couldn't resist

just got back from our trip pennsylvania.
i just couldn't resist putting this picture up.

i have a beautiful niece!! isn't she a little doll baby??
ron and bobbi, you are wonderful parents. thank you for letting us share our thanksgiving with you!

more family!

Adam's sister and family recently moved to a different country...um, i mean, iowa. 

same thing, right?

we were so excited to find out they would be in pennsylvania for thanksgiving! 

we met up yesterday at a mall nearby, and had a great time together!

we stopped at a little lego store first, and let the kids play for a little bit...

then we found a spot to let the kids run around and play.

we had great time together. it is such a blessing to have family who are on the same page as us.

we could spend time talking about ministry stuff, and share everything that God is doing in our lives.

we both have the desire to raise our kids to be godly, and i really do not take for granted the amazing family that God has blessed me and adam with.

we miss you, lightners!

L*I*F*E

we decided to play a good, old fashioned game of life.

aj and ry didn't have the best of luck, but we were all having fun anyways.
ry really wanted to have more kids, and aj was so excited that he got to adopt a boy and a girl!
bobbi turned out to be quite the athlete, raking in 280,000 for winning a road race!

bobbi finished first, and decided to gamble it all and either become bankrupt, or a millionaire tycoon and the game would be over.
she picked number 6
she spun...
the number 6!

wow.

driving on thanksgiving...

my brother invited us to have thanksgiving at his house in pennsylvania. 

we accepted (he is a GREAT cook! and bobbi makes some mean deviled eggs)

we decided to take a little bit of a different route and stop at my sister melanie's.

it was a quick visit, but oh so worth it!

i have been DYING to do this with callen for so long!!

oh i miss this baby boy so much. i could've held him all night long.

we just stayed for dinner and then hit the road again.

but not before we got a few more pictures!

why i am so lucky...

i got to snuggle with my precious little nephew last night...

and i am getting to spend time with my amazing little niece today!

i think this is the last of them...

i think i am done with the pictures from our little shoot.

but then again...i will not make any promises

because every time i open more pictures up to edit

i keep finding more that i like

so it's hard to not want to show everyone these sweet little faces that brighten my every day.

thanks for understanding.
i knew you would.

a few more...

because i have a million more pictures of our "family photo shoot" (which, by the way...was a bust. not easy to take the pictures and be in them at the same time! i thought my boys did a good job using my camera though! adam was not a huge fan of the entire thing. but we managed!)
i thought i would share a few more.

i am not trying to overdue it here...i have a lot.
so i am spacing them out.
:)

a little less deep...

sorry for the heavy blog last night!
i thought i would go for something a little more light-hearted :)

the absolute, positive loves of my life...

just to warn you...there are a lot of pictures!!

now that is something that makes me forget about any hurts, and just be grateful for what i have.:)

latin

so it's november.
and i'm starting to feel like i need to switch things up in school to keep it exciting.
it is far too early to be having that feeling!!

anyways...we did math on a dry erase board...somehow, a dry erase board can make anything fun!

i even quizzed them on the presidents, and just had them write their answers on the board.
they loved it.

even though it is a little tricky with a lefty!

for riley, we broke out the play money and did our math with that.

hopefully i can get rid of this feeling and just get into the swing of school.

as i have been thinking about school, and what my kids are learning, and in talking to my amazing sister
i have been re-evaluating my goals and purpose in parenting and in schooling.

while some mothers are shoveling information into their kids minds...
like latin, among other things
i am not taking that approach.

not that i am not putting information into my kids minds, obviously that is what the point of school is.
learning.

but doesn't it always go back to everyone's purpose?
to bring glory to God?
so i need to be thinking, how can i best equip my boys to bring glory to God in their lives.

while latin is nice and all, i don't think that practically speaking, when aj and ry are out on the soccer field...
latin is what is going to be coming in handy.
you know what will?
a little something like respecting them that have the rule over you
or, think of others as better than yourself
or discipline your body like an athlete training it to do what it should

what i love about the Bible (in case you didn't know...i love the Bible :)) is that is so real and practical.
it is not a book full of rules or stories that drag you down.

it does the exact opposite. it gives help, it gives hope and it gives life!

it is also so easy that even a 9-year-old can understand it.
and here's proof.
i was using aj's Bible tonight in church, and i opened up to this..
literally brought tears to my eyes

he is reading his Bible, and underlining what he needs to remember!!
he understands that he should live like timothy,
and that listening to christian music will affect him in a good way.

that is so what i want.
and i literally felt like God had purposefully made me forget my Bible so i could see aj's!!

all the time that i can get discouraged and feel like i'm not doing a good job homeschooling, and then i get a reminder like this.
this is what i want.
i pray over my boys every single night after they are asleep.

i pray for their purity
i pray that they will never doubt God's love for them
i pray that they will be unselfish
i pray for their future wives, that they will stay pure
i pray that they will have discernment

this reminded me that God's Word is what will do God's work.
NOT me! although i am so grateful that God is allowing me to raise these little boys to become young men of character.

aj  and riley are getting it.
they are understanding what it is all about..

hmmm....i wonder what the latin root of understanding is :)