Kaylie's Baptism

Kaylie was baptized into Christ!

She's been wanting to do it for a long time, but we have felt that she wasn't ready

and that she was wanting to do it for the wrong reasons.

She kept saying something in March because our church was doing a baptism bash,

so I told her to say something to daddy again.

Jeff decided to go through a study with her and he then felt like she was ready.

These are pictures that I took, as fast as my camera would allow.

All who were getting baptized.

(Kaylie sharing why she is getting baptized & getting in the warm water.)

Daddy talking to her about what baptism is.

Before the "dip" & after the "dip".

Getting out

Praying

Celebrating at Texas Roadhouse

Happy 45th Anniversary!

You are a rarity in today's society...

an example of commitment and choosing to love.

I am blessed to call you mom and dad!

Love

"Of all the misconceptions about love the most powerful and pervasive is the belief that falling in love is love.

In reality, falling in love requires minimal effort and little willpower,

whereas being in love involves much work and a steadfast commitment to the comfort and well-being of one's companion.

Love is an act of will, namely, both an intention and an action.

Will also implies choice. We do not have to love. We choose to love.

Real love enlarges the soul. It helps us to bite our tongue when it would be easy to say hurtful words.

It ...gives us an understanding heart that is filled with compassion for another.

It enables us to be more patient with other's imperfections and acknowledge our own.

And it means that we stay loyal and true when it would be easy or enticing to find someone else to love.

The miracle of real love is that those who choose to love blossom under the sunshine of trust and appreciation they even become more lovable. "

~Dr. M Scott Peck

I LOVE YOU!

and I would still choose you!

What a Way to End January

I had just sat down after getting my exercise in,
and started downloading a Beth Moore audio session for the current study I'm doing,
because I missed Bible study yesterday because...
these little guys weren't doing well.

Riley, the crab, wasn't acting normal,
and Tanner Riley wasn't handling the possibility of death too well.

As I was watching the green bar move, waiting to get the audio file downloaded,
the phone rang.

Jeff was on a bike ride with the kids.
I guess the plans were to stop by the dirt hills and let the boys do a few jumps,
ride to the park and let the kids play,
while Jeff reviews his message for Sunday,
eat a little snack
and then head back home.

They got to the dirt hills,
but no jumps were made.

From my understanding, Kaylie was off of her bike,
and somehow tripped,
(possibly on her RED cowgirl boots that are 4 sizes too big)
and then somehow the handle bar,
with the rubber part pushed back and the metal exposed,
came in contact with her face, right under her eye.

Jeff didn't see it.
A passer-by, who was walking her dog,
(which could be a reason Kaylie was getting up and maybe moving to fast...
you know her fascination with dogs!)
was coming up and saw what happened.

This lady, Bonnie, just happened to have moved here this past month,
and just happened to be a nurse.
She immediately put pressure on Kaylie's eye,
that was bleeding profusely,
and said she needed to get somewhere quick and get stitches.

That is where the phone call came in.
I had to change clothes,
grab things she may need, ie paper towels, ice pack, etc.,
plus things I may need, ie phone charger, book, make-up,

thought about my camera but didn't and later kicked myself for not.
(My plans were to stay around the house today, so no make-up, no fixed hair, bed-head in a clip, with sweats.)

Out the door I rushed to head down to the end of the bike trail by our house.
As I was pulling up, Landon was waiting, and Jeff carrying Kaylie,
Bonnie walking her dog and pushing Jeff's bike,
and the other two boys came around the corner.

Kaylie was thrown gently placed in the van,

and off I was to head to The Children's Hospital's urgent care.

We ended up with THREE stitches.

Kaylie gets to wear them,

but the rest of us were right there with her the whole time.

(1) The yellow around her eye is not bruising, it's from an eye drop that helps to see if there is any damage on the eyeball.

(2) Kaylie "icing" her eye to keep the swelling down.

(3) Her sparkly band-aid she received at TCH,

and the leftovers of her treat for doing so good, around her mouth.

Praise God...

there was no eye damage or bone damage,

that a nurse was right there,

for the kindness of another passer-by

who gave a handkerchief to apply pressure with on her eye rather then a thumb.

The BIG 1-0

Happy Birthday

Tanner!

You are now in the DOUBLE DIGITS

on

1-11-11

I've been posting... look under the date December 13th.

And keep looking 'til I get through Christmas! :o)

The New Year is just a few days away and here I am with 4-5 months of catch-up.

Why am I at this point, where I've hardly been blogging on what's been going on in my life?

It's not because there hasn't been anything going on.

As I've thought about it, it started with the computer issues I began to have in August.

I was without a computer for weeks,

and then I began to travel,

then school started,

and evening activities started,

and that left me with not a whole lot of extra time.

I got out of the habit of getting on my blog and even reading other blogs that I follow.

So here I am...

The pressure...

This is my children's "records" of what we have done.

So I have to go back and just highlight things we have done this last part of the year,

just so we forever have the memories.

(FYI -- I'm going to antedate some of my posts, so that when I print a book, the posts are in the correct year.)

Thanksgiving Trip: Part 1

The next big event in November, (that I at least took pictures of) is Thanksgiving,

and heading back to Kansas.

Although it seems I didn't take a whole lot there either,

it has to be because I was busy helping cook in the kitchen.

Here are a few I got:

The cousins, minus Brooke.

The prayer for Thanksgiving dinner, with Tammy NOT closing her eyes.

The family watching some Tim Hawkins.

The past several years we have gone shopping on Black Friday,

but instead of driving an hour away to the nearest city with actual stores other then Walmart,

we decided to do the midnight thing at Walmart that was 30 miles away.

On November 27th, my oldest niece, Brooke, turned 16!

We celebrated by eating Gambinos, the BEST pizza EVER, and the kids bowled.

We ended our time with my family, with a family picture.

To Preston, From Dad

For Preston's weekend, Jeff and I both wrote him a letter,

you can read mine HERE, and I wanted to share Jeff's on here.

11-11-10

To my oldest son Preston –


As you turned 12 years old this year, I am so excited to have this getaway passport to purity weekend with you Preston before you turn 13 & enter your teenage years next year! Preston, you are growing up & becoming a young Man of God & this weekend will mark a major change in your life forever. I am so excited about your teenage years & the amazing plans & future God has for the rest of your life Preston as a Man of God! You will never forget this weekend with me for the rest of your life. I so wish my dad would have done this with me when I was your age, because this weekend will be one of the most important things I will ever do with you son.


Preston, I am so proud of you & the way you are growing up & helping around the house more & leading your brothers & sisters to honor & respect your mom & I & God. I love how you led your brothers & sisters to clean the living room & write mom letters after she was in the Emergency Room with a kidney stone. I’m so proud of you when you teach your brothers & sisters & our neighbors about God & when you show them God’s love by the way you treat them & talk to them. I’m proud of you when you share your favorite Bible stories in detail & what they mean to us today & what we can learn from them. I’m proud of all the great illustrations you find in God’s world that you share with the rest of us to show us how to understand God better & that He is real. I’m proud of all the great sermon message ideas you’ve come up with & given me. I’m proud of all the amazing things you’ve created & built like your zip-line & lego stuff.


I appreciate you so much Preston & your hugs & kisses on both my cheeks every day when I leave for work. I appreciate your help with dishes & trash & working around the house & on the vehicles & leading your brothers & sisters to have a positive attitude & help out as well. I appreciate your determination to not quit easy & to try new things. I appreciate your desire to stand up & speak up for what you believe is right & true. I appreciate so much your heart that wants to follow Jesus passionately.


Many of these things that I am proud of & appreciate in you Preston are gifts, talents, & strengths that God has given you & is developing in your life for you to use to serve Him better & also to serve those around you in God’s name & on God’s behalf. You Preston are the arms & feet & hands & legs of Jesus to the broken & hurting people in this world. Some of the gifts I believe God has given you to serve Him with are: Creativity, Craftsmanship, Leadership, Teaching, Preaching, Knowledge, Compassion, & Encouragement. I see God using you by giving you ideas & showing you how to build them & make them happen. I see God using you by helping you understand the Bible & showing you how to explain it & use it to help yourself & other people too. I see God using you to care about & reach out to people that are broken & hurting & to show them God’s love & help them.


See Preston, God has created you for a very special purpose & has given you a mission in life. A key part to that mission is to follow what Jesus said the 2 greatest commandments are in Matthew 22:37-40. 1. To Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, & mind. 2. To Love your neighbor (other people) as you love yourself. Now there are specific things God is going to do through you in life where He will give you the opportunity to Love Him & to Love others the way God Himself has loved you. The strengths, gifts, & talents God has given you are His gift to you, what you do with them is your gift back to Him. So use your God-given strengths & gifts, & just love & serve God with all your heart, & you will fulfill the mission & purpose that God put you on earth to accomplish. May you be like King David in Acts 13:36, & serve God’s purpose with your life in your generation before you die.


Always keep your eyes on being a true Man Of God &:
1. Reject Passivity – Don’t just sit around, but get up & do God’s work & help others in His name. 2. Accept Responsibility – When you mess up, fess up, ask God’s forgiveness & others, & get back up again & back to doing God’s work.
3. Lead Courageously – Lead others down Jesus good path of life instead of following them down the devil’s path of destruction.
4. Seek God’s Greater Reward – Live to put a smile on God’s face & for God’s reward of Heaven & His blessings, not people’s reward & approval.


God is going to give you 3 W’s, don’t settle for anything less than these:
1. His Will To Obey – Do what God asks you to in His word the Bible & don’t do what He tells you not to do.
2. His Work To Do – Work for God in His Church, the world, & whatever job He gives you to do for pay.
3. His Woman To Love – Wait until God gives you His chosen woman who loves & serves Him more than you, & then commit your life to loving her in marriage for the rest of your life.


Preston, I am so excited about this special weekend getaway with you! I can’t wait to have lots of fun with you & also talk with you about some of the most important things of your entire life. Preston, with God’s help & His Holy Spirit living in you, these next few years of your life will be a great time of preparation for adulthood as you go from being a boy, to being a True Man Of God! Your mother & I are committed to train & support you to become the Man God wants you to become through this time.


Preston, I love you more than you will ever know! There is nothing that you could ever do that would make me stop loving you.


- Your Dad forever, & your partner in sharing Jesus love with the world!

Preston's Weekend

For Preston's 12th birthday, Jeff and I gave him a weekend away,

with just him and his daddy, at least for the first night,

and then the rest of us joined them the second night.

They started it with a special lunch.

They then headed to the hotel in the mountains.

During this weekend, lots of issues were talked about,

from his peers, to what each choice he makes can do,

to dating, and purity.

There were different projects they did with each lesson.

There was lots of snacks, swimming, hot tub-ing and fun for them,

especially their rock climbing and swimming at the local rec center.

On the second evening, the rest of us came up...

For a celebration dinner, Preston wanted to eat at Beau Jo's in Idaho Springs.

We then went back to the hotel room and gave him some gifts to mark his decision to stay pure...

~A "Man of God" ring, that he will have to grow into.

~A sword, that is actually a letter opener, but it represent being a modern day knight.

~Dog tags, with personal messages on each.

and he signed a commitment and we prayed over him.

We also got in a lot of swimming (3 times in less then 24 hours.)