New Obsessions

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving with your
families! We are so blessed and as we ate
so many different things on Thanksgiving,
I just have a grateful heart. I know that
everything comes from God and thank Him
for even the food on the table. I thank
Him for my family and the fact that we
can spend the day together, enjoying
eachother's company while the kids run
around and play together.

I have been traveling quite a bit and
will be traveling the next couple
weekends (New Jersey and Minnesota:
burrrr) so I took advantage of being
home this weekend. It was time to
organize everything! I cleaned out
and organized the boys rooms and got
rid of a bunch of toys. I pulled out
all the Christmas decorations and
got rid of the stuff I didn't want
anymore. My room, which ends up
being the place where everything
accumulates, is "getting there".
I went and bought a portable filing
cabinet for all the stuff I need
to file away that was in bags and
on the floor. I go to friends'
houses and always wonder where they
keep their stuff. I walk away thinking,
maybe it's just me- I need to do
better at filing it away, so then
I know where it is when I need it.

I also joined my friend, Kristi, at
her garage sell and made some Christmas
money! We celebrated my nephew's 6th
Birthday and my brother's 30th B-day
on Saturday. Then Sunday was church:
it was so great to FINALLY be at my
home church and not traveling and Pastor
Jack gave such a strong, bold message.
I loved it. We had lunch with friends
and the rest of the day was more cleaning
and organizing! Tommy keeps saying I'm
nesting, but no, we are not having any
more babies :) These boys are enough
for me.

Oh yes, and the reason for this post:

The two latest obsessions in our home:


Coloring is the first obsession and I have
to say, Drew and even Luke are getting great
at it.

You should be good- when you spend hours
at it! It keeps them busy but every 5
minutes they ask, "Can you print me off
a picture?" and take 5 minutes to decide
on just the right one. They love it, so
of course we find them just the right
picture that makes them happy.

I told Drew to clean up his pictures.

So he decided that this was cleaning, and
decorating too.

Drew is proud of his work. Santa may just
bring him some white sheets of paper and
an ink cartridge and markers for Christmas!
These pictures double as toys because he
cuts them all out and they battle eachother
and become a whole game to him.

Luke loves to color too, but his latest
obsession is making beds. . .

EVERYWHERE!

It doesn't matter if it's in somebody's
room, in the family room or even the
kitchen floor. . .

for Lukey, every place is the perfect
place for a bed!

Happy Thanksgiving 2010

I am soooooo very thankful for
everything in my life! Most importantly,
God, my family and friends because
that is what matters most in life.


I just have to write about a conversation
I had with Jake today:

Me: "Jake, make sure to feed your gecko."

Jake: "I'm gonna give him like 5 worms today."

Me: "He doesn't need that many."

Jake: "It's Thanksgiving!"


Later in the day:

Me: "Did you feed your gecko?"

Jake: "I gave him 6 worms, it was a feast."

So I guess now I'll go and enjoy my wonderful
family and eat from our feast too!

Happy Thanksgiving

Binghamton, NY Clinic

A couple weekends ago I was in New York
for another Jennie Finch Softball Camp.

There were 400 softball players who came
to learn and also get the chance to
meet Jennie in person. It was cold
outside and was nice to be indoors
in a huge dome.

My college helpers at my outfield station
were Cat, Chelsea and Rainbow (that is
Courtney's last name- pretty cool last
name). The whole team from Tompkins
Cortland Comm. College (TCCC) helped
to work all the stations.

We worked on a lot of skills in our
drills.

My college girls did a great job.

The girls at the clinic had a good time
too.

We had to stop for one group picture of
course.

The Staff (minus Emily who ran off for
a minute): Jennie, Andrea, me, Toni and
Mackenzie

Jennie's family working at the Camp Store.
They have the cutest stuff that they
sell!

It was a cold weekend in New York, but
it was pretty outside and the girls all
worked hard! We ate at a Japanese
Steakhouse and Andrea Duran taught
Toni and me how to crochet! There
was also a family from PA that I
met at another clinic I did who came
and Bailey brought me some more
Daffin's Choclate. . .YUM!

We all leave the girls with a few words
of encouragement at the end of every
clinic. This is the theme that Jennie
uses at her clinics as we have all
had our dreams come true!

God's Beauty in the Clouds

Job 37:16:
"Do you know how the clouds hang poised,
those wonders of Him who is perfect in
knowledge?"

God is the Creator of the Heavens and
the Earth, of every person to ever
walk the earth. And He is the Creator
of every cloud in the sky!

I was amazed at the endless clouds in
the sky as we flew above them in a
plane last week. The sunset was
far in the distance but the clouds
were all around us. God shares
His beauty with us, even in the
clouds. Like the verse above says,
God made the clouds to hang in
the sky, and He is perfect in
knowledge.

"When I am weak, then I am strong"

I am going through a Beth Moore study on
the Apostle Paul and she mentioned the
Prosperity Gospel and how it can really
cause people to get mad at God or feel
like they must not have enough faith
when they go through trials in their
lives.

Sometimes we feel like if we are
following God everything will be good
in our lives. We know the Bible
teaches that God will bless obedience
and he will reward those who give.
The thing is, His blessings and
rewards are within His plan for us
and that doesn't always show in our
circumstances. We need to remember
that this is not our true home.
The Bible reminds us to "store up
our treasures in heaven".

These verses by Paul after he had
been given a thorn in his flesh
and begged the Lord to take it
away three different times
speak so clearly to me:

2 Corinthians 12:9-10
"But he (God) said to me, "My grace
is sufficient for you, for my
power is made perfect in weakness."
Therefore I (Paul) will boast all
the more gladly about my weaknesses,
so that Christ's power may rest on
me. That is why, for Christ's
sake, I delight in weaknesses, in
insults, in hardships, in
persecutions, in difficulties.
For when I am weak, then I am
strong."

The people who teach that we will
have health and wealth if we follow
Jesus must not understand what Paul
is saying here. This is the man
who persecuted Christians and watched
them die until God blinded him on
a dirt road and changed his life
forever. Paul wrote the majority of
the New Testament and we have a lot
to learn from him.

Whether we follow Jesus or not, we
are going to have good times and hard
times in life. I am thankful that if
I am obediently following Jesus and
hardship comes, I know that God has
allowed it in my life and He will
help me through it. God's purpose
is to bring glory to Himself through
our lives and to make us more like
Him. I am thankful that like Paul, if I
ask God to take the hardship from me
and He doesn't, I will know that
God is going to use the situation to
show His power through my weakness.

Many people say in certain circles
that you shouldn't name your
weaknesses but I say, "When I am
weak, then I am strong because those
are the times that Christ's power
can rest on me."

We just need to keep our eyes focused
on Jesus. God's Word is our truth and
He is our strength!

Fall

I love this time of year!

Photo Fun

I took the boys out to the park to
get some pictures of them because
Drew just lost his 2 front teeth
and he is getting the other two
next to them pulled tomorrow so
the adult teeth can fit. He's
going to have a hole in his mouth
so I thought I'd try to get a few
pictures for the holidays a little
early.

Of course I had to bribe them with
ice cream to get them to smile.

I noticed they were squinting since
the sun was so strong so I decided
to go another day and take some
more.

So I bribed them with toys and
went again, but this time it was
earlier in the day so they weren't
so tired and grumpy!

I know I'm not a photographer, but it
was fun trying. . .when they cooperated!

Just thoughts

Another great turnout (400 softball players) for
the Jennie Finch Softball Camp in Binghamton, NY.
It's been fun joining this crew this year and
getting to meet so many new faces across the
country that play softball. I'll post a few
pictures soon!

I just was thinking that I know sometimes I
look at what other people do and think, "How
do they do all that?" or "How do they find
the time to be so creative?" or "I wish I
was a more "cool" mom like her." I started
thinking, people probably see that I travel
and I'm always posting pictures of my boys
and I smiling or camping or something else
fun.

The reality is, those are the moments that
make us smile. Many days it's a struggle
to get everything accomplished that I want
to, and I'm constantly having to tell Jake
to focus when we're homeschooling, and
I'm always having to stop the boys for
fighting over something! Anyone who talks
to me on the phone knows this too well.
You can't talk to me for longer than 5
minutes without hearing somebody scream in
the background.

That is life. We have plenty of things
pulling at us and siblings argue (they
have since the day of Cain and Abel!).
There is never enough time for me to get
all the laundry done, the house all picked
up, the schoolwork all finished exactly how
I would like it, the meals balanced and
eaten by each of the boys (that's a whole
other post!), groceries bought, Bible study
done, time with my husband, and every other
thing that needs to be done that I haven't
mentioned yet. This is the life of a mom.

It all comes down to perspective. I try
to get through the frustrations and look at
what I did accomplish (Facebok doesn't count,
but I would get a lot of points for that one!).
I try to think about the times when the boys
are playing together (like right now they are
playing hide and seek) and getting along. I
am thankful for our health, and for our home
and for the fact that we can help others in
need. I am thankful for relationships because
in the end, that is all that will really matter.
The most important thing is if we have a
relationship with Jesus Christ! (One of the
kids just came in saying, "He hurt me"). See,
I knew it wouldn't last.

Just for those who would want to know, my
house does get messy, my kids fight, I
constantly have whining from my 3 yr old.
I feel like I should be doing more and
then I try to remember the grace God offers
all of us.

Let's just do what we can to the best of
our abilities and honor God through it all,
yes, even through the chaos! Welcome to a
small part of my world :)

Praising God for healing Brielle

I have been following Brielle's story
for a couple years now, ever since I
was directed to her website. I had
tears reading this post. Praise You
God that you have healed her, that You
have spoken through Your Holy Word to
this family, over and over again. May
we all have this strength no matter what
we go through. God, You are bigger and
greater than we could ever imagine. You
deserve ALL honor and glory!

New Shows on More Than Conquerors

This past weekend we taped more shows for
More Than Conquerors. It's been
awhile since our last taping and it's always
fun to see everyone on the set. This
taping was different because we had
4 on-air guests and also had a live Skype
interview. Here are some of the
people/sports you can expect to see on
the show in the near future.

Baseball:
Ben Zobrist (Devil Rays)- I'm a new fan!
He is solid and his wife is a recording
artist too!
Rex Hudler: Live interview and talk about
encouraging: this guy is the ultimate
optimist (ex-Angels announcer)! You won't
want to miss this show (I even have his
book now!)
Andre Thornton: on tragedy and how to
turn it into triumph

Football:
Brodie Croyle: Great family story! (Kansas
City Chiefs)
Jay Richardson (Seattle Seahawks)- giving
back to his community
Robert Walker: (Sports Agent and Publisher
of Sports Spectrum Magazine (I love this
magazing that features current athletes
and their faith): Live skype interview.
We also talked about his book: "Drive
Thru Success"- a book I want to read now!

Fishing: (yes, watch our show and you will
see that it is a real sport!)

Track/Olympics:
David Neville (and his wife Arial) were on
set with us. 2008 Olympian:
Gold in 4 X 400 Relay
Bronze in 200M
Going for the 2012 and hoping go to 2016
Olympics!

2008 UCI World Time Trial Champion:
Amber Neben: Live in Studio
(Bike racing for those of us who didn't
know what that was) and was in the 2008
Olympics in cycling.


Gambling in Sports:
Michael Franzese: Let me just write what
Wikepedia says about him:
Michael Franzese (born May 27, 1951), is
a former New York mobster with the Colombo
crime family who was heavily involved in
the gasoline tax rackets in the 1980s.
Since then, he has publicly renounced
organized crime, created a foundation
for helping youth and become a motivational
speaker.
He was live in studio and has such a crazy
testimony, but God is so good and he has
been helping others even with his life on
the line.
(sorry the pic came out blurry)


It was a great day! We even had a "bomb
threat" and the police had to come and
redirect traffic away from the studio,
but we weren't going to let
that stop us from sharing how good God is
through all these different stories. I
can't wait for these shows to come out.
If you want to find out when the show airs
on TBN, click on the link on the picture
at the top right of my blog page.

Calvary Chapel Pomona Valley Festival

Normally on Halloween we go to our church,
Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, and they have
a huge Harvest Family Festival. This year
they didn't have one since it fell on a
Sunday and there wasn't time to put it
all up that day, so we headed over to
Calvary Chapel Pomona Valley where my
brother's family attends and another
family that we are friends with. They
had some booths with games and a caramel
apple walk (my boys won 2 apples!). They
were happy to get candy, but their favorite
thing to do all night was to go down the
big slide! They had a blast.






Jake and Taylor, my neice

The two are best buds! Drew and
Micah

They had a booth to take pictures.
Can you see the goldfish in Drew's
hand? Poor little fish is already
in heaven! I tried my best, but
I guess the water was a little too
cold for him!

Camping @ Leo Carrillo State Park

Where is the time going? I can't believe it's
already November and Thanksgiving is in a
couple weeks! I have been traveling quite a
bit this year and have a few more trips
scheduled with Jennie Finch Softball Camps
and also I'm speaking in Northern CA in
a couple weeks with FCA and at a church
Father/Daughter Breakfast.

2 weekends ago we had some great family time
together. We went camping near Malibu at
Leo Carrillo State Park. We were thankful
to stay in a trailer with our friends,
The Menashe Family. There were also 4 other
families camping, including my brother's
family. The setting was awesome because
there were huge trees for the kids to climb
near our campsite and it was like
we were in the woods. A short walk away
was the beach with tide pools. The water
was cold but that didn't keep the kids
away. I am so grateful for good friends
and know that these memories will last a
long time for us and our kids.

The trip was less than 48 hours but it
was just enough time to: run, climb and
play for the kids; play inside the trailers;
go in the water; color pumpkins (Wibbens',
Luttrell's,Kunkle's) and carve pumpkins
(my brother and neice); make candy/caramel
apples (thanks Michele); have girlfriend
time at the beach (thanks to the hubbies);
see the sea creatures in the tide pools;
play cards; have a costume parade and
toy give-away for the kids! I have so
many pictures and they take way too long
to post, so here are a few from our trip:






These little lady bugs are the cutest
triplets ever! They are: Hannah,
Abigail and Julia Wibbens and we
call them "The Wibletts" :)










For more pictures, go to my friend, Kristi's
Blog!