MACI 1 YEAR PICTURES...SORT OF

She would  NOT stand still for anything...

Thanks to Ladybugs and Lassos for the Great Birthday outfit!!

COMMISSION MY SOUL...WITH A FIRE UNCONTROLLABLE

More Birthday Pictures

.....I knew we had guests

Incredibly Late Birthday Post

I know I know, bad bad blogger lady!! I even skipped the 10 month and 11 month pictures and updates on Maci. I also didn’t get any pictures or posts up about her 1st Thanksgiving. I honestly think I was trying to slow time down a little....survey says.......It didn’t work.

December was a whirl-wind of her birthday and Christmas. It all came and went so fast, and left me dizzy in the process. Not to mention I had been sick with some sort of HORRIBLE cold for nearly 3 weeks (along with everyone else in my immediate and extended family, and Maci going from cold to ear infection back to cold again during those 3 weeks) and then Maci got a Stomach Virus 3 days before Christmas, followed by me catching it 2 days before Christmas and then Bill having it on Christmas Eve to top it all off....come to think of it that might have been part of the dizziness....

I digress....

December 17th was her actual birthday, and I took the day off to spend with my baby girl, and love her and hug her and sing to her and just enjoy her day...oh yeah, and take her to the doctor to get shots...OUCH!!! Horrible Horrible shots....One year shots were the worst yet, she still has a bruise on her leg. She weighed in at 21 lbs and 10 oz and 31 ½ “ long....a far cry from the 7 lbs. 13 oz. 20” itty bitty baby that she was 1 year ago.






She has been around the 95th percentile pretty much since her first check up, needless to say she is a big girl. She had 9 teeth by her first birthday (now she has 11). She started taking 2-3 steps without holding on to anything the week of her birthday, and then the next week of Christmas she was taking 8-10 steps at a time, and able to stand up from the floor without pulling up on anything. Her preferred method is still crawling because it gets her there faster...but if there is an audience, she loves to stand up, clap for herself, take off in a “run” and fall flat on her face into someone’s arms, then say “yay” and clap for herself again. She has a large vocabulary I can’t even think of all the words she knows at this point. She is putting sentences like “daddy I love you” together (sometimes without being prompted). She can tell you the duck sound, the dog sound, and the cat sound without being told what they are...and can repeat any other sound you ask her to say. She says “No” A LOT....to ANY question you ask her and it’s pretty funny. She cracks me up with the faces she makes, especially the “stink eye”.



She is still pretty much happy all of the time. She loves bows and wants one in her hair every day...she doesn’t leave them there...but she wants one...and wants for you to tell her she is “soooo pretty” then she squenches her nose, smiles and pats her hair...and promptly rips out the pretty bow. She also LOVES shoes, not wearing them necessarily but trying them on...she made her daddy put her black patton leather dress shoes on her last night more times than I can count...she would stand up in them...smile...sit back down...pull them off...hand them back to Bill for him to put them on her again...this went on until we finally put the shoes out of site.

December 18th was the day of her party, and we had it at a place here called “The Play Place” and I must admit I wish that place had been my idea. It’s just a giant play room, with toys and built in play houses, and dress up, and train sets and just a giant room of play things for children, with a birthday area in the back complete with tiny wooden tables. When you reserve it, you are reserving the whole place for the party, no one is there except you and your guests. It was a lot of fun.

Here are a few pictures from the festivities (there are more, but are now lost somewhere in my computer)....

....post to follow on Christmas...What a procrastinator I have turned out to be....I am a little disappointed in myself.

Heather's Twins - PRAYERS

Can everyone please pray for my friend Heather and her twins agian.  She is at the ER with them now, and they think it's RSV.  Please pray!!

I AM NEW!!!

The words are so powerful!!!  Just listen to the song and let it sink in...especially the last verse...Gives my goose bumps, goose bumps!!

Forgiven, beloved
Hidden in Christ
Made in the image of the Giver of Life
Righteous, and holy
Reborn, and remade
Accepted and worthy THIS IS OUR NEW NAME!!!

PRAYERS

Would you guys pray for our family...I mean really pray...We need direction...God-given direction on the next step in our lives.  Things seem to be crumbling around me as I speak, and to be honest I have really been taken over by a rush of fear and anxiety.  I keep hearing the Lord clearly in my spirit saying "Do you trust me, I know this hurts, but do you trust me?"  I have to keep making the consieous decision every day to trust God and know He has a plan and there is a reason I am having to make these difficult decisions. God holds the future and He knows that there is something better for us down the road, but the ride is quite rough right now.  We are in the midst of some heavy decisions and I really need guidance from God, I don't want to take another step without Him telling me where to put my foot.  So please pray for us. 

Just to clairify, Maci is GREAT, she is a healthy happy little girl that brightens even the darkest day for her mommy and daddy!!  Besides salvation, she is the most precious blessing God has ever given me.

PUMPKIN PATCH 2010

Do You Hate Sin?

From Proverbs 31 Ministries

By: Glynnis Whitwer

"For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin." Psalm 36:2 (NIV)


Recently, a publicity firm invited a group of editors of Christian publications to preview a Hollywood film. The film producers were looking to get the message of this film into churches and wanted feedback from people like me in Christian publishing.

The movie was dark, with a theme of unresolved guilt. Sadly, that guilt consumed the main character all his life, until he became a bitter old man. After we viewed the movie, the publicists turned on the lights and led a discussion. Basically, they wanted to know if we would recommend the movie to pastors. I stayed out of the conversation, because I'm a Pollyanna when it comes to movies. I like them happy and with a predictable ending. I know that's not very high-brow, but it's the truth.

However, the ensuing conversation intrigued me. Some people thought the movie was rich with important themes. They believed it would provoke thoughtful discussion. Others couldn't get past the language, and would never recommend it. One woman shared her opinion on the language with eloquence and passion.

She would never recommend it, she said, because of several instances of taking the Lord's name in vain. She defended her position by saying that too many people minimize sin. In fact, she explained, the film violated one of the Ten Commandments, to not misuse the Lord's name (Exodus 20:7).

The conversation continued with the challenge of relating to people without violating any of our beliefs. Our time together ended, and a few people got up to leave, including the woman who spoke against the movie. After she left however, another conversation began when a college-aged woman spoke up.

"My friends and I would never be bothered by the misuse of God's name," she said. "But we should." We sat in silence digesting her words.

That comment plays and replays in my mind. The honesty of that young woman touched me, as she identified a serious problem among those of us who call ourselves followers of Jesus: we tolerate sin. In fact, at times we even re-label it as "normal." I know there's a fine line between being in the culture but not of the culture. But that's not the root of this issue.

That young woman identified the real source: our hearts. We are going to be around sin until we get to heaven. Sin is woven in our human fiber. That's not the issue. The issue is what I think about it. Do I hate anything that sets itself up against God or His character? Do I hate sin?

I guess there's a part of me that shies away from the word "hate." I've taught my children not to use it, and I guard my own thoughts and tongue. Yet in doing so I've tamed my response to something that separates me from God. I've weakened my response and dulled my senses to that which God hates. He hates it because it takes me away from Him. And He loves me...and He loves you.

Call it old-school religion, but it's time for me to reexamine my response to that which God hates. It's time to settle in my heart whose side I'm on. It's time to decide if I will ignore or hate sin. Yep. It's time.

Dear Heavenly Father, break my heart with the things that break Yours. Remove from me any tolerance for the things that oppose You. You are holy and righteous and worthy of any sacrifice I might offer. Forgive me for tolerating the thing that caused the death of my beloved Savior, Jesus. In His Name and for His sake, Amen.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARVEST!!!

My poor blog has been so neglected lately...I just can’t keep up with everything. I had to blog today though, mainly because it’s Harvet’s FIRST birthday. It’s been a while since my beautiful oh so happy and sweet spirited niece (and Maci’s B/F/F) has made an appearance on my blog (mainly because I don’t have time to upload pictures anymore).

I just can’t believe it’s already been a year, it seems like just yesterday she was sleeping on my chest in mom’s recliner while we were waiting on Maci to get here.

Where did the time go, it goes to fast I can promise you that. Happy first birthday our sweet sweet girl, you are so very much loved. This baby lights up my heart when she gets excited to see me, she will squinch up her little nose and wave and squeal...ok, sure most of that is probably for Maci, but I can think it’s me, right?

Happy Birthday Harvest....Love you so much!!!

Walk for a Cure

This year, I'll be taking part in JDRF's Walk to Cure Diabetes, along with one-half million other walkers across the country, as we try to reach our goal of raising $90 million.  I will be walking for Brower's Dream Team, a friend's 10 year old son Brower has this disease.


Type 1, or juvenile, diabetes, is a devastating disease that affects millions of people, a large and growing percentage of them children.

There is some good news, though. JDRF is our best hope for finding a cure. It funds more type 1 diabetes research than any other charity worldwide – and it’s making progress along many promising paths toward better treatments and a cure.

Now, more than ever, you can make a crucial difference. Won't you please give to JDRF as generously as possible? Together, we can make the cure a reality!
 
Click here to donate to our efforts
 
http://walk.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=extranet.personalpage&confirmID=87895467
 

Divine Design

From the blog of
PROVERBS 31 MINISTRIES

By: Lynn Cowell

"The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down." Proverbs 14:1 (NIV)

Boiling point. That is what I had reached as I sat on the floor in my office thinking, "How did I get here?" Was it the discovery of a third needed root canal in my son's mouth only one week before he started college? Maybe it was the discussion of who was going to take over his room when he left? It was also my daughter's new job which required me to provide transportation right in the middle of the day. I guess at that point it didn't really matter. I could feel a slow boil in my heart and I feared an explosion was nearing the surface.

Proverbs 14:1 instructed me that morning with exactly what I needed to hear, "The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down" (NIV).

The choice was and is mine: to be part of the divine design or the devil's demolition. My kids don't make me blow up. My husband doesn't cause me to feel exasperated. Proverbs makes it pretty clear, it's my choice.

That is a lot of power. I think, at least in America where for years women have fought for equal rights, we've missed this enormous amount of power that we have held since Eve was created: the power to build a home.

We hear of women who build innovative businesses and women who build influential ministries, but how about women who build solid homes, investing in lifelong marriages and raising up godly children as the next generation? Proverbs says this woman is wise. Never mind what society says is valuable and praiseworthy. This power is of utmost importance. This tremendous power that is within us is the power to build or destroy and we, the women of the home, hold it.

Learning to wield this power isn't something that just happens. Jesus gives insight in Matthew 12:34 when He says that out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. Our mouths are one of our primary tools. So, what is the mouth's source? Our heart.

That is why we have to be so careful what we allow to linger there. Is it positive thoughts about our kid's, their behavior, their future, their friends? Do we think good things about our husbands throughout the day, thankful for their hard work, grateful for their companionship?


If our mouths are currently being used to tear down instead of build up, it's time for a heart overhaul; time to get the thoughts that we dwell on lined up with the good that is right under our roof.

Friend, I hope you will join me, inviting the Holy Spirit to empower you today to build your home. Look for ways to invest and opportunities to hold back those words that tear down. He wants to make us builders. Let's say "yes"!