MY BOYS

MY BOYS!!!! How handsome are they? Charlie was laying in bed the other night and Ric had been talking to him while holding Jesse. They just looked too cute to not take a picture. I believe some of the best conversations we have with our kids are at bedtime and the dinner table. Two of the places that we, our society has come to abandon. Too many times we are too busy to sit down together and eat and talk about our days. Our society would also rather send their kids off to bed without taking the extra time to tuck them in and talk to them. I will always be thankful for bedtime talks, especially because that is when Charlie got saved. He was talking to his daddy at bedtime. I still love to read to my kids at night before bedtime. Charlie now likes to read to me:)! I love to lay next to them and pray with them and hear their sweet heartfelt prayers. The simple things they pray for and even the more complex. Shelby, my prayer warrior, still prays for Ric's cousin Teri's family. She passed away just after Jesse was born and the kids knew how sad we all were. They still pray about that. They pray for their grandparents, aunt's and uncles, cousins, friends, and for each other. God has broken my heart several times over the prayers of my children. I love for them to hear me pray for them. If they remember one thing from their childhood I hope they remember that their Mommy and Daddy prayed for them every night. I love to see my family together and it reminds me of what a blessing they are. Thank you Lord, how could I ask for more.

I do have the best looking husband ever and the two cutest boys in the whole world.
Check out Jesse's mowhawk. Charlie thought it was the coolest!

Mother's Day!!!

Mother's Day!! Wow, did ours start out with a bang...literally. At 4 am Charlie came into my room because he was scared of the thunderstorm. I had just finished feeding little Jesse when I heard Ric coming up the steps. He had been up watching the TV because some bad storms had come through earlier in the night and he wanted to see if and when another bad storm was coming. Needless to say he was coming to get us to get in our shelter (under the steps) because there was a tornado coming. The siren was going off and the news was telling us to take shelter. I grabbed the boys while Ric gathered the girls and we hustled downstairs to make a makeshift shelter for us all. It was very scary for me because Ric was worried. Anytime he gets worried I know its bad! Charlie immediately wanted to pray that the tornado wouldn't hit us and the girls just thought it was the coolest that they were up in the middle of the night. We can already see the birth order thing coming through. Oldest children are the worriers and the middle ones just smile and have a big time. After a brief power outage and some strong winds we ventured out to see what the news said. The storm was past us but had hit our area really hard. I immediately began to think of friends that lived near the storm area. My friend Stephanie called a few minutes later to tell us that her neighborhood was hit really bad but their house was fine. Other church members had damage but all were safe. Our great and Mighty God protected us. As we ventured out to go to church that morning the damage was just unthinkable. Literally out of the movie Twister. Trees were down everywhere and just split in half. Homes were just blown apart. I had never seen anything like it. I was just grateful that all were ok. We got to church and we had the opportunity to dedicate Jesse to the Lord. I stood on the stage that I have stood on with all of the other 3 children and dedicated my sweet son to the Lord. We made a commitment to raise him in a Godly home and to teach him Godly principles. It was such a humbling experience. I stood there surrounded by my children as Ric prayed and realized that I had to step it up. I had been given this huge blessing and responsibility to raise these kids and to be the best mom I can be to them. Sometimes I feel that I get so caught up in the busyness of life that I don't do the things I ought to. I pray that I would quit worrying about little things and take time to find those life changing and shaping teachable moments. Every night I lay them down and I pray for my children....that God would protect them, keep them safe and pure, that He would save them, that He would save them for the future spouse, that they would be Godly, set apart and bold. I just pray that they would see boldness in me and that I would be set apart. I just want them to see a solid uncompromising Christian in me. I know I am so far from perfect, but I pray that God would help me be a Godly example for them. On this Mother's Day God showed me how he protects us even in the storms of life and He also showed me what a privilege it is to be called "Momma" and that I should never take being a parent lightly. My Mother's Day was wonderful, even without any sleep! I got to spend the day with my precious family and talked with my mom several times. It would have been perfect if she were here.




Me and the kids . Shelby was cracking herself up!



Intorducing Jesse to the church. The others were hiding behind the podium!

Jesse slept through it all!

She's Some body's Hero

My Hero

Mother's Day! I thought about me being a mom and how awesome it is. How I never wanted to be anything other than a mom. I never dreamt of a successful career or climbing any corporate ladder. I am just happy to climb the ladder on our swing set. God has blessed me with four unbelievable children to love and nurture and to shape into Godly young men and young ladies. I praise God that He trusted me enough to give them to me. I pray that I will raise them in a way that would please Him. I am 32 years old and still look at my mom as the greatest woman ever. She was always such a great mom and mentor. She never missed a big event in my life...was at every basketball game and track meet where she loved to tell the refs and occasionally the coaches what she thought!:) She was at the plays that I preformed in and consoled me when I landed the role of a Lollipop Kid in the Wizard of Oz, because I had tried out for Dorothy. She was just part of everything. Someone I went to with everything...and still do. She has always been there for me, through good times and some bad. Never failing. I will always remember the night my brother Paul was in a horrific car accident, on Mother's Day 15 years ago, and she was a rock. A Steel Magnolia. She told me in that hospital to go sit with Paul that she didn't think she could do it. She couldn't look at his bruised and broken body....but she did. She gathered herself together and sat and held his hand through it all. She rarely left his side. That's just how Mom is. When my PaPa died she took care of my Mama and opened her home to her. When Mama was just too sick for us to care for she had to be put into a nursing home. Mom was there every day. Most days she went twice. She fed her her food, combed her hair, prayed with her, sang to her, and made sure that Mama knew that she was loved. I have seen her rock her grandkids and encourage us kids to be the best we can be. I am so grateful for the example she set for me and I pray that I can be half the woman she is. Thanks Mom for all you have done and continue to do. I love you so much.

Proverbs 31:28 - "He children rise up and call her blessed"

Jesse's First Real Bath.....

Here are some shots from Jesse's first real bath. It took forever for his cord to fall off so he just now could take a bath. He loved being in the water. Now I know if he is really fussy...just give him a bath and he will be happy :). He is starting to get such a big boy look to him. I took him to the doctor yesterday and he weighed 11 lbs and 6 oz. Not bad for a 1 month old. He looks more like a 3 month old! Things are going good though and I can't wait for my kids to get out of school. 22 days and then freedom for them and probably mayhem for me:). Just kidding. I miss them when they are at school so I am looking forward to relaxing days of just hanging out.

Our church is doing awesome. So much is going on. We are building a new youth room, the sanctuary is getting a major overhaul, and most importantly people are growing and getting excited about what is going on at Pray's Mill. I have so missed not being in church since Jesse was born so I am looking forward to getting back there.

Charlie has three loose teeth but is too chicken to pull any of them. I have even tried to bribe him, you know with money :)! He is so not falling for that. Maybe if I told him he was going to get a Wii he would pull them out. Shoot, he would probably knock all of his teeth out for that. Addie is growing her bangs out because "I just don't like them anymore Mom" and they are driving me nuts. Needless to say we have invested in some headbands! Shelby woke up last night with an ear ache and fever so she is at the doctor. She is the most pitiful child when she is sick. She still smiles though, even through it all. I'm sure that smile is going to get her out of a lot of things as she grows up. She is so loving, but boy don't turn your back. She will be into something in a flash and it is usually something she is not supposed to do. Yesterday she tried to do spin art by herself. If you know anything about spin art it involves paint and so it wasn't a good thing. She just smiled and said that she was making me a picture!

The last picture looks just like my brother Paul to me. What up P-lover!!!!

Isn't he the cutest ever! Jesse, not you Paul!