Soccer - Beautiful is the Word

Yesterday was the end of our soccer season. The kids play at a local church where they used to do an Upward Soccer program, but now do their own revamped version. This was Madison and Michael's fourth year, and Max's second. It was a good season for all of them. They all had good coaches and good experiences.

This was Madison's last year to play in this program, which was kind of sad. How can she be growing out of this stuff? Anyway, as much as the season was good for all of the kids, it was especially good for Madison. For the past three years, she has had the same coach - Coach Matt. Two of those years she had the same assistant coach as well - Coach Joe. The first year, at one of the early practices, I went to Matt and Joe and explained some of Madison's auditory processing issues. At the time they were more prevalent than they are now. For example, if you told Madison to run down the field, go in front of the goal, watch for her teammate to pass her the ball, then kick the ball into the goal, she would still be processing what it meant to run down the field. Praise God for all the healing He's done in her! So, I shared this with the coaches and they were so understanding and really took her under their wing.

Every year, Coach Matt would say, "We're going to get you a goal this year, Madison!" Bless his heart, he tried. For two seasons he had worked on this to no avail. At the end of each game, "Next time Madison we're going to get you a goal!" This season was no different. I'm not sure, but I think Matt may have made it possible for Madison to be on his team again just so he could help her. I wouldn't put it past him! Anyway, yesterday was the last game, still no goal for Madison.

So there we are, it's the last period of the last game and I see Coach Matt call Madison over to him, bend down and talk to her, and then send her out on offense. I knew what he was doing - to the end he would do what he could to get her that goal. I prayed, "Dear Jesus, help this girl score a goal, if anything, as a reward for Coach Matt caring so much about her!" The team we played yesterday only had 5 kids show up, so our team only played 5. The other team's 5 were probably not their strongest, and they were so tired. I think our team had scored 6 or 7 goals by the time the last period came around. If Madison was going to score, this was her time!

When she went out on offense, one of the other moms on the team yelled from the sidelines, "Come on, Madison, it's your turn for a goal!" And all these other parents, NONE of whom I know, started cheering for my daughter. It was so amazing! She got a chance at one point and was soooo close, but the goalie got it. The whole crowd was reacting and I think Coach Matt might have had a heart palpitation! Then it happened. There she was, it was her chance, she was probably technically offsides, but the ref let it go...Madison scored a goal!

She threw her hands in the air and yelled and the whole sideline cheered. Coach Matt was thrilled! Matt's daughter, Maddie, who has been on the team with Madison each time was so excited! I stood and cheered and smiled and cried at the same time. Some other mom, again, whom I don't even know, was crying! It was so great! What a perfect end to it all!

Afterward Coach Matt gave the players their pictures and wristbands and described the qualities of each player. For Madison he used the word perseverance. I would use the same for him! Then he gathered them all in a circle and prayed for them. When that was happening, it was like everything slowed down around me and God said, "it's one of those moments." And I knew what he meant. It's one of those things that I will remember always because of it's beauty.

Matt told me afterward that on their plan for the game that Madison was supposed to be the goalie the last period. The team had 5 girls and 3 boys. He called the boys over and said, "Who's willing to play goalie so we can try to give Madison a chance to score?" A boy named Joey, the best player on the team, and in Ryan's assessment, the best in the league, said he would. So Joey protected the goal so Madison could try to make one. And then Coach Matt said to Zach, the other offensive player, there would be a special gold star for him in heaven if he would pass the ball off to Madison so she could score. And he did. Multiple times before she did, when she did, and even after she did.

I'm so humbled and blessed by these people who are so thrilled to see my daughter succeed at something. Truly something beautiful! It's how the body of Christ should look - all the parts rejoicing with the one has reason to rejoice.

Art Auction & Benefit

When we were in Sudan, we helped the children make art projects that will be part of an art auction and benefit our church is having. The money will go to put a roof on the new school building at the orphanage. I was able to submit an article to the paper to help promote it. Here's the link:

http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091015/NEWS04/910159955

Sharing My Africa Story - Part 4

I realized this week that the updates our team sent back to The Vineyard during our trip are all available on our church website. So, if you follow the link you can read the updates written by our pastor, Mark Pope, Clint Schwartz, and Kathy Smarrella. It's fun to read the different viewpoints of our experiences.

Sharing My Africa Story - Part 3

*Praying for women at the leadership training.

*The woman in the picture has malaria.

*Giving my testimony at the training.

Well, Vineyard Family, today was my favorite day! All four of us went to the last day of the leadership training, where the people gathered for worship and teaching. Pastor Mark and Clint had been sharing about the amazing prayer times they had there each day, and I was so jealous! So, today I was finally able to be there and I was so, so thrilled! Since we had not been there before today, Kathy and I each shared our testimonies. As I listened to Kathy’s testimony I thought of how powerful it is when we share with one another our journey, and what God has done for us. It brings us to a place of deeper connection, and binds us together. Before this we participated in worship. And by participate I mean lots of bouncing while holding hands with a Sudanese person who has approached you. Wow, these people have energy! Pastor Mark did two teachings. He adapted some of his Vineyard teaching for the people here. Truth is universal - the scriptures apply to us all regardless of our culture. I was impressed with Pastor Mark’s ability to bring his personality into that place and truly be himself in spite of teaching with an interpreter. He did an excellent job! Then some guy named Clint spoke…he was white, and looked like our Clint, but this guy was preaching like crazy!! This Clint was on fire!! I told him later that I hope that this new “Clint” preaches at Vineyard from now on, cause it was great! The Holy Spirit was all over the messages and the words. Glory to God!

During one of the teaching breaks something very neat happened! The Sudanese people all ate rice and drink tea during the break. And the women here do the majority of the work. So they were preparing and serving the food for all these people. Pastor Mark decided he would go help them serve, so he and Clint both went and help dished up the food for all the people. One of the leaders said to Clint later, “ah, so Pastor Mark is teaching us that a good leader will serve…” I think it’s so great that the actions of these men Mark and Clint just as powerful as their words. As much as I was impressed with their teaching today, I am impressed with how they are living out their faith here in Sudan. A couple of nights ago my devotion was from the book of James and I read these words, “Show me your faith without deeds and I will show you my faith by what I do.” It strikes me that this is why we are here – not just to preach well or do nice art projects, but to live out our faith by what we do – the little things like holding hands with an orphaned child, playing jump rope with a group of kids, or helping serve a meal. Today, as I watched Pastor Mark and Clint, I felt grateful to have them as leaders in our church, and privileged to be able to witness God use them here in Sudan.

The morning session ended with a time of prayer. We first prayed with the men who felt like they either needed courage, protection, healing from sickness, or rest. Many men came for prayer and we laid hands on them and prayed for the presence of God to come and met their many needs. We then prayed with the women individually. It was so amazing to hear their stories – so many widowed or divorced, many with conflicts in their homes or unbelieving husbands. Many were also sick - malaria, headaches, chest pain – and many were also being harassed by demons. We prayed for an hour and a half, but it felt like 15 minutes to me! My heart broke for these people and I just kept hearing the Holy Spirit prompt me to pray for the “favor of God”. We prayed for many children as well – all sick – lots of problems with headaches and stiffness. A couple of times I literally just sobbed while we prayed, overwhelmed with compassion for these people.

This afternoon we were able to do something very fun – we bought a bicycle for Esther, the woman who has been cooking and cleaning for us this whole week. She even did our laundry, by hand! In the time since Clint was here last year, her husband has died. Here when the husband dies, his family comes and takes everything from the house, so Esther and her 2 children (ages 15 and 8) were left with nothing. She lives a long walk from here where she works, and she often has to walk into town for things, so this bicycle was a big deal! When it got here, we told her we wanted to take a picture of her on it. So she came out, hopped on it, and took it for a spin around the driveway. Then we asked her to pose with her bike and the guys. She said yes, and then stood there, said that she was so very grateful to God. And before any of us knew it she had started praying right then and there because of the bicycle. Amazing…so much gratitude for something so seemingly little. Yes, I was crying. I had to hand Kathy the camera to take the picture. I know!

Tonight we went to the church for an outreach program. All I can say is that I’ve never jumped up and down so much in my life! These people really get into their worship! It was so much fun to jump up and down, while holding hands with these people while they sang songs about being happy and how we are all the same. Pastor Mark and Clint both spoke again, and then we handed out the balloons that the JAM kids had donated. The balloons were a big hit!

Tomorrow we leave here to go to Kampala, Uganda for a couple of days. I will miss Sudan and its people. One thing I’ve said the whole time preparing for this trip was that I wanted to come and leave everything of me I could – leave it all on the playing field, so to speak. As I sit here tonight typing this, I feel like I have. I’ve done everything God led me to do, gave everything of me that there was, and I leave this country tomorrow with no regrets. Thanks so much for all of your prayers that have been keeping us safe and well. We know that God has been orchestrating it all, and we have seen his provision along the way, and we are blessed.

Sharing My Africa Story - Part 2

With a little girl named Josephine the 1st day at the orphanage, when we passed out toys.

Sitting with a little boy named Job. I tried to hold him as much as I could. He was around 4 or 5 years old, and he was sick the whole time. Very lethargic.

With some of the little girls before we took them into town to buy them new dresses.

Clapping along as the children sing for us.

Sharing My Africa Story - Part 1

Hello Everyone! I'm trying to find the best way to share about my wonderful trip to Africa. If you're on facebook, you've already seen some pictures and heard a few things. To start, I'm going to post 2 of the updates I sent back to our church. Later I will try to write about the trip, especially now that I've processed some things. If you live in the area and are interested, our whole team will be giving a full report on Wednesday, September 23rd at 6:30 PM, at The Vineyard. So, here is 1 my 2 updates I sent from Sudan:

TUESDAY: We’ve finally arrived in Sudan! We made it to Yei around noon on Tuesday and I have to say that I think I’ve fallen in love with this continent! It’s been wild to see in person things you’ve only seen in books or videos – there really are women who can carry large bundles of items on their heads, there really are mud-thatched huts with grass roofs, and there really are dirt roads with ruts the size of Texas in them! After arriving and eating some lunch (rice, goat meat, bananas, & bread), we headed out to the New Generation Dreamland Children’s Home to take the donated toys to the 71 orphans who live there. Wow, it was amazing! The children all gathered when we arrived and sang beautifully for us. Clint was videotaping, so we hope to share this with all of you when we come back. Each child there was able to receive a beach ball, jump rope or Frisbee – all thanks to the kids in our JAM Children’s Ministry program back home! We had also received a donation of soccer balls, so we were able to distribute them as well. Even though it was raining pretty hard, we were able to play with the kids for a little bit. Another neat thing to see was the security fence that has been installed around the property, made possible by the City on a Hill giving campaign – way to go, Vineyard family!

This evening was filled with a time of exploring the town of Yei on foot, laughing at ridiculous things because we are so tired (and a little disoriented), but most importantly, time was spent talking to Pastor Stanley and hearing his vision and hope for the leadership conference this week. Even as I type this, my eyes fill with tears, for we are partnered with a TRUE MAN OF GOD. It was a privilege and pleasure to listen to and pray with Pastor Stanley tonight. His heart longs for the leadership conference to be an opportunity for REVIVAL – for there to be a move of God in that place that changes the course of life here. What an honor that we can play a part in what God will do!

Thanks so much for all of your prayer support – we are reaping the benefits!

Here are some of the praises - Our travel here went very smoothly, and we felt God with us all along the way. I was feeling very sick this morning when we got to the airport for our flight to Yei. My stomach was upset and I felt very depleted when we got on the plane. PRAISE JESUS that He brought relief to me and revived me!! I was able to sleep and when I awoke I felt completely better. God is good, and I take not one bit of his goodness for granted! When the rain blew in this afternoon it brought with it cool weather! Kathy needed a sweatshirt and I drank hot tea for supper! And the mosquitoes have not been bad at all today!

That Blur Going By Is My Summer...

Kudos to you if you're still checking this blog. I have no excuses. All I will say is that time flies when you're having fun, and I've been having fun. Thus, time is flying. Hence the trite saying. Anyway...

How are you? I hope you're well. God is good, gracious, and compassionate, and that is where I am dwelling these days. Our summer has been filled with Bible school, swimming lessons, church camp, 4-H, a trip to southern Indiana, family, friends, reunions with college friends, and all the other good stuff of life. I've loved the cooler weather, and days of just hanging out with the family. It's been a good time.

People keep asking me if we've heard any news out of Guatemala. The answer is no - sad, but true. I keep praying and talking to God about it all. I'm very content and at peace, yet my heart still has desires, so that is what the Lord and I discuss. I know that He can do anything - birth possibilities out of impossibilities, so I'll just wait on Him. Thanks for those who ask, and who are still praying. You are awesome!

The picture above is of "downtown" Yei, Sudan. On August 30th, I'll be leaving on a jet plane and making the trek to Africa - someplace I NEVER expected, or even really wanted, to visit. God has surprised me with this opportunity, and I'm very excited. I'll be traveling with 2 pastors and another woman from our church. We will work with a pastor in Sudan with whom we have established a relationship. There will be a leadership training, some teacher training, an art project at an orphanage, and who really know what else will happen. I'm personally praying that there will be a lot of prophetic things happening - supernatural ways that God wants to use us there. I also plan to pray my guts out for the people and for the country. I've committed to leave everything "on the playing field" so to speak. My agenda each day is to empty myself of everything God has given me and the next day do it all over again. I'm going to make the most of this opportunity - "while it is still day, I must do the work of him who sent me". Now, if I could just apply this to my daily life, I might really start making an impact!

So, I'm preparing for the trip, and for the fact that the trip will blow my mind. If you are inclined to pray, I would love and appreciate it! Let me know in the comments, and I'll try to keep you posted on important information. Thanks in advance for being awesome!

Finally, thanks to my super cool friend, Jenny Potts, here is what is making me laugh lately:

Maycation

At the end of May we went on a quick little vacation. It's always so nice to get away, especially at the end of school and before summer stuff kicks in. We headed down to Santa Claus, Indiana, and went to Holiday World. This is an amusement park and water park. We had never been there before, and we were very impressed and surprised at how nice it was! It's very family friendly, very clean, and they have unlimited free soft drinks (the only downer - pepsi, not coke). The water park was pretty big and very nice - I really liked it. There were also these little places where they had different displays with things like antique dolls, toys, as well as a collection of Abraham Lincoln memorabilia, since he grow up close to there. The whole experience was so great, and I highly recommend it.

The next day we headed to Kentucky and went to Mammoth Cave National Park. LOVED IT! So fascinating and so beyond what I expected. We went on 2 different cave tours and enjoyed both of them. We learned so much, and saw cool stuff. The kids all completed activities to become Junior Rangers (this whole thing was a homeschooler's dream!) and were so proud to hear their names announced on the loud speaker. Again, I highly recommend a visit.

I was so pleased with our destinations on this trip - we had such great experiences at both places. But my favorite part of the trip was the first night. We drove to Jasper, IN and stayed at a hotel before Holiday World the next day. We went swimming and hot tubbing, then got on our pajamas, watched Wipeout on tv, and ate oatmeal cream pies (see the picture above). It's the little things in life sometimes that bring the most joy.

Ryan loves this picture because he convinced the kids to pose like the Santa Claus. The funny thing is there was a real person dressed liked Santa right by this, but they wanted nothing to do with him.


Mammoth Cave pictures

Random Thoughts Vol. 20

Time has been flying by here, as I'm sure it has been for all of you. The night of Madison's birthday, my nephew, Sam, got married. He was home for 6 days of leave from the Army and married a lovely girl named Aubree. They are now headed to New York state, where they will be until fall, when Sam gets deployed. Strange to think that Sam will be serving our country in the Middle East...is he truly old enough for such things? Wow, I'm getting old.

My uncle Junior passed away earlier this month. He was one of my mom's older brothers. He was a great guy, and I truly loved him. He was one of those people who was on your side. Regardless of who you were and how much you may have messed up in the past, Uncle Junior was behind you, believing the best of you. That's a great quality to have. He also faithfully served in the U.S. Navy for over 20 years, and it was neat to see them honor that at his funeral.

Michael had his first guitar recital a couple of weeks ago. He was the only guitar student who played that day (there were a ton of piano students). The selection - "She'll be Coming 'round the Mountain when She comes". He did a great job, and I was so proud of him I could have cried.

Max's last day of preschool was last Wednesday. They had the graduation ceremony, followed by cake and punch, which was a highlight for Max. He did a great job this year, and has improved so much and gained so much confidence. It's so fun to see him grow and experience new things. I won't even mention how hard it is to believe he is now a kindergartner. Or how sad it makes me that my baby isn't a baby anymore...NEXT TOPIC, QUICK!

We finished our school year last Friday. We are all soooo glad! Summer break is exactly what we need. We spent the last day of school in Chicago. Ryan took the day off and we went to Lincoln Park Zoo. The weather was perfect! After the zoo we headed to Millennium Park to check out "The Bean", and then walked to Buckingham Fountain. It was such a great day, a day I will treasure. I'm so blessed to have Ryan and the kids - God is good.

Double Digits

Well, in spite of my protests, Madison is now 10 years old. Unbelievable! It seems so strange to me. We had a great time celebrating her this last weekend. On Friday, her friend Esther spent the night. Saturday, we all went out to lunch and to see the Disney Earth movie. Sunday afternoon we had grandparents over for a "Woodland Creature" birthday party. My nephew's wife, Erin, made a special cake for Madison, which was awesome. Madison got a new scooter and a new bike, as well as clothes, books, American Girl clothes, and paint and an easel. It's so interesting to watch her grow up, and to see what interests her, and to see glimpses of what kind of adult she will be. I truly enjoy her - she is funny, interesting, and compassionate. We're blessed to have her here! We love you, Madison

Here she is with the boys in front of the trees we made to decorate the house.

Here she is in shock over the super cool birthday cake!

And finally here she is on her cool new bike.

Worship Song of the Month

I meant to post this yesterday, but forgot. A couple of weeks ago, my friend, Kimmie K., send me a link to this worship leader. Love her voice, and love her version of this song. The first time I watched this video, I heard the first line and started crying. So I downloaded the song and would listen to it on my MP3 player, and every so often the words hit me and make me cry. It takes the concept "Jesus loves me" and gives it beautiful imagery.

Random Thoughts Vol.19

Hey everyone, welcome to random thoughts, a sampling of all the minutiae that goes through my head. I hope you had a blessed Easter. I find myself challenged by God and have lots of thoughts stirring in my head, which are far too random even for this post. When I make some sense of it, I'll let you know. The above picture is of the paper machier(sp?) Easter eggs we made. It was a fun change from the typical egg coloring.

My friend, Susan, got married on April 4th. I was the Matron of Honor and Max was the Ring Bearer. The wedding party was so fun to be with, and the whole day was just a great day because we were celebrating something so beautiful! Here's a picture of Max and Me:

Here's my cute little guy!

I'm having trouble getting into American Idol this year. I still don't have anyone I'm super excited about. I like Kris and Allison, and quiet-songs Adam. But I don't like any of them as much as I liked David Cook last year. On Survivor I like JT, but just because he lost a tooth in a challenge, and I think that's cool. The Amazing Race continues to be my favorite "reality" show, but all my teams I liked are out of it now. Of those left, I'm rooting for Tammy & Victor, even though he can be ridiculous (like wandering the mountains for hours rather than listening to Tammy). I love Lost. I love that I don't understand it. I love trying to figure it out. Recently, I've been watching Firefly on Hulu. First of all, if you haven't discovered the fun that is Hulu.com, you should. Second of all, Firefly is a fun show and it's a shame it got canceled after only 14 episodes.

We're getting closer to Madison's birthday. Double Digits. The big 1-0. A decade. How can this be? What happened to that time? First Max turns 5, now Madison turns 10, what next, Michael turning 8??? Madison wants a birthday party with a theme of "all the woodland creatures". O-kay...I'll get right on that.

Our church, now officially called "The Vineyard Church", has been in it's new building for about 7 weeks. It's fun to be in a place all our own, and I'm amazed at the number of new people who have been coming. I'm glad to be part of it all.

It's been 2 years since we finished our adoption dossier and got on the Guatemala wait list. And we still wait. Nothing new is happening. We just wait. I still feel peaceful about it all, which is a God thing. He IS good. And I'm grateful.

Indy Trip

Last week we headed to Indy to check out some museums and take a break from our daily grind. We arrived on Wednesday night and enjoyed dinner and talking with my college friend, Jenny Harville. I'm so glad it worked out to spend some time with her and greatly enjoyed our talk. Thursday we headed to the Indiana State Museum (the above picture is from there), ate lunch at Circle Centre, and checked out the Indiana Civil War Museum (which is in the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, and as a bonus, has free admission). Friday was a day long excursion to the Children's Museum. It had been a while since we were there, and we enjoyed the temporary Lego Castle and Comic Book exhibits. The kids enjoyed swimming at the hotel, and I enjoyed being able to sit on the side and read a book while Madison and Michael played and swam. What a nice stage to get to! A good time was had by all - I just wish we had been away for longer, but hopefully we'll be able to take a vacation soon after we finish the school year (which is only 40 days away!)

By a Lego Knight at the Lego Castle Exhibit


Me, proudly displaying my comic I created at the Comic Book Exhibit. Madison was still working on hers.


Elton John and the kids ready for the 3-D Imax movie (which Max hated).


For all of you Lost fans: I totally was wishing I had a hooded cloak so that I could pose by this pendulum at the Indiana State Museum...just call me Eloise Hawking!

Happy Birthday Max

My baby is officially FIVE. Unbelievable! He is such a gift to us. He brings this level joy to the rest of us that makes everything fun. I love how he goes and gets his blanket and then comes out and announces, "It's time for love!" and how he loves Squidward on Spongebob. I love how he sings and worships Jesus (which Ryan says is a riot to watch at church in the kids' area.) I love that he's good at Wii Tennis and often beats me. I love that he loves babies, and bike riding, and playing aggravation (and often beats Ryan.) I love when he puts his arms around Madison or Michael and hugs them, and I love how every night he says, "Goodnight, Mommy, I love you, I'll see you tomorrow." I love my sweet Baby K. Happy Birthday!

Random Thoughts Vol.18

My poor blog. So neglected. I can't blame Facebook this time, however. Life has just been busy. Alas, I have some free time on this early Sunday evening, so I'll take some time to share some thoughts.

Today was our first Sunday in our new church building. Yippee! It's very exciting, and even though we've only been at Vineyard 2 years, it is an important milestone for us. We found out about this church because of the sign marking the future site, so now to be in the building on that site is very fulfilling.

I recently went to a conference for church called "Naturally Supernatural", and all I can say is that it was life-changing for me. I left there a different person, and I'm so grateful. It's amazing to me to realize that not only does Jesus forgive us of our sin, but he also doesn't want us to harbor any shame for it. He truly is AMAZING!

The picture at the beginning of this post is of a book I read last weekend. I HIGHLY recommend it. It is called Chasing The Dragon and it is the story of a woman named Jackie Pullinger and her life as a missionary in Hong Kong. It will stretch you!

Two weeks ago my cousin's 24 year old son shot himself. So sad. The funeral was packed full of young people...I've never seen anything like it. So many who seemed so lost and so shaken. I spent most of the funeral praying for those around us, for God to speak to them, and to reach out to them in their time of need. Come, Lord Jesus!

On the adoption front, there is no new news. I recently read an evaluation on how things are a year later in Guatemala. The corruption is improved, but, because there is no new adoption process working, children and babies are being abandoned by birth mothers. In Guatemala City alone, over 70 children were found, and 14 of them had already died. The thought makes me sick of children dying for lack of a process when many families, including ours, are simply waiting here for there to be a way to adopt them. There isn't much more I can say than to plea with the God of Justice to act on behalf of not only the Guatemalan children, but also orphans around the world.

Whew, that was heavy! On to much lighter thoughts! I'm looking forward to watching The Amazing Race tonight. It's my favorite reality show, and it has proved stellar this season. All I can say is giant cheese wheels! I'm also watching Survivor, and cracking up at the guy who kind of looks like Qui Gon Jin from Star Wars. All I have to say about American Idol is that I miss David Cook. Heroes is quickly losing my interest, partially because 24 and Lost are SOOOOO good right now. I wish that this TV potpourri was dispersed better - there's too much to watch now and the summer will be empty.

I realized I never posted about my scrapbooking weekend. It was AWESOME and I had a wonderful time with my friends. I don't remember exactly, but I did about 32 sides, I think. I've scrapped a couple of times since then. In fact, I might work on it tonight. I have to say, in case you haven't heard this, I LOVE my Cricut machine! That thing is the best! I'll include some pictures of pages in the kids' albums (which is what I worked on at the crop), as well as a calendar page I did in my family album.

Here are the pages I did for Michael's birthday. His theme was patriotic, with different monuments decorating the kitchen. I was so pleased with my catchy title (always a challenge for me!)


I just like these pages in Madison's book. Very girly!


These pages in Max's book show how I can use one cricut cartridge and get different looks, which is cool.


The last couple of years I have done a December calendar page and then wrote a long journal entry about how we spent the holiday. I really like how this works out and would suggest giving it a try.


Coming to this blog a week from today: Max's 5th birthday. Stay tuned!

Random Thoughts Vol.17

Hello Friends! Well, I've been blogging for a year now. Who knew? Certainly not me. Thanks for stopping by over the past year to check in on what is up with our family. I have lots of random thoughts going on, so I'll get to it.

I watched the inauguration yesterday and found myself tearful through much of it. It's a privilege to live in this country. I'm grateful for religious freedom. I'm grateful for checks and balances. I'm grateful that I don't have a hat like Aretha Franklin, but that she has the right to wear one. God bless the USA!

American Idol has started, but I haven't watched any of it. I don't usually watch the audition rounds. I wait until Hollywood week to start watching, and really kick in at the top 24 (which this year is a top 36 instead). I do, however, read the ew.com recaps of it, so I'm not completely out of the loop.

Tonight is a big night because LOST IS BACK!!! Since it's AWANA night, Ryan and I are going to dinner while the kids are gone, then we'll put them to bed and watch the premiere. I've kept myself as spoiler free as possible, so there's a good chance I won't be able to sleep tonight. I often mull over this show long after it's over. Unlike Heroes or 24, two other favorites of mine, Lost can truly mess with my head!

This weekend is WINTERFEST the big annual scrapbooking weekend I attend. This year I'll be rooming with Tina "I hope my bathing suit doesn't injure you" Green, Debbie "I just found out I have to work on Saturday" DeBoer, and Cheri "All I can think about is pie" Boudouris. I think what I love best about this weekend is that it's the most time each year that I spend just being me and taking care of me. I love my kids, but it's nice to not have to provide anything for them for 2.5 days. I'm looking forward to catching up my albums, having some great conversations, eating yummy food, and engaging in soul cleansing laughter.

Finally, on Monday we were at Target and I bought some little outfits on the clearance rack for our baby girl. I think I bought 3 things for like $7.50. I love sales! I'm so thankful that our contract was extended, otherwise it would be about to expire and we would be figuring out what to do next. God is good, and I love Him. Here are some pictures of the things I bought her.

The Favor of God

Welcome to my first post of 2009. It's actually a recap of the end of 2008. Our December was full, with wonderful, good stuff, so I'm just now updating my blog. One thing that was confirmed to me tenfold this December is that God is good, and He can be so extravagant. He continues to pour out blessings, and sometimes I just stop and say, "Really, God? There's even more?" Yes, apparently He's not done giving to us yet. Thank you, Lord. Jesus was really enough - all of this favor is a bonus, and I'm truly humbled by it.

Early in December we went to Brown County State Park and stayed in a cabin there for a couple of days. It was wonderful! We had about as perfect of a time you can have. There is a small indoor water park area in the inn, and every time we were there we had the whole place pretty much to ourselves. Awesome! We had nice cozy times by the fire, watching wood peckers out the huge windows looking out the back of our cabin. It was just fabulous!

We enjoyed watching Max at his preschool Christmas program! He sang the loudest of the kids - no joke! Praise God that this child who just 2 years ago lacked the confidence to try to speak is now singing the loudest of them all! Only Jesus! I'm looking forward to the end of this school year when I'm able to say, "Thank you, but Max no longer needs speech services" and we'll have, for the second time, experienced God healing developmental delays in our children. He is SO good!

Madison's piano recital held a profound moment for me. The kids would play a Christmas song - for example, Madison played "O Christmas Tree". It would be very simple, just the straight melody. THEN, the teacher would come and play with them. The kids would play exactly what they did before, but now the teacher would play an additional part and this very basic tune would become this full and deep song. As I sat there, the Lord spoke to me and said, "This is all I want. I want you to give me your song, your basic little tune, and let me add the fullness and depth. I can do so much with the little you have if you'll just let me." I noticed that the kids were different with the teacher next to them. They sat a little straighter and played a little better, were less nervous, now that the "master" was joining them. I want to play my song with my Master, and not hold back because I think it's not enough. He takes what I surrender to Him, and it becomes MORE then enough. Wow, is He good!

We had great times celebrating with family this year. My family Christmas was early due to some people having to work on Christmas Day, but it worked out great. I love them and feel blessed to have them all. We also went to see my Grandma Deak, who is closing in on age 92. I love her, and love that my kids love to go see their great-grandma. Christmas Eve was spent at Vineyard with my mom, and then off to deliver donuts to the fire station and Hollywood Video (part of an outreach our church does). Then we had dinner at home before we were joined by my friend Dana and her daughters. We celebrated the Morehouse Christmas on the 26th, and were glad to make it to Goshen in spite of the ridiculous amount of ice that closed major roads. We had a great time opening gifts and playing games, a family favorite.

Christmas Day was just for us, with grandparents dropping by to check out the new stuff. Our kids were so super fun this year - excited and grateful for everything. The big excitement was the Wii we bought the family. We gave it to them last and they screamed and then Madison yelled, "God bless this family!" Yeah, I think He just did! The kids were equally excited to give the gifts they had picked out and it was neat to see them react and respond to each other. Ryan had this whole holiday off, so we've had so much free time to relax and play games, put together models and legos, watch movies, and just BE together. I'm so blessed to have them all. God truly is good. He has given me more than I asked for or imagined. I'm so grateful today for His favor, for His goodness, for His mercy, and for His love.

Here are some pictures! My fabulous family at the cabin in Brown County:

The kids outside the cabin.

Drinking hot chocolate by the fire in the cabin.

My big brother and me.

My sisters, Mom Deak, and me.

The kids with Great-Grandma Deak.

One of the many fun presents!

Someone's bright idea for a pose at the Morehouse Christmas - Ryan's brother and his wife are on the left; his sister and her husband are on the right.

The kids with Grandpa and Grandma Morehouse.