Catching Up

I've fallen behind on posting my photos.
Why does that matter so much to me?

It matters to me because of this:



...and this:



See I spent years making elaborate albums for my kids. But then along came another child, and another, and well, you know how it goes. My scrapbooking went by the wayside.

So, last Christmas I decided to check out having my blog printed at Shared Book. I was THRILLED with the results! The books are great, hardcover, personalized inside the covers. I had, and will continue having, a copy of each year printed for each of the kids (and for me too of course)!!



If you've not checked into it, they are great!!! Wonderful keepsakes for the kiddos (and for busy moms)!

Next on the agenda...get a better camera.


So, I'm catching up on a few photos I found that I missed from the end of summer. Just a few too cute to miss of Christian and Gracie in the pool.




Then there was Jennie's fiesta! Jennie, behind Faith, our family 'party girl'. She loves to throw parties, and we love to attend them. These are photos from her fiesta.






This next photo cracks me up! Christian reminds me of some cartoon character that I just can't put my finger on. But, the funniest part is Matthew sitting in the background holding up the cardboard behind which we all had to have our picture taken. Results below.





We felt Faith looked the most authentic.



Some people in the background are Aunt Sue, Gam (the kids great-grandma who is 90 and apparently still attending fiestas!!), and Pappy Dan (my dad, apparently enjoying some type of Mexican treat)



My mom, Pap and Gam, Aunt Sue and Uncle Howard.



Gracias Jennie !!


THEN THERE WAS ONE OF OUR USUAL DAYS IN LANCASTER COUNTY.

Remember, I told y'all before that Hershey is on the way home from everywhere!



It was on the way home from a lovely day at the Strasburg Railroad. We used to ride this train all the time when the boys were little and they would wear their railroader's hats. ooh hum...where has the time gone. Realized recently that the "littles" didn't remember it all that much. They do now.



And an old favorite stomping ground where it felt so sentimental to have the big boys there showing it to the younger ones. The Choo-choo Barn. Simply a great big train layout. Mitchell and Matthew could spend hours looking at it when they were little.


I love this shot.





Well...hooray. Now I'm ready to upload fall birthdays... next time.

Christian and Gracie's Baptism

Christian and Gracie were baptized in the river by our beloved Pastor Mark the other week. It was a special night. We opted for just family, cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents, and great-grandparents, so it was private and special. Mitch, Mitchell, Matthew, and Ben went into the water with the kids too. Mitchell and Matthew because their daddy told them it was a symbol that as older brothers, they are also caretakers of their younger siblings. Ben, our cousin, because he's the young pastor of our family :) I was trying to watch..take photos..and take some video, so my photos aren't the best, but I love them.

Anna Grace (Gracie) age 9, as an outward sign that she has asked Jesus to be her Savior:






Christian age 12, as an outward sign that he has asked Jesus to be his Savior:

the view from my window

The view from my window struck such emotion in me today. Can't imagine what life will be like when this view is gone. It's tiring. The older I get, the more tired I am. But, I cannot imagine life without the bustle of lots of kids, the fun, the fighting, the mountains of laundry, the three trips to the grocery store a week, the crying, the hugging. The work and the joy. Oh, these children. Thank you, Father. Thank you for these children. I was peeling potatoes. I peeked out the window. Thank you, Father. Thank you for the view from my window.

As Promised...This One's for the Girls !

In response to my previous post...here's a post that's all for the girls!
First, Gracie's ballet recital...I am only a month and a half behind in posting it. Their recital had a Spanish theme this year and the costumes were beautiful.



This next photo is my very favorite.



All that serious posing gave her the giggles.







The Ice Cream Truck



Believe it or not, we have an ice cream truck that drives around town in the evenings during the summer. The kids can usually hear it coming from pretty far away. We were outside and the girls heard the music. They made a mad dash for their money and it was adorable..



They were jumping up and down at the end of the driveway waiting for the truck to come by.




Hmmm...what shall we have?





Don't you just love summer!




Now here's a girl who looks like she has something important to say.
Well.. she ALWAYS has something to say anyways.
My friend came up with the phrase "Faithisms"
Here are some recent Faithisms (words of wisdom from Faith):

Biblical wisdom from Faith... "God is strong and powerful.
He makes the sun and paper out of trees.
We have to wait a long long time till God and all his
construction workers get our big big house done up
in heaven."

Faith, on dental care...."Faith (realizing we had
forgotten to brush her teeth): "I gotta go brush them
cause Jennie (my cousin) says some people's teeth fall out
and they has to get all pa-lastics so they can eat."

Faith, on car safety..."Dear God, Please help Daddy
and Mitchell (they weren't home yet) so that the tires
will not fall off their cars in the woods where all
the snakes are!




And...last but not least as the girls fill the spotlight tonight...my Gracie turned 9 Years Old!!





Christian actually MADE the pinata for Gracie's party. He made one for her party last year too. He's got an awesome pull-string design he uses!!



And all the girls made hula skirts at the party.



...my sweet girls :)

"Encouraged Together With You"

So tonight I sit up blogging. Because I write when my heart is full. It makes room for the new. Tonight my heart is full.

I have other posts half written, but tonight this one bumps to the front of the line.

It has been an incredible week. A week that was written by God.
You see we've been working at getting a new ministry off the ground. A ministry focused on outreach.

Why is it that the lost are all around us and we just live our lives like they are not there? Like it's not our problem? Not our responsibility?

This week, a team of 25 teens and adults from Waco Baptist Church in Waco, Georgia used their summer mission trip to come and help us do outreach in our community and work in our new ministry.


It was incredible time and I'm so thankful for this week. We spent every day this week out walking the streets of our community just inviting people out to church and talking to them about the Lord, and it was such a tremendous blessing.

Mitchell, Matthew, and Christian are on the left side of this photo. Gracie is in the front/middle.

We had some amazing encounters with people and got to share the gospel with some of them...got to pray with hurting people...and it was just such a blessing to be a part of. I'm so thankful. My kids worked all week and showed such servant's hearts and I'm so proud of them.



Every night after the day's work, we would come together for this incredible worship time that you just didn't want to end.



The thing we didn't anticipate, was how much we would grow to love these folks in just a week's time. From the moment we hopped in the van together the very first morning heading out on outreach, these ladies with their southern belle accents had my heart.

(Stephanie, Suzann, me, Marti, Robin)
So we laughed, and worked, and ate, and sang, and cried together all week. They taught Gracie and me how to "speak southern" :) And we drank gallons and gallons of sweet tea...and then we laughed and cried some more.

And these beautiful teens....




...worked and served and we got attached to them...


















































































































And there was Pastor Ricky, a spit-fire of a Southern Baptist preacher whose passion for Christ is contagious. I feel so blessed to have been in Pastor Ricky's "prayer circle". No one could spend a week with him and come away unchanged. His desire to share the gospel is as contagious as his passion. Pastor Ricky, if you are reading this...thank you. You can never know all that you have done. We came away from you different. I am tired of living among the lost and letting them stay lost. Thank you.





Pastor Ricky and his sweet daughter Kelli with Gracie and Faith


The book of Romans opens with Paul expressing his care for those in Rome and expressing his great desire to see them. He tells of how he makes mention of them constantly in his prayers and prays that God would provide a way for him to pay a visit to those who are "beloved of God, and called to be saints" in Rome.

"I long to see you...that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me."

He knew that spending time with these believers would encourage and refresh him, stirring a great desire in his heart to see them. He prayed that the Lord would bring him to his beloved friends.

Paul closes his letter in much the same way as he began, expressing his great desire to see the saints in Rome and enjoy their company for a while. "That I may come to you with joy by the will of God and be REFRESHED TOGETHER WITH YOU.


That's what we were "encouraged together by our mutual faith" and "refreshed together". It was sweet, and it was beautiful.

Praise be to God.