Happy Birthday Steve and Jordyn!

I've got a ton of things to get done before leaving for Orlando tomorrow morning, but I wanted to post real quick!

Yesterday was the first day of the last year of Steve being in his twenties =). Where have the years gone? They seem to be speeding right along now! Yesterday I made him his requested meal - black and blue burgers, mac and cheese, spinach, carrot cake and a Slurpee! Then he opened his gifts and the girls put on a funny little puppet show for him! And I can't wait because in a couple of weeks I have a fun surprise for him! I'm sure he'll have it figured out by then as he always figures out my surprises! But for now, I'll keep it to myself!

Jordyn turned one today! We celebrated her special day last night, too! She didn't quite know what to think about her cake, but she liked the frosting! She is growing so big, but still acts really little =). She started drinking milk from a cup this week, loves to eat big girl food, watch baby Einstein, play with her sisters, and cry! She is army crawling pretty quickly these days and hopefully in the next week or two she'll be introduced to the pool! We'll see what she thinks about that!

I am so grateful to God for these two precious gifts He's given me. I can't imagine life without either of them!

Time to Download

So recently I've been able to listen to several excellent messages. Covenant Life up in Maryland did a parenting series not too long ago and you can get to it by going here. Danny Jones message from Mother's Day was excellent and you can get to it by going here. Carolyn Mahaney spoke at the Leadership Conference on mentoring. Here's the link for that one. You'll want to scroll down to Seminars for Women. It is The Pastor’s Wife and Ministry Opportunities: Five Great Deals She Won’t Want to Miss. CJ Mahaney spoke at Metro a few weeks ago, and although I'm not done listening to it, anytime he speaks, it's worth hearing! Get it here! OH, and Melodye Jones spoke at the Moms Meeting at Metro Life a couple of months back. It's one I will listen to over and over again! Go here and look under Mom's Meeting - March 2009. Hey! If you have the time all of those messages are both convicting and very, very encouraging!!

I am so grateful for the way the Lord has gifted these people to speak and I'm also grateful for the time and energy they spend preparing to teach and share!

Flowers and Faces!

Here are some pictures of my beautiful flowers from my girls (huh-hum - wonderful husband =)!) for Mother's Day! AND a few pictures of the girls from the park today!

Water Gun War!

So on Sunday, Steve had the idea to take the girls to Target and just pick out a toy. Well, last year I bought him a Super Soaker and Reagan loved when he shot her with it! Sunday he got us all our own water guns! Tuesday there was a break from all the nasty rain, so Steve took a break from work for a little while and the Water Gun War began! Reagan loved getting wet and Sydney was hilarious – she just kept running away from the water. Poor girl didn’t figure out her gun until it was about time to go inside! It was so much fun to run around and just be goofy for a little while! Thank you Lord for a little bit of sunshine!!

A Little Backyard Fun!

Jesus Paid It All!

We sang this song the other night for our family worship time. 
I love it.  What hope there is when we look to the Cross!

Jesus Paid It All!

I hear the Savior say, Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray, Find in Me thine all in all.

Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.

Lord, now indeed I find Thy power and Thine alone,
Can change the leper's spots And melt the heart of stone.

And when before the throne I stand in Him complete,
"Jesus died my soul to save" my lips shall still repeat

O Praise the one who paid my debt
And raised this life up from the dead 
O Praise the one who paid my debt
And raised this life up from the dead 

O Praise the one who paid my debt
And raised this life up from the dead
O Praise the one who paid my debt
And raised this life up from the dead 

Happy Anniversary, Honey!

Happy 8 years, Steve!

8 years ago I was so excited that I was about to become your bride. I could not have been prepared for what life would be like over these past 8 years. I would never have imagined all the places we would have lived, jobs you would have, children we would be raising, trials and joys we would walk through, adventures we would take, the lessons we would learn together. Today I am even more excited that I have been your bride over these last eight years.

Here are eight areas I've seen you grow in this year. Thank you for pursuing the Lord and pursuing change. And thank the Lord for changing us even when we aren't even pursuing change in certain areas. How grateful I am for His faithfulness! Thank you for loving me, putting up with me and making me laugh.

1. Patience with me!
2. Consistency with the girls!
3. Encouraging the girls and me!
4. Personal discipline - with pursuing the Lord, exercise, reading!
5. Spending "quality time" with me - talking, praying together, reading, playing games!
6. Being generous with others!
7. Putting thought into date nights!
8. Personal and Family Worship!