But a Vapor

Our Official Blog Announcment

2010-07-27T16:08:00.001-05:00

Did I bore you to death with my strand of catch up posts? Taking a break on the blog from December to July can leave for a bunch of gaps that need to be filled in. We have actually had some pretty big changes headed down the pipeline and I did not feel completely ready to share those here until a few important steps had been taken. That made it hard to write here at all.

So what is going on? We will be pulling out of our driveway on August 30th and moving to South Texas. We will be joining To Every Tribe Ministries to receive training through the Center for Pioneer Church Planting. The training will take two "school" years to complete. We will spend 40% of our time on the "field" training in Mexico and Papua New Guinea and the remaining 60% of the time is classroom training. Upon the completion of training it is our desire to work with an unreached people group, likely somewhere in Mexico or in PNG, but possibly in a newly identified region.

Over the past 3 years we have been lead by the Lord to have a desire to plant churches in regions where no churches exist. The Lord has taken our desire to know Him and follow the path He has for us and has knit our hearts closely with His desire that all the Nations know Him. He has done this through many instruments, but in particular He has used the church we attend (Grace Community Church ), His Word, and through a class called Perspectives on the World Christian Movement that was hosted by our church along with 2 other local churches. We have come to see and believe that not only are people lost apart from the gospel (though we believe this to be true), but also that Jesus Christ is worthy of worship from every tongue and tribe.

We met the founder of To Every Tribe when he came to speak at Perspectives in the Fall of 2008. After that night we made plans to visit Los Fresnos the following summer to learn more about the ministry and spend time with staff members and other missionaries. We were amazed at the way our hearts seemed to be knit together.

The vision of To Every Tribe is to bring about the worship of Jesus among people who have no access to the gospel. This is achieved by earning the right to be heard and presenting the gospel in ways that make sense within the native culture. Everything To Every Tribe does is intentionally committed to identifying, engaging, and reaching the remaining people groups who have never heard the Gospel. Currently, To Every Tribe is engaged with unreached people groups in Mexico and Papua New Guinea (PNG).

Trace has given his notice at work and his last day will be August 5th. This is one of the things that has kept me from feeling I was able to share on here what we will be doing. We have been raising support for the past several months and at our last update (at the end of June) we had raised approximately 60% of our monthly support. We continue to be awed and amazed by the faithfulness of the Lord to answer our prayers and provide for us. He is involved in the small and the large details. He is Good. We have a wonderful body of believers that are rallying around us and supporting us financially, emotionally, and spiritually.

If you are interested in supporting us through prayer or financially you can contact me an I can let you how to do that. We will be mailing out monthly updates complete with prayer requests so please leave me your email address if you would like to be added to that group. Your prayers are invaluable to us. If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.

And they sang a new song saying
"worthy are You to take the book and break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation." Revelations 5:9

Pirate Potty

2010-07-20T14:04:00.001-05:00

For months now we have talked about potty training. Trying desperately to get Andrew excited about using the potty. One day Rebecca got him to do this.

I was excited...hoping she was going to handle the whole thing for me. But I was wrong. That was the only day he sat on the potty for months. Then about a week ago I decided to pick up some Toy Story underwear and start trying to get him excited again. I cleared a couple days off to be at home and focus on this only, but Andrew was finally excited about big boy underwear. He didn't want to wait and I didn't want to spoil the excitement. In two days he was pretty much potty trained. We have had a few accidents, but he got it and got it fast. The trick for us was 4 things:
1. Waiting until he was 3
2. Bribing him with candy (I was shocked what a strong motivator this was for him)
3. Bribing him with a toy after so many successful #2's (that was a little scarier and no, I am not above bribing my kids)
4. The Pirate Potty book that I read to him on the potty and gave him stickers on his hat when he went. Meet Pirate Andrew who successfully is using the potty!!!! YAY! So proud of my big boy! Really not a baby! So Bittersweet.

July 4th

2010-07-20T13:45:00.003-05:00

Fourth of July was a lot of fun this year. We attended Father Hearts Fourth of July Celebration at the advice of several friends and we were not disappointed. We spent the afternoon eating, swimming, and with the kids playing on all the blow up slides and bouncy houses. Then we ended the night with a great fireworks show. Best part of the whole night might just have been how easy it was to leave once it was time. The traffic was not bad at all!

Daddy and his earrings

Thanks for the glow necklaces Uncle Bobby and Stacy

Daddy and Becca

Me and the olders

After we were done with the fireworks, we stopped for sparklers to do at home.

New Mexico Trip

2010-07-20T13:05:00.007-05:00

We spent a week this summer visiting Trace's family in New Mexico. We had a great time swimming in Aunt Suzan's pool, going to the zoo, going bowling, seeing Toy Story 3, and just hanging out together.

Swim time in Aunt Suzan's pool

Trip to Albuquerque Zoo

Rebecca Feeding the Giraffe

Aidan Getting a Turn (Andrew let Rebecca do it for him)

Gran with Aidan and Becca
Suzan with the 3 kids (not sure who took this picture, but please tell me how you got all 3 to look and smile...very impressive)

Gran and kids at the bowling alley
Grandpa Bob and Becca

Aidan and Grandpa Bob

Trace and His Dad

Trace and His Brother

Bobby, Stacy, and Becc

Thanks for a great time with you all! Looking forward to next time.

We Love Gymnastics

2010-07-20T12:56:00.002-05:00

Rebecca started gymnastics in January. She has learned a bunch and seems to really enjoy it. Here she is showing some of her skills.

Finishing a front roll

All smiles

Hand Stands

Doing a Bridge

On the Balance beam

First Time Skating

2010-07-20T12:42:00.004-05:00

Our first trip to the roller skating rink included some fun, laughter, a few tears, and frustration. Learning to skate is hard and trying to help two kids who don't know what they are doing is full of challenges.

Aidan actually standing on his own

Resting with his buddy Davis (these two have been friends since they were one)

The Three of us, all with smiles on

A Relay - and a break from skates...Aidan looks pretty serious doesn't he?

Limbo time

In the end I would say we will try again, but we might drag dad along with us next time.

Feild Day

2010-07-20T12:32:00.003-05:00

The Tyler home school community hosts a field day every year for the kids to be a part of. We had a great time joining in on the fun this year. It was so organized and well planned and a great excuse to get a bunch of sweet kids together for a good time. All ages got to join in on the fun.

I think she is supposed to have a potato between her knees. Not sure where it went?

Sack races

Soccer Relay (at any pace this age wants to go)
Hula hoop relay

Fill up the bucket relay

Happy 3rd Birthday to Andrew!

2010-07-20T12:10:00.009-05:00

It is hard for me to believe that my Andrew is 3. He is the baby and I may just always think of him like that! We had a great time at the Brookshire's park celebrating him with lots of sweet friends around. Get ready for lots of pictures.

Andrew and his very best friend!

These two have such a sweet friendship. They can talk and play for hours without getting tired of each other. Andrew loves him so much he made Rebecca add him to a family picture she drew the other day.

Andrew and some friends with the firetruck cake that Andrew requested

Blowing the Candles

Friends

More Friends

Me and the boys

Aunt Traci and Rebecca

Uncle Greg with Andrew and Becca

Upside down friends

The Family

With Aunt Traci

Andrew, you have an amazing ability to make us all laugh! We love you more and more all the time! Happy 3rd Birthday! Hope you have a great year! It is a gift to watch you grow up.

End of the Year Fun!

2010-07-20T11:46:00.004-05:00

To celebrate the end of the school year I took Rebecca to build-a-bear. It was a lot of fun (mostly because I got her all to myself and that doesn't happen all that often). She picked out this bunny and one outfit. It really is a cute little store.

After that we went out for ice cream! I loved our girlie time and look forward to much more time with my sweet girl!

Aidan also earned a special end of the year fun day, but his was with dad and dad doesn't usually travel with a camera. They enjoyed a great time at Fire Mountain playing with go-carts, bumper cars, and some games.

Rebecca's 5th Birthday

2010-07-20T10:09:00.004-05:00

Rebecca turned 5 in April. We celebrated by having a few friends join us for painting at Piddlin Pottery and then come over for cake and some jewelry making. We had a great time! Here are some pictures.

Sweet Friends
The girls and their painting

The Cake. Rebecca gave me know more guidance than a pink theme. So I set off to find a cute cake that I could make and that would look right pink. This is what we settled on. Pink sunglasses and pink flower cupcakes.

Rebecca learned how to read this year so we wanted to get her a grown up bible. She is so sweet and actually reads it. She has just about finished reading the 10 plagues (totally on her own initiative). Kind of a strange place to start studying your bible. Maybe she will have a good, healthy fear of our Lord.

And her Pink Razor

Rebecca, you are growing and maturing all the time. I love the girl you are becoming. You add a lot of fun and joy to our home! Thanks for being you! I praise the Lord for letting me be your mommy.

Easter 2010

2010-07-20T09:47:00.005-05:00

I Love Easter. It is such a joyous time celebrating our Savior and what he overcame through His death and resurrection on the cross. There is no sweeter name than the name of Jesus!

Here we are doing our Easter egg hunt before church!

And a few quick pictures outside church

Aidan was missing a tooth so I had to get one a little closer up.

I almost ended this post wishing you a Happy Easter but that may be a little overdue considering it is July. It is never too late to remember and rejoice in Him and the wonderful gift of salvation we can receive through Jesus! May we praise Him all year long, no matter what the calendar says. He is Good!

A Big Snow In Tyler - February 2010

2010-07-20T09:16:00.006-05:00

A big snow in Tyler? What does that really mean? This is what we got and we were perfectly content with it. I mean any snow i n Tyler is a big deal.

So we played and had a great time, but in the morning we woke to find this...

It was beautiful!!!!
It was fun!

Our friendly snowman!

Thank you Jesus for special winter treats!

The Olympics and A New Bike Star

2010-07-20T08:47:00.005-05:00

Since I am not a scrapbooker, I try to kind of keep up with our lives through the good ole blog. I have been terrible at this so I am going to try to catch up a bit on our last 6 months of life. These next few posts can all be labeled catch up posts(mostly composed of pictures) and hopefully will not bore you to death.

First up is our Greek day that we did with some sweet friends after finishing up a study on ancient Greece

We wore the Greek garb:

Had some Olympic races

Ate some Greek style snacks, pizza, and grapes with our Olive branches on our heads

Made a Greek Warriors' shield for the boys

And a weaving loom for the girls

Another big accomplishment this Spring was little Miss Rebecca learning how to ride her bike like a pro!

And She is off...

One of the many fans of our bike star this day So proud and we are too! Becca is really growing up all the time. Such a joy!

Last set of house updates

2010-07-14T16:15:00.005-05:00

Here are a few more changes to the house. Not the best quality of all the pictures, but you can see that there has been improvement (of course that would have been hard to not see).

Here is the hallway right after we moved in (everything is just dropped in that room you see).

And here is the hallway now, standing at the other end of the hall. That wooden door has also been painted white, but that was not finished yet and the basketball goal is a permanent fixture in the hallway. I think it is my 7 year olds most prized possession.

Here is the rest of the hallway...

And now bathroom #1. A close up of the beautiful wallpaper.

And here is another shot of the same bathroom. The lighting was horrible, I have no idea why you would box it in that way.

This was our solution:
And here it is once the box is removed, molding is added, and the cabinets are painted.

One last view:

Now to bathroom #2. This is a very hard room to photograph.
Here it is all painted and much improved.

One last view:

Lastly, here is Aidan's room. I don't have a before, but it was a pretty plain room. Here it is finished with my kids and nieces all piled in during our last visit

And this is the Long Overdue picture that I never posted of the boys first night in bunk beds
And sweet Andrew's first night in a big boy bed. This was taken August of last year. Can't believe how the time has flown!

So there you have it. Here is our little home. Thanks for checking in. I will keep adding updates to catch you up in the days ahead!

A Tiny Bit of what we have been up to...

2010-07-12T14:11:00.007-05:00

Hi there my dear friends! I have missed this blog of mine and I am committed to catching up a bit in the next few weeks, but since it is easier to start back with a light, surface, post I decided to post some of the changes we have made on this house of ours. We have now been here since June of last year and we have repainted every room other than one (not counting the laundry room, but that doesn't count right? I mean who wants to spend anymore time than necessary in that room). If you have any recollection we moved to this house, because it was cheaper and would help us to pay down our debt (you can read about that here). It did need quite a bit of love though. We have tried as inexpensively as possible to give it that love and I thought it would be fun to post some before and after pics. Here they are for your viewing pleasures:

Our Kitchen the first time I saw it

Our Kitchen when we moved in with new floors

The Final Product
The upper cabinets are antique white and the lower are a brown.

Here is the breakfast nook the first time we saw it.

And here it is now:

The Living Area is connected to the kitchen/breakfast nook. Here was a prior to moving in picture:

And the other side

And this is what the walls have looked like much of the time we have been here...that wallpaper was torture to remove!

Here is a finished picture. Of course I could list about 5 more things I would like to change, but I won't point them out. I think it is quite the improvement.

Here is another view

And one last look

Well, that is about it for this room. I still have plenty more to show you, but this will wet your appetite, right? And maybe just putting something up here will get me started once again. Look for me again...hopefully soon.

But a Babe

2009-12-26T12:50:00.004-06:00

The stockings are empty, the gifts are opened, Christmas has passed for this year (except for our Christmas celebration with Trace's family in about a week). Christmas is truly one of my favorite times of year. I love so many of the things about Christmas. The baking, the decorating, fun with family and friends, and all the tradition that gets packed into a couple of weeks. It is busy and can be stressful at times, but there is always so much laughter and joy. It is good. I also love to reflect on the Christmas story every year and it seems that Lord lays something new on my heart every time. This year it is the humility of the King! Oh, what beautiful humility to become a babe in the manger, to take on flesh, to walk this earth and appear as but a man. To die a sinners death, full of mockery, ridicule, beatings, spit, pain and suffering. May be never separate the baby in the manger from the man on the cross! Humility.

Do we ponder the gift long and hard? The gift of Jesus. JESUS, at this name Every Knee Will Bow. This is the same Jesus, low and in a manger. A baby, lying helpless, full of need, wrapped in human skin. Holy One, Magnificent King! So much to ponder, to struggle to comprehend. Beyond my earthly abilities to understand. Who chooses this? Chooses to come. Chooses to die. To die for you and me.

He comes as a baby in a manger, no castle for Him. He is amidst the animals and the manure. In the middle of the filth. A baby. He came this way, capable of making his entrance any way He would choose. The one who simply speaks and earth is formed. He came with no fear of getting stuck in the middle of our filth, of my filth. He became a man and dwelt among us.

Then He grows and during His time of ministering on earth, He calls people to come and follow. To take up their cross and follow Him. The King of Kings, with no place to call home. He calls follow me, to follow him to His death. Oh what a mighty warrior, who will lay it all down for you and me. To conquer death and its grip...if only we believe!

So I have pondered this humility this Christmas and I can't help but to ask, what does this mean for me? I am to model my life after Christ, to come and follow Him. How do I model humility? What steps do I need to take to become more like my King? To be found low among the people? To not appear great, but small. To not dwell among the Kings, but the filth, and with no sense of disgust but love. I pray that this year Christ holds hard onto my heart and teaches me what it means to become smaller so that He can become greater, so that He may receive ALL the glory. Lord show me how to experience true joy in humility. To be content to be low among the people.

KARATE

2009-12-22T15:04:00.004-06:00

The kids started taking karate early this fall. We signed Aidan up first and after one week of sitting and watching Rebecca decided that she wanted to try it too. She convinced us that she really wanted to do it and we let her give it a try. It cracks me up to see my little girl decked out in her Karate uniform, but she has enjoyed it and Aidan absolutely LOVES it! I cannot overstate that enough. He thinks it is the greatest thing ever and is kicking things (or even just the air) all the time. Here are some pictures that I have been meaning to post for a while.

Here is Aidan getting ready for some sparing.

This is one of the ways that the kids match up against one another. The object is to push the opponent out of the designated surface area.

And here is Rebecca sparing. Can you tell she is smiling while she is doing it. They are actually throwing punches and kicking. They spar about once a month and they get to do it both ways when they spar. This is the favorite night of the month.

And below is a video of Rebecca. It is too cute. I intended to video Aidan but my memory card was full and I couldn't delete quick enough to make room on my camera. I will try to get video of Aidan next time.

Christmas Fun

2009-12-17T13:00:00.004-06:00

Well, we are full swing into the Christmas Season! We have been busy with life, but we are all very thankful to have wrapped up school on Tuesday and we will be on break until after the first week of January. We are all very excited to have a little more free time, especially with the business of the holidays. I hate how sporadic I have been in my blogging. I often write parts of post in my head, but I never manage to get to the computer with those thoughts. They are either lost before I have time or I am too tired to write when I get the chance. I hope to get better about blogging again! I miss it. Maybe this Christmas break will give me a chance to renew my energies and start writing again...or maybe I am dreaming.

So since finishing up school on Tuesday, we took Wednesday as a day for some fun activities around here. We rented 2 Christmas movies, I gave the kids an early Christmas present from there teacher (a book for each of them) and we made these great little mangers. I found this idea online somewhere and they are perfect. They require little to no prep work and are easy to make. The kids loved them. I have always thought it would be so fun to do ginger bread houses, but we never have. This is that sort of idea, but it focuses there little hearts on Jesus which is my goal in all we do this time of year. Here are there masterpieces (be prepared to ooh and ah!):
Aidan has a Joseph to the left with the green face, Mary is to the right, and baby Jesus in the manger in the middle of them. Aidan wanted hay so we crushed frosted flakes to make the hay for Jesus to lay on. The creature to the right with the green and red is supposed to be a sheep and a shepherd is standing behind him.
Rebecca has Joseph, Mary and Jesus also. She also added a sheep (with its bottom facing you to the left) and a donkey standing to the right. The M&Ms on top are supposed to make a star.

Andrew really preferred to eat the m&ms more than anything else (you can tell by his messy face), but I helped him at least get a Joseph, Mary, and Jesus.

After finishing these the kids ate them for a snack. I was having mixed feelings about making and eating Jesus, but I remembered that He refers to himself as bread and that made me feel better about it. I tried to share this great symbolism with the kids and they looked at me blankly, but at least I felt better about it.

While we were making these, Aidan asked if we have ever made these before. We haven't, but that question warmed my heart. I remember when Aidan was a little baby and I was sitting in MOPS and was hearing all these great ideas and traditions that other families had. I craved this. I wanted to create this type of family and home that would allow them to look back when they are older and remember the things we did together when they were young. To remember us being together and enjoying life together. We started a few things and we have added some over the years, but this is the first year that I am realizing that these traditions are special to the kids too. Aidan has asked if we are going to do certain things again this year. He remembers and he wants to be a part of those fun family activities. It is a great joy to have the opportunity to share these special times with my kids. We may not always get to do all of these things, but I want them to always remember us, as a family, together!

Merry Christmas to all of you! I hope you are enjoying yourself and your family this holiday season!

Baptism

2009-11-01T08:41:00.002-06:00

Trace and Aidan both got Baptized several Weeks ago. It was a very emotional Sunday for this mommy and wife. Trace was baptized as a kid at 14 years of age, but he was not a believer. He has explained to me that he was doing what he thought he was supposed to do after talking with the youth leader at the church he was going to. He might have even been able to answer some of the right questions, but he did not know Jesus Christ. That is a beautiful thing about Christianity...it is all about a relationship. Shortly after that time Trace stopped attending church and started drinking a lot. By the time he was 25 years old he was a full blown alcoholic with nowhere else to go but to move in with his grandmother.

Trace started attending Alcoholics Anonymous and while struggling to find anything that would help him put the pieces together he ended up reading CS Lewis's Mere Christianity. Then one day he encountered the scripture that says "For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it". Right then he believed. Since that that time we have found ourselves back in the church and studying the word. Trace has felt convicted that he needed to be baptized again for a while and he did it this time (by the way, I know Trace would right this differently so please keep in mind that this is me telling his story to the best of my ability). I am so proud of him for responding obediently.

I have talked a little about Aidan's faith journey here. He accepted Christ as his Savior this summer and was eager to take this next step. I love the way baptism happens at our church. First Trace was baptized by our Pastor and then Trace was able to baptize Aidan. It is so special to get to play such an intimate part in your own child's baptism. I am praying that a deep Spiritual Heritage will flow from our generation to the next, to the next, and the next. This is such a beautiful picture of that kind of Heritage. During the baptisms an older man in our church who has a deep love for Jesus was privileged to stand with his two grandsons and their father and together they baptized the young boys. I can only begin to imagine the joy that would come in getting to baptize your grandchildren. God's loving kindness is overwhelming sometimes.

Here is a picture of Dad and son before the baptism.

And here are two in the water. Aidan is entering in the first and in the second you can barely see his head peaking over. I love these pictures (even though the quality is terrible).

Our wonderful Sunday School Class had a party to celebrate and they invited Aidan up for the celebration. This was a really sweet time for me as a mother to have other believers that Aidan did not even really know rally around our family as we celebrated. Aidan was a little overwhelmed by this detail. He could not understand why nor was he prepared to receive the attention.

And last is a picture of my kiddos and the cousins. My brother and his family made the trip to help us celebrate with Aidan. It was a wonderful time Celebrating. my heart overflowed with gladness!!! God is good and faithful to answer our prayers. The drawing of Aidan to Him is a huge answer to prayer!

Happy Birthday Aidan!

2009-10-22T14:33:00.008-05:00

Last weekend was a busy one for us here in the Hagler home. Aidan turned 7 years old on Saturday and both he and Trace were Baptized on Sunday. Friday was spent getting ready for the party, making a cake, and wrapping presents. Saturday we celebrated Aidan.

Things have been really busy for us this year with the addition of homeschooling so I decided to keep the party pretty small and we invited 3 friends and their siblings. Aidan chose to have a bike riding party and we got permission to do it at the church in the parking lot. We made name plates for the bikes and then we added two different noisemakers to the bike (bells that dangle and a paper clicker that hit the spokes as they rode). I set up an obstacle course and the kids got to each make their way through it.

Here is Rebecca with the flag sending out our first racer through the course

Go Davis

And now Andrew needed a turn

The kids had to make it through the course and then they had to drive through the silly string attacks of the other kids. This was one of the highlights for sure! Here is Aidan spraying one of his friends

Andrew even got covered in silly string

This sweet little one road way out far making it impossible for anyone to get her...very smart girl!

And here is Uncle Greg getting Andrew as he drives by.

After the obstacle course, we took a break for an easy hot dog lunch and some cake. We are so thankful for our friends that were able to come.

Here is the birthday cake

We had too much wind so we attempted to block it with the cardboard in the back ground.
And that night my brother and his family cam in town to celebrate some more. It was a great day of play and fun with Aidan. I cannot believe Aidan is 7. I know I say that every year and I mean it every year, but 7 really seems older. Aidan doesn't seem like a little guy anymore. He is growing up and developing his own personality. I completely find myself at a loss once again, but I am enjoying this stage. I love that Aidan loves to learn and is curious about everything. He loves to learn new facts about all sorts of things. Learning is simply cool at this age and for a home school mom that is super fun! I love that he is getting to a point that I can trust him more and give him a little more freedom. I love his sense if humor that is developing and even though I might not get the joke, it delights my soul to her him laugh! Aidan is such a sweet little boy. I get compliments about you all the time Aidan. You are a special boy! I love you dearly! Never forget that...I love you! I love getting to be your mommy!

I will try to write about the baptism very soon, but I think this is all I can do for now. What a special weekend!

Homeschooling in Pictures

2009-10-19T20:43:00.006-05:00

Well, I guess you can tell that homeschooling is taking its toll! The blog has become a lower priority and in all honesty I am often simply too tired to post after the kids go to bed. I have had several homeschooling activities that I have wanted to update you with. I originally thought that each one would have its own post but since we are so far behind why don't I just catch you up through pictures.

Trace has taken over the Friday afternoon History lesson for me. He gets off work early on Fridays and has been so sweet and wonderful to take this on. It is a sweet time for the kids and him too. I have been known to enjoy my Friday afternoons by running errands, reading a book, or taking a nap. It is a great time for me too!

Here is their first Friday with daddy. The first week we defined history and archeology. After the archeology lesson the kids went for a "dig" in the sand box.

They roped it off into sections and had to explore the area and see what they could discover.

Week #1 with Dad was a success!
Here are our cave paintings.

And this is supposed to be the white crown that the Pharaoh of Upper Egypt wore. It would later become part of the double crown when Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt became one.

Here is a picture of Andrew just because he is cute.

This is our attempt at an Egyptian Pyramid. We made the bricks out of sand and glue and then cut them out and arranged them to resemble a pyramid.

And this is supposed to be a Sumerian seal.

We also made a trip to the Dallas Aquarium which was super fun. We went with another home school family that we have gotten to know. They have 3 kids also and they are all within months of my kids. It is their first year homeschooling and we are doing basically the same curriculum. It has been a huge encouragement to have someone else who is on the same page we are. They had completed their study of fish and we spent a couple weeks studying fish to help get us ready for the trip. It was a fun day! Here is Becca feeding a bird.

Aidan overlooking everything.

The whole group of kids! I love this picture.

All but one of the little guys.

If you haven't been to the aquarium I would say the highlight is the shark tank. It is like a tunnel and the sharks swim above you. This picture cracks me up with everyone pointing different directions but it is pretty cool to see. My little Andrew had a few moments of panic as the sharks swam overhead so we ended up watching from outside of the tunnel. He was a bit heightened the remainder of the time at the aquarium and he didn't get to far from mom. I was completely surprised to see him react like this.

Two of my monkeys near the penguin exhibit.

And last here are a few pictures when we watched the Rose Parade. I have never taken my kids before (it usually falls on Aidan's birthday weekend and is just too much). This year we made a point to watch the parade. Here is Becca and Aidan.

And Andrew the fireman. He chose this hat for Halloween and a costume came with it. Literally, that is the way it worked. He wanted the hat and he had to wear it to the parade. I wouldn't argue with someone that adorable!

So there you have it. The last couple months in pictures. We do things that do not pertain to history or science around here, but those just aren't as fun to take pictures of. And just in case you are curious, all ideas listed about come from our history curriculum. We are using the Story of the World and I bought the activity guide to go with it. All creative ideas should be credited to the book.

Tache Kick Off

2009-09-02T22:44:00.008-05:00

This past weekend we spent some time at a Pine Cove (or "piney Cone" as Rebecca called it) campsite for the TACHE kickoff. Tache is the Home school network that we are a part of. It was a great time, and although I didn't get to meet too many new people (my kids are still much to hands on to have a ton of social time) I did enjoy the great family time. There are so many fun things to do there. Everyone had a different favorite thing. For Andrew it was probably putt-putt.

Rebecca loved her horse ride

Aidan showed his bravery and his new swimming skills off as he jumped off the high dive. I was so impressed. He wouldn't even swim more than a few feet before the summer began and now he is going off the High Dive. I just couldn't believe it!

We all also loved the fun swings and super cool, huge tree house.

Rebecca attempted the rock wall, but her legs were just too short to get her up. She gave it a solid effort though.

Aidan also took a pony ride on the trail and thought it was so fun to get to steer the horse.

It was great fun!

Hagler Academy

2009-09-02T21:10:00.005-05:00

I am way behind on my blogging! I know most of you are perfectly fine with that, but I do try to use this as a family journal and as of late this journal has been boring!!! We are halfway through our second week of school and we are not only surviving but I would say we are thriving. I have felt a sweet kind of closeness with my kids and in our home. Things are by no means perfect, I mean we have 5 people living in this house and we all have our hangups, but life is good. It seems to be the time of year when life is gearing up and things are getting busy, but there is a calm here that seems to be unaffected by the busyness.

Homeschooling has helped me to focus more on home. I am doing a better job getting laundry done, toys put away, and keeping the clutter tamed. I think I feel like I have to do a better job since this isn't just home, but also school. We aren't running around frantically and the best thing of all is that there is no mad dash to be on time to school at 8:00 in the morning. I always hated that! Now if we are running 10 minutes late or have a rough start it is OK, life will go on and we will adjust throughout the day. Having so much focused time with the kids has given me the opportunity for some much needed training time to address issues of the heart. The kids seem to be closer and be getting along better also since they are not only classmates but playmates much of the time. I am so thankful for this time that the Lord has given us where we can focus on our home, our kids, and their hearts. I truly feel like this time is a gift (talk to me 4 months down the road when I am worn out and that might be different).

I did take a few pictures to mark our first day because that is just what you do on the first day of school, right? Here are the kids in the school room. That door is a pocket door between the kitchen and school room/office and I painted it to be a chalkboard which is great fun to use.

I am going to write out our school day for my own benefit(down the road)and for those of you that are interested. If you have no interest at all; this is where you want to stop reading.

We start our school day off at 8:30 with Bible. We usually spend about 30 minutes together in the morning and we spend this time doing scripture memory, reading the story, discussing it, praying together and singing at least one praise song. It is a sweet time together and it is a time that we simply were not finding to do together when Aidan was in school. We did try to do something simple over breakfast, but the available hours were just not long enough when he was in school and if we were running behind that went out the window. We follow that up with math, phonics for Becca, spelling and grammar for Aidan, and then handwriting. Andrew loves to be a part of handwriting time and that works some of the time (until he colors on someones paper, gets corrected, and has a 2 year old melt down). He isn't actually handwriting but he has his own "book" to work in and insists on using a pencil like his big siblings rather than crayons. When I am working independently with one of the kids the other one plays in the room with Andrew. This works most of the time, but we always have unplanned breaks and interruptions to deal with some conflict or issue.

After handwriting we take a break for outside time and lunch. Then before Andrew takes a nap we all snuggle together on the couch and read. It is truly the highlight of my day! Andrew takes a nap and the bigger kiddos join me for a simple history or science lesson (I do mean SIMPLE!). Then they rest and read in there rooms and I get a little quiet time.

That concludes our school day (usually history is finished about 1:00-1:30)and the remainder of the day consists of planning for the next day, doing laundry, cleaning, cooking dinner, and running errands. The biggest struggle for me right now is finding time to get to the grocery store. I just can't seem to get that done during the day and have been making late night trips after the kids go to bed. Trace and I will have to figure out the details as time goes on.

We also have chosen to be a part of a co-op called Classical Conversations and we have loved it so far. The kids all seem to like it, they get a morning in a very structured environment and they are learning so much! Most of the families stay after class time for lunch and playtime together and we have enjoyed having this time scheduled into our week. We go on Wednesday mornings and take off those afternoons. The style and philosophy of the co-op fits perfectly into my homeschooling philosophy so far and the material overlaps and helps tie the loose ends together. I expect many hard days ahead, but I am so thankful that this is the place where the Lord has us for this season of our life.

And here are the pictures that the kids took turns taking with there new teacher on the first day.

Rejoicing with the Angels!

2009-08-11T08:16:00.004-05:00

On Sunday August 2nd Aidan came home from church and shared with me over lunch that he had become a Christian. I asked him some questions then to try to understand the message that had been shared with him at church that had brought him to this decision. Trace spent some time alone with him just to make sure he knew what it meant and what it means to be a follower of Christ.

Aidan has known the gospel, that Christ alone is able to free him from his sin, and that is why Christ died on the cross, but we were unsure that he had made a personal decision to follow. We have talked about this with him many times and have even discussed baptism, but to insure he understood the choice he was making we wanted to wait to pursue that. I think that is a hard thing to clearly see in the life of a child who grows up hearing about Jesus and all He has done for us. He has always known the right answers but when has the Lord moved in his heart to bring repentance of sin and to see the personal need for a savior. This time he made a decision and it was completely independent of us. He was able to explain to us what it meant to accept Christ as his Savior. It was so cute because for the rest of the day Aidan tried to convince Rebecca that she needed to be a Christian and that they could both become Christians on the same day. I loved his excitement and his eagerness to share Christ with others, although I am not convinced Rebecca fully understands any of it yet.

A few nights later I surprised Aidan with a cookie cake dessert to celebrate. We wanted him to know that this was a cause for rejoicing and that we were so excited that he had made this choice and we were praising God for working in his heart. After the dessert we spent some time in prayer praying for Aidan as a family. We prayed that his faith would grow and be strengthened and that he would comprehend the depths and heights of Christs love for him. I pray that he follows hard after Jesus and that his faith will be tested and proven to be authentic. It is overwhelming to know that the Lord has worked in Aidan's heart this way. I think this is the single most consistent prayer request that I have brought before my Father on behalf of my kids and to see it answered is such a source of joy. Praising the Lord for his faithfulness and the work he has done and will continue to do in Aidan's life!

A Girly Room

2009-07-27T09:31:00.006-05:00

I finished Rebecca's room last week and thought I would share pictures. I am so happy with the results and I think she really likes it too.a> Here is the view from the door.
Another picture from the door.
The other side of the room.

A close up of her stars and the "R"

Another wall with a more clear view of the stripes. I followed the patter of 5", 2", 7", and then 3" stripes to give a little variation. The light pink horizontal stripe is 10" wide. Lots and lots of taping, painting, and touching up, but happy with the results in the end.

This is the scripture board I painted for Rebecca when she was an infant. I love that I can still use it. We could use some curtains or something to soften up those cheap mini blinds, but they do the job so we will see if that happens or not.

I love kids rooms. I think they leave so much freedom to be creative. I will be working on Aidan's room over the next few weeks and will post pictures when I am done. It won't be nearly as busy as Becca's room but it will involve a few stripes. 2 rooms done and several more to go. All the fun of an older house.

Our Beach Vacation

2009-07-26T14:00:00.010-05:00

We had a great vacation earlier this month. We drove down to South Padre and had our fill of fun and sun. It was a much needed break for me. I enjoyed nap time in the hotel almost as much as the fun at the beach. It was the first time this summer I could totally relax, because there was NOTHING that needed to be done. I have been meaning to post pictures for a while. I suppose it is better late than never. Brace yourself for the picture overload!

All three amigos at the hotel pool

Trace and Aidan at one of the many seafood restaurants we ate at.

Me and Becc

And the little mister

In front of the boat we were about to board for our dolphin watch and fireworks show. I did not get to see the dolphins because of where we were sitting, but Trace and Aidan claim to have gotten a peak.

The only picture of Trace and I together...taken by Rebecca our budding photographer.

Daddy and his little girl

Hanging out on the boat. One of my favorite pictures, I just think it is so cute.
The little surfer boy heading out to catch some waves

Becca spent much of her time on her belly waiting for the waves to come and make her go. She loved splashing in the waves.

Running back to mommy

Splashing in the waves. I can't believe I did not get one single picture of Aidan and his beach bucket collecting seashells. That was a favorite activity for him and he came back home with tons. We also started calling Aidan the safety patrol while we were vacationing. Every time Andrew went anywhere near a wave Aidan got extremely protective fearing he would be washed out to sea. Andrew found this highly frustrating when his big brother would attempt to coral him.

What a peaceful view. It was loads of fun.

Rebecca and I attempted to build a mermaid out of sand. You can see her next to Becca in this picture.

We had a fantastic time and are already talking about our next trip to the beach.

A Family Date

2009-07-06T11:10:00.004-05:00

Sweet Rebecca got the idea of a "family date" from the movie Enchanted. On that movie the guy explains to the Princess what a date is and Rebecca decided she was missing out since she has never been on a "date". I love how innocent she is and that for her a family date was the perfect solution. Rebecca made the plans and we headed out for our date. We went for dinner at a small Mexican restaurant that serves pancakes all day long, which is always a hit with my kids. After that we went to the bowling alley. This was our first time to attempt bowling as a family and it was a lot of fun. Here are some pictures of my little bowlers:

Andrew bowled with me since the balls were too heavy for him alone. Here we are watching our ball go. He had a hard time waiting his turn at first, but eventually he figured out how it would work and then he did great.

And here is Rebecca...

Look at those skills

And my precious Aidan

Enjoying the game

Hello out there blog world!

2009-07-06T10:33:00.005-05:00

Just checking in to say hi...that is if anyone is still out there. It has been a terribly long time since I blogged. We have been oh so busy with our move and an attempt to reclaim a little order in our home. We have managed to get down to the last few boxes and I hope that soon I will get to begin decorating a bit.

We love the house that the Lord has provided for our family. I am very happy with the layout and LOVE being about 5 minutes away from just about everything we do. I have a long list of rooms to paint, but that will have to be a process. I am hoping to have my bedroom painted today or tomorrow( all that is left is the trim around the doors). We leave for South Texas on Wednesday. When I return completing the painting in Beccas's room will be at the top of my agenda.

We also got to go for a quick trip to Clovis for Trace's High School reunion and to visit his family. Suzan, Trace's sister, met us in Clovis also. She and Trace's parents helped out with the kids while we went attended the reunion. I have gotten so bad about taking pictures but here is one of Aidan, Becca, and Suzan during our stay. They just adore her.
Here is a picture of Trace and I before the gathering the first night.
I did finish a couple easy and quick lamp projects. I will finish by sharing those pictures. My mom recently cleaned out my grandmothers house and I inherited a few things. One was this lamp. Here it is before needing an update:

And now with a new shade and a coat of oil rubbed bronze spray paint.

I picked this up for $2.00. Red was the wrong color, but it was $2.oo so I bought it.

I bought some fabric and some black spray paint and here it is now. Please ignore the blue half painted wall. Don't worry, it won't stay like that. A big improvement for a little girls lamp and a few bucks.

I will post more before and afters of the rooms as I complete them, lamps are all I have gotten completed at the moment. Have a happy Monday!

Caught Red Handed...

2009-06-05T07:52:00.005-05:00

Or should I say brownie handed. Yesterday Aidan, myself, and the little girl who lives across the street made brownies. I set them on the counter to cool and after they cooled for a bit I gave all the kids a little piece. Andrew ate his and then begged for more. I said no, stood my ground, and watched the fit that took place. After a brief timeout in his bed, Andrew was calm and I felt victorious.

I headed to my room to pack my paint and other misc. craft supplies. All of the sudden I hear Rebecca yelling "mommy, Andrew is eating the brownies". What? He can't reach the brownies. How? I walked into the kitchen and this is what I found...

And look at this one, he almost even looks proud in this one.

He had pushed the stool over to the counter and was helping himself to some more. I only thought I was victorious. He is a very strong willed little boy.

BTW, do you think it counteracts the correction when mom is grabbing the camera to take a picture, because really it is just too cute? Ya, I do to. Oh well.

More on Homeschooling

2009-06-03T21:46:00.002-05:00

So, I mentioned homeschooling in my last post. I also mentioned many of the emotions that I have been experiencing lately with all of the change. There is no doubt that a big part of that is about homeschooling.

We started talking about homeschooling last fall. It was really more of an idea in the back of my head than anything serious. I remember thinking that I would do it if I really was convinced that was what was best for Aidan, but there was no excitement. I have come a long way since then. I am truly excited about this adventure. I know that it will be hard and it will require sacrifice and the Lord has many, many things to teach me through this adventure, but I look forward to teaching Aidan and Rebecca. I look forward to learning as I teach. I look forward to being intimately involved in what Aidan and Rebecca are learning and spending so much intentional time with them. I am excited, but I have to admit I am a bit scared and I even have had times that I know are nothing short of grieving.

My life is going to change in very dramatic ways. I will not be able to be a part of the bible study that I have done for the past 2 years and that I absolutely love. My moms in touch prayer group is not going to continue here at Higgins as far as I know and I am saddened by that. I would love to continue praying with other moms, but the Lord has not worked out the details of that yet and so this wonderfully sweet time of prayer for my kids with other women may stop. The playgroup that I have been a part of for 4 and 1/2 years will dissolve. Things are definitely going to be different. The relationships that have become very dear to me will change. I know they will continue to be close friendships, but they will be harder to maintain simply because I won't see them as much. For a while I was surprised by my sadness, but I have finally accepted that it is part of the process that I need to go through.

So much about next year is unknown and the unknown may be great, it may be better than I could imagine, but it is scary and sadness comes at the loss. I was a church a little over a week ago and we were singing and worshipping the Lord. I felt like God was meeting me in my grief. In that moment He truly was my comforter. It wasn't just a name I could declare of Him, I felt Him being that for me. It was so wonderful to feel Him reminding me that there is nothing to fear, no reason to be afraid. Yes, I will loose my bible study that has been such a vital tool in teaching me about Him, but I would NEVER loose Him. He was going with me. Yes, my relationships with those around me might change, but my relationship with Him would continue. He is going with me. As I sang that morning I had tears streaming down my face as I stood there wrapped in His embrace. Even when life feels uncertain, He is good and He never changes. What a wonderful reminder that was for me!

Tomorrow we are going to a playgroup to meet some of the families that will be a part of the coop that we are going to join for next year. It is a group that will meet together every Wednesday morning. I told the kids about it and Rebecca asked me who would be there. I had to admit that I don't know. She wasn't all that excited about that. I can relate. I want to stay in my comfort zone and be surrounded by the friends that I have chosen. I am excited to meet these women and their kids, but I am a little nervous also. It really is nerve racking when change happens, but this is the place that we have come to in life and it is the place that we believe the Lord has brought us to. I am choosing to believe that He is going with me as I walk through this time.

2009-05-29T08:58:00.005-05:00

This is the note I sent in Aidan's lunch today. I can't believe that my fist born is graduating from Kindergarten! It is wild! He brought home a "diploma" the other day to certify that he had in fact completed Kindergarten and all I could do was cry. I just can't believe how old and grown up he is. I am so excited about summer, going at a slower pace, and spending lots of time at the pool, but I can't believe how fast this year has gone. I can totally see how you could wake up one day and it all be over. It would be so easy to feel like you missed it. I don't want that to happen. I pray I will be intentional with the time I have with my kids. When they are born 18 years feels like an eternity, but then all of the sudden they are finishing kindergarten and it all happened in a flash.

End of the year is a busy time for parents of school age kids and our lives have been full. Here are some pictures of what we have been up to.

We had a hot dog picnic the other day

Then the kids played a game
that looked like mass chaos to me but was fun for them.
Next we went inside for ice cream sundays (yummy!). I just loved this picture of Aidan's classmate with the whipped cream on her nose.
The kids had dress up day and could dress up like pirates or Hawaii style. Aidan chose a pirate. I talked him into the parrot on his shoulder...I just think it is fun. They have also had favorite shirt day, glasses day, and favorite hats.
I got to be a part of field day which was super fun for everyone!
Look at the intensity on that face while he is jumping hurdles.
And of course they had tug of war. We did boys against
girls! And don't let there cuteness surprise you, they were tough!

Aidan, you have grown and matured this year. You have an eagerness about life that I love to see. You love to learn and I pray you will always have an excitement to learn about the things and people around you. You have a sweet tender heart that the Lord has blessed you with. Give all of it to Him! It is such a joy to be your mom. I am so thankful for you.

Some Changes...

2009-05-24T15:46:00.003-05:00

Life is full of change right now. I actually have so much change going on that it is hard to write a simple post and give an update. I haven't been very good about blogging and almost always that means there is a lot going on both in my real life and in my heart. Things that sometimes seem hard to put into words, but I will give it a shot.

The Lord has been very active and pressing on our hearts in many, many ways. One of those things is to get out of debt. It sounds so wise and logical when I say that, but we are not particularly wise and logical people. I hear people talk about the freedom you can experience when you are debt free and as great as that sounds I have to say that the only reason I would ever make this choice is because of the work of the Lord. I love immediate gratification. In the past I have been known to decide I wanted something and be purchasing it soon afterward. I was not opposed to credit cards. I liked the idea of travel and fun and money to be able to do those things and buy the things I wanted. I am still very prone to fall into those habits at times and for my desires to be selfish, but this is something different. I have a desire to get out of debt so that I can more fully and strategically serve my Father. This time it isn't about me. God is leading us on a path to financial freedom all for His glory and I just pray He will give us the strength to be faithful to the path He has laid out before us. The funny thing is that if I had been one of those naturally wise and logical people I might have made better choices in the past and not have needed to get out of debt, at least not as much debt. That however, is not the way the Lord has chosen to act in my life.

So several months ago we decided that we should sell our house and move into one that is cheaper. With the interest rates as low as they are there was a great opportunity to save money on our monthly mortgage. We prayed about this and really felt like that is the direction the Lord was leading. We listed our house and it sold in 3 weeks, which was pretty amazing. We then spent several weeks trying to find a place to live. That proved to be much more difficult and stressful than we anticipated, but we now have a contract on a house and we will move in just a few short weeks.

It has been a journey and we have had our moments of doubt where we questioned the whole process and why we were moving out of our home, into something that needs a lot of work. I have shed tears and been full of doubt. I have needed to cling to His promises and remember that He has gone before us and has picked out the perfect home for our family. That He never doubted if we would have a place to sleep. It has been a trial and it isn't over yet, but He has provided us a home and we are looking forward to turning it into our home. Some things that I am especially excited about are the floor plan and the location. We will literally be 2 minutes away from Trace's office. He will have so much more time with us at home. He will be able to be a part of our morning routine and will have more time at home with all of us in the evenings. I know that will prove to be a great blessing to me and the kids.

I mentioned at the top of the post that we are going through many changes and this is one of the main ones that is on the forefront of our minds, but we have also decided that we are going to home school our children next year. Aidan will be in
1st grade and Rebecca will be doing preschool work at home. The Lord is providing clarity for our family about this decision and is leading us in regards to this decision also. This post has already gotten long enough so I think I will leave a more detailed post about homeschooling for another day, but I will say that the Lord has given me an eagerness and excitement about this decision that I did not have originally. More details to come soon...

Happy 2nd Birthday Andrew!

2009-05-14T15:49:00.005-05:00

Sunday was Mother's Day and I found it very fitting that we would also be celebrating Andrew's 2nd birthday on that day. After all, he is one very important reasons that I am even privileged enough to get to celebrate Mother's Day. Trace gave me some time away on Friday night and all day long on Saturday. It was a wonderful and encouraging time for me (but I will write more about that later) then on Sunday we had my mom, dad, and younger siblings join us for dinner to celebrate both Mother's Day and the very Special Birthday boy. I simply cannot believe Andrew is two. It was a pretty simple gathering with a few presents, cupcakes, and ice cream. Here is Andrew when we sang Happy Birthday to him.

And this is the only picture I got of him smiling. He was much to distracted for pictures.

Andrew, you are such a gift from the Lord. I treasure my time with you. You are a strong personality and you can go from making me laugh and smile, to just about pushing me over the edge . Life with you is never boring and I am getting to learn more about humility with you every day. One of the most consistent prayers that I pray for you is that you would grow into a man of tremendous self control, because (let's face it) it will definitely take the hand of the Lord to accomplish that. I also pray that you are captivated by the heart of God and you follow hard after him. Nothing would delight me more than to see that come true and I trust that the Lord has already began a work in your heart. I love how you look around and try to bow your head when we pray at the dinner table. You are so eager to be a part of everything that happens around you. You love to play with your big brother and sister. You have been learning new words daily. You mimic everything you hear and really think you are contributing to all our conversations. You have grown to love to read books. You run to retrieve a book and eagerly present it to me to read to you. Reading with you is such a fun thing to do. You still love to play cars and now have developed an interest for animals. Your very favorite thing in the world is to play outside. You enjoy getting to "wing" (swing) and you love playing ball of any type. Your baths are one of the highlights of your day and are quite wet for anyone in the room. You love to splash and swim in the water. I can't wait to see what you are like at the pool this summer. It is such a blessing to be your mommy! I love you more than I could ever begin to put into words!

Late Easter Pictures

2009-04-29T06:00:00.004-05:00

I never uploaded my Easter pictures and I thought that grandparents would enjoy seeing them. Here are just a few pictures I took. I love how Becca is looking at Andrew in this one.

The Boys

And them with there baskets (I tried to do small simple things this year and each of them got a pair of summer shoes in there baskets, just trying to be practical).

We had a great Easter and have had a busy few weeks. I really will try to post again really soon, maybe even this afternoon (but don't hold your breath, I have been really bad about that).

I wanted to add a cute little story about Becca. Andrew has had bad allergies lately so I was giving him a dose of Benadryl last night to help him sleep and Becca asked for some medicine. I told her she couldn't have any because she isn't having any allergies. To which she protested...I never get to have allergies, I want allergies! The things they say.

It made me laugh.

Happy Birthday Rebecca

2009-04-22T13:55:00.010-05:00

We celebrated my sweet Rebecca's birthday a few weeks back on Easter weekend. It is so hard for me to believe that she is 4 already! Seriously, where does the time go? She is so smart and such a joy to spend my days with. She has the most contagious laugh and she giggles all the time. I have called her the little mommy because she tries very hard to boss the boys around and she has taken that name on for herself with pride.

Since her birthday fell right after Easter we decided to do an Easter themed party. It was fun to plan and I think the kids had a good time. Here are some pictures from the day.

We made bunny masks.

These are Dough Ornaments that I made for the kids to paint. They got the small ones and we put them on ribbon to make necklaces.

These are what mine looked like after I painted a couple as an example.

These are some of the artists.

Another table painting.

And the last table.

We did bunny hop races. Here is the first group.

And the younger group.

I ordered these online and the kids got to color there own bag.

Here was the egg on the the spoon relay. Andrew really thinks he is going to be a part of the relay, he is back there waiting in line.

Finally we had a scavenger hunt that lead the kids to the front yard for the traditional Easter egg hunt.

They all gathered in the front yard before taking off in all different directions to claim their eggs.

The hunt is on.

Even Andrew found some eggs.

Here are my bunny and flower cupcakes.

Singing to the birthday girl.

And a final game of duck, duck goose to finish off the party.

After the party ended we got to open some presents with family inside. She was a little excited about this.

Rebecca had a great time. Thanks for helping us celebrate her! Rebecca, you are a gift from the Father and I am so thankful to get the privilege of being your mommy! I love you very much my big 4 year old!

A Sweet Lesson on the Father's Love

2009-04-02T12:07:00.004-05:00

This morning on the way to take sweet Aidan to school, I had a sudden and unexpected encounter with a 16-year-old boy. He was on his way to school, the roads were slick, and he slid right into the back of me when I was stopped at a light. The damage to the mommy mobile isn't all that bad. The kids were understandably frightened but not injured. We got out and this kind, polite boy asked if everyone was OK. He was obviously upset, but he handled himself very well. We called the police and then He decided he needed to call his dad. His dad drove over and was visibly frustrated. You could hear it in his voice as he reprimanded his son. He wasn't necessarily inappropriate and I wouldn't have expected a father to behave any differently. It wasn't long before we were on our way. The father and the son both apologized and I left.

I was on my way home and I was reflecting on that teenage boy. I remembered making HUGE mistakes and having to make the dreaded phone call to my own father. I remember having to listen to him as he told me that I just needed to think, to use my head, slow down and stop making careless mistakes. Sometimes these conversations were based in love and sometimes it was just too frustrating for my dad to be able to remain calm. I was thinking about how that feels, to know you messed up, to know there will be consequences, to feel little bitty, and at the same time to have to listen to someone explain to you what you did wrong. With every word spoken you shrink further into self doubt and inability.

The next thing that occurred to me was the reaction of my Heavenly Father when I come to Him after making a mistake or choosing to act in sin. He never feels the need to Lord our sins over us. He let's us come, repent, and soak in His grace. He is so good, He is a merciful and compassionate God who beckons us to come and sit at His feet and take our fill of His love, His unconditional, limitless love. I am so thankful for the love of the Father! I am thankful for the way He speaks to me in the midst of my daily life and whispers His sweet truths to me.

When we come and repent we aren't promised that we will never suffer the consequences of our behavior (that would not be just) but we are guaranteed that we will find love, forgiveness, and acceptance in the midst of our sin filled existence. The next thing that occurred to me is how powerful it would have been in my own life after one of those "huge mistakes" if my father would have come to me and not said a word, but wrapped me in his loving embrace, knowing what I did was wrong, careless, and even stupid. What if he never felt the need to even tell me that, but yet he loved me through it. What if that father today had loved his son through it, never even speaking a critical word. What a powerful reflection of the Father he could have been.

I have found myself pondering my parenting today. I think there is a time and a place for me to correct, train, and teach my kids, but sometimes the most effective thing I can do is wrap them in my loving embrace and love them through it. That doesn't mean that we protect them from the consequences of the behavior, but sometimes we already know the mistakes we made...all we need is to know that we are loved in spite of those mistakes. Ephesians 4:29 is a verse that I have been praying and meditating on lately. It has application to EVERY single area of my life, but I have been specifically praying to see that verse become true in my home. I so desire our home to be place that encourages my family, that builds them up and gives them a safe place to fall when they do fall. The lesson that the Father had for me today directly relates to building a home environment that allows my husband, our children, and our family as a whole to not only survive but to blossom. I pray that in His strength I will be able to reflect the love of the Father more clearly in my own parenting.

Our Sweet Nest

2009-03-31T06:41:00.003-05:00

Look what we found! The kids and I were both terribly excited to discover this nest perched atop of the speaker that hangs in the corner of our back porch. I have been repainting the porch so the nest had to come down. We enjoyed getting to admire nature.
I am terribly sad to report that I don't think momma bird has been back. I haven't told the kids that but I think we got a little too close (and they were so careful to not touch). I am feeling a little guilty, but sure did love the chance to share this beautiful glimpse of God's creation with my kids.
This is a random picture that Trace took of Aidan. Aidan was sulking and Trace thought it would be funny to get out the camera and take his picture. Sure looks like it turned his spirits around.

A glimpse into my head

2009-03-24T16:57:00.005-05:00

Random thoughts in my head recently:

1. Running 6 miles after not running in weeks is not a good idea, for any reason, especially in a hilly neighborhood. I am sure I will feel that even more strongly tomorrow.

2. Someone should follow me around with a video camera when I run. I am awfully jumpy and I am sure it would make for some great TV viewing. If someone honks their horn when they pass by I am totally and visibly startled. Today I literally screamed for my life when a dog ran up behind me, from out of nowhere, with no warning, and tried to smell my feet. I looked back to see the owner bent over with her mouth covered, not sure if she was laughing at me or not but I sure found the humor in it pretty quickly (at least after I realized I was in no danger).

3. I heard some very disturbing news announcements on the radio today. The first is that the morning after pill is available to anyone 17 years or older who would like to use it with no prescription at any drug store. Seriously...17? Most 17 year olds haven't even graduated form High School yet. I knew about the morning after pill but I had no idea it was so readily available. The second is that there has been a law proposed in the State of Texas to limit the punishment of a mother who suffers from postpartum depression and murders her baby during the first year of their life to a maximum of 2 years in prison. You can read more about it here. This article does discount the likelihood of this happening, but it is still disgusting to see that lack of value placed on our babies. It is truly disappointing to think that a mother would barely get a slap on the wrist for such a heinous crime. I realize postpartum depression is real and very difficult, but it does not remove all responsibility for actions taken. This is appalling to me.

4. I have been thinking a lot about repentance today. I have thought about the negative connotations that we place on the word repentance. That people often don't want to or like to repent, but I have been realizing what a loving thing this is. The Lord is gracious with us and oh so patient. It is His kindness that leads to repentance. We have been called out of darkness into light. We are no longer slaves to sin and in His mercy He allows us to repent and turn from sin and live in Christ Jesus. How is this a bad thing? The Lord has been showing me some areas of pride and a lack of humility. He has been nudging me to come to Him with a repentant spirit and turn from those things, to return to Him. What greater gift is there?

5. Rebecca, Andrew, and I spent some time looking for invitations and gathering supplies for Rebecca's Birthday in a few weeks. I can't believe she will be 4 and soon after that Andrew will be 2. It is simply crazy. I have no better words than that. I can still vividly remember coming home from the hospital with my fist baby and now I have 3 and the youngest is really more of a toddler than a baby! Sometimes it breaks my heart, sometimes I eagerly await the future, and sometimes I am able to just rejoice in the moment.

6. Aidan is almost done with Kindergarten. Enough said!

7. God moves through prayer in powerful ways. A few weeks ago I was able to spend some time in prayer with another woman, praying about her marriage, and her kids, and just life in general. It was a powerful time of prayer and I knew the spirit was with us. That time was amazing, but the more amazing part is the way the Lord responded. I can't go into details, but man is He good. What a privilege to see the hand of God move in anothers life in such clear ways.

8. Sometimes rainy days are good. The rain can force us to slow down and be together. I am loving this rainy afternoon!

9. Rebecca said the cutest thing the other day. I was in the other room and I heard her say "gross, Andrew bless youed on me" I thought that was simply precious!

10. Aidan told me that he wrote a song to God in his journal at school the other day and he told his class about it at share time. It was pretty deep. It went something like this..."I love you, God". Not sure he will be getting any contracts based on his unique song writing abilities but, it just melts my heart. I pray daily he grows into a man who loves God with all his heart. Childlike faith is such a beautiful thing! I love that he wrote this and that he was willing to share it with his class.

10. Our mission trip to Mexico this summer got canceled due to the violence that is occurring around the border and I am terribly bummed. I do want to make wise, safe decisions, but I am still sad that we won't be going back this year. I was looking forward to the trip for so many reasons. I was so confident that the Lord had this trip for us but I guess He has other plans. I am looking forward to discovering what those are.

Our Visit with Bob and Gran

2009-03-24T14:31:00.005-05:00

I mentioned that we were able to spend some time with Trace's parents over Spring Break. It was such a wonderful treat for us to get to have both Trace mom and dad here with us and to invite them into our home and our life for a few days. This was the first time that Trace's dad has been able to make the trip to Tyler. I know it took a lot of effort to get here but we sure enjoyed having them and the kids loved the extra attention. Most of the time we just sort of hung out around the house. Rebecca loved having Gran here to push her on the swing, Aidan got to show off his bike riding skills, and Andrew played hard like always. We played some games, ate out several times, and we got to take Trace's parents to church with us. I think they liked it. Here are a few pictures from their visit:

And our special trip to Chucky Cheese:

They played some games

Aidan was the only one brave enough to take a picture with Chucky
Riding some rides

And doing a bit of dancing.

Thanks Bob and Gran for a fantastic visit! You are welcome anytime! We LOVED having you here.

Breaking the Silence

2009-03-17T12:50:00.004-05:00

WOW! This has to be the absolute longest I have ever gone without posting. I don't know if I can even call myself a blogger anymore? I don't even have a good excuse. We have done a few projects around the house, hosted my in-laws for a few days, and have just felt busy, but more than anything I just haven't had much to say. And once I got out of the habit of making time for this blog it has been super hard to pick it back up. I guess writing is just like anything else for me and if I don't do it for a while I loose my momentum. So this is my attempt to break the silence and jump back in. I hope to become more regular again.

We have lots of potential changes that I would love to share with you and I have many things on my mind...if I can just gather the words to write about them. The kids are good. Aidan is starting up soccer again and LOVES to spend time outside riding his bike. Rebecca is into drawing and writing random letters all over the pages and Andrew is...well, Andrew is into everything! We very rarely have a dull moment around here and there are many emotions felt during the course of a day. Well, the silence is broken. I plan to post again soon.

Oh ya, Happy St. Patrick's Day. Cheers to you all!

Here are the kids with Green Milk in honor of St. Patrick's day.

Thoughts on Prayer

2009-01-30T14:11:00.005-06:00

I wrote a while back about how the Lord is pressing on my heart to be more intentional about prayer. It is an area of focus for me this year. I started a prayer journal for me to have a place to go and write down my prayers so that I can come back later and look at the Lord's faithfulness. One of the very first days in my journal I remember praying and asking the Father to teach me how to pray. I have tried things before and have always struggled because there are so many people and things I want to pray for and about. Soon after asking the Lord I felt him press upon me a desire to make some list. I asked him to show me what and who to include. I soon had a list of people I wanted to remember to intercede for regularly as well as ministry opportunities and personal requests I wanted to pray about. I don't try to pray for everyone and everything daily. I work my way through the 6 separate lists and I pray for the next thing on each list. Other than that I trust the Lord to press upon my heart other things I need to specifically pray for that day. He has been faithful to do this many times already.

As a mom of three kids, a wife, a friend, a daughter, a sister, a daughter-in-law, a sister in Christ, and a light to unbelievers, I have many roles to fill and many opportunities to be an ambassador on Christs behalf, but I can go days and even weeks without praying specifically about these roles. I have ideas about the type of mom I want to be but I often forget to ask the Lord for His strength, grace, patience, kindness, and servant's heart in this role. I forget at least until I feel stretched and spent and I am soaking in doubt of my ability to be a mom. I know the type of wife I desire to be but I don't pray about that nearly enough. Just wait until I am hurt, isolated, harsh, and resentful in my marriage and all the sudden I am on my knees begging the Father for his help. This is true of all the roles I listed above. I desire to do the work of the Father, to live my life in a way that gives glory to His name, but I fall short over and over again. I know in my head I will fall short if I try to go it alone, but I still try until I prove to myself once again that I am nothing without Christ. I have to have Him daily intervening in my life and I need to pray and ask for that intervention.

It is amazing that as I pray for my heart to be more servant-like I find ways and opportunities to be a servant in my everyday life. As I seek the die to myself more I realize that when a sweet little boy wants to be held and I need to sweep the floor and finish my to-do list so I can relax, that I can choose to die to self and snuggle with that child. I can find God in the midst of the mundane and I can follow Him more closely. I have experienced greater fullness of God as I have found ways to set aside more time to pray. I have learned the pleasure of interceding on behalf of my kids, husband, other family and friends. And the greatest treasure is that I have learned more and more about why I must depend on Him fully and pray more regularly. It has been a joy filled journey of seeking the Father through prayer this month. There have still been days when I oversleep and don't get that extended time of prayer, or I try to pray at night and drift off to sleep. Even with more intentional prayer my sin still creeps up and I get frustrated with my kids and snap at my husband. I still can be critical of others and judgemental, but I can tell a change. I really believe that prayer is largely about changing me, shaping me to be more Christ-like. It helps set my mind on the things above. It focuses my priorities and it helps me to live in the hope that is before me and that Hope is Jesus Christ.

Lord, take this year and make it my greatest year of prayer yet. Please keep me faithful and diligent to seek you and spend time with you through prayer. Help me to be more disciplined in the way I choose to live so that the things that creep in, the busyness of life, won't quiet my hearts desire to pray and the ability to actually find the time to devote to prayer.

Red, and Yellow, Black and White, they are precious in His sight

2009-01-22T13:23:00.004-06:00

This week is the sanctity of human life week. As a mom of three living children, who suffered the loss of a miscarriage, I believe in the sanctity of human life. I can remember being in the hospital, going through a delivery and then and holding a small basket on my lap with Trevor in it. What could I do but to cry? I cried and I grieved for many days in the months that followed his birth. Just recently we were driving through Lubbock (which is where I lived when I lost this baby) and we drove by the doctors office where I was told that there was no heartbeat and in an instant my mind went back to that moment. I could feel the feelings I felt that day, I could remember conversations that were had. It is a very real loss of a very real child! It is a child that never lived outside of my womb, but as I gazed into that basket I knew the loss of a child.

The only reason I share this is because the Lord has changed my heart on this issue through my life experiences. I can remember having conversations with those around me and coming to the conclusion that a woman has the right to choose. It is her body and her life. I now believe that each and every child is formed by the very hands of God. I believe that each and every child is precious in his sight. I believe that these babies have no voice. When a mom claims to have the right to choose, her voice is heard but the baby must remain silent. It is an atrocity. It is wrong and we, as a society, turn our heads the other way and allow this to continue while we say and do little. Every year in this country 1.5 million babies are aborted. That is a startling statistic.

I am very uncomfortable writing these words. I know that there may be people reading this who have made that choice to abort. I am not passing judgement on you! I believe that we serve a God who is both righteous and forgiving. I believe that we serve a God who wants you to seek Him about this issue so He can forgive you, so He can love you, and so He can comfort you. He offers grace and mercy and I pray that my words are also seasoned with mercy. If you are struggling the pain from a past abortion please look into this study and look into the healing the Lord has to offer you and if you are willing to share this with me I would love to pray with and for you. Please feel free to email me privately at christahagler223@hotmail.com.

Please join me this week and throughout the year in prayer for Our Nation and Our President on this issue. Melinda is asking us to commit to praying for President Obama's heart on this issue every Monday morning. She will post a scripture on Sunday night so that we can pray over this topic in unity. Will you consider being a part? I will leave you with this short video...

A New Look

2009-01-17T22:27:00.004-06:00

My blog just got a total revamp thanks to my sweet, creative, talented friend Brianna. The old header was replaced by more current pictures that were taken recently when we visited the Saban family. Brianna is a great photographer and I get super excited whenever she takes our pictures! Too bad she doesn't live closer, but if you are ever in the New Mexico area let me know and I will connect you. It would be worth it!

Brianna made the header for me and I love it, however it made the old background look funny so I changed it. I like this one much better. Change is good from time to time. Brianna has some more pictures of our family posted on her blog. Go check them out if you would like and while you are there take a look around and tell her how much you like her work. We all like to get our feathers fluffed every once in a while and she deserves it! You Rock Bri!

A Sweet Shower for a Sweet Friend

2009-01-16T13:37:00.006-06:00

Last weekend I got to help host a baby shower for my sweet friend Meridith. It was so much fun. I have known Meridith for a long time, since first grade maybe? I know that I knew her in third grade because I attempted to kick her out of the talent show dance that me and some other girls were making up. Oh ya, I was mean like that in the third grade. No good reason, just plain mean. As you can tell our friendship has endured many trials over the years. We try to avoid the talent show competition conversation, but I think we have moved beyond that. Right Meridith? Anyways, she is pregnant with her first baby. A sweet baby boy should arrive soon. It is so fun to see my childhood friends finally joining me on the motherhood adventure (oh, how I kid).

This shower was super fun because the hostesses were long time friends. I don't necessarily talk to them all that often, but we are able to just pick right back up. Those types of friendships are so great and comfortable. They are also rare and I think they are a beautiful picture of unconditional love. Despite life, differences, and conflict, these relationships remain. Thanks girls for being that in my life! I think you are all fabulous!

Well, I did want to just write a bit about my girls but I also wanted to share with you some of what we did at the shower. It was one of my favorite showers to be a part of and so I thought I would share the ideas and maybe you can use them one day too.

We painted bibs, burp cloths, and onesies. Allison came up with the idea and I think it is precious. She made this sheet to be suggestions for people and then we each got to paint something.

Here are a few of the pictures of the work that was done. Allison painted the Longhorn and I was glad because Meridith is a Texas graduate and a HUGE fan. I told Allison it was the first thing I thought to do for her but that my allegiance to Texas Tech wouldn't let me.

I did this one:

Here are a few more:

Aren't they cute? Are you adding this to your shower idea list yet? Too bad I can't take credit for the idea, but I love it and I have every intention of stealing it.

Here is a picture of a group of us girls:

The Allison I referred to above is the brunette on the left. She and her husband own the local Smoothie Kings (go buy a smoothie from them!). She and I used to get chased by dogs on a regular basis when we were growing up. We lived in the same neighborhood as kids. She is super sweet. When we were wrapping everything up she made the comment that we are great to throw a shower with and I replied by telling her she was great, because she does almost all the work and pretty frugally! Thanks Allison.

Then there is Stephany who is soon to married! Congratulations Steph!

Allison in the blond is in the middle next to me. Our friendship doesn't go back quite as far (which may be a good thing since I was a little nicer maybe), but we have known each other since junior high. She is my friend that I asked you all to pray for when she lost her baby nearly a year ago and yes if you can tell that is a pregnancy bump under that shirt! Words cannot express how happy I am for her! She has been through so much and she just keeps pressing on! I love her and am thankful to be a part of her life.

Meridith is the pregnant girl next to Allison. I am so excited for her and I can't wait to meet Riley. So fun to see her become a mama! It was fabulous to see her for the shower and even better to grab a cup of Joe after the shower and chat. I can't wait to hear how this baby rocks her world. It will be in a good way, but these kiddos have such a tendency to shake things up a bit! Praying for you and baby to have a healthy delivery!

Then there is Kim with red hair. She is the next one we plan to be throwing a baby shower for...right, some day soon?

And last is Lisa. Lisa is a mom of two sweet girls and everyone agrees she is so fun to be around. I'm just not around her often enough.

This is the letter that I made for Riley's room. These are so cheap, easy, and a great baby shower gift. They are made out of a premade letter at a craft store, scrapbook paper, and modge podge. I actually get to finish the rest of the name and Meridith will use them in the room. What a fun project for me!

Girls, we really don't do this enough? Why does there have to be a special occasion to get together? We should do better.

A.T.H.

2009-01-14T14:25:00.005-06:00

Sweet Andrew Thomas is 20 months old. I have been wanting to do a blog post all about him for a while now so here goes...

He is a ball of energy. He loves all things boy. He runs, jumps, and climbs all the time. He is super sweet and has a smile on his face much of the day, but just tell him no if you want to change that! He really believes that he should get his way ALL of the time!

He is silly! He loves to make faces at people and mimic all sorts of noises. He has the most precious giggle and he loves people! He chases his brother and sister around and likes to sword fight with them even when they aren't ready or looking. He is one tough little guy! He falls more often and harder than any child we have had. He wants a hug and a kiss with a little sympathy and then he is good to go. He has had weeks at a time when he has had a knot on his head from a fall and he repeatedly hits it and makes it worse and more bruised looking. He loves to play with balls and to play cars. We have this large storage tub full of cars and he drags it down the hall to me to have me open it for him almost daily. He will sit and make and engine noise with the cars for large chunks of time.

He is learning to talk more clearly. He says many words, but a few that come to mind are NO, chok (this is my attempt to spell how he says OK), doggie, where daddy (with arms out as if asking), ba(ball), and Chadow(Shadow- which is Gran's dog).
He loves to be outside and the minute someone is near the door or talking about going he is at the coat closet trying to get someone to give him his coat. He could stay outside all day long. He climbs and slides, and swings to his little hearts content when we go to the park.

He is super sweet! He doesn't sit still for long, but I cannot tell you how many times a day he comes to me, climbs in my lap, and gives me a kiss (which is just when he pushes his closed mouth to my face). He even will come and put his face in mine so we can rub noses. Absolutely adorable. What joy these moments bring to this mom's heart! He is the baby and he has captured a special place in my heart! I adore him. I laugh at him over and over during the day. He is a precious gift from above! God, thank you for Andrew. May we never take even a moment with him for granted!

New Year Focus

2009-01-14T08:17:00.004-06:00

Well, it is now the 14th of January and I am finally getting around to writing a New Years Post. Probably not the best start, but I guess that is OK. I talked to Trace about resolutions and he said I don't "do" resolutions, but he has joined a gym in the past week and we as a family have been doing a few things differently since returning from our trip. I just laughed at his resolve to not participate in resolutions. I am sort of the same way and I am not sure why, however I know that this year the Lord has placed a few things on my heart. I saw around blogland that people were choosing a word for the year to focus on and some even have chosen a word for every month. I began thinking and praying about this year and asking the Lord what he wanted to press on my heart and what areas he wanted to be a focus for me.

He has given me two words: prayer and belief. The Lord has been directing my heart to more intentional prayer for the past couple of years. It has become clear to me that I need to be setting aside more time for prayer, for time with my Savior. And going along with that is the idea of belief. These two things are not separate. When I pray I must pray in belief. I must realize that I am approaching the King of All, nothing is beyond His reach. There is nothing that cannot be overcome through His power. We are allowed to enter the throne of Grace in boldness. I must have greater understanding of who I am praying to! I believe greater knowledge of who He is will radically change my prayer life.

I have said for a long time that I tend to either be bible heavy or prayer heavy, but that I don't do both well at the same time. The Lord has been merging these two things together in a beautiful way. He is teaching my that time in His word leads to time in prayer and it teaches me how and what to pray. If I pray God's word for myself, my kids, friends, and family then I can be pretty confident that I am praying God's will. I am not assuming to have this all figured out and it is definitely an area that I need to grow in, hence the focus of the year for me, but the Lord is faithful to draw us near as we ask. I remember last year that Trace prayed that the Lord would make us a praying family. What a gift to see the Lord answering that prayer.

Our church has begun the New Year with a focus on prayer. I am so excited to have this confirmation and to be a part of this 4 week series. At the end of the series the congregation will be encouraged to read a book by Kay Arthur that is called Lord, teach me to pray in 28 days. I have decided to read the book and would love to know if you would be interested in joining me. It is always helpful to know others are coming along beside you. Let me know if you are interested.

Help...we have a crisis here.

2009-01-12T16:30:00.004-06:00

Aidan got a Nintendo DS for Christmas and it is hands down every one's favorite gift this year. Rebecca loves to play it while Aidan is at school and I have been fine with that so far, but today she played with it and now it has mysteriously disappeared. It is nowhere to be found. We have searched the house. I am sure it will eventually turn up, because I know it is in this house, but when and where is another story. I have told Rebecca so many times that she has to be careful and respectful with things in general, but especially other peoples things. I think this is a great teaching opportunity, but I am not at all sure how to handle this.

So far I have taken away Rebecca's 3 favorite toys. They are in my closet. I told her I don't know when or if she will get them back. She has spent the last 45 minutes in her bed sulking. I am honestly soliciting your thoughts on this. What message am I teaching her? What would you do? If we can't find it should I sell her toys to buy him a new one? Help...I don't know what to do. I want to use this to shape her heart, but I am not sure the best way. I am also very frustrated. This is the most expensive toy we have bought and now it is gone. I don't want my knowledge of costs and materialism to seep into this. Give me any thoughts. Don't hold back (well, as long as you are still kind).

***Updated to add - We found the DS a few hours later. It was stuck back behind the TV. I have told Rebecca that she can choose one item everyday to get back as long as she can be responsible with the things she has and will make sure they are put away in a safe place when she is finished playing with them. We have chosen 2 safe places for the DS where it can easily be found the next time some one is looking for it. We will see if this was a moment that helped her understand better or not. She also has to earn back the right to play with Aidan's DS. So the issue has been resolved and I have fumbled through it but I would still love your input and thoughts about how you would handle something like this. If it was Becca's toy it would be so simple, it would just be gone. The hard part was that it isn't her toy, but rather her brother's favorite toy. So will you play along with this scenario and give me some fresh thoughts?

Catching Up with many pictures!

2009-01-12T10:33:00.009-06:00

Sorry about my disappearance...my little out of town blogging break turned into an in town blogging break. This past week was long and tiring for all of us and I had many things to do to get our home back in order. We also got the privilege of making 2 trips to the doctor last week, which literally is THE BIGGEST time sucker ever. I am amazed at how long it can take to get in and out at the doctors office! One appointment was just a 6 year check up for Aidan (that I had to reschedule after completely forgetting to go) and the other was to get Andrew's ears checked. He did have an ear infection and has been on an antibiotic for about a week. Well, enough about all that boring stuff. Let's do a little catching up.

We enjoyed our time in New Mexico with Trace's family. We spent several days in Clovis with Trace's mom, dad, and his sister. The kids got to have their 3rd Christmas there. They were truly spoiled this Christmas between everyone. Everyone got something that they loved and have played with, but Rebecca was given a jewelry box by Gran (Trace's mom) and some new jewelry that she has carried around with her everywhere. When she opened her necklace she said "this is what I have been waiting for". So cute and easy to please. Sometimes I think that we overdue things for our kids, because we don't understand how easy to please they can really be. This year I have been challenged to realize that much of our gift giving is really more for me than them. We have resolved to have a more simple Christmas next year, especially in regards to the gifts we give to our children. We are still praying about what that looks like for our family, but we know that our kids do not "need" all that they receive. It was so fun to see them open their presents, but there were moments that I could see that they were completely overwhelmed and unsure of what to do next. I have this tendency to compare what we do and call it small compared to people who do more, rather than just looking at what is right for this little family of mine.

After our time in Clovis we went to Albuquerque where we spent time with Trace's best friend from college and his family and then also at his sister's house there. We always enjoy our time with the Saban family. They have 3 precious boys and we always have real, good conversation with them. I love their openness, honesty, and the fact that they just crack me up! We always stay up much too late when we visit! Then we spent a few days with Trace's sister and enjoyed a great trip to the aquarium. The kids have all fallen in love with dear aunt Susan. Here are a few pictures of our Albuquerque fun.

Attempting a family picture at the aquarium

Susan, Aidan, and the Jellyfish

Susan and all the kids, Trace and I just sat back and watched.

Andrew makes a slam dunk

Sweet Asher clapping for himself and his big shot!

Parker and Becca playing Guess Who

Somehow I got no pictures of the adults or Spencer - we have got to do better next time!

When we returned to Clovis Trace's dad wasn't feeling great so he sort of hung low. We hated not getting to enjoy our time with him. The kids loved hanging out with Gran, playing games with their family, both on the computer and off, and getting dessert everyday while we were gone. Here are some pictures from our time in Clovis.

Aidan, Becca, and Gran (Gran says she hates pictures of herself so she will probably kill me for posting this, but I think it is sweet!)

Andrew and Grandpa Bob

Aunt Susan and Andrew

Oh ya, I almost forgot. Andrew got his first haircut in Clovis and he hated it! He didn't have much to cut but he had a fuzzy tail that needed to go so we said goodbye to it with many tears.

He cried so much we tried this.

Sitting with mommy didn't help all that much either. He wanted them to leave him alone!

We finally made it back to Tyler late Saturday night. We stayed indoors all day Sunday, trying to unpack and rest. School started Monday as well as all our normal activities so we were off and running. By Friday we were all worn out. This weekend was pretty laid back and was much needed. I think we are finally hitting our stride again.

It May Not Be Pretty Cake....

2008-12-25T22:48:00.004-06:00

But it was sure a fun one to make! Every year we make a Jesus Cake and sing to Him! It is a sweet simple tradition that helps us remember Him, Our Lord and Savior. This year we had to do half chocolate icing and half white because my kids are truly polar opposites in every way. I let them take the lead on this and do as they please, then we all sing and eat!

I think Andrew likes our tradition...what do you think?

I pray you had a great day, enjoying the Celebration of our King! Merry Christmas Friends! We are leaving town in the morning and I doubt I will update for while. Just in case I don't get a chance I will go ahead and wish you a Happy New Year.

***If you can find a few minutes to read this article that was written up on ESPN then go do it. You will be blessed! What a beautiful picture of Christ honoring love...this is not your typical sports story. And just in case you are curious, no I do not read the ESPN website. My husband found this and told me about it. It blessed me, so now I hope it blesses you.

Christmas #1

2008-12-22T10:09:00.006-06:00

We hosted Christmas with my side of the family here at our home. My brother, his wife, and girls came down and my parents and younger siblings all came over. We spent the day together playing, eating, and opening presents. It was a quick Celebration but a fun one. Thought I would post some pictures.

Andrew found a good place to snuggle up and made himself at home with Aunt Audra

Mom and Lil' sis Traci
Mom and her first set of kids

Aunt Traci with Aidan and Lynsey

Aidan and Lynsey

Somehow Rebecca and Lauren managed to miss all the photos and so did my brother Greg and my dad. We will have to do better next time. Andrew got to be the center of attention for a while at dinner. He was the only kid that sat at the grown up table (because that is where his booster seat was) and he turned into quite the ham. He hadeveryone laughing and he loved every bit of his moment in the spotlight. When you are child #3 those moments are few and far between so you have to enjoy them while they last and he sure did.

It's Christmas Eve Day! Enjoy!

More Christmas Activites

2008-12-22T09:55:00.007-06:00

A trip to Santa Land is a holiday favorite for my kids. We went last week and had a great time together. We opted to go on a tractor ride rather than drive through ourselves. It is more fun to be out in the open and you can see everything so much better. Here are a few pictures we took:

I also gave the kids $4.00 each this year and we went to the Dollar tree. They got to pick something out for their siblings, mom, and dad. It was really cute to watch them look for just the right gift. There was one point that Rebecca saw her gift so Aidan put it back and picked another item. When it was apparent this was going to be a problem I found somthing they could use to hide their gifts. They had a great time shopping for eachother and for us and are excited about giving their gifts on Christmas morning. Here are my little shoppers:

Only 2 days until Christmas!

School Party

2008-12-22T09:36:00.005-06:00

Aidan's class party was last week. It was a fun time for the kids and a treat for me to be a part of. They began the party with snacks and sugar cookies to decorate. Then they sang some cute Christmas songs and finally they had a book exchange. The kids had a good time together and got plenty of sugar and treats to take home. Now we get a little break from the early mornings and the long days to enjoy being all together! We are all looking forward to that.

Aidan watching his teacher open her gift.

A Breakfast Brunch

2008-12-22T09:19:00.003-06:00

Last week I hosted a simple brunch for my Moms in Touch group. I made an egg casserole a sweet cherry pastry and had another mom bring fruit. These ladies are truly a gift in my life. There is just something that bonds people who pray together! These ladies stand with me every week to pray for my kids and they pray for my family throughout the week. God is using these ladies to teach me about Christian community, His family. They may not the women I spend most of my time with or the ones know the best, but they are family! We are united around our Savior through prayer. It is a wonderful way to be united. This Christmas I am thanking the Lord for these women.

I planned the brunch to be a super causal paper plate kind of get together, but as it got closer I decided I wanted them to feel special. I pulled out my nice china and made simple ornament place holders. It was a fun little retreat in the midst of busyness and a chance to spend some time getting to know one another. Isn't that ironic...most friendships are built through time spent being together getting to know each other, these are built through prayer. Ladies, you are a gift!

Is their Any lacking in Christ's Suffering?

2008-12-16T14:30:00.006-06:00

Several weeks ago I wrote that I was in a strange place spiritually and wasn't sure what to say. You probably forgot or else you thought I forgot. I did not forget and there isn't a day that goes by where my thoughts are turned back to what the Lord has been teaching me and showing me.

I heard a sermon preached by John Piper that he preached at a missionary conference a few months ago about a verse in Colossians. It is Colossians 1:24 and it says Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. Just in case you are unsure, these are the words of Paul, who I have heard referred to as the first missionary.

Piper addresses the text much more fully than I could and you can hear his sermon on it here, but it has been stuck in my head and I can't seem to get it out. You see, within about one week of hearing that sermon I had the opportunity to hear from 3 different missionaries. Missionaries who are willing to give up the comfort of home, the comfort of America, to go and share the good news of Jesus Christ.

First, I was privileged to get to invite into my home 3 Mongolian Christians (a single male, a couple and their 8 month old baby)who are training here locally to go to an extremely dangerous, dark place to share Jesus Christ with people they do not know. It is a place that I could not go and would not be allowed entry into. It is a place that no Christian literature is allowed in (including Bibles) and where little freedom exists. It is a place where these missionaries will literally risk their lives to go. So why would they go? They love Jesus and they want to tell others about Him. It is plain and simple and they are working diligently to move forward in this way. They have a bold faith that no one can doubt. You may think they are crazy but you never doubt their love for the Savior and the value they place on Him.

Next, our care group invited a sweet young couple to come and share about what they are going to do and where they are going to serve. They will be in Northern Africa working with Muslims there. They are going to live in a place that lacks all the comforts of home, you know the basics that we take for granted like running water, and an oven and stove top to cook with. They are planning to go and live among the people as the people live and share the love of Christ with them.

Lastly, our Perspectives class had David Sitton come and speak. Trace and I were privileged to pick him up at the airport and spend some time with him over dinner. He is the founder of To Every Tribe Ministries and, using his own words for many martyr missionaries, he is what I would call a "fool for Jesus". He speaks truth boldly and is challenging to listen to. He calls us as Christians to lay it all down and to be willing to go anywhere and do anything for the name of Jesus Christ. He says that to be a Christian you cannot be a coward, because he believes Christians should live in all boldness, power, and authority that we have been given in Christ Jesus. He speaks this way only because he has lived this way. He was a missionary in Papa New Guinea for 15+ years and he has been beaten and almost killed for the name of Christ. He has lived out the faith he calls us to.

I have been given a visual, a face, to go with the idea of filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions. Yes, Christ's death on the cross is the only thing that can make us right with God. It is through this sacrifice that we are saved, by grace alone. However, the filling up of His suffering allows others to see suffering on Christ's behalf, to get a picture of what He did for them. I have seen no one suffer, but the Lord has blessed me with the honor to see the face of those who have and who may suffer for the name of Christ. It does something to a person when they get the depth of that. It has done something to me to begin to dig deeper into this truth and to begin to see more clearly what it really is that Christ has done for me.

In all honesty, I get dull to the gospel. I hate to say that but it is true. It can become a story I have heard my whole life that has little weight or impact on me. There are times when it may not impact the way I live all that much. It can even seem untrue sometimes or hard to believe ( I mean God has done some pretty remarkable things like the virgin birth and the resurrection of Christ). I can doubt, I can question truth. Please hear me say I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe He was both man and God, and I believe He died for my sins and has risen from the dead. But sometimes my human tendency to understand it all in a clear logical way creeps in and I can experience doubt. Seeing the disciples die for their faith gave weight to what they spoke, the message they preached. It filled up what was lacking in Christ's afflictions for those people who saw them willing to die for this truth they proclaimed. The same is true today...when Christ followers are willing to suffer for the sake of Christ completes what is lacking for us.

It doesn't make sense that suffering would be the tool that the Creator of the Universe would use to conquer evil and redeem souls. It doesn't make sense that in God's Mercy He would allow His followers to suffer so harshly. I have to remind myself all the time that Christ died and He calls all of us to come and die to follow Him. If Jesus would suffer and die, why would His followers be spared the same suffering. Of course some of us are called to suffer and of course God would use it. His means of deliverance and salvation for all of us is a bloody cross. No, it doesn't make sense. The King of All coming as a baby, dieing on a cross. He didn't have to do this, but He chose to.

This Christmas God has drawn me near to Him, nearer to the reality of what the birth of His son means for us. You can't separate the baby in a manger from the body on the cross. He came to die. He has taught me a little more about what it means to suffer and my heart has been filled with awe and wonder. He has done this through the suffering of His servants. The willingness to look fear in the face and proclaim He is greater! May your holidays bring you Awe and Wonder at what He has done for us.

Maybe this has given you a tiny glimpse into what the Lord is doing in my life...He is calling me more and more to come, follow Him, and die to self and to fear.

A Hagler Family Christmas Miracle

2008-12-14T23:08:00.003-06:00

AIDAN CAN RIDE HIS BIKE!!!!!! Some other six year olds have been doing this without training wheels for months now, but Aidan would barely even ride his bike with the training wheels. I was beginning to doubt if we were ever going to be able to teach him how to ride. I hadn't really pushed it, but I was hopeful to see some renewed interest in the bike. Well, it happened on Saturday and he got in no time!

I was outside finishing with our lights and Aidan pulled out the bike for the first time in months. I told him I liked seeing him on it and in a few minutes he told me he was ready to practice riding without training wheels. I said OK and next thing I knew he was eagerly riding down the street.

It has made me think about how he potty trained also. We worked at it really hard for about a week before I gave up in exhaustion. A few months later he asked me if he could go potty, I put him on and that was it. He got it. I guess that is just the way things are with this boy...a new skill will not be mastered until he is good and ready.

Aidan, I am so proud of you! You did great! You were so determined and brave.
I love you, my sweet Aidan!

Some Holiday Traditions

2008-12-14T22:41:00.003-06:00

We had many child friendly Christmas activities that all seemed to get squeezed into last Friday. First was a cookie decorating party for our play group. Andrew enjoyed the freedom to stick lots of sugar into his mouth at will and Rebecca liked playing with the sprinkles.

That afternoon Trace took Aidan to Holiday in the park at a local park. They bring in snow for 2 days every year. They have a small area of snow to play in and an snowy hill to slide on. Aidan had a great time playing and then the boys came home to join us for dinner. We did baths, put on our pajamas and then headed back out to drive through the city of Bethlehem ( a local church does acts out what the town of Bethlehem might have been like on that wonderful night and then ends with a manger scene at the end) and then on to look at lights.
We turned up the fun Christmas music and just enjoyed being all together. We found this one house that has their lights synchronized to Christmas music so they blink with the beats. You tune into a special station so you can pick up the music they play and you can watch the lights dance before your eyes. They even had times when they dumped buckets of snow onto the ground when it fit with the lyrics. My favorite part was the nativity scene and the fact that they had their children come on and read the Christmas story from the bible. It was really neat and we thoroughly enjoyed it (you can tell how much Andrew loved it by the photo below)!
Here is a really bad picture of the house with the lights...it doesn't do it justice AT ALL, but maybe it can give you some vague idea of what it is.

Saturday night I took Aidan and Rebecca to a local pottery store to decorate an ornament each. This is the 3rd year I have done this with Aidan and the second year for Becca. They had fun and now I have two more hand made ornaments to hang on my tree. This weekend was full of some of our favorite Christmas traditions. What are some of your favorite traditions?

Brrrrr

2008-12-10T16:51:00.004-06:00

Winter has finally arrived in Texas (at least for the day)! The weather hovered around freezing and the wind made you want to hide your face. It is funny to me to listen to all the wimpy Texans as we shiver and bundle up (believe me I am one of the worst!). So the kids and I did the only logical thing on a cold day like this. We made hot chocolate and stayed in doors as much as possible.

Here is to cold winter days and Hot Chocolate to warm you up or if you are Rebecca here is to an excuse to eat marshmallows by the handful. Happy Winter.

The veil is torn in two

2008-12-03T14:05:00.004-06:00

In BSF this year we are studying the life of Moses and this week we looked specifically at the directions for how to construct the Tabernacle. This lesson has been extremely powerful for me. It is such a testimony to the Lord's Holiness. We are not holy and what is not holy cannot bear to stand in the presence of such holiness. This is evident in the way that the people reacted when seeing the glory of God in Exodus 20:18-19. We see the people beg for Moses to mediate between them and God but not to allow God to deal with them directly.

Now the Lord is giving Moses the ceremonial law and specifically directions on how to build the tabernacle. On the inside of the Tabernacle there are two rooms: the holy place and the most holy place. They are separated by a curtain. In lecture today at BSF we were taught that the curtain was as thick as the palm of your hand. That is a strong curtain and it was designed to separate the people and to protect them from the Holiness of God that none of us could stand. Once a year the High Priest was allowed to enter into the Most Holy place to sprinkle the Mercy seat with blood that served as an atoning sacrifice for the people. ONCE A YEAR one man could enter into the Most Holy Place where the Lord Dwelled.

How many times a day do I approach the throne of Grace and enter into the presence of the Lord? Not once a year, but daily. Oh how I forget the wonderful privilege I have to go boldly before the throne of Grace. How often do I forget that it is only through Christ's sacrifice that I am worthy to approach my Lord. How often do I forget the sacrifice that was paid in order for me to go before my master in confidence. And from time to time I hold this honor in such low regard that I forget even to pray.

Friends, when Christ died His body was broken and the curtain was torn in half from top to bottom. The curtain was ripped open. He became our mediator and we became High Priests able to boldly approach the throne of Grace. The entrance to the Lord had been blocked, the veil was torn in two. It is wide open today! The sacrifice has been paid and a a new covenant has been established. Hebrews 10:17 tells us that once we are cleansed by the blood of Jesus our sins will be remembered no more. And we learn in Psalms 103 that in His Loving Kindness our sins have been removed from as far as the east to west.

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Hebrews 10:19-24

May I encourage you to walk in love and good deeds living fully in the Grace you have been offered through the death of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. My prayer is that all that read this will seek the privilege to draw near to God and live in the assurance of things hoped for.

Thanksgiving Tree

2008-12-01T08:38:00.002-06:00

I just took apart our Thanksgiving Tree from this year to make room for the Christmas decorations and get ready for the new season that is quickly approaching, but I realized that I never blogged about our tree. I love this little tradition that we have. This was our fourth year to do it and at the end of the year I write down everything that was said on one piece of paper to save. It is so fun to read the things that we have written in years past and to remember what was going on in our home when the kids were that age.

Here are a few of my favorite things that were mentioned this year:
***A few things Daddy said he is thankful for Friday Fun Days ( a special day with Aidan every week), being handed the broken brush after bath (Becca always wants daddy to brush her hair with our handleless brush after her baths), and perfect landings off the ottoman (this includes everyone, but I would guess Andrew especially).
***Mommy is thankful for little boys who eat ice cream with chips (Andrew insisted on using his chips like a spoon), a boy who multiplies, girls that yell way too loud, and the laughter that comes while sliding down the slide all together.
***Aidan is thankful for presents, parties, numbers, and Jesus dieing on the cross.
***Rebecca is thankful for food, grass, paint, butterflies, and Lydia's party.
***Andrew (from mommies observation) is thankful for star burst, chairs and ottomans to climb on and jump off, markers, and Mr. Potatoe head.
I hope you had a very thankful Thanksgiving and that you have a wonderful December celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior!

Prayer Needed

2008-11-25T19:55:00.003-06:00

Trace came home early from work today. He explained to me that there had been a murder/suicide at work. The secretary in his department had been killed. She was working and her ex-boyfriend entered the building, brought her outside, shot her, and then himself(although it was not a fatal shot). Thankfully Trace had left and gone over to some other CBI office buildings across town. He was across town when this happened and when he received word. He drove back to work to find that everyone had left for the day. They have closed the office until Monday.

Please pray for this woman's family. She was a single mom to a 12 year old little girl. She was originally from England so as far as Trace knows she has no family here. Also please lift up the staff at CBI. I can only imagine how difficult it will be for them all to return to work. Many of them, Trace included, had just had conversations with her that morning. It is terribly tragic for everyone involved. Lastly, I would like to ask you to pray for the man who shot her. He was helicoptered to the hospital and is not expected to die. As we all turn our minds to those we love and are so thankful for, may we be mindful and prayerful of those who are suffering so deeply. Thanks for praying!

I'm Still Here

2008-11-25T08:35:00.004-06:00

Wow, I have been a very bad blogger! Life has been so busy that I have not had time and honestly I have found myself in a very strange place spiritually so I have not known what to write. I have so much to process and pray through so every time I get a few minutes where I could sneak away to the computer to write I feel like I need to just stop and be quiet. I have felt the Lord pulling, pressing, and pushing me in new ways. It can feel a bit overwhelming to me at times, but I am so thankful to know Him and to Know that He isn't finished with me. I would love to share more about what is going on with me but right now I simply do not feel like I have the words or the time to communicate what I am experiencing. Hopefully in the next few days I will be able to sit and write more.

However, for now I will leave you with a few pictures that I have been meaning to share:

Aidan had his Thanksgiving feast at school last week. Here is a picture of my little Pilgrim. I so enjoy going to his school and being in his classroom and I think he appreciates it also.

This is a picture of some of his buddies at school.

We also had an end of the year soccer party for Aidan's team at Chucky Cheeses. It was fun to get together and let Aidan play. This is his coach who was wonderfully encouraging and patient with with boys all year long. He was fantastic and it made for a great team to be a part of. Go Hurricanes!

And finally, this picture is of Becca. We had run errands in the morning and only had about 45 minutes before we had to get ready to go get Aidan so I told her she could skip nap time as long as she rested and was quiet. She got her umbrella, made a little tent, got some books, blankets and a pillow and next thing I knew she was out. I felt the exact same way that day...I didn't really have time for a nap but my body was crying out for one. It has just been that kind of week or two for us around here.
I hope you have a very restful and relaxing break. We are sure looking forward to slowing down a bit (at least for the next week or so).

An unexpectd answer to prayer

2008-11-13T16:44:00.003-06:00

***Updated to add - This has been postponed due to an unplanned conflict. Maybe it will happen next week. Please pray for God's perfect timing.

I was working on the computer this afternoon trying to take care of a few things before getting Aidan and the phone rang. I didn't recognize the number but I picked it up anyways and was shocked to hear the man introduce himself as a member of the CBS local news team. He asked for me, of course I thought he had the wrong number or something, but then he started talking about the Moms in Touch prayer group that started out here this year. I realized he had the right person so I listened to him ask if I would be willing to do an interview. Knowing that I have specifically prayed for direction in how to advertise MIT so that other moms will hear about the ministry, I felt like I had no choice but to say yes. I mean how do you ask the Lord something in prayer and then say no when he answers so obviously? I guess I could justify saying no because He answered in a way I would have never imagined and one that I am not all that excited about being a part of, but I know that would be disobedient and so I said yes. I am very nervous about this. I am worried that I won't speak clearly and that I won't look very intelligent, but those things are truly more about me than the Lord. I know that He has ordained this and that He will provide all I need. Please pray for me. Pray that I will boldly proclaim His goodness if I get the opportunity and that the Lord will be glorified.

I was told that they will be here about 7:30 am. so they can get some extra footage of us getting ready. Please pray for a peaceful home and children! You all know how mornings can go and we need tomorrow to not be one of "those" days. Our group meets at 8:15 in the morning so they will follow us there to get some more footage and somewhere during this time they will interview me and possibly the other moms. As long as all goes as planned they said it would be on the 6:00 news on CBS 19 and then it would be on the website for a while. Please also pray that other moms see this and that the Lord stirs in their heart a desire to be a part of this ministry.

If you have kids in school I cannot encourage you enough to be a part of one of these groups. Prayer is such a gift and this is such a well developed ministry with very wise leaders and wonderful materials to help you start or join another group. GO read more about it. Friday mornings truly are my favorite mornings of the week since beginning this group.

Bambi Run

2008-11-10T08:14:00.006-06:00

My sweet friend Maureen decided that she has a goal to run a marathon in the next year. She started training and already has completed a half marathon. She is a very disciplined friend. She has been a huge encouragement for me to start running again. It is my favorite form of exercise, but having children can put a damper on that. So Maureen found out about a 5k in Tyler at Faulkner Park and invited a bunch of us to join her in the race. It was a lot of fun! It is always better to have others join you in your misery (I meant fun, did I say misery). Here is a picture of some of us before the race.

Me, Jennifer, Andrea, Maureen, and Kristen (wow, do I look short in this picture or what)

It was a very small race, but being in a small race has its advantages! Several of us got a medal. Andrea got a small trophy for getting 3rd overall out of all the women. Maureen came in right behind Andrea and was the winner in her age division and I followed behind them (by about a minute) but I managed to get second in my age group. It was fun to show Aidan that mommy got a medal after he finished his soccer game. He thought it was pretty neat and I found it to be quite humorous...I sure was not expecting that. So I guess the Azalea 10k is next in the Spring. Would anyone else like to join us?

Seven Prayers of Day

2008-11-05T22:48:00.003-06:00

This is such a great idea! I will be doing it, care to join me? Our kids can never get too much prayer and praying scripture is praying power over our kids. Go, check it out!

Giving Thanks!

2008-11-05T22:24:00.005-06:00

Aidan had to make a feather to go in a giant kindergarten Turkey. The only directions we received was to decorate the feather with the thing he was thankful for written on the feather. I asked Aidan what he wanted to write, I gathered some paint and craft supplies we had, and this is what he created...

It brings tears to my eyes! Lord, you are so faithful to answer our prayers. You are captivating Aidan's little heart. Lord hold Him tight! May he walk closely with you in righteousness all the days of His life. I pray that He grows into a young man who lives a life radically sold out for Jesus Christ!

Skunks, Knights, Princesses, and a girl hero plus a few animals to boot

2008-11-05T20:55:00.006-06:00

Our Halloween Festivities were full this year. First, I was in charge of snack for Aidan's class on Halloween. I decided to make these super cute spider cookies. I used licorice to be the legs and jelly beans cut in half as eyes.

I also sent these popcorn hands to school. They were more time consuming than I expected but they were cute.

Then that night we had a little get together with friends. Not sure you can tell but we have peanut butter balls as spiders and witches hats.
The kids also ate mummy dogs for dinner and parents had chili dogs.

and I made this pumpkin shaped Pumpkin cake for desert.

We played a mummy relay game that I thought was cute

and then headed out to trick or treat.

Here is super girl pulling her friends along.

My little Stinker - Andrew the skunk
Super Girl
And the Heroic Knight

Hope you had fun as well!

The joys of being a mom to a boy

2008-11-04T09:30:00.000-06:00

My shoes have important purposes...They become boats.

This Election

2008-11-03T10:30:00.004-06:00

Election Day is tomorrow. I am actually ready for this to all be over, but this year I have realized that there seems to be a sense of panic about who will win the election. People on both sides seem to be living in fear. I have even heard that certain cities are preparing for rioting just in case Barack Obama does not win. It really is madness.

I participated in early voting. I have a voice in this election and now I am done. The results are out of my hand and I am at peace. I know that the reason I am at peace is because my hope is in Christ, NOT America and NOT in our President. So whether Obama wins or McCain wins, my hope will remain in Christ. I ran across this article by John Piper that I thought would be good to pass along for all to read. I know that I enjoyed it and agree mightily with what he has to say.

BOO!

2008-10-31T21:22:00.000-05:00

We got booed! This was a new thing for our family. I heard about it last year from a friend, but had never participated. Basically, booing is when someone brings a treat to your door, rings the doorbell and disappears. They leave instructions to pass along the fun to 2 other neighbors.

So we opened the door and found this:

Eventually we made these

and set out to boo someone else. What a thrill to run and sneak with the kids trying not to get caught. The first house we tried caught us even before we got out of the car when the dad came out of the garage suddenly and we were attempting to sneak up to the door. It was fun and we had many laughs. It is just fun to try to be sneaky with little ones.
Hope you all have a very happy Halloween! Enjoy yourself and your kiddos! I will post pictures soon.

****I wrote this the other day with every intention of posting it this morning (I am not a technologically savvy blogger so I don't know how to schedule posts). I obviously forgot so I am posting it now at the end of Halloween. We had a little Halloween party here, I will post pictures soon.

The Zoo and the Park

2008-10-29T12:56:00.005-05:00

I had a great time last week going on Aidan's class field trip. We went to the zoo and then the park and the kids ate lunch in between. It was great to get to spend some time talking with his teacher and getting to know some of the kids and other moms.

Aidan's sweet class

The crazy aggressive birds. We have fed the birds before but these were literally flocking to the stick and biting each other to get prime spot. It was wild.

Just the boys

This really is a sweet bunch of kids! It was a treat to join them and is always fun to get to do something special with Aidan and watch him in "his" element. I am still adjusting to the fact that I know so little about his days and who he spends them with so it was nice to get a little more of a peak inside.

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-23T14:17:00.003-05:00

A recent trip to the Pumpkin Patch with our play group (in pictures):

Swinging together

Playing in the Play house

My sweet cooperative daughter

Feeding the Fish

Playing on the playground
More Swinging Fun

The Barrel Rides - three little blondes

A wagon ride for Andrew

And a Barrel reide for me and Andrew. The things we moms do for our kids, I really thought I might get stuck in this thing.

Happy 6th Birthday!

2008-10-23T13:34:00.007-05:00

Aidan turned 6 last Friday. On Friday we sent cupcakes to school for his class, daddy and Aidan made a trip to Chucky Cheese to play games in the afternoon, we went to Texas Pizza for dinner (Aidan's choice), and then we returned home to open gifts. On Saturday we celebrated with some of Aidan's friends with a soccer party ( again, Aidan's choice).

6 years old feels so old to me. I think it is because it fully confirms the reality that he is no longer a preschooler. People tell you all the time that it all goes so fast and I cannot believe we are already at this point. Aidan isn't all that sentimental so when I commented that I can't believe how old he is he simply told me that it didn't take very long to get from 3 to 6 so it won't be long until he is 10. The sad truth is that he is right! In no time he will be grown.

This age is sweet and fun. I love learning who he is more and more. I love watching his personality and individuality develop. I love seeing who the Lord made Aidan to be. I can remember when I would hold him as a baby, cradled in my arms and just be overwhelmed with love. I don't get to hold him in my arms nearly as often so that feeling of love looks a little different these days. I feel it as he walks into school (so grown up like) with his backpack on every morning and I experience it everyday when I pick him up from school with excitement to hear every detail about his day (at least what I can get him to tell me). I experience it when I watch him play soccer and he looks over to us to see our reaction when his team scores. And I experience it when he comes home from school and wants to quiz me to make sure I know the things he is learning. I experience that love when I overhear him and Rebecca playing together and talking to each other and I experience it when I get to hear Aidan's sweet voice singing praise songs he made up to the Lord. It looks different but I love you more and more every year Aidan! I am so thankful that the Lord blessed me with you! I am proud of the boy you are becoming and the heart that you have!

Here are some pictures of the recent birthday festivities:

Opening Presents

What Else would Andrew be doing, but playing ball while we open presents

The Table - made to look like a soccer field. We kept it simple and did cake and ice cream. I provided all the toppings to make sundaes just to make it a little more fun.

Here is the cake I made

Blowing out the candles

Playing Soccer Style freeze tag.

I really did a terrible job taking pictures to show you what we did. We had several games that included:

1. Soccer Bowling - kick over the bottles filled with water with a soccer ball.

2. Balloon heads - a little chaotic, but fun. The kids got balloons were instructed to keep them in the air with their heads or feet, just no hands. We played individual and teams. After a little bit it turned into pop the balloons.

3. We played soccer with a soccer beach ball, a small rubber ball, and a real soccer ball. Some of the kids ended up arguing about who could be the goalie. I would have NEVER guessed that. I mean isn't it more fun to really play? Oh well, we took turns.

4. Lastly we played Yellow Card Freeze Tag. The referee was given a yellow sticky pad (post its) and was to put them on the other kids. When the kids got 2 yellow card they were out. When they were tagged they had to freeze and wait for a teammate to crawl through their legs. This was the favorite game.

Thanks to all of you who came and helped us celebrate Aidan's birthday! He had a great time!

After School Fun

2008-10-14T16:42:00.005-05:00

Last week one day after school we headed to the Children's Park to climb, run, and splash. The weather was perfect and the kids had a blast. It was great to carve out some time to just be together and enjoy each other. I took my camera and here are some of my favorites.

Last week Aidan got his first report card. That means he has been in school for 6 weeks. That is wild. I imagined that 6 weeks in we would be pretty adjusted to school but I have to admit I am missing that boy terribly! I have really come to treasure my time with all three of the kids. It just isn't enough of it. I think I miss him more now than I did at the beginning of school. I will adjust I suppose, but I am a little sad about this new stage of our life. I know there is so much fun to be had and so much to learn about who he will become and I eagerly await those things, but this loss of time with him is just hard on me. We had a great time at the park and will try to make a habit out of these short after school trips all together.

A little bit of humble pie

2008-10-08T14:02:00.004-05:00

I was that mom today. Admit it...you have all looked at some mother and instead of being sympathetic towards her you make some kind of snide remark about how if your child ever acted like that I would...(you finish the sentence). What is with that judgemental attitude anyways? I know I have had it before, but I pray that today's experience will help keep me humble.

So now that I have shared that, I assume you know that I expect no medal for my parenting skills that I showed today. Let me tell you how it went. We went to chick-fil-a after BSF because I needed to run an errand and I knew that the kids would not tolerate running errands on an empty stomach. Little did I know that they were not going to tolerate Chick-fil-a well either. I ordered our food, got to the table, tore the chicken into pieces and distributed ketchup and drinks. Finally, I was sitting down to eat and Andrew got upset because he wanted to drink my drink (which was tea and I don't give my babies caffeine right before nap time). I said no here is your cup. He took it and angrily threw down on the ground. Oh joy. But it did not stop there...he started running his hand back and forth where his food was and chicken went flying everywhere. I did reprimand him for both of these, but evidently that did not matter because he kept at it. While all the fun is happening with Andrew, Rebecca goes to play for a few minutes before we leave. After a little bit she comes out to ask for ice cream. I told her no because we need to leave, because we have errands to run. To this my sweet three year-old began yelling NO NO NO NO NO (You get the point) while she runs for play land. I told her to come on, fought with her to get shoes on, and began gathering our things. At this point Andrew gets upset because of who knows what and he literally began slapping me in the face multiple times. My warnings for him to stop where ignored and it seemed to turn into a game for him. Rebecca is still being extremely rude with arms crossed and tons of attitude and my one year old won't stop hitting me in the face. Plenty of drama to turn many eyes our way. Wow! Any parenting dignity I had went out the window. Just when I start to think parenting is getting easier for a second something like this happens and I am totally humbled once again.

Just in case any of you are having a bad day...maybe this glimpse into our world will help. I know I keep telling myself that everybody has bad days...if it isn't rue don't tell me, I need to believe that right now. To the joys of motherhood!

The Tooth Saga

2008-10-06T15:53:00.003-05:00

My 5 year-old is a little (or more accurately A LOT) on the dramatic side. He has had a loose tooth for several weeks and we kept encouraging him to wiggle it and get it out. It was not coming at least not the way he worked at it. We told him several times he needed to get it out or we were going to take it. He obviously didn't really believe us and it remained attached in his mouth. Last night I decided it was time to get it out. We spent at least 30 minutes trying to get tie floss around it and get it out, but he was tearful and afraid and he kept pushing the string off with his tongue "on accident". Finally we gave up. He is so good at this dramatic roll that within minutes of being awake this morning he was crying because his tooth hurt. I just kept telling him that when he gets it out it will never hurt again. Well, I sent him off to school tooth in mouth and when I picked him up he did this

to proudly show me that his tooth was no more. I assumed he pulled it out at school, but no that was his teacher. She told him to come with her, grabbed a paper towel and pulled. I asked him what he did and if he cried. He said "I almost said ouch". Seriously? We had tears, tongues, and protest to deal with and she almost got ouch. I guess we know who will be pulling his teeth from now on. Now I just wonder what other parenting responsibilities we pass off onto her...

Apostolic Passion

2008-10-03T15:56:00.004-05:00

I hung out with some friends a while back and the topic of missions came up. One of my friends made the comment that how can we know that God does not have that for us. He only reveals things to you when you are ready to accept them so how can people say I know God has not called me to that (I am sure I am butchering the way it was said, but this is what I heard...I'm sorry). The next week I was reading for Perspectives and I came across the most challenging article yet for me personally. I think that part of what was said in it fits perfectly into the conversation we had. I wanted to share a few things that have stuck with me and I keep finding my mind returning to. The article is written by Floyd McClung.

McClung writes about Apostolic Passion. He says that apostolic passion is a deliberate, intentional choice to live for the worship of Jesus in the nations. "It's the quality of those who are on fire for Jesus, who dream of the whole earth being covered with the glory of the Lord." He goes on to say that "if you live without the vision of the glory of God filling the whole earth then you are in danger of serving your own dreams of greatness, as you wait to do "the next thing" God tells you. There are too many overfed, under-motivated Christians hiding behind the excuse that God has not spoken to them. They are waiting to hear voices or see dreams-all the while living to make money, to provide for their future, to dress well and have fun." He goes on to make the claim that if we do not make an attempt to cultivate the passions of God, a passion for the Nations, then we should not be surprised that we never hear God say go. He further explains that once we nurture the desire to see the earth bathed in Christs praise, then we can truly trust our heart when we hear the Lord say stay.

I think that all too often I care more about the things right here in front of me that are pleasurable but not eternal than I do about Jesus Christ's name being worshipped by all peoples. And I think the biggest crime is when I live as if that is OK, as if that is enough. Christ tells us to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself. I am coming to believe that I cannot truly love the Lord fully when I don't even think about His name being worshipped by all and I know I am not loving my neighbor when I don't ever dare to offer Jesus to them. He is love so to offer love in some form I must be focused on offering Him. When my thoughts do not turn in this direction then I can likely rest assured that I am not experiencing Apostolic Passion. McClung encourages us to beg of the Lord to be ruthless in revealing our selfish ambition and our lack of willingness to die to ourselves if we find ourselves in this place lacking passion. I think that is a hard prayer to pray because I believe the Lord will answer and I am pretty sure I am not going to love the response.

The Fair

2008-09-29T13:04:00.006-05:00

I got a chance to take the kids to the fair. I loved the fair as a kid and I was happy to share the memories with my own kids. It was a lot of fun, but doing it solo with 3 kids was a bit of a challenge. Trace could not make it because of some things he had to finish up and I was insistent on going on the dollar ride day (it is just too expensive any other day and that was bad enough). We managed very well, except for a few moments like when we had already been waiting in line for a while and Rebecca insisted it was potty time and the one time that Aidan asked to go ride the ride right beside the one Becca was on and for some foolish reason I said yes. I could totally see both the kids and they were fine, but it did really stressed me out. Oh and there were the moments when Andrew had all of the stroller he could take and he just screamed, but those moments didn't last for long. Wow, I just realized what a fun picture I am painting. I am sure you are wishing you could have traded places with me. Well...maybe some pictures will make it look like more fun.

Here we are walking through the animals.

We saw this calf being fed a gigantic bottle. The kids thought this was neat.

And here are some pictures of some of the rides

Andrew during a happy moment in the stroller.

And what kind of fair would it be without some of this

A Curtain Tour

2008-09-23T14:42:00.009-05:00

I mentioned that I have a few more curtain projects around the house to wrap up. Well, I finally finished this weekend. Let me take you on a quick tour. Here is the breakfast nook/dining room in my house. This is what it has looked like for a long time.
I love this little area because it gives off so much light and this is the place we all come together as a family for breakfast and dinner. I added this fabric treatment. If you are curious about how I did this you can read about it here. I was going to show you myself but I remembered Kimba had already done it so why bother. Thanks Kimba! Again, these are mistreatment's and no sewing was done in the process of making any of these.

And here is a picture from the opposite angle. I am happy with them and I think they finish off the space, but I do think if I was ever to make more I would use a heavier fabric. This one is pretty thin and I think a heavier fabric would hang better.
This is the small window on our glass door. This one is my favorite in the room. I added a simple center pleat in these to add a little more interest.
For this treatment I just used velcro to attach the fabric to the blinds that were already on the door. It was super easy to do.
And these last two windows are above my sink in the kitchen. It is open to the breakfast nook so I decided to use the same fabric to unite the space. For these I simply folded the fabric and hung it up with upholstery tacks. Nothing special but from nothing to this is an improvement. I hung the fabric high mostly above the window and made it long enough to hide the white blinds when they are pulled up like they are here.

And remember these mistreatments...

I decided they needed just a little more so I added toppers above each window. Again, these are hung with nothing but upholstery tacks and I folded them to make the pleats.
Well, that wraps up my decorating posts for a while. I still have a chair and table I want to update and a simple project for the computer area, but those may have to wait...life is extremely full right now and these things just don't seem to be the greatest priority. Plus, it is now officially Fall so that means the holidays are right around the corner.

I feel like I once again have to give credit to the Nester for all the inspiration. I would have never put hot glue on fabric and just tacked them onto the wall without you.

A Link

2008-09-22T13:12:00.002-05:00

Read This if you have time. I think you will find it to be challenging, but good. I know I did.

A Lesson in Trust

2008-09-19T16:02:00.007-05:00

The kids and I have been reading about the life of Moses in our daily bible reading time. I am studying that at BSF and that is what Rebecca is learning in class so I decided we should all read it together so that I know Aidan is also learning what we are learning. We were reading part of chapter 2 in the book of Exodus. I am sure you know the story. It is about baby Moses. We had already learned in chapter one that Pharoah had made a decree that all male Hebrew babies were to be put to death in the Nile River. We then learn about a mom who becomes pregnant and decides to hide her baby for 3 months until she can no longer hide him. She then makes a plan to take her baby and put him in a basket and send him floating down the river. As I read it hit me that we have a baby basket up in Becca's closet and visual aides are always good teaching tools for kids so I said hold on and ran to get the basket. I came back and used the basket and one of Becca's baby dolls to demonstrate putting Moses in the basket and sending him on his way.

Well, this time the special effects were not for the kids, but for me. It brought the story to life for me and I teared up as I told the story and I was awed by the faith and courage that this woman displayed. Even beyond that, I have found myself completely taken aback by the soveriegnty and provision of the Lord. This was a terrible thing...many babies had been ordered to be put to death. But the Lord is going to redeem his people and he will use this baby to bring them out of slavery. He is going to prepare a leader by raising him in all the knowledge of the Egyptians, giving him a heart for his kinsmen, and giving him a mighty task for the Lords glory. He is going to act and he is going to use even this bad for His glory and His plan. And what does He ask of us? He asks us to obey and to trust Him. Just like Moses' mom we are asked to do what is in front of us to do and to trust in the Lord Almighty to take care of the details.

As I acted as if I was releasing this toy baby doll it hit me that God wants me to trust him like that also. The fact is the Lord has a plan already set in motion for all of my children. He has a plan to grow them and form them into the people He desires them to be so that He can use them for His glory. That will include many different events and circumstances. Some will be good and proud moments, some will be hard and painful moments, but He can use them all for His glory. It is not my job to stop all evil and negative things from coming to my children (although I will try to prevent as much as I possibly can) but it is my job to trust in the Lord that no matter what may come, He has a plan and He is in control. This was a moment of brokeness for me. A moment of stretching my faith even more.

Aidan watched as I teared up and asked me why I was crying. All I could say is don't you see how hard this is? Sometimes God leads us down a road that is hard and scary, but it is all for His glory. It is for his plan. His plan for Moses was not thwarted by this evil decree. God used it to prepare him for what was to come. And I told Aidan that God has a purpose for you and I told Rebecca the same thing. God has a purpose and He will use even the bad things in our life to bring that about, but He will bring it about. There is such comfort in that.

What happened to the Baby?

2008-09-19T16:02:00.004-05:00

Andrew is growing and changing like crazy! It is wild how much he has changed in the last couple of weeks even. Today we went to the park for our weekly play group and he proved just how big he is. He was all over the play ground equipment, climbing and sliding, and even falling once or twice (but no big falls so no need to worry). I could not believe him. I was definitely a little more anxious today and on my feet most of the morning while I followed behind him. He LOVED every minute of it. Here is are a few pictures of him and Becca on the swings today and then a few of him outside running wild in the neighborhood.

We are fortunate to live on a cold-de-sac and this boy has watched his brother and sister ride bikes on the street for months now. He does not get why he cannot run right behind them into the street. I am having a hard time communicating to this 16 month old mind that Aidan is older and he has a healthy fear of cars and moving vehicles UNLIKE this guy. Andrew has recently started getting into EVERYTHING. I fold a load of laundry and he throws it all over the house before I can get it put away. Just yesterday he pulled out my lemon squeezer/juicer and threw it down to get to watch it shatter. And yes I do realize I used the word threw, not dropped. He throws everything. He is so stinking cute though that I just can't stay upset for long. The main challenge we are facing is corralling his temper...man can he throw a fit. I said today while I was helping Aidan get ready "Man, who taught him how to scream like that". Aidan responded in all seriousness by simply saying "Becca". I don't know if that is where he learned it, but he is sure good at it. Oh Andrew, you may just be the death of me but I am loving every minute of it. You have such a contagious personality and smile...now if we can just get the anger under control.

On a completely unrelated note Aidan had favorite T-shirt day in honor of the letter of the week which is T. I asked Aidan to pick out whatever T-shirt he wanted to wear and this is what he chose.

It made me smile. If you have no clue what I am talking about you can find out here.

Happy Birthday

2008-09-16T15:18:00.002-05:00

We celebrated Trace's birthday about a week ago and following my recent habit of bloggy laziness I didn't post it. We celebrated at home by having some of daddies favorite things. We grilled steaks, ate outside, and the kids and I made a carrot cake for desert, which is his favorite. Becca and Aidan proudly presented daddy with his special card that played the Star Wars theme song and then quickly took it back to play with it. It was a great evening together with the family celebrating our favorite daddy around! Thank you Trace for all your do for this family. You work hard to keep us organized and grounded because we all know I am not the best at that. You are my best friend and I truly thank the Lord for you and the opportunity to live this life as your partner. We love you!
This cake has every candle on it in the house that we could find and we still fell short at 31 and that is counting the 5 as 5 candles. Oh well, I think you get the point that this is a lot of candles.

What happens when you have a big brother?

2008-09-16T15:02:00.003-05:00

You insist that this is your Halloween costume

I bought Aidan and Andrew costumes at the CCC sale (local twice a year consignment sale) this year, but I didn't see one I loved for Becca so I decided she could be Cinderella again or we would just find another later. So today when we went to Walmart we walked through the costumes. She insisted this was the one. I showed her many princess dresses, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, and a Raggedy Anne. She liked several but was convinced this was the must have. She cracks me up! I heard her the other day with our 3 year old neighbor playing and telling her they needed to hide from the bad guys. Her brother has definitely made an impact. As soon as Aidan got home he wanted to put on his superman costume from last year and play heroes. Good times!

Recap of end of summer

2008-09-16T12:48:00.008-05:00

I told you that we tried to do a few fun and special things to wrap up the summer and kick off the new year, but I never posted any of those pictures. I know you are over the curiosity and have totally forgotten, but since I use this to keep a record of our lives I thought I would post them for me.

Right before school started we took the kids to the Water park at the Villages. We intended to go to Splash Kingdom but the weather was bad so we had to compromise and try the indoor water park. Our sweet friends the Bryans offered to watch Andrew so we could go with less stress and it was a HUGE help! The first 30 minutes or so threatened to be disastrous. They have this huge bucket of water that fills up every 30 minutes or so and then dumps gallons upon gallons of water on whoever is below. Becca hated this! We couldn't get near the area without tears and she even got upset when we weren't around the water and it fell because it was just too stinkin loud! Eventually she got used to it, got over her fear and we had a good time. Aidan needed a little bit to warm up also but he did get braver over the course if the day and he had a good time. Here are some pictures.

Then we went to dinner in Dallas at the Rain Forest Cafe with my brother and his family and my sister and dad. We decided to pick a place the kids would enjoy since it was the Friday before school started. We had planned to let Aidan pick any place he wanted to go which would mean Chucky Cheese or McDonald's but since we were in Dallas for my grandmothers funeral we changed plans and chose a place for him. It was really fun. It is a great atmosphere and the kids liked it. There were a few points when the noises were a bit much for Rebecca and she needed to hold daddies hand...isn't that just too sweet! Here are some more pictures:

And finally we read the Kissing Hand book and made Kissing Hand cookies. This is a cute book about a raccoon going to school and his mom sends him to school with a kiss on his hand so he can know that she is sending him her love throughout the day. It is a really cute book and was probably more special for me than Aidan. Here are the cookies we made.

We used hand shaped cookie cutters and placed a Hershey kiss in the middle. I don't know exactly what we did wrong but these cookies did not come out right...but they sure were cute and it was fun to do together.
And since I am recapping our lives with pictures why not add these:
Aidan reading to Andrew

Aidan attempting to teach Becca chess. His daddy taught him how to play and he knows the rules but isn't great at strategizing yet. He has trouble finding a partner to play with and since I don't know how I am not much help.

Sweetness between the Boys