kaycee turns 5!

i can hardly believe i have a 6 year old, and now kaycee turned 5 today...

oh, the fun to think back 5 years ago, today. we were at a family dinner all night, i came home at 9:30 pm, and started having contractions...just like that. i told matt to call nicole, a labor and delivery nurse friend, who was willing to come to the birth center with us, as matt broke his back when i was 8 months pregnant (a whole nother story of God's provision for us)...he told her to bring a movie along, UNTIL i intercepted the phone, and she decided we better just go... :) at 11:55 pm little kaycee agnes introduced herself...had her in the water...which is the ALL-STAR method of having a baby, ANYDAY...HANDS DOWN. :)

kaycee...you are a true princess of the King...never forget that. you are beautiful in every way. your soft spoken words, your smiles at nothing at all, and your ability to peace make are a joy to watch come to fruition. i am thankful God chose me to be your very mommy, and just pray that i don't mess up the opportunity. thank you for being a great sister. i love watching you interact with kaden, campbell, and calli. you are such a great help to me. i love seeing your little eyes twinkle and your sweet little cheek kisses to me each night. i long to see how you dance through life...don't make it too hard on me, okay? :) i love you. mommy.

anyway...some fun pics from our day of turning 5...

had to call matt in "special" to sit in on opening the first of her presents this morning...i don't think he minded warming up, and reading kaycee her birthday card...

practicing on her new walkie talkie...

had to "sneak" one of campbell in...she didn't understand why she didn't get any presents...

a present from the N. Carolina cousins...yay...we've already colored on those fuzzyposters...they are awesome!

yep...i made the purse cake, and coin purse to go with it. i thought it totally rocked...and it was easy. yay.

matt's mom, Judy, and my mom, Debbie, with our kids.

matt's brother mark, with his girlfriend, jamie, and her daughter rhiannon.

kaycee with my brother mark and heather's daughter, sarah...

rhiannon with calli...she is so good with kids. they love it when she comes to family stuff. :)

just me and my birthday girl...i am fully blessed...

Christmas 2009.

Christmas was not quite the same this year...

We have so much to be thankful for

and are blessed beyond measure,

but our thoughts and prayers were consumed this year

by the tragic death of a young man dear to so many...

we love you kelly,

and daryl and kim,

and our hearts are so heavy

for all of you who are missing Jeff so terribly right now...

a few snapshots over the last week:

okay...i realize how tired i am right now...

i put this picture in twice...sorry...

thanks for all our new "stuff".

now to go through all the old "stuff"

and fight over what we get rid of, to make room for the new.

aghhh. the joys of the season. :)

sadness.

Dear friends of ours lost their 20 year old brother yesterday afternoon in a tragic snowmobile accident. It is at times like these where I just "don't get it"...don't get God at all. Thru lots of tears and prayers I wonder how I can support them...How do I know what they need? Everyone handles loss and grief and tradgedy in such different ways...How will I know what's right for them? We had this young man in youth group, when we were advisors...and his girlfriend as well...Lord...we don't understand your ways. Help these families grieve. Bring comfort and peace to them at this time. Bring people into their lives to help them get thru this unbearably hard time...

head turner.

came across this picture this week.

oh how i miss the beach.

isn't is precious. :)

what a devotion...

a woman with the latest hairstyles, cosmetics, or skin care can never compete or compare with the lovliness of a woman who has allowed Jesus to occupy every place in her heart. sure, many women can make heads turn. but do they do the same for hearts?


a woman may walk confidently in a bikini but never know the power of being clothed with the glory of God. she may possess charm but lack grace. carry a huge workload but never carry a candle to light the world. run a household but never run to God. it's all vanity. it's all worthless without him.


i yearn to be a woman after Jesus' heart. a woman of faith and grace. a woman who possesses so much of Jesus that people would believe he exists because they recognize his power in me. i want to be a woman who immediately follows every request of my Lord. i desire him. i want to be beautiful in him. is there any other lasting beauty?


i think of Mother Teresa. what a beautiful soul. what a glory to God. she spread his fragrance to the world. it was Jesus. Jesus was so evident in her; his life so undeniable; his love so obvious.


but we don't have to be Mother Teresa to impact our world. we don't have to be a tiny nun from calcutta, india, to represent true humility, servanthood, and compassion. all we have to be is a woman after God's heart.


one of my favorite verses is Psalm 34:5, "those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame." those who look to Jesus are radiant. their countenance is that of a thousand stars.


charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Proverbs 31:30.


i got this out of a devotional magazine i picked up at ollies last week called beyond. isn't is powerful? maybe just to me... because of where i am at....have fun enjoying the hustle and bustle of the season. :) mk.

yay.

so...i realized i don't see my husband a lot during the week, but it sure is better than not seeing him at all. :)

matt got home last night at 9:30 pm. a few pictures from his trip...he figured out the "timer" feature on our camera and everything. :) his dad had rented the land in kansas, hence it was appropriate to note the "no trespassing and hunting sign". he stayed with nedra and ian rutherford ( my sister in law, naomi's sister...who would be a second cousin to matt, and he grew up with, going to the mountains, and skiing, etc) the night he shot his deer in kansas city, missouri...there is a picture of matt with 5 of their 6 kids... :) and then he travelled to sommerset, pa and stayed with another cousin, eric and his wife kate, a night, and hunted there yesterday before returning home that night...

he was glowing when he came in the door. again, i will never understand hunting, and that's okay. he had a blast, and so much fun...i am thankful for his safe return, and look forward to re-uniting as a family again this week...

the first snow.

i cannot decide if i am really ready for winter...who am i kidding? i hate winter, and this is the first reason why...the kids all want to go outside and play in the snow...so we spend a good 15 minutes, at least, i am not even kidding, getting ready, snow pants, boots, hats, mittens, pulling shirt sleeves down that got stuck when the jacket was put on...stuff like that, to be outside for a mere 20 minutes...then come in, shed it all off, soaking wet, mess...aghghhhh. the joys! :)

kaden and kaycee actually played outside for a couple hours, which was great, but campbell... hated it! oh well. i hope you didn't hear me complaining, :) i am trying to be grateful for a fun snow to play in, enough snow to sled in, and it not being totally completely unbearably cold outside all the while.

deer update.

i got an excited call last night, as i was going out the door to small group, from my excited husband...he had just shot a deer. "i got him," his voice rang out. it was so fun, to hear his excitement...anyway, he travelled from 6:30 am to 10:30 pm, wed, from potter county to kansas. hunted all day yesterday in kansas, by himself, shot this monster 10 point, and is now on his way home. he is slowing down though. i don't really expect him back much sooner, but he is taking the opportunity to visit with a few friends. so we are praying for his safety, and acknowledging that God heard our "pleas" or prayers. :) we can't wait to see him again. thanks for praying for us too. things are continuing to go well here. mis.

almost home?

so we are half way there. matt left sunday, and hopefully will be back late monday? we are not sure. he is in kansas hunting for a big big buck. we are faithfully praying the Lord will bless him in this way. sure would make it a little more worth it in my book. :)

things are going very well. chickens have been leaving, and thanks to uncle mark and jay smoker, i have not had to do much at all with them...it's always a little concern...but the last house leaves tonight...so then we'll be much more "relaxed". Moppy has done a great job "relieving" me of my children on occassion. thank you. it's so much appreciated!

calli's been a little sick, but had a much more normal night last night, which was a relief. can't post any fun pics because matt swiped the camera to take on the hunt.

campbell looks like she lost a fight with a mountain lion, she fell the whole way down the basement steps last night...a little traumatic, but she's my fighter. kaycee was trying to climb over the gate...(which i have there so calli won't fall down the steps), and it got dislodged, and so then kaycee fell down 4 steps, and she in turn fell on campbell, knocking her down them all. :( yikes.

been talking to matt everyday, which might be my highlight. fire is burning. my house is cozy. my christmas decorations are up and it's a beautiful day. :)

Thanks and Giving.

Take a quick look at some preparations we had over the last few days to get ready to host "the Kings" at our house for a day full of food on Thanksgiving. I hosted a brunch at 10 am, and then a dinner again at 5 pm. It was a lot of work, but I love to entertain, so it's always lots of fun for me...needless to say, I was slow getting out of bed this morning :) Thanks to all who came to celebrate family and blessings...and for bringing along food for us all to enjoy.

I always get my decorations for Christmas out at the beginning of November, since it is the most fun time of year for me to decorate. Hoping to get a real tree for down in our finished basement this year....maybe today? before the rain moves in? we'll see. :) Hope you had a joyous Thanksgiving. Oh yeah, and check out the chaos below...the guys had a "clay shoot" in the afternoon, right outside Calli, and Campbell's windows...during naptime. Oh well...they had fun anyway.

Give thanks to the Lord,
for He is good;
His love endures forever.
Psalm 107:1

State Champs.

Just a quick "Shout Out" to the Octorara Boys Soccer team who won the PIAA AA STATE CHAMPIONSHIP on Sat. evening. I guess it's special since it's where I went to school,(well, and it's right here infront of my house), a little farm school, in a little farmy, country town...and they had a vehicle parade right in front of my house like I have never seen before. Fire engines, police sirens, and then cars just kept coming and coming...Kids all hopped out of the bathtub to catch a glimpse...Way to take down Hampton High guys...don't even ask me where that is? :) For those who care...here is an article from one of our Local papers...

Ten years to the day after winning its only previous state championship, the Octorara boys' soccer team brought home its second-ever PIAA Class AA Championship with a 2-1 over Hampton Saturday in Hershey.

Josh Topper scored off a Justin Weathers throw-in to give the Braves a 1-0 lead 32 minutes into the game. Two minutes later, leading scorer Greg Patrick found the back of the net off another Weathers throw-in for his 31st tally of the season and a 2-0 Octorara lead.

Highlighted by goalie Josh Wolff's stop of a Hampton penalty kick with roughly 20 minutes remaining, the Octorara defense weathered a furious storm by the Talbots in the second half. Hampton provided a cosmetic dent in the scoreboard late in the contest for the final margin.

Saturday's championship game was the final appearance for 10 Octorara seniors, eight of whom were starters on coach Kevin Noon's squad.

The Braves (19-4-1) also won the District One Class AA title.

more pictures.