Long time no Blog!

Hi Everyone. Did you think I fell off the earth?? It has been really busy around here with church and activities and all.. guess we're just gearing up for summer.... I took up the task this week of clearing out Karyss' toybox! There were things in there from YEARS ago!! I couldn't believe the amount of junk she had stuffed in that thing.. Which led me to ask.. Do any of you have any good ideas for helping kids stay organized?? I was terrible at it as a child myself and I am not all that great at it now but Karyss is really struggling. Her room is small and it is so hard for her to keep it clean. Any suggestions???

Appreciating the "little things"

The very recent events in Virginia have made an impact on me. I remember when Columbine happened, I was home sick from teaching school, pregnant with Karyss.. I remember thinking how horrible it would be to be a parent of one of those students there. Now that I am a parent and have my two precious children, my heart breaks for those families, wives, friends, children, and especially moms and dads of those who were mercilessly killed in Virginia... It has made me appreciate the little things in my life so much more... especially the little things named Karyss and Riley and the slightly larger thing named Dan and my parents, and my sisters, and my friends.... It gives me pause to thank God for what he has given. I know there are days I grumble and complain about things in my life but God has given me so much and I am so blessed. This tragedy has caused me to pause and appreciate what I do have and I am truly thankful.
Hug your children a little tighter today . I know I will and also pray for those families and that this may cause some to look to God for strength and turn to Him for help and salvation

My babies

Just found some pictures of Karyss as a baby and thought I would post. Do you think she and Riley look alike???

Karyss was probably a week old in this picture and Riley was less than a week old. What do you all think?? It probably would be a better comparision if I had done a picture of Riley with his eyes open.

Our Easter

Karyss loved coloring the Easter Eggs.. Riley helped by supervising :-D

She LOVES Green

Finished Product! Aren't they pretty??

Karyss' Easter Basket

Riley's Easter Treat

All Ready for Easter Sunday! She is so proud of her "princess dress"

Our little Easter bunny :-D

It was great day

What I did today

Hi All This is going to be one of those frivolous posts so if you are easily bored you may not want to bother reading but I was so pleased I had to share.

Today I decided to take on the task of cleaning out Karyss' dressers. As I mentioned before I am a big "Clean House" fan right now. I LOVE how they have been folding the clothes so you can see EVERYTHING in the drawers when you open them and they look neat. I just have to share some pictures because it really turned out GREAT in her room...

If you could only have seen what these looked like in the beginning!! I hope she keeps up with it.

Here is what Riley was doing while I was working:

Cutie pie

Hi .

Just had to share these adorable pictures of my adorable son. He is really growing up! I can't believe how fast he is growing. Doesn't he look cute???

Riley's Dedication

Hi everyone
Sunday was an eventful day for us . We went forward during the invitation as a family to dedicate Riley and ourselves as his parents to raise him for the Lord. He was sooo adorable. The whole time Pastor Howell was talking to us he stared up into his face with this expression of wide eyed awe, like he actually could understand what was being said. I wish I had my camera then. Here are some pictures of Riley and our family today. It was so nice as each member of the church came by afterward to share their love and pledge to pray for us as we raise our children. I know I need their prayers daily. Both of my children are answers to prayer. I know I will fail them so many times but I earnestly want to do my best to raise them to know Jesus.