Graduation

So many memories... When the children were little time seemed to crawl along. Now with our oldest graduating from high school we see how quickly time passes. We are so thankful for all the memories and for the precious gift of our daughter Courtney!

On June 3rd we had the honor of seeing Courtney graduate from high school. She also had the privilege of giving the salutatorian speech for her senior class.

We have a few more pictures posted on our other blog...A Snapshot of Motherhood. You can also see Courtney give her speech on Laura's facebook page.

Good Friday

In honor of Good Friday, the children made a Garden Tomb. I got the idea from the blog A Holy Experience. The children planted some herbs in a flower pot we had on the deck and put a large stone in the garden to represent the garden tomb. Another rock was placed in front of the large stone to represent the stone that was rolled in place to seal Jesus' tomb. A candle is in our garden because Jesus is the Light of the World. On Easter the stone will be rolled away and we will celebrate the good news that the tomb is empty!

"On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said,
'Why do you look for the living among the dead?
He is not here; he has risen!"
Luke 24:1-6

A Legacy and a Tribute

Frank & Quita
Celebrating 50 Years of Marriage

January 31, 2010

On January 31st we had the privilege to host an anniversary celebration to honor Tom's parents for their 50 years of marriage.

We had lots of yummy food...Frank & Quita had a chance to renew their wedding vows...There was also time for Tom & Sean to honor their parents with a Tribute...Special friends came from miles away to join in the celebration and to share their stories of friendship and encouragement from times spent together...We had a scrapbook to give to them filled with encouraging notes, words of blessings, and pictures from their friends from all over the country. It was a great time to renew friendships... We all enjoyed being able to bless Granny & Grandpa...

Celebrating Family Friendships

I Want My Children to Be Friends

One thing that I desire as a mom is for my children to be friends. I want them to learn to love each other today and be true friends when they are adults. With seven children in the house sometimes it feels like all I do is "survive". After reading A House Full of Friends by Susan Alexander Yates, I was challenged to begin to build routines and celebrations into our family that will hopefully encourage friendships.

Our home is filled with the typical sibling rivalry experienced by most, but my hearts desire is to be intentional about providing opportunities to grow friendships in our family. One way I have done this is to begin praying for my children to be friends. My prayer is that their friendship will last a lifetime.

Some other things that I have started to encourage their friendships are:

• Birthday Posters - A day before the birthday celebration for one of our family members I get a poster board and everyone works together to create a "Happy Birthday Poster". I have also started letting the children decorate the house with streamers and even to bake the cake and decorate it too. (I must admit I had a hard time doing this because I love to do it and - I like it done neatly!) They have found great joy in being a part of getting the celebration ready.
  
• Birthday Cards - Along with the poster each child (and parent too) get a blank card and decorate it for the one we are celebrating. It gives those doing the artwork a chance to be creative, and to share how they appreciate their sibling.


• Special Blessings - I have tried to look for ways to have my children bless their brothers and sisters by celebrating special achievements or events. One example was when Courtney tried out for the play at school. She had a minor role and was an understudy. We wanted to let her know that we think she is a "star". On opening night we decorated her bedroom door with stars...so it was a "Star's Dressing Room". Each of us decorated a star with puffy paint and a short message for Courtney. It was fun and it spoke volumes of love to Courtney (the play was months ago and those stars still adorn her door).


• Attend Sporting Events - I love watching kids play sports, but it is a challenge with little ones. I cannot count the many times I have missed their one basket of the season when taking care of the little ones during the game. There have also been times when only one of us have gone to the game. It is so much easier to leave one parent at home with the little ones. However, we decided that we all need to be there to cheer on the one in the game (or on the sidelines).

I know I have a long way to go in the daily encouragement of friendship but focusing on special celebrations has been a great start in encouraging their friendships with each other.

What do you do to encourage friendship with your children?

Sweet 16

A Surprise for Courtney's 16th Birthday

Turning 16 is a special event. To celebrate Courtney's almost sixteenth birthday I decided to invite some godly women to speak a blessing into her life on this special day.

Courtney's surprise began on the way to school. We left home with Courtney believing that I was taking her to school. I handed her a journal and asked her to read the Bible verses I had written in it that morning. She read the verses but didn't turn the page. (On the next page I had a note to her explaining what we were doing.) We passed by the entrance to the school and she said, "Mom, what are you doing?" With a smile I replied, "Read the note I wrote to you in your journal."

Our first stop was at a friend's house. Marilyn and Joanna made pancakes for us. When breakfast was over Marilyn spoke to Courtney about character and the women that had impacted her own life because of who they were on the inside. She challenged Courtney with some Bible verses and spoke of qualities she has seen in Courtney's life.

Stop number two was a haircut. Michelle, Courtney's Bible study leader surprised Courtney by showing up and speaking to Courtney about beauty. She was challenged to be beautiful on the inside by cultivating her relationship with Christ. (The haircut turned out great too!)

For our third stop we went our to lunch. Courtney's best friend Marie was waiting for us in the restaurant. Marie and her mom Lynn had lunch with us as we celebrated "friendship". Then the two girls got to go shopping together and have their pictures taken.

For our fourth and final stop we met Lisa and Katie at Java. Lisa and Katie both spoke to Courtney about her relationship with God and His word in her life. This day was such an incredible blessing to Courtney and I pray that it impact her as she heard other significant adults speak a blessing into her life.