Company, Cream puffs, Camera, Cuddling

It was a good weekend. The Lord has been answering our prayers to open our home and fill it with people to serve and fellowship with. We hosted a dinner for 3 Albanian missionaries that were here to speak at our church. They were wonderful women with great stories of there journeys on the mission field. We had about 14 adults and 5 kids, Tom from church made the food and I made dessert!

thanks Mom for your famous recipe!!... Here is the crew eating and chatting..

then Ry Guy let me practice..(He thinks I will learn faster by making all kinds of crazy faces)..

Bridge helped too!...He kept His toes very very still :)....

and what's a weekend if you can't lay around after church with Dad and cuddle!..

I've got a PROBLEM....

It's called "Canon Rebel T1i Syndrom".......very serious........ my view of life has become..well...let me just say this- everything and everyone look more beautiful than I remember in my past life (my pre-canon existence)....
the car wash, for example....a somewhat dirty, dingy experience had all of the sudden blossomed in to a beautiful, crisp, work of art as Daddy and Ry Guy scrub away..

hold that pose....

well hello Red Rock Mountain behind our house, were you always that striking?...

Hey horse....did you have that gorgeous mane professionally coiffed?..

now this backside streaks by me every night but toinght it had that special glow...:)

just admitting my problem folks....and I don't even know how to work the thing yet!...oh what fun!!

WoW!!!

Well.....I was banned from my own blog till about 9:00 last night so I had no clue what was going on.. the kids and I went about our way doing dinner, baths, books, bed....waiting for Brad to get home from his meeting. The kids are in bed and Brad rolls in the door and FINALLY tells me it's ok to read (have I mentioned that the Lord has been working out patience in me....yeah.... serious patience builder!!!!)...So I read and while I'm reading, He brings in a box and sits it at my feet......

The post:  Well to say the least, I was honored, humbled, thankful, and blessed that my husband took the time to express those words. We walk around being thankful for each other a lot, but to have it written like that was very special. I give the Lord credit for all of those good qualities He shared about me...We lived the first two years of our marriage away from the Lord and in some serious selfishness and none of those qualities were of my natural self or displayed to my husband as we lived out those years...So thank you to the Lord that I know how to love because of His example and sacrifice. I do have to say too that He blessed me with a wonderful family growing up where I had good training in the areas of keeping house and cooking. I used to watch my mom and my grandma for hours in the kitchen and they let me jump in and start practicing at a very young age...what a blessed experience that was....Anyway....if the post wasn't enough!!!........

The Suprise: If I have a trade/profession besides being a Mom it is a Hairstylist which I did for 8 years...last year the Lord was clear with me that I was to stop hair and be a full time Mom...hair was my passion for a while but it was nice to leave it behind and fulfill my mommy call in a whole new way...while plugging in to the kids, I realized  a new passion for taking pictures of them and the fun we've been having...I love other people's photography and want to learn about it to at least start  taking good pictures of our family goings..I told Brad a little bit ago that I was done taking muted fuzzy pictures and would love a better quality so we started praying about a camera..now I know the Lord answers but I just thought it would be YEARS away.......

Brad: --You are a blessing from the Lord that I can't even start describing...yet ( a "thankful for my husband post- inevitable!)

God:-- we give this blessing back to you and say use it for your kingdom in ways that we don't even know about yet, for your glory in Jesus name........

a big thank you to my wife!!!

Hey blog world, this is Becky’s husband Brad… a.k.a “my husband the carpenter”.  I have hijacked her blog for the day to honor, celebrate and thank her for all she does for the Lord and our family. While there is so much to celebrate and thank her for,  I’ll do my best to keep this short and then I will let you all in on a big thank you surprise for Becky at some time today… that is whenever UPS gets here!

 First I must give credit and thanks for all that Becky does. When talking about the value of a wife Proverbs 31:31 says to give her credit for her accomplishments… so I start with my attempt to briefly do that!

 As you have seen in many of her pictures she is a very busy woman (as every mom is).  There has been a lot of changes and adjustments with our resent move to the big WY (dub-y).  As we arrived here December 1 we expected to put Rylan into the preschool program so that he could connect with kids his age right away, but the only preschool program around was full. So Becky has become preschool teacher on top of every thing else it takes to run a house of four. It has been quite a blessing to come home on lunch and not only have a delicious and healthy lunch prepared by “my wife the chef” but to have Rylan spout off all that he has learned from mom that morning. 

Becky has also had to get very creative with the boys on the days that its just to cold and windy to take them outside.  We don’t have a Wii or even a TV so Becky’s creativity has been incredible for our family… you have seen what some of those days have looked liked as she blogs about the boys fishing with my tape measures, building play-doh cakes, castles and other crafts, kitchen hockey, living room bowling,  making fun treats together and the occasional quick run to Taylor Creek Exxon for a snacky snack when the high altitude attacks their attempt at making brownies or cookies!  

Not only am I grateful for Becky’s creativity with the kids and constant up keep of our home, I’m also  grateful for her commitment to making delicious and healthy food for our family and guests. I find myself amazed and blessed by Becky’s ability to take what looks like an empty cupboard and produce a four course meal or a tasty, refreshing treat.  Whether I am running out the door for a meeting or have a crew of people showing up to the house, she is there with fresh coffee & homemade cinnamon rolls or enough food to feed a small army. While all this is a direct testimony to the Lord’s faithful provision in our lives, it is also a testimony to Becky’s willingness to serve others with her talents, interests and every spare second she can afford. I KNOW that as she serves the people of this town through her generous heart and hospitality, they will see a love in her that can only be directed back to a love that comes directly from God!  ("By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:35)

I’m convinced that the strongest ally of any man is not the occasionally guys night out, or retreat away from the daily grind, but rather a consistent, hardworking and supportive wife!  A partner who is committed to grinding it out right beside him… Proverbs 31:10-14 says Who can find a wife of noble character? For her value is far more than rubies. The heart of her husband has confidence in her, and he has no lack of gain. She brings him good and not harm all the days of her life. She obtains wool and flax, and she is pleased to work with her hands

Becky’s  support runs much deeper than being a great cook and a creative mom.  She is always there with a word of encouragement, direction, or discernment when I need it most. I have confidence in her every word and trust her heart completely. It is so valuable and empowering to have this type of support from my wife as I seek to be the best husband, father and pastor I can be.

Becky, thank you for your commitment and unending work in our home and the lives of our two precious boys. Thank you for your unwavering love and support.  For your words of wisdom when I need them most and for your powerful and faithful prayers when I don’t even realize your praying.  I love you!

Pictures and maybe some video of the big surprise to come sometime today... Oh the suspense!!!

White Snow and Colorful Play-doh

Is the snow clearing up where you are?...Well it just arrived here....

now the pure white snow is beautiful.....but everybody needs some color in their day, so lets stay in and play Play-doh!!!!.....

Ry Guy's working on his layered cake...

Bridge is.....

pleased to sample.....ewww

Keyword - ACTION

The other day the kids woke up with a little extra "spunk" so we decided to be active ALL day long..
we started wth a little hockey in the kitchen...

then got dressed and went bowling...

look at that form!...

then we hit the courts for some tennis...

all that action made us thirsty so we went to Taylor Creek Deli for some Juicy Juice, giving us time to contemplate what the weekend might look like...

will it be this active? or will we just chill?...

we shall see!!

My Daddy!

Happy Birthday DADDY!!!

Our "Earthly" Fathers have the MOST important role in the world- to model after our Heavenly Father, to to show them the LOVE of Christ by displaying that love as they grow..

 At first, their love looks like a googly-eyed, silly-faced, high pitched voice love as they coo us through our baby stages.

Then their love looks like countless hours of throwing ball and building blocks as high as the ceiling so you can send them crashing down just to do it again.

 Then it looks like coaching you through your soccer games in the stands while the REAl coach finds it disruppting, or driving you all around the city and back just to scootch over to let you start practicing.

 Then you find their love looking like screening boyfriends before they take you to the dance, or finding the best vacation spot to take the family for the best Spring Break ever giving you bigtime bragging rights when you go back to school.

 Then it looks like giving you space to learn and grow and mature, biting HARD on their tongue and realizing that silent prayer is the best option for now.

Then it looks like doing ALL they can to put you through College just for you to change majors several time, get close to graduating and say that you decided it's not for you...and by the way, you'll need a little financial help figuring out the next step!

 Then their love looks exactly like a scene from Father of The Bride as they sit quietly in the corner of a bridal store while you and Mom plan the wedding of your dreams, maybe rolling their eyes a bit but more importantly with checkbook and pen in hand.

 Then their love looks like holding your own child for the first time and those years of love and care come full circle, giving you a glimpse of what that love looked like years ago when he held you just..like..that...

That love is the love I got from MY Dad and is key to how I love my Lord and savior today!

Happy Birthday Daddy...thanks for loving me in those ways

this is Him giving me some "tearful" advice at our Father/daughter dance at my wedding..you can kind of see Brad keeping a close watch like "Dude are you having second thoughts about giving Her away!" :)

Lunch at Kathy's

We decided to go to lunch for our family day together. Being in this small town (with not even one stop light) means that there are very few resturaunt selections which is ok cause we do love to cook and eat at home. But once in a while we will drive down the street to town and visit one of the shops. We've found good desserts at The Cowboy Cafe, yummy soups at Paya....but our FAVORITE place so far is Kathy's Koffee...Kathy is a sweet lady that makes all different kinds of coffee and food all fresh to order. Her place makes you feel like your at home and she even has toys for the the kids to play with. We always have a good time when we go there and great fresh food too. Her place is one that seems busy all year round when other shops seem to be closed or only open a select few hours a week until summer. I've heard that Dubois is the "gateway" to Yellowstone so it gets very crowded with tourists and travelers in the summer, which helps keep most businesses going. But Kathy's is always busy and we understand why :)....

a little live music with lunch from Ry Guy..

a little bear squeeze from Bridge..

Kathy has a fun style to her place...

look...she even has a mini version of the "Christmas Story" lamp

and don't forget that delish food!..

thanks for lunch Kathy!

We'll see ya soon!