Here are some of the many things I am thankful for this year.
I'm so thankful for God and his Awesomeness! He is always good! He is so compassionate and merciful to me. He brings me joy and teaches me how to live for Him. He has blessed me with everything that I have. He gives me so much when I don't deserve anything. I know that he cares about me and what happens to me. He has good plans for me.
I'm thankful for my husband, Tim. He works hard for our family. He puts up with my moodiness. He always tells me that I am beautiful, and I believe him. He loves me so much! I'm thankful that we have been married for nearly 13 years now!
I'm thankful for my children. They help me to practice patience. They bring me joy and pride. They make me want to live for God so I can be a good example for them. They make me laugh and smile. I like to play with them and talk to them. I love being their Mom and I am so thankful that God gave them to me. I'm thankful that I can see them growing and getting smarter and smarter all the time. I'm thankful for each of their special talents.
I'm thankful for our Church. I love our Church so much! I love singing during the worship time and focusing on God. I love to learn about Him. We have so many wonderful friends there that are like family to us. I'm thankful that I get to teach the children at Church for Sunday School and Children's Church. I feel so priveleged to teach them. I love to tell them about God and how wonderful He is. I am so thankful for all of the children in our Church. I'm thankful that we have AWANA at our Church too and that I can teach children there. It is a great feeling to tell those little ones about Jesus and how much He loves them.
I'm thankful for my family. I'm glad that my Mom and Dad live just around the corner and that I get to talk to my Mom every morning. I love spending time with my parents, my siblings, and their families. I love the way our family laughs together.
I'm thankful that Ben and Emily got saved this year! It's such a good feeling to know that everyone in our house will someday be in Heaven together!
I'm thankful for my Bible. I love reading it and learning more about God and Jesus Christ. I love hearing what God wants to say to me. I love the way He encourages me through His Word and shows me His Will for my life. I am thankful that I can go to the Bible for any situation I might be facing and find wisdom and guidance.
I'm thankful for all of my friends, near and far. I'm thankful for long distance phone calls and being able to share everything big and small with my friends. I love knowing that they care about me. I love seeing good things happen for them. I'm thankful for all of my wonderful memories that I've made with my friends.
I'm so thankful for the many "material" things that God has given to me. I'm thankful for our house, as small and cluttered as it is. We are blessed to have a warm, safe, and comfy place to live. I'm thankful for our clothes. I'm thankful that we always have food to eat. I'm thankful that we have running water and hot water that is clean. I'm thankful for our vehicles. I'm thankful for my books. I'm thankful for my computer, especially that I can use it to connect with friends and family.
I'm thankful for the talents that God has given me. I love taking photos and hope He will show me how to use them for His Glory. I'm thankful for the time I have to write letters to friends. I'm thankful for my positive attitude and my patience.
I'm thankful for the beautiful world that God has made. When I see a beautiful sunset or sunrise, I feel like God made it just for me. I am always thrilled to see a rainbow and remember God's promise to us. I love seeing beauty all around me in the trees, the plants, the animals, the rocks, and everything else that He made for us to enjoy.
These are just a few things that I am thankful for. Most of all I am thankful that God loved us so much that He would give up his very own, one and only, beloved son for us. Especially when I look at my precious Benjamin, I can't imagine giving him up for anybody, especially for a world of sinful people. My salvation is the most important thing and if it were all I had, it would surely be enough! Although I have a purpose here and enjoy my life on Earth; I'm thankful that this world is not my home. Someday I will spend eternity with God! That is something to be thankful for!
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
Hearts
A friend took this picture this morning. I think it's pretty cool. No one made it on purpose, but it does look like a couple of hearts doesn't it?
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Silly kids
Emily is our adorable little 4 year old...but there is another side to her. It's the side that constantly has her finger up her nose, which is pretty yucky.
Last night she said something pretty gross. She took her socks off and was picking the fuzz out from between her toes. She turned to me and asked "Can you get sick from eating the fuzz in your toes?" I told her that yes, she could get very sick; and she said "But I want to eat it!" Kids are so crazy sometimes!
The other day my sister called to tell me a story about her son, my 3 year old nephew. She said he had gotten into trouble for biting someone at school. I don't remember the other boy's name, but we'll call him Dominic. My sister said "Kinson, you know we don't bite anything that isn't food. Why did you bite Dominic?" He replied "Well I thought Dominic looked like food." :)
Ben, our other adorable 4 year old is really excited about letters right now! He knows most all of them and can write a lot of words already. The other day he brought me a piece of paper with a word he had written on it. He asked "What does this say?" I said "Well, actually, it says 'butt'. Who told you how to write that? Did Daddy tell you to write that?" "No", he said, "I saw it on a towel in the bathroom". (It's a crazy towel that one of my sisters gave us as a gift a few years ago, one end labeled 'butt', and the other 'face'. You don't want to mix those up.) Anyway, I think it's time to get rid of the towel and check for any other writing in the house that we may not want to see him writing.
Last night she said something pretty gross. She took her socks off and was picking the fuzz out from between her toes. She turned to me and asked "Can you get sick from eating the fuzz in your toes?" I told her that yes, she could get very sick; and she said "But I want to eat it!" Kids are so crazy sometimes!
The other day my sister called to tell me a story about her son, my 3 year old nephew. She said he had gotten into trouble for biting someone at school. I don't remember the other boy's name, but we'll call him Dominic. My sister said "Kinson, you know we don't bite anything that isn't food. Why did you bite Dominic?" He replied "Well I thought Dominic looked like food." :)
Ben, our other adorable 4 year old is really excited about letters right now! He knows most all of them and can write a lot of words already. The other day he brought me a piece of paper with a word he had written on it. He asked "What does this say?" I said "Well, actually, it says 'butt'. Who told you how to write that? Did Daddy tell you to write that?" "No", he said, "I saw it on a towel in the bathroom". (It's a crazy towel that one of my sisters gave us as a gift a few years ago, one end labeled 'butt', and the other 'face'. You don't want to mix those up.) Anyway, I think it's time to get rid of the towel and check for any other writing in the house that we may not want to see him writing.
VENISON
Yay! Tim finally got us some venison tonight! Actually he got 2 deer! He got a 4 pointer and a doe about 20 minutes apart. I'm so proud of him and so thankful, because we really need the meat. Way to go Babe!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Candy Houses
Today Clara, Emily, and I went to a Girlscout candy house making event. Clara's best friend Sheyanne and her Mom, Karla, went too. They had a potluck lunch and then the kids get to make candy houses. They used graham crackers, frosting, and candy to make them. We had a nice time. Clara's house ended up crashing though before we left. I think all the weight of the candy was too much for it. :) At least we got some pictures first.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
My Life Lately
Things are going pretty well in my life right now.
The kids are all doing well in school. Ben and Emily really love school and love riding the bus, even though it picks them up at 6:15am! A couple of times I have driven them to school and that makes them mad. They would rather ride the bus. It is easier for me to put them on the bus than to drive them but I just don't like them having to ride for so long in the morning. They get ready quickly in the morning as long as we have everything laid out the night before. They eat breakfast at school, so that makes it easier too. Allison and Clara are getting good overall grades in their classes. Allison has a few of her good friends in all of her classes this year, so that helps a lot. Clara really likes school and is doing better at reading this year than last year. This is her last year at the elementary school. It's hard for me to believe that she will be in Middle School next year! She and her classmates just seem younger to me than Allison's class did at that age.
Time goes by so quickly! I say that over and over, but it is so true! When Tim and I first got married and then had Allison, I noticed that the years started going by faster and faster. After that months started passing more quickly and now it just seems like weeks and days breeze by leaving me no chance to catch up. I do wish that my time would slow down some. I think I just need to be way more organized and prioritize better. I am working on it. I am just not that type of person anymore. I think that when I was younger I was a little bit better at that. I used to always be early for everything and now it seems no matter how hard I try I am more often running late or at least feeling like I will be late. I guess I have always been bad about procrastinating though. I used to do school reports and projects on the night before they were due. Luckily I did a really good job under pressure and always made the honor roll. I'm still that way too. I struggle with keeping the house clean, but if I invite company over, I can get the whole house cleaned in mere hours. I don't want to be that way though. I want to be more prepared so that I don't have to stress out and rush around last minute. Tim and I would like to have people over for dinner more often, but we feel like the house just isn't presentable. Like I said though, I am working on it, slowly but surely.
I have been really good about reading my Bible consistently. I try to read it every morning as the first thing I do when I get up. I might make a cup of coffee first, or call my Mom first, but I try really hard to read my Bible before I turn on the computer or tv or radio each morning. When I read my Bible in the morning it is easier to keep my focus right throughout the day than if I read it before I go to bed at night. I really do love reading my Bible too. There are some books that I struggle through at times, but most of it I really relate to and can see what God is telling me. Right now I am in Ecclesiastes and that is not one of my favorites. Maybe at a different stage in my life I will get it, but that's not where I am right now. I am fortunate I guess that I don't feel like my faith has been tested very often. I very rarely question God. I always know that He is Good and that His Plan is Good even if it isn't my plan. I never have felt that God has abandoned me or that He has done me wrong. I always feel that I have more than I deserve. I am so thankful that He doesn't give me what I deserve, because that would not be anything good at all. Anyway, I have a hard time relating to parts of the Bible where people feel forsaken by God or angry at Him. I just haven't been there yet.
I love our Church! Our Church is doing really well right now. I think we are really on the right track of doing God's Will. We are seeking Him and trying to do what He wants. I feel really blessed with our Church and the wonderful family that we have there. Tim and I both look up to so many people there and we learn so much from all of them. I enjoy teaching when it's my turn. Today I taught the Children's Church service with my friend Mary. It went really well. The kids were good listeners today. We are teaching them about gratitude this month and today's story was about Jesus healing the Ten Lepers. Only one came back to Him to say Thank You! We look at the other 9 and think how ungrateful they were. How often though, do we forget to say Thank You when we are shown kindness?
Awana is going well. Last week we had a lot of kids there including 2 new ones. Most of the time the kids are good listeners. We have such important things to teach them that it really makes me happy when they listen well. Even when we don't think they are listening though, they often learn more than we think. I love being a part of teaching them and helping them memorize scripture. They are all such special children and they all deserve to hear the Good News we are sharing with them.
My Mom came over for a couple of days recently and helped me with cleaning the house. She is so opposite of me when it comes to stuff like that. She is a hard worker and seems to "love" cleaning. I love her so much! I'm thankful for her and glad that she is so near. Even when I feel that I am failing sometimes, she always supports me and cheers me on. She lifts me up and helps me to not be down on myself. She really helped me a lot when she came over last week.
Oh, here is some exciting news. I am going to go on a mission trip with some other people from church to Mexico. We have really good friends who are missionaries there. We are going to help them with a new building that they are building there. I am really excited about going! Tim doesn't know if he will go yet or not, but he said that I can go. It will be for a little over a week and we will be going sometime in the spring. I have never gone on a trip like that so I am really looking forward to it. Our friends who are missionaries there, Ben and Beth, are some of Tim and my best friends. They are a couple that taught us a lot when they were here a couple of years ago. They live so much for God and they are so obediant to His Will for them. We really look up to them as people we want to be like. I can't wait to see them again and be able to help them out in some way.
Well, I guess that is enough blogging/updating for today. It's getting late and I am tired. I want to try to update this a little more often than I have lately. Keep checking in for more updates and photos. :)
Have a great day!
The kids are all doing well in school. Ben and Emily really love school and love riding the bus, even though it picks them up at 6:15am! A couple of times I have driven them to school and that makes them mad. They would rather ride the bus. It is easier for me to put them on the bus than to drive them but I just don't like them having to ride for so long in the morning. They get ready quickly in the morning as long as we have everything laid out the night before. They eat breakfast at school, so that makes it easier too. Allison and Clara are getting good overall grades in their classes. Allison has a few of her good friends in all of her classes this year, so that helps a lot. Clara really likes school and is doing better at reading this year than last year. This is her last year at the elementary school. It's hard for me to believe that she will be in Middle School next year! She and her classmates just seem younger to me than Allison's class did at that age.
Time goes by so quickly! I say that over and over, but it is so true! When Tim and I first got married and then had Allison, I noticed that the years started going by faster and faster. After that months started passing more quickly and now it just seems like weeks and days breeze by leaving me no chance to catch up. I do wish that my time would slow down some. I think I just need to be way more organized and prioritize better. I am working on it. I am just not that type of person anymore. I think that when I was younger I was a little bit better at that. I used to always be early for everything and now it seems no matter how hard I try I am more often running late or at least feeling like I will be late. I guess I have always been bad about procrastinating though. I used to do school reports and projects on the night before they were due. Luckily I did a really good job under pressure and always made the honor roll. I'm still that way too. I struggle with keeping the house clean, but if I invite company over, I can get the whole house cleaned in mere hours. I don't want to be that way though. I want to be more prepared so that I don't have to stress out and rush around last minute. Tim and I would like to have people over for dinner more often, but we feel like the house just isn't presentable. Like I said though, I am working on it, slowly but surely.
I have been really good about reading my Bible consistently. I try to read it every morning as the first thing I do when I get up. I might make a cup of coffee first, or call my Mom first, but I try really hard to read my Bible before I turn on the computer or tv or radio each morning. When I read my Bible in the morning it is easier to keep my focus right throughout the day than if I read it before I go to bed at night. I really do love reading my Bible too. There are some books that I struggle through at times, but most of it I really relate to and can see what God is telling me. Right now I am in Ecclesiastes and that is not one of my favorites. Maybe at a different stage in my life I will get it, but that's not where I am right now. I am fortunate I guess that I don't feel like my faith has been tested very often. I very rarely question God. I always know that He is Good and that His Plan is Good even if it isn't my plan. I never have felt that God has abandoned me or that He has done me wrong. I always feel that I have more than I deserve. I am so thankful that He doesn't give me what I deserve, because that would not be anything good at all. Anyway, I have a hard time relating to parts of the Bible where people feel forsaken by God or angry at Him. I just haven't been there yet.
I love our Church! Our Church is doing really well right now. I think we are really on the right track of doing God's Will. We are seeking Him and trying to do what He wants. I feel really blessed with our Church and the wonderful family that we have there. Tim and I both look up to so many people there and we learn so much from all of them. I enjoy teaching when it's my turn. Today I taught the Children's Church service with my friend Mary. It went really well. The kids were good listeners today. We are teaching them about gratitude this month and today's story was about Jesus healing the Ten Lepers. Only one came back to Him to say Thank You! We look at the other 9 and think how ungrateful they were. How often though, do we forget to say Thank You when we are shown kindness?
Awana is going well. Last week we had a lot of kids there including 2 new ones. Most of the time the kids are good listeners. We have such important things to teach them that it really makes me happy when they listen well. Even when we don't think they are listening though, they often learn more than we think. I love being a part of teaching them and helping them memorize scripture. They are all such special children and they all deserve to hear the Good News we are sharing with them.
My Mom came over for a couple of days recently and helped me with cleaning the house. She is so opposite of me when it comes to stuff like that. She is a hard worker and seems to "love" cleaning. I love her so much! I'm thankful for her and glad that she is so near. Even when I feel that I am failing sometimes, she always supports me and cheers me on. She lifts me up and helps me to not be down on myself. She really helped me a lot when she came over last week.
Oh, here is some exciting news. I am going to go on a mission trip with some other people from church to Mexico. We have really good friends who are missionaries there. We are going to help them with a new building that they are building there. I am really excited about going! Tim doesn't know if he will go yet or not, but he said that I can go. It will be for a little over a week and we will be going sometime in the spring. I have never gone on a trip like that so I am really looking forward to it. Our friends who are missionaries there, Ben and Beth, are some of Tim and my best friends. They are a couple that taught us a lot when they were here a couple of years ago. They live so much for God and they are so obediant to His Will for them. We really look up to them as people we want to be like. I can't wait to see them again and be able to help them out in some way.
Well, I guess that is enough blogging/updating for today. It's getting late and I am tired. I want to try to update this a little more often than I have lately. Keep checking in for more updates and photos. :)
Have a great day!
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Happy Halloween!
We had a fun Halloween. We went trick-or-treating close to home this year. We went to the school for a while because they had games for the kids to play and of course lots of candy and treats. :) The church right around the corner from us had a Trunk-or-Treat so we went there too going from trunk to trunk getting candy. That was nice because we got to visit with some friends that we don't see very often. When we were done trick-or-treating we got pizza and then came home. We were all pretty tired then, so we didn't stay up too late. Here are some pictures of my cute kids. :)
Emily was a Ballerina Bunny Fairy
and Ben was a Pirate Aaargh!
Clara was a motorcyclist and Allison
was a Renaissance Queen :)
Emily was as cute from behind as she was in front.
Tea Party
Last weekend my sisters and I went to a Tea Party. My Mom and her friend Mary were hosting a table there so we went with them. It was nice. They had set the table up really nice with Mary's china. They put sugar inside a hollowed out lemon to give it a little bit of flavor. They made lots of yummy things to eat too. We all had to make paper hats. There was a band of ladies playing music. There was a speaker too that spoke on being a mother. The best part of it all was just visiting with my Mom and sisters. Tricia and I don't get to see our sisters, Jen and Bobbi, from Illinois very often so it was nice to spend a little time with them.
Jen, Bobbi, Tricia, and Me
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