Given Grace

My New Nephew

2009-02-01T10:12:00.000-08:00

This is my new little nephew. Well its not official yet but it should be soon. See my sister has adopted his older brother and sister and when the call came in just after Christmas that there was another baby...well they accepted another little gift. He is such a cutie! By the way, my sister already has three grown kids...so now they have a family of eight!

The photographer

2009-01-23T16:33:00.000-08:00

Look who went to his big cousins basketball game! I think he's seen his gigi take a few pictures, this is what he did during the whole game. He now brings "his camera" everywhere. But low and behold he really wants to use "gigi's camera." But I must say for someone not quite 3...he's pretty good....when the cameras aiming in the right direction!

We've PASSED!

2008-11-04T18:21:00.000-08:00

Konicek Wedding

2008-10-05T20:07:00.000-07:00

Ally

2008-10-05T18:30:00.000-07:00

It was a absolutely beautiful day here yesterday so my daughter Ally and I took advantage of the sunshine and an extra hour and we went out and snapped a few pictures. I love taking pictures and am looking forward to doing her Senior pictures next year. But for now I just get to take these for fun!! We had a great time just the two of us....I am so blessed to be her mom!

Happy Birthday Loren

2008-09-30T19:03:00.000-07:00

What a great time we had celebrating Loren's 20th Birthday. We went up to Milwaukee and took all the boys from the house out to bd's Mongolian Grill. The boys are all taking part in their version of the Biggest Loser, so this was one night that they splurged...eating lots of calories. Loren kept telling us he didn't want a cake or anything sweet, so Ally and I were very creative and we made him a "fruit cake," he loved it!

Happy Birthday Loren and praying for another great year!

Homecoming

2008-09-23T17:26:00.000-07:00

Some of the family after winning our Homecoming game 21-20!!!!
Ally, Christian and MeganVoted Most Popular......Future Homecoming King.......Christian

The French Riveria

2008-09-19T11:40:00.000-07:00

Versaille

2008-09-14T12:32:00.000-07:00

Versaille was another amazing site...inside and out!

Sacre Coeur

2008-09-09T18:30:00.000-07:00

Monet's Water Lilies

2008-09-09T09:29:00.001-07:00

I do have to add that this was one of my many favorites. It was absolutely amazing to walk into this musuem...it was breathtaking!

The Eiffel Tower

2008-09-08T18:50:00.000-07:00

Our hotel was only three blocks away from the tower, so we were able to enjoy it during our whole stay in Paris. We usually ate our dinner here every night after all our sightseeing. Baguettes, cheese, jam, wine and chocolate....truly awesome under the Eiffel Tower! The park is filled every night with tourist and locals alike, you hear every language and see alot of different things!

Notre-Dame

2008-09-07T19:55:00.000-07:00

Notre Dame was a favorite, it is so beautiful and you could just look at it for days. The architechure is truly amazing, inside and out. We went up to the 387 winding bell tower steps, but it was so worth it. The views were great and as you can see we were able to get up close and personal with the gargoyles.

The Little Fish That Could

2008-09-04T11:04:00.000-07:00

All summer my hot tub has become Christian's own personal pool! We turned the temperature way down and he will just stay in there all day if we would let him. If he's not swimming in the hot tub he's swimming at the club. A few days ago when we were at the pool, I saw him watching an older boy who was probably eight or so, he was watching him so intently as he was swimming underwater. He then turned to me and said "Gigi watch!" Sure enough he went under and started swimming! He is my little fish that can! He is sure to go far in life with his determination!

Since our laptop is having major issues I finally snuck to my husbands office and am in the process of downloading all my photos from France onto his work computer...he's not thrilled but is being sooo understanding that I just can't wait any longer. So check back soon for a quick trip through France!

Computer problems

2008-08-28T12:41:00.000-07:00

Our computer is really acting up, so I have not had time to update since my trip. I cant even download any of my pictures, but I promise I will be back soon! We had an amazing time!!!!

Paris.....Here we come

2008-07-31T08:10:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness, the time is here. I have been looking so forward to this trip that it felt like it would never get here, but today is the day.

I will be flying out of Chicago International this evening with my friend Terri and her daughter Bethany, we have a brief layover in Germany and then we are Paris bound. Once in Paris we will meet up with Terri's youngest daughter Meredeth, who will be completing her Student teaching.

We will be spending five days in Paris then visiting Lyon before we head down to the South of France . We may also take a few day trips possibly into Italy and Spain.

Please pray for us as we leave for safe travels and for protection. Also if you could lift our families up I would greatly appreciate it. I know I will feel the love and prayers of my sisters around the world!

Our God IS so Big!

2008-07-28T18:06:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful weekend, our friends N and J came to town with their son, S. We were able to spend time talking, playing and worshipping together. But wait let me start back at the beginning so you can fully grasp what an amazing God we have.

Twelve years ago we were raising four small children. Three biological children and our second foster child, S. S came to us as a 6week old baby, he stayed with us for two and a half years and we loved every second of caring for him as our own.

But as I explained here, we began doing foster care as a ministry, we felt God had called us to foster care for the purpose of caring for children in between leaving their biological parents until they were able to connect with their "forever families."

So we had fervently been praying for S, his parents parental rights had been terminated and the county was looking for adoptive resources for him. We knew God had a plan for him and we were busy doing the only thing we could for him....praying, praying for a wonderful Christian family for him.

Well during this time my husband attended a Promise Keepers event in Milwaukee, 10,000 men praising and learning more about our God. My husband was up in the nose bleed section with a group of men from our church, there was another large group of men sitting in front of them. During one intermission the group in front of them got up and moved to a different area where they were able to see better. After a few minutes a man and his son came and sat down directly in front of my husband. During another intermission they began to make casual conversation when suddenly this man started telling my husband how he and his family had been praying to adopt a child. Well my husband knew this was no coincidence but also knew enough about the system to know that as perfect as this seemed, its just not how it works. They exchanged numbers are were both very eager to get home and tell N and I.
I will admit I told my husband he was crazy to even think about this, our system has way too many hoops to jump thru and they had already told us they had a number of families that had expressed interest in S.

N began calling and she was sure this was all God, I explained to her also about the system but nothing was stopping her. They asked if they could come down and visit with us, they lived about three hours from us. They were very excited about meeting S. We agreed they could come down and we would explain foster care to them and help them maybe look into foster care in their own home town.

Well they came down and of course feel in love with S. We agreed to give them the workers name and number but we made every attempt at warning them that this truly is not how the system works. I am ashamed to admit that at the time I thought "the system" was bigger than my God. But as we developed a friendship with N and J we all began praying and believing that this would in fact be Gods will.

Well after months and months of praying and crying out to our God, after months and months of being told by workers, who were more than willing to tell us that it might seem like God wanted this, but this is NOT how the system works. One day S' worker (who had told us she did not believe in God) came out for a visit and as she sat at my kitchen table she told me...I don't know this God of yours but you know what, if you four are so sure of this God and so sure that He orchestrated this meeting, who am I to tell you no. We have decided to proceed with moving S to N and J's house and will proceed with making them his "forever family!"

I remember weeping and feeling so truly honored that my God would reach down into not only S's life but into our lives and touch us. He is bigger than any system, He is bigger than any obstacle or absolutely anything that seems impossible! He cares for us and does have a plan for each of us. I thank Him so very often for bringing S into our lives, I thank Him for using us and showing Himself to us in such an real way.

And I thank Him for this wonderful Christian family who loves our S with all their hearts, I thank Him for the awesome godly young man S has become. I thank him for and N and J and for allowing us to always remain in S's life, and for the friendship we have developed over these last 10 years. How amazing it was to sit in church on Sunday and praise our God together!

I know this is long already but I just have to tell you one last thing. Last year S was asking me about his birth mom, and he was telling me what he wanted to tell and ask her when he saw her again. He said Aunt Stacey do you know the first thing I want to ask her when I see her.....no S what would you ask her. I want to ask her if she knows JESUS! As I began to cry I told him how very proud of him I was. Yes, S make sure she knows your Jesus.

Guest Writer

2008-07-21T19:27:00.000-07:00

My name is Ally. My mom, asked me to write a little "exciting paragraph" from my trip. 32 people from my youth group recently got back from an amazing trip to Tijuana, Mexico. On July 12th, we flew down to San Diego, spent the day on the beach, then drove down across the border. Sunday morning, we immediately met our families and got to work. This wasn't the type of work I had ever done before. I had gone to Mexico three previous times, but my work then was mainly focused on children or women. Now, I was solely working construction. If you try to imagine 32 high school teenagers trying to build a house, you never would have thought how hard we all actually would work. We were split into two groups, and each group made one full, complete house - from nothing to being lived in. We had four work days, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. to finish the task. The house I worked on was going to be lived in by a recently divorced man, who had a child he was never able to see. Before we came down, he was living with his parents and brothers in a small, two room house - barely big enough for them. Our team, laid cement, built 7 walls, put a roof up and tarred it, and gave the house a stucco finish. Both teams successfully completed each house. Our team was very connected, and we worked together well, in a very encouraging way. It was amazing to see how big of an influence our group had been. On previous trips, you would only be able to lay the seed and hope something comes from it. On this trip, we saw the actual planted there. A week after our group left, there was a follow-up meeting with the man living in the house and a local pastor, telling the man that our group of kids went down to help him out, using the love of Christ. We just wanted to show him love and compassion for everything going on in his life, by giving him something we were able to give. This was one of the best trips I have ever been on. God was working in Mexico.

Who is in Control...the big picture

2008-07-16T18:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my son went flying with one of his best friends. It's hard to believe but his friend Chris got his pilots license this week. I have to admit, I still remember Chris as a young boy so the thought of flying with him or even having Loren fly with him is rather scary.

When I saw some of the pictures they took my first thought was... look at all those controls, oh my goodness. It reminded me of my life and who is sitting at my control panel.

Sometimes its hard, sometimes very hard to give up our control. I have to admit that sometimes I try to take over, I try to make God my co-pilot. But when I think of all those buttons and knobs, I really dont want to be in control. God knows which buttons to push and which knobs to turn, He can keep me heading in the right direction. He is my pilot, I am so glad that He is in control!

The other thing that I saw was some awesome photos of our house, our subdivision and our city. They really made me think of how different things are when we see the "big picture." God has our picture, sometimes I want to see so much more of it than I get to. Sometimes I truly think I forget its even there. You know the times, the times when He says NO, or when He sends us bad news or bad situations into our lives. Its easy to forget there are reasons and that God does have the big picture. I can't wait to see the BIG PICTURE and how God has weaved all the days of my life together.

The Fireworks!!!!

2008-07-03T22:04:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday

2008-06-25T12:04:00.001-07:00

My siesta weekend

2008-06-23T07:13:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend we had. My SIL, Sister in Christ, Siesta, Friend.......Angie Baylis came over for the weekend and we had a great time! It was a last minute trip that went off better than any well planned vacation!

We ate at a couple of hole-in-the wall type restaurants you know the ones...not much to look at but they have the best omelets in town and the waitress' who have been there for 20 plus years!
Or the famous Boat House, which sits on the river, has outdoor seating and a great Friday Fish Fry.

We relaxed by the pool and played a golf scramble with my husband and son and then had a relaxing late afternoon with drinks and a card game while we waited to order our dinner. We even got in some shopping, with a great purchase from J Crew.

We even spent time blogging with each other and Angie showed me little tricks she has learned with her blog, and she even set me up with a gmail account!

But the best part of the weekend was the fellowship of family. How blessed we are to have such a wonderful family and to truly enjoy spending time with them!

Thanks so much for coming over Ang! I had a great time being with my siesta!

Criminal Justice?????

2008-06-07T18:11:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when your Uncle finishes his first year at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee with a Criminal Justice major. Christian absolutely adores his Uncle Loren...and this is their new game for the summer, which he absolutely loves. The offense this time was "stealing" a box of crackers from his Uncle! Im afraid before the summer is over they'll be singing ... "bad boys, bad boys...whatcha gonna do." It seems there's a fun, crazy Uncle in every family.....here's proof of ours!

Cousins

2008-06-02T20:31:00.001-07:00

My niece Megan and my daughter Ally!

The Hot Tub

2008-05-18T16:53:00.000-07:00

Well, it seems like forever since Ive posted any pictures...actually it seems like forever since Ive just posted. I seem so out of touch with all my sisters, but please know I think of you and pray for you all often. When I have a few minutes I love to catch up with you girls...so know Im still lurking around.

This picture was just taken tonight of Christian in the hot tub with his Uncle Loren. He loves the hot tub...he would stay in there all night if we let him. Since my backs been bothering me Ive been in a lot...and he is my faithful partner. I wish I had captured a picture of him yesterday when he was outside with me! He of course begged to get in...but Gigi had to explain that it was early and we had other things to do outside today! He SO wanted to put his Elmo bathing suit on...he was fairly upset at being told no but I thought he moved on. Only to find him sitting on the porch putting his Elmo suit on OVER his jeans. He wore it ALL day, it was the cutest thing ever! Wish I had snapped a shot of it!

Just as an update: We did go to court last week and M waived his rights for his preliminary hearing...so we are now scheduled to go back on June 6th. Please continue to be in prayer for this situation. He did admit to the charges so we are prayerfully asking for restitution!

Hoping you all have a wonderful week!

We need your prayers

2008-04-27T16:09:00.000-07:00

Upon returning home from our wonderful vacation (see photos below) we found out some very disturbing news. We were contacted at our home regarding my husbands business and within just a few short hours our world was turned upside down. We learned that a friend that my husband had served on numerous boards with and then gave a job to had embezzled thousands of dollars from his company. After a very restless night my husband had to go into work the next morning and watch as the police cuffed and arrested this man who he had trusted.

It has been a long couple of days and of course our knowledge is this journey will not be short, so I come to you and ask for your prayers as we continue on this road! Knowing that others are holding us up in prayer is of utmost importance at this time. Thank you!

Good Times

2008-04-27T15:33:00.000-07:00

This was the view that we looked out on each day....how awesome!
Our beautiful condo....we were the first visitors...it was great!
Myself, Mary and Kris at the Boathouse watching the sun go down!

God's beautiful creation!

We had an absolute wonderful time...it just was over way to soon! Thank God for time to rest and refresh, time to be with those we love and time to see all He has done!

Our Vacation

2008-04-15T07:31:00.000-07:00

I know I have been missing in action these last few weeks...but maybe I'll have some time this next week while I'm vacationing! We are heading down to South Carolina and I am sooo excited for a little R&R, hopefully some sunshine and some quality time with a few friends and my man!

Happy Easter

2008-03-22T20:41:00.000-07:00

Breakaway for Women 2008

2008-03-10T16:32:00.000-07:00

Well I had another awesome weekend at The Breakaway for Women Conference this weekend! There were great speakers, the keynote speaker for the weekend was Lysa TerKeurst, she is the president of Proverbs 31 Ministries, is the author of many books and has appeared on The 700 Club, Good Morning America and the Oprah Show. She has an amazing story of how God told her to adopt two boys she saw performing at her church, from the Liberian Boys Choir. The story is so cool, they are even in the process of talking with "Hollywood" about making it into a major motion picture....of course they are laying down the details and are unwillingly to change any part of the story...and of course the most crucial details is how God orchestrated it and that He be glorified. I don't want to ruin it, but part of the story is how between her, her church family and friends they now have adopted 30+ boys from Liberia!!!! God is Good! One other thing I learned about Lysa this weekend is.......she is a blogger! You can check out her blog, its on my sidebar. Be sure to click on the Oprah link to hear her story!
And sisters...some awesome worship with Christie Nockels. Our theme song for the weekend, One Pure and Holy Passion...its one of my favorites!
____________________________________

I saw a t-shirt from one of the speakers at the conference....it is somewhat controversial. We actual spent quite a bit of time discussing it this weekend. So I'd like to put it out there and see what you all think!!!!! The speaker talked about the lies our teenagers hear in Media, Music etc. She was a great speaker and she does a great job talking with kids and parents alike. She made a comment about her "apparel", so I went to her table to check it out but I saw none, so I asked about it....I was given a "funny" look and told they were under the table. I was a little puzzled but they pulled out the t-shirt that you see below! (Just in case its hard to see, the i is topped by a cherry.) So without saying too much....what do ya' think?????? Would you let you daughters wear this or what would you think if you saw someone in your youth group wearing it?

Hope you all had a great weekend.....I thought of you often during this weekend! And believe me I am on FIRE for San Antonio even more now!! Can't wait!

Love to you all!

We Love Brett Farve

2008-03-04T19:17:00.000-08:00

Just when I was feeling a little better...

Brett retires today :(

The Flu

2008-03-01T17:59:00.000-08:00

Look who's 2!!!

2008-02-25T19:51:00.000-08:00

Well if you were to count the number of times we had to blow out the candles....we would be in the double digits! We could barely make it through the first Happy Birthday before the candles were out. And the minute they went out....he would "sign" more...more!!!! What fun we had!!
And what would a birthday be without "sharing" some of your cake with Uncle.

Of course Uncle L. "helped" with taking those first few bites. Be on the look out for more pictures of his birthday present......a big boy bed!!!!

Go baptize and tell all the nations

2008-02-23T16:57:00.000-08:00

I am so sorry its taken me so long to get this update out!!! This is just a short note that Chris wrote to our family and friends, highlighting some of his trip. I am so thankful that I could come to my sisters in Christ and ask for prayers to be lifted to our God for my husband, this team and for the many thousands who heard and saw Gods love during these 12 days. Thank you so much!

Our group returned Tuesday from India. What a trip it was. We totally relied on God's Grace and Mercy, and HE was Faithful! The "God Sightings" were too numerous to count. We shared the Gospel Message to between 2000 and 3000 people. Using a generator and a portable MP3 player, we showed the Jesus Film (all of which Grace members donated) to many in remote areas of Assam, India. As in the Book of Acts, many "Heard, Repented and were Baptized." We prayed over and anointed with oil, sick people. We showed the Jesus Film to school aged kids as well as adults. We invited thousands to make a personal decision for Christ. We taught illiterate new believers with story telling about the Gospel, Prayer, Communion and Evangelism. We also loved on the children the way Jesus loved on the children when He said "the Kingdom belongs to such as these."
I had the opportunity to return to the Mising Village, and visited a believer there. Last year, he was struggling and none of his neighbors wanted much to do with this Jesus he spoke of. We had our sack lunch near his home (a bamboo hut) and prayed that God would show Himself to that area someday, and that there would someday be a church built on that spot, to the Glory of God. Eleven months later, do you know there is a church building on that spot where we prayed! And it produced so much fruit that next door they had to build another one, bigger than the first. I was brought to my knees by His Faithfulness. How Good is He! I will pray more expectantly from now on.
I also may add that Satan was not happy with our Gospel penetration in his homeland. As I was sharing to a family of 8 or 9 people using the "Evange-cube", I had told of God's great love for us, creating a relationship with Him, man sinning and separation from God, God loving us more and sending Christ the Saviour, who made the Holy men of the time so mad they killed him, ... as I opened the cube to show the Crucifixion of Jesus on the Cross, pigs outside the home began going crazy, squealing and snorting very loudly. It totally broke the concentration of the folks hearing the Message. It took quite a while to re-capture their attention. As I was telling Bob Magruder of that experience, he asked if I was traveling with Chuck Kuiper that day. I told him I wasn't. He was shocked and began telling me that the same thing happened when Chuck was presenting the Gospel in another area of the village. At the same spot in the presentation! As the Bible tells us, our battle is not with flesh and blood.
There are many more stories to tell. It was a true Ephesian 2-10 trip, each of us used by God in a way that HE prepared in advance for us to do.

Heading Home

2008-02-18T18:10:00.000-08:00

Well our India team is heading back...flying through the night arriving in the early morning. I am very excited to hear about all they did and saw. My husband Chris called last night and they were starting their journey back home, please pray for safe travels for the team, pray that their bodies would readjust to the time (and freezing tempatures), please pray also that God would protect their hearts and keep the fire burning strong...that their mission field would only widen as they return home....that they would be just as strong and on fire in our country, in our city, in our homes and in their workplaces. And can we pray that the many stories that they share would truly glorify our God!!!

India Update

2008-02-12T17:25:00.001-08:00

Here is the first update we got from the team...and its even from my husband!!! :) Its so great to hear how God has prepared and is working in and through our team. May He be glorified!

Greetings, our Brothers & Sisters,Praise the Lord! He is Good!What a wonderful Works God is doing here. He says Heis faithful, and He is more than He says He is.We arrived safely and without concerns, we passed allconnections and customs was a breeze.We arrived in Lakla, Assam, India to a downpouringrain. While it was actually a decent trade off to allthe snow, the welcoming team had to cut their danceshort.From the frontline, We have seen God's Mercy and Gracein many ways. The people have been very welcoming andfairly receptive of the Good News. We have visitedvarious parts of the surrounding Lakla area, and haveshared to 4 different people groups. We are workingfrom an Acts 2 model, Hear. Repent and Baptize. Almost1000 have heard so far, many have Repented and askedChrist to be Lord of their lives, and a number havebeen Baptized in local river! Hearts are beingtransformed after years of following many gods to theONE TRUE GOD. We have prayed over and anointed withoil, three very sick woman. God is showing Himself inmany ways, affirming our faith in a mighty way. OurEvangelists and Interpreters have been very focused.Everyone is pretty healthy so far. Our bodies aretrying to adjust to the 11-1/2 hour time difference.God is using our team of 16 in specific Ephesians 2-10ways. Each of our gifts and talents are being usedbeyond coincidence. Now for the meat...Please pray for the souls who accepted Christ to benurtured by the Nationals. Please pray for our bodies, especially Christina's tohold up under some extremely bumpy road conditions.Pray for continued awesomeness of the Harvest, souls,and baptisms to the Glory of God.Pray for courage and the power of God, as we reachout, Hut to Hut.Pray that our children's program would plant manyseeds and even change hearts to many families.Pray for continued good weather (that we areenjoying), allowing us to travel into some remoteareas. The bus has only been stuck in the mud once.Praise God!We are all being Blessed by the Lord's Mercy andGrace.We will report more later.We wanted to get this in before the prayer meeting.God's Best to You all as we fight the Good fight.For the Team,Chris

India

2008-02-08T19:55:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of my husband Chris last year when he was in India. Will you join with me in praying for him and a team of 16 that left this afternoon to head back to Lakla, India. They are beginning a 12 day mission trip that will change lives for eternity. They will be ministering throughout North-Eastern India. They will be involved in a variety of discipleship and evangelistic ministries. They are excited to demonstrate God's love and to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the people of India.

Please pray for safe travels...the group left from Chicago today at 7:40p.m. for Delhi, India arriving tomorrow at 8:55p.m. (That is roughly a 15 hour flight with a 11 hour time change)
We are praying for: safety and rest, opportunities to share Christ on the plane, for all their luggage to arrive, for the customs process to be smooth and quick with no problems and for God to prepare hearts in India.

The BIG storm

2008-02-06T14:35:00.000-08:00

Well we are still under a major snow storm...so far we have about 14 inches with the possiblity of up to 20! Oh it is beautiful...but it just keeps coming. Everything in town is closed today, schools, business' even the mall. Its a perfect day for a fire, a warm quilt and a good book. So this is where I'll be! Keep us in your prayers.

Praising God in the Gym

2008-01-31T14:44:00.000-08:00

Well this is what Ive been doing alot lately. Ive been spending my afternoons working out. I have really missed biking and getting my much needed excersice, so I started up my winter gym membership. I of course have big hopes...you know the ones, getting fit, losing weight and training for the womens triathalon. But today it occured to me the best benifit might not be physical after all. I have had some amazing times of worship. My SIL Angie (By Faith) downloaded some great songs onto my new iphone when we were together for the holidays and what a blessing it has been. As you know Ive been struggling with the "worship" at our church lately and I think God is opening my eyes to some different forms of worship. I have had some great times of praise and worship and I have listened to some great teaching in the gym. Now if I could just learn to sing in my heart and stop belting it out. Ive been thinking that the headphones the other members wear are more to protect them from my singing than for their own listening pleasures. Praising God in the gym!!!

More fun in the snow

2008-01-29T18:12:00.000-08:00

Fun at the Car Wash

2008-01-14T19:04:00.000-08:00

What could be more fun than watching Christian experience the car wash for the first time. He and Papa were having a blast "squirting" our car! Love those boys!

The personal relationships of blogging

2008-01-13T11:16:00.000-08:00

Blogging at its best! This picture cracks me up.....passing up "real"relationships, while were all checking on our "imaginary" friends!

Not really, we were all helping each other as we were trying to tweak little things on our blogs. Of course we were still unable to add a picture next to our name...how hard can that be????

Believe me I am so thankful for all my blogging siestas. I am thankful for my sister-in-law, By Faith Angie for introducing me to the workd of blogging and all you sisters. How awesome that we can spur each other on, build each other up, hold each other accountable, make friends and pray for many of our sisters who we may never meet until we are in Heaven, although Im hoping to meet alot of you in San Antonio! I have been blessed and have grown because of you all! Thank you and God Bless you!

Worship

2008-01-07T17:35:00.000-08:00

Well this isn't exactly the problem...but I have some issues! I thought maybe some of my blog siestas could help me out.

I have always loved our church, I love everything about it. But lately I have been having a big problem...and of all things, with worship. So how big of a problem is it when you are so distracted by worship? Please don't get me wrong, I don't want to sound like I need things to be exactly the same or that I can't handle change but our church is heading down a path that I am really struggling with. We have always had great worship leaders and worship teams, we sing mostly contemporary music, you know Amazing Love, We Exalt Thee, How great is our God, In Christ Alone...I could go on and on. But our worship team is starting to put some new twist to these old familiar songs, they are adding signature or personal style to my much loved songs. Not just a little difference and not just switching it around...it can change from one Sunday to another. You know just when you think you can catch on, they change it again. It seems more like a performance where we are watching and waiting, waiting to see what changes are coming.

And I'm so sorry but it has led me to be very distracted...each Sunday I try my hardest to have an open mind. I actually try to not think about it. I want to walk into church, I want to worship, I want to hear God speak to me, I want to fellowship.

So what does a siesta do? I'm trying but I'm losing faith. I don't want to be negative but I need a little advice. Worship is huge to me...I love to be drawn into His presence....I love to sing praises to my Father and to feel Him stir softly or in big ways in my heart. I want to feel Him and not feel moments of disappointment with whats NOT happening. Please pray for me!

16 Years Ago

2008-01-02T19:04:00.000-08:00

This article appeared in the Farmington Observer on January 2nd, 1992!

Allyson M. K. came a little late for the tax man. But the wait earned her the distinction of being the first baby born this year in Farmington Hills.

"We were kind of thinking we didn't get the tax deduction, we didn't get the first born (in the country) but we got a healthy little girl with 10 fingers and toes." said proud dad C. K. "I think were the luckiest!"

Allyson was born at 10:00a.m. on Jan. 2 at Botsford General Hospital. Born five days before her due date, the little seven pound bundle was doing plenty of sleeping Thursday afternoon in anticipation of a visit from her two brothers, Christopher,4, and Loren 3.

Stacey started her contractions about 10:30p.m. on New Years night, and the couple headed to the hospital about 4a.m. Thursday morning. Although Chris and Stacey shared the other two births, this time dad got to cut the umbilical cord.

"It's a whole different feeling having a little girl," said Chris, a sales manager with N A S Co. "Of course I love my boys, but this is very special. She's going to be spoiled."

The family prepared for Allyson's arrival by sharing the experience through"It's My Baby, Too" class, where her two brothers visited Botsford and toured the maternity ward and learned about the hospital.

The K's have delivered all their children at Botsford and said several of the nurse's remembered them from previous births. "They're all great here," Chris added.

Well here we are 16 years later! It is so hard to believe that our baby is 16 today!

My how time flies, I remember "older moms" telling me how fast it would go...and I remember thinking, they're crazy I will never be out of sleepiness night, diapers, bottles and teething....but oh my gosh here I am, here we are. I'm now the older mom and our baby is now in driving, wearing make up and talking to boys.

God has given us such a gift. I am so glad that He chose Chris and I too be Ally's parents!

I am so excited to see what the next 16 years will bring us all. And just as I enjoyed the last sixteen I am going to enjoy each moment that we are given in the next sixteen, not that we won't have those bumps in the road....only this time it might be something like arguing about clothes instead of spilt milk or a fender bender instead of a lost pacifier and as far as the sleepiness nights....once the dating starts I'm sure we'll be back to those nights!

Happy Birthday Ally! We love you!

2008-01-01T21:20:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T17:56:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all my sweet blog siestas! May you all have a wonderful day! May you all enjoy your time with family, friends and the precious moments when you are reminded of all that Our Lord and Saviour has done and given to us....the most amazing gift of all....JESUS! Merry Christmas!

First night of Christmas break

2007-12-21T06:08:00.000-08:00

Well the kids are all home for Christmas break!! What fun!! It feels like the old days with the boys and all their friends over all the time. I have missed all the boys, I've missed the endless raiding of our refrigerator, the endless gym clothes after basketball games and working out, the wet clothes from football in the snow, and of course the wet towels from the hot tub after. The messy rooms, the extra laundry, the loud t.v., the spontaneous break outs of wrestling, the late nights....I really have missed it all. The things I have missed the most are the hellos...the Hi Mom, I'm home...the Hi Mama K...the hugs...the thanks for the dinner....the goodbyes and good nights...the hugs and the laughter! It's so nice to have them home!

This picture was the first night of break, the boys were heading to The Milwaukee Bucks game! They had Executive seats, fourth row...so they decided to wear their suits and ties. Aren't they handsome young men! Mine are the two short ones.

Well if you have kids or grand kids returning from college, the military, from out of state or just visiting...enjoy them and love them! And if your kids are little...enjoy them and love them too. Because believe me...they grow up way to fast. Before you know it, you are dreaming of days gone by. So enjoy your Christmas and thank God for wherever He has you right now!

Peanut Butter Balls (Buckeyes)

2007-12-17T19:52:00.000-08:00

I was covered head to toe in chocolate....but it is done! 1o dozen Peanut Butter Balls! Rolling and dipping, rolling and dipping. Now let's hope I can stay away from them. Enjoy your Christmas cookies!!!

The recipe: 1lb Butter, 2lbs Peanut Butter, 3lbs Powdered Sugar

Christmas Hoopla

2007-12-15T20:23:00.000-08:00

My friend Melanie from Melaniejoy has tagged me for this Christmas "hoopla", here are the rules.....

1. List 12 random things about yourself that has to do with Christmas

2. Please refer to it as a 'hoopla' and not the dreaded 'm'-word

3. You have to specifically tag people when you're done. None of this"if you're reading this, consider yourself tagged" stuff is allowed...then nobody ends up actually doing it. The number of people who you tag is really up to you -- but the more, the merrier to get this 'hoopla' circulating through the blogosphere.

4. Please try and do it as quickly as possible. The Christmas season will be over before we know it and I'd like to get as many people involved as possible.

1. On Christmas Eve we always open one gift....our new pajamas.

2. I always make Peanut Butter Balls (Buckeyes) for Christmas.

3. I'm usually in a Cookie Exchange with my sisters and friends.

4. Our family goes out to eat on Christmas Eve night after church, we usually end up at the Olive Garden.

5. I love white lights. We put them on our trees and in the garland on the banister, on the mantel, anywhere!

6. I love Nativity scenes, my favorite is my Willow Tree one. Of course now they have a new one...its on my list.

7. We always take a photo for our Christmas card. Some years have turned out better than others.

8. I remember the year I got my Mrs. Beasley doll for Christmas...I still have her.

9. Our first Christmas, when we were expecting my doctor gave us a envelope with the sex of our baby on it. We put it on the tree....but we opened it right away. What a great gift.

10. As a kid I remember being told that at midnight on Christmas all the animals talk. I use to try to stay awake just to hear what my dog would say.

11. We always play the white elephant pirate game with some friends, we search for months for just the right gift.

12. I love Christmas...the fact that Christ came as a baby, born in a manger, born to seek and save the lost! His hands went from an infant to the hands that were nailed on the cross. Praise God for all He was and all He is.

I am tagging my sister-in-law Angie at By Faith....Ang Baylis, but if you'd like to play along please do. Merry Christmas!

It's her drivers permit

2007-12-13T20:20:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it?? My youngest just got her driving permit this week! She is very excited and ready to start driving. And of course now that she is taking driving training she is sure to point out all I do wrong. Your following to close, your in the wrong lane, etc. I wasn't to concerned until last night when she informed me that I am to cautious of a driver! That can't be a good sign.So please keep us in your prayers as we travel down this road one last time.

Footprints on our hearts

2007-12-10T08:34:00.000-08:00

I thought a good place to start with our foster care story was at the very beginning. So this is how we got called into our ministry. I remember it like it was yesterday. Our boys were four and five and our daughter had just turned one, we had started talking about possibly having more kids or were we done. When one morning I awoke with a dream that I could not forget. I had dreamt that we were foster parents and had a house full of kids...when I told Chris he wondered if it was in fact a nightmare. I remember not really being too affected....until a week later. We were sitting reading the paper, when what did I see? It was a ad placed in our local paper for...yes, you guessed it...for foster parents. At this point I knew, so I told Chris, I really think we should look into this foster care thing. He wasn't quite on the same page yet....but by the next week he was. It was about one week later when our boys came into the house with a little boy who lived on our block and asked if they could go play at Mikey's house. Since we were new to the neighborhood I said o.k. but I'll have to walk over and meet Mikey's mom and make sure it's o.k. We walked down the street to Mikey's and as I spoke with his mom she invited me in. It was then that she introduced me to her foster kids...I think I started crying right then and there. I remember staying for over an hour and just talking with her about foster care. When I got back home I did cry, I told Chris, we are suppose to be foster parents we can't ignore all these signs I think this is meant for us! He agreed!

So we talked and decided that instead of having anymore kids we would become foster parents to kids who were in need of parents. We made phone calls and had workers come out and do our all our paper work. And within a few weeks we had received our first phone call. That was fifteen years ago...God has blessed us so much during those years. I still thank God for all his "signs" and prompting and for using our family. And as kids have come and gone the one thing we have always hoped and prayed for was that those kids would feel God's love and know that at some point in their life they had felt and known Jesus and His love! We prayed and continue to pray that God's will, will always be done in "our kids" lives, we prayed for their forever families and that they would know Christ at a young age. And of course God was faithful and we have so may stories that glorify God and all He has done!

Foster care is not always an easy job, its usually like riding a roller coaster and never knowing when it's going to drop or turn. Foster parents in most states have a bad reputation, unfortunately most of the stories you hear are the bad ones. But there are a lot of good foster parents too. One of the hardest things about foster care is that the better you do your job the harder it is in the end.

Our motto was "Some people that come into our lives, make footprints in our hearts, and we are never the same." We'll we know that we have hundreds of tiny little footprints all over our hearts and we are so thankful!

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2007-12-09T18:41:00.000-08:00

When things are quiet around the house...this is where I can find Christian! I love turning the corner and seeing his little legs sticking out from under the tree. His daddy set up his old train under the tree, and he just loves it! What a beautiful sight...it makes my heart warm to see. Experiencing Christmas from a child's eyes!
And oh what fun he had today!!!! His first time sledding this year...he loved it! We have a small hill in our side yard, it was just perfect for him. His dad would take him up to the top and Papa was waiting at the bottom, he would lay down on his sled and giggle all the way down. It made me want to give it a whirl! Enjoying the sights of this Christmas season!

2007-12-06T09:23:00.000-08:00

As Christmas approaches I always get filled with so many feelings, some are the obvious feelings...the excitement as we prepare to celebrate Our Saviours birth, the joy of being with family and friends, watching our children and grandson as we celebrate and the thank fullness for all the season brings. But another area is going to the mailbox and getting our Christmas cards, I love hearing from family and friends, catching up on what is happening in their lives. But even more special are the cards we receive from our foster kids and their new families. We maintain contact with alot of our kids throughout the year, but with some we wait on that Christmas letter to come, usually with lots of pictures!!!

So as they have started to arrive, I thought I would post a few very special stories throughout this Christmas season. My mind has been stirring with lots of ideas! Foster parenting has been an area in our lives for 15 years where God had shown us so much of His love and His faith fullness..and so much of His Sovereignty!

Without going into to too much of one story, which I will share, would you please pray with us that we would recieve a Christmas card from one of our kids, K. As I've been thinking about Christmas and of the true meaning, this would be one of the best gifts I could recieve! And it would truly be another gift that was sent from above! Gifts of books, clothes, iphones, and such do not compare to what this one letter would mean to me!

Our Christmas Picture

2007-11-27T08:12:00.000-08:00

I love getting a good picture of my kids.....not sure this is one of them, but its the best we have! Every year its the same thing, I warn them ahead of time, we complain, we balk, we complain some more and then the day is here. So this year I tried making it easier, usually I tell that what color to wear, etc this time I only prefaced it with..please comb your hair. Our main problem this year was a crabby almost two year old, who had fallen asleep in the car and wanted nothing to do with sitting for a photo...especially without his pacifier that he gets only when he sleeps! So we had to try a few "different" things! This was the big hit, because I was standing on a chair and Papa was standing beside me acting goofy! That of course would have been the picture to have. Of course when I told my all and almost grown kids to lay on the floor...they wanted to cry and you would have thought they would need a pacifier....but because they are such good sports and because Christian was going with it, they went along. So Merry Christmas once again...another "photo shoot" is done!!!! Yeah!

2007-11-22T07:38:00.000-08:00

Wishing everyone a wonderful blessed Thanksgiving! Hoping you are all enjoying your family and friends...and remembering ALL the awesome blessings we recieve everyday from our Heavenly Father!

Our 1st Special Needs Respite Day

2007-11-19T09:38:00.000-08:00

Well after a year of planning and organizing, we finally kicked off our 1st Buddies Plus Respite Program. Our Special Needs Ministry has just gotten up and running, full force. Praise God, what amazing things He is doing in our ministry. At this time we have 7 kids who are able to attend Sunday School every week, with their Buddy, a one-on-one friend and assistant who is there not only for the child but for their family also. So on Saturday we saw another area of ministry starting to take form. We provide a respite program for our special needs kids and their siblings, parents were able to drop their children off from 1:00 - 4:00 and then enjoy whatever they chose off campus. Some parents did shopping while we heard a few others who chose a long uninterrupted nap. We are planning on making this a quarterly program, for the time being. And since our 1st one went off without a hitch, we are planning on inviting other area churches to join us....and then opening it to our community. We believe that God has big plans for this program....and that we commit this program to glorify His Name! Here are a few pictures from the day!

I was truly blessed by this day and all the children who attended!

Prayer Request

2007-11-05T12:19:00.000-08:00

*UPDATE* My mom is still in need of your prayers. She struggled through her surgery, getting sick on the anesthetic and the pain relievers they were giving her. It has been a slow road, full of pain with not much comfort. She said that she never dreamt that it would be SO painful, and that each day she tries to get through 10 minutes at a time. So please continue to keep her in your prayers. Thank you so much sisters!

Please pray for my mom, Mary who is having a total knee replacement on Tuesday. She has had a lot of back and knee pain for months, probably years, and finally they are doing a knee replacement. As time has gone on she has a hard time walking or getting up and down. So I'm praying that this surgery will help her to be pain free and able to enjoy her life more.

My mom and I have always had a special relationship. One of my biggest "God moments" was when God provided for both of us. I was living out of town, when circumstances lead to my husband and I moving our family back to my home town. We were very excited about being back near my family. We had only been back for two weeks when I received a phone call telling me, my mom had had a seizure and they had found a brain tumor. The day before my mom's seizure my in-laws had called and said they were driving over to visit...they were actually in Chicago, only a hour away..they thought they would surprise us! Well, they ended up staying for quite awhile and they helped take care of our kids, made meals, cleaned and helped us finish unpacking...so that I could be with my mom and my family. I still often remember this time and it always touches my heart that my God would provide for me in such an obvious way. He is in control of our everything. I love that He can orchestrate such amazing plans.

So, as my mom heads back to surgery I am reminded of all He does for us. Please lift her, her surgery, and her recovery up to the Lord. I love that we can come to our sisters in Christ....our sisters in blog land...and know that they will lift up our prayers and concerns. Thank you so much!

Wonderful Wisconsin Weekend

2007-10-29T07:47:00.000-07:00

We had such a great time in Door County this weekend. It was the perfect fall weekend, the colors were beautiful, the air was crisp, the trails were gorgeous, the food was terrific and the company was great! It's hard to be in this beautiful countryside and not sing and praise God for His creation. What an artist Our God is. Here we are driving into Peninsula State Park! Chris and I, with our friends Patrick and Terry. Having all worked with our Senior High Youth Group, Patrick insisted that we play the name game...where your fellow friends can give you a new name for the day. So, in this picture we actually have: Norm, Cherokee, Milo and Marianne!

Chris and I, at the top of Eagles Look-out, we climbed up after biking the first 10 miles. I wasn't sure I would make it. So here's proof!
Our lunch spot on day two, it was chilly on the trails (40-mid50s) but this was the perfect spot. We packed sandwiches, bananas, chips and salsa and some cookies! We were tempted to take a nap before heading out again.
Terri (Marianne) and I, gearing up after lunch. This was us sporting the "layered look" at this point I was wearing: bike shorts, long underwear, bike pants, two tanks, one short sleeved shirts, one long sleeved shirt, and two sweatshirts....headband and gloves were a must also!
This was one of three deer that we saw! I have a feeling that we sped by a lot of others that we just didn't see. Chris assured me that I could get a better picture if he went up the road and headed her in my direction. I felt this was a nice picture and didn't need to have a deer running at me. She was close enough!

Photo shot at the Bay! We had such a great time. We ended up biking 35-40 miles over the weekend. Peninsula Park has awesome trails, we stayed on the bike trail must of the time, but on one trip we decided to take a hiking path....what a amazing trail it was absolutely beautiful and breathtaking. It was a very rugged course over a lot of tree roots, hills and of course billions of leaves. My body was sore that night but it was worth it!

The next day we actually started off on a course that was marked "off trail riding." The sign should have been enough of a warning....it had a mountain outline, but hey we thought it looked like fun. I don't think we made it a half mile before we turned around. The steep hill that started the course with logs the size of my thighs....was definitely not for us! Here's Milo and Marianne!

The beautiful bay! I can't wait to go back! We did have the best time! God is so Good! What gifts He gives us every day!

21 Years

2007-10-25T08:14:00.000-07:00

Today is my Anniversary....21 Years. Who would have thought!

I still remember the day I met him. I was in Up With People, traveling through the Midwest at the time, with Chris's youngest sister Mary. We pulled up to where we were performing one day and there Mary stood with her brother and her boyfriend at the time, not knowing who was visiting her I remember asking her "Hey, who is that cute guy your with?" She replied, Oh him, that's my brother. Well, she introduced us and that night when the three of them were heading out for dinner....Chris came over and invited me to join them. We had a great time, we both agree now that we were just ourselves not trying to impress, since it technically wasn't "a date", and we both never really thought we would see the other again.

Well, obviously we did see each other again. And here we are 21 years later.

The Lord has blessed us and our marriage along the way. He blessed us with a loving family, wonderful friends, an awesome church, and he gave us both big hearts for our kids, our foster kids, our Senior High youth group and world missions.

I believe that if we are all honest, some Anniversaries are better than other. In any marriage there are good days, weeks, months and years and also a few bad. Well after 21 years of marriage to Chris I should have known not to clean out our basement yesterday. I should have know what would happen...I mean it has happened every time I try to organize. I start weeding through things and making piles you know.... garbage, give away, save. Do we really need to keep every book that my kids have ever read, I mean there's no way I would ever get rid of Chicka-Chicka Boom-Boom, Curious George, Little House on the Prairie, you get the idea. I don't need to keep all those craft items, when I haven't touched crafts in the last 5 years. Do we need the McDonald Land toys from 10 years ago, when my grandson's collection from now a days is already out of control. And let's talk about the golf trophies.....you know the ones, the ones that don't make it into his office, the ones from 10-20 years ago....for second and third place, the ones that have been in a box in storage for 10-20 years.

Like I said...I don't know what I was thinking???? It was the day before our Anniversary!!!! As Chris was searching through the garbage, he saw me throw "something" away, he turned and said, "Hey, is that the remote control to the little t.v. that we've been looking for?" Yes, dear I finally found it....and just thought I would throw it away!!

We are heading up north to beautiful Door County, Wisconsin this weekend for a great weekend to celebrate! Praise God, there will be no closets or basements to organize!

In Memory

2007-10-24T18:46:00.000-07:00

Today is my sister-in-laws birthday,

Vic would have been 53 today.

As we are remembering her on her birthday

she is walking with Jesus!

I just had to post this picture for you all to see!

Look closely...

Do you see the shadow in the background?

Do you see the profile on the wall?

JESUS

He is not just with her today,

He was always with her!

I look forward to the marvelous day we are together again!

The days where we will sing and praise our Lord together!

Friends and Homecoming

2007-10-22T19:16:00.000-07:00

Kevin .....#88.....Captain for Concordia University....Homecoming.
My son, Christopher with brothers Kevin and Brian...who are just like my boys.
They call me "mom2". These boys have been friends since 5th grade, they have played football together for 8 years. Hard to believe they are "grown men"!
Another one of my "boys". This is Ryan,(and Caroline) he and my youmger son Loren have been friends since 3rd grade. All these boys played high school ball together and now Ryan and Kevin both play for Concordia. What a fun Homecoming game. We won...35..28 with one minute left!!!!
Chris and I, with our BFF's Mark and Mary (kevin and brians mom and dad) and Greg and Carol, who actually went to high school with Mark and Mary. What a fun day....Football and Friends...who could ask for anything more!

Tagged

2007-10-10T10:11:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged by my sister-in-law Annie over at By Faith. These are always a fun way to learn new and different things about each other, so if your reading this consider yourself tagged and then make sure to let me know so I can stop by and read all about your man.

1. Who is your man? Christopher Arthur

2. How long have you been together? We will be celebrating 21 years this month!

3. How long did you date? We dated the first time for about 6 months, long distance and then after breaking up for a few months we were back together for about 8 months before we were married.

4. How old is your man? 50!! I'm a lot younger

5. Who eats more? He does!

6. Who said I love you first? He did!

7. Who is taller? He is..but not by much

8. Who sings better? He does...but we sound pretty nice together

9. Who is smarter? He is

10. Whose temper is worse? Probably mine

11. Who does the laundry? I do... but he is always willingly to help and will usually throw a load in every now and then..even without being asked.

12. Who takes out the trash? He does

13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do...I have to. I'm one of those people who just can't sleep on the "other side"

14. Who pays the bills? He does...I would actually be in a lot of trouble if anything every happened to him.

15. Who is better with the computer? He is...I'm getting better, but doubt I will ever catch up with him.

16. Who mows the lawn? He does...he bought a riding lawn mower and loves to ride and smoke a cigar.

17. Who cooks dinner? I do...when we aren't eating out! :) But he will also help out sometimes with cooking.

18. Who drives when you are together? He does....he enjoys driving and would prefer to drive always. On long trips I will help, but usually not for very long.

19. Who is the most stubborn? Oh...we both can be very stubborn!

20. Whose parents do you like the most? We love all our parents...but we see my parents more, only due to location.

21. Who kissed who first? He kissed me.

22. Who asked out who? He asked me...I was traveling with "Up With People" with his sister the first time we met, he asked me to dinner while we were on the road.

23. Who proposed? He did! I had been wanting a pair of Reebok's newest tennis shoe....the saddle shoe. He put my ring inside the shoe and shocked me.

24. Who has more friends? We tie...we both have friends from school, work and church. But we spend most of our time with mutual friends! We have great friends!

25. Who has more siblings? He does....he comes from a family of seven, 5 girls and two boys. Our family is myself and 2 sisters.

Failure

2007-10-08T12:18:00.000-07:00

What an awesome thing I read today in my Beth Moore Bible Study. Beth was talking about our failures and repenting. She says that God redeems something by buying it back through the payment of a ransom. He gave the life of His Son as the ransom to buy us back from the clutches of sin. He has also bought back the rights to our past and all its failures. If we cooperate, He'll turn every single one of those failures into something useful for His kingdom. That is the meaning of "full redemption"!

He wants to fully redeem every part of your life until even your failures bring Him glory. How amazing is our God!! He is so faithful to us!

422

2007-09-30T10:47:00.000-07:00

So how exciting to watch Brett Favre make history today.
All time leading Tochdowns Thrown...422
Its fun being a Packer Fan
Congratulations Brett!

The bad haircut

2007-09-30T09:14:00.000-07:00

So, not so bad from the front...but look what happens when he turns to the side! Oh my goodness!!!!I remember all my kids having at least one bad haircut, you know where you just want to cry. I still remember when I sent my two little boys off with their dad and they came back with buzz cuts...I think I did cry and I was so mad at my husband. Don't get me wrong my boys had buzz cuts numerous times while growing up and they looked cute, this was just the shock of seeing my sweet babies bald and being totally unexpecting.

Christians mom, Samatha decided to try to cut his hair herself, for his first haircut. You know where you can have pictures and a lock of hair for your baby memory book! Well when she tried straightening up the side.....he moved! But hey we certainly have photos for that baby book don't we.

Cookies can fix anything though!

Happy Birthday Loren

2007-09-28T21:34:00.000-07:00

Today is Loren's 19th Birthday!

What a gift for me, he has always been. Loren is my middle child, my easiest baby, my peacemaker, my compassionate boy. Loren is loved by everyone, he's the life of the party. He loves his family and friend and he loves Jesus!

Since he's away at school, we will be celebrating his birthday next weekend when he is able to come home for the weekend. But today Christian and I were able to go up and spend the afternoon with him in between classes. We took a few gifts to him, his favorite....the Oatmeal Scotchies and Chocolate Chip cookies I made for him! We went to lunch and we did a little birthday shopping (as much as possible with boys.) We also stopped at Aldi's where we were able to refill the freezer/fridge with all his favorites: Sausage Egg Muffins, Hot Pockets, Corn Dogs, Frozen Pizzas and Soda. I know not the healthiest but he's a college student. Then we took Christian to the park that is only a couple of blocks from his house. Loren and Christian have always been in the same Mutual Adoration Club. Here are a few pictures of all the fun we had.

Loren and Christian walking up the steps the 100th time
One more time....Please (Peas)....Uncle Loren
Going down all by myself
Ya gotta love the tube slide

On our way home Christian was sound asleep...or so I thought. When we were stopped in traffic I turned around to take his picture...he just looked so peaceful. Well as quick as my flash popped up so did his eyes!!!!! Doesn't he just look sleepy? Who needs a nap anyways? Well this Gigi did!

What a great day we had! What a great son I have. I thank God everyday for Loren and look forward to seeing all the awesome things God has planned for him!
Happy Birthday Loren! I Love You!

Fall T.V.

2007-09-25T11:34:00.000-07:00

We'll it must officially be fall. It is that time when all my favorite shows start. I actually claim to not watch a lot of television but as excited as I am for all the season premiers, that might not be completely true.

Tonight of course is the kick off for House. I enjoy the show but also go between never wanting someone like House to be my Doctor and only wanting someone like House to be my Doctor.

Wednesday, will be America's Next Top Model and Project Runway. Anyone with a teenage daughter can easily get sucked into these shows. It is considered time for just Ally and I. Both shows are great for discussions on everything from fashion...to body image...to worldly views...to how we would handle situations.

Thursday of course is Grey's Anatomy. Which is another show Ally and I watch together.

Of course all my men claim that our shows on Wednesday and Thursday are "girly" shows, but guess what, most nights they are asking to watching with us or wanting to know "who got kicked off?" Unlike their shows on Mondays, Prison Break, 24 and Monday Night Football. I very rarely ask what Jack Bauer is up too...or what kind of trouble the prison brothers are into. And of course I usually will only inquire about my favorite team on Monday night. Go Packers!!!

God is so good

2007-09-24T06:57:00.000-07:00

I have been so bad about posting...and keeping up with my blog land sisters. Please know that just because I'm not finding time to post..I am keeping up and lurking around your sites!

So I thought I would update you all on whats happening with my job situation. GOD IS SO GOOD! Can I get an ALL THE TIME! Shortly after I took my leave of absence, our good friends Mark and Mary, came to me and asked if I would be willing to help them out. How, you ask? Well about a month prior to my leaving the working world, they had moved their mother into their home, Gloria is 81 and is suffering from Alzheimer's. So they were looking for someone to care for her part-time while they are at work. They had been searching and interviewing people during the summer trying to prepare things for when Mary goes back to work (she is a 6th grade teacher at our private christian school....she taught my boys, who are best friends with her son...but that's a whole different post.) They were struggling with finding someone they felt they could trust and someone who would care for Gloria as they do when they are here. When what should happen! I tell them one night over dinner that I'm not going back to work and they both looked at me like I had three heads.

So my new job is working for Mark and Mary, caring for Gloria! Like I said, GOD IS SO GOOD! Let me say, this job is much less stressful and I actually feel bad being paid for spending time with Gloria. But God has provided, for not only me and my job but for Mark and Mary. I often wonder...is this where God wants me? And all I know is that for now...this is exactly where he wants me! I am thankful that He can use me and that He had this planned long before any of us were aware of it!

All Gods Creatures

2007-09-12T10:58:00.000-07:00

I took this picture Up North and I just love it. Watching these humminbirds was just amazing. Big and small He made us all!

In Christ Alone

2007-09-12T10:52:00.000-07:00

This says everything!

In God's hands

2007-09-06T11:54:00.001-07:00

A friend of mine sent this to me, I guess there are numerous reports of this same beautiful sky from a number of people down south! How amazing! My mind went straight to the old Sunday school song..."He's got the whole world in His hand." Such a comforting photo, knowing that God reaches down and comforts, protects and guides us everyday.

Daniel

2007-09-04T11:48:00.000-07:00

I am so excited! Tonight we start our new Daniel bible study!I am ready to dive into God's word and spend sometime studying Daniel. I have heard so many good things about this study. And who doesnt love hearing the word from Beth. Please pray for our study and that God would prepare all attending for an amazing message!

Labor Day

2007-09-04T11:15:00.000-07:00

Here we are on Labor Day, celebrating a little and enjoying some much needed rest and relaxation!

Chris, Ally, Christopher, Loren and myself.

The birthday boy, my dad, my sister Stephanie,

my sister Ange, myself and my mom.

Hyduke wedding

2007-08-26T18:51:00.000-07:00

The beautiful flowers
Kisses from my boys:

Leaving for the wedding

Our friends Patrick and Terry with their oldest daughter
Erin who was married this weekend
Terry and I at the reception

Chris and Patrick, Accountablity Partners

I love sharing life with good friends. Small group, mission trips, church, ministry teams, weddings, babies, mexican food, faith, families and friendships!

So this is college

2007-08-26T18:29:00.000-07:00

The living room
nice bedroom
yes, thats a fireplace
a clean kitchen
and a marble and gold

bathroom.

This is not the kind of dorm or college housing that I remember.

How blessed he is.

Please pray for my son Loren as he starts his freshmen year at the

University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee!

Closing the door

2007-08-23T13:40:00.000-07:00

I have been gone from blog land for awhile due to my job situation. I work in the local school district in a Early Childhood Special Needs classroom. I have been there for seven years now and things have continued to go down hill every year. After Christmas last year my husband and I started to talk about me not going back. Our classroom has continued to be more involved every year and the administration continues to not put the kids first...they have turned our classroom into a daycare center, where we are unable to teach or keep our kids safe. Due to the frustration I started praying that God would show me where he wanted me.
Shortly after our conversation the teacher that I work with told me that she was considering posting for a new job...for all the same reasons. I felt that God was definitely affirming me in that I needed to change jobs or not return. For months after my friends job went thru I was sure that God had given me a sign that I was to not return. Then in April they came to our department and told us that they would be breaking up our Early Childhood Center and forming a new one at a new location that we either had to volunteer for or they would displace us and make decisions for us. Needless to say, things got very ugly. Was this another sign. At the end of school our department was turned upside down...people began whispering and plotting. I was told by a coworker that she intended to bump me out of my position. I totally understood, she had 20+ yrs in the district and her grandchildren who live with her attended our school. I tried to be a light in this very dark place and situation.
Even thou we knew this was going to happen back in April, our district just started processing it this week. So, I received a phone call confirming my displacement and told that I need to come down and pick a new job. So, I went, I was called in, given a list and told to pick. Ladies seriously I spend much more time picking out what shoes I'm going to wear than they were willing to give me for a new job that I would spend 8 hours at every single day. To my surprise suddenly one of the ladies from the union brings up a job that I would love. It was working in a school that I had always wanted to get into and it I would be working in the pool providing therapy to the orthopedic impaired students, I was thrilled. After my allotted time, I was told to pick..."please hurry we have alot of people." OK, I'll take it. I was very excited, I called my husband, my mother, sisters, friends....this was actually turning out great. Something very positive in a negative situation. Thank You Jesus for this new job, I knew that this position would normally not have turned up...It was my sign to stay, God had given me exactly what I wanted. Well guess what???? I received a phone call about 6 hours later???? What was it about?????We're very sorry, we made a mistake....you need to pick a new, new job. What would you like????
After three minutes of pleading and trying everything in my power to get "my" job back, I was told to pick again. I was very upset and the folks on my conference call really had no time for me and my questions. Sorry its just not available, we made a mistake...pick another. So I did. I picked a job and immediately after I hung up...it registered. Why was I not listening? I had been on my knees about my job situation since April. God was showing me but I was trying to do it my way. He had prodded and tried to show me, and I was not listening. Only after He slammed that door closed did I think about His way.
He had been telling me since Christmas and I went on searching for what I thought. After it came to me I thought God must have been looking down and thinking...how many times is it going to take...I don't want you there!
So I called HR back after 10 minutes and I explained that I had made a mistake and what I really wanted to do was to take a leave of absence. So now I get to wait and see what God has planned for me. But for now I get to marvel in the fact that my God loves me enough that He would spend His time shutting doors for His daughter....wont it be exciting to see what doors He opens next? To be continued!!!!

Doggy sitting!

2007-08-13T13:26:00.000-07:00

My sisters dog, Cooper!!!

Isn't he just the cutest thing!

They went up North for the week, so we get the pleasure of watching Cooper!

We have two miniature daschunds

that are not quite as enthralled with him as we are.

He just wants to play and Gracie and Sadie have pretty much told him they are not too interested in playing with him.

They better hurry home or else we might just keep him!

The Threat

2007-08-13T13:05:00.000-07:00

He's at the 20...He's at the 10!

The Racine Threat!

Thats my son....

the one carrying the ball!

Looking forward to another season of football.

In high school I use to look out and I could always find him because he was one of the biggest boys out there.

This season I look for one of the smaller guys....

these are grown men!

Hey get off my boy....leave him alone.

After the game....We won 61 - 12

The stranger at our door

2007-08-11T23:01:00.001-07:00

Please pray with us for the stranger at the door. Last night at 3:00a.m. our doorbell rang. I dont know how you are when this sort of thing happens but I usually jump to and try gathering my senses. My body is always ahead by a few seconds, feeling groggy and wondering...am I dreaming, where are my kids, what day is it, whats happening??????

Well when the doorbell rang... I wondered and my heart dropped. As I jumped out of bed and told DH, "someones at the door" the dogs were barking and all of the world seemed to make no sense. I looked out the second story window and saw a young lady running down the driveway, my first thought was...it must be my youth group kids playing one of their games. We are often included in toliet papering, forking, saran wrapping etc when our youth group gets together. Of course this only happens because I have been known to be talked into doing such things to our youth pastor and fellow leaders homes.....all in the name of fun!

As my husband and I made it to the front door I was already realizing, this was not the case tonight. When my husband went out the door this young lady ran back up our driveway and proclaimed that "I know Im your neighbor". He said ok..well what can i do for you and she started crying that we had to save her children...needless to say my heart was racing at this point. I had grabbed the phone and was wondering do I call 911 or do I wait to hear more. Suddenly she starting running down the street, ( she was in pjs and had no shoes on) she was running down the middle of the road into oncoming traffic. When DH came in he said I need to follow her and call the police. He got into the car and drove down the street, he found her a few miles down the street, still running in the middle of the road, almost getting hit by a few vechicles. He had called the police and was trying to calm this young lady down, but she was running and fleeing from something. She ran across the street and started pounding on the window of a house....she broke the window and then grabbed a large piece of glass and ran back into the road. Thank goodness the police arrived at this point....they did draw their guns and tazerers because she refused to put down this shard of glass. She finally dropped the glass and the officers had to wrestle her down...tha whole time she is screaming...."save my children...help my children". As I was on the phone with DH the whole time...I started panicking that she had left "her children" somewhere in our yard, etc. As I was talking to DH I was looking down my driveway at my empty garabe cans that had been left out...due to sheer laziness ...and my heart sank. What kind of world do we live in where my mind actually went to wondering if there was a child in my garbage can.

After DH talked with the police, they thanked him and sent him on his way. He came home and we were both very shaken by the stranger at our door. One does not just climb back into bed and drift off to a lovely place after something like this. I sat just wondering and praying that we had done all that we could. When there is nothing left to do.....I start wondering and start praying.

So please pray with us for this young lady and her childen. We have not heard anything today, but we have brought her before the Lord often. Our world needs Jesus! She needs Jesus! We all need Jesus!

Are there really strangers at our doors?
Please pray!

Blessings of a vacation

2007-08-07T13:09:00.000-07:00

This was our sight each morning heading out the front door!

God is awesome!

His creation is to be marveled at each day!

We are just returning from our vacation in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

We had a wonderful time!

Chris and I went out early, we had a few quiet days before our boys came out.

It was the perfect combo...alone time and family time.

I thank God for what He can do in our rest and relaxation, how He can restore our souls in the quietness of His creation and in the beauty of each day.

Here are a few pictures from our trip:

The boys with their toys!

Christian and I getting ready to head out on our daily walk.
Lake Geneva has a walking lakeshore path that goes around the entire lake, it is 21 miles long and it shows off the beauty of each house and property.

Papa, Daddy and Christian all sitting on the dock,what are they watching you ask?

Uncle Loren, who was trying to perfect .....the belly flop

Christian loved floating not flopping!

And this you just have to love, (please excuse the adorable bare bottom) Christian waving "Hi" to daddy!

And although it does look like it, he is not on the dock alone...papa is within arms length just outside of the shot!

We had an awesoome time!!!!

Open Doors - Open Arms

2007-07-30T15:30:00.000-07:00

I am so excited about what God is doing at our church with our special needs ministry. We are really starting to see amazing thing happen. Our mission is to "Open the Doors" of ministry to children with special needs, leading them to the "Open Arms" of Jesus. So we have started a buddy system where we offer one on one assistance to those children who need it, our buddies provide direction and can help individualize the lessons for the kids who need additional help learning about Gods love and truth.

One story I just have to tell you is how one Dad came up to me after attending service with his wife, he had tears in his eyes and he told me that he had forgotten that his wife "sang like an angel" and how truly blessed they were to be able to worship together once again. It made me think of how much we take for granted, that we are able to sit in church on Sunday with our families to worship, pray and listen to Gods word together. This is another ministry where you think you can bless others, but where God turns it around and truly blesses you!

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." Mark 10:14

Our Sovereign God made ALL children in HIS own image.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mothers womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139; 13&14

Hands and Feet

2007-07-30T15:13:00.001-07:00

While driviing Ally out to camp, we were listening to alot of our favorite music and when Audio Adrenaline's song Hands and Feet came on, I thought how fitting. So after blogging last time about her theme for the summer, I thought I'd throw in a summer song.

I want to be your hands...I want to be your feet...

I'll go where you send me...go where u send me

And I'll try, yeah I'll try to touch the world like You

touched my life, and I'll try to be your hands

Send me where you want me..I'll finally have a mission, I promise

I'll complete I dont need excuses when I am your hands and feet.

Livin the Dream

2007-07-26T20:41:00.001-07:00

"LIVIN THE DREAM" is the theme for this summer...per my 15 year old daughter, Ally! God has given my daughter an awesome heart for serving. "Livin the dream" for her is being able to go to Bible Camp and serve. She loves being at camp working as a counselor, in the kitchen, in the dish room, teaching Frisbee golf, taking kids creek stomping, cleaning cabins and bathrooms..you name it and she's happy doing it! So, I am heading out...heading to Iowa, to take her back to camp tomorrow, where she will stay for the next four weeks. I miss her so much when she is gone but I just love watching her grow in her faith....and putting her dreams and beliefs into actions. Her life verse at the moment (which is written across her bedroom mirror) is Philippians 2:14 and 15 Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God, without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars! She is an awesome young lady who is shining so bright!

What a cutie!

2007-07-23T21:44:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness....does he make me smile! I just love this picture of my grandson Christian. God does something awesome with grandkids...He gives you all the love you had for your kids and multiplies it by so many things. Its multiplied by memories, feelings, love and than increased with wisdom from having been a parent and having more years of wisdom. You truly understand now..that time does fly, that they grow up too fast, and that you can never go back. I think its awesome that grandparents can marvel over every little thing, we can marvel over a smile, a tooth, a new word and we can marvel at how much our precious grandchild reminds us of our precious child! How easy it is to be taken back years with just the tiniest look or action that reminds you and can have your grown adult sitting back in the kitchen cupboard playing with that same tupperware bowl! What a blessing. Kids and grandkids!! Two of God's greatest gifts! Thank You for ALL my blessings.....Chris, Christopher, Loren, Ally and Christian!

Welcome Emily Ann

2007-07-20T20:34:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrated the adoption of Emily Ann into our family! After a year and a half its official. She joins my sister Stephanie and Mark's family.....Erica 25, Aaron 23, Parker 20, Joshua 7 and now Emily 1. Have you ever been used by God for what you thought was one reason only to later see things through His bigger picture and get a tiny glimpse at how magnificent His plan is! Emily is proof to that! Chris and I had done foster care for years and my family was always very supportive and somewhat intrigued. My sister and I had many conversation about foster care and the need for more families, etc. After we had been fostering for about 8 years she said I think Mark and I are ready to try foster care. The accepted their first placement and he has never left. They adopted Joshua seven years ago and today they welcomed his sister into their forever family. Sometimes I look back and just wonder, was that Gods plan all along...did we do foster care to help bring Josh and Emily home. God is in control and I truly believe that He orchestrates our every move for His purpose and for His glory. I would feel truly honored to play a part in any plan God has! How awesome that He would use us!

On the Mission Field

2007-07-17T19:38:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading an update from our youth pastor who is on a mission trip with 30 of our senior high students. Two of the students on the trip are my son Loren and my daughter Ally. They are in New Orleans for the week working on alot of hurricane relief projects, teaching VBS, and working with the homeless that remain in the area. Reports and updates so far have been filled with many emotions..mainly a sadness at the loss, the despair and the destruction. But the resounding Hope that they bring to share has been uplifting to not only those they are ministering to, but also to those that are ministering! As I sat once again praying for the team. my heart beams when I think of the heart that God gave to my children...the heart for missions!! As much as a mom can be proud of her kids my mind goes to how much more God is pleased with them. Well done, my good and faithful servant. (Matthew 25:21)

Christian's 1st Milw. Brewers Game

2007-07-15T14:09:00.000-07:00

My beautiful grandson Christian enjoying his first baseball game

What is to come....

2007-06-28T21:21:00.000-07:00

After an awesome weekend in Cleveland with Beth, I am so excited about "what is to come". Beth drove home about living in the "is" and leaving our "was" behind. The best part is that while we're living in our is, God can still be working in our was, our is, and our is to come. Rev 1:8