County Fair!

What a night at the County Fair!!

Tye and Gabe and their friends Ty and Reed took 1st Place in the "Grease the Pig" contest in the 10 and under division!  Woo hoo!!!  They are quite excited.

As they should be.  It's not easy to get a slippery pig into a barrel standing in a water and mud.

Yes.  Yes indeed.  We are redecks.

Jaden was also in a group, the "Hog Tiers"!  His friend's Grandma made them shirts.  So cute!  Too bad they are now BROWN. *smile*

 Getting muddy waiting for their turn.  If you stand too close you will get splashed.

 Here piggy piggy...come on, you know you want to get into this barrel.  We only have 1 minute to get you in here!

 Watching those crazy brothers!

Celebrating before it's even begun!

Now the REAL celebration!  A little over 21 seconds!

Winners of the Golden Pig trophies!! 

Plus, they get to split 50 bucks.

A boy's dream come true!

FEAR

This post was written for the Katelyn's Fund blog.

Crazy thing, that fear. Irrational even. Actually, quite often irrational.

Fear isn't always a bad thing. It tells us when there's danger. It starts our bodies on a response journey that enables us to fight or flee if necessary.

I'm not talking about that someone chasing you in the middle of the woods kind of fear.

I'm facing a irrational fear right now.

I have a fear of not being able to breathe....
...in water.

I'm not afraid of water. I can swim. I just prefer to swim with my head ABOVE the water line.

I'm training for my first triathlon. I'm actually kinda excited. It will test my limits, and weird as this sounds, I'm excited about that. Excited to strive for something "out of my league." To have a big goal and to accomplish it. Except for this whole swimming with my head under water thing (imagine me pulling up my lip here, blech).

I could do the triathlon with a head-above-water breast stroke or side stroke. Except those aren't very fast. The crawl is a much better choice. I don't expect to finish the race with a good time, but I would enjoy not being last.

It's important to me that I conquer this fear. It's not a debilitating fear. I can do it. But let's just say I don't need the exercise of swimming to get my heart rate up. It does it all on it's own. I get about halfway across the pool and I can feel a tiny bit of panic creeping in.

Irrational. I know I can swim. At any time I can stick my head above water, doggie paddle, whatever...and get plenty of air. But while my head is in the water, and when I turn my head to the side, I wonder...will air be there?

Are you in the middle of an adoption? Or are you thinking about adopting? There are a lot of unknowns. And unknowns can lead to fear.

What if I don't love an adopted child like he/she is "my own"?

What if I can't handle the emotional special needs he/she may (will) have?

What if our adopted child has physical needs we weren't prepared for?

What if I'm not equipped to be a good Mom/Dad? What if the child doesn't love me?

What if we go through this whole roller coaster process only to have it all fall through?

What if I can't handle it?

Whew. A lot of what if's aren't there? A lot of fears. Rational or not.

I've heard it said there are 365 "fear nots" or "do not fear" or "don't worries" in the Bible. I thought that was pretty cool...one for every day. Turns out it's not quite true. It's actually almost 400 times the Bible tells us not to fear. Hmmm...those must be for the days we need it more than once.

Friends, fear is not of God.

Here's just one passage, maybe something you need to hear today:

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

When I'm swimming I am talking to God almost constantly. Well between counting my strokes to know when I can breathe again.

 Lord God, I trust You. Lord God, be with me. Lord God, help me overcome this fear. Lord Jesus, swim with me...

 Let's work together, shall we? You, me and God. Friend, we can do it. Let's overcome.

Random Disney Pictures

Counting down!!

Ready or not, here we go!

 

 Let the fun begin!

The "Tree of  Life" in Animal Kingdom was so amazing.  It left me wondering, what does the real tree of life look like?  I can't even imagine!

 heheheeeee....

Why buy hats when you can just try a bunch on?

At least they let the bag lady sit down for a bit...

 Five out of the seven LOVED the Lego Store!

I Resolve...

It’s New Year’s Resolution Time!

What, I didn’t hear a puking noise in the background, did I? Are you a New Year’s Grinch?

What’s that you say? No one every keeps New Year’s Resolutions anyway, so why make any?

Oooh…no need to get sassy with me, it was just a suggestion!

LOL

Ok, so maybe you love them. Maybe you hate them. Either way, you can’t escape them this time of year.

Here it is the 3rd of January. As I type this, this is the first time I’m really thinking about it.

Oh, I’ve helped others think about it. I’ve asked my husband (he tends to fall in the “hate them” category) about his, thinking I knew his answer. I was actually very touched that his desire and prayer for the New Year was for health and safety for his family.

I help manage an exercise and weight loss facility for women. I’m excited to help any and all that come through our doors meet their New Year’s Resolutions to get in shape and/or lose weight.

But what are my resolutions?


As usual, I want to be healthier this year. Shed a few pounds. I really want to get up the courage to train for a triathlon.

But shouldn’t I “resolve” for something more important?

I could stress out about being a better mom. Or a better wife. Or better neighbor. Better friend.

But those might be set-up for failures. Too broad. What is “better” anyway?

I’d resolve to be more patient but it seems God’s already working on that one in me!

Here it is. This is what I’m feeling. I resolve to be more loving. To think with my heart more. Not just my head. To not think about the “shoulds” so much.

My house should be cleaner. My kids should practice instruments more. I should sit with them while they practice. I should change the sheets more often. My house should be more picked up. I should be more organized then everything would run so much more smoothly. I should get more sleep.

Shoot, I could “should” myself out of sleep. And I sometimes do.

No. I resolve to LOVE.

To let more “shoulds” go. To stop even when I don’t have time. To listen to my kids with my heart not just my ears. To enjoy their laughter even when supper’s not made. To relish in life. To love me. And…

…just go where my heart leads. Where God’s heart leads.

God isn’t in the “shoulds.” He’s in the LOVE. And that’s where I want to be, too.

Happy 2013. May you be surrounded with LOVE.

 This post was written for the Katelyn's Fund blog. 

 

He's Still Here

Worth Repeating... 

Happy day after Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

 

Christmas Program!

Tonight was our church Christmas program for our four youngest.  They did a great job!!

Before the program, Shianne and I tried straightening Summer's hair for the very first time.  Two flat irons and it took us about an hour.  Not too bad.

The trick to brushing through Summer's hair is to do it when it's wet.  Well, in order to do this we had to do it dry.  Much more painful.  Some tears involved.  But she was a trooper!!

 And it was worth it.  She loves it!!

What a beauty my girl is!

 You'd never guess when it's in it's natural state that it's this long.  And I even trimmed it.

 I have a friend that LOVES to shop.  Especially for cute little sweeties like Summer.  I mentioned to her she still needed a new outfit for the program (and she knows I do NOT like to shop) so she offered to take her.  Thank you, Brenda!!  So adorable.  Fits her to a "t."

And of course, my handsome boys!!

Jaden and Tye need to work a bit on their picture smiles. =)

 

"Children are a gift from the LORD," Psalm 127:3 (NLT)

 

And a Little Child Will Lead Them (or rather, me)

This post was written for the Katelyn's Fund blog.  Check it out here.

"Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matt 11:28-30.

​It has been a crazy week...errr...month. Or maybe season? But especially crazy this past month.

Last night as I'm doing laundry I asked my 8 year old son to work on his memory verse. I wish I could say he did it with relish and enthusiasm. Whining would be a better word.

"Mom, what are these two words?"

"Weary and burdened."

"What!?!" he questioned.

"Tired and stressed," I answered.

Oh my. A description of me as of late. Maybe I should tune into this.

"Come to me." Have I been coming to my Savior, spending time with Him? Not nearly enough. A perfunctory amount. Why is it the busier and more stressed I get, the more I rely on my own strength? Not the smartest idea.

 "...and I will give you rest." Ah rest, beautiful rest I am searching for.

"Take my yoke upon you." What?!? A yoke? Another yoke? Don't I have enough YOKES (think oxen. Yes, that is what I feel like some days).

But read further.

"For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Really? A yoke that is easy and light? Wow.

"learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart" Ah yes, I can learn some gentleness and humbleness when I'm tired and stressed. I tend to be particularly "un"gentle. Especially with those I love.

"and you will find rest for your souls." A soul at rest. Doesn't that sound wonderful? It IS wonderful.

And so my child led me to this verse. He also taught me how I tend to act when God tells me to come to Him. Whining. Complaining. Resisting.

"Just come to me, My daughter. I will give you rest and peace. Take My yoke and give Me yours. Mine is not a burden. Let Me bathe your soul in peace."