Oh my goodness she is a sweet heart. Anyone that knows 12 year old Amy, my princess I call her, knows she is all heart. God gave Amy to me at a very important time. We had been serving in a Church in Kansas and 2 weeks before she was due, the church decided they could not afford a youth paster. It was a very difficult situation for us and we were hurt deeply by this. I know that God knew how much I loved babies and in his providence allowed her to come into the world at just the right time. I was so happy about our sweet little princess Amy,the pain of the current situation we were in certainly diminished.
There is a precious couple whom we have been very good friends with since college, Greg and Amy Skiles. When our little baby girl was born on Aug. 10th 1997, it was with great joy we named her after our dear friend Amy.
One of my favorite things about Amy is that she is always writing sweet notes to us. She has been doing this since the time she could write. I love the way she puts her loving thoughts down on paper and shares it.
Amy has always been thoughtful and helpful. It is not uncommon for Amy to clean the kitchen or clean up the house or do some other chore....just because. She does these things out of the kindness of her heart without expecting anything in return. It truly is amazing. I love it when she makes meatloaf...it's awesome!
Amy has never talked back to me and rarely has a bad attitude. She is sweet to her little brother, she reads stories,plays and prays with him. I've told her many times...."your going to be a great mom someday". One of the sweetest things to watch, is when she gets a bunch of blankets and pillows, piles them on the floor to make a big pallet for her and her little brother, she pops some popcorn and has a slumber party watching one of "his movies".
Amy has always been giving and grateful. From the time she was a tiny tot, we could never get her any little snack or trinket at the store without her saying..."what about Avery". I'll never forget when Amy spent the week with my parents. Later when we were visiting, my mom told me how Amy was so good about saying thank you.
Amy loves Jesus and has a heart for hurting people. One time she became aware of a girl who was hurting herself, we talked to Amy about it and she cried as she hurt for this young girl. The love of Jesus is truly in her heart.
Friday, October 30, 2009
He can do that too....He's Avery.
Avery is the epitome of yes I can. Anything he puts his mind to, he will figure it out. He has always been very athletic inclined in fact his first words were "baket ball" ," oot ball," and "bayball". Toddler translation for basketball, football and baseball of course. As Avery joined the ranks of preteens, skateboarding became the priority sport. I was amazed at the amount of necessary skateboard equipment one needs....skateboard shoes are paramount....almost more than the helmet and pads. I literally put him in God's hands everytime he went out to ollie this and ollie that.....I figured he grow out of it...we'll tomorrow he is going to a skateboard contest so he's not grown out of it yet.
Avery was in gymnastics for a while and after just a few practices he was promoted up to the competing level and within 3 months he won several awards at the first meet he attended. He took it on like a pro and I had visions of the olympics...however...his love was skateboarding and gymnastics was not as interesting anymore....I think it had something to do with the uniforms as well....spandex vs. jeans and Vans....hmmm....not a hard decision for Avery.
So then theres High school baseball and all the while he is perfecting his skill on the guitar. He will practice and practice and practice on whatever he wants to learn. He is not afraid. I'm so proud of him for this.
One of the things that motivates Avery is money. But what is so interesting, although he will negotiate and sell things and work hard to get some cold hard cash, when it comes to being generous, he practices this as well.
He buys things for his siblings, he pays for movies, he buys snacks for friends and giving is just as important to Avery as getting.
Avery has a great prospective on life and loves to live it to the fullest. He is a hard worker and I rarely hear him complain. Amazing attitude.
Avery is a true follower of Christ and it shows. He is not afraid to share his faith. I remember a few months back he went to work out at Aspen, He met a young man there and struck up a conversation with him. As they visited Avery shared with him his testimony of how God has worked in our family through hard times. He encourage the young man to get back connected with God and invited him to church. He was so jazzed when he called me to come get him. He couldn't wait to tell me about this "divine appointment" .
Avery loves his family and shows it by the way he treats everyone. Oh, he's a teaser too, but when it comes to standing up for his siblings and protecting his younger sister and brother, that is priority 1.
God has blessed Avery with much natural talent and along with that he has listened to the spirit of perseverance, tenacity and hard work.
Avery was in gymnastics for a while and after just a few practices he was promoted up to the competing level and within 3 months he won several awards at the first meet he attended. He took it on like a pro and I had visions of the olympics...however...his love was skateboarding and gymnastics was not as interesting anymore....I think it had something to do with the uniforms as well....spandex vs. jeans and Vans....hmmm....not a hard decision for Avery.
So then theres High school baseball and all the while he is perfecting his skill on the guitar. He will practice and practice and practice on whatever he wants to learn. He is not afraid. I'm so proud of him for this.
One of the things that motivates Avery is money. But what is so interesting, although he will negotiate and sell things and work hard to get some cold hard cash, when it comes to being generous, he practices this as well.
He buys things for his siblings, he pays for movies, he buys snacks for friends and giving is just as important to Avery as getting.
Avery has a great prospective on life and loves to live it to the fullest. He is a hard worker and I rarely hear him complain. Amazing attitude.
Avery is a true follower of Christ and it shows. He is not afraid to share his faith. I remember a few months back he went to work out at Aspen, He met a young man there and struck up a conversation with him. As they visited Avery shared with him his testimony of how God has worked in our family through hard times. He encourage the young man to get back connected with God and invited him to church. He was so jazzed when he called me to come get him. He couldn't wait to tell me about this "divine appointment" .
Avery loves his family and shows it by the way he treats everyone. Oh, he's a teaser too, but when it comes to standing up for his siblings and protecting his younger sister and brother, that is priority 1.
God has blessed Avery with much natural talent and along with that he has listened to the spirit of perseverance, tenacity and hard work.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Let me introduce you to Au..Au...Au...Austin.
My 20year old son Austin can make me cry.......from laughing so hard. He has always been one to find the humor in almost every situation....sometimes even to my chagrin. One time I was getting on to him and his brother Avery for some ruckus they were up too and as in the most firmly, stern authoritative parental voice I could muster, I said...BOY'S STOP WITH ALL YOUR ...SH...SH...SH...SH.... SHENANIGANS!!!!!Somehow the power in my words seem to wane in the light of the stuttering.....we all stood there silent for 30 seconds...and none of us could contain the hysterical laughter as Austin calmly repeated....sh..sh...sh...sh...shenanigans? Well, at least they stopped what they were doing.
One time we were in the car listening to a Micheal W. Smith song and Austin asked me how old was Micheal W. Smith. I started trying to figure it out in my head by thinking about Amy Grant and how much older she was than me, then calculating how much older Micheal W. Smith was than Amy Grant, I was in a deep thought about this and started to answer and once again my brain stuttered and I said, Oh 5 or.... 5 or....5 or...5 or....Austin interupted me....mom...mom....5 or WHAT. I snapped back into coherence and said..oh...probably 5 or 6 years older than me.....We laughed for a minute or so about my brain blackout.
We got home, Austin went on to his room and I was doing some house work, I called out to Austin and asked him when he was going to get on his chores...and without a hesitation he called back....oh in about 5 or, 5 or 5 or 5 or......
He still had to do his chores but once again I was cracking up at his quick wit.
Austin is a really good young man now. He is very smart....(I'm sure he would whole heartedly agree) but more than smart, I have seen him show wisdom as well. There have been many times that he has been able to discern how to handle a situation that many his age would not have recognized.
I remember one time one of his friends was struggling with a sin....again...Austin had already talked with him about this and gave him Godly advice of which the friend did not follow, Austin firmly and lovingly told him the next time he called whining about his problem, listen, I care about you dude, but until you do what I suggested before...I can't help you, so don't call me or contact me till you do what you need to do.
Austin realized he did not need to be sitting next to this young man on an emotional rollercoaster and recognized the young man needed someone to draw the line and stand firm. Austin studies the Bible, reads all kinds of books...even the encyclopedia....and has a hunger for learning. He loves to talk to people and is not afraid to talk about his faith and what Jesus is all about. He knows and lives the phrase, "people don't care how much you know, till they know how much you care". He truly does care about people and is a true follower of Christ. He serves in the 6th grade class at our church and many parents have commented how much their child loves Austin. Austin connects with people...anyone and everyone.
One thing that makes me smile when I think about Austin is that he loves his family and shows it. He likes to hang out with his siblings and although he is very good at teasing, he loves to have fun and lighten the mood.
He is protective of his sisters and understands and takes seriously his role model to his younger brothers.
I dropped my little boy Aj off at preschool a few days ago, as he was getting out of the car he gave me a hug and kiss....it was so sweet. The teacher that was helping the little ones out of the car said to me" Oh you better enjoy that now, cuz when they get older, they won't do that anymore". I smiled and thought to myself...oh yes they do....you don't know my son Austin.
One time we were in the car listening to a Micheal W. Smith song and Austin asked me how old was Micheal W. Smith. I started trying to figure it out in my head by thinking about Amy Grant and how much older she was than me, then calculating how much older Micheal W. Smith was than Amy Grant, I was in a deep thought about this and started to answer and once again my brain stuttered and I said, Oh 5 or.... 5 or....5 or...5 or....Austin interupted me....mom...mom....5 or WHAT. I snapped back into coherence and said..oh...probably 5 or 6 years older than me.....We laughed for a minute or so about my brain blackout.
We got home, Austin went on to his room and I was doing some house work, I called out to Austin and asked him when he was going to get on his chores...and without a hesitation he called back....oh in about 5 or, 5 or 5 or 5 or......
He still had to do his chores but once again I was cracking up at his quick wit.
Austin is a really good young man now. He is very smart....(I'm sure he would whole heartedly agree) but more than smart, I have seen him show wisdom as well. There have been many times that he has been able to discern how to handle a situation that many his age would not have recognized.
I remember one time one of his friends was struggling with a sin....again...Austin had already talked with him about this and gave him Godly advice of which the friend did not follow, Austin firmly and lovingly told him the next time he called whining about his problem, listen, I care about you dude, but until you do what I suggested before...I can't help you, so don't call me or contact me till you do what you need to do.
Austin realized he did not need to be sitting next to this young man on an emotional rollercoaster and recognized the young man needed someone to draw the line and stand firm. Austin studies the Bible, reads all kinds of books...even the encyclopedia....and has a hunger for learning. He loves to talk to people and is not afraid to talk about his faith and what Jesus is all about. He knows and lives the phrase, "people don't care how much you know, till they know how much you care". He truly does care about people and is a true follower of Christ. He serves in the 6th grade class at our church and many parents have commented how much their child loves Austin. Austin connects with people...anyone and everyone.
One thing that makes me smile when I think about Austin is that he loves his family and shows it. He likes to hang out with his siblings and although he is very good at teasing, he loves to have fun and lighten the mood.
He is protective of his sisters and understands and takes seriously his role model to his younger brothers.
I dropped my little boy Aj off at preschool a few days ago, as he was getting out of the car he gave me a hug and kiss....it was so sweet. The teacher that was helping the little ones out of the car said to me" Oh you better enjoy that now, cuz when they get older, they won't do that anymore". I smiled and thought to myself...oh yes they do....you don't know my son Austin.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
So let's talk about Ashley
Having 5 children is such a blessing. Each one of my kids are so special and unique. Ashley my 23 year old daughter is such a blessing to me and everyone she meets. She has never given me any trouble, she made good grades in school and has never given me any reason not to trust her. It is not uncommon for her to take her siblings out on dates, she makes them feel special and is there to listen and care for them in such a loving, unselfish way. Many times she has tucked her little baby brother in at night and helped him say his "night, night" prayer.
When Ashley was a teenager, Randy and I were going through a rough time in our relationship. I was working full time and gone quite a bit. Ashley hung in there and helped without any resentment whatsoever. She could have been angry but she kept her heart right with Jesus and weathered the storm. She is a loyal person and is always thinking of ways to make other people feel special.
The most outstanding thing to me and I believe the reason she is the way she is, is because she has a personal relationship with Jesus. She has a desire to know Gods word, to be connected to him daily. I see her as she is reading her Bible and I love it when she shares with me and others what God is saying to her. She is truly a follower of Christ. She has always been active in serving at church, she gives generously and has a heart for hurting people.
I couldn't ask for a better daughter. She shines. She is not only my daughter, but she is my friend. I love her and know she loves me. I am a blessed mom....and that's what I think.
When Ashley was a teenager, Randy and I were going through a rough time in our relationship. I was working full time and gone quite a bit. Ashley hung in there and helped without any resentment whatsoever. She could have been angry but she kept her heart right with Jesus and weathered the storm. She is a loyal person and is always thinking of ways to make other people feel special.
The most outstanding thing to me and I believe the reason she is the way she is, is because she has a personal relationship with Jesus. She has a desire to know Gods word, to be connected to him daily. I see her as she is reading her Bible and I love it when she shares with me and others what God is saying to her. She is truly a follower of Christ. She has always been active in serving at church, she gives generously and has a heart for hurting people.
I couldn't ask for a better daughter. She shines. She is not only my daughter, but she is my friend. I love her and know she loves me. I am a blessed mom....and that's what I think.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Opening Thoughts
I wanted to start this blog as a journal of past, present and future events in my life. I have had so many incredible experiences and would like to have a place to document them. Not every day has a monumental event, some days might just be mundane and ordinary, but there is always something special I can look at and be grateful for. My relationships are what ignite the motivations in my life.
So, this is going to be a place that I can jot down my thoughts about all kinds of things. Funny things that the kids say or do , important lessons I have learned and are learning, special events and precious memories from the past, are all the things I want to journal about.
So let's get started.
So, this is going to be a place that I can jot down my thoughts about all kinds of things. Funny things that the kids say or do , important lessons I have learned and are learning, special events and precious memories from the past, are all the things I want to journal about.
So let's get started.
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