tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39433485467677724462024-03-07T20:07:38.878-08:00worth mentioningmandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311056355928920032noreply@blogger.comBlogger185125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943348546767772446.post-43258050190734717842011-12-12T07:26:00.000-08:002011-12-12T09:36:04.406-08:00this christmas...it's monday morning and the rain is gently falling. the christmas tree is lit up and fully decorated with memories from my husband and my childhood as well as those precious handmade crafts that our kids have brought home (without breaking, of course). i have enjoyed a warm cup of coffee and given my sick one medicine to help ease her discomfort. the stockings are hung and the nutcrackers are scattered around. the kitchen waits for the candy making to commence. the closet is filled with gifts that need to be wrapped in matching brown paper with pretty ribbons. <br /><br />the more i type the more my stomach hurts and my heart sinks. just last week a friend of mine sent me a link to a blog asking if i had read it. i have been reading this blog for well over a year and then read a book by the author this spring while i was in Peru. i had read her blog telling the story of their family's christmas last year but had tucked it away in my mind for another time. <br />read this year's post on Ann Voskamp's <a href="http://www.aholyexperience.com/2011/12/when-christmas-gets-radical-whose-birthday-is-it-really/">Blog</a> then come back. i'll be here.<br /><br />this was my response to my friend:<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span jsid="text" class="commentBody"> "I have and it makes my heart ache to do<br /> the same thing. I think I might read it to my <br /> kids and pray they hear the truth. How<br /> does one go about changing the gift giving<br /> tradition? For we are not saved by human<br /> tradition so why do I cling to it so?</span>"<br /><br />i have continued to think about this blog. i have searched my heart as to why i am so stubborn in regards to letting go of the gift giving. as a teenager, my aunt and uncle would give us a devotional book and a little card saying that a donation had been made to a foundation in our honor. i am embarrassed to admit it but, i thought that was a sorry gift to give a teenager. my self absorbed heart wanted the temporal. i wanted all the stuff that would not last. i am thankful God has continued to work on my heart.<br /><br />i sell my God short. one of the reasons i have clung to giving "stuff" for Christmas is that i don't want my children to feel slighted. i want them to have good gifts. i want them to not feel left out or deprived. in my doing so, i am separating them from what God has intended for them to know about the world and what we are called to do for others. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;" class="woj"> "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to<br /> give good gifts to your children, how much more<br /> will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those<br /> who ask him!</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> " <br /> Matthew 7:11</span><br /></div></div><br />ross and i spent time the other morning talking about how we do christmas and how we remember christmases of our growing up years. neither of us can honestly direct our memories to the birth of Christ. both of us grew up knowing that christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ but the magic of christmas that we remember from growing up really had little to do with Christ. <br /><br />in our effort to train up our children in the Lord we have begun new traditions like the jesse tree advent, going to the Christmas eve service, and making a Jesus birthday cake for christmas day. many conversations are had throughout the season about what christmas is really about. we still do the santa thing and i don't have any real problem with it. anna even said last night, "santa is magic. he knows a lot but God and Jesus know more." we read all kinds of christmas books throughout the month- those about santa, snowmen, the Christ child, ways that people around the world celebrated...you get the gist. <br /><br />our children are generous givers and somehow we have horded christmas for them. in light of wanting our family to go beyond ourselves and see that God is at work in a world that is so much bigger we have decided to begin giving a new gift to our children praying that in the coming years we will give more than we receive (from a worldly perspective of course).<br /><br />here's our plan- on Christmas eve we have always given our children new Christmas pjs. this year they will still get their new pjs but they will also get a catalog and money envelope. under the light of our tree in the warmth of new pjs, that are a gift from God that we all too often fail to recognize, we will give our children the chance to choose a gift to give to someone else who's in need of what we take for granted. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-24043"> </sup><span style="font-weight: bold;">“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> you who are blessed by my Father; take your </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> the creation of the world.</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;" class="woj">For I was hungry and<br /> you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and <br /> you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger<br /> and you invited me in,</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;" class="woj"> I needed clothes and you<br /> clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was<br /> in prison and you came to visit me.’<br /> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;" class="woj">“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when<br /> did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and<br /> give you something to drink?</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;" class="woj"> When did we see you a<br /> stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe<br /> you?</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;" class="woj"> When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span class="woj"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did </span></span><br /><span class="woj"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, </span></span><br /><span class="woj"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> you did for me.’ </span></span><br /><span class="woj"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Matthew 25: 34-40</span></span><br /></div><span class="woj"><br /></span></div><p> </p><div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;">dear Lord, would you strip away my ugly heart of selfishness and lack of faith in the work you are doing in our children's hearts and give us all selfless hearts that break for that which breaks Yours. may we, as a family, in your grace reach beyond our temporal comforts to provide for the needs of others so that You are glorified. <br /></div> <br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;"> " Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> witnesses, </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">throw off everything that hinders and the sin that</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"> so easily </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">entangles</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">. And let us run with perseverance the race</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> marked </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> perfecter </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross,</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> scorning </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> of God." </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Hebrews 12:1-3</span><br /></div>mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311056355928920032noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943348546767772446.post-83672516352364966462011-11-18T18:55:00.000-08:002011-11-18T19:22:32.527-08:00boldness in the form of a 9 year old...<div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;">For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.<br />2 timothy 1:7<br /></div><br />monday evening while ross was at bsf i was getting the kids ready for bed. as i was putting the littles down henry asked if daphne could please join him for a "prayer meeting". how can you say "no" to that?<br /><br />after i had tucked in the babies i could hear henry and daphne talking so i went in to redirect them toward getting their "have to-s" done so they could get to bed at a decent time. when i walked into his room there they were. side by side on his bed with Bibles open taking turns reading. it was one of those mental snapshot moments. once they finished we all prayed together and i took daph off to tuck her in.<br /><br />when i came back to tuck henry in he told me he wanted to start a Bible study at school during recess. he wanted to invite his friends and enemies to study the Bible, answer questions and then play games.<br /><br />me of little faith went straight to "what if he gets rejected"? this being my thought i wanted to talk through what his ready response would be if in fact one of his "friends or enemies" said no way to this idea. he just said, "i'll tell them- maybe next time." he had the whole thing planned already. he was going to make invitations, study colossians and write out questions to ask the group. "if anyone gets the answer wrong then i will just show them where the right answer is in the Bible." we prayed for God to use him and to bring all the ones who He wanted there.<br /><br />tuesday morning he passed out 28 invitations. each 4th grader and the 2 teachers received one inviting them to join him on wednesday. tuesday night he went through the whole thing with us. a welcome, prayer, reading scripture, questions and a game.<br /><br />wednesday afternoon his teacher called me and said that 22 kiddos showed up at the Bible study, pencils in hand and engaged. 22 nine and ten year olds gave up their recess to read the Bible together! afterward he told his teacher that he wasn't planning on being a preacher when he grows up to which she replied, "whatever God calls you to will be just what you will do."<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;">"Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;">Lord, You are so faithful even when i am faithless. thank you for loving my boy even more than i can imagine. would you continue to use him and the gifts You have blessed him with for Your glory? thank You for giving him a boldness and reminding him that he has nothing to fear. You are so good.<br /></div>mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311056355928920032noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943348546767772446.post-14841886220127220612011-11-18T18:36:00.000-08:002011-11-18T18:55:20.975-08:00my thankful list thus far...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDe7_t8aDQ3dYCpaIscWd5Wgpx6rr4UNJoHche1IWhIfoxvX_zSiVZaxvBLim9AxjYdH1EhqHdehpoGGkupApvmMZ9r7_pAPl03xZmn-CFOdGtywiUiw3FKSKToxSdyh1XIBGAtfFGdmig/s1600/photo.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDe7_t8aDQ3dYCpaIscWd5Wgpx6rr4UNJoHche1IWhIfoxvX_zSiVZaxvBLim9AxjYdH1EhqHdehpoGGkupApvmMZ9r7_pAPl03xZmn-CFOdGtywiUiw3FKSKToxSdyh1XIBGAtfFGdmig/s320/photo.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5676534913420057778" border="0" /></a><br /><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" ft="{"type":1}"><span class="messageBody" ft="{"type":3}">Today I am giving thanks for this moment as Amos Lee is playing and my Daphne is asking me about the invention and usage of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Neti</span> Pot- yes simultaneously these two things are occurring.</span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" ft="{"type":1}"><span class="messageBody" ft="{"type":3}">Day 2: I am thankful for parking lots, a window full of friends and advice on cleaning pee smelling grout.</span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" ft="{"type":1}"><span class="messageBody" ft="{"type":3}">There are brief snippets of time when I think to myself, "if I had this quiet moment more often I would love to paint a picture of all the sweet people and moments that make up my cornucopia of joy." Then I realize that without the chaos of my life I wouldn't have such a bountiful harvest in my heart. Day 3: I am thankful for all the noise and chaos of my days and the little quiet reminders of the joy that comes with it all.</span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" ft="{"type":1}"><span class="messageBody" ft="{"type":3}">words. they can be a salve to a wound. they can be an encouragement to the downtrodden. words can bring laughter. words can challenge and sharpen. words can be life giving. words can restore. Day 4: today i give thanks words.</span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" ft="{"type":1}"><span class="messageBody" ft="{"type":3}">Time. All too often wasted on things that will not last but today it is being spent with my 5 most favorite people in the entire world. Day 5: I am thankful for time spent together with my family.</span></h6><p><br /></p><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" ft="{"type":1}"><span class="messageBody" ft="{"type":3}">the sound of the palm trees blowing in the cool breeze. the football game played out in another room. the tick of the clock. the little voices calling my name. Day 6: Today i give thanks for my sense of hearing.</span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" ft="{"type":1}"><span class="messageBody" ft="{"type":3}">A warm bed, rain falling, cold weather, snow on the mountains, hot coffee, a morning at home. Day 7: I am thankful for this day.</span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" ft="{"type":1}"><span class="messageBody" ft="{"type":3}">For yesterday Day 8: Hard work shows itself. Do not merely listen to the word an so deceive yourselves. Do what it says!</span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" ft="{"type":1}"><span class="messageBody" ft="{"type":3}">Day 9: I'm thankful for books. I dream of one day sitting on the porch of a beach house in Maine wrapped in a cozy blanket with a hot cup of tea reading a fabulous book.</span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" ft="{"type":1}"><span class="messageBody" ft="{"type":3}">Day 10: I am thankful for a voice to speak truth.</span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" ft="{"type":1}"><span class="messageBody" ft="{"type":3}">Day 11: i am thankful for the men and women who put themselves in harm's way, leave their families and comforts so that i can enjoy freedom.</span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" ft="{"type":1}"><span class="messageBody" ft="{"type":3}">Day 12: I am thankful for 34 years of life- adventures and trials.</span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" ft="{"type":1}"><span class="messageBody" ft="{"type":3}">Day 13: It can calm me. It can encourage me. It can push me to work harder. It can paint a picture in my mind. Today I give thanks for music. From listening to Toto and Todd <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Rundgren</span> with my dad or Windham Hill and Julio <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Iglesias</span> with my mom, masterfully created mix tapes by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/itsmemuddy" hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=17120471">Melissa Riley</a>, and now the DJ skills of Henry & my husband <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ross.newman" hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=1653464494">Ross Newman</a> my taste in music is varied but not a day goes by without a song in my mind.</span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" ft="{"type":1}"><span class="messageBody" ft="{"type":3}">Day 14:i am thankful for packages of thank you cards in the dollar bin. there is just something special about sending a handwritten note to thank someone for their kindnesses. i love to receive them but truly enjoy sending them.<br /></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" ft="{"type":1}"><span class="messageBody" ft="{"type":3}">Day 15: i am thankful for the boldness of my son. he proves to me over and over that we do not have a spirit of fear but of but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.(2 Timothy 1:7) He decided Monday night to boldly invite his friends and enemies at school to join him for a Bible study. i am humbled at the young man God is growing him into.</span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" ft="{"type":1}"><span class="messageBody" ft="{"type":3}">Day 16: i am thankful for the many pictures that i have whether in a box in the closet, a handcrafted scrapbook, on my computer or on my phone. i wish i were some fantastic photographer that could make every picture i have look like we were always bathed and happy but in reality most pictures in my possession show our reality. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">pb</span>&j faces, laughter, tangled hair and lots and lots of love. i thin<span class="text_exposed_show">k that might be better.<br /></span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" ft="{"type":1}"><span class="messageBody" ft="{"type":3}"><span class="text_exposed_show">Day 17: i am thankful for this exact place in life. i have thought at times "what if i had..." and all of what i can fill in the blank with falls flat and lifeless to what i have and what i have lived. life has not been easy or like that perfect picture i would like to capture but life thus far has been full. some things i would love to not have experienced but not at the risk of the changes in me that have occurred in the process.<br /></span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" ft="{"type":1}"><span class="messageBody" ft="{"type":3}"><span class="text_exposed_show">Day 18: i am thankful for vacuum cleaners. i like a freshly vacuumed rug or carpet. (no one said the whole list of thanksgivings had to be full of deep meaningful things- i really am thankful for vacuums.)</span></span></h6>mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311056355928920032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943348546767772446.post-41546097571149666112011-10-13T20:18:00.000-07:002011-10-13T21:14:51.365-07:00e break...let me just confess my absolute ridiculous dependency on a certain material object. it is pathetic, i must admit. <br /><br />today i had to set up a principal's coffee that the 4th grade was hosting so i had the sweet opportunity to drive my kiddos to school. we are in a carpool and i have the afternoon pick up responsibility so i don't often get to drive them in the mornings. for some reason i enjoy driving them in the mornings. maybe it is because everyone is <span style="font-style: italic;">usually </span>still in a good mood and not feeling the weight of the day. afternoons tend to include tired bodies & minds, grumpy attitudes and/or hungry bellies. with four little people demonstrating one or more of the previously mentioned troubles- afternoon drives home can be....well, less than pleasant. <br /><br />back to my story. so i dropped off the big kids and the two littles followed me in to the school library to set up this casual informational meeting/conversation with the school principal. i was actually feeling pretty good about the fact that though an item on the sign up sheet was not provided i did not cave in and make the food. i recognized that not having a food spread that looks like a southern living magazine cover was not a reflection on me nor is it a necessity. this is big for me people. i think room moms are typically the "get things done" kinda people and if others don't then i, the room mom, will. so as you can see, this is a big deal that i went in this morning knowing the food spread would not be as i would like and i was okay with it. (insert applause)<br /><br />all things went well. there was plenty of food and coffee. my littles were not the silent type but we muddled through the meeting with my iphone providing intermittent entertainment. at 9:15 i had to scoot out of the meeting so that i could get to the gym for a workout class. the girls and i got in the car and off we went to the gym. on the way i reached for my phone and sure enough it was not in my purse. oh i was frustrated! but knowing that it was at the school i kept going towards the gym. for the next hour i worked hard and sweated buckets then we headed back to the school. <br /><br />no one had turned in the phone. it was on silent and so when the office staff called it there was no sound. i checked the garbage can and it was not there. i called ross and asked him to track it. because we had just updated to the new operating system the night before the locator was offline. i left defeated by a 2"x5" piece of modern technology. <br /><br />once in the car i began to cry. i know that sounds silly but understand that i cannot afford to run out and buy anything i might desire. i have to save. i have to wait. i have to learn delayed gratification. iphones are not cheap. here i was driving home in tears wondering what could have happened to my phone. i was frustrated that i had let the girls play with it. ross never lets them touch his phone and i have thought that was a bit extreme but now i was kicking myself for not having the same standard with my phone. <br /><br />then the Holy Spirit smacked me upside the head. between my ridiculous thoughts of my "whole life is on that phone" and "all those pictures and videos" He quietly said, "is it really that important to you? where your treasure is so is your heart. do you weep over those who do not know the Father?" <br /><br />it was as if the e break had just been hit. my whole self reliant, control freak worldly life <span style="font-style: italic;">is </span>on that phone and losing it is disastrous on some level but in the big picture it has no real value even if it did cost me a small fortune. that little man-made machine in more ways than i would like to admit is a tangible representation of my depraved heart. <br /><br />i rely on myself in so many ways and find that in my control freak world i am restless. there is a song on my iphone (insert little chuckle) by audrey assad that has been striking a cord in me for some time now. "i am restless. i am restless. i am restless till i rest in you. till i rest in you, oh God." <br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Lord, my soul finds rest in You and You alone. You are the one who has saved me. You are my rock and my salvation. You are my only fortress. I will not be shaken, oh God. Let it be in You, oh Lord, that I seek my security. Forgive me for placing such a high value on such a ridiculous material object. Thank you for pulling the e-break on my meltdown today- showing me where my treasure was.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">You are so good to me</span>.<br /></div>mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311056355928920032noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943348546767772446.post-63183583150928766042011-06-23T22:35:00.000-07:002011-06-23T23:06:19.542-07:00this is not a facebook status update...sometimes i feel like facebook is for the polite platitudes and faux images of a life that has a pretty soundtrack to it. this blog tonight is definitely not that. <br /><br />i am struggling. no, that's not really a strong enough word... i am failing at parenting one of my children. i cannot for the life of me figure this one out. i want desperately to find a common ground but i find that more often than not i am so frustrated that i lose it. <br /><br />today was one of those days. there is no excuse for it and i am far angrier than is reasonable. this child of mine is a lazy kid much of the time and so toys are never put away, clothes are strewn on the floor, items of "great worth" are lost time and time again. this makes me so incredibly angry to be honest. it is one thing to have a room that is a mess... i'm getting better at letting messes exist for a time but when i ask for the said mess to be cleaned up i expect it to be done all the way. i find clothes shoved in the corners of the closet. i find toys hidden behind furniture. tonight it was the goggles that sent me through the roof. how hard is it to pick up your goggles at a swim meet and put them in your bag? it isn't and yet here we are minus a pair of $20 goggles. <br /><br />"money does not grow on trees" is true in case you are wondering and so when you lose $20 goggles ( you might be thinking "why in the world would you pay $20 for goggles" but in swimming there is the $6 goggles that don't actually work and then the next step is the $20 ones) i get very upset but more so because i see this as a heart issue in my child and it really brings out bad stuff in me. <br /><br />when other people are with my little one they just eww and awe over what a sweetheart this one is. lots of joy seems to be had when anyone is with this one. here i am feeling like an outsider looking in. i feel like i am missing out on something and just can't find it. i see the smile and hear the laughter but feel so distant. what's wrong with my heart? i am so broken to know that i can be so angry with my precious little child and that tonight my words hurt.<br /><br />i was not nice to this one tonight over a pair of goggles. goggles. i tell my kids all the time that people are more important than things and yet i did not live that out today. i let money and what i think is valuable (responsibility) come before this child. i still think it was irresponsible to lose the goggles but somehow i was the one who lost what is valuable. <br /><br />i want to know this child and i feel like i can't. i want to laugh and enjoy the delight that comes with this one's presence. i want to shepherd the heart and yet i am losing a relationship with this one. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;">"Lord, i confess tonight that i was wrong. my words were hurtful and i did nothing with love. i failed tonight and i am so sad that i can't get any of it back. i want this night to disappear and i want my child's heart and mind to forget it all. why can't i see my child through different eyes? help me see with your eyes. help me see anything through your eyes. help me to delight in this little one. help me to know how to delight in everything."<br /></div>mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311056355928920032noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943348546767772446.post-69398051647526249392011-04-09T16:31:00.001-07:002011-04-09T16:31:40.212-07:00more...<div><embed src="http://widget-03.slide.com/widgets/slideticker.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high" scale="noscale" salign="l" wmode="transparent" flashvars="cy=bb&il=1&channel=288230376172853251&site=widget-03.slide.com" style="width: 400px; height: 320px;" name="flashticker" align="middle"></embed><div style="width: 400px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&at=un&id=288230376172853251&map=1" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-03.slide.com/p1/288230376172853251/bb_t000_v000_s0un_f00/images/xslide1.gif" ismap="ismap" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&at=un&id=288230376172853251&map=2" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-03.slide.com/p2/288230376172853251/bb_t000_v000_s0un_f00/images/xslide2.gif" ismap="ismap" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&at=un&id=288230376172853251&map=F" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-03.slide.com/p4/288230376172853251/bb_t000_v000_s0un_f00/images/xslide42.gif" ismap="ismap" border="0" /></a></div></div>mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311056355928920032noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943348546767772446.post-85418270356168978612011-04-09T15:57:00.000-07:002011-04-09T15:58:17.807-07:00Peru- March 2011<div><embed src="http://widget-3c.slide.com/widgets/slideticker.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high" scale="noscale" salign="l" wmode="transparent" flashvars="cy=bb&il=1&channel=1657324662899735612&site=widget-3c.slide.com" style="width: 400px; height: 320px;" name="flashticker" align="middle"></embed><div style="width: 400px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&at=un&id=1657324662899735612&map=1" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-3c.slide.com/p1/1657324662899735612/bb_t000_v000_s0un_f00/images/xslide1.gif" ismap="ismap" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&at=un&id=1657324662899735612&map=2" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-3c.slide.com/p2/1657324662899735612/bb_t000_v000_s0un_f00/images/xslide2.gif" ismap="ismap" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&at=un&id=1657324662899735612&map=F" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-3c.slide.com/p4/1657324662899735612/bb_t000_v000_s0un_f00/images/xslide42.gif" ismap="ismap" border="0" /></a></div></div>mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311056355928920032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943348546767772446.post-64920856578895410862011-03-07T12:38:00.001-08:002011-03-07T13:16:33.079-08:00next week...next week i am leaving for an adventure of a lifetime. i was asked last fall to pray about taking part in a mission trip with international dental ministries to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">peru</span>. in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">december</span> i decided to go. God has graciously provided enough donations to make it financially possible and each obstacle has fallen to the wayside without hesitation.<br /><br />when i was in high school i planned to go with a youth mission organization to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">zimbabwe</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">africa</span> on a summer mission trip. after arriving at boot camp i just couldn't hack it. to this day i am not sure what my problem was but for all the wrong reasons (fear, boyfriend at home, etc.) i quit and came home. i regret that decision. at some point in my walk with the Lord He gave me a heart for missions and for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">africa</span>. i don't know in what capacity or when He may do something with that little portion of my heart but it has never changed. so here i am some 15 years or so later heading out to the highlands of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">peru</span>.<br /><br />in many ways i feel like i did before giving birth to my first child- it is going to be more wonderful and more challenging than i can comprehend at this point so let's just go! we will be traveling to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">lima</span> and then to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">cuzco</span> and from there we will travel to the rural village where we will serve the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">peruvian</span> people. my role is one of assisting the dentists who will be caring for the villagers' dental needs. i will sterilize instruments, assist procedures and will also help with the food prep for our entire team. that last part sounds like it might be a big job but i feed six people daily so feeding 10 seems not too different. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj94TNrpoBK1k5JKeo9UIsdKDwX8wX8o2EK-RPRMG4TCymlsYKwloJn82QmdB-ybjDkhvpe4h-YMkIDBptSFxQ6MYFwhUMS_hyJBJBZAKIRoXF7Ys_lbGi8s9hoKdvrObz7B5Rx_aNJcYGp/s1600/Machu-Picchu.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 234px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj94TNrpoBK1k5JKeo9UIsdKDwX8wX8o2EK-RPRMG4TCymlsYKwloJn82QmdB-ybjDkhvpe4h-YMkIDBptSFxQ6MYFwhUMS_hyJBJBZAKIRoXF7Ys_lbGi8s9hoKdvrObz7B5Rx_aNJcYGp/s320/Machu-Picchu.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581443405917926562" border="0" /></a><br />while we are there we are taking a couple of days to sight see. i mean, it's not like i go to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">peru</span> any ole time so we have to take in as much as we can while we can. we will ride on a train, stay in a hostel and even climb to the top of that big rock in this picture of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">machu</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">picchu</span>. i am assured that if i can hike the grand canyon then i can do this.<br /><br />it is very strange to leave <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">ross</span> and the kids here. somehow i have a false sense of security when we are all together. leaving means not being able to control anything. this trip is forcing me out of any comfort zone i have clung to. i am not fearful or concerned for myself but i am tender for my family. <br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">henry</span> has been a little nervous about me going. he asked me if i would be killed for talking about Jesus. i have never been one to tell my kids, "mommy will always come home" or anything like that because nothing in this life is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">guaranteed</span>. if i were to not return i would not want the last thing i say to my children to be a lie, even if it were unintentional. when <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">henry</span> asked this i simply responded with, "i hope not." i told him that if i were killed for telling people about Jesus then it would be a great way to go and that no matter what he would have to trust that God had not forgotten me. he then went on to ask me what would happen if my plane crashed in the water. in my head i was thinking, "wow this is a really morbid conversation." i again told him that i hoped that would not happen but if it did he would have to trust that God is good all the time. to which he replied, "all the time God is good." <br /><br />it is hard to go and yet so very exciting at the same time! i know it is an adventure of a lifetime. it is an opportunity to live out what God put in my heart long ago. it is a chance to see people, in much different circumstances than i, coming to a saving knowledge of Christ. it is a chance to bring physical relief to people in pain. it is a change to see first hand what God is doing in the lives of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">peruvian</span> people. it is a chance to take part in a work that God is doing. it is a chance to see that life is not just about me or my little corner of the world.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-style: italic;">Lord, You are greater and more mighty than i can even imagine. Your hand has stretched out further than i can fathom. You have invited me to take part in Your work and so here i am. break me. change me. mold me into the vessel You created me to be.</span><br /></div>mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311056355928920032noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943348546767772446.post-30957578273078176092010-10-22T21:04:00.001-07:002010-10-24T16:07:07.633-07:00not quite the day i had expected...http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=13372845<br /><br />this morning the kids and i prepared for the day. henry dressed for school and recited 1 corinthians 13 which he would recite at speech meet shortly after the school day got started.<br /><br />after dropping him off i found a parking space and began the lengthy process of unloading the three girls, pulling out the stroller and making sure we had the diaper bag, the snack bag and my purse. all things were accounted for and so we began heading across the parking lot to the other property where speech meet would take place.<br /><br />one of henry's classmate's little sister, embry, was hanging out with daphne and anna and so we told her to ask her mom and dad if she could head over to the other side with us. with their permission we again headed toward the other building. at the edge of the school's drive i told the girls to stop so we could make sure it was safe. (this is standard protocol for us.) a car was approaching from the right and another car was coming to the exit drive across the street. the approaching car stopped in the road and waved us across but before going i looked to the driver across from us. he looked up at us and then stopped his van. with this i understood it to mean we could proceed and so we did. when we had reached half way across the street the gentleman began turning left right towards the girls and me. i had noticed his window was down before crossing street. when he began turning into us i began screaming, "stop! stop! no! no!"<br /><br />embry was hit first and his front drivers wheel ran over her and then he hit our daphne who was pushed to the ground. i turned and could see daph was not pinned or seriously injured but embry was partially under the man's vehicle. without thinking, i pulled her out from under the car and the man said, "i'm sorry. i'm sorry" i just replied, "ok. could you pull over please." at this our friends, embry's parents, were there and i handed her over into her mother's arms. i went to daphne and just held on to her and asked another parent to take my two little girls in where my friend was waiting to see our big kids recite the selections for speech meet.<br /><br />the shock and fear that i was experiencing rivals very little else. people began congregating around us calling 911 asking questions and praying. the prayerfulness of the people was amazing. as i stood shaking and crying i could see people stopping and praying. at one point i looked up and saw standing there in his white starched shirt, our friend, tom askew. i could see that he was praying. he was a source of strength and calm for me mentally.<br /><br />fire trucks, two ambulances and a couple of sheriff's deputies arrived on the scene and began assessing the girls. it was evident that embry was more serious and so they began loading her in the ambulance. they assessed daph and determined she needed to go to the er as well to be on the safe side.<br /><br />all this was happening and i was being asked a ton of questions and giving the officers all the info i had and then i look up and there across the way is the gentleman that had been driving. my heart was broken for embry and for her family and my heart was aching for my family but my heart was so broken for this man as well. he never even saw our girls. he didn't do it on purpose. this man is paralyzed from the waist down from an accident years ago and he is a grandfather. this was breaking his heart.<br /><br />we went to the hospital and daph was in shock for a while. her injuries were so very minor. she has a bruise on her hip and a scrape on her elbow. our little friend was taken to a different hospital and after a long day she left the hospital with no internal injuries, no broken bones and 13 stitches to her knee. our mighty God protected our girls this morning. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhjykzaM4Oh8itBoc8sDp-O2ieRVeIfLbI5Sr9KY3LZay7Oq3uP-8hxBesbVBBjUZFn-mHmCBkPSjQZ1_GR5GtyGWoCbUnUnuxEx79tOIv42Wexo5oWazAeofJdN_Wamiod9r0Y5BEH-jd/s1600/photo.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhjykzaM4Oh8itBoc8sDp-O2ieRVeIfLbI5Sr9KY3LZay7Oq3uP-8hxBesbVBBjUZFn-mHmCBkPSjQZ1_GR5GtyGWoCbUnUnuxEx79tOIv42Wexo5oWazAeofJdN_Wamiod9r0Y5BEH-jd/s320/photo.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531097796166419346" border="0" /></a><br />i love our school family for many reasons but i found another reason this morning. in light of a very scary and serious accident the parents first response was to pray and then to comfort all involved. it was a place where i saw and i experienced grace. none of these responses were generated by these people but rather from Christ, our Cornerstone. John 13:35 says, "by this all men will know that you are my disciples- if you love one another."<br /><br />please pray for the man who was driving that he might know and feel the grace of God in this traumatic experience. pray for me and ross to have an opportunity to express our love to him and his wife. pray for embry to heal physically. pray for daphne, anna, ramey and embry to heal emotionally as any fear could surface days or weeks from now. pray for me as i struggle with having been the one who was caring for e along with my own girls.<br /><br />tonight, hug your babies a little tighter for we do not know what tomorrow will bring.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;">now these things remain: faith, hope and love but the greatest of these is love.<br /></div>mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311056355928920032noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943348546767772446.post-3936337939835818672010-07-13T15:14:00.000-07:002010-07-13T15:42:51.471-07:0010 things i love about you...<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnJZuZkRWkRcm7yBxpyK8q9n21fcoBh_CdhnNbSxAV0WXRF816emERlCJAx-gjTUuGWpCY9ib1appC42KvAwC0sbK1n2QQE9P5En672f636wucJrXDkywUfuyxSeiLXQzq3SBlwce_ytGC/s1600/IMG_0290_2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnJZuZkRWkRcm7yBxpyK8q9n21fcoBh_CdhnNbSxAV0WXRF816emERlCJAx-gjTUuGWpCY9ib1appC42KvAwC0sbK1n2QQE9P5En672f636wucJrXDkywUfuyxSeiLXQzq3SBlwce_ytGC/s320/IMG_0290_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493518905107004594" border="0" /></a><br />10. i love that when you suck your thumb you have<br />to hold your foot. you rub that big toe along the<br />edge of your lip and that is just how you roll.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOJ5ph0IQt9OiyGRR5PfY5FVqF4IF7Q-9LWiIGy2P3tZi3NqOorjN2Zw1iuEgduL0plvmk9gbztuXdRd5vujb6yEJNTvtFaZBJSF7TvTsXNd5hfwtQLj_jpVS84ncH7WTGE8A-r1YxBCRC/s1600/IMG_0255_2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOJ5ph0IQt9OiyGRR5PfY5FVqF4IF7Q-9LWiIGy2P3tZi3NqOorjN2Zw1iuEgduL0plvmk9gbztuXdRd5vujb6yEJNTvtFaZBJSF7TvTsXNd5hfwtQLj_jpVS84ncH7WTGE8A-r1YxBCRC/s320/IMG_0255_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493518897674702434" border="0" /></a><br />9. i love how you wrap your little arms around my<br />neck when i hold you and you squeeze so tight<br />like you just don't ever want to let go.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilJHJBzjsyccTf7rmAfZjCtpewQfyFSlqNAY-s8HrOy9O1LhNHVYSe1BmFfH5hjxQvL1bX5irNbThLfu1BnktjAkvvvljTwhBqhO_TbNM7e9__1qhXa7MMM0UKPObPVPS3gfflRtIkUr8W/s1600/IMG_0205_2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilJHJBzjsyccTf7rmAfZjCtpewQfyFSlqNAY-s8HrOy9O1LhNHVYSe1BmFfH5hjxQvL1bX5irNbThLfu1BnktjAkvvvljTwhBqhO_TbNM7e9__1qhXa7MMM0UKPObPVPS3gfflRtIkUr8W/s320/IMG_0205_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493518891380783010" border="0" /></a><br />8. i love that when asked a question you whisper your answer.<br />the older you get the less you do this but when<br />the big kids are not around you go back to your sweet little whisper.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCskkupKMB4gsbYWNi_xEtZuczfmlUibDoszdmi1XkG9_MILHmpGoh-V4n7tPaSBBUxlLSu84cJcSZq9-LWSwLxi1p1ms3F-SmQswWbpVil1lEnwrLGXiUqtt8GNJDPCv7jJhcBiyDkol0/s1600/IMG_0186_2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCskkupKMB4gsbYWNi_xEtZuczfmlUibDoszdmi1XkG9_MILHmpGoh-V4n7tPaSBBUxlLSu84cJcSZq9-LWSwLxi1p1ms3F-SmQswWbpVil1lEnwrLGXiUqtt8GNJDPCv7jJhcBiyDkol0/s320/IMG_0186_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493518888425776850" border="0" /></a><br />7. i love it when i am holding you and you are<br />sucking your thumb- you<br />reach and pull my face right<br />up to yours as if to snuggle for a brief moment.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2b3VIN3DADIV1MNqfb1xI401DtIXuRBP9lIxCvV9SjkLE0kIgePKH1mC2md_MSU02Dt7lt9PnRIKK2PCkoqq-U9OGI_Pv5qB1w8kRH-H5ukoToOIVmUjN2IjJShAG8DUgvt3aiyukwMrO/s1600/IMG_0174_2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2b3VIN3DADIV1MNqfb1xI401DtIXuRBP9lIxCvV9SjkLE0kIgePKH1mC2md_MSU02Dt7lt9PnRIKK2PCkoqq-U9OGI_Pv5qB1w8kRH-H5ukoToOIVmUjN2IjJShAG8DUgvt3aiyukwMrO/s320/IMG_0174_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493518879471337906" border="0" /></a><br />6. i love that you are an adventurer. too many times than i<br />would like to admit i have come into the kitchen only to find you<br />standing in the middle of the kitchen table. </div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiIt7J6I6aCrzN6aYG_QUTzA3sAaoai5bN081QnIxIxB0oPQyHwzUtltD_xM9zIhw-uz8OM7Fnb3hv5TsVAMoemCfFoGxNf1452hs0DhcgoqaNfAIdxyvNfBekMhRo2Ib5UbVT7Pup0Hy0/s1600/IMG_0259_2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiIt7J6I6aCrzN6aYG_QUTzA3sAaoai5bN081QnIxIxB0oPQyHwzUtltD_xM9zIhw-uz8OM7Fnb3hv5TsVAMoemCfFoGxNf1452hs0DhcgoqaNfAIdxyvNfBekMhRo2Ib5UbVT7Pup0Hy0/s320/IMG_0259_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493518446061711282" border="0" /></a><br />5. i love that you are ALWAYS asking me "where's ____?" and "why?"<br />you are in a constant pursuit of learning!<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7nIa8Ev43K5kqWZY6DCoRMjmq_9zjh8ovp6Ve7vupdJ9sAhzA8xHjL4_ZDInh1fds4sNGCbIWWcIM8fcm-s-tx9_rPkpZgIOEw-FX-VDWkOhlfV6rsbXWSB6KsVwIrDWOA1kfoYIrpt_X/s1600/IMG_0240_2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7nIa8Ev43K5kqWZY6DCoRMjmq_9zjh8ovp6Ve7vupdJ9sAhzA8xHjL4_ZDInh1fds4sNGCbIWWcIM8fcm-s-tx9_rPkpZgIOEw-FX-VDWkOhlfV6rsbXWSB6KsVwIrDWOA1kfoYIrpt_X/s320/IMG_0240_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493518435956039490" border="0" /></a><br />4. i love that you start dancing when you hear music.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib6sz9rdjyGa5DwSVHzlSDpxZK6kK7QOxy27dJpuFUEq_cUHG72rFtAve6lb3OUVx-s8kXaPg5Z4JTABsY_0mA_4ghiGK9jau-0juOYdbh11mv5G5v05JmwT8Q78lQ1PU8M0NecWwrafIo/s1600/IMG_0220_2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib6sz9rdjyGa5DwSVHzlSDpxZK6kK7QOxy27dJpuFUEq_cUHG72rFtAve6lb3OUVx-s8kXaPg5Z4JTABsY_0mA_4ghiGK9jau-0juOYdbh11mv5G5v05JmwT8Q78lQ1PU8M0NecWwrafIo/s320/IMG_0220_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493518432991409394" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">3. i love that as we drove past the gelato shop today<br />you began happily yelling, "ice ceam shop! ice ceam shop!"<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaAywIUMh3sg4fj_K7Vb5AXoQymSSolEE4NcIhDY_DV4jAjbvml_LXABRxhQpOcpW3XhO89rJb3bpzREXH0xWV-ZwHXuNXVWo3nrVw6AiAbz9ZucVdSlyfCeuy-m3s7p_Y8lVFbZUhFOow/s1600/IMG_0210_2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaAywIUMh3sg4fj_K7Vb5AXoQymSSolEE4NcIhDY_DV4jAjbvml_LXABRxhQpOcpW3XhO89rJb3bpzREXH0xWV-ZwHXuNXVWo3nrVw6AiAbz9ZucVdSlyfCeuy-m3s7p_Y8lVFbZUhFOow/s320/IMG_0210_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493518419732392658" border="0" /></a><br />2. i love that you seem to think taco tongue is a great way to greet others.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgedPiDquAzYd46bLgPqrHZ9y1CjZx5-XYkk1G0J3tAbUB_bqbIXAz3N2jfqK3u52uOhsKL4XE_awtpU_Ot8ebnnnC_VhmfyTnNAm9SnNrmybDdtXTDA-fzzYRz_JONE0YH8WwWtQLqfIq6/s1600/IMG_0250_2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgedPiDquAzYd46bLgPqrHZ9y1CjZx5-XYkk1G0J3tAbUB_bqbIXAz3N2jfqK3u52uOhsKL4XE_awtpU_Ot8ebnnnC_VhmfyTnNAm9SnNrmybDdtXTDA-fzzYRz_JONE0YH8WwWtQLqfIq6/s320/IMG_0250_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493524148314985666" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">1. i love that God put you right here in our arms to love!</div>mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311056355928920032noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943348546767772446.post-5262169472507423292010-06-28T07:18:00.000-07:002010-06-28T07:46:38.049-07:00there's a first time for everything...he's off! yesterday morning our boy headed off to camp. he was so excited when i woke him up at 5:30am that he jumped out of bed and threw on his traveling clothes and was ready in minutes. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1KqcBGIKHtXlsYxKojf9y-nVMF5QZxlIWr_7IIQ82M0B7iPxd1JFMsUo7sNkSjD8fQsr1DAfvgnVr-gRpL6TD-VCiJdo9nOlcanUXJRdRWp8v0ObSi1kZ61jMSsaZkbge9HIUL-MOj5fp/s1600/DSC_0346.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1KqcBGIKHtXlsYxKojf9y-nVMF5QZxlIWr_7IIQ82M0B7iPxd1JFMsUo7sNkSjD8fQsr1DAfvgnVr-gRpL6TD-VCiJdo9nOlcanUXJRdRWp8v0ObSi1kZ61jMSsaZkbge9HIUL-MOj5fp/s320/DSC_0346.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487830365344774690" border="0" /></a>once we arrived at the drop off spot i think his nerves began to settle on him. he got real quiet and he stayed pretty close by. daphne did the same. even though they can bicker like an old married couple, they really do love each other a ton. while we were waiting to load the bus i watched daphne go over and just lay her head on henry's chest and he just wrapped his arm around her and set his head on top of her head. i am so very thankful to have been able to see this sweet moment between them. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiVEXpiNkV3-AWUedNN3nNwtjR-rtj_QHQk0oVYB6QVwA42ToLEOzDDRidUkkHqrV8iNT1QPr-J25P4cN0Z29qigXYED2cVICr9CTbf99GM37Pufkvo-CgPvSmnOFVsuL5r81IxXzvt2i7/s1600/DSC_0349.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiVEXpiNkV3-AWUedNN3nNwtjR-rtj_QHQk0oVYB6QVwA42ToLEOzDDRidUkkHqrV8iNT1QPr-J25P4cN0Z29qigXYED2cVICr9CTbf99GM37Pufkvo-CgPvSmnOFVsuL5r81IxXzvt2i7/s320/DSC_0349.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487829921842692114" border="0" /></a><br />i hopped on the bus with him just so i could get him settled in and of course love on him a bit more. he found his seat right over the back wheel with a tv in perfect viewing location and got his backpack just right so that he could grab a snack or two during the drive. (before they even pulled out of the parking lot i could see him chomping down on some beef jerky...it was only 7am!)<br />henry and john have gotten to be pretty good buddies these days. we enjoy having john around and were so excited that he was coming to camp too! as i was getting off the bus i heard a little girl say, "henry, john wants to sit with you, okay?" henry was pumped and john grabbed his backback and that was the beginning of his camp experience! <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwPS3xw5gdG6dLOJcaVgSs6o1ioDsnm4Czy8gTe5iSWwvpBWZUVRDKkEH8PClJUgUv-sbHO472GSKcvSlwQshZfcQQVrEBYqoxC3JUTuwBQnQpPSE10JYWLRmquflTarMDc2wzzEjRK95C/s1600/DSC_0347.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwPS3xw5gdG6dLOJcaVgSs6o1ioDsnm4Czy8gTe5iSWwvpBWZUVRDKkEH8PClJUgUv-sbHO472GSKcvSlwQshZfcQQVrEBYqoxC3JUTuwBQnQpPSE10JYWLRmquflTarMDc2wzzEjRK95C/s320/DSC_0347.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487829905719555858" border="0" /></a><br />this morning i received an email from another mom who was just checking in to make sure i was doing alright and she told me about being able to see pics of the kids on the camp website. i immediately went to the site and found this one of my boy. it was so nice to see his face and to see a smile on it! <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXiTjJFp2FLlCQhPT-H4TpaWSJWMpRQpdhRVHdyi9vwWFXTlP_8KysfGCumSC6XBSiJP1sxYmOiI08DkSOLgCKCFN0_jduGWA6QDRWyl_SH-TnclzlcFHSgmRHJzlsEQjY0kJxdIVnfORJ/s1600/2010_IV_VB__0173.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXiTjJFp2FLlCQhPT-H4TpaWSJWMpRQpdhRVHdyi9vwWFXTlP_8KysfGCumSC6XBSiJP1sxYmOiI08DkSOLgCKCFN0_jduGWA6QDRWyl_SH-TnclzlcFHSgmRHJzlsEQjY0kJxdIVnfORJ/s320/2010_IV_VB__0173.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487829892352182290" border="0" /></a><br />oh how i miss him and it's only been 24 hours. not being ale to talk to him i think is the hardest part of it all. i have always checked in when i have traveled but it will be 5 days of not hearing his voice.<br /><br />i have already planned what i will fix him for dinner upon his return at week's end. i have made sure his room is clean and vacuumed his floors and washed his favorite blanket. is this what sending them off to college is like? is this what it is like to let them grow up and be independent? it's not for the faint of heart! praise God for an opportunity to do this now so that i am not a complete and total wreck when he leaves home for college. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Lord, this adventure sure is reminding me that he is on loan to us from You, the Lender. it is good to be reminded that he is not mine alone. i know that you love henry more than i can imagine and i rest in knowing that You have Your eye on him. take care of our boy today and grow his little heart into one that knows, loves and follows You all the days of his life.</span> <br /></div>mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311056355928920032noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943348546767772446.post-32873544891325284462010-03-04T19:15:00.000-08:002010-03-04T20:28:26.193-08:00he just has heaven before we do...seven years! i am just amazed at how quickly the time has gone by. ross said today, "it still hurts after seven years." i think to some extent i, too, am surprised at the sorrow that is still there. i guess since God created us to live eternally the sadness over death is evidence of His design.<br /><br />today was a little harder than last year for me. i'm not quite sure why but it was. when i woke up this morning i began to pray for God's grace to pour out over the day. then my iphone let me know i had a text waiting. it was my sweet and very dear friend, allison. she started my day off with a sweet note remembering ollie's birthday. it means so very much to me when ollie is remembered. then throughout the day people wrote on my facebook remembering ollie. many of those people i thought had probably forgotten him.<br /><br />many people over the last seven years have asked me what to do for a family who have had a child die. i say the same things every time. 1) be willing to cry with them 2) always call the child by name because a mom's biggest fear is that her child will be forgotten<br /><br />tonight we celebrated ollie's little life with a family birthday party. ross even made a chocolate cake! once we put the kiddos to bed we began to look through the scrapbook i made of ollie's story.<br /><br />the day he was born was a whirlwind to us. we talked tonight about how surreal it all seemed. because we weren't expecting to deliver him that evening we did not have our camera with us. ross had to run down to the gift shop to buy a disposable camera. unfortunately that means we did not get any good pictures from his time with us. oh how i am sad over that. i wish i had known about Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep (an organization of professional photographers who give their services to families like ours and they capture photos of the final moments or moments shortly after the death of a child for families who desire). tonight as we looked at the few pictures we have of our precious little guy i cried over not having a picture i could frame. if any of you know how to use photoshop well and want to take a crack at editing one of our pictures i would be grateful.<br /><br />i did think that i would share with you my journaling from the scrapbook so you can share that day with us. so just as his little tombstone says "to God be the glory".<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I would do it all again. In my 24th week of pregnancy Dr. Gore informed us that our son was suffering from Nonimmune Hydrops Fetalis. This meant that fluid was accumulating throughout his tiny body. At a follow-up appointment with a perinatalogist in Ft. Worth two weeks later we were told that Ollie was in distress and needed to be delivered by cesarean section immediately. As I lay on the operating table with tears in my eyes I told the Lord that Ollie was His gift to me and if it be His will then I would let him go. At 7:56pm, 25 minutes after he was born, Oliver Thomas met Jesus face to face. I have never felt such sadness and such peace in the same moment. Ollie stayed for only a short time but his memory in our hearts will stay for a lifetime. </span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Once the doctors had done all that they could do for ollie, we were able to finally hold him in our arms. His body was still warm and his fave was still pink. As we held him his little body twitched and when we asked if there was still a chance the nurse told us it was just his muscles starting to relax. the fluid that had been in him was beginning to drip from his sweet nose and mouth. Because of that Ross and I were able to do a parental chore that we never thought we would do for Ollie. We wiped his nose. I am so thankful to have been able to do that for him. </span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">After a while of holding him we bathed him. What I do remember is leaning over and kissing his little hand. His skin was soft on my lips and his hair was strawberry blonde. His second toe was longer than the first and he had a cleft in his chin like me. He was beautiful! </span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The nurses at the hospital wanted to make a plaster mold of ollie's feet for us so they took him to the nursery for a short time. It was then that many of our friends came to be with us. When the nurse brought ollie back to us my friend Krissy did not walk away. She stood next to me and cried with me and touched his skin. Words cannot express what her actions meant to me that night. </span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">When we had been told that ollie was going to be born that day we had called family immediately. My sister, Keesha, dropped everything to be by our side through whatever outcome we faced. At 11pm she walked in the doors of my hospital room and met her nephew that she had been praying for from the beginning. She held him in her arms like he was one of her own. After our friends had gone and i had been moved to a new room Keesha reminded us to take a picture of Ollie's precious feet. That is one of my most favorite pictures of him!</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">At 1am Ollie's skin was much cooler and his color had changed from pink to blue and we knew it was time to say goodbye. We each held him and then as the nurse came in to take him I kissed his precious fave one last time. I did not want to say goodbye but I pray that I never forget the way his skin felt on my lips in that moment. </span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Keesha stayed with us that night. There in that hospital room the three of us did a lot of crying and a lot of laughing! Praise God for laughter! Over the next few days Keesha took care of Henry and our home. She even helped Ross make the funeral arrangements. God sent Ross some angels during those days in the hospital and He sent me one in my sister.</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7SjQng7dbC5xfQ0IiYL4HjKyrLKg2HdSoInjOKXshnNi4shc_qzHNcxgFhwdTmf7yN2a8vQ7bK2sf1zUisLJwHuXypjipfMALpbM8seNnwndciQJi3zwPxy-IprplrTayIPPyj50n8ryb/s1600-h/face.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 222px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7SjQng7dbC5xfQ0IiYL4HjKyrLKg2HdSoInjOKXshnNi4shc_qzHNcxgFhwdTmf7yN2a8vQ7bK2sf1zUisLJwHuXypjipfMALpbM8seNnwndciQJi3zwPxy-IprplrTayIPPyj50n8ryb/s320/face.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444997810676451442" border="0" /></a><br />His Obituary<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Oliver Thomas Newman, infant son of Mandy and Ross Newman, died Tuesday, March 4, 2003. A graveside service will be at 2:30pm Saturday, March 8. Judd Rumley will officiate. Survivors include his parents; one brother, Henry Jacob Newman; grandparents, Lynda and Larry Newman and Julia and RW Ramey; and great grandparents, Claude Newman, Carol and Alan Robbins and Billie and Bill Windham. Mulkey Mason Jack Schmitz and Son Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.</span><br /><br />there you have it. there are many other written pieces in his scrapbook. emails i sent out when we first learned of his condition and prognosis, emails from family and friends who were praying for us and cards and letters of sympathy. this book is a treasure i am so very thankful to have and to share with those who have asked to see it. ollie's life has left a legacy farther reaching than what we thought 25 minutes would leave. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;">thank you, Lord for 27 weeks of carrying ollie and for the 25 minutes of life you gave him. we praise you for the work You have done and continue to do through his little life and we thank you for loving him. would you hold him in your arms until we can? to You be the glory! Amen<br /></div>mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311056355928920032noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943348546767772446.post-43620739611211259372010-01-26T10:54:00.000-08:002010-01-26T11:40:36.555-08:00i would make a great ostrich...habits that get broken can be some of the hardest to start again no matter how much we might want to.<br /><br />example- i have continued to workout 4 times a week for the last 7 months but about a month and a half ago i began running on my off days. i suffered severe shin splints but pushed right on through. about 3 weeks ago i finally got a new pair of running shoes and my shins are significantly better now but i did take a break from running on off days for the last 2 weeks. today i need to run and yet i just don't want to. for no other reason than....i don't even know...broken habit.<br /><br />blogging would be another one of those things that i have gotten out of the habit of doing. i miss it! i enjoy writing down some of the adventures we face or just some of the mundane details of life not so much for any person but really for me. it's like verbal scrapbooking.<br /><br />here's the thing i would love to avoid facing many issues in life...for many reasons. i know struggle is exhausting mentally and emotionally and to be real honest i am mentally exhausted by just doing the laundry for six people. i also would love to live in fantasy land where everything goes smoothly and easily. (are you catching on to why i title this blog "i would make a great ostrich"?) i am out of the habit of weighing in at aquatica and being accountable to someone regarding my progress. if i don't know what the scale says then there is no measure of my failure. all of this to say that there are some areas in my heart and life that God is dealing with me. some areas that He is refining and some areas He is pruning.<br /><br />as of late i have taken on a role within a group that i am involved that requires me to deal with people who have their own ideas and plans...i am a mom to four little people who still let me tell them what to do and how to do it. i have gotten out of the habit of interacting with people who don't see things eye to eye with me. this causes me stress. if you know me then you know that i tend to face conflict head on but something has happened over the last few years...i struggle with conflict. (fyi- my husband my find that as a surprise.) i don't want to cause problems. i am having to really take time to practice listening. yes- i do believe that may be the key to avoiding conflict...listening to the other person. i'll let you know how that goes.<br /><br />we also are facing another adventure... we rent our home from a rental agency here and we have just learned that the homeowner has not been able to pay their mortgage. what this means is that the bank is foreclosing on this house. in about 6 weeks this house is scheduled for auction. this is such a bummer. we really love our house and feel as though it is the size we need for our family. in the very near future we will be moving most likely unless God blesses us with a miracle. pray for us to trust His sovereignty in all the details of this adventure.<br /><br />in other news... daphne knocked out her other front tooth. yep that's right...she has successfully knocked out both her front teeth in 3 years. good thing she is so stinkin cute!! she doesn't need those front teeth....at least not yet. daph has her kindergarten screening set for tomorrow and she has now decided that after swim team season this summer she would like to take a break from dance and give soccer a try. i am excited that she wants to try something new and totally different but a little sad that our time with dance may be coming to a close. time and experience will tell.<br /><br />ramey finally hit 20lbs! this is exciting for us all. she is really growing up into quite a newman kiddo. cute & spicy at the same time!! she adores her big sister anna. pretty much the first things she says in the mornings when i get her out of bed are "eat" and "heado anna". her language development is exploding!! i love to hear her talk. she is a whisperer meaning that when she talks she usually whispers whatever she is trying to say. it is precious! some of her other favorite words/phrases are "night night evbody", "bruder henry", "mo bible" and "hi otis".<br /><br />anna continues to humble me. i do struggle with this little one and yet find deep joy in her as well. she is passionate in all things. when she laughs she means it. when she loves on you it is with all of her heart. when she feels injustice she holds nothing back. she is also a watcher of people. she will engage others once she feels comfortable but prefers to watch the action. at home...not so much- but that does stand true when we are out and about. she still loves being outside running, playing, riding bikes. i wish we had a place for a garden because i am almost positive she (and all the kids) would love to build, plant and cultivate something.<br /><br />henry is growing into a fine young man. he is really fun to be around these days. i truly enjoy my time with him. he makes me laugh! he's signed up for another season of baseball and swim team is just around the corner. i continue to pray that he will become a servant leader in all that he is involved in. a couple of weeks ago his class preformed a mini play about the life of martin luther king jr. henry played the part of martin as a boy. at one point in the play martin is broken hearted because his playmates(some white boys) would no longer play with him because they were told not to by their parents. when henry was reciting his lines he was very emotional at this point and i found myself so very thankful for the heart God has given him. henry loves people. he sees them just as we all ought to...made in the image of our Creator.<br /><br />i will work on getting some pictures uploaded from my camera because i know that is what you all would prefer to see instead of read my ramblings but for know this is the update from our little corner of the planet.mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311056355928920032noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943348546767772446.post-74315137575051865442010-01-14T10:13:00.000-08:002010-01-14T10:15:24.061-08:00one more...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIQO_C-lkGd4JnuoqunkupF5ZPATEudjQdTmBjk-v_lhYNJCRqckaUWARJNdDuUitd3zRczObhBdRZxDMcwwCNP8b2xmxnClQDE62VRcHQUkNipgoBFJ_ljQGhFMTr8Y9fxeh-Hi47eYjO/s1600-h/Baby+Picture+20001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 230px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIQO_C-lkGd4JnuoqunkupF5ZPATEudjQdTmBjk-v_lhYNJCRqckaUWARJNdDuUitd3zRczObhBdRZxDMcwwCNP8b2xmxnClQDE62VRcHQUkNipgoBFJ_ljQGhFMTr8Y9fxeh-Hi47eYjO/s320/Baby+Picture+20001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426660358818020482" border="0" /></a>here i am at about a year and a half...maybe 2. if you notice my right index finger looks shiny. i had evidently i put my hand up against a hot humidifier and burned my hands. what a great smile!mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311056355928920032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943348546767772446.post-20947642364235566762010-01-14T10:03:00.000-08:002010-01-14T10:12:53.535-08:00retwo week...so this week is retro week on facebook. i only have these pictures from when i was a kid. that makes me very sad because i just take such delight in looking at the pictures of our kids from over the last eight years. i am so thankful to atleast have these to share with my kids. in fact the months before ramey was born i began working on a scrapbook that was all about me. things i love, things i don't. quirks & habits. the way i met Jesus. how ross & i met. chores i do around the house and then a little something about being mom to each of the kids. i really enjoyed sharing these pictures in the album because strangely enough i think that at each age there really is a little bit of me in each of my kids. that brings me such joy. if you see them most say they look just like their daddy which i do agree with but then i see these pictures and i see me too. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-jkVd8R6VIVPZ-XLxmLHfX7XADm8jSPv4Na87407g2vbghbBKUmo2IN9ntWoqATjoUF6CB6JFPDOqdpns8NPUQdgy-MYM-1f0wnpSR2-ZRC3rdg3SwYCefFbAWd-SzAFe2qYUiu7m3phh/s1600-h/scan0005.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 313px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-jkVd8R6VIVPZ-XLxmLHfX7XADm8jSPv4Na87407g2vbghbBKUmo2IN9ntWoqATjoUF6CB6JFPDOqdpns8NPUQdgy-MYM-1f0wnpSR2-ZRC3rdg3SwYCefFbAWd-SzAFe2qYUiu7m3phh/s320/scan0005.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426658075973816146" border="0" /></a><br />me at about 4 trying our my new strawberry shortcake bicycle with banana seat i should add!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeysa09Qd4T4_KK8JQpnI8ny5FjvaYa8SZz8qdZKtBaS_09w5NOhYgUzac9fCFtEVFv2jfE3tRfzQ-dscgzK0OfKyRJ7jRenrxIdWNq82d8pIPBlQrkfrsP5-GAG0fxbLEFEckfV6P_G8J/s1600-h/scan0004.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 318px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeysa09Qd4T4_KK8JQpnI8ny5FjvaYa8SZz8qdZKtBaS_09w5NOhYgUzac9fCFtEVFv2jfE3tRfzQ-dscgzK0OfKyRJ7jRenrxIdWNq82d8pIPBlQrkfrsP5-GAG0fxbLEFEckfV6P_G8J/s320/scan0004.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426658069439743442" border="0" /></a><br />here i am at 10 months old...i think trouble might have been my parents second choice for a middle name.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8SZrAtITKY02MpTH8lI8AzglIUdvMWGp7mWcnyToyQI_8pM-GL8o4_Vm14MuzYwcFcLlGagRDmNwEU2qog6tKprcnCSpXiArgWoYFkRzEcnJZMDcnnnO-X-XMi1NHCYvxzeKJHP61N-Yq/s1600-h/scan0003.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 227px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8SZrAtITKY02MpTH8lI8AzglIUdvMWGp7mWcnyToyQI_8pM-GL8o4_Vm14MuzYwcFcLlGagRDmNwEU2qog6tKprcnCSpXiArgWoYFkRzEcnJZMDcnnnO-X-XMi1NHCYvxzeKJHP61N-Yq/s320/scan0003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426658063467541522" border="0" /></a><br />here i am in kindergarten with a horrid bowl cut and velour shirt. i was so mad that morning when my mom made me where this and curl my hair under. these days this kind of hair is cool for preteen boys. i was a trend setter...what can i say!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjQ39Tjge8tG5oAEMV1kLTk2W3lBgQmW1ick0YzFxDBwV5_s9Ej7un_66_qBohwTQLODUbQMTSJ6nim_-CCIgtRgpUvldtvMYgUmOrH_-VVFRKTk_3k0V4l5JBqrZnkRMvkGlKeKLTr0TO/s1600-h/scan0002.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 211px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjQ39Tjge8tG5oAEMV1kLTk2W3lBgQmW1ick0YzFxDBwV5_s9Ej7un_66_qBohwTQLODUbQMTSJ6nim_-CCIgtRgpUvldtvMYgUmOrH_-VVFRKTk_3k0V4l5JBqrZnkRMvkGlKeKLTr0TO/s320/scan0002.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426658052999613282" border="0" /></a><br />two months old.<br />n<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEytN52ujMjX634rOeW9CV3rXOjfM644skgSjWneomOMPs1rYvtGPAwSr3iHq7bf2IPJL3BclaJ7orbKxJGAMwsWaeODcQOFlXuU-5zz66qxg9_al9UaKmxqWEtkwGlhY8qSRBLQtOD6ks/s1600-h/scan0001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 212px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEytN52ujMjX634rOeW9CV3rXOjfM644skgSjWneomOMPs1rYvtGPAwSr3iHq7bf2IPJL3BclaJ7orbKxJGAMwsWaeODcQOFlXuU-5zz66qxg9_al9UaKmxqWEtkwGlhY8qSRBLQtOD6ks/s320/scan0001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426658049141995746" border="0" /></a><br />this is me at 3. i love this one. wish it wasn't cut in an oval (darn early scrapbooking).mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311056355928920032noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943348546767772446.post-81760195054852627052009-12-27T21:04:00.000-08:002010-01-26T11:40:22.242-08:00december highlights...well another month has passed with not a thought recorded here on my blog. ugh! it would be so much more efficient if my thought process could just be uploaded to the blog whenever i felt it would be fitting.<br /><br />let's see... this month has been packed with all kinds of fun. we celebrated henry's 8th birthday! wow, where have the years gone. it really does feel like only a couple of years have passed since he arrived. i can still close my eyes and be right back in that hospital room laboring with a great excitement for what was ahead. the Lord has changed me in so many ways through henry's life. i have learned my desperate need for dependence on the Lord in all things. i have learned more about dying to self. i have learned that a kind word turns away wrath. i have learned the God delights in His children! those things don't even scratch the surface of what i have learned in the last eight years. i am so blessed to be this kid's mom!! he really is the greatest boy i know.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw5Od1h7KeO0GmidMAig1GcSiE9lt3e-SXSBVyFLwnMk_TVwy4QIu37qx4nYW9wASluVeHsMf9D7e25_epm0ZWiImxQ42o4OvjC763DgyH9GV7CVMrv-1rKI5Q6Q0BXY0AojNZB7Y4XcSw/s1600-h/DSC_0178.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw5Od1h7KeO0GmidMAig1GcSiE9lt3e-SXSBVyFLwnMk_TVwy4QIu37qx4nYW9wASluVeHsMf9D7e25_epm0ZWiImxQ42o4OvjC763DgyH9GV7CVMrv-1rKI5Q6Q0BXY0AojNZB7Y4XcSw/s320/DSC_0178.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420151588189556626" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSp2TTw7mWyet3rW30QYzJjCnZ-5AzgU6SwpsJbbLzRSPLoLGTb0KeGjwFmWU-sQGYMVS8v8U57aA9BZ1vDqSWa3KiViUwYjOnvzzbtxzAtMOg0ZPw9BDNI92eTmnuDFIbJAf1KcywFJYP/s1600-h/DSC_0185.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSp2TTw7mWyet3rW30QYzJjCnZ-5AzgU6SwpsJbbLzRSPLoLGTb0KeGjwFmWU-sQGYMVS8v8U57aA9BZ1vDqSWa3KiViUwYjOnvzzbtxzAtMOg0ZPw9BDNI92eTmnuDFIbJAf1KcywFJYP/s320/DSC_0185.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420151593713685394" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzXNxgltSZiuDGf-1H9WL_vML8KTCjGDKKW8mVyk126WJjZllhu0x2OsBojKdt4211J9AVL2EanB6lok1WRSYQ_AIIGPq8tX6GqHAhJlONmhxQ5ou_M895MgDVZkNPUAunbO00Jau8upf1/s1600-h/DSC_0127.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzXNxgltSZiuDGf-1H9WL_vML8KTCjGDKKW8mVyk126WJjZllhu0x2OsBojKdt4211J9AVL2EanB6lok1WRSYQ_AIIGPq8tX6GqHAhJlONmhxQ5ou_M895MgDVZkNPUAunbO00Jau8upf1/s320/DSC_0127.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420156022719698402" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwbDnYCaB0VD-ubNIJ6g0EIgK8bR3nMLpKRKoM87Z-zJMampcLQF-LRliKIK_OJTO0RIlVDG914Sm0tUGa88psk4OdRi7W1Jqhyphenhyphenq4Pv9Chk7_tAWusr29ii6coGzc6pf7c5lsUvcu2TVQ0/s1600-h/DSC_0132.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwbDnYCaB0VD-ubNIJ6g0EIgK8bR3nMLpKRKoM87Z-zJMampcLQF-LRliKIK_OJTO0RIlVDG914Sm0tUGa88psk4OdRi7W1Jqhyphenhyphenq4Pv9Chk7_tAWusr29ii6coGzc6pf7c5lsUvcu2TVQ0/s320/DSC_0132.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420156027588561986" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyTT3F0wEP4j9ney49QPu7TUx8UoABbYEc934JbQg40Kx7aJ5prAP1SovFGVfl6V_bn3QvLt-gx0nJwtp6q0pMeqwe_O1PJhrq8usutN5f4Tib1QDSueFVRvu37lUFDDg9xe1iGfYQOApu/s1600-h/DSC_0160.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyTT3F0wEP4j9ney49QPu7TUx8UoABbYEc934JbQg40Kx7aJ5prAP1SovFGVfl6V_bn3QvLt-gx0nJwtp6q0pMeqwe_O1PJhrq8usutN5f4Tib1QDSueFVRvu37lUFDDg9xe1iGfYQOApu/s320/DSC_0160.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420156033937823394" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBba3p2e9Mq97PXOglRdYFIlPwR9my1Qrlpo9SJgUCjIbRb0J0bRlY4mYXx2cVZsi8aiJ22DvTD9SF6lWJZplj2WX1PvCmrcBsN48GvyuM2sMshdk_tWJR5SKW2YvyggeZ86GuJ29vLTmz/s1600-h/DSC_0244.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBba3p2e9Mq97PXOglRdYFIlPwR9my1Qrlpo9SJgUCjIbRb0J0bRlY4mYXx2cVZsi8aiJ22DvTD9SF6lWJZplj2WX1PvCmrcBsN48GvyuM2sMshdk_tWJR5SKW2YvyggeZ86GuJ29vLTmz/s320/DSC_0244.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420156049383117298" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhvzwa39O100E8IDnX3fVXaRIhSlL6PsgYdT42CXvhlE39Cxhc_yZ60u5GTY07Jcp68WNxmj3K0rrb2ZchBwm5-NV33ULHR30bOCLofVnCARiHvAomACsI323LHyFeObimj7ihrvBe-X5E/s1600-h/DSC_0246.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhvzwa39O100E8IDnX3fVXaRIhSlL6PsgYdT42CXvhlE39Cxhc_yZ60u5GTY07Jcp68WNxmj3K0rrb2ZchBwm5-NV33ULHR30bOCLofVnCARiHvAomACsI323LHyFeObimj7ihrvBe-X5E/s320/DSC_0246.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420159958051708850" border="0" /></a><br />this month also included daphne learning to ride her bicycle sans training wheels. this was somewhat of a surprise to us. one day she told us she wanted to take the training wheels off which she has tried before about a month ago but today something clicked for her! she did it. and can i just say that she is one tough cookie!! i can't tell you how many times henry would eat the pavement and justifiably cry like a baby...you remember what skinned knees feels like. not daphne. she just gets up and tries again.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGETImQhOXAIJNQXSjjql1AP1olzoNkNuYLr6UzNMz8b_s3vsHijTmrHHlFJY5pTigmWp-CY074xXJMVSFhtld3h9och2j7_nG9vbFeMvAan-FF6IBbMrGFn_eEWrxMWTr4LEwcDcSsB64/s1600-h/DSC_0046.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGETImQhOXAIJNQXSjjql1AP1olzoNkNuYLr6UzNMz8b_s3vsHijTmrHHlFJY5pTigmWp-CY074xXJMVSFhtld3h9och2j7_nG9vbFeMvAan-FF6IBbMrGFn_eEWrxMWTr4LEwcDcSsB64/s320/DSC_0046.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420153355210318242" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPrtg7DCwpOdvESc86DMO37tDCPUQVnaOXZzN-2qAxyhSNz8nxt8ntSNNzjWTFXqRMEDH_cH5_Ds3LsmbHLIhBjKwS0dCUqkL9Zl_OATRXwdjkrKk43ZYwjoHlSE5pS1LNFn7N56aSmVxl/s1600-h/DSC_0092.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPrtg7DCwpOdvESc86DMO37tDCPUQVnaOXZzN-2qAxyhSNz8nxt8ntSNNzjWTFXqRMEDH_cH5_Ds3LsmbHLIhBjKwS0dCUqkL9Zl_OATRXwdjkrKk43ZYwjoHlSE5pS1LNFn7N56aSmVxl/s320/DSC_0092.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420153358693425458" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipQQEV6g8RLhpJ5jIIX4jrh4-abmIA3UktsC729w6yVuxAQDB48cNNxlHEkT25TEqlp3UIveWR9c2K7q5jqQZN-G8HminDNfaskgJiquvLeVNt66Ggm-iDJt0cgtXt5DmSKn_uvglVlLbT/s1600-h/DSC_0096.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipQQEV6g8RLhpJ5jIIX4jrh4-abmIA3UktsC729w6yVuxAQDB48cNNxlHEkT25TEqlp3UIveWR9c2K7q5jqQZN-G8HminDNfaskgJiquvLeVNt66Ggm-iDJt0cgtXt5DmSKn_uvglVlLbT/s320/DSC_0096.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420153367783750370" border="0" /></a>mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311056355928920032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943348546767772446.post-73856241326055478222009-11-29T19:59:00.000-08:002009-11-29T21:33:08.099-08:00thankful for so very much...this month has been so full!! we have enjoyed so many things and had lots of fun!<br /><br />at the end of october henry qualified to participate in the regional speech meet. what this means is that out of all the second graders at his school he was one of four that scored high enough to move on to basically a statewide competition. on the 13th ross and i went with him and watched our boy stand before a table of judges and a group of about 40 people. he recited psalm 1 and did FABULOUS!!! he ranked superior- which meant he was awarded a blue ribbon! we were so incredibly proud of him!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCFaoMZ4SGjI1k4CvZ6r-KQtWt4Ce64xEakd0L_itbxByYBJ2bL2Ct8RsvLvsU67W4HH4824ecy8cUKPt7IW1cgNsDWsfTrfbBA3oZsurnmGNEwly6S7RMXdNcfow0ELR0srJes0CS5d0/s1600/DSC_0113.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCFaoMZ4SGjI1k4CvZ6r-KQtWt4Ce64xEakd0L_itbxByYBJ2bL2Ct8RsvLvsU67W4HH4824ecy8cUKPt7IW1cgNsDWsfTrfbBA3oZsurnmGNEwly6S7RMXdNcfow0ELR0srJes0CS5d0/s320/DSC_0113.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409752517079892578" border="0" /></a><br />we celebrated my 32nd birthday and ross was wonderfully amazing to me once again! he gave me a much needed new camera. back in august my camera was flooded by a kid's water bottle thrown in a bag so all i have had in the mean time was my camera phone. i am anxious to learn how to use my new camera to its fullest...so those of you with great camera skills...tell me your secrets!!! PLEASE!!!<br /><br />our family, the newman portion, has grown to 17!! that's right, 17! there are tons of kids on this side of the family so for christmas ross and i decided to give a photo shoot and pictures to the family. our friend, jenna, came out and captured some great shots for us. of course not everyone looks great and kids aren't looking at the camera in some but the reality is that this is where we are in life. years from now everyone will stand still and look at the camera but for now we will enjoy this stage.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgytPRfKwqYMbRK2YDp7XUMCAJkaUKl8_J05AkO5Okgw4xRAqB5Fmhv_3rVgaPcw1jMEhboOGoxsITDpvRhsiB0852MMk9Ur9QlVXBMzArBH1WGyjh8-eJztMOpk8p9u_Qm4uUh36K0K1SK/s1600/IMG_5388_2b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgytPRfKwqYMbRK2YDp7XUMCAJkaUKl8_J05AkO5Okgw4xRAqB5Fmhv_3rVgaPcw1jMEhboOGoxsITDpvRhsiB0852MMk9Ur9QlVXBMzArBH1WGyjh8-eJztMOpk8p9u_Qm4uUh36K0K1SK/s320/IMG_5388_2b.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409756204728099842" border="0" /></a><br />after leaving the family photo shoot ross and i made a quick change and headed back out the door to my aquatica's first annual little black dress party. this was an event we planned to celebrate some of our first goals and really just a great opportunity to dress up and party! we had so much fun and we all looked beautiful! (everyone in black is a participant and our coach is in the white shirt)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKC0sii9KDKccCCNOwpv90gNbCwgqoT8s3plmKrXUTZ3leuKWBY-eGQ1bClGKUFKztOPDpJ6Op55vYGg9xhYLdjR8wA2YotHRIf6scPS7YtUY1YHYINbBKLWkACytTiGOAPnTLlsObZhJ3/s1600/2009AQnov14+LBDyr1-20B.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKC0sii9KDKccCCNOwpv90gNbCwgqoT8s3plmKrXUTZ3leuKWBY-eGQ1bClGKUFKztOPDpJ6Op55vYGg9xhYLdjR8wA2YotHRIf6scPS7YtUY1YHYINbBKLWkACytTiGOAPnTLlsObZhJ3/s320/2009AQnov14+LBDyr1-20B.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409756829524664434" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgazlMePPvbXXX_c90T2BvHLoEtt2Zf-HR7AMgdeCOZc4aMmUU6ckrMyuxxcxVOGddFNh8D8DzwxHTD87EIacdJgF9t2fIjPVkNvQpm_Yx-hYteaeP3U38ucgOsZgYZQmBWfQAz07ptAIMy/s1600/2009AQnov14+LBDyr1-57B.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 166px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgazlMePPvbXXX_c90T2BvHLoEtt2Zf-HR7AMgdeCOZc4aMmUU6ckrMyuxxcxVOGddFNh8D8DzwxHTD87EIacdJgF9t2fIjPVkNvQpm_Yx-hYteaeP3U38ucgOsZgYZQmBWfQAz07ptAIMy/s320/2009AQnov14+LBDyr1-57B.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409756839568876274" border="0" /></a><br />to top off the month one of my sisters and her family drove all the way here from texas to spend thanksgiving with us. we were so excited when they suggested the plan even if they could only stay for a day and a half! their family of 5 arrived late afternoon on thursday and we ate like royalty! we spent the evening laughing and enjoying one another as if we had just been together the week before. i am so thankful each time we are together because God graciously allows our families to get along and to allow no evidence of time passed or the distance in miles between us.<br /><br />on friday of their trip i took keesha and eric with me to aquatica. they felt it saturday morning! once we were home we loaded up and headed to the catalinas for a hike up the panatoc trail. we had an amazing time despite the complaints of the under 5s. henry and chloe took off leading the way most of the time. i have said it before and i will say it again- henry shines out there on the mountains! when anna and lily could take no more ross & eric hiked back down with them while keesha and i caught up with the big kids. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKzb00jSLlmc2iAGucTUkAKH0Uh9WdswU7wd4AdUnRjRFiwHPIZ4hgQrvq9e6UsxY2lwb8g6goCHUl5yBhb6xVgkTsQ7teCcfKfxOTa3CJSaBIdyRbie53X5_cmjKttT051Q__kZJrn_EV/s1600/Lily+sticking+her+tongue+out+at+the+cactus-+Thanksgiving.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKzb00jSLlmc2iAGucTUkAKH0Uh9WdswU7wd4AdUnRjRFiwHPIZ4hgQrvq9e6UsxY2lwb8g6goCHUl5yBhb6xVgkTsQ7teCcfKfxOTa3CJSaBIdyRbie53X5_cmjKttT051Q__kZJrn_EV/s320/Lily+sticking+her+tongue+out+at+the+cactus-+Thanksgiving.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409759802615716978" border="0" /></a>this picture cracks me up!! lily is sticking her tongue out at a cactus she just bumped into to. no harm done just hurt feelings.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6DrREXEhF37Ik6jyeQ41qYnhKemUKcENgXsYReVUlKJTHHyrJzGWkKnely5JfxZeqsX_RgDIYnPWChtJB7avGdk7DUBW1lzZSGS080seHM2b4Fcoy1wtcuL7DuG3M3SuEEuaJyRBP1mKm/s1600/H+%26+D+Panatoc+Trl+Thanksgiving.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6DrREXEhF37Ik6jyeQ41qYnhKemUKcENgXsYReVUlKJTHHyrJzGWkKnely5JfxZeqsX_RgDIYnPWChtJB7avGdk7DUBW1lzZSGS080seHM2b4Fcoy1wtcuL7DuG3M3SuEEuaJyRBP1mKm/s320/H+%26+D+Panatoc+Trl+Thanksgiving.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409759805492729186" border="0" /></a>they are exhausted and in need of a potty break but tried to humor me with a quick picture.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0orYTknN8Gt08P8ppQQPPt2mHU6HyHR8zM3D_gFdGF1yQ0xteMPm72DyNwML3DUuBBDJYAgMCc_lK2UuZoTgOLCqhj3Q9bkZgkuoYyyFA0ymvSlqj2kD2h54qb6eaEPvfa9tjVb6SYRZ3/s1600/Thanksgiving+Hike.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0orYTknN8Gt08P8ppQQPPt2mHU6HyHR8zM3D_gFdGF1yQ0xteMPm72DyNwML3DUuBBDJYAgMCc_lK2UuZoTgOLCqhj3Q9bkZgkuoYyyFA0ymvSlqj2kD2h54qb6eaEPvfa9tjVb6SYRZ3/s320/Thanksgiving+Hike.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409759809663151138" border="0" /></a>or two!<br /><br />today we enjoyed a family adventure once again. ross and i took the kids to a place called karchner caverns. it was so beautiful! there were all kinds of geologic structures to see and learn about. in fact at one point as the docent was explaing how the stalactites, stalagmites, soda straws and drapery were formed i smiled as i thought about God's artistry and creativity. for the man explaining everything you could hear his excitement as he talked about the co2 and all the other components. i thought about how God reveals Himself to us in such personal ways. i began praying that the docent might meet God in that cavern.<br /><br />the room we were in was called the throne room. our docent pointed out some helocites, i think that's what they were called, that were no longer doing what they were doing in another potion of the cave but rather bent over in the direction of the "throne room". whatever explanantion he gave i did not hear much of...only enough to hear something about a breeze but what i thought of was how every knee will one day bow down before the Throne. this was just God's story illustrated in a cave. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDpp0vObaJ3e8TA5wNkzUq2d1hlJtAVFl6G7VgNhmUD-XcUIOSILOSi-W91mYW5-jOqa95YB8dEQ3B9wAM3Igr2gC0vSAzyvPFPr5ILkRZgobaG9lulLPgGbH9RKDYFiFSruciyVrAhxWM/s1600/karchner+caverns.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDpp0vObaJ3e8TA5wNkzUq2d1hlJtAVFl6G7VgNhmUD-XcUIOSILOSi-W91mYW5-jOqa95YB8dEQ3B9wAM3Igr2gC0vSAzyvPFPr5ILkRZgobaG9lulLPgGbH9RKDYFiFSruciyVrAhxWM/s320/karchner+caverns.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409764122223470114" border="0" /></a><br />so there you have our month. lots of adventure, lots of fun!mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311056355928920032noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943348546767772446.post-62595557311362216532009-10-20T15:46:00.000-07:002009-10-20T16:25:01.988-07:00change...here it is mid <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">october</span> and the weather is still in the upper 80s here in the desert. today was extraordinarily beautiful...blue skies, a few clouds, sun shining and a warm breeze. you know the weather- cool enough to wear jeans and shirt with sleeves rolled up. <br /><br />after picking up the two middle girls at school on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">tuesdays</span> we only have about an hour before picking up <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">henry</span>. there is no point in driving all the way back to the house so we can be there for 15 minutes just to get back in the car to pick him up. (this is one of those areas that i envy you wonderful women in my life who <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">homeschool</span>!)<br /><br />so with an hour to fill we headed over to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">AJs</span>, a nice grocery store here in town, for a free cookie for the girls and an ice tea for me. i don't know if it was the fact that we were not in a hurry for a change or if it was that we had an hour but we got the cookies and tea and walked out into a beautiful half hour of just pure delight. we walked slowly and looked at all the fall decorations. we threw pennies in the water fountain and then just stood there for a few minutes. we walked into one of my favorite stores and enjoyed seeing the thanksgiving table decor that i would so love to put on my own table. nothing but a slow paced-no agenda half hour...it was good. so good! (now that i have written this i am wondering if maybe the fact that two out of three kids were in a stroller may have been a huge contributing factor to the calm as well.)<br /><br />after we loaded back into the car and headed over to the school i began processing the whys of such a peaceful bit of the day. as i said before there were probably several contributing factors but one that stood out to me was the weather. <br /><br />a common ice breaker question is, "what is your favorite season?". my answer to that is always fall...until someone else answers and gives their reasoning. what i realized today is that i love all the seasons (in moderation re: <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">arizona</span> summers) but more than the season, i love the changing of seasons. it is like a rebirth of sorts. i find that with the dawning of a new season there is hope for change in my own life. i am a sucker for school supply season and for the spring color options for kitchen aid mixers in the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">william</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">sonoma</span> window. store shelves with scarves or winter hats and sunscreen usher in more of the same- hope for change and newness. <br /><br />so there you have it- my favorite season is the changing season! <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;">Lord, You are the Author of hope and i praise You for it! because of the cross i have hope and i thank you for letting me see that with the change of the season hope can be see there too. thank you for showing Yourself to me today in the stillness of that one half hour!<br /></div>mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311056355928920032noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943348546767772446.post-7389427792199183352009-09-26T14:44:00.000-07:002009-09-26T15:21:08.826-07:00iphone pics...over the last several months i have enjoyed having my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">iphone</span> on hand to capture those moments that will not ever be repeated...<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">at least</span> not in a genuine fashion. now these pics are not in <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">chronological</span> order by any means but who cares...this isn't the scrapbook!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUhPLmzuv5SXEaBOpRa6oiBs3RPihLH7jYyF4Zhsxg5UcHlLiu79qsMxYV2vfOB5THpNj6uJT6hj724Jo421Rzx0tRYK1curMe-xWH3-Ytdn16pbFQ3oXzOykK_pvuERBI9PcLt-ZWURE/s1600-h/Picture+303.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUhPLmzuv5SXEaBOpRa6oiBs3RPihLH7jYyF4Zhsxg5UcHlLiu79qsMxYV2vfOB5THpNj6uJT6hj724Jo421Rzx0tRYK1curMe-xWH3-Ytdn16pbFQ3oXzOykK_pvuERBI9PcLt-ZWURE/s320/Picture+303.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385897130003079234" border="0" /></a><br />here are my two middle girls headed into <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">pre</span> school for their first day. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">daphne</span> loves school and so it was sweet to watch her lead her baby sister into class. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">anna</span> is loving it!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqw7h2PTKOE5gGYOjRWF9cwfndWjiER06q7WB9mjRUkiihLzBMTalndPTNYfbOyz9I-6Lu84TwQoyFM-5WDPOy03mVXZRGRBZFfPYg39Eaq8Rwio8gKH9hMYValy_8wd-QANznI7FwH-w/s1600-h/Picture+287.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqw7h2PTKOE5gGYOjRWF9cwfndWjiER06q7WB9mjRUkiihLzBMTalndPTNYfbOyz9I-6Lu84TwQoyFM-5WDPOy03mVXZRGRBZFfPYg39Eaq8Rwio8gKH9hMYValy_8wd-QANznI7FwH-w/s320/Picture+287.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385897121882347826" border="0" /></a><br />many people have asked what is it like having four kids. here is a glimpse. while i was fixing dinner <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">ross</span> and all four of the munchkins sat together to read a book. i loved this moment in time...it is exactly what i hoped for!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWCtPx7KVRL7-JLTsSYKyTgyx2qDoqarbwROy_U41i5ii22nm3RITP_2BMRACgIbGJNbHB1acB0jFr4Dcg6tDydfZSF07JNh8B89aK66mLqM2SDL4kBT0FAShPsKK0rC1496694PJdz2o/s1600-h/Picture+154.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWCtPx7KVRL7-JLTsSYKyTgyx2qDoqarbwROy_U41i5ii22nm3RITP_2BMRACgIbGJNbHB1acB0jFr4Dcg6tDydfZSF07JNh8B89aK66mLqM2SDL4kBT0FAShPsKK0rC1496694PJdz2o/s320/Picture+154.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385897106444605186" border="0" /></a><br />these girls bring such joy and laughter to our family each in there own way! this was a trip to the zoo and they were just waiting on the wall for our friends to arrive. i pray they will grow a strong friendship with one another in the years ahead.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiodCrdd3RHJtD1LElnd0KmMrPo6gLRl4DyJFrnbRDrVoXLEm5kiCZE2Dit2KAhgQhev4YcH4FdnO7ALG9saXb4lCM1TXLj7LajMyHlQ12MVZqhFxUAu1pEDb0c6lS_T2FGoVx2lfTmIuY/s1600-h/Picture+212.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiodCrdd3RHJtD1LElnd0KmMrPo6gLRl4DyJFrnbRDrVoXLEm5kiCZE2Dit2KAhgQhev4YcH4FdnO7ALG9saXb4lCM1TXLj7LajMyHlQ12MVZqhFxUAu1pEDb0c6lS_T2FGoVx2lfTmIuY/s320/Picture+212.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385897091188044082" border="0" /></a><br />i may have posted this picture before but this captures our <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">anna</span>. most mornings she is up by 5:45am dressed and spending some quiet time by herself or with our dog, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">otis</span>. on this morning she had let him outside and pulled up a chair next to him to watch the morning arrive. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUtvRFtZIv5h8iXkWkPp1i4DrMzcgqnVuniIc5lq35uZTlqfgdMQAtZZI4C_wTB6XgWp7FqYo3uhRvCr_b0d7bA6CtHcgpcClvKpM0xhg8Nu6cDM_aBWzCRr3SF7BMIOsR_Og1NJuO1eA/s1600-h/Picture+116.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUtvRFtZIv5h8iXkWkPp1i4DrMzcgqnVuniIc5lq35uZTlqfgdMQAtZZI4C_wTB6XgWp7FqYo3uhRvCr_b0d7bA6CtHcgpcClvKpM0xhg8Nu6cDM_aBWzCRr3SF7BMIOsR_Og1NJuO1eA/s320/Picture+116.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385896291347335602" border="0" /></a><br />for some reason i thought it would be fun to get <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">anna</span> her first hair cut. we went with a cute little bob and yes it is cute but i am still not sure why i cut off those curls! silly me, adorable her!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGPyfgZKBQmPqOiGRLLy06x3wAzW8NO3-kQTsLoRgZgPITLeEPAbuISdSdV5uc7yDDT2rSAsfMuNG4wmFC8QwqlfklPByfcbd-BplldeJUMll9gQiXw5LKfmZJCDn7TEqDLHZnjCGfmJw/s1600-h/Picture+244.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGPyfgZKBQmPqOiGRLLy06x3wAzW8NO3-kQTsLoRgZgPITLeEPAbuISdSdV5uc7yDDT2rSAsfMuNG4wmFC8QwqlfklPByfcbd-BplldeJUMll9gQiXw5LKfmZJCDn7TEqDLHZnjCGfmJw/s320/Picture+244.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385897119424174850" border="0" /></a><br />here's our <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">henry</span> covered in shaving cream. for the end of the year swim team party they had a huge shaving cream fight. he didn't hesitate to join this chaos!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKWkHroGSazsWYfmNuG2qOYpHpLvNPMkj7IQqDhbBgum2Ty2sNdKZXLz52HjvdW0xX1QHkHMjgOSaDdsjAUj1MvKXfmg4dDsYalINCy-vS_AiTjjF2PN31eLtTxm1PbMOX-gGUbXzm7D0/s1600-h/Picture+057.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKWkHroGSazsWYfmNuG2qOYpHpLvNPMkj7IQqDhbBgum2Ty2sNdKZXLz52HjvdW0xX1QHkHMjgOSaDdsjAUj1MvKXfmg4dDsYalINCy-vS_AiTjjF2PN31eLtTxm1PbMOX-gGUbXzm7D0/s320/Picture+057.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385896285525482242" border="0" /></a><br />now this is why i have an <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">iphone</span>! here we are in old navy one day and while we were in line <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">anna</span> finds these boots. often times i would tell her not to do this and to come stand next to me but in a rare moment of delight and enjoyment i let her waddle around in these GIANT rain boots. she's adorable and it was just plain fun for a few minutes for all of us. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP0RBWDLVQnD9W7DAL8FzxFIA6R56G_QcJBXiyLyVmuY-jNfSO9J2Oo5XefwXFfMrm4G5yupg1d8ao2K8KORWr0M41YKf-_-59L0srZ_feKmUfwR0cpnWXINCEPh0xIxLGCBjun26G0i0/s1600-h/Picture+054.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP0RBWDLVQnD9W7DAL8FzxFIA6R56G_QcJBXiyLyVmuY-jNfSO9J2Oo5XefwXFfMrm4G5yupg1d8ao2K8KORWr0M41YKf-_-59L0srZ_feKmUfwR0cpnWXINCEPh0xIxLGCBjun26G0i0/s320/Picture+054.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385896280061863266" border="0" /></a>here's my precious husband and his two eldest. i love how <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">ross</span> loves all of us. he gives of himself all the time...i really mean all the time. these kids have such a great example of a husband and daddy and i praise God for that all the time!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZIUAZxwtGp27LV3hGLKSEMHnYChswEhPZI5u3AI8Hmhetxx0R-NA5yYYqCnYl81ZdsBw3Yw5gd3Wddx2G-J1mSjMQ_nsigk8IvQLGWTJcgOPq4jlH9XYkA0JmxaWttTFhLlSHl-coik/s1600-h/Picture+052.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZIUAZxwtGp27LV3hGLKSEMHnYChswEhPZI5u3AI8Hmhetxx0R-NA5yYYqCnYl81ZdsBw3Yw5gd3Wddx2G-J1mSjMQ_nsigk8IvQLGWTJcgOPq4jlH9XYkA0JmxaWttTFhLlSHl-coik/s320/Picture+052.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385896272390622530" border="0" /></a>this is an <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">arizona</span> sunset. sadly i have grown to take them for granted all too often but not on this day. it was breath taking as most of them are. the sky here is more beautiful than anywhere i have ever been...pure and beautiful.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicNK1ltsaRkOJefU3wUUSyZw5scUDrYzdJGu5f3WJzJDLpwZRiHnL08oOx4TQS4NiAG7yr7davVhpdfygG7fkFkyzGLPO8Z57bjFfkPuFWHoay8B_JGCyuoh1n-aDM-z1UEVmQxKFQCuQ/s1600-h/Picture+044.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicNK1ltsaRkOJefU3wUUSyZw5scUDrYzdJGu5f3WJzJDLpwZRiHnL08oOx4TQS4NiAG7yr7davVhpdfygG7fkFkyzGLPO8Z57bjFfkPuFWHoay8B_JGCyuoh1n-aDM-z1UEVmQxKFQCuQ/s320/Picture+044.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385896263275504434" border="0" /></a>girl's night out for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">daph</span> and i! i got my hair done and so did she. there truly is a difference between super cuts and the salon and the price difference wasn't too bad either. we followed up our hair <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">appointments</span> with sauce and frost (for you non <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">tucsonans</span>- pizza and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">gellato</span>).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQX9TdQTrh3D0zR6F85_doZMdmru7-Pth-sYIbc2UntQSC7eLML6rAFM-96EHaEbw0wPlCUpLmRlvQtcgvJCPqQtvsx0JqJJqUSuQMztXgtp0fa-jrwQxB0Vv3oYFGic65KmsBDDKxVM/s1600-h/Picture+509.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQX9TdQTrh3D0zR6F85_doZMdmru7-Pth-sYIbc2UntQSC7eLML6rAFM-96EHaEbw0wPlCUpLmRlvQtcgvJCPqQtvsx0JqJJqUSuQMztXgtp0fa-jrwQxB0Vv3oYFGic65KmsBDDKxVM/s320/Picture+509.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385897779305755010" border="0" /></a>just last weekend i took <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">henry</span> & <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">daphne</span> to see cloudy with a chance of meatballs in 3D. we had a blast!! i love taking them to the movies. i am looking forward to toy story and toy story 2 next weekend. <br /><br />so there you have one more little peak into our world. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;">Lord, you have so richly blessed me with our little 6-some. Lord, help me to instill in our children a love for our family both near and far. i pray they learn, through word and example, how to enjoy the little things time and time again and i pray we would glorify You by enjoying You forever.<br /></div>mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311056355928920032noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943348546767772446.post-90464007334522922922009-09-20T12:51:00.000-07:002009-09-21T07:58:25.453-07:00family, car pool and chores- oh my...i can't believe it has been almost 3 months since i posted anything on here! ugh!! it drives me crazy that i have let that happen.<br /><br />much has gone on around here so i think i will catch you all up via pictures.<br /><br />after <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">ramey's</span> birthday we took a mini vacation up to a resort in phoenix with the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">gooding</span> family. we all had a great time enjoying our time by the pool! definitely a must for next summer!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOdo3PFi78Aapmjs45U8MfH4Zmt8PpqUKlh3ZJyY0sf3zoeWvqSJ5nUvO2-pLtLL_aZCplAxEuLvrNrCc4-I9JOsKP7JoKyMTNONRMffzfWBxHHTY0zi6hG06ohx3Yxd7uvhM0Ea9pjbQ/s1600-h/IMG_4915.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOdo3PFi78Aapmjs45U8MfH4Zmt8PpqUKlh3ZJyY0sf3zoeWvqSJ5nUvO2-pLtLL_aZCplAxEuLvrNrCc4-I9JOsKP7JoKyMTNONRMffzfWBxHHTY0zi6hG06ohx3Yxd7uvhM0Ea9pjbQ/s320/IMG_4915.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383753045488397874" border="0" /></a>the kids were packed and ready to go by 7:30 am...estimated time of departure = 9am<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyNpOE9i91C61SAkJvXuVDokW8XXDGIAsGeDjvZ5YT74ssASGej6Qe53tYMcTMS8rCChsgmCea4jlqN1MOM51MA7B3zLFhUgEOL3H4fRiJPbEiRn4WEi3NyJ8kyoiIu3zwFniwigZDE2A/s1600-h/IMG_4935.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyNpOE9i91C61SAkJvXuVDokW8XXDGIAsGeDjvZ5YT74ssASGej6Qe53tYMcTMS8rCChsgmCea4jlqN1MOM51MA7B3zLFhUgEOL3H4fRiJPbEiRn4WEi3NyJ8kyoiIu3zwFniwigZDE2A/s320/IMG_4935.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383753067651816162" border="0" /></a><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">anna</span> didn't want to be in this pic but here is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">ross</span> and 3 of the 4 heading to the pool!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh49UjplNVJnG1OWrOLkwGUxKvteKwOgYQhdGNgjtZ25xPQ7h2HruYA4hcdefiSoiqeCU_-LlsFE2Acl4nzsgGs12Oicl5_3de4bfLEtDcqElcETAtp0rYXXgWrjohMEfdDVsRB78VdpoE/s1600-h/IMG_4942.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh49UjplNVJnG1OWrOLkwGUxKvteKwOgYQhdGNgjtZ25xPQ7h2HruYA4hcdefiSoiqeCU_-LlsFE2Acl4nzsgGs12Oicl5_3de4bfLEtDcqElcETAtp0rYXXgWrjohMEfdDVsRB78VdpoE/s320/IMG_4942.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383753077566845282" border="0" /></a><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">anna</span> did enjoy being in the water- especially if she could snag <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">ramey's</span> float.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheWzKogQXSazP49_inpuXGHnupvfHdxwheyGRsJl7lqiH99dZECYvWZL_W4Mj9szwqLS-VjYFqbvxkLZ_RG96SdV4T4_2t_5MYSGeUksbQYkDtp4pOasIV9HHukRnuEy59wrEBC3CIWvg/s1600-h/IMG_4918.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheWzKogQXSazP49_inpuXGHnupvfHdxwheyGRsJl7lqiH99dZECYvWZL_W4Mj9szwqLS-VjYFqbvxkLZ_RG96SdV4T4_2t_5MYSGeUksbQYkDtp4pOasIV9HHukRnuEy59wrEBC3CIWvg/s320/IMG_4918.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383753051016725842" border="0" /></a>vacations are something to get excited about!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhinurXTD6zz42ZJgcOLWN6CBmOEdYw_Txo_hcvmdwRfxfWdiwt13ZHQcy1S9SThD-9Y8ExMp9ysLxkqW0N6itam5LVHVIniM36cfE344HJsdAui1CY8GX9HyDeUn9HGUTxypC30_3MXXs/s1600-h/IMG_4954.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhinurXTD6zz42ZJgcOLWN6CBmOEdYw_Txo_hcvmdwRfxfWdiwt13ZHQcy1S9SThD-9Y8ExMp9ysLxkqW0N6itam5LVHVIniM36cfE344HJsdAui1CY8GX9HyDeUn9HGUTxypC30_3MXXs/s320/IMG_4954.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383753088092587570" border="0" /></a><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">alan</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">allison</span> getting a couple of minutes to themselves!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbrK_eba1avgw82tSN62ET-p-jeuR92xCaRlByu2YDjeRrsmijOu4g_MNNeS53MCSQKMlyMB7AKXgAPwBFNKv0RS1F0W2QebqorWSKVi1t_0jrDCaTeafEo0zIRAVbRbS8HsFgsjh9i2c/s1600-h/IMG_4957.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbrK_eba1avgw82tSN62ET-p-jeuR92xCaRlByu2YDjeRrsmijOu4g_MNNeS53MCSQKMlyMB7AKXgAPwBFNKv0RS1F0W2QebqorWSKVi1t_0jrDCaTeafEo0zIRAVbRbS8HsFgsjh9i2c/s400/IMG_4957.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383755721940391682" border="0" /></a><br />me & my girl!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh97irulitPKspHF-G3XbR7p3czzCd6byYboTO0KBt4JjGZ3tq3Cmjw9By472G8br2Rx52Hej840pMs5DSlChe0SyaF92oaX7PmGwU6-K5ZG3OMz4m67hbZdLTNEIvbq0Ioio7iRESXF_c/s1600-h/IMG_4960.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh97irulitPKspHF-G3XbR7p3czzCd6byYboTO0KBt4JjGZ3tq3Cmjw9By472G8br2Rx52Hej840pMs5DSlChe0SyaF92oaX7PmGwU6-K5ZG3OMz4m67hbZdLTNEIvbq0Ioio7iRESXF_c/s400/IMG_4960.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383755730074635042" border="0" /></a><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">anna</span>, me & <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">hj</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZNpvfRMuaj0bVXp3kTGJAdVnJt6V3ZIcsxw5xkJgAj9Mtmip42Di9d8eECfLVnsNAT-tHMc07nG8NvUS9uXDCrmrrkcqCbnr03IidocYPxhBGqe1LXJg6cKQbuUwnfBU7e4s1J5lpFz0/s1600-h/IMG_4972.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZNpvfRMuaj0bVXp3kTGJAdVnJt6V3ZIcsxw5xkJgAj9Mtmip42Di9d8eECfLVnsNAT-tHMc07nG8NvUS9uXDCrmrrkcqCbnr03IidocYPxhBGqe1LXJg6cKQbuUwnfBU7e4s1J5lpFz0/s400/IMG_4972.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383755742327982146" border="0" /></a><br />swim team was such fun this year!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE_afw5tEUzswdhiZAFHPCC4tnn897k05hw0ofwLgpVbC8S7TMQnmY219eX1xqGobf_uBRf8V_OUd2EaAgcz4mkEgpxHK5079fn7NNYUBfC1-tBB7cLAFwPaK2rS53W7TRL0ADYV7Iols/s1600-h/IMG_5016.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE_afw5tEUzswdhiZAFHPCC4tnn897k05hw0ofwLgpVbC8S7TMQnmY219eX1xqGobf_uBRf8V_OUd2EaAgcz4mkEgpxHK5079fn7NNYUBfC1-tBB7cLAFwPaK2rS53W7TRL0ADYV7Iols/s400/IMG_5016.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383764143632926130" border="0" /></a><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">henry</span> improved 10 fold this year with his swimming. by championships he placed 4<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">th</span> overall in backstroke, his favorite stroke!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNrqt3e5lYd_lpYwVYzoMiq6PmA1ut5AaD-JLUIpd5l2kGOoTztb1EpJ5AWBq_dN31XqV66NGDN76VCimefSZ1cWFJYM5oKv7ygPV8GxFHDIToCIrWgjAZNfSFgbi-oDrLD4elll0UslI/s1600-h/IMG_5018.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNrqt3e5lYd_lpYwVYzoMiq6PmA1ut5AaD-JLUIpd5l2kGOoTztb1EpJ5AWBq_dN31XqV66NGDN76VCimefSZ1cWFJYM5oKv7ygPV8GxFHDIToCIrWgjAZNfSFgbi-oDrLD4elll0UslI/s400/IMG_5018.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383764150650575314" border="0" /></a><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">henry</span> & his buddy <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">kody</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZbj3u-TJf0_Dmdivn4uqI80tcnnMkDUrevZhlu7WC8h5jyCDW2gxzpJrhxkSF5E2p6-1aGQTYQt0mYNeNozasTwKeFpIlroHilCAOem1m5ULltdBsrjkdIRzGoI2LTrh8Gs_DmM79zXs/s1600-h/IMG_5008.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZbj3u-TJf0_Dmdivn4uqI80tcnnMkDUrevZhlu7WC8h5jyCDW2gxzpJrhxkSF5E2p6-1aGQTYQt0mYNeNozasTwKeFpIlroHilCAOem1m5ULltdBsrjkdIRzGoI2LTrh8Gs_DmM79zXs/s400/IMG_5008.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383764136732134098" border="0" /></a><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">connor</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">henry</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">alia</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">callie</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimgsogn8f1inRxNdwoO3hK2_Pc9mw1XK2h2f9HxkvtOKAFerKi_mMOwKEnacCqR9iDq7AkoS3j3cRb7DptOjzL_T89YUx0f4QJ_nnpQ_IZEiG2XEe0DrMS3NV3ODYzUZt9IAdUqFoFvKw/s1600-h/IMG_4982.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimgsogn8f1inRxNdwoO3hK2_Pc9mw1XK2h2f9HxkvtOKAFerKi_mMOwKEnacCqR9iDq7AkoS3j3cRb7DptOjzL_T89YUx0f4QJ_nnpQ_IZEiG2XEe0DrMS3NV3ODYzUZt9IAdUqFoFvKw/s400/IMG_4982.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383755751624825778" border="0" /></a><br />some days cookies are a must!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguuACqqS5v20idc3YuB01z0Dt0F7pakdenOrhNNDt2I-YLKFwOdbkKPvQeHuCDm1vZ9vhraYhaCeHfStKQOK2uND4c-qSOsgmlURjb_QVzbbELgne8Oyt5XYPtj-KonjH8MviyAhAPxJ8/s1600-h/IMG_4971.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguuACqqS5v20idc3YuB01z0Dt0F7pakdenOrhNNDt2I-YLKFwOdbkKPvQeHuCDm1vZ9vhraYhaCeHfStKQOK2uND4c-qSOsgmlURjb_QVzbbELgne8Oyt5XYPtj-KonjH8MviyAhAPxJ8/s400/IMG_4971.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383755758441462226" border="0" /></a><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">ramey</span> loves to feed herself! weighing in at 17lbs at 12 months we've had to find foods to fatten her up...today- black beans, cheese and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">avacados</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMDFX9alsIkfzZO5iEQ88yZwHg4yBu95ICbOhbbDR8B5TPEx_bZ1Uihty6u-v0Yq7YJKUh5_GwtRyYLjNikkoALe6YTMe7Frq4ponnMpSqnJSD1qR0ZNJ9LDXzuaO1JqXVoeakgSGB2Go/s1600-h/IMG_4994.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMDFX9alsIkfzZO5iEQ88yZwHg4yBu95ICbOhbbDR8B5TPEx_bZ1Uihty6u-v0Yq7YJKUh5_GwtRyYLjNikkoALe6YTMe7Frq4ponnMpSqnJSD1qR0ZNJ9LDXzuaO1JqXVoeakgSGB2Go/s400/IMG_4994.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383764130470163106" border="0" /></a><br />in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">july</span> we went a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">tucson</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">toros</span> game with uncle <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">tod</span>, aunt cat and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">zach</span>. the kids had a great time!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfQRa77wJhVsI4nHwJsmaRFtBbMMJhSESBwdakAcNHBoIu_4YoPkkFCvSeobJESuXX-XZrddEy5YtHqbR6H9DrQgE-uEwQNUHx0MJWQf7puOBbBDmI7eqy1K90MYbBBfnaoJHXcRcyf40/s1600-h/IMG_4989.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfQRa77wJhVsI4nHwJsmaRFtBbMMJhSESBwdakAcNHBoIu_4YoPkkFCvSeobJESuXX-XZrddEy5YtHqbR6H9DrQgE-uEwQNUHx0MJWQf7puOBbBDmI7eqy1K90MYbBBfnaoJHXcRcyf40/s400/IMG_4989.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383764116667413970" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDorOCYpNaExctVIWle0M51cF069kszAIVzXNOHcOBAcHRJe7jd7bjO3rsuZbekmDHmNjH_Z_nFOFv2bh469jA4rbN0HwlmvRaTtroGx5EEDOiCAhq67Whd0WRyG9DCpn3wPA2hf05eII/s1600-h/IMG_5035.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDorOCYpNaExctVIWle0M51cF069kszAIVzXNOHcOBAcHRJe7jd7bjO3rsuZbekmDHmNjH_Z_nFOFv2bh469jA4rbN0HwlmvRaTtroGx5EEDOiCAhq67Whd0WRyG9DCpn3wPA2hf05eII/s320/IMG_5035.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383777293684133682" border="0" /></a><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">CYT</span> is a youth theater group that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">henry</span> and some of his friends enjoyed over the summer. for one week a ton of kids gathered on the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">UofA</span> campus and by <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">friday</span> they put on a production of the Lion King.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuE5w7hA1XwqVh7MG-b5Wyc_PtZ2QEznN00ZeXlLrvQM_-lBQS5PTIr6bhE0VUhpGdcCzgj9GtSJhDo3dtJGDG4azgrQ7yGIcbhSdm_wWwgpFa1vrbWwejPaORG1WTm7B3MAH96MTdO34/s1600-h/IMG_5047.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuE5w7hA1XwqVh7MG-b5Wyc_PtZ2QEznN00ZeXlLrvQM_-lBQS5PTIr6bhE0VUhpGdcCzgj9GtSJhDo3dtJGDG4azgrQ7yGIcbhSdm_wWwgpFa1vrbWwejPaORG1WTm7B3MAH96MTdO34/s400/IMG_5047.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383775736759632354" border="0" /></a><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">henry</span> was part of the chorus but had a one line solo! <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjV5TQ6kj7-KnqrQIKfXL-bnBBla3RmKUxs7nxyML-0usK2vKI7yEs3KaMLMJlQ8cvKfMoThgSHgLrXxwazyGi0yf7PAGhZxFXb2uSUveOmI4ABu41rcaHZeUceWYRQlkQuX6ynLbSty4/s1600-h/Picture+237.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjV5TQ6kj7-KnqrQIKfXL-bnBBla3RmKUxs7nxyML-0usK2vKI7yEs3KaMLMJlQ8cvKfMoThgSHgLrXxwazyGi0yf7PAGhZxFXb2uSUveOmI4ABu41rcaHZeUceWYRQlkQuX6ynLbSty4/s320/Picture+237.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383780402702474162" border="0" /></a><br />we took a big trip to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">texas</span> right before school started. we drove to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">denton</span> first to see friends and to stop by <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">ollie's</span> grave. this is our first picture of our 5 kiddos!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvi1g-Qv8kLhRao30OGfnyHioMU2W9X2KUVKYo0SieryV8N2JcZJ8t8nWepuOewtukH90xqecn3tja7HjA2tU9Ihys5dNKXNGrMPawemB1W7jsuelbDcUsBFs6bbjN_vHvaSZfTwLu8dA/s1600-h/IMG_5053.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvi1g-Qv8kLhRao30OGfnyHioMU2W9X2KUVKYo0SieryV8N2JcZJ8t8nWepuOewtukH90xqecn3tja7HjA2tU9Ihys5dNKXNGrMPawemB1W7jsuelbDcUsBFs6bbjN_vHvaSZfTwLu8dA/s400/IMG_5053.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383775749235403538" border="0" /></a>once we left <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">denton</span>, having seen <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">krissy</span> and the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">carbajal</span> family we headed south for a week at the beach. it was much needed time in the sand.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3waBi95mWytEXxTaP0Z7WuMbYcnOlapc3bVgRYIJJYDOBTXBcex2ThT-xcth4tPtbg3I1J_BUWryptnTBaMTlO_FDMfb2d9sdPu1bHQY0eeRkCiT8d0YVUnGLWExGPmh6SHvlfjsWNZg/s1600-h/HTB_0001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; 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display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDmYOLLWWaRwKlCIXjhBr4pF5No4eYbwbqiPuopUBafpvgXvJUPHkpdDFUE4VokvDMbdRcOTaKVhE2k4-_OpKKcCnSD2OZ7BGYOQQDvp9UAf4_dSAq7BQBcaHXFsYeD3arIBk8K4C9TsA/s400/HTB_0063.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383767985786636242" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT69FfWPvzbOMRJ6KsP29tJwIq6O62G9SU6DGSFJ1flTfjaCfpqLK9Zl7PDRX0syERnBHwFJDHdVDCAWVlN4ik2xqRwwIXcjFGBwMT22HKX2mK-9SynKBl_wLnTy4LKvAWyIno9fChPe8/s1600-h/HTB_0125.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT69FfWPvzbOMRJ6KsP29tJwIq6O62G9SU6DGSFJ1flTfjaCfpqLK9Zl7PDRX0syERnBHwFJDHdVDCAWVlN4ik2xqRwwIXcjFGBwMT22HKX2mK-9SynKBl_wLnTy4LKvAWyIno9fChPe8/s400/HTB_0125.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383768795693177826" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMiFNJjj712nwAziN1m6MWC4xxa4t_E_A36i3K47wmCiJRVMsSrg7lUQsYQ7q1Q4ZzD4C4xMDipuGBhAERik8hoyE2youkk9INjLIlklw9NMYwKvVWn4RaVA76WaJAKp6iQFEs83lJ9pc/s1600-h/HTB_0133.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMiFNJjj712nwAziN1m6MWC4xxa4t_E_A36i3K47wmCiJRVMsSrg7lUQsYQ7q1Q4ZzD4C4xMDipuGBhAERik8hoyE2youkk9INjLIlklw9NMYwKvVWn4RaVA76WaJAKp6iQFEs83lJ9pc/s400/HTB_0133.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383768799767426178" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtAEeyEkw38DMDMmC4vDom5tWM_1W2v0wilefLn5K-Ht1q-40rHklOfVLK3E6ARVMRO4dNmYA13BEgywBNRe7fW_sBByZAeI6KsPT-hS-0alcgRXK2ZpLpRQ5rhAaUEDM7cdukhp0QXz4/s1600-h/HTB_0104.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtAEeyEkw38DMDMmC4vDom5tWM_1W2v0wilefLn5K-Ht1q-40rHklOfVLK3E6ARVMRO4dNmYA13BEgywBNRe7fW_sBByZAeI6KsPT-hS-0alcgRXK2ZpLpRQ5rhAaUEDM7cdukhp0QXz4/s400/HTB_0104.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383768777349425634" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7lrm1cN1TsNC1vihe92RhIPWi6SMIA-FaPtRguL6yqxaudUxca_oaePRL_bDSBqquyM6DnjDLzTus4L08-KQjjzKXEEtmCmQaCzc2Sc4sqYWqMmGH69ewZ_-B8g5Er2f3pX5KZYiLwjU/s1600-h/IMG_5065.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7lrm1cN1TsNC1vihe92RhIPWi6SMIA-FaPtRguL6yqxaudUxca_oaePRL_bDSBqquyM6DnjDLzTus4L08-KQjjzKXEEtmCmQaCzc2Sc4sqYWqMmGH69ewZ_-B8g5Er2f3pX5KZYiLwjU/s400/IMG_5065.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383775766328111922" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzpZKU24HsqiFrdrvUufAHGmsb3WTn4h3YX6FuyzYjcO6yPRbE0qM9DGD6mTbFSPD8PLS2srE6EvdOQEvnd2IgRfXiHMtgmhSIziWDfplc15jObMeTLqya70YZloJAtNZT_TsRlEW5W2M/s1600-h/Picture+018.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzpZKU24HsqiFrdrvUufAHGmsb3WTn4h3YX6FuyzYjcO6yPRbE0qM9DGD6mTbFSPD8PLS2srE6EvdOQEvnd2IgRfXiHMtgmhSIziWDfplc15jObMeTLqya70YZloJAtNZT_TsRlEW5W2M/s320/Picture+018.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383777326108074786" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUjWOT1y2uB5n1c0jZG_g5Hd_T2EwbFg9O5g-xLA9TSJXt7K5CGhC8bOrfe_NLvsD_xaiatHxGBrJVmIkVquQfG3P2y5Nd_40K-pGIe4piHgTVQ_yDdDvxBEHC_Xj4CHD8-eqA2o1f8vQ/s1600-h/IMG_5075.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUjWOT1y2uB5n1c0jZG_g5Hd_T2EwbFg9O5g-xLA9TSJXt7K5CGhC8bOrfe_NLvsD_xaiatHxGBrJVmIkVquQfG3P2y5Nd_40K-pGIe4piHgTVQ_yDdDvxBEHC_Xj4CHD8-eqA2o1f8vQ/s320/IMG_5075.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383777318559042930" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNdSCG71GQ4Gc6lUW5-f8CuOduazEaMQXOgFf76knmy0VbJALWTSk3xsFHJEFYTRRi906IYLFMKd8yEtkCXUgiUjLA8k3_Um4nGRVou4TIho1oSQnFs8RbeLiUk4MzC2qLm-Eu0k_46oU/s1600-h/IMG_5111.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNdSCG71GQ4Gc6lUW5-f8CuOduazEaMQXOgFf76knmy0VbJALWTSk3xsFHJEFYTRRi906IYLFMKd8yEtkCXUgiUjLA8k3_Um4nGRVou4TIho1oSQnFs8RbeLiUk4MzC2qLm-Eu0k_46oU/s320/IMG_5111.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383777311342523090" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMDMHvCXcn2u5ieQRrFA89MNs3OInfr8LhU-_3b2Ud_vl3qsPvIWQtbLEL4nORk-A2O7iFfHLPmX2ZEuhtSFIUxoy-yND3pxBnZznzoGSZ6-aeNeBDC1Zrq86IdVo5tkwRXaVB-wyZs3U/s1600-h/Picture+039.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMDMHvCXcn2u5ieQRrFA89MNs3OInfr8LhU-_3b2Ud_vl3qsPvIWQtbLEL4nORk-A2O7iFfHLPmX2ZEuhtSFIUxoy-yND3pxBnZznzoGSZ6-aeNeBDC1Zrq86IdVo5tkwRXaVB-wyZs3U/s320/Picture+039.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383778920763826642" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixVw-fFgp-7P5Pme0lyY9hing3W_JruUNf4F_URlVJ7vm3LZve4_pC8dwcGUBgmQeIxPHi7jWWyhCE6eAG3RwvvH4Fo6jPNRNLC3X465-kXDqo5dhyvCyedM629rvGLn-59_OYTdOkufI/s1600-h/Picture+030.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixVw-fFgp-7P5Pme0lyY9hing3W_JruUNf4F_URlVJ7vm3LZve4_pC8dwcGUBgmQeIxPHi7jWWyhCE6eAG3RwvvH4Fo6jPNRNLC3X465-kXDqo5dhyvCyedM629rvGLn-59_OYTdOkufI/s320/Picture+030.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383778914086448002" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV0_cNcor4ATgPcJKd-xsvbh0GKr-ZOJbHaLqdQFHoP94xl1R_z48VBO8TE6F4phMvytYzqGTdsnc1LMAizGHWfxAqtpB2rF7AAWf57qAF6otqOXMVB8n65cryerp-IRMVXCfPREv9GhU/s1600-h/Picture+004.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV0_cNcor4ATgPcJKd-xsvbh0GKr-ZOJbHaLqdQFHoP94xl1R_z48VBO8TE6F4phMvytYzqGTdsnc1LMAizGHWfxAqtpB2rF7AAWf57qAF6otqOXMVB8n65cryerp-IRMVXCfPREv9GhU/s320/Picture+004.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383778905276009762" border="0" /></a><br />while at the beach i actually got to see two of my friends from my younger years! i have known <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">allison</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">kristen</span> since elementary and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38">jr</span>. high. funny thing was- <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39">kristen</span> and her family were staying about a block away so we caught up with her and then <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_40">allison</span> and 2 of 3 of her boys drove down for the day just to hang out with us! it was such a treasure to see both of these girls!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZoZSAuVXWNXjgonIPXfh1moA8KxvC8apnvcosgI9znGc04wwyLuCLp1XCiajfBjL0WwTs1J_MQkn5oq9b2Kzmrxs5elXHGijtkhn8axje0SOMj1Ix1EEeYSNtG1QBiF-UA4PuqfT3GNw/s1600-h/IMG_5078.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZoZSAuVXWNXjgonIPXfh1moA8KxvC8apnvcosgI9znGc04wwyLuCLp1XCiajfBjL0WwTs1J_MQkn5oq9b2Kzmrxs5elXHGijtkhn8axje0SOMj1Ix1EEeYSNtG1QBiF-UA4PuqfT3GNw/s320/IMG_5078.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383778896226629442" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUR_3RAdKdpMOnIPy8UvUSrZ9UwV-hRqLSLFarz-HtvNoZ9tX01rIw5biTGglN1axRngRqxVS3blcoR3td23mYgPUvPnb-4y-Bie3wz9AZdg31uEvz1L5gYa6UP7trhvbu-JmgqI_u2gw/s1600-h/Picture+074.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUR_3RAdKdpMOnIPy8UvUSrZ9UwV-hRqLSLFarz-HtvNoZ9tX01rIw5biTGglN1axRngRqxVS3blcoR3td23mYgPUvPnb-4y-Bie3wz9AZdg31uEvz1L5gYa6UP7trhvbu-JmgqI_u2gw/s320/Picture+074.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383780387632715154" border="0" /></a>while on our beach trip, the first day, i put my camera in the beach bag to protect it but somehow a water bottle that didn't get closed all the way ended up in the bag and poured out all over my camera. ugh!!! so for now i can only use my iphone. i am hopeful to get a new camera for my birthday/christmas gift this year!<br /><br />once we got home from the beach it was time to start school again! henry started second grade, daph started pre k and anna is enjoying her first year of pre school.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4uM1fSCTKtyaRy9pivmhK6BOSqI3NiBoLsD0gT6rnnPTweb2UyZShh8q06SpbkoLR4qJwz7AVVHqlGmD3OgNW1lXkGMa937Y6IhUDk_xUTdURaLQ0ADOSThho-SymGsU31nal8fjfvws/s1600-h/Picture+166.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4uM1fSCTKtyaRy9pivmhK6BOSqI3NiBoLsD0gT6rnnPTweb2UyZShh8q06SpbkoLR4qJwz7AVVHqlGmD3OgNW1lXkGMa937Y6IhUDk_xUTdURaLQ0ADOSThho-SymGsU31nal8fjfvws/s320/Picture+166.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383780393960457410" border="0" /></a><br />born on august 12th, baby hannah catherine joined our family! i was so blessed to hold her before she spent the next week and a half in the nicu. all is well and she is wonderfully healthy and settling in at home with mom, dad and big brother, zach.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheSlkAacdDPeoNd7_fRVVHFujq0ULQ_6RxEOCAQdE6IS6heTdLUwQly5HJ54CNk325j2qZ9wbxK8SYzZlG6IlpUvN_jX-u8EA6ovH8P9FH_KOd0hS4M_j3KWUkZZE-GMByRKKf_cGGChI/s1600-h/Picture+016.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheSlkAacdDPeoNd7_fRVVHFujq0ULQ_6RxEOCAQdE6IS6heTdLUwQly5HJ54CNk325j2qZ9wbxK8SYzZlG6IlpUvN_jX-u8EA6ovH8P9FH_KOd0hS4M_j3KWUkZZE-GMByRKKf_cGGChI/s320/Picture+016.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383780416925998562" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNyOnfbwp7HbARpLCNuyx4U4rS0GLKQVyPJzENwzzTel430NnkD4RcEhQmC0VbMOF5CrIo2Ps6EVxD2u9PxI_eVARfCRY3cq0Kqb9eVpAU-KOTBdGr8ZR1eattZy-LwMixB5C-7Jgz14U/s1600-h/Picture+227.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNyOnfbwp7HbARpLCNuyx4U4rS0GLKQVyPJzENwzzTel430NnkD4RcEhQmC0VbMOF5CrIo2Ps6EVxD2u9PxI_eVARfCRY3cq0Kqb9eVpAU-KOTBdGr8ZR1eattZy-LwMixB5C-7Jgz14U/s320/Picture+227.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383780410155629986" border="0" /></a>there are still more pictures to share, the girls start to school and anna's bday but for now i need to get some sleep! hope you enjoy the overview of the past few months and i hope to not be so far behind next time!mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311056355928920032noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943348546767772446.post-79581702448660113442009-06-13T21:04:00.001-07:002009-06-13T21:10:09.158-07:00we partied hard...<img style="visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.11NXC/bHQ9MTI*NDk1MjIxNDczNCZwdD*xMjQ*OTUyMjU1ODU5JnA9Mzg2MzYxJmQ9Jm49YmxvZ2dlciZnPTEmdD*mb2Y9MA==.gif" width="0" border="0" height="0" /><div style="width: 480px; text-align: left;"><embed src="http://static.photobucket.com/flash/rss_slideshow.swf?rssFeed=http%3A%2F%2Ffeed726.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fww262%2Fmandynewmanfam%2Ffeed.rss" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="480" height="360"></embed><br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com/redirect/album?showShareLB=1" target="_blank"><img src="http://pic.photobucket.com/share/icons/embed/btn_geturs.gif" style="border: medium none ;" /></a><a href="http://s726.photobucket.com/albums/ww262/mandynewmanfam/" target="_blank"><img src="http://pic.photobucket.com/share/icons/embed/btn_viewall.gif" style="border: medium none ;" /></a></div>mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311056355928920032noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943348546767772446.post-48804474641344321062009-06-12T07:02:00.000-07:002009-06-12T09:54:00.723-07:00a year of mercy, grace and provision...a year ago this morning our precious baby girl was born. ramey caroline, 7lbs 9oz. (4 wks early), 19 inches. in that moment our lives were forever changed. not because we now had four kids but because in a matter of minutes everything would be flipped upside down. <br /><br />here is her first year in pictures!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8QZgvqRl9jRO-Z_uo3BkarYX7cu0yDWDRL3q-avGMcENlgthguDmytkOiK0pUBPoy40b-YWeV1C-WNKUeHUxCVil-detlLu4ScVnvExlcIsYefzVphPt9Heq9nMHaMsiDzcmUXiKKw98/s1600-h/IMG_3346.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8QZgvqRl9jRO-Z_uo3BkarYX7cu0yDWDRL3q-avGMcENlgthguDmytkOiK0pUBPoy40b-YWeV1C-WNKUeHUxCVil-detlLu4ScVnvExlcIsYefzVphPt9Heq9nMHaMsiDzcmUXiKKw98/s320/IMG_3346.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346442155087764226" border="0" /></a>it's a girl! <br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAi58D4qOUCypQkhu-nKigbQfZMxTY66ubPV3sL2mWBrILfNnnLJo1NWjPAt098OmZ0vANLtanQIPcCMBG1SLcT2BehPzh9saYUhc0u7EBR7x_-I_BSsVMgLdw1frJ9z26BOpjfZQd_II/s1600-h/IMG_3348.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAi58D4qOUCypQkhu-nKigbQfZMxTY66ubPV3sL2mWBrILfNnnLJo1NWjPAt098OmZ0vANLtanQIPcCMBG1SLcT2BehPzh9saYUhc0u7EBR7x_-I_BSsVMgLdw1frJ9z26BOpjfZQd_II/s320/IMG_3348.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346442160182923538" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWg5jlA75QyDVSHUQGXe8YFTFxxKyDpUqlNeBY-JV4EF-stFzvfb5uicUH3uDg81HnOe4J6_jOmQ_mbMdj9vwdMoChQda5pLP5LV0mBiT6nsuGXGUJ_E2X7sItGvCO5NFKavOuo5ojKl8/s1600-h/IMG_3352.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWg5jlA75QyDVSHUQGXe8YFTFxxKyDpUqlNeBY-JV4EF-stFzvfb5uicUH3uDg81HnOe4J6_jOmQ_mbMdj9vwdMoChQda5pLP5LV0mBiT6nsuGXGUJ_E2X7sItGvCO5NFKavOuo5ojKl8/s320/IMG_3352.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346442164370892690" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVeJ71i8ah0Z7fvm5oKetYG_ZPASkDbPB3EXNrqbKiednI9TliRfRDIS62DNBPSKdMiMuxWbLzTCmGYPAACYTVhYD7OBN68qDa71QtiSiOK1v58RWj3A_cvk3jNJ_RTrius9snPWPcRFI/s1600-h/IMG_3364.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVeJ71i8ah0Z7fvm5oKetYG_ZPASkDbPB3EXNrqbKiednI9TliRfRDIS62DNBPSKdMiMuxWbLzTCmGYPAACYTVhYD7OBN68qDa71QtiSiOK1v58RWj3A_cvk3jNJ_RTrius9snPWPcRFI/s320/IMG_3364.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346442168701070946" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvf1V8XaKHMxpkry1CJeI1guPqSpQO_BJWHRahyphXrsZHEoV0cpJGJUeGbY1K65R16UYK6M0V4T97-TjRhympQXaObjC1qAMd8cmM4Ik4dtiha6jafUxBoejfkEZBvBk5CAUjsluI1f0/s1600-h/Mandy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 217px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvf1V8XaKHMxpkry1CJeI1guPqSpQO_BJWHRahyphXrsZHEoV0cpJGJUeGbY1K65R16UYK6M0V4T97-TjRhympQXaObjC1qAMd8cmM4Ik4dtiha6jafUxBoejfkEZBvBk5CAUjsluI1f0/s320/Mandy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346442172040463650" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqWkokOwsKtU8N8zrHBd2uTPfoc39FCpbtfYPu73foT8srsGnrzBuI5vCRTKXX9ynW6gMA81pzWY6JridGJaRvrFKx3tqhBm9jPRlB-bkproT-KWvco_PVZTN1OpGGnyjNfU2UMtNchU0/s1600-h/IMG_3375.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqWkokOwsKtU8N8zrHBd2uTPfoc39FCpbtfYPu73foT8srsGnrzBuI5vCRTKXX9ynW6gMA81pzWY6JridGJaRvrFKx3tqhBm9jPRlB-bkproT-KWvco_PVZTN1OpGGnyjNfU2UMtNchU0/s320/IMG_3375.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346443483197657234" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXiVzeM9qeqeqQy9axdRkX05hV0tS-gFM3h3E2MN6Iz86xWntQTzSNQGax9UjzXs0clLq54VlKNDPdyHKDkPZUS6bYVsRbQUSCv3FcGicyf93o-JKkY3mQBkFxdgkw1oVq-Ah642p38Sk/s1600-h/IMG_3389.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXiVzeM9qeqeqQy9axdRkX05hV0tS-gFM3h3E2MN6Iz86xWntQTzSNQGax9UjzXs0clLq54VlKNDPdyHKDkPZUS6bYVsRbQUSCv3FcGicyf93o-JKkY3mQBkFxdgkw1oVq-Ah642p38Sk/s320/IMG_3389.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346444348451817106" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsKWt4NYasw3L1XV8-ynZwZhxLU7v2rT0GTHy590FBFSwiZXcvRoxh1TAgL1XFMAudZr_IJNSpGt-FeyKsd9J3qF-arkaB_SHDdf-IblB0qEAfza8Dg8WSOX4afKFK-_tXWp5EbpcgcFY/s1600-h/IMG_3397.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsKWt4NYasw3L1XV8-ynZwZhxLU7v2rT0GTHy590FBFSwiZXcvRoxh1TAgL1XFMAudZr_IJNSpGt-FeyKsd9J3qF-arkaB_SHDdf-IblB0qEAfza8Dg8WSOX4afKFK-_tXWp5EbpcgcFY/s320/IMG_3397.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346444349704469394" border="0" /></a>July 2008<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnmnQHkNkZX2GGhmxnTGFINkXNnf_kUgv1kiHfNhumYaQ3ZnbYVY8I7eUZQ6U9z6IFhtoO_iEYo8r1vbhrdy-wQIA2L5739G6Z99y7KHnfN7NSU1GmwaJSEJsE0qdU4Rxx8A7k0ah3nCk/s1600-h/IMG_3431.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnmnQHkNkZX2GGhmxnTGFINkXNnf_kUgv1kiHfNhumYaQ3ZnbYVY8I7eUZQ6U9z6IFhtoO_iEYo8r1vbhrdy-wQIA2L5739G6Z99y7KHnfN7NSU1GmwaJSEJsE0qdU4Rxx8A7k0ah3nCk/s320/IMG_3431.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346444356913047986" border="0" /></a>August 2008<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeNWnzQpL3rHAIcMY3gpMOjnxQy0tEn2jWdCSd_W_8av73Z4y8BZ5ItjjmDAJNEmx9SAccnvkhRc89CL2sDV51PAMGczX39AI-NO_JFXDJpVN2hHpJnENFqjI90lPTqezv67aAOnS-tY0/s1600-h/IMG_3521.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeNWnzQpL3rHAIcMY3gpMOjnxQy0tEn2jWdCSd_W_8av73Z4y8BZ5ItjjmDAJNEmx9SAccnvkhRc89CL2sDV51PAMGczX39AI-NO_JFXDJpVN2hHpJnENFqjI90lPTqezv67aAOnS-tY0/s320/IMG_3521.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346444358989057122" border="0" /></a>September 2008<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihRrujRujftlMexkY_67J2y4m-e_2O4llrpIEitTviY0GIqhBMx7QeqA1s-kcydeB4QwJT_ZmaekLaV-3fu3RmcUXm6G1mdbPn5kS_UMzgoNNXvOJZMd4zHcnI7BpuQyeQV833Qm0DpcA/s1600-h/IMG_3723.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihRrujRujftlMexkY_67J2y4m-e_2O4llrpIEitTviY0GIqhBMx7QeqA1s-kcydeB4QwJT_ZmaekLaV-3fu3RmcUXm6G1mdbPn5kS_UMzgoNNXvOJZMd4zHcnI7BpuQyeQV833Qm0DpcA/s320/IMG_3723.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346448543860385698" border="0" /></a>October 2008<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyiWKy_wEUR5kIDsagBvfrkspOUjaft-LxtGWtNpgBWXhzsELVgBFltVpJQetYCZHgQhDGQEP6OzOy2CTADDGat5XkdzfKTVS3BCtPbTX151yM6kXHtQXW42zv5Z3HaqTrrTfMmVQS0WQ/s1600-h/IMG_3878.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyiWKy_wEUR5kIDsagBvfrkspOUjaft-LxtGWtNpgBWXhzsELVgBFltVpJQetYCZHgQhDGQEP6OzOy2CTADDGat5XkdzfKTVS3BCtPbTX151yM6kXHtQXW42zv5Z3HaqTrrTfMmVQS0WQ/s320/IMG_3878.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346448543605339858" border="0" /></a>November 2008<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgADoAbKf0D96bLool8HTQ17oF6fcskkZ0WhktqQMmJlYixchsdhJdvPlUYSp4qjqhcyB61zUJaOMLJSVLBAREMw_X3T9gXpKYPg1fU1ArvkSPlQ7Gm3kPmRLp57B27I8t9MtkLimFR8FY/s1600-h/IMG_3933.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgADoAbKf0D96bLool8HTQ17oF6fcskkZ0WhktqQMmJlYixchsdhJdvPlUYSp4qjqhcyB61zUJaOMLJSVLBAREMw_X3T9gXpKYPg1fU1ArvkSPlQ7Gm3kPmRLp57B27I8t9MtkLimFR8FY/s320/IMG_3933.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346448547072754930" border="0" /></a>December 2008<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSuSBJijxTSb4EhN-TBz5c592jjQwGu_61sTh6onqeAnCLZ11exUDV6anJGpPblmPXLqNWygZZYns-4ZmTXMfrh3Nf_yjEzPrV4tCGmjUxd2Fkq_APSrCfjGpm61offNFBuyVyBNVyGw/s1600-h/425998297_300_8418_ec.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSuSBJijxTSb4EhN-TBz5c592jjQwGu_61sTh6onqeAnCLZ11exUDV6anJGpPblmPXLqNWygZZYns-4ZmTXMfrh3Nf_yjEzPrV4tCGmjUxd2Fkq_APSrCfjGpm61offNFBuyVyBNVyGw/s320/425998297_300_8418_ec.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346448550765883538" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHhSuYf-6oKctBtqY_aMVByCwpTA5RKTvwotqT5EddtlhB_KeWiEacCX-hix5JeL_0koUweaPxPCQ_5MMtl6zwvyF5_VwATbsNdtIcseNgUXKQ4kSS51ypq9yi6ht9JfZoEW2oQtmPny4/s1600-h/IMG_4065.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHhSuYf-6oKctBtqY_aMVByCwpTA5RKTvwotqT5EddtlhB_KeWiEacCX-hix5JeL_0koUweaPxPCQ_5MMtl6zwvyF5_VwATbsNdtIcseNgUXKQ4kSS51ypq9yi6ht9JfZoEW2oQtmPny4/s320/IMG_4065.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346450793846492866" border="0" /></a>January 2009<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj62SHEtj5f7FGip9lrdI3CrGzPRUyHU8yoNqrJkLJxlGT8fsbdkyQq4PBClPCJeZFl7xaBzV1180o_AqI4HqYFaAYGcx9MrR9bB0yxifOEbY7cL7zsu8jJqKjkGHcpVGuCqoQmMvCcFG0/s1600-h/IMG_4108.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj62SHEtj5f7FGip9lrdI3CrGzPRUyHU8yoNqrJkLJxlGT8fsbdkyQq4PBClPCJeZFl7xaBzV1180o_AqI4HqYFaAYGcx9MrR9bB0yxifOEbY7cL7zsu8jJqKjkGHcpVGuCqoQmMvCcFG0/s320/IMG_4108.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346450795684917986" border="0" /></a>February 2009<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJNwDJZ2-V4daiqqP-OVXSr9YPmoLXdUaPcii8CC4m_-OZB8Qr4SR_SBZob-M6CjN4Aa6hMk6xWEJcZQj7dnW3TpTDqjJ4XnCP1iDhW1RdHdJRWozrTKrfKU04W390s_6jag6tshh4jzM/s1600-h/IMG_4156.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJNwDJZ2-V4daiqqP-OVXSr9YPmoLXdUaPcii8CC4m_-OZB8Qr4SR_SBZob-M6CjN4Aa6hMk6xWEJcZQj7dnW3TpTDqjJ4XnCP1iDhW1RdHdJRWozrTKrfKU04W390s_6jag6tshh4jzM/s320/IMG_4156.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346450805702138050" border="0" /></a>March 2009<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm9QsQoOtPcPAKD1xX4uWsNW_LbRfaGuWovl2cMfrhVmVRjqq61xQl_qcE_EP6BZgcuUeIdweLaQ2KQKhd7w4rh93tUXm-WEbcuQclAAIZyXeG5Hy8IiqwOuAbKL1qIpBr_iHbKsA8ooc/s1600-h/RC+March+2009.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm9QsQoOtPcPAKD1xX4uWsNW_LbRfaGuWovl2cMfrhVmVRjqq61xQl_qcE_EP6BZgcuUeIdweLaQ2KQKhd7w4rh93tUXm-WEbcuQclAAIZyXeG5Hy8IiqwOuAbKL1qIpBr_iHbKsA8ooc/s320/RC+March+2009.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346450805466159570" border="0" /></a>April 2009<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhay4OligyS2Vh1QznViRVXfuqrgJRGakaoaTa0DWUSyqEyjfI0IKgUxMQ0Xm4Bg_p4NVyVto6pBuqqGFjV7TyZVaCyT7TmtAp8JpHMPej3YQBTTMTCj4oGER7NQASKuf168Vm6yC1F1Bg/s1600-h/IMG_4474.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhay4OligyS2Vh1QznViRVXfuqrgJRGakaoaTa0DWUSyqEyjfI0IKgUxMQ0Xm4Bg_p4NVyVto6pBuqqGFjV7TyZVaCyT7TmtAp8JpHMPej3YQBTTMTCj4oGER7NQASKuf168Vm6yC1F1Bg/s320/IMG_4474.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346450813695816626" border="0" /></a>May 2009<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZZ8fNT1zjeqCPJTSA4tFLPFmZu8IQqSE5IqG8O5rR0PAADgjlzfLe9b7Jq8KQ1y1CC_VWRTlp1UDveHDKA8CgO4uv0YS8QTUPyYjFm86-6RoA8nOFaMepF2RJM0fJxTvT2f66VX75_PQ/s1600-h/IMG_4580.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZZ8fNT1zjeqCPJTSA4tFLPFmZu8IQqSE5IqG8O5rR0PAADgjlzfLe9b7Jq8KQ1y1CC_VWRTlp1UDveHDKA8CgO4uv0YS8QTUPyYjFm86-6RoA8nOFaMepF2RJM0fJxTvT2f66VX75_PQ/s320/IMG_4580.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346454061340407650" border="0" /></a><br />After today you will get the 1yr picture of our ramey caroline, who by human standards had a 10% chance of survival one year ago today and yet by God's great mercy, grace and provision she is with us now!! happy birthday, ramey caroline!<br /><br /><br />if you want to go back and read the adventure of ramey's birth then just click on the link to your right for june of 2008. may you see the greatness of our God in our story.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">oh Lord, we praise you today and everyday for the breath of life you breathed into ramey last year. thank you for your yes!</span><br /></div>mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311056355928920032noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943348546767772446.post-20347843058597217932009-06-05T10:37:00.000-07:002009-06-05T11:36:29.306-07:00daphne's dance recital...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP_hdyptcb4madGWEKRKUxFDoUxuNbYROE7oT68vpzBfEHgXGLcQO2Iw50iw1LmZyPiA31XgeJewdwP7fHveeEIWQVdHFZynm1sCzxBBadpCdxoMny5AOmYcx51pRXr5aS8lany0Fwb_E/s1600-h/IMG_4713.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP_hdyptcb4madGWEKRKUxFDoUxuNbYROE7oT68vpzBfEHgXGLcQO2Iw50iw1LmZyPiA31XgeJewdwP7fHveeEIWQVdHFZynm1sCzxBBadpCdxoMny5AOmYcx51pRXr5aS8lany0Fwb_E/s320/IMG_4713.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343900937339478130" border="0" /></a>yesterday was a wild a crazy day for us. our normally scheduled programming was not available but will return today.<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>daphne's second dance recital was last night and so that meant a crazy morning for dress rehearsal. now i don't know if you remember but last year was a bit of a challenge for me when it came to putting her hair in a bun. i am pretty sure i use the word "shellac" many times in that post. this year was not as daunting but still an adventure. you see, she needed to be fully dressed, with costume and makeup and hair at noon for dress rehearsal and the actual recital was not even to begin until 7pm. that's right- somehow i needed to do her hair and then try to get her not to mess it up before 7 so that i would not have to do it again. we succeeded and she looked beautiful!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3V0g9YeUXkAV96DVr6kzi_81l5xr7V-RjEGaQpu1vZU_QTGuQImHl-9o-tdhte5_VdWYfm_MAh5HKck1kzlR_PdTmXuapQEjCzBq7gFMl-sVV33h4p1JnkqQ1rWNyvyVVRC4EmuykvBA/s1600-h/IMG_4715.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3V0g9YeUXkAV96DVr6kzi_81l5xr7V-RjEGaQpu1vZU_QTGuQImHl-9o-tdhte5_VdWYfm_MAh5HKck1kzlR_PdTmXuapQEjCzBq7gFMl-sVV33h4p1JnkqQ1rWNyvyVVRC4EmuykvBA/s320/IMG_4715.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343900939220641106" border="0" /></a>not sure why she wanted to pose like this but she still looked so cute i just had to include it!<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAyE-Mv4jr1ZERcsBuAUGKPJyKCMvRPtnwGGvTusP0D2BfohI0U5sTpzAQ0nQ_ARP1bjj2oXsUJHL782jatxnnxzuvBwY4KE1ENSLA2Pu7sBmbnSvrDhSKZywW824ollZy4dQHdkPMRu8/s1600-h/IMG_4697.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAyE-Mv4jr1ZERcsBuAUGKPJyKCMvRPtnwGGvTusP0D2BfohI0U5sTpzAQ0nQ_ARP1bjj2oXsUJHL782jatxnnxzuvBwY4KE1ENSLA2Pu7sBmbnSvrDhSKZywW824ollZy4dQHdkPMRu8/s320/IMG_4697.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343900929505251474" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLKUTAsJPHZYdDeqAFERGojTBBFueuIgN1VKef60gNp2dR_DaoFQEyxmiDomQSWZlMwI9tRg1bIlNe97atv4Gn-nWTixgDuZH0L6LsZOLH_qIfqh3rT917LSwENHk02lnqkHiFQxPX7ZY/s1600-h/IMG_4724.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLKUTAsJPHZYdDeqAFERGojTBBFueuIgN1VKef60gNp2dR_DaoFQEyxmiDomQSWZlMwI9tRg1bIlNe97atv4Gn-nWTixgDuZH0L6LsZOLH_qIfqh3rT917LSwENHk02lnqkHiFQxPX7ZY/s320/IMG_4724.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343900941902343058" border="0" /></a>our resident goofball!! such a movie star!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">at the bottom of this post is the video of daphne's recital. she is the third from the left and she's on the back row. <br /></div></div><br />daphne has enjoyed her year at dance but i do think she really missed her little friend ellie. as we dressed yesterday she said, "mom, i wish ellie was here with me. we did our recital together last year."<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTuOB0mKsm4o_sMjBphq0cXIjBNssjtq-Lxlj1idGbjwFOCeZhsh0bYmSZz9sKkQuNnbcjitjG7UPlRpW7UgEGz3BBynzGz2JlRWnWf2j5e-Xe2Sb2mnUjhC3vJgavjV5DTUjC17yTsok/s1600-h/IMG_4732.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTuOB0mKsm4o_sMjBphq0cXIjBNssjtq-Lxlj1idGbjwFOCeZhsh0bYmSZz9sKkQuNnbcjitjG7UPlRpW7UgEGz3BBynzGz2JlRWnWf2j5e-Xe2Sb2mnUjhC3vJgavjV5DTUjC17yTsok/s320/IMG_4732.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343900942667109986" border="0" /></a><br /><br />during daph's recital henry actually had a swim meet. i don't know anything official for his 3 races but i heard from more than one source that he came in 2nd on his backstroke!! he is really doing well. i am going to try to get some better pics of him swimming but for now here is one from the other day while the girls were doing their lessons.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijOkHxBRTnkvyndlEvj9ri66PujSwygU8Z8QUBeykAUYQl4WTfDbmkkU4plyH8Da_oLshTU2qGFTvsD0Kj3XfSfAVz5G0G79-s3R3aJReQRg0VhFXAg2VDNOe9OMTvX10nCuRelVqzLr4/s1600-h/swimmer+boy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijOkHxBRTnkvyndlEvj9ri66PujSwygU8Z8QUBeykAUYQl4WTfDbmkkU4plyH8Da_oLshTU2qGFTvsD0Kj3XfSfAVz5G0G79-s3R3aJReQRg0VhFXAg2VDNOe9OMTvX10nCuRelVqzLr4/s320/swimmer+boy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343902837193267202" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dziPtYQenIBFSsRj7dO8dZ0ZcQ02rchYQw8iSgNFYZuBKE9FJ06_wQE3DWbJgVbRxl2VGF9wnE3GwVmczoZ1A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311056355928920032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943348546767772446.post-53794142319253386862009-06-03T11:54:00.000-07:002009-06-03T12:08:37.149-07:00snap circuits are the coolest...i must tell you that snap circuits are the neatest thing i have seen in a long time!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn9QHMDwblF6qVrzmriaEJawApXO05HK-Q_NbzgfPWvzmJzddfedzKrG7IQYzL1p2BCMKlfiY9dS8HNE1I1B45zAZdWqLE-e5TVSeJf3PvOJhBJFDGomYN0Js-QQHxp0GTrwvANqTdudA/s1600-h/snap+circuits.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 280px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn9QHMDwblF6qVrzmriaEJawApXO05HK-Q_NbzgfPWvzmJzddfedzKrG7IQYzL1p2BCMKlfiY9dS8HNE1I1B45zAZdWqLE-e5TVSeJf3PvOJhBJFDGomYN0Js-QQHxp0GTrwvANqTdudA/s320/snap+circuits.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343177188882801458" border="0" /></a> today is our science project day and my friend abby let us borrow this cool toy. basically there is a booklet with over 300 circuit projects that the kids can build. henry and daphne are on project number 6 and they have already built a switch circuit, a direct current motor & swith, a sound activator switch , used resistance and saw how it can lower sound, a lamp & fan series and a lamp & fan in parallel. this is fun for me too!! this is definitely going on the birthday/christmas list...theirs not mine though i will play too.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiLM8zB0ts5lkWXoN-xdnHB_jUwdCPG28BdviyT8Gdf7ecF7kuMk42ncDXWNSBgFqO7Ifl5jxelzra_jZIv-SzcTL_tyIUKBw2Thou5uhJgycGZswOMU5EV55OiAry-NXJzIh3twFJjug/s1600-h/IMG_4679.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiLM8zB0ts5lkWXoN-xdnHB_jUwdCPG28BdviyT8Gdf7ecF7kuMk42ncDXWNSBgFqO7Ifl5jxelzra_jZIv-SzcTL_tyIUKBw2Thou5uhJgycGZswOMU5EV55OiAry-NXJzIh3twFJjug/s320/IMG_4679.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343179770494182402" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgff2RRx6lEEgYN5hNCqmEdzwGASq44SFIazZG-wCDiqneHtQMZs_CUeoMfIc0fCqVOxfvuPbMlkzEotXUDki62q1vh501ydG3eknsZK9-ibmn9JP4Wr3sMiUt6KboP6rX5QnFJDs3EE5k/s1600-h/IMG_4681.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgff2RRx6lEEgYN5hNCqmEdzwGASq44SFIazZG-wCDiqneHtQMZs_CUeoMfIc0fCqVOxfvuPbMlkzEotXUDki62q1vh501ydG3eknsZK9-ibmn9JP4Wr3sMiUt6KboP6rX5QnFJDs3EE5k/s320/IMG_4681.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343179777333616370" border="0" /></a>mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311056355928920032noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943348546767772446.post-9737756938972443052009-06-02T12:13:00.000-07:002009-06-02T15:29:19.005-07:00it's only been five days...look at me go... it's only been five days since my last post and i am at it again!!!<br /><br />this weekend ross and i took on a little project. in our house there is this strange 48" empty space in the kitchen where i would assume a built in desk would go but that must have been an upgrade that the original owners did not go for. for the last year i have had our wine cabinet there but never really liked it in that spot.<br /><br />i've wanted a desk there but i wanted something kinda old that i could fix up. i have been looking on craigs list and last week i found an old desk for $20. i figured some sanding and paint would really bring this thing to life...i was right. i love my new red desk in the kitchen!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjISxqIQVXCD-jgzdjx0Ixueqkrc8_Fe_SR9s2hdjT_zOYdcq2S85HFu-FAV3fvjyW1ZktKI3l_ND_Fv56EKbIlNPy0mJ6XMrrkYIpPsCzt1WG-qR6xXKVySlT9f7_80tVHuFMTFBQ2PFU/s1600-h/IMG_4636.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjISxqIQVXCD-jgzdjx0Ixueqkrc8_Fe_SR9s2hdjT_zOYdcq2S85HFu-FAV3fvjyW1ZktKI3l_ND_Fv56EKbIlNPy0mJ6XMrrkYIpPsCzt1WG-qR6xXKVySlT9f7_80tVHuFMTFBQ2PFU/s320/IMG_4636.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342854067397257362" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLCYJC_kSdfCdvfCLwkkhwB-FcawwNntaxgggzV4G01yMsZ2wD3p8UN-16DUyvOrpl5dOWeOOl0a13Swyx3u_96W_tlSny5-ku1xqEeB1NIlqpWC-7U19B6DB_EHw0XJP9PmKHaoH5JdE/s1600-h/IMG_4633.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLCYJC_kSdfCdvfCLwkkhwB-FcawwNntaxgggzV4G01yMsZ2wD3p8UN-16DUyvOrpl5dOWeOOl0a13Swyx3u_96W_tlSny5-ku1xqEeB1NIlqpWC-7U19B6DB_EHw0XJP9PmKHaoH5JdE/s320/IMG_4633.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342854065210118530" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0atoK5dV8lC-KoDPL0F5eg20b7kbfBTVHHfrNEnMMPtfKCmy0sbzuz66nfzEfR6X6roZ9aikjmDaK0wKPbrx-WzbI7eAqqCchwK5XAYfNO3iROVfif97seP-Pctow7GWEh0PmOh2pFRE/s1600-h/IMG_4667.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0atoK5dV8lC-KoDPL0F5eg20b7kbfBTVHHfrNEnMMPtfKCmy0sbzuz66nfzEfR6X6roZ9aikjmDaK0wKPbrx-WzbI7eAqqCchwK5XAYfNO3iROVfif97seP-Pctow7GWEh0PmOh2pFRE/s320/IMG_4667.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342854073936730722" border="0" /></a><br />on the subject of summer break...the first few days were rough to say the least but yesterday i sat down and typed up a schedule, or maybe i should call it, an outline for our days. you know:<br /><br />6am up, dress, feed<br />7am swim team practice/lessons<br />10am chores<br />11am free play<br />etc., etc., etc.<br /><br />i even included special things for each day of the week. monday we cook something together, tuesdays we do an art project, wednesdays are science days, thursdays are our ministry day- meaning we do something for someone outside of our family- like bake cookies, write letters to soldiers and missionaries and then friday is "anything goes" day.<br /><br />well yesterday we cooked...sort of. we dipped pretzels in white chocolate and then poured sprinkles on top. they had a blast! i actually enjoyed it too. when i am intentional then i am not as quick to get aggravated at the mess.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAKS3c9l1LpIPjPyeThAFQuL0BGUwK8_YhtoHrW9Kegf-H1PlBW2JA4vI_vIywZ1ILFaiLOUIC4Zm917LcS4DCRoFh2xjqYHyiBSmArwMlf2YDQg70nS0Nwk0O1FzH54BzRAhWJG-9QC8/s1600-h/IMG_4660.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAKS3c9l1LpIPjPyeThAFQuL0BGUwK8_YhtoHrW9Kegf-H1PlBW2JA4vI_vIywZ1ILFaiLOUIC4Zm917LcS4DCRoFh2xjqYHyiBSmArwMlf2YDQg70nS0Nwk0O1FzH54BzRAhWJG-9QC8/s320/IMG_4660.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342856296864152290" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfqVQrrPADjPNegTHIWOuvYaV8Mo6GBAKHK1BEaFbiAwFLw6Ro8tBoEj2DK2MGPiEKhWJj3pACQGvLtrUNL-vADKALkW8Bn4cZPTO8o7b_rxeZzN9C09HgRqfLXBAiAuPr3CQ88QM3rNs/s1600-h/IMG_4665.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfqVQrrPADjPNegTHIWOuvYaV8Mo6GBAKHK1BEaFbiAwFLw6Ro8tBoEj2DK2MGPiEKhWJj3pACQGvLtrUNL-vADKALkW8Bn4cZPTO8o7b_rxeZzN9C09HgRqfLXBAiAuPr3CQ88QM3rNs/s320/IMG_4665.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342856297195838994" border="0" /></a><br />today was art day...if you know me at all then you know that i am not really an artist. i am a doodler. that being said we pulled up some examples of pointillism and talked about. we stood close to the picture and then far away and talked about what the differences were. it was really need to hear their observations. we then got out paper and markers and tried doing our own pointillism pictures. henry and daphne both seemed to enjoy trying something new which was worth it to me.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieKk87RUPVBZQbmD5DX_y3tck_6uGfzLgsMhFmcj7fYpC7gY1et8MMd9akKKtT1uIIJe8PkSDuw-Lu0KEkJVShr6cXi30BbHDU9zjovMvCijENG74HKjwQ8mPbu8Q22hRJhU2RyTShql0/s1600-h/IMG_4669.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieKk87RUPVBZQbmD5DX_y3tck_6uGfzLgsMhFmcj7fYpC7gY1et8MMd9akKKtT1uIIJe8PkSDuw-Lu0KEkJVShr6cXi30BbHDU9zjovMvCijENG74HKjwQ8mPbu8Q22hRJhU2RyTShql0/s320/IMG_4669.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342859061548773362" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIlZAHHsXj5sCnPAtOPr3NqDwyy6GsQYv1E2rQj2c0OdyTdiSkpRI2jn4j_3it9y2_2K2dd6p49gbYyynj39VoC7bznXUcQSzeTrDe5n3Sw6uIzBC6O_LLb9mHp8EmUqwy5V34Mpe2YPw/s1600-h/IMG_4673.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIlZAHHsXj5sCnPAtOPr3NqDwyy6GsQYv1E2rQj2c0OdyTdiSkpRI2jn4j_3it9y2_2K2dd6p49gbYyynj39VoC7bznXUcQSzeTrDe5n3Sw6uIzBC6O_LLb9mHp8EmUqwy5V34Mpe2YPw/s320/IMG_4673.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342859068816907330" border="0" /></a><br />after we had been working on our pictures for a bit anna wandered off to our room only to curl up on the floor and fall asleep. daphne grew tired of pointillism and so began to draw instead. this led to our first ever picture of non other than a porta potty. yes that's right people...my daughter drew a purple porta potty (try saying that ten times fast).<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ZrkIbFyvfPLZJXBbjK8KIf-pGYrIPVU4ijQ0j7W3BSoNvcIGrGwwFLA11E6L-ayiJgXD6vkLUuRU0Ts8JohNCf9G-wJ5eNAN7QsIHS29tDX1lWPYhPWnw3Q9sVXhWBUKxSxXQP1wmpI/s1600-h/IMG_4671.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ZrkIbFyvfPLZJXBbjK8KIf-pGYrIPVU4ijQ0j7W3BSoNvcIGrGwwFLA11E6L-ayiJgXD6vkLUuRU0Ts8JohNCf9G-wJ5eNAN7QsIHS29tDX1lWPYhPWnw3Q9sVXhWBUKxSxXQP1wmpI/s320/IMG_4671.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342859059067029474" border="0" /></a>so there you have it- our week. we have had a great day. an intentional day. a fun day! i am thankful for each of my little knuckleheads and for the time we have together.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;">Lord, i thank You for every moment of today. for the way Your mercies are new every morning for each of us. thank you for hearing my cry and shining light in the dark places of my heart so that truth can land there, take root and bear fruit. this is the day You have made and i will rejoice and be glad in it!!<br /></div>mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311056355928920032noreply@blogger.com4