Have you ever...

...played peek-a-boo with your doggie?

Ruby loves to play this game whenever the bathroom door is closed. She can't stand the door closed.

This is a picture of her standing in front of the bathroom door right after she "nosed" it open again.

He is Faithful...

II Timothy 2:7-13 "Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things. Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel: Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound; Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself."

It doesn't matter what we do or say, God is faithful. You just read it. Even if we don't believe, yet HE abideth faithful! God is faithful to us. HE never leaves us nor forsakes us! HE gives us air to breathe, clothes to wear, a roof over our heads, and food on the table! HE told us those are the things HE will make sure we have. God didn't promise us the finest of everything. HE promised us the basics.

We don't need all of the other "stuff" that clutters our lives (the newest cars, the newest clothes, the newest technology, the newest hdtv, etc.). When we have all of the other stuff it creates worry (our car will get stolen, how are we going to make the payments, etc.) and takes our focus off of God. We just need the basics. Don't get me wrong. Obviously, we have a computer and we have cell phones and we have a dvd player, etc. I don't think it's wrong to have nice things as long as our focus remains on God and not things of this world.

God has been doing a work in Walter and me showing us that we have too much "clutter" in our lives. He has shown us that "less is more" lately. And do you know what? We are happy. There is a "...peace which passeth all understanding." We know that God is preparing us for something. We can't put our finger on it yet as to exactly what "it" is.

I am also reminded of Matthew 6:11. "Give us this day our daily bread." I am so accustomed to buying groceries for at least 2 weeks at a time, maybe even stocking up for several months on some things. But lately the food budget has been slim. "...yet he abideth faithful." God has been so faithful to make sure that there is food on our table. And HE is even teaching me to depend on HIM for our "daily bread" every day. I haven't been "stocking up" like I usually do. Yet there is a "...peace which passeth all understanding."

Walter and I have had many conversations lately about gratitude and thankfulness. As we look back on our lives recently as well as all the years we've been married, there is not one time that we can say where God was not faithful. I am so grateful and thankful that HE cares for even the little things in our lives and provides even when we don't deserve it!

During this Christmas season I hope that you will ponder all of what God has done for you and continues to do for you on a daily basis. I know that in so doing my attitude has been greatly changed for the better and HE will do the same for you.

We really do serve a MIGHTY GOD!!!!

Bread and Butter, please?

We have been eating a lot of homemade soup lately (although my kids don't care too much for soup). It's inexpensive and we've had a lot of cold weather lately.

So last night we had Tortilla Soup for dinner. It was delicious (if Tyler asks for seconds then I know the food is good!). Tyler did ask for seconds. Anyway, bread and butter was served with the soup. Each of the kids had 2 pieces. I had told the kids no more bread and butter.

Tyler had a little more soup left in his bowl. He asked me if he could have another piece and here are his exact words. "Please, please, please, I'm on my knees!" And he really was on his knees begging me for more! Needless to say we all got a kick out of that one!

Duct Tape

This entry is all about Tyler. Now you must realize that he is only 8 years old. It is important that you remember that. Another tidbit of information about Tyler is that he talks and talks and talks and talks all day long!

Friday night we (the family) were eating dinner. In his typical self, Tyler was talking again! So Lyndsey said, "If you don't be quiet, I'm going to tape your mouth shut!" So Walter says, "It'll have to be a strong kind of tape." Someone else says, "Duct tape (remember the 't' in duct ok?)!" And Tyler says, "Yeah and then I can go get a duck!" Of course we all laughed a long time over that one and then had to explain to him that duct tape and ducks are nothing alike.

A Walk Down Memory Lane

I was looking through pictures and ran across these.

Tyler got a "Dash" suit from the movie "The Incredibles" for his 8th birthday.

It gets VERY hot here in the desert southwest in the summer. You have to realize that we don't have a swimming pool in our backyard. So the boys make the best of it using their imagination! They play in coolers with their army men. They make trash cans into swimming pools (only in their minds).

I am so glad that I was able to capture these because since I took them, the trash can is, well, um, trash. It got thrown away. The cooler leaks terribly now.

What great memories!

New Member of the Family (not quite)

The boys were outside playing in the field below our house a couple of weeks ago.

Little did they know that someone was watching them!

That little someone was a black cat. He has been coming around every day since then. He is very friendly. The kids have named him "Chewy" because he chews on their clothes when he is on their lap. They think it's great! I, however, am not so thrilled.

The first day he came around Phyllip asked if we could keep him. So, of course, I went through the list of reasons why we couldn't keep Chewy. Phyllip became distraught over this and went to his room. Little did I know that Phyllip was crying his eyes out in his room. He had become attached to this cat in a couple of hours! Phyllip has since gotten over not being able to keep him (I think).

So today the kids and I set out for our morning walk. Guess who was waiting for us. Yep you guessed it. Chewy! He was at the edge of our property. We pet him for a few seconds and then left. He followed us. We couldn't believe it. A cat going on a walk? Well, he only lasted a small distance, but he still followed us. It's almost like he's got some dog in him somewhere. How weird is that!

Winter Weather?????

For those of us who live in the desert Southwest our winters are usually quite mild with temperatures in the 70's.

Having been gone from the cold weather of the Northwest for over 9 years now, I have become accustomed to the mild temps and rather enjoy not having to get all bundled up in winter gear.

My husband and I were awakened early this morning (3 am) to the sound of the electricity kicking on and off (mainly the security alarm kept tripping every time the power kicked on) and rain. Yep you read right! RAIN!!!! And not just a trace, either! Bunches of the wet stuff!

So when we got up after daylight we woke up to 42 degrees and these pictures from our home. May I just say how beautiful it is but I don't want to live in it!