If you wrote someone 66 love letters and they never read them, would you be upset?

That is exactly what God did. He has given us the 66 books of the Bible. I was just thinking about some unbelievers I know tonight that deny God's existence or make up their own god to suit themselves (so they can be comfortable with their lifestyles). But, they have not even read the Bible. I remember it was when I was broken-hearted over the path my life had taken and I opened up the Bible. I was astonished at what I read! At first I remember reading about God's judgment on those who walk according to the lusts of their flesh. Then I remember being in awe of God's awesome grace. That is when I came to believe that Jesus came to take the punishment I deserved. Then, I remember being so surprised that I didn't have to do the work when it came to leaving my lifestyle of sin. He gave me a new heart and I just started seeing things differently.

I just wish some of the people I know would be able to come to the place where they can say, "I once was blind, but now I see." Just thinking...and praying.

Also, Derrick got accepted into Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. I am so excited about what he is going to be learning about and teaching our family. If you would, please pray for him and the direction of our family.

Oh, we found out that the baby is a girl! We don't have a name for her yet but we're working on it.

I think it was Ray Comfort that I heard use that analogy about the 66 books of the Bible.

Random post, huh?

A Wonderful Morning Until...

Yesterday we had such a nice morning that followed a really fun time we had with Derrick on his last night before he left for Alabama. He got the position of First Sergeant and has to go to school to learn about the job. We went to Los Cabos that night. A lady made them some cute balloons and Derrick and I had some chicken and spinach enchiladas that were so good. Of course, we love the chips & salsa too. Being pregnant, I wish I had some right now. Then we went to the Bass Pro Shop. I had no idea that place was so much fun, especially for the kids. I'll have to try to post the pictures. It's probably especially fun right now because it's almost Christmas time. They had a waterfall in there and huge fish in a tank, a bunch of stuffed real animals...You can imagine the kids loved it. The pictures of Isabella on her new tricycle were taken before we went to Los Cabos. She can't peddle it yet so they have to peddle for her! We decided to go to breakfast Sunday morning because we would have to drop Derrick off at the airport at the same time church started. We went to one of my favorite places, Cracker Barrel! I love that place. The food is so good and I love their gift shop. I did some Christmas shopping for the kids while we were there. We got a huge floor checkerboard set for Bay, a magnetic tea party doll set for Sammer, and some of those silly little weasle balls that the kids enjoyed seeing on display. They are cute.

Now for the decline of the morning... I knew I was going to hang out with a friend that was in town for Thanksgiving break. After we dropped Derrick off at the airport I knew I needed to rest before we went to my grandma's for lunch and then on to shop and out to eat with my friend. So, I let the kids watch a movie and I took a nap. Usually I can do something like this and the worst thing that happens is they make a mess in the living room and I just have them clean it up. When I got up and walked into the living room Bailey said in an excited voice, "I cut Samantha's hair!" I surveyed the damage and disciplined as needed. Then he said, "I cut Isabella's hair too!" She was in her crib. I said, "What?!" and ran to see the damage. There was a bunch of hair on the girl's floor. Isabella's hair was cut almost to the scalp in the front! I knew I was going to need some professional help for the both of them. So, before we went to my grandma's house I ran by Supercuts. They wanted $13.95 for a kids cut! I just thought that was a little high for a kid's cut and especially a cut that I didn't see was going to be able to entirely fix the problem. Samantha's was cut short in a bunch of random places. I had talked to my sister-in-law, Dana, about it before I went into Supercuts and she said she might be able to help. She does cut her own kids hair really well but I said, "I think this is out of your hands because it's so bad." But, after getting the price quote, I quickly called her back. She saved the day! When we walked into her house she had a chair all set up on a towel and a professional plastic cover. She played Veggietales for the kids. Best of all, she did a really good job! Samantha's hair is short now but really cute. As for Bella, well poor baby, it's just going to have to grow. We have to do the comb over thing for her. It really doesn't look too bad if it stays in place.

Our "Lil' Cubbie" and "Lil' Spark"

Samantha (Cubbie) and Bailey (Spark)dressed up for a special Thanksgiving night at Awana.

Bella's going to be a big sister!

We are expecting a new baby due May 22! We will hopefully find out if the baby is a boy or a girl the day before Thanksgiving. We are excited! Bailey and Samantha are thrilled. They like to do things like give me bites of cookies to feed the baby. This baby is just like the other ones in the fact that it loves to eat Taco Bueno from the womb. Err...maybe that's my preference.

The kids at Derrick's run

This was fun and not as cold as we expected it to be! First, we stopped at McDonald's for some breakfast. We met Aunt Kay Kay. I got a Caramel Apple Spice cider from Starbuck's (it's the best!). Then, on to the run to watch Derrick at the finish line. Between parking and walking we finally made it just in time to watch him at the finish line. He loaded us up with Snicker's, M&M's, & Reeses. It was fun! He did really good!

Teaching Children to Love God's Word

A friend of mine e-mailed a question to a bunch of friends and me. Because I am passionate about the subject I wanted to answer it on the blog incase it helps anyone else. She has a baby and asked what we did to teach our children God's word and if we have any favorite books, dvds, or c.d.s. Well, favorite Bibles I definitely have! I am very particular about children's Bibles. Some of them are made too goofy, are inaccurate, or both. I have three favorites currently:
101 Favorite Stories from the Bible
Illustrated by Ura Miller

This one is great because a reading is not too long and not too short. It has 3 questions to ask the children at the end and that is good to make sure they understood.

Children's Bible
ESV
Crossway books

This is probably my all-time favorite because it is the entire Bible with a bunch of illustrations. I ordered it off of answersingenesis.org but know you can get it many other places, such as Amazon.

Discoverer's Bible for Early Readers
NIrV
I like this one because Bailey is beginning to be able to read it. It also has illustrations. The only thing I don't like is that the illustration is not on the same page as the reading. The kids love to look at the illustrations as I read on the other one. I actually saw this one on sale for $7.95 today! That is a really good deal as I believe we paid $25 for ours only last May.

We start reading the baby bibles to them when they are babies. Or, with Bella, if I have any Bible next to me I can read a verse or two to her before bed. She has the added bonus of getting to listen (if she's paying attention) to what her brother and sister are being read.

A friend of ours gave us a NKJV paperback bible that she painted with a glitter pen as a party favor at a birthday. I thought that was a great idea! We call it their treasure and everytime we read it I let them highlight what we read in a different color. If I say, "Go get your treasure!" they know which Bible to grab. She put a note in it with their name (Bailey's treasure) and a note that said, "Thank you for coming to ____ party! May you treasure God's Word, Jesus' love, and other people all your life!

I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread. Job 23:12.

If you look for [wisdom]as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. Proverbs 2:4-5

For where your treasure is, there your heart is also. Matthew 6:21

I rejoice at your word as one who finds great treasure. Psalm 119:162

Some favorite DVDs and C.D.s are PraiseBaby. I even love the beautiful songs playing in our house. They have many songs that we sing either at church or listen to in the car.

Bailey has some c.d.s of the Bible that help him to memorize scripture while he lays in bed so that has been great too.

Hope this helps! What a privilege and blessing it is to write God's word on our children's hearts.

This soup is really good!

Butternut Ravioli Stew