We made it...

Well, we made it through our very first week of Kindergarten. I have to say that Reid LOVED school and came home happy every single day! What a blessing. Cole LOVED school the 2 days he went as well. His teacher said that he didn't cry one bit and that he participated in everything. That's a huge step for my sweet Cole.

We are praising the Lord that all went well. Reid was glad that today was Saturday though and he was so excited to get to play all day with his brother and sister. He has missed that for sure. So, we decided to take the kids to the park today and play. Then we made cookies and had ice cream after dinner. All in all, I survived the first week of Kindergarten! Now, I only have 13 more years to go with Reid and add another 4 years to that by the time Ella gets through. Whew...I sure hope I can handle it all! ;-) Naw...I did fine. I pray over my kiddos every day and then have to trust God with the rest. I even started praying with Reid every day before school. The first day I asked him if we could pray for his day that day, his little eyes lit up and he said yes as he jumped into my arms. It was so sweet.

My prayer for my kids goes beyond getting a good education and making new friends, withstanding peer pressure, etc. My prayer is that they "Love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength..." Deut 6:5

This is a lesson that I'm still learning. I want this so much in my own life, but the reality is that I love other things more. I have been studying this week and I read something in a book by John Piper that has stuck with me:
"This is what sin is--dishonoring God by preferring other things over Him, and acting on those preferences. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God...We glorify what we enjoy the most. And it isn't God!" OUCH...that hurts, huh?

He goes on to say:
"We will never stand in awe of being loved by God until we reckon with the seriousness of our sin and the justice of His wrath against us. But when, by grace, we waken to our unworthiness, then we may look at the suffering and death of Christ and say, 'In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.'" (I John 4:10).

I have learned this week that I have to trust Christ at a whole new level. And I have learned that it is even more important that I teach my children to LOVE the Lord their God. And that will start with them watching their Mommy LOVE the Lord her God with ALL her heart, mind, soul, and strength. I don't know what this totally looks like as I am a flawed person on every level...but I am praying that each and every day, He will show me the big picture.

My debt is so great that He had to pay my price and I will be forever grateful! Thank you Lord for your love, your mercy, and your grace for without it, I would not be who I am today nor would I survive until tomorrow.

Slow Fade

I know that I have been putting a lot of videos up lately...maybe I'll get one up of the kiddos sometime soon!!

Anyway, my girl Allie sent this to me. It's Casting Crowns Lead singer (I think) talking about why he wrote the song Slow Fade (you know the video I have below). If you have the 4 minutes, it's well worth the watch. I can't tell you how much I love this message and just how very true it is. The elders at our church constantly "preach" that the worst "ism" is gradualism. And that's what this Scripture and this song talk about. It makes you ponder what in your own life are you gradually moving away from or toward?

I love what my mom said in her comment on Reid's first day of Kindergarten:
"...to be only a breath away from God."

This rings so true for us as adults. Are we in a "Slow Fade" or are we a breath away from God?

Ok...so I can't help but get on the political game right now. Here is yet another video about our Dem candidate. This is REALLY disturbing! I know that this is a touchy subject for so many...but it's one that I'm passionate about!



Also check out the website that my girlfriend has put together that follows the tax issues between our 2 candidates.

52 Percent

The BIG Day....

Well, yesterday was Reid's BIG first day in Kindergarten! Many of you know that I have somewhat dreaded this day and have been terribly emotional about the whole thing. I would tear up at the very thought of him entering Kindergarten.

It's not that I'm sad that he's going. I'm actually very excited about this phase in his life. I just sit back and look at him and try to figure out how in the world he got old enough to even be in school! Where did the time go? If you have little ones at home, please cherish every moment with them...even the hard ones...they too quickly pass and are forever gone.

We have now entered this whole new phase in life for Reid. We have entered the phase where I wonder have I done enough in teaching him right from wrong, instilling Christ deep in his heart, preparing him for what lies ahead? I know that I will still be doing this over the next 13 years of school, but from here on out, his school, his friends may very well have a greater influence over him than us....considering he will spend more time at school than home.

I am very excited to see how God is going to mold Reid this year at school and in the years to come. My biggest prayer is that Reid will develop a heart that deeply loves the Lord in all he says and does. And what accountability this is for me since I know that his first view of what this looks like will come from me and Bry. No pressure, right?

Anyway...the boys were super excited the night before school. We talked about school, choices, etc and what to expect. We prayed and sprinkled glitter on their heads before bed (a treat that Cole's teacher gave me at Meet the Teacher). They couldn't wait. Side note...Cole is going to school this year 2 days a week. He feels all grown up now!

Here was Reid's prayer on Monday night:
Dear God,
Thank you for Mommy, Daddy, Reid, Cole-Cole, and Ella.
Please help me to have good dreams and not bad dreams.
Thank you for school tomorrow and help me to have fun.
Help Cole not to cry when we take him.
Please help me to be sweeter to Mommy and not hurt her heart.
Please help me to get along with Cole-Cole.
In Jesus Name...Amen!

How do you not love a prayer like that? Seriously, the tears are forming in my eyes as I type this. He has really been working on his little heart!

Back to the subject at hand...Tues, we woke up and there was definite excitement in the air! We made a special breakfast, got dressed in our new school clothes and shoes and of course took some pictures (after all, their mommy is a photographer!), and headed out the door (but not before Mom found a few minutes to pray over her children).

When we arrived at school, the boys jumped out, grabbed their backpacks and put them on. When we arrived to Reid's room, I didn't even get the chance to hug him, when he ran straight to class. My heart tugged a little as I now know how my mom felt that first day she dropped me off. I ran off and didn't look back. My poor mom...so sorry about that!

Then we took Cole to his class. A little nervous, I admit...he tends to cry pretty much every time we leave him. HOWEVER, he had a BIG grin on his face, gave us big hugs and sugars and marched right on in the room! Oh thank you LORD!

And what about mom? Well, I survived! I got a little teary eyed, but no flood of tears. I think I got it all out over the summer!

So, here we are, in a brand new chapter in life. It will be exciting! I love you Reid and Cole!

Be careful little eyes...

So, I totally stole this from another person's blog that my girlfriend Jeffie sent to me today. But I had to share this with my Blog family. This song is so powerful!

Please take the time to view this if you haven't already seen it.



This hits so close to home to me as it's imperative that we teach our children to guard their minds, their eyes, their feet, and their hands. We can't wait till they are teenagers or adults to teach them this lesson, we MUST teach them now!

Teaching them to guard themselves now, can really help them withstand the worldly temptations in the future. How do we teach our children that ONE, SINGLE decision that they make can affect their entire life? It can affect everyone around them...those they care the most about. I'm sure that it's mainly by example...and how I have failed my sweet little ones in this. Thank goodness for GRACE that gives me the strength to not continue to make the same mistake over and over.

Oh be careful little eyes what you see...for the Father up above is looking down in LOVE...oh be careful little eyes what you see!

Funny how a "childrens' song" can grab our adults hearts, huh?

Obama mocks the Bible

Here is a quick Utube of Obama in 2006 mocking the Bible. We really need to ban together and pray that he doesn't get elected. This is quite scary.

Don't let her petiteness fool you...

My sweet Ella may be little..as a matter of fact, she is the smallest of all her friends...but that doesn't mean that she isn't tough. I mean, after all, she does have 2 big brothers!

Poor Reid was trying to walk in our front door the other day and Ella literally slammed the door in his face. And the handle on our front door nailed Reid right in the eye. It definitely hurt him. Poor little Ella kept saying: "Sorry Reid!" She really didn't mean too. She thought that he was going to play chase with her and since she is smaller than them, her defense mechanism is to slam the door behind her to get away from them.

Reid just wanted to know if his eye would look better before he started Kindergarten! I'm glad to report that I think he will be in the clear. It did get a little worse over the next couple of days, but it's about gone now! But no worries....he wasn't mad at Ella. He can't be mad at her. He simply adores her and in his eyes, she can do no wrong! Seriously...you think she's spoiled because of me...NOPE, it's all Reid.

Speaking of Kindergarten, we had Meet the Teacher today at his school. We got to meet both his teacher and Cole's teacher! Reid's teacher's husband is a Vet. For those of you that know my son well, his fav thing is ANIMALS! I thought that was very cool. I have prayed that Reid will be blessed with the best teacher for him. I think this was God's way of saying: "I've got him covered!"