Craven Family

Day 3- " It does not work"

2011-07-21T21:28:00.002-04:00

Day 3 began with someone peeking their head into our train cabin, saying something in Russian and closing the door. By then we had come to realize that one of Janet's many spiritual gifts is translating Russian. She looked at us and said.. "He said that we are almost there and you had better get up and dressed... or something close to that." Janet had guessed correctly. We were almost there. A mad scramble to re-pack and get dressed resulted in Paul having to brush his teeth and rinse his mouth with Sprite and Janet wearing her 'train clothes' the rest of the day.
Our team was greeted at the station by Pastor Sascha (I probably spelled that wrong) and the American missionary Chet from Texas. Pastor Sascha took us to McDonald's and we were ready to cry from joy. Food we knew and ice in the drinks!!! WOOHOO!!!!! We had a great time sitting around eating and getting to know everyone. A walking tour around Cheboksary kept us awake and moving until our 2 translators arrived. Welcome Natasha & Zhenya!

From June1

Once we had everyone, it was time to leave for Yoshkar-Ola. (sounds kind of like yoshKAla). This was the day that I learned it’s better to close your eyes and not watch the road. The cars fly along at speeds to make Nascar drivers proud and lanes are really just a suggestion. If you decide that it appeals to you to drive in the middle of 2 lanes, one of which is oncoming traffic, Ehhh… it’s fine. I suspect that the Russian drivers are also closing their eyes. We arrived safely (and fast) because of our awesome driver. He is a believer from Cheboksary. We referred to him as ‘Fast Eddie’ but I’m not sure what his real name is.
At this point it is now Wednesday. We have flown from America to Russia, traveled the Moscow Metro, traveled by train to Cheboksary and then to Yoshkar-Ola by van. No one had showered since Monday morning. Well that was when I had my last shower… I don’t know when my travel buddies could claim their last bath. Finding the Hotel Evrika was a challenge but we were able to find it and get settled in nicely. We had a short time to shower and change before we were off to meet the Pastor Anatoly and some local church members.
The church there is slowly being built week by week as they are able to get supplies and arrange for help. Natasha and Zhenya were able to help us chat with the church members and once Marc arrived we settled in to do a few interviews. We also discussed the Mari people with them. We talked about things that have been successful in reaching the Mari people and other things that have not worked in the past. Marc mentioned the Jesus film and was told “It does not work” (This became very important on our last day there.) They suggested English camps, Sports camps, even a scrapbooking camp! The group told us that the Mari would attend all of these but would leave before we could share any type of gospel message. Finally one man suggested we bring them some hot air balloons to attract people. I politely told him that I didn’t think I could get them on the airplane. We mentioned going into the villages and were told that Mari people would want nothing to do with us, going as far as to say that they would run from us. Marc was able to get some video and interviews from this meeting but I will be honest in saying that the mood after this meeting was very subdued and introspective. My thoughts basically ran something like this. “OK God, I’m here, I thought this is where you wanted me. Show me what I’m supposed to do because I’m completely lost at this point.”

From June1

We made our first of many 11pm walks to McDonalds and planned to meet early the next morning for breakfast.

Russia trip- Day 2 'Sleep is for the weak!'

2011-06-22T20:43:00.002-04:00

Change of plans was one of the most frequently heard statements on this trip. Instead of showers in Moscow, we decided to drop our things at the train station and make a mad rush around Moscow to stay awake until the train left that night. Our first real experience with Moscow was packed in a van making our way through the city with LOTS of luggage. It was hot and I slept through most of it. The parking lot smelled horrible and the train station itself was not much better. Luggage was dropped off in a hallway that Janet would have described as "sketchy". Bathroom stop and we're off, right? Umm almost. Finding our way to the bathroom, Marc mentions that it will probably require us to pay someone and they won't make change so we start digging for small amounts. Once we realize there really isn't enough small $ to go around, we decide to wait it out and let the guys go. Really... I think the Lord was looking after us! Once the guys described the conditions of the train station bathroom, we were immensely thankful that we didn't try it out.

St Basil's Cathedral was beautiful. I keep looking at the pictures I took and thinking it looks almost fake, it's so pretty. Something out of DisneyWorld, you know? Lunch was actually more like dinner and we didn't realize at the time that most of our days would be like this. We tried Sbarro and Janet and I decided to order & pay without Marc translating. The cashier was more than a little impatient and Janet finally had to resort to holding out a handful of rubles and letting her pick out the right amount.
After lunch (which was really dinner) we headed back to the train station to rescue our luggage and find our train. Janet wisely grabbed everyone a bottle of water or sprite. We didn't realize until later how much we would need those. By this time, I was pretty much just putting one foot in front of the other without realizing what was being said or done. I’m reasonably sure people spoke to me but all I heard was noise like something out of a Peanuts cartoon. I couldn’t concentrate and my head felt like it was ready to burst. I don’t know how long I managed to stay awake on the train. Pretty much all I remember was getting on, changing in to train clothes and climbing on the top bunk. I fell asleep on top of a stack of clean linens for my bed clutching a battery operated fan. I think that was one of the worst moments of the trip for me. I was just so far gone that I couldn’t think straight.

Waiting to board the train

Janet taking a picture of me taking her picture

Russia trip- Day 1 continued..

2011-06-22T20:29:00.002-04:00

Moscow Airport

Day One continued.....

We are down to an hour left in our flight. I've had a great time talking to Alan. I didn't know him before the trip but we've spent quite a bit a time comparing who we both know. I love being from a small town! I haven't had much of a chance to sleep, catching a few cat naps here and there. I just can't get comfortable at all. Breakfast was really strange. I'm going to try and describe it. You won't believe me but I promise I'm telling the truth! Think of a whole wheat roll, probably the size of a Subway 6in sub. The inside had something best described as similar to couscous but with egg, seasoning and a weird gray color. I managed to eat most of it. No really, I did!

I have a few prayer requests if anyone feels like having a conversation with our Father today.

1. We arrive a little after 10am Moscow time and Marc wants us to saty awake until the train departs at 8pm tonight.

2. I forgot my thyroid medicine and have no backup glasses, just 2 sets of contacts.

3. Please pray that we stay mindful of where the Holy Spirit is leading us. Let me do His work for his Glory.

Thank You Lord for getting us here safely.

Russia trip Day 1

2011-06-22T19:33:00.002-04:00

I had high hopes for updating this day by day while we were in Russia but honestly we never slowed down long enough or had fast enough internet. I'm copying & pasting my notes though from each day. I've gone in and updated, fixed or finished the notes so some of it is written from a post trip point of view.

Day One

It's been a long road to Russia and I'm currently only somewhere over Kentucky according to our in-flight map. I still can't believe this is happening! So many obstacles, opposition and changes of plans. I think we are on Plan D or maybe E by now. (By the way,I find it funny in the time it took me to type those two sentences, we are now almost past West Virginia heading towards Pennsylvania.) I think I'm a little slow on my typing skills.

Let me tell you about our weekend. Pull up a chair and get settled, it's a doozy. My purse decided to make a home with someone else last week and I was anxiously waiting Saturday for Mr.FedEx to deliver my new debit card. No debit card= No fun $$ in Russia. Sunday we skipped church because as we were walking out the door, two children managed to get sick at.the.exact.same.time. Beautiful. While I was preparing dinner Sunday night, Sam unpacked my suitcases so I got to do it again at 1am. By the way, I would highly recommend NOT packing at 1am. Somewhere between Jacksonville & Atlanta I realized that I only packed 3 pieces of a very important foundational garment. So I will either be washing and hanging dry in the hotel room or asking my team to stop somewhere in Moscow. Ummm I think I'm going to go with the wash and hang choice.

Four out of our six member team met up at the church and were driven to the airport by a church member. We rode the church bus which was a little tough for me. My stepmom passed away in April and she loved talking about the day they had to pick up Caleb from school in it. It's funny the little memories that pop up out of the blue. Check in took much longer than we expected and by the end of it, we were thanking the LORD for Marc's ipad.. no seriously we were! Marc has some type of Delta membership that allows his whole group to get 2 checked bags of 70lbs a piece for free. We have these HUGE suitcases packed with things like poptarts, oreos, powdered sugar, hushpuppy mix... well you get the picture. These are all gifts for the American missionaries already over there and for our Russian hosts in the cities we will visit. Mr. Delta check-in man had no clue about this perk and told Marc no. Marc was able to bring up Delta's website and show him. WooHooo! I was really worried what we were going to do with 150 lbs of sweets!

Security wasn't too bad but I did get picked for the full body scan. Yuck!

The Jacksonville to Atlanta flight was super short. We all sat together in 2 groups of 3. Alan, Paul & David were right behind us and I thought that was the perfect recipe for some trouble making. Janet is sporting a very cute orange carryon that has been dubbed the Gator bag. At one point, Janet threatened to only order the guys vegetarian meals if they didn't quit it.

Boarding the flight to Moscow was interesting. I was in the middle of a dig through my carry on when the rest of the team started boarding so I was separated from them. Anyone who knows me well will immediately know what I decided to do. Start a conversation with the people behind me of course! Turns out we have a group from First Baptist Church of Woodstock, GA on the flight as well. Johnny Hunt's church! Awesome! They are heading to an orphanage in a city that I'm not even going to try and spell. We will see them again on our return flight. God is so funny! I can't wait to see what other surprises he has in store for us!

By the way.. i stopped to chat while typing this....We have now flown 2,138 miles, past Canada, somewhere over the ocean. The map shows us passing Newfoundland and Labrador. I wonder if Paul saw that? Oh well he's too far away on the flight to point it out.

We have been promised showers and a mad sightseeing trip around Moscow to keep us awake until the train departs in the evening. I will update again, probably from Yoshkar Ola.

Russia Part 1

2011-06-01T15:58:00.001-04:00

Safe & Sound in Russia... will update more later.

Lafayette Blue Springs State Park

2011-05-08T14:52:00.002-04:00

We love Florida state parks and the cabins that you can rent inside of the parks. Last month we spent a weekend at Lafayette Blue Springs state park. I think this has been our favorite state park by far! It was not crowded at all! Actually, we usually had the place to ourselves until after lunch.

Paige playing in the Suwanee River.

Rhys playing in the spring water.

Lafayette Blue Spring

Caleb swimming around where the spring meets the river.

Sam might need a smaller set of swim trunks!

Graduation Goodies!

2011-05-08T00:09:00.003-04:00

Graduation Goodies!
Had a great time today celebrating my friend's graduation. In honor of her big day I wanted to bring something special. It's REALLY REALLY hard to find graduation ideas/food/goodies that aren't for high school graduates. Then I found this on Bakerella.

So here's my version of her really cute idea.

She suggested putting the Reese's cups in the fridge for a little while so they would peel evenly. That didn't help me. I think it might be more of the luck of the draw on if the bag you purchased has been beat up. I choose Ghiradelli chocolates that had a filling. In hindsight, that probably wasn't the best idea. A few of them were busted when I started unwrapping them. To hold the goodies up, I purchased some Styrofoam and spray painted in black. Actually I came running home from Walmart and sort of threw it at my husband with a quick "Here paint this before you leave for teeball while I frantically run around the house" comment.

I melted Bakers chocolate and dipped the lollipop stick in it before putting them in the Reese's cup. It helps to take a toothpick and make the hole ahead of time. If you try to use the lollipop stick, you will smoosh it. ( Not that it happened to me or anything, I'm just guessing.)

Airhead sour belts provided the tassles and sprinkles from the cake decorating section became buttons.
A little more melted chocolate to hold it together and there you have it!

TAADAA!!!!!

A few small notes...
1. You will need to chill them between most steps so that the Baker's chocolate hardens.
2. If you are using different flavors of Ghiradelli, consider using different color "tassles" to tell the difference.
3.Take your time, I was in a rush and they got a little sloppy.

March 2011 ( yes, I'm posting this in May)

2011-05-06T05:50:00.004-04:00

A few new pictures from me...

Rhys learned it is far better to catch a baseball with a glove than your face.

I love this picture of Clif & Paige. it was a quick snap shot and I cut his hand off in the picture but I don't care. :)

Caleb LOVES being catcher.

This is what happens when Momma tries to get a quick picture of the boys before work on St Patrick's Day. Can you guess who woke up grumpy?

A few blog updates

2011-02-23T22:28:00.003-05:00

I didn't realize it had been so long since I last posted. Whoops... but really, if you know me, you know I'm a horrible blogger. hahaha

Christmas 2010
ICE!

Sammy- "Who you calling Turkey?"

Paige competing @ Nationals with AYC.

Caleb

Rhys-y Piece-y

1st day of school

2010-08-16T09:26:00.003-04:00

First Day of School

When Caleb was starting Kindergarten we decided to start a Craven Family tradition. We decided to go out for breakfast on the first day of school. This is our 3rd year doing this.

This is Sam's first year doing this, last year he was a few hours away from being born. Can you tell how much he enjoyed it?

Married 10 years......

2010-06-17T22:21:00.003-04:00

June 11th was our 10th/12th anniversary. 12 years since we started dating, 10 years since we said I do. Clif and I took a day trip up to St Simon's Island in GA to just have some fun and relax. Lunch at Barbara Jeans, a trip to the lighthouse, Christ Church and wrapped it up with Ft Fredericka.

The following pictures are in no particular order...

Rhys graduated VPK!

2010-06-10T23:21:00.002-04:00

I am a bad blogger

2010-05-05T21:30:00.006-04:00

Yes I know... .Christmas was the last update. I'm a bad blogger, I know.

Here's a mostly picture update.

We went on vacation to Suwanee River State Park

The boys are in Teeball again.. Go Rangers!

Sam is a Ham!

Paige is still the princess.

I've had some of my pictures used commercially...

That's about all. : )

Wii wish you a Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T14:09:00.000-05:00

Ranger Mania!

2009-11-07T14:46:00.004-05:00

Some Really cute fans!

Run Rhys Run!

Took me forever to get this shot!

Family Picture... Craven Style!

Go Rangers!

2009-10-16T22:28:00.004-04:00

The boys right before their first official Fall Tee Ball game. Otherwise known as the last time the pants were white. LOL

Coach Clif!

Rhys did a great job!

Caleb!

Caleb played first base and Rhys was catcher. Their team won 24-6. WooHoo!! Sam slept through a lot of the game until I started cheering too loud. After that he was passed around between family for the remainder of the game.

Recent Pictures

2009-10-11T18:24:00.004-04:00

Brittany's Baby Shower!

Smiley Sam

1st Scrimmage Game

1st trip to the church nursery

Homecoming Princess

Not Me Monday...umm Thursday?

2009-10-01T21:34:00.004-04:00

It was certainly not me that waited until Thursday night to post her first Not Me Monday. Absolutely not.

It was not me that was late to her 1st grader's first Family Day.

It was also not me that forgot to put on any makeup until I was signed into the school and walking to the room. I don't know who that person was that was frantically trying to run while appearing to walk, wear a baby and successfully put on mascara at the same time.

It was not me that actually ate a school lunch again after 10 years. I definitely did not stand in line with a bunch of 6 year olds waiting to give the cafeteria lady my $1.25. Even if it had been me, it would not have been me that couldn't figure out how to use her spork to eat the green beans.

I don't know who that person could be......

What a Fun day!

2009-09-28T08:21:00.004-04:00

In our church we have a tradition. Every year they give the 1st graders new Bibles. Each child is called one by one to go up and get their Bible from the Pastor and have their picture taken. I have been looking forward to this since the first time I saw it a few years back.

Caleb got his yesterday! The video is a little bouncy at first. And yes, that is my child that tossed his Bible in the air not 5 seconds after he got it. Sigh....

We also had Sister's Sunday this week. I really love my Family Life Group. They are such a wonderful group of women! It was so nice to sit around with these great women and chat about life, husbands, kids and all kinds of other things. The apple pie and cupcakes were a nice addition too!

Some more pictures from this year.

2009-09-26T13:43:00.004-04:00

Sam's first trip to church at 6 days old. He's the one in the Orange sling. ( and if you are an avid babywearer and think that I'm wearing him too low, I am. It's just that he really seemed to like it that way. LOL)
Caleb started 1st grade!
Paige & Caleb. I can't believe how big they are getting!

Rhys and his best friend ever watching a 4th of July parade. What will we do when he moves away soon? : (

Trying to catch up after a year off of blogging is hard. Here's the latest with us.

Rhys started Voluntary Pre Kindergarten (VPK) this year. Caleb is in 1st grade and Paige is in 5th grade. Both boys will be in Teeball again this Fall. Go Rangers! Clif will be an assistant coach this season. Yay for Coach Clif! Paige is in cheerleaing and seems to be loving it. I'm still working ( on maternity leave right now) and Baby Sam will be staying with my stepmom when I return to work.

Adventures in Babywearing: The Sakura Bloom Triathlon

2009-09-24T09:14:00.000-04:00

Adventures in Babywearing: The Sakura Bloom Triathlon

What a great contest to celebrate International Babywearing Week!

Welcome to the newest Craven!

2009-09-23T23:01:00.003-04:00

Yup... it's been a long time since I've blogged. January 2nd to be exact. I have an excuse though... I was pregnant.

So without further ado.. Introducing SAMUEL PAYNE CRAVEN!

He was born August 24th 2009. 8lbs and 8 ounces.

The last 2 pictures were created by a wonderful local photographer. Her website is www.kfeldmanphotography.com

Cardboard Testimonies

2009-01-02T21:57:00.002-05:00

This is what my church was doing the day my husband was baptized. Have I mentioned before how much I love my church?

Cardboard Testimonies from FBC Middleburg on Vimeo.

No one called me....

2008-12-27T17:47:00.001-05:00

Yup, no one called me to ask what the big news was.

So, if you haven't heard yet. Here you go!

Any family reading this?

2008-12-24T05:58:00.002-05:00

Hey.. We've got big news to share. If you call me (or Clif) today, I will tell you. Otherwise you have to wait until tomorrow. This is a test to see if any family member is actually reading this.

Random pictures from December

2008-12-21T21:33:00.002-05:00

Paige at church

Painting handmade ornaments

Yup.. It's been a few weeks.

2008-12-16T19:59:00.005-05:00

What can I say, I'm a slacker. I haven't updated since Nov 24th.
Oh well, here you go.

Clif was baptized on 11/30!

Caleb lost his 2 bottom teeth.

Our dog Bo got hit by a car but is doing fine..

Exciting times around here... right? LOL

Gator Games & Knitting!

2008-11-24T22:30:00.003-05:00

OK.. That's a weird title for a blog post huh? I thought it may catch your eye.

The boys went to their first Gator game this weekend. They loved it. Rhys fell asleep at the end of the first qtr and stayed asleep until we left near the end of the 3rd qtr.

As for the knitting, well I just wanted to say that I'm getting really close to being obsessed about my new hobby. It is so much fun!

Things I hear from the backseat.....

2008-11-10T06:03:00.004-05:00

Yesterday as we were driving home, Clif and I started listening to the boys argue from their carseats in the second row.

Rhys: Quit hitting me!
Caleb: I'm not hitting you, I'm bopping you.
Rhys: I'm going to punch you,
Caleb: Well, I'll give you a knuckle sandwich!
Rhys: I'll give you a Ham sandwich!

Clif and I were about to die from laughing so hard!

By the way, if you are curious about my previous post and you don't know why yesterday was so awesome, call me or email me. I'll be happy to share!
: )

AMAZING DAY !!

2008-11-09T22:19:00.003-05:00

I just want to say that it has been an absolutely wonderful day here!!!!

Seriously...... Best Day ever!

OK, That's all I have to say about that right now.

: - )

Lots of costumes!

2008-11-06T05:28:00.003-05:00

All 3 children with Pastor Ralph and his crazy hat!

Momma's sad little Lion

Fireman to the rescue!

Rockstar Diva!

Paige's Report Card!!

2008-10-23T19:36:00.001-04:00

Woo Hoo!!

Miss Paige had straight A's and Perfect Attendance!

Caleb's First Progress Report!

2008-10-20T22:13:00.004-04:00

His first progress report from school.
Here's a few excerpts from it.

Letter Naming Fluency: Caleb was given a page with letters and asked to name each one. This measure helps tell us if Caleb is likely to struggle or be a successful reader in the future. Caleb's score of 51 correct letters named in 1 minute is well above the score of 8 that is expected at this time of year.

Initial Sound Fluency: Caleb was shown a page of pictures and told the name of each picture. ( Examples: dog, bicycle, house, tree). Caleb was asked to point or name the picture that begins with a certain sound. He was also asked to tell the beginning sound in a number of words. For example, we might ask Caleb to say the first sound in the word " fan." This test tells us if Caleb is aware of the different sounds in words. This is called phonemic awareness. Caleb's score of 23 initial sounds in a minute is well above the score of 8 that is expected at this time of year.

Woo Hoo!!! Go Caleb!!!!

Perfect Attendance!

2008-10-14T21:35:00.003-04:00

Caleb's first school award! Kindergarten doesn't have grade awards yet so he received the perfect attendance award. Woo Hoo!! Congratulations Big Boy!

Life with 2 dogs.....

2008-10-12T21:00:00.002-04:00

Just be glad you can't hear it too...... LOL

Don't worry.. No puppies were harmed in the filming of this. LOL

Brotherly Love and a small injury....

2008-10-12T16:57:00.004-04:00

OK y'all have got to see this. I had started off taping the boys because I was so impressed with how sweet they were being. Rhys was trying to ride Caleb's old bike and Caleb was "helping" him. Super sweet stuff... really!! Caleb is going to make a great Daddy one day!

You know that old saying, It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt..... and then it's hilarious. Well, that may not exactly be true.

Take a look for yourself.

Rhys is fine and sporting 2 very cool band-aids now so he's a happy camper.

Meet Jake.....

2008-10-09T23:26:00.001-04:00

Yes, we must be crazy. We are now a 2 dog house!

Silly Sock Day!

2008-10-07T20:49:00.002-04:00

Caleb has silly sock day tomorrow so of course we were creating silly socks at 8:30 the night before. I try to teach procrastinating early.. LOL

The boys had a blast with this! I decorated one sock and both boys shared the other. They didn't argue once! As if that wasn't enough... they even helped each other! These boys are so much fun!!!

Yay for Silly Sock Day!

Weekend Plans...

2008-09-25T23:08:00.003-04:00

Out of town this weekend on a church retreat. The boys ( Dh & both boys) will have to fend for themselves! LOL

Lake Pictures!

2008-09-21T07:49:00.002-04:00

My kids are so cool! No really.... I can't get over how much I love them!

Fireproof the movie!!!

2008-09-14T13:56:00.001-04:00

I was tagged!

2008-08-25T21:37:00.003-04:00

Becca tagged me, so here you go.......
Here are the rules:
1) Link to the person who tagged me.
2) Mention the rules.
3) Tell six quirky yet boring, unspectacular details about myself.
4) Tag other blogger´s by linking to them.
5) Go to each person’s blog and leave a comment that lets them know they’ve been tagged.

So now for my quirky, unspectacular details.
1) My second toe is NOT longer than my big toe.
2) I secretly feel superior to anyone that has a longer second toe. (LOL)
3) I can't get rid of any book I've read, even ones I didn't like. This has led to more storage boxes than I can count sitting in our shed.
4) Clif once counted how many pairs of black shoes I had while I was at work.
5) The sweetest thing my husband ever did for me only cost him $0.50.
6) I love to eat banana pudding right after it comes out of the oven. It doesn't taste anywhere near as good cold.

I'm trying to tag CMF sisters that haven't been tagged before. If you're a repeat tagger... oops, sorry but you still have to do it. LOL
Keri
Bekah
Hayley

Caleb starts Kindergarten!

2008-08-19T20:53:00.002-04:00

My baby started Kindergarten today. He loves his new teacher and had a blast. In fact, he didn't even give me a hug this morning when I dropped him off. They sent home the words he has to learn to read during the first nine weeks and he already knows them. Uh-oh! LOL

Happy Early Birthday to me!!

2008-08-09T21:18:00.002-04:00

My Mom threw a surprise party for me this weekend. She told me that my Brother & Sister In Law would be there and then mentioned picking up my Grandmother as well.... I still didn't catch on. Maybe it's the Blonde hair..Maybe it's old age setting in! LOL I have to say my Sis in Law Brittany has the cutest Baby bump ever!! Seriously! I keep telling her it has to be a girl because there are too many boys in the family.

Here's some pictures from today.

New Pictures/New Design

2008-08-08T22:19:00.003-04:00

I've updated the site. Let me know what you think.

More Family pictures

2008-07-06T11:00:00.003-04:00

Happy Independence Day!

2008-07-04T09:31:00.002-04:00

Hope everyone has a safe & fun 4th of July!

Some Recent Pictures..

2008-02-12T11:17:00.001-05:00

We call this "Oh Oh Catzilla!"

Paige at Little Gym.

Everyone Jump on Daddy!!

Rhys inspecting the race car! LOL

Paige at the Hannah Montana movie.

Christmas 2007

2008-01-03T15:07:00.001-05:00

Sick Kids!

2007-11-05T17:59:00.001-05:00

I wish our house could stay ear infection, allergy, summer/winter cold free for just one week. One week without a sniffle or cough..... Sigh

That's all. Vent over.
: - )

November

2007-11-03T15:25:00.000-04:00

One Holiday down... 3 more to go. Ugh... Not sure why but I'm just not all that excited about the whole prospect. I just can't get worked up about it this year. I'm ready to sell this house and move. My dream home is calling my name.
Every other day I keep checking to make sure it's still for sale.

Can't wait to move!!! Woo Hoo!

Pictures of the kids...

2007-09-13T16:01:00.001-04:00

Too busy for much of a blog but here are a few recent pics.

Praying for Fire before you pray for Rain.

2007-08-30T10:18:00.000-04:00

I've always loved the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal. Maybe it's just me.... I find it very funny when he sits there and makes fun of their god. Can't you see him saying" Well? Where is he?" Take a look at 1Kings Ch 18

18:27 At noon Elijah mocked them, “Yell louder! After all, he is a god; he may be deep in thought, or perhaps he stepped out for a moment or has taken a trip. Perhaps he is sleeping and needs to be awakened

I went to visit a friend's church a few weeks ago and this has been on my mind ever since. Her pastor preached this message and it has really haunted me.

18:36 When it was time for the evening offering,⁵¹ Elijah the prophet approached the altar⁵² and prayed: “O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, prove⁵³ today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 18:37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are the true God⁵⁴ and that you are winning back their allegiance.”⁵⁵ 18:38 Then fire from the Lord fell from the sky.⁵⁶ It consumed the offering, the wood, the stones, and the dirt, and licked up the water in the trench. 18:39 When all the people saw this, they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground and said, “The Lord is the true God!⁵⁷ The Lord is the true God!”

18:45 Meanwhile the sky was covered with dark clouds, the wind blew, and there was a heavy rainstorm.

Think about this, the land was suffering from a drought. The last thing anyone wanted was FIRE. The people wanted RAIN. How many times have I prayed for rain in my life? Please help me with this or protect that and so on.... Too many times to count! How many times have I said " Lord, please test me and strengthen me! Send the fire in my life first because I know you will send the rain afterwards. " The next time you go through a tough time and struggle with something, just think... Is this the Lord sending me Fire before the Rain? I know I will!

I

Happy Birthday to me!

2007-08-13T20:06:00.000-04:00

Saturday was my Birthday and we had a great time. Normally something goes wrong on my B-day but not this year. ( Other than I had to wash the dishes... LOL)
Friday night we went out to a Japanese restaurant for dinner and had a funtime. My Dad and Barbara gave me a giftcard to do some shopping. Saturday Clif volunteered to take all 3 kids to the creek while I went shopping by myself. Brilliant! Afterwards we had dinner with some "church people" ROTFL.. sorry Alicia, I had to say it. We played Monopoly and let the kids run around like little madmen. It was a great evening... so thank you to the Ramsey's for letting us invade their house!
Sunday I drove up to Statenville Ga to see my friend Harley get baptized. WooHoo! Her pastor ( is that what I should call him Harley?) preached out of 1kings. I love the story of Elijah and the Baal prophets. Really, it's one of my favorite stories but then I'm a little sarcastic at times so it fits me.... Hee Hee He really hit a chord with me talking about how we pray for rain but never fire. I need to chew on it for awhile but I really understand what he's saying. You can't get the Rain( blessings) until you get the Fire ( hard times)

Anyway, Thank you to everyone for the Warm Birthday wishes.....

Yeah.. I'm a bad blogger

2007-08-10T21:27:00.000-04:00

So it's been over a year since I've posted anything.... What can I say, I would be the worst person in the world to have a pen pal.... LOL

Tomorrow's my birthday so I thought I would start with a few "new year" resolutions.

My first is to keep this a little more updated.. Ha Ha Ha Ha

Here are some recent pictures....

Sleeping Rhys

2006-04-09T12:03:00.000-04:00

I love my Vicky Storch baby wrap!! Check out the pics of Rhys sleeping!

Everything turned out fine!

2006-03-22T15:28:00.000-05:00

So we were told to get to the hospital at 10 am for his 11am surgery. They didn't actually take him back for the procedure until 1pm!! Here's quite a few pictures of us waiting before we finally got to go home.

Surgery

2006-03-21T22:40:00.000-05:00

The surgery is scheduled for 11:30 tomorrow morning but we have to be there at 10am. I'm hoping to be home by around 2:30 and I will post a "Rhys " update then..

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for their warm wishes and prayers!!

My little sleeping angel... or not!

2006-03-21T13:38:00.000-05:00

It's amazing just how still he can be when he's sleeping. I never get a good clear picture of him anymore unless he's sound asleep. If Caleb is awake...there's no keeping up with him!

Didn't realize it had been so long since I lasted updated!

2006-02-23T21:10:00.000-05:00

I didn't realize it had been so long!!
I'll try to go back and add some pictures from Christmas and the birthday party.

Here's some pictures of our new obsession...Bike riding!

Wiggles Concert

2005-11-20T21:55:00.000-05:00

We took the boys to see "The Wiggles" in concert today. Caleb was fine until we sat down and then he freaked out on us! He was begging to leave! Once the lights went down and the Wiggles came on stage, he was fine. It was a fun afternoon, but a little bit overwhelming as well... The kids took a nap on the way home so they were ready to go again. Clif and I would have really liked for them to sleep a little bit longer! We were kind of hoping for a nap as well! LOL

It's been awhile!

2005-11-13T12:38:00.000-05:00

OK, so it's been awhile since I updates this... Sorry! We have the computer fixed now and I'll try to keep this current.
Rhys is trying to walk. He can take 2 or 3 steps before crashing! Caleb is really starting to be a motor mouth! For a kid that wouldn't talk for so long, he won't hush up now. LOL

I'll post more pics in a few days!

Arrgghhhh!!!

2005-09-09T15:51:00.001-04:00

I just received the official word that my computer can not be saved. I guess I'll be getting a new one this weekend, so I'll start putting new pics up soon!

It's been awhile....

2005-08-24T12:08:00.000-04:00

Sorry it's been so long since my last post, my computer is still dead :-(

Anyway, I thought I would showoff a few new pics!

Day at the mall

2005-07-30T16:02:00.000-04:00

Rhys and I went shopping while Clif took the kids to his mom's house..

Cute photos

2005-07-29T08:30:00.000-04:00

Nothing big happening right now, but I thought I'd post a few cute pics. Caleb fell asleep in Rhys's carseat and here's a picture of Miss "Can I stay up a little longer?" taking a nap in the afternoon. LOL

Dr. Appt & El Apache

2005-07-26T21:09:00.000-04:00

Rhys had his 6 month checkup today. He weighed in at a whopping 18 pounds 11 ounces! He did fine, but he had to have 4 shots. We took the kids to El Apache tonight for dinner. Caleb refused to eat anything except for chips and fried ice cream. Rhys had his first taste of Mexican food! He ate meat and cheese from my taco and then he ate refried beans and mexican rice. He seemed to like all of it!

Rhys

2005-07-24T18:50:00.000-04:00

This weekend Rhys learned how to sit up by himself and how to pull his knees up under him! It won't be long before he figures out he can get anywhere he wants on his own. I'm excited about how much he's grown, but I also miss the little baby! It doesn't seem like he should be 6 months already...

2005-07-24T18:39:00.000-04:00

Saturday we took the kids to a birthday party at Camp blanding. It was the first time Rhys has been in the lake!