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Little Star Sunday

2011
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Every year our church has a day dedicated to the shining stars of our congregation… the children. Check out their website for more info. We were really excited because we thought that Evan might participate this year. HAHAHAHAHAHA That’s him on the far right with his panda in front of his face.


Let’s look at the bright side: at least he went up with his class… last year he wouldn’t even join them on stage.
He actually did the motions for the song that he wouldn’t sing, and peeked out to see if we were watching.
Annnnddd right back behind his panda.
Our little Mr is so “special”.

Filed Under: Faith, Kiddos Tagged With:

Happy Easter!

2011
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I hope that everyone enjoyed their Easter Holiday, ours was fantastic. On Saturday we decorated eggs in the morning and then had a little Easter egg hunt in the afternoon.


I’m sad to report that we do not have a nice family photo taken on Easter because my husband was in too much of a hurry to get to church. He has been the liturgist at both services for the month of April and always seems to be running around like crazy on Sundays. When we finally got home from church, Bud was too grumpy to take a photo and needed his nap ASAP.
No matter, these snapshots will do just fine.
Poor Lily REALLY wanted to join the fun outside. Our goal is for her to be an indoor/outdoor cat like Little, but it’s sometimes hard to keep an eye on her.

There are a couple of things that need to be noted regarding this photo. First, can you believe how tall my girl is getting? Someone make it stop! Secondly, the grass is incredibly green because it has been raining almost non-stop for the entire month of April. Our poor friends in Texas need rain so badly, shame we can’t send it their way. Thirdly, I know we need to do some yard work: mow, pull weeds, tend to shrubs, put up the hose, etc. But please see last statement as to why this has not yet happened. Shortly after our egg hunt, it started raining again.
Such a lovely young lady.
Doesn’t Mom look beautiful?! I absolutely love, LOVE that shirt and sweater we found the other day at Macy’s.
Ella found the golden egg!! It contained $1.50 in quarters. Not sure why I picked that amount, but she was happy.
This is a very typical scene at our home: Sissy concentrating and working hard, Mr yelling some nonsense and Mom sipping her wine. Life is good.
Love these buggers.
Mr insisted that I take a photo of him with Grandpa. We left those two boys outside to play, and a little while later Mr came inside carrying a dead mouse by its tail to scare his sister. (There were actually two dead mice on the doorstep, courtesy of Little). Then, I looked out the back window to see a cute, little naked bum standing in the woods. Grandpa is making sure he knows how to pee outside. Apparently, these are important life lessons.
But do not let this sweet face, and beautiful blue eyes deceive you, this one is TROUBLE.

Filed Under: Faith, Holidays, Kiddos Tagged With:

Perspective

2011
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I have been spending a lot of time lately reading blogs of women who write and teach about faith. Gitzen GirlI crawl into my warm, cozy bed after we’ve tucked in the kids, and I jump from blog to blog on my iPad reading stories about the way God is working in the lives of His people.

A few evenings ago, I came across Sara’s site: Gitzen Girl. She is a contributing writer to (in)courage, one of my new favorite websites.
Sara’s bio from her website:

I’m just a girl who used to write for a magazine to make a living, and now writes a blog to make a life. Extremely blessed, well-loved and choosing joy while learning that homebound doesn’t limit your life, just your location. I hope you find something on here that makes you smile or makes you think. Or both.

She has an illness called Ankylosing Spondylitis, which you can read about on her site by clicking here. Allow me to summarize: she is in chronic pain with an illness that has no cure and is completely homebound. She cannot leave her home and deals with incredible pain every moment of her life. I urge you, implore you, to take a few minutes to read her story regarding this chronic illness.

When I read these pages, I wept. Sobbed uncontrollably, actually. Not because I feel sorry for her, I don’t think that is what she wants, but because through all of this, she CHOOSES to praise God and spread her joyful spirit. She does not complain about her situation, she does not lament… why me? (and no one would blame her if she did), she talks endlessly about how blessed she feels.

This blog. Sara’s story. Stopped me in my tracks.

How many times do we complain about the silliest things in our lives? You can’t find a parking spot, the grocery store is crowded, people get on your nerves, nothing is going right, etc. HELLO!!!! Wake up!! There are people out there that are enduring lifelong suffering with no reprieve and we complain about a crowded grocery store? Is your life really that bad? I am not excusing myself from any of this, I need perspective as much as the next person.

And listen, I don’t care whether you believe in God or not, but how can you read her story and not ask yourself how someone can find peace and joy given her situation? Do you really think that man is strong enough, mentally, to overcome these hurdles? Put yourself in her shoes and ask yourself how you would react. I, for one, don’t handle pain well. I also don’t handle seclusion well. I’m pretty sure that I would be balled up in a corner, crying and asking why this had to happen to me. I would hope that I could overcome, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, I believe that anything is possible, but I think I would struggle.

We all question our purpose in this world (and yes, I’ve read The Purpose Driven Life and enjoyed it), but isn’t amazing when you see a person with clear and undeniable purpose?  Sara’s story not only provided me with perspective, but with a vision of what purpose can look like… painful, beautiful, emotional and inspiring.

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