Wil Losing His First Tooth

I couldn't get facebook to post this video. I had to find another avenue! So here is Wilson getting his first tooth pulled. It was just dangling. I didn't dare want to pull it so I got my mom to do it. She bribed him with money. It worked! His friends have been pulling their teeth left in right so we've been eagerly awaiting this day.

Christmas Fun

Well here we are the Saturday before Christmas. I am feeling very calm considering. It's almost a little scary how calm I sit here while my 3 children are playing tag with a big cardboard weapon. Well maybe I'm not as sane as I thought. I just had to spell check the word cardboard. We've had some fun these past 3 days with no school and just having some Christmas fun. Anyone that knows me well has heard me grumble and complain about the lack of creativity given me. So when Christmas rolls around I feel this enormous pressure to be creative...to do interesting things with my kids to keep their mind focused on the real meaning of Christmas. And for the life of me I could not come up with a game plan this year. I just took it to the LORD and asked Him to guide me as each day came in December. He was faithful to show Tommy and me little ways here and there to teach them about the reason we celebrate Christmas. And honestly it doesn't have to be some wonderful craft or elaborate activity. It only takes us spending time with them and talking with them and most importantly living it out before them!!

Having said this, we did do some cute activities that was lots of fun for us. Each one ended in a huge mess, but they got to exercise their creativity and I got to exercise my patience. Tommy and I were reminded last night after watching old home videos together with the kiddos that their childhood is so very brief. Giving them our time and love are the best two gifts our kids can receive from us even if they think it is a DS Lite and a baby doll cradle.


This is Wil and his friend Abbie (a.k.a Mary and Joseph). They put on a Nativity play for us.

It was fun. Abbie said "I don't even like to pretend I'm married to Wil." Wil kept playing basketball while Mary was having birthing pains- ha.

Our annual Christmas cookie decorating night.

Like our fruitful candle?

Operation Christmas Child

Here we are at Lifeway dropping off our shoe box. They are one of the drop-off locations.

This was our first year to do Operation Christmas Child. Every year my intentions have been to do it, but this, that, or a baby would come along. But this year we made it happen. My love language is giving gifts (and getting them honestly) so this was lots of fun for me!!! We bought for a 10-14 year old boy which to me was the toughest age range to know what to buy. We got a football, some hot wheels, a harmonica, hack-a-sack balls, lots of candy, and some other stuff. The hardest part of course was keeping our kids focused. I know as they get older it will get easier and more exciting for them as they grow to understand what we are actually doing. Maggie's response to me telling her we were going to buy some gifts for kids who don't have much at all was, "well whose gonna do that for us?" I don't sweat it though. We just have to keep on taking opportunities to teach them about giving which is hard to do living in America. Don't get me wrong. I love America. Its just that we are so very blessed to live as we do. Operation Christmas Child is neat because we get to track our box and hopefully see who gets our box. Wil calls him "Tyler". So "Tyler" where ever you are, "May the LORD bless you and Merry Christmas". Go to http://www.youtube.com/ and search for Operation Christmas Child and you will be able to see some videos. They are very touching. Or go to http://www.samaritanpurse.org/ to learn more about taking part in OCC.

Our Hearts

Tom and I just finished a Precept course on I Kings 15 - II Kings 1 along with II Chronicles 14-20. It was entitled "God Searches For A Heart That Is Fully His". Precept is an inductive study method that takes you book by book and verse by verse. It is the best Bible study method for studying your Bible in my opinion. You simply use the text (Bible) and let the Holy Spirit be your guide. Precept study has changed my life and my relationship with God. Oh and this method is not knowledge that "puffs" one up, but on the contrary it humbles one to understand the mighty God we serve. It stirs a passion for Him and a hunger to follow after Him. To check it out to go to www.precept.org .
Like I said we studied Kings and Chronicles. It begs the question throughout: "How strong is God's Kingdom in my heart?" Does my life reflect a heart that is fully His?"

II Chronicles 16:9 "For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His..."

Why would I want to give him my whole heart?
What does a heart that is completely God's look like?
How can I give my heart completely to God?
What will this produce in my life?

These were the challenging questions answered for me during the course of this study. I was reminded that my life is not my own. I have a Creator who put me here to honor Him and not to pursue my own personal agenda. We are His!
Ephesians 1:14 ...and that He has purchased us to be His own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify Him.
I have so many plans, so many thoughts on what I want in life. It is easy for me to go on in pursuit of those things. I don't get too far before I remember my life is not my own. Thank goodness because record shows I make a mess when I try to be in control.

Jehoshaphat was a man who sought God. Over and over in our study we saw him seeking God for direction, seeking God when he was afraid, and seeking God for deliverance. My favorite verse in this study was II Chronicles 20:12 when Jehoshaphat says, "O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You."
His heart showed where his dependence lied. He acknowledged his weakness before the LORD. In his humility, he sought God for answers. I don't know what your "multitude" may be. Maybe it is sickness, loss of a loved one, marriage problems, parenting issues. Fear is my latest multitude and God has been doing a marvelous work in me, but there are still times when it comes a knockin'. I am powerless. But when my eyes get fixed on Him and His Word, I am loosed from it. I find peace.
The book of Proverbs says to "guard your heart because it is the wellspring of life...". Guarding my heart has been the greatest weapon against the enemy. For me guarding my heart is about knowing God and His ways and following after them. The pull of this world is strong...very strong. I have watched myself so easily get sucked into the pressures of it. Before I was saved and surrendered to the LORD, my life was messy. It was full of shame and disobedience. I did what Misty wanted to do, when Misty wanted to do it, and how Misty wanted it done. I am forgiven even though there is still whispers of consequence from living life my way. I still stand amazed at what He has done in my life and thank goodness He keeps on working. I have never known joy and peace as I do today. Do problems and struggles still come? You bet! But now I find hope in the midst of them.

Here is what I can know as I strive to have a heart that is fully God's:
"But you be strong and do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work."
Even without the reward, I owe Him my life!!

Because His Word is the greatest way the LORD carries me I am thinking about leading a Precept course. I want to be obedient and act in His timing. My heart desires to introduce others to His Word through a Precept study. It really is life changing. Please keep this in prayer.

Just Like Brother

Tommy tells me that his love for basketball was kindled because of his older brother's love for the sport. 90% of their days (and nights) for that matter were spent with a basketball. Even to this day they both shared that common interest. I want Wil and Trey to be close brothers with a relationship that is strong. I want them to be confident that their brother always has their back, but a relationship healthy enough to hold each other accountable.
Wilson has always loved basketball and is very serious about it. Wilson is serious about everything though. Trey on the other hand is proving himself as one that doesn't take himself seriously at all!! His favorite thing to do is make you laugh so when he began to pick up a ball I didn't think he was going to have a lot of interest in it except to bounce it off his head so we'd laugh. WRONG! These days all he wants to do is play basketball.
I'm so excited just because I was thinking we were going to have two kids going in different directions with their interest which would have been perfectly fine. God created each of us different. I am just thrilled to see they have at least one common interest in which to relate with one another. Regardless of their differences I want them to know and Maggie to know that we love them and the LORD loves them for who they are not what their interests are. We watched Michael Jordan being inducted into the basketball hall of fame and I was saddened by his attitude. It was just one night so I will make no further judgement than to say he apparently had not eaten his humble pie that day. Honestly it can be a struggle when your kids show mega interest in a certain thing, but I want to make sure my kids are never led to believe by Tom and me that their significance and importance is found in their abilities or accomplishments.

A Great Song

Typically I'm not wowed by a song the first time I hear it. It takes me a while to listen to the words and the music to say, "I like that song". However a few weeks ago I heard a song on Klove that caught my attention from the very first line and I wanted to share it with you. I love this song because it causes me to think on the LORD in a deeper way. To me that is what makes a great song!! It just came available to download off itunes. Last night Tom and I just sat and listened to it praising God for giving us a Savior. Oh how I need a Savior. We are wondering around useless (even if we don't realize it) without our Savior. Because of this I am literally desperately eager to serve Him and live for Him NOT because I have to but because I want to. Thank you heavenly Father for sending me a Savior and for not leaving me in my sin. You truly are a marvelous God! Just click on the link to listen to it from tangle.com. and tell me what you think.

http://www.tangle.com/view_video?viewkey=185f00edd818b654032b

This week our home school group had their annual basketball camp. It was our first year to participate and we have been enjoying it. The first day I failed my son and had to ask for his forgiveness. Most of us that have children have at least one who is just like us. For me, that is my oldest Wilson. I understand him so well because I'm just like him. I know why he has to have a plan to survive, why he won't break tradition even if it kills him, why he will erase his work 300 times until it is just right, why he can't tell a funny story to save his life, and why he despises chaos. My Wil is just like his momma, but sometimes it frustrates me because I want him to be distinctly different from me in the ways I don't like about myself. I hope that makes sense. Anyway we arrive at camp on the first day to utter chaos...kids shooting the basketballs, running around, and because it hadn't actually started yet there was no one to give instructions or any kind of plan. That will send Wilson running in the other direction or at least hiding behind my leg. Now I know how much fun he is going to have once he gets out there. I mean c'mon the child breathes sports. However he isn't budging and refuses to get himself a ball and play. I get so mad that I tell him in a not so nice voice that he is being ridiculous all the while knowing exactly why he is behaving this way. My frustration only made it worse. My very wonderful friend who can be honest with me was sitting right there. Rachel said "don't push it. you'll only regret it". That was not actually her words but what she meant was it isn't a battle you should fight. The LORD showed me that I must learn to discern when I should step in ....and make sure my motive is not because I want him to look a certain way. I should step in when his behavior or character is unacceptable (this was not the case). I do not want to be a parent that cares only what others think of my children , but sometimes I do care and most of the time I am wrong in that. God says train Wil, Maggie, and Trey in the way they should go by God's standards not people's standards or even my standards! I want to shoot for a 10 with them even if I only hit an 8 (and sometimes I won't even hit the board) BUT I want to do it for God's glory not my own.

Here they are doing little dribblers drills. Wil is behind the little blond girl who says she is going to marry Wil.
This is the K and 1st, and second graders at the camp waiting patiently for their instructions.

Once the coach called them in the circle to give them the plan, Wil was in 100% and never let the ball go. I have to say Wil gives his all to most things and most especially sports.

Look at that fine form!

Thanks for the fun camp CHE.

Wilson turned 6 yesterday. My first born and beloved son is growing too fast for me. He had a great birthday yet simple. His pick was grandma and papa's house! He'd live out there if he could... until papa put him to work on the tractor that is. He was very pleased with his gifts from Tommy and I. He got a new ball glove and a Razor scooter. Now he doesn't have to borrow the neighbor's. I am blessed beyond measure and so is Wil to have a mommy and daddy who love him more than he will ever know. The note you can barely see which I tried to delete off this post but couldn't is the note Tommy left for Wil on the fridge before he went to work. Wil thought it was pretty cool!! Tom signed it "buddies forever" which has always been their saying.

Trey Time

We are well into our second week of school and I've learned two things. One is that I give hats-off to teachers who can run an entire classroom. And two Trey has hit the terrible and wonderful twos all at the same time. He is, as much as I love him, the hardest part of school for us. So because of this, I want to try to set aside some constructive Trey time (a.k.a Tot School). Here is a taste of it in photograph language.

First here is Mags sporting her massive boo boo. She collided with the concrete falling off her bike. She takes those turns like a wild woman.

This is what I like to call "Bead Transfer". He did this forever as I stuck close by waiting and watching for him to stick one in his ear, nose, or mouth. He did good though. He took the spoon and scooped up beads from one container and put them in the other. He used some great variations in transferring. It works his fine motor skills and I think it helps their concentration and ability to focus on something for longer than 2 minutes. Maggie and Wil enjoyed this as well but they used tweezers to make their transfers.

Here it is hard to tell what his activity is. Really he is just taking paint bottle out and putting paint bottles in a tin can. It is an easy way to familiarize him with his colors. Hammer time. Here we are pounding spiral pasta into a box with pre-made holes. Sound pointless? It isn't really! Its good practice for him the next time Maggie tries to pick him up.

We are loving being back in the swing of things.

Our First Day

Today was our first official day of school. Momma rolled out of bed late of all mornings, but we had a blessed day. I tried to ease us into it. We did our devotions at breakfast and headed to Walmart for folders and doughnuts. The only two "real" subjects we hit were math and grammar. Tomorrow, however, I am frightened of....its a full day! We'll have math, spelling, reading, history, writing, art, and math plus some. God is sufficient and I'm trusting in that to get us through. Shouldn't we everyday!

Here they are not so bright eyed first thing in the morning. Isn't it nice to wake up to a camera pointing right at you!!

Leave it to my Maggie girl to pose to make it "look" like she is well you know. Finally they found the perfect art work folder. By the semester's end they will be filled with cut-outs of hearts, and drawings of hearts of every color of construction paper. They both are really into drawing hearts these days.

....a little math

....a little p.e.

Trey's favorite subject is music. He can actually blow us a little tune on the lovely recorder.

Here Wil and Maggie are making a lap book on common person nouns. How else do you make nouns fun?

Our letters turned out a little too big I know, but you get the point.
Inside are pictures and symbols glued to help them understand the concept of common person nouns. We'll see how effective it is. Maggie is now too cool for school with momma's shades on. There were no complaints as we talked about doing it all again tomorrow. That's a relief!

Good-bye Summer Leisure

Right now I am cracked up. Wil is reading to his 8 year old neighbor friend. Maybe that is a good indication for me that my kids are ready to start school. I hope so because we will do so this Monday. I am very eager and enthusiastic about this school year (obviously...what else would make me want to post a blog). I have put in a lot, a lot of time preparing so that we [including Trey] might have a fun, profitable home school year. In order to make a path that will end in such a way, I have had to squeeze out all the creative mental energy that is within me. Intentions are good, but unless we make decisions that will keep us on the right path, intentions are useless. That is what I keep telling myself. When the LORD created me, He chose not to bless me with a creative mind. He did however set in me a determined spirit with a self-disciplined way AND the need to have organization and a plan. Prayerfully that makes up for the lack of creativeness in a big way. But let me just say it is a lot more work than if I were just able to see it in my mind easily and do it. My sister in law would make an awesome home school mom, but lucky for Brookland she is an awesome school teacher!!

Here are some things I'm excited about: Tommy is doing ancient history with Wil and Mags. We went with a neat history program that has a lot of hands on activities. He is going to take them on an arrow head hunt at the beginning of the year and lots of other neat things. My partner in home schooling, Rachel, got me hooked on Tot School. This is where I spend some concentrated time with Trey doing activities that will engage him and start a love for learning. The website is http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.blogspot.com/ . Thanks Rach. It took me a while but now I see why you like it so. Another cool thing is that I am going to co-teach Maggie's K4 class at our home school co-op's Monday school. Last year I taught p.e. and didn't enjoy it. CHE has been a huge asset for our family. There are 200+ families that are members in CHE and from them we have met some wonderful people. Anyway hopefully I will get to blog a lot of our home school days. I won't promise it. My blogging drive has virtually died, but we'll see.

I wanted to post some pictures from a fun play date with our friends the Moix's. Doesn't Trey look guilty in this picture. I can't say he wasn't responsible for the majority of it. This was our final play date time before they vacation and school starts and these times aren't quite as frequent. Thankfully we do this home

schooling thing together. My house is much smaller than hers so when our kids are here I laugh at the mess we make. At her house, the mess is confined upstairs. We have added Trey (my baby) and Noah (her baby) and they have added their contribution to the fun mess. Believe it or not this play date enabled me to get some little tasks done. How many pictures do I have of my living room looking this way. I promise it doesn't always look like this. At least you'll never see it this way!

Guess what got them all settled on the couch like this? Let me just say " a little show".

I'm Divin' In

I am losing my will to survive in the blogging world. I simply would rather do other things and have other things to do. I have been spending any spare moment I have trying to organize our upcoming home school year. I enjoy it, but every time I think I have it figured out I don't. Plus we've had dance camp, basketball camp, baseball games and now basketball games. It has been a little hectic since late May, but we are starting to wind down thankfully.

So even though my blogging has seemingly ceased, my blogging moments have not. I should call my blog, " Dads Rock", because every other post is about daddy moments. This afternoon we got home from a birthday party and the kids wanted to swim (even though they had just finished playing on one of those huge blow up water slides at the party). Tommy had shocked our pool today because he obsessively wants it to stay clean and he had found what he thought to be a green ring starting to form at the bottom. Honestly, honey, I couldn't see it, but bless your heart for being an awesome pool guy! They got in the pool and called me over while they were swimming and said that the water smelled strong like bleach. Yes, yes it did! I checked the chlorine level and the water is suppose to turn a yellow color. It turned bright orange. "Everybody out!" I say lest your eyes burn blind and your skin fall off.
Of course the kids still wanted to swim so Tom being the fun dad he is got out the $10 pool that belongs to Trey, filled it up, and played in it with them. Tommy can never just half way play. It is all or nothing with him. When I looked out the window he was in the pool built for 2 small children and eventually had to start a diving contest. This video is footage of that diving contest. Take another look. Tommy won and Maggie lost. C'mon girl. What kind of "dive" was that? Listen closely and you will hear Trey crack up at Tommy.

Branson

Vacations come and go so quickly. I remember 120 days ago starting our vacation countdown with the kids. And here we are 5 days out of it. Branson was our vacation destination and it was well worth the wait. We did a lot, ate a lot, and laughed a lot. One thing I can't say the trip was and that is relaxing. Momma still had to cook some, keep us on schedule, and worry about the details. But my pleasure comes from seeing my family enjoy themselves. Can I get an amen, moms? Enough of my words! Pictures are much more fun.

And we're off....it took 4 hrs to get there and 7 hours to get home. At every stop homeward you would hear me say "that is the last stop" until finally my threats became a big joke.

Trey was no so impressed with the cold water pool.

Grandma and Papa joined us for a few days. Wil and Mags love G & P! Here are Mags and Papa at Branson Landing...great shopping is to be had here.

Maggie got to experience stage performing of course in Branson and quickly decided she was made to perform. She seized the opportunity at Tom's cousin's diner (The Barbara Fairchild diner) and sung so sweetly and little shyly, but she didn't want to let go of that microphone!

Here we are at the Sights and Sounds Theatre. This where we saw Noah the musical. It was wonderful. It was the neatest thing we did for many reasons. The story of Noah and the flood will never be the same for Wil and Mags in a good way.

O.k I'm tired of captioning! Just consider the rest a "caption this"

This is my favorite picture of the trip!! I love it.

Maggie Shocks Us

Maggie Archer is wonderful to us in lots of ways. One thing Mags is NOT is coordinated. So when she requested her training wheels be taken off, we obliged only to let her see the difficulty of riding without training wheels. To our surprise it took her one day to hold her own. Earlier today she even descended a hill and was fine until she wanted to stop. She slammed right into the curb and flipped over. She didn't cry. I guess she thought since I was laughing, she'd laugh along with me. Her and Trey have something in common. They both hit that same curb going 15 MPH. Only Wilson pushed Trey down the hill in his stroller. It was not funny at the time.

I am proud of Maggie. She is 4 years old, but doesn't let that stand in her way . This determination will serve her well in life if used properly.

But if you see lots of bruises on her legs, just know she hasn't completely mastered the breaking part.

Leading Our Children

The school year is drawing to a close for Wil. It has been fun teaching Wil, and seeing him read on his own, letting Maggie join in, and joining the CHE home school group. From my own personal assessment, I would have to say we have have had a successful year. Looking back over this momentous year of Kindergarten 2 things easily stick out in my mind as the definite best moments. They were when both Wil and Maggie on separate occasions expressed a desire to know Jesus as their Savior. It would take way too long to go into detail what happened and what was said. But Momma was praising God at the end of both those days. It happened with Maggie first during our morning devotions at the kitchen table during the second week of school back in Aug 08'. She seemed adamant about it and remains adamant about it. Only time will tell. And then a couple of weeks ago during the same devotion time sitting at the same kitchen table once again, Maggie was asking me questions about Hell and what it is like and who goes there and will the people there see their mommy and daddy, and on and on. Wil was intently listening but as usual had very little to say. Now Mags knows that Wil has not accepted Christ. Not because I say anything. She is just keenly aware of it. So drawing her own conclusion of Wil being hell-bound (i hope that doesn't sound harsh. i intend it not that way of course), she said "Can I ask Jesus into Wil's heart". How precious and wonderful that she wanted to save her big brother. I said (with Wilson right there), "No, Wil has to do that on his own." I never ever want to pressure Wil. He is only 5 in a half. But I looked up and read Wil's lips as he whispered (wanting NOT to draw attention to himself) "Jesus, will you come live in my heart?" I pretended not to notice all the while praying for God to direct Wil's little mind and heart. I did not want him to be confused or to be misconstrued by my words to Maggie. I just went about the devotion. Wil began to ask questions, one after the other until I could not ignore the heart of the matter any longer. I asked if he wanted to pray with me to accept Jesus as His savior. So after asking him some questions, we did. His voice trembled as he spoke. It was bittersweet for me. On one hand he is 5 and Maggie at the time of her acceptance was 3. This is so very young. Tommy and I know they must understand to a degree what they were doing, but we could never discourage there desire lest their hearts began to harden. God has been very confirming over these weeks and months. The truth is because we home school, they hear about Jesus and God all through the day. Our curriculum is Christ centered and his lessons are taught from math to science from a Biblical perspective. I just want their faith to be caught from Tom and me, but independent from ours as they grow! It has got to be their own.

The LORD has set in my heart to step up praying this year from my pastors to my children. And last night I ran across a book on my shelf that I got as a little gift for Christmas. I had not looked at it until last night. It is called Leading Your Kids To Christ (30 devotions to prepare parents). One of the most if not the most important role as Wil, Maggie, and Trey's parents is leading them to Christ. This book is an excellent resource.

The biggest part of my testimony began one night as I rocked Wil to sleep as a baby. I was praying, "LORD let Your Word be real to Him so that You can be real to him". I heard God so clearly and so gently say, "Misty, how can I be real to Him if I'm not real to you." I "loved" the LORD and was walking with him at the time so it really threw, but as I searched my heart, of course, He was right. Isn't He always? From that night I prayed like I never have before and God threw open the flood gates of heaven in answering my prayers. The big idea in today's devotion from this book I'm reading was this: Your child's faith will be a direct reflection of your faith. If you want your child's faith to be strong, your faith should be strong too. I had to Amen that. God spoke that to me 6 years ago and today he confirmed it yet again. Here are some other great insights that I found today in my new book.

"Never underestimate that power that comes when a parent pleads with God on behalf of a child." Max Lucado

If you do not stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all Isaiah 7:9

Just as our faith strengthens our prayer life, so do our prayers deepen our faith. Let us pray often, starting today, for a deeper, more powerful faith. Shirley Dobson

Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves the One who is leading. Oswald Chambers (I LOVE THIS ONE)

This book is a God send to me. You know how it goes with this blogging thing.
It can serve as an outlet to your thinking thus was the case on this particular post. May it encourage us to live it (our faith) out before our children inviting them to join us.

Precious Moments

We had one of those moments last night. You parents know the ones. The moments that will bring a tear to a glass eye. Tom and I were getting in bed. He pulled his side of the covers back and there on his pillow was a note from his eldest son, "I love daddy". Evidently during his rest time (rest time not nap time because 5 1/2 yr olds do not take a nap says Wilson) that day, apparently had gotten up and written Tom this note and put it on his daddy's pillow.

Wil and Tommy have always had a very strong bond! I blame it on the fact that Tommy was the one who changed his first poopey (sp?) diaper after his birth. All I know is that Tommy is always on Wil's mind. This is probably because daddy is always willing to play anything with Wilson from basketball to Crazy 8's to monster/dungeon. Thank you Uncle Mike for introducing the dungeon game to our family. I am forever indebted to you-NOT!! This game always ends in broken objects or broken children.

After seeing this note, I got teary. Tommy was pretty touched, but not enough to cry. Here is a Fun Fact: I have never seen Tom cry. There were no tears, but he did go straight to Wil's room where he was sleeping and give him a squeeze and kiss. It was beautiful.

Daddies never ever underestimate your importance. Your role is invaluable.

Backyard Fun

It's been a while my blogging family. Not that you have missed me and my tales of a stay at home mom, but I haven't had many spare moments to sit down at the computer for longer than 5 minutes. Even as we speak, my hubby is patiently waiting on the couch for me to join him in some NBA playoff watching. It's their year no doubt about it!! GO LAKERS!

I had to post this video of daddy once again making life fun with a little water balloon action. Boys are so funny. He was so impressed with himself (obviously) that he got his daddy. Momma never fell prey to their numerous attempts to get me in throwing range. This is definitely a game that will get many request this summer! It was funny to watch Trey play along.
One thing that sold us on this house was the backyard. It is big but up until 2 weeks ago, it was bare. My kids never wanted to play in the back. Wil of course can't go 5 minutes without playing basketball and the goal is in front. Mags just wants to be where Wil is so I fought a losing battle every time trying to get them in the back. We home school so we need to make home fun because, well, that is where we spend 90 percent of our day. So when I found an awesome fort displayed at Sam's I begged Tom to think about getting it for us. I won without nagging thankfully. He bought the thing which came in 4 boxes (about 150-200 lbs a piece)....nothing but cedar wood. I guess that is what you call it. He had to build it completely from the ground up. A friend came by to help some with the foundation (thank you Chris cuz you really did help a lot) but for the most part Tom did the work. The instructions said that it would take 2 skilled workers about 40 hrs to build. Tom finished it easily in 40 hours doing 85% of the work himself. I love that he finishes what he starts. It has been so worth it. The kids love it. I myself am looking forward to some quiet times with the LORD up in the upper room as I like to call it!

He Has Risen

More than any verse in the Bible, I have hope from these three words: He has risen! May I also add these words of His Truth as well,



I Corinthians 15:55-58

"O, DEATH WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?"

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.





HAPPY EASTER! FROM THE ARCHER'S