The Family Under Attack

'Bumpaholics' Women Who Love Pregnancy
I heard about this from a friend today and was quite saddened by this story especially since we are adding child number 4 to our family. This is just another example of the family being under attack by our culture.

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Summer Catch Up Time!

I realized the other day that it has been 2 months since I last blogged and there has been so much going on in our life that I thought it was time to do a little catch up.

May, as usual was a very busy month. Phill and I were able to travel out to Minnesota for a week to attend the Children's Desiring God Conference with some leaders from our church. It was a wonderful conference and I was so encouraged spiritually by Ted Tripp. Phill and I had an awesome time hanging out with one other and it was a lot of fun to show him were I had grown up. Playing a little putt-putt at the Mall of America!

At the beginning of June we took the kids to Idaho to stay with their grandparents for 4 WEEKS! I have to say that during the 4 weeks they were gone I was super busy, but it was too long and Phill and I missed them terribly. For 2 of the weeks the kids were in Idaho Phill and I were busy getting ready for our youth missions trip to D.C. We were however able to take a lot of time for us and even went to the Melting Pot to celebrate our 8 year anniversary!

Then on June 12, Phill and I left for Washington D.C. with 6 teenagers and one other leader for a missions trip with the Center for Student Missions. It was a great trip and we saw God work in the lives of our students on so many levels. I think I will have to do another blog just on the trip as there is so much I could say.

At the Jefferson Memorial

Our team serving at S.O.M.E. (So Others May Eat) a soup kitchen in D.C.

The day after we got home from D.C. (by the way we drove there and back) Phill and I left for Idaho and a little family vacation. It was soooooooooo good to see the kids! They did very well with out us for 4 weeks and all escaped injury until I got there. The first morning we were there I was taking Ruthie off the top of a bunk bed and did not pay attention to the ceiling fan that was going just above her head. Then next thing I know she had blood streaming down her head. Off to Urgent Care we went. She was a trooper and never cried once.

Fortunately we did not have to get stitches, just some super glue and she was fine! While we were in Idaho we spent a few days up in the mountains with Phill's parents. They live in a small town and we were able to do some camping. It was beautiful where we went and very hot!

Our beautiful camp site.

Ruthie saying "Cheese"

Phillip eating marshmallows

Grace blowing out a marshmallow fire.

We had a great time visiting our family, but after 4 weeks of being on the road we were so ready to get home and back to a normal schedule, whatever that is!

Our summer continues to be busy, but we are enjoying our family time and being back together. Plus, we have learned that we are adding another little one to our family around the end of February! We are very excited that God has chosen to bless our family with another life and are all eagerly awaiting the arrival of this new little person. It seems there are many changes on the horizon for us this next year with school and adding to our family but, I am looking forward to all that God has for us.

Death Is Not Dying

This afternoon I had the privilege of hearing Rachel Barkey speak to a group of women in Canada. The thing you need to know about Rachel is that she is dying of terminal cancer. She is a wife and mother of two young children, but more importantly she is a child of God. Her faith in God through this time in her life is amazing! Please listen to her message and learn more about her and her faith at deathisnotdying.com. If you trust Jesus as your Lord, please listen and be renewed in your faith. If you do not know Jesus as your Lord, please listen, hear the the gospel, and find out more about this man.

Plastic Womanhood
Your Purpose posted on 04.06.09 by Mary Kassian
Barbara Millicent Roberts turned 50 last month. She’s a few years older than me, but from recent media appearances, I can tell she’s in much better shape. Ms. Roberts doesn’t show any signs of aging. Her skin is flawless. She has no wrinkles. No blemishes. No age spots. No loss of elasticity. As always, her makeup is perfectly applied–her hair is stylish and shiny.
Ms. Roberts weighs the same as she did twenty years ago. Her waist remains tiny, her legs long and slim. Her nails are always perfectly groomed. No backaches or bunions keep her from constantly wearing high heels. Clothes are crucial, and contributors to her extensive and fashionable wardrobe include world-class fashion designers such as Armani, Givenchy, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Dior, and Versace.
It’s not just her appearance that’s a source of envy. Barbara Roberts has a long and illustrious resume. She’s been a rock star, a professional athlete, an astronaut, a doctor, and a presidential candidate. She currently earns about $3.3 billion a year. And she’s popular, too. She’s had scores of friends, and has been romanced for decades by a handsome, long-time suitor. With her beauty, clothes, cars, houses, careers, and independence, Ms. Roberts is the epitome of fulfilled womanhood.
The problem is, she’s not a real woman. She’s a toy. You probably know her by her retail nickname, “Barbie.” And the image of womanhood she portrays is as fake as her plastic skin. It’s sad that the best vision of womanhood the world has to offer is built on artificial beauty, exaggerated sexuality, unfettered consumerism, fierce independence, and unrealistic expectations. Barbie’s image totally misses what true womanhood is all about.
God’s plan for manhood and womanhood existed from eternity past, before the foundation of the world. Scripture explains that He created us to display His glory (Isa. 43:6-7). That was His overarching purpose. Manhood, womanhood, and marriage display the glory of God’s marvelous plan–that Jesus Christ laid down His life as Husband to redeem and purify the Bride He loves (the Church). When God created male and female, He had the relationship of Christ and His Bride in mind. Men are to reflect the strength, love, and self-sacrifice of Christ. Women are to reflect the character, grace, and beauty of the Bride He redeemed.
The implications for womanhood are staggering. This places womanhood at the center of God’s ultimate purpose. It endows it with supernatural significance and meaning. It lifts it from a Barbie-Doll-type existence to a profound level of importance. Womanhood exists to display God’s masterpiece of redemption. Sisters, the vision of womanhood that modern culture entices us with is far too small. Barbie’s beauty is shallow, fleeting, and deceptive. But the beauty of Christ’s holy Bride is spectacular, eternal, and real. (Eph. 5:22-33)
Plastic Barbie or Eternal Bride . . . Which of these two visions of womanhood has captivated your heart?

To see this post in its original context click herehttp://truewoman.com

A Quick Trip to Minnesota

A few weeks ago my grandfather had a heart attack so my mom decided that it was time to go back for a visit. The family was planning a big 75th Birthday party for him as well as a 54th Anniversary celebration of my grandparents. We thought it would be the perfect time to go. I have not been back to MN for about 5 years. It was so good to see all my aunts, uncles (my mom is from a family of 11 kids), cousins, and second cousins. The family has grown quite large! Here are just some of the pictures of the first half of the trip.

On our way out to MN. Ruth was a trooper for it being such a long car ride. Here she is after eating something cheesy!


Before we headed to my grandparent's house in Frazee, MN we spent a few days at my Aunt Sonya's just outside the Cities(St. Paul and Minneapolis). Her son Johnny is 10 and my kids LOVE him, LOVE him, LOVE him. All we heard about before we got to MN was, "Johnny this, Johnny that..."

On Wednesday night the kids were Johnny's guest at AWANA. Grace took her book and was able to get a verse signed off.

Here are the kids eating breakfast at a great bagel shop near where I grew up.

Since we were close to the Cities we decided to go to the Mall of America. I loved this mall when I lived there and there were two stores that I really wanted to take the kids to: Lego Land and the American Girl Doll store.

Phillip, Johnny, and Grace in front of a Dinosaur made out of Legos.

Phillip and a Storm Trooper

Grace loves the American Girl Dolls and she was even able to get her Kit doll a new outfit

Even Ruthie walked away with a new baby thanks to Aunt Abi and Mommy. This girl loves babies! She has been carrying this doll around with her where ever she goes.

Right before Abi and the kids and I headed "Up North", we were able to have coffee with Shelley. She was one of our youth leaders in MN and I spent a lot of time hanging out with her. It was so wonderful to catch up with her.

Here I am with my Aunt Annie, she is actually only 3 years older than I am! The day we arrived in MN she was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. Fortunately she got much better and was moved to the Care Center in town so that she was closer to home and could be part of the family parties. Annie has always called me "Sha" and it was such a blessing to see her and introduce my kiddos to their special great aunt!

The kids meeting their Great Aunt Annie!

These are just a few pictures from the first half of the trip. I have much more to come of the family reunion and the kids playing with their cousins.

Youth Ski Trip

Two weekends ago I went skiing with the church youth group. Crazy thing is that I have not been skiing since I was pregnant with Grace. That is about 7 years ago! Last year I tried snowboarding, but I don't count that as it is not skiing. We took the kids to Loveland again as we were able to get lift tickets for $30. That is almost unheard of here in Colorado. The day turned out to be just beautiful. There was not a cloud in the sky and it actually was not too cold. I really enjoyed myself. The last few times I had gone skiing had been pretty awful. I had gotten hurt, sick, and had my skis taken by someone. I was a bit apprehensive about this day, but I looked forward to being able to ski with my good friends Polly and Kari and her girls. And, to top it all off, I was not as bad as I thought I would be. In fact, I would like to get a season pass and go more often. My husband never thought he would see the day when that would happen!

A shot form the ski lift

Kari and her daughter Britin. Kari used to be a ski instructor in Aspen.

Ms. Polly, my other ski buddy. We liked to stick the the blue and green runs.

My sister Abi is a boarder, I try not to hold that against her.

Shelby and I in the lodge. Last year we took boarding lessons. She went back to boarding and I gave it up! I don;t think my body could handle all those falls anymore.

Ruthie Happenings

As Ruthie is almost two, we thought it was about time for this little girl to get her wild hair cut. The mullet just had to go!! Here are some pictures of that day.

Walking into Ms. Amy's before the big cut!

She sat so still and did not move once! Is that even heard of out of a 2 year old?

The end result. She looked so much older with all that hair off. She will occasionally touch her hair and say "cut, nice". Too cute that one is.

Lately, Ruthie has wanted to wear her boots ALL THE TIME. It does not matter if it is 70 degrees, bedtime, or if she has nothing else but a diaper on. She seems to be developing quite the fashion sense!

Lastly, after a very short nap, Ruth woke up very grumpy and needing to go back to bed. Well, she did in the middle of the living room. She curled up on the floor and slept just like this for over an hour. I wish I could sleep that soundly on the floor in a ball.