Yarn Pom Poms

I've started collecting ideas for things to do with the kids this summer. Taylor has shown interest in knitting, sewing, all things her mother isn't good at :)

Here's something I stumbled upon at The Creative Mama that I might actually be able to pull off!


The Creative Mama- Yarn Pom Poms in a new way!

PE Days

The school year is finishing up. Well for some people I guess. I've learned that it's common in the homeschool world to continue some subjects into the summer. We'll be doing a little math through June & finishing up our history as well. But for the most part we'll join the rest of the world in taking a summer break.

As we conclude the year Trevor & Rylee can count to 100! Trevor is reading but rather not. He loves math & science. He could watch seeds grow and do different experiments all day long. And Rylee, who's just tagged along all year, surprised me the other day by reading a few words out of a Bob book on her own. Both are growing in writing as well.

Taylor, she's still bright as ever and constantly challenges me with her questions.

This year we joined a PE group that took place on friday afternoons. It was a great place for the kids to get all their energy out, learn the basics of sports and good sportsmanship and I was able to make some new friends too :) Each month was a different sport. Hockey, soccer, baseball, basketball and of course water games in May.

We had our end of the year party last friday. I got my first taste of 100 degree weather pregnant. God help me :) Anyway here's some pictures of the kids in PE throughout the year!







Rylee made a new friend. These girls are like long lost sisters. When Rylee's hair was long they looked like they could be twins. The two played on the swings & the playground while their older siblings did PE. But by the end of the year they began to join in and "do" PE with the older kids.

Happy Moralist or Sad Moralist?

I've read a ton of good books lately! It's far time I start putting some of them up on the blog. One I've been reading is Counsel from the Cross. It's really challenged me in just how gospel centered am I? In chapter six she opens with painting two different types of churches that produce two different type of people. I can say I've been both at one point in my life.

"Further, in a strangely convoluted desire to reach the unchurched, many churches have mimicked in their ministries the world's emphases on amusement. Skits, comic sermons, and featherweight vignette masquerade as truth, while the souls of "seekers" thirst for a drink of the living water and wonder if this is really all there is. We think it would be safe to say that many people who attend this kind of church may be categorized as Happy Moralists."

"On the other hand, there is also a vibrant through sober church that can be identified as serious and disdainful of the airier versions of church-lite. This church is truth-driven and assumes that there are serious realities, particularly about sin and obligation, that must be taken to heart and pondered by "the elect" We think it would be safe to assume that we'd find the Sad Moralist here."

She goes on to explain how even though different they are the same in one area. They both lack the understanding of the gospel and are missing certain aspects of applying the gospel.

"The Happy Moralist needs to be humbled by a clear view of his laxity and self-love. The Sad Moralist needs to be humbled by the discovery that even his self-righteousness and self-loathing are symptoms of a heart to proud to abandon it's self-reliance and surrender to the grace of Christ. And both also need to see themselves as loved and welcomed".

"There's another facet of the gospel that's missing... neither lives in the joy that is to be their strength. The Happy Moralist won't have the impetus to put down the remote and follow hard after God. The Sad Moralist will feel burdened by his sin and estranged from the God who commands joy at his presence. Rejoice? About What? Is this something else I need to feel guilty about? he might wonder."

Elyse then goes on to explain sanctification and what she means by Gospel Sanctification.

"Although all Christians want to grow in godliness many of us miss the truth that the gospel is as necessary to our sanctification as it was to our initial justification. Without the gospel drenching our soul in our union with Christ, the quest for moral improvement becomes just that: another quest for self-improvement doomed to futile failure or, worse, arrogant success. But in light of the gospel, because of all that Jesus has already done, sanctification becomes another sweet evidence of his grace working in us, making us more and more delighted by his abiding presence and less and less enamored with the world's enticements. Only the extravagant love shown us in the gospel has the power to draw us away from other loves."

This book is filled with rich Gospel truth. With chapter titles like "The Gospel and our emotions" and "The Gospel and our Relationships" it's a book that I am sure I will re-read and reference often. I love Elyse's mantra that I've heard at her conferences and read in her books "Remember what the gospel says about us: we are more sinful and flawed than we ever dared believe but we are also more loved and welcomed than we ever dared hope."

Celebrating 10 at Disney World

Chris and I just returned from a 6 day trip to Walt Disney World. This time we didn't take the kids. Our 10 year anniversary is in July and we've been talking all year about how to celebrate. Typically for an anniversary we go away for a night and do nothing. Absolutely nothing. We both love it and find it a welcome change to the typical pace of our lives. But this year we agreed, being the big 10, it would be fun to do something, more then nothing. Having just moved we were a little strapped for cash. So my Hawaii tropical dreams were pushed aside. We did have 2 free Southwest tickets to anywhere in the US! Free flights help on a low budget :) We tossed around different states but kept coming back to how much fun we had at Disney World when we took the kids a couple years ago. One night Chris' parents watched the kids for us and we went to Magic Kingdom with Chris' brother & wife for a double date. It was a blast and we swore if we ever had the chance to return just the two of us we would! Disney was running a special for the times we were looking to go making it a low cost trip.

In the midst of all this planning we found out I was pregnant. Originally we had settled on going in the fall but God had other plans for us in the fall. So the beginning of May it was. The trip came at a perfect place in this pregnancy. I had just gotten over the morning sickness and was still not showing.

Now for some pictures... I should say that before I post these pictures that I chose not to bring my expensive camera for this trip. For the most part I think that was the right call. Occasionally I had wished otherwise but it was super hot & humid and I was grateful not to have a heavy camera around my neck. So most of these pictures are from Chris' iphone or my parents click and go camera!



One of our favorite rides was the Toy Story ride in Hollywood Studio's. Chris and I are just a little competitive so a lot was riding on who won this ride.


I knew I would lose. After 10 years I've learned :)


When we checked in they gave us some Happy Anniversary pins. The theme for Disney this year is "Celebrate". The question they pose everywhere is "What will you celebrate?" I talked Chris into wearing the pin on his black bag he was carrying with our waters and food. I wore mine on my purse. We're not to cool for pins. I also thought we'd get free stuff if we wore them. I was right. We scored a number of free fast passes from workers who saw the pins :)


One of my goals for this trip was to take a vacation away from life. Particularly for Chris. With church planting his mind is always going about church stuff, ministry ideas, philosophies ect. Disney is the perfect place to retreat away. After a day or two the parks really suck you into their worlds. The biggest stress of the day becomes what to fast pass first. Should we fast pass Soarin' then walk to Test Track or fast pass Test Track then walk to Soarin? Even those stresses we conquered. Chris went to get a fast pass to Test Track while I stood in line for Soarin. After we rode Soarin we were able to fast pass something else. So we grabbed a Soarin' fp and went and used our Test Track fp. We've got the Disney system down :) I think it brought my husband great joy to have a strategy and see it perfectly executed!

While we were in line at Soarin' Chris says... that looks like Glen up there (Glen and Chris were on the Pastoral team together in Gilbert.) A day earlier we ran into a pastor friend and his wife from Maryland while in line for a ride. It was crazy. I told Chris that he was just seeing things now that we've already seen someone we know. After riding Soarin' I went to the bathroom, I place I frequented a lot unfortunately being pregnant, and lo and behold there was Rebekah, Glen's wife!! What a small world :)


One of the coolest things at Epoct was their garden! Innovative, cutting edge ideas, all thrown into gardening!




Also going on at Epcot was a festival of flowers. They had different disney characters created with bushes & flowers all throughout the park. It was impressive.


All in all we had such a great time together celebrating our marriage! I love this man more than anything! I'm so grateful for all the people/family who took our kids making this memorable trip possible. I'd also like to thank our kids who never once said "You're going to Disney World without us?!?!" I think that speaks to their excitement over who they were staying with :)






The last day Chris talked me into trying out for the American Idol experience. I think that's better left to a post in and of itself.


Thank you Love for all your hard work in putting this trip together for us! You were the one who made sure this happened! Eager to let me know that our marriage and God's grace to us for giving us 10 beautiful years together, is something worth celebrating!

Ice Skating

Last week I took the kids ice skating for the first time with some friends for a field trip! I was all ready to skate myself when Chris reminded me the morning before we left that I was pregnant and that might not be the smartest thing to do. Ha. I forget some days.

So I threw the skates on the kids and pushed em' out there :) I was thankful for some of my friends older kids who took mine under their wing. It was very sweet and I wasn't quite sure how it would all work out if I wasn't out there with them. Taylor was the only one that towards the end had it almost figured out. I think it awoke in her the desire that every little girl has once in their life to be a figure ice skater :)

Welcome to the World Austin!

This morning was a delightful morning! I woke up to my nephew Owen, talking & laughing in Taylor's room and a couple hours later got to hear his brother Austin crying a healthy cry for the first time!

I am so happy that I got to see Austin! Thank you Danae for having this baby before we leave town on Saturday :)

Here's the beautiful baby:















Glad I'm pregnant... after today I would've had the itch :)

Gardening Success

I started my first gardening adventure mid-fall, a couple months after my husband began his first church planting adventure. A few weeks into it my dad informed me that I wasn't watering it enough. I guess water is fairly important in those early days :) Small sprouts began to show before Christmas and then the birds came and ate quite a few of them. Bummer. I started to think we'd have to try again in the spring. Winter came and brought an unusual amount of rain (for AZ). One day I looked out and low and behold we had new sprouts and the few plants the birds did not eat up in the fall, took off like crazy! Particularly my zucchini plant! Taylor came running in one day yelling with excitement that she found a zucchini. It was quite a large one too! We've also had success with carrots, beautiful sunflowers, parsley and the occasional tomato. Birds like tomatoes too apparently :)

As Chris and I were working in the yard last night. We marveled at the fact at how my garden took off with fruit around the same time we saw an increase in visitor's and new members at Grace Church. At the end of 2009 we were grateful for the work the Lord was doing amongst us as a body but desired to see more believers come & join our mission as a church. Shortly after asking the church to specifically pray for this we saw answers to prayer in large quantity. It's been quite exciting. But whether it's a starting a garden or building a church we've seen it's all dependent on Lord's doing!










Here's a recipe for a wonderful Zucchini side dish my grandmother use to make:



Layer Zucchini and sweet onion. Top with a can of diced tomatoes and cheese and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.

"Look Mom"

"Look Mom!" That's what I hear while talking with some friends at our PE co-op. I look over and there's Trevor riding a two wheel bike on the basketball court.

"Buddy when did you learn how to ride a bike?!?"

I don't know I guess I got off easy with this child. He just sat on the bike and off he went. Starting, stopping, & turning. I can't say I'm surprised as he's my athletic one.

We came home and he told Chris that he could ride a bike now and he wanted his training wheels off. I was a little nervous cause his bike at home is a bit bigger then the one he was riding at PE but sure enough off he went like it's something he's been doing his whole life.





As he was riding around the street he kept saying "God has given me a gift! A gift of balance!" So sweet :) I think I know what we are going to be doing during these final days of decent weather!

Windy & New

Someone got a much needed haircut. I knew it was time when my own mom, "but her hair is so beautiful", was like, "cut it", after watching me try to brush it out for 30 min. then braid it for Easter. I think it was about 7 inches and now that it's done I'm thinking I could have gone shorter!

Man the camera just loves this girl :)