Brielle had her first TOT program this week too! She's quite skilled with the basketball!
Kendall completed her third year of ballet. Dancing is her next favorite thing after music.
Kendall and her sweet friend, Hannah.
Monday, May 23, 2016
Recitals
Kendall completed her first year of piano! She seems to have inherited the same music gene as her aunt. She loves it, and loves her teacher, Mrs. Laura. We're so proud of how far she's come in one year!
Brielle had her first TOT program this week too! She's quite skilled with the basketball!
Kendall completed her third year of ballet. Dancing is her next favorite thing after music.
Kendall and her sweet friend, Hannah.
Brielle had her first TOT program this week too! She's quite skilled with the basketball!
Kendall completed her third year of ballet. Dancing is her next favorite thing after music.
Kendall and her sweet friend, Hannah.
Thursday, May 19, 2016
End of School Stuff
Brielle's end of K3 program
Kendall's last day of first grade with Mrs. Shamburger and Mrs. Barlow
Brielle and Grayson
Kendall's last day of first grade with Mrs. Shamburger and Mrs. Barlow
Brielle's end of K3 party ...
Brielle and Eli
Brielle and Grayson
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Randomness 2016 ~ vol.2
Kendall learning to clap eighth notes at her piano lesson with Mrs. Laura. She's determined to learn her recital piece she picked out!
The tea party tradition lives on!
Would you guess this thang just got diagnosed with the flu??|
Riley Kate's birthday party
The tea party tradition lives on!
Would you guess this thang just got diagnosed with the flu??|
Eli's fireman birthday party
Riley Kate's birthday party
Monday, May 2, 2016
The Fight Is Real
There's been the first dose of reality in our new dream home. Not exactly trouble in paradise, but a reminder that nothing is perfect and that's just a plain ole constant truth in life.
Enter trouble: dogs. Double trouble to be exact. A boxer and a lab to be precise.
These two dogs have been escaping, reaping havoc on the hood, and on a premeditated cat killing spree it seems of late. Three strays in the creek have fallen victim. But it hit very close to home, literally and figuratively, when the neighbor's beloved cat, our own cat's feline friend, was mauled and killed for sport in a revolting display of hooliganism. And if that wasn't bad enough, when the good Samaritan neighbor returned home after helping us assist the injured neighbor cat, he found his own cat injured. The sidekicks causing trouble were still milling around, and it was a concerted, collaborative effort on the part of several of us to shoo them off. Despite it all though, sadly our cat friend did not make it.
News spread amongst the neighbors faster than a speeding ticket. Tempers flared. Guns cocked (so I was told). Texts blew up. Rumors flew. Fingers pointed. And this mama came up swinging to protect her kids and her cat, her kids' beloved pet (and mama's creek pesticide service as well).
After allowing my anger to come out the stratosphere, I began thinking and praying and getting advice from a trusted friend on how to correctly and biblically handle the situation. After much prayer and discussion we decided to lovingly yet sternly approach the dog owner. After all, my family's safety was at stake here. Our home should be a safe haven, and it was currently under attack by prowling enemies. We didn't want to stir discord or create enemies. We just wanted to protect our children, or family, our neighborhood from a threat, and come to a neighborly conclusion that includes everyone's best interest and safety.
Prowling enemies. Hmmm....sounds familiar in my spirit.
And once again God spoke to me through my kids. Honestly, since becoming a mother I think God has used my kids more than any other correlation to speak to me. And this instance was one more.
The verse came to mind: Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8
Open parenthesis...
Disclaimer: I'm not calling these dogs evil. They're dogs. They're doing what unfortunately dogs sometimes do. They have no conscience so therefore no regard for morality or the cats we all love. And I'm not calling the owner evil either. He has every right to own a pet as I do. But I am saying, for crying out loud, lock them up and don't allow them out if this is the mess they're gonna stir up.
Disclaimer two: No way could I injure another animal, even one that's acting a punk. It ain't right. It falls under the "Treat Others As You'd Have Them Treat You" category.
Close parenthesis...
God lovingly challenged me with this question: Are you as assertively paying attention to the spiritual enemy that's seeking to devour your children's souls as you are to the physical threat seeking out to destroy your cat?
The enemy...Satan...prowls around. He's seeking someone. He's eyeing my kids. He intends to destroy them. To defeat them. All to bring a blow to God's heart. He is trying to bring my family down.
And yours too.
For the next forty-eight hours I scoured our backyard every chance I had. My cat's safety was on the forefront of my mind. I slept with my ears open. I prayed fervently for God to protect my cat better than I could for the sake of my children. But do I do that with my children's souls? Satan is just as real as those dogs. And the danger is that we can't see him. He blinds our eyes to the truth, casts doubt and fear, whispers lies and accusations, and attempts to desynsetize us to God's Word. He might not get me to quit believing, but he'll try to make me ineffective. Busy. Distracted. And then he moves in. We're cornered right where he wants us. We've become a mile wide and an inch deep, focusing on the trivial and missing completely all that is important.
My spiritual toes were surely stepped on by God's gentle nudge of His hand, prompting me to stop for a minute and think. How quickly I forget that the real enemy, the one after my soul, my children's souls, and yours also, it so dangerous because we can't see him and he's good at what he does. But how grateful I am for a loving Father who loves me, who is for me, who is faithful to me. And how much I need the constant, loving reminder to PRAY for my children, and trust God that He's got this.
Enter trouble: dogs. Double trouble to be exact. A boxer and a lab to be precise.
These two dogs have been escaping, reaping havoc on the hood, and on a premeditated cat killing spree it seems of late. Three strays in the creek have fallen victim. But it hit very close to home, literally and figuratively, when the neighbor's beloved cat, our own cat's feline friend, was mauled and killed for sport in a revolting display of hooliganism. And if that wasn't bad enough, when the good Samaritan neighbor returned home after helping us assist the injured neighbor cat, he found his own cat injured. The sidekicks causing trouble were still milling around, and it was a concerted, collaborative effort on the part of several of us to shoo them off. Despite it all though, sadly our cat friend did not make it.
News spread amongst the neighbors faster than a speeding ticket. Tempers flared. Guns cocked (so I was told). Texts blew up. Rumors flew. Fingers pointed. And this mama came up swinging to protect her kids and her cat, her kids' beloved pet (and mama's creek pesticide service as well).
After allowing my anger to come out the stratosphere, I began thinking and praying and getting advice from a trusted friend on how to correctly and biblically handle the situation. After much prayer and discussion we decided to lovingly yet sternly approach the dog owner. After all, my family's safety was at stake here. Our home should be a safe haven, and it was currently under attack by prowling enemies. We didn't want to stir discord or create enemies. We just wanted to protect our children, or family, our neighborhood from a threat, and come to a neighborly conclusion that includes everyone's best interest and safety.
Prowling enemies. Hmmm....sounds familiar in my spirit.
And once again God spoke to me through my kids. Honestly, since becoming a mother I think God has used my kids more than any other correlation to speak to me. And this instance was one more.
The verse came to mind: Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8
Open parenthesis...
Disclaimer: I'm not calling these dogs evil. They're dogs. They're doing what unfortunately dogs sometimes do. They have no conscience so therefore no regard for morality or the cats we all love. And I'm not calling the owner evil either. He has every right to own a pet as I do. But I am saying, for crying out loud, lock them up and don't allow them out if this is the mess they're gonna stir up.
Disclaimer two: No way could I injure another animal, even one that's acting a punk. It ain't right. It falls under the "Treat Others As You'd Have Them Treat You" category.
Close parenthesis...
God lovingly challenged me with this question: Are you as assertively paying attention to the spiritual enemy that's seeking to devour your children's souls as you are to the physical threat seeking out to destroy your cat?
The enemy...Satan...prowls around. He's seeking someone. He's eyeing my kids. He intends to destroy them. To defeat them. All to bring a blow to God's heart. He is trying to bring my family down.
And yours too.
For the next forty-eight hours I scoured our backyard every chance I had. My cat's safety was on the forefront of my mind. I slept with my ears open. I prayed fervently for God to protect my cat better than I could for the sake of my children. But do I do that with my children's souls? Satan is just as real as those dogs. And the danger is that we can't see him. He blinds our eyes to the truth, casts doubt and fear, whispers lies and accusations, and attempts to desynsetize us to God's Word. He might not get me to quit believing, but he'll try to make me ineffective. Busy. Distracted. And then he moves in. We're cornered right where he wants us. We've become a mile wide and an inch deep, focusing on the trivial and missing completely all that is important.
My spiritual toes were surely stepped on by God's gentle nudge of His hand, prompting me to stop for a minute and think. How quickly I forget that the real enemy, the one after my soul, my children's souls, and yours also, it so dangerous because we can't see him and he's good at what he does. But how grateful I am for a loving Father who loves me, who is for me, who is faithful to me. And how much I need the constant, loving reminder to PRAY for my children, and trust God that He's got this.
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