Wordless Wednesday!

I Heart Faces! Reflection

This week's them is Reflection. I haven't had the time (or energy) to do a photo session for this one. I did remember that I already have a picture that would fit in well with the theme though.

This was taken at Christmas time, when my cousin was loading up her car with all the goodies that were received and her little boy was watching her (very intently).

Want to see some more pictures...most that are way better than mine? Head on over to I Heart Faces and check 'em out!!

8 Things

I figured since I was already posting pictures about me that I would go ahead and do a survey about me (that I was tagged in to do by my dear friend).

Copy and Paste and let me know when you do.

8 Things I am Looking Forward To:
1. Getting our debt paid off
2. Our vacation in June
3. The wedding that starts off our vacation in June
4. Going to Stone Mountain all day tomorrow
5. The fact that Stone Mountain will be FREE all day tomorrow (through the hubby's work)
6. Steven finishing up the CRCT's next week
7. This summer
8. Heading up to Illinois in August for a family reunion

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1. Worked
2. Took Steven to the dentist
3. Tried to see the hubby at work (but he was actually working so we couldn't =))
4. Caught up on some shows on the TIVO
5. Contemplated going to be at 7:00 (the same time I put the kids to bed)
6. Grabbed a McDonald's sweet tea on the way to work.
7. Ate Spaghetti o's for dinner (guess I should get to the grocery store huh?)
8. Prayed for so many "blog friends"

8 Things I wish I could do:
1. Have a day to myself
2. Take away everyone's sorrows (see #8 above)
3. Get motivated to do some cleaning
4. Just throw away all the dirty dishes and have the money to buy new, instead of having to do the dishes
5. Go back to school (which I will do when K starts school)
6. Move into a bigger home (hopefully in a couple of years)
7. Convince my children to clean up after themselves
8. Get outside and do some yard work (can't right now because of allergies)

8 Shows I Watch
1. One Tree Hill
2. Deadliest Catch
3. House
4. American Idol
5. Rescue Me
6. Real World/Road Rules Challenge
7. The Hills (can you see that I don't like to use my brain much at night =)
8. Chopped (Food Network)

I tag...Jason ,Tori ,and Heather

FFF...Me

This week there will be only ONE picture for this week, because, well, it is supposed to be a picture of me. I HATE to be in front of the camera so there are not many pictures of just me. I decided on the picture below because I had just gotten my hair cut and was so excited. I was actually trying to find a picture for my facebook profile picture.

Well there ya go!! If you want to see more pictures go to Kiss the Frog 4 Me.

Pray for Kayleigh

Dear Lord, I am praying for so many babies/children out there. Today I am praying extra hard for Kayleigh. She was born 3 months early weighing in at 1 pound. She is almost 10 months old now and has not been home yet. Well all signs were pointing in that direction until I just read the latest post. Please head over to her page and read. PRAY PRAY PRAY!! I know that God already knows what Kayleigh's future holds, but please be in prayer for her parents and siblings and the rest of the family.

Steven's surprise birthday gift

I plan on uploading birthday pictures later (ones that I took, but most of them were taken by my friend, Pam). For now I leave you with this video of Steven opening his present from us. He wanted a Nintendo DS for the longest time. And being the loving parents that we are, we made him...well...do a little sweating for it...check it out...

We told him that he would have to earn it. Well we had come up with a plan for him to stop sucking his thumb. Well he was trying, but wasn't quite getting it, so Brian and I decided that we would surprise him with the DS. We told him that if we were to see his thumb in his mouth, then he would have it taken away for 24 hours or until we don't see the thumb in his mouth. Well guess what...he still has the DS in his possession.

The new updated picture with all three of the kids wearing their orange for Stellan.

Also, Steven thought of a clever way to spell out Stellan's name for his name gallery...


He did it with his Bakugan cards. He thought of this all on his own and I got a little choked up when I saw him doing it. Can't wait to see these on MckMama's site!!

New post on her page about Stellan's surgery, so go check it out if you haven't already.
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I will get a better picture of the WHOLE family later today, but here are Matthew and Kendall for now.

FFF...Wet!!

This week's theme is WET. My whole family loves water, so I can't just choose ONE favorite picture, so I chose SOME of my favorites.

Gotta love the sink baths.

The top picture is of Matthew FREEZING, but he didn't want to stay out of the water. The second picture is of my friends' little girls. They are both beautiful!!!

This one of my nephew cracks me up every time I look at it. I can't help but think of Baywatch. He is going to kill me when he gets older for this I know.

This last picture is my favorite. Kendall is wet from playing in the little wading pool, yes, but that is not why it is my favorite "wet" picture...take a look for yourself and you will see why...

Now I know this next thing is not a "picture" but it still falls under the category of wet. We were at my husband's aunt's house for Memorial Day and had a slip and slide out for the kids. Well, my sister-in-law was the only adult to have fun and go down.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

(Kathy if you are reading this I didn't put this up here to embarrass you, I love this video. It shows you were not afraid to get out there and get wet and have fun with the kids.)

Wanna see more? Go to Kiss the Frog 4 Me.

Happy 9th Birthday Steven!!!

The slideshow below is some pictures of Steven from birth to now. I think pictures tell a better story than I ever could. If you want to read his birth story, just click here. Don't forget to turn off the player to the right first.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I Heart Faces!! Easter/Spring

This week's theme is Easter, and I am so thrilled that they have an amateur category for this one this week. There were so many options to choose from but I finally narrowed it down and chose this one.

We were at my mother-in-law's house for Easter Sunday and the kids were finding all sorts of caterpillars. Well, Matthew found this one and named it "Matthew the 3rd". We didn't make it home with the caterpillars, because Matthew had decided that they had already turned to butterflies and let them "free".

If you want to see some more Easter/Spring pictures head on over to I Heart Faces and check em out!!

Some Easter videos

My kids wanted me to share these with you guys.

The Story of Easter

I copied this from the internet

The Easter Story - from the Bible
by the New Living Translation of the Bible

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it" (John 3:16-17).

The Last Supper (Mark chapter 14)

easter storySo the two disciples went on ahead into the city and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover supper there.

In the evening Jesus arrived with the twelve disciples. As they were sitting around the table eating, Jesus said,

"The truth is, one of you will betray Me, one of you who is here eating with Me."

Greatly distressed, one by one they began to ask Him, "I'm not the one, am I?"

He replied,

"It is one of you twelve, one who is eating with Me now. For I, the Son of Man, must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for My betrayer. Far better for him if he had never been born!"

As they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread and asked God's blessing on it. Then He broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying,

"Take it, for this is My body."

And He took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them,

"This is My blood, poured out for many, sealing the covenant between God and His people. I solemnly declare that I will not drink wine again until that day when I drink it new in the Kingdom of God."

Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

And they came to an olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said,

"Sit here while I go and pray."

He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be filled with horror and deep distress. He told them,

"My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and watch with Me."

He went on a little farther and fell face down on the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting Him might pass him by.

"Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for You. Please take this cup of suffering away from Me. Yet I want Your will, not Mine."

Then He returned and found the disciples asleep.

"Simon!" He said to Peter. "Are you asleep? Couldn't you stay awake and watch with Me even one hour? Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak."

Then Jesus left them again and prayed, repeating His pleadings.

Again He returned to them and found them sleeping, for they just couldn't keep their eyes open. And they didn't know what to say. When He returned to them the third time, He said,

"Still sleeping? Still resting? Enough! The time has come. I, the Son of Man, am betrayed into the hands of sinners. Up, let's be going. See, My betrayer is here!"

Jesus is Betrayed and Arrested

And immediately, as He said this, Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived with a mob that was armed with swords and clubs. They had been sent out by the leading priests, the teachers of religious law and the other leaders. Judas had given them a prearranged signal: "You will know which one to arrest when I go over and give Him the kiss of greeting. Then you can take Him away under guard."

As soon as they arrived, Judas walked up to Jesus. "Teacher!" he exclaimed, and gave Him the kiss. Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him. But someone pulled out a sword and slashed off an ear of the high priest's servant. Jesus asked them,

"Am I some dangerous criminal, that you come armed with swords and clubs to arrest Me? Why didn't you arrest Me in the Temple? I was there teaching every day. But these things are happening to fulfill what the Scriptures say about Me."

Meanwhile, all His disciples deserted Him and ran away. There was a young man following along behind, clothed only in a linen nightshirt. When the mob tried to grab him, they tore off his clothes, but he escaped and ran away naked.

Jesus is Crucified (Mark chapter 15 )

So Pilate, anxious to please the crowd, released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip then turned Him over to the Roman soldiers to crucify Him. They dressed Him in a purple robe and made a crown of long, sharp thorns and put it on His head. Then they saluted, yelling, "Hail! King of the Jews!" And they beat Him on the head with a stick, spit on Him and dropped to their knees in mock worship. When they were finally tired of mocking Him, they took off the purple robe and put His own clothes on Him again. Then they led Him away to be crucified.

easter storyA man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, was coming in from the country just then, and they forced him to carry Jesus' cross. And they brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha (which means Skull Hill). They offered Him wine drugged with myrrh, but He refused it. Then they nailed Him to the cross. They gambled for His clothes, throwing dice to decide who would get them.

It was nine o'clock in the morning when the crucifixion took place. A signboard was fastened to the cross above Jesus' head, announcing the charge against Him. It read: "The King of the Jews." Two criminals were crucified with Him, their crosses on either side of His. And the people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery. "Ha! Look at you now!" they yelled at Him. "You can destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days, can you? Well then, save yourself and come down from the cross!"

The leading priests and teachers of religious law also mocked Jesus. "He saved others," they scoffed, "but He can't save himself! Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down from the cross so we can see it and believe Him!" Even the two criminals who were being crucified with Jesus ridiculed Him.

The Death of Jesus

At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o'clock. Then, at that time Jesus called out with a loud voice,

"Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?"

Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought He was calling for the prophet Elijah. One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to Him on a stick so he could drink. "Leave Him alone. Let's see whether Elijah will come and take Him down!" he said.

Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed His last. And the curtain in the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. When the Roman officer who stood facing Him saw how He had died, he exclaimed, "Truly, this was the Son of God!"

Some women were there, watching from a distance, including Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James the younger and of Joseph) and Salome. They had been followers of Jesus and had cared for Him while He was in Galilee. Then they and many other women had come with Him to Jerusalem.

The Burial of Jesus

This all happened on Friday, the day of preparation, the day before the Sabbath. As evening approached, an honored member of the high council, Joseph from Arimathea (who was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come), gathered his courage and went to Pilate to ask for Jesus' body. Pilate couldn't believe that Jesus was already dead, so he called for the Roman military officer in charge and asked him. The officer confirmed the fact, and Pilate told Joseph he could have the body. Joseph bought a long sheet of linen cloth, and taking Jesus' body down from the cross, he wrapped it in the cloth and laid it in a tomb that had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone in front of the entrance. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where Jesus' body was laid.

The Resurrection - Jesus Is Risen! (Mark chapter 16 )

The next evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Salome and Mary the mother of James went out and purchased burial spices to put on Jesus' body. Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they came to the tomb. On the way they were discussing who would roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb. But when they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone - a very large one - had already been rolled aside. So they entered the tomb, and there on the right sat a young man clothed in a white robe. The women were startled, but the angel said, "Do not be so surprised. You are looking for Jesus, the Nazarene, who was crucified. He isn't here! He has been raised from the dead! Look, this is where they laid His body. Now go and give this message to His disciples, including Peter: Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see Him there, just as He told you before He died!" The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, saying nothing to anyone because they were too frightened to talk.

easter storyIt was early on Sunday morning when Jesus rose from the dead, and the first person who saw Him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom He had cast out seven demons. She went and found the disciples, who were grieving and weeping. But when she told them that Jesus was alive and she had seen Him, they didn't believe her.

Afterward He appeared to two who were walking from Jerusalem into the country, but they didn't recognize Him at first because He had changed His appearance. When they realized who He was, they rushed back to tell the others, but no one believed them.
Still later He appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating together. He rebuked them for their unbelief - their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.

And then He told them,

"Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in My name, and they will speak new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won't hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick and heal them."

When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God's right hand. And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked with them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.

God loves you so much that He send His son Jesus Christ to die for your sins. After His resurrection and ascension into heaven, He sent His Spirit to live in our lives and empower us to live the abundant life. But we must personally ask Him into our lives to be our Lord and Savior. If you are sincere about asking Him into your life, why don't you pray the suggested prayer below:

(Prayer is talking to God. God knows your heart and is not as concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart.)

Lord Jesus, I want to know You personally. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to You and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be. Amen.

FFF...No theme

This week there isn't a theme for Favorite Foto Friday. We get to pick whatever picture we want.

I have three to share this week.

This one is of my cousin-in-law's little boy, Wilson. He is about 10 months old. We finally got to meet him this past weekend and he is absolutely precious.

Today being Good Friday it this is a great reminder of the true meaning of Easter. I don't know about you, but looking at it makes me feel honored that HE loved me that much to go through this.

This next picture is an absolute fave. It not just the picture but the meaning behind the picture.

I am just in awe.

If you want to check out more pictures, hop on over to Kiss the Frog 4 Me.

And soo......

in my last post I mentioned how I would write about Matthew's art show from his school. Well I guess I technically won't be "writing" about it so much as showing some pictures. Since he is at a different school this year I wasn't so sure how they did their art show. Well each age level works together and has different themes in the different rooms.

One classroom was a 4th of July/American Summer type theme...

The next room, which happened to be Matthew's actual classroom, had an igloo type feel...



The next room was kinda like an art gallery with stuff here and there, didn't get any pictures outta that room. In the last room it was a western theme.

Well...Blogger is not letting me upload anymore pictures so when it decides to let me I will add the rest of the pictures.
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*Edited to Add* (adding rest of the pictures and stories from the artshow...
This is the last room and like I said before it was a western theme.

Each class did a "quilt" too...

This next picture shows how absolutely thrilled Steven was to be there...

And if you believe that he wanted so much to be there, then I have some oceanfront property in Arizona to sell you.

Ending with Matthew and his teachers...

Thank you for bearing with me in this extremely long post.

Wordless Wednesday!!

Yes she was really asleep and yes Cheese let her stay there. He is a very cuddly sweet cat. Shhhh, WordLESS Wednesday!! Whoops, not supposed to use any words.

Spring Break 09

Spring break officially started last Friday, but I was home with a sick little girl. I had taken Matthew and Kendall to the doctor on Wednesday for their yearly check ups. After telling Matthew that Kendall was getting 4 shots and he may get about 1 or 2 shots, K didn't get any and he ended up getting 4 shots. Needless to say mommy felt really bad and we made a stop by Target to get a little boy a new toy. He forgave me after that =). Thursday morning K woke up with a fever (go figure, the one that didn't get any shots), but I gave her a dose of motrin and she was fine the rest of the day. She woke up in the middle of the night and just could really go back to sleep. All day Friday she was tired and feverish. I was supposed to have my first softball game that night, but opted to stay home with her. Just can't go out and have fun when I have a little one at home that doesn't feel well.

She felt decent on Saturday, which was a good thing since we had a birthday party to go to as well as an awesome date night with my hubby. My mother in law got Brian and brother in law, Marc tickets to see Brian Regan. She included me and my sister in law and childcare in that deal. All 5 of her grandchildren spent the night. (don't worry her sister came to help) We met some friends who happened to have tickets too, for dinner at Longhorn and then after the show we went to Krispie Kreme and got some hot donuts, mmmmmmmmmm.

Sunday we picked up the kids and went to one of Brian's aunt's house for dinner. It was a different one from the night before, but another one of his mom's sisters. One of Brian's cousins was in town with her little one. She had a test to take, not quite sure what it was for, but she is a doctor/becoming a doctor. She is starting her residency soon. Anyway, we got to meet this little one for the first time...


how cute is he?!?! It was a great way to end the busy, but fun weekend.

Today the kids and I met up with some friends of mine at Chuck E. Cheese then went to lunch at McDonald's. It was a nice time to spend with some friends. The boys had a blast, and I am assuming Kendall did too.

Whew!! This turned out to be a pretty long post. And this is just the beginning of the break. Don't know what else I really have planned this week, but will tell you all about it when something happens.

I have some more pictures to share from Matthew's art show at school and the new bird's nest/bird watch we have going on on our front porch, but will save that for another post for another day.

Please continue to pray for Annette and Stellan and the others on the right hand of the screen. Go check out their sites to read more of their stories.

I Heart Faces! My Friend and I

I only have one entry for this week's theme, My Friend and I. My kids are fortunate enough to have plenty of friends. I am not so fortunate to have decent pictures of them and their friends. But I think my entry is so cute. It is Matthew and his friend Mackenzie at a birthday party.

What do you think they were up to?

You want to see some more pictures of people with their friends? Go to I HEART FACES to check them out.

FFF...Beach

This was taken at our favorite beach of all time, Folly Beach in South Carolina. I just love how it looks. It just shows the awesome power of God.

Now this next picture just shows how I needed to actually listen to my husband. This next picture was taken at Folly Beach last April when it was too cold to get in the water but still a beautiful day to take a walk on the beach. We were there for a wedding (in case you were wondering why we went in April). Anyway I was just snapping away and I found an object on the ground that I wanted to get a picture of. Well I was standing over it and about to take the picture with Brian said, "you might want to move over a little." I just thought that he figured the object wouldn't show up in the picture, because of the "lighting". I told him that it was fine, I wasn't trying to get an award winning picture. Well, I went ahead and took the picture. Brian then told me that I should go back and look at it to see what I really had taken a picture of. So I did, and this is what I found...

Hmmmm, moral of the story, it is okay to listen to your husband sometimes. I couldn't help but saying "my how 70's of me".

Anyway that is my FFF moment for the day. If you want to see more just hop on over to Kiss the Frog 4 Me and check them out.

Wordless Wednesday!!