~~His Precious Gems~~

Let's play a little game, shall we.

2011-08-29T14:36:00.000-04:00

I started a new blog because this account is out of space for me to add pictures. (and we all know how much I love to post pictures).
Leave me a comment (or text, email, ask in person, send smoke signals, something), no one else will see it, (I promise) and I will give you the link to the new blog. I am interested in seeing who still looks at this. Hope to hear from you soon!

2011-07-16T09:23:00.001-04:00

This is on Rebecca's door. "Fussy and cranky girl on other side"... Boy, is she right about that one!

Ultimate Spy Club

2011-06-15T10:34:00.001-04:00

The girls started a spy club yesterday with a friend. They have a club name and are working on their spy names, membership cards and paperwork. They were even out in disguise looking for someone to spy on. Emily has the binoculars and they are in search of a mystery after the oaths are said.

Shea

2011-06-08T13:15:00.002-04:00

The girls with their aunt on the james river.
Shea

~*~I enabled my mobile posting and just wanted to try it out. It works! Surely this means I will post more often as my phone has become so much more than a phone for me! ~*~

The Girlz of the Fam

2011-06-03T23:05:00.000-04:00

30 Days of training girls to be homemakers

2011-05-31T12:59:00.000-04:00

Homemaking for Girls~ 30 Days

"Homemaking. Such a simple word for such a complex job. How does one go about making a home?

There’s cooking and cleaning, of course. But there’s so much more to it, isn’t there? And as we begin to teach our daughters, it can be confusing and overwhelming.

Maybe, like so many of the moms I’ve heard from, no one ever taught you how to run a home. Maybe you’ve figured it all out via trial and error, and — thanks be to God — it’s going okay. Sure, there’s been bumps and bruises along the way, but you’re on the way.

But we want more for our daughters. We don’t want them to fumble their way through the first few years of marriage, and learn the hard way. We want to teach them as they grow under our care… to cook, to clean. To love God’s Word. To practice hospitality. To respect their husbands.

For 30 Days in May, we’ll be doing just that here at Homegrown Mom."

I just found this website on a 30 day challenge, so to speak, in May in training our daughters. I'm a little late in finding it for the month of May, but am excited to try it out for the summer. I will keep you updated on how it goes.

http://homegrownmom.com/homemaking-for-girls-30-days

14 years of Marriage

2011-05-30T12:39:00.001-04:00

and still going strong

I love you hunnie <3

Precious Niece

2011-05-30T12:36:00.002-04:00

My precious little niece turns one this week.

Obviously, in her first year of life, she's discovered that she doesn't like the feel of grass. This may change in time, but it's cute to see that little face look up to Mommy as if to say, "Help, get me off this prickly stuff!"

Lyme Disease is on the Rampage in Virginia

2011-05-28T17:50:00.001-04:00

http://www.wtvr.com/news/wtvr-tick-problems-100517,0,6031502.story

I took our 11 lb. yorkie-poo to the vet earlier this month for her annual shots and vaccinations. One of the tests they ran is for Lyme Disease. Rosie tested positive. :o/ The vet didn't seem too worried and prescribed her some medication to take over the course of 30 days.

We came home and upon researching Lyme Disease in dogs, I had several questions answered on why she had acted the way she has been which is depressed. While some dogs show no outward evidence, some of the symptoms that a dog might experience is loss of appetite, arthritis, lameness, and depression. Other symptoms include:

•Reluctance to move or a stiff, painful gait

•Swollen joints that are warm to the touch

•Pain in the legs or throughout the body

•Fever, fatigue and swollen lymph nodes

So, that explained why she would not eat and laid in her crate day in and day out. I even made it a point to take her out for more walks to try to get her out of her funk. Little did I know that probably caused her pain. Poor doggie.
She was on the medication for a solid week before showing any signs of improvement. She spent a couple of days with some energy but then went back to her depressed mode. Two weeks after being diagnosed and started on her medication, she awoke in obvious pain. She would not get up and if she did, she whole body shook as she limped across the kitchen to get a fallen piece of food. Her appetite was back somewhat but she was in so much pain that I called the vet and asked to bring her back in.
They took extras to find that the Lyme disease settled in her right shoulder joint. They upped her dose to twice a day for 30 days and put her on a 5 day prescription of pain pills. Instantly, my Rosie is back to herself, however, she has been excused from 6 weeks of limited physical activity with no walks. Now that she has gained her energy back, I am wondering how I am to keep her sane without going stir crazy.
$300 in one month on vet bills... All because of a tick. I urge you to check your pets, children and yourself for tick on a daily basis. It's an easy prevention that could have costly and painful consequences if going untreated.

Picasa Overload

2011-05-18T15:33:00.000-04:00

It has been brought to my attention that I have too many high quality pictures on my blogs. It all started when Rebecca wanted to change the header on her blog. It wouldn't let me due to the fact that I was out of space on Picasa. What?!?! How could that be?
I had just put up a post of old pictures I found while deleting pictures on my pc--I am running out of memory on that too :o/ Time for a new computer, hmm? (wink)
I love putting pictures on here! Now, come the consequences... (BTW, I deteted that post of old pictures, too, to try to make more room for others.)
In trying to figure out how to reduce my 99.4% filled to capacity Picasa Web album; which holds all of blogger's pictures; I found out that on this blog alone, His Precious Gems, I have a total of 2,686 pictures on here. Wow, that is a lot of pictures over the years. That does not include Rebecca, Emily, or my homeschooling blogs.
I deleted a few pictures, but obviously not too many as it will delete them off my blog. I realized that the problem is that my pictures are too big in size. To reduce the size to put them on here is a great inconvenience.
I painstakingly took the time to resize all the pictures from the post on the girls Awana Awards. It makes the pictures look grainy and distorted. However, I am down to 97.14 % full. A tiny bit better than 99%, I'd say.
I do not want to start another blog under another username to get more space... I refuse to pay for the memory on Picasa... I think that once I get to capacity again, I will have no other choice but to start another blog. Be on the lookout for when that happens.

Mysteries of Motherhood

2011-05-05T10:05:00.000-04:00

Mysteries of Motherhood

by Reb Bradley

Mother's hearing

She does not hear the car alarm, the neighbor's music, or the noise of playing children,

But from the other end of the house, in the middle of the night, she will hear a child's slightest whimper

Mother's mind

She may not comprehend how to use the VCR or the computer,

But she understands a child's heart whenever it hurts.

Mother's Strength

She may be too weak and exhausted to carry groceries in from the car,

But she is strong enough to intimidate any who threaten her children.

Mother's memory

She may not remember where she put her keys or the reason she walked into a room,

But she never forgets the wonderful things her children do and say.

Mother's clothes

Her clothes aren't so perfect – they're stained by baby's burps and last month's lasagna,

But each stain is a badge of love and service equal to any won by a soldier.

Mother's hands

All she sees are the lines and wrinkles in her hands, and longs for their youthful appearance,

But she forgets their wear speaks of love, devotion, and sacrifice.

Mother's shape

She sighs and moans when she cannot fit into the clothes of her youth,

But her shape and stretch marks are like battle scars which say, "Kids, you were worth it!"

Mother's eyes

The mirror tells her that her eyes lack sparkle,

But the bags and fatigue betray love that burns bright all night long.

Mother's career

She is haunted sometimes by what she could have been,

But she equips generations and shapes the world's future.

Mother's trust

She doesn't trust enough to let you near the strange dog or to climb to the tip top branch,

But she believes in you when you are discouraged and full of self doubt.

Mother's significance

She regrets her failures, mourns her anger, and dreads she is warping her children's psyches,

But she so tightly bonds her children to her heart that they will grow up, but not away.

AWANA AWARDS

2011-05-03T22:32:00.003-04:00

AWANA- Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed

2 Timothy 2:15

"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

Emily has completed a year of Cubbies, 3 years of Sparks, and her first year of Truth and Training totalling 237 verses not including the extra workbooks and Silver sections she has completed.

Rebecca has completed 2 years (3 books) of Sparks, 3 years of T & T, and her first year of Trek totalling 579 verses not including all the workbooks, Silver and Gold sections, or the Trek Challenges that she has completed.

I AM AMAZED!

Emily is the third from the left, looking sweet as always, with some of her T & T class of girls.

Emily earned her first book award, a certificate and a ribbon for clubber of the second quarter. Way to go Emily!

Here's Rebecca in the pink with her Trek class of 6-8th graders.

Rebecca completed all of the Trek Challenges, a challenge in deed! It was an accomplishment, the first time anyone in our church has completed it, so I was told by the director.

She had a great year, made better by having wonderful leaders!

These two won the Timothy Award, the coolest award Rebecca has ever received. A lot of work goes into earning these awards. You have to have completed four books since the third grade and have to have completed or be near completion of sixth grade. They both had huge grins over how cool this award is.

The girls were so proud of themselves and had every right to be. It is a lot of hard work, dedication, studying and in Emily's case, a horrible, vengeful teacher who tried to pull her down at every opportunity. Emily rose up and took it with all of her might. I am so proud of Emily for the way she handled this leader for an entire school year, maybe more so than the amount of scripture hid in her heart. Her actions showed what is in her heart, and for that, I am honored to be her mother.

Fun at Busch Gardens

2011-04-20T12:08:00.000-04:00

Busch Gardens + Spring Break + Beautiful Weather= Unbelievably Crowded

attempting to get cooled off without getting soaked

Three of my favorite loves : My girls and mini palm trees. If Jay had been there, it would have been a perfect day!

Liberty Ladies Spectacular of 2011

2011-04-17T23:08:00.000-04:00

The Liberty Ladies Spectacular is unbelievable! It is something that we have looked forward to since last April. This was Rebecca's third year and Emily's second year in being able to go. I am not sure as to how many years I have gone to this particular one, I just remember that the first time I went, I was pregnant with Emily.

Long story short, it's amazing seeing God at work in the lives of the ladies at our church. Three years ago, it was myself, Rebecca and 3 ladies from our church who attended. We had all been there before and knew what to expect. My friend and I became burdened for the ladies of CBC to join in on the fun and blessings. Last year, we had a total of 14 (I believe) from our church. This year, we had a total of 27 in our group. We had only 4 juniors, 5 teens and the rest ladies. Many of those from last year were unable to attend this year. We had 9 new girlies (ladies, jrs. and teens included) come. We were blessed with several ladies who had previously been but are now apart of CBC. All that to say, it was a great group of ladies. I can't wait to see how many more are able to come next year.

Below are a few pictures of those who were on the bus going down with us.

They look bored but were chatting when I took the photo. Guess I got them at the wrong moment.

I love this age! They are so cute together.

As per our annual tradition (just started last year), we gather for lunch at the Cracker Barrel near the host church. Yummy food, sweet, sweet tea, and fabulous fellowship!

A newcoming to the spectacular is having FUN! Although it was a bit disappointing that we could not stand on the pews. They said the pews were just too old.

The first afternoon/evening had some fabulous speakers. I have a renewed great respect for Mrs. Cindy Schaap. She is the pastor's wife of First Baptist Church in Hammond, IN. She reminded me so much of a lady that I have ~~despised~~ disliked and it's taken years for me to get over that. By reading her books and listening to her cd's, I realize her infinite wisdom and that I truely respect her and her position as the wife of the great Jack Schaap. Her first message was about Job's wife. Often, Job's wife is thought of in a negative way yet we do not consider how discouraged she must have been in losing her children, her husband's employees, their money... To say curse God and die...she had to be at her wits-end! Through her life, we need to learn to have gratitude for our husband's integrity, realize the oppertunity we have to show Jesus in our actions, have prayer and praise daily, and lastly, silence. Know when to be quiet.

Mrs. JoJo Moffitt spoke on be a caretaker by being concerned, attentive, reaching out and eager.

Mrs. Hyles, in all her southern grace, spoke on Walk and Faint Not. I could just listen to her all day. I have admired this woman for my entire saved life and she continues to amaze me year after year.

Lastly, Mrs. Loretta Walker spoke on Open Communication in the Home. She gave the 6 levels of comunication and talked about our emotional bank.

After the meeting, we all headed to the hotel, some finding it easier than others :o) Unfortunately, the hotel was packed and the rooms were not bunched together.

The rule is that you must jump on hotel beds. It's a must and can be great fun. My rule is that you must have clean feet. :o)

This isn't the picture I thought I was uploading but it will do... Emily and her friend enjoying the "Must Jump on Hotel Beds" rule.

I'm not sure why but there were 2 phones in each room. Our happened to be between the beds and at the desk/living room area- which was quite nice-. Some of the other rooms had their phones in the split bathrooms. Emily and her friend loved calling each other from room to room and while in the same room asking if room service would come and fluff the pillows.

Pillow Fight!

Here are some of our ladies with Mrs. JoJo Moffitt. She is Rebecca's favorite speaker. She even has a treasured dollar bill that Mrs. JoJo gave her.

Of course, you can't come and not love Ron and Shelly Hamilton. Patch the Pirate and Sissy Seagull are simply the best. When Mrs. Hamilton spoke, I don't think there was a dry eye in the room. She gave a personal testimony on perserverance that takes my breath away. I have absolutely no right to think that my trails are so bad in the whole scheme of things. I have been truely blessed!

All pooped out!

And awake again!

I had a picture of our awesome bus driver but accidently deleted it. Our pastor told us to take the small bus and a 15 passenger van to the spectacular since neither of those require a CDL. Well, our original bus driver was hurt at work on Wed. and was unable to drive it. I was intending on driving down but our van driver was talked into driving the bus. After a few spins around the parking lots, she agreed. We still had other drivers for various reasons, but it was nice to simply ride this time and enjoy being with the other ladies.

Through lots of prayer, she was able to bring us home even with the threat of tornados. We waited the storm out and didn't hit a lot of rain, saw some beautiful rainbows and a few trees down. There were several tornados that did touch down but God's hand was on us and all was good!

Oh, I could just go on and on about the speakers, the trip, the blessings, and God's sovereignty! He is so good and this weekend was just what I needed.

Who needs a park when there is a parking lot handy?

2011-04-08T18:55:00.000-04:00

80's in March= fun afternoon at the park

2011-03-18T23:19:00.000-04:00

Wow... Was today an absolutely beautiful day!

We started off slow, sleeping in until 8, had a full day of school, and an afternoon at the park with new friends and even newer friends. Even though we had ruin the day with school, it was finished up with lots of fun.

While waiting for the others to show up, I took advantage of the time for a few picture ops.

Isn't that a gorgeous view?

The brown, murky water is what we drink. Ew. It also does not compliment the shirt.

hoping for a cash payoff... all she found was a bottle cap

Friends arrive... let the fun begin :o)

Sometimes moms can't help but have a little fun, too.

And the competitiveness in her means that she has to do it with her arms crossed, like it's no big deal.

Is this NOT the cutest picture, or what? I just LOVE watching her in all her little girl joy.

the big kids

Hmm, maybe we shouldn't hang upside down while wearing a skirt. Of course shorts under the skirt are a must for Rebecca's everyday life.

It was a fun afternoon and we can't wait to hang out with this bunch again.

UPWARD BASKETBALL 2011

2011-03-06T01:14:00.000-05:00

Another year of basketball has come and gone. We love watching Rebecca play and it is a thrill for me each and every time she makes a basket. She has a love for the game, her teammates, and winning... which they did- each game! Besides being undefeated 2 years in a row, the most important part of Upward is the devotion time during each practice and game. During the course of the season, there were 72 or 78 - I forgot :/ - messages of God's saving grace given to each and every family member and fan sitting out on the bleachers. There were 9 commitments made during the season. Praise God, that is what the purpose of Upwards is for- to get the Word out to the community!

The awards at the end of the season is always a big deal. Each year, they have great entertainment and this year was no different. We had the Crevier family all the way from South Dakota. They were amazing!

"Bruce Crevier is a "Four Time Guinness World Record Holder" for basketball spinning and has traveled all over the world performing and sharing a message of hope to this generation! You will be motivated and inspired!! Bruce and Diane and their family of 12 children use Basketballs, Unicycles, Music and Fun!!"

You can read more about this family at http://www.champions-forever.com/

Emily's Roots

2011-03-04T12:02:00.000-05:00

I must say that I have truely neglected this blog. So, My new goal is to try to update at least once a week- even if it is just a picture or little blurb.
So, for today's post...
In Science, Emily is learning about plants. Today's lesson was focused on the roots and their job.
The book says, "Roots hold the plant in the ground. They also take minerals and water from the soil and send them through the stem to all parts of the plant.... Roots of plants hold the soil in place to keep it from washing away in a rainstorm."
After discussing this, we took it a step further and applied it to our lives. We talked about having our roots dug deep down like a mighty oak so when the storms of life come, you will hold firm. If we plant our roots firmly into the Word of God, the *minerals and water* will help us to grow spiritually. It will help us in each and every avenue of our lives.
After our lengthy disscussion, Emily got this look on her face that only I recognize. She was trying to act as if all was ok but I knew something was troubling her. I thought that it might have been my examples of storms that upset her. She ended up breaking down and crying. I have heard of children with sensitive hearts but not until Emily came along, have I been able to first hand witness it. She wants to get her roots planted firmly in the Word so we have decided to amp up or Bible reading and prayer lives. She is such a blessing to our family and I hold dear to those things that can break the heart of a little eight your old girl.

Jeremiah 17:8 :For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when the heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yeilding fruit."

Little Angel and Her Little Sister

2010-12-14T23:06:00.000-05:00

Our church puts on a Christmas production every year. Each year, it is so wonderful and special. Last year, Rebecca had a small part as the youngest daughter and showed off her excellent acting skills. In October, I was approached about having her in the play this year and was thrilled to tell her of her as Little Angel.

She did a fantastic job, they all did! Emily also had a duet of a verse in a song and sang beautifully. I'm attempting to upload a portion of the video I took at the end of this post. It may be too long to share though.

Enjoy these pictures of my 2 angels :o)

The video failed twice so you'll just have to be saticfied with a song sang by the Lilies of the Valley- a singing group made up of middle school aged girls.

Dreaming of that private island with blue skies and even bluer water...

2010-11-30T22:58:00.001-05:00

Where oh where does the time go? The last blog update was in September... SEPTEMBER! My, oh my, life sure does fly when you are having fun.
September was a jumble of schooling, gymnastics, piano lessons, soccer practices, games, church, more schooling, gymnastics, soccer, soccer, soccer... I feel that my whole life is wrapped around my children. It's not a bad thing. Jay has been so busy with getting Microsoft certs and work that I had to stay busy or I'd go crazy.
October rolled in and we were on a great schedule. There wasn't much to life outside of our immediate family, but again, not a bad thing. I love doing for my family. That's my purpose here, isn't it?
Anyways, mid-October, we left town. Oh how I loved being on vacation with my family. Again, more family time. Sensing a priority here? We spent 5 night/6 days at Walt Disney World, 7 nights on a Disney cruise and then another 2 days at Disney. Shew, I was Disney-ed out! The cruise was fantastic though!!! I have memories that will just have to last me until our next cruise in a year- well, 11 months now. We were gone a total of 16 days and it was quite odd coming back to reality. We literally missed half a month with limited contact with family or friends. I would have no issues moving away to a tropical oasis with my hubby and girls.
Coming home on Nov. 1st to brrr *cold* was not our idea of fun. Had to turn the heat on. Not a pleasant wake-up call. Had to put away the flip-flops, tank tops, shorts and bathing suits. Sigh...
We left Disney World with fall decorations, cute mickey shaped pumpkins to Christmas play practices, Christmas music (Emily has a solo in the Christmas play), coats, rain, hat, gloves, well you get the point. Yes, we've had a bunch of warm days since vacation and I'm very grateful for that blessing but we had some freezing cold days too. I just enjoyed walking around Disney property at 1 am in short sleeves and flip-flops.
We are still on the go each and every day. I long for those lazy, jammie days. No alarm clock. I actually have that next day planned. It's in 19 days :o) Now watch, something will come up and I won't get to sleep in. It's ok though. Christmas is coming!
For Thanksgiving this year, I asked Jay if it'd be ok if we could just be moochers. He was all for it! We had 2 Thanksgiving meals that I didn't have to cook or clean for and an added bonus... we were given leftovers!!! Now if my grandma had been well enough to come visit, I would have prepared a feast and enjoyed every minute. Unfortunately, she had a recent fall and is too sore to travel.
Well, that pretty much brings you up to date on us. Our winter schedule is still as hectic as the fall except change soccer with basketball and cooking lessons. I'm just thankful for the little blessing of tonight-- a Tuesday evening and I'm home! Won't see another Tues night at home until the end of Feb. unless it snows. Gotta love all these sports practices :o) Oh, I can't leave you without a picture or two now, can I?

Oh, Worship the King

2010-09-23T11:50:00.000-04:00

Rebecca played the piano for the first time in front of a large audience last night. She did a magnificent job playing Oh, Worship the King flawlessly. She played all 3 verses so beautifully. The video above was taken while she and Mrs. Cindy, one of our church piano players, practiced before church. It is only one verse long so if you decide to listen, you do not have to endure all 3 verses.
Emily gets to play in 2 weeks and is super excited. She is only going to play the chorus of Oh How I love Jesus during the offertory. Rebecca's next song to play is I Surrender All.

The Comets

2010-09-21T11:07:00.000-04:00

Just a touch of what has been keeping us busy...

2010-09-16T20:58:00.001-04:00

*these pictures are out of order but I don't have the patience to try to move them*

Soccer season is in full swing. Can I just say that I LOVE watching my children play in just about any sport they participate in but my absolute favorite is soccer.

Here is a group pre-game meeting (with Em in white).

Rebecca has moved up to U12 and the games seem to get more and more exciting each year.

I took about 4 different pictures of Becca playing forceful. She is definitely a competitive player who wants the ball and wants to score. They won their first game 6-3.

I caught about the last minute or so of Emily's game. Most of their games are overlapping so Jay and I will take turns watching each game. I just hope that Jay doesn't have to work any weekends because the family support just isn't there and I don't know what we'll do then.

Emily has a new coach this season and seems to like him quite well. She scored the first goal of the game but it wasn't enough because her team was creamed. We shall see what the rest of the season has in store for the Comets. I'm looking forward to watching her play hard and have fun this Saturday.

Another activity that the girls are participating in this school year is gymnastics. They have both taken classes since they were 18 months old but with soccer and basketball, gymnastics has had to take a backseat some. The girls took summer classes and started with the homeschool classes this week. Emily's class started today but try as I might, I could not get a good picture of her. She's starting to get some upper body strength and has taken more interest in it the past month or so. The picture above is actually from one of the last classes of the summer with her favorite teacher. I'll try for better pictures next week.

This picture was taken of Rebecca in the homeschool class. She absolutely loves to climb the rope.

Here is Rebecca with her instructor being used as an example on landing.

Here's where the pictures are out of order. This picture was taken on the first day of school. My sweet baby is in third grade! She is doing a fabulous job in school. She is excited and ready to go each and every day and does her work without complaint (except writing). Her favorite subject is History. It is the first time that we have done formal history with her. In the past, I have just tacked on some of whatever Rebecca is learning so she is happy to have her own text book and personal time with me each day doing this subject together.

This is what is really killing me. It doesn't hit me hard that Rebecca is doing 6th grade work but when I listen to her friends talk about being in middle school, it starts to bother me that my child would be in middle school if she weren't homeschooled. Just thinking of the *extra curricular* education I received in middle school, most being on the bus, I am more resolved in our stance on homeschooling. Many ask if we plan to do this all the way through and more than ever, the resounding answer is YES!

What has really starting to bother me about Rebecca growing up is she is now with the teens at church. She looks so little sitting between them. Bec has her first teen activity this week and is looking forward to it. Me, not so much :(

Oh, by the way, Rebecca is excelling in school, too. We switched up some of her curriculum and it was a good decision on my part. Of course, I am still changing things up a bit after we started our school year but it is going very well! Rebecca's favorite subject is Science. This is one of those subjects that we switched curric. on and again, good decision!

Rebecca has taken piano lessons for a year now and Emily is not long behind her. Rebecca is going to play a duet Wed. night in church. If she is nervous, she isn't showing it. She has taken to the piano and plays beautifully. Emily will play in 2 weeks and is very nervous. Actually I am a little nervous for her too because she is not a child who likes to be in the spotlight. I know she will do wonderful, though!

Well, this is a look into our world.

After the rain

2010-08-27T14:07:00.000-04:00

Disney...rain or shine...still counting down the days til our next trip

2010-08-27T13:14:00.000-04:00

Just incase you do not know why I am posting Disney vacation and cruise pictures, it is a countdown to our next trip in October. We will be staying a week on Disney property and then taking a Disney Cruise to the Eastern Caribbean. I'm excited beyond belief about the cruise and moderately excited over another Disney trip. The previous posts of pictures are symbolic of the countdown until our next trip.
This picture was taken at Animal Kingdom in Oct 2008. It is not uncommon for it to pour for 20 mins. and then stop, leaving the rest of the day cooler but humid. It's always a bonus when we don't get caught in the downpour. This time, we were quick enough to run into a shop and were able to wait it out with some friendly chatter with the cast members.
More Disney pictures of the past to come.

I see this in my future...

2010-08-25T10:56:00.000-04:00

Old friends... looking forward to seeing soon!

2010-08-23T17:45:00.000-04:00

I really don't want the time to go by too quickly but I sure am looking forward to this cruise. We've had it on our agenda for 2 years and it has come oh so quickly. I have a bunch of things planned for the rest of August and September but as soon as those things get underway...look out Disney, here we come!

Going nuts over this Disney vacation... and it's not until the fall.

2010-08-13T21:51:00.000-04:00

As each passing day goes by, Jay gets more and more excited about going to WDW. Me, not so much. I am so sick of hearing where we will eat, at what time, and where we will go each day. I'm looking forward to the cruise so each day isn't so planned out. Actually, on the cruise, our itenerary doesn't come until the night before so other than those days at port, we don't know what we will be doing. Just knowing I will get to relax from the crazy WDW trip the week before is a comforting thought.
This picture is Em on Castaway Cay, Disney's private island. We had finished eating and not quite ready to go back out into the sun just yet. I love the way Emily is inspecting the palm tree at Cookie's BBQ.
*This was taken on our second cruise on the Wonder (3rd with Disney, though).

Disney Countdown has begun!!!

2010-08-10T21:46:00.000-04:00

Looking forward for our next visit with *the mouse*!!!

Disney Countdown

2010-08-09T23:29:00.000-04:00

In celebration of our upcoming Disney trip and cruise, I will randomly post pictures from previous trips. This one was taken on my favorite ride, Test Track. It is so much fun. The lines were so short on our trip in Nov. 09 that we rode this over and over. This one is of the picture that the ride takes just before shooting through the doors to the outside.

Our girls are growing up way too quickly!

2010-08-07T22:35:00.003-04:00

Pool fun

2010-08-02T23:24:00.001-04:00

This video was taken a few weeks ago. Since then, Rebecca has learned to walk down the diving board and dive without stopping. Today, she saw a teenager run on the ground and dive in, going almost all the way across the width of the pool. She asked if she could try and she mastered it on the first go around. She's also becoming an expert at getting the diving sticks when thrown into the 10 ft. section.

Emily is not too far behind Becca in her swimming abilities. She still does as many belly flops as she does dives but can hang out in the deep in with no problem. She loves to dive for the diving sticks from the diving board. Her favorite part about the pool is that she gets to play with her new but old pal Katie.
Each of us have greatly enjoyed our pool membership. If it weren't for the times that we get to hang out there, I might have gone crazy this summer :o)~

A little late... I know!

2010-07-29T22:05:00.004-04:00

Presenting...(drum roll please)

my beautiful niece:

Madison Alyse

Born June 3rd

Weighing in at 7 lbs 5oz.

my personal favorite

She has some cute facial expressions and her face is ever changing. I love this little girl!

Summertime Fun With Friends

2010-07-28T12:03:00.000-04:00

Ahhh... the joys of being a kid in the summertime!!!

recent photo of these precious girls

2010-07-13T10:47:00.002-04:00

Florida Vacation Day 1

2010-05-01T19:05:00.000-04:00

6:30 a.m.

They've been up since 4:30. You can tell wich child is a morning oerson and which one isn't.

that's better

the grandparents

the daddy

catching a few zzz's

on the tram in the Orlando airport

More pics to come. This internet is sooo slow.

Softball pics

2010-04-26T23:35:00.000-04:00

I've taken on the role of photographer for the homeschool softball league. It;s definetly not because I am a good picture taker by any means. If you want to know the truth, it was my way of getting out of helping out on the field. Besides, I do enjoy taking pictures. I decided to to do a blog for the parents and children as a neat way to share all these great (haha) pictures that I have taken. Actually, the children is what makes the pictures nice. They are great! Be sure to take the time to look at them. The link is over on the right.

Happy Easter Everyone!!!

2010-04-04T22:10:00.000-04:00

He lives! He lives! Christ Jesus lives today. You ask me how I know he lives... He lives within my heart!

Thank you Jesus for suffering such a horrible crucifiction for this poor wretched soul!

I can add pages to my blog!

2010-03-29T10:28:00.000-04:00

Ok, so it took me awhile to figure it out but I finally did it. I have seen others with this option but couldn't figure out how to do it myself. I started a blog for the parents of our local homeschool softball teams and figured it all out. So I brought that newfound knowledge over here and will start a page for sports and another page for our homeschooling adventures and updates.
The only setback with this layout is that there isn't spellcheck. Why they would take that feature away is beyond me. So, it looks as if I might have to proofread my posts and you just might have to deal with my misspellings! I apologize in advance for all the mistakes you will see in the future :o)

I love my church!!!

2010-03-22T13:29:00.004-04:00

Isn't it wonderful to be apart of an active church? So much so that we haven't been able to participate in everything. Here are a few pics and video to share with you.

jr. choir singing in the video above

Missions is a very important ministry of Calvary. Our pastor takes missions VERY seriously. Besides going on a mission trip each year, our church supports over 100 active, soul winning missionaries all over the world. In the budget for 2010, our church will give $150,000 to support our missionaries! The church takes the month of Feb. and focuses on missions. Many sermons and lessons are centered on missions. We have many missionaries from around the globe visit our church to give a status update. We set aside one evening to have an International Finger Food Fellowship. Each Sunday school class gets a region to set up a table with goods and food from that area. Unfortunately, our Missionary Sunday took place on a Sunday when our area received over a foot of snow. We went to church that morning and we blessed to hear from 4 missionaries, I think. Others were snowed out and had to reschedule. The Fellowship was also rescheduled. Here are a few pictures from that night.

The girls spent the evening serving others.

~~~~~

Calvary just celebrated their 50 year anniversary. I knew the church had been around since my childhood but I had no idea it has withstood half a century! The Pastor celebrated this with a bang! It started off with a catered fellowship Saturday evening. I brought my camera but never used it. I stole these pictures off Facebook from another Calvary member. Thanks Tammy!

Mrs. Bonds was the wife of Pastor Marshall O. Bonds. Pastor Bonds was the pastor of Calvary for 37 years up until his death. I didn't have the pleasure of meeting him but he had to be a man of God to keep this Independent Fundamental Baptist Church going strong for 37 years! What a testimony!

The pastor had a great line up of preachers to come and preach for us Sun- Thursday evening. I was glad that I did not miss a single service! Well, technically I did as Jay taught jr. church Sunday morning (and I was the helper) and we missed the first message from Guy Roberts. Pastor Roberts comes once a year for revival so I've been privileged to hear him several times.

Here is our Pastor and wife with Pastor Guy Roberts and his wife.

The First Night(Sunday) of Bible conference.....Bro Guy RobertsAre You ON The Wall.... Nehemiah 3: 1-30

"The Contrast Of The Workers" "The Cooperation Of The Workers" "The Committment Of The Workers" "The Challenge Of The Workers"

*summary also taken from Tammy*

The 2nd night(Monday) of Bible Conference....

Bro Lou Baldwin ~Stay In The Ship.. Acts 27:9-32"Listen To The Man Of GOD"

a.Warns you of your Dangers,

b.Duties and

c. Delays" Lean Upon The Message Of GOD"

a.Message of Comfort,b.Courage and c. Conviction"Labor In Your Church"a.Find my Sercurity,b.Surrender My Life

The 3rd night(Tues) of Bible conference......

Kenny BaldwinDon't Forget The LORD...

Deuteronomy 6: 10-22

"Soverent God"~ "Saved You"~ "Supplied For You" ~ "God Has Standards"

The 4th night(Wednesday) of Bible conference....

Bro Deron Jackson with Pastor Joe Haskett and Pastor Ray Haskett

Faith....II Thess 1:3-4

"Define Your faith"~"Defend Your Faith"~"Develop Your Faith"~"Faith needs to be Demonstrated"

Last Night(Thurs.) Of Bible Conference...

Dr.Eric Capaci

Encouragement To Others

5 Characteristics In Barnabas Life

1.LOAD LIFTER...Acts 4:36-37

2.FRIEND FINDER...Acts 9:23-27

3.BRIDGE BUILDER..Acts 11:19-22

4.DISCIPLE DEVELOPER..Acts 11:25-26

5.FAILURE FIXER...Acts 15:36-40 a. II Timothy 4:11

~~~~

Our church also held the anual Awana Games this past Saturday. We opted out of having our children play this year and made them participate in their soccer games. What a year to miss! They started practicing early and both teams, Sparks and T & T came in first in their divisions. That is a really big deal! The older teams still have to play and the Day of Champions is set for this coming Saturday. Go Calvary!!!

Why did God make mothers?

2010-02-23T14:24:00.004-05:00

I received one of those e-mails where the teacher asked her class of second graders these questions and recorded the funny ones. I asked the same questions to Emily and Rebecca. Although their responses aren't anything worth passing along, I enjoyed hearing what they had to say.

Why did God make mothers?
Em~ to take care of children
Bec~ to take care of us and help us when we are in trouble and to guide us

How did God make mothers?
Em~ well, God made Adam and Eve out of dust of the ground... well, He made Adam out of dust but Eve out of Adams rib. Then it keeps going on and on but they come out as babies and grow up to be Mommies.
Bec~When Adam fell asleep and God took a rib and made Eve. And they had children and the girls grew up to be Moms.

What ingredients are mothers made of ?
Em~ sweetness, lovingness
Bec~love, kindness, caring, helpful, someone you can talk to

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
Em~ because that's just what He planned for us
Bec~ because she's the one who'll take care of me and homeschool us

What kind of little girl was your mom?
Em~ that I don't know
Bec~ I don't know

What did Mom need to know about dad before she married him?
Em~ If he was a Christian.
Bec~ Was he saved?

Why did your mom marry your dad?
Em~ that's something I don't know
Bec~ because she loved him

Who's the boss at your house?
Em~ Daddy and Mommy
Bec~ Daddy

What's the difference between moms & dads?
Em~ Well, Mommy is a girl and Daddy is a boy
Bec~ Dads go to work and moms stay home and take care or us

What does your mom do in her spare time?
Em~cooks or helps us in school
Bec~read

What would it take to make your mom perfect?
Em~ She already is except sometimes she lies to me like yesterday she said we'd give the dog a bath and we didn't.
Bec~nothing

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
Em~I wouldn't because she is a good Mommy and I like the way she is
Bec~maybe she could get skinnier or something

Ice skating is a dangerous sport if you don't know what you are doing

2010-02-15T21:55:00.002-05:00

The girls were able to go ice skating with some friends this past weekend. Why they picked some place freezing when it was freezing outside is beyond me. Good thing we have been before so I knew how cold it would be and made sure the girls had leggings, gloves and a hat.
I had warned the girls that when they fell to be sure to get their fingers off the ice before someone could roll over it. I remember at least that much from a previous lesson they had a year or so ago. At one point, early in the afternoon, Rebecca fell forward and hit the ice face first. She came to us crying with blood dripping out of her mouth. She her tooth went into her lip and it was pretty nasty but there was no damage to her teeth, thank God. She took some time off and I was shocked (shouldn't have been knowing her determination) when she came back out on the ice. By then, Emily had gotten some buckets and shared them with her sister so she could lean on them and not fall as much. She refused to let me take a picture of it. You can see a dark spot on her lip in the previous post on bowling that is just below this one.

Rebecca was no ice skating whiz (obviously) but she enjoyed helping 5 year old Will to let go of the wall and venture out into the flow of people.

Aren't they just the sweetest?

Group of Rebecca and a few friends chatting about something.

Emily had a blast ice skating and can't wait to go back.

Bowling Fun

2010-02-15T21:20:00.003-05:00

The girls have had a blast the past 6 weeks taking bowling lessons with other homeschoolers. They were very sad to leave today knowing that it was their last class.

Included in the cost of the lessons, each child received a bowling ball with holes drilled to their finger size! I think it's a ploy for them to make more money in the long run. Now the children will want to go bowling more since they have their own ball.

This was taken last week. On this round, Emily hit the last 3 pins getting a spare.
Beautiful form Rebecca.

Rebecca with her friend showing off their balls.

Emily with her friend.

Afterwards, the children that stuck around were taken to the back to get a behind the scenes view of the bowling alley. It was pretty neat, I must say.

Depression sets in...

2010-02-11T19:37:00.003-05:00

Emily was so sweet this morning to let me sleep in. She went in the school room and put together 2 scrapbooks. Thankfully, she doesn't know to glue the pictures down so I could pull them out and scan them in. One book was of my childhood pictures and the other was of her and Rebecca from years ago- before the digital camera era.

I am official in depressed mode looking at some of them. First of all, where did the time go. My babies are no longer babies! They have grown and changed so much! I love looking back at those pictures and Em did a fantastic job on her scrapbooks.

Second of all, I was really thin at one point!!! Well, both Jay and I were. What in the world happened? Oh yeah... Uncontrolled eating habits and lack of exercise. I doubt I'll ever lose that much weight again but boy, do I sure need to try.

See why I'm depressed now?

Oh, how this cute chubby face makes me smile though!

I'm going to scan in more photos as time allows. I can't wait to share the pics from my childhood album Em made me.

Life's Little Lessons

2010-02-10T11:55:00.002-05:00

Being a parent is a hard job! Being a parent of a preteen is proving to be an even harder job. Sometimes I wish for those toddler days when you want to pull your hair out because they are into everything. Lord help me when the hormones start to kick in!
Let me just say that I do have 2 terrific daughters. They are wonderful but in order to keep them as obedient little delights, sometimes discipline in necessary.
As I sat in my room folding laundry the other night, it broke my heart to hear my child crying herself to sleep in the other room. Oh, how God must feel when we are wallowing in tears over something that we caused in our own lives.
One of them had said something to the other (repeatedly even after being told not to mention that subject again) that was just plain rude. We've had issues with her having a "better than you attitude" so it was time to put a stop to the behavior. What better way than pulling out God's Word. As Jay spilt the sisters up for the night and "talked" it over with her, I prayed for God to show me a portion of scripture to share with her. Sometimes I have to laugh over God's sense of humor. I just wanted to share with you what He showed me to share with them over name calling.
In 2 Kings 2: 23-24, he is speaking of Elisha here. "And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.
And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them."
Lesson learned, don't name call or be rude to a child of God. He will retaliate and make you pay for it.

A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water.

2010-02-06T11:09:00.004-05:00

We haven't had much snow in years past but the Lord is making up for lost time. Good grief, I am so tired of seeing snow. We had a nice snow storm of 10 inches in December. I'll admit, I enjoyed having a white Christmas. It was beautiful. The children and the dog enjoyed playing in it. Then it melted leaving us with a cold muddy mess. Normally that wouldn't bother me but now we have a dog so mud and is not my friend.

Then we were teased with a few days of spring like weather. We were so happy. It was wonderful while it lasted. Now, we're stuck with this winter wonderland once again.

Just last week, we had another snow storm receiving 12 inches. I don't remember it snowing this much since I was a child. The girls have gotten out in it twice. That's it. And it was the nice fluffy kind that would have been great to play in. They just have no desire to go out in the cold wet mess.

Not sure what Bec was doing here.

Em enjoys a warm cup of hot chocolate.

This is as far as she got on her snowman before giving up.

Throughout the week, we had some rain and above freezing temperatures so the snow was starting to melt leaving another muddy mess in it's wake.

And wouldn't you know... we get more snow! Thankfully central VA isn't getting hit like places to the north and west of us. We received about 2 inches yesterday followed by sleet and then rain. I awoke this morning to no type of precipitation. Unfortunately, it didn't last. It is steadily snowing. Thankfully it's small flakes and we are only expected to get 3-6 inches.
These last 3 photos were taken minutes ago. I didn't take many pictures last week so I thought I could take just a few today. It is pretty coming down. I'll admit it. I just hate how it canceled all of our plans for the day. Right now, my Emmadoodle should be starting her basketball game instead of watching a movie on tv. Sigh...I guess I should be productive and take advantage of the time home to clean. Although that isn't really appealing either. Humph. Snow...

Update

2010-02-05T22:34:00.006-05:00

Ok, the cruise pictures are finally done. Be sure to scroll down and look through them, especially if you are having the winter blahs and sick of all this snow.

As requested (ahem), I'm going to try to do a little bit better on keeping up with the blog.

So what has kept us so busy? I'm still trying to figure that out! Nothing exciting or note worthy has been going on in our lives~ just the same ol' same ol'. School eats up most of our time. The girls are using a mixture of curriculum that is very time consuming. I'm looking into putting Bec in a co-op next year or using the DVD option. I have issues with both so we shall see. We are half way in so that's good news! I actually completed the girls report cards today and am quite pleased with how well both girls are doing.

Basketball is taking up 2 of our evenings a week and a good chunk of our Saturdays. Games were canceled last weekend due to the foot of snow dumped on us. We received a couple inches today but then it started to sleet and is now raining. I am unsure about whether they will have games tomorrow as it's suposed to snow all day tomorrow. I just hope that they get to play their games. Rebecca is dominating out there on the floor and Emily was just getting a bit better in her last game. She has a long way to go but will get better with time if she stays with it. If nothing else, she looks pretty darn cute out there in her uniform.

The girls are also doing well with their piano lessons. Rebecca is now playing both white and black keys at the same time. She's learning terms that I have no clue as to what they are. Emily is a step behind since she started a month after her big sister but is doing so well. Rebecca's goal is to be able to play and sing her own specials in church. Emily says that God has called her to be a missionary so she needs to learn to play so she can provide the music when she is out on the mission field. My heart swells with pride for both of them. But as Rebecca reminds me, "Isn't pride a sin?"

They have worked very hard at finishing their AWANA books. Bec is in her 3rd T & T book and is currently doing her silver sections. Emily completed her book, reviewed the entire book, and is now on her review handbook. They are working so very hard at it, that I hate to tell them that they will miss awards night. Yes, we will be on our 8th Disney vacation. I'm really bummed about it knowing Emily will be receiving her first award, the Sparkie Award. Rebecca had to miss getting her Sparkie Award as well when we were on another one of our Disney trips. Hopefully that will be some consolation, ya think? The following pic is from crazy wig night at Awana.

Jay has been super busy studying and taking Microsoft tests left and right. He took 3 within 7 days and is doing so awesome. Work is paying for the certifications so he's taking advantage while he can. We're not happy with the long hours, especially since he's salary but we prayed the job in so we won't complain. I will ... no we all will be thrilled beyond belief when these tests are completed and we get him back!

Well, I know this has been long and I probably lost your attention awhile ago. If not, congrats for sticking with me this long. Be sure to check out the previous posts and all the pictures that are sure to make you feel warm.

Nassau, Bahamas

2010-02-05T22:24:00.003-05:00

The view of Atlantis from our balcony.

If you ever question if getting a balcony is worth the money, let me tell you. It really is!

Being able to sit out in your jammies and look at a view like this is SSSOOOO worth it!

But, better than having a balcony room on a cruise ship would be
having a view like this out your front AND back door. Although I am sure that looking at cruise ships day in and day out might get a little old.

Pirate Night on Deck

2010-02-05T22:08:00.002-05:00

Emily is always up for a little dancing.

Rebecca, who is like me, not so much.
I just love those faces!
After the characters dance and do their thing on stage, DCL puts on a fabulous firework show. They are the only cruise line allowed to shoot fireworks at sea and it is amazing to watch. We know exactly where to stand to see the most amazing view. Afterwards, Emily is usually exhausted so I leave to put her to bed. Jay and Bec stay for the massive buffet of food they put out by the pool. I usually miss this and am ok with it since I'm still stuffed from dinner. This time, Jay and I put both girls to bed and went back up on our own. We had a snack while sitting by the pool watch Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.
It was a great end to a fun and relaxing day.

Cruisin' Part 2: Csraway Cay

2010-02-05T21:37:00.003-05:00

view from our balcony

I LOVED waking up to this!
sweet sisters pose

me and my wonderful hubby

The sun decided to play peek a boo all day. It made for a breezy, comfortable day~ not too hot, not too chilly~ a perfect Nov. day in the Bahamas

Mt. Rustmore

One last picture before the sun set behind the clouds.
Have I ever mentioned before that I LOVE Castaway Cay?

Cruisin' Part 1

2010-01-06T13:30:00.004-05:00

With this being our 3rd Disney cruise and the fact that we were beyond exhausted, we slept in and took our time getting packed and checked out of CBR. We get everything together and have just enough time to get to the port without rushing. We start to head out only to realize that the GPS has locked up. The touch screen would not work. Since we'd never gone to the port from that specific area, we had no idea of how to get there. After much urging, Jay goes in to the DCL castmember at the resort and gets directions.

We get there in plenty of time to board and take in the Christmas decorations they had up.

We were so stuffed from a week of gorging that nothing in the buffet looked appealing and we walked out of there with only dessert.

We weren't as pumped about the sail away party due to exhaustion. We go there late and had to party off to the side. It was chilly, cloudy and almost nightfall and all I was thinking about were the 2 loads of laundry I had washing at that moment. I couldn't believe that they raised the cost of a load from $1.50 (wash AND dry) to $4 a load (wash and dry). Also, when they dry docked, they switched out the way you pay- instead of quarters, you slide your room key. Convenient, yes but we were unprepared as we had brought several dollars in quarters. The show for the evening was The Golden Mickeys. The girls hadn't seen it yet so they wanted to go. We were all feeling sick by then, so much so that it was almost too much to take. We had late dinner, something we wanted to try and realized we did not like! Poor Rebecca felt so bad that she looked miserable and barely ate anything. Good thing too because she threw it up into her jacket sleeves on the way out of the restaurant.

Yuck and another $4 spent to clean it.

We all slept so soundly that night that we practically missed breakfast the next day.

Luau at the Polynesian Resort

2010-01-06T10:51:00.005-05:00

This is one of those times that we were greatful for the free dining plan as were able to have a fantastic dinner and show before we sailed of on an incredibly short cruise.

The guy twirling the fire was the highlight of it all. The food was good, the authentic dress and dance was great but the guy with the fire topped the cake, so to speak. The weather was perfect for being outdoors. It had rained all throughout the night before so we were fearful that this would be canceled on us. It was the absolute perfect ending to a fantastic stay at WDW. Now for cruise pictures (goodie, goodie).

** I have a great video of the fire twirler but it must be too big for blogger to upload. I will try again tomorrow.**

BRRR... It's Cold Outside!

2010-01-06T10:38:00.003-05:00

It looks as if we are in for a very cold winter. There's no sense complaining about it because it is what it is. One of the major draws of moving to Florida (we have a timeline now but we're keeping it a secret) is the warmer climate. When we visited in Fed 09, central Florida saw record cold temperatures. This winter is proving to be on the same line for that area. They are having cold days where a heavy coat, gloves, hat, etc are the norm.

Since I can't change the weather, I'll just change my outlook. Going through pictures of the most recent cruise in Nov 09 is balm for the cold soul. Since I have yet to finish posting vacation pictures, I'll skip the snow and Christmas pictures for now and will drift off to sailing through the Bahamas.

Below is my favorite picture from Castaway Cay.

Hope you enjoy the rest to come.

Ahoy Matey

2010-01-05T14:04:00.000-05:00

Pirate Party aboard Disney's Wonder

My Beautiful Sister With Child

2010-01-05T13:47:00.001-05:00

18 weeks pregnant

My How You've Grown My Dears

2010-01-02T22:13:00.003-05:00

I did this last year and thought I'd do it again. Sometime I get so caught up in our day to day activities, that I do not see my girls growing right in front of my eyes. Here's a progression from the past 3 Christmas'.

Jan of 2008

Christmas 2008

Emily at her grandmother's this Christmas

2009

Jan. 08

Early Jan. 08

Christmas 08

Rebecca

Christmas 09

Christmas 08

Christmas 09

One of the only pictures of Emily's hair from a year ago that I could find. She wears it up so much that it's hard to see how much it's grown until you do a comparison such as this.

Random WDW photos

2009-12-22T13:49:00.005-05:00

The Living Seas area in Epcot

2009-12-22T13:37:00.001-05:00

The "Golf Ball" at Epcot

2009-12-22T13:26:00.003-05:00

I enjoyed Epcot this time around much more than any other time we've been. We went twice and it was tiring walking around to see each country. We rode Test Track countless times and I finally got on Soarin'. I hated it and had my eyes tightly shut the entire time. The girls giggled and soared while I did my best not to cry. We loved Talk with Crush and visited with him in the human tank several times as well.

Can't wait to go back in May so we can do more exploring of what Epcot has to offer.

Rebecca is Now in the Double Digits

2009-12-20T16:51:00.005-05:00

I cannot believe that my little girl has turned 10. She is an amazing, talented little girl who is maturing at an amazing rate.

We didn't do a big party this year, limiting her guests to 10 friends (plus siblings) and a few family members.

She opted to a brownie instead of cake.
Yeah, that would be Alana showing her sweet, feminine side.
Emily with Tiffany... too sweet!

Becca's best friend with Em.

Rebecca and Emily on her birthday before church.

Last year, we bought her a t shirt with a scripture verse and a cute saying on it. It has been her favorite shirt to wear this past year. Not that I tired of seeing her wear it but when I saw this lime green tee with a cute saying and scripture verse, I knew it would become her new favorite tee, and I was right. She loves it!

She received many great gifts and had a great party and birthday at church.

Jay and I were in jr. church with her so it was nice to spend the morning with her and be able to make a big deal of her birthday. After church, we had lunch at Outback and then it was back to church. Rebecca had a part in the children's Christmas play and did a fantastic job... They all did. It was the best play to date and we were all thrilled that Rebecca had a part in it on her birthday.

We interupt the WARM vacation pictures for some SNOW pictures

2009-12-20T16:22:00.005-05:00

For the second time this year, the weatherman said it was going to snow and it did. We had a decent snow back in the beginning of the year and again, before Christmas! Now, I really dislike snow but I'll admit, it is pretty to look at. The girls are able to enjoy it and for that, I am glad.

It started to snow on Fri. evening and didn't stop until midday Saturday.

Here are the girls enjoying the white fluffy stuff coming down around 6 p.m.

Saturday morning, it looked like a winter wonderland out there.

Rosie is having a blast out there! Forget that she is only 10 lbs.!

Emily's attempt to help her daddy shovel the driveway.

After 10 inches of that stuff, I'm ready for it to melt away.

Splash Mountain

2009-12-18T09:15:00.002-05:00

Ok, I know this is pathetic. I am STILL not inished posting vacation photos.

Here are pictures from Emily's favorite ride at Magic Kingdom, Splash Mountain.

Nice and zoomed in, huh?

Random pictures of the Castle

2009-12-11T15:43:00.004-05:00

rear enterance of the castle
Still so many more to come...

Which is your favorite picture of the castle so far?

Which is your favorite picture from all the WDW pictures so far?

Character photo op time

2009-12-11T12:42:00.004-05:00

Snow White

Disney's newest Prince and Princess Tiana

Mickey

Pluto

Chip

Dale

Jasmine and Alladdin

Donald

Minnie

Goofy

Mickey

Thumper from Bambi

A little Hula Hoop Action

2009-12-11T12:16:00.002-05:00

This was at Animal Kingdom where they just had a section roped off with a bunch of hula hoops. Anytime Rebecca sees hula hoops, she's drawn to them like a magnet. No one taught her to swing it but she's a pro. Emily, on the other hand...lol... Just let me say, "Watch out!" Em gets really frustrated but keeps on trying. One day, she'll get it... or if she's like me, she won't.

Kilimanjaro Safari in Africa

2009-12-10T23:29:00.004-05:00

One of the highlights of Animal Kingdom is Kilimanjaro. The animals are placed so that they look like they are all intermingling. It's very natural and doesn't look staged at all (like a zoo). You can go on this time and time again and see something different. You might even have to pause to wait for a rhino to get off the road or watch an ostrich pass by. We rode this twice this trip so I could sit on both sides of the truck. I took lots of pictures but some didn't turn out and some animals I don't even know what they are. I just picked a few common animals to put on here. Enjoy.

These are made by termites and used by elephants to rub their tusks on.

pink chickens on stilt as Rebecca calls them

love these little palm trees
you just might find a lion or lioness laying around here

He was sun bathing on that nice, warm, beautiful day.

vulture flying over the hippos

These Nile Crocodiles lay with their mouths open to cool off.

Love these upside down trees too.

These horns are 5 feet long!

The elephants showing their nice side.

He was heading straight for the road. What is it with these rhino liking to hang out in the pathway of us tourists?

Animal Kingdom's Expedition Everest

2009-12-10T23:17:00.002-05:00

queue:

Pretty cool things to look at while waiting in the short line.

Another pic while waiting in line.

Rider Switch Pass

You didn't really think I would ride this, did you? But I do enjoy waiting in line with my family.

After 3 times back to back, Jay had had enough but the girls wanted more. They loved it even with that scary Yeti jumping out at you.

Toy Story Mania

2009-12-10T23:01:00.002-05:00

We heard great things about the newest attraction at Hollywood Studios. And let me tell ya, it's all true! We loved this! We hadn't been on it in previous trips due to it's long lines but it really is worth it. HS was practically empty. That's because everyone was standing in line for Toy Story Mania.

This is generally my view: Jay and one girl way up ahead and the other girl tagging along with me.
The queue inside the attraction was very well thought out. Made you feel like you were the size of the Toy Story characters.

This is one section of ceiling in the queue area.

Another portion of the ceiling.

This guy talked to the audience in line and had most of the children mesmerized.

Well worth the 45 minutes waisted while standing in line multiple times!

2009-12-09T10:28:00.000-05:00

Topiary

2009-12-08T23:13:00.001-05:00

Snow White and Dopey at Hollywood Studios

50's Prime Time Diner

2009-12-08T22:49:00.003-05:00

After driving all night long, checking out the resort, hitting the high lights at HS, we went to eat at the 50's Prime Time Diner. Food was great, atmosphere was fantastic. I think the waitress went a little easy on us considering we were exhausted. Poor Emily almost fell asleep at the table.

After a huge meal, we really couldn't stand to eat dessert. However, since we were blessed to get the meal plan for free, we had to take advantage of the free dessert (after drinking a milkshake with our meal). Jay's brownie Sunday was HUGE!

Hard to see but I had a boston cream cupcake.

The girls had a make it yourself ice cream sundae.

Obviously Emily is pleased.

Rebecca's masterpiece.

After this, we went back to the resort, showered and crashed.

Muppet Vision 3D

2009-12-08T09:54:00.005-05:00

One of the main attractions for Jay at HS is not the Tower of Terror, Aerosmith's Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, Lights, Motor, Action or the whole Star Wars section. It's going to see Beaker and the other Muppet's in all their silliness.

Here are some pictures from outside the building where Muppet Vision 3D is located.

notice the face on the water tower

the side of the building
We love all the extra details that the Disney Immagineers take to make it look a certain way. So many minute, fine details goes into it for our benefit that many overlook.

The girls entertained themselves for quite awhile with just a painted bullseye on the ground. It's the simple things in life that make it so much fun.

This picture is a little blurry as it was dark and distant. We loved these drain pipes on the backside (side?)of the building.

Random Disney Photos

2009-12-08T09:43:00.002-05:00

Ok, since I only get a few minutes here and there, I am having difficulty getting our vacation up on this blog. Maybe if I just take *baby steps* and do a few here and there, I can one day get it all recorded (before our next trip in May).

This street sign is in Hollywood Studios and I just loved it.

Day 1 Part 1: Caribbean Beach Resort

2009-11-16T21:11:00.005-05:00

Are you ready for the trip report of our magical vacation to Disney World?

This one was different from all other Florida/Disney vacations we have ever taken. Actually, every single one we have gone on has been drastically different but this one was by far the best. It was only the second one we've had where it was just the 4 of us. Other times we've met up with friends or we've had friends or family with us.

Ok, to start off, Jay was able to get away from work a day early. Since we would be gone during a paid holiday for him (Veteran's Day), we were able to leave a day early. It was a mad dash of packing and getting everything prepared to drive all night long. The girls, especially Rebecca, was bouncing off the walls last Thursday during gymnastics class!

Jay was THE MAN and drove the entire way down. I'm such a bad riding buddy as I fall asleep just going to church!

The first thing on our to do list was go to the resort: Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort to unload the car and get our 7 day tickets to Disney World. This was our first time staying on Disney's property so we were all very excited about that.

Our room in Trinidad South.

Jay got us the pirate themed room and it was very cool!!!

The boxes are the dresser.
Sharing the room with our children was the downside of staying in the resort instead of a house.

But aren't they just too cool beds?

The curtain sectioned off the bathroom area making it so I could get up early and get ready in privacy without the light disturbing anyone. The cool thing, the pirate skull appeared to glow when the room was dark and the bathroom lights were on.

The barrel housed the mini fridge and the trunk had 2 extra dresser drawers.
Like most hotels, the bathroom is split. The great thing, it had a double sink- a must when 4 people are trying to quickly get ready in such a small space.

Not a great picture but the Flying Dutchman was etched into the shower wall.

The nightstand and the carpet was made to look like wood flooring in the bottom of a ship.

Just a little washcloth animal holding a pen.

Ok... after we had fun exploring our room, we headed off to Hollywood Studios. I don't know if I'll get to posting the pictures up tonight so look for them tomorrow!

The leaves...they are a changing

2009-10-25T21:55:00.002-04:00

Aren't they just lovely? I will miss this IF we ever move south...

BTW, Emily is better- no fever since Fri., just a runny nose, cough and lingering headache that won't go away.

An Unwelcomed Guest

2009-10-23T14:47:00.002-04:00

The flu bug has entered our home. Please leave!!!
It was almost inevitable that someone was bound to get sick. I've really limited their time with other kids in hopes to ward it off until after our vacation- which is in less than 2 weeks. Without total isolation, I knew it was an impossible feat.
Emily's friend sat between both my girls in the evening service last Sunday. Monday morning, the little girl woke up with a fever and vomiting. So, they had been exposed to it. I sat on pins and needles waiting but as the week progressed, I became hopeful that no one else would get sick.
Thursday morning, Emily woke up at 7 with a fever and vomiting. She also had a scratchy/sore throat, runny nose, headache, and cough. Only God knows where she caught it from and it really doesn't matter anyways.
I sent her to the guest room immediately and tried to keep her quarantined but realized that is really impossible. Her and Rebecca are far too close to be seperated (while in the same house) even for a day. She doesn't feel too bad and the fever disappears when she has Motrin in her system. Last night was pretty rough though with her having a big headache to go along with the fever.
I haven't bothered taking her in to the doctor to confirm if it is the H1N1 flu or just the regular flu. It really doesn't matter to me- I know my child is sick. I don't need to waste a copay just for them to confirm what it is.
Rebecca has had a headache and cough the past few days. She had a sore throat earlier in the week but no fever. She is a bit of a hypochondriac so I cannot list any symptoms of the flu otherwise she just might have it. She doesn't feel well but doesn't have the flu.
Just praying that Jay and I don't catch it- especially Jay. He has been working himself into an early grave and has already gotten sick once this season. I'm afraid his immune system is down due to being tired, stressed and over worked. We all just started taking Elderberry juice in hopes to boost our immune system. We know some who swear by it so we will have to see if it really works.
So, as of right now, all of Emily's activities have been put on halt and we'll play it by ear to see if Rebecca will participate in her soccer game and church on Sunday. You can't mention church to Em or she'll start crying at the possibility of having to miss Sunday morning or Awana Sunday evening.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-23T14:28:00.005-04:00

We picked a cold, rainy day to go to the pumpkin patch. If we had waited just one more week, the weather would have been a little more nicer. Either way, it was a fun afternoon with friends.

Farmer Emily
Farmer Rebecca

the gang minus 1 who was standing off to the side due to being sick
Emily lifting "weights" with the gourds
hayride to the play area

Rebecca, S., Emily, and A.

playing in the corn

lots of goats

the maze

hmmm... this looks like a nice small one
They were all very nice pumpkins making finding the perfect one a difficult decision.

Here's Becca posing with her pumpkin.
Emily posing with hers.

Apple Pickin'

2009-10-13T15:09:00.003-04:00

Yipee! With Jay working for the state, he gets all these crazy state holidays off. Yesterday was Columbus Day so we decided to do something fun. We took a short drive to the closest apple orchard and made the best of a gloomy day. It was a lot of fun though. I can't wait to go to the pumpkin patch tomorrow.
We missed out on these fall activities last fall. Instead, we went on our 2 week Disney vacation-- the best I have ever been on before!
I took lots of pictures so I decided to upload them to Photobucket and make a slideshow. It must be acting up because it turned my right side up photos and make them sideways. I tried to orrect the problem but it didn't work. You'll just have to deal with looking at some of them sideways. :o)

Entertainment

2009-10-13T13:49:00.003-04:00

Montage of how Emily entertains herself during her sister's soccer game.

finds a friend... This little girl is on her team.

Then finds another friend- a girl who was on her team last season.

Rebecca's game 10-3-09

2009-10-13T13:34:00.005-04:00

Rebecca's game was quite the opposite of Emily's game. See previous post.

Her team was on fire and won 7-1. Rebecca played hard and scored 2 of those. She always plays to win- no matter what the game is.

mid air after kicking the ball

She shoots~~ She scores!

Below is a quick sequence of Becca's second goal. I was watching her and clicking the camera at the same time, that's why it is very off center. Here is the goalie from the other team getting ready for it. You can barely see the ball in the left corner.

next second... goalie is on the ground and Rebecca has an open shot.

Emily's soccer game 10-3-09

2009-10-13T13:16:00.003-04:00

Here are some photos from Emily's last soccer game.

She's slowly bringing it out of the goal from one of the many goals the other team scored against them. They don't have goalies at this age level but I don't think it would have mattered anyways- considering how their team was slaughtered.collision
goal kick Emily hurt her hip pretty badly and had to be pulled out of the game. Here is her daddy having a chat with her to see if she is ok. She really wanted to play but in the end, I said no just in case it was more serious than a pulled muscle.
Below is a short video of Emily playing through the pain. She was limping, even though it isn't as pronounced in this video.

Funny thing is...(or maybe just plain pitiful) the only goal that was scored by her team was done so by Emily. Even limping and in obvious pain, she still played and did her best.

Jupiter in plain sight

2009-10-13T12:34:00.003-04:00

Our local Science Museum has Sky Night once a month. They do a presentation of the stars as seen in our area in the Imax. After a presentation in the Imax theater, which is pretty cool even for those like me who are not into astrology, they present an opportunity for the average Joe to view the stars. After dark, on the lawn out front, volunteers bring their super duper telescopes and aim it for the sky. We have seen an unbelievable close up view of the moon, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Saturn is by far the coolest to see. The rings are amazing. It's amazing to see something way out there that God created.
Anyway, Jupiter was close by the moon for a couple of nights. It was very easy to see it out there without any form of telescope. It was so bright. Unfortunately, the night I was at home with the camera turned out to be partly cloudy. The following night, it was clear and Jupiter was so bright but I was visiting with my mom and didn't have my camera with me.
I totally forgot to post this when you could visibly see it but apparently forgot until just now when I was uploading more pictures. The picture doesn't do it justice. It was brighter than any star... which are there, you just can't see them in this picture.

Fishing with Daddy

2009-10-02T12:03:00.002-04:00

Jay has taken up fishing with a buddy of his. The girls have been wanting to go with him but there just hasn't been the right time. Jay took off a day from work and after school, he planned on taking the girls out. They didn't have enough time to go to where Jay likes to go due to the fact that we had dinner plans with friends. So, they had to opt for a close location- the reservoir. It wasn't a good spot according to Jay and they caught nothing but seaweed and a homemade fishing rod.

They came back with the report that it was boring...just as I expected.

Science Museum

2009-10-01T16:24:00.007-04:00

We had annual passes to the science museum and needed to use them before they ran out. We headed over there after a soccer game and ran into another family that we hadn't seen in months. The children enjoyed going through the exhibits together. Here are some of the pictures from that day. Some great ones didn't come through the recovery process but at least I got most of them :o) One of their largest exhibits right now is shark themed.

They hold a shark feeding observation, feeling the sharks, a movie in the Imax theater, sand sculptures and more.

someone was being camera shy

ok, took the flash off and she removed the hand from her face

We saw Dolphins at the Imax.

taken of the movie

this one too...I can just picture myself living there...

diggin for sharks teeth

just a picture of the tree above the sandbox

Jay couldn't resist playing in the sand or drawing with the sidewalk chalk.

Gymnastics Open House

2009-10-01T10:28:00.005-04:00

Here is the first batch of restored pictures. As you can see, some came out beautifully while some...didn't. See previous post if you don't know what I am talking about.

The gym where the girls have taken gymnastics practically ALL their lives has a once a year open house. They get their medals and have free run of the gym for a few hours. Here are a few pictures of the girls playing around.

Em on the tramp
monkey hanging from the beam

Becca's friend doing a cartwheel on the beam

reverting back to their preschool days

This is a 6 ft. hole-- not sure what the purpose is but they love running in it and trying to get out without touching the walls.

She had sme servere boo-boos that kept bleeding so they taped Emily's hand up.

She loves the bar over the pit.

doing a cartwheel with a spotter- obviously this is one that didn't recover well.

2009-10-01T09:40:00.002-04:00

Last Thursday evening, as I was sitting at home, the girls in bed and Jay possibly having to pull an all nighter with work, I grabbed the memory card reader and laptop. I was planning on uploading about a months worth of pictures. Then I realized that the computer that was already on was Jay's. His and mine are almost identical. Knowing I was going to take more pictures the next day, I figured I would just wait and do it all at one time.
Friday morning, we got up and were out of the house in record time. We were on our way to a field trip. The girls, especially Emily, were so excited. Emily had been counting down the days for 2 weeks. I get there with camera, a fresh battery and memory card. Way to go Shea! I was on a roll.
I took lots of pictures of everyone's children and all the neat things we saw. We are 3/4 of the way done with the field trip and I am out of memory. Ok, quick... delete a few pictures and make room for others. I resumed taking lots of pictures and assumed everything was hunky-dory.
Later, I went back to show the group photo to another mom and it's not there. I panicked--because not only were the other pictures of the field trip gone but everything was gone! In my haste, I accidently wiped out the entire memory card instead of just a few photos. We still had a full day packed of fun activities but I didn't take anymore pictures with that card in the off chances that Jay wold be able to recover any of them.
Who's the compter guru? Jay is the MAN! He was!!!! Not all but I'll take that over none. I can see all of the thumbnails of all the deleted pictures but cannot copy all of them. Ironically, he has them all on his laptop- the one place I didn't want them. So, I am going to go though and post the pictures that I can pull up. I have some other pictures taken on my other camera that I will upload to my laptop later today if time allows.
Lesson learned... don't put off what you can do today.

Emily Seventh Birthday Party

2009-09-28T12:17:00.006-04:00

I can't believe that Emily, my little one, has turned seven. She has blossomed into this marvelous little girl. She has this amazing personality to her. She is silly, sweet, and a wonderful servant. She is dedicated to the Lord and it shows in her actions. She loves to help others and even though she is a slob, she is quick to clean up. She loves to dance, make others laugh, and can be found either kicking a ball around or making some type of craft. She is an absolute joy to our family. Never a dull moment when Emily is around.
Here are some photos from her Mickey Mouse themed birthday party.

I couldn't get this picture to drag down to it's rightful spot so here it sits at the top. It's the ice cream that was served to all the children.

Lauren is such a cutie!

2 great grandparents, a grandma and a friend :o)

The adults getting food and standing around to eat. We started off with a small party but ended up having over 30 people. My house isn't tiny but it was crowded in here. Thankfully, the rain stopped and the children could go out in the hot, humid backyard to play.

The girls worked tediously for hours trying to make Mickey shaped choc. chip cookies. Uncle Brandon found 2 that resembled the shape that the girls were going for.

Quieter in the house now.

present time

Rebecca felt it was her duty to read all the cards for Emily.

cousin Sean

She had a great birthday party with lots of friends.

Thanks to all who came and made her day special!

Rosie's friend Taffy

2009-09-28T12:10:00.002-04:00

Taffy all spralled out in the sun.
Taffy took Rosies favorite night time spot: by my legs on the recliner part of the couch.

the "girls"

Friends

2009-09-28T12:04:00.003-04:00

Emily
Emily with Halley

Emily and Brysen

The Floyd's invited us over and we had a great day hanging out with them.

I love that they have trained their dog to walk on the tredmill. It's too funny to watch!
Rebecca with her pal, Haleigh having fun with glow sticks.

Misc. Summer pictures of Emily

2009-09-28T11:39:00.005-04:00

Here are a few miscellaneous pictures from this past summer.

Emily put on her own make up-- including black eye shadow. LOL
Sunday afternoon nap.

Our little princess who is now fully grown.

Grandma adores Rosie.

me and my man

Two woman in desperate need of some make up.

Emily and her grandpa doing a puzzle at her great grandparents.

He makes a nice seat.

Emily is showing off her latest missing tooth.

Here's the story of how that one was pulled. Em had asked her Daddy to pull it out before she went to bed. We got busy and completely forgot. Emily woke up at 3 a.m. and decided that she wanted that tooth out right then. I woke up around 3:20 a.m. and saw the girls bathroom light on. I go in there to check on whoever it is and I find Emily standing standing there smiling at herself in the mirror. Silly girl pulled out her own tooth in the middle of the night! This is the second tooth that she has pulled out on her own.

**Where is Rebecca is all this? She was with her friend on the day that we spent time with Jay's grandparents. Why there aren't any others of her? She's becoming quite the camera shy girl and doesn't like her picture taken.

Summer Hiatus

2009-09-09T23:10:00.004-04:00

Sheesh! I don't think that I have ever stayed away from blogging quite this long. We had a great summer with lots of relaxing. We spend the school year constantly on the go that the break was greatly needed. We stayed up late, slept in late, goofed around and had fun. We didn't do anything extra special, no great vacations but that is ok. We are looking forward to our upcoming vacation to WDW and short cruise to the Bahamas this fall.
We enjoyed our visits with my grandma. The girls spent many late hours playing outside with our neighbor (meaning lots of bug bites!). There were sleep overs and some pool fun. We went to Busch Gardens and Water Country. The best thing that happened over the summer... my baby turned 7 years old. *pictures to come later.
We are back in the swing of things with school. We've had 8 great days so far. As much as we enjoyed the lack of schedule of the summer, it feels great to get back to it. Emily is in second grade while Rebecca started fifth grade. Fall soccer has started taking up 2 of our evenings and every Saturday until our vacation. Add gymnastics and church to the mix and we have a full schedule. We opted out of any co-ops for now as well as homeschool gymnastics, soccer, p.e. and the other great programs offered. We were on the go so much last school year that the girls really didn't get much free time to just be little girls. Although they miss their friends, they don't actually miss the activities. With our afternoons free, they have more time for playdates with their friends!
Oh, I did forget to mention. Our great friend passed on her piano to us. Rebecca is starting piano lessons next week. She is so very excited. Emily is very disappointed because she was looking forward to taking lessons as well. After discussing the situation with the teacher, we opted to hold Em off until she is serious about it with a bit more maturity under her belt.
Well, again, I am up later than I expected. That is definitely the hardest part of the school year--going to bed at a decent time and getting up early.

Article: Are we really depriving our kids? A good read!

2009-08-19T10:09:00.000-04:00

Are We Really Depriving Our Kids?
by Jill Cooper
I often hear ladies complaining that they want to stay at home with their kids but that they "have to work since it is so expensive to raise kids these days." One of the main questions I get asked about simple living is "Won't I be depriving my children if I live the frugal life?" Maybe I can answer that question with a few questions.
Am I depriving my children by having them drink water for every meal instead of juice or soda? Isn't one thing doctors are always complaining about is we don't drink enough water? Cutting out just one glass of soda per person per day for a family of four would save $547.50 a year and make them healthier.
Am I depriving my children by having them eat an apple or homemade granola bar for a snack instead of a bag of chips? Obesity is a major problem among children in the United States. If you cut out just one bag of chips a week you would save $104.00 a year and make them healthier.
Am I depriving my children by having them walk to school or to a friend's house instead of my always driving them there? Lack of exercise is a big problem. You would save time and wear and tear on your car by having them walk and make them healthier at the same time.
Am I depriving my children when I don't buy them every toy they see and want? We wouldn't dream of giving a baby on baby food all the chocolate that he wants because we know it would make him sick. His body can not tolerate that much chocolate even if he desires it.
In the same way, an older child can't emotionally deal with the overload of toys. I as an adult become stressed just from trying to buy a bottle of shampoo. Have you ever noticed how many options you have? Trying to make a decision can be overwhelming. Do I get it for thin, fine, dry and damaged or colored and permed hair? The list goes on and on.
When a young child looks at piles of toys, he can become very stressed over choosing which one to play with. If you watch, you will notice that they tend to play with the same couple of toys over and over. If you didn't give them all the toys they asked for and bought one less brand new toy at $10 a week, you would save $520.00 in one year and you would help relieve them of some stress.
It is no wonder our children stay confused. We insist that they should eat healthy yet we take them out to eat 3-5 times a week at McDonald's. We give them a bag of carrot sticks in their lunch because it's healthy and then give them a bag of chips when they get home from school to get them off our backs.
We want them to have strong character yet the moment they whine or cry for another toy or some candy at the store we give in out of guilt. We are afraid that if we don’t give them what they want, they won’t love us so to rid ourselves of uncomfortable feelings we say yes. How can we teach them to be strong in character when we are so weak?
How could our thinking have gotten so mixed up that we think a child is deprived if a mom chooses to stay home and not go to work? We have come to believe that moms should work outside the home so that children can have the most expensive clothes, education or material things. (Note I didn't say best but rather most expensive since the most expensive doesn’t mean the best.) If a mom goes to work so a child can have all those things it's not considered depriving the child of anything but it's mom. Which do you think does a child more harm- being deprived expensive things or it’s mom?
For you stay at home moms: Before you become too puffed up with pride be aware that too many social, church and school activities can deprive your children of you just as much as working. Do all things in moderation.
Better to give your kids your values you havethan the valuables you can't afford.
_____
The Living On A Dime newsletter is published by:Kellam Media and Publishing, Inc.

Believer's Baptism

2009-07-29T13:07:00.002-04:00

Many times, as Christian parents, we lead our children to the Lord at an early age. Although I fully believe that they are capable of accepting Christ as their Savior around the age of four, they rarely remember doing so as time goes by. Both our girls made a confession of Christ at the age of four. Neither of them remember it. Thankfully, they realized this on their own and got things straight with their Lord and Savior. They both knew that baptism was the next step but they were to scared to follow in obedience.

Due to God working in their lives, they knew that now was the time to get baptized. They just had to wait for the pastor.

During the week of NBT, Rebecca dedicated her life to the Lord. A month later, after taking a shower, Emily came to me and asked how to dedicate her life to the Lord. She said she had already trusted in Jesus, now she needs to give Him control of her life.

I am so very proud of our daughters and the spiritual growth I see in them on a daily basis. They both have a great desire to serve Him and seek Him in all avenues of their lives. I love them immensely and am glad that they have given their lives over to our Lord in each and every aspect of their lives and have a willingness to follow His commandments.

The girls anxiously waiting.
waiting with Mrs. Susan, our pastor's wife

Emily went first because she wanted to be baptized longer than her sister. There's no sibling rivalry going on around here... lol
she was so nervous

Summer Fun

2009-07-29T12:24:00.005-04:00

Rebecca
~the three amigos~
Rebecca, Christine, and Emily
Emily

For you Misty

2009-07-07T22:04:00.010-04:00

Since my wonderful sister doesn't update her blog very often, I'm dedicating this post to you, Misty.

Brandon and Misty had their annual 4th of July party at their house, as usual. It's a lot of fun eating and fellowshipping with friends but my personal favorite is when the others leave to go see fireworks and we get to hang out with family. I didn't even take out my camera when the 50+ were there.

It's after they all leave that Misty and I get to act like kids on the moon bounce. Unfortunately, the guy came too early for my liking to pick it up. My time was cut short and I didn't get much of a chance to have fun. Oh well... next year.

Poor Rosie was on her leash away from the festivities.

Uncle Brandon looks like he is out to get Rebecca.
Yep, he picked her up and threw her over to the slide.

Since Rebecca and Em like to dress alike, some people have a difficult time telling them apart from a distance. Do you?

Once the moon bounce was gone, the kitchen cleaned, a movie was watched, a trip to the fireworks stand, and darkness was upon us, we had fun eating smores by the bonfire.

Fun with sparklers
and glow up bracelets.

Extra toasted Misty?

~*~His Precious Gems~*~