Daddy's Girl

Annah and Daddy took a trip to Indiana this weekend while Sylvia, Caeden and I stayed home. It was a really special weekend for all of us, because even though we weren't all together, we each got to spend some QT! You can see it meant a lot to Annah. She loves her Daddy!!

Magical Pink Fairy Princess Cookies

While Daddy and Annah were gone on their trip to Indiana for the weekend, Sylvia and Mommy baked cookies!

The cookies came in a little kit Sylvie got for Christmas, (see Sassafras Enterprises) which included a magic wand, cookie mix that turns pink when you add the rest of the ingredients, a cookie utter, icing, and fairy dust sprinkles. Sylvia was lovin' it!!!!

Sylvia and I had lots of fun making her magical fairy princess cookies! It took almost all day, but we enjoyed it.

Big Little Boy

 

While I was helping Sylvia brush her teeth, Caeden saw his toothbrush waiting for him on the counter, stood up, climbed onto the stool, grabbed his toothbrush, and started brushing his teeth! I know he has seen his sisters do it a thousand times, but he is just too little to be such a big boy!!

Little Monkeys

Our kids (and Jeremy) all really love bananas! When I buy them at the store, I always buy 3 or 4 big bunches at a time for the little monkeys!

We're back!

We are done with the "shut-off" now. It was very interesting...I'm not sure how really successful I was in focusing a lot more time on God, but I did do a lot of realizing about things. I did manage to go all week without turning on the computer, the TV, or the radio. (It was so hard!!!!!!!!!) All of us went without TV, including the kids, which is (sadly) a small miracle in itself!) I did spend a lot of time thinking about what I could be doing on the computer, and wishing I could watch TV. It really made me realize my misuse of these things--in that I spend a lot of time doing these things that are mostly mindless, when I could be doing something worthwhile. So, my hope is to change the wasted moments into ones of worth. I did spend a bit more time in the Word and in prayer and in practicing my music for this morning's service than I usually do, which was positive in a lot of ways. And, I spent more time reading to the kids and we all played a board game together every night. Our family operated more smoothly, and our house is cleaner too! So, it was definitely a beneficial experiment, and I am thankful God challenged me to it. Hopefully, I will keep it fresh in my mind and remember what a difference it made, and continue in that way...

All bundled up!

Taking down the tree

Caeden liked being allowed to help take down the Christmas tree!

National De-Lurking Week!

Well, I must say I am disappointed! Only two people signed our guestbook last week to say they visit our site. Now, I know they can't be the only ones, so some of you out there are real, true lurkers who apparently are too embarrassed to tell us you think we're interesting. Hmm.

We know you're out there...Our stats show us you're visiting our site. This week you have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to let your presence be known! Well, really you have that chance everyday, but this is National De-Lurking Week! A special day celebrating lurkers, and begging you to get up the guts to click on that guestbook button and admit you visit our site!

So say hi, send us a link to the best site you visited recently, tell us what you're having for supper, your online wishlist(s)-- whatever. To give you a little more incentive, I will personally reply to every commenter!

So what are you waiting for?! Let us know you check in on our site! Sign our guestbook or send us an e-mail if you're here today!

Shut Off

This week we are "unplugging" some of our distracters so that we can more fully concentrate on God, spend more time surrounded by Him, and do more of what He would have us do. Multiple things have led to this inspiration, including our Pastor's recent sermons, the kids' program at church today, and an article in our church newsletter. All these things have helped us come to the realization that we spend so much time watching TV, listening to the radio, playing video/computer games, messing around online, watching movies, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera... Obviously, all of those things can have some spiritual value, but many of them have become space-fillers that actually distract us from communing with God. What about spending that time in prayer, reading the Bible, singing praise to the Lord, helping others?

When it really comes down to it, our lives are just a breath in time. Why then, do I waste so many hours of that time?! I plan to realize just how much time I personally waste each week on some of these things that distract me from what God would rather have me doing. Possibly my main distraction is the computer. When considering turning it off for a week, I almost panic! But, I know it is not something I need. So, this week, I will use that time as God would have me. I won't be e-mailing, updating the site, surfing the web, or even turning on the computer between Monday and next Sunday. So, if anyone happens to miss us, give us a call. Let us know how we can pray for you! ;)

Have a great week in Him!

-Taryn

A bold lady

I got to read a book to Annah's class today! Up until now, I have hesitated to go because I wasn't sure how Sylvia and Caeden would behave. But, they are comfortable enough there now, so we all went. The class is learning about outer space this month, and I got to read the book There Was A Bold Lady Who Wanted A Star to them. Then we stayed until the end of class, and got to see how Annah in action at school. She loved having Sylvie there, and kept her right by her side the whole time, showing her everything. She even let her help her on her project and play with her in the gym. Sylvie loved be treated like a big kid, and Caeden had fun with all the attention he got from the kids. I loved being able to see Annah at school and how she listened to the teachers and knew the routine and interacted with the other kids.