Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

I am a Christian.

I AM A CHRISTIAN
By Maya Angelou
~
When I say.. ."I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin."
I'm whispering "I was lost,"
Now I'm found and forgiven.
~
When I say..."I am a Christian"
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble
and need CHRIST to be my guide.
~
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak
and need HIS strength to carry on.
~
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed
and need God to clean my mess.
~
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible but,
God believes I am worth it.
~
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I still feel the sting of pain,
I have my share of heartaches
So I call upon His name.
~
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner
who received God's good grace,
somehow.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

So blessed.

Whenever two families are joined by marriage it's always a struggle. It's a big gamble what you're gonna end up with as far as extended family goes, and just because you love your spouse, does NOT mean you'll love their family! I was very, VERY lucky on this front. Mark's family is much like my own in their faith, familial bonds and dedication to each other.



There aren't many kids in the family on his side. Mark was an only child, his aunt didn't have any children and his uncle has twin boys that are almost 22. I've known them since they were boys and it's been amazing to watch them grow. When they were young they were little chatter boxes...they'd talk your ear off if you'd let them! They were "pinchable" cute and always very polite and considerate of everyone around them. Raised in the church they love the Lord and have very high standards of friends and relationships. They have become absolutely amazing men. Travis up'd and left his mom a couple years ago for a huge life change and moved to San Diego. Not only did he not come home with his tail between his legs, but he is now managing a Starbucks AND attending school full time to get his accounting degree. Matt stayed home and completed school at Lane and is now working for an Architechture company here locally, on his way to building a very stable and lucratrive career for himself. At 22 years old they have impressed me.



One notable thing about these boys...oh sorry, men...is their kindness. Since Mark and I started having babies, Matt and Travis have lavished attention on them...and they were only 11 when Allie was born! They have always sat and talked with my kids, played with them, taught them whatever they knew to teach. They love their cousins and they SHOW it. My children in turn, obviously ADORE their older cousins and are so excited everytime they get to spend time with them.



I love the family bonds. I love that we have such a strong core and that everyone in it makes family a priority. I love that these people in my life...thrown at me because of the man I fell in love with...turned out to be not only wonderful human beings, but also a blessing to my children and wonderful examples of what family should be and in our case...IS.



So, thanks Matt and Travis. For loving my kids. You are so very loved and adored by all of us.





This was a pic I took of the boys teasing Luke when he was two....

...and this was just taken 3 days ago....I LOVE that they play the same games with them!! LOL


Aren't they handsome??

I know I've said it many times, but I have to say it again. We are blessed indeed!

BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!

A Husband and wife are shopping in their local Wal-Mart.

The husband picks up a case of Budweiser and puts it in their cart.

'What do you think you're doing?' asks the wife.

'They're on sale, only $10 for 24 cans,' he replies.

'Put them back, we can't afford them,' demands the wife, And so they
carry on shopping.

A few aisles further on along the woman picks up a $20 jar of face cream
and puts it in the basket.

'What do you think you're doing?' asks the husband.

'Its my face cream. It makes me look beautiful,' replies the wife.

Her husband retorts: 'So does 24 cans of Budweiser and its half the
price.'

On the PA system: 'Cleanup needed on aisle 3. We have a husband down...

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Our Christmas in pictures

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS to all our loved ones!!! We had kind of a rough one as the man was so sick!! I've never seen Mark so sick since I've known him. He completely missed Christmas Eve at his Mom's house and he was in and out all of Christmas day at our house. I'm not sure how much he really remembers. Luckily the kids were hardly phased and still had a wonderful Christmas...got tons of loot of course! More importanntly though, we had a magical time at Church on Christmas Eve with the candlelight service and a wonderful time with family. We are blessed indeed.

Here's the pics of the week!

This is the "other family pic" that wasn't our Christmas card! :P
Gracie got to make gingerbread men. She and Papa did a fab job!
Daddy helped make Luke's gingerbread house...(before he was bed ridden, this was last Sunday)
Luke's half done....
...and the finished product!
Nana put together Allie's house.
Half way...
and finished!
Got a great pic of the kids on Christmas Eve while they were fresh!
They got to open one gift before church.
Can you FEEL the excitement?? OH YA!!!
Allie was OH so excited to get her Nintendo DS! Luke looked at his and said "What's this?" LOL! And Gracie got a hand held V-Smile. Now you may think...why on EARTH would they get their best gift Christmas EVE??? Well, we open presents with Mark's side of the family that night and DS games were part of the gifts!! Kinda woulda spoiled the surprise if they'd opened the games first don'tcha think?
Happy children!
Allie and Grandma played duets on the piano!
See no evil....
Hear no evil....
Speak no evil!!! We love those cousins!
Allie's loot.
Grace buried in her loot.
and little Lukey
Matt and Travis had fun with Luke's toys too!
Then we came home and set out homemade cookies for Santa!!
And then SANTA CAME!!!!
Left lotsa loot in the stockings too! (mine was empty...I was naughty. was totally worth it though....)
Happy babies geared up to attack!
And they're off!!




What a massacre.
From our messy house to yours! We hope you had a fabulous Christmas!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Be careful this week...

Pastor Jim has said this a few times over the last month or so but I'm seeing it in my own house. Satan is after us right now. We dare to celebrate the birth of the Savior. We have the audacity to rejoice in our God, in Jesus, in our faith. And old Satan is TICKED! He's trying to get to us. Have you felt a little more stressed? Have you been a little more on edge? Have you bit off someones head or snapped at a little person? Have you bickered with your spouse just to later think "Now what the heck was that about?". Know what it is? It's that darn devil making his way into your mind and heart, trying to spoil your mood and make what is a blessed time of year into something ugly and mean. Don't let him do it.

Pay attention to yourself and your loved ones. Watch your tongue more than normal. Put your emotions and feelings into check a few more times a day than normal. Don't let Satan enter your home this season. Pray more often, spend more time together as a family. Be more thankful and more aware of your blessings. Put that devil to shame and cast him out of your Christmas, it's not for him, it's for us and our Lord!

Pray for each other and for yourself this season. Pray for your fellow man. Pray for our country and the people leading it. Pray that you are able to reach someone who is searching for their place in this life in Christ. Pray that you are able to say just the right thing at just the right time to bring someone back to Him and that their life may then be as blessed as you are. He is waiting for us all, He has his hands open for us all to come back to Him.

You are all in my prayers. I wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and I pray that Satan backs quickly away from your home and your family! Slam that door in his face and be rich in your faith and love of Jesus and your family!

Friday, December 19, 2008

The 12 Days of Christmas

There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled me.
What in the world do leaping lords, French hens,
swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out
of the pear tree have to do with Christmas?

This week, I found out.

-From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were
not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone
during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics.
It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning
plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each
element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality
which the children could remember.


-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.

-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.

-The Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.

-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.

-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.

-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.

-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.

-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control.

-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.

-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.

-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

So there is your history for today. This knowledge was shared with me and I found it interesting and enlightening and now I know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol...so pass it on if you wish.'

Merry (Twelve Days of) Christmas Everyone

Our morning in pictures!

Had another snowfall all last night! This is getting crazy!! At this today I can enjoy the beauty of it a bit more, we have groceries (thanks Mom!), Mark doesn't have to work til Monday and he is HOME (thanks God for keeping the snow an extra day), the kids are off today and now officially on Christmas break (three solid weeks for little Luke...he's so bummed!), so I know everyone is safe and sound! Makes it a bit easier to say "Ooooh it's pretty!" You still won't catch me IN it though...I'm such a baby! Anyway, here's some new pics from this morning of the white stuff in Oregon!!


But first here's our upstairs fireplace all decked out.

And our tree with the snow in the back! Notice the tacky star for all those that read my blog all the time??? hehe! The lights ARE on but they didn't catch in this shot for some reason.
My sweet cricket taking it all in...she's such a princess!
My poor plants on our front porch
Now this is purdy

Our patio table...no bbq's today!!
My car! Mark made me move it back to the house last night...glad I did cuz I if it was parked in a snow route and I don't know if it was or not, I woulda had to move it anyway or it would be towed! ACK!
This was the first snow days....they were so happy and excited they were actually PLAYING TOGETHER!! WOW!









Thursday, December 18, 2008

Huge Shout out of thanks!

First and foremost I'd like to thank our friends Missy and LeRoy for putting up my hubby this week. There was no way he was getting back and forth to Albany for work this week cuz of road conditions and a FREAKING OUT wife, and our wonderful friends live only 5 minutes away. So they let him crash on their couch and stay safe for his four days of work.

THANK YOU GUYS!!! We love you!!!

Also thanks to all of you that prayed for his safe travels to and from, they worked and he is here safe and sound! We all missed him terribly and are hoping we lose this white stuff soon!! The kids have missed almost a whole week of school!! OY!

(My brother is rolling his eyes right now cuz he lives on the East coast with like 50 feet of snow that he drives in to work everyday about the same distance, but to him I say BITE ME!! We are just ill equipped!!!)

*Twas the month before Christmas*

*Twas the month before Christmas*
*When all through our land,*
*Not a Christian was praying*
*Nor taking a stand.*
*See the PC Police had taken away,*
*The reason for Christmas - no one could say.*
*The children were told by their schools not to sing,*
*About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.*
*It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say*
*December 25th is just a ' Holiday '.*
*Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit*
*Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!*
*CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod*
*Something was changing, something quite odd! *
*Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa*
*In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.*
*As Targets were hanging their trees upside down*
*At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.*
*At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears*
*You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.*
*Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty*
*Are words that were used to intimidate me.*
*Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen*
*On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton !*
*At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter*
*To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.*
*And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith*
*Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace*
*The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded*
*The reason for the season, stopped before it started.*
*So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'*
*Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.*
*Choose your words carefully, choose what you say*
*Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS,not Happy Holiday !*


Please, all Christians join together and wish everyone you meet during the holidays a

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Christ is The Reason for the Christ-mas Season!


Tuesday, December 16, 2008

For my seether....

I know I know...I really need to get off of youtube.

For my Aunts Dee and Donna, and my Mommy....

I'm all about the youtube today apparently....

These are so cool



SO MEAN!!! But oh so funny!!!

Our week in pictures

Well, you may or may not know that we are experiencing some odd weather for our mild NW climate! Wonderful winter storm with temperatures in the teens (actually got to 9 degrees in Creswell today) and lovely snow and ice. My kids are stoked but I say ICK!!!! I hate the snow. If I wanted snow and this cold weather I'd move to some place like North Dakota or Vermont like my INSANE relatives!!!!

Anyway, here's some pics! :P

Mark took this one yesterday...sure is pretty but just looking at this makes me go for my slippers and hot tea.
Our driveway taken from the garage.
Hehe I love this next trilogy: Grace tasting the snow...
Grace showing Daddy her snow eating face...
Grace with an embarrassed sheepish face after being caught! LOL
Lukey trying to pelt Sister with a handful of snow. It was too powdery to make an actual BALL.




I think Mark was getting proof for his boss in this one! LOL
This is the infamous Pastor Kim!! I so wish I'd taken two pics, didn't realize til I got home that Luke had his eyes closed! Stinker!
My handsome boy
Allie had to bend over to sing her solo...she is at least 6 inches taller than all the other soloists LOL
Allie and Lukey's class setting up for their turn. (I forgot to have Mark get the camera out for Gracie's so we don't have any stills of her performance. BAD MOMMY!!!)
This was the first day of snow, Saturday. Allie had a plan to make big snowballs and roll all the snow off the driveway so we could get to church!! She made it through one....The man is our next door neighbor, Hal. He is beloved by my children.
Getting the snowball started to head down the hill.
Poor Fargo was SO cold!!!
The patio
It IS pretty. Just cold. Ick.
My handsome boy and his "six pack".