New pics!

I have new pics and I am sooo pleased with them! A friend (that is only 16) took them. It was quick and painless, and not tears were shed!

Sick Day = Productive Day

I had the opportunity to stay home with Lilly yesterday. She had strep, which is usually bad, but that girl never napped or stopped talking, other than a really red, sore throat, you would have never known that she was sick.

Soooo, I was able to get caught up on teacher and class Christmas gifts. Yeah!!! 45 s'more kits, 4 initial frames, and 6 picture frames. I even had time to enjoy myself. There is nothing better than VERY easy crafty gift ideas! I did steal the s'more kit from southernplate.com . That is a really great blog!

Raising girls....

Raising girls for most usually means hairbows, pink tutus, and sugar and spice. We do have a little of the hairbows and pink. And, we have a LOT of sugar and spice.

But... They are definitely Daddy's girls and he takes much joy in spending time with them...



Macey got her first deer and Haley got a really "pretty" fox. Both are having a blast and Dad is loving every minute of it! And I am tickled to have our freezer stash replenished.

There is more to do...

I have read a ccouple of books lately and read several scriptures again with a better understanding, that have confirmed that there is sooo much more that we as a family can do to serve God. Sure, we have a great responsibility to raise Godly girls, we donate a little time during the holidays, and we give monetarily. But, yet God calls us to be different, to not get caught up in worldy things, and that this is all temporary stuff. I hate to admit that there are many days that I am not real sure that I would give up my STUFF to truly follow God. Also, I have come to understand that being like Christ is not just simply being nice. Christ came to earth to serve. We are commanded to serve. Yet, there is so much more to do and that I am perfectly capable of doing.

The family pic above was taken during our wonderful Thanksgiving spent in Arkansas. It is kind of significant because we have all decided as a family that we can do more. I am so thankful to God for this family that he has blessed me with and it is the precious girls that have opened mine and Jay's eye to things that can be done with very little resources. They serve in various ways almost daily. I have been entrusted to raise them to follow Christ, but yet I justify keeping them from serving in a bigger capacity as a way of protecting them. That sounds awfully familiar to the man that buried his talents...doesn't it???