AWANA Awards

Last night was the Awana awards ceremony at church. Stephanie received her award for finishing the Jumper book as well as a certificate for completing the 'Under the Apple Tree' verses(the review verses each week). Stephanie learned about 30 verses this year. We are so proud of her! The Cubbies only have to learn a shortened version of the verses, but we made Stephanie learn the entire verse. She did remarkable and has a great memory. Now the challenge is for us to keep it up this summer and really work on reviewing things, which is my major downfall. It is so important to hide God's word in our hearts and I am so thankful that Stephanie is learning at such a young age. It is so much harder when we get older!!!

Stephanie & Mrs. Vickie

This was Steffie's favorite AWANA teacher, but she had four and they were all wonderful. Sorry, but there are no other pictures because they didn't turn out. Thank you to all of those who work in AWANA both at our church and other churches. It is awesome to see how much these children learn. Keep up the good work.

God of Mercy and Grace

This has been a tough week. Chris and I went to the visitation Friday night for baby Emma. We stood in a single file line for over two hours to visit with the family. There was such an outpouring of loved ones for them and I was in awe. I walked out of there feeling much better than when I walked in(strange, huh?). There is no other way to describe this than to say that Denny and Vickie had Jesus all over them. You could sense His mighty presence and just their overwhelming peace. The funeral was on Saturday and again you could sense the presence of God. Denny spoke at the memorial service and made it very clear that he was able to stand because of a mighty and holy God. A God that loves us and has made a way for us. He made sure that everyone there knew that Jesus was the only way and that he wanted them to have that same relationship. The service was hard and I can't imagine the pain of loosing a child. I pray that God will continue to fill Denny and Vickie with peace and that they will continue to know that He is still Sovereign and on His throne. You see, God was merciful to this little girl. As Denny said, her life would have been filled with pain because of her disease and yet he had mercy on her and chose to take her home to be with Him. Now she is healed and no longer suffering. While this is hard to swallow, it is a glorious thing when you know that you will see her again one day in heaven. What mercy and grace! The road will not be easy for Emma's parents or her family, but many were blessed by this little girl in just two short months. I have been changed. Her life drew me closer to my heavenly Father and I have sought Him in ways that I never have. My prayer is that I will be forever changed not just temporarily. As a friend said, "We mourn the loss of a healthy child, not her death". Pastor Larry put it very well, "For Emma, life has just begun". This is the truth that I will hold on to in this difficult situation. I pray that I would have this kind of strength and faith in my own trials.

Disney Day 2

We arrived at the Magic Kingdom around 12pm this day(Mother's Day). I had already enjoyed hugs and kisses, cards, and a gift from my children and husband. Chris bought me a dress from Anne Taylor Loft(my new, and his, favorite store). I loved the dress, but it just didn't fit right so I had to exchange, but I was delighted with the effort. He used to have a store in college that he would buy clothes from, but it went out of business, so we are both excited to have a new favorite(maybe I'm a little more excited than he is!).

Happy Mother's Day!

Today we embarked on lots of rides. The first character we ran into was the Fairy God Mother and Katie was ready today. We ventured over to see the princesses as well and both girls were excited. We saw Cinderella, Belle, and Sleeping Beauty.

Katie asked to hugThe Fairy Godmother! Katie's Favorite--Sleeping Beauty We also discovered that Stephanie was just tall enough(at exactly 40") to ride on almost all the rides. We took her and Katie on a kiddie roller coaster to begin with which was thrilling in itself. Then off for the biggies. We took her on Thunder Mountain Railroad first. Daddy rode while the girls and I finished up lunch and then we discovered that Steffie was tall enough so she rode with me. She exclaimed she loved it and was ready to do it again. So, we headed for Splash Mountain. Steffie and Chris were the first to go and Steffie was full of excitement and ready to go again. Her only complaint was that she wanted to change out of her wet clothes, which I finally convinced her would be dry quickly and she should appreciate the coolness! Afterwards this was of course her favorite ride, but I don't think it was so much the ride as it was the excitement of seeing all the characters from Brrr Rabbit etc which she has watched many times with Vicki!

Waiting on daddy & Steffie to

come down Splash Mountain All in all we had a wonderful time, but we must say that we packed it in!!! We accomplished the rides, but as for the shows and other fun things there was no time for this. The girls were excellent and even Katie did well when she had to wait while Steffie and mommy and daddy would ride the rides. This was a wonderful vacation!!!

Disney World Day 1

After leaving Denise's we headed to Disney World. Yes, Disney. Denise lives about an hour from Orlando and so Chris had dropped us off at her house on Wednesday and we stayed there until Saturday while he went to a work conference. This was nice since we were able to offset some of our costs because it was work related.

We're Here

Our Disney excursion began on Saturday about 2pm. We arrived at the Magic Kingdom and were first greeted by Chip and Dale(whom I mistaken for the Chipmunks--I need to work on my Disney knowledge). Stephanie was all ready to hug and shake hands with all of the characters, but Katie was certainly not sure about this.

Our first adventure was to watch a Disney parade. The girls were able to get just a taste of 'things to come' as they saw familar characters ride by. Next we took our grand walk up to and eventually thru Cinderalla's castle. I think that Steffie was a little dissappointed that it wasn't quite as spectactular as she thought, but she certainly didn't say so. Chris promised Steffie a long time ago that he would take her to Cinderella's castle so it was a pretty special moment regardless. Our first ride of the day was Dumbo. We only had to wait for about 30 minutes for this. Not to bad! The girls snacked in line and were really pretty good. Next we headed over to Mickey's house and then to the infamous line to wait to see Mickey and Minnie.

Mommy & Katie on Dumbo

Katie still wasn't ready for

the character thing!

For supper we ate at the Crystal Palace and were priviledged to eat with the Winnie the Pooh and friends. Steffie still in love with the characters and Katie still quite afraid. Katie's favorite part was the child size buffet that she could reach!

We're making progress!

The end of the day ended with a ride on Space Mountain for mom and dad(separately of course) and a daddy daughter event of Stitches Great Adventure which Steffie exclaimed she didn't like because it was a little scary. All the while, Katie was fast asleep in the stroller where she had been since 9:30. (It was 11pm when we left the park!) What a day!!!

The end of the 1st Day!

Let's go to the Springs

While we were at Denise's we decided to take the girls to the springs. The first day we went to Blue Springs. In case you are unaware, the springs are 72 degrees year round(brrrrrr). Stephanie & Katie were so excited and couldn't wait to get in there swimsuits. They had no idea what to expect!

This is cold, but I like it! Katie wasn't about to venture further!

In the winter time you can usually see a manatee at these springs. Denise had told us that we wouldn't see one, but guess what...we saw two!!!

These baby manatees were released

from Sea World earlier in the year.

On Friday, we decided to go to another spring. This time in the hope that the girls would get in better. Blue Springs was rocky and not a real good place to get in the water without an adult...and Denise and mommy weren't about to get in that cold water!!

So, we picked Shellie, Denise's daughter, up from school and took her with us. Shellie isn't fond of cold water either so she didn't plan to get in much either so she wore a white t-shirt and shorts. Well, the girls had waited for two days to spend time with Shellie and they weren't about to settle for her just to put her feet in!

We had such a wonderful time and were sad to leave. We are looking forward to a visit this summer with them at our house. Thanks for a great time Denise!!! We love you.

A Sweet Reunion

Last week, we were blessed with the opportunity to go to Orlando with Chris on business. This was an especially important trip for me because I was born in Florida and have a sweet relationship with some people there. These people are Tom & Denise Robinson and their four children. Denise was my babysitter from them time I was born until we left there when I was two. I've been told by my parents and Denise that she loved me and I was so special to her. She kept me every opportunity she could and I've even heard the story many times that there was a Sunday that my parents 'forgot' me at church. Apparently, there were many Sundays that I would go home with someone(mainly Denise) and so each of my parents assumed that the other just had been asked if I could go home with so and so again. Well, this particular Sunday it was not the case. By the time they both discovered that neither knew where I was, they had left me. I think the story goes that Denise called and told them that she had me!

Over the years I spent many a week at her house and she has always just been one of those very special people to me. I was the flower girl in her wedding, she came to my high school graduation party, she made me ride in the front seat with her 15 year son Jonathan on his first 'drive' after getting his driver's permit, and she was at my wedding. So, there were many life events that she had been a part of. However, there were two events in my life that she had not been able to share in yet. She had not had the opportunity to meet my two sweet girls yet. So, this was such an exciting trip for me!!

Denise with Stephanie & Katie

Our first encounter with Denise was at her front door with her little dog, 'Rocky'. Stephanie was okay with the dog, but Katie was quite unsure of this. Rocky spent the rest of the day barking and Katie and Stephanie tried to keep a safe distance. However, by the next day Stephanie and Katie were chasing Rocky thru the house and arguing over who would hold him next. He was like there 'little baby doll'.

Katie & Rocky

Stephanie & Rocky

Stephanie's last day of 3K

Today was Stephanie's last day of 3 year old preschool. I attended her party today and was able to stay and see a little of what they do each day. It was a good day despite Stephanie's uncontrollable crying and unwillingness to detach from my leg at first. We survived after I left the room and she calmed down. Chris was able to come for a little while as well and this of course thrilled Stephanie. She is such a daddy's girl!!! This was a good year for Stephanie and she made lots of friends. Her teachers, Ms. Connie and Ms. Carol, were wonderful and we will miss them. Next year Stephanie will be in Pre-K and will go Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I can't believe my baby is growing up so fast!

This is Brody!

As for Katie, she will move into the 2 year old class and she has already stolen her teachers' hearts. They all think that she is just adorable and great. She is such a fun child, but boy can she be a challenge as well.

We will see what next year holds for us, but as for this year we will count it a success.

Our days are so numbered

Two days ago we found out that baby Emma Mack died. As a family and as a church we have all been praying for her so hard. She was born on March 13 and died just 2 brief months later. She was born with a rare skin condition known as EB. Her blisters became infected and she was put in the hospital. However, after about 2 weeks or so her body just couldn't fight anymore and she went home to be with our sweet Jesus. Her parents brought her to church on Sunday and dedicated her to the Lord and the church prayed for her healing. What an answer to prayer! Oh how we wish that the Lord would have healed her for us hear on earth, but instead He chose to bring her home to be with Him. I have been so shaken by this little baby. I have drawn nearer to my Lord and spent much time on my knees in prayer for her and her family. I know that God used this precious baby to bring glory and honor to his name. My heart aches all over for her parents, family, and those closest to them, but I know that He has been glorified.