christmas concert

Uncle Jason and Aunt Megan gave the boys a great memory/experience for Christmas this year. They gave them tickets to their very first "real" concert! The tickets were for a Sanctus Real/Matthew West concert in Parker, and after waiting 2 whole months, last Friday night was finally the big night! Turns out, Jason Gray was opening the concert, and he just happens to be a friend of Megan! Well, she hooked them up, and they all got VIP passes to see the artists up close and personal. Unfortunately, the tour bus had a mishap (caught fire on their way to CO from KS), so they were running late, thus the kids had less time with the bands than they had hoped. BUT, Jason was great and met with them, gave them autographs, they got to meet and get autographs from Sanctus Real and Matthew West, and got pictures with them, too! They all loved the concert (front row seats!), and came home huge fans of Jason Gray. Thanks, Aunt Megan! And thanks, Jason Gray!

Chillin' with Jason

Jason on stage...The boys loved Jason's concert, and thought he was hillarious. Apparently, he's quite the comedian!

So, the big bummer is that Bob accidentally erased the pictures from the digital camera. He was able to recover them, sort of. The Sanctus Real picture was only recovered halfway, and poor M only has the top of his head. We are still hoping that when Bob has the time, he'll be able to get the rest of the picture...

Sanctus Real with part of the boys...

Friday Flashback

March 2003

when we pray

"The one concern of the devil is to keep the saints from prayer. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray."

Jonathan Edwards

belated valentine

Here is a sampling or our Valentine morning. I started a tradition a few years ago of giving the kids a Valentine from God. And we always have oatmeal pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream.
























B presented M with an invitation to a Father Daughter Ball this month. She has been longing to go, and was sooooo excited to get the invitation. I love that her Daddy is the delight of her heart right now!

powerful stuff

Friday Flashback

Happy Valentine's Day - 2000

home sick

Fever, sore throat, headache... But always a smile! You know he doesn't feel well when he stays home from school on the day of the Valentine's party. So much for my schedule for the day. I guess I'll have to pull out a good book and snuggle with my boy...

that most certainly is not bubble gum residue on his mouth from last night...
My kids never go to bed with out being fully bathed.

This is how we will be spending the day.

without further ado...

science fair

Last week brought the end of a three month process in our home. Finally, the science fair is over! It was a lot of work for Nate, and we are proud of how hard he worked. His project tested three different wing designs on a balsa wood glider, to see which design would travel the farthest. He had fun doing it, but after three months, he relieved to have it done!

This is how Nate felt when he finally got it done...

Until he realized that he really is DONE!!

captivated

I had the wonderful privilege of going to a Captivating retreat this past week. I went with two great friends, and got to know a third. We spent four days in the mountains, basking in the glory of our God! There were women there from all over the United States, as well as Australia, Finland, and South Africa. This retreat focuses on the role we play in God's Story, a much bigger story than we seem to remember in the midst of carpooling, laundry, making dinner, helping with homework. I needed to be reminded that my life is more than it seems, that I matter, that I have purpose and impact others. Here are a few quotes I jotted down...

"We have to reveal our wound to be healed...There is always more healing available. To get it, we must be willing to go with God to places where there are still wounds, and places where we have wounded others."

"Our healed hearts are more beautiful, more stunning, than our hearts were before they were even wounded."

"We must accept the fact that our story has a villain; we often live like it's just us and God."

"The villain goes after the Beauty. Satan hates Eve because she gives life; his is a kingdom of death. He hates Eve because she is beautiful, and he once was."

"Worship is the highest form of warfare. Satan won't run into the Holy of Holies to do battle."

When your son is beating up on his little brother... "God didn't make you powerful to hurt your little brother; He made you powerful to protect him."

And one of my very favorites..."Safety is not the absence of danger, but the presence of Jesus."

life update

* N started wrestling last week. The first night he came home with a cut up mouth. As a mom, this isn't the sport I would've chosen for him. Of course, he played football in the fall and loved it. Wouldn't have chosen that, either. Can anyone say "swim team"?

* C is strumming away on his new electric guitar. He hopes to play in the school talent show next month, but getting him to practice consistently has been harder than I expected, especially after saving his money for so long and being so proud of buying his guitar. I think there's something there about his personality that I'm trying to figure out. Something having to do with the thrill of the chase, pursuing what he wants, but once he gets it, he's on to the next thing. He told me this morning that he wants to start saving for a car, since he only has 4 years to save. Then he said, "Are you OK, Mom? Mom?! Breathe, Mom! Breathe!"

*M is our lover of life. Always has been, and I pray he always will be! He woke up this morning singing and doing some African chant he made up. He is definitely a morning person... a LOUD morning person. Did I mention I enjoy quiet mornings? M brought home his first math homework of the year last night. He gets it done everyday at school, then goes on to some math enrichment "fun" while everyone else works. C said this morning, "M, why do you always have to be so good?? It makes me crazy!"

*M is growing up. No matter how many times I tell her she's my baby, she completely ignores me. Her violin is going well. She auditioned for a part in a musical at another church called "The Resurrection" and got a part! She is an angel/townsperson, with full costuming and stage makeup! It will be a great experience for her. The music director is even going to write a special violin solo in just for her!

*B is having a hard week in the computer world. One client has no email, another has a server completely down. He spent 7 hours on the phone with Microsoft yesterday. Ugh. Other than that, things are going well. He is co-leading a men's group at church on Wed. nights and continues to be part of the prayer team.

*I am busy with work, but love it. Family Ministry is becoming more and more of a passion for me. I am so excited about finding ways to empower and equip parents to lead their children spiritually. I am also busy writing a curriculum for 2nd/3rd grade boys called "God's Warriors." So fun to watch the boys thrive in the warrior role! We are also in full swing working on VBB for this summer, "Caspian's Castle." And, if that wasn't enough, I am heading up the VBS program for Swaziland in March! Can't wait to go hold those kiddos! More on that later....