Easter 2013

"He is not here; he has risen!  Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:  'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be risen again.' "

 

The kids before church

 

 

We enjoyed our Easter holiday beginning with the early rise of our excited children.  Our Easter baskets were filled with several non-candy treats, so that the kids would not be hyped on sugar before church.  Our Easter service at church was wonderful this year.

After church, we came home to make eggs and bacon.  However, I had forgotten to take the bacon out of the freezer, so a quick trip to Wal-Mart was in store. 

After lunch, we had our Easter egg hunt amid rain showers in the yard.  Much to our children's dismay, I announced that they could each pick one piece of candy and then we were dumping all the others into a community bowl.

During the afternoon, we watched the Lorax for the 4th time this weekend, it has become Caroline's new favorite movie.

We ended the evening with a delicious dinner....spiral sliced ham, twice baked potato casserole, and green beans/with feta cheese.

It was a low key holiday enjoyed as a family.  Now, we are looking forward to Spring Break this coming week!

 

Gratitude Journal

For a Savior who paid for my sins

For the fun and excitement of a holiday through the eyes of your child

For another "first" holiday as the Mom of Luke

For chocolate

 



Luke is 10 Months

10 months Already!  I just want to freeze time and keep you this age a bit longer.  You are an absolute joy these days.  You have grown from a very high maintenance infant into a joyful and content little man.

You love to play paddy cake

and explore the world by grabbing it and putting straight into your mouth!

To our surprise, you got two teeth this month.

You are getting so close to crawling.

 

What are you doing this month?

You eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner with many cheerios in between.

You ate rice cakes for the first time and love them.

You are still nursing full time, but we have to start working on weaning you a bit over this next month, so Mommy and Daddy can go on their cruise in May!

You take two naps and are in bed for the night around 7:00 pm.  You are still waking once around 3:00 am.  From past experience, you will probably continue this until I wean you at night.

You are all BOY!  You are loud, make lots of noises, and love to bang things.

You still hold court when your siblings are around.  Emily has made it her mission this month to work on crawling with you and you are Caroline's best friend.

You are our SUNSHINE and we absolutely adore you!

 

Happy 10th Month Luke

 

"Rejoice, and be exceeding glad:  for great is your reward in heaven."

Matthew 5:11-12

 

Gratitude Journal

For the first day of Spring Break

For a new covenant, a new plan that made it possible to rejoice in our eternity

For the excitement of Easter weekend

For the blessings of the last 10 months with Luke

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Happy 15th Birthday Jake

 

http://youtu.be/RxADrMbC11E

Our first born celebrated his 15th birthday yesterday.  We celebrated him tonight since he was at the Clemson/Georgia baseball game last night with his Dad's former boss.

For his 15th birthday, Jake and his Dad went to Bristol, Tennessee for the Food City 500.

It was a chilly day for racing, but they both enjoyed the time spent together.

The track is surrounded by mountains

Waiting for the race to begin

We pray that the memories built on this trip will serve as an encouragement throughout his 15th year.

Happy 15th Birthday Jake.

It seems impossible that you can be this old already.  Our memories of your first year are so vivid.  We pray constantly that God gets a hold of your heart.  You are smart, funny, stubborn, capable, and sensitive.  We know that God has great plans for your life!  These next few years will be a time of excitement and new experiences, and I know they will go by way too fast.  I pray that you will look to God for wisdom and discernment as you make decisions over the next few years.  God's blessings will be abundant when you listen for His will in your life.

 

"Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything own your own.  Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track.  Don't assume that you know it all.  Run to God!  Run from evil!  Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life!  Honor God with everything you own;"

Proverbs 3:5-12 (The Message)

 

Gratitude Journal

For God's greatest gift that He entrusted to Brett and I 15 years ago

For countless prayers on Jake's behalf and for Brett and I as his parents

For a chance to celebrate with a yummy birthday cake

 

 

 

 

 



Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

Somehow, it is already March 13th!  It seems that one day goes faster than the next and somehow I am once again behind on keeping our blog up-to-date.

The first week of March is always Dr. Seuss week in school.  Kate's preschool celebrated with a crazy hair day.

They also read Green Eggs and Ham and wore green for the day.  This seems to be Kate's pose for the time.  Every time I take of picture of her, she tilts her head to the side like this.

Luke had his 9 month well visit.  He was a wild man as you can see in the pictures.  He was whipping his book around.

The kids had a day off school, so we spent some time at the park.  We have enjoyed many more sunny days this month.

Emily, Matt, and Andrew started soccer.  This is Matt's team during his first practice.  Matt (in the white shirt) is practicing a dribbling drill.

and this little guy is getting cuter by the day!

 

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you."

Isaiah 26:3

 

Gratitude Journal

For answered prayers in my sister's journey

For Caroline's sweet sayings

For the safe return of Nick's phone

For the hunger of God's word and the desire to fill my mind with these things.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luke's First Tooth

Yesterday, Luke was chewing on my finger and I felt his first little tooth.

It is not through enough to see it in pictures yet, but it is definitely there.

First Tooth-Bottom left

March 7, 2013

 

 

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such thing."

Philippians 4:8 

 

Gratitude Journal

For a lazy Friday morning, no school, no alarms, pjs, and fun!

For the patience God is blessing me with to enjoy a few extra minutes at night with Kate

For the reassurance through His word that I am listening to his will for my life

 

 

 



Emily's Art Show

Emily had an art piece selected to be featured in the Youth Art Show.  Three pieces were selected among the third, fourth, and fifth graders at her school.

Last Friday night, they had an opening of the art show that will be going on all this month.  Each of the children and their families were invited to attend the opening and a small reception.

Here is Emily standing under her art work.

It was fun to see all the art pieces entered into the show.  Their was a lot of talent showcased from kindergarten all the way through high school from all of the schools in our county.

"The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it."

1 Thessalonians 5:24

Gratitude Journal

Thankful for opportunities to celebrate the individual achievements of our children

Thankful for Nick's weekend at the Mix and for those in his small group who decided to follow Jesus this weekend

Thankful for a yummy chicken salad with olive and oil dressing