Posted in Family Life

I have only a few minutes to step in from our bloggy break and share the latest.  Forgive me for the bullet list.  It seems the most efficient way to update for us now, with everything going on. 

• Pure One ~ is still loving being in JBQ (Junior Bible Quiz) competitions, and attends weekly practices. She just had her first semi-professional audition and is now a cast member for an amazing and inspirational musical that will be in performance the first three weeks of March.  She is overjoyed and excited about the opportunity, along with embracing the responsibility.  She is also "pluggin" away at daily piano practice and weekly lessons, and now venturing into composing her own songs.  January thru May is our "fierce focus" on homeschooling, so she is also doing well in her studies - faithful to complete her work on schedule. Add to that 3-4 times a week family workout routines at the health club, along with her participation in the children's Worship team.  WOW, it is a full schedule, but also very life-giving and  peaceful. 
  
• Hubby ~ recently had some job opportunities come up, and we are believing for God's perfect will regarding his work.  It has been a long road with the lay-off last year, and then starting his own business, with little-to-no money. This has definately been a "dig-down-deep" and persevere year for him, and for all of us, in the midst of very hard circumstances.  We've had quite a bit of those "check the couches for change" moments which have been so humbling, yet we have seen God's mighty hand of provision and even abundant blessing through it all.  Please keep Hubby in your prayers as he goes through the final interviews with 4 wonderful companies.  We need a miracle in our finances, and are believing the right job will come to fruition in God's perfect timing.  He has never ever forsaken us. Hubby is also loving working out 3-4 times a week, and watching muscles magically reappear on his arms and chest that were hidden through the years.  I'm really proud of him in every way, and so glad he is persevering through all the trials that have come our way, with God getting the glory! :-)
  
• Kelly ~ I've been "pluggin" away and enjoying teaching Pure One full time.  My favorite is our morning Bible studies from the Narrow Way, by Pearables, which seem to help us keep our focus in the midst of crazy schedules. Now I know why God had us in a place of rest last season, to get us ready for this very busy one :-).  Starting off our day in God's word is priceless!   I am still in Choir at church, with weekly practices and then ministry on Sundays, along with writing for the church newsletter.  In addition I am still freelance writing for a home-education magazine (writing curriculum reviews), and working on a book. I am absolutely LOVING our  family workouts, at the gym.  It seems that all those years of working out when I was in HS and College haven't gone to waste and my muscles are just thanking me for getting back in the "groove" again.  Ya gotta love that endorphine rush in the middle of the workout that lasts for hours (good sigh). Then . . . and you are not gonna believe this! LOL . . .  my girlfriend and I brought our daughter's to an audition last week . . . and we decided at the last minute to audition for the adult cast, and wound up BOTH getting two of the female lead parts!!!   Both of us are extremely humbled yet overjoyed at being able to be in the production together.  Just knowing that so many will be coming to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ through this production is enough to keep us humble and focused on Him through it all.  That is truly what it is all about!  We will be having rehearsals 3-4 times a week (depending on scenes).  So the month of February and all of March (till  Easter) is filled to the rim.  We have eight performances in March (4 each weekend). WOW - pinch me!

Some closing thoughts:  to think that last year at this time I was laid up with a broken leg/ankle and couldn't walk until April.  With extra rehabilitation going until September. I had just lost two dear friends in a homeschooling co-op conundrum in March, shunned by our small house-church family because of the co-op condundrum (heavy heartbreaking sigh here) However . . .Since God is the restorer of all things . . . all things that were taken away have been/are being restored in amazing ways. The two friendships are gone, sad to say (you really find out who your true friends are when hard times hit), but others have been made new and restored.  My best friend of over 12 years and I lost contact 4 years ago due to a simple misunderstanding, and now we are completely restored and enjoying one another again in a new and fresh way, which is healthy, strong, and solid.  We have been given an amazing church family that supports, truly loves, encourages and always challenges us in our walk, along with some of the best friends I have ever had coming into my life for the first time.  Forgiveness has been such a major part in the restoration process.  And as we learned to forgive, we also learned that blessings follow!!   As we approach Easter & Passover we remember that Christ came to redeem the world from sin, and we can humbly say how blessed we are to have experienced His grace and redemption power, as we watch the devastating effects of 2007 turn into abundant fruit-bearing in 2008. We can only look forward to the rest of our year with great anticipation and JOY! By His Grace!!

We hope your families are doing well and enjoying the snuggly winter weather (or Palm trees for our Florida friends). God's grace is always amazing and we pray that you are experiencing the JOY of walking in his grace today.  Love and Blessings From Minnesota,

<>< Kelly

Posted in Family Life

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend even though it was just the three of us here at the house.  Through the years we have become so used to being away from family that it just comes natural to celebrate the holidays with just the three of us.  When we lived in Connecticut we spent two Thanksgivings in Plymouth, Massachusett's, which was an extraordinary time of history and site-seeing. I highly recommend it to all families who want to experience an authentic Thanksgiving experience, from a historical standpoint.  Dinner at the John Carver Inn is bar-none :-)

My pictures of Plymouth didn't turn out very well , so here are some links:
1) Picture of Mayflower II HERE
2) Plymouth Rock (look how little it is!) HERE
3) Plimoth Plantation HERE

(Spoiler warning:  pictures below of Macy's 8th floor Holiday display in MN.  If you haven't seen it this year you may not want to look at these pictures )

Back to our weekend . . . after we went to eat at Dangerfields (Oh I can't tell you how great it was not to have to do dishes and cooking on Thanksgiving), we rented some Christmas movies and then headed back to the house for a time of Christmas decorating, which ensued all weekend.  On Saturday we ventured to downtown Minneapolis where we went to the 8th floor Macy's display (pictures below). What a treat!  Even though we had to stand in line for over an hour, it was well worth the time just to experience the theme for this year "The Nutcracker."  Afterwards we did a bit of shopping, grabbed some hot drinks and apple fritters, and headed downstairs to view the Holidazzle Parade. It was a weekend full of fun, great family memories with just the three of us, and refreshing rest.  Although we missed our extended family in Dallas and New York, we really have come to appreciate what God has given us, even in our small unit of just Hubby, Pure One and I. 

Thank you to our sweet friends who invited us over to their homes for Thanksgiving.  Not only are we blessed with extended family, but a great church family here in Minnesota, who have taken us under their wing and helped us to feel VERY loved and welcome after a long, hard and very trying year.  We look forward to our times together, but for this one weekend it needed to be us three, and I am learning that is okay. Spoken from a very social person who used to have a hard time if 20 people weren't around at gatherings. It is in those quiet moments where I have begun to find my greatest joy. 

WE hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, whether you were around 20-50 of your closest friends and family or just 3.  We hope it was a joyful day to remember.

Posted in Family Life

I just realized it has been awhile since I've posted, so thought I would share a few milestones that have happened in the last month with you. 

Firstly this weekend was our dd's first JBQ tournament (Junior Bible Quiz), and all the churches in our district, which were participating in this program, came together for the first competition of the year.  Our dd's team ended up taking 1st, and the other team at our church took 2nd place, which they were both humbled and incredibly blessed to have achieved.  You see . . . Our church is brand new to JBQ, and the kiddos had well over 100 scriptures to learn between September and now.  We didn't even think they would be able to place at all because of the short amount of time to prepare for competition, but God's favor, as well as the kiddos hard work paid off, and now they are all pumped and ready to start memorizing more for the next competition. It is really a great way to help our kiddos memorize the word of God and get blessed in return.

Secondly, we took the plunge and finally became members of a church here in Minnesota.  It took awhile for us to get comfy and find the church home we have been looking for, and we came across some great churches along the way, but we can proudly say we are finally home!  Whoohooo. We have all found our place of ministry within this Body, as well as a place of refuge. 

Hubby's helping the church offices with computers as well as aiding Worship through Computer Presentations; DD is in the worship group (Sunday's) for Children's Church and competing in JBQ on Wed. nights; and I am in the choir as well as freelance writing articles for the monthly newsletter.  It has been a looooong 5 year search, with plenty of blunders along the way, and many valuable life lessons. We know now to be extra cautious when committing ourselves to a group of believer's, as it is important to be rightly knitted (joined) and not just fitted :-). We feel extra blessed to be able to rest, find peace and enjoy the community God has called us to, for such a time as this.  His timing is always perfect :-)    

This week is our 15th Wedding Anniversary, and I was just spending a few moments thinking about these precious years we have had together as husband and wife (warning: mushy-gushy moments ahead!!) They haven't all been hunky-dorey, and in fact have had their fair share of trials, tests and tears, but as we both talked last night and reminisced, we realized just how very blessed we are to have the marriage we do and the close friendship with one another.  We are a one-income family that has chosen to live a middle-American lifestyle instead of a lavish two-income one, so we can raise our daughter in the admonition of the Lord. Because of this we aren't able to go on a Carribean Cruise or European Adventure for our 15th anniversary, and quite frankly we can't even go and stay in a hotel for a few nights, however we are overly joyed to be able to belly-laugh out loud with one another, share tender moments, joke and play around, and genuinely adore being around one another, living everyday together through every season God has brought our way.  There is such comfort in knowing we can trust one another, and even in the silent moments there is such warmth.  How rare that is now adays in a world where people try on spouses for size and then throw them away when they get bored, or the least little way of opposition comes their way. I remember our pre-marital counselor asked us a question during one of our meetings.  Hubby and I had only been dating six months, and it went something like this:

Counselor:  Hubby-to-be, do you love Kelly enough to die for her today?
Hubby: (with great amourous zeal) OH YES, YES YES . . . I would die for her today!
Counselor:  Kelly do you love Hubby enough to die for him today?
Kelly:  (again with amourous zeal) Oh Yes absolutely!
Counselor:  Okay you two, since you love one another so much you would die for one another today . . . let me ask another question.

Hubby-to-be and Kelly look at each other with glee, as if they have passed the test already

Counselor: Hubby-to-be, and Kelly . . . (long pause) do you LOVE one another enough to LIVE for one another everyday for the rest of your lives?

blank stares and silence

Counselor: Ya see, anyone can say they want to die for one another when they are in love -- easy simple done quickly -- but to truly live for one another everyday is the true test of love! Laying down your lives for one another daily is what true Love is.

Wise words indeed, and we can honestly say now, after 15 years of marriage that we have LIVED for one another everyday in Christ.  And let me tell ya . . . it ain't easy!  I look back now on our counseling session and I just grin thinking of how naive we were as two lovebirds that couldn't wait to get married. How simple life was back then.  Now . . . 1 beautiful child later (and hope to have more), 2 multi-state job transfers, 7 residences, 2 lay-off's, many trials, tears, victories and one broken leg later . . . we are still in love!  How THANKFUL we are to have one another, and even if our anniversary was spent at Don Pablo's instead of Cabo San Lucas, we enjoyed every moment together, because it was just us - Hubby and me - laughing, giggling and grinning from ear to ear, holding hands and looking into one another's eyes with a greater love, greater understanding and greater ability to truly live for and love one another everyday, no matter where God takes us and what we have to go through together.  HAPPY ANNIVERSARY HUBBY!

That's it for now.  Have a wonderful THANKGIVING week, and can't wait to hear about a few of your milestones! GOD IS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD!

Posted in Family Life

What a beautiful week it has been here in Minnesota.  The sun has been shining, and the cool Autumn air warrants a light jacket, as the kiddos play in the leaves and Father's get the yards ready for the long winter's slumber.  There is something so majestic about Autumn, and it has always been one of my favorites.  This time we were able to celebrate its beauty with my Mom, who flew up to Minnesota from Dallas, to celebrate Pure One's 12th birthday.

She called me two weeks ago and said she bought the ticket and wanted to surprise Pure One.  Then on the 24th, after church, we called dd to come over to a corner just outside her JBQ room.  When she saw Grandma she started to cry.  It was such a touching moment and as soon as I upload the pictures I will add them to this post.   The next day we celebrated her family birthday party at Rainforest Cafe, at MOA (Mall of America).  Our friends Mel and Hannah surprised us and joined us for the evening, which made it even more special.  Afterwards Hannah and Pure One rode the amusement park rides until the park nearly closed.  They ran and ran and giggled and hollered.  What a great evening of fun!

The next day we celebrated Pure One's birthday again by having a party just for she and her closest girlfriends. The theme was a "Tween Spa & Pampering Evening," but it ended up morphing into something altogether different, with the girls designing their own pizza's and cupcakes, playing lots of games and just enjoying one another (more giggles and hollerin :-).  My friend Mel blessed us by bringing over a wonderful line of skin products for the girls to pamper their hands, called Artistry.  Let me tell ya . . . it smelled wonderful!  Then the girls painted their nails.  All in all it was a great night, and the celebration didn't stop there . . . .

all of the girls making silly faces for the camera :-)

On Saturday we ventured out to a local Apple orchard.  Mom hadn't been to one since she lived in New York (Texas isn't known for it's apples - LOL). She had a blast feeling like a kid again.  

Sunday was church and Home Life Group (which was absolutely fantastic btw!).  The Lord has knitted us with some great families and we are so blessed to be able to have the authentic relationships we have been praying for.  I love the transparency and vulnerability that is shown to one another.  I am still working on that in my own life, as I have been a bit more guarded than normal due to some situations that happened last Spring, but I love how God is working in all of our lives and we get to watch it all unfold together - being a testament of one another's lives.

Mom leaves tomorrow (boo hoo :-( ), however our time with her has been extra special.  Thank you Mom for a wonderful week full of blessings, lots of love and snuggle time.  May the Lord bless you in return, and give you safe travels back to cowboy land (tee hee).  YEEEEEE HAAWWWW

P.S - I'll post pictures as soon as I can, and HAPPY birthday to my SIL Kim, whose b'day was October 28th.

Posted in Family Life

This is my sister Kim, her husband Kevin, and their kiddos (from left to right: Matt, Jen, Michelle and Josh).  I have two sisters named Kim - one is by blood and the other by marriage, but they are both loved dearly.  We had the great opportunity to join Kim and Kevin in Steamboat Springs, Colorado one year for a mini vacation, around Thanksgiving.  They live in Dallas so don't get to see snow very often.  Kevin is an architect and Kim is in real estate.  Both love the Lord and are heavily involved in their churches.  From time to time you may have seen pictures of Jen and Michelle on our blog, because they have come to stay with us a few summers.  It is hard to believe Jen has started college this year - IKES!  We are so proud of her, but can't believe how fast she has grown up.  Okay Jen I'll stop embarrassing you now, but you know it is an Aunt's great priveledge to brag about her niece right?  We hope to see you guys up here for Christmas.

LOVE and Miss you ALL!

Oh I found another one that I just had to post . . .
They are just the cutest Family!

Posted in Family Life

I was just thinking how I haven't posted many pictures of my extended family.  So in an effort to introduce you to them, here is the first picture of my brother Steve and his wife Kim.  They are such a neat couple and we love getting together with them when we get the chance to make it to Dallas.  Steve plays the guitar and is in the worship band at his church, as well as a Home Fellowship Leader.  He radiates the love of the Lord and when you look into his eyes you feel like melting - they are so tender and loving.

This picture of Kim doesn't do her justice, as she was in the middle of a blink  here - LOL. They have three kiddos (Lauren, Ryan and Ian).  Kim is an amazing woman with many gifts and talents, and I just love getting the chance to sit down and talk with her.  Such passion for the Lord!  I am so blessed that both my brother and sister (who you will meet another day), are serving the Lord and raising children who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I just wish we all didn't live so far away from one another.

We miss you Steve and Kim!

Posted in Family Life

It is 10:30 a.m. on a Friday and DD is already well into her school work for the day, although woke up a bit late at 9:00 a.m.  She likes to do her schoolwork while she eats her breakfast so it isn't a problem for the most part.  I must tell you though . . . the 6th grade workload is tremendously different than the previous grade levels.  With the addition of extra writing projects, formal note-taking, mind-mapping and outlining, it is taking on a whole new level of critical thinking and learning for her.  Something funny happened yesterday (well atleast I thought it was funny anyway - LOL). . . ya know that cramp that your fingers feel after writing and writing and writing? Well DD held her writing hand up in the air and pointed to the purple indent in the place where the pencil was resting on the side of one of her fingers, as if it was some alien from another planet. This was the first time she experienced writers cramp. THE FIRST TIME? Oh Jeepers Creepers I can remember getting those things well before 6th.  . Oh the tragedy and travesty of it all!!!  LOL. 

Anyhoo, as the pace and  pencil demands pick up, so does our hope that we will soon find a good rhythm to learning.  Each time a new school year starts we go through the same transition of adjusting to a new routine.  I love it when we can get into a "groove" and things just flow easily and that steady tap, tap, tap of time isn't loud and dreaded, but rather melodic and peaceful. Like an orchestra right before it begins, we are currently in the rehearsal stage when the instruments make screeches and scratches as they are being fine-tuned, then gloriously the screeching stops and the beautiful music commences.  Yes, we await that celebrated time, but until then it is screech, scratch, bing, bong, ching, and the alien pencil indentations on writing fingers.  

We just added another great thing to our schedule (screech, bing, bong), which is "Digital Photography." A home-educating Dad, who also teaches at our local ISD, is offering these classes to the homeschooling community for 4 weeks (3 hours each session).  The students will be learning how to take great digital pictures, download to computers and edit pictures in software programs, along with some other goodies.  Then in the winter he will be offering more classes about  movie making and Claymation Animation. I just love it when Homeschool Dads get involved in the community and use their giftings to metor and teach the young ones.   Pure One is looking forward to this class.

This week something extra special happened . . .  our DD was baptized by full water immersion! It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.  It happened on Wednesday night at church, and she was SO ready!  I'll post pictures as soon as we can figure out how to download them from our new digital camera onto a less-than-agreeable PC (argh).  I'll share more about it then.  We are so proud of her and are seeing beautiful changes in her already. The old man has gone and the new one on board! Whoohooo.

That's the update from our home for now.  There is more to share, but not much time to do it (screech, bing bong), so stay-tuned (ching, ting, bang) for more .

Posted in Family Life

I try to share some of life's most important happenings here on my blog, but as most know it is really impossible to share everything.  However, I am so sorry that I completely forgot to mention that Hubby's Dad and brother came for a visit last week, to celebrate his 45th birthday.  We were SO busy I wasn't even able to properly write a HAPPY BIRTHDAY post.

Dear Hubby (The Love of My Life),

Each year it seems the Lord gives us a theme for our birthday's, to prepare us for the coming year, and quite frankly I don't think anything could have prepared us for the year we just experienced:  A broken leg, broken friendships, broken dreams, yet we saw a beautiful rebuilding and repairing of all these same areas of brokenness as they have transformed into new life, healthy friendships, a new business (Kingdom Business), new hopes and dreams.  So much in one year to handle, yet so much more authority and blessing given through it all.  I saw the enemy take so many things away from our lives this year, yet I saw God restore each one with something more beautiful than the last. The enemy came to  kill, steal, and destroy, but  G-d was victorious in breathing new life, restoring all the things which were stolen, and has given us abundant life.

So the theme, I believe, for this coming year is "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet!"  LOL  Seriously I truly believe the best is yet to come for you sweetheart.  Hold tight because more is coming.  More life, more blessing, more responsibility, and to whom much is given much is required. Forget the past, and all the heartbreak because Autumn leaves may Fall, but new life springs forth afterward. This is YOUR year my love, and one that will bring great rewards, both eternally and here on earth, as you continue to place G-d first; building HIS Kingdom and not ours.

I LOVE YOU and am so thankful for you - my gift, my best friend.
HAPPY 45th

Posted in Family Life

It's hard to believe that summer is already coming to an end.  I am looking at our blue blob pool and thinking how we are going to have to take it down this week.  We've had such fun in it this year, and so many new friends over.

Although we didn't make any BIG plans for summer vacation this year, we enjoyed having new and old friends come for a visit.  It seemed to have been a "summer of the restoration of all things."  Our hope was restored, a new vitality in life, a new vision, new depth in our walk with the Lord, new health, new direction, and so many new/old wonderful friends. I am absolutely in awe and humbled by the grace and love of my Heavenly Father.  I feel like a butterfly that has been let out of my cocoon and can now fly, whooohooooo!  The neat part is that I am not the only one flying, as other butterflies have been able to gather together and fly with me. I am not just feeling joy, I can actually say it is enveloping my whole being, and beginning to envelop even those around me.  It is the coolest thing, and to God be the glory! My new favorite song is "Wherever We Go," by the Newsboys (click HERE to hear it  as soon as page comes up.).  This song really depicts how we feel about life right now, and the life of every believer in Christ, as we see The fruit of the manifested prescence of the Lord in our lives.  He gets the glory, not us, as we are so very thankful for what He has done.  Sometimes we just sit on our deck and stare out in awe of all God has done, and the life He has given us, and those around us.  Those lies of the enemy that we are not fruitful are gone, because new life has sprung. 

We have so much going on in the next two weeks, as most homeschooling families have in September. Hubby's Dad and brother are coming into town to help celebrate his 45th birthday. I have auditions for church choir and Christmas musical; Pure One starts back with learning schedule; We have our new "Life Group" at a dear friend's house, and our other friends are starting a ground-breaking new teaching series next week called "Take Heed," which addresses the issues of New Age and Emergent Church paradigms, that have dangerously infiltrated the church. It is going to be a very "eye-opening" series that is for sure, and the first to be taught within the church.  We also have a meeting with our spiritual Mom and Dad next week. Oh, and did I mention we are throwing in a field trip to an apple orchard in there somewhere, along with planning our next Homeschool Mom's Night Out? LOL, nah . . . we aren't busy are we? 

Before all of that happens though . . . we get to have some fun at  a dear friend's house for a Labor Day party.  Speaking of . . . I better go to work on making buying what I was planning to bring. We pray you have had a beautiful butterfly summer as well, and that your wings are spread and ready to fly. 

God's Richest Blessings To You On This Labor Day. 

Posted in Family Life

create your own personalized map of the USA or check out ourCalifornia travel guide

This was a neat website!  I had fun figuring out which places I've visited and others I need to visit.  It looks like we need to take a trip out west to fill this map :-)  Not only that but look and see how much of the whole world we've seen?  NOT MUCH . . IKES!  We better get our passports ready. 

Posted in Family Life

We are back from our blogging break, and wanted to report how wonderful it was to spend quality time with our longtime friend Alisa and her eldest daughter Ashley (from Plano,Texas). Unfortunately I do not have any pictures to share with you as my digital camera is still broken.  

Wouldn't you know we had only three days with our dear friend, and the last two I was horribly sick with viral laryngitis, a sinus infection and URI.  Go figure!. Alisa was so sweet to make herself at home and get what she needed without my assistance.  For me that is the ultimate hardship -- not being able to play hostess for my guests.  I love to dote over my guests as my love languages are "acts of service" and "giving gifts."  However all I could do was squeak out a few wisps of wordage and point to what they needed, as well as writing on sheets of paper.  Talk about awkward!

I tell ya what . . . you can always tell a true friend by how they respond when you are "down."  My friend Alisa was so sweet and loving toward me during this time of sickness and completely understanding. She even stayed up late in her jammies to sit with me and keep me company her last night. Mind you though . . . It wasn't all doom and gloom while they were here.  Pure One and Ashley swam in  the pool for long periods of time and jumped on the trampoline, along with spending a half day at the Mall of America with Hubby and Alisa.  We also got the chance to visit with our spiritual mentors on Tuesday night, of which Alisa was very encouraged, blessed and well-received!   

It was also nice to see all of you, my wonderful bloggy friends, making yourselves at home here while we were gone. I see several entered our FREE book giveaway for the month of August HERE  (YAYY!!), and a few more left encouraging notes for me while I was away.  Your sweet notes mean so much to us, and we appreciate it very much! Thank you for taking time out to say hello, and explore the site, along with sending sweet emails.

All in all it was a great week despite being sick (which was a doozy btw).  The next two weeks we will be focusing on homeschooling and getting everything in gear for the new school year here at our house.  Those of you who have been asking for more "homeschooling" related posts will soon be getting them from me.  It has been a nice summer break, but now it is time to get back to work.

May you have a blessed and healthy week,

Posted in Family Life

 Psalm 68:6
God sets the lonely in families, but he leads forth the prisoners with singing . . . "

What a beautiful weekend we had at family church camp!  This was our first time going, and we weren't sure what to expect.  On Friday before we left, my dh called and said we may not be able to go because of some work-related problems which may hold us up.  I tried not to get upset, but couldn't help but feel a deep sadness.  I called my Mom and we prayed together about the situation.  I couldn't pray with hubby like I normally would because he had to get off the phone right away.  She prayed that the Lord would make a way and that we would be able to go to church camp as planned, and that God's perfect will would be done and all attacks of the enemy would be thwarted. 

Right after I got off the phone, Pure One (our dd) came over to me and showed me her daily Bible reading.  I said, "I'm sorry honey but I can't check that right now." I thought she wanted me to double check her work.  She continued to hold out her bible in front of me and she pointed to her memory verse for the day from Psalm 4.  It was a passage that reminded us to put our faith in the Lord and not in our circumstances.  I thought, "Wow, out of the mouth of babes" I was so blessed by her response of faith during a troubling time.  She was really looking forward to church camp, and for weeks has been counting down the days.  So when she found out we may not be able to go, instead of whining, complaining and moping she responded in faith.  It truly touched my heart and lovingly rebuked me at the same time.  Oh if I could only respond in all situations with that kind of trust in God.  May it be so!

About 30 minutes later Daddy came through the door and told us the good news . . . we were going after all!  God worked a miracle in scheduling and finances. Thank you Lord!  So that was how our journey began as we left the house.  Three hours later we arrived at camp and settled into our room.

Friday night we had dinner and chapel and then headed off to bed.  Saturday we awoke early and had a time of devotions by the Lake, then went to breakfast and chapel.  All afternoon was fun in the sun and lots of Daddy/Daughter time. Pure One was glowing with joy after getting to spend a whole day with Daddy doing outdoor activities: hiking, paddle boats, swimming, volleyball, etc.  Mommy enjoyed the afternoon reading, chatting with other Moms, and getting some good rest.  My leg is not yet at its full potential so I was limited with the activities in which I could participate.  However, Saturday night was when something extra beautiful happened. 

During our chapel service Pastor shared  how "God sets the lonely in families."  DH and I recently experienced a horrible shunning from people we dearly loved and trusted and because of that we have been deeply wounded.  But the Lord, out of His amazing grace, love and tenderness set us in the church we are at right now  "for such a time as this."  We felt, for the very first time again, a sense of profound love coming from these people, as we allowed our hearts to be open and pliable again to the possibility of church family. We felt God's love permeating every part of our being and letting us know that even though man may have abandoned us, He has never left us nor forsaken us.  He brought us this church family to breath new life back into us again.  I believe that sermon and time of worship was a major breakthrough for us spiritually.  Not only us, but we saw many others experience the same thing as their walls of mistrust and masks of superficiality came tumbling down. So many tears of joy as we all embraced one another and found hope again.  Right after that . . . the REAL church family camp began!  Everyone began connecting in a deeper way and sharing their real life experiences.  In fact, noone wanted to go back to their cabins/rooms because they wanted to linger and stay in one another's presence. It was truly beautiful to see authentic relationships happening.

Sunday, we had breakfast, chapel, family camp picture, and then water baptism's.  As we drove home we could feel the peace of the Lord like never before.  In fact we hardly talked on our drive home because we just wanted to continue soaking in this place of peace.  All I know . . . next year . . . we are going to family camp again! WHOOOOOHOO, GOD IS SO GOOD.  Thank you Lord for the work you are doing in us, and thank you for the wonderful new friendships we have made.  You have turned our loneliness into new life.  

Note: as soon as I get some pictures from the trip I will post them.  Our camera broke Friday evening after being dropped :-( .

Posted in Family Life

Church photo from Kelly's Art Explosion Publisher Pro 2004

Hubby and I grew up "in the church."  He, an Assembly of God guy, and I started out Catholic and then went to Non-Denominational Christian. We both came into salvation at very young ages, and attended the same churches for years and years.  It was the norm to attend Sunday morning and evening services, along with Wednesday night youth group, not-to-mention once a week "home fellowship" group. All of our friends have been christians, and most of our relatives -- a legacy of strong faith in both families. 

However, our nice little spiritual bubble burst in 2001 when Hubby’s employment transferred us to several states around the US, far away from the familiar family, friends and spiritual support system we knew, which exposed us to quite a few “interesting churches and people.”  Our relocation’s were from Texas to Connecticut, and then Connecticut to Minnesota. I remember friends encouraging us to get "planted" right away in a local church once we moved.  Good advice indeed, and would have been so easy had there been churches near us which were relavent. 

Ya see . . . in Connecticut there is a whole new dimension of "church" going on, and definitely cut from a different pattern than glorious “Bible Belt” Texas. In Texas we could find a full-gospel, Bible believing, Holy Spirit-Filled Body of believers just about on any corner.  However, in Connecticut it was much harder to find such churches, and in fact . . . it was much like finding a needle in a haystack, or signs of life in a graveyard.

We had to travel 2 hours each way to attend our “local” church each Sunday.  It was very hard to get to know people and a sense of authentic community was diminished because of our travel times.  It was very disillusioning not being able to find a church home that really felt like “home.”  It was almost as if we were perpetual strangers in a foreign land.  I thought to myself, “What do missionaries do when there aren’t other believer’s around?” Because that is what we felt like; missionaries in a foreign land. Simply answered . . . they go and make believer’s for which they can truly fellowship with, and gather together. In Mark 16:15 Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation.”   And in Matthew 28:19 “Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

Who?  Us Lord?  Go and make disciples?  We are just simple church-going people who like our normalcy and comfy-cozy christianity where everybody thinks exactly the same way we do. Ahhhh . . . complacency . . . ZAP!  So our journey out of complacency began and what we found was absolutely nothing familiar except the Love of Jesus Christ towards us as we learned to reach outside of our comfy four walls of familiarity and out into the world.

So what we started to do was simply follow what the Lord showed us to do, which was quite different than the normal predictable Sunday, dress-up and go to church thing-a-ma-bob.  We decided to firstly have church in our home. Now this was rather new to us at the time and there weren’t any formulas for how to do church at home.  Hubby would grab the Bible and we would all read it together and then talk about what we read, along with daily prayer together.  We started inviting neighbors and business associates over for dinner and would gently talk with them about the Lord.  Some would be open and share their views, while others would tell us, “There are two things we do not talk about . . . religion and politics!”  Yet they loved coming over and sitting and spending time with us. I knew they could feel the love of the Lord and wanted more. There in our home we witnessed a great transformation.  Not only within us and our small family unit, but within the hearts of several who came through our doors.  Our walls of prejudice came rushing down.

There was even one dear woman whom I invited over for lunch who could not even come very far into our home, because she broke out into hives.  Later on I found out she was Gnostic Pagan, and my vigilant prayer-warrior Mom (back in Tx.) told us she had prayed that no evil would be able to enter our home that day. For the rest of our time together we sat outside on our front lawn, and talked about religion, life and her journey.  I continued to try and reach this dear woman, and when I think of her I still pray for her salvation, however she was pretty set on her religion, which was a mixture of Paganism, Catholicism and Wicca. 

[For clarity sake I do not believe this woman was evil, however she clearly would not declare that Jesus Christ was her Lord and Savior, so the spirits that were afflicting her were not of God, and because she was on our property (which had been dedicated to the Lord) the spirits that were oppressing her could not operate as normal. That is why she was not able to enter our home, and broke out into hives.] For more info please see 1 John 4:1-4 

I felt very honored and humbled by the experiences we had in Connecticut.  It really opened our spiritual eyes and made us realize how very sheltered we were back in Texas, and how very much we weren’t reaching out to the world and truly loving people and ministering outside our circle of comfort.  Even though we were now in a very dark spiritual place (New England), we could see God’s hand sustaining us, and His word speaking LIFE to us. 

How could God possibly keep us sustained and NOT be in a local church?  It just baffled our minds, and went against everything we were taught growing up in the faith.  However, we now know that when God calls His people to do something He is the one who sustains them.  Just as the Isrealites were sustained by the Manna for 40 years in the wilderness, for us . . .  living in Connecticut meant having church at home, and being spiritually nurtured by "The Bread of Life" [Jesus Christ and His Word] alone (see John 6:31-35). It was extremely lonely at times, but vital for us to walk through, so we no longer idolized the church and placed it before Him.

Then God moved us to Minnesota.  Wow, what a wonderful place!  We were excited to find many churches to choose from, and plenty of fellow believers’ in Christ for which to find fellowship.  We didn’t even know where to begin and which churches to visit first.  We took a few years to simply visit local churches and find out what their theme, and core beliefs were.  We paid close attention to church websites, mission statements, and depth of teaching.  It is interesting how “diverse” churches have become since our first journey out of Texas.  There is just about every flavor imaginable, from strict conservative to “yell, scream and shout” churches, and now the "seeker-friendly" versions. We even found a house church here, for which we enjoyed until about three months ago. However, we have come full circle now and are in a regular full-gospel church.

Our journey has taught us never to allow complacency or familiarity to lead us, but to always be led by the Lord Jesus Christ in all things.  I am thankful for the lessons along the way and for the Lord opening our eyes to see different ways of doing “Church.”  In the coming months we will be sharing some of the “not so nice” things we have come across on our church journeys, so we can warn and caution others - one including the new “Emergent Church” philosophy that is penetrating this area.  I won’t go into that now, but just wanted to share with you what our journey has been thus far.  We are so blessed to be in a wonderful and healthy Body of Believer’s here in Minnesota and cannot wait to share the good news and fruit that comes from this. How thankful we are for what God has brought us through and now into.  To Him be the glory J

 What is your church journey? We would love to hear :-)

Posted in Family Life

We woke up this morning and Hubby said, " Let's go on a road trip!"  So since we had all of our chores done for the week: grass mowed, house cleaned and everything taken care of, we decided to just do it! What is life without a little spontaneity right? 

We decided to head to Lanesboro, MN and Harmony MN.  Both have the Amish, but only one has the cave. Which introduces us to the word "spelunking."  According to Webster's dictionary, a spelunker is "one who explores caves, especially as a hobby." Now mind you we do not explore caves as a hobby, but were pleasantly surprised to find one in Amish country.  I found it online before we left the house, and it is called Niagra Cave. Here is a picture of our descent into the cave.

The tour lasted 1 1/2 hours and went down approximately 225 feet.  We came across underground waterfalls, a wedding chapel, loads of stalactites, and a few stalagmites.  Hubby and Pure One were so fascinated by the layers of limestone.  This was a fun adventure, and full of great learning. Below is a picture of an underground river passing under some rocks.  We are six feet up.

Across the county road was a quaint Amish country store with a saw mill and farm beside it.  There was a beautiful young Amish boy sitting in the back of a wagon pulled by horses, and I asked to take his picture.  However he kindly shook his head "no" so I honored that and asked if I could take a picture of his horses instead.  Of course that was okay, so here it is:

Then we headed over to historic Lanesboro, which is a cozy community, nestled in a valley, surrounded by bluffs and trees.  There are quaint little shops, horse and buggy rides, along with inner-tubing down the Root River.

This is where we stopped for some ice cream.  It was a German deli, and since Hubby is German he was overjoyed to find such a gem of a place.

Another great day, and more great memories made together.

Posted in Family Life

I am looking back at our weekend and thinking how wonderful it was.  We spent great family time together and went and saw the movie Evan Almighty, which turned out to be a pleasant treat.  Although there were a few unneeded comments in the movie, on the whole it was a great story line and quite faith-inspiring. 

We've been outside quite a bit because the weather has been gorgeous here in Minnesota.  We had our friends, Paul and Pam, over for the afternoon today and the kiddos had so much fun swimming in the "Blue Blob" (as I like to call it) pool and jumping on the trampoline.  They are such a fun couple and I love the way we are so comfy and can be ourselves around one another.  4 hours flew right by us so quick.  Thank you guys for a wonderful day together :-)  Next time let's do smores around the campfire (double yum).

I also wanted to bless our friends' Alan and Alisa with a special Happy Birthday weekend.  Alan turns the big 5-0 and enters his year of jubilee, and Alisa (his wife) will always be 29 (right Lise?!).  I wish we could be there to help you celebrate your special weekend, but will look forward to your trip up to Minnesota in August (God willing).  WE LOVE YOU GUYS!

What a Great Weekend!  Thank you Lord :-)

Posted in Family Life

Last night we flew in from Dallas and Hubby met us right at the gate.  There is just something so special about being welcomed home again after a long journey, and getting to feel the excitement of long, warm embraces, tears of joy and kisses. We had BIG grins on our faces at being able to be together again.  The three of us have been through so much together these past 10 years, and  know without a doubt that even if we aren't sure where our earthly home truly is, we are always home when we are together.  Ultimately it is our heavenly home that really matters, but in the meantime we have one another,  and It was a beautiful reunion.

The weather is gorgeous here in Minnesota - low 70's and sunny, with a light breeze.  I am remembering our time in Texas the last two weeks.  The main reasons we were down there were to help take care of my Mom (who just had shoulder surgery), and attend my niece Jen's graduation ceremony and party. 

Mom is doing incredibly well despite the immense pain (she doesn't like taking pain medication).  I guess this particular surgery is a "doozy" with an estimated  6 months recovery, although we are believing God will do a quick healing in her body and give her shorter recovery.  I am hoping we helped get her through the hardest part, which was the first two weeks.  We mainly helped with meals and housework, along with driving to physical therapy and doc appointments. Please keep my Mom in your prayers as she continues her recovery - specifically for pain to cease and complete healing and restoration of her body to continue. She also could use atleast one good night of sleep. 

On a brighter note . . . Pure One had a great time while in Texas because she was able to spend extended time with her cousins, and made new friends along the way (Justin, Hannah and Jack). My Mom has an incredible christian homeschooling family next door, and we immediately felt like we had known one another our whole lives - very kindred. Sharon, the Mom, and I had such a great time together laughing, sharing life stories, and encouraging one another in the Lord.  One day we were able to get out and she took me to a place called Costco, which is similar to Sam's, and we had a blast buying fruits and veggies, and sharing packages of produce.  I was also able to find a Father's Day gift for my Dad (portable tool caddy). However, before exploring Costco we ventured over to Mardel's (cue heavenly sound again), where I purchased another character devotions curriculum from Pearable's called The Narrow Way.  What is neat about this character curriculum is not only do the children learn, but Mom and Dad as well.  I am amazed at the incredible truth that is taught -  BIG THUMBS UP.  Pure One and I have been working on the Pearable's Hope Chest Series - Personal Help For Girls for quite some time now and are blessed beyond words at the fruit which has been birthed out of this series, within our lives.  It really focuses on ways in which we can truly walk in femininity and modesty.  It is one of those hidden gems that we are so blessed to have found, and want to highly recomend.

A GREAT BIG HUG and congratulations to my neice Jennifer, who graduated Cum Laude from High School and will be attending college in the Fall. We are so proud of you Jen!! 

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,
plans to prosper you and not harm you,
plans to give you a hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11

We are so glad to be home, but thank the Lord for the time we had with family in Texas.  It was for a purpose and a plan, and we are so thankful for God's amazing grace and traveling mercy.  We had much favor on both flights to and from Dallas, and much provision. 

Thank you LORD :-)

<>< Kelly

Special thanks:  to Kim B. for picking us up at the airport, Sharon for your friendship and constant encouragement, and to Justin Hannah and Jack for incredible playtime with Pure One.  Kim F. for your care of Pure One and great days out at the amusement park and dinner movie theatre.  What a blessing you have been and we pray a hundred fold blessing in return to each of you, for all you have done.  Mom and Dad we love you and miss you already! :-)

Posted in Family Life

Yesterday we had quite the incident at our house, following lunch. . .  

Pure One let the Retrievers outside for some fun and playtime (quite normal event).  I was taking care of some chores and confident that everything was okay, because the dogs always alert me if someone approaches the property.  About 5 minutes later I peak my head outside to check on Pure One and I see her behind the pine trees.  As she makes a clearing through the branches I see her cheeks are all red, and she is huffing and puffing like she ran a marathon.  I let her know that I need to see her when she is in the back yard, and that playing behind the pine trees would only prevent that.  All of a sudden I see her face contort and she begins crying, then breaks into a recount of what brought her to the pine trees.  My heart was in my throat as I listened to her share it all.  Here is what happened:

Right after I went back to my chores, Retriever 2 decided to bolt off and chase a bird all the way across the park, and almost onto the main road.  Pure One said she ran and ran to chase the dog and bring her back home, but Retriever 2 was so fixed on that bird she couldn't hear or see anything said or done to prevent her from harm.  Just as the Retriever almost ran into the road and a car would have hit her, the bird turned around and headed back toward our house, so the dog turned with it.  Pure One said it was at that point she was on her knees (literally) praying to the Lord to help her, because she couldn't run anymore (had bare feet and burrs were in the grass). She said that was when she saw the Lord turn that birdie around. So at the time I was seeing her come through the pine trees she was just making her way back from the road.

I can't tell you how my mother's heart felt at that moment, knowing my dd was in a potentially harmful situation, and I wasn't aware of what was going on. It just sent chills up my spine, and a sick feeling in my abdomen - a nightmare for sure!  However, the comfort in knowing God's grace, mercy and hand of protection were over my precious one during that time (and goofy Retriever 2), brought such peace.  It was also a faith-building lesson for dd, as she is learning that when Mommy and Daddy aren't there to help she can always go to her Heavenly Father, through Christ Jesus.  We are so thankful things turned out well instead of in disaster.

But boy oh boy was my heart in my throat . . . whew . . . how fast things can happen, and how thankful I am to serve a mighty God who charges His angels around us. 

Psalms 91:11-16
For he will give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the serpent shalt thou trample under foot. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble: I will deliver him, and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.

Have A Wonderful Week Everyone; We're off to Texas!

<>< Kelly

P.S. - Just in case anyone is wondering . . . yep we sure did talk about ways in which the situation could have been handled differently, and how Retriever 2 should have been hooked up to her cable instead of being released to have free play, and also how important it is to get Mom or Dad when something like that happens again.  Oh these life lessons can be so hard sometimes.

Posted in Family Life

It looks like we will be leaving for Texas this week (Pure One and I), to go down and help my Mom after she has surgery on her shoulder.  She will have to be in extensive physical therapy 3 times a week, and won't be able to do anything with that left arm for quite awhile.  The unfortunate part is she is left-handed so that can make things a little tricky.  I am so thankful that I get to do this for her, as she was there for me, and flew right up to MN to be my caregiver after I fell and broke my leg in January.  She is truly one of my best friends and I would do anything for her.  So even though I am still in my own recovery (the latter end and doing excellent!) we need to be there for one another. 

While in Texas we will also be attending my niece (Jen's) graduation.  She is the first Grandchild (of my Mom and Dad's) and we are so proud of her and wouldn't miss this beautiful milestone in her life [note:picture of her at top in moving collage].  Pure One is also excited to be able to spend time with her cousins again.  They are already making plans and deciding which night they are going to have sleepovers.  As for me . . . other than Jen's Graduation and party I will need to stay with my Mom and take care of her.  Hubby will be back on the homefront taking care of business and getting to know more of the guys at church. Thank you Lord for email, cell phones and instant messaging - makes long distance seem shorter :-)

On the homeschool front:  I made a list of everything I need to photocopy so I don't have to bring  textbooks, and we have individual folders for each subject.  I think we may be doing quite a bit of notebooking and journaling the next two weeks, as we study the flowering plants of Texas.  There is a library nearby and neighbors who homeschool. Oh, and did I tell you they have a wonderful homeschool Mecca in Texas called Mardels (que heavenly sound) lol.  The days I get a break you know where I will be (big cheetah grin).  the last time I was there I found a wonderful character building series called Pearables, which has been such a blessing to our devotion time. (Click HERE for more info).  We are using the "Help For Girls" version in the Hope Chest Series.  EXCELLENT resource if you have a "tween" in your household.

Anyway . . . here is my list of preps for our journey:

Make copies/Tear-Out the following:

• Grammar – pgs. 133 – 151
• Spelling (tear out) – pgs. 68-75
• Reading (tear out) – pgs. 9-20 (bring book to read)
• Math – Strategies pgs. 3(2x), 5, 6(2x), 7(2x) and wkshts T10-12
• History – Chapter 8 and 9 notebooking pages from website and big book (also copy discussion questions from big book, and type up study sheets for both chapters)
• Spanish (tear out) – pgs. 107 -126

Mom's/PureOne’s Supplies:

• Blue folder (Mom’s Copies)
• Pencils/correcting markers/coloring markers
• Writing paper (ruled) – green math notebook
• Pearables Book
• Abacus/Ruler/t-square/30-60 degree triangle ruler
• card stock paper (2 sheets)
• Subject Folders (8)
• Bibles (slimline versions)/Notebook
  

Have a great week everyone and see you when we get back.  Please keep us in your prayers - especially my Mom during this time.  Thank you :-)

<>< Kelly

Posted in Family Life

Yesterday was a very busy day as we had Pure One's first soccer game of the season and then her Spring Piano Recital.  This is her second year taking piano and we are amazed at how well she is doing, and blessed to have a christian teacher. Thanks Mrs. J for two great years of piano lessons! :-)

L to R: Mrs. J (Piano Teacher) and Pure One after the recital

Posted in Family Life

A few friends have asked if I could post an update on my leg, and I thought it would be nice to let everyone know what is happening in that area.  First of all I need to say THANK YOU from the very depths of my heart to everyone (even little Mary) who has been praying, because I believe that is exactly why I am doing so well.  Your prayers and words of encouragement have sustained me through this 3 1/2 month journey in ways I could never explain. 

I don't see my Ortho Doc again until the first week in May, but I am excited to report that I am OFF my crutches (as of two weeks ago), and walking around pretty good.  I don't have to wear my "Darth Vader" boot anymore, so we were trying to figure out what to do with it now that it can rest in peace (LOL).  Here's what we came up with:

Fetching don't you think? LOL 

The three of us actually got the chance to walk around the Mall yesterday (albeit I could only manage 3 stores), but I would say it was progress and that is what matters. I was able to purchase a pair of open-toed black sandals and a cute outfit for our fondue date-night. It is simply joyous to be able to wear regular girlie shoes and get around semi-normal, without walking like Herman Munster.  Then this morning we were able to go out for breakfast, take a drive around our favorite lake, and take a peaceful stop at the beach (dipping our toesies in the sand).

 I stand in awe of God's amazing grace, mercy and healing in our lives, and I believe we all can be at peace now that the storms are over. Spring has sprung and new life has begun (Whoohooo)  

<>< Kelly