Christmas Time at the Raineys

We had a fabulous Christmas! I can't believe it's come & gone so quickly! We had so much fun together. We made cookies, cards, Chex Mix. We decorated 7, yes 7 trees! The boys had one in each of their rooms and we had 4 downstairs. It makes me happy to see trees everywhere I turn. We got to spend lots of time with family & friends. We are very blessed. Christmas Eve, we read the story of Jesus' birth then celebrated His birthday on Christmas morning with yummy coconut cupcakes. Then we filled our tummies with HoneyBaked Ham, homemade biscuits and hashbrown casserole! YUM-O! Enjoy the pics in the slideshow, but be prepared to 'stay' a while... there's 100 pics, and that's just a brief glimpse into our fun. I think I have over 400 pics for the month of Dec! My hard drive is threatening to shut me down!
Anyway, we hope you had a blessed Christmas!! We love you all and are so blessed to have each of you in our lives!! God Bless You!
Kelly & Family

Dance Baby Dance!

Merry Christmas!!!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Allan's 34th Birthday... Darth Vader Style!

Happy 45 Year Anniversary!

Today is not only Nate's 5th Birthday, but it's also Allan's parents 45th Wedding Anniversary! Your marriage is a testimony of what can be accomplished by putting God in the center of your marriage! Ecc. 4:12 Thank you for being an example to us & giving us something to strive for!
We love ya'll & hope ya'll have many more fabulous years together!!

Our "Baby" is FIVE Today

I can not believe how fast five years have flown by! We are so thankful for the blessing of Nate. He's such a smart and funny boy and we can't imagine our life without him. We love you, Nate!! Enjoy the pics of him growing so fast!

Nate's 5th Birthday Bucaneer Bash

1 Peter 5:5-11

Yesterday, Our Daily Bread had an awesome devotion. I think one of my most favorite verses right now is 1 Peter 5:5-11 5 Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 6Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
8Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
10And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Verse 8 -9 really keeps me on my toes. I firmly believe Satan is lurking everywhere trying to pull me away from my Creator. I have to be careful and watch my words & tone, my attitude and my actions. I have to keep my eyes & my heart focused on God and constantly renew my mind with His word or else I'll fall into Satan's trap. So, yesterday when I read the devotion, I was happy. I know that the LORD is continually working on and in me. I'm not perfect, but He is refining me and I welcome it. Here's the devotion. Hope you all enjoy it and get as much from it as I did.

October 26, 2008
The Ripening Self
ODB RADIO: Listen Now DownloadREAD: 1 Peter 5:5-11
May the God of all grace, . . . after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. —1 Peter 5:10
In his early years of ministry, the English preacher Charles Simeon (1759–1836) was a harsh and self-assertive man. One day he was visiting a friend and fellow pastor in a nearby village. When he left to go home, his friend’s daughters complained to their father about Simeon’s manner. So he took the girls to the backyard and said, “Pick me one of those peaches.” It was early summer, and the peaches were green. The girls asked why he wanted green, unripe fruit. He replied, “Well, my dears, it is green now, and we must wait; but a little more sun, and a few more showers, and the peach will be ripe and sweet. So it is with Mr. Simeon.”
Simeon, in due time, did change. The warmth of God’s love and the “showers” of misunderstanding and disappointment were the means by which he became a gentle, humble man.
The God of all grace works in all His children, humbling the proud and exalting the humble, to make them ripe and sweet. Our task is to take hold of God’s grace to endure our afflictions with patience, without growing weary.
In time, He will “perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle” us (1 Peter 5:10). We must “wait on the LORD” and “be of good courage” (Ps. 27:14). — David H. Roper
Our fruitfulness and growth in ChristWon’t happen instantly,But meditating on God’s WordWill bring maturity. —Sper
Salvation is the miracle of a moment; growth is the labor of a lifetime.

One Proud Boy = Happy Mommy & Daddy

Tonight was Nate's next to last game. All season long we've tried so hard to get him to run. He can hit and back up first base very good, but no matter what we said, he just wouldn't run when it came to running bases. I had almost given up hope that he'd get a game ball. There are so many more experienced players on his team. However... I would like to CONGRATULATE Nate & his friend, Nicholas, on them both getting game balls!! Nate for running & getting hits off of pitches and Nicholas hit at least 3 balls all the way to the fence! Their team won 12-8! They did a great job & we're so proud of them. After the game, we took our boys to Dairy Queen for an ice cream!! Nate is so proud of the gameball that he will not turn loose of it for anything! I can pretty much guarantee that he'll sleep with it tonight! Mommy & Daddy are so proud of you, Nate!! Gooooo YANKEES!!!!























Nate & his good friend, Nicholas














Nate backing up 1st Base

Baby Say Turns TWO

Today our sweet Seth, also affectionately known as "SaySay" by his brothers and friends, turned two years old. "Say" became his nickname when after he was born Nate & Alex would introduce him as "Baby Say". It was one of those names that just stuck! I know people in public probably wonder what in the world we named him when I call him Say Say!!
Today, to celebrate his BD, we met up with friends at the new McDonald's near our church for Happy Meals & Cupcakes. 8 Boys and 1 Girl! We are very blessed with such great friends & family! Seth really had a great time playing & eating! He partied so much, he just couldn't take it anymore & layed down in the floor & went to sleep! What child goes to sleep in a McD's Playground?! haha.. he was beat! Mommy was very thankful that it's a brand new McD's or else she may not have let him take a little snooze!! :) Ben & Clara, we missed ya'll today!! Thank you to the rest who were able to join us! Love ya'll bunches!

Enjoy the pics of our sweet Seth & his pals!

Seth's 2nd Birthday Party

Seth had a fantastic time at his Curious George Birthday party. He was surrounded by family & great friends. Thanks to everyone who was able to join us in celebrating our baby turning TWO! I think everyone had a great time playing, eating & toasting marshmallows on the fire!

Note To Self.... Never Leave Kids Unattended...

...even if it's only to watch the VP Debate!

I heard the water going in the bathroom, but I just figured it was Seth washing his hands over & over as usual. Well, Allan goes to get him out & calls me in there. Apparently, Seth thought his feet & socks were dirty because there he sat! UP on the counter, water wide open & he thought it was the greatest thing ever. Crazy Kiddo!

We'll Give You Something to Blog About

Ok... so I've been having a touch of bloggers block. Not much going on and I guess the kids must have sensed that. Today while putting together Seth's BD Party Invite, I hear Nate say, "This is a great slip-n-slide". I go in the kitchen to find about 1/2 a bottle of baby powder dumped ALL OVER the floor and they are running and sliding in it. They were even making snow angels in it ! So, I go get Allan to let him see and what does he do?? He joins the party! The whole kitchen was so smoky from all the powder in the air **cough cough**!

Now.. what to clean it up with?? Enjoy the pics!

Meeting the perfect Father

I can't believe that 20 years ago today, my Uncle Billy lost the battle with pancreatic cancer. It seems like it was just yesterday that Mama & my Papa came home from the hospital to tell us the news that he had passed. It was the first funeral I ever experienced and I remember being broken & so sad. Even at the age of 11, I had a heavy heart for my cousin losing her Daddy, almost 1 week before her 3rd birthday. I, too, had grown up without a daddy and knew that it would be a difficult road. I spent years in school & life feeling left out when there were events that required attendance of two parents. I wanted to be a Daddy's Girl so badly. But, NOW I know that all along I had a PERFECT Father...He resides in Heaven and sits on the Throne & can perfectly meet my every need far better than any humanly father ever could! Oh, how I wish it didn't take me almost 30 years to figure that out. I am a daughter to the King that created the heavens & the earth (Gen 1:1) and later created me, for I am fearfully & wonderfully made! (Psalm 139:4) And, I can do everything through Him who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13) See what I mean by perfection... He is perfection at it's finest.
I am so thankful for His faithfulness to never leave me when I walked away from Him. Praise Him for his discipline, forgiveness, grace & mercy!!

Hebron Baptist Cardboard Confessions

WOW. I was so moved by all the testimonies of several of our members in church this morning. It's so amazing to see how God has moved mountains in their lives. People on the brink of divorce, addicted to substances, anger & depression, suffered the loss of loved ones... all the stories are different but the one thing that remains constant is that God was with them every step of the way & saw them through the various storms in their lives. He is faithful!
To watch and I want to encourage you to do so... it is well worth your time... but let me tell you, have your Kleenex handy! You will have tears of joy streaming down your face when you see the hand of God in these people's lives! PLEASE WATCH!!

Go to http://hebronchurch.org/media/media.htm and scroll down and select "video on demand
To watch past services, click here. "

Go down & select to see September 7th 2008 What's Your Story? Personal Testimony. Be amazed!!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame....

..... in the 95 degree heat! Wow... what a day to open the season. Nate, Alex & Seth were all in a fantabulous mood *sense my sarcasm*, it was scorchin' hot and they were all hungry. That combo didn't make for the best day. I had a pretty hard time adjusting to the new rules in Tball. Going from Pre-T to T is a big jump. These coaches are pretty die-hard coaches and it's hard for me to see my baby getting "coached". Granted, he wasn't running his best, but I wanted to say give the kid a break... they had batting practice for an hour BEFORE the actual game! They are tired and HOT. Anyway, I might as well suck it up b/c alot of other moms have told me it gets more intense. We had about 20 minutes in between games to come home, eat a Sonic corndog and get back to the field for Alex's game. Thankfully, today is the only day we have 2 games on the same day. Otherwise I'd be saying Game Over!
Here's a couple of my fave pics from today.

Goooo Yankees & RedSox!!