Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!

Today is my darling daughter's 4th birthday...where has the time gone?!?!?  Four years ago, she was this:

ALL cheeks, I kid you not.  Abby was my easiest delivery.  I remember sitting and waiting for the time to push (I was well epidural-ized and felt goooooood!) and when the time came, it only took about 25 minutes or so (which was REALLY nice after the 2 hours it took with Caleb!).  The entire time I was pushing, we were watching Wheel of Fortune and trying to solve the puzzles between contractions.  :)  Like I said, easiest delivery of all.  Then she came out...all 10 lbs 2 oz of sweet, chubby, red-haired goodness.

Abby, I love you more than you will know (I would say "ever know" but I'm confident that when you have a daughter, you will understand!) and am so thankful that God entrusted your daddy and me with your care.  You make us laugh daily!  I love how you enjoy being a girl and playing with dolls and dressing up but also want to play with your brothers' cars and trains.  Stick with your tutus and cars and don't let anyone tell you differently.

You have already grown into a beautiful little girl and I am excited to see the amazing things God has for you as you continue to grow.  My prayer for you is to constantly seek after God and strive to become the woman He has made you to be.  But for now?  Just stay my baby girl awhile longer please.

Permission to Speak Freely by Anne Jackson

Permission to Speak Freely by Anne Jackson is a compilation of both essays and art in a book full of honest views of the church and one woman's struggle with addictions and confession.  Anne is a blogger who asked the question "What is one thing you feel you can't say in the church?" and the response was MUCH larger than she expected.  She began to see there are SO many people within our church walls that are hurting and struggling with different sins, yet VERY few of them are willing to say anything about it.

Anne's book outlines her own personal struggles with addictions like pornography and pain killers as well as her struggle with trusting people within the church.  Sadly, Anne grew up in the church (as a pastor's kid no less) and had first hand knowledge of how judgemental fellow Christians can be.

The book started out well but it did tend to start wandering about half-way through.  Also, this is not a "self-help" book or even a "how-to" book, but it is truly all about her struggles and shows how freeing it was for her to be able to confess these things to others...to truly work through them all.  It is a very easy read and I would recommend it if only to begin thinking more about what true confession is (not just acknowledging but truly confessing and making a change).

This book was provided to me for review by Thomas Nelson Publishing as part of the Booksneeze program.  All opinions are my own. 

The Boy Who Changed The World by Andy Andrews

The Boy Who Changed The World by Andy Andrews is a children's book that illustrates the butterfly effect...where every action, good or bad, can influence other actions.  It was a very cute book with very cute and appropriate illustrations for children.  Each story weaves in the comment that God created us to make a difference.  It goes through the chain of events from a farmer adopting George Washington Carver all the way up to Norman Borlaug, and how decisions each one made (large or small) had an influence on others. 

I would recommend the book for children ages 3 - 8 as the story is written directly for children and is easily understood.  All in all a good read!

This book was provided to me by Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of the Booksneeze program.  All opinions are my own.

Cast of Characters by Max Lucado

Cast of Characters: Common People in the Hands of an Uncommon God by Max Lucado...very good read!!  The book is actually segments from a lot of different books he's written through the years (and if you know anything about Max Lucado, you know he's written A LOT of books!) and details the lives of "common people" from the Bible.  Not only were they common people, but they accomplished amazing things with God's help.  This quote from the conclusion sums it up well: "If you ever wonder how in the world God could use you to change the world, look at these people.  This ragbag of ne'er-do-wells and has beens, failed followers and despairing church leaders who found hope, not in their performance, but in God's proverbially open arms." (pg 219)

My favorite chapter was about Mary, Martha and Lazarus.  If you don't know their story, find your Bible and read John 12.  But what I loved most about this chapter is the way Max described each...we all have a place at the table. The book as a whole is a good read and the shorter chapters make for quick reading as well.

This book was provided to me as part of the Thomas Nelson Booksneeze program.  All opinions are my own.

He's Not Finished With Me Yet...

Have you ever started a project and got about half-way through it before realizing it wasn't taking the shape you thought it should?  Maybe it was off-center, maybe it was larger (or smaller) than you thought it was supposed to be.  Maybe you used the wrong materials and didn't realize until it was too late.  I've done this quite a few times throughout my (getting longer every year) crafty life. 

As I was working on a project last night and having one of those times listed above, something hit me:

God's not finished with me yet!

While I may see a project in my hands that is not going the way I planned or desired it to go, God could say the same thing about me!!  The difference??  I would probably (and have at times) just decide to scrap the idea/project and start over (or NOT start over and just give up) yet God doesn't!!  God knows the end project...He knows how all the pieces fit together...He may see a partially complete project (and may not be pleased with its current state!) but He knows how it ends!  He's not finished with me yet!

There is a wonderful freeing feeling in those words, but you have to trust that they're true!  A song by Brandon Heath called "Wait and See" uses the phrase "he's not finished with me yet," and my favorite part of the song is this:

Still wondering why I'm here

Still wrestling with my fear,

But OH! He's up to something.

And the farther on I go, I've seen enough to know

that I'm not here for nothing, He's up to something...

He's not finished with me yet.

My prayer today is that I would continue to believe those words.  That I would KNOW He's still working in my life!!  And whether or not I know how things will all come together in this project of my life, God's word tells me in Romans 8:28 "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."  Thank you Lord that you are NOT finished with me yet!!

Crazy, Busy Weekends!

Life is anything but boring when there are three kids and friends and family that live far away (and by far away I mean anything over a couple hours...).  This past few months we've been having a whirlwind of activity on the weekends and this old lady is feelin' it! :)  Sad, no?

But first, one of the things the kids like to do with Daddy is make french toast for breakfast.  They crack the eggs, mix it and even dunk the bread and place it in the skillet.  Makes for a bit more cleanup but at least they're having fun!!  (and yes, I do believe little Caleb is jammin' out to something here...he marches to his own drummer, just like his momma!)

In May Caleb and Abby were SOOOOO excited to welcome their new baby cousin Faith to the family!  This was trip #1 (and #2 a week later...) to visit some family.  We were able to go up to Uncle Chris and Auntie Em's and hang out with baby Faith for some time.  Isn't she cute??  I think she takes after her aunt... 

Then, for the 4th of July weekend, we decided to go visit my Grammy and Pappy along with Kerry, Rich and Marissa.  I know, who in their right mind would decide to go to GEORGIA in July!!  But God was definitely smiling on this trip because the weather was GORGEOUS!!  It was crazy lovely and we had SUCH a good time!  So fun, in fact, that we didn't take hardly any pictures.  It was just as we were finishing packing that I remembered we needed a pic of Grammy and Pappy with the kids!!

Then the weekend after that we had cousins from the other side of the family in to visit and the kids all had a BLAST playing together!  The toy room was sufficiently trashed but they also enjoyed cleaning it all up the day after. :)  The kids had so much fun, the camera forgot to make an appearance (I know, do you see a pattern??  Oh, and I didn't mention Papa Rick came to visit the weekend before the 4th and, yup--you guessed it...no pics!)

This past weekend we took ANOTHER road trip up to Tomah, WI to visit my best friend and her family.  Shannon and I have been friends since I was in 7th grade and it stinks living almost 8 hours drive away from her. :(  Again, we had SUCH a good time!!!  At least this time I remembered to get the camera out at least a few times....here's Weston, Tyler and Aiden.  Tyler and Aiden were born just under one month apart and it was SO fun to watch them toddle around together!

Princess Abby and Princess Lydia (and Aiden looking on...wanted to be in the picture!) Abby and Lydia are about 7 months apart in age and they played ALL weekend together!

Knight Caleb and Darth Vader Weston doing a nice sword fighting scene for us.  Weston is almost a year and a half older than Caleb, but they get along GREAT as well!!

An attempt to get a pic of ALL the kids together and as you can see, Aiden wanted NO part in it!

So instead, here are the other five.  Aiden just HAD to be in the other picture so we'll leave him out of this one. :)  See??  Everyone looks HAPPY!!

And of course, me and my BFF Shannon.  I am SOOOOO thankful that God has seen fit to keep her a part of my life for all these years!  We may not see each other as often as we did in high school or college (we saw each other EVERY.DAY! in college) but I know that she is there for me and even in all my moving around since high school, Shannon has been the constant. :)  So thankful we were able to spend some time with them over the weekend!!

The summer is winding down for us but we still have more fun friend and family time coming!  I think by the time school starts in a few weeks I'll be ready to stay home for a few days. :)

With this ring, I thee wed

July 13, 2002...The day I married my man.  I am SOOOOO very thankful that God chose me to be his helpmate.  I pray that as we continue in our lives together that we would always be looking to God as the head of our house...that we would continue to work together to be the parents our children need.  I pray that I would always be the wife my husband deserves and most importantly that I would continue to grow more in love with him every day.  It hasn't been a smooth 8 years but it hasn't been completely rocky either.  Praise God for that! 

Thank you Caleb for being more than the husband I deserve...I love you dearly and am SOOOOOOOO proud of you!  Thank you for bringing me along on this adventure...may we always allow God to direct our sail.  Love you!!