Window Washers

Drew has found his calling in life - washing windows!

The other day we were at Chick-Fil-A (CFA) with Becca & Laura. We were sitting back by the door to the play area but honestly couldn't see in very well because of the glare from the sun outside. No one was screaming so we thought all was fine and the kids were playing nicely and appropriately.

A while later Kyle Goen, a pastor at FBC and CFA frequent flyer (remember, I run into a staff member almost EVERY single time I'm at CFA), came up to us and proceeded to tell us that from all the way in the BACK of the restaurant he was being entertained by our boys (Drew & Becca's son, Eli). Wondering what could have been so amusing but being afraid to find out, we asked why anyway.

Apparently Drew & Eli were standing on the benches and LICKING THE WINDOW!!!! It wasn't just once mind you, the window was FILTHY!

There had been another boy in there and shortly after he went in one time his mom came and grabbed him out. I assumed it was because he had kicked at one of the other boys when he walked in but I think it was probably because he was going to follow Drew & Eli's fabulous example and start licking the window which just happened to be right over where his mom & friend were sitting.

Okay, I was HORRIFIED. Yeah, it's hilarious and I laugh about it just thinking about it, but come on, they were LICKING A DIRTY WINDOW!!!! Gold star for parenting - right here!

I went and got the window cleaner and some paper towels and we had the boys clean off the windows. Not sure how much they learned though as they thought it was great fun to spray the window and wipe the stuff off.

It's SOCCER time!

Morgan started soccer practice this week. Although Drew is playing soccer, he doesn't have formal practices so he thought he would join in with Morgan's. Hey, he's welcome to run as much as he wants - the more he runs, the more tired he is, the easier bed time is! :)

M had fun at practice and can't wait until her first game.

Small Group Scavenger Hunt

Earlier this month our small group from church did a photo scavenger hunt. I think there was about 26 people that participated!! Ashley & Cindy planned it and did a FABULOUS job. They had each group assigned to a mascot and then gave us different things we had to go around town and take pictures of. There was also several bonus point opportunities. WE HAD A BLAST! I can't remember a time I've done something with a group like that and had such a good time. Afterwards we all met for dinner and looked at everyone's pictures & videos (they had us make up a cheer too).

Here are a few pics from my team (Eric was on a different team - the winning team actually):

Our team mascot, WOOLY, wasn't spared from the bbq at Lowe's.


Our team cheer (we were trying to get extra points w/the hula-hoops.


We got extra points if we got pics with members of the church staff in it. Here is Kyle Goen with the group. Eric's group has a great one of Pastor Kyle in his washing machine - need to go find that one and post it sometime, it's hilarious.

You can see a slide show of the event on Ashley's website.

It's a start, right?

If you have small children, or children that used to be small, then you probably know the pains of POTTY TRAINING! Ughh! The differences between each child is crazy. M was SO easy to potty train and D has been more challenging (the understatement of the year). I've often wondered what O would be like.

For the past few weeks he's been telling me what you do in the potty, "pee-pee" and when I change his diaper he will point to himself and say "pee-pee" so he's starting to get it. This past week he has been asking to go pee when I change his diaper. I've let him try several times. He won't sit down b/c his big brother pees standing up. Up until today he hasn't ever peed in the potty.

TODAY HE DID!!! WOOHOO!! I know, he's young but he's starting to show interest so we might just give it a shot and start working on it.

Hey, according to this article we're already WAY behind and should have been potty training since birth.

What is Grace?

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast."

-Ephesians 2:8-9


I actually got myself up early this morning and did my devotions. This is quite the accomplishment because I am NOT a morning person, I'm not even a mid-morning person! After reading a couple of different things, the following devotion from my Mom's Devotional Bible stood out to me. I think it stood out to me because I've had several conversations in the past couple of months with people regarding "GRACE". What does it mean? Is it really free? Why don't I have to work to get it? Why does it replace the law & the 10 commandments?

Why is something that is a FREE gift seem so hard to understand sometimes?

At any rate, here is the devotional - read it - it's good.

Charis, the Greek word for "grace," is one of the most difficult Greek words to translate into English. Words like favor, beauty, thankfulness, gratitude, delight, kindness, and benefit are all derived from the root that gives us the word grace. If we have a tough time translating the word, it's no wonder we struggle to comprehend the concept of grace.

Digging through Scripture, we can come up with a picture of grace. Grace is always tied to the heart and character of God. In Deuteronomy we're told that God drove out Israel's enemies not because Israel deserved his intervention, but because he chose by grace to fulfill his word to his nation. In Isaiah we see that God longed to demonstrate his grace to a disobedient nation. In Jeremiah God underlined his grace by promising to bring Israel back from captivity.

Grace is God's character demonstrated in undeserved love. In fact, grace is God. It is his character illustrated in our lives with the scrawled signature of a cross.

Dear Lord, please help my child (and me) to comprehend your grace. May it not be just a dusty doctrine he mouths by rote during the recitation of a creed. May my child (and me) know your grace by experience. May he come to see grace as you, offering acceptance in place of rejection, favor in place of judgment, forgiveness where condemnation is deserved. Amen

Mr. Potato Head lives again

Several months back I put up a few toys that the kids just didn't play with anymore. They have enough, why keep everything out?

On Friday D saw the Mr. Potato Head in the closet and really wanted to play with it so I got it down. He's played with it a lot since and the kids took turns wearing Mr. P's glasses (see below).

Forget Christmas shopping at the stores (or online), I'll just go in my closet! (Honey, you know I'm kidding right? Don't get your hopes up!)

And this is why M doesn't ride the bus...

Had to chuckle just a little when watching the news tonight as we just had a talk about why M wasn't allowed to ride the bus to school.

Check out "That's Messed Up" from channel 2.

For those with bloglines/google reader/etc.

My apologies for the 2 posts that appeared earlier but that I have since deleted.

Sometimes it's just best if I keep my mouth shut - hard thing to do seeing as how I have a lot to say LOL!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIC!

Today my man turns 29!!! Happy Birthday Eric. Now we are the same age, I just have 4 years of experience LOL :)

Modge Podge

I don't feel like doing several different posts that all have their own theme so here is a modge podge of stuff I wanted to post.

DADDY'S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
Eric took Morgan to school for the first time on Wednesday. I took this picture of them getting ready to go. I thought it was a sweet pic of the two of them.



DREW & HIS "GIRLFRIEND"
D is "in love" with baby Aubrey. When he sees her, he just can't help himself. Here is a pic of their "first" kiss :)


AUBREY ENJOYING HER SHAKE
Tammy starts her kids on dairy young - here's Aubrey enjoying a milk shake (you know I'm just teasing Tammy!)



I had to laugh today at Chick-Fil-A because I think the entire staff of FBC must live there. I can't think of one time that I've been there in the past couple of months that I haven't seen one or more of the staff there. Despite rumors that I too live there, I only go once a week (inside anyways LOL).

A life less ordinary

I know I've mentioned here before that I was going to start helping in the high school ministry at church - Crave. Tonight was the night that me & Megan got our small group. I have been so nervous/anxious/etc. thinking about tonight but honestly, once we got in there all the nerves just went away. It was FANTASTIC & I absolutely cannot wait to do it again!

The message tonight was about Peter (Matthew 4:18-20, Matthew 16:18)and how God called him to live a life less ordinary - to lead an EXTRA ordinary life.

God calls each of us to the same thing he called Peter to - a life less ordinary.

God wants to take us out of our ordinary lives and use us to do the extra-ordinary. We should want that - we should crave that - we should pursue that with everything we have but the majority of us don't. If I was to be honest, I know that I don't most of the time. There is something comfortable about the status quo and there is definitely something very uncomfortable about making waves and being "different."

It was said tonight, God loves using the unlikely to do the amazing.

I know that he wants to do extra-ordinary things through me if I'd only let Him.

I think I might just try it. Life's too short to be ordinary.

Miley World member

Morgan LOVES Hannah Montana (thank you Katie for introducing her to that show LOL) and wants to have a Hannah Montana birthday party. Eric was trying to come up with something HM as a gift and well, he found it.

Hannah Montana is coming to concert the day after Thanksgiving and Eric bought two tickets yesterday so he can take his little girl to the concert. Can you imagine my husband at a Hannah Montana concert??? It makes me smile (okay, laugh)just thinking about it.

In order to buy tickets a little earlier he had to go on the Miley Cyrus website (I think) and become a Miley World member - he's got an official card and everything (ask him to see it - okay don't as I'm sure I'm already in trouble for this post).

Now, don't go saying anything to Morgan as she doesn't know about it & won't until her birthday in late October.

Rare photo shoot

I'm the mom that is always taking pictures of everything their children do but rarely do they ever sit there and pose for me let along suggest different poses. Today was one of those rare moments and here are the pics - aren't the cute? :)





Here is a good pic of O - I just love this smile!



D with the lego tower that he built as big as he is

Feed Me!

I've go the voice of Cookie Monster in my head but I'm thinking that it was the plant from Little Shop of Horrors that used to say "feed me!" Either way, it "food" that is on my mind tonight - not "food" in the normal sense of the word - spiritual "food".

If you've been in the "church" world very long then I'm sure you've heard people say that they left a church because they just weren't getting fed or maybe you've contemplated leaving a church because you felt that way. I know I have before.

Can it be a valid reason for leaving a church - sure - but I think it's an overused excuse for not wanting to have to work to get "fed."

At church we have been going through a series called "Go Time." Our pastor has been focusing on teaching us that the Christian life is about more than just minding our own business and never sharing with others the exciting & abundant adventure God provides for us when we follow Him. Our pastor said something this weekend that I thought was really good.

His "ideal" church would be one that was 1/3 unbelievers, 1/3 new believers, and 1/3 mature Christ-followers.

Why is this the ideal for a church?

It shows that the church is doing what it's supposed to - sharing Christ with those that don't know Him, discipling them and then sending them out to continue the cycle.

I've heard lots of "seasoned" Christians complain that services on Sunday morning just aren't as "in depth" as they'd like hence the "I'm not getting fed" excuse for leaving a church. (for those reading from my current church - I'm speaking in general, not specifically to our church).

If a church is doing what it's supposed to then you may not get as in-depth a study as you might like on Sunday morning. Sunday mornings should be about the non-believer and the new believers, not the mature Christian. While it should NOT compromise the integrity of God's word or water it down, a pastor needs to preach to those two groups - hey that should be 60% of your church - that's a lot of people. While ALL people should be able to learn something out of Sunday morning service, remember who it should be geared for. (EDITED TO QUALIFY THIS PARAGRAPH: I think our church does a great job of preaching on Sunday morning so that EVERYONE can take something from it and apply it to their lives. I don't feel that any "meat" is sacrificed or watered down. That said, you should always be going more in-depth when you go to a small group. That's why I like it when our church puts together material for the small groups that coincides with the sermon series - it's an opportunity to take it further)

If you don't feel like you're getting "fed" through the Sunday morning service, I challenge you to take a good, long look at yourself.

1. Are you not getting "fed" because you are choosing not to eat?

2. Are you reading your Bible, praying, fasting, etc? It's not the church's responsibility to be the sole source of "food" for you,- YOU are responsible for how much "food" you eat - you just have to choose to "eat" it.

3. Are you involved in other areas of the church? For a mature believer and a new believer needing to be discipled, it is KEY to be involved in a small group or sunday school class. It is in those places that you should be finding more of the "meat & potatoes" meal that we all need as Christ-followers.

4. Are you sharing your faith with others? Another KEY part to growing as a Christ-follower is to share about Jesus with others. Does this mean that you have to hit them over the head with the gospel? Absolutely NOT. That type of sharing does have it's place but most of the sharing you do will be through the relationships that you develop. Sometimes it's as simple as just living your life for Christ and someone watching that.

I guess I'll leave you with this question:

Are you "hungry"?

And the school year starts

I know, I'm wasting no time at getting these pictures on here - I mean, we haven't even picked Morgan up yet and she is only there a half day today. What can I say - I'm an over-achiever! :)

M's first day of school was today. She was up bright & early and ready to go. It was a little overwhelming being in the cafeteria with ALL the students in the school but I think she'll do fine after she gets a little more comfortable.

Here are some pics (excuse the edits, there is just some information that doesn't need to be on a public blog):

A Mom's Prayer for the First Day of School

This was posted HERE. Thought it was good with all of us having kids starting school.

Here we are again, Lord. Their backpacks are loaded and their faces are scrubbed and their lunch accounts are full.

And I know you'll walk with them, Lord. You always do. But a mom still has to ask.

Will You walk with them? Will You whisper to them what they need to hear, when I'm not there to whisper it?

Will You please, oh please, cover their school with the protection only You can give, and will You keep harm far away?

Will You make their minds strong and ready to learn? Will You help them understand that hard work honors the One who created them?

Will You guide their teachers, giving them patience and wisdom and creativity and more patience? Will You bless them for their efforts?

Will You love all those children there, the ones whose lunch accounts aren't full, the ones who feel alone? Will You teach my children to be kind and unselfish and to love those who are different from them?

Will You point them back toward home just as soon as you can?

Lord, I give them to You today and everyday, trusting them to Your care.

Amen.

Uncomfort Zone

I read this today on a blog:

"We will never become who God wants us to be without having a desperation for Him. It is not abnormal that most of you are fairly comfortable. You have food to eat, clothes to wear, and a house to live under. So how do we become desperate when all around us screams comfort? You have to follow God into things that you could never do on your own. "

Looking back on my Christian walk, the year that I felt it was the "easiest" to follow Christ was the first year that I was a Christian. After that year it became much harder to follow Christ with passion and zeal. WHY?

The answer lies in the quote above - COMFORT.

The first year as a Christian I was acutely aware that most of the people around me were not Christ-followers and it caused me to be more aware of how I lived my life - trying to watch what I said & did. I was intentional about trying to invite people to church and was very passionate about my relationship with the Lord. I became a Christian the summer before my senior year of high school and when school started I was a bit uncomfortable. People knew me one way and I was now completely changed. It was hard to be different but honestly, it was easy to walk firm in my faith. Does that make sense?

After that year I went to a Christian college. I was SO excited. The mere thought of going to a school where everyone was Christians was awesome to me. I had visions of incredible worship services, Bible studies with dorm-mates, and had this vision of being in a big place full of other on-fire Christians. I started off majoring in youth ministry (it's okay, you can laugh) and had to meet with the chair of the Bible Dept. He said some thing to me that day that have stuck with me. He commented that he hoped I didn't lose my zeal for the Lord after my 4-years there and that I should try not to get discouraged.

I didn't quite understand what he meant.

I do now.

I found a lot of people who claimed to be Christians but who weren't Christ-followers. They could talk to the talk but their walk didn't match up. I didn't understand how people could know what Jesus saved them from - an eternity in hell - and NOT be excited about it.

Here's what I came to realize - it's "comfortable" being around other Christians. Sometimes it's so comfortable that we relax too much and suddenly we become like those who claim to be Christians but who struggle to be an actual Christ-follower. The difference - one is about a religion (Christian), the other is about a relationship with the Father (Christ-follower).

Four years attending a Christian college, 2 years working at a Christian college and then 7 years working at a Christian non-profit organization have shown me the truth of the quote above - we can never be desperate for God when we are "comfortable." We will never get to experience ALL that God has for us when we are "comfortable." We will be mediocre Christ-followers at best.

I don't want a mediocre Christian life. Do you?

Countdown to Kindergarten

My baby girl will be starting Kindergarten soon. We'll find out on Thursday who her teacher is and when she starts school (they do a 10-day phase in process for Kindergarten students).

M is BEYOND excited & ready to go. I'm excited for her but a bit sad as it signals the end of an "era" of sorts. I know M is not going off to college or anything but it's still a change. No longer is she going down the preschool wing at church and now she's going to be in school every week day.

I bet D & O have a few issues adjusting, they LOVE their M!

I'll post pics of her first day when we find out when that will be.

LOST: Mind

Normally if I posted about losing my mind it would be in reference to a day I'd had with one (or all) of my children.

Not today.

I was talking with a friend earlier and mentioned something but immediately couldn't remember where I had heard what I told her. Normally it wouldn't bother me, but this was something very, very specific and, well, I'd like to remember where I heard it. I even scoured my phone records to see who I had talked to in an effort to get a clue as to where I had heard it.

It's driving me crazy. Did I dream this up? I've been having some crazy dreams lately that have me waking up in the morning and stopping to figure out what was reality and what wasn't so it's not impossible to think it was a dream.

Maybe I was half asleep when I heard this information (nothing crazy or gossipy). There was once in college where I pulled 3 all-nighters in 4 days during which time my mom called and told me some stuff. I started "remembering" things that I could have only known if I had talked to her yet I had no memory of having a conversation with her. After a call home, I realized I had, in fact, spoken to my mom and that's how I knew what I did.

At any rate, now that I've confirmed for you what you probably already knew - that I'd lost my mind - I'll sign off.

For comparison's sake

I was going through my photo account and came across these pics of Owen from his first tube surgery when he was about 6-8 weeks old (can't remember exactly). Thought I'd share.