Carole's Blog

2011-12-12T14:35:00.000-05:00

A couple of my good friends lost their mom`s within the past six weeks. I lost my mom many years ago. She lived with us for more then 10yrs after my dad died. She loved being around my kids and would tell stories to them about her childhood. She played games with them, laughed with them, loved them and they adored her.
Because she trusted God, mom was almost always happy and contented. I remember as a kid going past her room in the morning and seeing her on her knees praying and the same when she lived with us. Mom never interfered when we corrected the kids, but no matter where she was in the house she would go to her room and within a matter of minutes she would go to their room and talk and pray with them. Sometimes it would irritate me, but what do you say to that? I`m sure her favorite thing to say to them was, "This to will pass", because that is what she always said to me.
When mom first went to heaven, I tried not to think too much about her because it would send me into tears. Now, though I may cry sometimes, it is comforting to remember her gentleness, kindness, how she journalled everything, how i would lay in her lap and she would brush my hair. I remember if I was sick, I had to eat "milk toast" the next morning (yuk). One of the things that really influenced my life was how much mom and dad loved and respected each other.
I often hear women say they don`t want to be like their mother, but I can honestly say that I wish I were more like mine. I wish I had her quiet spirit and her sweet disposition.

Ryan and Kate

2011-11-04T11:05:00.001-04:00

Halloween at Trunk and Treat

2011-11-04T11:02:00.000-04:00

2011-11-04T10:08:00.000-04:00

2011-03-19T00:57:00.002-04:00

2011-03-18T14:46:00.001-04:00

SPRING STUDY

2011-02-07T16:06:00.000-05:00

JONAH

BY PRISCILLA SHIRER

STARTS TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 2011

MORNING SESSION 9-11:30AM-- WITH CHILDCARE

EVENING SESSION 6-8PM

Elias singing his first solo on video!

2010-04-23T15:33:00.000-04:00

Yesterday My Life Flashed Before My Eyes

2010-01-19T08:51:00.001-05:00

Click on title to go to Matt`s lastest update on Uganda.

School Christmas Program

2010-01-09T13:43:00.001-05:00

CHRISTIAN`S BIRTHDAY

2009-12-21T11:42:00.003-05:00

Christian`s Birthday--he is 0ne y/o
and not really impressed with all the fuss.
above daddy shows him his presents below
mom reads him one of his cards.

A little Birthday Prince

RAVENS IS HIS TEAM

Hi Aunt Jess

HALLOWEEN 2009

2009-12-21T11:35:00.000-05:00

PICTURES ARE SPECIAL MOMENTS

2009-11-28T23:01:00.002-05:00

Life is better at the Beach

2009-08-02T23:05:00.001-04:00

The Little Blue Eggs

2009-06-08T14:37:00.003-04:00

Sierra called me on the phone to come quick and see the little blue eggs in the nest.
They were both excited, but Sierra expresses it with everything she has. Her eyes were big and her little hands were trying to show me the exact size of the eggs as we hurried over to the garden.
"Look MawMaw" she said in a whisper so as not to disturb the eggs, "right there, but you can`t touch them MawMaw, ok?"

2009-05-31T00:03:00.003-04:00

If you are craving smores and you can`t go camping then
start the backyard bonfire, toast the marshmallows, grab the
Hershey bars (it`s gotta be Hershey) and graham crackers
put them together and take a bite, YES!!!! "LIFE IS GOOD"

Bowling Night

2009-05-07T07:26:00.002-04:00

yes, that is a bowling ball flying through the air

oops!!!! another flying ball

EMMA AND SIERRA ARE FOUR YEARS OLD

2009-05-06T17:18:00.001-04:00

Just Pictures

2009-04-23T15:13:00.004-04:00

Girls in Easter dresses

Elias is a happy bunny

Chuck E. Cheese Day

2009-04-23T14:28:00.000-04:00

Emma enjoys the ride

Chuck E. Cheese Pizza and Soda

Sierra meets a new friend, Emma
loves the slide and Layton likes being
on his own.
Getting pictures taken.

Em and Si hope to get lots of tickets

ELIAS

2009-04-07T15:14:00.001-04:00

2009-04-07T15:02:00.001-04:00

Christmas 2008 continues

2009-03-24T09:26:00.001-04:00

Christmas 2008

2009-03-23T16:49:00.001-04:00

I am taking pictures for Christmas gifts
for some friends and the girls were in a silly mood. They just kept posing like models and I just kept snapping pictures. I must have taken 20 pictures. I thought they turned out pretty good.

Above is the Schools Christmas Program. Pre-K 3 were Chickens. I have no idea why, but for some reason in my mind Chickens and Angels just don`t go together.

The last of the pictures are again taken for Christmas pictures for friends. Sierra insisted on holding the red-haired doll. We tried to stuff Christian in a Stocking, but he was too big. lol

Catching Up on Blogging

2009-03-21T09:17:00.000-04:00

I am so excited about my new blog makeover by, "Designs by Danielle", and am hoping it will give me the incentive to post on a regular basis. I am trying now to catch up from Christmas and to make some layouts instead of posting individual pictures which would take me forever. Hope you enjoy.

Christmas Concert

2009-03-20T11:59:00.000-04:00

Layton` Birthday

2009-03-20T11:58:00.001-04:00

So That`s Where Babies Come From

2008-10-13T20:41:00.000-04:00

READY TO EXERCISE

2008-10-02T12:02:00.000-04:00

THE LFM HAS A SURPRISE VISITOR

2008-10-02T11:50:00.000-04:00

Elias, This Morning in Nashville

2008-09-18T11:41:00.000-04:00

Baby Elias

2008-09-16T08:33:00.000-04:00

Matt`s Letter to Elias

2008-09-15T12:35:00.000-04:00

Monday, September 15, 2008
hope (another letter to my son)

Dear Elias,

You turned two months old last Friday. Already, you’re wide-eyed and curious about the world around you. I’m convinced you notice and become wowed by things that I don’t see. Or perhaps I’ve just become too busy or jaded to find beauty and wander in simple things. But you haven’t.

For instance, I have no idea why you spend so much time gazing up at the ceiling fan. I’d love to know what you find so interesting about five brown panels whirling around in circular motion. Do you just like the way it moves? Are you frightened by it? Or do you see the power of God spinning round and round above you in our living room?

Your mother loves taking pictures of you. That’s one of the ways I know she loves you so much; nothing brings her more joy than when she’s busy capturing and documenting every one of your facial expressions. And I think you might have a million of them! Of course, I don’t recognize all of them like your mother does. Sometimes she’ll say to me, “I just love when he puts his lips together like this,” and then she’ll do her very best impression of the shape of your mouth. That usually causes us to break out into laughter, and then both of us sit and watch you, waiting, hoping, and doing our best to coax you to do that face again. (Though this time your mother is looking at you through the lens of her camera, determined to catch in picture when you make your lips look like a duckbilled platypus’s.)

Sadly, you’re not very cooperative. But you make up for your non-cooperation by doing an entirely new facial expression that is just as interesting to us. I could stare at you for hours, Elias. Sometimes I do. You and I get to spend Thursdays and Fridays together. You make it difficult to get any work done. That’s not because you’re overly demanding, but because I find so much hope when I look at you. And even more when you look at me with your big brown eyes. When your eyes follow me around the living room, I feel like superman. But my favorite is when you fall asleep on my chest. There are few things that make me happier than when your heartbeat is resting against mine. I experience so much hope in those moments.

Hope is an odd thing, Elias. It’s hard to explain most of the time. You’ll learn about this eventually. But sometimes hope is just a feeling or a thought or a moment that comes to you in a flash. It can feel like a burst of energy or a strange peace or a long comforting hug from a dear friend. It doesn’t always remedy all of the pain or questions or fear that might be grieving you in the present, but it often gives you the ability to push through the hard parts of life. That’s what you do for me. Looking at you makes me feel like I can conquer almost anything, though I’m very human and broken. Your face reminds me that God is with me. You don’t answer all of my questions or calm all of my fears or make the pain I’m feeling in a given moment go away, but you do offer me energy, peace, and hugs to help me walk through those tough moments. Thank you for that. Hopefully someday I can return the favor.

Love,

Daddy (I’m the one who uses the bottles to feed you.)

Daddy`s New Book

2008-09-09T15:27:00.000-04:00

The Turners in Nashville

Elias` Video to the Schims

2008-09-08T17:03:00.000-04:00

A Grandparent`s Message from Elias

2008-09-06T14:34:00.000-04:00

Pictures of the Grandkids

2008-09-03T22:48:00.000-04:00

YOU GOTTA LOVE THE

GRANDKIDS

Emma and Sierra`s First Day of School

2008-09-03T22:23:00.000-04:00

Emma and Sierra are going to our school`s two and three y/o learning center. These are the pictures taken on their first day,

LAYTON GRADUATES FROM KINDERGARTEN

2008-09-03T22:02:00.000-04:00

Chestertown Christian Academy`s Elementary Awards Night and Graduation Night For The Kindergarten.

Above, Layton sings with his classmates and receives his diploma from Mr. Baugher. He gets a hug from mom at the reception.

Which One Is Really Me

2008-09-03T11:16:00.000-04:00

This has been an amazing summer filled with many different memories. There have been times of excitement, joy, peace, relaxation, fun, being too busy and ,as always many blessings.

As you know I love to scrapbook and journal things about life. I have not made journaling something that I have to do everyday, but I usually write something every week. My mother kept a "daily" journal for years, I am not that committed nor do I have a life that exciting, but I do like looking through mom`s journals once in a while and remember things through her writings.

Recently I found a journal of mine from the late nineties and I looked back over some entries I had made and sometimes laugh and sometimes cry. As I read, I found myself hardly able to identify with the person writing and at times even wondering if I had two personalities ( just kidding )because there seemed to be two different people writing in my journal. One was an emotional wreck wondering where God was and if He was ever going to answer her prayers. At times she felt that she had failed Him and was not good enough to be loved by a God so forgiving and merciful. She whined to Him about the same thing with every entry. The other one was confident, humbled by God`s love for her, but believing, knowing it was always there, always and forever. It seemed through the anxieties and concerns her faith was strengthened and the pages were filled with praises along with quotes of the Psalms

I remember staring at these pages for awhile wondering which one was really me. As I read entries that were more recent, I realized that the first one rarely wrote in the journal at all anymore and the second one seemed to have taken over the journal. I flipped back through the journal to see what had happened to the first writer and came to the place that I remembered well. A time when the love and mercy of a Holy God removed the shackles, set me free and allowed me to dance. Was that it, was that when the first writer began to fade into the background, it sure seemed that way.

Has the first writer disappeared, no, not completely. In fact recently, just a few days ago I saw a glimpse of her, she actually wrote in my journal, under the name of "hurt", sneaky wouldn`t you say? You see, "hurt" can get away with lots of things because hurt can be justified at times. She wrote, "I don`t understand why she (name left out ) doesn`t speak to me, I haven`t done anything to her, but that's it, I`m not going to give her the chance to hurt me again, I`ll just ignore her and not speak to her either".

I remember feeling justified writing that, as if God was cheering me on, but today I feel different and I wish I had written something spiritual in my journal, something that I could feel good about when I re-read the entry months or years from now. I almost whited it out, but I thought about it and decided that I had written what was in my heart at that particular time and journaling is a way of expressing feelings, even if wrong, besides, I could use the best white-out made and still be able to see the spot where it had been written. Today, however, I wrote, "God has forgiven me for feeling that way about another person and I need to forgive her too". I pray that I will not feel the need to write anything like this again, but just in case, I have hidden the pens from my other personality.

Elias--New pics.

2008-07-23T11:10:00.000-04:00

Elias

2008-07-15T21:58:00.000-04:00

Blessings

2008-07-12T11:47:00.000-04:00

Can I just say thank you to those who invented the internet, let me see was it "Al Gore" well whoever it was, it sure made my today special. I remember when my first grandchild was born. Jim and Melanie lived in Indiana and I was here in MD and we didn`t see her for a couple of months. I would cry almost everyday and Melanie would call me and we would cry together. Matt and Jess are in TN, but the internet has come a long way in the past few years. It was such a blessing to see the videos of Matt, Jess, Angie, the hospital rm. and nurses and meet the Midwife actually MidMIVES because Jess was there so long. Of course the best part was being able to see Elias only minutes old in his daddy`s arms and the brief smile and yawn, oh how precious he is. I could not help but think of how excited we were to have a boy after 2 precious :) girls. I remember the moment he was born, everyone in the delivery room got so excited, (of course working in Maternity made it more personal) and I was trying to come out of the anesthesia because I knew it must be a boy from the way everyone was acting. When I finally woke up the Dr. was holding him up butt first so I could see he was a boy. I can hardly believe that same little boy is on a video holding his own little boy. I am so blessed by you God, I can hardly wait to see how you are going to allow me be a part of his life.

ELIAS JUDE my new grandson

2008-07-12T07:30:00.000-04:00

2008-07-11T08:43:00.000-04:00

Matt writes
quick update (and then attempt to sleep)
Other than exhaustion Jessica's been in good spirits. She's a trooper. And now the doctors have given her something to help get her to sleep. Good news though: Now that she's settled her blood pressure is fantastic. And Elias's little heartbeat is very strong.Thanks so much for your prayers and good wishes... I'll hopefully do a video update in the morning.Now I'm gonna try and get some sleep...
1 comments
Thursday, July 10, 2008

finally...
After three failed attempts, Jessica's I.V. is in!I never in a million years thought I would be blogging about the I.V., but it really feels like we just accomplished something huge!Thank God for Jamie. She got it in on the first try...
2 comments

things i might need before this experience is over
A very strong drink (maybe several)
Therapy
My own personal epidural
A shower
1 comments

we're in a room

8 comments

blah "labor" moments so far...
Here's an update!
It's 8:42 Central Time and Jessica and I are sitting in the waiting room watching C.S.I. We could be doing this at home. But I'm happy because I'm eating BBQ potato chips. Yeah, I made a Walgreens stop on the way to the hospital. (You know I love me some Walgreens. It's probably because I'm American, which means it's the pharmacy I have to trust.)
As we were running around the house like crazy people, what does Jessica begin to worry about? The screen door that we special ordered at Home Depot. "We have to stop at Rosemary's house on the way to the hospital!" I asked why. "Because she and Wayne were nice enough to offer to pick up the screen door this weekend! I want to leave the door's receipt in her mailbox." When I asked if it was absolutely necessary to do on the way, she looked at me. And that was when I realized. It was. It really was.
I made stir fry.
The one thing Jessica wanted me to buy at Walgreens was mint Chapstick. But the only minty lip balm they had was Blistex, which made her cry.
5 comments

um, well... the birthing process begins tonight
I'm not sure if you're interested in following the events of my son's birth, but if you are, stay tuned...At 7:00 Central Time, Jessica and I will be arriving at Vanderbilt Medical Center's birthing unit and Emma (our midwife) will be inducing labor because Jessica's test this afternoon came back positive for preeclampsia.So keep us in your prayers. I'm currently running around the house taking orders from Jessica. It's fun.As long as Vandy's internet is working, I'll be updating my blog as often as I am able...This is going to be bigger than Little Ricky's birth! OK, not really.But stay tuned!And pray for both of us... I have a feeling it's going to be a long night...

LIS GRADUATES WITH HONORS

2008-05-19T09:24:00.000-04:00

This was such an exciting day for us. Lis has been working on her BS degree for several years and graduated with honors yesterday, June 18th from Wilmington University, Wilmington DE.

I Am Desperate For God

2008-05-05T09:58:00.000-04:00

Life is too busy. This past month has been crazy and I am sometimes overwhelmed with all that seems to crowd into a day that I thought would be free and just for me. I am, however, going to try to update this blog today, so here goes.Even though I am busy the love of my life is my family and the highlight of each week are my grandchildren. I take care of Emma and Sierra on Mondays and Layton comes home with me from school on Wednesdays. This past week his grandfather took him fishing and even though the fishing looked pretty bleak, Layton managed to catch 12 fish and his grandfather 8. His grandfather did get a picture on his cell phone but I have not retrieved it yet. Layton has always loved to walk in the wooded area of our property while we talk and he pretends he is protecting me from all the dangers that surround us, like rabbits and squarrels.:). Recently I went on a school trip with Layton to a small rescue zoo and his favorite thing was a rooster, a beautiful one but still a rooster. We had a great time together until, that is, he walked away from me. If you have never seen me in action when I can`t find one of my kids, you have missed out. I was beside myself and of course all the men who worked at the zoo immediatly became perverts. I actually started out pretty good though, calling his name in a normal tone, but in a few seconds everyone at the zoo probably thought I was yelling into a microphone. I was at least 10 minutes finding him and I`m sure within that 10 minutes those around me, who I go to church with, have formed a much different picture of me, but you see, they don`t know that my daughter was lost for 35 minutes on the beach in Ocean City when she was 4 yrs. old. That does give me reason to act like a crazy women, right???The 21st of April we celebrated the girls 3rd BD. The highlight of the night was Sierra telling me that mommy had a secret. She whispered in my ear that mommy was having a baby and it was in Aunt Jessica`s tummy. The girls have been so excited that Jess and Matt are having a baby, I just hope they don`t think they are going to bring Eli home with them when he is born in July. I`m afraid they will have to wait until November to see their baby brother or sister.Our Bible study group started a new study by Beth Moore and as usual it is amazing. It is called "Stepping Up" and is the study of the Psalms of ascent and is about the pilgrimage of the Israelites on their way to the Temple. It took them days maybe weeks to get to their destination. They traveled together with their families, spent the nights on the ground in the widerness and the mountains, all headed toward the steps of the Temple. This is a journey through 15 Psalms, Ps. 120-134. I have been on several journeys with God the last one was February 2007 when we went to Florida for a month. The first week I took the mornings to go on a journey alone with God. There are times in my life when I need more then an hour/day with God. I needed it then and I need it now as I journey through the Psalms of ascent.

Several weeks before we went to Florida, God presented me with a new ministry that He wanted me to start and I knew I needed time to be alone with Him. I needed to talk with Him about some situations in my life that still haunted me at times. I had to be totally free of the past in order to be obedient to Him. I did a lot of thinking that week as I prayed for forgiveness, mercy, wisdom and freedom. I ended that precious time with God by making a vow to Him, one that He sometimes has to nudge me about and say, "Don`t go there come and sit with me for a moment". He is so faithful and I give Him the glory for bringing me this far.

This study is taking me on another journey with God. He desire to change my outlook on daily life. He wants to raise me up to a higher plain of worship and service and He wants me to "step up" on my personal journey with Him. One of the things that Beth points out in the very beginning is that "We`re desperate for God."

Easter Digital Scrapbooking

2008-03-28T00:02:00.000-04:00

Her are a few digital layouts from Easter.

Easter In Our Family

2008-03-26T09:41:00.000-04:00

Easter is definitely a celebration of Christ in our family, but we try to make it a day of family fun too. Usually we attend church and eat out, and spend the day together. Saturday was the day this year that the kids delighted in coloring eggs, hiding eggs filled with candy and of course finding them. This year they also made chocolate chip cookies. A few pictures follow.

Is God Still Wonderful To You?

2008-03-26T09:00:00.000-04:00

My bible study really challenged me this morning. It was a phrase taken from Isa. 9:6, "And he will be called wonderful". Are there times when I don`t call him wonderful? Is he always wonderful to me? Do circumstances in my life decide whether he is wonderful that day or not so wonderful the next?

I really thought about this and realized that in the past several years my concept of God has greatly changed. There was a time when situations in life would have definitly clouded my view of God as being wonderful. Today, however I can honestly say because I know and believe him in a way I never did before, he is truly wonderful to me all the time. I listed some reasons why this is true in my personal life, here are a few of them.

1. He is the one that is always faithful.

2. He has an unfailing, unconditional love for me.

3. He has become my satisfaction.

4. I love to be in his presence.

5. He comforts me.

6. He teaches me something about who he is in my life everyday.

7. He keeps me accountable.

8. He is my hiding place.

9. I know him better today then I did yesterday.

10. He gives me a purpose.

He is God Almighty, He is my Holy, sovereign God, and He is Wonderful to me.

Grandkids Are The Greatest

2008-03-21T16:43:00.001-04:00

Elias

2008-03-07T17:35:00.000-05:00

Elias, we anxiously await your arrival. You are already a part of our love, prayers and family.

Valentine Banquet

2008-02-24T15:41:00.001-05:00

Virgil and I at our Church`s Valentine Banquet.

The teens entertained us with singing, and skits, they were really great entertainers.

The food was great and the fellowship too. This was a special evening and a special time for us.

Legalism Is Obedience Without Love

2008-02-23T10:15:00.000-05:00

We are on our last week in the study by Beth Moore, "Living Free." The title to the last week is, "Enjoying God`s Presence." On the third day, Beth points out that "Legalism is an obstacle to that enjoyment." This statement brought back so many memories that I just sat and cried and prayed. I am so thankful that I can honestly say that I love to be in God`s presence. Sometime during the morning I walk my dog through our back wooded area and I talk and pray to God, sometimes I sing, yes, out loud, and sometimes I cry. but when I am in his presence I feel joy and love and sometimes even lovely.

There was a time, however, that I felt none of this. I grew up in church and my mom and dad were leaders there. Mom was the superintendent of our Sunday School, secretary of the church board, the best alto in the choir and on and on. They would go to board meetings and come home upset, (esp. dad), almost every time over something someone said, wanted to do or didn`t want to do. Dad would swear he would never go back, but he always did.

I liked going to Sunday School and church was ok esp. if I was allowed to sit with my friends. God fascinated me and scared me at the same time. In those days all the kids in my small town went to church. I went to school with a lot of Catholic kids and one day I noticed that they all wore a chain with a medal on it. They told me it was a Saint Christopher medal and they wore it for a special reason, one in which I don`t remember right now, maybe for safety? Anyway I related it to being a Christian and wanted a medal to show that I was a Christian too. Mom and dad would not let me have one so I stole money from dad`s quarter box and bought one and hid it and wore it only in school. Another thing that the Catholic kids got to do was was go to Catechism. Every Friday afternoon they got out an hour earlier then the rest of us to go to Catechism. They would line up at the front (thinking they were special) and march to their lockers get their things and leave. I tried to go with them once, but the teacher said I wasn`t Catholic and couldn`t go and I was even wearing my St. Chistopher`s medal. I remember thinking a lot about God when I was that age and I am assuming it was then that I related God to performance and rules.

I graduated from highschool and married young to my high school sweetheart. We moved away, had two kids and I found myself thinking more and more about God. We started attending a church in the town where we lived and got involved in Sunday School and a bible study where my husband got saved, but for some reason, I didn`t. We moved to Chestertown and joined a little country church close to us. My sister had recently been saved and that was all we heard for months and months until finally I told her to shut up and leave me alone. God began to work on my heart, however, and finally through listening to a Christian Radio program, I received Christ as my saviour. My life began to change drastically, I loved singing and formed a kid`s choir that performed all over the county. By then we had our third child, and one on the way, and we thought we were on our way to a joy filled life in Christ.

I wish I could say that happened, but that is not how it was. We eventually left the church we were in and with the help of some other Christians started another church. It was wonderful, we saw souls saved, we added people to the church until we out grew the place we were in and bought land and built a building for our rapidly growing congregation. I loved being involved, but we were too involved. There was church on Sunday morning and Sunday evening and Wednesday night and then there was Thursday night soul winning. I taught Awanas and led the children`s choir and was in the adult choir and even began singing solos and duets. My kids attended the school the church started and my two older girls were married there. We had a lot invested in that church and I loved it, I finally could be the kind of Christian that God would be pleased with because I was keeping all the rules; I always read the KJV, I never wore pants, never went to movies, didn`t go mixed swimming, didn`t listen to worldly music and when a preacher came and told us how horrible Sandy Patti and Amy Grant were I threw away their tapes and felt I had performed an act that God would immediately bless me for. My girls wore nothing but culottes and dresses and wrapped a towel around them immediately at the sight of the opposite sex when in a bathing suit. We were the epitome of the Christian faith, we were happy in the Lord.

Again I wish that had been true, but little did I know I was knee deep in legalism and sinking and taking my family with me. It wasn`t until God took us through some trials and circumstances that were devastating and humbling that we were finally set free from the bondage that Satan had created for us. It was a long journey to freedom with lots of ups and downs, but God was patient with us and put us in a place where we would receive support, instruction from his word, and most of all love. Through a study of Beth Moore`s book "Breaking Free," I was able to find a balanced relationship with Christ which was based on knowing and believing God, his unfailing love and trust. I learned how to be satisfied with him and not to be needy of others or things. I learned to give him the glory and although I struggle at times experiencing his peace, I know it is there for me in a moment.

I thank him and praise him for this freedom from rules, guilt, conditional love, and all the other "stuff" that legalism burdens you with. I am free to walk in his presence and share my every moment with him because I am no longer in bondage to the past.

"When the Lord brought back the captives to Zion

we were like men who dreamed.

Our mouths were filled with laughter,

our tongues with songs of joy.

Then it was said among the nations,

'The Lord has done great things for them.'

The Lord has done great things for us,

and we are filled with joy."

The Youngest Member Of The Family

2008-02-19T21:46:00.000-05:00

The newest member of our family has been 17 weeks in mommy`s tummy all warm and cozy and growing as you can see in this picture of Jessica.

Emma`s Smile

2008-02-13T13:29:00.000-05:00

Emma was being silly Emma stopped and gave me a big

smile when I said she was going to get it.

2008-02-13T12:02:00.000-05:00

Wow, do I have a lot of catching up to do. Since I have a ministry blog, I haven`t been very faithful to this one. Hopefully that will change, anyway, I have continued to be very busy with the women`s ministry, especially the bible study and the upcoming retreat. I am so excited about the retreat, we have 30 ladies signed up and will soon have a meeting with all of them to hand out some responsibilities for them to take care of before and during the retreat and to go over the schedule. I am praying for God to give me the ability to choose the right people for these jobs and for all to go smoothly.

My favorite ministry is my Tuesday morning bible study. We are studying from "Living Free" by Beth Moore which is a follow-up of "Breaking Free". What a great study this has been. First we grab coffee and a breakfast snack and fellowship for a few minutes and because we don`t have a video of Beth like we usually do, we have been singing worship and praise songs that just seem to usher us into his presence. I have several young moms in the group and it is so refreshing to hear them share how God has touched their lives and the insight that they have as they discuss the lesson is amazing.

Of course, as always, my most favorite thing is being with my grand-kids. Today is Wednesday and the day I pick up Layton from school We go to get a toy and then home for some games or whatever and then to McDonalds. He is such a cute kid and says some of the funniest things.

I also love to spend time with Em and Si, they are really a delight to be around and love to see me walk in the door which of course, I love. They are so much fun to watch and talk too. I often ask them questions that they really don`t understand just to hear what they will say and believe me, Sierra will come up with some wild story. Sierra will woo you with her charm and Emma with her smile.

WOW, Life Is Busy

2008-01-30T09:22:00.000-05:00

It has been awhile since posting here, but hopefully today will be quiet. In the past few weeks I have been busy preparing for our new Bible Study, "Living Free" by Beth Moore. It is an amazing follow-up study of "Breaking Free". I`m am really enjoying taking care of the girls, they have actually taken naps at my house which is a big thing since they love their own beds. Twins are so much fun and so different then having one. I love listening to them talk and play with each other and sometimes when I put them down for their nap, I stand at the door and listen to them. It`s amazing how well they seem to understand each other when I can hardly understand what they are telling me and have to look to Emma many times for her to interpret Sierra.

On Wednesdays I pick Layton up from school and we go to his favorite place, the toy section at Walgreen Pharmacy. We could be an advertisement for Walgreens. It takes him forever to pick out something, mainly because it has to be $5.00 or less and their toy supply is getting low. I think next time we will go to dollar tree, :-) Layton is really growing up. He actually will talk to people, of course that is when we aren`t around. I have to laugh when teachers or helpers tell me something he has told them, it just isn`t like him to talk to others, but believe me when I say he can talk to us non-stop. When we get to the house, he likes to play cards and used to get mad if I won, but he is better now. We always have to stop at McDonalds for a happy meal on our way back to town to meet his mom. He gives me instructions everytime I order, 'Grandmom, you know I want ,a Happy Meal, right,' 'yes Layton,' and with whatever drink is his fav for the evening, 'and don`t forget to say,' "a toy for a boy." "Ok Grandmom", "Ok Layton".

Check back for some pictures tomorrow.

"Amazing Grace," Chris Tomlin

2008-01-30T09:09:00.001-05:00

"Amazing Grace," Chris Tomlin
Video sent by TheClemster

The lead single for the new impactful movie "Amazing Grace" is the song by the same title, refurbished and covered by singer songwriter Chris Tomlin. The full title is "Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)," and it also features the Wilberforce Choir.

Kids

2008-01-12T15:51:00.000-05:00

I got this in an email today and thought it was cute

If you have persistently and lovingly

tried to give your children wisdom

and they haven't taken it,

don't be too hard on yourself.

If God had trouble raising children,

what makes you think it would

be a piece of cake for you ?

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT !

1. You spend the first two years of their life

teaching them to walk and talk.

Then you spend the next sixteen

telling them to sit down and shut up.

2. Grandchildren are God's reward

for not killing your own children.

3. Mothers of teens now know why

some animals eat their young.

4. Children seldom misquote you. In fact,

they usually repeat word for word

what you shouldn't have said

5. The main purpose of holding

children's parties is to

remind yourself that

there are children more

awful than your own

6. We childproofed our homes,

but they are still getting in.

Faces of Christmas

2008-01-05T00:32:00.000-05:00

Katelyn caught these pictures of the faces of Sierra, Emma, Layton and Andy on Christmas day.

Above, Em decides she will eat now and smile later.

Andy is laughing at Layton being silly.

Emma gives a big smile after she sees her red wagon.
And Sierra, She almost always has a happy face.

Goals for 2008

2008-01-02T12:18:00.000-05:00

I had to laugh as I started to jot down a few things that I wanted to do in 2008, because I thought, “I really need to complete the goals from 2003, 4,5,6 and 7first". Such as:
· Start exercising……….That lasted about a month
· Eat less ice cream……..I actually eat more
· Organize………I still have all the stuff I bought so I`ll do it this year:-).
· Read my bible, (every word) completely through………I just cannot get past Numbers.
· Stop spending so much……..Just thinking about this made me depressed.
· Clip coupons……..Now this I did, I just forgot to take them with me to the store. :-\
· Clean my attic……..I decided I`d let the kids do it when I die, that`s what my mom did and who sees it anyway, right?
· Drink less coffee…….You know, I hate to use the word addicted, but I think I am “that word” to coffee and if you check the health reports, sometimes it`s good for you depending on the week of course.
· Keep my car clean…….That was a dumb goal, if I wait long enough my husband cleans it
· Keep up with old friends that have moved away…….Now, I did email some of them, but if they don`t have email, well, I hate to say it…….ok, ok, I`m feeling guilty about this one.
· Stay on a cleaning schedule…….OMGosh this is a hoot,
But you know what, in 2007 I did:
· Meet some amazing women through the LFMinistry.
· Learn a lot through the study of God`s word.
· Make new friends.
· Spend quality time with my grandkids.
· Break free from some strongholds.
· Discover that my kids can take over when I am falling apart.
· Learn that I passed on my ability to get lost when driving to my daughters.
· Discover that God is faithful through trials.
· Discover that the women in my bible study group are such a blessing.
· Discover a whole new world while traveling out west.
I also discovered that God has an unfailing love for me that just overwhelms me at times.

Christmas Memories

2008-01-01T16:27:00.001-05:00

The Whole Family

2007-12-10T15:16:00.001-05:00

Here is a picture of Layton and his family. Kate, Andrew, Kelley (mom) and Kevin (dad)

Layton`s Birthday

2007-12-10T14:57:00.000-05:00

A video game.

A Transformer that turns into a car.

Today December the 10th is Layton`s BD. Last evening we celebrated at his house and he got to open his gifts from mom and dad. Next weekend when Aunt Jess and Uncle Matt are here we will have another party and he will open gifts from the rest of us. We also had homemade cookies and ice cream.

Our Mind Is A Battlefield

2007-12-08T15:29:00.000-05:00

In Isa.26:3 it says, "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you". Want perfect peace? Keep your mind steadfast, stayed and focused on Him. We need to learn all that we can about the steadfast mind; embrace the concept, pray for a steadfast mind and seek understanding through God`s word.

Let us take seriously the role that Satan plays when it comes to how we think. Many Christians feel safe from Satan and many don`t really believe that Satan is alive and well and actively leading the spiritual warfare against us. The battlefield is our mind and our only defense is to surround our minds with the word of God. We are absolutely defenseless against the attacks of Satan. The way Beth explains how the mind works was truly an eye-opener for me. Two people see the same event, then Beth writes, “They put the event in different frames and act accordingly. Our reaction depends on how we have framed the event”. Think about this, how many times do we overreact to what we have framed (ideas, opinions, etc) in our own thinking?

Satan can`t make us overreact, but he knows what we are in bondage too. Let`s say your weakness is low self esteem and you see some ladies talking together in a corner of a room, one may glance at you not even seeing you, they may laugh, or seem secretive and you wonder what they are talking about. Believe me, Satan will come in and give you a few suggestions and if you dwell on it long enough you will be framing an idea in your mind that may end up devastating you. BUT, what if several months before at a “Breaking Free Bible Study” you were set free from the bondage of “low self esteem”? Satan may still come after you because he thinks you are not strong enough to be completely free from anything and he wants to convince you of that. Praise God, you prayed early in the morning for God to continue to protect you and to satisfy your every need. You have focused your thinking on God`s word and you are leaning on the truth to get you through the temptation of “wrong thinking”, you, have been set free.

Fill My Empty Places

2007-12-03T10:27:00.000-05:00

“Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.”Ps.:14
In order to be filled with the fullness of God so that we may sing His praises and be glad throughout the day, we must go to Him in the morning. If we wait until the afternoon or evening then we could be running on empty. Certainly this is not necessary, but I like to meet with God at about the same time and the same place everyday. It`s like meeting a friend for coffee in the morning. There is just something about the consistency of that meeting; you begin to look forward to it and soon you miss it when something comes up and you can`t make it and you think God has probably downed His cup and started on yours. Ok sorry, that was corny as my kids would say. Please don`t think you have to do what I do; you might have another way of meeting with God. The important thing is we need to be filled up everyday in order to have an abundant life in Christ. It only takes a few minutes for God to activate His love to the empty places and then you are equipped to fight the enemy and be satisfied with Him who blesses your day.
Satisfy me Lord, satisfy me with your love, fill up every empty place within me so I can sing for joy and be satisfied with you

Matt, Jess and Girls

2007-12-02T18:16:00.000-05:00

Make a slide show, scrapbook, or ecard

God`s Unfailing Love

2007-12-01T17:29:00.000-05:00

Until I really, really accepted and believed that God loved me unconditionally I was in bondage to the fear that if I didn`t always do what pleased God, He was out to get me.

As I read over the study for this week about God`s unfailing love, I had to stop and thank Him because several years ago He set me free from this fear. I am so thankful that He didn`t give up on me. I honestly don`t know where I would be today if I didn`t know that God and God alone will always love me.

This past week has been very busy for me. Everyday was filled with something to do, people to call or see, preparing for the study and then the LFM and in-between having time for family. Today as I walked through the woods behind our home, I actually felt a little lonely; I fussed at myself and then prayed for God to release me quickly before I ended up feeling the same way at the end of the day. I was immediately reminded of the last of our benefits, “To enjoy God`s presence”. A peace came over me and I knew that I wasn`t alone at all, in fact I was with the only person that knew everything about me and still loved me.

God fills our every need and every empty place, but we have to know and believe that He loves us or we will miss the abundant life completely.

What an awesome study, “How wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.”

2007-11-25T21:33:00.000-05:00

Make a slide show, scrapbook, or ecard

2007-11-19T20:46:00.000-05:00

This past week has been really busy. For one thing I have been cleaning my house because the Holidays are coming and I don`t want to be cleaning at the last minute. I don` know about you but house cleaning is the least of my favorite things to do, but I do love a clean house. I have also been trying to get some Christmas shopping done and a few cards addressed. Friday evening I had everyone over for dinner. The smaller gkids kept the place jumping. Em and Si can actually play with Layton now and even though he won`t admit it, he really likes to have them around.

On Saturday Lis and I took a bus trip New York City. It was the 1st time for me and 2nd time
for Lis. We had a great time seeing all the things you read about and see in magazines or on TV. A friend of ours, Laura and her mom went with us. It was also nice to see some ladies from our church especially since they knew a little about how to get around NY. We were really excited to find out that someone Laura works with gave the four of us free tickets to see the Broadway Show, Xanadu. It was musical featuring many of Olivia Newton John`s songs. The highlight of the day, however, was on the way up to NY when we received a phone call from Matt and Jess. Click on this link to see why we were so excited.

Get Me Out of the Ashes

2007-11-12T12:21:00.000-05:00

This week has touched my heart in so many ways. I think we all have a hard time seeing ourselves the way the bible says that God sees us, but as I studied day 2 and 3, I began to feel so special to God that I had to stop and thank Him for making me beautiful. And even as I write the word beautiful it is hard to believe that God would see me as beautiful. As I prayed I thought,” God, years ago you reached down into the ashes and pulled me out of the past of being a victim of hurt, anger and unforgiveness and you gave me a new hope in you and I am so thankful”, you really did make me beautiful.

I have received many insightful things from this week`s study and I pray that you have too. We have a hard time seeing God`s ability to do something with the circumstance we are in. I love the sidebar on pg. 129, “An unhappy woman needs a change of heart more than of circumstances”. Wow, that is good. I can remember saying to my husband, “Let`s move away from all of this”. He would always just hug me and remind me that we would just move the problem with us. He was more right then he imagined, because some of the problem was my thinking that life would never be the same again. I needed a change of heart and God took me right where I needed to be and He comforted me and provided for me. He took away my mourning and gave me gladness and He gave me a song of praise instead of despair just like He said He would.

I love the treasure on day 5, “Come and share your master`s happiness”, Matt. 25:21.

Isa. 61:1-3 “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me….He has sent me…to comfort all who mourn and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair”.

What a Savior we have,

I want to be a princess

2007-11-07T12:54:00.000-05:00

I hope you are as excited as I am about what we are learning in our study. I am thanking God for all the new wonderful truths I am able to apply to my life. I always like to learn things that I can actually use to make my life more consistent with the word of God.

As I said yesterday, I love this week`s study and I think you will too. The first day has already told me I am a Princess and all little girls want to be a princess, right?

As a little girl I remember loving to dress up in my mom`s dresses and pretend to be a princess. Mom was about 4 foot 9 and weighed maybe 90lbs so her dresses almost fit me and my friends and she had some beautiful dresses. My dad was a contractor and would often build things in his workshop. He used a hand shaver, I`m sure that you younger girls have no idea what I am talking about, but stay with me because you are going to be sorry you did not not have these curls to play with. When he would shave a board the shavings would come off like a long curl, much like a grain ribbon that you pull a pair of scissors through and it curls to put on a pkg. When he knew I wanted to put them in my hair he would try to make them as long as he could. My friends and I would pin them in our hair and we would have beautiful blonde curls as we played for hours, pretending to be princesses.

The most exciting thing is, we don`t have to dress-up, put curls in our hair and” PRETEND” to be a princess. All we have to do is become a child of the King. Tamar was a princess because of being a child of a king, but her king didn`t have the courage to stand up for her. Her king was not “The King”, the King of Kings, Creator of the Universe, the Holy One, Lord of Hosts, Sovereign Ruler of all the Earth, My Personal Heavenly Father.

This is a wonderful truth, don`t stay in the bondage of thinking you are not worthy like Tamar did, get those ashes off your head and put on your mended royal robe, you are free.

I Am Blessed

2007-11-07T09:32:00.000-05:00

The last few days have been very busy. Monday, Lis, Dave and I went to John`s Hopkins to take Emma back for a post surgery check-up. I watched Sierra in the waiting room while Lis and David took Emma into the office Sierra literally entertained the whole waiting room. She talked the entire time. I made up a story about her and she filled in the blanks. She calls herself Erra Banks and she has blue eyes like mommy and not orange eyes like daddy, actually she has green eyes. She told me her SS story was about a king who marched' "like this" and she proceeds to march in long strides, and who also cried and was sad, and when I asked why, she hesitated, rolled her eyes and said,"because he has eyes like mommy". I could go on and on because we must have sat there waiting for 1-1/2 hrs. We finally went for a walk and when Emma came out and they saw each other I should have had my camera because they ran to each other and hugged each other like they had been separated for months.
We then went to lunch and Em and Si sat in a booth like big girls. We stopped at the Outlets and after about 1/2 hr. of shopping, it was evident that they were tired and ready for a nap. We decided to try one more store to buy the girls new shoes and belive me that was one store too many. We managed to get them a pair of shoes but it was a challenge. The best thing about grandkids is when we got to my house, they cried because I was leaving them, but wait, that isn`t the best part, you see I went in and sat down and felt blessed for being with them. Lis took them home promising herself she would never take them shopping again. You just gotta love grandkids.

Jesus Is The Answer

2007-11-02T23:05:00.000-04:00

This week`s bible study, "Binding Up The Brokenhearted" reminds us of the passionate, tender side of Christ. When our hearts are broken we are vulnerable to almost anything. I pray that each one of us will be able to embrace one of the reasons Christ was sent to us. In Isa.61:1 Christ makes a statement of truth, "He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted". I have cried to the Lord so many times through trials and losses and hurts that I would say at times, "God it`s me again, I`m sorry to come to you with the same problem, but I don`t seem to be able to get past this." I remember the first time I heard the song, "The Comforter Has Come". I sobbed, I needed a comforter, as a mother hen hides and comforts her chicks, I needed a hiding place. We have all had broken hearts, sometimes small cuts, sometimes large fractures, but no matter how small or large, Christ is the one holding the bandage. First we need Christ to be our Savior, but when our hearts are broken we need Him to be our comforter. Before past hurts become our captivity let`s remember Isa. 61:1.

Layton Is Ninja Turtle

2007-11-02T15:00:00.000-04:00

How To Eat Candy Before Mom Sees You.

2007-11-02T14:51:00.000-04:00

2007-11-02T14:46:00.000-04:00

Emma is a serious Pirate

2007-11-02T14:42:00.000-04:00

Trick or Treat

2007-11-02T14:19:00.000-04:00

Trick or Treat

2007-11-01T20:35:00.000-04:00

Halloween is always a fun time for us. We take the little ones trick or treating in town around 5:30. There are a couple of streets in town where the people that live there go out of the way to make it a fun time for the kids. Last night Em and Si were pirates and Layton was Ninja Turtle. Em does not like masks so the evening went well until we met up with Kelley and Layton and she saw his turtle mask. She screamed and cried until we finally convinced her it was only Layton. Everytime we came to a house where someone was wearing a mask she cried. Finally we just kept her with us. Sierra would walk right up on the porch, knock on the door and yell, "Trick or Treat" while Emma stood on the walk. Sierra would always come back with candy for Emma, it was so cute. We ended the night at a friend`s home for pizza. Before I left I searched through all the goodies the kids had collected to find some Snicker bars. I told Layton to save me one and he said, "I have to save one for sissy too", darn that sissy.

Today is November the first, I cannot believe how fast the days pass. It has been a typical fall day here in MD, a little cool but warm in the sun. I spent most of the morning preparing for my Tuesday bible study. We are on week 5 of "Breaking Free", "Binding Up The Brokenhearted". In Isa. 61:1 it says. "He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted". I thought about how much hurt, anger and bitterness we could save ourselves if we would just give our broken hearts to Christ. Tonight I received a call from a lady who lost her daughter a year ago and because of some other circumstances she just can`t move on. She is broken-hearted. Our Sunday School prayer list is filled with names of broken-hearted people. Who is going to heal their wounded hearts? I can hug them, cry with them, pray with them, but Christ was sent to bind up their hearts. Beth points out something I think we all need to be aware of and that is we protect ourselves from more hurt by making self-made fortresses. She says, "We risk becoming captives in our own protective fortresses".

2007-10-31T12:34:00.000-04:00

I am so excited to be starting a new blog. Why did I have to start over? I`m not sure really, I guess it`s just my personality, new thoughts deserve a new notebook, and a new pen no matter how many old ones you have sitting around half used. The good thing about starting a new blog is that there are no old ones to leave behind because you delete them.

Everything new, everything clean, so let`s get started. OOPS, a smear, a mark, tear out that page, delete that post. let`s start again; Ready? More clean paper, a new pen of course and a new blog post box. Oh man, just dragged my hand over what I wrote and smeared the ink, tear out that page again and again and again. Ever notice how life can be like that? A new day, a new beginning and then we drag our old baggage over a moment and wish we could delete the whole day. Instead, we develop defense mechanisms that eventually turn into bondage and captivity. Captivity is defined by Beth Moore in her Bible study, "Breaking Free", as anything that keeps us from having the abundant life God has planned for us.

Yesterday was very busy but also very rewarding. I was up early making several pots of coffee for our Tuesday morning bible study. I also needed to put some things in my study notes that I had thought about after going to bed. The morning was chilly and as I carried the carafes of coffee to the car I noticed I could actually see my breath in the cool air. I hoped it would not take the car long to warm up as I sat down on the cold leather seat. I prayed for our study and then put in a worship CD and started singing. I pulled up to the stop light and as I helped the singers finish one of my favorite worship songs I turned in time to see the guy on side of me staring at me. I had to laugh as I thought to myself, "Beth would have put the window down and serenaded that man".

We are studying Breaking Free by Beth Moore and it is amazing. This week was really thought provoking and challenging. We had wonderful snacks and coffee. During the video time I walked down to the nursery to see how the workers were doing. There were so many kids I ended up staying to help. It wasn`t long before a blessing came along in the form of a sleepy little boy. I picked him up and sat down to rock him and within a few minutes he was asleep. I thought, "What a privilege it is to rock this little one". After all the moms came and went with their babies I cleaned up and went to lunch with one of my good friends, Ethel. I love being around Ethel, we always have soooo much to talk about and I can tell her anything and know I won`t be judged and she is also my shopping buddy. After lunch I called my daughter and praise God she feels better. I went home with all the intentions of scrapbooking but just as I settled down to look for pictures to scrap, I heard the familiar little voices of Em and Si calling for me and my heart melted. I spent the next hour walking in the woods, laughing at the girls trying to keep their crackers away from Bella, my Schnauzer. I walked with Lis and the girls to their home and we played ABC`s. It just amazes me that they already know the ABC's by sight. Later that evening Virgil and I went over to watch the girls help mom and dad carve pumpkins. Then I got the privilege of helping to put them to bed, watching them pray to Jesus and after lots of hugs and kisses and I love yous, I closed the door, I stopped out side the door for a minute and thought, "What a blessing" and all of a sudden I felt very close to God.