The 30 cent Connection

"Nap Time" Fun

2009-01-01T11:15:00.001-08:00

This is how I found Annabelle after her nap the other day.
Apparently she doesn't need clothes when she's sleeping

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

2008-12-18T11:39:00.000-08:00

Let me just start by saying, I never knew I would be SO BUSY, having 4 children, ages 5 and under! I barely have time to catch my breath during the day! Most days I never even look in the mirror until 5 or 10 minutes before Jason gets home from work, so I can look somewhat presentable. I don't want to completely let myself go, although it would be much easier.

I find that the only peace and quiet I get is at 2 or 3 in the morning while I'm feeding the baby.

So needless to say, we don't really have that much time to do blog postings.

I even contemplated, quitting the blog altogether, but then realized I could probably manage to do one post a month.

So here it is: our post for the month of December.

A Few of My Favorite Things

Reflecting on the real meaning of Christmas.

Christ, the hope of mankind, coming as a little, baby to earth.

Christmas babies!

Baking and decorating Christmas cookies.

Decorating the tree.

Rearranging the ornaments that the kids put on.

You know, the branches that are weighed down with 3 or 4 ornaments.

Kids who are so bundled that they can barely move or bend.

Spending "quality time" with family.

Jason and 2 of our brothers-in-law, on their iPods.

Making the kids shovel all the snow!

(Actually Isaac loves shoveling snow. He isn't just posing for the camera)

Have a Wonderful Christmas and a Very Happy New Year!!

Our Newest Arrival

2008-11-19T17:09:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a while since we posted anything new, but we've been a little busy!

Here she is! Madeline Mae Nichols.

7lbs. 12oz.

20" long.

Born November 6th at 11:11 am.

Madeline is such a peaceful, sweet baby.
For our 4th child, we couldn't have asked for a better baby.

Her brothers and sister just adore her.

Tomorrow she will be 2 weeks old already.
It seems like just yesterday, I was still pregnant and impatient to get her out and meet her.

Cute as a button.

The First Snowfall

2008-10-28T16:58:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we had the first snow of the year. The kids were elated. I wasn't.When the snow starts in October and ends in April, it just makes for way too long of a winter.
Here are a few photos. Sorry they are so blurry. Our camera isn't doing too well these days.

Interesting

2008-10-18T11:37:00.000-07:00

The other day we had some tangerines, and they has so many seeds in them!

All of the seeds in the picture below came from 1 tangerine, 52 to be exact!

Fall From Our Perspective

2008-10-14T11:35:00.000-07:00

Fall is one of the most beautiful times of the year.

It is so pretty around our house in the fall, because we are surrounded by trees.

Fall is ushered in with a craving for all things pumpkin.

Here is my favorite pumpkin recipe. I haven't made one yet this year.

It's been hard to do much cooking this fall, because I have been forced to stay off

of my feet for the most part due to this pregnancy. So I don't have any photos of it to make you drool over.

Pumpkin Roll

Cake ingredients:

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup pumpkin

1 tsp. lemon juice

3/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. ginger

2 tsp. cinnamon

powdered sugar ( needed for a towel, to keep the cake from sticking)

Cream Cheese Filling Ingredients:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 8oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

4 Tbs. butter

1 tsp. vanilla extract

powdered sugar for topping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl, mix together eggs, sugar, pumpkin, and lemon juice.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder, and spices.

Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until well blended.

Spray a 10 1/2" X 15" non stick cookie sheet with cooking spray. Pour the batter onto cookie sheet, spread evenly. Bake 12-15 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Prepare a clean kitchen towel by sprinkling heavily with powdered sugar.

After baking, turn the cookie sheet onto the towel, the cake should slide out onto the towel. Starting at one end, roll the cake into the towel. Cool 30-40 minutes.

For the filling, stir together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla and butter. Mix well.

After the roll has cooled unroll it and spread the filling evenly. Roll back up without the towel. Wrap in foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour, or until filling is firm.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving.

Enjoy!

The Nichols Wildlife Reserve

2008-10-11T12:57:00.001-07:00

One of the great things about living in the country is that you don't have to seek out the wildlife. It comes straight to you! We see deer, turkeys, squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, turtles and so much more.

Here are some pictures of creatures we have seen in just the past 2 weeks.

Seth is the bravest of all the kids. He will hold

a frog or a caterpillar for the longest time.

This beautiful, young, doe caught Isaac's eye outside our living room window.

She stayed for a while just looking at us and letting us admire her.

The other other day, I walked out the front door and these 2 birds ( I thought they were pheasants, but I'm not sure now.) were right there!

I slowly crept inside for my camera and when I got back outside, the more beautiful of the two flew away, so I was only able to photograph this one.

This salamander was so cute, but we let him go shortly after we caught him.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

2008-10-10T08:26:00.000-07:00

You know you need a pedicure when your 18 month old picks up your big toe and says, " Uckkk".

Needless to say, I won't put a picture with this post. :)

Isaac's 5th Birthday

2008-10-09T16:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Isaac's 5th birthday! He is so big (and smart) already.

I can't believe it's been 5 years since we had him.

Well, we had a nice day yesterday. I was not feeling up to having a party. Can't imagine why. :)

Judy(Ken was out of town) and her parents came and brought us lunch.

Then we had cake with them and my mom. So Isaac got to have most of his grandparents there.

Here he is beside his cake and cards. Such a sweet smile.

Isaac opening presents and cards. His great grandma and grandpa Hopkins are in the background.

Mommy and daddy with the birthday boy.

Isaac with both of his Grandma's, and Annabelle.

Getting a great big hug from great grandpa.

At the bowling alley. We were the only ones there,

so our pizza and pops came fast.

Isaac's favorite thing to do is play Wii bowling, so going to a "real" bowling alley

was very exciting for him.

Here is Seth. He loved it just as much as Isaac did. He actually got more points than Isaac did, but Isaac doesn't know that. :)

Annabelle didn't know what to think. She sat in a chair most of the time, wanting a "bawl, bawl" until daddy showed her how heavy they were.

What Our Kids Look Like After Too Much Ice Cream

2008-09-06T08:12:00.000-07:00

Warning! Do not feed your children ice cream after 8:00.

Life For Some of Us in Northern Michigan

2008-09-01T19:42:00.001-07:00

It's getting to be that time of year again. Time to start thinking about heating the house. Echh!
For the past few years we have been using wood as our primary heat source, with propane as a backup. This year, instead of buying 10 cords of wood, (which would help heat our house most of the winter) Jason decided to start going through the woods around our house and "clean" them up by cutting up all the dead and downed trees for fire wood. He bought his very own new chain saw, and has been hard at work for over a month. Every other evening after coming home from working all day and eating a hearty dinner, and also for several hours on the weekends, he goes out cutting, stacking, hauling chopping and stacking again. Slowly our wood room has been filling up. And now, in early September, he is almost finished!! I'm so glad because I miss him. Here are some pictures of the whole grueling process. It is such hard work but for those of us who still need money to buy gas and groceries at the end of the month, it saves a lot of money.

Here was an interesting tree right behind our house that Jason decided to cut down. It had a huge base, with 7 separate trunks coming out of it. Depending on how the tree is leaning and where he wants it to fall, ( preferably not on him ) he under cuts it...

then cuts it from the other side and then... TIMBER! down it goes.

After He cuts a tree up, he loads as much as will fit in the trailer, and hauls it back to the house with the 4-wheeler. (Thank you SO much Ken and Judy for letting us use your quad and trailer! He could not have done any of this without them!)

Then he hand splits the logs that are too large to burn in the stove.
Anybody feel like coming over and helping him so he doesn't break his back??

Isaac, on one of the rare occasions that he actually did help out, stacking a pile in the basement.

Work boy Work!

Now in our 12'X 11' wood room we have 4, 7' high rows of cut and split wood.
Aaaahhhh, when I walk in the room it smells like freshly cut wood, gas, and sweat from my hard working man.

Don't you just love how the logs look all together?

I'll help you next year honey, I promise. Unless I'm pregnant again. HAHAHAHAHAHA JUST KIDDING. I know, I know, I shouldn't even joke about such things. Bad Emily bad.

Can You Guess What This Picture Is?

2008-08-30T11:51:00.000-07:00

First Time For Everything

2008-08-27T08:01:00.000-07:00

Annabelle's first time in the corner.

Top 10 things I love about summer ( this year )

2008-08-17T18:06:00.000-07:00

10. Watermelon.

9. Not having to bundle up the kids, or heat up the car.

8. Less laundry, ( summer clothes have so much less cloth in them ).

7. Grilling!

6.Watching and listening to thunder & lightning storms with my bedroom window open at night.

5. Shopping at the farmer's market.

4. Listening to the crickets chirping in the evening.

3. Swimming, of course.

2. Everything is so green!

1.The kids play outside longer.

Easy Child (Care?)

2008-08-16T16:10:00.000-07:00

I came home from my 'one day a week' of working to find this picture my husband Jason had taken of the kids during the day. My niece had been visiting also and I guess this was the easiest way for him to stay sane for a while.

Except for the slight risk of trampling, it was a pretty good idea, no?

The play pen seemed to hold up pretty well too. I guess with childhood/babyhood obesity on the rise, they should hold at least 100 pounds.

So for all of you stay at home dads, or maybe even you moms out there who desperately, need a break, try-or maybe I should say don't try this at home.

Our Summer Vacation

2008-08-08T10:44:00.000-07:00

I've finally gotten around to putting this post up! Woo Hoo!

These pictures are of our family vacation. We went to Gull Lake Ministries for a week of family camp. A few families from our church were there also. We had such a wonderful time. We kept busy, but were able to relax and enjoy each other.

Every night had a theme. From a carnival, to a rodeo, to the adult banquet nights(our favorite) , we were never bored.

Here is Jason taking the boys on the kiddy train during the carnival night.

The boys with their special request balloon animals. Ligers! " It's pretty much my favorite animal." ~ Napoleon Dynamite

Snow cones!

Isaac on the inflatable, bouncy, thing. Why don't they make those for adults?!

Annabelle, ready for a day in the sun.

We took a pontoon ride on the lake with our friends, the Cochranes.

Everybody had to wear a life vest, so as ridiculous as it seemed, 3 week old Olivia donned one as well. It gave us all quite a laugh.

Our favorite, daily activity was going to the beach.

Jason on the 'Ice berg'

Annabelle liked the sand and mud the best.

I think Isaac and Seth liked the ice cream the best.

The week we were there, Seth had his 3rd birthday.

We had a little make shift party for him.

The boys playing with Seth's new play-doh.

Mommy and daddy with the birthday boy.

We also went to the Binder Park zoo. This was the cutest animal there, a red panda.

It was just draped over a tree branch for the longest time. SO CUTE! I want one.

We went with Bart, Debbie and Ethan Glupker.

Thanks for inviting us guys, we had a great time.

Daddy forcing Seth to touch the scary goats.

This was the coolest zoo! They even had dinosaurs!

They didn't let us get too close though. This was the best shot we could get.

A little bit braver now, the boys with the goats.

The zoo had a place where we could pet and feed the giraffes!

They are such gentle, beautiful creatures.

Annabelle didn't think so though.

We took a cute, little train around the children's zoo.

A family photo in "Africa"

The boys made a friend at the zoo. A giant fire ant!

Sorry I Couldn't Resist

2008-08-05T07:17:00.000-07:00

4th of July

2008-07-06T16:45:00.001-07:00

This year for the fourth of July we were lucky enough to be invited by our good friends, Stephanie and Ben to go boating on Lake Cadillac with them. Ben works at Four Winns and gets to borrow a boat now and then. We had such a wonderful time.
Isaac went tubing for the first time and he absolutely loved it.

Seth and Cody ( Ben and Stephanie's little boy ) enjoying the view.

Stephanie and Cody. Stephanie is pregnant and will be having another little cutie, Friday, July 11th! We are all excited to find out if it is a boy or a girl.

Annie wasn't very happy about the loud motor and the life vest at first, but then she really started enjoying herself. And of course the pacifier helped a little too!

After boating, we crossed the canal into Lake Mitchell for dinner and swimming.

It was Annabelle's first time at the beach ( actually she was there when she was 3 months old and very colicy, and she screamed the entire time, but that doesn't count does it? ) and she loved the water and the mud. Watch the video at the bottom, SO cute!

Make-shift fun

2008-07-06T15:10:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful day today, so i took the boys out to see if we could make a water slide.

The bottom of the slide.

A poor little Lego man just about to take the plunge.

Laundry Day

2008-07-02T14:20:00.001-07:00

Usually when I get the fresh smelling, warm, laundry out of the dryer, I call the kids to get on my bed and then I dump it all over them. They absolutely LOVE it! Well this time Isaac didn't want to wait, so he jumped in the laundry basket and I emptied all of the warm clothes onto him. Here are some pictures of him snuggled down in the clean clothes.

First day of summer

2008-06-22T19:20:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful Sunday it was! I was able to get a lot done outside, we had my dad and brother Joel over for dinner, we ate toasted marshmallows by the fire afterwards, they left, then this!

Underneath the hail was a small pond

The aftermath

My mother in law observing the destruction of her little pretty flowers

This was the beginning of it

Annabelle and "Grampa Kenny"

2008-06-21T15:52:00.000-07:00

I saw this picture on Judy's blog, and it was SOOOO adorable I just had to steal it and put it on our blog! Sorry Judy. Do I have to buy the legal rights to take it? :)

Grandpa Kenny and Annabelle at Uncle Joel's baseball game today.

Fathers Day

2008-06-17T06:42:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Fathers Day this year. Here are some of the pictures we took. Seth and Annabelle weren't feeling that great, but grandma and grandpa said they didn't mind if they caught whatever the kids had, so we continued with our plans. We went to Ken and Judy's for lunch and fun in the sun, and mud. You'll see.

Thank you Ken and Judy for raising such a wonderful man to be the dad of my 3 ( soon to be 4 ) precious children.

Jason holding Annie.

The kids snacking on cheerios.

The highlight of Jason's day. He took the quad through

the huge mud puddles at the back of the property...

and got Joel soaked!

( watch the clip at the bottom of the post)

Then he came in and tried to kiss me!

Seth enjoying some ice cream.

Poor little Annie. She slept most of the time.

Comforting Big Brother?

2008-06-10T10:25:00.001-07:00

The other day Isaac was sent to the corner, and Annabelle was playing in the kitchen and happened to notice him standing there. I don't know if she wanted to do it too because it looked fun, or if she realized he was sad and needed some moral support. Something I'm told I would do when I was little and my sisters were sent to the corner.
Either way, it was just so adorable I had to share it with you.

Lemon Heaven

2008-06-06T18:25:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things about the onset of summer is the lemon. As soon as the warm weather hits, I try to keep lemons around for different recipes. I must admit I've been going a little crazy with the lemons lately. There is something about the fresh tartness, and the sunny, bright, yellow color that makes them perfect for zesting up any recipe. I've been making lemon herb rice, lemon chicken, homemade lemon bars, lemon jello cake, lemon-berry muffins, freshly squeezed lemonade,( good thing my family likes lemon also) but yesterday morning I came up with something that I'm going to name, Lemon Heaven. Seriously. When you take the first bite, you will think you died and went to heaven. And when you take the last bite you will wish you had more room in your stomach.

I took a regular crepe recipe and tweeked it a little, then I came up with a filling, and a glaze. I didn't really measure anything as I was making the filling or glaze, so I put down the measurements as well as I could remember them. If they don't come out perfect, I'm sorry. Maybe you can just come over for breakfast sometime and I will make them for you.

Crepes

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups milk
2 Tbs. butter melted
1 tsp. lemon extract
2 large eggs
zest from 1 lemon

-Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in medium bowl.
Stir in remaining ingredients. Beat with hand beater until smooth.
-Lightly butter 8 to 12 inch skillet. Heat over medium heat until bubbly.
-For each crepe, pour scant 1/2 cup batter into skillet. Immediately rotate skillet until thin film covers bottom. Cook until light brown. Run wide spatula around edge to loosen; turn and cook other side until light brown.
-Stack crepes, placing placing waxed paper between each one, and keep covered.

Filling

1 1/2 pkg. cream cheese
1 tsp. real vanilla extract
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Mix in bowl until smooth. Spread thinly over each crepe. Roll crepes thin.

Glaze

juice from 2 lemons, strained
zest from 1 lemon
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup cold water
2 Tbs. cornstarch
1 or 2 drops yellow food coloring ( optional )

Combine first 3 ingredients in a small saucepan. Begin heating over
medium high heat. Whisk water with the cornstarch and add to
lemon mixture whisking lightly to mix. When mixture begins to thicken,
remove from heat and cool for a few minutes. Add food coloring (if desired) and stir.

Drizzle over filled crepes.

Enjoy!

Annabelles first steps

2008-06-01T07:22:00.000-07:00

Yepp, it finally happened. After 14 long months, those legs are stretched out enough to actually do some work!

Pop Goes the Weasel(s)

2008-05-28T20:12:00.000-07:00

Kids love big boxes.

Painting Day

2008-05-25T16:47:00.000-07:00

The other day the boys were bored with everything "fun" in the house, so I got out the paints.

Notice how they started out with nice, bright colors that were separated?

Annie was very intrigued with the whole process.

Soon she wanted to join in also.

She was content to just hold a paint brush though.

Soon enough she will be slopping around in the paint with her brothers.

Oh, I forgot to take pictures of the finished product, but just imagine large dried mounds of grayish, brown paint on white paper.

The Chicken

2008-05-23T20:34:00.000-07:00

Im sure you can remember a toy that was so special to you when you were a child. Something that you spent hours with, and gives you warm fuzzy feelings every time you remember it. Well, that happened tonight.

We were visiting my parents this afternoon, flying kites, sitting out in the lawn, enjoying each others company, when Isaac asks if he can go into the basement. “you have never been in the basement?” I ask. “nope, never” he replied. Now you must also remember the excitement of being a child and exploring grandma and grandpas basement, attic, or garage. So this must have been a treat.

I immediately showed him the storm cellar, the “dungeon” we used to call it, where we kept all of the canned goods and stuff that we never wanted to see again, seeing that that was probably the coolest place of all.

Nope, he wanted to explore everything. So we did. Digging through old books and toys, we found the greatest one of all. The ever so loved Lite-Brite. An immediate rush of sentimentality ran through my veins as I picked up that black and white box with the clown face pegged into the black paper. I opened it, and lifted that dusty piece of my childhood out of the box.

Isaac immediately wanted to try it, and so we did.

Ahh yes, the chicken. What a lovely creature. At first we didn’t know whether to put the pink, or purple pegs where the letter P was, but found out that it didn’t matter. The toy was meant for a child’s imagination. To me, the chicken looked like some creature you would see on some packaging from China, but to a child, it was the greatest chicken that had ever been brought to life. He was so proud of it, even though I had to “help” him, because surely he couldn’t do it on his own right? I mean, I was just being a good dad by setting an example of how the pegs fit into the holes right? What kind of father would I be if I didn’t play with his toys with him?

Regardless, sometimes we as adults lose vision, creativeness, imagination..
I am just glad we have children to remind us that sometimes we can let go of our seriousness and adult reality and enjoy chickens with pink tails and purple heads.

It Baffles Me

2008-05-21T15:00:00.000-07:00

It baffles me sometimes to read what people actually believe. I stumbled across an atheists blog post today, and for clarification purposes, here is the link if you wish to be annoyed by peoples ignorance.

http://healyhatman.blogspot.com/2008/05/how-do-christians.html

And yes, the comments by “Jason” are left by myself.

First of all, I don’t understand atheism. How can you choose not to believe in a higher being other than yourself? Any higher being for that matter, let alone the Creator of the universe and all that is in it?!

I have been trying to distance myself from what I might see as unfruitful discussions, but this one I could not stay away from. This person claims to be an atheist, and yet picks apart the Bible like it was some fallible piece of poorly written fiction. AND, this writer claimed that he respects the “Word of God”, but what he is saying makes no sense. And here is why.

For someone to claim to be an atheist, but acknowledge the Word of God and claim to actually understand certain parables of Christ is impossible. I believe true interpretation and Biblical discernment can only be found through the Holy Spirit, which is Given to us when we are saved, which this atheist is obviously not.

It would be like saying you understand a car by only reading bits and parts of the user manual. This we all know is impossible. You have to feel the car as it is driven. You need to be acquainted with it. Then the manual will make sense. So for one who is not saved and does not have the Holy Spirit, it is impossible and foolish for them to try and discuss Biblical matters seeing that they have no divine revelation.

You need to feel the Holy Spirits presence in you to make any accurate conclusions about Gods Word. Without it, it is not meant for you. (yet) And you will understand nothing. Well, you will be able to understand one thing..

And that is that God sent His son Jesus to this earth to die for our sins, and it is only by accepting His command in our lives and admitting that we are sinners and are in need of a Savior, and through Him will have eternal life.
It takes faith though, and this atheist has none.

So if you ever do encounter an atheist who tries to tell you that the Bible is mistaken and erroneous, explain to them that they have not a clue as to what they are talking about. Or if you know a foreign language, just start talking to them in it and see if they understand that as well.

Thoughts for the night..

Jason

Our Mothers Day

2008-05-12T18:27:00.000-07:00

After church we had a quick lunch with Ken and Judy before they headed off to see Grandma Hopkins. We then went to my sister Sarah's house where we had a large Mother's Day celebration. My 2 sisters and their families were there along with our mom, of course, and my sister Sarah's mother-in-law Dorothy and husband Rich.

Not only did we celebrate Mother's Day, we celebrated 3 mid-May birthdays in our family!
It was a very fun day. Here are some of the pictures.

Me with my 3 sweeties, Isaac, Seth and Annabelle.

My mom with her 3 sweeties.

My sister Sarah with her 3 daughters, Silvia, Abigail, and

Esther, and mother-in-law Dorothy.

   My sister Julie and her baby boy Joshua. Her first Mother's
   Day as a mother!

   Family pictures usually look pretty nice, but getting
   everything, and everybody coordinated can get pretty
   hectic and stressful right? This is what it really looked like.

   Sarah delighted us with a homemade, black forest cake.

Here were the 3 birthday people. Julie, Julie's husband Keith, and Abigail (far right).

Pretty little Annie.

My nephew Joshua Terwilliger.

He is so so so adorable!

And new for this Mother's day, a glimpse

of baby number four, for Jason and I.

My Little Herbavors

2008-05-04T15:29:00.000-07:00

Whenever I prepare fresh broccoli, Isaac and Seth always ask

to chomp on the stalk. I don't know if I should be worried, or

feel blessed to have children who love vegetables so much.

Isaac's almost done with his.

Seth isn't so sure if he wants to finish his.

Annabelle's first time with a broccoli stalk.

She liked it so much, she cried when I tried to take it away.

Not much around here goes to waste.

We don't even need a dog!

Good night

2008-04-29T19:00:00.000-07:00

I just love watching our children while they sleep.

Here are some adorable pictures we took while they were sleeping.

Interpretations

2008-04-24T09:42:00.000-07:00

We were driving back from church yesterday, and our firstborn Isaac looked out the window and saw something cool. "Look mamma, look at that cool thing!"

Now Seth, our second child, is always mimicking Isaac, and so he immediately adds to Isaac's observance "Cold mamma, that thing is cold!"

I love kids

What do People See in YOU

2008-04-18T20:15:00.000-07:00

Wherever you may work, or whatever you associate yourself with, you are a representative of that. Whether you may like it or not. Working in retail, I represent the store I work for. Chances are, if I am kind to someone, and they know where I work, they will be more likely to go there next time they require our businesses services.

Now, ask yourself this. If you are a Christian, are you making God inviting to others? Do you dote on Him? Are you proud of calling yourself a Christian? Can you prove it? Do you talk about Him wherever you go? Can you say that you have written about Him? Do you talk about Him to your friends? Do your children see a Godly example in you? Do they see you read your Bible? Do they hear you pray? Is there something totally different about you that makes people wonder who you are following? Or are you just trying to fit in. Trying to be cool so people will feel comfortable around you. Trying not to offend anyone or make them feel bad about their sin. Riding the fence. Feeling luke warm. Being an idealist.

Lets make sure we do not become calloused to the world, and just slip through life without making a difference. And if it is your desire to make a difference, then do it for God! And let people know that is it for God! When you boast a random act of kindness without giving God the credit, then you will be perceived as doing this act for self gratification. Do it for God, and your rewards will be eternal. Be a light unto the world. Show Gods love, but tell others about Him also, and why you are showing love. Talk about Him in your daily lives. Surround yourselves with people who are a positive influence on you and your children.

Dont just be hearers of the word, but doers as well.

How we spent our day today

2008-04-15T19:55:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful day to be outside!

Isaac raking leaves

Annie singing in the sunshine.

Seth swinging on his swing.

We're such awful parents

2008-04-13T17:43:00.001-07:00

Annabelle's only vegetable intake.

"Here Isaac, let me help you over the railing"

Isaac crying because we told him he had to eat his peas before he could have a cookie!

Please don't grow up

2008-04-13T10:50:00.000-07:00

Dear Annabelle,

Please never grow up. Please never get married. Please never change. Stay this little joyful girl that you are now.

I am trying to remind myself that this has been done before. Proud fathers have let go of their children to the world and have hoped that their teachings have made a impact in their lives. But how hard is it!? I am trying to prepare myself for that day when little Annie brings that boy to the door for me to meet. I will be carving a steak, or dressing a deer. There will be blood on my apron and a knife in my hand. As I open the door, I will greet Annabelle with a kiss, and immediately look at the poor sap and gruffly ask him to enter. After dinner, I will suggest that we go out target practicing deep into the woods. I will sling my 30-30 around my shoulder, clip my 45 colt revolver to my belt, and put my taurus 38 special in my pocket. I will then tell the young man to wait here while I get something special for him. I will then proceed to the basement, where I pull a cap gun out of a toy box, and hand it to him with a half crazed look on my face while I gently say "bang".

I could go on and on, and we all know that this will probably never happen. But all fathers have had to have dreamt up situations like this from one time to another. It is how we cope.

Im sure this young man will be a Godly man who will provide for my daughter, and will raise a family with good values and morals.

I am hoping anyways.

Jason

Its a matter of perspective

2008-04-10T17:05:00.001-07:00

Lately I have been trying to see things from other perspectives, one of them being from my child's. I have been slowing my temper, and learning to be patient and see things as they see them. We as parents are giants. Huge walking, booming, banging, towering giants. We give them orders, and expect them to follow them to the letter. And if they don't, there will be consequences. Kind of intimidating huh?

When we speak to our children, it MUST be in kindness and love. We cannot shut them out and treat them like they are of no concern to us. That is devastating to them. Imagine your greatest role model of all time looking at you and brushing you off like you were of no concern to them.

We need to make time to be with our children. We need to encourage them, answer their questions, show concern for their little child problems and praise them for their little child accomplishments. Our pastor has said in past sermons "if you do not raise your children, then someone or something else will". It may be their teachers, their friends, the television, their own minds! It will be someone other than their role model parent. And then before you know it, that new thing will be their new role model. They will took to it for their concerns, questions, and even joyous moments.

Think about how Jesus treats us. Think about how inviting His arms are! We can go to Him with every little nagging question and every concern on our little human hearts. He will never slam the door on us. He will never be too busy for our needs. We as parents need to pray for Godly wisdom in raising our children to be little Christians, ready and willing to serve Him wherever they are called. For thats it what we are on this earth to do. To serve to the best of our ability for His glory. If we can be daily role models of selflessness and serve to the best of our ability in everything, even if we feel we are above it, we need to, and in doing this we will prepare these little minds for a God loving and God serving future.

Trusting in Him,

Jason

New Beginnings

2008-04-10T06:48:00.000-07:00

A few days ago Isaac came to me and said, "Mommy you have to see the green plants outside!" I mumbled an 'mm hmm', and went about my business, not knowing that my daffodil bulbs had grown 4 inches so far. With 3 small children it's hard to listen, and acknowledge everything that is said during the day. Now I know I should be listening a little more attentively.

As with the coming of Spring, we are starting something new. A blog to bring our family closer to yours. We hope to bring you pictures, musings, stories, ramblings, and more every week.