Enjoy the Journey: June 2008

Monday, June 23, 2008

Puppy Update!!

The puppies are now 4 1/2 weeks old!! They are SOOOOOO cute!!!

Anyone who's been a nursing mom can commiserate with poor Emma!!! It's 115 degrees outside!!!

Friday, June 20, 2008

As we do most summers, the kids and I took off to California to visit Grammy and Poppy and go to the BEACH!!!

My kids LOVE the beach!! They would spend days and days and days digging in the sand and playing in the water!! They would also LOVE to bring about half of the sand on the beach home with them....they don't get why that doesn't thrill me as I vaccuum my car in the 115 degree heat when we get home!!! LOL!!

Here's day one at the beach....

We went to Ruby's at the end of the pier for "ice cream" (Joe ended up getting a burger instead because he was STARVING...and Abby got a corndog WITH her malt!!)

The prices were outrageous but the view was GORGEOUS and the weather was PERFECT!! I could live at the beach!!

DAY 2....

Day 2 at the beach was actually Day 4 of vacation...we went and visited my niece and my SIL, Lori, and went down to Laguna (one of my FAVORITE beaches)....

Did I mention my son has a thing about digging holes to China??

By the time they were done he could stand in the hole (and he's not particularly short for a ten year old!!) and they buried him up to his armpits...standing...then he got stuck and almost got washed out to sea as the tide came in!!! I was LMAO!! Not to worry, he got out before he drowned!!!

Here's my cutie patootie niece!!! Doesn't she look like she belongs to me?!?

Josiah was definitely missing his older sister and cohort in crime (she was in San Diego at Jr. High camp) and was tired of "little girls" so I bought him a boogie board as a consolation prize!! That cheered him up considerably and he spent the rest of the day catching a wave!!

The day ended like all good days should....with ICE CREAM!!!

Next Friday we're off to Oregon!!!!

Saturday, June 14, 2008

What is even more exciting than...

...leading someone to Christ??

I know, I know...you probably have the same expression on your face that my pastor had on his face when I asked him that question...disbelief...there couldn't be anything better?? I promise you there is....

The one thing better than leading someone to Christ is watching as your oldest daughter leads someone to Christ...actually four someones to be exact. I think it was quite possibly the coolest experience of my life!!

We spent this week at VBS at our church and *I* was the leader of our crew and my TQ was the assistant leader of our crew. It ended up being the other way around. My dd led the girls around and asked all the right questions and earned their love and respect. I sat back and watched in awe as my little girl led this group with the finesse of a grown woman and the enthusiasm of a teenager. It was AWESOME!! On Thursday, the day we learned that "Jesus gives us the power to live forever!! Ah Ha!!" the pastor very simply explained the plan of salvation, then he turned it over the the crew leaders...before I could even ask a question, my dd had all the girls gathered around her and was asking if anyone had prayed that prayer for the first time and did they know what that meant...and went on to explain it all...while I watched in wonder. Tears are rolling down my cheek still as I type this two days later...truly it was an amazing experience to see my beautiful daughter in action, displaying the faith and conviction that I have prayed for for years!!

My youngest also prayed that prayer and while she has prayed it before...a number of times...I think she finally really understands what she is doing well enough to be baptized. She is meeting with the Children's Pastor on Sunday after church to talk about it.

Josiah's evangelism style is a little more out there!! Just Kidding...he and his friends cannot take a picture unless they are choking each other...must be a 10 year old boy thing!!

Last but not least, here is Abby hanging out with the girls from her crew! They had a great week together!!

We all had a great time and can't wait until next year!!!

Monday, June 09, 2008

Food for thought...

For several weeks now I have had this story come to mind, in response to bible study questions, in conversations with friends, and now a friend of mine (thanks Amy!) sent me this link in an email.

The topic? Judging other people.

My perspective was utterly changed one day when I was judged. I was in a very vunerable place at the time. My husband had just been in a roll over accident and was in the hospital. I had gotten very little sleep the night before because I was sleeping on the empty bed next to him in his hospital room. I had just made the three hour drive from the hospital home to pick up the kids and bring them up to see him so they would know he was okay. I stopped at Wal-mart to pick up a few things. I was in a hurry to get the kids and get on the road because we had a three hour drive ahead of us and I went through the 20 items or less line with 23 or 24 items. To say I was stressed was an understatement. I don't know what the lady behind the counter had been going through or if she was just in a bad mood but she made some snarky comment about my having more than 20 items. I just about lost it. I yelled at her that my husband was in the hospital and could she just cut me a break? She was stunned as I took my groceries and left. God has used that experience in my life in a profound way. You have no idea what the people around us are going through. Indeed, it would be overwhelming if did. Check out this video.

You Tube Video

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

We Did IT!!

The school year is over!!

Monday, June 02, 2008

WARNING: I'm going to RANT!!!

I was just sitting here watching the evening news and I heard a news blip that caught my attention. They said (and I quote)

"Cancer among children is not common..."

That's when I stopped listening because a bomb went off in my head!!! WHAT??!?!?

I just signed a petition to try to increase funding for childhood cancer...here's what it said:

Childhood cancer is the #1 killer disease of our children, more than from asthma, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, congenital anomalies, and pediatric AIDS combined. One in 300 children will be diagnosed with cancer before age 20. Each year 3,000 children die, and 35-40,000 are in treatment.

I don't know about you but that doesn't sound too uncommon to me!!

Ask Julian if it's uncommon...oh wait you can't because he is in heaven...he was only four years old.

Or Coleman...or John Eric, or Haley, or Sara, or Bailey, or any of the hundreds of other children who have had their lives altered or have died because of cancer. These are real children, children with names, with faces, with moms and dads and brothers and sisters!! These are children who should be outside swimming in the pool and playing in the sand and instead they know what a port is, and what chemo is, and the names of their favorite nurses!!!

Okay, I'm going to step off my ranting stage now, but don't ever tell me that childhood cancer is uncommon until this beast is stopped and not a single other mother has to bury her baby because of it...or I might just step back onstage!!