Friday

Well, it's sure been a week! Glad it's Friday!

We are under a Winter Storm Warning. Us. Here at the Beach. Snow! If you knew our area you would be as sceptical as we all are.... I love our weather guys, but they sure have a tough time forecasting especially snow. We shall see...I can tell you the boys are way excited!

So much happening this week.

I am feeling more like a human today. YAY!

E-man is still congested and has a runny nose, but that's pretty normal for him. Poor little guy. We took him yesterday to the public school assessment program to have him evaluated for speech therapy. We understand him most of the time, but he still has words that he skips, misspronounces, or can't say at all. We also see him struggling with 'finding' the right word when he's trying to tell us things. We feel like if he can get a bit of help now, that he can excel later. He's so very smart, and observant, that I feel sometimes this keeps him from being able to participate in things he might otherwise.

N has been having a tough couple of weeks at school. Just talking and playing ....always. We just don't see the color green in his behavior chart any more. I had a long conversation with his teacher and she loves him. She does say that he's just very talkative. He tries hard, and wants to do good, he wants to listen...he just has so so much going on in that brilliant little head of his.

S is still flying high after her Chrysalis weekend. She's got a great head on her shoulder's, and we can see the new difference God has made in her life. It's good stuff! Can't wait to see where it takes her!

Our mission team is really stepping up our program! We have been so blessed with funds as well as support from our church. The team has also stepped up and have been taking on more responsibility. It's been so great to watch! We are bonding and forming a true team. We have so much fun together and are so different, yet so alike. We are putting together care kits for the kids and nanny's. We are collecting paint items for the new orphanage that we will be working on when we get there. We are collecting formula for the babies. Things are really coming together! We realized that we only have 2 more team meetings before we leave! woohoo!!!! So cannot wait to see what God does.


Of course the closer I get the more I feel like I am totally going to miss my family. The fact that my D is not coming along is really messing with me. He's my rock, my person. The one that gets me like no other, and I am hating that he's not coming with me on this one. I would ask for your prayers for me on this one. I know that God will be with me, and I take huge comfort in that.... I just need to trust Him. I know it... just feeling a bit of weakness there.

This weekend is Winter Jam, with Third Day headlining! CAN'T WAIT! I pray the snow does not keep them away. We will be working with KLove again. It’s so much fun to talk to all the people we normally wouldn’t get to meet.

I leave you with a prayer request today. I have recently begun reading a blog written by a great lady. She’s recently been diagnosed with Sarcoma of the breast which is different than breast cancer. Take a second to hop over to her blog Glad Chatter and send her some love. Please :o)

I hope you all have a Better Thank Good weekend!

January

Have I ever told you that January is my least favorite month?

It is.

The funny thing is that it's the month that starts so many beginnings. We make new goals, set our sites on new and fun adventures, make new lists.

This morning our pastor jokingly asked which of us had already broken some of their resolutions. ;o) How many of you would raise your hands?

I think I dislike January because it's the end of my favorite time of the year. I LOVE fall and the crisp air and way the colors come alive....it's beautiful. Christmas that just brings so many good and happy memories.

January here is just cold and wet and brown. It's hard to find light in this month for me.

There are some really great things happening this month though so I have been asking God for the grace to see those things as blessings. He's faithful....of course! ;o)

Church this morning was amazing, I love our associate pastor. He's got such a great way of sharing the word and having us listen and take notes. ;o) Good stuff!

Next weekend is the teen version of Emmaus. Our daughter will be attending for the first time. She is FINALLY old enough. A very dear friend will be facilitating so I know she is in very Godly hands. I pray He touches each young lady's life in a new and powerful way.

The following week is our last big fundraiser, the Chili Cook off! Do you live close and make a mean chili? Or just love to eat it? Come on down and enjoy... and help a good cause.

The following weekend is Winter Jam! Have you seen the line up?! It's amazing. Newsboys, Third Day... Tony Nolan. It's gonna be off da hook! ;o) (like how I tried to be all young and hip? Did it work?) We will be working with KLove during the program so I think we are going to have a blast!!

Lots of great things happening this month. Not so dark and dreary. It's all in perspective. I am working on changing mine.... Maybe this year January will move up on my least favorite month list. ;o)

Do you have a perspective you need changed?

Give Me Your Eyes

Yesterday we heard the song "Give me Your Eyes" by Brandon Heath at least twice. I think it makes for a pretty interesting and appropriate Christmas song.

We heard it once while in the van on KLove and then again later on our TV music Channel.

The first time N said "This is my favorite song".

This is news to me because I didn't think he knew it. ;o) Then it came on as dinner was ending so N got up and choreographed some slick moves to it. He's got talent!

As I sat at the table watching him I began to think about all that the song entails.

It's a song about having your eyes opened to the things God would have us see. I have prayed that prayer myself. It sure comes with a high price. I don't mean that in a negative way at all. I just mean that once your eyes are truly opened you begin to see life so differently.

What I love though is that God opens our eyes to the things that He knows we will respond to. It's why there are so many organizations and charities out there. It allows for us to find our own passions and live those passions, and make a difference.

There are people passionate about animals, plants, trees, clean air, HIV/AIDS, abortion, adoption, homelessness, clean water.... the earth in general.

All God asks is that we open our eyes to see the world around us.

We had our eyes opened to the Ethiopian people... then showed us that we have people right here in our back yard that also need love and care. He's shown us that the world is so very vast...yet so very small.

This Christmas as we get all caught up in all things Christmas... let's open our eyes to the one that loved us so much that He gave His only Son to us. What a gift. What a joy.

What an eye opener... how has He opened your eyes?

Another full weekend

So I always forget blogger the way blogger puts pics so I am starting at the end and going backwards. ;o)
Sunday we had the awesome priviledge of ministering with KLove radio at The Glory in The Gardens at Busch Gardens. What a BLAST! We played games with the concert goers, we talked to them about God and just had a ton of fun. It was HOT out there, but so much fun. Mercy Me was the headline band this past weekend. They were great. We hadn't seen them in concert before so it was a treat.
Don even went on stage with JD Chandler to help throw T-Shirts to the audience. They were hard to throw because they were so light...lol I was playing games back at the KLove tent so I didn't get pictures, but I could hear the crowd just screaming and having fun.





These are the guys from Stellar Kart
Look it's JD Chandler! He's a DJ for KLove from California... ok so D and I were having fun, looks like JD is bored huh?...lol. And apparently I was saying something goofy, what's up with the look on my face? These are the guys from Sanctus Real. These guys played a great show.
The next several pics are from Saturday. Just stuff from around the yard since we did some yard work. Then S and I went shopping and daddy took the boys to Grandma's and then the park.


Look we are growing grapes.

And Zucchini... looks like there's fungus amungus... I have taken steps to make that go away...I hope. Anyone have any ideas?

E saying "hey, check out my cool art, man"
You can't really tell but N has chalk all over his face. He's still too stinkin cute though huh?!