Following Jesus...My Favorite Gehrig Post Ever :)

There's no way that I will express this with the awe and glory to the Father that I feel, but here we go...

Gehrig has always had a tenderness towards God and His Word...an amazing God-gift for us as parents to watch.  Even as a 3yr old, we would find him asleep in his bed laying on his Jesus Storybook Bible, open to the picture of Jesus on the cross.  He has known the right answers, loved Bible stories,  memorized scripture, spent time in the Word and prayed daily.  But even though he had told us multiple times that he had asked Jesus into his heart in his bed, he got embarrassed to talk further about it and we weren't quite sure of his understanding of the lifelong commitment to personally follow Christ.  Sometimes we have wondered if his compliant, rule-following personality has kept him from truly realizing his sinfulness and need for a Savior and Lord.  We also did not want to push him in any way towards this most important decision.

The night we got back from our Savannah weekend, we finished doing our normal Bible time (from 2 Corinthians 9-11) before bed and Gehrig quietly asked, "When can I give my life to Jesus, Mama?"  I can't explain how, but I immediately knew this was different.  I told him that he could do it anytime he felt like he was ready and he then asked, "Will you help me do it tonight?"  After putting the girls to bed so that we could talk more, B and I spent time talking, listening and praying with him.  B led him in prayer and he happily accepted the gift that Jesus died to give us all!  Freedom from sin, Holy Spirit-indwelling and eternal life with God.  It's hard to hide the best feeling in the world!  :)

I love the way the Message version says a part of Hebrews 9: "Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God."  I can't wait to watch this sweet boy live all out for God now that he is a new creation!  He is excited to be baptized in a few weeks and so cute talking with us about it.  He is still a little shy talking about it with others, but we know that will come in time.

The next morning, we went out to celebrate his spiritual birth :).  I love this boy, love his heart, love spending time with him and am so thankful that he is now also my brother in Christ.  I pray that he follows hard after Jesus and lives a life that is about Him and Him alone....making an impact on those around him for the Kingdom.  

And selfishly, I am so grateful to know that no matter what happens in this crazy world, he will be with Jesus forever.   "I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth."  3 John 1:4  Thank You so much, Lord, for this greatest joy.

January Weekend Visit

Before B gets swamped with baseball and travel halts for a season, we made one quick full-family trip to visit the Links.  It was great and relaxing, with unseasonably warm temps and even a double-date thrown in for fun!

The girls love to wach him play wii :)

A walk to the park and fun playtime.  Old-school merry-go-round!

These two are so cute together...love hearing them talk and play :)

Sad that I didn't get a pic of Matt, Jenn, B and me for evidence, but we snuck out for a couple of hours Saturday night.  We enjoye a super yummy dinner overlooking the water while the kiddos had fun with a babysitter.  Such a nice treat!

On Sunday, we got to meet up with the sweet Aultmans for lunch on our way home.  It was Brian and Bryson's birthday too, so it was so nice of them to share some of their special day with us!

So thankful again for these blessings of friendship :)

Last Pics of 2012

Sweet sister reading time...Christmas edition

Daddy found her a coat on major sale :)

Christmas shows!

They're getting to know the google :).  Their searches are usually something like "football stuff" or "fashion dressups."

This was the first year we watched Jim Carrey's Grinch...they liked it, but it was a little intense at times.

She had to stand up to watch this tense part ;)

After googling for college football logos, Gehr found a map and had me print and laminate it.  Then, he stayed up late one night in the bed, drawing his own version.  Quite the passion right there...

"Can I put her pjs on?"

The way he writes his name these days:

Dressing up with Finley at her birthday party...so pretty :)

So thankful for our sweet neighbors and friends, the Passeys.  The rhyming names and shared love of Catan sealed it...we were meant to be.  :)

So, here's the story...Greer and her friend, Ella Mathis, decided they were going to Disney World.  So, they took all the clothes from Greer's closet, all the toys from her shelves and room and loaded everything into every bag they could find...to pack for their trip.  The brothers were playing ball, the dads visiting and the moms working in the homeschool room and we all thought the girls were playing nicely (and perhaps too quietly :)) in Greer's room.  We walked in to find all the packed bags sitting on the bed.  Thankfully, it was funny enough to make the work of putting her room back together not so bad, especially with extra help.  I took this a little after we had started unloading.  Had to record for memory's sake!

We had so much fun visiting with our sweet friends, the Lords, one morning.  Love them and love watching Gehrig with babies...he is such a natural :) 

Lack of time and money doesn't allow for many of these, but I sure did enjoy a date night with my hubby for my birthday.  He is my favorite :)

We got home in time for an awesome happy birthday song with some favorite treats from the Passeys :)

Christmas Program day for Greer!

The new sanctuary there is so beautiful!

She did such a great job and was so pretty :)

Using his laminated map to teach Garner football logos ;)

Sweetest daddy in the whole world...he never sits down for the day until after the kids are in bed.  He comes straight in from work, helps around the house, visits with me and plays with the Gs.  We.are.so.blessed. :)

The day of the CT shooting.  Made me stop and stare at these three amazing blessings that the Lord has given us, pause to hug them tighter than usual, laugh at their funniness...

...and not even get mad when I found her closet door like this after resttime.  Perspective made clear...

On a Sunday afternoon (10-min) drive back to church...that's what December does to us all :)

Not even sure what to say about this, except that I love it all :)

She asks us all constantly to read to her

Ballet Christmas party...really sweet teachers and class

A resttime project

He got to fall asleep a lot of nights this fall in our bed to watch the late football games.  And Greer would join him.  Cracks me up how much they look like mini-B&me

Playing Zechariah on the Gear Up stage one Sunday morning

We were so thankful to meet up with the Owens, here for their family Christmas.  Miss them so much!

Another night falling asleep in our bed, this time also working on the awesome dot-to-dots the Links gave him for Christmas.  Sweet snugglers

Sorry for two Catan pics in one post, but this particular game was super important.  It was the first time I've won since the very first time we played with the Links several years ago.  Woo hoo!  :))

And a favorite Christmas scene...so fun to get the mail all month and see everyone's beautiful families!

What a blessed year and so much to be thankful for.  On to 2013...happy new year to all!