ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL???

I've got to be honest here- I'm really not into sports. But, when my boys play- you couldn't keep me away! School may not have started here yet- but the football season has! Last night we had our first game and all of us loved cheering on our boys! Travis and Keegan both play Varsity and they are both kickers. Travis kicks the field goals and Keegan does kick offs. We are so proud of them both! We won the game last night 28 to zero! GO FOXES!!!!

Tailgating before the game

3 Excited little Fox fans!!

Travis and team during the National Anthem

Keegan kicking off

Travis kicking the extra point

Kaden wishing he could be out on that field (thank goodness for fences!)

Kaden giving the Fox high fives

Kallan watching his big brothers play

Aleigha practicing her cartwheels

Mya, Travis, Kaden, Keegan and Aleigha after the big win!

My personal favorite part of the night... parents, siblings, players, cheerleaders, and coaches holding hands together in a circle across the entire football field thanking our Lord for a safe game and to remind us that He is more important than any game, any talent, or any win.

Prisoner of our Posessions

In case you don't follow this blog http://storinguptreasuresinheaven.blogspot.com/ I'm sharing this post here. Some things are worth repeating... again and again and again- until they sink in.

If I could just have a bigger house. If only we could get a new car. I just would like to buy a Plasma TV. I need a vacation. I want granite counter tops. I need new clothes......shoes........furniture.

Sound familiar?

It seems to me that we have become prisoners to our possessions. No matter how much we have, it is never enough. We always need more. But, do we really need any of it? Or are these things just holding us back?In the meantime every second another child dies. Every minute another child is orphaned. Yet, we are more consumed with what we don't have. And we instead make excuses.Gas is too expensive. The mortgage has to be paid. The kids need new shoes. We are saving for Disney World. We have a car payment. We just redid the kitchen. In case we have forgotten....WE CAN'T TAKE ANY OF IT WITH US.

All of it is fleeting. One day we will die and all that we acquired will be the only thing we leave behind. Is this how we want to be remembered?Wow, she sure did have a nice house. I was really impressed with his Hummer. She certainly had a nice closet full of designer clothes.Or do we want to leave behind another message?When we are gone, will it have mattered what car we drove? Will it matter how many vacations we took? Will anyone care if we were well dressed or if our house was nicely decorated? I hate to be the one to tell you this, 20 years after we die, it will ALL be outdated anyway. And NO ONE will care.We are only here for a moment. Our lives are but a grain of salt. We can't take anything with us when we die. Our lives need to be less about what we can get and more about what we can give.Why are we so unwilling to sacrifice? Is it really too much to ask to give up our stuff so that other people might LIVE? In the meantime, in the time it takes to fill our carts up at Walmart with a bunch of crap we don't really need, 300 children will have died needlessly.

Around the world, some 26,500 children die every day.
That is equivalent to:
1 child dying every 3 seconds
18 children dying every minute
A 2004 Asian Tsunami occurring every week
An Iraq-scale death toll every 15–36 days
Almost 10 million children dying every year
Some 60 million children dying between 2000 and 2006

The silent killers are poverty, hunger, easily preventable diseases and illnesses, and other related causes. In spite of the scale of this daily/ongoing catastrophe, it rarely manages to achieve, much less sustain, prime-time, headline coverage.Jesus didn't come so that we might "have STUFF". He came so we may have "LIFE". Yet so many will never know any sort of life. Millions of children will never even see their first birthday.I truly believe that the world can be changed. I believe that the enormous orphan problem can be solved. I believe that poverty can be eradicated. But, it is not going to come without a cost. It takes sacrifice. It takes us breaking the shackles off that our possessions have left us with.

Luke 17:33 Whoever seeks to save his life loses it, but whoever loses his life preserves it.

Blessings

When I count my blessings...

I count you twice.

PLEASE HELP ABBY'S FAMILY!!

Does everyone follow the Riggs family blog? If you are not familiar with this amazing family.... check out their blog. They are a diverse family and full of love. They have 4 biological children, 2 children from Guatemala, and a beautiful daughter from Ethiopia. One of their Guatemalan children, Abby, was recently diagnosed with Leukemia. Bless her little heart. She is precious!
Abby has some pretty intensive chemo treatments 1-4 times per week for the next 5 MONTHS.... This means lots of time at the hospital, lots of time needing to be spent helping Abby.... a lot less time for making meals and cleaning houses, etc...You can read more about what is going on at the Rigg's blog. So many of us who do not live in the area have wanted to help but haven't known what we could do. WELL HERE WE GO! We are trying to put together meal plans to serve this family during this difficult time to relieve some of the stress. We want these precious parents to be able to focus on their children as much as possible. Let's help them do that! If you are interested in sending or giving money for meals, that is welcomed. Either contact Amy (not me Amy another Amy) to send the payment, or pay via paypal. (Directions on how to do this below) A few ladies in OKC area are going to be making frozen meals at Supper Thyme to give to the family. (One meal to serve 7 is approximately $25) If you live local and are interested in delivering a frozen or refrigerated meal to them at the hospital, either message Amy at amyde63@hotmail.com or leave a comment at her blog.
Directions to give via paypal: Once you are logged into your account, click Send Money. In the "To" box, type in my email address - amyde63@hotmail.com Type in the amount, and then click services/other, and then click continue. Wah lah.Would you also consider posting this on your blog to help us spread the word??? THANK YOU SO MUCH! This is what we are supposed to be for one another.... let's stop long enough to care.

Kaden's Kodak moment

So today was Kaden's turn for a photo shoot and can I just say that my little subject was less than thrilled? I gave his head a fresh shave, threw on his over-alls and headed outside. While he is an absolute doll in my book, he definately does not appreciate the Kodak moment like his mama does. After about 5 minutes he begged me to let him go play and off he went. Love this kid!!!

Just look around you...

What would it take for God to get your attention?

One night a woman dreamed that she was having a conversation with God. She was angry about all the suffering and evil she saw around her, so she complained to the Lord, "Why don't You do something about all this?" God gently replied, "I did. I created you."

God's word is so clear and yet still we live as if we never heard Him. It would almost be comical if it were not so serious.
What will it take for God to get your attention? WE ARE GODS HANDS AND FEET. The work He does is done through us.

DID YOU GET THAT?

God’s work is done through you.

You don’t have to look far to see a need-there are poor, sick, homeless, orphaned, hurting people everywhere. If we cannot point out a few people that we know of by name that we are serving right now- today-then I think it’s time we were honest with ourselves...

Serving ourselves comes natural- we are pros at that. I know I am. But serving others- that gets a little more uncomfortable. A little harder... a little less familiar. Not sure where to start? Start by taking the focus off of you and really look around you- into the eyes of Jesus.

He will show you, I promise.


You and I, we are the Church, no? We have to share with our people.
Suffering today is because people are hoarding, not giving, not sharing.
Jesus made it very clear. Whatever you do to the least of my brethren, you do it to me.
Give a glass of water, you give it to me.
Receive a little child, you receive me.
Clear.
~ Mother Teresa ~

CROCKPOT dessert- Peanut butter and Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

Ok, so cooking is not my strength. I have really been trying to get it together and be more organized with my meal planning. With football and school about to take off I know that it will make things a lot easier around here if I can plan ahead. So I have been spending time on the computer searching for crockpot recipes and other easy recipes that will make my crew happy. Today I found this and can I just say YUM?? I made it with dinner tonight and it was a HUGE hit. (yes I know not the most healthy dessert in the world- but is there any such thing as a healthy dessert?) I had to double it for my gang- and I am glad that I did! Anyway, try it- you will LOVE it!

1/2 c. flour
3/4 c. sugar, divided
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/3 c. milk
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 c. peanut butter
3 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 c. boiling water

In a bowl, combine flour, 1/4 c. sugar and baking powder. Ad milk, oil and vanilla; stir until smooth. Mix in peanut butter. Pour into crockpot slow cooker.

In same mixing bowl, stir together remaining 1/2 c. sugar and cocoa powder. Gradually stir in boiling water. Pour mixture over batter in crockpot. Do not stir.

Cover and cook on High for 2 to 3 hours or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Enjoy! :0)

You just know

When you walk into the room and find this...

You know you had better move real fast and go find this...

You are His most beautiful creation

"God breathes and the beauty of nature is revealed~You are His most beautiful creation and I am left breathless."

Leave me a comment and let me know which picture of each girl is your favorite, I can't decide! Thanks! :0)

The Best... Travis' Senior pictures

Sometimes it takes me awhile to get things right. Sometimes I envision God kicking back, crossing his arms, shaking his head and just waiting patiently for me to finally figure it out. I am sure if I were not so thick headed I could save myself a lot of time- or at least have a lot more time to be more productive. I am happy to announce that I think I am finally getting it right. You see, for the longest time I was so guilty of falling into the trap of believing I was a good mother if I could ‘give’ my kids everything. You know- the best. My kids needed the best because after all, they are my kids and I love them more than life itself. They are my perfect sweet babies and I WANT THE BEST FOR THEM. But what I finally get is that THE BEST doesn’t mean a hefty price tag or a name brand. The best means me providing for them in the best way that we can. Sometimes that may mean garage sale clothes, haircuts done by me and today- it was an outing with my son where I took his senior pictures. And you know what- we got the job done and had a great time. We made memories. Instead of me paying $500 (at least) that we didn’t have extra laying around- we made a day of it together- laughed, joked, shared a Sonic burger and a shake… but more importantly shared our time. We talked about college, girlfriends, our family, God, and life. I took his picture, saw every beautiful smile and was blow away by the fact that my son is going to be a Senior this year and how fast it has gone. I don’t know if others would consider Senior pictures taken by your mom ‘the best’ or even cool but my great friend Angel helped me finally ‘get it’ and I am so thankful I have. There is a quote I once heard that goes like this “Live simply so that others can simply live”. I get that now. I don’t have to spend tons of money to have the best, the biggest, the newest or the name brand. That doesn’t make me or anyone else any better. I need to be responsible with the time and resources God has provided us with and to live a life within our means. And that truly is THE BEST.

I have to agree...

“I have three things I’d like to say today. First, while you were sleeping last night, 30,000 kids died of starvation or diseases related to malnutrition. Second, most of you don’t give a shit. What’s worse is that you’re more upset with the fact that I said shit than the fact that 30,000 kids died last night.”
- Rev. Tony Campolo

Where is the church?

Read this... I couldn't agree more. Straight from the father's heart.
http://twietconfetti.blogspot.com/2008/08/wheres-my-church.html

Picture overload

Ok, so I hope you all like looking at my kids as much as I do. LOL You see, I got this new camera and all and I have to get used to it... so I thought hum, what better subjects than my cute kiddo's. :0) Now of course they see me coming and run for their lives- but I have my ways of convincing them to let me take a few (candy does it every time). Travis and Keegan of course can run way fast than I do and are not really coaxed by candy anymore... maybe I'll try cell phone usage next? WA HA HA HA HAAAA

God says no for a reason...

I asked God to take away my habit.
God said, No. It is not for me to take away, but for you to give it up.
I asked God to make my handicapped child whole.
God said, No. His spirit is whole, his body is only temporary.
I asked God to grant me patience.
God said, No. Patience is a byproduct of tribulations; it isn't granted, it is learned.
I asked God to give me happiness.
God said, No. I give you blessings; Happiness is up to you.
I asked God to spare me pain.
God said, No. Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to me.
I asked God to make my spirit grow.
God said, No. You must grow on your own, but I will prune you to make you fruitful.
I asked God for all things that I might enjoy life.
God said, No. I will give you life, so that you may enjoy all things.
I asked God to help me LOVE others, as much as He loves me.
God said...Ahhhh, finally you have the idea.

Wordless Weekend