More good news from Lydia!

Lydia rushed into the kitchen about ten minutes ago bursting to tell me something exciting! This was her story: "Mom! I have good news! I went to a casserole ( castle) and I met a prince and he said, " I want to marry you" and I said, " Hmm, your beautiful. I want to marry you too." so we got married in our casserole and now we spend together. Isn't that good news?

Garabage in, Garabage out!

I was remembering back, it would have been about eight years ago, to a youth retreat we had back when I was in high school. Our speaker was an amazing man of God from Texas who came every year for about six years. He asked for a volunteer and a young man went forward who was from a Godly home but a that time was straying badly. Daniel ( our speaker) told him that he was going to tell him his future. We of course were all skeptical but very interested. Daniel told him that in 5-10 years he would be jut like the music he listened to. Praise God, that boy soon after totally turned his life around and is now whole heartedly serving the Lord!

Daniel's "future telling" has stuck with me though. How often do we think that the things we hear and watch really don't affect us. I think that if we honestly look at our lives though we will see that what is put in, eventually is what comes out, whether it is how we think, talk etc.. I often have to take a look at my life when I find myself feeling far from the Lord. What am I filling my mind with? Movies? I can list on about one hand the movies I've seen that are truly profitable! Music about how " All we need is you and me". No wonder I feel depressed when "You and Me" doesn't make life peaches and cream! Am I getting my fill of God's truth? Am I filling my mind with the praises of God? He's the ONLY one who can make something beautiful from our lives! I pray that I will always be able to see when I have deceived myself into thinking I'm "okay" when really I am slowly drifting away from what He wants for me!

Something new every day!

The other evening, Lydia asked David if he wanted a butterfly kiss, and we soon discovered to our shock and amazement that Daddy had no idea what a butterfly kiss was! Lydia soon educated him so he is no longer in the dark!

Busy Days!

My days have seemed very busy this past week. Nothing terribly exciting, just busy! My parents always plant a lot of corn each year. We help them harvest it, and they share with us. This year though, due to some unforeseen circumstances last spring, it all was ripe at the same time!!! So last week we had an emergency corn session!

My mom has been coming over a few times a week to exercise with me, and this week we got our TTapp DVD! We tried it out for the first time this morning and think it's going to be really great! Thanks for the inspiration Kelly!

My sister and I started up our Jr. High discipleship group called Digging Deeper this last week. This is my first year to be a part of it and I am really excited! The girls are really eager to learn!

I've been trying to get our house in decent shape before my Home and Garden party next week ( You're all invited!). I rarely get to do something like this so I am really excited. I love having people over. Plus the stuff is so much fun!

Tonight I get to go to my friend Theresa's Scentsy party. It's another product that I love! TONS of scents!!!

My most exciting news of all, my grandparents have bought me an Ergo baby carrier!!! It should arrive any day! I've never had a good baby carrier of any kind and I feel like poor Havilah is spending 95% of her life lying on the livingroom floor! I'm really praying that it works well and doesn't hurt my back!

Well, like I said, not too exciting, but there it is nonetheless!

A perfect child!

Lydia had some good news for us yesterday! She informed us that she is not going to be naughty anymore and so was no longer in need of any spankings! Unfortunately her memory is not quite as perfect as her new resolve and had to be reminded of that fact several times!

Thoughts?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibL3h3HSR4Y

Proud to be his wife!!

Last night David had his first ride-along as a reserve officer! Last spring, never in a million years would I have guessed we would be here today! David's Dad and Grandpa have both been contractors so he has been raised learning all there is to know about contracting. We got married young, I was eighteen and he was almost twenty-one, but God has always provided for us in amazing ways.

David started his own contracting business which has always been very successful because he is so good at what he does and because he always seeks to honor the Lord in what he does. We never really imagined him changing jobs. Being self-employed certainly is nice in a lot of ways, but it also has it's stresses. Back in June we were driving down the street one day and as we passed a police car David casually mentioned, " I would have liked being a cop.". We all make comments like this all the time so usually those things just roll off me, but for some reason that really stuck in my head. The next day I looked up some information online and just kept thinking about it. A few days later, I brought it up to David and he said that he had been thinking about it all week as well!

That same week there had been an article in the paper saying that Dallas would be taking on some new reserve officers in the fall. We prayed and he talked to Godly counsel ( I basically tried to completely stay out of it, not wanting to pressure him at all) and he continued to really feel led in this way. The really strange thing was how God was really working no my heart as well. Never would I have imagined wanting my husband to be a police officer! Somehow though, God has totally worked to prepare me for this, at least at this point!

David filled out his application, took his written test ( with flying colors!), passed his agility test ( big surprise!) and had his oral review. All that's left is for them to run his background check ( which of course we are very worried about!). Last night he went out on his fist ride-along and came home with lots of exciting stories. Please pray for us that we will continue to seek what the Lord has planned for us and that we will have tremendous wisdom in figuring out how to fit schooling, ride-alongs, and several other smaller issues into our already busy " I feel like never see you" life. We know that God will work it all out as long as we are faithful to stay focused on what He wants for us.

As I hope everyone who knows me could tell you without thinking twice, I am so proud of my husband! I know that he will succeed at whatever he sets his hand at to do. Whether or not he feels like he is supposed to go on an become a police officer, stay a building contractor or do something else completely, I am so privileged to be his wife! We'll see what the Lord has in store for us!

Just experimenting!

I've been having fun this afternoon playing around with different touch ups I discovered I can do to my pictures. Sorry to those of you who actually know what they are doing! I'm sure that these look hilarious to you! I really don't have a clue as to what I'm doing. Just playing around!

Camping!!

Hooray for Doughboys!!!

This last weekend was our King famly campout. We were only able to go for Friday and Saturday night, but it was a great tme to hang out with family and spend some more time with eachother. We love camping, but haven't been able to go any other time this summer. The girls love camping, especially with so many people that love them like their uncles and auntie. Camping has always been a favorite time for me, although I do admit, I am a fan of showers!

Just another mothering experience!

Bethany discovered a creative new way to tie-dye your body. It's very simple. All you have to do is take the lids off of your sisters markers, drop them down your footie pajamas, then be good as gold so Mommy doesn't figure it out for some time!

September 10, 2001

It suddenly struck me today that this is September 10! A very obvious fact to some of you I'm sure, but it sticks out a little more to me. Tomorrow everyone will remember the terrible events that happened on 9\11 seven years ago, and just like everyone else, I have my own story of what that day was like for me! My story started on September 10 though.

Our good friends, the Thomas family, have been missionaries to Romania for years, and after one of their first years there they came home that summer and asked my parents if my sister and I could go back with them for a short time. Looking back now my parents cannot believe that they let their daughters ( only fifteen and thirteen!) go halfway around the world, but it was totally a God thing! We left on September tenth, happy and full of smiles, flew from Portland to Washington D.C. to Vienna to Romania. When we arrived their Romanian neighbor asked how we had gotten there since all the airports in America were closed. We kind of laughed thinking how naive this dear lady was to think that the airports in America could really be closed! We began to unpack, but were soon interrupted by a friend who had helped us unload rush back to tell us that indeed, things were not right in the states. We rushed to a friends house who had TV and watched in disbelief what all had transpired back home. From the very airport we had been at only hours before!

It was an amazing time of trusting the Lord. We didn't know if we would even be able to get home for a very long time! God was so gracious in providing His peace and provision in working out all the details perfectly for our trip to go just as planned. Our dad was able to come over after four weeks, spent two weeks with us there, then brought us home.

Our time there was so amazing. We were able to go back to the same area two years later and see the same friends and children. David was even able to go with us that time. My heart yearns to go back there. Sometimes it is interesting to think about why God would place some desires in our hearts that do not seem to correspond with what He has laid out for us. I know that His plan is still unfolding in my life, and only if it is to pray for those people, I am so thankful for the experience I had to know and love those wonderful people!!

New Havilah pictures

Looking back over my blog I realized that it's been a while since I've posted any pictures of Havilah! Never fear, she is still alive and well and charming the socks off of everyone who meets her. She'll be five months old the end of the month.

Our weekend

Youth council\ Leadership team 2008-2009

David and his best buddy Thomas

Last weekend was our youth council retreat. Every year it is so interesting to watch a new team come together and get started. We have so much potential in this new group. They are young, but eager to learn and very open to listening. Our girls had a great time. They love everyone so much! What a blessing it is to be a part of a group like this!!!

Bridgeport Youth Council

Youth Council\Leadership Team '04-'05
There's really no explanation. That's just kind of how they are together!

( Yes they are wigs though!)

Figuring how to get unconnected with each other!

( Two months pregnant with Lydia!)

The girls have just always gone with us. We'll see how that works in the future!

Tomorrow is our youth council retreat so it has had me thinking back over all my years of being involved with Bridgeport Youth Group. I know several people who are against youth groups in general and if you are one, I in no way mean to offend you, I'm just sharing my experiences!

I started attending Bridgeport Youth group in the fall of of 1999. I was thirteen. I was a "good" kid, having been raised in a Christian home all my life by amazingly Godly parents. I thought that I pretty much had it all together. Guy Jones has been our youth leader for several years now ( at least since then). He is a single man, completely devoted to this group and only been receiving any sort of financial support since this past year. He has such an amazing heart for kids to know Christ and serve Him with their whole lives.

Our youth group is set up like this. The Leadership team are adults who oversee everything that goes on and are responsible for the direction of the group. Guy is part of the leadership team, yet he is the youth leader and all are accountable to him. Our support team is kind of a new addition to our group. They are kids who have come through youth group, mostly college age, who want to be involved still in helping. The youth Council are kids within the youth group that want to learn to learn to become leaders and servants among the group.
I joined the youth council my second year going to youth group at fourteen, and have been involved ever since. It kind of gets in your blood! I learned and grown so much through being involved there. Just a plug for youth groups. I completely agree with not wanting to separate out the age groups and thinking that kids should be mingling with the old and young alike. But through my experience and so many others that I've seen, there is something very powerful about having your peers around you serving the Lord and seeking His will in every area in their lives. I really cannot speak for other groups, but at Bridgeport we are not about fun! We have it to be sure ( see above pictures!!), but only because when people are unselfishly loving and committed to those around them, serving and reaching out, your going to have a blast! We also are very committed to being involved with the whole church body!

I was on the youth council for four years and then after getting married went right onto the Leadership team, where we've been for five years now. I've spent three youth council retreats pregnant. Last year I was two and a half months pregnant, in charge of the kitchen, sick as a dog, and yet we hadn't told anyone yet! The girls have so far just come along. They love being with the kids and thinks the whole leadership team are either aunties of uncles. I don't know how it will all work out in the future, but thankfully God does. We have considered many times stepping down, but never felt peace about it. we are both convinced that right now, this is where God wants us. It's crazy to think back to all those past years. There has been so much growth in my life, as well as those around me. I think I have been more challenged this last year in really making God my all in all and loving those around me than I have ever been!

Sorry if am just rambling on. Please pray for us as we start a new year with a new group. So much potential, and yet we have got to be faithful in setting them an example to follow!

Girl Parties!

(Rachel, Cheyenne, Joy, Bethany, Anna, Lydia, Carrie, Desiree, Tessa)
Last night My baby sister Anna had her thirteenth birthday party at OUR house! Talk about fun!!! She has the sweetest friends ever! Bravo to these parents for raising their daughters to be respectful, sweet and considerate. They were so nice to my girls too! I love them!!!

Happy Birthday Uncle Michael!

Happy Birthday Uncle Michael! We love you!!!