She's Seven!!

Well my little girl turned 7 today. She was so excited this morning for her special day. Daddy took in special cookies that I made and he stayed and ate lunch with her too.


Abby got to pick what she wanted to do for dinner and she chose Boston Market. She loves to eat there but her little brother is not a big fan so this was a big treat for her.


Here I am lighting her candles. Notice Will the multi tasker in the background. He can manage to pick his nose and provide me with instruction at the same time, my kids are truly gifted.


Here Mike tried to take a picture of the birthday girl but Will wanted to make his presence known. Abby got a pink snuggie, a custom made CD from her cousin, an invitation to make cupcakes with her other cousin and a vera bradley sunglass case. I know that last one seems strange but when she saw it in a store she was obsessed with it. It was a great day for all. On Saturday we will take 4 of her friends to CiCi's pizza followed by attending Dublin Coffman's version of HSM 2. It should be a blast.

Thankyou Lord for this precious girl. She is so tender hearted and such a friend to all. I am so grateful for how she is growing up and know I will be amazed by the plans you have for her.

What we've been up to

Well we have had a busy week. Here are some pictures of Abby at gymnastics and when we went out to get a blizzard treat while Will was with our babysitter.




This was the first time she had done a handstand on the beam, it is so fun seeing her get to try so many different things at gymnastics. She has made real improvements over the past 7 weeks



We love Blizzards and they were buy one get one free!!

This past friday was a tailgate at Abby's school. We took the whole family for pizza, cheers and some face painting. It was crowded because the weather did not cooperate but it was still fun. On Saturday the kids had soccer games and my parents and Mike's sister came over for them. Will was a soccer maniac, he was scoring goals like crazy and even dived once to block a shot on goal. Abby did a really good job of hustling up and down the field all game, no goals but she still did great. After the soccer game my in-laws picked up the kids for a fall adventure weekend. They went to a corn maze and decorated pumkins, they also got their birthday gifts from them. They were totally wiped out on Sunday.

Abby will turn 7 this wednesday. I am making some sugar cookies to take in and I think we are going to take her out to Boston Market. She always begs to go here but we usually don't as Will is not a fan. I hope to post pictures of her birthday and a birthday outing we have planned for the weekend.

Thank you Lord for a full life. Thank you for my extended family who loves to be so involved in my kids lives. I am truly blessed.

AMEN!!

**Remember to pause the music at the bottom left, then enjoy**


One of my facebook friends posted this today. You will be blessed by listening to it. What a great way to start off your week. Thank you Lord for this country and thank you that you will not abandon us despite the world rejecting you.

Proud

Well I took Will to get his haircut at Great Clips(where his daddy goes) and I was so proud of him. He sat so still, asked the stylist lots of questions and of course came home looking very handsome. We walked next door to subway and he sat quietly while I ordered. On the way out the cashier gave him a free cookie. I almost teared up when he was getting his haircut because he looked like such a big boy. It was a fun afternoon with my little guy.



Abby scored the first goal of the soccer game this saturday. She was so excited that she scored a goal and that she was the first one on both teams to do so. She is getting better each game, adjusting to the bigger fields has been a little tough on her but she is getting the hang of it slowly but surely.

I am also proud of my big brother Brian who completed the 60 mile walk in San Francisco this weekend for Breast Cancer awareness. It was rough on his body but he said it was a life changing experience. I can't wait to hear more about the amazing people he met.



I am proud of Abby and Will and how well they got along this weekend. Here they are watching Scooby Doo together while Mom and Dad watch the Buckeye Victory. It is so fun to capture these tender moments.



Lastly I am proud of my little fireman. Today was an open house at the dublin fire stations so Mike took Will over while Abby was at a birthday party. He looks so cute!!!

Thankyou Lord for a fun family weekend. Thank you for allowing me to focus on the good my children did this weekend rather than the frustrating parts. They truly are a blessing to me.

Crazy Love Ch. 2

Here are just a few quotes I highlighted from reading Ch. 2 of Crazy Love by Francis Chan.

*On the average day, we forget that our life truly is a vapor.(James 4:13-14)

*When I am consumed with my problems...I actually convey the belief that I think the circumstances are more important than God's command to always rejoice. In other words, that I have a "right" to disobey God because of the magnitude of my responsibilities.

*The point of your life is to point to him.

*A.W. Tozer once said "A man by his sin may waste himself, which is to waste that which on earth is most like God. This is man's greatest tragedy and God's heaviest grief."

***So who are you pointing to? What direction is your life pointing at? Are you consumed with things that reveal the glory of God or only things that complete your own agenda? I know I need daily reminders to stop being selfish and living a life that is all about me. What a great chapter to remind me of how easy I can lose my focus. I pray Lord that my thoughts,actions,words and time would be guided by you, that your will is done and not just squeezed into my check off list. Help me to be, as Francis Chan's book says "Overwhelmed by a relentless God" every day.

**For more discussion on Crazy Love check out this website http://bloomcommunity.ning.com/

I love it when a plan comes together!

Any A-team fans out there? Well I am not talking about my plan but of God's. I had mentioned earlier this week about studying the book of John for BSF and how my pastor taught on the same book at church on Sunday. Little did I know after that post that God was not done re-affirming the importance of the book of John in my life.

Today I went to the bookstore to pick up two books. I have recently re-discovered the joy of reading books again, that is books that aren't geared towards a 5 and 7 year old. I had heard about a bible study going on at Angie's blog called "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. I had wanted to participate in it but thought with BSF starting I would not have time. So I didn't get the book but I have watched bits of the video portion Angie and her friend have posted on the first two chapters. So today as I am looking for the book "What Difference do it Make?" by Ron Hall,I came across what else but Crazy Love. I thought to myself, God must want me to read this book so I might as well get it.

Fast forward to tonight, I decide to go ahead and read the first chapter of this book. First of all, if you think you are in awe of our God now, please go to the crazy love website and watch the video called "Awe Factor". If you thought God was big, you haven't even scratched the surface. As I read the first chapter I came across this verse, Colossians 1:16 "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him." While the verse is amazing itself, even more amazing is that I just studied this verse this morning as part of my BSF homework. This was not a coincidence or chance, it was a total God thing. How great of him to confirm to me that I am inside of his will. Being in God's word is blessing enough but that he would take the time to guide me to the passages he wants me to be in is simply breath taking.

I can't wait to see what God is going to reveal to me over the next few months. I am only two weeks into BSF and 1 Chapter into Crazy Love and I feel like shouting from my rooftop all that God has taught me. God is good, all the time, all the time he is good. Thanks God for being ever present in my journey to know more of you.

Perfect Timing?

Well today Abby had school pictures. Normally this is a very exciting today, but since last night Abby had a crash on her scooter and caught herself with her face, not so much.


This is how Abby's face looked last night after we cleaned her up.



This is how she looked today for pictures. Luckily they have retakes and class pictures do not take place until the Spring. It really could have been alot worse so we are so grateful that a few scabs is all she ended up with.

Abby was a real sport about it. She was worried about her pictures and I told her that she would have a chance to have them redone. She scuffed up her knee pretty good as well and she had already had scabs on her knees from a fall last week. Needless to say she is not allowed to play chasing games with the neighbors any more to ensure we do not have any more incidents for a while. I will be grateful for pants weather, her poor little legs are all scabbed up.

In other news I have found a great new salad kit by Dole. It is called Southwest salad and comes with dressing, cheese and seasoned wonton strips. I add fritos to it and some additional cheese and it is perfect. Tonight I made taco meat with it and we had a great taco salad. So if you are looking for something easy with a little zing then I definitely recommend it.