Compassion

We are so excited. We received all the information on the child we sponsored
from Compassion International. We just sent him a letter and some pictures of
our family. It is really amazing how our $30 a month contribution will affect his life!

The child lives in Ethiopia and they sent us the name of the area where he lives along with information about that area. The kids and I have been studying this area on the map and also studying the culture and demographics of that region.

We have also been praying for this little 5 year old boy we are sponsoring by name. It helps give my children a world view and helps out a child in desperate need at the same time.

I would encourage you to pray about sponsoring a child. If you already sponsor a child, I would love to hear what you think about the program.

You can read more about the Compassion Trip that several bloggers went on and see what a difference Compassion International is making here.

The Ants Go Marching Two By Two The Little One Stopped and Took Off Her Shoes

My 3 year old feels that she has been personally
commissioned by the Creator of Heaven and Earth
to capture and subdue all creatures great and small.

This does not work out so well when one is
trying to extract ants from their natural habitat
wearing pink crocs.

Not well at all.

A Day With The Troops

So, whilst we were on our Texas/Oklahoma trip,
we stopped in to spend a day with Mrs. Troop.
We had a blast!
Here is a pic of us (note, it was a very windy day)
taken by her oldest daughter
(thank you very much, you did a great job)
with a cameo of her oldest son.

Here are the kids on the trampoline.
I think they are playing
"all the small kids sit down while the
two oldest bounce everyone around."
My kids were so thrilled that I think we
might just skip Disney World
and get them a trampoline
I think it would cost less!

Here are the kids posing.
Those are my kids, her kids and then
several of their cousins.

Lots of kids.

Here are the kids taking Champ for a walk.
My daughter would have taken him home had
she the chance!

And here is my youngest girl with Mrs. Troop's youngest girl.
They really had the best time!





I left wanting a big lot in Texas with lots of trees,
a dog, a trampoline, and 5 more kids!

Thanks for a great play date Mrs. Troop and troops!

Fabulous Friday Favorites

Another Friday is here and I am participating in Mrs. Troop's Fabulous Friday Favorites.

It's really a lot of fun to see other things people use that have worked really well for them.

So I am once again covering some of our favorite books. We are both avid readers and have read these books several times (and I'm sure we will read them several times more as we are raising our sons)



These are our favorite books about raising boys. If my husband just had to recommend just 2 books, these would be them. And even if we just had girls, these would be important to read. Because some day those girls are going to marry boys and these books have good things to be looking for and praying for in a future mate for your girl.





The first one is King Me by Steve Farrar. Is uses stories of "bad kings" and "good kings" in Old Testament times to illustrated how a man can raise his son to become a godly man of integrity and spiritual conviction. It is recommended for all men who desire to shape the character of the future generation of men.






The second on is Raising a Modern Day Knight by Robert Lewis. It is a very practical book for dads on what it means to be a man and how you instill that reality in your son. It provides clearly defined objectives, goals and ceremonies to do with your son and teaches them "to acquire a boldly masculine vision, an uncompromising code of conduct and a noble cause in which to invest their lives". We really liked this books. It was very encouraging and inspiring.



Well, that is all I have for now. Head on over to Mrs. Troop's blog and find some more Fabulous Friday Favorites!


And have a great weekend!

Thankful Thursday

Well, we are home from our whirlwind trip to Texas and Oklahoma. Yesterday was a VERY long day driving home but we all slept in our own beds last night. I think the theme of our trip was "Life is a Highway". I'm not for sure if it was just because the kids watched the "Cars" movie several days in a row, because the kids would sing this song each time we got in the car (okay so maybe I was singing it too), or just because it seemed like we really were on the highway... all the time... but anyways... here is the video for your listening pleasure.....

So here is my list for Thankful Thursday.

1) I'm thankful we are home! We had fun on the road but it is nice to be back home.

2)I'm thankful I'm not the kind of person who after many hours in the car, and finally finding a rest stop that incidentally only had one bathroom to be shared by all, and finding oneself standing in line with one's children, I am thankful I'm not the kind of person who would play rock, paper, scissors with one's children to see if one could use the bathroom before them. Okay, so maybe I did or did not, but I didn't win anyways....

3)I'm thankful that my washer and dryer are actually in my house and that I don't have to go to a different building and find 4 quarters everytime I need to do a load. That is something I really take for granted.

4) I'm thankful that it is officially garage sale season! That is where I get most of the play clothes for the kids. (and toys and shoes and occasionally something decorative for the house...)

5) I'm thankful we had a safe trip home and that the kids did well and we were all healthy the entire trip.

6)I'm thankful that the kids are not picking out our next house. My daughter's favorite house was the one that had a horse in the field next door. That was her only requirement. I think she thought he and the field he was in came with the house. It did not. My son's favorite house was that house with a Texas shaped concrete stone in the front walkway. That was the only thing he based his decision on. It was rather amusing.

Okay, that's all I've got for now.

Have a Thankful Thursday!

Guess This Adventure

So, when my sister was here the kids went on a grand adventure.

They turned the little tikes fire truck ($25 - garage sale - thanks Grandma)

on it's end and pushed it up against the wall.

They then pushed the little tikes slide cube ($5 - garage sale)

up against the fire truck.

They then filled the cube and fire truck with

my couch pillows covered with Pottery Barn Outlet Covers (priceless).

I think the basketball goal was some sort of

filling station.

My 6 year old procured 5 boys white t-shirts from his

drawer to use for "uniforms".

One of the others (who shall remain nameless)

procured 5 pair of boys underwear for "helmets".

This was promptly vetoed, but still amusing.

So can you guess their occupation and destination?

(astronauts going to Mars)

Thankful Thursday

So, it has been a wild and crazy week! We left Georgia on Sunday morning around 5:00am and drove all day and ended up in Dallas, Texas that night. We are staying in a Marriott Residence Inn so we have enough room to kind of be comfortable. The kids and I are doing school in the mornings and roaming around Dallas in the afternoons until my husband gets off work. He had some busy days this week so the kids and I drove up to Oklahoma to visit my family and also somewhere during this whole visit, I managed to have supper one night with Mrs. Troop and also spend a day hanging out at her house. We had the BEST time! She is one amazing person and I will post pictures once I get back home to my own computer and can upload everything. I'm sure you will be waiting by your computer on pins and needles until I get those posted. Ha!

Okay, so here is my Thankful Thursday List.

1) I am thankful for my parents who are letting us hang out at their house for a couple days.
2) I am thankful for Mrs. Troop. She really is a supermom and she is my hero.
3) I am thankful I'm not a truck driver. Seriously. I don't think I could handle driving for a living.
4) I am thankful that the spider who crawled across my window while I was driving and then fell down on my steering wheel, and then evaded me trying to squash him and inadvertently honking my horn several times, and then escaped by jumping on my lap and then hiding beneath my seat somewhere, was only a small non-poisonous spider.
5) I am thankful for little, portable DVD players. I don't use them in the car until I have to but at that point, my gratitude is boundless.

Well, that is all I have for now.

Have a Thankful Thursday!

Love Those Dogwoods

Have I mentioned how much I love dogwoods?

Because, if I haven't I must let you know...

I LOVE DOGWOODS!!!

They make me so happy.

The woods in Georgia are fairly dense and as one drives along,

one will see the dogwood blooms almost floating in the woods.

I actually have a very nice view of some dogwoods

from my kitchen window.

Unfortunately, I do not have any in my own backyard.

So next fall,

come rain or shine,

come hail or high water,

whether in Texas or Georgia,

I WILL plant a dogwood in my backyard.



Must. Have. Dogwoods.

Crazy Photography

So, when my sister and her family were here it was our goal to get a picture of our kids together. We originally intended to take a picture at the beach at our huge lake nearby and have the kids all dress in khaki and white.

But it rained.

The whole week except for the day we already had things planned.

And so come Friday we decided my screened in deck just might do

the trick even though it was misting outside.

So here is the best of the thousand or so pictures we shot.

And it was crazy trying to get 5 kids, six and under to look at the same place at the same time and all be happy about it.

And this is what we got.

But it was short lived because my neice has a dress fettish. And she decided that she wanted to wear a white dress just like her little sister. So she tearfully left the room lamenting the fact that she was doomed to take pictures in pants.

(this has been published with permission of her mother, bless her)

It was sad times indeed.

So at this point, I decided to try a pic just with my kids.

They did a great job posing... I mean...it's not like I bribed them with suckers or anything.

Fabulous Friday Favorites

Mrs. Troop is again hosting her Fabulous Friday Favorites. So today I am going to give you the best gift ever.

The 3 books that I recommend most for a sucessful marriage and to be the best helpmeet you can be to your man.

I own all 3 of these books and have read them many times. I have even bought copies and given them to others.

That is how life changing these books are.

So here we go.

My first favorite is Created to be His Help Meet by Debi Pearl. I have a love/hate relationship with this book. I hate it because it is so challenging and it kind of gives me a swift kick whenever I need an attitude adjustment. I love it because it has been the one thing that has most positively impacted how I see my role as my husband's helpmeet.

My marriage is so much more wonderful because I have applied this book to my life.

My second favorite would have to be The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian. It has around 30 different prayers with correlating scripture to pray for your husband. It really helped me develop a deeper relationship with my husband as I prayed for him. There have been many times that I have taken a month and prayed a prayer each day over him. Sometimes I know he is facing a particular battle and I will find that particular prayer and pray it over him for the whole week. I know that when I pray specific things for my husband that it really does make a difference for him. I would highly recommend this book!

My third favorite would be the book For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahn. She did a national survey and personal interviews with over one thousand men to understand their view on things. It was very eye opening for me and really helped me understand my husband that much more. It also helped me understand how to support and love him in the way he needs to be loved. This is a biblically grounded book and is another one I would highly recommend.

So I can't recommend these books without giving you a good idea where to find them. If you just want to read them first, I would recommend checking with your local library. If you live in Georgia you can check with your friendly Daisy Girl Library. :)

Here are my other favorite sites to buy books from:

• Christianbook.com


• Alibris


• Half.com


• Ebay

Well, that's all I've got. Hope ya'll have a great Friday and go on over to Mrs. Troop and see what other Fabulous Friday Favorites are being recommended!

Thankful Thursday

This Thursday I am Thankful for springtime in Georgia!

There are beautiful flowers blooming everywhere.

Spring is one of my favorite times of year and so

I am really enjoying the continuing show of spring flowers in my yard.

I think all these flowers are so beautiful!

Which one is your favorite?

Have a Thankful Thursday!

(yes, these are all pictures I took of flowers in my yard!

don't you love them?)

He Reminds Me In The Little Things

So, there are really just days that I wonder if God has forgotten about little ole me here in Georgia. I'm concerned that He might have forgotten that my husband is working in Texas and that we only see him on weekends. And that this has been going on for 5 months. That He forgot that we really need someone to buy our house so we can move to Texas or we need a job available here in Georgia so he can come back home.

And then He reminds me in the little things that He still cares.

We had some new neighbors move in last week and as I typically do... I made them a cake. A wonderfully delicious Chocolate Mocha Cake.

Because a cake just isn't worth making if it's not wonderfully delicious.

And chocolate.

So as I went to add the pecans to the scrumptious cake, I hesitated. I don't know why. Every time I have made this cake, I have added pecans. But this time I didn't.

So I delivered the cake and chatted with my new neighbor. In the course of the conversation she casually mentioned that her whole family had nut allergies.

Nut allergies.

God knew they had nut allergies. He knew the cake would not have been eaten by them had I made it as usual.

And He cared.

And it was just encouraging. Because if He cares enough to make sure that my cake for the new neighbors was just perfect, then I know He continues to care for me and my family. He has not forgotten us. And I know that His plans are bigger than my plans or my vision.

And so I am reminded by Him in the little things that He is in control of all things.

Has Changed My Life

Okay, so maybe just my blog...

I decided it was high time I figure out how to upgrade my blog . And if you know me at all, you will know that it would ABSOLUTELY KILL ME to PAY someone to do it for me so I just figured I would have to learn how to do it myself.

(cue DC Talk music.... Some People Have To Learn the Hard Way) (seriously, that song was playing in my head the whole time my brain was trying to understand all this html lingo)(I'm pretty sure lingo isn't really a computer term)

I found this brilliant website that has ALL SORTS of wonderful information on how to change your blog! From adding a 3rd column to the html codes for different color backgrounds and where to put them and how to edit them! I've been having quite an adventure. (why do I feel compelled to add "pooh-bear"to the end of that sentence?) And I'm not really all that html savvy so I'm sure anyone could do it. So here is the site......

TIPS FOR NEW BLOGGERS

You can thank me later.

Dallas Anyone?

So, in a couple weeks the kids and I will accompany my husband on a business trip to Dallas. Does anyone have any suggestions for fun kids activities, homeschool activities, field trips or anything free? Thanks!

Fabulous Finds Friday

Okay, so I'm participating in Mrs. Troop's Fabulous Finds Friday. I'm a little late in the game because it's has been busy around here lately and I completely forgot we were doing this.

Anyways, my fabulous find is The Children's Illustrated Bible retold by Selina Hastings. You can find it at http://www.cbd.com/ or sometimes on e-bay. I got mine there for a fairly decent price. :) I like doing that. Getting things for a fairly decent price. It's fun. And frugal. And we are ALL ABOUT frugality around here!

I love this Bible for kids because each page layout contains one "story" from the Bible. There are also color photographs of the actual plants, animals, people, and places that are mentioned in the text.

For example, in the story of Esau and Jacob, there is a picture of an Ibex in the margin and it explains how this is a type of wild goat. It then explains that this is what Esau would have hunted and that they are still found in rocky areas of the Middle East today. When it talks about the Red Sea or the Sea of Galilee there are maps and pictures of the actual bodies of waters. It really helps bring the stories alive. My kids love it. And I do too.

Well, that is my fabulous find so go on over to Mrs. Troop and see what other fabulous finds are out there!

Cousins and Sisters and Kids, Oh my

This week I've had a lot of company.

My sister and her family flew in from up North.

The kids have been having such a great time.

Here is my daughter with her cousin.

They originally had the same due date but ended up 3 days apart.

This is my sister with my daughter and her baby on my ohsofashionable

chambray couch. (you know the ones on the commercials where they

are trying to get you to buy new leather couches and they pan

to a picture of chambray couches and ask.... "Are your couches outdated?" yep,

love them. I'm working in single handedly bringing chambray couches back in style.)

Here are my boys participating in their favorite sport, air wrestling,

with their Uncle.

And then my cousin and college roommate who lives back home

called on Monday and said she was going to be in town on Tuesday

so she came over for a visit also.

We've had a busy but fun packed week.

So this week for Thankful Thursday, I'm thankful for all my family who have come to visit.

Have a thankful Thursday!