"Your greatest contribution to the Kingdom of God may not be something you do, but someone you raise." ~Andy Stanley

April 28, 2010

11 years ago, God blessed me in a big way...

He gave me Andrew, and what a joy he is!



When he isn't home we all know it and miss him because it is way too quiet around here without him. : ) He's a talker and I love that about him. Andrew would like to be in the ministry when he grows up and he loves the things of God. I love that about him too. He is also an amazing guitarist for his age. -Come to think of it, he is a whole lot like Daddy and I love that too.

So, every year, every birthday kid gets a pancake shaped like a bear

with a chocolate chip face for breakfast!

But not every kid does math in a tree on their birthday!


Happy Birthday Roo! Mom and Dad are crazy about you!


~Becky

April 27, 2010

Ooops!

I just realized that my link to Zac's human video isn't working. Let me try it again!

Revelations:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny2TZX84RGA
OK. I hope that does the trick!


~It is a crazy, busy week for us. My hubby has entitled this "The week with a lot of cake." And it will be!
We have Andrew's birthday to celebrate! Whoo-hoo!
Our graduation ceremony for the home school group to give. (hubby is the MC! He always does a fabulous job. He's a bit of a ham and that helps! lol)
And our annual Junior Bible Quiz party to attend with lots of boating, tubing, food and...more cake!

I'm tired and full just thinking about it. ; )
~Becky

April 24, 2010

Fine Arts in Orlando 2010

We had a GREAT weekend at Fine Arts Districts!



The human video Zac was in made it to Nationals! Whoo-hoo!

Here is Nathan's footage of Zac's team, Revelation:

http://www,youtube.com/watch?v=ny2TZX84RGA



And this is footage of the group I was helping with which also made it:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EwIcZfUGxs



We are so excited for all these awesome teens!



-My hubby just told me that he is going to do his own human video right now, "of Jesus sleeping in the boat," and he headed off to bed. LOL
Which is where I need to be because I am deliriously tired! : )

Night!

~Becky

April 21, 2010

It is that time of year again -Fine Arts!

You know that the Fine Arts Festival is quickly approaching when your son seems to have practice every other day and when he is home, he is totally exhausted.
But it is fun and he loves it.
They leave for the districts in Orlando tomorrow! Here is the post with last year's human video in it. It was about Hebrews 11. It went to nationals and did very well.
This year, Zac's human video team is doing one on the book of Revelations and it is powerful.
I saw them minister it tonight for the youth group!
Of course, I cried. Human videos do that to me.
And I thought 'Wow! My view of God is just not big enough.' -It was that powerful!!!
I hope it touches lots of hearts this weekend.
If they make it to nationals they will be headed to MI in the summer!
Zac is also in a mass choir this year and so I can't get "My God is so big, so strong and so mighty' out of my head. We had fun watching them practice tonight after church. They are going to ROCK that song! : )
Gotta love Fine Arts! It is awesome to watch kids minister their gifts for the King and His Kingdom! Whoo-hoo!
~Becky

April 20, 2010

Great field trip

Before spring break, we took an awesome field trip to the Morning Star Fisherman's Training and Research Center. People from all over the nation and parts of the world come to learn about aqua-ponics!

What could be better than teaching missionaries how to have a fish farm and grow veggies at the same time. One of our kiddos wants to be a missionary but isn't interested in medicine. Well, this field trip got me excited. Imagine not only sharing the gospel but also teaching people how to raise fish and grow veggies for the whole community. It really is the coolest thing.



So, of course I came home thinking that I am definitely going back and so are my boys who missed it. What a great place to learn and get community service hours for my high school students. I told my hubby that I want to grow veggies and raise tallopia and he didn't even blink. He's already said 'no' to chickens, a goat and a new dog but not this...Amazing!

And think of the science we'll learn!

Except for the fact that we don't even like to eat fish, it could be really fun...
The veggies were absolutely gorgeous!
Their roots get minerals from the fishes waste!

So, if we do it in our back yard someday, our future missionary will know how it is done and can change a whole community in some third world country. Maybe my hubby and I'll go too. I'm excited enough for both of us! : )
~Becky

April 17, 2010

Wonderful neighbors

My neighbor recently told me that we live in our house because she prayed us in. : )

She saw us look at the house 15 1/2 yrs ago and actually, I don't think she could have missed seeing me because I was 8 months pregnant and huge! We had an almost 2 yr old little red head with curls back then and she had a 2 yr old and a 3 yr. old. When she saw us, she prayed that we would be the ones to the buy the house next door and we were!
In the years that followed we added 2 more little ones to our side of the fence and all 6 of them became the best of friends and have been ever since.

Here is a story she wrote about our children and our fence...

A Fence Well Traveled

by D.T.


It's not everyone that has a place where they can remember crossing their entire lives. It's not everyone that can remember their parents lifting them over, with diapers on, to go play with the same friends all their lives. Where they grew from being lifted, to using chairs to cross, the old swing set or like now simply hopping over. It's not everyone who has friends that they can always count on, no matter what differences they may have, they are always overcome and when you need them they are always there willing to do whatever it is to make you feel better. It isn't everyone who can let go and be silly and not worry that they will get looked at funny or criticized but someone who wholeheartedly jumps in and joins the silly fun. It's not everyone who is closer to these friends more than most of their family, it's not everyone that can say that they do these things simply for love.




~Becky, who is blessed to have such special neighbors

April 15, 2010

All the spring break fun!

We had such a fun week that I'm not sure that I can fit in all into one post, but I will try!
My best friend Marcie and her children came from CA to spend the week with us. Here are all our kiddos:


(sorry some of the pictures are so small. That is the size you get when you steal them from your friend on face book and put them on a blog) ha ha

She and I took our kids on a little trip to Daytona Beach for a one night stay at a hotel on the beach. It was tons of fun. I love Daytona! But, I don't think I will ever get used to cars driving and parking on the beach! That is too weird!

Andrew and his buddy Joel are the best of friends and never stop having interesting conversations with each other. : )
During the road trip, they decided they are 'just alike' because 'they are both writing a book and (happen to) have the same bathing suits.' : ) They are so cute together. They talked nonstop all week!
When I told them that their great-grandmothers were friends who went to church together, and their grand dads were good friends and that Joel's dad and I have been friends since we were babies, Andrew said "Joel, you and I will have to be best friends for life!!!" Amen!
The Atlantic was pretty chilly! But the kids enjoyed it
and then they played in the pool.
That night we had some Frisbee fun at sunset on the beach and then went to our rooms and played some card games betting Reese's pieces and laughing like crazy.

Since we were on the third floor and the thought of mosquitoes didn't occur to me, we slept with our sliding glass door open, listening to the sound of the ocean as we slept. (heavenly!)
-Except that none of us ended up sleeping too well...Maybe it was the late night caffeine or all the excitment. Most of us got up in time to see the sunrise over the ocean. I must have gone back to sleep though, because I didn't see it when it looked like this! Marcie and the girls watched it from down on the beach.

About this point in the weekend, someone who shouldn't have, must have got a hold of my credit card number and then proceeded to try to charge over two thousand dollars on the i*tunes web site. How crazy is that?! My many thanks to B of A for declining that! Good grief!
Now, back to the story:

We visited an old bookstore where everything was half off. -Great fun for the bookworms in our our crowd and the two homeschooling moms!
We also took a chocolate factory tour
and climbed a lighthouse. (field trips and vacations are one of my favorite combinations!!!)


I sampled their chocolate covered potato chips. Yummo! Then we all bought chocolate alligators to eat in the car!
Here are the kids in front of the Ponce DeLeon Lighthouse:

Somewhere between step #1 and step #203, I found out that I am out of shape! I was the last one to make it to the top.

After this, it was time to head back home. I had high hopes of beating all the Friday traffic in Orlando, which didn't quite happen but it wasn't that bad.
Here I must give three cheers for Emma, the GPS! (everyone I've met has a name for theirs and so do we!) She was wonderful at finding us places to eat and and taking us right to all these fun sights we wanted to see. I will never vacation without her, ever!
We headed back home and the next day we went strawberry picking! I had the best helpers ever when it came to washing, storing and chopping. Whoo-hoo!

Then a friend who was visiting from TX came to have dinner with us that night. She was one of the girls who was in the youth group that we led 15 or so years ago. It was great to catch up with her. Marcie took all the kiddos to the movies while we visited.

We had an awesome time of worship in both services on Sunday and dinner at Taco Bell, which doesn't even count as Mexican food when you live in southern California!!! We had to stop talking about Mexican food in So. CA before we became just too depressed to eat. Just kidding! I always miss that Mexican food I grew up with though.

Monday we hit the beach again. (our family's favorite one on the Gulf this time) Had lots more beach fun and the water was warmer! We found TONS of huge shells. (they are in a box headed your way, Dad) Many of which still had creatures in them. (Yours are creature-less, Dad, I promise!) : )
Joy found a shell that was so pretty, she decided to take it home and boil the guy out. Ewww! I didn't watch, but it is one gorgeous shell!
The next day, we took the kids to the park to play and then my hubby took them out to our favorite pizza place which has become a tradition. I had a home school support meeting to pull off that night and my dear friend was my 'captive helper.' Just kidding! Marcie graciously volunteered to help with everything and I was ever SO thankful since illnesses in the families of our board members kept them from being able to attend and help. Marcie's face book status that night cracked me up. It said something to the effect of 'helping Becky tonight reminded that I never wants to be president of anything.' Ba ha ha ha!
Wednesday, we said our good-byes....and it was just way too quiet around our house after they left and it made us sad.

It was a great week, with great friends because we all love and serve a great God!
~Becky

April 11, 2010

On vacation...

Having a great time with my BFF and her children but I'll be back soon with lots of pictures and an update on the fun!

Blessings!
~Becky

April 2, 2010

I'm happy....

~It is spring break! Yay!


~My kids are done with testing!


~I'm getting a new (to me) dishwasher today! Hooray!!!! Those things are hard to live without!


~Jimmy got a new home yesterday! Big HUGE hooray!!!!

-A lonely gentleman felt it was a "great blessing" to be given Jimmy! I wish we'd have known that about 2 years ago. ~I couldn't thank him enough!!! Joy and I did a happy dance the moment he left. We don't seem to be cut out for squawking birds with attitude. (he was our second and LAST! Amen!) I'm hoping that he doesn't feel the need to return Jimmy due to his occasional tirades that make you wonder if he's bipolar or possessed. -Because that deal was for keeps! : )


~My brother-in-law is able to move his left leg now and is doing so well at a rehab hospital.




~Sunday we are having our sweet neighbors over for Easter dinner and to rejoice in the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior.




I hope you have a blessed weekend!

~Becky