I read a book yesterday entitled "Crossing the Valley: Biography of Ramon Rivas." It was incredible. This man's love and passion for the Lord were absolutely inspiring. He was a missionary in the Columbian jungle in the mid 1980's. His love was for an unreached people group, the jungle people of Berrocal, Columbia. His sister actually led him to the Lord when he was 20 years old and they were the only ones in their family who were Christians. He attended World of Life Bible Institute in Argentina and then went on to Columbia after receiving an unquenchable desire to serve that forgotten people group by man, but knowing that God had never forgotten about them. His service to the Lord was absolutely amazing, reminding me much of Paul. Wherever he went, he preached the Word and people came to receive the Lord Jesus Christ. Then they would beg him to stay or to come back to visit them, forsaking arrangements to visit in other cities. Ramon was killed after only serving in the jungle for 2 years. He did not ever know that both of his parents and all of his siblings became devout believers after his death, nor did he ever see his vision of a Bible Institute built in Berrocal become reality. This poem was one that he loved and I was touched by it as well:

"That Comes from Me"

'Our confusions are His occasions'

Soul, I have a message for you, I am going to whisper it into your ear so that you shine marvelously in the midst of the storm clouds of your life. The message is short, only four words. Let them penetrate deeply in your heart so that they carry you to true peace.

That comes from Me.

Have you thought that everything that worries you also worries Me? Because "he that touches you touches the apple of his eye." (Zechariah 2:8) You should know that when temptation entangles you and the enemy is surrounding you, that comes from Me, because your weakness needs My strength and your security is only based on what you leave Me to fight.

Are you in difficult circumstances? That come from Me. I am the Lord of the circumstances, your environment, your neighbor, they only do My will.

Are you in economic difficulties? Is it difficult for you to overcome? That comes from Me. I am responsible for your money. I want you to have to come to Me and depend on Me. My wealth is unlimited. (Philippians 4:19) I want to show you that My promises are true.

Are you crossing through the darkness of life? That comes from Me. I am the "man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53:3). I allowed the earthly counsel to fail you so that you had to turn to Me and you will reach the enternal Counselor.

Has a friend disappointed you? One to who you had opened your heart? That comes from Me. I have permitted this disappointment so that you would know that I am your best friend.

Were your plans undone and are you tired and overwhelmed? That comes from Me. You made plans and then you asked My blessing. But I want you to allow Me to make your plans; then I will take the responsibility because "this thing is too heavy for thee, thou art not able to perform it thyself alone. " (Exodus 18:18) You are only an instrument.

Did you want to do something big for Me, and instead you were confined to your bed in pain?

That comes from Me. I could not get your attention when you were busy; I wanted to tell you my deepest secrets. "Also they serve those that are on foot and wait." Some of my better laborers I exclude from active service so they learn to use the power of prayer.

Were you suddenly called to a difficult job, full of responsibility? Trust in Me. I believe you are capable of overcoming difficulties "for this thing the Lord they God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto." (Deuteronomy 15:10) In this day I deposit in your hands a receptacle with sacred oil: use it with prudence. Oh soul! Anoint with it all the events, every word that hurts you, every interruption that makes you impatient; every expression of your own weakness. The sting disappears

when you learn to see me in everything.

"Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, ... for it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life." (Deuteronomy 32:46-47)

Our family went to the Braves game this past Wednesday night with our friends Cacee, John and Asher. It was fun, but the kids kept asking when the game was going to start. We were sitting so far away in the nosebleeds that we could barely even see the ball! We finally decided to leave at the top of the 9th because the guys behind us were screaming curse words and wouldn't stop even when asked several times. Of course, as we were walking to our car we heard fireworks and lots of yelling from the stadium. Chipper Jones had hit a homerun to win the game and we missed it!!!! Oh well...It was fun though and I guess it was our "big outing" for Spring Break. I sure do wish I was at the beach though!!!

Our family poses for a picture. Gavin absolutely hates to get his picture taken. A side few was as best as we could do, oh well...

Ivey does the tomahawk chop. She was such a fun cheerleader to watch!

Our wonderful friends, John, Cacee and Asher. God has blessed us with so many awesome friends!

Yep, we were pretty far away!

John, a.k.a "Ham", kept taking the camera and taking pictures of himself. HA-HA, joke's on you!!!

This is the beginning of a compost pile. When I was a little girl, I remember my grandmother keeping dried egg shells on the counter. Out of curiosity I asked her about it one day and she told me that she used them for fertilizer for her plants. I thought, "Hmmmm, that's interesting" and then never thought another thing about it. Well, as the reasons for many things that my mom or grandmother did when I was young become clearer, I decided to look up exactly why eggs make good fertilizer. After researching a little bit, I decided that it was indeed a great way to use natural things that I already had and put them to good use. It also turns out that used coffee grounds are also a great fertilizer for plants, so I decided to start my own pile. In the end, hopefully my plants will be happier and I'll feel good about reusing things that would have been thrown away.

We had a wonderful Easter! We enjoyed a wonderful morning of celebration at church and then went home to complete a few tasks before enjoying the rest of the afternoon with family. We had quite a spread of delicious food for lunch and then just sat around and visited. It was such a wonderful day and truly a blessing!

I want to be different. That's my prayer. Lord, I'm begging you to change me. Yes, I'm posting it here for the world to see. No more hiding it within the secret places of my heart, so that I don't feel badly when people don't really notice a change. This is true accountability. My prayer for the last few weeks and, for forever more, has been for the Lord to take me and mold me into what He wants me to be. I don't want to say things that hurt other people, I want to be encouraging to my brothers and sisters in Christ, I want to be a light in a dark world, I want to be salty, I want others outside of the church walls to know who I really belong to and whom I really serve - Jesus Christ. I want the lost to know that they are lost and I can introduce them to the only one who can save them. I will believe that Jesus can save anyone. I want my friends and family members to understand that there is so much more to this life than what we will experience as humans on this earth. We will live for eternity, either with God or apart from him. And living apart from him isn't a dreary, boring, gray place, but a wretched place that will torment those living there forever. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. An ugly, horrid place that makes those living there wish they had made a different choice. On the other hand, living with him won't just be a beautiful, peaceful, rainbow-every-day type place where you get to see your Grandma again or catch up with friends who have gone before you, there will be rejoicing, shouting of praise, singing at the top of your lungs, worshipping at the feet of Jesus... forever. I won't be apologetic for offending others because I know the Truth and aren't afraid to speak it. I know who Jesus is and I know what he did for me and for you. I will pray for people to understand the cross. I will live so that others can see Jesus in me. But, most of all, I want them to know Him. He has changed me and I want to live as a changed person.

Can you say Y-U-M!!! Saturday night we headed out for a pre-race meal for Chris and his running buddies, then went to WalMart (isn't that what all married couples with children do on date night?), then decided we would go across the street and enjoy a wonderful dessert - CHOCOLATE FONDUE! It was absolutely delicious!! This particular one was call Yin and Yang - a mixture of dark and white chocolate. Except the dark chocolate wasn't bitter... mmmmm is was so good! And, to dip was strawberries, bananas, poundcake, cheesecake, marshmellows, brownies and rice krispy treats. Absolutely one of my favorite desserts ever!

Our 7-yr old dog, Charlie, is absolutely Gavin's favorite friend. She is such a sweet dog... now. In her puppy days, I couldn't keep a good pair of shoes and her favorite thing to do while we were away was to open (and empty) the kitchen trashcan. But, now that she's calmed down and mellowed a bit, she is a wonderful pet and certainly the best dog we could've ever asked for for our kids. This particular day, Gavin was using Charlie as a pillow as he sometimes does, but he actually fell asleep on her. I thought it was very sweet. Two ole pals.

Yes, it was our turn this past weekend for Happy Turtle to visit our home. Such is the life of a preschooler.
Ivey was SO excited to bring him home! He went everywhere with us except to downtown on Saturday where we went to pick up Chris' race packet for a race he did on Sunday. We certainly didn't want to risk leaving Happy Turtle on MARTA... I think her class would have been devastated and I certainly wouldn't want that for 15 four-year olds! So, Happy Turtle slept with Ivey all weekend and played and read and even went to church with us Sunday morning. I'm sure it was his favorite part. And once or twice she even let her little brother hold him. So long, Happy Turtle. I hope you have as much at your next home to visit!

I forgot to post these pictures of our last snow fall. It was actually the only one that the kids got to play in this year... we were out of town for the others! Even though I wasn't thrilled about them playing in the snow (I knew they would miserable in about 30 seconds since we own absolutely NO snow-playing worthy clothing), I decided to let them go for it. Actually, I stayed inside while Chris watched them outside. Yes, I do have the best hubby ever!!! I'm pretty sure he had the best idea of all the parents outside though... he got out the firepit to stay warm!

Throwing snow balls and having a great time!

Even Charlie loved the snow! After running around in it for a few minutes, she just enjoyed laying down and watching the kids play.

Chris and Gavin have their cake and eat it, too! Enjoying the snow while staying warm by the fire.

I thought it would be fun to dye Easter eggs this year, so, after being inspired by some really cute decorating ideas, I decided to get all the supplies we needed in order to have a fun craft night tonight. We designated tonight as family night and headed off to Subway for dinner. Then, after running to the grocery store for a few groceries, we went home to dye eggs. It really was a lot of fun and I think I enjoyed it as much as the kids did. In fact, we had so much fun we decided to do it again tomorrow! However, I'm really looking forward to making the Easter cookies that everyone talks about each year. The ones where you put them in the oven over night, seal up the oven with tape and then in the morning you find that the cookies are hollow... just like the tomb that Jesus was put in. Ivey's teacher sent home the recipe for the cookies last week along with the Scripture verses for each step. It sounds really fun and I think the little kids will really understand it this year!

A quick stop at mile 6 to get a picture with Jesse from the Toy Story!

Our group: Shannon, Cacee, Shawn, Kathy, Debbie, Barbara, Jen and Teri after the race

Finished! So proud of that princess medal around my neck!!


I did it! We all had a wonderful time at Disney World this past weekend to run the Princess Half-Marathon. It was absolutely the most grueling physical activity I've ever had to do, but, at the same time, it was fun and exciting. The Disney characters cheering us along the way definitely helped! The first 5 1/2 miles were the easiest until we had to stop to go to the bathroom around mile 6. It seems that stopping really wasn't in our best interest as my legs cramped up and Shannon's knee blew out. We were able to walk/hobble/jog to the end, but it was only because of sheer determination and will power!! Everyone in our group completed the 13.1 miles and several tears were even shed at the end of the race. We were so proud of each other and what we had accomplished. We were thankful that the Lord gave us all good health to run the race and a good attitude to complete such a task. I'm ready now to move on to something else - probably not another half-marathon. I'll stick with shorter distances and free t-shirts!

I know two little kids that have summer fever and they're momma isn't far behind them!! Today they wanted to put on their swimsuits and go swimming in the tub. Fine with me! They had fun and it kept them busy. At one of our MOPS meetings last year, we had a speaker that talked about all the fun experiences she let her children have. Of course, your answer can't always be "yes", but it's important to just let the kids live out their ideas sometimes even though it may be inconvenient for us as moms... like having a picnic in the back of the minivan or taking all the pillows off the couch to dive onto. And it makes for really great pictures in the future. I remember when...

T minus 14! Exactly two weeks from today I'll be leaving for Orlando to run my first ever HALF MARATHON! Of course, I like to do things big so we'll be running the Disney Princess Half Marathon on March 7th! There are 8 of us going - all ladies from church, all different ages and in all different stages of life. I'm really looking forward to getting to know everyone better and to have an awesome time hanging out in Orlando. It's going to be a blast!

Here are six of the eight of us (Sorry, Shannon. I stole your picture, but it was really good!)

Ivey loves to take pictures. And, I try to let her use her creative abilities as much as I can stand. However, she hasn't quite mastered the art of cleaning up her messes, so those times usually just consist of crayons and paper... she gets paint, play dough or craft supplies every once in a while. One of her favorite arts is photography. It's always interesting to look at the pictures after she has a photo shoot because she takes pictures of random objects around the house...

Here we have a very beautiful picture of a torn advertisement from the newspaper.

Intriguing, I know.

Here we have one of Gavin's favorite toys, a truck.

Of course, we cannot forget Ivey's most favorite food group. Candy!!!!!

And we abolutely couln't leave out the self-portrait.

If that isn't talent, I don't know what is. :)

And, yes, I have been crafting a little bit lately. My neice just turned one and I wanted to make a really cute gift for her. I finally had the idea to make a few cute applique shirts. And, yes, I cut the pattern, picked out the fabric and sewed them all on by myself! I especially love the Sunbonnet Sue applique. I happened up on the pattern while I was searching for new ideas on the internet. I picked the Sunbonnest Sue because my sister especially loves all the quilts that my grandmother made with them and I love the antiqueness of the Sunbonnet Sue. I think she'll love it! We'll be on our way to Charleston this weekend for my niece's birthday party and to spend time with my sister. It will be a fun weekend!

And, yes, we did take Gavin to Chuck E Cheese for his 4th birthday. The only friend he wanted to invite was a neighbor friend. Even after we suggested other friends, he still only wanted to invite Will. Will also happens to have a twin sister, Emma, so it worked out quite perfectly for Gavin and Ivey both to have someone to play with. So, off we went to Chuck E Cheese (aka Germ Fest) on a rainy Saturday night. It was quite crowded, but the kids didn't care and all in all we had a great time. The only problem now is that Gavin asks every day if we can go back. I'm trying really hard not to say "Son, you don't know how hard I try to not get within 100 yards of that place." So, I smile and say, "Sure, honey. We'll go back one day." The following day we had a family party for him. He had a great birthday weekend.

Yes, I know... it's been almost a month since I posted last. Life is busy with the every day needs and wants of the family, time with my husband, church activities, personal interests and hobbies and trying to live in the grace and mercy of Jesus. Also, I begin to think... does anybody really care that I took my kid to Chuck E Cheese for his birthday? Or that I made a cute little shirt for my niece? Or that I'm praying about one of the biggest, life-changing decisions of my life so far... homeschooling my teenager? So, I guess it is what it is and I guess people are interested. At least I'll pretend that they are today.

So, here goes...

The last few weeks have been a time of realizing, once again, that God is so much bigger than me yet he cares about every small detail of my existance. He cares that I felt like I was hitting a brick wall with my teenage son, so he sent me to a discipleship class called "The Age of Opportunity: A Biblical Guide to Parenting Teens." Yes, it has been most definitely a God-send that has changed my life. Literally.

My teenage son and I now spend each night not only praying before he goes to sleep but reading from the Bible. For lots of reasons, more than I have time to write and more than you have time to read, this is huge. God has made me keenly aware of the spiritual warfare surrounding my child and I will not allow Satan to devour him. I will do everything in my power, by the One whose power is within me, to protect, to teach, to show and to live out the importance of living for Christ each day.

No news is good news, right?

Not much going on here. We're taking it easy this January... lots of time inside because of the cold weather. Although, Chris was able to take the kids out to play this afternoon - Hooray for 53 degrees!

Chris turned 33!!

It is a rare occasion that we get all three brothers in the same picture... Chris (middle brother), David (little brother) and Matt (big brother). We took this picture at Chris' family birthday party.

*Sidenote* MOPS started back today and that was a lot of fun. We have four people on the waiting list though. Please pray that we can find more childcare workers so that we don't have to turn people away!

That's it for now... stay tuned!

We had a fantastic Christmas... getting to spend time with our extended family is always blessing. The kids and adults all had a great time talking, playing games and watching football! No catastrophic events, trips to the ER or sick tummies is a successful day in my book!

This year, we had the awesome privilege of attending our first Beginners Band concert!!! It was a hoot and the kids did really well. I couldn't really get any pictures of Morgan as he was hiding behind his music stand. However, I did make him take a picture before the concert in front of the Christmas tree... hey, what else are mom's for???