Valuable Role Playing

Lydia has really starting to show interest in Barbies. She only has 3: Cinderella, Barbie Mariposa, & a mermaid.

She asked me the other day to "play Barbies" with her. So I did; one for Lydia, one for Caraline & one for me. (Caraline kept wanting to change the barbies diapers!)

Lydia was the mermaid & I was Cinderella...& "they" started talking about asking Jesus in your heart. Lydia's Barbie was "witnessing" to Cinderella! It was so sweet!

Cinderella asked "How can Jesus fit in my heart? He's big!"

The mermaid replied, "He's little & he's everywhere!"

They talked about it until the mermaid's mom called her for dinner & she had to go to church. Then "Cinderella" prayed the sinner's prayer & asked Jesus in her heart! (I was able to model that prayer for Lydia using Cinderella)

I'm not sure Lydia would have talked to mommy about that for as long as the mermaid & Cinderella did. But it sure gave me an insight to her knowledge of God & heaven. I was impressed!! She knows her Jesus!

Later that night she prayed "God, thank you for dying on the cross for my sins & I don't like my sin." Precious words to my ears; life changing & life saving for my daughter!

I know God has a hand on her!! The Holy Spirit has opened her heart & spoke to her in ways I will never know. I know that SOON she will accept the Lord in her heart & He will use her in amazing ways! She is His daughter!

Caraline loves to pray & wants to hold the baby Jesus!

Please pray for my Lydia!

" For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord & believe in your heart that God raise Him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9

Thanksgiving memories

The Boyle's in the back of the pickup

"Hay", this is fun!

having a "swinging" time!

Pilgram girl Lydia & Indian Princess Caraline

This Thanksgiving, we went to Pawnee to my grandparents house. My Grandparents live on a farm. My girls are "city girls" so we are not used to farm life...but they LOVED it!
It was a beautiful day to go outside & with 8 great-grand-daughters, it was good to get out of the house!
First the fun started with playing with the barn cats, then swinging on the gate, jumping haybales & riding in the back of the pickup to feed the cows with Grandpa.

I'm so thankful for my crazy loud family! They are so fun & wild. We always have a laughing, great time together!

I'm so thankful that everyone was healthy & strong & for the beautiful day to play outside on the farm!

It was a day to remember!

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! His faithful love endures forever." Psalm 136:1

Spontaneous praying!

The girls & I always pray in the car before we go anywhere. We will pray for others when they are hurting or when they come to mind.

The other day, while driving Lydia to preschool, we saw an older lady walking. We had seen her a few times before. I said, "There is that lady we sometimes see walking..." & Lydia said "Mom, let's pray for her." So we said a little prayer for her. I don't know her name & we haven't seen her since.

I love Lydia's heart! She is so sensitive to other's needs. I pray that God will use her to serve others & interceed for people who are in need.

"When I pray, you answer me; you encourage me by giving me the strength I need."

Psalm 138:3

Happy 4th birthday, Lydia!

What a blessing Lydia is to our family! She is a great big sister & a joy as a daughter. She started Peace Preschool is year & has come out of her shell. She loves it!

We love her so much. She has such a sweet spirit.

She prays "Thank you God for taking away my sins"

Her favorite bible verse is Galatians 5:22, "The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace , patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness & self-control." I love to here her say that & I know God loves it even more!

I pray that God will help me teach her about His love for her & she will accept Him as her Lord & Savior.

Happy birthday, Lydia! We love you!

Angel Addy

It has been a year since Addyson Barrett went to heaven to met Jesus. I think that when she met Jesus, she wasn't scared. She knew Him & she knew He loved her. I believe Jesus held her and she was at peace. Lydia likes to say that Jesus is holding baby Addy & rocking her in heaven.

Addy has been in the presence of the LORD for a year. I wonder what a year in heaven feels like? I know that a year on earth without a loved one is very hard & can seem really long. I know God's timetable is not the same as ours. I think that Addy is busy praising God & loving Him. I think she is enveloped in God's love & light. I think she knows her family in heaven like Grandma Nancy & yet everyone in heaven around her is her family too, her heavenly family.

In heaven, there is no pain, no tears, no suffering, only joy, love, light & basking in the awesome presence of our LORD & Savior, Jesus Christ!

I bet Addy is having an amazing time with God & she will know us when we join her in heaven.

Addy, we love you & miss you, but we are happy that you are in heaven with the LORD! We will see you again someday & join you in praising our God who is loving & His grace is amazing.

"This world is not our home; we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven."
Hebrews 13:14

FALL FUN!!

The hay ride
The tire swing

Caraline feeding the goat

We had a great Fall break!

The girls & I went to the Parkhurst Pumpkin Patch with some good friends. The kids had a BALL (& the "photo opps" were amazing!) When you go to a cool pumpkin patch with girls who are serious scrapbookers...you end up taking 100's of pictures!

Caraline LOVED the petting zoo! Lydia's favorite part was the hay ride. I loved each smile on my little angels' faces.
Caraline had a hard time deciding on which pumpkin she really wanted. She would carry one around until she found a cooler one. She would DROP the one she had to pick up the other. At one point, she was trying to pick up two!

Saturday was OSU homecoming! My girls love the parade! It is always a fun-filled day.
That day we went to another pumpkin patch in Perry. It was different than any pumpkin patch I had been to. You actually cut your own pumpkin off the vine. It was really cool!

What a great weekend! One that will not be soon forgotten!

"And you will always give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Ephesians 5:20

Caraline's eye surgery

Meeting "Besty" the puppet
Holding my "hospital bear"
Drinking juice after surgery
Do my eyes look red to you?

Scott and I found out that Caraline needed eye surgery in September. Her eyes were turning in even with her glasses on & she didn't want to wear them anymore. Her glasses were "too strong" for her eyes, her eye sight was getting better, but with her eyes still turning in, that meant more of a muscle problem than a vision problem.
Caraline's surgery was the morning of October 7th at Baptist Hospital. We didn't sleep well the night before! We all tossed and turned all night! We had to be at the hospital at 7:15am. Caraline was scheduled for surgery at 8:45am.
Caraline was playing on the chairs in the waiting room & met "Besty" the puppet. (Lydia met "Besty" in May 2007 when she had her eye surgery.)
She sat realy quitely with her hospital gown on as we read books to pass the time. I felt better once I saw Dr. Scott & he said "There's my cross-eyed patient!" We laughed because we sometimes call her our "cross-eyed girl".
Caraline was not real happy when the nurse took her back without us. (With Lydia, they gave her some meds to make her loopy & she didn't care when they came to get her.)
30 minutes later, Dr. Scott came out & said her little muscles were wound tight like Lydia's were. She did great!:)
When we went back to see her, she was a little fussy, but not as bad as Lydia was after her surgery. Caraline really wanted that IV out of her arm!
We were home for 11:30am & Caraline was running around the house like nothing happened! She was hungry & talking away!
Caraline hates her eye drops, but other than that, she is doing great!
Thanks to everyone who prayed for Caraline!

"He renews our hopes & heals our bodies." Psalm 147:3

What every parent wants to know from the teacher...

Every parent wants to know if their child has friends. Every parent prays that their child has friends & knows HOW to be a friend. They want their child to be friendly & well liked.

Today when I picked Lydia up from school, she told me "Ashley said she doesn't like me."

She stated it. She didn't seem upset, she said it every "matter-of-factly".

At first I wanted to tell her teacher, but I thought "What was she going to do? These kids are 3 or 4 years old."

I asked her "What did you say when she said she didn't like you?" Lydia said "I said nothing."

I asked her if she was in her class & she said no, she was in a different class. My heart broke!!

I thought, "This is why I didn't want her in public school!! I wanted to protect her from that."

I cried a little, hoping she didn't see me. Then I said "Well, Ashley just doesn't know you. Once she got to know you, she would like you!" Lydia said "I just played with Annie."

I said, "There will be times that people say things that aren't nice, but you know someone who will always love you & like you..." She said "I know, GOD!" "And me, your dad, sister, your family," I added.

Lydia looked at me & said "I know, thanks for telling me, mom!"

I know that in reality, not everyone is going to like me, Scott, Lydia or Caraline, but God is ALWAYS going to love me & like me. What God thinks about me is more important anyway.

" There are 'friends' who destory each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother."

Proverbs 18:24

Lydia goes to preschool!

Last week Lydia started preschool at Peace preschool. It's not "offically" preschool since she won't be 4 until after Sept. 1st, but it is a preschool setting.

I was a little concerned since she cried a lot last year at Mother's day out. And on the day we met the teacher, she was a little stand offish, but she did SO great!! She loves it! She has not cried once!

Lydia is a sweet, but shy girl. I worry that she plays by herself & doesn't reach out to friends. She told me today she just wanted to play by herself. I told her I wanted her to talk to one person & tell me about it.

When we got home, I asked her who she talked to, & she said "It was a girl with long white hair." Good! At least she talked to another girl! I think everyone wants their child to have good friends.

I want her to have a fun school experience. But we still talk about how next year, she will learn at home with mommy. I want to try to homeschool her next year.

I'm so proud of her, she is growing up SO fast!

"Wise friends make you wise, but you hurt yourself by going around with fools" Proverbs 13:20

Grandpa Bob is 85!

My mom's father, my Grandpa Bob's birthday was September 1st. He is the only grandpa I've ever known since my dad's dad, my Grandpa Lex, passed away before I was born.

I've always had a special place in my heart for my Grandpa Bob. I cherish the time we spend together. I always kiss & hug him before we leave. Maybe it's because he is the only grandpa I have that I know how special that relationship is. I'm also the oldest grandchild....so of course I'm the favorite!:)
I'm so glad that my girls get a chance to know Grandpa Bob. We don't get to see my grandma & grandpa very much since we live a hour & 1/2 away & all their other grandchildren/great-grandchildren live in the same town.

Grandpa says things like "Your girls don't really know me since we don't get to see you very much."...which in a way is true, but I talk to Lydia & Caraline about grandpa & grandma all the time.

We had planned a family get-together for Grandpa Bob's 85th birthday at the lake. Lydia fell asleep in the car on the way to the lake. She was sleepy & Grandpa "jokingly" held out his arms to her & she went & sat in his lap & snuggled. Grandpa said that made his day.

All the great-granddaughters made Grandpa a birthday shirt. We have 8 great-granddaughters & they all put their hand prints on the shirt & one of Grandma's hands made it 85 fingers. We added a ladybug to the collar to represent Angel Addyson.

We passed around a little scrapbook that everyone wrote a memory or something they loved about Grandpa.

I hope he felt the love of his family on his 85th birthday & everyday after!

We are blessed to have such a rich heritage!

"Rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you & your household." Deuteronomy 26:11

Every parent's nightmare!

Friday, the girls and I went to the Omniplex, the Science Museum with some good friends. We always have a great time at the Omniplex!!
We got there at 9am to make a day of it. We ate lunch there and learned all kinds of things.
Caraline got really fussy & fell asleep at 1:30pm so I decided it was time to go. My friend Lisa and her girls were in a magic show. When I told Lydia we needed to go home, she started crying & ran away from me!! At first she just ran around in circles, but then she run under a display & out of my sight!! By the time I ran around the display box with Caraline in the stroller, I could not see Lydia!
It was 1:30pm & there were a lot of families & kids there. There were three different sections she could have ran to. All three were very big & fairly crowded. Something was holding me in the same place. Something told me to stay in the area that I lost sight of her because she would come back.
I didn't know what to do!! I was trying not to panic! My mind was racing with all the things I needed to do: do I find someone who worked there and ask them to page her, do I start screaming and get everyone's attention to help me look, do I ask someone if they saw a little blonde girl with little pigtails and glasses in a red shirt? I started calling her name REALLY LOUDLY, "LYDIA!!!" "LYDIA?!?!?!" I walked one way a few steps then turned back around & walked back to where I was, and then I saw Lydia come out from under a little table and smile I me.
I ran to her, bend down & tried not to cry!! I told her that scared mommy and someone not very nice could have taken her away & we wouldn't see her anymore.
Lydia said "Sorry mommy, I won't do that again."
I thanked God that nothing had happened to her & I found her in a short amount of time. That was the LONGEST 3 minutes of my life!!

I know God had angels watching that girl for me!!

"Keep me safe, O God, for I have come to you for refuge." Psalm 16:1

Is there a doctor in the house?

The other day Lydia & Caraline were playing doctor. It was so sweet & cute. Then we decided to play vet & we were checking ALL the animals in the house!!! The girls thought that was so fun!

Our girls are getting so big & I love staying home with them. The other day I was able to take a 3 minute shower while the girls played in their room together and when I RAN to check on them, they were playing nicely with the puzzles.

If you were to ask me a few years ago if I would like to stay home, I would have told you for about 2 years, but I would go back to work soon.

BOY, have things changed!!

I will have been home with the girls for 2 years in November and I do not feel the need to go back to work any time soon!! I have enough to do at home!!!

I love staying home with my girls so much that in the past few days, I've been thinking bout homeschooling!!! I have about a year before Lydia offically would be a preschooler. This fall she is going to a private preschool program 3 half days a week. We will see how that goes, but I think I want more time with them.

They are so much fun to be around! Don't get me wrong, there are days I would like to take them to daycare and go to work, but I hated leaving Lydia everyday at daycare.

I was always so torn between being with my child & working with 20 first graders. At work, the kids were ALWAYS first graders, the group that I worked with were always going to be 6 or 7 years old. Lydia was growing and getting bigger everyday & I was missing that.

I know that I will NOT regret being home with my girls. I can always teach another time.

Maybe I will even teach my girls at home. I may need my head examined, but I think I would like to give it a try. I want to be able to watch them grow in many more ways!

Who knows, Lydia and Caraline could be your doctor someday.

"Respect & obey the Lord. This is the beginning of wisdom." Proverbs 9:10

Fourth of July 2008

Every year since Scott & I met, we have gone to the Liberty fest parade and sit in the same place by the BSU.
Scott and I got together on July 4th 1998, so we have been together for 10 years! He proposed to me July 4th 1999.

We love going to the parade in Edmond, but there is a time that I miss the fourth of July of my childhood.

When I was a child, up until I was in college...well, maybe high school, we got up early & went to Pawnee. In the morning, they had a parade. After the parade, there were games to play & EVERYONE played!! There was the egg toss, three legged race, sack races, boot toss, backseat driver game.

But the most fun was the turtle races!! I swear, my cousins would stop on the side of the road weeks ahead of time to pick a turtle!! They would train the thing to run!! They always got extra turtles for Tori and me.
They put ALL the turtles who was registered in the middle of a big circle. (You usually marked your turtle so you knew which one was yours.) Then which turtle made it to the eadge of the circle first, won.

After the games, we would go back to Grandma & Grandpa's house and eat lunch. When the kids would ride bikes and swim all afternoon long. We would always ask when the fireworks were. Sometimes those afternoons seemed so long!!
Soon we would take baths, put on clean clothes, eat a little dinner and head back into downtown Pawnee.
There was street band singing and dancing in the streets & a carnival with a famous Ferris Wheel. We HAD to ride it!!
Then about dark-thirty, they would shoot off a warning firework to let you know they were getting ready to start. Everyine would gather on the court house lawn & watch. Sometimes it seemed like there was 10 minutes between each firework. But you knew when it was over because they would shoot off 8 to 10 fireworks together.
Everyone would clap & head home.

I loved the feel of the small town fourth of July!!

Anyone want to help me organize a turtle race for next year?:)

"Blessed is the Nation whose God is the Lord." Psalm 33:12

Playing "catch up"

It's been a while since I posted a blog...oops! Life with a 3 year old and a toddler is really busy!!

Let's see...

At the end of May, my mom retired from teaching after more than 20 years.

In June, we had Vacation Bible school which both girls loved!!

We've had a few "field trips" with our good friends to the Little River Zoo and the Oklahoma Science Musuem (formerly known as the Omniplex)

We spent some time in Woodward with Scott's parents for Father's day and his dad's birthday.

Lydia is working on sounding out words and trying to rythme. Caraline is now sitting in a booster seat at the table with her own plate. Caraline thinks she can do EVERYTHING Lydia does! Caraline always says "Go, Go, GO!" She is talking more too! I love it!

I love being home & watching my girls grow!! It's a hard job at times and there are days I think I should have been fired, but at the end of the day, I thank God that I'm able to be home and be Lydia & Caraline's mom!

"Teach me what is right God & I will do it!" Psalm 89:11

Walking in Addyson's memory

Saturday, May 10, 2008 our family walked in the Payne county heartwalk. We walked in memory of Addyson Layne.
Everyone wore lime green shirts with Addyson's picture on the front. On the back it read, "Some people only dream of angels, but we've held one in our arms."

I'd like to think she knew we were walking and remembering her short life as a gift God allowed us for a while.

She is healed & being held by her healer, God. He held the other part of her heart and only God could complete Addy.

Walking 3 & a half miles wasn't easy and we were all tired afterwards, but that didn't compare to the struggle of an open heart surgery Addyson had at 10 days old. She is resting in the everlasting arm of our Lord.

So, we walked and remembered our sweet angel. She is unforgettable.

"This world is not our home; we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven." Hebrews 13:14

Tree-huggers unite!

In honor of Earth Day on April 22nd, I have decided to recycle!:)
I have a lot of friends who are "recycle conscience" and want as much organic as possible.
It wasn't that I didn't care before, because I did, but something inside me thought, "What if there are some things I can do to help the environment? I really want to provide my family with food that is good for them and is natural as possible. Maybe I'll try some 'all natural' products!"

So, since we have a curbside recycle service and a newspaper and magazine recycle bin just down the road at the school, I thought, "I can do this!"

I did some research on recycling and started saving the "recycle items" in the garage in the recycle bin.

When I went to Walmart and bought organic spaghetti, Hormel "all natural" honey ham, which has no added hormones, no added MSG, & it is REALLY GOOD!! I got some natural shampoo. I even bought some "all natural" Arm & Hammer deoderant without aluminum or paraben.
I wanted to buy some cute "earth friendly" t-shirts for me & the girls, but I thought I had bought enough!:)

It feels good to be "environemently conscience"! Maybe if everyone recycled and only bought "nautural" things, we could help our earth and our children & grandchildren would have a cleaner world to live in.:)

So I guess I've turned into a "tree-hugger"!

"The land you have given me is a pleasant land. What a wonderful inheritance!

Psalm 16:6

Caraline's glasses

Caraline got her glasses today! (look past the red eye)
She keeps them on ok if she is busy playing, but if she stops and thinks about them, she is trying to take them off!!
I'm not used to seeing Caraline in glasses yet! It took me a while to get used to them with Lydia too. Now Lydia isn't "Lydia" without her glasses!

We go back in June to see if they are helping.....

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, & no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him." I Corinthians 2:9

good news and not so good news...

First, the good news:

We bought a "newer" car! We bought a 2005 white Honda Accord. We are pretty happy with it! (It has some interior issues, cigarette burns, but other than that...pretty good)
The back seat is a good size for all the carseats. (The backseat in the Galant was SO small, it was annoying & REALLY cramped!) We are excited!
Now I can put my "Addyson" sticker on the back window!

Now for the "not so good news"...

Caraline needs glasses! She is only 15 months old! We knew her eyes were not good. I thought that maybe the Dr would patch one eye for now, but, no, he said "She needs glasses."
So, we picked out some little frames (with a big price tag) and she should get them in Friday. I hope she keeps them on!
I will post pictures are soon as she gets them.

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

2 Corinthians 4:18

Age of accountability?

What is the age of accountability? I think it is different for everyone. Some people, it may be 5, but for others, it may be 14.

Today something happened with Lydia and I hope that I handled it the way that God would have wanted me to. I saw it as a "teachable moment" that Lydia could internalize.
Scott was outside, painting the shed. Lydia wanted to go outside with him. I said that was fine, but to stay away and not to play in the paint.
A few minutes later, the back door swings open, Lydia is crying and Scott says, "She got paint on her hands!"
I took her to the bathroom, all the way saying, "What did I tell you about the paint?!" We washed her hands and the paint came right off but Lydia continued to cry. At first I thought she was crying because she hates to be dirty, but her hands were clean and she was still upset.


I asked her (and maybe this was a leading question) "Are you crying because you feel bad for getting paint on your hands after being told not to play in the paint?" She shook her head yes.
I thought this could be my opportunity to talk about sin and God's forgiveness.
I told her, "The Holy Spirit is telling you that what you did was a sin. But do you want to know the good news?" She shook her head yes. I continued, "If you pray to God and ask forgiveness, He will forgive you for your sin and He forgets it. Then you have to try really hard not to do that again." I showed her how to pray and what to say, but I also said that she had to pray it, not me.

A few minutes later, she stopped crying and peeked her head out the door at Scott. He said, "Hey, you stopped crying! Are you ok now?"

Lydia said, "Mom, I stopped crying, I ready to go back outside." I said, "Ok, let's get your shoes back on. Would you like to pray and ask forgiveness?" She said yes and prayed "Dear God, please forgive me."
She ran outside and NEVER touched the paint the rest of the afternoon!

Later that evening, I was talking to Scott about it and he told me the story: She was talking to him and asked if she could touch the green paint, and he said yes, it was dry, but the white paint was still wet. She got distracted and accidentally touched the wet white paint. She didn't do it on purpose, but I'm not really sure why she kept crying.

I hope I did the right thing with Lydia. I KNOW God has BIG plans for her! He reveals Himself to her often! I know my job as a mother is to teach her about God & what it means to be a child of God.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Matthew 5:8

Easter Sunday!

"The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly & tell his disciples: 'He is risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you. So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid, yet filled with joy, and ran to tell the disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.

Matthew 28:5-9

Can you imagine what Mary Magdalene and the other Mary thought as they see this angel, sitting on the stone with clothes as white as snow, his appearance like lightning & the guards, like "dead men" probably laying on the ground?! Then the angel tells them that Jesus is risen!
As the women are running to tell the others, Mary Magdalene & the other Mary SEE JESUS!!!! WOW! That must have been the craziest and happiest day of their lives!
Only the ONE true God could conquer death!

Today is Easter Sunday or, some people call it, Resurrection Day. I really like that.
It's not about the Easter egg hunt or the Easter bunny, although that is fun! We love to have egg hunts and the Easter Bunny comes to our house, but we also love to look at our Resurrection Eggs and we talk about the REAL meaning of Easter; Jesus' resurrection from the dead!

I had a shirt that had some feet with a toe tag that read,
"I once was dead; I didn't like it"
That might have been a shirt Jesus would have chuckled at!:)

Jesus conquered death so I could be alive in Him! You have to "die to yourself" in order to live for Jesus!
God wants us to have eternal life in Him. To live forever & ever & ever & ever & ever & ever............ That will be so great!

I love knowing that I serve and have a relationship with the God who once was dead, but now, is ALIVE!!

Miracles happen! Believe in them!

Good Friday

I wanted to express my feelings about Good Friday.

I used to think that it was just the Friday before Easter. But as I learn more about God and develop a relationship with Him on a more personal level, Good Friday takes on a different meaning.

Good Friday was NOT GOOD for Jesus. It was a very painful day. A day that Jesus knew was coming. (And I doubt He was looking forward to it!)
A day that Jesus was beaten, spit on, yelled at, laughed at, nailed to the cross and died. The day an innocent man died for YOUR/MY sins.

In Matthew 27:45-46,50-51 it says
"From the 6th hour to the 9th hour darkness came over the land. About the 9th hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?'
And then Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At the moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split."

Can you imagine being there the day that Jesus died? Losing a loved one is hard, in any way, but to watch your son, as Mary did, be beaten and nailed to the cross, must be the worst thing to be witness to. I have a hard enough time watching my girls fall down and bump their head, let alone seeing them go through torture, it would be horrifying!

As terrible as this day was for Jesus and everyone who loved Him, it was a day that God had planned even as Jesus laid in the manager as a baby. This day HAD to happen, God's wrath was satisfied. This day HAD to happen in order for you to have grace, God' grace poured on you.
To think that Jesus died for you can seem strange. I mean, that happened SO long ago, before you were a twinkle in your parents eyes. To ponder that you were on Jesus' mind as He died is mind-boggling!!

If Jesus could give His life for your life, what are you willing to give to Him? Your time? Your talents? Your kids? Your love?

This is not the end of the story.....remember "Joy comes in the morning..."

"When the centurion & those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake & all that had happened, they were terrified & exclaimed. "Surely he was the Son of God." Matthew 27:54

Storm Anxiety

Well, it is that time of year again...the time of the year that I spend a lot of time watching the weather and worrying about storms. That's right, it's Spring time in Oklahoma, which means tornado time!!!

I HATE tornados!! From March to the end of May, I should just live in the storm shelter!! Yes, I MADE Scott build me a storm shelter when I was pregnant with Lydia. It's like a little short coffin, but I would rather be in there, then anywhere else.

I watch the weather very closely in the spring. I watch all three weathermen, I check the internet, and I worry. If we are predicted to have storms one day, I worry about it for days in advance.
If we are in a tornado watch, I have to watch the "regular" channels that day, and I have to repeat to myself "If you are in a tornado watch, that doesn't mean that EVERY town in the watch will have a tornado!" I'm so freaked out, I won't eat or leave the house!
If a storm is headed our way, I go prepare the storm shelter. I turn on the light, I get the battery operated radio ready, the flashlights ready. Then I "stock" the shelter with ALL my scrapbooks and DVD's of the family memories! Scott jokes about not having enough room in the shelter for ALL the scrapbooks & us!

Last Sunday, we had some tornados. They were west of us for a while, but I could tell they were moving our way, so I was prepared! At about 7:45pm, the tornado sirens started going off and they said it was a tornado warning for Oklahoma county. I FREAKED out!! I started yelling at Scott to get the girls and go to the shelter!! Scott said NO, he was going to watch the weather and see where it was & to stop freaking out! Even Lydia said "Dad, shouldn't we go to the shelter?" I said, "No, your dad wants an invitation from the tornado to go to the shelter!" The tornado was straight south of us about 20 miles and was moving east. We didn't go to the shelter, but I would have!!

After all the chaos calmed down, I thought "Katy, you are not relying on God in the spring time!"

In Matthew 8:23-27 is the story about Jesus and his disciples on the boat and a furious storm came up, washing waves over the boat. Jesus was sleeping and the disciples woke Him. They were afraid! Jesus said to them."You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" and he rebuked the winds and it was completely calm.

God has the power to stop tornados if He wanted to. I don't know that He would stop a tornado from coming to my house if I prayed before it hit, (I'm not saying He can't! He can do ANYTHING!) but I do know that God would protect me and my family.

Please pray for my sanity in the Spring time and that I will rely on God to protect the things that are most important: my family!

" I know the Lord is always with me.

I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me."

Psalm 16:8

Happy 32nd birthday to Katy!

Wow, do I feel old!!! Yes, today is my 32nd birthday!

I have had a GREAT 32 years of life!
I grew up in a small town called Perry. My mom is a teacher and my dad is a "jack of all trades" out at Ditch Witch. I have a sister, Tori, who is 4 years younger than me. I grew up in a wonderful Christian home and had a great church home as well.

I graduated from Perry High School in 1994 and went to the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond. I graduated with a B.S. in early childhood from UCO in Dec. 1998.

I got my first teaching job at age 23 teaching Kindergarten in Mustang.

Scott and I got married in June 2000 at the age of 24 & 29. (Scott's b-day is a week and 5 years after mine!)

I taught first grade at Bryant Elementary for almost 7 years. (ages 24-30)

I was 28 when Lydia Claire was born on November 3, 2004 & I was almost 31 when Caraline Grace was born January 8, 2007.

Today, Scott's birthday gift to me was the "day off". He stayed home with the girls today so I could go and do WHATEVER I wanted!!

I first, I had NO IDEAS what to do!! (If I had a few days, I would have gone to see my best friend, Jenn, since she had a baby 4 weeks ago in Iowa, but it would have been a 10 hour drive.)

But I soon had a schedule! First, I went to Barnes and Noble and looked at books. (mostly children's books & I almost bought the girls some books, but I thought, "No, this is MY day, I'll buy something for myself!")

Then I met Becky, Shelley, & Erica, some teacher friends, for lunch at our favorite lunch spot, Mazzios! (Kathy was home with a bad knee! I miss her!) The girls bought me lunch for my birthday!! They are the BEST!!

Then I went to Books-A-Million, then to get a much needed haircut. Then on to Gordman's, Target, Sonic & Mardel's.

I came home by 4:45 and Scott and the girls had made me a green cake as a surprise! (A surprise Lydia told me about this morning before I left!:))

I love my life, my family & friends! I wouldn't trade those 32 years for anything!! I look forward to 32+ more years to enjoy my family & friends!

I hope that anyone reading this blog has a birthday as wonderful as mine!

"We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power, and the wonders He has done."

Psalm 78:4

"The Lydia Show"

Lydia is a natural performer....for the right crowd! She can be very shy, but she loves to sing and she gets on her bed as the stage and we have to clap and chant "Lydia show, Lydia show!" then she sings!
Caraline is in this video and we were so excited that she walked and I got it! If you listen really closely, it sounds like Caraline says "Lydia" in the first few seconds!

Check out the video! We had a GREAT time!

"You will live in joy & peace. The mountains & hills will burst into song, & the trees of the field will clap their hands!"

Isaiah 55:12

Caraline turns ONE!

Today is January 8th, 2008. Today is Caraline's FIRST birthday! It has been the longest & shortest year of my life, but I wouldn't change a thing about it!

Let me tell you somethings about Caraline Grace:

Caraline was born a few days before an ice storm. (If you know me, I was freaking out about an ice storm a week before it happened! I HATE ice! I imagined ALL the horrible things that could happen if she was born in an ice storm!) But she beat the storm! Scott thinks I willed myself into labor so I could avoid the ice!
Caraline was a little early, she weighed 5lbs 14oz and was born at 11:36pm.

She cooed a lot. She smiled a lot and loved sleeping on her tummy. She is a tummy sleeper still. She slept in her crib for the first time at 2 & a half months old.

At three months, Caraline was rolling over & grabbing things.

At four months, she was laughing & her eyes were turning brown, not blue.

At 5 months, she started looking for me when I left the room & getting on her hands and knees. She went to Vacation Bible school and in the church nursery for the first time. I was in there with her. She got sick that week! I felt So bad!

At 6 months, Caraline started getting more active, scooting, "army" crawling and trying to get a tooth.

7 months old, she was pulling up & standing up, could crawl so fast and started trying to wave.

Eight months was when Caraline got her two bottom teeth at one time! She had a pretty high fever of 101.9 on the day of Tori's rehersal dinner. She slept that night from 5:30pm until 7:30am the next day. She was fine for Tori & Russ' wedding. She started cruising!

By nine months, she was walking while she pushed things, waving bye, making different sounds. She was working on 2 more teeth.

By 10 months, Caraline was clapping, eating more table food, playing peek-a-boo, and trying to stand alone.

At 11 months, Caraline got her two FRONT teeth for Christmas, was reaching up for people to be held, & climbing on everything! She has taken a few more steps alone, but she needs an audience to perform for!:)

Today we went to the dr and she was just talking and being silly & happy! Caraline weighs 16lb 10oz and is 27 3/4 in. tall.

She is So much fun & I can't wait to see what the next year has in store for Caraline!

I love you, my sweet Caraline!

"Train up a child in the way he should go & when he is old, he shall not depart from it."

Proverbs 22:6