Why yes, yes they are

   

Crowd Tap?

Do any of you guys participate in this site?


I stumbled upon it through some facebook friends and I think it's a pretty neat idea.

Basically, you join the site, you get to participate in actions and discussions and earn points which upgrade your level, and "cash" which you can trade in for amazon gift cards.   Often these actions will allow you to try a specific product for review and questionaires by that company.

The best part about it is, that any cash you redeem, they automatically take 5 % of it and give it to a charity of your choice, and then match that amount as well!  Pretty cool if you ask me, since all I have to do is click a few buttons here and there and answer some questions here and there.

I chose to donate to To Write Love on Her Arms  which I have written about before HERE and HERE
What a super charity to be able to donate to, just by answering questions. I love it!

Soooo... if you're interested, join me.  At least join and try it out, you can't beat free products to try and anything you earn goes to charity and it doesn't take hardly any time at all (unlike some survey sites etc)

4 months old (and almost a week)

I took the picture last week when he was first 4 months old, that should count for something right???



What a big boy Asher is getting to be, and so much fun!
He can giggle, and he loves to watch Elijah and Kyley play.
He holds on to a few toys and loves to look at things that are fun and colorful.
He coos and talks to you in his own way and he LOVES to squeal. Silly boy.

He is trying so hard to sit up on his own, but his poor little torso is so long he just can't get good control over it yet, but I have a feeling it won't be long!!!

He is still sleeping well at night, but oh how much sleep is he NOT getting during the day which probably causes his nights to be so good.

I can't believe how big he's getting already!!!   Here is the pictures I posted at 1,2,3, and 4 months old together.


(sorry for some reason it put the pictures in out of order, but you know what I'm going for here :) )

My Supermen!!!

A new adventure

We are so excited about the things God is doing in our lives, and in those around us, and I wanted to share one of those here today.

Recently we've been given the opportunity to serve in a children's minster position at a local church. We are beyond thrilled to see what God is doing through this.  If you guys wouldn't mind checking out the blog  and following it we'd appreciate it!!!
We also have a facebook page and a twitter (@lakewoodkids)  Thanks so much guys! You are all awesome!

Why I'm here.

*also written several years ago on my MySpace blog, but I wanted to share here*


Have you ever wondered why we were put here on this earth?
Isaiah 43:7 says...  "Everyone who is called by My name,
      Whom I have created for My glory;
      I have formed him, yes, I have made him."
and Colossians 1:16 says... "For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him."
These scriptures tell us that everyone called by His name is created for His glory- and in Colossians it tells us that all things created in heaven and on earth are created by Him, through Him, and for Him. So we have all been placed here for His glory.
What exactly is glory?
According to www.dictionary.com  the word glory can be said to mean

..> ..>

1.	very great praise, honor, or distinction bestowed by common consent; renown

..

2.	something that is a source of honor, fame, or admiration; a distinguished ornament or an object of pride

3.	adoring praise or worshipful thanksgiving:

4.	resplendent beauty or magnificence.

5.	a state of great splendor, magnificence, or prosperity.

..

6.	a state of absolute happiness, gratification, contentment, etc.

..

7.	the splendor and bliss of heaven Our job is to bring him glory- we were created to worship Him!

 This brings me to the point of this blog- a song I love.
The chorus simply says "To worship You I live, to worship You I live, I live to worship You."
I live to worship Him- worship doesn't mean we have to sing to Him constantly- it doesn't mean we have to jump up and down and shout, it just simply means for us to bring Him glory.  We can do that by allowing our minds to be transformed, and living as a representative of Christ.  We once had a saying in our youth group about things we did or said, to know you were bringing God glory, we'd say " as a representative of Jesus Christ... (fill in the blank with whatever action/word/thought you were having or contemplating)" and if it wasn't something that would reflect good on the name of Jesus, then we probably shouldn't do that.
Romans 12:1-2
 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
It is our job to bring Him glory- are you reflecting that in your life?


The lyrics to the song...
Away away from the noise
alone with you
away away to hear your voice
and meet with you
nothing else matters my one desire is
 To worship you I live
to worship you I live I live to worship you
To worship you I live
to worship you I live I live to worship you
oh oh
 Away away, away away from the noise alone with you
Away away to hear your voice and meet with you
It's been a while but heart my heart cry again
: To worship you I live
to worship you I live I live to worship you
To worship you I live
to worship you I live I live to worship you
To worship you I live
to worship you I live I live to worship you
oh oh

Is this your hearts desire? To get away from the noise.... to get alone with Him...to bring Him glory?

Father, I thank You for your living Word and your perfect will for our lives. Lord I pray that you will mold me and make me into the person you have created me to be- Lord help me to refocus my life and get alone with You, worship You, and bring you glory. May your will for my life and that of my family's be manifested in us through our worship of You. Amen.

Finally! Success!!!

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you may remember THIS post.

Oh boy has this been a long time coming...

I'm so excited to say that we are FINALLY done with diapers for Elijah! At 3 years & 3 months old almost to the day (we started on the 4th full time)  He has been without a diaper for a week now.

I couldn't be a prouder mommy to this sweet boy. He goes on his own, without help (unless he needs wiped) and he's only had a handful of accidents and they were mostly a timing issue or at night when he can't wake himself up to go yet.

We'd been going diaper free at home for several months but not out of the house because he couldn't be consistent in telling us he had to go, and my stubborn boy would not settle for "trying" to go every so often, he only goes when HE needs to.

He may be stubborn, but when he was ready, he was ready. I'm so glad to be on the other side of the hill (ok well mostly)

Lord, please let Asher not be as stubborn and make things so hard on mommy. lol.

Anyhow, to celebrate his new achievement I think I'm going to order him these...



He is going to be so thrilled, he loves Phineas and Ferb right now, so this will make his day :)

Answer's to life's questions?

I wrote this post on my myspace blog many years ago, but felt it was worth sharing here. I love hearing God's voice and this is just one example.

* Please note that throughout this blog , the use of "Daddy" is not directed at my earthly father, but yet a term of endearment between my Heavenly Father and the personal relationship i share with Him.*

Answers....


Daddy, why does death hurt so badly? Why does it bring so much pain? Death to our earthly desires, death to our will for our lives as opposed to Your perfect will, and death to our old way of thinking...? All of these types of death bring forth strength, but Daddy, physical death, where is the strength in that? The joy of the Lord is my strength, I am quickly reminded by your sweet, still voice. Your joy... it shall be my strength. But Lord, where shall i find such joy in death? Your reply to me is resounding in my mind. "My child, my joy is found in my resurrection," You say. So I ponder this for a moment.

Resurrection, what does it mean?

1. the act of rising from the dead.
2. (initial capital letter) the rising of Christ after His death and burial.
3. (initial capital letter) the rising of the dead on Judgment Day.
4. the state of those risen from the dead.
5. a rising again, as from decay, disuse, etc.; revival.

Another source cites resurrection as a revival from inactivity and disuse.

Revival from inactivity? But Father, what does this have to do with my grieving? What does this have to do with my hurt and pain? "Listen closely, My child," You reply, " your mourning for a life resurrected to be with me is only the beginning my dear. Your earthly desires, your personal will for your life, your way of living, all of this is merely the beginning. Your mind in these states is at a moment of inactivity. Take heed my dear child, and draw close to Me. Rise above this earthly world full of traps and snares, and hold your head high. Rise above all circumstances, all inactivity, all disuse, and be resurrected by My power! Be revived my child, oh that I might use you to do something great for My kingdom."

My girl

Well, this is my 300th post! I had something else planned but I can't get it finished in time to post before today, and I already haven't blogged in multiple days, soooo instead I'm going to share a few pictures with you, and I'll write my "300" post later :)


   

a picture worth a thousand words.

I just never want to forget the sweet things our kids do. And oh how I wish I'd had my camera on me last night.

We pulled up to church and Elijah immediately began protesting going to play in the playroom. We let him stay in service with us (Me, Derek, and Asher) through most of worship, and he started getting restless torward the end of worship so I took him to the room and gave him a snack and he stayed to play with the other kids. I went back to service. 

Not long after, guess who was hungry and wanted to be fussy? :)  So again, I get up and leave and go to the nursery to rock Ash and feed him.  Elijah finds me in the nursery (there are adjoining doors)  He hangs pretty close to me and eventually looks at me and says "mommy, i wanna go to the sanctuwary" and beeline's for the nursery door. I get him to stay and he protests "but mommmmmy, i wanna learn about jesus!"

*melt my heart*

so I finally get Asher situated, and we go back to the sanctuary, Elijah going with me this time. We sit down and get still, and Josh was finishing up his sermon. And praying over people etc and he opened the alters for prayer.  Derek goes down to the alter to pray, and Elijah watches intensely.  Next thing I know, Elijah is asking me to go pray. I nodded at him and he ran as FAST as he could up to his daddy and kneeled beside him, rested his head on the stage and didn't budge. I got up and stood in the back of the sanctuary so I could see him at all times, in case he tried to get distracting, but he never moved. It was THE. CUTEST. THING. EVER.    I really wish I'd had my camera. REALLY REALLY wish I had.

And one more thing I don't want to forget so I'm going to throw it in here...  last night before church we went to visitation for a friend's dad at the funeral home. We take our kids with us, they are very aware of what death is, and what it means, and we don't hide that.  Anyhow, as we're going in the building Elijah matter of factly states.  "I don't be died.  I be safe daddy."   I'm not sure where he comes up with some of this stuff, but he's so smart!

mini me Elijah

 

anyone else think they look alike?  I can't wait to see who Asher looks more like as he gets older. He's already changing so much!

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!

Ok, ok so you don't get a chicken dinner... BUT I do have a winner!



Precious 3 said...
I wrote a blog post. I wrote it 5 times, and really feel it should be written again, but it's going to have to wait LOL. But here it is!

http://philippians48myprayer.blogspot.com/2011/06/edify.html


(remind me to tell you a story about this later!)

June 22, 2011 5:27 PM

Congratulations Jen! You've won a $20 credit to DaySpring! I'll email you the code shortly!

And a special shout out to my mom who was the only other person to enter. You rock!

in which I speak about coyotes... (kinda)

Kyley is such a funny kid. I just love her.

Last week she came to me and said "Mommy, I can spell coyote!"  and then showed me her paper. I wish I'd taken a picture of it to post here, but me being the bad mommy I am sometimes didn't think to do so.

Her paper read     " KYOT"   - It makes totally sense. She knows Ky is her name, well the first part at least, and what her nickname is, and so it must be followed by an O and a T to make the ote sound in the word right?

She's getting smart, and figuring things out, unfortunately that word doesn't follow normal rules and cannot be sounded out phonetically, but we are proud nonetheless.


Another Kyley funny I don't want to forget.  The other night we were driving in the van, and Kyley, Krissy, and Elijah were all in the backseat and Derek was next to Asher. Derek looks back at them and starts talking to Kyley about conviction (though not with that word). He said "Kyley when you do something wrong, do you know it's wrong?  Do you hear something in your head that tells you it's a bad idea?"   Kyley responds : "No, I just hear you in my head daddy"  So he then poses the same question to Krissy.  Krissy says " No, I just hear you too" (great minds think alike? and hear voices in their head alike?)

Gosh I don't think the funny things my kids come up with will ever get old. They are so much fun!!!

A boy and his daddy. And a chess game.

I just cannot get this game. No matter what I do, I cannot remember how the pieces move, and what I can and cannot do.  Anyone out there with me on this? How do you know what the right move is?  I often find it very overwhelming.


   



I think we can all say we relate to this sometimes when we think about God's will for our lives too. I have no idea where to go next and it frustrates me, not only in chess, but in life. I like to know where I'm going. Don't you?  But sometimes we need to sit back and let God teach us some things before we can ever make a move to begin with.



If we really begin to realize that we cannot move at all without His guidance and knowledge then we are able to beat our opponent. Just the same as I cannot play chess without asking Derek a bazillion questions and allowing him to guide me, we have to rely on Christ for guidance and instruction.


Are you listening to the voice of God?   Are you hearing his instruction and direction for your life?


I know that I don't want to live my life stuck in one spot though, I want to see God move me. I want to know what He knows and feel what He feels. I want to walk where He walks, and see what He sees.



I want to know that I'm walking in His ways, and I want to know that I'm making the right move.  Sure we may try to lean on our own knowledge and understanding, but what if we're wrong.  What if we make a mistake?   What if we get defeated because we didn't heed the advice and knowledge of our Teacher?


Lord, show me how to walk in your ways. Teach me to trust solely in Your voice and Your direction. Help me to see the move you have planned for me. Lord help me to be obedient and purposeful in my next move. Amen.



And who knows, maybe after looking at it this way, I'll let Derek try to teach me to play again... and try a little harder to understand this time.

Asher is 3 months old! (and a few days)

I cannot believe how quickly time is flying!

It seems like just yesterday he was not even here yet (and we still thought he was a girl!)

Just a few things because I don't want to forget this time.

At 3 months, he can roll over anytime he is laid on his tummy.

He smiles and is just now learning to giggle at us, and I absolutely adore it!

He wants to sit up and see all the time, he loves to know what's going on.

He likes to hold his teething toys and chew on them and he loves to chew his fist also

He is wearing more and more 3 month clothes and we're beginning to have to put away some of his newborn/0-3 now.

He sleeps great at night still, but during the day forget about it!

He loves Kyley, he will smile anytime she talks to him almost.

Elijah still can't leave the boy alone, he wants to pull on his arm or kiss him or pinch his cheek etc ALL. THE. TIME.

I absolutely cannot believe how big and strong he is getting.

I don't want to miss this

I love the way his big brown eyes light up when he smiles.

and I love the way he loves me.

I love when he still asks me to "hold me mommy" when he is feeling down, and how he insists that I put Aasher down RIGHT NOW.

I love the way he calls a bandaid a tattoo.

And grandpa is grandpa, and grandma is grandpa too :)

I love how when he prays, he always wants to pray for Jesus, and for God and won't stop until you say those.

And how when he wants to leave the house, he says "mommy let's go home"

I love the way he shares so many kisses with me, how he jumps on and off of almost anything, and how he knows no stranger.

I love the way he loves his sister, and his brother, each in his own unique way.

I love the way he can fall asleep in an instant (like in Asher's bouncy seat apparently)


   








I love that he embraces life, how he loves others, and most of all loves Jesus.

Man I love this kid.

What's my favorite word???? (Review & Giveaway!)

edify

–verb (used with object), -fied, -fy·ing. to instruct or benefit, especially morally or spiritually; uplift:

 

If you ask anyone who knows me what my favorite word is, this would be it.  I love to teach my kids, my youth, whoever it is what this means. 

 

Romans 14:19
Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.

There are many Scriptures that tell us how important it is to lift each other up, or to edify one another. 

Do you ever just long for someone to say something uplifting and encouraging to you?  What would your life be like if you walked around all day long, everyday, and no one ever gave you any edification?  I don't know about you, but I wouldn't hold myself together very well. One day of just negative things and I'd already be shaken! 

It is so important as a body of believers that we lift each other up. That we encourage one another, and love one another! You never know when one word of encouragement can turn someone's entire life around. A pat on the back to say, hey I've been there, things do get better. A high five to show someone you appreciate the great job they've done. Sometimes all it takes is a moment to brighten someone's day and let them know they are loved. 

I often bring the word edify into conversation with teenagers. I find that at their age a lot of the "norm" is to cut each other down and make fun of one another. What purpose does that serve? Do you not realize how your words affect others? Jokes, whether you mean it or not, hurt. Harsh words, hurt. Even something as simple as not believing someone's motives when they speak to you, that hurts.  I'm sure we've all dealt with this in our own lives. When I've faced these issues in the past, I've let them dig holes in my heart and it's hard to pull away from that. It's hard to forget. Thank God for His amazing grace because He gives me strength to move forward even when I'm hurting the most. He wants us to love each other as He loves us. 

Psalm 3:3

 ³ But You, O LORD, are a shield for me,
         My glory and the One who lifts up my head.

If God loves me enough to lift up my head and be a shield for me, shouldn't I try to do the same for others, realizing that I am not God, I am man, but that I can still strive to lift others up?

If we are going to move forward as a body of Christ, we must acknowledge that there is no place for negativity in our lives. We need to step out of our comfort zone, stop picking on people, making jokes, etc and begin to lift one another up in love.

This month I have the privilege of sharing with you guys a beautiful piece of work that I received from DaySpring, through (in)Courage 's (in)spired deals. Each month they pick a theme for the month, and this month's theme is: Encouragement

I was sent a beautiful picture frame to review that I absolutely love.


   




Isn't it cute?  I absolutely love the bright vibrant colors, and the fun decorative numbers.


I haven't found just the perfect picture of it yet, but I plan to put a picture of my three sweet blessings in it.



It's made of VERY durable material (in fact my 6 year old has already dropped it, without a scratch to be found) And the best part of all, it opens up an opportunity to tell anyone who enters my home and sees it about the blessings God has given us, not just in our kids, but in all things.

In addition to being able to review this great product for you guys, I also was given the opportunity to share something with one of you. One person who comments on this post will win a Coupon Code for $20 to spend at DaySpring!

All you have to do to enter is :

1. Be a follower of my blog

2. Leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite way to encourage others.
You must do both to qualify for an entry!

You can get bonus entries for:
Tweeting/Facebooking about this message, leave a separate comment for each (1 extra entry per social networking site)
and 2 bonus entries for writing your own blog about encouragement in your life and linking back to this giveaway! (please post two separate comments)

I will leave this post open until Friday the 24th  at midnight and at that time I will draw a winner using Random.org and post the winner here on my blog!

I cannot wait to hear the great things you guys are going to share with me!

 

 

In full disclosure, I was given this product at no cost to me by DaySpring to review as well as the giveaway code. All opinions within this post are my own.

4 of a kind

My sweet babies are all growing up so fast!!! 

Elijah, Kyley, Krissy, Emily

Missing from this photo is obviously Asher :)

Puzzles & Braids

Kyley wanted me to take a picture of her finished puzzle and put it on my blog. She was so proud that she finished it all by herself (it wasn't a hard puzzle and she's done bigger ones on her own, but for some reason this one made her happy to finish)
Yesterday , I french braided her hair for the first time.  I've tried in the past but he hair was either too short or too thin at the time, we never had any success. It's not perfect but it's a start!


Any tips you can give me on french braiding and cute hairstyles now that her hair is getting longer? 

Babies

This weekend, we welcomed a sweet little girl into our quickly growing family of friends. 

Welcome to the world Juliet Arianna. You are so loved by so many already.

June 12, 2011   

   

Congratulations to Will and Angie Rus. We are so excited for you guys and can't wait to love on her more and more and watch her grow. We love yall!