Halloween Fun 2010

A free greeting card by Smilebox

Getting Away

Our school district is on a year-round schedule so we just finished a two-and-a-half week fall break. It was such a nice break from the busy routine of school and extra curricular activities! Sometimes we really find ourselves just waaaaay overcommitted so taking the step back every few months really helps out A LOT!

 This break we headed up north to Overgaard, Arizona. I have always loved nature - growing up in northern Minnesota on a fishing lake kind of made the "tom boy" in me come out! As an adult, though, my two favorite getaways are the mountains and the beaches. When I hear the whispering of the pine trees or the rhythmic rolling of the ocean's waves, I feel so at peace and so near to God. So, at a much needed time, we headed to the mountains where I got to hear lots of whispering pines and God was faithful and He met me right there!



We were finally able to head up with some dear friends for the weekend and then the boys and I hung out on our own the rest of the week while friends and Daddy headed back down the mountain. It is so fun to watch the boys just enjoy being boys. They run, play, dig, yell, collect, and get absolutely dirty and it is perfectly fine! They don't have to worry about cars hitting them, windows being broken by their football, or the limitations of our block walls down here in Phoenix. And I get time to hang out on the porch with my Bible, or another good book, or even the latest copy of "People" magazine! It is FANTASTIC! 

The boys and our sweet friend decided to make ornaments for the trees. The drew on old 2x4's, the Dad's cut them out, and the Moms and big sisters used string and thumbtacks to create hangers. bunch we all are! What a creative bunch we all are! Note how they made a ton for in honor of our sweet Selah!

 



Look at this large furry "friend" we found visiting us!

Look! The colors of fall! That is a treat for us since it doesn't actually happen in Phoenix (the Valley)!

  

                    

Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise! Let the earth and all living things join in. Let the rivers clap their hands in glee!

Let the hills sing out their songs of joy before the Lord.

For the Lord is coming to judge the earth.

He will judge the world with justice, and the nations with fairness.

Psalm 98:7-9



A Cardinal Kind of Celebration!

Our school participated in a competition to win some big time grant money from the NFL. They had a week-long celebration of fitness and the Arizona Cardinals!! They loved logging their hours of fitness at school and home and I loved how it made them aware of the importance fitness plays in health. They would come home from school, have a healthy snack, finish their homework, and then head back out for some kind of exercise! I didn't even hear mention of the computer or tv! Very cute! Friday was the best because of a huge celebration for the first 20 minutes or so of the day where  the entire student body did the "Cardinal Shuffle" (remix dance version of the Cupid Shuffle). I just couldn't get enough of watching them dance and have the time of their lives! Here are a couple of cute pictures I took during the Friday morning celebration. Notice the boys have Bible verses written on their black out stuff under their eyes! Proud Mommy Moment for me 'cuz it wasn't even my idea! They love Kurt Warner and the way he speaks out about his faith and they love Tim Tebow and his example of writing the verses on the black out, so they put their two favorites together for this celebration! Thanks Kurt and Tim for being great role models for our children and for honoring God in all they do!

A Six Month Summary!

Because I am such a creature of "order", I just couldn't bear to pick up here right now after six months of not keeping up! So....because really writing it all would be a littly crazy, I thought I would post pictures of the highlights of our lives while we were waiting for our Selah... That, I felt would fulfill my need for order and then I could proceed to TRY to keep up with our lives more regularly!

                     From January to March the boys participated in Upward Basketball which is a Christian athletic organization. It was so much fun and the boys not only improved their basketball ability but they spent time learning more about the Lord through devotions and memory scripture verses.

Boardbreaking event at Karate for Zachary

Learning to Skate!

Daddy's Birthday!

 Happy Valentine's Day! He's the cutest Valentine's present EVER!

Enjoying the snow up north in Overgaard, Arizona

The Harlem Globetrotters! What a fun night!

Zach asked his friend to bring a stuffed animal, book, and blanket to donate to Project Night Night. He decided on his own that he didn't need anymore gifts and that he would rather give something to children who are in need. I just love his heart...he is such a treasure!

Easter Sunday

A Sun's basketball with Reach Basketball.

Celebration of learning at Landon's preschool.

Landon had a ladybug obsession and talked me into ordering 1500 ladybugs! They were everywhere!

We went on a Disney Cruise in May! It left on Mother's Day so it was quite a treat and it also was in honor of our 10th wedding anniversary! I am truly blessed!

 

These boys were meant to be on the beach....funny we live in the desert!

A trip to Sacramento for a family wedding. It was beautiful there!

  

Summer fun in the pool!!

 

Exploring and fishing up north...no more snow, only beautiful weather! A needed break from the heat in Phoenix!

Back to school at the end of July...such a quick summer. Zachary is in 3rd grade this year and our little (but VERY tall) Landon went to Kindergarten! I can't believe how fast time flies!

February to August....all in order :-)

A Great Prayer Conference

Last weekend I went to a prayer conference with a couple of my closest friends that was sponsored by Central Christian Church. We were blessed by the teaching of Dr. James MacDonald, Pastor Cal Jernigan, and Pastor Hervin Fushekati! All three speakers were amazing in the way they allowed God to use them to send out His message. They are each a testimony to what God accomplishes when we are obedient to Him. Each of these men have life stories and experiences that convince me that walking in obedience to God has more than likely not always been easy. I’m sure there have been many times throughout their lives in ministry that they have been ready to throw in the towel, to give up because things get tough….but because of their obedience they are allowing God to work through them and in turn consistently touching and changing the lives of so many people!

If you haven’t heard about Dr. James MacDonald, you have to check out his ministry at www.walkintheword.com. He is the pastor at Harvest Bible Church in the Chicago area and he is the host of the nationally syndicated radio program called “Walk in the Word”.

Even though there were tons of “take-aways” from the conference, I think the two that stood out for me were:

1) The teaching on Jeremiah 33:3 which says “Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, which you do not know (do not distinguish and recognize, have knowledge of and understand).” AMP


This verse just laid it out point blank for me. It says you have got to talk to God if you want to hear Him! Simple, huh? God tells us to talk to Him and He will answer you!” How much more straightforward can it be? If we want to know the things we cannot understand and want help making those choices in our lives, we must call on Him. He says He will then show us “great and mighty things”! Wow!! How can you NOT afford to take time out of every day to call out to God?


Here is that scripture from the Message Bible: “Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own”…I love the ending “things that you could never figure out on your own”. That tells me that if I don’t make praying and worshiping God a huge priority in my life, there are going to be WAAAAAAAAY to many things that I can’t figure out!!!!


2) The passion Pastor Hervin Fushekati has for Christ so totally “oozed” out of him as he shared his story of living in Albania and his conversion from the Muslim to the Christian faith. His sharing was so touching…I think not only because it was simply such an interesting and amazing story, but because of the humbleness with which he presented himself and his story. He told of being a part of a very powerful and strong Muslim family and even being placed in a position by Muslim leaders to infiltrate Christian youth groups and then to conversion to Christianity and church planting and even establishing the International Schoool of Theology and Leadership. Can you even imagine? To me it is so mind boggling. We forget that we, as Christians living in the United States have such freedom to worship….His story is a true reminder of how sad life could be without that freedom and a reminder to never take it for granted…nor to take our relationship with Christ for granted!


I will close with this Bible verse and thought from Pastor Cal Jernigan:

Be still, and know that I am God – Psalm 46:10

God tells us that in that quiet time with Him when we pray; we make a relationship with Him come alive…without prayer we will never experience the person of God.


Makes sense, huh?

My Sweet Baby Boy has Turned 5!

Landon turned 5 this month and we had a blast celebrating his special day over and over and over!!! First, we hit Build-a-Bear and the Rainforest Café to celebrate with his bestest buddies!

And then on his actual birthday we brought cupcakes to his pre-school classroom AND had his favorite dinner along with ice cream flurries (with a candle in them of course!) He was so funny about his dinner request…turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy, mac-n-cheese, and strawberries! Quite a combination!

Then on the weekend we had to have the big extended family party as well! That one had a football theme. He loves football (especially the Cardinals…and the Vikings)!

As I sat and thought about how fast the time had gone and how I could hardly believe my baby had already turned 5, my heart was moved and God urged me to see how important the years…the weeks…the days…the moments of my life are with my children! I mean, I know that, but do I REALLY KNOW that?! I try to be present and I try to do what is best, but I know when I take a very honest look at MY life, I can see that sometimes the “trying to do what is best” gets in the way because it makes me over-commit and strangely enough my focus is on my “busyness” as opposed to being on my family! There are so many things to do and so many of them seem like they would be great for the kids, great for me, great for our family….but I have to draw a line in the sand and pick only what we can do without me becoming mentally absent, often distant, and sometimes even cranky!

I am stepping back quite a bit. Sometimes it feels weird and I don’t know what to do with myself in the quiet moments. It feels strange to not always be rushing around! But, I have found so much more time and mental ability to stay totally engaged with both the boys and my husband. I don’t feel myself losing my patience as often and I feel like we have more time to just simply enjoy each other. Will I EVER get caught up on emails, phone calls, and everything else? Probably not…but that’s okay.

I want to be sure to not miss even a moment…not a moment of the good, the bad, and the in-between. I am so blessed to be given the family I had always dreamed of and I don’t want to take a minute for granted. I want to carve the memories into my mind and on my heart so that they can last forever. I want to cherish the incredible gift God has placed before me …the gift of parenting…the gift of caring for His children while they are here on earth!

“LORD, help!” they cried in their trouble,

      and he saved them from their distress.
He calmed the storm to a whisper

      and stilled the waves

What a blessing was that stillness
      as he brought them safely into harbor! –Psalm107:28-30