God Does Exist

I got this email from a friend and thought it was too good not to share! Enjoy!

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: "I don't believe that God exists." "Why do you say that?" asked the customer. "Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things." The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist." "How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!" "No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside." "Ah, but barbers DO exist! That's what happens when people do not come to me." "Exactly!" affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! That's what happens when people do not go to Him and don't look to Him for help. That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."

HAPPY 31st BIRTHDAY TO ME

Today, I had an awesome birthday to celebrate my 31 years!
I woke up to breakfast in bed & was serenaded by Nate & Alex. Allan had made me yummy french toast, fresh strawberries, homemade hashbrowns, yummy bacon & OJ. It was served all fancified on our Noritake china that we NEVER use & a Mikasa iced beverage glass that we never use. KUDOS to my hubby for that. Nothing like waking up to a yummy breakfast brought right to you!
THEN... he even made me a yummy birthday cake & did a great job decorating it himself. I'll upload a pic later.
My mom watched the boys for us to get out alone for a while. So, for lunch, we headed to downtown Lawrenceville to The Lunch Box on the square. I like to support small restaurants like that. Most of the time they are so much better than chain restaurants. The food was very good. We got to enjoy the beautiful 78 degree weather out on the patio. Then we walked into a couple of the antique shops on the square. It was a lot of fun walking around the square holding hands. Seems like it's been forever since we got to go out alone & hold hands. We need to do that more often. Wonder if Dave Ramsey allows that?? hehe...
Then for dinner, we loaded all three boys into the van and hit up Waffle House. That's right... Waffle House! It was very yummy, too. The boys were very good & so it made for a great night. Although I have to say we splurged a bit there b/c we spent $7 on drinks for the 5 of us. * Note to self: bring kid drinks next time!*
God has blessed me so much to have such a caring husband to do all that he did JUST FOR ME! Thanks, Tic! Today was wonderful & I love you very much!

Spring Break on Lake Secession

On Thursday we drove up to SC to spend a couple of days on the lake and get away before Spring Break was over. We enjoyed great family time. The boys absolutely loved "fishing"! They loved it so much there was no mention of TV. That was awesome. We fixed their rods w/ a float on the end & they casted and reeled it in all day long. Never mind it didn't have a hook on the end of it.
After fishing all afternoon Thursday and all day Friday with no one getting any bites, I was the only one who caught a fish late Friday afternoon about 7PM! WOO HOO Mommy! It was a whopping 5-6" catfish. We could have fed the family on that... just kidding! The thing had swallowed the hook and everything. Now, I'll bait my own hook but I still haven't mustered up the courage to take a fish off and certainly not a catfish! That night, the neighbors around the cove had some fireworks, so we hung out on the screened porch ate peach ice cream and enjoyed the fireworks show. A few minutes later, we got a "light show" of a different kind. A big thunderstorm came from no where. All our fishing poles, chairs etc were still out on the dock. So, poor Daddy had to run down there in the pouring rain, pounding thunder and flashing lightning to retreive our things. He got everything minus one chair that had been blown into the lake. Thankfully, the next day he was able to fish it out of the lake. We had such a great time that we look forward to spending many, many weekends on the lake this summer! The boys are going to love it & many priceless memories will be made!
Enjoy the pics...

I Thee Wed....

Awe.... my baby sister is all grownsdup! :)

In a small courthouse ceremony, my baby sister was married on Friday, April 11th, 2008!

Congratulations, Laurie & Christian! We can't wait 'til the celebratory luncheon in June!

We all love ya'll & wish ya'll the best!

HE IS RISEN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LALA!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LALA!!
Hope you had a blessed day!
Love ya!

Spring TBall Begins

Great Devotion

Thank you Billie for this devotion today!
It helps to be reminded that I don't need to busy myself with temporary things! When the day ends, it's just me & my relationship with Him that counts and that's truly all I need. He never leaves me lacking! Thank you, God!

His Empowering Presence READ Psalm 42:1-5
A woman unlocks her front door and walks into an empty house. She drops her purse and bags onto the couch and slides a CD into a nearby player. Music floods the house. Have you ever wondered what impulse makes people want to break the silence of a quiet home? The sights and sounds of TVs and stereos temporarily meet our need to feel we're not alone. God desires an intimate relationship with each person, so He created us with a yearning for His presence. Though He alone can fill that void, people attempt to satisfy their longing with all kinds of relationships and activities. But filling that spot with anything other than the Lord is a short-term solution. The Bible urges us to stop our frenzied search for satisfaction in what the world offers, and instead recognize that we should turn to Jesus. Yet so many people pursue substitutes for His presence. Friends, hobbies, and busy schedules provide momentary pleasure while gobbling up time that should be spent in quietness before God. And all too often, when the amusement of one good thing wears off, a new activity or person must be found to fill the gap. Nothing besides the Lord can adequately fill the spot in our life that God has assigned for Himself-noise and busyness will satisfy for just a little while. Our Father's empowering presence is the only genuine solution. For believers, the Holy Spirit is already present within. What we must do is settle ourselves before God so He can make Himself known to us.

Happy Belated Birthday Alex... on Blogger

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY, ALEX!!
I'm a bit behind in postings. So much going on, hard to find time to post. Grandmother passed away and actually was buried on Alex's birthday. So, we celebrated 3 great years the next night. They enjoyed going to the jumpy place at the mall and eating in the food court. Since we were at the mall at 830 PM, we didn't have to dine in the floor like we did for Nate's BD! YUCK! We finished off the night with a yummy Carvel ice cream cake!
I can not believe he's 3! Where did the time go? Seems just like yesterday he was a itty bitty baby!

We'll Miss You, Grandmother!

Tonight, Allan's 96 year old Grandmother went to be with the LORD. She was one of the best Christian women I have ever known. She truly loved the LORD and her life reflected that. It's very comforting to know she's not in pain anymore and that she's now rejoicing and worshiping her Maker. I feel so blessed to be able to call her Grandmother. We love you & will miss you, Grandmother!!

This picture was taken at the Family Life Enrichment center where she has lived for the past year. It was her 96th Birthday Party! What an amazing thing to be experience life for 96 years. I can only imagine and wonder what things/changes Grandmother was able to witness.

Psalm 66:19 & Matthew 21:22

Psalm 66:19- but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer.

Matthew 21:22- If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.

What a caring and loving God we serve! Nate & Alex have been praying for God to send them some snow so that they could make a snowman. Allan & I also prayed on behalf of them for God to send snow so that the boys could learn that God hears their prayers and answers them. The forecast late Tuesday was starting to put doubt in my mind. At most, they said we may get sleet, but the snow was going to mainly be in the north east and would miss us. I continued to believe that God could bring snow wherever He wanted. I still prayed and believed big that He would send snow to us. And, my heart swelled yesterday as Nate & Alex napped and the snow started to fall! I woke them up from their nap to tell them God had answered their prayers. They were so excited and amazed. Nate then shouted, "THANK YOU GOD FOR THE SNOW!"

We let them go outside and make mini-snowmen since we figured it would be gone by morning. Sure enough, we woke up this morning to melting snow, not even enough left to make a snowman. But, I am thankful to God for sending snow our way, even for just a couple hours of fun, just so that our children would learn that God hears and cares about every single prayer they send up! It was truly the best couple of hours I could have asked for! Blessed we are indeed!

Nate & Alex looking at the snow from Heaven!

The Perimeter is Covered....

Covered in TOYS that is!!
Most of you know that our formal dining room is just that.. Formally the dining room. It now belongs to Woody & Buzz, push toys, cars & truck of all sizes and shapes, balls, books and all those what-cha-ma-call-its that you can't really categorize. I don't think there's room for anything else. We seriously need to downsize all the madness. Most days I really think they don't need all those toys anyway. They only play with a couple of them. Not only do toys monopolize the whole dining room, they take up one whole parking place in the garage. The TOYS have minds of their own & are taking over our house!! Remember as Woody from ToyStory once said, "We Toys, we see EVERY-THING". In the garage there's a 4 wheeler power wheels, a big wheel, 2 bikes, 1 tricycle, a Little Tykes Car and now the JEEP. There's a wagon and a basketball goal and a kiddie pool full of sand & sand toys. No wonder stores make a bundle on parents trying to organize the madness in January. But, soon, I'll give Target some money for things to help me tame our madness.
Does your toyroom look like this?? Mind you... this is after the boys have gone to bed & Mommy has cleaned the whole toyroom by herself.

Christmas Memories

Stone Mountain Christmas

Friday night, Allan's boss & his wife treated the families to a night at Stone Mountain. It was so much fun. Over 2 million lights decorated the village. There were fireworks and a special Christmas laser show. The kids loved it. We left Seth with grandparents so that Nate & Alex could really enjoy a bit of one on one time with Mommy & Daddy. We watched about 20 mins of the Polar Express in 4D. The boys really liked that. They have been all into that movie right now, so it was perfect timing. Then, we rode the train around the mountain & sang Christmas carols. On the train ride, they tell the story of the birth of Jesus. That's something that you don't really hear of much lately in a public arena. Everyone always taking Christ out of Christmas. Anyway, we had a great time. So, thanks to Brad & Becky for taking us. And, thanks to Lindsay for the idea of going!!

Christmas Trees Everywhere...

I really like having a lot of Christmas trees. This year, total, we have 6. I don't promise all of them to be beautifully decorated, but they are fun & the kids LOVE them! The one to the left here is the Family room tree.

We have 3 full size trees. One of them being a live tree. And, we have two 4' trees & one 1.5' tree.
My front living room tree is one that I put all of my breakable ornaments on. Ornaments that Allan & I had prior to kids. And, it has white lights. This year, half of one of the strands of lights doesn't work.
The toyroom tree has colored lights on it only. No ornaments.
The Family Room tree is live & has colored lights. This is the tree that I put all the kids ornaments on. Ornaments they make in preschool & Sunday school. This is the one that I will allow them to rearrange the ornaments on.
This year, we got Nate & Alex little fiber optic trees for their bedroom. They have a few simple red ornaments & some cheapo candy cane garland. But, they absolutely LOVE going to bed each night & watching their trees.
Here's some pics of them...

The front living room tree. Notice the middle section w/no lights.
And, my counter in the kitchen has a few itty bitty ornaments on it with colored lights.














This one is our toyroom tree. It had to be rigged a bit since it's a prelit & the bottom part decided it didn't want to work this year, but don't tell anyone ! :)
Alex's room tree. Nothing fancy, but still 100% fun for him!
Nate's tree. Same as Alex's.