Greg left for Afghanistan today

Greg left from his two week R&R leave today. I am so proud of what he is doing, and I pray for him to come home safely. He is surving our country as a crewchief on a Medic Blackhawk in Afghanistan. Before he left, he and Dad spent some time with the boys. We get to keep Dad for another week before he has to return to Afghanistan.

 I just hope he's not teaching his nephew too many of his tricks just yet.

One night a few months ago, Riley was laying in the floor playing with his train. He looked up at me and simply stated, "I need more train tracks. It needs more curvature." I wonder if anyone can tell that his Poppy is an engineer...

 Poppy and Riley spent a big part of the evening putting togther Riley's train set. Poppy bought Riley the original train for Christmas, but of course, Poppy has added to the train set every chance he can.

The new Red train would catch up and run over the old Purple one, so Dad replaced the batteries to see if that would help out.

 Riley, Greg, and Poppy enjoying some Taco Chili at the table. I'm sure they had some great conversations.

We are so proud of Greg and Dad for the work they are doing in Afghanistan. We are so thankfull for all of the men and women in the Armed Forces, and for their families, because we understand the sacrifice everyone involved is making. We pray that God will guide and protect all who are protecting our freedom.

WE MISS AND LOVE BOTH OF YOU SO MUCH! COME HOME SOON!!

"Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you."

2 Chronicles 20:17

Six Months Old

Kolden,

You are Six Months Old!!! It doesn't seem like it has been that long since we got our phone call to head up North because you were on your way. We drove all night and arrived just in time for you to be born as the sun came up. You've grown so much. You are 20 lbs and 6 oz and 27 inches long. I've nicknamed you Tank and you're living up to it! You giggle and smile so much and love to grab things--espically mommy's hair. Your favorite foods are pears and squash and you love to play in your jumper. You're almost crawling; for now you just rock back and forth and end up moving backwards. You are clever enough that you've figured out that you can roll over and over and over until you reach whatever it is you want. You still don't have any teeth yet, but they should be coming in soon. You BIG brown eyes are so beautiful (even if you're a little boy). Mommy and Daddy love you so much, Kolden Ray!

Good Morning

These guys are the best part of my mornings! Riley LOVES his little brother!

Praying God's Word - March 27-April 2

Topic: As a saint who sins

Scripture:  In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.  Romans 6:11&12

What God taught me: As we all know, no one is perfect and no matter how hard we try, we will all sin. When I first read this verse, I immediately became scared, because I knew I would be taking a long, hard look at myself, and most likely would focus on the negatives. To my surprize, God lead me to not focus on the sin, but instead, His grace. At first, I became more aware of just how much grace God has for me and others. If God can forgive Peter for denying him, then he can forgive me for my moments of weakness. As the week continued on, I found myself looking more at the grace I have for others. Sometimes I struggle with bitterness and grudges, but God helped me release my frustrations. No matter what wrongs have been committed around me or against me, I need to show the same grace that God has shown me. After all, we are all the children of God.

Praying God's Word - One Week @ a Time

So I came across a blog today that has inspired me to take a new journey with my prayer life. Although my relationship with God has grown tremendously through prayer in the past few months, it is still not where I want it to be. I still strugle in my daily talk with God. I find myself being repetitive, losing focus, or becoming overwhelmed. Now a new cyber-friend has shown me a new approach to my conversations with God.

The way it works is I have made a list of prayer topics with scriptures to go with each topic. Some of these I borrowed from others, and some I've come up with myself. At the beginning of the month, I'll chose the topics and scriptures for each weak and write them on my calendar. Some topics may seem out of place at first, but in His way, God will use them to move me. Each week, I'll post what my topic and scripture is for that week. Then at the end of the week, I'll come back and write about what God has taught me through scripture and prayer. I plan on blogging about my new journey for three reasons: 1) to help keep myself motivated and accountable. If others are reading it and praying for me, I'll have to stick with it 2) to ask for prayers from those who love me as I grow in Christ and 3) in hope that maybe I can inspire or help someone the way that the original blog has done for me.

Please feel free to join with me at any time, and please pray for me along the way. Also, feel free to write comments of encouragement or prayer requests.

"He came as a witness to testify concerning the light, so that through him all men might believe."
                                                                                              - John 1:7

Family

"Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness." ~ Isaiah 41:10

 

        We had a wonderful time yesterday hanging out with a large part of our family. We had both Dad and Greg there, which is something that hasn't happened in almost a year. Greg leaves back to Afghanistan on Thursday and Dad will follow the next week. I am so greatful that they were able to spend time with my boys. Riley loves his Poppy and his Uncle Gwegry so very much :) Anytime someone asks, Riley will tell them all about how his Grandpa and Uncle are Superheros in Afghanistan and fly around on helicopters. We pray daily that God will bring them home safely as well as the other soldiers. We are all so very proud of our very own Superheros!

        It was also great to spend time with our extended family. Its amazing to see how much all of the little ones have grown and how much fun they all have together.  I am so thankful that not only do I have a husband, parents, and brothers that I'm close with, but I also have uncles, aunts, and cousins too. Although Riley may not be sure exactly how he is related to everyone, he knows that he and his family are loved by so many people--even if he is the wild little boy of the group.

      God is so good to me and my family. We are so blessed.

    

Cheering on Daddy and one of his basketball games!!! (We have on our "antlers" for speed... if its good enough for the Texas Rangers, its good enough for us!)

Coming Soon