Welcome to my World

After praying for over a year for a bigger house, we are now renting a house that is roomier and has more room for the children to play outside! There is a screened porch in back of the house...and a nice big back yard. We can't wait till this winter to use it more! Right now you just really want to stay inside! But don't let the country setting fool you! We are postioned right next to the interstate! This next picture is taken from the carport! So we hear lots of trafffic, all hours of the day and night. They say you get used to it...I'm still waiting.... And we have already had one person run his SUV and trailer right off the interstate and into the fence that separates our yard fom the road! All in all, this move has been a wonderful answer to prayer! Come visit any time!

When it rains, it pours! Or so they say. But God has been raining special blessings on our family lately! We have been praying for the perfect vehicle for almost a year and just found it two weeks ago! The price was right and so we got a 2002 Windstar SEL. Leather, auto doors! Great for the kiddos!And so, it was time to part with the trusty 1992 Plymouth Voyager. We put it out by the road to sell it and a man came along and offered to trade us staight up for some leather furniture! Brand new! Oh, by the way, did I mention that we needed new furniture? I also really wanted leather! Much more durable, you know! So we got it! Kinda crazy huh? But we are thrilled! So, that is the exciting news at our house lately! The children are growing like weeds! Joanna is 9 months! She is such a little happy girl! Quite goofy if you ask me! Bring on the hot, humid summer! Embrace it, they say. I say, stay indoors as much as possible, in Florida that is! Enjoy!

My Mom has some quirky traits that she got from her Mom. Things that I used to make fun of her for. Guess what? I realized that I am a LOT like her! Quirks and all! She taught me: 1. To accept others, no matter what they look like or what their social status is. 2. To accept myself, just the way God made me.To embrace who I am and boldly celebrate ME! 3. To go for a goal whole-heartedly 4. To let my beliefs guide me, to be true to my convictions 5. To be creatively budget-concious (shopping the second-hand stores, making my own versions of things that I would spend too much on in the store, etc) This is where some of those quirks come in! 6. To be compassionate 7. To be a servant, even when I don't feel like it 8. To be a creative mother, coming up with ideas to do things differently 9. To love music and art. 10. To sing silly little songs about nothing .... And the list goes on....to be continued

We had Brendan's mom and dad and grandma over for Mother's Day. It turned out to be a really nice day! We had done something for my mom on Saturday night. This was my first Mother's Day with a daughter and it really made me think about all the things that I learned from my mother about being a mother, and all the things that I want to pass on to Joanna about being a mother! It was a sweet day! -Above: Great-grandma Martha and JoJo -Momm y and Joanna -Joanna in her favorite place! Under the coffee table

I can't believe Jeremiah had his first recital today! He is growing up so fast! It was a very hectic day, but we made it! We went to church this morning, rushed home, ate, and went to the recital. Then we rushed home to get the kids napped! Then we woke them up to go to church again! Poor things! Poor mommy & daddy! But we had a good day! Very exciting for JJ! Enjoy the pics!

Good morning to all those who have ventured onto this site. I thought I should put a few pictures out so you can see all FOUR of our children, not just the two that have been pictured so far. It is amazing how DIFFERENT all four of them are! I am amazed how their little personalities are forming even at this young age. Jeremiah is our lion! He has a very strong personality, to put it in the most positive light possible! He is the typical first-born who likes to boss his younger siblings around. At the same time, he is very creative, intelligent and detail oriented! Ben is our teddy bear! He is pretty compliant(but he has his moments), tenderhearted, helpful, but also tends to be a little tattle-tale! Oh well, you have to have one in each family, right? Samuel is a little monkey. He is a little clown, always hamming it up, especially to the youth girls! But with that comes the "I can get away with anything" attitude! It has been very cute until lately. Now I'm like, ok, yo...

I have been reminded lately, due to some tragic events in a friend's life, how precious little babies are. And mine is no exception! Joanna Jolee is my sweet little angel! Really, she is the best baby I've had yet, and the others were all great too! She just turned 7 months, but I wanted to display her 6 month picture! She is so close to crawling, but not really interested in solid food yet, to her mother's chagrin! She just wants to do the tongue-thrust thing!