Happy Birthday, Gracie!

Today was Grace's 15th birthday.  We had a marvelous day of walking around Wal-mart and Goodwill (a long day I might add :)  but it was a good day!  We looked at EVERYTHING, ate ice cream, and walked our legs off!  Liberty didn't enjoy the day as much, but give her time, I'm sure she will enjoy shopping soon enough!  Katie also modeled sunglasses and hats for us too.  My girls are growing up before my very eyes.  3 of them are teenagers now.  I'm realizing more and more, the older I get, that life is here and gone before we know it.  I'm thankful for the day we spent together,  I love you, Grace!  Happy Birthday!

Liberty's 1st Birthday!

Our baby girl is 1 year old!!  First birthdays are so special.  We decided to celebrate on Friday night (her birthday was Saturday) and it was a good thing we did.  She woke up on Saturday morning with a slight fever and wanted me to hold her all day.  I'm assuming it was her teeth.  But she had a great time Friday night eating a whole piece of cake by herself!  At first she didn't know what to do with it, she kept touching the top of the icing with her fingers.  Finally after she tasted it, there was no holding back.  She ate the whole piece!  And why is it, when a babies hands are dirty, they pick that precise moment to say "hair" and then proceed to put their hands IN their hair?  That's exactly what she did, and of course all the kids were laughing which made her do it again, thinking there was something funny about her hair.  She is our little sweetheart, she brings such joy to our lives!  Happy Birthday, Liberty!

In a few more days...

Liberty will be 1 year old in just a few more days.  It is so hard to believe.  How fast one year flies!  How fast a lifetime goes by.  Grace will be 15 just 2 days after Liberty's birthday, so I guess you could say she got a really good birthday gift last year....a new baby sister!  I don't think I can top that one this year!  All of our children are growing up so fast, it can be wonderful and depressing at the same time.  I guess that's where our thankfulness to God comes in.....being content with what time He graciously gives to us.

Anyway, here are a few pictures for you to see what Miss Liberty has been up to lately....She is a character!

 Riding her new "bike" from my sister

 3 sweet sisters

 Modeling the hat Rachel knitted

Ummm, get out of the fridge, young lady!

New members!

We were blessed with the addition of a new family to our church this past Sunday!  God is Good!  Starting a church is definitely a long, VERY long, process, but the benefits far out-weigh the waiting.  It is so good to be able to grow together in God's Word and grow closer together as families in Christ.  "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" -Psalm 133:1  As Clara's favorite song says, "Thank you, LORD, for your blessings on me."

On another note, one of my sisters is learning to crochet, {and doing a great job, I might add} so I decided to give it a try.  I can already do a little knitting, but I've never been able to catch on to crocheting.  So, no better time than the present.  Plus, I can't have her showing me up, now can I?  ☺

I did a little digging and I found a few videos that are a big help.  It's amazing what you can learn from the internet and youtube! If you'd like to learn too, this link will take you to the beginning crochet stitches and this link will give you some various crochet stitches to learn.  Also on the side bar you will find all kinds of other crochet videos that may be of help.  Have fun!  

For all you Jane Austen fans out there, I finally watched Pride and Prejudice.....yes, the LONG one.  I think it's about 5 1/2 hours at least. I will admit, it was pretty good.  I'm not sure what my favorite Jane Austen movie is though,  I did like the new Emma done by BBC.  But I really like Sense and Sensibility too.  Oh well, that is a matter for another time.  I know my girls have their favorites, and can carry on very lengthy conversations about them all.  So, I'll just let you talk to them about it.

My Dearest Mother

I am so blessed to have a wonderful mother.  Words cannot describe my love for her or my thankfulness to God for her.  She is a rare and precious jewel.  Everyone who knows her, knows she has a sweet, friendly spirit.  She loves all of her children and grandchildren with an unselfish love.  She is tender, kind, and soft spoken.  She rarely gets angry and is so full of mercy.  She is always encouraging me in ways that even she don't know, whether in her words or her actions.  She has stood by my father's side for 38 years, being the help-meet that God has called her to be.  She is devoted to her calling and she wouldn't give it up for the world.  She is everything I hope to be.  She is blessed among women.  I love you, Mom, so very much.  Thank you for being such an inspiration to me!

A little more love and a little less self.

Well it's August {again}, and that means that school is just around the corner, Liberty and Grace have a birthday this month, and it's so very HOT outside!!  Last year at this time I was HUGE, I could barely see my feet, and I was eagerly anticipating having a baby!  Don't you wish you could make the hands on the clock move just a little bit slower? 

I came across this quote by Charles Spurgeon today, it is a beautiful quote about love.

"That love which would lead its beloved into sin is lust; it deserves not the name of love; but true love will ever seek the highest health and wholeness (which is holiness) of its object. Pure affection will grieve to see a fault, mourn over a folly, and seek to remove a blot. Perfect love seeks the perfection of the thing it loves."

 It kind of cuts to the heart, doesn't it?  Most people today are so absorbed in "self".  We don't know the first thing about the love we are to have for each other.  It's more about, "what's in it for me?"  We would do well to go back and read 1Corinthians 13.  Even better yet, memorize it and live it!

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. {even if it is a little hot}