The next few pictures are from the perspective of a 4 year old...enjoy!

To our joy...and sadness, we had to make a trip to Alabama. Joy? Because we dropped Erin off at camp in Alabama and then continued to Florida to visit my brother and his family. Sad? because Mark is unable to come only because another employee is off during this time (2 weeks later, he would have been able to come), Sam is unable to come because he has summer gym and can't miss any classes, and Erin because she is at soccer camp in Alabama. It absolutely kills my heart to not have them with us. I haven't been to Florida for over 4 years, yet I miss having my whole family with me.

Sam came up with a fun game to exercise Shu. Elizabeth thought it was so much fun that she joined in. Sam plalyed this for a very long time. Elizabeth kept up the whole time at the pace you see in the video. Hope you enjoy it. After the video of the new game, I through in a video clip from our Vacation Bible School. It was the kids first time being able to go. I have to say that they loved it. They have been singing the songs everyday since. Both did great the first 3 days, but by the 4th day, they were not easily letting go of Mommy. And by the last day, Mommy ended up being their crew leader.

I think our dog's name has been officially kept. Noone has tried giving her a new name. We have discovered that she has 6 "toes". I think it is her dew claw that has the extra "toe" on it. So, we had tried to come up with the name of the man with 6 fingers on the Princess Bride movie. Yesterday, someone told us his name was Rugan. I think that is a very cool name, but noone really jumped at it. As I thought of it, I began to wander if the name "Shoo" was Chinese at all. It sure sounded like it. So I began a search on the internet. Only, I changed the spelling of her name to Shu because that is the way it would be in Chinese.

From this site, http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=95849742, I discovered that "Shu" is explained as "what one does not want, one does not
do to others" ( Analects15:23).2 Confucius refers to it as the one word that can serve
as the guiding principle of conduct throughout life ( Analects 15:23). And Confucius'
disciple Tseng Tzu describes shu, together with the virtue of loyalty (chung), as the
one thread that runs through Confucius' doctrine ( Analects 4:15).3

On another site, http://www.20000-names.com/female_chinese_names.htm, SHU (淑)means: Chinese unisex name meaning "good, pure, virtuous."

Finally, on another site, http://www.behindthename.com/nmc/chi.php, SHU 淑 f
Means "kind, gentle" in Chinese.

So, I simply changed the spelling that the pound gave her (which was Shoo) and made it Shu. I love the meaning of her name.

Emily is a natural with kids. They all seem to light up for her. I think mostly because they can feel her genuine love for them. On Sunday, Emily and Jacob took their cousins and the little ones swimming in the pond. As you can see, she had a good time.
Elizabeth held on tight; giggling the whole time. She kept screaming (in a fun voice) that the fish were going to get her.
Shu saw Jacob in the water and swam out to be with him. I can not tell you how much that meant to Jacob. He generally thinks the dogs hate him. He was so happy that he actually admitted the Shu might like him.
This is our beautiful niece, Chloe.
Our beautiful niece Lydia.
Jacob enjoying a kiss from Shu.
If you've never noticed, it is hard for me to get a picture of Ri looking into the camera. He is always so busy checking things out that he doesn't have time or a desire to get his picture taken (unless, of course, it is on his terms and he wants to pose)
This is our new pup, Shu.
Sunday was a special day set aside to celebrate fathers. For me, I took a moment to thank God for the father that He gave me. Dad is a man that most people can connect with. He has a charisma that seems to draw people to him. He can carry on a conversation with just about anyone. As I sat talking with him Saturday night, I flashed back to some of my childhood. My Dad truly was one of my hero's. He was always there for me when it came to sports or play. He use to spend hours throwing a ball with me.... softball or football. I could always count on Dad droping everything and playing. My brother and sister and I were very involved in swimming. Dad was ALWAYS one of the head timers and/or put together the programs or organized swim meets. He was even one of the men that went to bat for our small town to put in an olympic size swimming pool! I don't ever remember not having my dad at one of my meets or one of my games in softball or basketball. He was always there. When he retired, I found out that he had given up a big promotion just so he could be home for us kids. I was so blessed to hear the sacrifice my Dad was willing to make. Even now, Dad rarely misses a game that his grandkids are playing in. I think it means as much to my kids as it does to me.

Dad gave me quite a role model to look for in a husband....but God had a much bigger plan for me. Mark is an exceptional father. Oh, I could be saying that just to flatter my man... but I am not kidding. Mark is a role model to me when it comes to interacting with the kids. It use to be that I was the one with the patience, but the roles have reversed. I have sat, countless amount of times, and watched Mark take over a heated conversation and gently and calmly share his heart to the kids. He has wisdom that I just don't seem to have. It wears him out, but when he takes the time to sit and work through whatever it is that is bothering the kids, he ALWAYS seems to get them through it.

Mark is one of those guys that shocks most of the people he knows. I remember when someone shared to me that their favorite part of Ri's video was watching Mark interact with Ri because it was so unlike the image they had of Mark. Mark is such a truly tender guy! His heart is wrapped around his children. He holds them very near to him. I just smiled when they said that to me. For me, I see his gentleness, his tenderness, his love. THat's one of the things that I fell in love with. I love to watch him play with the little guys. He nearly almost drops everything for them when they want him to play. And as they get older, he is the one who is firm in directing them. He needs to be because I am, far too often, weak. They need a man who does not cave into the demands the world sets, but attempts to shepherd his children into what the word of God says.

I am blessed that God gave me Mark as a husband, but I feel almost even more blessed that my children have him as a father. One day, I am confident, they will ALL look back at their Dad and be on their knees praising God for the father that He allowed them to have. During the teenage years, they might not see it so clearly! :)

Another father God put in my life is my father-in-law. I am so blessed to have the in-laws that I have. I love my father-in-law with all that I have. He is such a man of integrity and has taught me much about hard work. He is a man who doesn't say anything negative about anyone and who would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it.

As for the pictures, well.... our dogs Chuck and Tye both died. Tye died due to seizures a year or so ago. Chuck died a few months ago. Our dog, Bear, followed Erin on her bike. Evidently, he was either found by someone and kept or something worse. We searched and searched for him. In the process of visiting the pound and Humaine Society, we found this little pup. We are in the process of "adopting" her. Right now, we only have the privlidge of fostering her. It sounds so strange to us having adopted children; but that is the process. The pound gave her the name "Shoo". So far, we can't come up with a name that 8 of us agree on, so right now her name is "Shoo". The pound thinks that she is a german shepherd/husky mix. Who knows. All we know is that we really feel that we need to have a dog around here.

And by the way... did you notice Emily's hair?

a 4 year olds' view on time

Leave it to God to bring a smile to my face through my kids. After a very hectic morning of running around again, I was standing in my kitchen preparing lunch when Elizabeth started doing cartwheels. She does it very well, it is almost like a round-off. She is so very proud of herself. She did a few and then waited for my praise. After I told her how good she did, she proudly put her hand on her hip and announced "it takes years of practice". It was all I could do not to crack up. Ri joined in and wanted to do the same thing. Let's just say that he hasn't had "years" of practice. He barely lifted a foot off the ground. Elizabeth then let him know that it takes "years of practice" and proceeded to announce that she could teach him. It was quite comical to watch.

Time in the eyes of a 4 year old is baffling. THey don't understand weeks or days. If you say we are gonig to do soemthing in a week, they think it is today. Ri often reminds of the things that he has done "tomorrow"; meaning yesterday. Little ones make me smile.

I am not quite sure if graduation has finally gotten to me or if life is getting me down; but this week I am fighting with moments that seem to get me down. I thank God for His faithfulness and His promises. When I turn my eyes towards Jesus Christ, peace always returns. It's when I truly focus on God and what the word of God says, I can pull myself out of those blue moments.

The bible teaches that we should not have a spirit of fear: "Now we did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear." (Romans 8:15). When we adopted Ri, I experienced that bondage to fear. It grabbed ahold of me and ruled me life. It took more then a year to get back to walking with God in an intimate way. It is scary how a spirit of fear can destroy your life. It effects so many things. It would be easy to allow that same feeling to overwhelm me again, but by God's grace.. I feel at peace. I know who is on the throne and who is in control.

Our country today is not the country we once were. It is not the country I have dreamt for my children to live in. I do fear what my kids will face and what my grand kids will have to deal with. God has been removed and sin has replaced Him. My heart aches. I watch our country go more and more in debt and watch our president.... whom the people chose.... make choices that terrify me. Maybe he should not terrify me and maybe he is a good man; but it terrifies me that the media worships him.... that ANYONE worships him. I have seen our president referred to as the Messiah and a Savior. I can not express to you how deeply that sickens me. There is only one Messiah and one Savior and that is Jesus Christ. I have read articles of people being arrested because of having bible studies in their home. I have read that it will be law that if a preacher or someone speaks against homosexuality, they could be arrested. I have watched our school board make a stand against God and spend over $308,000 on a hearing because they want to fire a man who had a bible on his desk and who is known as a man of God; who supposedly answered a child who asked what Easter was, who put up the ten commandments on his wall, and who taught the kids that evolution was not a fact, but a theory. I have watched my kids have to face homosexuality in many of their friends. One of my kids found themselves amongst friends who were talking about whether they would be ok if their kids wanted to be homosexual. One in the group is gay and proudly proclaims that he is a Christian. Evidently, he believes that being a christian is loving and accepting others. All were very ok with their children becoming homosexual. Talk about peer pressure! I dare not try to count the number of friends that my kids know who are having sex; it breaks my heart.

Now I dare to say that I might step on toes that I honestly don't mean to step on. I know and love families who have homeschooled their kids throughout school. Many of their kids are absolutely wonderful and very, very grounded in the word of God. Some do a wonderful job at being "in the world" as God commands us to be. But there are some families who have separated themselves so much from "sinners" that the only interaction they have is with Christians. I am against that completely....but I am struggling with my feelings and emotions. I STRONGLY believe that we must be in the world; Jesus did not hang out with those who lived and obeyed the law. No, Jesus was always found amongst the lost. So, my question and struggle is: How do we raised our kids today? Do we teach them the truth and pray for protection and then watch/ allow them to be constantly taught by their friends and classroom that the things we have taught them are ignorant. Do we equip them and trust that God will protect them? Or do we pull them out completely from the world and not allow them to be exposed to the things that are going on in the world?

I thought i knew the answer. Now, as I watch the morals of this world becoming attached to my children; as I watch them become desensitized to some sin, I ache an ache that just won't go away. I struggle with where I went wrong and decisions that I have made. I ache as I feel like I have lost control. Where... or maybe how is a better word... How do I determine when God wants us to be in the world and when it is better to pull them out of the things they are facing and protect them?

And so this week, I have really struggled. My heart aches beyond what I thought it could. Maybe it is fear, but I think it is more just heartache; knowing what my kids face and how I believe things are only going to get worse. The bible teaches that before Christ returns, it will be like the days of Noah. I can't help but think about the fact there were only 8 people righteous enough to enter the boat. That tells me that the sins of today are only going to deteriorate even more.

A week ago, Jacob's team had their final league tournament. It was an exciting weekend and one that marked the end of our traveling soccer era. Jacob has decided to hang up his cleats and try a different sport. He is developing a love for golf and hopes to do a lot of it this summer. It was fun to watch this team end the season with excitement. They went into the championship game and played their hearts out. The game was so good! We went into a 10 minute over time and then had 2 sets of shootouts. It was so nerve racking! It ended up that the other team scored 1 up on us in the shoot out. But in our eyes, the boys were champions!

Emily is the one in the very back, in the middle, in a white gown (though you might have figured that one out yourself)
I thought this one was sweet. The young man walking behind Emily sweetly held her hat on her head so it wouldn't fly off. What a gentleman!
The seniors in Chorale were asked to sing "Friends Forever" by Vitamen C. Emily is in the group on the top row, the 2nd one closest to me.

Introducing the Senior Class of 2009
Getting ready for her turn to begin the "march" towards her diploma.
Shaking the principals hand.

The hug that nearly made me lose it.
Waiting for her name to be announced.
The official moment she received her diploma!!!!

Each senior was allowed to ask one teacher to meet them when they received their diploma. Mrs. Hren has been a big influence in her life.
Mark's parents were very proud of their first grandchild graduating.
Three of her favorite men; Uncle Paul and "her boys" as well as her precious cousin, Lydia.
Uncle Ed and Aunt Susan
One very, very proud Daddy
My parents. Emily is their third grandchild to graduate.

Lydia adores Emily. Emily treats her like a princess.
Uncle Alan and Emily's sweet cousins; Lydia and Chloe.
Emily and her siblings.

Finally, mom and dad... we couldn't be more thankful to God for his grace in Emily's life.









What a beautiful day today was for our family. We watched our little girl walk across the stage and recieve her high school diploma. What a joy it was; and surprisingly, I didn't shed one tear. I choked up twice. The first time was when I saw Emily and Erin hug. Erin is the junior class secretary (I think). Because of being an officer for the junior class, she had the privlidge of ecsorting the senior class into the stadium and handing a rose to half of the student body as they walked up to the stage to recieve their diploma. God was so gracious to allow Erin to be standing on the side that her sister would be entering. When she handed the rose to Emily, they embraced. It was then that I choked up. But I quickly gained composure and was able to rejoice as Emily smiled and walked across. The only other time I choked up was when I hugged Emily for the first time after the ceremony. And as I type this, I can feel the same choking in my throat. It was a very precious day. Emily looked beautiful in every way. She is such a delight. We are truly blessed. She will be heading for Baptist Bible College on August 21 to further her education. She is planning on earning her Elementary Education license with an additional emphasis on teaching English as a secondary language. Her goal is to teach English in China.

We celebrated her graduation with an open house yesterday. I has some incredible help preparing for it and some priceless help during it. One of my most precious friends, Jennifer, called me nearly everyday asking what she could do to help. Because I was so lax in my preparations, she finally told me she was coming over and sitting down and writing out all that I needed. I was very thankful for her skills! She then had mints made for us and made a wonderful desert and showed up 2 hours early to help prepare. And all through the open house, she continued to take care of the food. The other priceless person was my sister-in-law, Susan. Priceless truly does describe them both. Susan showed up 2 hours early bearing cake and croissants and a willingness to put in some hard labor. She helped finish all the preparations and never left the kitchen (except to load up more food when needed). She and Jennifer worked until every crumb was swept and dish was washed. Thier love for us was incredible. My mom helped prepare all the food that we could the day before and my dad helped me decorate. My mother-in-law filled in anywhere she was needed and my precious friend Libby came loaded with punch and a heart to serve. I am truly one blessed mama!

Emily was blessed beyond words. SHe had so many who love her come and share her moment. We had what seemed to be a constant trickling of people through the doors. I was so proud of her. Every person who came, she made sure she went and greeted and spent time with them. She was completely wiped out by the end. So much so that she missed a few parties that she had hoped to visit. And by the end of today's celebration, she looks as if she is going to pass out. She had hoped to make 2 of her good friends parties, but just wasn't able to gather up the energy to walk out the door.

Oops.. I didn't know that the music stops right in the middle. I will have to correct that and post the new one tomorrow! This movie is haunting me as much as that silly book... which ended up 360 pages, by the way. It arrived today.

This is a small part of the movie I put together for Emily's graduation. I chose this clip simply because it fit well with the song I used. I heard the song at Emily's May Fiesta concert. It was all I could do not to sob when I first heard it.