Sledding and Friends

Today we went sledding near our house. It is a huge sledding area. I have to say we went very fast and over several jumps. So much fun, but not without a couple of bruises on my thighs!
I had to put up a picture of Isaac with his blue hair. Whenever he gets it cut he chooses the color of gel he wants.
We were able to spend some time with friends this weekend and tomorrow we will visit with our cousins. Isn't great to get together with people you care about?
Looking forward to a great week!

The Ring Bearer

Isaac is going to be in my brothers wedding this summer. He is going to walk up with my other two nieces. They will be the cutest kids! Here is a picture of Josh and Emily with my new chocolate fountain:)

I am in a bible study called Beautiful Womanhood. This weeks chapter to study was called Creating a Culture of Beauty.

One of my favorite verses was Is 55:3 "Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen for the life of your soul is at stake." I have been thinking lately that I learn more from listening than from talking.
As women we create the environment in our home. I pray ours is a peaceful one. I remember when I was a teenager saying to my mom, "Why would so and so want to come home from work at night, I can't stand his wife and he probably can't either. She has to make him WANT to come home."

Prov 27:15-16 "A nagging wife is as annoying as the constant dripping on a rainy day. Trying to stop her complaints is like trying to stop the wind or hold something with greased hands."
I always tell Matt, "I am not your mother and I never will be, No husband wants to make love to his mother." True isn't it:) Be your husbands wife today!
Looking forward to having a great day!

Which Kind Are You?

Here is a picture of Isaac with my parents cat Fluffy. Or at least it WAS their cat. After my mom posted a picture of herself with Fluffy on Facebook, a neighbor saw it and realized it was their kitty Penelope who had ran away. Oh how sad for us. We loved little fluffy. We are promised a kitty when she has kittens, first pick!!

I was reading something the other day and it has really stuck with me. It is the introduction to 1 Corinthians 1-6 in the Daily Walk Bible.
"There are three kinds of people in the business world: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who ask, "What happened?" Which kind are you?
There are also 3 kinds of spiritual people. Those who are spiritually dead (without the Spirit, Cor 2,14), those who are spiritually immature (worldly, 3:1), and those who are spiritually discerning (spiritual man, 2:15-16). Which kind are you?


The natural person does not have the Spirit of God and cannot understand or apply spiritual truth. The carnal person is a Christian who is acting like a natural person (3:3). This person' growth in Christ is stunted. He or She is still feeding on the spiritual "milk" when he or she should be eating "meat."

The spiritual person has "the mind of the Lord" (2:16) and is able to take the truths of God's Word and translate them into obedient action.
Talk to God about where you are and ask Him what needs to change before you could be described as "he or she who is spiritual.
This was challenging and I love a challenge from God's word. Probably the biggest thing I see among fellow Christians is their lack of knowledge of God's word, I didn't say knowledge in general, but Bible knowledge.
What they speak does not line up with God's word and the Word of God has SO much to say about our mouths.
James 1:26 "If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless."

WOW, Guess what? We need to keep our mouths shut a lot more than we do. And when we speak make sure it lines up with the Word of God. Otherwise our religion is "worthless." Certainly convicts me to watch what I say and if I need to speak make sure it is Godly speech.
A challenge for all of us, I encourage you to take it this New Year! I know there will be less strife in our homes, with friends and family and life in general. Strive to live in Peace with all people. Lay down pride, idle thoughts and jealousy.

I Am Still Counting!

I had to put up a picture of my red neck garage door opener. Our spring broke so it is very heavy to push up. We are leaving our cars outside most of the time, but with all the snow and the possible blizzard (that seems to have past us up) we sometimes park them inside. When I want to get out I lift it up slowly and put things underneath it to rest. Because we have a bike rack on top of our SUV I have to add this blue container on top of the ladder. The neighbors must love it!!
I was Re-counting last night and since there were a couple of more children given to families we may be around 16 on the list!! Hard not to be excited!

I just finished reading a book a friend gave us, What is the What. I liked this quote from Mother Theresa,
"Lord Jesus, make us realize
that it is only by frequent deaths of ourselves
and our self-centered desires
that we can come to live more fully;
for it is only by dying iwth you
that we can rise with you."

Counting Down...

I get so excited when I see families have been given their referral! Today I checked the Bethany Forum and saw that a little 9 month old girl and an 11 month old boy have been chosen for families.
So by my estimation, however off it may be, I think we are about 19 on the list AHEAD of us. Some families are open to adopting older children and some may have put a gender preference. In any case, we are getting closer to meeting our little boy or girl. Isaac is still pretty sure it will be a girl and we need to name her Flower. If it is a boy he thinks another Isaac or Titus would be good. Where he gets these names I do not know!
We are going to the Ethiopian Restaurant tonight. There will be 8-10 of us going. Matt's family loves it so we enjoy visiting and seeing Sam, the owner. Maybe sweet potato pie for dessert tonight. Also looking forward to talking to him about a cooking class he may be doing and trying to pick a night so us Bethany families could meet there for dinner, more on that later.
Here is a picture of Matt and Isaac on New Year's Eve. We tried to go to a nice Italian restaurant for dinner but it had a 2 1/2 hour wait! So we headed over to the local Mexican place instead. Afterward we had my chocolate fountain going at home and by the end of the night my brother and his fiance had a chocolate fight and we got some great pictures!

Our Son Is A Blessing!

Yesterday our son told me he wanted to marry me someday! Isn't that sweet? We just adore and love him.
Today I am taking him to a nature center to possibly meet up with our cousins. They have bees, snakes, turtles and bunnies!
Matt went out for a run this morning, 10 degrees, WOW that is cold.
Our weeks will start getting busier again. Matt and I start back to bible school on Monday, I volunteer at church one morning and we are doing The Story on Wednesday nights as a church family. That is only the beginning! But we are not over stressed and enjoying everything.
I was reading Psalms 5 this morning. Verse 3 "In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my request before you and wait in expectation." Isn't that a great verse?
We pray we hear of more referrals soon for our friends. That means one step closer for us!