Happy 2nd Birthday, Evan!!!

Friday, October 23, 2009

Doesn't he have the cutest face?

He really loves his Papa!! Have a great day little man! We love you!

Happy Birthday, Lucas!

Today is Lucas' 7th birthday!!!

Hey, Lucas, what did you get for your birthday?

What's that? Nascar Cart for the Wii!!!

He is all boy! Whether it's playing racing (and letting Emily take a car)...

or jumping high like a skateboarder!

He is the sweetest kid you could ever meet. And, of course, we think he is super-smart and handsome and loveable, etc. etc. etc., even though he does cheer for Tony Stewart and boos Jeff Gordon.

God bless you today, Duke!!

Adventures of a Mellow Wife

My newfound committment to reading the Bible and praying is going fairly well, I think. I really like reading from the Message. I'm halfway into Mark now and still finding it insightful. Maybe it is this new committment, but I seem to be feeling mellower about things. Hmm... For instance - We have a "guest" staying in our apartment and we are having a hard time getting him (or her) to leave. Apparently, it likes Dale the most (he IS the family's early bird riser) because he(Dale) gets the pleasure of seeing it every morning. It also seems to like our stove for some odd reason. (If you haven't guessed by now, our guest is a mouse- YUCK!) I heard a lot of banging this morning early, but I wasn't fully awake, so thought, AH, HE'S CAUGHT THE MOUSE! Not so. My crockpot insert and lid were in the sink soaking until morning and some how or other the lid just exploded! Dale said it happened around 2 or 3 because it woke him up and he thought it was the mouse getting caught. Alas, no. And the banging I heard was Dale putting the trap under the stove to try to catch it there. So, now I have a wonderful almost 20 year old crockpot that I likely won't be able to get a replacement lid for. Ho hum...(and I really LOVE (note the sarcasm)picking glass up out of the sink. Thankfully, no cuts. If I were Jen, I would have a picture of the lid on here, but I forgot. Oh well, it was a glass lid and it was smashed to smithereens - use your imagination! On a lighter note - Dale is into his second week of being supervisor (all is going fairly well). Since taking this position, he has not been here in our building, as it isn't in his "Zone". So, I go to the elevator to do some laundry upstairs, dressed in sweatpants, shirt and slippers and was greeted by one of the nice old men in our building. He asks where Dale is, as they haven't seen him for a long time. I said he was supervisor now and this wasn't his building anymore. Oh, he says, does he still live here? (Hmm - don't think he's moved out without me.) I couldn't wait to get off the elevator and burst into laughter over that one! Dale liked it, too. Sometimes the tenants come up with some doozies! I love the reading; I've finished my Bible Study lesson for this week about God being our El Elyon (God Most High); and I'm not freaking out about the mouse. God is good!

Happy Birthday, My Jodi

Friday, October 2nd was Jodi's 33rd birthday. We gathered at their place to celebrate her birthday and Lucas'. Lucas will be 7 on the 7th, but they have Faithbuilders that night, so thought an early celebration would be in order.

We had loads of fun and it was fun to see their faces as they opened presents. Lucas got what he wanted - a Nascar Cart game for the Wii and Jodi almost (but not quite) overdosed on stampin'up things! One can never have too much of that!!

Hard to believe 33 years have gone by. I really am feeling much older as I see my kids age. Oh well, that's life. God has given us three wonderful children, spouses and 5 grandchildren and we are truly blessed!!

Happy Birthday, My Jo!

So Far, So Good

I love to read. I have ever since I first learned. I used to go to the school and public libraries and pick out three or four books a week to read. But I've never read the Bible completely through. Why is that? Well, I have come to the realization that although the Bible was written by holy men of God who were used by the Spirit to write these things down for us, we are a people of impatience. And the Bible translators were very well-educated men. I, however, am not a well-educated person. Even though I do read a lot, I don't read really deep things and find it hard to comprehend things I'm reading unless it is told to me in easy-to-understand language. I have started over and over in Genesis, even in the New International Version, and gotten pretty far before I quit. My kids even gave me the Bible on CDs and that was good and I got as far as Leviticus. But it still wasn't working. So, the other day I'm trying to decide what to do about my new committment to reading and studying God's word and something came into my mind. When we first moved to Regina in 1993, we were in a Bible Study with Al and Jenny Ramsey. It was a good study and we started off every lesson by reading the scripture passage from "The Message". This is a translation of the Bible that makes it into more of an easy-to-read novel. I thoroughly enjoyed this study and always considered getting a copy of The Message, but never did. So, here I am, this woman who has been a believer since she was 6 and knows lots of scriptures, hearing the stories from the Gospels in a totally different way. I thought, "Why not use this translation this new journey I am on?" and decided to go and buy a copy of The Message. I have been reading in Matthew and oh my, it really does make a difference. Sure, it's the same scripture I've always heard and studied, but said differently and is more easy to understand. I have never been a scholar and any books I've read had to be easy to understand and enjoyable. Well, that's how this translation is for me. The Lord is really using it to make me see things I should have seen all along, but never really thought about. It makes me excited and a little afraid - what if I fail again? It wouldn't be the first time something has made me get really enthusiastic about reading the Bible. But no, this time, I am committed to reading and studying the scriptures. I just pray I can keep this enthusiasm going. "Lord help me to remember Your word! Thank you for giving us Your word, creating us and making it possible for us to be Your children."