Our Summer Part #2

 Grandma L enjoying cuddle time with Jedidiah!

The beginning of July Babe's oldest brother and his family and Babe's Mom and Dad came for a visit.

 Carson first started this riding with Gabriel because he couldn't keep up with the big kids.

If you can't race them . . . join them! Here he is with his cousin K.

 The kids really had a WONDERFUL time with their cousins!

Always something to do! My brother -in- law took this 

super cool picture!

 Fun with wrist rockets. I could hear the "ready, aim, fire" from 

inside the house!

 The gang white water rafting!

 Tooooo fun!

 Garden of the gods with cousins K and K.

Little bit bright out there!

 Cousin K and Ross climbing in Garden of the gods.

Ross loves climbing this rock.

 We drove to the summit of Pikes Peak. We had to take turns going to the top because young infants are not allowed at the top. Gabriel went with the second group up.

 Cousin K taking care of Carson at the summit of Pikes Peak.

 Hanging out on Pikes Peaks.

 The kids found some gems!! Especially Cousin K seemed good at spotting them!

 Cousin K would dress up Carson from time to time in 

crazy outfits!!! Cousin K would bring him to show 

the latest crazy and fun outfit!

 Firemen, Super Hereos, Both?!!!!

 Annalina helping Grandma L make some pie.

 We went for a cool tour of the Olympic Training Center 

in Colorado Springs.

Aunt K sure did love little Jedidiah. She wanted to take 

him home with her! Aunt K is awesome at taking care

of babies. She taught me after Gabriel was born!

It was great to see everyone again. Fun to sit around chatting.

Our Summer Part #1

 The end of May we were able to get together with Babe's youngest brother 

and his family. The kids really really enjoyed hanging out with their cousins!

I Appreciated this thought provoking challenge about being a wife . . .

Portion of Beall Phillips challenge . . . I read this on visionforumministries.org it was titled

150 Gather for Edwardian Ladies’ Tea to Honor Heroes of Titanic and “Women and Children First. Beall Phillips asks: “Are you a woman a man would die for?”

"There are many tragedies and devastations in history, but what sets this one apart and draws us back to remembering it year after year, decade after decade, is the extraordinary sacrifice demonstrated. The critical element in the story of the Titanic is the sacrifice of the men for the women and children.
So, I have a sober question for you. It is one I have been asking myself and meditating on for several months now.
How can we as women inspire the men in our lives to sacrifice for us? Are we worthy of such sacrifice?
In the ultimate sense, of course, no, we are not worthy. We are ultimately worthy only of death and damnation. And the charge for men to give up their lives for their brides as Christ gave His for the church is not based on the merit or deserving character of the bride. It is their duty and obligation regardless. But set that aside for this question.
But how can we live, day to day, in a manner which would make worthwhile a man’s sacrifice? How can we inspire our husband, our sons, to consider it an honor, not an obligation, to lay down their lives for us?
What kind of attitudes should we cultivate and actions should we aspire to raise our character?
Let me tell you about three of my dearest friends who have taught me about this very question. They have walked with me intimately since I was a child, and while these friends are no longer living, they daily encourage and exhort me from their own lives through the pages of Scripture. They are Sarah, Ruth, and Esther.
Sarah gives every woman hope! She laughed at the prophecy of the Lord regarding bearing a child, then took matters into her own hands and created an enormous mess in her family. On two occasions Abraham failed to protect her, and yet Sarah is the one singled out in the New Testament to be praised for submitting to her husband and calling him “lord.” The Scriptures say: “For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.” (1 Peter 3:1-7) She must have ended very well despite all the faulty beginnings. Her life should encourage every woman alive.
Ruth exemplifies loyalty, bravery, creative problem solving, and a commendable work ethic...
Esther demonstrates perspective, unselfishness, respect of authority, acknowledgment of the sovereignty of God, honorable confidence, the power of prayer and fasting, and consideration of timing and jurisdiction in making an appeal. . . . .
What do we see in the lives of these friends that we can incorporate into our own lives? This principle: Maintain an eternal perspective. Do not get lost in the small facts and details of the moment. God is about a much bigger plan.
Be thankful and joyful as these attitudes demonstrate trust in God and faith in His sovereignty. Root out feminism. We are all daughters of Eve, and like Sarah, and all the rest, the seeds are there. Eschew pettiness. It is not noble.
Allow yourself to be protected. It is risky and not guaranteed, but God is in control, and His way is the only proven way.
Believe in the men in your life. Pray for them, encourage them, and see God’s work in them. Refuse the temptation to dwell on his shortcomings. You have your own. . .do you want those to be in the limelight? Of course not!
Let him lead. Watch the Lord work through His purposefully designed jurisdictions for His goals.
Look at your own life, as I am looking at mine. Consider how you can live, day to day, in a manner which inspires the men around you to consider it a noble thing, an honor and a privilege, not only a duty and obligation, to lay down their lives for you. What attitudes and actions do you need to cultivate in your daily life? How can you become a woman worthy of such sacrifice?"

Father Son Retreat Coming Soon!!

Babe and Gabriel are VERY excited about their Father Son Retreat coming up! They signed up for this in the spring and were eager then! Lord willing we would like to send both Gabriel and Ross with Babe for next years retreat. We are also hoping it will work out financially and time wise for Babe to take Annalina to Vision Forum's Father Daughter Retreat in Georgia in March!

If you click on the link below on the right hand side is the schedule for the father son retreat this year and you can see what some of those "manly arts" are that they will be learning. We really appreciate what Vision Forums mission is to equip the family to be strong in the Lord and for the fathers to be the spiritual leaders both leading to multi-generational faith in the Lord.

Vision Forum's Father Son Retreat

Jedidiah is 3 Months!

 He is sleeping through the night now which is SOOOO nice!

Usually falls asleep around 9pm or a little earlier and wakes up for an early feeding and then usually goes back to sleep.

 He is such a happy baby and has such an easy smile.  He LOVES his siblings and will coo, gurgle, and smile at them.

Boys Will Be Boys and other memories to tuck away

Gabriel and Ross had a spat this morning and we had a talk and worked through it. Things are changing with those two. Ross is not the really little brother anymore he is able to think and play games on an older level with out his big brother holding his hand so much. They can play the board game Axis and Allies by the hour together and have a great time but I think sometimes Gabriel forgets Ross is an older boy now and doesn't always treat him as a peer but as a little kid, which causes friction. Ross on the other hand may at times look for ways to shove this new "manlihood" in his older brothers face.  Overall they are great friends and Ross wants to be like Gabriel and do what Gabriel does. Anyway, after the disagreement I had them apologize and say they will do better. Then I told them to hug each other. Instead, Gabriel gave a quickly delivered punch to Ross (which I thought was a bit hard but I left it due to the response). Ross smiled at the punch delivered to him in his torso and delivered a blow right back at Gabriel and they ran off to play outside. Guess my little boys aren't so little anymore and I have some learning curves!!

Gabriel has been changing in his desire to be a help and wanting to be more of proactive around the house instead of me having to ask him and remind him to do things. He has told me frequently lately that in the morning he prays that he will do a good job that day in doing what he is supposed to do. This morning he and Carson worked on doing laundry (not an assigned task). Gabriel told me the cute story of how Carson ended up helping. He asked Carson if he wanted to help him with the laundry and Carson said "No thank you." Then he told Carson that Jesus likes it when we help people. Carson said "No thank you YES." That is Carson way of saying "yes". Gabriel thought that was funny.

Last week Gabriel finished reading through the Bible and is back reading in Genesis again. I told him today as he reads the Old Testament this time through I wanted him to concentrate on seeing God's Holiness as he reads. We hear so much of God's love but we also need to understand His holiness.

The other day in the van Gabriel asked "Why do so many people comment on how we act?" We had just been somewhere and someone had come up to comment on the kids and their good behavior and it really does happen A LOT and I can see why he would ask that. Babe and I started naming reasons and Gabriel broke in and said "It's because we have good parents!" To hear that was an encouragement to Babe and I for sure.

We are SSSOOOO watched when we go out. I take that as a responsibility and know we need to try to reflect the love of Christ out to the world. The difference I want to show is Christ's love in our lives.



Hearing Carson pray lately has been heart warming to say the least. I love hearing his prayers from his heart. Thankfulness for chocolate milk, food, horses, and for Jesus dying on the cross. Asking for help to be good and for daddy in his job.

Annalina came the other day to me and pinned a badge on me for being "the world's best mommy". She is SOOOO sweet and such an encouragement. A few weeks ago we were in the car and Babe and I didn't realize that any of the kids were listening to our conversation. Babe was praising me for something I had done that he thought was just extraordinary. Annalina piped up from the very back of the van and said "Daddy why are you saying that? Mommy is always that way!" That girl is such an encouragement to me. Each of my kids are a blessing in such different ways.

The last story is about Ross and how he dared to be a Daniel and dared to stand alone (literally). I started this story and didn't finish it. The kids go to a homeschooling group once a week during the school year. One little boy Ross's age saw that Ross prayed at lunch and started giving Ross a bad time about it. One thing the boy said was "I have prayed to God and He didn't answer my prayers." or "I don't like you". But the prayer he really gave Ross a bad time about. Ross kept praying at lunch undetered. Finally, I found out about it when Ross didn't seem so keen on school. We talked about how to handle it and in Ross's own words he "ministered to him". He talked to him about God and about prayer and how sometimes God says wait, sometimes He says Yes and sometimes No. He felt like things were getting better with the boy then other kids in the class decided to join in. Things were tough. I knew the principal and knew she would not want a kid uncomfortable to come to her school. We had a meeting with the boys and the one other mother. After the meeting with the boys in which Ross ended with giving the other boy a BIG hug. The boys walked out and I was a bit surprised to hear the reaction of the two ladies. The other  mother was floored by Ross and thought he was amazing. She said she was so interested to see how God would use him as an adult!!! The principal said over and over "That kid is a prophet!" The principal was probing during the meeting Ross's attitude towards those that don't accept his beliefs and so she asked him point blank how that made him feel. His answer "sad".  Not mad or angry just sad. This school sends out reports 2 times a year. Before the first report came out they said we give very few and often no outstandings or whatever the highest was. Ross got A LOT of those on his report card and one of the things he was rated high on was his how he socialized with the children in his class. By the way, later that day I went to that other mom's house and we sat and talked for hours and had a great time!

"All The Way My Savior Leads Me"

"All the Way My Savior Leads Me"

All the way my Savior leads me;
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life has been my Guide?
Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know, whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well;
For I know, whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well.

All the way my Savior leads me,
Cheers each winding path I tread;
Gives me grace for every trial,
Feeds me with the living Bread.
Though my weary steps may falter,
And my soul athirst may be,
Gushing from the Rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see;
Gushing from the Rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see.

All the way my Savior leads me
O the fullness of His love!
Perfect rest to me is promised
In my Father’s house above.
When my spirit, clothed immortal,
Wings its flight to realms of day
This my song through endless ages—
Jesus led me all the way;
This my song through endless ages—
Jesus led me all the way.

Today as I was folding and putting away laundry this hymn came to my mind/heart/lips. My Savior has certainly lead me all the way. I was holding back tears as I sang. What a faithful and loving Savior. Recently in devotions we've been reading about the Plagues, Passover, Exodus, and Red Sea. God often said to the Israelites tell your children, tell your children what I have done for you. God wants me also to share with my children what a faithful Savior He has been and is to me. 

I can honestly say that one of my biggest blessings as a parent is studying the Bible with my kids. I often feel like such a mess up as a parent but I can never go wrong when I am in God's Word and teaching it to my kids. I love the encouragement and the conviction that comes in reading God's Word.

My Mom sent me a brochure type of thing that my Dad picked up at a church in Tennessee called Read the Bible by It's Stories. It's 365 days of Bible stories reading right from the Bible starting in Genesis and ending in Revelation. It is NOT reading the whole Bible but by the end we will have read a significant portion together! The kids really enjoy it and somedays they ask me to read another one. It has been a huge blessing and a highlight of my day. One day we read about a person that was mistreated but God stepped in and cared for them. I said to the kids who else in the Bible did we see this happen where they were mistreated and God stepped in and cared for them. Gabriel remembered it was Hagar. Annalina remembered the situation but not the name. I love that they can see who God is and how He works.

God has called me to motherhood. I am so thankful that "faithful is He who calleth you who also will do it." I fall flat on my face but I am thankful that if I am surrendered to Him He will use this broken vessel of a mother to accomplish His purpose in my children's lives.