well we've had some rain here

what ya gonna do except make your own fun

another good day

they have activities here so the kids got in on some messy science the pool is the big fun, we found out they keep it at 85 degrees which explains a lot

after dinner we went to the beach which is not 85 degrees, it was chilly we didn't last very long but the waves were cool

a crazy thing happened yesterday worth mentioning, david got a text in the morning asking,- coach are you in hilton head? my dad thinks he just saw B running?- So how crazy is that? after 18hours of driving away from fenwick we are at a resort across the road from two of our runners. we are supposed to have dinner with them later this week, how wierd is that? crazy I say!

just like that it's cold again

we lost 26 degrees since yesterday, burr but that didn't keep us down we just put extra layers on and out they went before dinner these crazies went swimming, there was steam coming off the pool but I must say they were not the only ones in the pool

every days an adventure in this family

our first spring break ever

so this is what we looked like on the road, the boys called it "the ghetto roller" one guy actually hung out the window to take a picture of us, we turned heads from chicago to SC ah but doing this makes it worth it all swimming today,I can hardly believe it myself

shadow is quite famous here and today we got to visit with him

a great day one

some days you can hold Gods answer to prayer in your hands-today was one of those days

God not only protected our family in Japan He also brought them home to us safely. If I could have stood there squeezing them for an hour I would have, we have been praying so often and so hard, to hold the answer of all those prayers will keep me going for a long time!
God is so good! to see those smiles together again nothing less than awesome
that lousy "regular" school schedule kept B from the airport thankfully he still got to enjoy the blessing at the welcome home party at 4027
so Chad has broke his nose twice, we've had pictures of the two of them Grays whole life BUT now it's a little different

oh yea family's the bomb

how much better does it get? well except for adding more cousins!

I wish I could put their first picture ever taken right under this one. as always so cute

maybe I have it all wrong

So I've been thinking lately about how our family survives by just hanging on, sometimes by a very thin thread. We are going on 4 years of a very painful life one that truthfully has no sign of turning up. So as I lay flat I have been thinking, does God like when our life is just hanging on? rather than cozy on the comfort of life? We are still managing to serve him, to raise our kids in a godly home, even help out needy kids who have nothing resembling a good home, life gets lonely when you spend so much time at home but it gives us a heart for hurting people. My kids know how to help and recognize people in need. my house is not fancy, new or even orderly, but is this what God is looking for? I'm not so sure. maybe he wants us uncomfortable, I have seen so much that doesn't make sense and is really uncomfortable and it happens to the godliest of people. my pastor does always say" God doesn't call us to be comfortable just obedient to Him" so should I continue to pray for healing or just the ability to hang on? which will please God more?

some sunday night cousin fun at the golden arches

this was last minute after church fun some of the best kind

mark and sky cheer on the Bulls

mark gives sky guitar lessons, the awesome thing about it is that we have known Mark since the day he was born so it is so great that he"s the one who is teaching him to lead worship.
mark loves the Bulls and knew to go early and get to see the players

he got 3 autographs and 5 high fives

this picture is a testimony of generations of Gods faithfulness. This is why I really love Bethel and adore the body of Christ

the tickets we got were high up but the boys said they were great and the expensive boxes were right over their heads so they must be good right?

this was an important game because they had a special ceremony to honor the 91 team so all the greats were there, M J, scotty pip,horace grant... they said it was so loud they couldn't actually hear the speaker but luckily we DVR ed it and they got to enjoy it all over again by the way, the Bulls spanked the jazz which put us in 1st

a godly man investing time in my son? priceless

this weeks fun

crazy hat night
and yahoo we had 3 book finishers in the fam in as many weeks! why the home-made ribbons you ask, awanas junkie and we haven't gotten our order yet, grrrr

a total find at the thrift! sames cousins

one of my favorite events of the year is an ADA benefit we attend at soldier field. This year our host payed extra so we could tour the stadium it was really cool. a fun fact ; I asked the guide and this spot was where me and mom would watch the bears from, it was where the wheel chair section was in the old stadium super cool

here is the $1,000 view, yep the sky boxes have this amazing view it was spectacular. no wonder aunt betty loves her bears job

for the first time we got Lovies autograph we brought a ball and had him write all our kids names on it and he and his wife maryanne both signed it. It was my favorite thing I took home that day.

Annihilation of Brixton-check it out

a tiny update

some of us girls went to a mom/daughter night
it was a fun and special time for me & liv. and the session was on modesty and loving how God designed you, which as you can imagine it was a needed reminder for all of us girls. it is called secret keeper girls if your interested in checking it out

sky and his great ideas, this week was fondue week, total yum!

winterfest 2011, so much fun in only a few days!

so when we go to camp I tell the kids I don't care what they wear as long as its warm enough. this is what G came out in on day 1. funny thing is that no one really noticed it was just like, oh yea its gray.

so I told the kids they could pick one thing from the snack counter. our smart kids picked this 1 cup (full of candy and chips) smart kids hua?
this is the high light of David's year playing in the band at winterfest

you see baby A loves her sled the kids pulled her every where- even inside

bear/ninja/hunter game

dancin girls. they both hear music and start shaken

i guess the foyer was to messy for her

first broom ball game, B made the first goal followed by cody and eventually a Bethel win!

I was the privileged one who got to hold the traveling trophy during the games. every year the winner adds something to the trophy last year we made it in to a lamp, cool but Brooke and I think aunt lynn should knit the shrunken head and nice hat and scarf, just an idea since we have it another year- yeah!

notice who's on the stage and the screen, yep G! since he had the worse injury so far, a broken nose, he got to be a guest drummer for 2 songs!

what a great prize

fresh northern icicles

another bear/ ninja/ hunter. looks like a tie (you die) to me

mei was more than happy to pull baby A any where she wanted to go!