Spring Break '08

Sarah Mae's spring break was last week so we headed to Roanoke,VA to visit my parents. We left Sunday and returned Saturday. We had a great week and the kids did well on the 10+ hours of driving. Our week was filled with fun. The activities included, seeing Clarence (they call him uncle, even though he is their cousin), we got to see him play baseball at James Madison. He did great! The other events included fishing with Paw Paw; riding in Maw Maw's bug; playing in the huge yard and house; (I would LOVE to have a basement!!)riding around taking pictures of the beautiful scenery and cute cows; picnic, playground and bike rides at Douthat Park with cousins; visiting the town of Buchanan to see a Civil War reenactment (confederate flags everywhere!); and to top it all off Sarah Mae got her ears pierced! Or, as she says, "ears peered." She wanted to do it,so I let her. It was a great week and we enjoyed spending time with my mom and dad.

clarence & the youngins


clarence pitching at JMU


fishing with Paw Paw





i loved these "flowers" as a kid

more pictures from spring break

samuel loved throwing rocks in the river (from the bridge my dad built!!)


sarah mae on the big kid bike


cousins, nora, gabriella & michael


riding on paw paw's "tractor"


getting her ears pierced!!!

Juice for Sale

Today we participated in the Community Yard Sale. We actually had a great time getting to know our neighbors and making a little money in the process. We set up a juice stand for the kids. They were so cute. It ended up being a great learning opportunity for them. Sarah Mae made the sign (she was so proud), took the money, poured the juice and let everybody know they could have free refills. Samuel was the salesman. He walked around asking people what flavor they wanted. They made $8.00!!!
So, when we were all done Paul and I tried to explain the tithing concept to them. I think they got it. We put the 80 cents in the tithe envelope and told them we would take it to church. Sarah Mae wants to take it straight to the pastor. How cute.
What started out as a simple activity to keep them busy ended up being a teachable moment.
We can learn something new everyday if we are teachable.
Have a fun weekend!

Divine Appointment

God is always at work in our lives. It is up to us to recognize Him and give Him the glory. Here's the story:
I have followed the Hostetter Family blog since December of last year. I first heard their story at FBC Jax in a testimony on Sunday morning. I was heartbroken at what they were going through but inspired by how they were handling it. I had never met them but got to know their family through reading their blog. What a neat family. I was challenged, convicted and encouraged reading their story. Their baby had Trisomy 18. They were not sure if he would be born alive and if he was born alive they did know how long he would live. I cannot even begin to understand how they have survived this journey. God's grace. What else is there. How else could they survive. They turned a tragedy into triumph, took the focus off themselves and glorifed God in the process.
The divine appointment is this, I saw them at Publix yesterday. I had never met them until then. I saw Yvette and introduced myself. She may have thought I was crazy. But, I had to meet her, give her a hug and let her know I admire her and her family. And what a cute family they are! It was a blessing to get to meet them.
If you want to read their story their is a link to their blog (Hostetter's Blog).
I know you will be blessed by their story.
God is everywhere. He wants to be a part of every area of our lives (even grocery shopping). It is up to us to recognize Him!