Family Weekend

The lone fish of the trip

Little Fisherman
Don't drop it!
Daddy and Asher

Mommy and Benny on the tree swing

This last weekend Joe's band had a retreat at Living Water Ranch in Manhattan, so we took advantage of the weekend and had a lot of family time. We took Ben fishing, he got a brand new "Cars, Lighting McQueen" fishing pole and tried to catch fish. Mostly he tied himself up in the fishing line, tried to fish with daddy's pole and even threw his new pole in the lake. But he had such a great time. He kept talking to the bait: "Hi, worm how are you? or Hi fish, hi." Joe and I have decided that next time Ben "fishes" we will not. :)

All in all it was a relaxing and fun time. We took walks, swung on a huge tree swing,walked on the beach at the lake as well as went fishing. It was just so nice to be out in nature and enjoy God's creation. And invest time in our family. We highly recommend a family fishing weekend if you (the parent) don't mind not fishing the whole weekend.

Fun with Cousins

Garrison, Gabriel and Ben
Asher with Aunt Elizabeth and cousins
Asher and Keke
Garrison, Gabriel, Christian and Ben making their own fun in the pack and play





Last week Joe was on a business trip in Wichita so the boys and I had dinner at "cousins' house." Ben loves playing at Elizabeth and DJ's. After dinner we all just sat and watched the boys play it was a crazy time but everyone had fun. Ben always enjoys time spent with his cousins and he asks almost daily to, "go see cousins." It is such a blessing to have family live only a few block away.

He Is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed!

Remembering the death and resurrection of our Savior this Easter. (2007)

Lots of Love

Does Asher Look Nervous?
Pucker Up!
Ben Is Even Sharing His Toys!

Ben has been loving on Asher a lot lately. He wants to play with Asher, hold him and touch and kiss him all the time. It is really sweet how much he loves his brother.

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Great Is Thy Faithfulness written by: Thomas O. Chisholm, inspired by Lamentations 3:22,23

vs3: "Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide. Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow-Blessing all mine with ten thousand beside!

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided-Great is Thy faithfulness Lord unto me!"

I love hymns. They have so much truth, promise and encouragement in them. I think about this hymn a lot, well I sing it a lot too. It reminds me that the Lord gives me the strength I need for the day. I daily pray and ask the Lord for His strength-because I know that mine is insufficient for for my tasks. Days when I am tired (which are pretty often) I know I can make it to the end of the day because My God is faithful to supply me with His strength. This brings to mind another hymn; Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.

So if you are tired today pray that the Lord will give you His strength- it is more that sufficient. And let us not forget the chorus; "Great is Thy faithfulness! ALL I have needed Thy hand hath provided-Great is Thy faithfulness Lord unto ME! We truly have a faithful God who loves us individually and personally. How blessed we as believers are to fully rest in the Lord and have bright hope for tomorrow.

Thank you Lord that you provide the strength I need for my day.

Thank you that you are so faithful to me.

Pilates

This week I started exercising and doing Pilates again. So I got my mat out and started up the video and Ben decided he wanted to exercise with me. So now I have a Pilates partner. He layed right next to me on the mat and tried to do everything I was doing. After I was done Ben kept going and did the next video set. I guess it is never too early to exercise and get in shape. The funny thing is that if you look at the T.V. and what the instructor is doing, he is doing a good job of following along with her.

30 hr Road Trip

Last week we took a 30 hr road trip to Georgia for Ben and Kristi Grave's wedding. We caravaned with Jere and Reagan Kemper, Josh and Amanda Paul, Seth and Marcie Neinhause (spelling?), Zeb Barron, Chris Woodhouse, Rob (don't know his last name) and the Joseph Hawkinson family. It was a lot easier and fun with so many people. The Lord was gracious and gave us great weather, gas mileage, safety and sanity. All in all it was a great time. Here are some pictures of the wedding.

The wedding was outside beside a river, it was beautiful.

Joe and Jess Drees

Mr. and Mrs. Graves