Kindergarten Graduation

I don't know how it is possible, but my little man has graduated from kindergarten. Our church has a ceremony for all the kindergarten grads each year. It is a special time to celebrate their accomplishment in finishing their first year of schooling. It is the time when they leave the church preschool department and go to the grade school department. Gabriel received a special graduation bear.
We listen to many cds as part of our schooling, and one has a song I tell Gabriel is my song for him. It is called A Man of God. It goes like this:

I don't care if you play football or play in the band,
I don't care if you're a doctor or a garbage man,
It doesn't matter if you're good in school or great at art,
There's just one thing I care with all my heart;

That you grow up to be a man of God,
That you use His Word as a measuring rod,
That you love your neighbor as yourself,
That you do not trust in this world's wealth,
That you grow up to be a man of God.

I don't care if you're a loner or have lots of friends,
I don't care if your clothes are new or they have lots of mends,
It doesn't matter if you're tall and thin, or short and round,
There's just one important thing that I have found;

That you grow up to be a man of God,
That you use His Word as a measuring rod,
That you love your neighbor as yourself, That you do not trust in this world's wealth, That you grow up to be a man of God.

I think that is the sweetest little song, and it certainly is my prayer for Gabriel. Above all else I want my son to grow up into a man of God.

Happy Half Birthday, Abbie Joy!

How can Abbie Joy be six months already??? My baby is growing up too fast. Some of the fun things she is doing..........

Rolling around the floor
Sitting up
Using her hands well
Chuckling really loud
Smiling from ear to ear
Getting real snuggly when she is tired
Saying Mama

Here are some Pictures of her. Notice we have a sitting up picture now. :)




Here is something a friend sent on an email group. I really love this:


Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.



Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried..
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body..
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom .



May you always be overwhelmed by the Grace of God rather than by the cares of life

Disturbing Demographics

Be Fruitful and Multiply

Before you read this post please check out the new You Tube video, Demographics http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-3X5hIFXYU Now that you have watched the video don't those statistics astound you? They certainly were shocking to me. Basically couples around the world have been on a steady decline in the numbers of children they are having. Some groups of people, such as Muslims, have done the opposite. I won't restate what the video states so clearly; my point here is just to give encouragement to christian couples that it is a very worthy calling to raise up godly seed to carry Christ's name into future generations. Whether raising one child or ten we should all realize the awesome responsibility we have been entrusted with. These children are the future. The world is quickly changing, and these children need to be equipped to stand boldly for Christ. It is imperative that they be trained to be sharp arrows that we shoot out into the world to make a difference for Christ's kingdom. They won't become equipped, sharp arrows on their own. That is where our parental work and sacrifice come to play.
When you see the statistics as stated in the video it can be disheartening. We can think thoughts such as, "What difference can our little family make?" I believe we can make a huge impact when we are intentional. In the above picture you can see a recent trip our family took to the zoo with Matt's sister and her children along with Matt's brother, his wife and their children. Look at all the children that have been born in the last eight years just from our three families. There were nine children! What if all of those children are faithful to the work of the Lord? Then there will be nine ambassadors for Christ!
Also, Matt and I were thinking about our own family. We have four children. What if all of our children had four children. Then we would have sixteen grandchildren! Those sixteen grandchildren plus our four children would be twenty descendants from Matt and me. Do you see this vision of generational faithfulness I'm talking about?
I fully recognize that God does not call everyone to have large families, however, as a whole I believe our culture has devalued children. Our culture looks at them as burdens rather than blessings. Our culture values luxuries and comforts above the "inconveniences" of children. When we go back to Scripture we are reminded that,

"Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are children born in one's youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. - Psalm 127:3


Matt and I feel blessed to have our four children. More and more I realize that while they are a LOT of hard work they are also my heartbeat, my passion, and my ministry. We thank the Lord that He has given us four arrows to one day shoot out into this world to make a difference for Him. May we be found faithful.