What we woke up to this morning!

This is for all my non-northern family and friends.  The first snow hit last night and it is still snowing as I type.  It's not even December yet!!!!  

Happy 7th Birthday Evan

Stairway laced with toys

Yesterday I was cleaning the main floor of our home trying to get ready for Thanksgiving.  It will just be our family around the table, but there are few things as relaxing as a clean home on a holiday around the house with family...so I was placing all the boys things that need to go back to their room on the stairs.  This is a ritual of ours since we live on four stories of house.  We always place them on the stairs and we are all supposed to carry something up whenever we head up the stairs, unfortunately this rarely happens and I usually have to assign them to clean the stairs when I'm splitting up duties.  Anyway, I looked over at the stairs while I was sweeping and the song that Jenette loved as a teen hit me hard.  We all liked it growing up, but now the words pierce deeply.  I am so thankful for my husband and my kids.  They are my life.  My father is always telling me not to blink.  I try to remember, but sometimes forget.  I pray that this weekend of thanksgiving I take in every moment of our family just being.  I hope you do too.

There are watercolour ponies

On my refrigerator door

And the shape of something

I don't really recognize

Drawn by careful little fingers

And put proudly on display

A reminder to us all

Of how time flies

Seems like endless mound of laundry

And a stairway laced with toys

Gives a blow by blow

Reminder of the war

That we fight for their well-being

For their greater understanding

To impart a holy reverence

For the Lord

But, baby, what will we do

When it comes back to me and you?

They look a little less

Like little boys every day

Oh, the pleasure of watching

The children growing

Is mixed with a bitter cup

Of knowing the watercolour ponies

Will one day ride away

And the vision can get so narrow

As you view through your tiny world

And little victories can go by

With no applause

But in the greater evaluation

As they fly from your nest of love

May they mount up with wings

As eagles for His cause

Happy Birthday Grandma!

We love you!!!!!

Mercy, Mercy ME!

So last night I got an invitation to go to a BeBo Norman/Mercy Me concert with some great friends from church. We ate at Panera before the show and all sat together and enjoyed the concert. I found that I kept giggling to myself throughout the concert because I didn't stand up once and neither did anyone else for that matter until the final song. I kept thinking, I need to get up and do something, but I didn't do anything. This is sharp contrast to the Toby Mac concert I went to several months back...where I stood for the entire concert except one song and thought then....I'm getting to old for this. So where does that leave me?

My spirit was willing, but my flesh was weak. What else in my life parallels this silliness? This is a question I'm sure to ponder over the next several weeks, I just wonder if I'll be standing or sitting as I sort it all out.

How often do you second guess yourself?

Do you remember what it was like being a teenager and thinking you've got the world pretty much figured out? Those days seem like lifetimes ago...as I age I found that I second guess myself a lot.

It's not like I'm making many life altering decisions, but the little ones seem to take more courage and thought than they use to. Does that mean I'm more mature in my thinking process or am I more apprehensive than ever before. Maybe a little of both?

Today I had to get Ethan vaccinated with his second MMR shot, we thought we'd done it last year when he started at Galesburg Christian, but hadn't. I had to tell Ethan as we pulled into the doctor's office parking lot that he was indeed there for a shot. The last 24 hours I have been pondering him getting the immunization. It's such a standard shot, but that 1 in a million still stands out to me. A little boy two houses down from where we lived in Jacksonville was one of those 1 in a million. Needless to say, every time any of the kids has had to get their shots, I go through the whole thing of second guessing it all.

On a less mental note, I have never gotten my hair colored before and second guessed myself right into the salon chair. I did it and now I keep looking in the mirror and wondering, did I make the right choice? Thank goodness it wasn't a heaven or hell decision, but still if I had the chance to relive it, would I have made the same choice?

Do you ever second guess? What about? Love to hear your input.

Time Flies

I know I say this every year (except for the year I waited to turn 16, so I could drive)... it just seems like this year has flown by so fast.

We have had a whirlwind of wonderful things in 2008, I just can't believe were almost to the middle of November. It seems like as soon as November 1st comes, you blink and you're into a new year. I was filling in our calendar for the rest of the year and we have something every single weekend.

My prayer for you and I is that we don't let time slip away from us. What do you do to shut out the noise? What do you do to stop time? How do you brand moments on your heart and the hearts of your loved one's so that they will last a life time? I'd love to hear about them.

We are planning to have a family night packed with lots of fun and remembrance. We are going to take down the family calendar and go through each month and talk about the neat things that God has allowed us to experience this year. Definitely not like its as monumental as crossing the Red Sea, but we have stones of our own to help our children remember what Christ has done in our lives. I don't know if this year has been difficult or pretty easy for you, but God is good all the time. I hope you find the time to reflect on His goodness and remember His grace.

Fun Fall Night

Our friends, Dave and Reva; from church invited us to come to their home to experience one of their fall family traditions. They would gather all the fallen leaves and make a huge pile...then they would hide candy in it. Their son and the teens of the church would come over and dive into it to find all the candy. Dave had been working in their yard and they decided it would be fun for our kids to come over and hunt for candy. After a phone call and invitation, I told the kids what we were going to do and the questions began...How big is the pile going to be? How will we know if we found it all? Jaron, don't you think that will be fun?

All four of them had a blast. We were so appreciative to Dave and Reva for thinking of us. We all laughed and giggled and laughed and giggled. They cleaned out the little playhouse and rearranged the furniture. It was a new experience and a memory that will last a lifetime. Thanks guys!