Owen pics.

Here is a sampling of pics from today's photo shoot. I took Owen to Portrait Innovations for the first "professional" pics that I've had of him since he was less than a year old (yes, you read that right. The scrapbooker in me is cringing just admitting that!).

Can't say that I like the quality of the printed pics, but Owen did well.

How dus a plant groe

Morgan and her friend, Bailey, decided they wanted to make their own books today. Morgan started a book on how seeds grow. I think she's taking the wording (obviously not the spelling) from a book she's read at school. Isn't this the CUTEST thing???

Parent's Night Out for Camp - TAKE 2

Tonight was the second PARENT'S NIGHT OUT FOR CAMP that our 9th grade girls held. We had 15 kids total and I think most had fun.

This time was different because the kids were older and mainly boys. The weather was BEAUTIFUL outside so we spent a good amount of time in the backyard. The kids also did some crafts (older kids made a bouquet out of their hand prints & the younger made puppets) and played Wii. We tried to get them to sit down around 9 pm and watch a video w/popcorn but they didn't stay still for long.

Thank you so much to those that participated!!!

The next PNO is Friday, May 16th. Please let me know if you'd like to get an evite. I'm sending it out this weekend.

Thanks again!

"B" Day (Photo Added)

Well, today is the day that Owen will be giving up his precious BINKIES (pacifiers). I know, I know, we should have gotten rid of them a long time ago but we didn't, rather, I didn't.

So - today he is giving them to someone who needs them more than he does - baby ELLA.

It may be a long day/night.

UPDATE: Owen did so well giving up his binkies and was very proud of himself. Overall we've had a good day (this despite NO naps for either of my boys). He didn't even ask for it once. Here's a pic of him giving his pacifiers to Ella.

He knows.

Honestly, I have to tell you that I feel like I've been in a wrestling match with God lately. It's been a very hard couple of weeks spiritually and it's driving me crazy. I am not one that can sit in a stagnant/mediocre place for long. I have to be active in my faith - I just can't help it. That's why the past couple of weeks have been hard. I just want to find a moment where I don't feel like I'm having to fight so hard for things. I just want a time of rest and peace without feeling lazy or mediocre. I often look at other Christians and wonder why things are so easy for them. Perhaps they don't really have it easy, they just don't show struggles well.

I meet with several other ladies each Wed. morning for a bible study. We are currently going through the Beth Moore study, Beleiving God. Can I just say that today's message was meant for me. I saw down today not wanting to be there and frustrated and I walked out feeling like I had heard a word from God for me specifically.

I love it when things like that happen.

God is good.

One of the things that stuck out to me - God doesn't call us to something and not empower us to obey Him completely.

I can do it, one day at a time.

Thank you Lord.

Back it up!

I learned a valuable lesson in digital media management yesterday. It can be summed up in three words:

BACK IT UP!

Several months ago I started having problems with my computer and had to re-image the thing. It freaked me out a bit because all of my pictures were on my computer and I had no way of backing them up. My DVD/CD burner wasn't working and I didn't have an external hard-drive. Before reinstalling my entire operating system, Eric went out and bought an external hard-drive so I could keep my pictures and other files safe.

I'd like to say that I had been doing good about backing up my files, but I didn't and as a result I had about 5 months of pictures on my computer. I'm a scrapbooker and LOVE taking pictures and would have been DEVASTATED to lose all those memories.

I got home yesterday and went to boot up my computer and it wouldn't. It gave me a message that basically said my hard-drive was non-existent.

WHAT?????? YIKES!!!!!!!

Of course, I freaked. I called my brother who told me that there was a good chance I lost everything but to take it to Best Buy (Geek Squad) and see what they could do. I got all the way to Best Buy when I remembered that my friend, Jennifer's, husband did IT stuff. I called him and he said that he did have some experience with hard-drive problems and to come on over.

So, I did and I was expecting the worst. It was making me physically ill just thinking about it.

Well, about 30 seconds after getting there he asked me why my hard drive was unplugged. WHAT???? I didn't eve know where my hard-drive was yet alone how to unplug the thing.

Turns out that the 2 screws that were holding it in had someone come out & disappeared. I have NO idea how that happened as no one else has worked on my computer. He just pushed the hard-drive back in and the computer worked great.

Guess what I did when I got home?

Yep, I backed everything up!!!

Moral of the story: MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A WAY TO BACKUP YOUR FILES!

Visiting friends

This weekend was my trip to Oklahoma to visit some of my friends. Eric got me this trip as a Valentine's gift because he knew how much I was missing my girls. Here is one snapshot of the weekend - looks like fun, right?

I also have to brag on my honey. Originally this trip was planned in early March when there wasn't baseball or soccer. He has taken care of a sick child (Owen), taken Drew to baseball and Morgan to soccer practice and coached her game. He has taken the kids swimming (Owen is better, of course) and out to dinner. He is a WONDERFUL father and a fabulous husband. THANK YOU honey for making this trip possible.

The Malatya Martyrs (Turkey)

A friend, and former co-worker shared something on his blog today that I wanted to pass along. It's when I read things like this that I remember how amazing God is and how He moves in mighty ways.

After working at The Voice of the Martyrs for seven years and daily hearing the stories of those who suffer for the name of Christ around the world, I have to say, I whole-heartedly agree with a statement Beth Moore made on a video I watched last week. She said (I think she was quoting another article, don't remember), "Because we haven't been a suffering church, we've lacked so much life."

Please read this and remember the families that lost their loved ones a year ago in Turkey for the name of Christ.

It's a war

I've always been very aware of the fact that there is a battle going on that we cannot see. It's a battle between good & evil, God & Satan, a battle for our very souls. For the person that hasn't chosen to be a Christ-follower, the goal is to keep them from becoming on. For the person that has chosen to follow Christ, the goal is to take our focus off of God and thereby give other things (aka Satan), the glory. Less we forget, we are always glorifiying something/someone, it's just a question of who.

The past 2 weeks have been the absolute hardest I've had a Christian in a very long time. Nothing crazy or earth-shattering has happened other than I just couldn't get my act together. I made some bad choices, sometimes being deliberate about sin, and I just didn't feel strong enough to do anything else

I knew that there was a war going on in the heavenlies, I knew that we, as Christ-followers, would be the subject of much of this war and yet I was tired. I felt very battle-weary. Perhaps you can relate to that, I don't know.

God is always faithful in the midst of that.

My friend, Dina, emailed me this today. A little background, Dina works for a company called Newell & Associates (if you are at a church or ministry that uses volunteers, you need to check them out) and she has a prayer team (more on that subject on a later blog). Her prayer team receives weekly updates & prayer requests so we can assist Dina in her ministry. She is my very best friend and an incredible woman of God.

Read this:

God has reminded me this past week: We are at WAR! Whether we like it or not, whether we want to be or not, whether we feel like fighting or not—we are at war with the enemy of our souls, who prowls around, seeking to taunt and intimidate, steal, kill and destroy. When you have a moment, read I Samuel 17. It’s the famous David & Goliath encounter. Al (her boss) shared a devotional at the American Heritage Girl's conference on this passage: the Israelites and Philistines were at war, both sides had drawn their battle lines, but no one had engaged in battle because the giant Goliath yelled taunts and hurled a seemingly impossible challenge to the Israelites, which caused them to tremble in fear. So for 40 days, the enemy giant taunted and intimidated the Lord’s people. And although they were dressed in battle array, no one engaged in battle. It took David, a young boy with great courage and amazing faith, to step up and face the giant head on and engage in battle. For him, it didn’t matter what his size, qualifications or abilities were, it mattered that he came in the name of the LORD Almighty. v.45-47: “….I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me….and the whole world will know there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves, for the battle is the LORD’s and He will give all of you into our hands.” So often, I feel that I am at war, yet have not engaged in battle (prayer)—and I often catch myself much like the Israelite army, gripped by fear and intimidation. Your ministry as a prayer partner on this team has an amazing impact on the LORD’s kingdom. You are Davids—full of courage and faith, stepping in to engage in battle. The prayers you offer on behalf of our ministry and family are like the smooth stones David chose to sling at the enemy giant—fueled by God’s Almighty power, the enemy is defeated. I thank my God for each of you!

Batter Up

Today was Drew's 1st baseball practice. Wow - was that kid excited. His practice wasn't until 9 am but he woke up at 7 am and immediately put on his uniform. It was so stinkin' cute!

We got to practice and it went great. He had a huge smile on his face the whole time. I love that at this age they get this look of pure joy on their face. It's my favorite thing to see when they experience something new.

Here are some pics.

Getting after a ball (Drew's the one in front)

Going over the finer points of hitting with the coach.

I think this is hilarious. He has such a look of concentration on this face. He obviously hit the "T" and not the ball (note where the ball is). He was sure trying hard though. So cute!

Oh - just in case you all didn't already know how big of a Cardinal fan my husband is, I've been informed that I needed to develop some "connections" within the baseball crew because no kid of his will be playing for any team other than the CARDINALS. So - if you know who I need to befriend, let me know. :)

WOOHOO Craigslist!

We listed our old van last night on Craigslist and it has already sold!!!!!!! It only took 12 hours to sell.

WAHOOO!!!

Think we go out to eat a lot?

I do now - the kids are sitting around playing restaurant. Morgan makes a good waitress, writing everything down. The boys ordered chicken fingers, fries and a popsicle drink. It's been fun sitting hear listening to them.

The person before me

Whoever had our phone number prior to us moving here was one interesting person. Let's see what I know about her:

1. She supports the arts, police, firemen, sheriff's office, etc.
2. She has an acct. at Hollywood Video.
3. She has a lot of friends that don't know her new number.
4. A lot of those "friends" would like to get some money from her.
5. Her child/children went to a local elementary school. This confused me for a while because I recently started getting automated phone calls from this particular school (not the same one that my child attends). The messages were always weird but once I actually answered a phone call I understood.

And, my favorite

She attended a church around here that has "tribe" meetings every Wednesday night (Example - tribe of Gad, tribe of ...). This one is particularly funny to me because on the two Wed. where it was snowing I emailed Melanie at the church to have her confirm that church was closed. Neither time church was closed and I'm sure she thought I was a bit crazy for even asking. Why did I ask? Because I got 2 messages on my voice mail telling me it was. It wasn't until last night, when I actually was here for a phone call and got invited to attend the Tribe of Gad meeting that I realized what that was all about.

Hmmm.. You'd think after being here for 1.75 years that we'd stop getting calls for this person (who, by the way, has SEVERAL names). She's an interesting person all right!

Please PRAY (espec. around 10 am)

I know that several of you have been following the adoption of Savannah-Hope by the Johnson family. Crystal is in Malawi right now but is having some issues with paperwork and can't return yet. She's been in Malawi, away from her husband and 4 kids, for 22 days!!! They need a meeting to be scheduled today or it will be a lot longer until she can return.

Here's a link to their blog: Johnson family.

Soccer for dummies?

Is there such a book? If so, does anyone have it???

Morgan is playing soccer this spring and Eric & I agreed to coach the team. I should say, ERIC is the head coach, I just am available to help out as needed. Today, I'm needed.

What do I know about soccer????

Nothing.

What do I know about teaching soccer to a bunch of 6 year old girls???

Nothing.

This should be interesting.

Parent's Night Out 4 Camp

Tonight was our first Parent's Night Out event to help raise money for our 9th grade small group of girls to go to summer camp. The cost per student is $200 and we have 2 months to raise the money. The student ministry is doing a car wash where the students have the opportunity to get 100% of the money they raise toward their camp cost. Just 20 tickets sold and they are home free (let me know if you need tickets).

In addition, we wanted to do something else as a group to earn the money, hence the PARENT'S NIGHT OUT idea.

Our girls came over to my house along with my co-leader, Megan, and we watched 14 children (that includes my 3) from 6:30-10 pm tonight. The minimum cost was $3 per child, per hour, with add'l donations accepted & very much appreciated (but not necessary).

Wow - was it crazy! Honestly, after getting only 2.5 hours of sleep last night, I was exhausted and feeling a bit overwhelmed by the thought of 23 people in my house. With the majority of the kids being age 4 and under, well, those of you that have kids that age, had kids that age or worked with kids that age can imagine the chaos that could have ensued.

Things went FAR better than I expected. We divided the kids up by age and then rotated them through different stations which included, games, free play, crafts & snack. At 9 pm we changed those that brought PJ's into them and "sat" down to watch a movie.

Our girls were GREAT and cleaned up everything afterward (don't worry honey, the carpet looks PERFECT LOL).

We are planning on doing this again on Friday, April 25th. If you are interested in being included on the evite, please drop me a note. I am sending out the evite this weekend.

Thanks to those that brought your children over and let us have fun with them for a couple of hours. Here are a few pics:

What the heck??

It's 1 am and OWEN IS STILL AWAKE! Not just a little awake but "I'm-not-tired-Mommy-and-plan-to-stay-up-all-night" awake! Ughhh!!!!!! It figures one of my kiddos would do this the night before a VERY busy Friday.

Edited to add: He just went to his room and came back with some tools from his workbench to fix my broken laundry basket. Seriously!

Edited to add another note: Had to laugh when Drew woke up too around 2 pm.

DRUMROLL PLEASE.... Owen finally went to sleep around 3 am and Drew went to sleep around 3:45 am.

They better sleep their butts in because I have a ton of stuff to do today and it needs to start with cleaning my pit...I mean, my house.

Pray for us today (I'm not kidding).

Recommendations needed

Can anyone recommend a local jeweler that they trust? I need to get my wedding ring fixed.

Also, can anyone recommend a body shop? We need to get a dent removed from our old van before we sell it.

Thanks, in advance.

Farley Family

Several months ago I came across a blog of a young family here in middle TN who was about to give birth to a daughter that had Trisomy 18. Eight days after she was born she passed away. Through her blog, her mom has been so open and real about the journey that God has brought her through, heartbreakingly real.

Today she posted a video made about Copeland, her daughter with Trisomy 18, and their journey. It's an amazing video, you should watch it but make sure you bring the tissues.

HERE is the link.

Rain Out

My husband, the AVID Cardinals fan, has asked me to post that his Opening Day Party has been postponed due to RAIN. Yep, after looking forward to Cardinals Opening Day for a while now, dvring the game, sitting down in a peaceful, quiet, kid-free house to enjoy the first game of the season, the rains came and the game was canceled. Imagine the let-down...

Ladies, if your husband has ever played sports, lost a game, and was depressed afterwards then you can probably sympathize with me here. It wasn't a pretty scene in the Mueller household tonight.

Those redbirds better not get rained out tomorrow!!! I want a happy husband!