Luke 2:8-20 (NLT)

That night, there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby guarding their flocks of sheep.  Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared among them and the radiance of the Lord surrounded them.  They were terrified, but the angel reassured them,  "Do not be afraid," he said.  "I bring you good news that will be great joy to ALL people.  The Savoir - yes, the Messiah, the Lord - has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!  And you will recongnize Him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snuggly in strips of cloth lying in a manger."Suddenly, the angel waas joined by a vast host of others - the armies of heaven -

praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom god is pleased."

When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other,

"Let's go to Bethlehem!  Let's go see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph.  And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.  All who heard the shepherds' story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.  The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.  It was just as the angel told them.

Merry Christmas!!

hugs to you...

fall family pictures 2010...

family pictures taken by our neice, ellissa, in arkansas.....

bailey ~ 15

riley ~ 13

kale ~ 11

kolton ~ 6

WE ARE COUNTING OUR BLESSINGS THIS THANKSGIVING....
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU...

HE IS RISEN, indeed!!

it's about the resurrection. it's about Jesus dying for our sins and raising from the dead on the third day. ultimate love. ultimate sacrifice. for us. my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. happy easter!!

we always have so much fun making eggs this time of year. i try to make sure our conversation is focused on the reality of what Jesus did for us. so creative. see...

a few months ago, this tree was covered in white, fluffy snow. but now my beautiful tree is showing off. spring is definitely here...

just have to put a disclaimer in here and remind you that 99% of the pictures on my blog are taken by my daughter, bailey....she is often seen with the camera in her hot little hands. she.loves.taking.pictures....and i appreciate her for it...

hugs to you...

hopefully absent no more...

here's what we've been doing...

sledding...

the end of january, stuart went to haiti...

this is now home to thousands of people in haiti....it's a tent city. sheets for walls. dirt floor. sad...

the ONLY boy in a haitian orphanage packed with all girls except charlie...

beautiful fresh coconut...

riley...

kolton...

bailey and kale...

since my valentine was in haiti on valentine's day, i treated the 4 other loves of my life to fancy valentine doughnuts(one of our FAV'S around here)...

a few days after stuart got back from haiti, we went all went to exploration place...

on the days that spring attempted to show it's face, we had short school days (because we home school, we can do that...) and ventured to the park to burn off some energy and get some fresh air and take in the sun as much as possible...

this was a different park day...this is kolton and one of his very favorite friends...we did not know they were going to be at the park that particular day, but as soon as kolton saw that his friend, keith reed, was there, he was beyond excited to play. today is the day the reed family move away from us as GOD has moved them to kansas city, mo...

march 21, we celebrated kolton's 6th birthday. his choice of cake this year was the ever popular chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, of course...

also in march, bailey had to get glasses. i think she looks so cute with glasses...

a few days ago, stuart told the kids there was a dead baby squirrel in the back yard under a big tree. he laid the squirrel on our deck until he could take him to the outside trash. then stuart noticed that the squirrel was actually breathing. well, this little guy's (affectionately named 'carl') legs were paralyzed. the kids really wanted to take care of him. they are. carl lives in a cozy little box in the garage. so cute. so little. have no idea if he'll make it, but so far, he's improving every day. my kids have been laying their hands on him and praying for him. his legs are no longer paralyzed. thankful for spring that brings new life...

hugs to you...