The BIG performance

Being "Monkeys"

Singing in the finale

E and S have been taking an Intro Musical Theatre Class the past 6 weeks and last night was the performance. They did great! S is a natural. Actually people told me throughout the six weeks how I needed to "get the girl in TV." Wow, what a compliment and in my head I am thinking NO WAY! E totally blossomed during this experience; she was shy at first but as time went on got more and more secure. She did amazing! We watched last night with such joy and pride. It was amazing to see what God can do with them; when nurtured them and give them a safe place to grow and boy did they! The played out an improv narrative of the Hat Seller, sang a beautiful song "I love you, Mommy." (Which S screamed the whole song. One older woman after the song said, "she really loves her mommy!" Too cute.) Then they sang in the finale with all the kids. It was a great blessing and wonderful Christmas present from Pat and Les. Thank you!

Too long since I have blogged!

Happy 4th Birthday~

Oh friends and family please do forgive. It has been so long since I have blogged about Family Life in NM! It has just been crazy busy and while I have wanted to do this~ it was just too much for me....but as they say on Mario Brothers Wii game, "I'm a back!"

From Christmas to the end of May is always a world wind. We have so many things to celebrate....Christmas, New Years, Valentine's, Easter lots of birthdays, anniversaries, Mother's Day, basketball, and anniversary of death of my mom's and much, much more....

So in a nut shell this is what Family Life in NM has been up to:

• wrap up of basketball season~ with a surprise that they did not make the state tourney
• a family Wii
• celebrated many birthdays: Grammi/Pat (Landon's mom), Aunt Bethie (sis-in-law) Pop/Beajen (my dad), Uncle Jeff (my brother), Shervin (my Dad's wife) and S's 4th birthday
• celebrated wedding anniversary: Pat & Les and Dad & Shervin....Jeff and Jenn's is coming up.
• celebrated 5th anniversary of mom's death
• E's soccer
• S preschool Spring Program
• E & S Intro Musical Theatre Class
• The Rock & Worship Road Show Christian Concert
• and ministry work

Valentine's Day

I used to love valentine's day because of romance, etc. However, as my faith deepens and understand more and more each day I understand that GOD IS LOVE.

Valentine's Day is a wonderful day; and even greater day to show what LOVE is. Love is the foundation of Christianity. The two greatest commandments 1) LOVE God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and all your strength and 2)LOVE your neighbor as yourself. Then in marriage a husband must LOVE his wife and wife must RESPECT her husband Eph 5:33. Whoever LOVES God must also LOVE his brother.

I love the book of 1 John! It does an incredible job of describing God's love and how we are to love and how we CAN love. 1 John 3:18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

1 John 4:7-21

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

¹³ This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵ If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. ¹⁶ And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. ¹⁷This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. ¹⁸There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. ²⁰ If we say we love God yet hate a brother or sister, we are liars. For if we do not love a fellow believer, whom we have seen, we cannot love God, whom we have not seen. ²¹ And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love one another.

Enjoying showing God's love to others this Valentine's Day!

It has been way too long...

Please forgive me...it has been so long since I have blogged. Life is busy these days! I am working now~ well I am cleaning houses to earn some money for the family and trying to juggle working, school, ministry, fellowship, family time...it has been a trial. I am enjoying cleaning houses for people. It is good money, but most of all it allows me to still be the mommy to S when she is not in preschool and it is not only a gift for me. I get to leave someone's home and know that they are going to be blessed by my work. I get to serve them with my hard work and crazy toothbrush, toothpick cleaning ways! It is a win, win. Someone asked me how I felt about cleaning toilets once...my response was, "I do not have that much pride that I above someone else...Jesus washed His disciples feet."

Hubby is in basketball season and we still have another month or so. This has been a long season for him. He has traveled long distances more than ever before and he just feels pulled. My heart aches for him as I can see the internal struggle of how much more am I going to miss out on my kids and family against the love of the game and he is very good at teaching it. I have been in constant prayer that God will give him peace. He truly has done a terrific job at setting boundaries and keeping family time important; all the while giving commitment to his team. He has honored us and I respect him so much for his growth. Way to go hubby, hang in there...we are behind you and support you! The season will be over before you know it! Then summer ball ;)

S is growing tall. She is almost as big as E. However, E has this radar that as soon as she thinks her "little" sister is going to pass her by...she shoots up an inch or two! TOO FUNNY! E and S have the best relationships, they play so well together and they love each other so much. It is so amazing to watch them play. Sometimes they go off for an hour or two and I debate do I go play with them? or do I give them their space? Their imaginations are unbelievable. S blows me away with her book skills- she can recognize all of her letters upper and lowercase and count to thirty. I am shocked and even test her to see if my eyes are deceiving themselves. I have to get E the credit...I think she has taught her everything! S is falling in love with God and it is beautiful to watch. Her prayers are getting deep and her heart is showing a love for Jesus. I must admit I was worried about this a year ago; she had no desire to love God, worship God and it was frightening as a parent. One reason, the other kid came out of the womb praising God and this one was so different; not bad, not wrong just different and as parents we needed to figure out how to reach her. As a parent I take this seriously, I know some of you think she is only 3.5 but God gave me a very important job and it is train a child up. My job isn't to wait until they are ready to hear the word of God or only teach them on Wed and Sundays....

My command is...

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 ⁴ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

E is reading! It is amazing! She loves to read and we give her every chance. We are enjoying watching her grow academically as well as spiritually. She really has gotten it that she is supposed to read her bible everyday and pray first thing in the morning. Her personal walk with the Lord is precious and her own. They are both loving Awanas and it was a true gift and blessing we joined this year. Although, loves learning she is getting tired of having to "sit still and listen." She says, "It's hard work." Too cute. I can imagine that she is feeling restricted but loves her teacher and made friends.

Well, we continue to love the Lord our God with all our heart, all of our soul, all of our strength, and all of our mind! Much love to all who read this blog; sorry it has been a while since I updated you on our family life.

Bag of Fun!

A friend sent home their Wii with hubby one day...just to share and let us enjoy! He walked in and lifted a bad and said, "I have a bag of fun!" It was so much fun...the entire family enjoyed it! We had to give it back today. We are so bummed that wasn't on our Christmas list! What were we thinking we keeping asking ourself???? The truth, it never crossed our mind! We're thinking of getting one for S's birthday! So fun! Oh, well our day will come and we will appreciate it then!

Happy New Year!

I have been such a slacker on my blog entries the last couple of months, but that is ok. Sometimes in life we have to prioritize and this was one thing that needed to go on the back burner.  

We had a wonderful and very busy Christmas.  My brother and his wife and my Dad and his wife came for Christmas.  Is was so great to see Uncle Jeff and Aunt Jenn; especially for the girls.  The last time the girls saw them was May 2008 when they got married.  We enjoyed relaxing, going to the movies, cooking, puzzling and taking them to church on Christmas Eve.  It was a joy to have everyone!  It took a week to recover! 

The New Year has begun and as I reflect on the last year...it is was filled with so many wonderful things; new adventures, new experiences, testing of our faith, trials and BLESSINGS!  I learned so much about my relationship with the Lord and all that He has for done me, through me and with me.  I learned that what we, the world, consider "blessings" are NOT always the same kind of blessing from the Lord.  His view of blessings are special and unique and filled with more than we could ever imagine.  I truly have experienced that HE WILL NEVER LEAVE OR FORSAKE ME (Hebrews 13:5 & Deut 31:6) that HE IS THE EVERLASTING GOD!  I look around at my family and what our foundation is grounded on...OUR FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST and I am GRATEFUL.  

I begin this New Year with much love, laughter, joy and hopes of great things to come.  I challenge myself: to continue to die to self and LIVE for Christ; put off my character defects and put on: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control; and to teach my children to be Godly and train them in such a way.   

I am so excited to see what God has for me, my hubby and my children and the others in our lives.  This life is for His glory not ours and it is awesome when we allow God to use us to Glorify His Kingdom.  

GOD I AM ALL YOURS!  YOUR CHILD TO MOLD AND FORM INTO YOUR LIKENESS!  

Christmas & Holiday Celebrations at E's school

The blanket I made Mrs. Daniels

E had also had a very fun time in the month of December in Kindergarten. She learned about Santa, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. She had a Caroling Program and sang songs with hand motions from all different celebrations without incorporating God. (Not to worry we covered that home and Church.) We had a pizza party to celebrate the holiday break. The most special even though was the baby shower some of the parents through for Mrs. Daniels E's teacher. We played baby bingo and pin the bottle on the baby; ate treats and opened presents. It was such fun honoring her! One of our neighboring churches hosted a Day in Bethlehem and was able to attend. She learned hands on about the birth of Christ and what happened and how to make bread. It was so incredible. S was not old enough but will definitely go next year! It was fabulous!

Christmas Celebration at S's preschool

S had an awesome month at preschool celebrating Christmas and the birth of Christ. We made a manager and a reindeer cookie. She had a little program, too. She sang two songs...Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and Stable. It was so darling!

Happy Birthday Day Hubby!

We had a wonderful celebration for hubby's birthday by making his favoirte pizza. Somehow we did not get a picture of him, but he had lots of fun!

Our Family Thanksgiving

The girls thanking me for cooking them a great meal!

We had a GREAT Thanksgiving! It was so relaxing and enjoyable! We decided to stay home and celebrate just the 4 of us. It has been a very busy year already and with basketball in full swing we have been ships passing in the night. The girls helped me cooked all day. I was so surprised that S was so interested in cooking but she really enjoyed herself. She helped me make the homemade pie crusts. Even though it was just the 4 of us I made a huge dinner! I decided that I was going to show my girls what it is like to be a MOM. The menu: ham, black olives, deviled eggs, green bean casserole, candied yams, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, bread stuffing, rolls, pecan pie, pumpkin pie and it seems like I am missing something. I used the kids crafts from school for the centerpiece. We just hung out all day and enjoyed our sweet family. We spent the day being very thankful and appreciative to our Lord Jesus Christ for all the blessings He has given us.

Thanksgiving Lunch with E's Class

We had a Thanksgiving potluck lunch with E in her classroom. It was very special! Dad even got a sub for one hour and was able to join us! S was in preschool so E had us all to ourselves! We brought the famous green bean casserole and it was a hit!

Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?

My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over
Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD watches over you
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

The LORD will keep you from all harm
he will watch over your life;

the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Oh to feel your feelings....

The holidays are different since mom passed away. The just are; and even though I try my best to have joy around this time of year...my heart is heavy this year with grief. That is the thing about grief it comes out of no where. Sometimes it is the holidays, sometimes it is a memory, sometimes it a birthday, sometimes it looking in the mirror and seeing my mom in me, my hands are looking more and more like hers, my mannerism are hers. When I discipline the way I hold my finger or tone of voice...is her. It just depends. Sometimes when you think you are going to grieve or have a rough time, you are fine. Then their are times when you just get hit with it! Then it never helps to hear my Dad cry and say, "I miss Mom so much." That is a delicate moment and is very sad to hear. I am grateful he can share and be vulnerable but I am also sad for him. I know he will be ok, that we will all be ok; but oh to feel your feelings. Honestly, sometimes I would rather not.

Question of the day?

Why do the kids sleep late during the week? To the point where I have to go in and wake them to go ready for school? BUT....on the weekend they think 6:20 AM is a GOOD time to get up? What is that about?!?!

Random thoughts...

So do you ever just enjoy the little things in life? I am teaching E my oldest how to tie shoes. I think it is funny that she wants to learn because all the shoes these days have Velcro! So, we practice on mine and I wish for the life of me I could remember the bunny song that goes with tying shoes. I'll google one day when I have time! ;) Anyway, it is fun to see her try over and over again. It is amazing to see how teaching her persistence with shoe tying has so much to do with teaching her to be persistence with her walk with God. "Don't give up" I whisper in her ear, "you can do it", I say, "you're almost there!" Isn't that what God tells us!

S the youngest; the girl is a ball of energy! Have I mentioned that she is dropping her nap??? God blessed me with this girl because she has been the best napper and sleeper since about 6 weeks old. Thank you Lord; good times! So here my life is changing again and I am reminded how my baby isn't a baby anymore and that I have no more babies coming at this time. I do have to admit I can see a light at the end of the tunnel in regards to not having to be home when it is nap time and having more flexibility with the schedule; but, oh how I like to have a little peace and quiet in the afternoon and just a few minutes to myself. Oh well ,I guess I can have that when the goes go to college ;0 I will enjoy them for now! Until then quiet time will just have to wait!

When E was three we decided not to put her in preschool, it was a very special time for me and her. After S would lay down for her nap it was our special time. I would get out a workbook and we would work on letters, numbers, patterns, etc. Basically, I home schooled her that entire year. We enjoyed this time so much and even though S went to preschool this year I have been praying about how to spend sometime with her; especially since we need to practice some speech techniques. So I bought her very own workbook and we have begun to spend just a little bit of one on one time together. She loves it! She tells me everyday how much she loves it and thanks me for this gift and spending time with her. I am so pleased that I am meeting her love languages and she feels loved. It is easy to feel over shadowed by another sibling. The other thing I have learned is how smart she is! I can't believe some of the things she knows...that must be from being the second child. Anyway, what a treat! Special memories I will cherish!

Basketball is in full gear and hubby is really enjoying being an assistant coach. It was quite an adjustment for me, actually. That was a little surprising. He was no longer in charge of his schedule and now we are under the authority of someone else. Very interesting. Truly there have been many positives and blessing. Games begin pretty soon and then the season will be over before we know it!

So I finished Shepherding a Child's Heart and that was an amazing book. I cannot recommend it enough. It was the most spiritually challenging parenting book I have picked up. I evaluated my parenting from every level and have made some incredible changes!

Happy Halloween!

The evening sky!
The girls with Cindy!

The girls with Avery and Payton

The girls with Caden and Tyler

The girls with Noelle

The kids has a blast on halloween and I think we have candy for two years! We enjoyed the Fall Carnival and Trunk or Treat at church! When we got home the kids wanted to trick or treat the neighborhood, so we did a few houses on our block; and if that wasn't enough...they wanted to pass out candy at our home! So we flipped the front porch light and passed out invite cards to Church along with candy the kids who came by! It was a fun night! A little spooky when we woke-up to no power!

Girl's Night Out!

A girl's night out! What a blast! We went to Santa Fe to have dinner at a restaurant that performs Broadway Musicals while you eat! Great fun!

Soccer Season!

Watching the game!

E's first soccer season is over! She had a great season...and so did MOM! It was a real treat to watch her play and learn the game of soccer! Having played competitively for 18 years...it wasn't as hard as I thought to just sit back and enjoy. I actually did much better than Dad...the professional coach who I thought at times was going to take over practice or games ;) S was a great little sister cheering her sister on, too! We look forward to March with the Spring season!

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip with E's Class!

I truly enjoyed chaperoning E's pumpkin patch field trip! It was such a blessing. We enjoyed having one of E's closer classmate in our group; EVA. We had to figure our way out of a corn maze, pick a pumpkin in the patch and pet a very friendly goat in the

petting zoo! The best part for E she got to ride the school bus- that is! S loved being with her sister! What a great time!

Pumpkin Winner!

It was a surprise to hear that E won first place in the Character Pumpkin Contest out of the entire Kindergarten...that is 8 classes! We decorated her pumpkin to look like Sister Bear from the Berenstain Bears Books. What a treat! Congratulations, baby, we are so very proud of you!