My kind of prayer!

I am reading "The Power of a Positive Mom" by Karol Ladd AGAIN! Or maybe I should say still since I've picked it up and started it and quit a zillion times! Anyway, the last chapter was on prayer and I LOVED this one:

Dear Lord, so far today I am doing pretty well. I haven't screamed at the kids or thrown anything in a burst of anger. I have not grumbled or gossiped or whined. I haven't been greedy or self-centered. I have not yet charged anything to the credit card, and I haven't pigged out on the chocolate cake in the refrigerator. However, in a few minutes I will be getting out of bed, and I am going to need your help to make it through the rest of the day. Amen.

Don'tcha just LOVE that! The point of it, of course, is that this mom realized how much she needs God to make it through the day.

My two fave boys in the WORLD!

What a great day today has been! Daddy came home for his days off, everyone actually listened (or at least didn't interrupt) during the morning devotion, chores were done in a timely and non-combatant manner, we went to "town" and got Marlie a new bike and helmet and ball gloves for all of us (well all the girls including me)! We all had a quiet time, the girls made a craft that goes with our Bible study that we are doing together while I made some VBS crafts for next week, we tossed the softball in the backyard, the two oldest girls made tacos for supper (they have started making one meal a week with my help - planning, shopping... the whole nine yards), then we went for a walk to the subdivision's park (brrrr... it was CHILLY), and laid on the driveway before heading in to get ready for bed. So far, everyone is in THEIR OWN bed sleeping soundly (except Keven and I of course)! Ahhhhh....

But maybe a highlight of the day was Tyler and Daddy giving "eskimo" and "butterfly" kisses at bedtime. And, Tyler seems to have made up a "bee" kiss which we aren't sure what it is as of yet! Keven is such a wonderful, affectionate daddy! I couldn't ask for more!

What a slacker!

I am simply amazed at how busy it's been around here! I know I promised to keep up on my blog better but obviously that's not happened! Oh well, all I can say is I'll try!

The girls are glad to be out of school. Their last few days were so fun... for all of us! The day before school let out, Hannah's class had a special lunch and fun time on the school grounds. Me, Dani and Tyler had to go enjoy the fun and have lunch with Hannah. Then we played with bubbles and sidewalk chalk. It has been so adorable... Marlie's teacher's son is in Hannah's class. From the beginning of the year he took a liking to Tyler whenever I would bring him into class with me. His name is Logan and he really is such a sweet little boy. He always gives Tyler big hugs, sets him up with I Spy books to check out, etc... Well, this day was no exception. As soon as lunch was over, Logan rushed over to Tyler and whisked him away to play with the sidewalk chalk! FUN! Meanwhile, Hannah got her hands sticky in the bubbles! Did you know you could make bubbles with your hands? Where has this mama been?

That same day, Marlie's class went to a local park for 3rd grade olympics. What a hoot! And, WOW! It was a HOT day! They played three-legged soccer, frizbee golf, had a watermelon seed spitting contest, etc... what a fun day. At the end of the day they all signed each other's t-shirts as a keepsake. Marlie has hers on her bedroom wall. So cute! I didn't get to stay for many of the events as Dani was misbehaving which forced me to leave and deal with her. But that's another story altogether!

I was so sad that I forgot to take my camera when I picked the kiddos up from school on the last day. Can you believe I have NO pictures of Hannah with sweet Mrs. Anderson?! I might have to fake it and get one on the first day in the fall! And, so sad... Marlie's friend Hannah won't be returning in the fall! She had everyone in tears as she headed to her ride home just weeping! Poor thing! Then, at the beginning of this week I found a note in Marlie's things she brought home from school. It was from Hannah asking Marlie if they could be friends "no matter what"? How sweet is that!?

Here is a slideshow of field day at school!

I've been trying to come up with ideas to keep the summer going somewhat smoothly. I devised a chore chart that gets the entire house cleaned every two weeks, with some things getting done once a week. This was our first week using it and it's worked beautifully so far. The kids are LOVING it. I even got notes on my dry-erase board on the fridge telling me how much they love me after the first day! Wonder how long that will last? ;) And, we've started a fun Bible study called "Just Mom and Me Having Tea". My mom purchased the book for me when Marlie was a very little girl. I have since gotten one for Hannah and Dani too and have been waiting for years to do it while they all could "get it"! It's been great so far. We get together everyday after Tyler goes down for a nap and do a little something out of the workbook. One day a week we do a fun activity/craft and every two weeks there is a formal tea party with a theme. This week's activity was to decorate a "Me Box" and fill it with things that make you special. I set up a table outside and just let them go at it with the paints! They had a great time. Then after lunch I told them to go gather things for their boxes (Dani got some help from her sisters) but to keep it as secret as they could so it would be a surprise when we shared. So, after supper they shared their boxes. Fun stuff!

Here is a slideshow of the decorating fun and some of the things each girl had in their boxes. Oh, and even though this is a mother/daughter study, we couldn't leave Tyler out of the painting fun!

And finally a video of Tyler! I wish I could think of the proper way to set this up! Okay... Tyler and Daddy were playing a game. Tyler would run and Daddy would wipe him out with his blanket! Tyler would crash to the ground and laugh his little head off! LOVE it! Oh, and YES! That is Dani in the background insisting that someone wash her, she was in the tub. To her defense, she was getting ignored for the sake of play and recording said play! Poor kid!

What a busy time!

I cannot believe it's been almost a month since I posted on here! What a slacker huh? I must admit, though, that I've been pretty good at keeping up with my Facebook... it's my blog that's been suffering. And, I've thought about posting several times but just never got to it. But, I know there are some of you out there who read my blog and are not on Facebook, so to you I apologize. There's been a ton of stuff going on in the lives of the Moseleys! So, needless to say, this will be the mother of all blog posts. Hope you have on your comfy pants and a cup of coffee because this may take a while!

I guess the first event since my last post would be Marlie's NINTH birthday. My goodness, where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday that we found out we were having our first baby and now here we are. Pretty soon she'll be "all growed up and haired over" (a family saying I guess) and we'll really be scratching our heads! Her celebrations started at school with a birthday bash at the end of the day. It was on Tyler's actual 2nd birthday (I'll post about that coming up) so she really wanted him to be there! We all went, even Hannah got out of class to help her big sister celebrate! It was fun. The whole class sang happy birthday to Marlie and her brother and we enjoyed cupcakes and ice cream! Then Marlie's friend, also a Hannah, spent the night with us. Marlie had a hard time choosing a friend to come stay but ended up choosing Hannah because she won't be going to school with Marlie next year. They are both so sad about that! Anyway, Marlie opened some presents that night! She got a bunch of things that she really liked but the ipod from Mom and Dad was a hit for sure!



That night all of us girls went to the high school's production of "Seussical the Musical", which they did a fantastic job on by the way!

On Friday morning we all got up and headed to Denver to go to the Aquarium. We've been there a few times as a family but Marlie's friend Hannah had never been so that's where she chose to go! How sweet is that!? From what I hear, Hannah totally loved it too! Good choice Marlie! And the final phase of Marlie's birthday celebration was a trip to her favorite restaurant, Cinzetti's! It's an Italian market style place. Too fun!



Friday afternoon, Hannah went home and the preparations for Tyler's 2nd birthday party the next day started! We made cupcakes (which Keven decorated) and strawberry ice cream piggies (which Keven did most of the decorating on), do you see a trend here?! They all turned out really cute!

So then Saturday was Tyler's big SECOND birthday. Again, where does the time go people? It was a John Deere themed party because the boy is obsessed with tractors. Well, just about anything mechanical but John Deere things in particular. We had a fairly small get-together with a lot of kiddos! It was fun!



Before I post this next video, I MUST explain. My mom called on the actual day of Tyler's birthday to sing to him. This is a video of Tyler asking her to sing it to him again, and AGAIN! So cute!



And here is a picture slide show of Marlie and Tyler's birthday celebrations!

RIGHT after Tyler's birthday party, Marlie had her piano recital! She did wonderfully!




Later that week, Marlie had her very first science fair! Her project idea was to see if the more expensive waterproof mascaras are "more waterproof" than the inexpensive ones. It was an experience I can say that! She wasn't much into the experimentation part of it, but putting the ideas all together and on her board was right up her alley! Here is a picture that her teacher took of her with her board! Oh, and if you're curious, the $3.50 Maybelline was just as good as the $24 Lancome or whatever it was! ;)



A week later Marlie and Hannah had their Elementary Spring Concert with school. It was called "A Kaleidoscope of Music" and was very cute! Here is a short (and blurry) video of the K - 5 graders singing "In Christ Alone" (I think that's the right title)!



The next night was a camp out at school for students in grades 3 -5 who completed a certain amount of reading in the "Book Adventure" program. It was supposed to be outside, in tents, on the football field but cool weather and high winds moved it inside to the gym. My sweet husband went with Marlie and "camped" with her there overnight! What a fun time for them! He even volunteered to bring his guitar and sing some praise music to wind the evening down! What an awesome daddy!

The day AFTER THAT (imagine me taking a breath!)... Hannah lost a tooth! Her daddy had to trick her but he got it out of there!



And finally, to get us up to date... on this past Tuesday, the third grade teachers and girls had a girls only lunch where they did their hair, painted nails and just engorged themselves in generally primping of all sorts. Is that the neatest idea you have EVER heard of? It is for me! I thought it was awesome! Anyway, here is a picture slide show of the campout and day of pampering!

I think that's it for my mega blog post! I'll try to keep you up better! Until next time...

Awesome video!

I've seen this before but a friend sent it to me again via email and I just had to share!

New Memory Verse

I may have gotten a little ambitious on this one but I love it.

Easter 2009

What a fun Easter weekend we had! On Saturday we went to Sterling for an egg hunt and brunch at my aunt and uncle's house. The kids were so patient to wait until after brunch but once they were lined up at the door to run out... they could hardly stand it! Off they went!

Then we went to Keven's parents' house for an early dinner and a couple of card games. That is one of my absolute fave things to do... just hang out with the in-laws and play some good card games, even if Keven's dad does bray when he wins! ;) You know what I'm talking about Carl!

Sunday was up and at 'em for church. I had Easter bags waiting for each of the kids at their spot at the table. I decided on bags this year as we have several baskets (which I forgot for the hunt by the way) and they are just accumulating like crazy! And, I got bags that can be used for things other than Easter... that's what ya call usin' yer noggin! So, if you get a gift from me in one of these bags... sorry but it's a hand-me-down!

Off to church we went. This is the first Easter we've been able to attend our home church for Easter and we've been there almost three years. The first year I was HUGE and pregnant with Tyler and would've had to go to a FAMILY service BY MYSELF (Keven was working). Me, in a church service, huge and pregnant with three little ones... would not have been a pretty picture. And, last year Keven was working again and Tyler was sick so that meant we all had to stay home. It was an awesome time of worship! Our pastor teaches chapter by chapter, verse by verse and "just happened" to be ready to preach on Matthew 28. Pretty awesome!

I had put a ham in the oven before we went to church and when we got home I whipped up some sides and we ate here at home as a family. Was nice. Afterwards, we made Resurrection Rolls. That was fun! The kids had a good time and seemed to understand the symbolism behind it. I forgot to get pictures of the end products. Oh well!

Then Keven, Marlie, Hannah and myself watched "The Passion". I so hate and love that movie at the same time. It was hard to watch again and I was a little worried about the kids watching the violence of Jesus' beating, etc... what we forgot about were the images of Satan! Oh my goodness... can I just say that I feel like the worst parent EVER!?!???? Poor Hannah was up until midnight with those images in her head! She came to bed and held my hand and just cried wishing the night would end. She finally ended up going to bed with her strong daddy in the spare bed. I felt to terrible... still do! We'll see what tonight brings. Was a perfect opportunity to teach her that what we watch really does stick even if it's unintentional. Poor thing... too bad it was put there by her parents. Golly! Live and learn I suppose!

Here is a slideshow of the weekend's events!

Oh, and I almost forgot... here are a couple of pics of the kids with Megan... she is a sweet girl from church (and the girls' school) that they just adore! Tyler does too, he just doesn't quite know it yet!

The boy can BOOGIE!

Oh man... I could just watch this kinda stuff all day! We were watching Rack, Shack and Benny (the Veggie Tales movie) after supper tonight and the second Tyler heard this song, he just couldn't help but shake his groove thang! Of course, by the time we got the camera he had lost a little of the oomph but it's still cute! By the way, he's never heard the song until tonight! I think he has an ear for good music! Ha ha ha!

The boy can BOOGIE!

He is RISEN!

Happy Easter everyone!



He lives indeed!

Resurrection Rolls

Most of you have probably seen this recipe but I thought I would still post it just in case. It's a really fun, visual way to show kids the true story of Jesus' burial and resurrection. Enjoy!

Resurrection Rolls

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients:
Crescent rolls
Melted butter
Large marshmallows
Cinnamon
Sugar

Give each child a triangle of crescent rolls. The crescent roll represents the cloth that Jesus was wrapped in.

Read Matthew 27:57-61

1. Give each child a marshmallow. This represents Jesus.
2. Have him/her dip the marshmallow in melted butter. This represents the oils of embalming.
3. Now dip the buttered marshmallow in the cinnamon and sugar which represents the spices used to anoint the body.
4. Then wrap up the coated marshmallow tightly in the crescent roll (not like a typical crescent roll up, but bring the sides up and seal the marshmallow inside.) This represents the wrapping of Jesus' body after death.
5. Place in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. (The oven represents the tomb - pretend like it was three days!)
6. Let the rolls cool slightly. The children can open their rolls (cloth) and discover that Jesus is no longer there, HE IS RISEN!!!! (The marshmallow melts and the crescent roll is puffed up, but empty.)

Now read Matthew 28:5-8

Explain: At the tomb, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary saw an angel, who told them not to be afraid. No one had taken Jesus' body, but He Had risen from the dead! The angel told the women to go and tell the disciples what they had seen, that Jesus had risen from the dead. They were so excited, they ran all the way home to tell the disciples the good news! He is risen from the dead! Alleluia!

After that Jesus appeared in person to Peter, then to the 12 disciples and after that, to more than 500 people. Jesus' appearance to eyewitnesses, those who saw Him with their own eyes, would give support and prove that Jesus rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3-6).

By rising from the dead, Jesus proved once and for all that He was the Messiah, the Savior of the World, the Chosen One, and the Lamb of God. By dying on the cross and rising from the dead, Jesus did what no other had ever done before. As both God and man, He overcame sin, death, and hell. And now because of what Jesus has done, these things no longer have any power over those who believe in Jesus and allow His Spirit to lead and direct them. Rather than being slaves to sin and death, Christians ( those who love and believe in Jesus) are free to obey God and do good ( Romans 6:17-18). The Bible says in John 8:36, "If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed."

However, we will only obey God if we listen to the Holy Spirit our helper. He enables believers in Jesus to do the right thing. It is important that we read the Bible (God's Word) because one of the ways the Holy Spirit helps us obey God is by reminding us of what He says to us in His Word. God's Spirit will never go against his Word. In fact, when we read God's Word, we are listening to the Holy Spirit. Of course, you won't always do the right thing; the Bible says this ) 1 John 1:5-10). But that is why we need to continue to confess our sins knowing that God forgives us, based on what Jesus did on the cross. This is also a reason we need to spend time with other believers in Christ so they can encourage us in our faith.

May you have a blessed and meaningful Easter!

Information taken from this post.

Especially good post...

on the "Like a warm cup of coffee" blog. Here is the link... I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Hosanna! He is mighty to save!

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!

Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Zechariah 9:9
Written some 500+ years before this next passage:

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away."

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
"Say to the Daughter of Zion,
'See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.' "

The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
"Hosanna to the Son of David!"
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Hosanna in the highest!"

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?"

The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."

Matthew 21:1-11

All praise to our King who is to come again, only this time it won't be on a lowly donkey but on a great white horse! How glorious that will be!

Please pray for Mark!

I am updating my sidebar with a link to a lovely lady's site! I do not know her personally but have come to pray for her husband through friends of friends. You know how that goes! Anyway, her husband was in a horrific motorcycle accident this past weekend. Wait until you read her updates. This woman in a strong woman of faith! It will bless you and please pray for Mark!

New Verse

Yes! I have a new memory verse, finally! I sure hope the last one sunk in... if not in word at least in essence and intention. I've already forgotten the first verse that I memorized when starting on this trek.

I actually got this verse from my mother-in-law today! I mentioned to her that I need to come up with a new verse to memorize and she had this one right handy! I LOVE it! I especially love the "perfect peace" part. What IS perfect peace?! I suppose we won't know it exactly this side of heaven. Or, I don't know... maybe there is that rare person who is consistently and steadfastly trusting in the Lord. I am not one of them... yet! I still struggle too much with giving up control and quickly taking back the reigns. But, we've been down that road before. No need to rehash at this point I suppose.

What I hope to take away from this verse is: First that it is God who gives us perfect peace. Not a bank account, not material possessions, not job security... though all of these things are nice.. but GOD! Second, perfect peace in conditional... it doesn't just come because we are born-again, although there is a certain peace that comes with that. But perfect peace comes from God WHEN and IF our minds are steadfast and trusting in Him alone.

So... may I (and you) remember to keep my eyes on the prize... oh, what a prize!... so that we can get a glimpse of the perfect peace that is promised to us! Praise God!

It's official... my babies are growing up!

My baby is slowly but surely slipping away and becoming a little boy! I'm not ready! I guess I better brace myself 'cause it's ain't going away! On Friday, we set up his toddler bed. Was a little bit of a last minute decision as to when to do it. He did great for his nap. Just laid there and napped as usual. Same with Friday evening.

Here he is Friday afternoon at nap time. So proud of his big boy bed! And, of course, Dani had to be in on the whole thing! What a hoot!

And I had to sneak in and take a picture of him while he was sleeping Saturday at nap time.

Oh, I have to tell ya'll the funniest story! Tyler has obviously realized since Thursday's gloriously wonderful stay-in-bed time, that he can get OUT of his bed as he wishes. So, he got up once or twice at nap time yesterday but stayed in bed from then on. Last night was another story altogether! He got up once and just ran out of his room! Um, I don't think so! Tyler, you STAY in your bed, okay? Tyler: "Okay!" Next thing we know, his door is opening and he is on his hands and knees peeking out around the corner. Keven and I could not help but crack up! It was hilarious! We eventually put a gate up at his door so he cannot get out! He will learn. Funny how I have forgotten how this whole process went with the girls!

This afternoon he got out of bed (we were downstairs) and was sitting in the recliner reading a book! The gate went right up! He is now in bed, leisurely kicking the wall and singing to himself! Oh that child!

Now, to add insult to injury... I was watching Jimmy and Karen Evans on t.v. this morning. I love to listen to them on Sunday mornings if I get a chance. If you've never heard of them, here is a link to their site. Anyway, somehow he got on the subject of when you should have "THE talk" with your kids. His suggestion? Between the ages of 8 & 10! HUH?! Marlie will be 9 in a month! This cannot be happening! I feel like she is nowhere near ready to have that information. But, Jimmy Evans made a good point that we need to get to them before outside influences do. We need to approach them with a godly, biblical perspective before the world does with their misinformation! YES, that's right... but I'M NOT READY!!!!!! I've had the series called "God's Design for Sex" in my nightstand for quite some time. I guess it's time to get it out! YIKES!!!!!

CO Blizzard of '09

Our area was hit with a significant amount of snow on Thursday morning for about 24 hours. According to the news, our area got a little over a foot of snow! All I can say is FUN!

I woke up Thursday morning wondering where all the snow that I was warned about was. But it didn't take long before the snow started while we were getting ready for school on Thursday morning. After listening to the local AM station for school closures, of which ours was NOT one, I reluctantly made the executive decision to NOT take the kids to school. We live 25 minutes away in a different town and just wasn't comfortable with the prospect of having to go out later to pick them up when school closed early. Of course, the school was supportive of our decision.

To make things even better, it was Keven's first day off for a week. We all went outside, IN THE BLOWING SNOW, and had a blast. But, it didn't last long as it was pretty brutal weather. So, we went in and had just a wonderful family day. Friday we woke up to sunshine and still LOTS of snow on the ground to play in. Keven went out with the kids and this time it was an hour and a half of pure snowy fun!

Thursday's snow:

Early morning

About 2 hours later:

Our birdbath and bench, lots of snow:

Having fun?

Now for the sunshine and snow of Friday. As you can tell, was much more fun!

The tiny snowman... he has since become somewhat of a hunchback heading steadily for the concrete!

Tyler helping scoop snow!

FUN!

Hammerin' it home!

It's funny how the Lord really just slams me with things sometimes. This time, He's really hitting me from all directions... my Bible study, a book I'm reading, other blogs... you name it, He's not leaving me alone!

So, what am I being hammered for you might ask? Quite simply, for not relying on Him! In my Bible study we are talking about how obedience is a way that we show God that we love Him. And, that there are two parts to obedience or holiness. There's dependence on God and our discipline. You could look at these two things as two sides of a scale with dependence on the one side and our discipline on the other. Dependence will never be outweighed by our discipline. In fact, it is the only thing that will counter-balance and make things fall in line. Hope that makes sense. So, without complete dependence we are just as completely unable to do anything of significance for Him. I am extremely guilty of doing things in my own strength. I am somewhat of a control-freak you could say! Ask anyone that knows me, they'll tell ya!

So, I have started re-reading The Power of a Positive Mom (and am hoping to finish it this time!). The last chapter I read was about staying connected to the power source. It was all about how we must be connected with and abiding in Christ before we can even hope to accomplish anything.

Then, there was a post on the LPM blog a few days ago that dealt specifically with this issue! It was primarily with keeping up appearances and essentially putting on a happy face and the lack of transparency but also spoke of parenting issues. With that it talked about how we have to stay on our knees and rely on God before we can hope to get through this thing called parenting!

So, I am trying to remember to pray for help rather than just take control myself. I've seen where that gets me!

Just for the record...

I have not changed my current memory verse on purpose! While I do have it memorized... I need more time for it to burn into my heart! I am finding that it is coming to mind quite often. Too bad it's mostly when my kids are saying not-so-kind things to one another and not when I am spewing off at the mouth... usually at my husband! OUCH! Did I just admit that?

Anyway... had to set the record straight! And yes, please feel free to ask how I am doing!

More Spring Break Fun!

Wow... we've had quite the week, especially for us home bodies! Wednesday was a trip to the Children's Museum of Denver. It is really more of an extravagant play place than a museum but oh so fun! It has different places or areas throughout for the kids to visit. For instance, there is a room set up like a mini grocery story complete with aisles, little shopping carts, play food, a couple of play check out lines, etc... There is another room completely set up like a vet's office, a room for doing artwork, a room for puppet shows, one for dressing up, one with a magnetic wall to play with letters, on and on... it was a blast! Poor Tyler didn't really get too into it. He was tired and hungry so Daddy catered to him so the rest of us could have a good time. I think the two boys weren't really all that into pretending anyway.

Then today we met my cousin, Tracy and her kids and went to the Martinez Park/Farm. It was a bit chillier than we expected but was bearable. There were baby goats so they weren't selling food for you to feed the animals as usual either. That was really a bummer because that really gets the animals to flock to you but... we still had a great time together as usual. Then we went to the mall, had lunch and played at the "mall park" for a while. This kids always have such fun together!

So, I am one beat mama! No... it's not bad... just more going all in one week than I am used to but so fun!

And... no post would be complete without pictoral documentation of some sort! tee hee!

Butterfly Pavilion

This week is Spring Break for the big girls! It is great having them home! Keven does not go back to work until Thursday so we hoped to squeeze in a couple of fun things before then. Yesterday we went to the Butterfly Pavilion. It was so fun. Tyler was a bit of a pill since it was naptime but all in all he was pretty good! Keven ran into an old acquaintance from his days with another company and his daughter, McKenna, and Hannah were fast friends! Very cute!

Tomorrow we are planning on going to the Children's Museum in Denver and Friday we will go to a petting zoo with my cousin and her three little ones. A fun week! So, so glad to have them home!

Here are some pics... it's a little overboard but you know me and pictures! Oh,and they are totally backwards but until Blogger has an easier way to move pics around (or I figure it out how if they already do) this will just have to do!

LOVE this one! ha ha ha!

Tyler in the bee's honeycomb!

Hannah "petting" a starfish

These things are like 4+ inches long for reals! EWE!

Hissing cockroach. Not so little either!

Tyler letting Rosey the tarantula walk on his hand. What a brave little boy! No thank you!

This precious creature was 11 inches legs and all! BIG MAMA!

We've been to the Butterfly Pavilion before and it still amazes me the creativity of our Creator. That sounds kinda weird but you know what I mean. It's pretty obvious in this pic but this stick bug blends is so cool. The ridges on his body look just like any ole twig!

Can you see this guy in the middle of the picture? He is HUGE and his markings look like the dry ends of a leaf. AMAZING camouflage. Natural selection? I don't think so. An amazing Creator... I KNOW so!

A bettle of some sort!

Tyler and a centipede. I don't think he's so comfortable with this, what do you think?

Before we went in!

I'll be back soon with pics from the museum I sure!

Cruise Control Obedience

Cruise control obedience is the term coined by Jerry Bridges and he illustrates it in his book "Discipline of Grace" which I am studying with a group of ladies at my church.

Here is cruise control obedience in a nutshell. We as Christians tend to set the cruise control of our obedience to God. We reach a certain level of "acceptable" obedience, usually determined by our Christian peer groups. Then we just kinda cruise along in life. We become comfortable. Not that we are doing anything "wrong" necessarily but we are not loving God with all of our heart, soul and mind as commanded in Scripture. Therefore, we are not obeying Him as such either.

With that said... here is something that Bridges wrote that hit me like a ton of bricks:

God is not impressed with our worship on Sunday morning at church if we are practicing "cruise-control" obedience the rest of the week. You may sing with reverent zest or great emotional fervor, but your worship is only as pleasing to God as the obedience that accompanies it.

Does that strike anyone else? So, I guess my question or challenge is... are you/am I a cruise-control believer. I think to a large degree I am. I am comfortable that I am obedient to "the biggies". And, you know the ones I'm talking about. But what about the "little" stuff? The stuff that no one sees but God Himself? Am I obedient or actively working toward obedience to those things out of a love for my Creator and Savior? Generally speaking... I don't think I am. I may wish I were or have good intentions but is my foot on the accelerator with the pedal to the metal? Most of the time not!

Forgive me Lord! Do a work in me. Show me how! I am unable on my own.

Scrapbooking Frenzy!

If you can believe it, I had the house to myself all day Friday, all day Saturday and all day today. My family should be home around dinner time.

If you're wondering how in the world I managed this... My birthday is coming up and I told Keven that all I wanted for my birthday was for him to take the kids to his parents' house so I could have time to get some real scrapbooking done. And... here are the results. I got 19 total layouts done. Most of them are from WAY back! Doesn't seem like a lot but I guess I'm a little slow at it. Picky is probably a more accurate assessment really! It feels good to have made a dent in my list of pages to be done! I could use another 1/2 dozen weekends at least to catch up. I'll take what I can get! I hope the slideshow works. All 19 layouts should be included.