New Toy!

For many years I have wanted a camera that would take beautiful pictures. I have tried several different point and shoot cameras but was never really satisfied. My friend Carisa, who is an absolute genius in taking photos, has encouraged me to save my pennies and purchase an SLR digital camera - that's what she uses to take her gorgeous photos. Between the community yard sale held at Milford Park Bible Camp and the things I sold at the SEARCH Conference I was able to save up those pennies and purchase my camera. I was going to use the money to purchase a few things for the house, but Andy said we would likely never have this much money saved up at one time and that I should go ahead and purchase the camera. He is also excited to be able to get some decent ministry shots.

I started to play around with the camera tonight and this is what I have come up with so far.

I have a lot to learn, like editing and how to actually take beautiful pictures, but I am excited to be able to learn something new. I hope to become as good as my friend Carisa, but I doubt I will ever have the eye that she does. It will be fun trying though!

Do you like Daniel's shiner in the first photo? He got that a few days ago while he was playing up at church. Walked right into a table! He is so like his sister - she was ALWAYS bruising her eyes because she was bumping into things. It is also amazing that he is smiling in these photos. You would never know he has been running a fever of 102-103 all day today. I am hoping he is healed by tomorrow as we are having a family birthday party for all three kids and my nephew tomorrow. Please pray he gets better quickly!

Look What I Won!!!

All over the blogosphere (I think I spelled that right!) there are so many incredible sites that help moms with their tots. I really wish a lot of them had been around when Matt and Sarah were small - the things I could have done with them - I am incredibly uncreative and can always use all the help I can get in teaching my kids. One of the neatest sites is the Totally Tots blog that my friend Carisa puts together - she is one of the most talented and creative people I know! On her site I often follow links to other informative and creative sites. Some of those sites have give-a-ways to promote traffic. I recently entered one on the Delightful Learning blog. And I won!!!! I couldn't believe it! The very first one I entered and I won! I won two DVD's for Daniel, "A is for Adam" and "D is for Dinosaur". I am anxious to get them and view them - especially the dinosaur one. I can't thank both Delightful Learning and Totally Tots for the opportunity to win! Go on over and visit their sites if you get the chance!

READING ROCKS!

YEAH! It started today! It went so smoothly - mostly in part due to Carisa's great planning and Trish's organization skills! We had 35 out today! And it was only the first day! I am excited to see what happens this month. Please pray for the next five weeks as we work with the kids and get them excited about reading and learning more about Christ and His love for them.

Andy is busy as usual with various activities, but today he was busy with a 10 mile bike hike for the Extreme Team. The Extreme Team is part of the God Squad summer program where Andy challenges the teens to go to the extreme both physically and spiritually. Spiritually the teens are encouraged to complete various Bible studies Andy has developed and to also meet with a mentor throughout the summer to help them in their walk. Physically they do all kinds of crazy activities - like the 10 mile bike hike. This Sunday they are walking to NJ via the Ben Franklin Bridge. Pray for the teens and Andy's safety as they complete the various activities. Pray for Andy as well as his schedule is filled to the brim.

Sometimes.....

living and working here in Philadelphia just stinks. I see so many different things that bother me and I know break the heart of God our Father. Last night I witnessed a fear and sadness in a young girls eyes that broke my heart. A young girl that attends our Prayer Pals program came after missing a few weeks. "L" is only about 7 or 8 years old but her life has been wrought by pain and suffering no little one should experience. Last night she told us with a quivering lip that she, her mother and younger brother were living in a homeless shelter. I have heard stories of what the homeless shelters around here are like - not a pleasant experience. "L" also has an older sister "T" that has been a part of our Kids Club and Preteen program for years. She is currently living with an aunt that has a number of children and leaves in the care of "T". "L" is very concerned with her sisters situation and was almost in tears describing what "T" is going through. Please pray for "L" and her family. She is carrying a weight that only God himself can lift from her shoulders. They do have a house waiting for them but it needs a lot of work before they are able to move in. Please pray that the renovations for this house get done quickly so that "L" and her family can move OUT of the shelter and into a safe place of their own. Pray for God to comfort this young girl and to use this experience for good and that it would strengthen "L" and her family in their relationship with God.

Slacker!

Yes, I know. I have REALLY neglected this blog the past few weeks. Life has been incredibly busy - but it is looking as if it is going to slow down. What have I been doing? Basically sorting and going through things to get rid of. June 13th, Milford Park Bible Camp had their first ever Community Yard Sale. I was anxious to do it in an effort to get rid of stuff and make some money. I managed to make over $600! Most of that was from the sale of Longaberger Baskets. I used to be a consultant and had collected a number of them and realized I really needed to simplify my life by getting rid of some. I also sold a number of books and other odds and ends. The money I made is probably going toward several projects in the house. I was going to buy a camera that I have really wanted for a few years, but I think the projects need to come first.

The following weekend, June 19th-20th, was the annual SEARCH Conference. I love this conference because it has a huge used book sale and I needed to get rid of several boxes of books. I think I did fairly well with that sale as well. I went with nine boxes and came home with only three! So I was pleased. I won't find out how much I made for four weeks as they have to process all the tags and then write the checks and send them in the mail.

As a result of these sales, however, it has motivated me to keep going through things and put things in boxes to store away for a community yard sale held in Macungie then end of August. It is my goal to really clean out the house and simplify our lives. We have so much clutter. As we begin to put our house back together I would like it if it were clutter free and simple to keep up. With three kids, life is getting busy and I just don't have the time or energy to put into keeping it all together. Besides, it feels good to get rid of things and have more time to spend with the family, rather than cleaning all the time!

The kids are doing well. Last week, Matt turned 12 and Sarah turned 10! I really can't believe they are that old already! We didn't really get them presents as our trip to Disney was their gift, but we did have special dinners and went to see the movie "UP". They enjoyed that. I really enjoyed the fact that we concentrated on them rather than what we were giving them! I think I may adopt this "one small gift" policy and do an activity with them for their birthdays.

We have been on summer vacation for eight weeks and I am already itching to get back into a routine! I think the kids are getting a bit board as well! So, we are starting some math and English next week, July 1st! I can't wait! Matt is already fussing, but that is to be expected. He would fuss if we started next year! He will get used to it and I really think he is going to like his seventh grade year. I believe I have all his curriculum and will have to post what it is we are using later. Sarah is actually excited about doing math. She is board and wants to do something! She is really trying to have a positive attitude about this school year. I hope it sticks!

Thanks for praying for us! God is good - all the time! It has been eight weeks since we have seen a live bedbug. We are praying each day that we don't find one. We are taking it one day at a time. I actually put Blues Clues bedsheets on Daniel's bed (we have used white sheets for the past eight months) and he thought I went out and bought him new sheets! He was SO EXCITED! He thanked me and hugged me! He was so funny! I guess he really doesn't remember anything other than out bedbug epidemic since he was just three when it all started and will be four next month. Sad, I know. I hope he doesn't remember it forever. But God has taught us much and has demonstrated His faithfulness to us in unimaginable ways! Though I wish the lessons could have been learned in a much different way, I wouldn't trade what I have been taught for anything! Thanks, faithful prayer warriors. If it weren't for your faithful prayers, I would have gone stark raving mad and would have been committed! Thank you. You just don't know how much I appreciate them!

Where am I?

Well, life is slowly swinging back to "normal". Ministry started up again on Monday with God Squad and Family Night followed on Tuesday and Teen Club tonight. It looks like we are going to be very well staffed for the summer - thank you God! The winter months were a bit bleak in the volunteer department, but thanks to the folks at Crossroads Community Church and Fellowship Bible Church, we are going to have a banner summer! I am so thankful as the summer months can be crucial to keeping the kids out of trouble. So many are left to fend for themselves and do whatever they please. If we can just provide for them opportunities to be busy and learn about God and His love for them - it will be a much safer summer. It kills me to see so many kids Matt and Sarah's ages (almost 12 and 10) out on their own and being responsible for their younger siblings! It's just crazy. We are expecting a full summer and have several groups coming to do VBS's and other activities. Please pray for the lives of the young people here. Summer can be the most dangerous time for them.

One of the activities that will be going on this summer is Reading Rocks. I have a meeting today to discuss the details of things and plan. Please pray for this activity. It is a great program and really helps the kids both educationally and physically. Please pray for Carisa, Trish, Laurie and I as we hammer out who is doing what and figure out how to best minister to these kids.

I am starting to put the kids rooms back together. I am so tired of living out of XXL Ziploc bags! I have just decided enough is enough. It has been eight months since we began this journey and I am SO DONE! It's time to put cloths back in the rooms, beds where they belong (they are currently in the middle of the rooms!), and try to get back to life before bed bugs. If we encounter more we will deal with them, but I really need to just put things back. I am tired of living in a state of chaos! I think it will make us all feel better!

I will have to post pictures later, but our living room finally has WALLS and a CEILING! It is the most incredible feeling in the world! I didn't think it would really ever happen - I just thought we would live in a dark cave of nothingness until we either died or were called to heaven. We are hoping to have the entire downstairs finished by the end of August. That will require a lot of night work from Andy so we'll see if it happens. I think he is burnt out with the whole house project. I am praying that it will get done. Pray for Andy has he has an extremely full plate this summer. He loves working with the teens and has many activities planned to help them grow in their relationship with God and one another. Please pray for a safe and healthy summer.

Breathing again!

Eleven days ago, May 15th, we came home from Florida and basically hit the ground running! We have been so incredibly busy. Time to catch up!

When we came home we knew that there had to be at least one bed bug in our bedroom as I had bites appear while on vacation (bites can take 2-9 days to appear!). After searching the house Andy did find a dead one under my nightstand - they can hid anywhere - not just beds. We are taking it one day at a time and are praying for a complete erradication. I think being gone for two weeks and spraying the house (more like hosing!) down with pesticide helped our cause. Only time will tell.

May 16th we attended the wedding of Christine and Jack - two incredibly faithful servants of God for our church. It was a beautiful wedding and a joy to witness.

May 17th we went to church and then headed over to the Philadelphia Zoo for their members only opening of the new bird aviary. We asked PopPop John and Grammy to come as a kind of birthday celebration for Lois. She LOVES birds and is an avid watcher. She loved the aviary. So many neat and different kinds of birds! It is incredible to me the imagination of God! We had a great time walking around the zoo - even though it was incredibly cold compaired to our time in Florida!

This past week I have been going crazy trying to put Matt and Sarah's homeschool portfolios together. My plan had been to do it throughout the year as we accomplished things, but between teaching, searching for bed bugs and trying to get through life that didn't happen! So I spent a good number of hours - including an all-nighter last night - getting it all together. Thankfully, our evaluator passed us with flying colors and was impressed with all that we did get accomplished despite our trials. It is a testimony to God that I even made it this far with all that we have dealt with in the last 10 months. He is faithful even in our weaknesses and I am so grateful!

We were so happy to be done! I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders as I walked out of the evaluators house! I took Matt and Sarah to Chick-fil-a where they happened to be having a Family Fun Night and Sarah was able to get her face painted! Isn't she beautiful! The woman was incredibly talented - it only took her like two minutes to do Sarah's face freehand!

After we finished eating we started heading home. When I go home along rt. 309 Berean Bookstore often calls my name! And since I still had birthday money left I decided to stop in. I was very bad - look what I got!

Now it isn't as bad as it looks as several of the books were only $2 and I didn't pay full price for any of them! So I am set for my summer reading! It begins tomorrow night! I look forward to this time of year as I get to read what I want to read as opposed to what I have to read for homeschooling.

Now that homeschooling is officially done for the year - well, I have to turn them in but they can't fail me if the evaluator has passed me so I am not worried - I have a thousand things I want to get done! But for now I am off to bed. 4 hours of sleep in the last 40 is starting to catch up with me!