Pictures-Fair Night & Muskateers

Well our weekend has been crazy busy so far.....last night we all headed to the fair.....

Gabe liked the view from the rear.....

Checking out the World's Largest Rabbit!!!!....seriously!!!

No joke....

Gabe only wanted to watch the rides, did NOT want to ride....but Little Miss went on the slide.

And all I got was a happy blur!

We then headed over to the grandstands to watch the 1st Annual Redneck Olympics.....

With my 4 Muskateers of course ;) Our annual sleepover festivities began earlier in the day.....

Jacob's team was White Trash Rodeo...and here he is competing in the first event....

They were speedy like lightening allllllllllllllllllllllllllll night long.....they just threw a team together last minute and did amazing!!!

Wheelbarrow races while carrying an egg on a spoon then trading teammates in between....

And once again.....they left everyone else in the dust....

The last and final event came down to Jacob's team and Popejoy's team: The Turd Herders

(they are the plumbing/heating/electrical comp my brother Joshua works for)

The picture above is a pile of mud and manure......a very large pile if you look closely....

And a good ol game of tug-a-war across the poo.............

Jacob's team celebrating.....they were Redneck Grand Champions!!!! Yeeha!

More celebrating, they won a toilet seat (*and not sure what else)

2 of Jacob's team mates were his good buddies Matt (the bullfighter) and his girlfriend the cowgirl Lindsey........musta been all that rodeo/farming experience these kids had!!!

Jason then took the kiddos home and I spent a late night out with the Muskateers!!!!

And had waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much fun, like always........

This year, we made it official (after 3 yrs) and got the shirts to go with our gig.....

And by 1:00 this morning, this Mama was getting tired.......

This is what happens after too much sugar ;)

Love you girls.....more than you'll ever know!!!! Thank you so much for a fun and unforgettable time again, it's been such a blessing to watch you all grow up over the years......I can see us still doing this after you're all married ;)

So after I delivered all the cute chicks full of giggles home, our house got over run by the other species..............THE BOYS.............;) 3 college boys came back over for some lunch then

Nintendo 64 for the rest of the afternoon. Was so cute to watch/listen to them play....they are oh so different from the females ;) But still lotsa fun!

To Isaac, Machic, and Shoppe......we love you guys too and pray for a great year at college!

Pictures-This & That

Our super great getaway in a beautiful brand new hotel not far from home that GAVE US A GREAT DISCOUNT BECAUSE I WAS PREGNANT!!!! WOOWEE!!!!

This walking by faith is going good.......we're fighting hard.....this time for what is right.

Little Miss has to DO>EVERYTHING>BIG>BRO>DOES....too cute.....

Before Mommy gave him a hair cut.....

And after the haircut......

Licking the electric beaters.....

And making a yummy mess ;)

Gabe got into something he was very allergic to......*sigh* he forgets just how sick he was!!!

My brother Isaac's new tattoo.....very cool.....

Not Understanding...But Having Hope

I shouldn't be on here......Jase and I are on a quick/short getaway from life and the precious monkies we love so much ;)!!!!!!!


BUT......just wanted to share this with you because they are heavy on my heart:


Please pray for our friends G & L, we just recieved word yesterday that they lost their baby this past weekend. They had the same exact due date we did and her and I were gonna be delivering at the same hospital with the same doctor. This was their first pregnancy and I can't imagine what they must be feeling. My mind does not comprehend why these things happen, but I pray they would feel hope and that God would bless them again in His time.
So if you could, lift them up in prayer today. Thank you......


"As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother's womb,
so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things." Ecclesiastes 11:5


"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope; Because of the Lord's great LOVE we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:21-23

Relationships

A Biblical Lens on Relationships:

*You were made for relationships.
*In some way, all relationships are difficult
* They require work if they are going to thrive.
*Each of us is tempted to make relationships the end rather than the means.
*There are no secrets that guarantee problem free relationships.
*At some point you will wonder whether relationships are worth it.
*God keeps us in messy relationships for his redemptive purpose
*The fact that our relationships work as well as they do is a sure sign of grace
*The Bible offers clear hope.
The authors look at Ephesians 4:17-32.
There take aways from those verses are this:

"The highest joys of relationship grow in the soil of the deepest struggles. Struggles are not obstacles, but instruments in God's hands. Every struggle is an opportunity to experience God's grace yourself and give it to the other person."

~Taken from "Relationships: A Mess Worth Making"
By Tim Lane & Paul Tripp
found at my friend Jody's site: http://thesauderfamily.blogspot.com/

Victory in Jesus=True Love

*sigh* I always hesitate to say too much about the details of our marriage.




HOWEVER.....we are finding out......almost 5 years later.......that God has great purposes
for bringing Jason and I together. Many, many, many, many purposes......we cannot beginning
to explain them all, but they are all good. And it brings glory to God every time we share what He has done for us.




HOWEVER.......Satan likes to take the good and turn it into evil. So we therefore.....we are one of those couples that have to fight extremely hard for our marriage. Now, call us stupid, ignorant, immature, whatever......but yes, we are still growing up....and we are both extremely STUBBORN and selfish. And we are still learning from our mistakes. AND we are finding out the true meaning and depth of LOVE.






AND......For some of us, there is LOTS of rain before our rainbows. We have decided we are walking too much by what we see and know. And what is behind us doesn't always get left behind when we walk by what we see instead of simply going on faith. SO.......our new challenge as of last night, is to start walking out our walk more deeply rooted in faith.




ALSO......We were prophesied over some years ago that we would be marriage counselors some day in some way or form. Hmmmmm, we have decided this must be our training grounds for that in the future. We're gonna have to go thru alot of fire to be refined......and be students for quite awhile before we can be the teachers.




INTERESTINGLY enough.........My flip calendar on my kitchen counter yesterday said this:
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. For I am the Lord your God." Isaiah 43:2-3






WHY DO I SHARE THIS all with you and air our dirty underwares?!?!?!?!?
BECAUSE.....Last night we found VICTORY IN JESUS once again. And that is not something that is to be had only when you give your life to the Lord. No, this happens daily if we allow God to work thru us and in us for His glory. And by george, my friends, when you gain another VICTORY, you need to shout it from the rooftops and DON'T let the devil take it away from you.




CLAIM YOUR VICTORIES........no matter how large or small they are......THEY ARE ALL PRECIOUS VICTORIES IN GOD'S EYES!!!!!!!




And if we can already start ministering to others what God has done for us in our lives now.....then imagine how much more we'll have to share down the road.




BECAUSE.......We live beneath the protective palm of a sovereign King who superintends every circumstance of our lives and delights in doing us good. God is LOVE.......He is the true love that will last a lifetime and never fail us. And when we surrender our lives, our minds, our bodies, our souls, and our wills to Him......TRUE LOVE awaits us in all kinds of blessings. AND VICTORY IN JESUS is the truest love you will ever experience.




AND SO......last night after hours with a dear friend of ours.......who poured into us thru the Holy Spirit's working alone......we gained another victory. Friend, you know who you are.......we love you and thank God for you and your wife. Thank you for praying for us, believing in us, speaking scriptures upon scriptures to us, loving on us, being patient with us, and blessing us.....words cannot say how much we love and appreciate you. Because after you left, my husband and I sat down at the kitchen table until wee hours of dawn, and ate EGGO waffles and talked and cried, and loved. And thanked God for another victory. And worked on another attack plan to battle against the enemy......TOGETHER.....with each other, with Christ as our Chief Commander.
And then this morning, we got a sitter and spent the morning together.....continuing more layouts on the battle plan.
And ate breakfast AND lunch together....with no monkeys involved. *sigh*...it was blissful.



AND THRU IT ALL.......we're finding the meaning of true LOVE.
And who knows.....maybe someday we'll write a book ;)

Pictures-Weekend Wanderings

Now that the ground hornets seem to have disappeared, we are enjoying more time in the backyard.....

Gabe is getting really good at being a big helper.....pulling weeds and all!!!

The famous antique stroller that gets so much playtime....perfect size for Gabe to push Ellie

Here is Ellie trying to sneak a rock to eat.....isn't it boys that do that?!?!?!?!?!?!

And here is Gabe teaching Little Miss how to build a fire in the pit.....

I thank God for these little people gifts....they make the gloomiest day brighter.....

Their new game they invented: Pulling each other on their "blanket boat"

Litte dude with the major ATTITUDE....*sigh* we're working on it.........

Monkey Happenings

Gabe is getting too smart for his monkey britches......BECAUSE:



1----This week he started informing the babysitter whenever he wanted to do something he knew he wasn't supposed to, he would tell her, "Mommy/Daddy said I could!!!!"


2----He thinks it's funny to lock people out of their houses when they run outside to take the trash or get the mail (he has even done it to Mee-Mee!) he will quickly go lock the door behind you and stand there and watch you beg/yell for him to open it back up.......


3----Tonite, I was on the phone in our bedroom, folding laundry not paying any attention to my surroundings. I noticed Gabe shut the door to Ellie's room that connects to our room, what I did NOT notice is he locked it from the other side with the eye hook. Jason then found him taking a chair to our other bedroom door that goes into the living room and he was going to reach the eye hook from the outside of our door and BASICALLY LOCK ME IN THE BEDROOM!!!!!



4----Tell me..... where do these kids learn these things from???????? Sometimes I fear what he will think of next. Poor little Ellie gets herself in so much trouble because Gabe is always telling her to jump on the couch or do things she shouldn't.....now granted she doesn't always get in trouble, because sometimes I will catch him telling her....but still....she doesn't stand a chance!!



5-----Dear Lord....*sigh* Please let Triple S Baby be calm, peaceful, and well behaved monkey child. Please let me not turn gray headed before I reach age 30.......and please keep Your hand of protection from evil and harm upon these little ones.