Need Some Splaining

O.K., can someone out there tell me why my header is disappearing?! What happened to the "Scattered Stones" and most of my picture? I am perplexed!

More Program Pics - The Solos

OK technically this is a duet. All the kids did such a great job! Kacy and Kaitlyn did Silent Night!Marlo did a "wondering" reading
Kaylyn sang "Breath of Heaven"

Zack sang "Joseph's Song"

O.K. Bekah didn't have a solo I just thought she was cute!

Sam lit the "Christ" candle at the end of the program.
Enjoy!

TEE HEE, they were in my pictures!!

O.K., so my husband, knowing I would be wanting to put them on my blog, put them in my pictures instead of his. Isn't he the nicest guy!!! Here are the pictures I promised from last night. BTW - My wonderful husband and I actually got our date on Friday! We had a day date. Steve has to work a double shift on Thursday, so he got Friday off. I worked a little in the morning, then we spent the day together. Much needed and much appreciated!! O.K. now the pics....

Above: the choir during practice
Mary, Joseph and Gabriel
Look at how they all are singing. They did such a good job!
The Shepherds and the Heavenly Host.

I'll post more later. It took a long time to get these to post.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

If you don't know what the title is about, let me explain. That is a BIG sigh on my part. Last night I knocked the last big thing I had to do before Christmas off my list! Our Christmas program at church. I don't think I can put into words what a blessing the whole night was. Do you know how you fret and worry over how it's going to go, and then you are in the middle of it and wonder why. I mean we prayed over this program, we prayed for each child, we prayed for each other, and them we (or should I say just me) are surprised that God blessed it! There were so many blessings last night, one of which was personal. My son, Jeremiah has not been in a Christmas Program at church since he was in Kindergarten, maybe before. I never forced the issue, because it would be to stressful, and who needs that. Well this year him and Sam said that if they didn't have to say anything, they would be in it. Jeremiah was a Shepherd and he had to light one of the candles. He did so great! He even dropped the igniter on his way on stage and it was never an issue. A couple of the people I talked to this morning said they didn't even see it. The point being he rolled with the flow and continued on. That is a huge deal for my eldest child.
At the practice on Saturday I told the children who they were preforming for, an audience of ONE! I read this passage from Isaiah 6:
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."
I told them to remember this when they are up on stage and all the people that come will be blessed because of it. That truly happened last night! I know I was blessed. I couldn't believe how things went. When you are at the practice you're like "Is this ever going to happen", YIKES! It even came in at exactly an hour. We never timed it, and we never really discussed length. It was perfect! The solos and duets where wonderful! Everyone that was involved really wanted to be there, so we all worked together.
I want to send a BIG THANK YOU to: Amy, Jen, Sherri, and Tara for helping coordinate the whole program. It truly was wonderful working and praying with these ladies.
I have pictures, but I don't know where Steve filed them, so I may post them latter today! To God be the glory, great things He has done!

"I AM" Study - Lesson 5 - I WAS

I am now unto Lesson 5 of this study. What a great study today! The parts that really spot to me were:

From Paragraph 2 - We are told in the New Testament book of Hebrews that he fled Egypt 'in faith'. Can I suggest to you that sometimes we can be 'in faith' yet be totally bewildered, downcast, confused, and downright demoralized when things do not turn out like we planned? Are there any hands to raise?

Paragraph 4 - The word 'content' in this context is very interesting. It is the Hebrew word "ya'al" (Strong's 2974) and means "to be willing, to show willingness, to be determined, to undertake to do, to make a beginning. It is making up one's mind to commence a given activity. Today we use terms such as 'initiative', or 'motivation'. The word has the nuance of determination and resolve." Now, in comparison to this meaning of 'content', consider another definition NOT used here. It is simply, "to breathe after". Especially the part of to be willing, to be determined.

All of paragraph 5 too!

Here are my Discussion Questions:

1. Have you ever found yourself 'in faith' yet bewildered or demoralized? I never thought it was "in faith" at the time, but definitely when I was younger. Decision I had made outside of God's will had left me feeling ashamed and distant from him.
2. Do you consider yourself content? Would you describe it as Decidedly Content or Dreamily Content? I am most definitely content. There have been degrees to my contentedness. I was decidedly content as a single after the age of 29. Before that I had the old feelings many singles have about wanting to be married. God showed me that I needed to put Him first. I prayed one night that if I'm single for the rest of my life or single until I was 50, he was picking the next man I dated. Now I am dreamily content because of who he brought into my life (Steve), and the life He (God) has given me in Him (God).
3. If you are not content, are there circumstances that keep you from this feeling? The only time I would not feel content is when I let satan bring up my past, and when I allow him to point out my failings.
4. Have you ever found yourself in a place where you looked back on a period of your Christian walk and believed a great opportunity passed you by? Oh yes, but praise be to God I remind myself (He reminds me) of His wonderful plan for my life and that I can use those situations to help others!
5. Do you ever believe your faith was stronger in an earlier time in your Christianity and find yourself floundering now? Nope! Definitely stronger right now.
6. Can you recognize that this season may be one of great preparation instead of a period of "I Was"? Yes. Even though it is very unpleasant to go through times of valleys, it's in those valleys we further learn our dependence on Christ. Mountaintop experiences are awesome, but you can't always live there.

Final Product

I just know that every one has been waiting with baited breath for the final look at my Lake
Superior stone birdhouse. Well wait no longer, here it is! Bekah and I worked on it yesterday.
Steve told me I have to keep this one. I'm still not sure whether I am going to spray it with a glossy spray to get the stones to shine. They are so pretty when they are shiny. So there you have it!

Date night gone bust!

WARNING!!! BLOG MAY CONTAIN REFERENCES TO POOP AND THROW UP! IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH YOU MAY WANT TO SKIP SECTIONS!!!

Last night Steve and I planned a long awaited date night. With my diligence (addiction) at getting Speedway coffee and time my gas needing right I had amassed enough points for a $50 gift card to Applebee's. It's been in my purse since late summer! So I get my mother who is 79 to watch the kids, which doesn't take much they just usually watch TV, but it's cable TV, which is novel for them since they don't have it a home. Before leaving our house I notice Bekah in the bathroom. I ask are you O.K., she says yes. I ask are you having trouble pooping, she said yes. Hmmmm, we haven't had this problem since early summer. How long has it been honey? Did you go yesterday? No. Did you go the day before? I can't remember. O.K. well keep trying and call me if you need me, then get your stuff together because mom and dad have a date! Can you see the important priorities I have?

Off we go to Grandma's. I forgot their frozen pizza so we had to stop at Walgreen's real quick in Jenison. We get to mom's, her and my sister Rachel are not back from an Estate Sale yet (sandy if your reading this, it was a pretty good Estate Sale). Kam got a really nice desk for Madeline there. Anyway, back to story. They finally arrived we tell them we won't be to long, we're just going to shop for a while and then head to Applebee's. I was so looking forward to my Grilled Shrimp and Spinach Salad, Yummy!!! We'll where are we going to go first? We really didn't have any place planned, there isn't much left to get for Christmas, so we decided on MC Sports first to look for many things like: ice skates, roller blades, basketball hoops for the kids. My sweet husband has plans to get our kids more active. I love how he keeps trying. While there too, we looked at new orange hunting stuff for Steve. Don't we just have the most exciting dates. Jealous aren't ya?! Well we find what Steve is looking for and are heading to check out. Steve's phone rings, and he sounds a bit concerned, then hands the phone to me. Bekah is on my mom's bathroom floor crying that he stomach hurts and that she has to throw up. O.K. we will check out and be right there. So long Applebee's! We get back to my mom's and I sit on the floor with her, asking do you need to throw up, would you like to try go? No! O.K., would you like to rock with Mom? Yes. O.K. I tell my mom you may want to put that pizza in now because Steve was hungry when we left here. I will wait and get something on the way home. I did not want frozen Jack's Pizza on my date night!

So I rock Bekah, she seems to perk up and eats a piece of pizza. After everyone has ate. We head for home. Bekah has started to not feel good again. We took to vehicles to mom's so Steve and Jeremiah went shopping. Bekah and I headed home. I quickly stop at Wendy's to grab myself something. Sucking it down as I head unto M6. My mother lives in Byron Center Township. I'm talking to Bekah all the way. Telling her where we are and how soon we'll be home. She is moaning and moving in the back seat. Finally on the home stretch between 48th and 56th streets, she yells pull over. I pull into some unsuspecting persons driveway, run around the van, open the door and hold her up over the snow (she has no shoes on). You guess it, she throws up! I wipe her mouth and continue the short drive to 60th and home. We get there and she lays down for awhile then says she's ready for her (enema) fun huh! Well we wait for 7 minutes then she can wait no more (can you tell I'm being kind in my description?). People I have got to tell you, how can someone so small and so cute, poop something that large. Oh my goodness!!! After that of course she feels better, who wouldn't. I explained to her how she needs to tell us, if she hasn't gone in one day. She has had a problem with this in the past, so she knows the drill.

She took a nice long warm bath. Got out and got dress in her P.J.'s, came into the Family room and told me she need to throw up again, so into the bathroom we went. After that much better!

So that is my date night! Who knows when another opportunity will come our way! I sure hope that legislation gets past that says Gift cards cannot expire! I'm probably pushing the limit.

Hope this blog didn't gross you out to bad.