What A Day

Talk about an interesting day today!

To begin with.......the storm! As all of you San Antonians know, it pretty much DIDN'T stop raining all night. I was able to get a decent amount of sleep, but I woke up many times due to the hard wind and rain.

So, I get up about 5am and start thinking about how I've got to go out into this stuff to pick Greg up from work. Fun! I went downstairs, got the coffee going, and plopped down into the rocking chair. It was dark, other than the soft light on above the stove.

As I was sitting in the chair, something on the ceiling caught my eye. I couldn't tell if the ceiling was just sloped in that area or if it was wet. I flipped the light on to investigate.

To my horror, the ceiling was in fact WET! I darted upstairs to check out the top floor, which would be in the general area of my closet or Seth's room. Hmmm......nothing was wet up there. How in the WORLD does the middle floor get wet all by itself.

Well, I knew it wasn't the shower or toilet because we hadn't used those since the day before and this line of wetness was fresh....and growing quickly.

By this time, the girls had awakened and were helping me try to figure all of this out. We guessed that the roof was leaking and the water was dripping down in between two walls somehow. Remember.....our house was just put on the market. Yippee!

Well, now it was time to go and get Greg! The roads we terrible early this morning......most of them being flooded. I made it safely to the base and broke the news about the leak to Greg. To make a potentially long story short, Greg went up into the attic and found where the water was coming from. It was running down a PVC pipe that extends from the roof all the way down....somewhere! The seal on top of the roof, around this pipe had broken from all of the rain. Fortunately, it will be an easy fix. As an immediate fix, Greg wrapped a towel tightly around the pipe and the ceiling has already dried out! YEA!

Once we got that solved, it was time to get to work. Greg started on basic repairs in the house, then finished up with some painting. While Greg was sanding down some spackling on the wall, he was also running the vacuum hose to keep the area clean. The kids were very interested in what Daddy was doing. Chloe, on the other hand, was more interested in our new vacuum cleaner. She REALLY wanted to know what it looked like underneath. As she was indulging her curiosity, the vacuum grabbed hold of her hair and sucked it right in......all the way to her head! Greg quickly turned the vacuum off and poor Chloe was just a screamin'! Greg literally had to take the vacuum apart, while she was stuck to it, to get her hair out. We're so thankful she was okay and that her scalp wasn't ripped off of her head! Somehow, I don't think she, OR the other little ones, will ever care about that vacuum again!

So, by now it's going on 1:00pm and Greg and I still haven't eaten. I started on some sandwiches while he was finishing up on touch ups. Well, you know how when you're painting and touching up and repairing, your house actually looks worse before it looks better? And wouldn't that be the PERFECT time to get a call for a showing? Yep! Talk about a mad dash to get the house cleaned up! Did I mention that half the kids were still in their pajamas? But we did it!  We got this place whipped into shape, grabbed the sandwiches, and ran out the door.

Thankfully, since we've been home, there have been no major catastrophes! Maybe now we'll have a nice quiet evening! Oh wait, we have six kids. Okay, we'll settle for an uneventful evening.

I'm so thankful that I can look back on this day and just laugh about it! We are blessed and God is good!

Photo Credit

Family Update

We first want to give thanks and praise to our Heavenly Father for blessing us with a healthy pregnancy. We had a bit of a scare, but all is well now and we're so thankful for our sweet baby and can't wait to meet him or her soon. We also want to thank all of you for your prayers, calls and emails......what a blessing to be surrounded by so much love! And finally, our midwife! We are thankful for her caution and concern, and her professional advice to see the doctor. We love Janet and look forward to her being an important part of the birth!

These past few days have been very busy around here. We have been working hard to get our home ready for the market. We've been cleaning, clearing, dumping, painting, fixing, and lots of yard work. It's felt so good to get so much done. We still have some things left to do, but the house looks great and all we have to do is try to maintain everything! Easier said than done, but we'll do our best.

Our realtor came yesterday to evaluate our home and tell us what he thinks we can list for. We were a little disappointed at what he suggested because we thought our home was worth more, but we trust him and will list at the higher end and go from there!

Despite all of the hustle and bustle around here, we do plan on starting school very soon. I still don't have everything I need, but we certainly have enough to get started! With the move and the baby coming soon, I don't want to get behind in our schooling! Plus, I think the kids are ready to get back to a normal routine.   I know I am!

I guess that's all for now. Have a wonderful day!

Too Much At Once

Pregnancy, Weaning, Home birth, Potty Training, Selling a House, Building a House and Homeschooling!


Sheesh! Do ya ever feel there's just too many things happening at once? Well, that's how I've been feeling in the last couple of weeks, actually months.  But things are better now! I'll try to give a brief summary.....

Pregnancy, Weaning and Home birth: Well, pregnancy.....I think that's self explanatory! EVERYTHING seems overwhelming when you're pregnant, have many kids already, AND still nursing the baby! I'm in the process of weaning Ethan, but it hasn't been as easy as all of the other kids. Slowly but surely, we're working on it!

Many of you know that we are planning our first home birth! We are VERY excited! In the beginning there was much trepidation about the financial aspect of the home birth! For us, having a hospital birth will cost us very little out-of-pocket expense thanks to insurance.  But having the home birth will yield quite a bit out of our pockets since there are no home birthing midwives on our provider list. We had to truly seek the Lord in this to make sure that we were being good stewards of this money. In the end, we concluded that it would be money well spent.

Potty Training: I had been feeling so overwhelmed in the last few months that I didn't even want to THINK about potty training Chloe! I was perfectly happy with having two kids in diapers for the time being!

Alas, I'm feeling much less overwhelmed and have begun potty training! She's doing great with the peepee part, but not so great with the poopy part! We're truckin' along though and will prevail!

Selling and Building a House: It's funny because we have always been very decisive people throughout our married life. But it seems as we've gotten older, we've had the tendency to become INdecisive! What's up with that?

We found this great house, and a great lot, in a great subdivision, and decided it was time to prepare for the future. This is a bigger home and the kids would have more outdoor space in which to roam.  In addition, it's the kind of place and home we would gladly stay in for a long, long time!

The clincher was that the sales office was offering a HUGE incentive that would bring the cost of the house down.  That, combined with what we would make on our house, made this very affordable!  No brainer, right?

In spite of all of this, we were wavering on our decision to sell our home and build this new one.  It's a big decision.  One that can't be taken lightly.

We have finally made one...and we're moving forward with building.  Time to put our house on the market.  Lord, help me!


And finally...Homeschooling: We usually start up at the beginning of August, but remember that overwhelmed funk I've been in?  Yeah, I don't think we'll be starting on time!

Thankfully, I  had planned out Cheyenne's freshman year during the last school year, but I still have some things to order.  I still have to plan out the rest of the kids' year and order material I need as well.  So, we'll be delayed a bit.

God has revived me, has allowed me to feel better, and has pulled me nearer to Him. When this happens, everything looks better, feels better, and I get much more accomplished.

Please keep our family in prayer as we enter several new phases of our lives!

Yosemite National Park

"Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For He commanded and they were created."
Psalm 148:5

Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park

El Capitan

We hiked to Lower Yosemite Falls

We had such a wonderful time visiting with my grandparents, uncles and aunts up at the Skinner Ranch! It was a tremendous blessing to see my grandma, who has been recovering from a stroke. She was weak and frail, but God has been gracious during her recovery. We are so thankful!

We also had the privilege of visiting Yosemite Nation Park where I grew up during sixteen years of my life. It is the most beautiful place on earth and my hearts weeps tears of joy and awe each time I am there. I wish I could have taken more pictures of the wondrous scenery, but it happened to be quite cold while we were there so we didn't do all that we wanted.

I was especially disappointed to have not taken a picture of Half Dome. It's my favorite mountain in Yosemite!  I actually hiked/climbed this mountain when I was fifteen years old. A memory I will never forget!

I love my sweet grandma!

The girls LOVED hanging out with Sugar Babe on the ranch. She was feeling a bit under the weather so they were unable to ride her this time.

Ethan had a great time exploring the ranch and getting really dirty, just as a boy should!

My Uncle Andy is an artist in every sense of the word. He's a gifted musician, a talented artist (drawing), and a very skilled photographer. He truly amazes me! You can see some of his work in the Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite National Park! Whenever the family gathers, he pulls out his guitar and we all have a major sing fest! I love it!!! This particular day, he was singing favorite hymns to my grandma.

We picked up this very cute little souvenir for a real bargain while in the park.

After a long day, we had two very tired little girls on our hands.

Thank you, Lord, for blessing us with this unforgettable vacation filled with love, beauty, music and laughter!

My Girls, My Heros

They never cease to amaze me....
Yes, this is another I-can't-live-without-my-older-girls story! The other day I had my first OB appt with my midwife. My appt was at 4:00pm and Greg was working so I had the girls babysit the little ones! Since it was my first appt, I knew it would be a long one but I didn't think it would be three hours long.

Before I left for my appt, I had pre-baked some potatoes in preparation for dinner, but had told Cheyenne that I would finish dinner once I got home. Well, as my appt went on I got hungrier and hungrier and was PRAYING that the girls had at least begun dinner.

I called Cheyenne at 6pm to let her know I was on my way home. I asked her if they happened to have started dinner and her response was, "Dinner's ready and we're keeping it warm in the oven!"

I was so happy I could cry (remember, I'm pregnant). Then I asked her if she would mind feeding Ethan (the baby) because I'm sure he was starving by then.  She responded with, "We already fed him!"

What topped things off was when I got home.  The house was spotless, all the kids were fed, and they had my place at the table neatly set and ready for me to sit down! I'm about to cry again just thinking about it! Talk about a blessing!

Although my girls do sweet things like this on a regular basis, I'm still always so amazed by their sweet spirits and servant's hearts!

To show them my love and appreciation, I took them out and treated them to Starbucks last night! We had a great time!

On another note.......as I'm writing this post, I hear Celeste upstairs teaching the four little ones about what to do in case of a fire! So funny....she's quizzing them! Very cute!

Vacation-Modesto

Visit with the Hess'

After a wonderful visit with Greg's grandparents, we began working our way back down south. We made the short drive from Sacramento to Modesto.....about an hour and a half. In Modesto, we spent time with the Hess family, long time friends of Greg's. In fact, they are really like family! Ron, Patsy, Adam, and Samantha were like a second family to Greg growing up and now they're my family too! We love them so much! They are a really TALL family so it's easy to think that Greg belongs to them! Adam, Greg's best friend in high school, stands at seven feet, two inches. At least, that's how tall he was in high school.....he may have passed that up. Anyway, we had a superb visit with them.

We also spent time with Greg's mom, Judy! I am so upset that we don't have any pictures of Greg with his mom. We ended up running out of memory on our camera, so pics from this segment of our trip are sparse. Greg's mom was able to download all of our pics onto a disk so that we could empty our camera, but that was the last time Greg saw her! Bummer!

At the Hess', we celebrated Ethan's birthday again. It was a wonderful party and we were so grateful for their thoughtfulness! The kids also spent time playing pool and swimming in their pool. They had a blast!

It was wonderful getting to be with Greg's mom. We hung out all over Modesto, revisiting old hangouts. We walked around the mall, went to the park, ate lunch and ended our day at Funworks, a place with tubes and tunnels, go-carts, a golf course, and bumper boats! The kids didn't want to leave Modesto......they just had too much fun!

Well, here are the few pics we have from that visit. The first one is of Sam and me! Didn't I tell you she was TALL!!! ;-)

Happy Birthday Celeste

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CELESTE!

On this day, June 22, 1995, at 9:46pm, our sweet Celeste was born at Shannon Hospital in San Angelo, TX.

We are so blessed to have this precious girl as our second daughter. It has been a privilege to watch her grow into a young lady with such a sweet and sensitive spirit. There are many qualities about her that have richly blessed us as parents, for which we are truly grateful. We love you Celeste and pray that this day will bring you much joy and happiness!
HAPPY 12TH BIRTHDAY, BABY!
Psalm 139:14

Another Agape Story

Yesterday, while counseling at Agape, Linda (our new director) shared with me this wonderful story!

Last week a young lady came into the center knowing she was already pregnant. She was DEAD SET on having an abortion for pretty much every reason you can think of. Amazingly enough, she had already been to Planned Parenthood, but was not satisfied with the vague information given to her. It's a blessing in itself that she came into the center seeking more information even though she was determined to have an abortion.

Linda spent time giving her lots of info and lots of love and understanding. Although we do NOT refer for abortions, we do give abortion-minded clients a patient's rights form. We tell them that if the doctor performing the abortion is not willing to sign this form, taking responsibility for any complications, she needs to get out of there. Linda also let her know that she could have a free ultrasound to find out how far along she was.

The girl was very interested in finding this out, so Linda called Dr. Chen and got her an appt for that same morning. (We LOVE Dr. Chen!) Later on that day, Linda called Dr. Chen's office to find out if the girl had made the appt. They told her that she had just left, but that they couldn't give any further information. Linda tried calling the girl but could not get a hold of her. Linda spent the rest of the day and weekend praying for this young lady and asked others to pray too!

Finally, on Monday morning, in walks this young lady. Linda was SO happy to see her. She asked her how the ultrasound went and to her surprise, the girl announced that she found out she was having TWINS! Linda reluctantly asked her what she was going to do, and with a smile on her face she replied, "I'm keeping them!"

God is so good! I can't tell you how exciting it is when we get to hear these stories or be directly involved with these girls, seeing first-hand, how God can change their hearts. Please keep praying for this ministry always! And also, pray for Dr. Chen! God has used him in mighty ways and we are privileged to have him working with us! We are so thankful for all that he does!

To God be the Glory!

Photo Credit

Sacramento Zoo

More Vacation Pictures

After having a great time at Uncle Gary's, we headed about seven hours north to Greg's grandfather and step grandmother's house in Sacramento. We had a wonderful visit with them. The kids played outside most of the time while the adults spent time catching up. We BBQ'd, played games and visited the Sacramento zoo. It was quite nostalgic being there because that's the zoo I grew up visiting. We also celebrated Ethan's first birthday. He ended up with two birthday parties on the trip. Here are some pics of our two days in Sacramento!

The Beach

Better Late Than Never.....Hermosa Beach

We ended up going to the beach three separate times, so these pics are from each trip. The first day we went, it was kind of cool and windy, so we just walked in the sand and let the kids put their feet in the water. We had a great time and we already miss the beach....and Uncle Gary!

Hermosa Beach...

First day on the beach....

Daddy and the crew...

The girls weren't bothered by the COLD water...

Uncle Gary had fun with Ethan...

Ethan loved the sand...especially eating it!

Seth enjoyed being buried by Gramie...

Hermosa Pier...

A friendly beachcomber took our picture..

Home Sweet Home

Ahhh........Home Sweet Home


After a wonderful, fun-filled vacation, it sure does feel great to be home. We made it in at about midnight last night. There's nothing like sleeping in your own bed and being in your own environment after living the vagabond's life for two weeks.

We had an AMAZING time seeing our precious family and friends. We SO appreciated every one's hospitality and love. It's not easy putting up a family of eight, but they did it and did it with love and generosity. Thank you to those who welcomed us into your homes and took such great care of us!

In the next day or two, I will begin posting pics of our trip and writing about some of the highlights (like the beach and Yosemite National Park)! We'll have to weed through them all and pick the best ones. So until next time....

New ticker........It's exciting to be able to delete one ticker and exchange it for a new one. We look forward to meeting this precious baby in January. I'm just about 10 weeks along and this pregnancy has been much different from the others. My morning sickness has been very minimal. I usually feel pretty good in the morning, and then by mid day it starts to creep up and I usually feel sick in the evenings, but still mild compared to what I usually feel. I've only had one bad night so far so I am thankful. I pray that the rest of the pregnancy will be the same and that the sickness will taper off in the coming weeks. God has been so merciful and gracious and I thank you for your prayers!

Having a Blast

Wow.....I can't believe that this is the first time I've had the chance to sit down and write. We have had such a great time so far and have been kept quite busy.

Yesterday, we arrived at my brother Jason's house in Sonora, CA. It's absolutely beautiful up here and we're so enjoying our time with Jason and his family.

Our first stop was Redondo Beach to see Uncle Gary. My mom flew in and we picked her up from the airport. We had a BLAST at Uncle Gary's! We spent three days at the beach where pretty much all of us left with sunburns! I'm still waiting for mine to turn into a tan! ;-) The ocean was amazing and it was so hard to drive away from the coast. I understand why people pay the money they do to live near the ocean..........I would too if we could afford it!

We also had a sweet time with Greg's grandparent's and our close friends, the Hess'. We had the opportunity to take the kids to the Sacramento Zoo, and they enjoyed hours of swim time in the Hess' pool. The kids have been surprisingly wonderful on this trip. All the little ones have adjusted well to all of the changes and have had great attitudes and manners. Hopefully, they'll maintain this throughout the remainder of the trip. Ethan is the only one who has a meltdown every time we get back in the car. I guess I can't blame him!

Shortly after arriving at Jason's yesterday, we headed up to Mariposa to see my grandma. We're going up there again later in the week, but my dad and grandpa wanted the whole family to gather while my parents were still in town. It was so special seeing my grandma and the rest of my family. We all enjoyed a huge meal and just spent time catching up with everyone. My Uncle got a beautiful photo of everyone that was there. I'll have him email it to me so I can post it later.

Well, that's all for now........I can't wait until I'm able to post pictures of the trip.......probably not until we get home. We miss all of our dear San Antonio family and thank you for your prayers while we're away. Oh yeah, I have not been too sick at all. I'm feeling a bit yucky in the evening, but NOTHING compared to how I normally feel. I am praising God every day for His mercy and grace and thank you all specifically for praying for my morning sickness while I'm away!

Until next time..........

Juicing

This is what I got for Mother's Day this year. I had always been interested in the concept of juicing fresh fruits and veggies, but I wasn't sure how often I would actually use a juicer.

During a visit with my friend Shannon, she juiced some carrots and offered me a taste. It was delicious! I didn't think I'd like just straight carrot juice but I did!

I got this juicer at Sams. It was a cheapie, and probably not a great one by juicing standards, but it works for me. I have used it nearly everyday, juicing pretty much everything! One of my favorite drinks is carrots, celery, and a tomato. I made this yesterday and then saved all the nutrient-rich pulp and added it to my spaghetti sauce.

Another good combination is an apple, a pear, and a piece of ginger. This one even helps with queasiness, something I really need help with at the moment.

There are two downsides to this juicer. One, is it's very large and it takes up a lot of counter space. Two, it's quite a clean up job. There are about six or seven pieces that have to be cleaned after each use. But the overall benefits have out weighed the downfalls.

I love my juicer!

Family Udates

Grandma

I am very happy to report that my grandmother is resting comfortably at HOME! She is already improving wonderfully from her stroke. She can walk with some help and her speech has improved as well. I was able to speak with her very briefly yesterday and it sounded like Grandma, but different! Her speech was a bit labored and slurred, but I know she is improving each day! God has been so merciful and gracious and we are so thankful for His love and comfort! My family thanks each of you who have been lifting them up in prayer. They have felt the prayers and ask that you would continue prayer for healing and strength.

Pregnancy

Well, morning sickness is slowly creeping upon me. I have been so thankful for each day I've had with minimal sickness. I'm still praying and hoping that this pregnancy will not be as bad, but also preparing myself for the worst. Mainly, I'm just tired and have that slight "off" feeling so far. My sense of smell has heightened a bit and my saliva glands are starting to misbehave, but still holding strong. Please pray for a more tolerable pregnancy and pray for God's mercy and strength to cover me throughout the pregnancy. I'm so thankful for this new life being carefully knit inside of me and would not change a thing, even knowing what I may be in for! I am 7 weeks and 2 days along......just 33 weeks to go! Wow, that sounds like a long time!  ....sigh....

Trip

My goodness!  Just five days until we are CA bound! We are so excited, but I have to admit that I am absolutely dreading all the packing I have to do for our family! I am slowly mentally preparing and trying to write things down so I won't forget anything important. I'm sure I will forget something, being that I get serious "pregnant brain", which seems to get worse with each pregnancy! Today, I will unearth all of the suitcases and lay them out in my room. Each day I will add a few things to each suitcase so I won't have to rush at the last minute. We'll see how it all turns out!

I guess that's all the updating for now. I hope you all have a wonderful week!

A Surprise Party

I know I seem to brag about my older girls a lot, but I just have to do it again!

Yesterday was my birthday and my sweet girls, with the little ones' help, threw me a surprise birthday party! While I was out for a birthday lunch with Greg, the girls cleaned the house, baked a cake, and decorated the house with balloons and streamers.

I am constantly amazed by my girls.  How did I become so blessed as to have these thoughtful, kind, and hard-working children? I'm just not that good of a mother to have produced them!  :)

Okay, back to the party.......

As I entered the house, I was greeted by Celeste, taking a picture of the surprised look on my face! When I rounded the corner into the kitchen, all of the kids were seated around the table and shouted, "Surprise!".  Then they all sang Happy Birthday! It is a moment that will forever be imprinted in my mind and heart! It was precious!

After the song, we ate cake and I opened my cards.

It was the best birthday EVER! Thank you, my sweet girls! I love you!!!

Good News and Bad News

This morning I listened to two messages on my machine that I somehow missed yesterday. The first was Linda from the Agape center letting me know that a young woman I had counseled last week came back in. She was VERY abortion minded and by the time she left the center, I still wasn't sure what she would do!

Yesterday she came back in to get a Medicaid form because she had chosen LIFE for her baby! I am filled with joy, and praising God for softening her heart and opening her eyes to the truth!

Thank you, Father, for allowing her to hear your words! To God Be The Glory!!!

Now the bad news.......PLEASE pray for my precious Grandmother! The second message I missed yesterday was my dad calling to tell me that Grandma had a stroke! As of yesterday, she was completely incoherent and didn't have use of her left side. They transported her to Merced from Mariposa.

I'm so worried about her, and as of now I can't get a hold of anyone since it's only 6:00am in CA.

Although I am very worried and scared for her, I know God is holding her tightly in His hands, and that He is the Almighty Physician. I take comfort in His perfect will for my Grandmother's life! Please pray for my dad and the Skinner family as they come together to be with Grandma!

Thank you all so much for your prayers! I'll update as soon as I hear something! My Grandma's name is Barbara and she is 74 yrs old.

Update:  It's been four years since my grandmother's stroke.  She recovered fully and is doing well.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all of you dedicated Mommies!

I would like to wish my mom, especially, a happy Mother's Day and share some wonderful things about her!

Linda Marie Skinner, My Mom

The facts........

*Wife for almost 36 years.
*Mother for almost 35 years.
*Mother of four, including a set of twins.
*My mom is number six of fourteen children (go Grandma!).
*My mom is an artist. She can draw anything!
*My mom is very creative, a trait I did not inherit.
*My mom is a master sewer.
*My mom is one of the hardest workers I know.
*My mom is very frugal and she knows how to stretch a buck.
*My mom is a fabulous cook.
*My mom makes the best Thanksgiving Dressing (stuffing) in the world!
*My mom loves to read.
*My mom loves to plant flowers.
*My mom is very funny.

Growing up, I remember......

*Every Sunday after church, my mom would iron while watching her "Cowboy Shows".
*The year we couldn't afford a Christmas tree, she made one on the wall......out of branches she collected.
*I used to love sneaking into her room in the morning after she left for work because I could still smell the faint scent of her lingering perfume. It was comforting.
*My mom would always dance with us. Our favorite was when she would brake into the "Mashed Potatoes".
*I always knew when she was talking to one of her siblings on the phone.......the whole conversation consisted of rolling laughter........that's still the same to this day!
*I loved holding my mom's hand as a child.
*I was a total Mama's Girl!
*On occasion, I would get to go to work with my mom. I loved it because I got to be with her all day.

I love.......

*That my mom is my friend.
*That my mom's motto is "The more Grandchildren, the better!"
*That my mom is helping to raise three of her grandchildren.
*That we imitate funny lines from movies.
*One of our (mom and me) favorite movies is "The Incredible Shrinking Woman". We call each other "Concep-si-own because of the movie.
*A few years ago, while at a store, the two of us talked with a British accent the whole time we were there. We drew lots of attention and people actually believed we were British and asked us questions about England. I could hardly contain myself watching my mom "role play"! I've never laughed so hard in my life!
*My mom LOVES Poinsettias and places them all over her house around Christmastime.
*One of our traditions, when I would come home for a visit, was to go to Cinnabon in the mall.
*Drinking coffee with my mom in the morning.
*Our Saturday phone calls.
*She thinks I'm a great mother and encourages me in our homeschooling.
*I love that even though I'm a grown up, I still need my Mommy!

Thanks for being such a wonderful Mom! I love you and I miss you and can't wait to see you in two weeks! Have a blessed Mother's Day, Mom!

Photo Credit

Agape Pregnancy Help Center Banquet

Thursday night was Agape's 10th Annual Fundraising Banquet. I can't even begin to express how powerful the evening was to do it any justice! I wish I had pictures to share, but I will just try to give a quick synopsis of the evening!

It was our privilege and honor to have Dr. Alan Keyes as our keynote speaker. He was dynamic, funny, and hit the nail on the head as far as the message! He truly drove home the point of how we as Christians should be on the front lines of saving precious lives. We need to speak for the unborn, who have no voices. And when did taking human life become acceptable in our eyes, simply by changing the word "baby" to "fetus"! Again, my words cannot do justice to the words he so eloquently brought fourth! I know we were all touched very deeply and I was encouraged to work harder for the  unborn and the precious mothers who are tricked (by the world) into believing that there is no other choice!

Shirley Thompson, the Agape Executive Director, did a magnificent job of conveying her thoughts for this ministry. Her words were very personal, very honest, and she challenged each of us, especially pastors and churches, to offer their support to this ministry.

We also had two client testimonies as part of the program. I think the testimonies are my favorite because they're the reason we're here. Only they can tell us how God has worked in their lives through Agape. I am so blessed and privileged to be a part of this ministry!

Pastor Steve Branson was our MC again. He's done this for several years and always does a wonderful job! I think this year, though, was the best. He shared a wonderful story of how God used him in a difficult situation and then applied it to Agape and how God can use each of us even in the most difficult situations! His words throughout the night were important, relevant and heartfelt!

Dr. Scott Farhart sang a song called Blue Eyes Like Janey's. I have no words.........I will say that we were deeply touched by the message in the song!

God truly blessed the evening and blessed Agape with the resources needed to sustain two centers. He is always faithful to provide every year and I give Him the honor, glory, and praise!

Photo Credit

Sunday Service by the Lake

We had such a wonderful time Sunday! We joined our church family out at Canyon Lake where the men and young men were already enjoying a camping trip. We had a sweet service under the pavilion and then had a great time of fellowship during lunch. All of the kids had a blast playing near the water and exploring the waterfront. Even though it was cloudy, windy and slightly cold, we all had a blessed time! Here are a few pics from the day:



The pavilion where service was held...




Seth throwing rocks into the water...

John, Cheyenne, and Celeste on a snake hunt...

Mommy and Sophia...

Kids having fun...

Random 7 Meme

I was tagged by Granny so here goes. I may just go over seven since there are more than seven cool things (or not) about me that you should know. ;-) I'll try not to go overboard!

*I LOVED sports as a kid! And since I was a total tomboy, I was the only girl to play on my high school JV football team. I made the front page of our local paper, which was actually quite uncomfortable for me. I just wanted to play football, not stand out in the crowd!

*I lived in the Arctic Circle from the ages of 6-7. We lived on a small sandbar called Kotzebue. It was GREAT! In the summer it was light all day and in the winter it was dark all day! During one blizzard, our house was completely covered and my dad had to dig us out! Very cool!

*I climbed Half Dome in Yosemite National Park at the age of fifteen. I didn't climb the face, I climbed the side. When I got to the top I crawled to the face and dangled my head over to look down! I still get the chills at the thought of doing something so DUMB! Hey I was fifteen and daring!

*When we lived in San Angelo I was in a restaurant commercial and three magazines.....and not by accident, I was chosen.  Yeppers. San Angelo is small potatoes, but it was fun!

*I've had two major political encounters that don't exactly afford me any bragging rights. First, I shook hands with President Bill Clinton during the 50th D-Day celebration in Cambridge, England in 1994.......it was a beautiful ceremony! Prime Minister John Major and Walter Cronkite were also featured that day. The second, I received a personal letter from Assemblyman (at the time) Gary Condit, you know the "Chandra Levy conspiracy" guy, congratulating me on my "football endeavors"! Think I could get anything on eBay for it?

*My brother and I were extras in an independent film in Los Angeles starring Henry Winkler (The Fonz). It was a funny story that I will share another time. We had a blast! I even got to go to "wardrobe"!

*I went to six elementary schools, three junior highs and three high schools, and still managed to be nominated for homecoming queen twice, my junior and senior years. Trust me, I was not overly thrilled! I was an athlete, not a girlie homecoming queen. Needless to say, I wasn't heartbroken over not winning.

*In high school, during the President's Challenge, I did 78 full sit ups in one minute, beating out all the girls.......and the boys!

*Also in high school, my third and biggest high school, I won the girls triathlon, Greg won the boys! We were meant to be! :-)

*The most exciting thing about me currently is that I am expecting baby number seven, due to arrive in early January!

UPDATE:  Genevieve Julee was born January 7, 2008.