Oh, The Kids Are Growing!

The other morning I went into Charlie's room to get him up.  He was already awake, but he was pretending to be snoring under the covers.  It was quite a sight and sound!  I sat down on the bed and gave him a little tickle.  He came out of the covers with the biggest smile on his face, and boy, he can make it from ear to ear!  I grabbed him and cuddled him in my arms, which is pretty difficult now that he is as big as he is.  I asked him if he knew that there was a time when he was only 10 pounds, when he couldn't walk or talk, or even go potty on the potty?  Of course, missing the point, he reminded me, that he used to go potty back then, it was just into a diaper!  I kind of got teary eyed thinking about how much he has grown, that he is a big boy now and he is only going to get bigger!  And Grace is a whole other story.  This girl, let me tell you, is becoming a little girl!  She was so tiny for so long and really she still is.  She is thin and petite and just so cute.  But all of a sudden her legs look longer and she seems taller.  Really it's her big personality that stands out so much.  She has a joy about her that fills a room in seconds. And she is a smart cookie.  Just about the time I think I can stump her, she comes up with  the most brilliant answers.  Lately, it has been, "I'm just kidding!", "Are you sure?" and "God made me!" She's good!  It is a blessing to be a parent, to watch the milestones, and to see the ah ha moments.  Thank you Lord for the opportunity to be a parent and to have so much joy because of the children!

Celebrating Easter!

What a great time we all had remebering and celebrating Jesus' death and resurrection!  It doesn't look like it, but both Charlie & Gracie had been sick with ear infections, high fever and lots of grumpiness!  Despite, we had a fun day together.  They enjoyed finding eggs, figuring out how to open them, eating as many jelly beans at one time, and talking about how much Jesus loves them! Thank you Jesus for your love!

Another Answered Prayer!

Would you believe it?  Charlie started praying that we could go to Disneyland.  We told him to pray hard and often because Disneyland is sure expensive!  We are getting a strong feeling that God hears Charlie's prayers!  Some wonderful friends of ours blessed us with the opportunity to go and we all had a blast.  How many words is a picture worth?  Well, here are a few pictures to give you an idea of how much fun we had! 

One Snap Shot of Winter Camp

Camp seems to have become a second family for Paula. It is sweet when she comes to camp, as we get to catch up and see where she is with the Lord. This time was no different. She got off the bus and fell right in to my arms. I got the biggest squeeze ever! Over the course of the weekend, I saw Paula’s participation in all of our discussions. It was as if she was looking for some answers without being too obvious about it. Later, she asked two pretty heavy questions…How can you stand up for Christ when no one else around you is a Christian or even seems to care, and How can you be a Christian but struggle with messed up thoughts about sexual identity? Her heart was aching and broken. Her family said they were Christians but really didn’t live it out. Any time she tried to tell them more about Christ and His ways, she got shut down. And, her past abuse left her confused about her sexuality. She knows what the bible says and she believes it to be true, but her mind is telling her lies. As tough of questions as these were, we both saw God’s word and love giving her encouragement and comfort throughout the weekend. Our winter camp theme was My Heart, Christ’s Home based on the book by Robert Munger, and our memory verse was Ephesians 3:17 Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. It was God’s perfect timing for Paula to be at camp when she was, and it was God’s perfect plan that this was our theme. It was a gentle reminder for her to trust in Him all the more and that He will keep her strong.

God Answered Prayer!

We made our first trip to pre-school today! Charlie has been praying that he would be able to go for quite a while. And today it happened. The pictures tell the story from being at home to the time in the car and getting to school. As you can see, he is not at all excited or happy!!! The first thing he said to the teachers was that he was too shy to say hi. The next thing we knew he was playing and making new friends. A few times while we were there he came running over to us and explained what he was learning about, and this was while they were having free play time. "Hey Dad, look, I'm learning about blocks!"  "Mom, look, I'm learning how to drive!" (as he drove a car around a track) He was not even bothered when we left. He barely even took the time to say good-bye. As for mom and dad, well, it was harder to leave. Our boy is growing up! Thank you God for answering prayer!

Happy 2nd Birthday Gracie!

Everything is Minnie Mouse and pink as we celebrate Gracie's 2nd Birthday!  We started the day by singing Happy Birthday to her as we went in to get her out of bed.  She was excited!  As you can see, we gave her a Minnie Mouse dress up outfit which she was more than ready to put on and play in.  Grace received some real nice gifts. The Mickey Park Playhut was from Susie.  The pots, pans and play birthday cake was from grandma.  Aunt Shelley and family sent a cute summer dress.  An apron and chef's hat helped in keeping her clean as she made her birthday cupcakes!  We had a great day resting after a fabulous winter camp weekend, celebrating Grace and the gift we have in her, and praising God for the many blessings we have!

Snow Play!

We finally got enough snow to have a play day!  Getting ready was a chore.  Gracie had so many clothes on, I am not sure her arms could go down!!!  Dad played with the kids outside for a while.  It only took about 10 minutes before Grace was cold and wet and tired of the snow.  Charlie and Dad made a snow man, went sledding and took a small hike to find our run away dog, Sierra.  The snow is nice, it sure is beautiful, but when it is all said and done, we enjoy going inside and getting dry clothes on and warming up by the fire!