Summer Fun!

Bella and I have passes to the Waterpark this year and the girls and I have been going every Friday. We are having such a great time with our weekly Waterpark trip, but yesterday it got even better...Andy joined us! We started our day with lunch at Fuddruckers and then headed across the street for a full day of fun! Bella was thrilled to be able to take Andy and I on her favorite rides and Andy and I was even able to check out a few rides myself! Our day ended with a quick trip to Costco, a yummy dinner at home and an early night to bed...we were all exhausted! Here are a few pics from our day...

Bubbles!

I love this time of year!!

Happy Mother's Day!

What a day I've had so far! It started at 5:30 a.m. with the sound of my alarm. I was up and out of the house early as usual. The morning brought with it major technical issues at church and one of the craziest and stressful Sunday's we've had in a long time. As usual, God showed up and although things didn't go as we had planned, they ended up going just as God had planned...imagine that! ;)

Andy and the girls came to first service and then left to run some errands and head home. When I got home Andy had BBQ hot dogs waiting for me (yes, I requested hot dogs for my Mother's Day lunch), along with a beautiful arrangement of flowers in the center of the table and my gifts from Bella.

We had a wonderful lunch and then I opened my gifts. Bella made me a painting of herself on clay! ;) Better than the gift though, were her cards that she made for me. The first one said, "Dear Mom, Thank you for helping me through my life. You are the best mom ever. Love Bella". "...helping me through my life." I have no idea where she comes up with this stuff, but it cracks me up and I LOVE IT!! The second card was with my flowers and it said, "Dear Mom, This is from me and dad and Chloe. This is a special surprise for yo u and Happy Mother's Day to you. Thanks for being my mom." And on the back of the bag she made to put my gift in she wrote, "I love you. You are the best mom ever. I love you so much that I can't stand it!" I love that girl so much and I can't tell you how much it made my day to read what she wrote. What a special treasure!

Of course the whole time Chloe sat in her chair eating her hot dog, repeating "Hot Dog! Hot Dog!" over and over! ;)

Anyways, I feel so blessed today. I have a wonderful husband and two fabulous daughters. I feel so grateful and content right now and I can't express how grateful I am for that. Just a few years ago, in the midst of infertility and loss I felt like there was something missing, something I longed to desperately for. I can't say that I will ever understand God's plans or timing for my life, but I do know that His plan is perfect. Even in the most difficult times. I looked back at my journal for 2006 to see what life was like for me this time of year. I wrote this and I want to share it. I was studying this verse while preparing to teach a class at church. The verse is Jeremiah 29: 10-14. The Message version says this...

“I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out – plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. “When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen.” “When you come looking for me, you’ll find me.” “Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” God’s Decree. “I’ll turn things around for you. I’ll bring you back from all the countries into which I send you off into exile. You can count on it.”

I've been working on this for a while, but when I read it today I was struck by the last part..."I'll turn things around for you....You can count on it!" How awesome is it that we have a God who cares about each one of us so much! He cares about our individual needs, desires, hurts and joys and he tells us that if we call out to Him and are serious in seeking him that we won't be disappointed. Now I know this doesn't mean we will get whatever we want, but it does mean that He will give us exactly what we need and in the end it will be enough. Our God is SO good!!

Today I can honestly say that God has given me "exactly what I need" and in the end, "it was enough"! I'm always amazed when I look back and see how I have come through different times in my life. I'm so thankful that time heals, but at the same time leaves us with just a touch of the pain so that we will never forget what it means to be cradled in the arms of God and to experience His love for us.

So, with that, Happy Mother's Day to all the "moms" out there. If today brings with it hurt and heartache, hold tight to the One who can heal all wounds and continue to trust that God has an amazing plan and purpose for your life!

Chloe's "School Pictures"

About a month ago the Preschool had their school pictures and they were kind enough to take pictures of Chloe and Kyra as well.

Without further ado...here is Chloe in her first official "School Picture". ;)

Money Watch

Andy was on the "Money Watch" segment of the local news tonight. He was promoting a class called Financial Peace University that we have at the church and also a one time event, Town Hall for Hope that we are hosting tomorrow. In addition to this short interview he took calls for an hour and answered peoples questions about their finances.

Easter 2009

What a crazy, busy, fun-filled week we've had! Most of it revolved around the preparations at work for our Easter weekend. We had Good Friday service on Friday, our 2nd Annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday and Easter Sunday services on Sunday! It's amazing the amount of work that went into preparing but it was definitely worth it!

Chloe seems to have started a tradition of having some sort of stomach issue on Easter. Last year she puked all over herself and her dress at church and this year she pooped all over herself (we're talking up the back, fill the white sandals kind of poop). This was all before I had snapped a single picture of the girls. Needless to say, I was pretty upset. After a little meltdown I pulled myself together and threw her clothes in the washer at the church. We managed to get them dry just before the end of second service and like nothing had ever happened, she was back in her pretty dress. :)

The girls had a great time after we got home of hunting for eggs, checking out the goodies the Easter Bunny left in their baskets and of course, eating WAY too much candy! :)

Here is a short slide show of some of our Easter fun!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Smiles! :)

In an attempt to publish something on my blog, I created a quick slideshow of some recent pictures. It's a bit heavy on pictures of Chloe, but that's only because I've had an opportunity recently to get some good shots of her and wanted to share them. Don't want anyone to read into my video and think there's any favoritism... ;)

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Snowboarding

Andy and Bella hit the slopes today and Andy got a short video of Bella's on his cell phone. It's not the best quality, but it was fun to be able to see her "in action".

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! Honestly, today isn't a huge day of celebration for us. I think I was ruined after too many years of waiting tables on V-Day. ;) However, I don't want to miss the opportunity to say how blessed I am by 3 very special "loves" in my life.

Andy, (without whom, I wouldn't have the other two) really is the love of my life. As I look back I'm amazed at how much "life" we've shared and how we continue to move through the good and bad times together. It's not always easy, but it's always worth it! :) Then there are my precious girls. I can't even begin to explain what joy they both bring to my life. Bella warms my heart in such a special way and Chloe's spark for life reminds me to appreciate the little things.

I know that sometimes I miss the opportunity to be grateful for the everyday blessings, and for today at least, I plan on appreciating all that God has blessed me with.

"Too"

Chloe has recently started doing something that just melts my heart. Whenever we say, "Love You Chloe" she responds simply with, "too". The way she says it is so precious and each time I hear it I remember just how sweet the little moments are. :)

Merry Christmas!

We just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! We have had an incredibly busy month and especially past week, so today was the first day we were able to really relax. We took full advantage of all being at home together and spent one of the most relaxing and slow paced Christmases we have had. It was just what we needed. :)

Here are a few pics from our day today...

Cindy Lou Who

Our December series at church is "Are You The Grinch?" We have several dramas that will all come together on Christmas Eve for a big production. Bella was chosen to play Cindy Lou Who. She is in all of the dramas, but has a main speaking role in one...she did it for the first time yesterday. I know I'm her mom and all, but honestly, she was amazing! I can't believe the lines she was able to memorize...we were so proud of her...Andy and I were both in tears! :)

Anyways, here are a couple pictures...

Happy Halloween!

What a fun day Halloween 2008 proved to be! Bella was off of school in observation of Nevada Day so our day started early. The girls went to work with me where they played most of the day and helped set up for FallFEST. Bella got in costume first and went trick-or-treating with her good friends Savannah and Rylee before the festivities at the church started. By the time they got to the church they already had enough candy for 5 kids...and the fun was just beginning! ;)

Here are a couple pictures from early in the day...



Chloe was perhaps the cutest little ladybug I have ever seen. She also figured out exactly where all the candy was and helped herself periodically throughout the day...



Bella dressed up as Hannah Montana and transformed into quite the little Pop-Star!!

Andy and I joined in the fun as well. I was a spider web and Andy, well, Andy was a really scary version of Magnum P.I. By the time these pictures were taken Chloe had crashed from her sugar high and was fast asleep!





If I look a little scared...I am! ;)

Till Next Year!

Growing up...

Bella brought home her school pictures yesterday and I almost cried when I saw them. Of course I'm her mom, so I'm a bit biased, but first of all, I think she is absolutely beautiful. Second, I just can't believe how grown up she looks. Enjoy...

Picture Update...

I know I've been terrible about updating so I thought I would at least post some of the recent pictures I have of the girls. Enjoy...




And a quick note to demonstrate one of the reasons why I'm so behind on my blog. Chloe just walked up to me sucking on toilet paper that she had dipped in the toilet...yes, toilet water, and yes, this kind of stuff is a regular occurrence at our home these days. To say that our sweet Chloe keeps us on our toes is an understatement and like I said, a good part of the reason that things like blogging have taken the back seat! ;)

Motorcycle Mama!!

Most of you know by now that Andy recently purchased a motorcycle. He has had it for about a month now and has enjoyed riding it just about everywhere he goes alone. It took me a while to come around to the idea of him owning a bike, but finally realized that I wasn't going to let fear be the motivating force behind my decisions. I still get the occasional wave of fear when I think about what could happen, but that's just natural and Andy has made me feel as comfortable as possible by giving me his word that he will be as safe as possible when riding and assuring me that he has no desire to do anything that could possibly take him away from our family. With that said, I personally have no desire to ride on a motorcycle...I'm the girl who doesn't even like the windows down in the car because it's too windy. ;)

Well, yesterday Andy called me at work and asked if I wanted to drop the girls off at friends and go for a ride and dinner. My first reaction was, "no thanks", but then I thought, "what the heck", and decided to break out of my shell a bit. I'll admit I was very nervous, but after a few minutes on the bike realized that it was actually kind of fun, and best of all, it felt nothing like driving with the windows down. We took the scenic way across town, had a nice dinner at Chili's and then made our way back to TCBY's for a treat. By the time we got back to the girls, I was ready to be done due to my sore butt and back, but other than that I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable a bike ride on a cool fall evening is. :)

I wish we had thought to take a picture, but we didn't, so you'll just have to use your imagination this time...

Friendship

I can't let the day end without mention of another very special Birthday Girl!

For those that don't know, Kendra and Bella share a birthday and even though the time that we lived close was short, there is a special connection between these 2 little girls. Just today Bella was telling me about her, "best friend Kendra" and if you ever ask her who her best friend is, she answers, "Kendra" without missing a beat. I'm not sure what it is that makes Bella hold Kendra so close to her heart, but it really is precious.

You can check out a picture of Bella and Kendra just before Kendra turned 1 and Bella turned 3 here, and here is one of them last year, shortly before they turned 3 and 5.



It's amazing how much they have grown and continue to grow and I pray that in the same way distance hasn't come between their mommies friendship, there's will remain the same as well. :)



We love you Kendra and hope you had a very special day today!

Happy Birthday Bella!

It's hard to believe that Bella is 6 years old already! We love her more than we ever imagined we could and are so proud of the little girl she has become!



Bella has had a full day of fun. She woke up to the house decorated just for her, had a special party at school with her classmates and now we are getting ready to head out to Claim Jumpers (her choice) for dinner and then to the movies to see Wall-E. Her actual party is on Saturday, but we've have enjoyed making today a special family day as we remember what a blessing she has been to us and so many others! We love you Bella! :)

Just like Mom!

Smile...




This girl loves both sides of the camera!! :)

Something to think about...

I've been very intrigued lately by the blogs of some of the staff members at Granger Community Church. I just read this and thought it was worth reposting...

Empathy is easy. Investment is hard.

I'm not so sure that's a bad thing.

When I'm pouring out my life, I'm exchanging my remaining days for some purpose or cause. My ability to stay engaged is in correlation with my conviction of it's worth. In other words, my ability to continue making a sacrificial investment is fueled by my sense of its importance.

I can say I care about our environment (remember, God's first directive mandated we "tend the Garden"), but if I don't care enough I'll toss trash out my car window.

I can claim I care about our new site in Elkhart (knowing Jesus commanded we "go make disciples"), but I'm not likely to offer prayer, time and money to the effort if I don't care a lot.

I might say I love Jesus (aware the most important commandment is that we "Love the Lord") but the investment of my life in worship, service and devotion to His Kingdom is unlikely if I don't care enough to act.

Whether we say we treasure children, care about the poor, love justice or cherish honesty the truth is obvious. It's easy to say we care. It's hard to care enough to act.

Our problem isn't that we care. Our problem is that we don't care enough to do something to make a positive contribution.

What we really care about, we'll support.
What we truly value, we'll give our lives to accomplish.
Supreme love empowers absolute devotion.

So today I'm praying I'll love what God loves, value what Jesus values, and cherish what our Lord declares worthy. Like the kids reading their Bibles in this picture, we need to read the scriptures to know what God values. Otherwise we might give our hearts to some cause that's simply not worthy of us.

There is a cost to caring.

James 2:14-17 - My brothers and sisters, if people say they have faith, but do nothing, their faith is worth nothing. Can faith like that save them? A brother or sister in Christ might need clothes or food. If you say to that person, “God be with you! I hope you stay warm and get plenty to eat,“ but you do not give what that person needs, your words are worth nothing. In the same way, faith that is alone—that does nothing—is dead.