know what i love?

here's what i love about God. he is powerful enough that HE absolutely does not need to use us, but HE chooses to let us be involved in people's lives. here's what i mean. my boys needed new sneakers...they seem to be growing at an incredible rate! i guess that i mentioned to my sister-in-law, although i don't remember, that they did. the next day, God used ronnie and bobbi to give the boys that gift! it is amazing. i mean really, God could have literally dropped sneakers down from heaven if he wanted, right? but it was so much more fun to have the boys get to go to the mall with their aunt and uncle that they don't get to see much, and pick out their own sneakers! i love that. thanks ron and bobbi! :)

God always amazes me!

for those of you who don't know, i have been in the process of working on the details of our missions trip to haiti this summer. i have been trying to find the best prices for plane tickets, and the best schedule. i have been getting a little nervous, because we plan to leave on july 28th, which is coming faster and faster! yesterday, i almost bought some that i found, that i wasn't thrilled with the schedule of. i prayed that God would work out the perfect and best departure times. in MY thinking, leaving boston at around 2 and getting into ft. lauderdale at about 4would have been perfect. here is where i need to insert the verse "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." eph. 3:20. when i was at our evangelism class last night, i thought i wonder if we could get flights out of manchester to ft. lauderdale. then do an entirely separate flight to port au prince. when i got home i found tickets leaving manchester at 8:10am and arriving to ft. lauderdale at 11:58am. the next tickets i found where from ft. lauderdale leaving the next morning at 8:50!!! the price was 434.00 - LESS than the tickets out of boston!!!! i could not believe it! i was shaking, i was so excited!! today i realized even more how much of a weight that was on me, now that it is gone. it's funny because it makes me want to ask for more things from our amazing God!! i was second guessing myself about not already getting the tickets, and God was just waiting with the PERFECT - more perfect than i had even imagined!! tickets for us! i can't even believe how much easier it will be to leave from manchester! i am so thankful, and need to brag on God more than i do. He is always watching out for us, and always has everything totally under control. remember that today!!

...He's up so high

so today, during our family devotions, i was reiterating to the boys the importance of obedience. something that we remind the boys of is that God always blesses obedience. riley asked how God did that. i said, well...in different ways. sometimes He can make you feel really happy, sometimes He can give you a real gift. ry said..."how can He give me a gift when He's up so high? will He drop it down?" i thought that was so cute, and if you know how cute his little voice is, it would make this story even better! anyways, a little later, aj was going through the laundry (that seems to always be clean, folded, and just NOT put away!!!)he found his lakers shirt that we got at a yard sale last week. he said "my lakers shirt!!! i have everything!"
i loved that. and i wish that i would be able to look at the things that i have and really be able to feel and say "i have everything" becuase i DO, right? i can be satisfied in Christ. i just need to choose that. i am so thankful to have boys that aren't afraid to ask honest questions, and boys that are thankful for what they have. i can learn a lot from them, and so can YOU :)

fishing

today my amazing parents took all SEVEN of the grandkids on a little fishing trip! it was the first time for my boys, and they were very excited. it was a beautiful, sunny day, and all the kids caught 2 fish each! (AJ caught the biggest! :))
they all had a picnic lunch, then fished, and then my parents took them all out for ice cream. i am so blessed to have godly family, and great parents who are willing to spend time with all the kiddies. i am blessed and God is good!

sentimental

i am feeling a little bit sentimental right now. i have a headache, and i can't get to sleep, so i started looking at the pictures on my computer. i found all the pictures from our missions trip to the dominican republic from last summer. it's weird how time can make you sort of forget things. you can kind of get so busy with whatever "life" is that you forget about what is really important. i remember how incredibly hot it was. i wish that there was a WAY stronger word for "hot" because it was like an oven. and i remember watching my little 6-year-old aj, playing basketball with the little orphan boys, and my little 4-year-old dealing with all the girls wanting to pick him up and hold him. they never one time complained about the heat. they did not complain about the fact that we had rice with every meal. taking their malaria pills was a little challanging, but we got through it! it amazes me still what an incredible trip it was. my boys are such a gift, and so adaptable to so many circumstances. we have so many different ministries during the week. mondays, wednesdays (and fridays during the school year) are always late nights with the boys not getting to bed until well after 10:00 some nights. God has worked things out so we can do these ministries together as a family, and i am so thankful for the kids attitudes. this summer, i am so excited to be planning a trip to haiti. this year will be a lot different than last year. we will be going with my grandfather, my parents, some adults from church and only 3 teenagers! i am getting excited as i look back at all the pictures from last summer, and remember the different culture, and the amazing way that God used us. i thought that i would post a few pictures to give you an idea of where we were...for those of you who haven't seen them. so here's my deep, sentimental thought for the day. don't get so busy living your life that you forget to remember who you're living your life for. :)

thursday

i kept saying "you have laid your hand upon me" over and over as i was in the dentist chair for over an hour!! i would rather go through just about ANYTHING than being at the dentist. but i survived, and i really could sense God with me.
also, i got a haircut last night, so here is a picture...i had just gotten it cut, so i hadn't really played with it or anything. adam likes short hair better, and it will be much cooler for the summer. i was getting sick of it being so long anyways!
here is a before and after picture...ok, i put the pictures backwards. i guess it is a after and before picture! :)

Being Content

i was thinking back to about 2 years ago, and remembering where i was in life. me and adam were a little discouraged about finances, and we were trying to make a desicion. we had the opportunity to move from nh to florida. when we wrote everything out on paper, it seemed to make sense. it is much cheaper to live, we could buy a nice house, it is warmer, we could send the boys to a christian school, and adam would have a job. i remember even asking a friend of mine her thoughts. we both have similar passions - our children. (but she has 2 girls, i have 2 boys!) she said that we needed to think about what was best for our children -first. and i totally agree, but there was something in us that was telling us to stay. we didn't hear a loud, booming voice from the sky, but there was a definate still, small voice! it would have been so easy and practical to make this decision, but there are times that God calls you to walk the harder path. what i mean by that, is that nh is a cold place, and a HUGE mission field. i have to admit that sometimes i get frustrated when i hear about great, christian families moving to a foreign country to be missionaries. don't misunderstand me - i am all for foreign missions! i have great friends who are doing that, and i greatly respect them. it's just that sometimes i think it is harder to stay here and minister to people who are so cold and unreceptive to the Gospel! that is what we were facing. we felt that God needed us here. of course, we could've gotten involved in ministry in florida, and God is not thrown off by our good or bad decisions. he can use us inspite of ourselves! but i have personally led 5 people to Christ, and been part of and seen about 5 others just in the last year in our church here in the remote state of NH!! i am constantly amazed at what God is doing. i am sitting here right now, in my living room - which is about 7x12. and i am totally and completely thankful, content, and overwhelmed by God's goodness, and the way HE leads our family. he is such a good GOD!! i was talking to the boys the other day about a house we saw, and they said "ours is much bigger and better. it's way funner" wow. it's all about perspective! our house is NOT bigger than much, but when you are where God wants you it is the best place to be. i love psalm 16:6 "Your boundary lines mark out pleasant places for me. Indeed, my inheritance is something beautiful." i am amazed by God's grace, by his love and his plan. i love watching the young adults in our group share the verses that God is speaking to them. i love watching teenagers change their lives, and i love watching God work. i just read this verse today - "You hem me in, behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me." i love that picture. His hand is upon me. I will rest in that today. no matter how big my house is, God is holding on to me!!

proud mommy

for some reason, when it comes to putting the kids to bed, i have a hard time being the tough and stern mommy. it's weird because when i am not home and adam puts them to bed, they stay in bed and go to sleep. when i am home and put them to bed, they get up a million times. riley has such a cute little voice, and after i say "stay in bed" he will say "but what if i really need you?" so i just allow it. i know that i could put a stop to it, and could get serious...but i get really sentimental for some reason. if you have heard the song i wrote for the boys (you can hear it and watch a slide show of pictures on the side of my blog) there's a verse that talks about if this was the last time i would see them, and the things i would enjoy. one thing, was i would "keep you up at night for just a while". so i get that way. anyways...last night i gave the boys each a piece of paper and said they had one pass. they could use it to get up, but only one time.

ry just came walking out, and it struck me as so cute that he was holding the little "pass" in his hand, and told me that he could barely even hear the music playing. (i always have christian worship music playing when they go to sleep, always have since i brought aj home from the hospital!) so, of course i got up and turned it up a little. i don't know, it was just precious. so, i know i just went through this whole entire nonsensical story to just say that i think ry looked so cute holding his pass. i could have just said that. but that would not be me. hey- at least you don't have to be with me, because i would be acting it out!! that's just how i am.

i am so thankful that i have had the Bible to raise my kids with. i am so seeing the benefits of following it!! it seemed so hard when they were 2 and 3 and i felt like my main job description was "spanker" and i may have had a day or two when i wondered if it was really making a difference. wow. it did. my kids aren't perfect, but they are already a blessing to their mommy when i see the way they act. they both just memorized psalm 119:9. "how can a young man keep his way pure? by living according to your word". that is my prayer for them tonight. keep living according to God's Word, boys! God will always bless your obedience!!!

where did my baby go?

can someone please tell me where my baby went?? how is he already FIVE YEARS OLD?!

what i think determines how i act which determines how i feel

so today i am thankful. i loved class last night. it was actually 3 classes on the book of Romans. one thing that we were reminded of was the fact that Jesus died for us...the LEAST i can do is live for Him. i just loved that. i can get so caught up in everything around me, and feeling discouraged with things that i don't need to be discouraged about. i have an amazing God who wants me to live an abundant life...not just one where i get by. does anyone ever feel like you are just barely getting by? you don't have to feel that way!!! read romans 8 to be reminded of what we have in Christ. that we are IN Christ and that we will be WITH Christ soon!!! i was reminding AJ today of the message from a couple of sunday nights ago. what we think determines how we act, which determines how we feel. i saw him sort of pouting today, and it was because his cousin wasn't playing the game that he wanted to play. so i went with that concept. i said let's think of a verse. we picked "think of others as better than yourselves" (phil. 2) ok, so now that is what i am thinking over and over, now how will i act as a result of that? i will act differently towards that cousin. then....when i treat him better, how does that make me feel? he saw right away because he recognized that the pouty way he was feeling right then did not feel good! i love to see the kids getting it!! i need to get it too!!! why don't i think about those verses in romans 8, and totally concentrate on the verse that talks about how NOTHING can separate me from the love of God. if i think about that over and over and over, i find it hard to even care about other things!!
-here are some pictures of the boys room where i have painted this stuff on their walls. i am not done with the first one yet, but getting there...

another beach day

today was a beautiful 80 degrees, so me and erika packed up all the kids and drove the bus...er, i mean, erika's van...to odiorne point. the kids had a great time and it was perfect weather by the water. notice the pose of all the kids standing facing the water. it was sooooo funny - we lined them all up, then as me and erika were behind them taking their picture, she says "i wonder how long they would stay like that" so we took a couple pictures then went back and sat on the blanket. it was hilarious to just watch them all standing totally still, in a straight line facing the water. we were crying we were laughing so hard! finally, i think it was alissa who turned around and said "can we be done yet?" it was great. anyways...a great day and a great reminder of how amazing God's creation is, and how thankful i am to have my family!!

my baby is 7!

i can not believe that it was 7 years ago today that i was in the hospital having my first baby! wow...why does time go by so fast?! i am so unbelievably happy just looking at my boys. aj has really grown very tall in the last month - he's getting pretty close to my height!! he is doing great with his school - he loves history, is very good at reading, and has unbelievably neat handwriting! he LOVES sports, but especially football! he loves playing and watching it any chance he gets. luckily, we have the football network channel!! randy moss is his favorite player, and laura just got him a moss jersey for his birthday yesterday! he doesn't EVER want to take it off!! he is a really great brother to ry, and they play really well together. he has finished his book in awana, and has learned a ton of verses...i love seeing the way that he is so sensitive to the Lord. i pray every night that he will be a strong leader that will be willing to stand alone, and stay strong in his faith. i love to think about how God will use him. we had a great birthday party. aiyah and uncle chad, all the curriers, nanny and grampops, the boulters, mark and laura were all here. i painted white lines on the front lawn for a football field, and they played for a very long time! during "half time" they all came in for snacks and gatorade. aj scored 2 touchdowns! the uncles, mark and daddy were great sports and had a lot of fun playing - oh ya, the kids had fun too!! haha! he had a randy moss cake, and got some great presents! he was so cute - every time he opened a gift, he would close his eyes unwrapping it the whole time and then once it was all unwrapped he would look at it! he is a funny kid! we did miss having unca and aunti bobbi there! (and the chase side of the family!) then today, he asked for his birthday meal to be spaghetti, meatballs and corn on the cob!! strange combination, but hey, it's his birthday!! i am so proud of him and so glad that he is mine!! happy birthday aj!

beach time!

today was another beautiful day - and the boys are loving it (which means i am too!!) it was about 1:00 today, and i just wanted to get out. so i told the boys that we were gonna go and find a park to go to. i decided to go towards epping, because i needed to fill up with gas, and it was cheaper in epping than raymond. then i headed towards the beach and decided to go all the way there. there is a great park there, and parking is still free. the boys LOVED it, and the weather was perfect!! after playing on the playground for quite a while, we walked to the water...well, i walked, they ran. it was exactly what i needed. just seeing the amazing beauty in the color and power of the ocean was perfect. i said to the boys, "can you believe God created all of this?" aj said, "that's our king alright!" i am so blessed to have them in my life. they get along so well and are so much fun. they love to laugh and have a good time, and it is so fun to be with them and to watch them enjoy life. i love being able to have such an enjoyable day, with no cost involved! ry said "this is my best day so far". it is always good when you can make your kids happy!! i am so thankful for everything God has given me.

My Ry

So the other night, riley called me in (not an unusual event around here!) and i said, "ry...you're not supposed to call me once you are in bed" he said "but you said if it was an emergency i could!" i couldn't help but smile on that one!! he then showed me a very emergency-ish hangnail on his finger. i kissed it, and said "there's not anything i can do about that, baby" he said..."mom. i know the only thing you can do...PRAY!" ooohhhh. i felt a little guilty and a little proud and a lot challenged by the amount of child-like faith i was witnessing. how true it is - that is the only thing i could do, and the FIRST thing i should think of!! a good reminder right before bed. i think i should pray a lot right now.

My little basketball superstar

So...my little boy had his last basketball game today. it was sooo cute!!! they had music playing and they introduced him with a spotlight and said "starting at guard, 4feet 6 inches tall, AJ-the-scoring machine-chaaaaase!!!!!!" it was a proud moment, i must admit. i was cheering very loudly!! he played a great game, even though they lost by 2 points! even more importantly, i am so proud of his very Godly example all season. several adults commented on what a great kid he is. God is so good to us!!

Winter

I am very sick of all this snow, but we did manage to make a few memories out of it all. The other day...after putting it off for DAYS...I finally took the boys outside. It was perfect snow for building a snowman, and we really did have a fun time. I love how well the boys get along, it really brings so much joy! We also went over to the Curriers, along with the Boulters, and the kids got to play outside again. AJ loved playing football! Here are some pictures.

sleepover!

my 2 "little" boys didn't act so little today, when they zipped up the suitcase, put on their coats and ran down the steps to get into the currier van, ready for the big sleepover!! we were supposed to be taking the teens skiing, and would not be home until really late. my overly-ambitious (who i now owe, big time!)sister, offered to take the boys for the night! after the trip got cancelled, i could not dream of telling them they couldn't sleep over...after all, riley had asked "how many more days until saturday?" about a million times in the past week! they were so excited to go and me and adam got to have a little us time - which we rarely get these days! i am still finding it hard to believe that my babies are not babies anymore!!

i love my family

well, today is just about over. it has been a good day and i am so glad that God has me where He does. to be honest, i did not feel that way at every moment during the day today, but right now, looking at my husband and hearing my little boys' deep breathing makes me feel content. i love this time of night when i can just reflect and be thankful for where God has me.
i have some reading to catch up on though. me and adam are reading through the New Testament in 30 days! quite a challenge and i am glad to be doing it! God is good.