Announcing....

Our girls.

Sisters by grace. 

Sisters by love.

Boy do they love each other, and have fun together, when they are together.  Elly asks for 'sister' all the time.  Chloe *demands* updates and pictures, almost everytime we talk.  ( being 7 hours apart does that.)


                                                                    Our boys.

They are twins, separated by 13 years.

They play, they fight, they talk.

They tumble.

They look out for each other.

They pray together.

Our kids.

They are 2 generations of fun.  2 generations of grace.

Together, they make a motley crew. But they are OUR motley crew.

                                     

And this motley crew...

is expanding.

With a NEW SISTER!!!

As you can see, God is good.

The call came, and this time the call is going to Africa.

So, that is our big announcement.

Widows and orphans.  The Scriptures tells us to take care of the widows and orphans.

Who can say no??!!?

I'm sure you will hear updates in here.  Often.

You will hear the excitement.

The tears.

The frustration of the process.

And the joy of the arrival.

The miracles of God.

And so, here we go again!!!

Today

Today is my daughter's birthday.

Today she is 22.

Today she lives 7 your from our home.

Today she is with her husband, celebrating like the grown daughter that she is

Today I miss her terribly.

Today  I am glad she has used her wings to fly.

Today I remember her beautiful smile, that is so ready for use.

Today I remember her sarcasm, and it makes me laugh and cringe at the same time.

Today I remember her tender heart.

Today I remember her encouragement to the weak.

Today I remember her 1st birthday.

And her 5th.

And her 10th.

And her 18th.

Today I remember she was the peace maker of our home.

Today I remember when she got her driver's license.  

Today I wish I could hug her, hold her, and look into those chocolate brown eyes.

Today I remember how much I love to watch her dance.

Today I remember her laughter, that is just like her daddy's.

Today I remember when she was finally old enough to go into the city with a friend, alone, and I knew she was not my little girl anymore.

Today I remember when she would cheer us up during  Elly's adoption; when we had nothing left to carry us.

Today I remember when she surrendered her life to Jesus.

Today I remember when she became his.

Today, I wish her a beautiful birthday.

Today I thank God for this child.

Because 22 years ago, I had no idea that this child I carried in my womb would become the child of my peace, my delight, my hope.

Today I wish her many more, for HIS glory, still.

Happy Birthday Beautiful Girl.  You are loved.

Obedience

Have you ever known that GOD is asking something of you, and you get all excited about it?  And It makes you so very very happy?  And you can't wait?

And then life happens and you think things through, and all of a sudden you become afraid?

And you realize maybe it is not a good idea? (as though it was your idea?)

And you come up with 1438 reasons why maybe you heard GOD wrong?

And you start the obedience, but you won't make yourself accountable, so maybe you can get out of it and no one will know your disobedience?

And you second guess yourself, even though HE keeps giving you confirmations?

Welcome to my world.

Soon, I will share.

Soon I will obey.

Vacation

In no order, just thrown together to make a great week.

The son and the son in law going at it.  The son in law won every game that week.

The paddle game.

The family favorite.

The adult size rocking horse!

The father and son going on a suicide mission.

 The daughter who loves the beach.

The hole Josiah made.

The face that says " I want a lower score!!!"

My boys.  2 are 2 days apart!!

The view that didn't quit.  No matter where you are on the island.

The sunset on the beach.  Even if we were on the East Coast, we went to the west side of the island.

The Alpaca farm.  We were saw a birth with our own eyes!

The seat. 

The lighthouse.  One of many.

The smart one in the family.

No she can't read, but it was pretty convincing.

The raquets that were begged for..." MOM we would never miss with these things!!!"

This Weekend I... & winner!

Becky, who made her way from a hot state, to a cold state, via and not so hot, but still hot state, has some amazing stories to tell!   So go over and join us all as we share in some cool tellings!

( in NO order, because I have no clue what that means)






~ came home from vacation.

~ did not unpack immediately like I usually do.

~ because I was in the car for 7+ hours on my birthday, coming home.

~ watched an alpaca be born right in front of my very own 4 eyes!!!

~ got some cool gift from the island from the children & the husband from said island for my birthday.

~ said goodbye to my niece, as she leaves for Harvard.

~ got a nook for my birthday from my parents & my husband!!

~ couldn't go to sleep playing with the nook, inspite of the fact that I got all of 7 hours sleep combined all weekend.

~ said good bye to my daughter & son in love as the left for their home 7 hours away.  Again.

~ already miss them terribly.

~ downloaded all the vacation pictures. ( will post some later)

~ caught up on 8 days worth of emails.  It is a beautiful thing not having internet access for 8 days. :)

~ almost got a tattoo.

~ was thankful to my Lord for all the good HE has done.

~ watched my mom & Elly play Hello Kitty Bingo.  Alot.  She played with her because everyone else is tired of playing it and needed a break for at least a day.


And the winner to our vacation giveaway is....

Jenn from The Life Accounts !!!!  If you want to see what she won, go over to Chloe's blog.  :)

Vacation

We are leaving tomorrow.

Nope, not on a jet plane.  In the truck.

And on a ferry.

And it would be oh so much easier if it was a plane. lol.

This week has been one thing after another.  My son has to move out of his apartment before we leave.  He is dumping his stuff in our basement.  I mean he is storing it.  Storing it.

And then when we come back, he will either move to another apartment or move to VT.

Our daughter and son in love will get here about midnight tonight from VA Beach.  To sleep and then get in the truck.

We are taking Joey with us this year.  Samuel will have a buddy to play with and they can entertain each other.

Hopefully they won't kill each other.

Don't forget to go for the giveaway!!!!

And I will see you when we get back!

going on vacation and doing a give away

We leave for vacation on Saturday morning. And when I say we, I mean the married kids, too!!

My husband loves New England, so north we go, on a ferry, to an island.

Always.

And this year, in order to make it more fun, my daughter and I decided that we will have a give away!!!!

We are doing a Black Dog give away, since Black Dog originated in Martha's Vineyard!!

And they have super cute stuff!

SO....

For those of you unfamiliar with the brand, or their stores, here's a little bit about them:


The first Black Dog General Store opened on Water Street in Vineyard Haven in 1992. Today, there are eighteen Black Dog Stores. On Martha's Vineyard, stores are located in Vineyard Haven, Edgartown and Oak Bluffs. On the Mainland, you'll find stores in Falmouth, Provincetown, Chatham, Nantucket and Newburyport, MA, as well as Newport, RI, Portland, ME, Mystic, CT and Annapolis, MD.

What do these Black Dog townships have in common? The ocean, for one. A nautical heritage and a safe harbor are imperative. The Black Dog Tall Ships do visit these towns.

More importantly, these are towns that have much in common with The Black Dog, an appreciation for tradition, a love of the sea and all things authentically New England. Falmouth and Chatham offer Main Streets that are quintessentially New England. Our Newport store is located on Bannister's Wharf, once the center of commerce for colonial Newport. Provincetown retains much of its New England seaport character.

While you can get their products from their online store, their orgins come straight from New England, specifically, Martha's Vineyard.

So, what can you win and how?

Maybe a cowlneck pullover?

..or how about a super cute tote?

Of course, there's the classic Black Dog Martha's Vineyard t-shirt, too.

One of you lucky ladies will win something from The Black Dog store in Martha's Vineyard, and you'll be able to help us decide what exactly it will be!  We wanted to wait until we actually got to the store to decide, so we're taking some nudges from you in helping us in our decision!

So how can you win?

All you have to do is tell me in one comment where you would go on your dream vacation, and let us know what you think the prize should be.

For extra entries:

{one} go to my daughter's blog and tell her what was the best vacation you've ever had.

{two} be a follower of mine.

{three} be a follower of Chloë's.

{four} post about the giveaway on your blog.

Seperate comments for each, please!

We will be drawing from entries from both blogs, so if you tell Chloë you follow her on her blog, there's no need to come back and tell me, and vice versa.  Your entry will be counted.

We'll announce the winner on the 22nd.

This Weekend I...

 Becky, THANK YOU for doing this...






...cleaned my house.

...it's still not like I want it.

...went to the airport to pick up my mom.

...finally hugged her after 3 weeks.

...ate El Salvadorian food.

...saw my sister and her kids.  <3

...heard yet ANOTHER great sermon. Even Samuel mentioned how it has challenged him.

...blessed 2 people at church with this.  This has blessed me so, I have gotten several copies for blessing        purposes.


...was shocked when I went to my mom's after church, and discovered that my mom, my sister, my 18 year old niece and I were ALL WEARING THE SAME COLORS!!  Aquamarine shirt, navy bottoms.
My dad though we were a weird choir.  :P  No one knew what the other was wearing until we showed up!!

...got yet another confirmation on something.

...sat on my parents outdoor swing and talked to my niece for along time.

...was again terrified about moving in faith.

It was a good weekend.  I pray it will be a good week.

Because who doesn't love free stuff???

I am a walking survivor.

I walk, and I survive.

The arthritis & rheumatoid and the bad knees are a killer.

But I will continue because...I don't know why.

Now training for the Philly 1/2 marathon in Sept.

And I hate it.

Why can't I be one of those people who love it? Who talk about it all the time? Who get a cool rush over it?

Why do I have to be the one who groans as I get on the treadmill? Who tries to think of ANYTHING not to get on the treadmill? Is that my little toe that hurts today? Should I chance it and make it worse?

But then I get on and go.

Even with a broken little toe.

ANYWAY, whine session over.

Temporarily.

DC Rainmaker is giving this away and it is something to behold. I could get real excited about exercising with this thing!!

So go over and check it out.

Because who doesn't love free stuff????

This weekend...

PRAISE GOD Becky not only has the This Weekend I... thing going, but she has wonderful news too! So go over there and rejoice!



~friday night, I accompanied my son on the bus. He is the bus driver as well as general help out where they need him guy, and has been with this ministry for a few years. It was my first time, and it was great. Samuel came too. :)

~ had a cookie for breakfast.

~ went to an OLD friend's childhood home to see her after not seeing her for 8 years. She moved to CA 15 years ago.

~ had watermelon punch. A California thing??

~ went to church and FROZE. The AC was too high.

~ went to Ikea.

~ watched the GreenBay/Giants game from 2008 on one of my NFL Films dvds. I am missing football.

~ was so glad to hear training camp started.

~ watched the Psych we missed last week.

~ agreed to be the WMU director at our church. I am so not the person to do it, but I will do my best. And missions is my heartbeat.

~ thanked GOD that my daughter and son-in-love moved into their new apartment. They had to be out on Saturday, and they had not yet found a place. GOD came in last minute. As HE is so famous in doing. lol.

~ talked to my cousin. I haven't talked to her in TOO long. Yes, she is 18 minutes away, but she has been working too much. And that's no real excuse for my part. My bad.

~ cleaned out the school book shelf for next year.

It was a good weekend. It even rained a little! And boy do we need the rain. Life is good, and GOD, truly is great.