can put a smile on my face. This bowl is one of them. Our family owned a beach house at Rockaway for several generations and had to sell it several years back. This bowl is from the kitchen of that beach house. It has been filled with many a meal and many that I remember as a kid. My grandmother served a lot of sliced peaches for breakfast with a spoonful or two of sugar sprinkled over them - they were always delicious. We would pile way too many people into a very small cabin and around a fairly small table (a table I have here in my house - maybe I will show you that later).

This bowl is now cracked and chipped - but holds many memories of fun times in a fun place!
I am glad I have it and will treasure it always! I will enjoy the simple treasure that it is!

love day

2009-02-15T07:50:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Love day. We used to have a lot of fun with holidays but for the last two years has been a bit of a challenge. We had all of our stuff in storage and we lived in a 700 square foot apartment. There wasn't much room for non-essentials. But now that we have moved into the downstairs house and unpacked everything it has become much easier to play again.

For many years we got the Papa Murphy's heart shaped pizza for valentines dinner with the kids and then after they were in bed we would have the yummy grown up dinner. But now that they are older we all get to eat a great dinner together!
We had steak, garlic mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus for dinner. Then for dessert we had pound cake with strawberries and whipped cream. It was fabulous!!
Our kids spent a couple hours on Saturday making us some great cards. Emma made a card that opened into a flower - so fun!
Cody made a cool box that had two sides for me and two for Dad. It was filled inside with candy and notes. Our kids are pretty creative - they get it from their Dad!

After dinner we took some time for dancing to my favorite - Frank Sinatra. We had a lot of fun laughing at each other and goofing off.

I love this picture of my kids - even though they have their fighting moments it is so fun to watch the way that they love each other. I had to tear up a bit watching them dance - it was so sweet.

Then Emma got a whole song with her daddy. What is it about little girls and their daddy? She was wrapped around him the whole song. All I have to say....she better not dance that way with her boyfriend?!?! I know she probably won't...her daddy will make sure of that!

It was a great day. My hubby made me a bunch of little paper hearts with love notes and taped them all over the place yesterday morning. Some on the microwave, my computer monitor, the bathroom mirror, the washing machine and then one on my pillow last night.

I love celebrating my love for my family!

picture tag

2009-02-13T09:20:00.000-08:00

Julie asked to see my sixth picture in my sixth photo file...so....let me see....

I believe that is from Easter 2006. We hosted an annual Easter egg hunt at our house for many years. 2006 was the year that Sadie, Ande, Brian and Cody were in charge of it. They did the invites, planned everything, stuffed and hid all 550 eggs. They did a great job. The kids were so little and there are a bunch of kids that I do not know - they came with friends. Fun memories.

thank you

2009-02-12T15:08:00.000-08:00

Someone blessed our family with a very generous anonymous gift today. I have no idea who it is from but if you read this blog...thank you! It was very helpful to us!

Noah's Day

2009-02-10T16:03:00.000-08:00

It is the anniversary of the day we delivered our son, Noah. It was February 10, 1997. He would have been turning 12 years old this year and would have been our middle child. Each year is another milestone to recognize God's faithfulness to our family.

Thank you God for taking such good care of our boy since we didn't get to here on earth!

can't help but sing along!

2009-02-09T16:05:00.000-08:00

Cody shared this video with us from a retreat he went to this weekend. It is so catchy that we can't stop singing it!

looking back over the year

2009-02-02T17:34:00.000-08:00

Wow - I began this blog a little over a year ago. I started it at a time when I needed a distraction and I needed some simple joy in my life. This has been a difficult year to say the least!! I have had many seasons of trial in my past, but this season takes the prize. There have been many days that I thought for sure I had reached my limit and still God would ask me to take more. But God is so good to me. He takes such good care of my heart.

I have learned that I really am as strong as I thought I was and that I am stronger than I ever thought I could be. I learned that I am okay with having to watch my children suffer. I am truly okay with letting go of all this world has to offer.

I have learned that I had a lot of false belief regarding how the world works and how the institution of the church works. I have been disappointed and learned that there is no rescue other than from our God. The church is much larger than those four walls I attend each week and there is much (sometimes more) encouragement to be found outside of those walls than within them. Thank you God for blessing me through Your church!

I have learned that there are times to share your heart and times to protect it in a healthy way. That we people really do say the stupidest things sometimes. I have learned to accept those hurtful things and not allow them to damage my relationships but to press on assuming the best. Most of those hurtful comments really are not the issue, it is more my interpretation that is the issue.

I have learned to not judge. Being judged hurts. I will never look at people the same - when I see that girl with the new jeans who I know cannot afford them - I will never assume. She may have gotten them for free or bought them with a gift card she got for Christmas. How quick we are to judge one another when we do not have the whole story.

This year has pushed all the limits in my relationship with my husband. The stress and pressure can put a damper on the romance and love that you KNOW you have for one another. But when you are struggling with things like failure, hopelessness and sometimes desperation it can build a rather big wall between you. We spent this past weekend tearing down that wall - thank you Lord for the freedom that brings to us!

But God is bigger than all the stress, failure, fear, worry, doubt, disappointment and disillusionment that this world can bring. Thank you God for the gifts YOU gave - the painful, stretching - the offering of more of Yourself and less of the world! Thank You God for Your faithfulness to me - little old childish, selfish, scared and sometimes coming undone me. Me - Your warrior princess, Your trusting, beautiful, glorious creation, Your wanted trusted friend who is choosing to live in true contentment!

pray for cora

2009-01-29T20:59:00.001-08:00

please be praying for this sweet girl, Cora. follow her story on her parent's blog.

His love sets me free!

2009-01-16T07:11:00.000-08:00

this boy is becoming a man

2009-01-02T09:25:00.001-08:00

13 years ago we had a pretty great New Year's Eve Party! We spent the day in the hospital delivering our first child, Dakota (Cody). Our 8 pound gift from heaven arrived at 8:34 that night and life was never the same!

Cody was such a fun & giggling toddler-preschooler. He spent a lot of time riding on his horse, whom he lovingly named "bob".

Cody had a strong love affair with all heavy equipment. It was the main thing he talked about - forklifts, excavators, backhoes, dump trucks. He had shirts, books, movies, birthday parties all about construction equipment. Every time we were in the car he would point out any piece of equipment we would come across and he knew them all by name.

From the day she was born Cody has been a great big brother. He was so excited for us to have a baby and he even picked out the name Emma when I was pregnant. I love this picture because it shows how gentle and patient he has always been with his little sister. Lots of little kids love Cody and I look forward to seeing him with his own kids some day.

From the time Cody was a little boy he has been on a lot of job sites. He got his own work gloves and tool bag with real tools when he was 3. He knows more about building a building than most adults. He can tell you about trusses, perlins, girts, foundations, roofing, etc. and he has gotten to do a lot of work himself. I love that he knows how to paint, lay tile, install hardwood, use lots of different kinds of power tools, etc. Cody is a very hard worker and was even voted "hardest worker" when he went on a recent youth group mission trip. I love that he doesn't mind getting dirty and figuring stuff out.
Speaking of building....Cody has spent more hours building Lego's than you can imagine. He builds them the way they are supposed to go but he also loves to make his own creations. If you could earn money building Lego's, Cody would be a millionaire. Maybe he will be an architect when he grows up.
One of the coolest things about my son is that while he may seem reserved in public, he can be such a crazy man at home. He loves to have fun and he has one of the greatest laughs I have ever heard.

Cody is an incredible student and loves to learn. A couple of years ago he got to dissect a squid - he dove right in and loved all the learning that went right with it!

Cody spends hours reading - he can read a novel in about 5 days. It is a weird thing to have to tell your child to stop reading because he reads too much but we do have to do that sometimes.

He did his 6Th grade science project on bridges. He built 6 types of bridges out of Popsicle sticks. It is a perfect example of how hard he works at school. He goes to an accelerated program and even gets straight A's. We are so proud of him and how hard he works!
He is a very loyal friend. The friends that God has given him are all great boys - the kind you want your daughter to marry. Cody chooses friends very carefully and he commits to them. When I was looking back at all of his birthday party pictures, it is so many of the same boys year after year.
I look forward to the teenage years with this wise, brave, strong, determined man. The things he thinks about and ponders are deep (sometimes deeper than my mind goes). God has a hold of him and I know He will not let him go. I am so proud to be his mom and to have the opportunity to be a part of his life. Happy birthday Cody - may this be a year of new experiences, continued faith building, blessings in relationships and fun along the way! Thanks for being the best son I could dream of! I love you!

hmmmm.....

2008-12-20T22:58:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking & contemplating so much lately that honestly, I feel overwhelmed a lot. Even though I feel a very strong underlying sense of peace there is so much chaos in this brain of mine. And to be completely honest, some of the things I am thinking about may be too much for this blog.

We have been home a lot since Monday. My kids had 4 snow days this week, Christmas parties were cancelled, dance performances & classes were all cancelled, martial arts graduations were cancelled - all sad but forced down time is good. We have been productive - I finished unpacking a lot of boxes, we hung a lot of things on walls, I painted Cody's closet that comes down from the ceiling & I repainted Emma's bed & dresser to match her new colors in her room.

Cody, his two friends and I did venture out last night to the middle school overnight party - yes, I stayed all night. I did take 2 1-hour naps and then slept 4 hours this morning. They seemed to have a good time but they were all pretty tired this morning.

Curtis & I are praying for direction right now. Several big decisions and not sure what is right in some of the decisions. We want to hear from God. We want to know that we know that we are doing what HE would have us do - not just what we think is best. Waiting on You, Lord!

We are looking forward to a very simple Christmas this year. We only bought a couple of gifts and we are doing things different. "If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always got" - so we are approaching it differently. We made a few gifts and are doing a white elephant with Curtis' family. The snow has been a beautiful gift from God to remind me of how simple Christmas truly can be. I read my kids the complete Little House on the Prairie series several years ago and the snow makes me feel like I am living back then. No where I have to be - just being still & enjoying God's creation. Resting & enjoying my family.

Maybe when I can sort through more of my thoughts I will share them with you. Praying that you all enjoy the snow and are safe. Praying for health for sickness. Praying for God's provision for many. Praying for rest as you celebrate Christ's birth.

things we have been doing

2008-12-03T18:07:00.000-08:00

We had a quiet Thanksgiving this year. My brother moved away to Laos this year and wasn't going to be here visiting for the first time in many years. We also started moving out of our apartment on Wednesday and were moving the entire weekend so we took a break and spent a few hours at my parent's house on Thanksgiving day. This is a picture of me and my amazing son who has said several times lately that we do not have enough pictures of just the two of us together - so we thought we had better capture the moment.
These are my incredible parents who bless us constantly. They are such great examples of serving others - they both volunteer at too many places to count and are always ministering to those around them - especially us.

For dessert, my family is not really into pie. I know this is a sin - no pumpkin, no pecan, no pie period! So my mother decided to do something that they would all like instead. She created an ice cream sundae contest. Whoever had the most creative invention would receive a major prize - and it wasn't going to be a lamp in the shape of a leg!

Emma created an ice cream mountain with a chocolate slide on one side - she called it an avalanche - a very innovative idea!

Not sure what my normally very creative husband made - I think he was in a bit of hurry to eat all of that ice cream before it melted.

Cody made a blob head thing out of his - another formidable entry!

However, my creation won - I received a wonderful Starbucks gift card. It was a candy land forest with gummy bears on a chocolate/caramel trail. I thought it was pretty imaginative!
I guess there was evidence that the food was good - the table was beautiful but I forgot to take a picture of it before we ate everything. So here is the evidence of a great Thanksgiving dinner! Thank you Mr. or Mrs. Turkey for giving your life for our feast!

My adorable daughter, Emma (the one on the right) danced with her performing group friends the day after Thanksgiving at the festival of the trees. They were fantastic and amazing as always. I love watching her dance - she comes alive & is so in her element. I love that and honestly, am a little jealous of it at times. God has given her a special talent and she uses it with all of her heart. I am so proud of her!
On Sunday we went bowling with my hubby's family instead of going to church - shhhh...don't tell anyone! We then went to his sister's house for a great dinner.

Last night we took our kids out to dinner with a gift certificate we got for a gift - it was so fun to talk over dinner about heaven and our thoughts about God. We also went to see the tree in downtown Portland but for some mysterious reason it wasn't lit up last night - what the heck?!?! We had a beautiful time anyway, wandering through the relatively quiet city, hanging out with two of our favorite people.

Today my family and I visited with Mrs. Tappan for a half hour or so. Her husband who was 77 died in a tractor accident on May 11th. They had been married for 53 years and they had 5 or 6 kids. They own about 50 acres or so across the field from us and all of their children have homes on the land. The Tappan family believes in God and they will see each other again in heaven. What a great but bittersweet story she shared with us. He would consider himself lucky having died on his tractor - that was how he would have wanted it. What a beautiful testimony of what is really important in life. Thank you Mrs. Tappan for sharing your story with us and thank you God for the simple reminder today of what this life is really about.

Fight for Me?

2008-11-24T21:50:00.000-08:00

My dear friend shared a scripture with me the other day and I have been mulling it over in my mind. Right before she shared it I had been telling God that I knew how much He loved me, but I wasn't as sure about His continued desire to take care of me. The scripture passage was Exodus 14, specifically verses 13 & 14.

"And Moses said to the people, 'Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace'."

There are days that is still so hard for me to get my mind around. I don't "stand still" very well. It is something I have to work at doing. To have my mind rest is a struggle. When times get hard, I get busy. I feel I should be doing something, trying for fix things, getting control over things when everything is out of control.

But God is asking me to stand still and let Him fight for me. Will He fight for me? Will He defend me - go to battle for me as Moses sings about in chapter 15? Am I able to step on that dry land and trust that He will hold those walls of water up to rescue me?

Sometimes those enemies are huge! Sometimes the circumstances are too great to handle! Sometimes I want to just run away and give up!

But what He wants for me is to just let go, to rest, to stand still and trust HIM. He is good and His heart towards me is good. Thank you God for your word - that it is so true for today. Thank you that you love us and you fight on our behalf. Thank you for your provision and your care.

Never Too Old I Guess

2008-11-19T22:09:00.000-08:00

The other day my kids brought back some old memories of when they were little and loved playing together all the time. It is true that kids can be entertained for hours with a box and never even see the toy inside of it!

They decided to walk around the house in it together - the step was quite a challenge! Not to mention all the cords - don't they know this is still a construction site???They finally ended up in the living room where they made it into a cool fort - it is still there 5 days later! It was so fun for us parents to watch them laughing so hard and acting like little kids again - I sometimes miss those days!
Especially on days like today when I had to take them shopping for pants at the mall - oh, the days when I got to just pick out their clothes myself. Didn't have to discuss why those ones won't work because they are too expensive or not appropriate or not the right size.

As I was having a pity party for myself while waiting outside the dressing room - I saw a young mom with her stroller just picking out clothes for her little son. She looked so peaceful, just strolling along, picking out whatever she liked or could afford. But then he had a messy diaper and she had to stop what she was doing and head to the restroom.

It is a trade off - every season has its joys and struggles! The blessing comes in learning how to be content in every season - being able to say "thank you, God" for this season!

Counting down the days & praying

2008-11-06T20:38:00.000-08:00

We spent the whole weekend making a lot of dust...sanding away the old look of the wood floor. Here I am on Saturday saying goodbye the basketball floor for good.
Here it is yesterday after many layers of sanding and putting a natural sealer on it. Our house has smelled of oranges for 4 days now.
The kids have been learning a lot of different trades since we started this project. Grouting is a fun one - spreading all that "mud".

I continue to paint away at the cabinets a little at a time. Finally doing the doors in red.

Tonight we taught the kids to lay tile floor. They are doing the floor of their bathroom. I hope they will appreciate it so much more each morning they stand on it to brush their teeth.

We played christmas music tonight as we worked to get ourselves movitvated to be in this house by Christmas!

I will show you the bathroom when we get it done.

Praying also tonight for my dear friend Ashley, who lost her mother to cancer last night. We love you Shaddys!

Also, praying for our good friends the Delamarters who are celebrating the birth of their sweet baby Kate - can't wait to see her tomorrow!

Okay, Okay...I have been tagged!

2008-11-05T10:58:00.000-08:00

Two of my sweet friends, Mere & Mara, tagged me. So I am gonna take a minute to respond. Here are 7 random facts about myself:

1. I can spread my toes apart like fingers. It is quite a talent - too bad I could not win a scholarship for such a gift!

2. When I was 18 years old my mother let me & my friend Amy leave with backpacks to travel around Europe for 4 weeks. Just made it up as we went along. It was such a cool experience. I love to travel although I haven't gotten to much in my adult life. Getting a map and exploring an unknown place is something I love to do!!!

3. I like preschool. I love the age and kids. A couple of years ago I was a substitute preschool teacher for the year. It was amazingly fun.

4. When I get upset I like to clean/organize. Purging is a passion!! My kids will definitely need some counseling over how much stuff I have made them get rid of. At least when I die they will not be able to say I was a pack rat (their father however, may make up for it!)

5. I am a rule follower by nature. God has had to really work on me in this area - teaching to let go and loosen up.

6. Even though I was bit through my lip by a dog as a young girl & I have never really liked dogs, I love my dog! He loves me unconditionally and is excited to see me all the time - even if I just ran to the garage for a second. He has brought us a lot of joy this year during many trials.

7. I really do not enjoy to cook. I love to eat! Especially when someone else makes the food. But cooking is just not something I am passionate about. It is fun to make stuff that my family likes to eat. But it seems like a lot of work to then have it gone in moments.

There I finally did it! Sorry it took me awhile girls. I know you will probably not like this...but, I am not planning to tag 7 more people. I am going to be super naughty and break the rules. Aren't you proud of me?!?!? God must be really doing a good job on healing me of that obsession.

I am now giving in to the pressure and tagging my children. So Cody & Emma, you are tagged!

Coming along...

2008-10-30T19:42:00.001-07:00

The cabinets are slowly but surely moving along. I decided to go ahead with the red color. I painted them inside with a muslin color. The doors aren't done yet, but all the drawers are. We are trying out a few different back splashes to see what we like with the tile.
We got a screaming deal on tile counter tops and since we know how to lay tile that is what we went with. Tonight will be my final coat on the posts for the eating bar. Then it is on to grout and cabinet doors.
Curtis is sanding all this week to get our basketball flooring ready. It is starting to look so good.
We have to go over it three times before it is ready to seal. The first time over it is the hardest because it was finished flooring when we bought it. All those green, red and yellow sections are a challenge to sand.
Curtis is working so hard. Last night he was up until 2:30 am. Tonight he has already been at it for a few hours. I think I will stick to the painting even though I'm sooo sick of it. Would you want to be bent over like that for 7 hours at a stretch - no thanks!!
Good job, honey!

I will show some more photos this weekend - pray for smooth sailing!

let's pray for a miracle!

2008-10-15T21:46:00.001-07:00

Please pray for Tricia tonight. She received bad news today regarding her health. Check out her blog at http://www.cfhusband.blogspot.com. This family has been through way more than a family should have to endure. Pray also for her husband Nate and baby Gwenyth.

changes & cabinets

2008-10-15T21:03:00.000-07:00

To think that this is what the house downstairs looked like only last year. Man this family has gotten a lot done!

We put in heated concrete floors in the kitchen that we then stained. I think they will look pretty good in the end. This is the corner where the kitchen is now.
These are the cabinets our friends, the Morrells, gave to us. They were in great shape for as old as they are. Thanks Morrells. Thanks Dad & Mark for helping us move them home. Thanks to the Dillon's home group for sanding and prepping them for us. Thanks Mark for helping us install them last week. Wow - we have had a lot of help on this kitchen!
Here is what they look like currently since I have primed them. Tonight we will start painting them inside and out. You will have to see a finished picture later....
This is all the doors and drawers laying all over the living room as they are being primed. Notice we still have flooring like a basketball floor...that was put off until next week. Kitchen was a priority to get moving on.
My hubby has trimmed out a great post and built some cool cubbies for books and games that I am excited about. I am looking forward to this breakfast bar too.
We got enough free cabinets that we put in a built in desk across from the kitchen. You will have to stay tuned to see the cabinets painted. This was the hardest decision in a while! I could not make up my mind. Dark brown or deep red???? I finally made my decision today and the paint starts tonight! I hope I like it.

time for playing

2008-10-13T12:36:00.001-07:00

Yesterday our baby turned one! We started the morning with a bone, peanut butter and a candle while singing to our favorite furry friend! We thank God for this bundle of joy - who loves us unconditionally and is always excited to see us (even if we just walked out of the room for a minute or two!)

I am not sure about this photo! Who the heck are these kids? They did about 6 different shots being very strange. They had gone roller skating the night before and were having a restful Sunday morning. Maybe we need to do a little more of this relaxin thing!
As we headed out to the pumpkin patch Sunday afternoon I found this on the wall. Hello!! Excuse me, but spiders like this are not allowed on the wall of the house. If I find something like this on the inside of the house, I am outta here! Yuck!
When the kids were little we always went to pomeroy house for pumpkins, but then school field trips always took us to Bizi Farms. So this year we returned to one of my favorite spots to hunt for pumpkins. It was a beautiful day!!

Curtis wanted to give the kids a little love squeeze while we waited for the hay ride. Notice there is no line? It was fabulous!!!

The four of us sat at the back for the best view (according to our kids).

After they dropped us off at the pumpkin patch, Emma found one she liked right away! She likes the small cute round ones that are easy to carve and carry!

Cody on the other hand searched the entire field for the big one he wanted. He & Curtis make quite a masterpiece so it has to be just so. We tried to keep up with Cody but he was long gone!

Luckily, we brought along our muscles so we could get it back to the wagon...
We continued the hayride down pumpkin lane which is beautiful. It has several cool old barns and about 80 pumpkin characters along the route.

The ride is about a mile and the pumpkin folks were fun to see.
This is my ideal place for a pumpkin patch - nestled in the hills - I wanted to stay all day!
After the hay ride, we met a very friendly goat and some other animals at the barn.

One of these days when we can finish our outside fence, we want to get a couple goats.
We ended our trip by watching this rooster sleep on one foot on top of a stump. What is he thinking? Doesn't he know how dangerous that is?

Thank you God for fall and your creation. We are so blessed to live in the northwest!!

My Faithful God

2008-10-09T20:12:00.000-07:00

"My faithful God, help me to call this to mind and therefore always have hope: because of Your great love, I am not consumed, for Your compassions never fail. They are new toward me every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I will say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him." (Lamentations 3:22-24)

The main thing I have learned over this last year of uncertainty is that my God is faithful. It has almost been a year since we stopped getting regular paychecks. A year since our life drastically changed. And though there have been many many months where it on paper it can make no sense how we lived, God has been faithful. He has provided when we needed Him to. He has made a way for us to survive during this time.

He has provided more than just for our earthly needs. He has provided comfort when no comfort could be found. He has provided calm in the midst of many storms. He has provided rest when no rest could be found. He has provided hard lessons that have sometimes hurt. He has provided testing that always brought us back around to Him.

And while I have sometimes cried out for this season to end, it has been bittersweet. It has taught me that He is faithful. It has taught me that His heart toward me is good. It has forced me to know that His compassion's never fail. It has taught me to hope in Him alone.

I don't know when or even if this season will end for our family. The world is so uncertain for many - and thankfully this world is not really our home. Our time here is temporary. Thankfully there is more than we can see.

Enough contemplating...better get to work. I am "the subs" for this remodel project. We are refinishing some old cabinets some family friends gave us. They fit perfectly for our space. I am priming them tonight and then painting them this weekend. Can't decide if I should paint them chocolate brown like my fireplace or a deep rich reddish color. Hmm..have to decide by the morning. Maybe it will come to me while I work tonight!

A Productive Day!

2008-10-04T19:55:00.000-07:00

Today we were blessed by a home group from our church that came to help out for the morning. They installed shelving, started all the sanding of the kitchen cabinets, sanded windows for trim to be installed, and did a lot of painting.
Here is a group shot of them after the lunch they provided. It was so nice to have so much help. We got a lot done in the hours they were here and it definitely boosted our spirits!

Most of the interior wall painting is now complete. Here is a photo with the fireplace I started a month or so ago. We still have to do the tile in front of it. Right now it is the storage spot for our musical inspiration while we work!

This is Cody's room. He did two walls lime and two white. The contraption made of wood is actually a closet that comes down out of the ceiling with a remote. I am told this is pretty cool. We still have to paint it but it is close to being done.
Notice the window trim got installed today also. Andrew came over after the other crew left to help out for awhile.

Emma's paint and window trim was completed today also. The pink and tan looks really great together - but the basketball flooring has got to go! It should be a beautiful maple floor after this next week.

Our bedroom has a color I am liking more all the time. It has a bluish-green color on a couple walls and then the tan on the other two. Our floor is a stained heated concrete floor that I hope I will like.

It was so nice to get so much done in one day. It has been a slow but steady process and we are thinking we will meet our goal of Thanksgiving. Thank you to all the people who have blessed us so much this week. You have lifted our spirits more than you can imagine!!

the fun painting begins

2008-10-02T20:56:00.000-07:00

The kids finally got their paint this week and started making the rooms their own. Emma is doing 2 pink and 2 tan walls in her room with all of her pink, brown and orange decor. She is really excited to unpack all of her stuff and get it back into her own space.
Cody is going for a pretty daring color. He is doing two of the walls a very bright lime green. I was a little nervous about it a first, but I really like it on the wall. He & Curtis are building a secret closet that comes down out of the ceiling since his room did not have a closet. It is going to be a "dream" for a boy I have been told. His friend that came to help paint thought the closet was the coolest thing!

We are having a work day this weekend and hope to have all interior painting complete. Then the hardwood will get refinished and the trim installed. The end is in sight!

Today I was blessed by my MIL and SIL who came and cleaned my apartment while I was gone. It was nice to have the space we are living in be clean since the remodel makes such a mess. Thanks friends and family for all the support!!

Weary to the core!!!

2008-09-30T20:41:00.000-07:00

I feel like a walking zombie right now! I really don't remember a time in my life when I have been this tired. For some reason I haven't been sleeping well - awake constantly and just not feeling good at night. Then the days are so cram-packed that I feel like I can barely see straight.

We are trying to make a big push to finish the downstairs by Thanksgiving so we can move our kids into their own bedrooms. We finally got the sheet rock done and now the painting has begun. I painted the ceilings today in between my regular life and working so that tomorrow my kids can get their bedrooms painted. I like painting fine, but painting a house inside and out by hand in a year and a half is enough to give you arthritis in your hands! Honestly, I am so sick of it that I really don't even care any more how it looks. This weekend we are hoping to sand and seal our "basketball" hardwood flooring. I will be sure to post a before and after photo.

Next week we start refinishing the two sets of cabinets that we got for free. Which by the way, match each other perfectly - thank you God for providing. Doing all of this of this in the midst of taking care of a family, working, volunteering, etc is getting to be a little challenging.

We continue to pray for God's provision for us - for a peace in the midst of the storm - for a supernatural ability to trust Him. He is good and has taken good care of us over this last season.

I had better get to bed - I think I hear a Tylenol PM calling my name....

walking for a cure!

2008-09-22T08:30:00.001-07:00

Sunday morning, bright and early, a group of us women and girls headed down to "big city" for a very cool fundraiser for cancer research. We stopped at pioneer square for a group photo.

We got to be right at the start line, under the cool balloon arch!

We took lots of combinations of group photos at this point. I think a few of the women around us were not too amused, but we had a great time taking pictures of each other.
Here we are walking down Broadway in the mass of people. It is cool to be a part of something so big!
Then of course, since we were so close, we had to treat ourselves to a little bit of heaven! My daughter will probably want to kill me if she sees this photo?!?!?
We love you saint cupcake!
It was a great time and it didn't even rain a drop on us.

Oh, How I Love Them!!

2008-09-17T08:14:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, my dear friend Annette and I went to spend some time "helping" the MOM's ministry girls at our church get ready for the season. I say help them loosely - mostly I just sit there in awe of how much they get done! These women are so beyond what I was when I was a starting out mom! I was lucky most days to just get dressed and make dinner. Many of them do canning, bake homemade bread, have businesses, make all kinds of incredible crafty things and they serve people. I love being around them - they give me energy and inspiration. Yesterday one of them, who is a kindred spirit, gave me this wonderful verse that I want to share:

"Oh, bless our God, you peoples!

and make the voice of His praise to be heard,

Who keeps our soul among the living,

and does not allow our feet to be moved.

For You, O God, have tested us;

You have refined us as silver is refined.

You brought us into the net;

you laid affliction on our backs.

You have caused me to ride over our heads;

We went through fire and through water;

but You brought us out to rich fulfillment."

Psalm 66:8-12

Thank you girls for being yourselves and sharing who you are with others!

my song for now

2008-09-11T08:14:00.001-07:00

This song is my song for this season of my life. I find myself singing it all the time and it ministers to my soul. I choose to not be moved!

a fun give-away!!!

2008-09-09T17:11:00.000-07:00

Click on her name to check out this amazing give-away from my artist friend, Michelle. She does incredible work and is an incredible person as well. We gave my sister-in-law one of her creations last year for Christmas and she llllooovvveeddd it!!!

Sad to see it go....

2008-09-04T15:51:00.001-07:00

I don't know what it is about the end of summer every year, but it is such a mixed bag of emotions for me. Fall is wonderful! It brings structure, fresh starts, fun stuff to participate in, soup, chilly mornings with gorgeous days - all things I love! I really do enjoy sending my kids off to a new year of school. But part of me is soooo sad to see it go! My mom and I took the kids to the beach for one last day in the sand last Friday. Time to sit still, enjoy the ocean, build castles and forts, run in the waves - all things we love about the beach!

I am sad to see them go! Sad to have them wake up to alarm clocks and rush out the door all the time. Sad to tell them they cannot lay around in PJ's like when they were little kids. Sad to watch them carry around those heavy textbooks and have all that homework.

I miss them already and it is only the first week!! Here is to a great year of 7th and 5th grade!!

Fun Memories

2008-08-31T07:44:00.001-07:00

We have some places our family loves to go where we have a lot of fun memories. One of them is a mountain cabin we have been going to for the last 8 years. Here is a photo of us one of the first times we visited with our friends the Martins. The kids were pretty little.
Now here we were there together this summer - eight years later. The kids have definitely grown up but the adults look better and much wiser?!?!? Maybe a little more tired too.
Thanks Martins for keeping the traditions alive with us! We love you guys!

She turns ten!

2008-08-26T22:09:00.000-07:00

Where has the time gone that we now no longer have a single-digit child in our household!?!?! It just seems like yesterday I held this beautiful 8 lb, 5 ounce darling in my arms and now she has turned 10.
She has always been our little star - loving to perform and be dramatic! Emma has the sweetest smile and had the cutest chubby checks as a baby girl. She has always been a major snuggler which blesses those around her - always touching and sitting close - we love it!!
One of the things I so love about her is her love for all things "girl" while still loving to be on a horse, or get dirty and have fun!!
Emma has been dancing since she was born and this picture is so the essence of how she is - being carefree and dancing around in the sun!
This wild, crazy and dramatic child is so different than me - always needing structure and control - I love how God made her this way! Emma doesn't mind being silly and loves to have a good time! We pray that this passion for life will always continue.

She is also extremely responsible (which I am sure must have come from me!?!?) She recently started 4-H and did a great job "herding" the dogs on the bench at the fair. Emma loves all things with four feet - especially horses and dogs! We are so very proud of her dedication and hard work at whatever she does! My prayer is that this will be a trademark of who she is for the rest of her life.

We celebrated her 10th birthday this weekend by getting some much needed time of rest at our friend's cabin. We headed out for a hike on Saturday morning and this is what we were met with by our sweet & loving pre-tween....(hopefully, we will not be seeing this too often)...

But after hiking for an hour or so uphill, she returned to her normal self - smiling but still begging to turn back! She did hike for two hours up the mountain with a cold and it was her birthday after all - we can be so mean sometimes. The view and the scenery was worth it though!

Emma is very excited to be 10 - she is now two full hands!!!

Today we had our "friends" party at a friends house that has a beautiful pool. She and 5 of her fabulous friends had a great, great time swimming and playing in the pool. What is so fun for me is to see how many of her friends she has had for years. She loves her friends and God has blessed her with great ones! We pray He will continue to provide these great friendships as we travel through the coming years.

Okay this picture scares me just a bit. I am not sure which of the girls had this idea, but they wanted me to get a picture of them with all lined up on the chairs with their "drinks with little umbrellas". This is such a fun age - still little girls at heart but wanting soooo badly to be so grown up. I love my precious, fun, wild, free-spirited, smart, strong-willed, sometimes stubborn, affectionate, passionate and loyal 10 year old very much!!!!

I am so glad God chose you Emma to be our gift from heaven - we cannot imagine our life without you and all that you are. You are an amazing treasure and gift to those around you! We pray for many rich blessings for you this coming year!!

my family

2008-08-10T07:56:00.001-07:00

I have been meaning to post about this for awhile. While my brother was home for the summer my mom wanted to get some pictures of our family all together and my friend Julie was sweet enough to play around for an evening with us. We had a fun time taking pictures.
I love this one of my parents and my kiddos!
Emma and my mom got a couple shots together
Here is one of me and "little" brother

Me and my honey...

It was so bright where we were that Cody needed shades in between shots

The men in the family humored Julie and I with this one - but I love it!

Thanks Julie for doing this for us. We are having our own family pictures taken next week by Nicci and I cannot get our clothes figured out. We are going to try to even take some with Tucker. I will post some of the pictures when I get them.

House Update

2008-07-30T08:46:00.001-07:00

I realized it has been over six months since I updated about our remodeling project we are in the middle (please say end?!?) of. We have never remodeled a house together that we actually live in and I can now see why. Besides the added stress we currently have in our life...like shutting down a 15-year company and loss of income...we have had the joy of this additional stress on top of it. Maybe this is why my eye won't stop twitching!!

I think I may need to check into an insane asylum!

We have now finished framing the kid's future bedrooms - we added a couple closets and my daddy just completed all the wiring - praise God for Dad's who can help so much!!

Last week we purchased 900 square feet of flooring from the "Hoop" that was bought by the Russian church. I think a basketball court would look fabulous in my living room, dining room and kid's bedrooms - don't you?? We will post a picture of the finished flooring someday.
There was a fireplace that was painted very bright red in the living room - so the kids and I primed it this week to say goodbye to the red!
You will have to stay tuned to see the completed fireplace - I will be painting it the same color as the front door and the chimney outside. Hopefully that will be done before Curtis puts the flooring in front of it - I had better get going!!

Curtis had this very cool idea to write all over the sub flooring. We are putting lots of scriptures and sayings we want to declare for our family. Emma has had a lot of fun with this and when Cody returns from camp next week he can add a bunch.

Emma thought we should put our family mission statement right inside the front door - good idea guys! It is nice to know we are covered in the word of God under our feet every day!

I am confident we will all survive this season and look back with "fond" memories. We will definitely be able to say God provided - which if for nothing else, makes it all worth it!

the big falls - with a celebrity!

2008-07-17T17:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we headed out to enjoy a God-given beauty that is so close to home. Multnomah Falls was calling our names and we wanted to hike to the top! We even took Tucker along and he did a great job once he had his harness on!
This shot of the kids and I was taken about half way up the hike to the top .

Once we got to the top Tucker had a nice bath in the mountain water and we enjoyed lunch on some great big rocks.

There were a few mysterious caves along the path that the kids fit perfectly into!

We made it safely back down for snow cones and ice cream cones at the lodge. Tucker was quite a celebrity at the falls. So many people were asking about him and wanting to pet him. At the end a group of 10 south Korean college students stopped to touch him and drool over him - they were so fascinated they were all posing for a picture with "Tuckar". It began to get a little ridiculous! It must be how the family of a famous person feels - a little invisible.

It was a great outing!

loving flowers

2008-07-16T15:42:00.001-07:00

Yesterday my parents, my brother, the kids and I went to check out the rose garden in the big city across the river. The weather was perfect and we had a good time wandering around the gardens.
We checked out all the different varieties of roses and even tried smelling a lot of them!
Some of them even smelled so good, Emma considered maybe eating one of them!!

We went to play in the park which happens to be a park my brother and I played at when we were kids. I think they still had the same slide and teeter-totters from the 70's.

Afterwards, we took them to this favorite spot of mine to have a few "dots". They were delicious as always!

cave exploring

2008-07-12T13:18:00.001-07:00

The kids, my brother and I headed off Friday for the Ape Caves to be nice and cool in the midst of the heat. We stopped at a small attraction near the caves to do the underground tunnel at the Trail of Two Forests. My kids went through it about 4 times and my brother even gave it a shot. As for me, no thanks!

After lunch we all headed down into the big caves. With it being about 40 degrees and slightly windy inside the cave, we quickly put on hoodies. It is about a 30 minute hike in and then you turn around.
We were glad we had good flashlights because it is pitch black inside. It is also good to wear a hat or hooded sweatshirt to avoid the water dripping on your head the whole time.
We were able to get a shot or two of us in the dark.

Thank you God for the mysteries you create and that we are able to enjoy them!

celebrating freedom!

2008-07-07T21:44:00.000-07:00

After celebrating at a big party in the afternoon, we decided to forgo our annual tradition at the Fort Vancouver and just stay home with some friends. We had several friends over and just relaxed until dark. Luckily, we didn't go to the fort because I ended up with lovely pink eye that evening. With every loud boom, I thought my head would explode!!

This year the girls really got into the fireworks. They were all wanting a turn to blow something up - they were giddy from the excitement!

My brother joined us since our parents ditched us for a fancy cruise on the columbia to watch the big show! Actually, we sent them off with our blessings.

The evening was gorgeous!!

Not too hot or cold

and perfect for sparklers

and blowing up big stuff!!

We ended the show about 11:00 and dad was out cold by 11:10 - He was done for the day!!

Happenings

2008-07-02T09:02:00.000-07:00

When summer comes, that means we spend more time riding in our dad's 1968 Nova. This photo was just a couple days before us girls chopped of our hair. Our hair blows around a lot in this car, since it was made before air conditioning =).
Last week we went to a dinner party that a few of us had purchased at an auction. It was at the Dillon's house and prepared for us by the pastors of our church. It was a beautiful night in a great backyard.
The food was fabulous and the friends were great.

Notice how the two hip ones with the short hair (Val & I) are on the left side and the ones who are still hanging on to those longer locks (Shannon & Amy) are on the right.

Thanks Bruce, Vicky, Chris, Diana, Aimee, Connie & Carol for a wonderful dinner!!

Then this week, my son and hubby and brother are off to here....

My son and his small group boys were looking forward to a great week. Thank you God for opportunities to get closer to you and to others.

Being a pilgrim

2008-06-20T07:10:00.000-07:00

This devotional came today from Ransomed Heart - it relates so much to what I have been thinking about, wrestling with. Being the pilgrim on the pilgrimage is so scary sometimes. It it is risky and dangerous. But then so was Christ!

Surrender06/20/2008
The time has come for us to quit playing chess with God over our lives. We cannot win, but we can delay the victory, dragging on the pain of grasping and the poison of possessing. You see, there are two kinds of losses in life. The first is shared by all mankind—the losses that come to us. Call them what you will— accidents, fate, acts of God. The point is that we have no control over them. We do not determine when, where, what, or even how. There is no predicting these losses; they happen to us. We choose only how we respond.
The second kind is known only to the pilgrim. They are losses that we choose. A chosen loss is different from repentance, when we give up something that was never ours to have. With a chosen loss, we place on the altar something very dear to us, something innocent, whose only danger is in its goodness, that we might come to love it too much. It is the act of consecration, where little by little or all at once, we give over our lives to the only One who can truly keep them. Spiritual surrender is not resignation. It is not choosing to care no longer. Nor is it Eastern mysticism, an attempt to get beyond the suffering of this life by going completely numb. As my dear friend Jan describes, “It is surrender with desire, or in desire.” Desire is still present, felt, welcomed even. But the will to secure is made subject to the divine will in an act of abandoned trust. Think of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. (The Journey of Desire , 192–93)

We did it!!

2008-06-18T17:50:00.000-07:00

Well, Emma and I decided about 6 months ago to grow our hair for locks of love and today we finally had enough hair to donate. We ended up cutting 8 1/2 inch ponytails and are donating them to Pro-V because they require less length. Here is my hair way back in January when we started out.

And here it is today. It is going to take me a bit of time to get used to it, but I think I will like it. It feels so light and free.
We had such a fun time and Emma looks absolutely adorable. She has some more photos on her blog also. It was fun to be able to do it together and it feels good to be able to help out such a great cause.

I FINALLY WON SOMETHING!!!

2008-06-16T20:58:00.000-07:00

My incredible photographer friend, Nicci, had a contest and I actually won! When we get our photos done, I will share them with you. Our family has never really had a good family portrait done and this is such a huge blessing for us! Thank you Nicci!!!

wrapping up the school year!

2008-06-15T08:47:00.001-07:00

Emma has a big dance recital every year at the end of the school year. This year she was in 5 numbers and had 3 different costumes. It is always a fabulous production and a very long week. We had dance 7 out of 8 days this last week. Lots of hair and make up to do every day. But it was a huge success and she had a lot of fun!!

Our friends Canon and Elsie came to watch dress rehearsal mid-week.

We are thankful for our dance school - great teachers, students and parents! Emma has loved her classes.Emma also wrapped up her final year at King's Way. We had a fun party with her class that she has loved. She was very tearful when I picked her up from school on Friday. Even though she loves her school very much, she is looking ahead to a new adventure!

Cody also had a year-end party this week out at a park. We had great weather and the kids had a fun time. They played kickball with pools for the bases.

They then had a water gun battle with boys vs. girls. The teachers even got in on the battle. It was fun to watch from a distance!

We are so thankful to be winding down a great school year. We love summer vacation!! This year we are looking forward to spending time with my brother before he leaves for Laos next month.

Check it Out!

2008-06-13T21:29:00.000-07:00

My friend Eryn opened up an Etsy shop for her creative designs and is having a great giveway. Link over to check it out. Her stuff is super cute and she is a wonderful person that I am thankful to know!

What is it with Star Wars?!?!

2008-06-04T16:52:00.000-07:00

What is the deal with Star Wars? My family is really in to it. They all love the books and the movies and the kids even played a lot of star wars make believe for years, but I really don't get it. This girl in the video - that I saw on Meg's blog - explains it about how I would!

beach fun

2008-06-03T20:14:00.001-07:00

My parents rented a house in Salishan for a week. The kids headed down Thursday to have some fun in the sun on Friday. They dug a huge hole in the sand with my brother and had a beautiful day on Friday. We came down with Tucker Friday night for the weekend. We took several walks and sat around a lot.
There was lots of time for good conversation. It was the quietest beach I had ever seen - we rarely saw any other people. There are also no street lights in this gated community so it was very dark and peaceful at night.

My brother, Berk, who moved home for a couple months before heading to Laos in July, spent a lot of time with the kids. They got up early Saturday morning and built us this little shelter. Isn't it great!!

Tucker enjoyed lots of stick chasing. He also went out running with Curtis and did a couple early morning walks with me. He was exhausted by the time we came home!

The sand at the beach was beautiful. I got several fun photos of it. It is amazing to think that God knows each piece of sand.

The kids and Curtis were so relaxed they laid down for a quick rest on the sand. Tucker decided to get in on the act. He even buried his face in the sand while he was laying here with them.

Before heading home we did our best at getting a group shot. It was a nice peaceful trip and was a great chance to get away from the routine and chaos of life. Thanks Dad and Mom for a great time to rest. We hope you enjoy the rest of the week.

ps. they really didn't build that shelter - we found a couple of them at the end of the beach. Cool though!! We thought we would take credit for it.

Do we have to come home?!?!

2008-06-01T09:50:00.000-07:00

My parents are treating my family and brother to a time away in Salishan (which if you have never visited, I highly recommend!). We are enjoying great weather, fun in the sand, the quietest beach I have ever visited, good food, time playing and time to contemplate. My hubby even had time to update his blog this weekend.
Now the dilemna begins...they are staying all week and we don't want to come home. In the grand scheme of life, what is a few more days away from school, work, responsibility! When we do ever come home, I will post photos!

Happy Love Day, Honey!

2008-05-26T19:32:00.000-07:00

Today is our 18th wedding anniversary. I have now known my husband longer than I did not know him. We actually went to youth group together when I was in the 9th grade but didn't start dating until my senior year. We dated for four years before getting married in 1990.
We went to my senior prom together. The theme was from the movie "Stand by Me". We worked in youth ministry together the entire time we dated.

We have been through a lot in these 18 years. Many ups and many downs. Thank you God for blessing us with each other and our family. Here is to another 18 years babe!

Celebrating with Friends

2008-05-24T09:09:00.001-07:00

Last night a bunch of us girls all ventured into the big city across the river to celebrate a 40th birthday for our wonderful friend Annette. Here are a few of our fabulous friends, LeeAnn, Michelle, and Trish hanging out in Anthropologie before dinner.

Our home group girls Ashley, Kim and Julie helped plan the big celebration.

Mara even got Annette to sample some delicious sushi. By the end of the evening I think Annette had sampled a small bite of everyone's dinner!

We then sang and had her blow out a candle to celebrate turning the big 40!!! Annette is one of my dearest friends! Curtis and I are so thankful for her and her family and their friendship.

Annette posed for photos with each of the tables. Here is Ashley, Jamie, Trish, Julie, LeeAnn and Annette - what beautiful girls!!

Here is Annette again with Trish, Vicky, Heather, Me and Mara - more amazing women!!

This particular group had to get their picture taken about 10 times before we could get a good shot - but aren't they incredible!! Thanks Michelle, Patti, Laura and Dawn for humoring Annette as she wanted the perfect photo!

Thanks girls for a fun night of celebrating our wise, fun, brave and fabulous-at-40 friend Annette!!

What do you say honey?!?!

2008-05-22T14:37:00.000-07:00

Other than the surfing, wouldn't that be awesome! What do you say, honey, do you want to hit the road with me?!?! Think of all the time we would have and the places we would see. Plus we would get to hang out with our kids all the time and not be bound to this insane schedule. I'm ready!

Reasoning Together

2008-05-18T23:13:00.000-07:00

Tonight with our home group after some time of prayer, we shared some questions we wish we could understand...things we are wrestling through with God. Things like, why do bad things happen that seem unfair, does God really love me, do I really believe all this stuff in the Bible, can I trust that God is really going to come through with taking care of me?, etc.

So when I got home I was reading Oswald Chambers devotional for tomorrow (I know, I shouldn't read ahead, but sometimes I can't help it). He was talking about some of our questions and the reference was Romans 8. He said "God does not keep a man immune from trouble; He says - I will be with him in the trouble." Romans 8:35 says "who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or harship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?" We are not promised to not have those things but to be able to be more than conquerors in those things (vs. 37).

The questions Oswald poses are "can God's love hold when everything says that His love is a lie? Can we not only believe in the love of God but be more than conquerors even while being starved? " We have to choose to hold on to the love of God when the odds are all against God's favor. We have to surrender our expectations, our fleshly desires and choose to believe. Trusting that God is who He says He is and laying down our own lives as we walk through those trials. Fortunately the passage ends with Romans 8:39 saying that nothing in all of creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus!

Thank you God that even when I can not fully understand, your word to me is so very clear! Help me Lord to be able to take those things I know with my head and feel them fully in my heart.

laughter is good for the soul!

2008-05-02T08:54:00.000-07:00

Curtis and I have been missing laughter. We used to laugh a lot around here but it has been a challenge to find things worth laughing at lately. I love to listen to my kids laugh!! Last night they sat at the computer with me watching a few fun youtube videos on a friend's blog. They were hilarious and my kids were cracking up! Thanks valerie for a good laugh - we needed it.

We have this new favorite picture of our kids that we keep putting everywhere to remind us how good laughter is for the soul. It is from our trip to Disneyworld in October. Our kids were riding the animal safari ride which is their grandfather's (Pop) favorite ride. They were not amused and were just staring at the guy driving the boat with stonecold stares. They were thinking...Where is the thrill - the excitement? You have got to be kidding? These animals aren't real! This is a lame ride!!!

Then suddenly they were sprayed with water and we caught it on camera. It was hilarious for us parents as we watched.

Maybe this ride wasn't so bad! Maybe we didn't need a big roller coaster to have fun - just enjoy the simple things in life - find joy in everything! What a good reminder and lesson for us.

ponderings.....

2008-04-29T22:39:00.000-07:00

I guess I have been in a blogging slump for a bit now. Do you ever have times in your life where your brain is swirling so fast and you are mulling over so many things, that your brain just becomes mush?!?! That is where I am at right now.
I feel like God is showing so much to me that I just can't keep up. And honestly, there are many times through this process that I just want to crawl back into bed and pull the sheets over my head and wish it all away. But, then what would I be missing? I would miss Him trying to give me more of who is He is. I would miss all the lessons He is trying to teach me. I would miss the healing - even if it is extremely painful.
And on that note...why is healing so painful anyway! It makes sense that it would hurt to get the wounds in the first place. And it makes sense that the surgery hurts. But why does the healing have to hurt too? Shouldn't the healing of our hearts be soothing, comforting, reassuring!?!? Sometimes it feels like the healing even hurts worse. Thank you Lord, that is by your wounds that we are healed!
I have been thinking over this verse for a bit now. James 1:2 says "consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds..." What did that just say?!?!? Come on now- "pure joy" - can't we just endure or try to survive? Having the joy is easy to talk about and want to do and believe in your head. But then when the trials come there are many days I do not want to consider this with pure joy! I am finding that the only way to have that pure joy is from God. He is the only one who can give it! As I let go, rest, let my brain turn to mush - He can and does bring pure joy! It is only by His strength, definately not my own.
Well, enough pondering for tonight...my thoughts are swirling again!

Train Trip

2008-04-23T09:30:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Curtis and I joined our daughter's class for a train trip to Seattle. The kids love loading the train and hanging out for the three hour trip. Here is Emma and her good friend Taylor.
The purpose of the trip is to go to the Seattle Aquarium, which is pretty cool. We got to see some great animals and watch them feed them. While we were there Emma's teacher's daughter, who is going to school in the Seattle Area, dropped by for a visit. Now at this point the rest of us parents and teachers became invisible, because none of us is as cool as this girl! She is definitely a favorite among the girls!

After the aquarium visit, we had about three hours of free time. A bunch of us parents and students headed off to the original Starbucks and then toured Pike Street Market. We had fun people watching and looking through the booths. The weather was amazing - no rain the whole trip. Thank you God! On the walk back to the train station, we stopped for some photos at this fun fountain. I love the walk along the waterfront in Seattle. It is such a fun area. Curtis took this shot of us.

Emma and a bunch of her friends wanted some goofy pictures. This was a bittersweet trip for us. We have been at the same school for five years and Emma enjoys her friends a lot. Since she will be going to a new school next year, this was our last field trip with these girls. We were so glad we had such a fun time and that we will have great memories of the day!

My Beloved's Birthday!

2008-04-15T07:33:00.001-07:00

Isn't this one of the cutest babies ever!?!?! Curtis was a pretty fat boy - ate a ton of food until he became a pretty picky eater. Now as long as he is eating Mexican food - he is this happy! I love this picture - especially those teeth!

That adorable baby grew up to be a great dad! One of the things I love about my husband is the way he is constantly teaching. I think he would have made an excellent teacher. Here he is with the kiddos at Disney World last year teaching them some interesting facts as we climbed the Tarzan tree house - every moment is a teaching moment for him. Fortunately for him, both of his kids have a hunger for knowledge - I think they got it from him!

My hubby is a really great husband! I count my blessings for how attentive and thoughtful he is! He really loves his family and we are very fortunate to have him in our lives! Thank you God for blessing us with a wonderful husband and father!
Plus, he is so hot!!

This is really what my hubby looks like most of the time - which is also pretty hot! Curtis is a very hard worker and very determined when he is working. He and I enjoy doing lots of projects together and I am so thankful to have a man that is gifted at building with his hands.

So...Happy Birthday Honey! Blessings on your 40th birthday to my hard working, devoted, wise, inspiring, sexy, loyal, loving and strong husband!

Girls Night Out

2008-04-02T11:31:00.001-07:00

Last night I got to go overnight to this amazing condo for some fun and relaxation.

These are my dear home group friends I got to go with-
We made a nummy dinner and then had my favorite saint cupcakes for dessert - I tried the fat elvis and it was great!
We also had this scrumptious ice cream dish one of us makes that is awesome!

Then we snuggled in for a great romantic chic flick and then went out on the deck for some fun hot tub time!
This was my bed - the view was amazing and the bed - oh so comfy!

Thank you God for good friends, food, sleep & fun!

For Granted

2008-03-28T15:21:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking lately about all the simple things in life we American's take for granted. I guess this has been fresh on my mind since I am currently living without a few of those modern conveniences.

It has now been 9 months since I have had ....
*A dishwasher or a garbage disposal in my kitchen. I have had to wash dishes by hand at least once a day. Until you live without one you forget how inconvenient it is to have to wash and dry every single thing you use. Fortunately, since I am living in only 700 sq feet and I have a small kitchen, most of my things are in storage. I am sure that most of my friends are sick of hearing me say "Yes, I do have that, but it is in storage".
*An attached laundry room. You see, for most of my married life you could find me daily running to the laundry room in various stages of dressed-ness to get clothes. But now my laundry room is down a flight of outside stairs and in the garage. So now whenever I need to run to the laundry room I have to get dressed. Plus if it is raining - or snowing, like today - I get my clean laundry all wet. Someday I will be able to run to the laundry room in the buff again!
*A septic system that you can count on. For the last two months our septic system has been obsessed with backing up. It makes it pretty difficult to do laundry on a regular basis or count on a flushing toilet to not come back up. We have dumped many precious pennies into this system and now all we can do is laugh. It is something I will never take for granted again.
*More than one shower & bathroom for a family of 4. Trying to schedule the morning routines around one shower and toilet can be a bit of a challenge. However, we have gotten used to this and it goes pretty smooth now. Looking on the bright side, having the septic back up all the time, does limit down the shower and flushing allowed, so it is even easier on the schedule.

We have learned to appreciate some of the simple things in our American lives. I have to daily remind myself that it could be worse - especially when I am mopping up sewage! But God is good and we have so very much to be thankful for. As my son heads out on a inner-city mission trip tonight I hope we will appreciate even more simple things - like our beds, our ceiling, our heat and our family!

Easter & Birthday

2008-03-23T09:02:00.000-07:00

Today is Easter - which is probably my favorite holiday. It is really the whole point of Christianity. If Jesus hadn't of risen from the dead - what would be the point of the whole thing? It proves that God has power over death and that He has the victory! Thank you God for the gift of Easter - of new life!

What a great day to have your Birthday! Today is my good friend Rosemary's Birthday.

She has been my friend for many years. Here is a picture of us at my wedding. She was my maid of honor. Rose and her hubby Dave have been good friends to Curtis and I since we were in high school. We love them very much. Rose has much to celebrate this year and we look forward to an amazing year for her family! Happy Birthday Rose!!!

Family Traditions

2008-03-20T07:59:00.001-07:00

Last night at 9 pm we decided to color Easter Eggs - something my kids have always loved. Here are my daughter's creative designs - wouldn't Easter eggs be boring without color!

My Son's designs were a little different - I have never seen a skull and crossbones in an easter kit before but he loved it!

We always end the tradition with blending cool color combinations of the dye in the toilet. They love to see what the colors become before we flush them away - I know this is pretty weird, but we have been doing it for years!

Too Funny not to share!!!

2008-03-18T15:40:00.001-07:00

My mom and I were going through old photos at her house last night and we came across some real treasures from the late 80's - early 90's. This photo is of two of our long time friends. We were serving in ministry together at a church here in town and were needing to raise big money for the youth group, so all the leaders had a huge weekend garage sale at my parents. Here the gentlemen models were sporting some of the amazing treasures up for sale!

Now this one is of one of those friends sporting a fabulous mullet - I feel quite certain it is safe to show this because he just admitted he had one last Sunday at church.

Unfortunately, even my boyfriend (now hubby) grew one for himself!! It was lovely...um, not really!! Fortunately, for me he cut it for our wedding day in 1990. This beautiful dress I am wearing was given to me by this boyfriend as a gift during one of his messages to the students. I think he was just trying to make points! It must have worked.

Family Day

2008-03-16T16:55:00.000-07:00

Napkins Anyone???? Okay, so we have this seventeen year old cat that is hating our new puppy and since we are in the apartment there is limited high ground. So...she has decided that the table is her new perch and the napkin holder is just her size. This is soooo gross! She is driving me nuts?!?

We took our kids and puppy out for some family time today. It has been awhile since they have been able to ride bikes so we went to a nearby campus and brought bikes along. They had a great time and were exhausted from all the hills.

The men spent a bunch of time throwing the ball for Tucker and playing frisbee. My daughter got an awesome shot of my son but he will post that on his blog.

We are working hard with Tucker to leash train him while he is still small enough. Man, this is a ton of work! My arm was ready to fall off by the time we finished. Curtis gave it a try for awhile - I think this may take some more time.

This particular picture cracks me up! My husband recently got a very expensive speeding ticket. He was only going 10 miles over the speed limit but it happened to be in a school zone and he didn't have his proof of insurance in the car that day - bummer! Isn't my hubby cute? Not bad for an almost forty year old man!

What a Funny Dog!

2008-03-15T20:55:00.000-07:00

My hubby & I were downloading some pictures today and we came across this hilarious photo of our insane dog Tucker! We cracked up laughing! Even though having a puppy is a ton of work and requires a lot of patience in training, we really love this dog! I know he is supposed to be the kids dog, but he really is pretty much my dog. He is wonderful and I really like having him around!

For His Glory!

2008-03-14T08:47:00.000-07:00

This devotional came to us today via email from Ransomed Heart Ministries (wild at heart). It is so relevant to where we are at. There are days we are so weary and we ask "how long Lord"? When life circumstances are difficult and the walls we face seem impossible to climb. When so many around us are sick and some even dying. When we feel like giving up!

“How Long, O Lord?” 03/14/2008
When God comes to call Jeremiah to be his prophet of hard sayings to Judah, Jeremiah protests, saying, “‘Ah, Sovereign LORD . . . I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.’ But the LORD said to me, ‘Do not say, “I am only a child.” You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,’ declares the LORD” (Jer. 1:6–8).
God is saying that these things will be done through Jeremiah’s dependence on his strength and provision, and that he will rescue him. Yet there is something about God’s rescues that make them a little less timely than dialing 911. He leaves Abraham with his knife raised and ready to plunge into Isaac’s heart, and Isaac waiting for the knife to descend; he leaves Joseph languishing for years in an Egyptian prison; he allows the Israelites to suffer four hundred years of bondage under the Egyptians and leaves those same Israelites backed against the Red Sea with Pharaoh’s chariots thundering down on them. He abandons Jesus to the cross and does not rescue him at all.
And then there are those of us who, along with the saints under heaven’s very altar, are groaning under the weight of things gone wrong, waiting for that same Jesus to return and sweep us up with him in power and glory. “How long, O Lord?” we whisper in our weariness and pain. Indeed, God calls us to battles where the deck appears stacked in favor of those who are his enemies and ours, just to increase the drama of the play. And there is the clear picture, even from God himself, that he does so to enhance his own glory.

What a great reminder for our family!

We can see the glory of God in our pain - when we listen to the voice of truth and not the lies from the enemy the story is clear. We are able to lay down our own wants for rescue to take the invitiation God offers - to suffer earthly trials for his Glory! God is good and the trials help us let go of earth and cling to Him!

Thank you friends & family!

2008-03-13T12:42:00.000-07:00

My birthday was this last Monday - yes, I am now on the countdown to 40! My celebration started out fun on Saturday night when my parents took my family out to my favorite - PF Changs - it was fun and delicious!

Saturday I also got a package in the mail and I love to get mail! My brother mailed me a cozy Penn State sweatshirt that I was wanting, since he will be leaving Pennsylvania and heading off to Laos this summer. It was nice to get fun mail!

Sunday morning my family made me a wonderful breakfast in bed and the kids even did the dishes! My kids blessed me with great cards and gifts they purchased with their own money from Target - great job guys!

Sunday evening my wonderful homegroup women - Kim, Julie, Ashley & Annette did a fun celebration. Ashley made me a great chocolate & raspberry cake - Yum! They also gave me a gift certificate for my hair salon - thanks girls!

Monday My Mom took me shopping for clothes and then out to lunch - we had a lot of fun!

Monday night my two dear friends - Vicky & Dawn- took me out for a special date. We had a quiet intimate dinner at one of their houses with dinner from Olive Garden.

We snuggled up under blankets and sat on the couch talking until 11 pm - it was great for my heart!

My Hubby was home waiting with a card & creme brulee ice cream! Yum!!

Thank you friends and family for a wonderful celebration - you blessed me a ton!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful Mother!!!

2008-03-07T06:57:00.000-08:00

I love my mom - Pat. She and my dad, Kent, raised me and my younger brother, Berkeley. My mom is a true servant - she volunteers with so many organizations, I lose count. From the time I can remember my parents were always having people staying with us and opening their home for ministry. We respect that she has a huge hunger for Jesus and is always learning and growing more like Him!

My mom is one of those women who never sits still when we are all together. She always is serving us - getting us a drink, or asking what she can do for us. It is such a blessing to us. My mom is also the biggest help to me - she loves on my kids, takes care of me when I am sick, fills in with my family when I need the help. I am so thankful for her support and hands-on help in our life.

My mom is also extremely fun! My kids probably laugh more with Nan than anyone else. She was always making things fun when we were kids. We were doing skits and acting out things all the time - a lot of them were her ideas and she would act with us here and there. She also loved to dance and would put on her "old" records and show us a bunch of dances from when she was a girl. She is young at heart and you can tell from looking at her. When she goes to grandparents day at the kids school, my daughter always says "Wow, Nan must be the youngest grandma ever!" She looks amazingly young for her age.

Happy Birthday Mom!!! We love you!!!!

Leap Day Arrives!

2008-02-29T16:43:00.000-08:00

So today was leap day and I really enjoyed opening our envelope! It was so fun to see my cute kids 4 years ago and then 8 years ago. They sure have changed! We laughed when we read all the things they used to be into when they were "just kids". Time goes way too fast! We will now make our new card and take our new photo and re-seal the envelope for another four years.

Leap Year 2004 - 4 years ago

Leap Year 2000 - 8 years ago!

Waiting for Leap Day

2008-02-28T07:13:00.000-08:00

I love Leap Day! When my kids were little we started this leap day tradition and it has been so fun. On Leap Day we take a photo of them and put together a little list of all their favorite things at the time - colors, foods, things to do, animals, etc. Then we put it in a sealed envelope to open four years later. This will be our third time opening it. We save all the photos and papers from every leap year and just keep adding it into a new envelope. I keep the envelope on top of my fridge so I can always remember where it is. So......tomorrow is the day! We get to open and see how much they have changed.
On another note, we had a friend whose birthday was Leap Day. That would stink! You would only have a birthday every four years. But then he was only "four" when he really was sixteen - I guess that wouldn't be too bad!

Needing a little Perspective!

2008-02-20T20:47:00.001-08:00

Curtis is doing a consulting job at the coast and since neither child had school today we headed out to take photos and check on the progress of the job. We took a couple hours while there to play on the beach since it was such amazing weather for February. We definately require beach time to get a little good perspective in this family!
Tucker had never seen the ocean before. He wasn't sure why the kids would want to put their feet in that cold moving water. But he soon warmed up and enjoyed running around playing in the sand. He was in need of a bath by the end of the hour!

My daughter is always ready with a dramatic move for the camera.
It is hard to believe they were in shorts during February. Even though it was sunny, it was not very warm. Curtis and I were cold just looking at them.
We love this red-head beauty!
Our son has loved the beach since the day he was born. He has missed the Coast
so much and loved having a little time there today. He is a lot of fun to watch at the beach - always muddy and building something! (I wonder where he gets that?!?!)
Since Dad's phone was ringing the whole time we were there..reality is never far away, but it was good to enjoy the fresh air and time to run free.
We pray today for our many friends who are struggling with huge health issues and concerns - we love you, Friends! It was good to take a little time to get God's perspective again on what is important in life. Thank you Lord for the beauty of where we live, for life, for family and for You!

M.I.L.'s Birthday

2008-02-17T08:04:00.000-08:00

Today is my Mother-In-Law's Birthday. Of course, I won't say how old she is turning! My husband's mom, Melody, is married to Dan and they have five children. Three of the five children are adopted from India - as you may have been wondering about the culturally-diverse picture. Dan and Melody have 7 grandkids- (mine are the white ones).

Melody grew up in California before coming to the Lake Oswego area with her parents and two brothers. She and Dan raised their 5 kids for the most part in Canby, which is where Curtis graduated from high school in 1986. If all my stuff was not in storage, I would post my hubby's senior picture at this point. It is quite the photo!! Maybe by his birthday in April I will dig it out to share with all of you.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELODY!!!

It was great

2008-02-12T12:24:00.000-08:00

Our son enjoyed his weekend in the snow with the middle school ministry. He liked his small group and small group leader, Joe, a lot. He got to be on the winning team - Go Green! - for the competitions. I was told that the sledding was awesome. The speaker was really good and the worship was extremely loud, which to him means it was really good.
As for this first year youth mom, I had a great sense of peace the whole weekend. It was so fun to pick him up on Sunday and know that he loved it. Hopefully, I will have that same peace when he goes off to summer camp again this summer - ugh!

Remembering Noah

2008-02-09T21:42:00.000-08:00

It is the anniversary of the day we delivered our son, Noah. It was February 10, 1997. He would have been turning 11 years old this year and would have been our middle child. It doesn't seem that long ago but each year is another milestone to recognize God's faithfulness to our family.

We choose to honor him and we look forward to seeing him again when we arrive in heaven.

My revelations today

2008-02-08T20:27:00.000-08:00

I started my day off with a fun field trip to the state capital with my daughter's 4th grade class from school. It was a wet day with a long bus ride but the kids all had a great time and I really enjoyed visiting with moms on the trip. Here is my daughter and her friends.

I rushed home tonight to get my firstborn off to his first snow weekend with Middle school ministry. To be honest, I have been a little nervous about this trip. I mean off with young yahoo leaders on a bus for a weekend in the snow to sled/ski at the mountain. Plus, throw in some crazy competitions in the dark! What could you add to cause worry for a first-year youth mom. I have done a lot of youth ministry in the past so I should have nothing to worry about and should be able to trust all these young & capable leaders. But maybe it is because I have done so much ministry that I know what to worry about!

But on the way to the church to drop him off, we did our ususal prayer in the car. I prayed for an awesome time with God & friends. I prayed for protection and safety. I thanked the Lord for the opportunity to go and for the amazing love I see growing in my amazing son. But as I prayed the Lord just hit me with the greatest gift. What a history and heritage it is for my son to go to this camp. His own two parents both went to that same camp as students some 25 years earlier. We went to that camp as students, then leaders, then cooks. He has even helped cook at the camp. My son may lay his head down on a bunk tonight that is the very same bunk his own dad laid on some 25 years ago. Think of all the amazing lives that have been changed in those very same cabins! What a gift that is from the Lord! I don't need to worry about the details when God is giving him such a rich blessing.

The boys have a great small group with great friends and a good leader. Last night when we asked him what he wanted prayer about for this weekend, he said simply.."I want to grow". Not I want to have fun? Thank you God - I think he gets what it is about. I will let you know how the weekend goes for him and for this first-year youth mom.

Things I am thankful for Today

2008-02-05T19:26:00.000-08:00

I am very thankful for:

my salvation, my love for Jesus, His love of me,

my husband - his hugs and foot rubs,

my son - his smile and laugh,

my daughter - her joy and love,

my great friends - their calls and time with me,

my parents - their support and encouragement,

my pictures,

my puppy kisses,

my bed - cozy flannel sheets and awesome blanket,

my car that runs today,

my wool socks and great shoes,

my warm shower,

my wallet my hubby gave me last year for my birthday,

my MOM's small group girls,

my kitchen and the food in it,

my computer,

my wedding ring,

my red hoodie sweatshirt,

my scripture prayer cards,

my trader joes bag,

my gift cards I received for Christmas,

my family's health,

and

my ability to take a deep breath.

Countdown for Earrings

2008-01-31T19:39:00.000-08:00

This Sunday it will finally be the end of our first six weeks of new earrings. You can't change the earring for the first six weeks and now finally on Sunday Emma will be able to change them. My daughter and her friend got their ears pierced together for Christmas gifts. They were very brave and have been very responsible cleaning them. She got a cute set of earrings from Nan for Christmas so she has had them sitting on the bathroom counter as she has counted down the days.

His Heart is Good

2008-01-30T10:55:00.000-08:00

This was the daily reading that came today from Ransomed Heart:

If You Knew His Heart Was Good 01/30/2008
Everyone has been betrayed by someone, some more profoundly than others. Betrayal is a violation that strikes at the core of our being; to make ourselves vulnerable and entrust our well-being to another, only to be harmed by those on whom our hopes were set, is among the worst pain of human experience. Sometimes the way God treats us feels like betrayal.

We find ourselves in a dangerous world, unable to arrange for the water our thirsty souls so desperately need. Our rope won’t take the bucket to the bottom of the well. We know God has the ability to draw water for us, but oftentimes he won’t. We feel wronged. After all, doesn’t Scripture say that if we have the power to do someone good, we should do it (Prov. 3:27)? So why doesn’t God?

As I spoke with a friend about her painful life, how reckless and unpredictable God seems, she turned and with pleading eyes asked the question we are all asking somewhere deep within: “How can I trust a lover who is so wild?” Indeed, how do we not only trust him, but love him in return? There’s only one possible answer: You could love him if you knew his heart was good. (The Sacred Romance , 70)

This is a big concept to get our minds around. God does have a good heart - even when circumstances are horrible in our lives. When kids are growing up in dump, or a boy has to go through chemo, or your wife dies unexpectedly, or you lose everything, etc. Trusting in God is a daily battle that takes a lot of work. Choosing to trust even when our hearts don't feel like it - trusting that our feelings will come along later.

A friend shared a great verse with us today:

"I called on your name, O Lord,
from the lowest pit.
You have heard my voice:
Do not hide your ear
from my sighing, from my cry for help.
You drew near on the day I called on You,
and said, "Do not fear!"
Lamentations 3:55-57

Fun Morning in the Snow!

2008-01-28T10:10:00.000-08:00

Now that we have a hill to sled on, we tested out the run. Tucker decided it was pretty fun to chase the kids down the hill. Luckily, everyone escaped the teeth.

The kids both had fun getting air at the bottom. It was a nice dry snow, perfect for sledding.

Tucker had enough energy for all of us. Every thing is a celebration when you are a puppy!

I decided since Tucker wanted to chase us, that he needed to test out the sled run. We made it successfully to the bottom.

Their are several cows in the field next to us. Daily the cows and tucker have a stare down. Even though he wants them to come to the fence, he is terrified if they get too close. He talks big, but really is a chicken around big animals.

The men made an odd snowman. His hair is grass and he looks a little mean! Obviously, us girls had already gone in for hot cocoa by this point.

We love snow days!!

Life during a remodel

2008-01-26T17:44:00.001-08:00

So this is where we began 8 months ago. We sold our house and are remodeling a fixer-upper. It is hard to imagine this will ever be a place we love to call home. Each week it has been moving along and is starting to become a pretty great house.

Above the garage we built a 700 sq foot apartment that we hope to someday rent out after we have finished and moved downstairs. We have been living in this apartment since June. We ended up putting a ladder on this wall for a great play loft for our kids. They really like it. It is a one bedroom apartment. Our kids are sleeping in a hallway and actually they enjoy it. For us parents, it has been fun to sit outside their door at night listening to them talk forever. These will be good memories for them.

Since we are living along a busy road and we now have a puppy, our fence had to go up in the middle of this project. (I know, this doesn't seem like a good time to get a puppy, but why not add to the chaos!) Curtis, the kids, My dad and I all worked on the fence for many hours. We now have a great little courtyard on one side of the house, that is going to be fun in the summer. My dad has done all of the electrical in both the apartment and downstairs, which has really blessed us. Even my brother got in the act when he visited over the holidays.

Today we got our spiral stair case delivered. We cut a hole in the upstairs floor of the bonus room, which is currently attached to the apartment. The stairs lead down to the main kitchen/family room of the house. The stairs aren't quite finished, but they are pretty cool already. Mark helped Curtis and Pete install them. Then they put in a lot of the trim downstairs. It is coming along.

Here is my children nailing down the dining room floor today. We will be putting wood down on it next week, so we are prepping it. All of our parents helped us paint this last weekend and lots of cleaning was done by Curtis' family this weekend.
We are so thankful for all of our friends and family that have been helping us. You guys have given us a ton of support through this challenging time.

I will send more pictures along the way, to keep you updated.

Decisions as a mom

2008-01-25T21:59:00.000-08:00

My daughter doing her Christmas tap production
This was the first week my daughter didn't go to piano lessons. She has been playing almost two years and is very good. She really has wanted to quit for six months and we finally decided to after the Christmas recital. The trouble with her is that she is good at everything she does. She has been dancing since she was three and is great. She loves horses and is great at her riding lessons. So as her parent, what do you do? Do you squash her enthusiasm for these things, and how do you keep her focused on a few talents. It was a hard decision to allow her to step away from playing the piano because she is so great and it is something she can use as an adult.
I guess we just do our best and pray for guidance. I figure both these kids will need counseling no matter what we do and most their problems we be our fault.

What have I done?????

2008-01-25T07:11:00.000-08:00

Tucker is the newest addition to the Miller household. He is pretty cute, right? What I should actually have a picture of is him eating food off the table or eating our socks or shoes. For the most part, he is amazing. But...there are a few problems we need to deal with. Fortunately, he starts puppy kindergarten in the morning. Puppies are a joy, right?!?!?

Starting Out

2008-01-24T17:28:00.001-08:00

Well....I figured I had better catch up with all my hip friends who have been bloggers for quite some time. I don't want to be the uncool mom. This may be pretty boring reading at first, until I can figure all this out. It has been fun occasionally checking out all of my friend's blog sites - I don't know if my life will be that interesting. My first complaint about this process...it really needs spellcheck.