Exciting News

We just found out that my brother and his wife Danae will be having their first child in September! I am so excited for this baby! This will be my first time being an Aunt on the Jones side. Actually this will be the first official "jones" baby. They had some real experience watching our kids this past weekend and did an outstanding job. When we got home Chris and I commented on what wonderful parents they will make someday.... we just didn't know then that the someday was right around the corner :-)

Random Musings

Last night concluded my birthday celebration. Due to the singles retreat Chris and I didn't celebrate last week. My birth "day" didn't go uncelebrated though. In addition to having us over for a dinner celebration last Sunday , my mom took me out to lunch on my birthday. We had a great lunch with no kids. Which is a rarity. I never totally understood the desire to "celebrate" on my actual birthday until becoming a mom. I now can see that even if we picked a different day to recognize one of our kids birthday. It still wouldn't change the fact that however many years ago on that day I went into labor and gave birth to that precious child. So I appreciate you mom and your calls and desire to see me on January 3rd throughout the years! For my
birthday my parents gave me a massage certificate. I'm really excited to cash that in! Last night Chris and I went and had a steak dinner at the Keg. Did you know that if you get on their mailing list they send you a free steak and lobster meal card for your birthday month. This is the second time Chris and I have gone for my birthday. It's an amazing deal and outstanding food! I love their steak and they bring out this tasty butter dip to compliment the lobster. It's enough food that we end up sharing the meal. So when it's all said and done we get a $40
meal for whatever our drinks cost. Afterwards we went to Gainey ranch,see last post. We sat and listened to live music and drank coffee. In keeping with tradition, I opened up my gifts there. One being a Leeland CD . I have really enjoyed it. They have a song called Beautiful Lord that is
great. They are more of an alternative band with a slight pop sound. Another CD that I have been listening to a lot that I keep meaning to post about is the new West
Coast Revival album. I like their west coast sound. And if
you think you've heard them because of the fuse
cd that was out recently, their new album is much different. The song called House of the Lord is one of my daughter and I's favorite. They were recently interviewed for the New
Attitude website. Chris also gave me another coffee press. The Dustin's kindly got us this gift before they left town in November. But the other day when I was cleaning it out I reached to turn the sink off and it crashed and broke. I was devastated! As this has been my favorite way to drink coffee. Chris was kind enough to replace it. Did you know drinking coffee from a french press reduces the acid? Works great for a coffee loving person like me with chronic heartburn!
OK I think this concludes my random musings!

Freed update

Romans 5:
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.



The singles retreat was a huge success. Chris said the retreat far exceeded his expectations and I would agree. It was such a blessing to be up there with the singles and to sit under Chris' teaching. I have to admit I love it when my husband preaches. He taught from Romans 5 and 6. Specifically he talked about being free from sin and free from the power of sin to dominate our life. It was such a great reminder that the sin that I constantly battle with really has no power over me. I sometimes feel defeated but it is God who has defeated sin and since I have a union with Christ the battle has been won. Because of all this I can choose to not sin. Praise God for such hope! I was once a slave to unrighteousness but now I am freed up to be a slave to righteousness.

Here are some pictures from the weekend:

This is the journal that everyone got as they arrived. It has part of the freed logo on it.

We awoke friday morning to a snow storm! It was a beautiful sight.


Of course there were plenty of fun and games. We had the second annual care group competition up there. Here is the coveted trophy being presented.

Guess who won? The daukas caregroup! By a landslide too...right guys? Chris was so humble, as he was throughout the entire competition, when he received the trophy.

Here are the winners.

Rylee and Zoe did great up there. It was such a blessing to have so many helpful hands. I was able to eat every meal without a baby in my arms!


Thanks twentyfour:seven for such a great weekend!

Freed

Rylee and I are off tonight to attend Freed. Freed
is the third annual singles winter retreat. We will be joining Chris
and 60 other singles from our church in snowy Prescott AZ. I am really
excited to go and very thankful that my brother and sister in law are
staying with my other two kids. Their service has made my going
possible. Praying for you guys :-) Chris and countless others have been
working hard in preparation for this retreat and I am eager to see andexperience the fruit of it. I will post pictures when we return!

Oh yeah and check out the very cool and newly updated singles website here

Happy Birthday To

Me....

Today is my 28th birthday! It's not just my birthday and really for me it's not my birthday that I like to celebrate. See seven
years ago on my 21st birthday my parents let go of their tradition to do something as a family on my actual birth day and allowed me to celebrate with my boyfriend Chris. I still remember getting all dressed up and ready to go out with him. I remember sitting at Gainey ranch having dinner at the Italian restaurant there. Ordering my first glass of wine, great conversation with Chris. Then after dinner we moved over to the fireplace where he gave me my first gift. A Jars of Clay CD. After that he gave me a book titled Stepping Heavenward. Then we moved over to the Gondola rides and were serenaded by the... gondola man? Ha, I don't know what you call them! Afterwards we moved back to the fireplace where Chris gave me one last gift, or so he lead me to believe . It was a card and inside were Phantom of The Opera tickets. Great tickets too! I remember thanking him for all the gifts and the special night and it was then he informed me he had one more gift, it was more of a spiritual gift he called it. He read from John 13, where Jesus washed the disciples feet. He then,no joke, there a the Hyatt Gainey Ranch, took out washcloth and some water and washed my feet. Afterwards he said he wanted to be a servant leader and husband to me. He then got on one knee and asked me to be his wife! Yes it was the best birthday ever! I was shocked. I remember at one point during the night thinking "Gosh this is amazing all that he is doing he should save this for when he wants to propose." I was not expecting the proposal. After all we had only been dating for six weeks. HAHA, that's a whole other post. But don't worry we were friends for a year prior to the engagement. So thank you honey for giving me the best birthday ever! And every birthday that I get to spend with you now as your wife is a gift from God!

A Pic

More of Christmas

Well Christmas was not all about trains. Taylor got a fisher price digital camera from Chris and I. She's already taken over 200 photo's! It's so fun to see all these pictures from her level. She is still learning how to take a good picture. Most of them are fuzzy because she doesn't keep the camera still. But she has always loved taking pictures and we are excited for her to have a camera of her own to carry around. Trevor also got a really cool basketball hoop from the daukas grandparents. Him and daddy have had a lot of fun shooting hoops together.

We enjoyed our christmas festivities with both families, celebrating Christ's birth together and lots of good food!

Here are a few photo's. Looking back I wished we had taken more pictures. We took tons of video but not many pics. Here are a few of my favorites.

Rylee had the cutest dress on, compliments of nana. This picture doesn't totally do it justice. There were these white tights that had black shoes embroidered on them.


Rylee's stocking was as big as her!


Taylor got a cute apron that she can wear when she bakes with mommy from Uncle Keith & Aunt Carrie


Trevor and his new hoop!


Thanks to everyone for all the great gifts!! But more importantly we loved being with you all!

Trains, trains and more trains

For the past six months Trevor has been obsessed with trains. I don't think obsessed is a strong enough word either. I get concerned at times but am assured that it is normal. I not sure when it began. Chris blames me because I went with a train theme for his bedroom. But I remember he began loving trains before he noticed his bedroom. I walked in one day to get him out of his crib after his nap and he was looking at his quilt hanging behind him and he pointed at the quilt and exclaimed "TRAIN". He had finally discovered the trains in his room. Which became a problem in my mind. I had all these little wooden trains that I used to decorate with and he'd beg for me to get them down. I even have a Trevor the steam train book that sits up on a self. He loves the book and wants to take it to bed with him. Well up until Christmas he only had a few small trains that he'd play with around the house. So for Christmas we decided to feed his obsession.

His first present he opened was thomas pj's. He insisted they be put on right away.


There he is with all his new "train" stuff.


At my parents house he got a train book and that was it he didn't want to open any more. He kept going to Ryan to have him read it to him.


His great- grandma and grandparents got him a train table and train set.



The obsession continues!

Christmas Prep & Bumbo seat

Everyone getting ready for Christmas? I've been busy all week shopping, baking and cleaning. Rylee has spent a fair amount of time in her new bumbo seat:

It's a great invention. Something I didn't own with the other two. She loves sitting up and Trevor loves getting down on her level and playing with her. On thursday I spent the entire afternoon baking cookies, brownies, peppermint bark etc. and had Rylee in the bumbo seat in the kitchen. Trevor was on the ground entertaining her. I went on with my baking and before I knew it she looked like this:



What a sad look. Oh yeah and don't mind all the spit up on her.... I think she was traumatized by her brother. The joy of brothers!

Grateful

Some elves have been at work in my house. I returned from the Singles Christmas banquet to a house full of blessings. And trust me I did not leave this place nice when I left. My house reflected the crazy week it's been. The other thing that has been neglected is food. So to return to a clean house, laundry put away, fun goodies on the counter, fresh fruit on the other counter and tomorrow nights dinner already on the fridge I am overwhelmed and grateful. Like it wasn't enough to watch my kids so I could go and be with Chris and the singles! Thank you friends!

It is weeks like this where I am humbled and realize I can't do things on my own . Not only do I need the Lord's help but he has put people in Chris and I's life to help us out as well. In my pride I am often slow to ask for it. So whether that's our friends who have helped us with discerning our hearts when we are discouraged, my parents who have been here pretty much daily to help with the kids, bring Chris swedish fish and a dinner for us all, my one sister in law taking the kids to McDonalds for lunch to give me a break and my other sister-in -law bringing over a well timed meal, also the many of you who have called and been praying, we have been blessed by you beyond measure this week. Thank you all for your prayers and support. You are a means of God's grace to us!

Sweet Moment

We saw something in Taylor today that we had never seen before. Taylor has always been a sensitive girl. She's been known to drama and maybe going a little overboard with her emotions. She is passionate.

She knew today that daddy had to go to the dr for his face and wasn't feeling well. My mom had informed her as she brought her home from preschool for me. When she got home daddy was asleep. A few hours later when Chris walked out she saw him coming from behind and got excited. " Daddy" she exclaimed! Chris turned around and she took one look at the large bandage on his face and ran to him and openly wept as she threw her arms around him. She cried while hugging him for a few minutes and said I'm so sorry Daddy. It was the sweetest moment of genuine concern, love and care that we have seen from her yet. The moment of course left us all in tears.

Casting Cares

It's been a long week in the Daukas household. This summer Chris hurt his wrist somehow and tore a ligament. He saw a specialist a few months ago and was referred to a top surgeon in AZ. He actually handles all the sports injuries for the Diamondbacks and Cardinals. He is the best but with the best comes a wait. Chris has been quietly living with the pain and last thursday the surgery was performed. Both of us admittedly didn't really factor in what the surgery would mean. In the busyness of the season it was just another date on the calendar. So when he came home with his right arm ( he is right handed) completely bandage up it started to sink in. He can't drive his car (because it's a stick), grill, change diapers, type (fast at least). It's been hard to button his shirts, discipline the kids, eat sandwiches etc. Now, if you know my husband you know that he has a huge servant's heart. It has grieved him this week that he has been unable to serve me in ways that he used to. He thinks of me, not how this affects him. I meanwhile think of me too. What can I say, it comes easy for me. Thankfully God quickly showed me my selfish heart... one circumstance he used was when I broke my toe tuesday night in the midst of complaining about the situation. I wish it stopped there but today Chris had some more surgery done. This time it was to remove skin cancer on his face. It was a long, complicated procedure and in the end he had received 20 shots on his face! He however continues to trust God and is casting his cares onto the Lord. What an example he is to me. Not only do I have an amazing leader for my family but one who is humble and focused on applying the Gospel! Thank you honey!

Please pray for him.

From Beside Still Waters:
Our prayer is, " Lord be my helper" (Ps. 30:10)
Our experience is, " The Spirit also helps in our weaknesses" (Rom 8:26)
Our expectation is, " I will lift up my eyes to the hills, from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth" (Ps. 121:1)
Our song will be, " You, Lord, have helped me and comforted me" ( Ps. 86:17)

She can read!

Something very exciting happened today. Taylor read her first word! I have these Bob Jones first reader books. She has known her letters and sounds for awhile now but has been unable to connect that knowledge to sounding out words. Well today on her own she picked a book up and brought it over to me. She sounded out one word and then proceeded to read a whole sentence! She was so proud of herself. You can tell it takes all the mental energy she has to figure out one word but in the end she gets it. As she was getting tired she would start to make up her own story. For example the sentence would be something like:

Ted is sad.

Taylor would read:

(struggling through) Ted is sad, then add confidently, because he wants a dog.

It was quite funny. I'm so proud of her and pray that she will come to love reading!

I Serve

"The Very Motto of a Christian should be I Serve" Spurgeon

Often when I'm cooking or getting the house ready for hospitality Taylor will come up and ask " how can I serve you mommy?" Very sweet. Usually I'll tell her how and she'll run off joyfully and do what task I asked of her. The other day I was doing the dishes and she asked "mommy can I serve you?". I replied yes sweetie I would like for you to go clean up the kitchen bin in your room. She asked hestitantly "how else can I serve you?". I half chuckled and said "ask again when your done with the kitchen bin". I was reminded how often I come to the Lord thinking I'm ready for service. "Here I am Lord, ready to serve you!!" And usually the task I'm given isn't exactly what I had in mind. Nothing like the winter season to remind me of my selfish heart. The kids have been taking turns being sick. There have been alot of runny noses and runny other things. I have had to miss church two weeks in a row. I caught what they had and as my mommy friends know being sick doesn't mean you can take a day off. There have been cancellation of play dates with other friends and late nights up with the kids. Not exactly what I had in mind for "service". I'm thankful for God's grace and the reminder that he is served when I care for runny noses, when I'm up late at night with a crying toddler and that he will care for my soul when church is missed.

" As long as there is breath in our bodies, let us serve Christ. As long as we can think, as long as we can speak, as long as we can work, let us serve Christ" Spurgeon

My Angel

Last night was Taylor's christmas program at school. It was so cute! She's been singing her songs for two weeks all around the house so I was eager to see it all come together. Each kid was assigned a costume and Taylor was given the "part" of an angel. So appropriate huh? Anyways, she came home last week after preschool and told me that the teacher hadn't given her speaking part to her yet. That was news to me so I asked Taylor do you have one? She said yes I do. So the next day I asked the teacher about this so called speaking part. Her exact words " Oh no Taylor doesn't have a speaking part.... she thinks she does... but she doesn't." I laughed! Turns out she just really wanted a speaking part and thought she should have one. That gave us an opportunity to talk to her about her heart and wanting to be center of attention. ( Just like her dad... LOL... alright, alright... just like her mom) We helped her see that she has a chance to be excited for her friend who has a speaking part and encourage others with their parts. She responded well and did a great job singing her heart out last night. She took this program very seriously and was such a performer! During the performance it became a little more clear as to why she thought she had a part. There were two little girls who wore angel costumes and the other little girl was given a speaking part. However poor thing totally froze and just stared at everyone and walked away. Afterwards I turned to Chris and whispered in his ear " Taylor wouldn't have froze" Haha, like mother like daughter.