If you are a part of a large family, you can relate to the many times that something slips by simply because there are so many hands and everyone tends to think that the task has been taken care of by someone else. Well, Sunday was one of those moments. Everyone piled into our van so that we could head to church. The two little ones were put in the back with one of the older kids. I was running late and hopped in last. As Mark pulled out, we heard Ri say something that caused us all to crack up. His remark was this: "Hey, I'm not buckled back here, people!". It was so funny that I just had to share it.

When we were at the bank, they handed Elizabeth and Ri both a frisbee. All day, Ri called it a "frazberry". I love the things that little ones say and think!

We spent the evening Saturday at my in-laws. It was a wonderful evening. Mamaw and Joyce had hid eggs all over the yard for Elizabeth and Ri to find. They had a blast and enjoyed finding them a few times. Sam enjoyed fishing. All the fish he catches, he brings home and puts in our pond. Elizabeth and Ri enjoyed it as well. The fish were biting quite frequently, so Sam had both of them fish.

Jacob has been loving the pond. I don't think a day has gone by that he hasn't hopped in and had a swim. He discovered that this horn could shoot water quite a long way. He played with it for a very long time. His only disappointment to the pond is that very few people join him. I keep having to remind him that the water is freezing and it is just now getting warm enough to want to hop in.

We went on a walk yesterday; actually we went on a safari hunt. We searched the woods for animal tracks. Our goal was to get plaster prints of any tracks we found. We discovered SEVERAL dog tracks (thanks to Bear). We were able to find some racoon tracks, but no deer. We are planning to hunt more today.

THere is something about springtime that makes me want to leap for joy. I walked outside to feed the chickens this morning and I was blown away at the beauty of the morning. I couldn't help but praise God for His creation. Oh what an incredible feeling it is to be alive and know that the creator of the universe loves me. It is a beautiful day.

To my husbands absolute joy, we have had a few heavy rains lately. Yesterday was the best. When Jacob hopped off the bus, he saw that the pond had finally completed filling. He was thrilled and instantly changed into a suit to find out how deep it was (despite how cold it was outside!.. brrrrrrr). He couldn't wait until Daddy came home so he could see the pond. We have been waiting for this day to finally arrive. And here is what it looks like.....




And you should hear the sounds at nightime! It is the most incredible "country" sound I have ever heard (though it does make sleeping a little more difficult). The frogs are in full season (I am guessing it is mating season). For the first time in my life, I actually feel like I am living in the "real" country. I have to say that it is pretty cool! The other night when we got home from church, the sky was magnificantly painted with stars, the air was crisp... it just smelled of beauty! We instantly heard the noise of the frogs. Sam ran for a flashlight. Both he and Jacob followed the edge of the pond looking for frogs. The little ones tagged along, oooohhhhing and awwwing at each sighting. It was the neatest experience. I wish you all could experience it.

It was a beautiful weekend in so many respects. Yesterday was a day that so many celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, far more celebrate the Easter Bunny then they do the risen Savior. For us, Easter is much like Christmas. We do not have Easter baskets hidden and eggs everywhere. The Easter bunny has never came, but I do have tons and tons of fun coloring eggs with the kids and hiding eggs all over the yards several days afterwards. But oh how I love thinking about the beautiful gift that came with the death of Jesus Christ. I love pondering about His glorious resurrection. I love the messages that prelude the celebration and I love to soak in the messages about His resurreciton. My heart breaks knowing that there are many who I love with all my heart who cherish Christmas and Easter, yet Jesus Christ is a mere curse word or a mere Icon. Their kids know Santa and the EAster Bunny, but have very little excitement or clue about Jesus Christ. Oh how that breaks my heart.

When we came home from church, yesteday, Jacob made me smile. He shared with me that he has a whole new appreciation for what Jesus Christ suffered for him. I guess all week he has been thinking about why Jesus died for him and what he must have gone through. I was rejoicing that he had been really thinking about that. He has always had a tender heart for the things of the Lord, but this one made me smile even more.

Saturday night, as I fell asleep, my son asked me how my day was and if I was sad it was over. Saturday was my birthday. I looked at him and smiled. I told him it was the best birthday ever and then I caught him off guard. You see, when Jacob's birthday is over, it makes him very, very sad. He knows that the focus will again shift to others and he will no longer be as "special" as he is on his birthday. For me? Well, I looked him in the eyes and said that I was excited because I have 364 more days until I turn a year old. I thought that was a pretty good way to look at getting old!

Ok.. so I was a funny looking baby! I just love the hairdo!


















Here I am in 8th grade. I was a swimmer back then.... thus the wide shoulders and short haircut and very squinty eyes (I love blaming on something other then my genes)










Senior Picture...yep... fancy, huh?














So, let me share my day with you. My alarm was set for 6:15. A friend of ours had shared with me about FairyGodmothers. They are an organization that collects prom dresses to distribute to girls who might not have an opportunity to go to their prom if they did not have a dress to wear. Emily has said that she does not want to go to the prom. But, a few weeks ago,she calls me on the phone and shares with me that she found a beautiful dress for the prom. The only problem was that is cost almost $400.00. She knew our answer, but she wanted to share it with us anyway. She told her friends that she would not go to the prom unless she got a dress for free. Then she went looking for dresses at Deb's (a place she has found dresses for $15.00 in the past). She is so precious. She is so aware of costs and never looks for the best, but always considers the price first. When my friend told me about the FairyGodmother group, I was so excited for Emily. From 9-2 on Saturday, they would have the doors open and any girl who was a senior or junior in high school and needed a prom dress could come and find one. It wouldn't cost her a thing. Emily and Erin were both so excited about it. They grabbed some their best friends and we all planned to head to Worthington.

At 5:30am, I heard Mark say to someone "You were suppose to wake me up". I shot out of bed, thinking that Mark was having to take care of one of the kids. I wanted him to sleep in, so I ran down the stairs. I turned the corner and there stood Erin and Mark... making me breakfast. They both looked at each other and said "I knew this would happen" and then they shewed me off. I was in shock. My little girl... who is the hardest to wake up and who had a busy day ahead of her... and who is use to being in the kitchen that much.... was standing there with the biggest, sweetest, most beautiful smile on her face. I turned around and praised God for the next 40 minutes. They then served me a wonderful breakfast in bed. Mark happily volunteered to watch the little ones so that I could take the older girl to "Cinderellas boutique".

Erin, RAchel and I met up with Emily and Alex and REbecca down the road. Rebecca's mom had made me muffins and cappacino! I loved it. Then we drove to Worthington. We got there an hour early and were already numbers 57,58,59,&60. The women who volunteer were incredible. They started having girls come in by 8:30. We were in the shop by 8:45. It was amazing. They let 25 girls in at a time. Each girl was assigned someone to help them. The woman who was assigned to the girls would hold dressed, search for dresses and styles and comment on the girls. It was amazing! THey had racks and racks of beautiful gowns. It was so neat to see all the girls trying on gowns. Many truly had a "Cinderella" air about her. Emily was so fun to watch. SHe tried on so many beautiful gowns. Each time, she was so thankful. She narrowed it down to 2 and was thrilled with the one she chose. It was a brand new gown. They all found gowns. Then they were ushered to pick out a purse if they wanted and shoes. Only 2 of the girls found shoes. Then each girl got to choose 2 pieces of jewelry. It was so precious!!! So...anyone of you who has gowns hanging in your closet that you don't like anymore or your girls will never wear a second time... consider donating to Fairy Godmothers. You can drop it off at Charles Penzone or Talbotts throughout the year (I htink). I cna't wait to look at garage sales for some gowns. :).

Here are the girls with their Cinderella gowns:





And here are the cards (and the mixing of the cake) from Elizabeth and Ri:

I was challenged this week about prayer and my prayer life. I have so enjoyed the messages that our interim pastor has been delivering lately. THis week was no different. I have heard many times, and even spoke about it at a ladies retreat many years ago, about the relationship between my prayer life/devotional life and my relationship with God. My prayer life, and I dare say yours as well, really does reflect where I am with God. He gave us a challenge. Everytime we pray this week, push a stopwatch when we begin and when we end. Keep track of it. Then everytime we do something else we enjoy (like play on the computer, watch tv, read, etc), push the stop watch and time that activity. Keep track of the 2 for a week and compare them. If you are anything like me, at the end of the week, you might be very ashamed at the comparison.

When someone, maybe yourself, asks... why isn't God answering my prayers? Or why is God ..... Maybe you can stop and think about where you are with your walk with God. If God truly is our Lord and King... if I truly love him with my whole heart... if He truly is my best friend (and he should be all those things)... then my time with him should reflect that. I can't imagine going a day without talking with Mark. I ache when I can't see his face or need a friend and I can't talk to him. I hate the times I have to make the decisions without him. I make an effort to email him throughout the day to remind him I love him or I am thinking about him. So... why don't I do the same for my Lord and King?

Hmmmm... it has made me ponder all the things that I have known but often push off to the side to go on with MY life.

Emily was such a trooper trying to help Ri rollar skate. He loved every minute of it ... until.....
OOPS!
It was a beautiful day at Mamaw's house Sunday. Ri and Elizabeth took Uncle Paul for a ride. Yes... Ri is driving. Both of them are amazingly good drivers. Uncle Paul is controling the gas and breaks though.
Sam was catching fish to put in our pond. He was definitely in his element.

I couldn't help but laugh when Elizabeth responded to my comment. I had to post it. I am sitting in shorts and a mock turtleneck, funny socks, and tennis shoes. I had decided to ride our elipse. Mark calls it the "horse". So, whenever I am going to workout on the elipse, I simply say "I'm going to ride the horse". Anyway, I put shorts on because I can't workout in jeans. I kept the mock turtleneck on because I was cold! (though I was rather hot during the workout!). I mentioned to Ri that I needed to go change my clothes. He asked me why. Elizabeth very quickly replied to his inquiry with "Because she's in horse shoes". It made me laugh so hard, I just had to share it.

Erin, Elizabeth and I just returned from a trip to Houghton College in New York. It was a wonderful experience. She is exploring and seeking where God would have her attend. This is the second college she has had the opportunity to practice with, both were a privlidge. It is neat to watch God work in Erin's life.

THe soccer team is an outstanding team in many different ways. First, they have an excellent record. But more then that, she was amazed at the girls on the team and the leadership and integrity of the coach. The girls openly welcomed her to the practice. They treated her as part of the team, not as an outsider. She enjoyed every aspect of the practice. They began with a devotion and prayer and ended with prayer. She had the privlidge of rooming with 2 of the girls. The girls were just recently selected as captains. They were so kind and loving; they truly emulated the spirit of Christ. One of the girls even gave up her bed so Erin would not have to sleep on the ground. It just so happened that the college was putting on a play for the weekend. The girls bought Erin a ticket so that she could join them. When we were at breakfast and at lunch, there were girls on the team who made a point to come say hello to her. Two of the girls joined us for lunch. Another arranged to meet up with Erin at Chapel so that she would not be alone.

The college had a lot of things that drew Erin's interest. The soccer coach (and several others) shared with her that many, many people come to watch the team play. I guess the womans' soccer team is probably the best known on the campus. Evidently 4-500 people often attend the games. That was very exciting. At one homecoming game, over 3000 people attended! That is crazy, but very cool. I think much has to do with the spirit of the team and the coach that has been appointed their leader.

The coach had some wonderful things to say to Erin. I think that as she seeks where God is leading her, she is finding the decisions much more difficult. If you think of it, please pray for wisdom for her.