A Little Piper

I thought this was a wonderful 'sermon' by John Piper on disagreements among believers (Romans 14:1-9). Kevin and I have discussed this very subject as it applies to several different issues, and this article is a breath of fresh air and helped me to pull back a bit and see the 'bigger picture'.

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/2005/225_Each_One_Should_Be_Fully_Convinced_in_His_Own_Mind/

For those of you wondering, no baby yet! Pray that I will be patient and not self-focused during this time; I am struggling with that. Thanks for your prayers!

Blast From the Past

As I was going through old pictures to find ones of Joseph, I came across this one: our Christmas picture from 2000. Wow, we look like babies! It's funny to think of what was going on in our lives seven years ago, and who we were back then. So much has changed; life has marched on, and here we are about to welcome our sixth child into the family. I thank God for the journey of growth He's brought us on. I don't want to go back; that's for sure! I hope in another seven years I will look back on this season of our lives and be thankful once again for where God has taken us, and how He has changed us.

The rest of the pictures....

Happy Birthday, Joseph!

I can hardly believe that my little guy is two now. He is such a funny little character, and we are so blessed to have him brightening our days...and keeping us on our toes! Here are some pictures of him over the months, as well as from his little birthday party.

Happy Winter Solistice to You and Your Significant Other

"It is true that liberty is precious; so precious that it must be carefully rationed."-- Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

Christmas Spirit

“The Christmas spirit does not shine out in the Christian snob. For the Christmas spirit is the spirit of those who, like their Master, live their whole lives on the principle of making themselves poor--spending and being spent--to enrich their fellow humans, giving time, trouble, care and concern, to do good to others---and not just their own friends--in whatever way there seems need.”

J.I.Packer

Quote from Rowie

Rowan hasn't been feeling well and has had fever off and on the past couple of days. This morning while I was giving her a bath, she said, "Mommy, my head feels cranky."

MPE Conference

I am so excited! I just heard that Voddie Baucham will be the keynote speaker at this spring's Midwest Parent Educators Conference! I have not read any of his books (yet), but have heard him speak, and am really impressed with what he has to say. I'm gonna try to get my hands on Family Driven Faith, and I'll let you know what I think. My beautiful sister-in-law, Mandy, is reading that one now.

Is it Monday Already?

Seriously, I have had to stop and think what today is a couple of times this morning...The weekend was so busy that it didn't feel much like a weekend... but it was productive and fun, so I'm thankful for that.



Friday I was feeling pretty rotten, so when Kevin got home from work, I'm sure I was a sight. He drove a Ford van home from a local dealership, so we took it out for a test drive. We looked at Christmas lights, and the kids thought the van was SO cool. (Our kids are pretty sheltered.) We finished up our outing with some Taco Bell (every time I eat at Taco Bell, I leave wondering why I ate there....). Saturday morning Kevin went to a Sermon Preparation Class that our pastor taught at our church, and he seemed to really enjoy it. When he got home, it was time for me to take Keely and Noah to a First Aid class at a local hospital. I got some grocery shopping done and test drove another car in time to pick them up from their class. Then, Keely was off to a birthday party and Noah was stuck going to Wal-Mart with me. For Noah, this is close to torture. So, I tried to sweeten the deal with candy and he managed to have a pretty good attitude.

Just a side note: We are in the process of trying to decide what vehicle to purchase and we want to get the best deal and a good, dependable car, of course. It would be so nice to have all this finished by the time the baby comes in 2 weeks... So, please pray that God would direct our decision.