First day of School

A few photos of Taylor and Drew's first day of school...(and ignore the dead flowers... I'm a working woman now... no time to water!)

The two of them being nice to each other!!

Drew Posing!

Taylor Posing!

I think Drew had a good day!!

And Taylor, too!

We've had bus issues, and the bus hasn't been getting home until after 4:30. That is an hour the kids spend on the bus which I think is CRAZY since we live less than two miles from the school. They say they are working on it.

Toby's first day is next Tuesday.... I know I'm not ready, but I think he is. He asks over and over... "Homework?" "Bus?" "School?". He wants to go, too! Soon enough, I tell him!

God is Good!

So... who did that?

So, last week, I came home from work one day, and "GRACE" was written in chalk on our sidewalk. We were thinking about how it could have gotten there. Taylor was thinking of friends with the name Grace, I thought about some friends, Matt and Sara Carter, from our church, Grace Brethren, that may have walked by and did it to be silly... Never in a million years would I have thought it was there because of this... (And that is our tree Matt is sitting in!)





And who says church can't be fun! This totally CRACKED ME UP!!

I have pictures from the first day of school today, but I don't think I'll get them uploaded tonight. The kids had a great day, mom... not so much, but we'll get through it!

God is Good!

Soccer Again

We had another fun filled weekend of soccer! Taylor's OSU Team had a tournament in Columbus, so we headed out of town Friday after work. Nate's brother and his wife live in Columbus so we called them to see about spending the evening with them. They told us they were glad to have us, but they were having something at their church that evening, and we were welcome to come. We went to a picnic at their church, to find out that they decided to get baptized that evening. It was an amazing opportunity to be a part of such a special day in their lives. They both shared their testimony and then they were baptized together. It was really special to be there. Here is Christina sharing her testimony (only about 2 months until her due date!)
And Jeremy sharing as well.
And the two of them being "dunked"!
Then early Saturday morning we headed out to the soccer fields for the first of two games. Taylor did awesome. That was the best I've seen her play! She really had a great time and was even surprised and proud of herself. They did not win, or even score a goal for that matter, but the girls should be VERY proud of how they played for the first time together. Here are a few shots of Taylor.
Saturday evening we had a picnic for all the OSU Club teams. I believe our teams had all the hotel rooms in the place with the exception of a dozen or so. It was a lot of fun getting to know other families and allowing the kids to play. The kids spent a lot of time in the pool. Here, Taylor is enjoying some time with a Wooster Edge team mate as they jump into the pool.

Here's Drew showing off for the camera. (This shot doesn't do justice to all the kids that were in the pool most of the evening. All soccer kids and families)
And a shot of my three amazing kids!

We had another game early Sunday morning, and since we were not in the finals, we met Jer and Christina for lunch and then headed home. It was really a fun weekend. Just what we needed as we prepare for school which starts TOMORROW!!!

God is Good!

Put Out The Flame

A clip of Judgment Come from this past weekend. This is one of their original songs.

Judgment Come Show

Judgment Come had their first outdoor gig this past weekend. They played a few of their original songs as well as some cover stuff. I have some video, but with me working now, it may take me a few days to get it uploaded. So, until then, here are some photos...








God is Good!

Steven Curtis Chapman family on Larry King

I posted a while back about an interview with the Steven Curtis Chapman family on Larry King discussing the loss of their daughter and sister, Maria Sue Chapman. Here is part of the interview. Warning... tissues may be necessary!



What a beautiful family!

God is Good!

I'm still alive!

Yep... I'm still alive. I have made it through two days of work, and I'm still alive! It has gone very well. I still don't have much grasp on what I'm going to be doing from day to day, but the work environment seems great! Yesterday I worked from 1-7 because it was Orientation for the students. So I spent a lot of time wandering around, nosing around, etc. Today was pretty quite, so I learned a few procedures, but still not a whole lot going on. Tomorrow and Monday are In-service days, so that will be just sitting through meetings, but then Tuesday... the kids come!! Look out! I am really excited because there are a lot of kids there that I know!

My prayer this morning was simply, Use Me! That is what I want. If I am going to be away from my children, I pray that I can be an impact on others children! Who knows what that will mean?!? But I do hope that I can be obedient and that God will use me in the lives of Wayne County students!

Thanks to all that sent me e-mails or comments! I appreciate your support! The kids are doing great. They are at their aunts this week and most of next, so they are loving that! This morning I couldn't get Toby out of bed, until I mentioned he was going to Daw-Daw's house.. then he started jumping up and down, just that quick! It was cute. And today, he didn't want to leave with me. He wanted to stay.

So things are going well. Thanks again for all your encouragement!

God is Good!

Off to work I go

I begin my new job today! It is orientation, so I do not go into work until 1 and work into the evening this first day. While, as usual, I am playing the strong... I can handle this attitude... it is killing me. I hate that I have to leave my kids. I'm dreading that I am going to miss putting them on the bus the first day of school. I wish I could spend their last few days of summer with them, sleeping in, having a picnic, just enjoying each other, but that is not the case. I never thought I would be so emotional about this!

Drew just woke up, and came out and saw me crying. He said "mom, I think I know why you are crying." I said "why?". He looked at me with his precious face and said "because you are going to miss us while you are away from us!" Amazing what they know. Then he headed to get a pen. I wasn't sure what he was doing, but he reminded me of the kissing hand. He said we were going to put a heart on our hands and each of us would kiss the others hand, so we won't miss each other while we are away! I LOVE THAT KID!! Why is he the one comforting me? Shouldn't it be the other way around?

So while I AM excited, and I AM looking forward to what God has in store at my new job, this is a tough day! I know that the kids will be fine, they are tough that way, and I know that in a few days I will be fine... I also know that my heart will be missing pieces for 8 hours out of every day for the next 9 months. Summer 2009 can't get here fast enough!!

God is Good!

Another Mills filled weekend

Just thought I'd share some of the fun we had this weekend!

Drew had soccer camp this week and really enjoyed it. He is going to play soccer this fall with his cousin Braden. That should be a lot of fun. They are best buddies!

Friday was our last day of Neighborhood Bible club, and my last day of babysitting. It was a rough day for me. I will miss these kids a lot! Here are a few shots at Bible Club. A shot of the entire group after another game of dress up.
And a shot of Toby putting a pie in Mrs. Barb's face. He was the lucky one to get his name pulled from those who attended and memorized all their verses. Okay, so Toby didn't actually "say" all his verses, but he knew the motions to all the songs and could say most of it. He did really well!
On Saturday we went swimming at our friend the Kauffman's house. It has been way too long since we last got together. We had a nice lunch, and swimming and just great fellowship. Toby wasn't too sure about swimming, but he had fun once Trent started pulling him around!
And Saturday night Taylor and mommy had a date night. We went to a Secret Keepers event. It is an event aimed at girls ages 8-12 and discusses modesty in a real fun way. There was a performer there, Stephanie Smith and Taylor enjoyed her music. Here is a photo of Taylor with her.
And lastly, today, we had our church picnic and baptism. It was a wonderful day. It looked as though it was going to rain, but it never did. The weather was beautiful. The kids swam in the pond and we had a wonderful time of worship and baptism, and then a wonderful meal. Toby got to play with his buddy Aidan a little bit. Here they are sharing a seat (only after Toby fought with him over it for a moment)!

Have a blessed week! I'm off to work this week! Pray for us!

God is Good!

100th Blog Post

Well, this is our 100th blog post. I wanted it to be an inspirational... insightful... spiritual... comical... thought provoking... world changing... type of post, because I know that's what the previous 99 posts were all about! And that's what you expect!

Instead... you get this! A great big THANK YOU! For following our crazy family through this blog for the past 10 months~love you all!

Now back to your usual insane blog posts...

PS: If you know any good sitters in our area... comment or e-mail me.. I'm getting worried!

God is Good!

Neighborhood Bible Club

This week we are having a Neighborhood Bible Club, or NBC at our home for the children in the neighborhood. Our numbers have been down this year from previous years, but we are having fun learning about Daniel. I thought I would show you all some photos of our week so far, as ask that you pray for the final two days, that God would reveal himself in a new way to some of these children.

The kids enjoy Mrs. Barb's stories
They enjoy helping her teach the others the motions, even Toby

Here's a little video of the kids singing the bible verse songs

And Today they especially loved the trivia game we played. As each child answered a question correctly regarding the story, they got to dress us up. They kept saying we looked like old hippies. I guess that tells you how much the kids know about the 60's! (Maybe that's a good thing!)

More fun to come!

God is Good!

Steven Curtis Chapman Interview

I thought I would post the link here about details of an interview on Good Morning America tomorrow morning, as well as Larry King Live the following day and a story in People magazine, discussing the families tragic loss.

Here is the link.

Here is the link to a partial from the interview on GMA

God is Good!

Over the Rainbow

This past weekend, I had the joy and privilege to watch Taylor in another performance. She was part of Orrville Community Theatre Company's "Over the Rainbow". This was their first production and I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was more than pleasantly surprised!!

Taylor played the part of Toto. She did not have any speaking parts, but was very active throughout the performance. She was on stage for the entire show, and danced around and did cartwheels, as well as interacted with the other cast. She received lots of compliments from some pretty knowledgeable critics, but all in all, just had a wonderful time! Here are some photos.

In Munchkin Land

"And Your little dog, too!"

"I'd be tender, I'd be gentle"

"We're OFF to see the Wizard"


"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain"


"Somewhere Over the Rainbow Finale"

A close up of Toto after the show


A partial cast photo following the show

God is Good!

God works in all things

Okay, so this may be a lengthy post, but a story I feel I need to share about how God has recently worked in my life.

So, about a year ago, I began considering ending my time doing in home daycare and looking for a job outside the home. I interviewed last fall/winter for a position that, after much prayer, was determined to not be the right one. While I know I would have LOVED the job and the environment, etc., it just didn't work for our family at the time. So I sat back and since then have just been praying that God would put something right in front of me, something I couldn't miss, if this is the path he wanted me on. If my time with the children in my home was over. I have been babysitting for various families for about 4 or 5 years now. One family has been with me for the last two years and have become very dear to me... sniff... sniff...! I have been praying for these two children since the day they first walked into my home and I can say God has been alive in their hearts, and it has been fun to see that!

Fast forward to a few weeks ago. We rarely get the local paper, but one Sunday after church, stopped and picked one up. Now, I always glance through the classifieds, not knowing what might be in there and I found a particular posting intriguing. It was for a local vocational school. So I went online and looked at the information and realized that it was a job that would mostly be during the school year, with some time off in the summer... how cool would that be! So I prayed about it for several days, and really just felt the desire to update my resume and get it sent in. So on July 8th, I put it in the mail and just began praying that God would open or close this door for me. Make it clear and direct. So... a few days later, on July 15th, I got the mail and low and behold, my resume had been returned as an undeliverable address! Is this a closed door? HMM? The deadline for applications was July 14th, so I called their office and just asked what I should do. They said "We are very strict on our deadlines, but if you would like to try, feel free to bring it in." So I did, that night.

Surprisingly, July 18 or 19th I got a phone call that they wanted me to come in for testing! Okay, so God had to OPEN that door, right? That would have been an easy opportunity for him to say "No Way, not this path" but he didn't. So I went in for testing on July 22! Two hours of computer testing, which I felt I did very well with. THE NEXT DAY... they called and asked me to come in for an interview the following week. Has God just OPENED another door?

July 29th I went in for an interview. They had four people around the room firing questions at me. It really went very well and I never once felt nervous. I had complete confidence that God was in control of this entire thing and if it is where he wants me, that it is where I will be. I left that interview being told that follow-up interviews would be Friday and Monday, so I would hear back in the next day or so. So I went home, and put it out of my mind. Then at 5:03 that same day, they called and said the job was mine if I wanted it! No further interviews were necessary for them to know they wanted me to work with them!! YEAH!! Now, another God thing, Pastor Nick from church had been praying for and with me regarding this interview, and at 5:02 he e-mailed me for an update! I know he had been praying just moments before I was offered the job! Isn't God amazing!!

So I went back in on Thursday, July 31 to finalize everything, check out my new work space etc. I have a huge stack of paperwork to fill out, and I start work on August 13. The same day that orientation is being held for the HUNDREDS of high school students! I'm sure I'll fit right into the mass chaos!

And another proof of God timing regarding this...Toby is going to be needing some EXTENSIVE dental work done.. as in several thousand dollars at least. We currently do not have dental coverage. We have been praying about how God was going to provide for this huge need and what we were going to do about it. Well, guess what... I NOW HAVE DENTAL COVERAGE!! God knew all along! I never imagined when I started praying about dental work finances, that it would lead to this, but God has awesome plans!

God is working, in ALL of us, sometimes we just have to trust Him and look in even the small things!

P.S. I also forgot to mention the hours... I will be working 7:30 - 3:30... I will be here when my children get off the bus!! Praise God! That has always been my DESIRE. To be here waiting when my children get home from school! God takes care of it all!

God is Good!