Dancing Queen

She was the first one on the floor!

A Peek at Christmas

We had an interesting Christmas. Aaron got sick then Lauren. Ethan had enough of Aaron's cough to keep us on our toes. We stayed home and had Christmas all by ourselves this year for fear of giving our "junk" to anyone else. We were unable to do our traditional meals and things with extended family but we were very rested and the kids are getting better.






























The tree that we almost couldn't get into the house :-)








Fairy Costume-she was so happy!













Serious cookie decorating....











and a gingerbread house.














Brendan was the only one that was 100% well.










A Shiner for Christmas!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Busy Week!

Wow!! What a week this is turning out to be!! The kiddos are back in school and we are back in that school routine. We really enjoyed a low key week during the Thanksgiving holidays. We stayed at home alot, tagged our tree, hunted, put up lights, and just spent alot of time together. They especially enjoyed Aunt Jen spending the nite because they still ask if she is coming over today;)
This week Aaron has a fieldtrip, Ethan has a fieldtrip, two days at the mission,bridal shower on Saturday and the kids are out of school on Friday because of a teacher meeting....WHEW! It will be a fun week but a little too much for ONE week. Next week will be difficult because we WILL NOT have anything to do:) We are carefully planning to NOT plan too much this holiday season so we can enjoy each other without so much hustle and bustle(this week being the ONLY busy one)
I will try to post some pictures from all the week's activities.

What to write today.....

I am thankful for:
healthy children
a week long break for Thanksgiving(-woohoo, no homework!)
enough food to eat
a warm bed
electricity
new relationships
seeing God at work in people
knowing He is with me all of the time,(esp when I lost my keys)
my husband, who puts up with me and rescued us when I locked us out of the house
the opportunity to bless others in the smallest way
hunting season
not having to fry chicken for the 1st grade feast
my Jesus who knows all about me and loves me anyway
that little secret that HE has for me and reminds me of often

What's on your list of blessings???

Random Pictures

Lauren's first horse ride with her new friend, Taylor.














Does my face look like this?












Stylin' and Profilin'













Ethan and Lily taste-testing the candy before the parade.















Jen and Aubrey

God's Mission

I haven't ever posted about this because somehow I believed that it was screaming "me, me, me!" I think that is a lie I believed that kept me from sharing about HIM,HIM,HIM!!!So here goes:
Our church began a new vision. Our mission statement is " To give ourselves away for the transformation of our community, the city of Las Vegas, the country of Wales, and a "un-nameable for security reasons" people group.I love mission minded churches so this was right up my alley but how could I transform my community? I live 30 minutes away from our church and have 4 small children! One day, Lauren and I dropped some clothes off at our local mission and they mentioned to me that they could use help hanging up all of the donated clothes. God was showing me how I could begin helping in MY community. From that day, I began working there 2 days every week. I love busy work so I felt that God matched me to the perfect job. As we hung up clothes, I silently observed and realized that that there was a need for interaction with the clients. It was like God spoke to me and said, "Be different, just follow my lead." As I began talking with clients and helping them find what they needed, I saw a change. I saw a change in how many garbage bags they tried to haul off. I was able to listen as a woman described how her husband left her with nothing and then pray for her afterwards. This wasn't a Wendy thing. Wendy is not comfortable making small talk and asking people if they need prayer. This was and is a God thing. Following His lead, I am able to help others and show the love of Christ. There are so many times, when I fail to do as He asks me. Sometimes, I just don't feel like it and I have found out that I truly am the one missing out on the blessings that He is waiting to share. Even worse, I am missing a chance to show someone to Christ. God has truly changed my heart. He has given me a new compassion for people here in my community. He has opened my eyes to needs that I was totally unaware of before.
I realized right from the start of this job that God had placed me here for a reason. Back in May, I was asked to be director of the mission. I know that God has a really big plan for my time here. It is so excited to watch! We are working on healthier food to give and regulating the clothing that is taken out more. We are beginning a trial adult reading program. We attempted to begin a Bible study but have not had a huge turn out so we are redirecting to building relationships with our clients first. We have helped people who have lost their homes to fires, people that have gotten out of prison, new single mothers, abused women and many needy seniors,children and families. I pray that this mission continues to go in the direction of helping people help themselves. I would love to see a job readiness program along with job placement. Before any of this comes about, it is our first priority to help people begin a relationship with Jesus! There are many days when the physical needs take precidence over the spiritual needs. The enemy wants to fool us into thinking that just taking care of one need is enough so we press on. Please pray for all of our volunteers, that it would press upon our hearts to share Jesus with every person that walks through our doors. Pray for those clients that come in that their hearts would be hungry for Jesus and their ears open to hear the truth.