In Prasie of Paige

Dena and Paige came down for a short weekend. We were thankful to get to visit with them again so soon after the last time we saw them. We don't usually get to see them quite so often. The girls had a good time playing with Paige and James tried his darndest to give her a hug but she wasn't too sure about that. Paige is a little cutie and I wanted to share with you all these sweet pictures of "Pay Pay".

Our Sweet Boy

In keeping with Jason's recent trend of our black and white photos of our kids I chose to post one of my favorites of James. I don't think they can get any sweeter than James. He hands out hugs to all who come his way and loves on his sisters like nothing else. I can only imagine what kind of brother he'll be when he gets older. Any boy coming around will not only have to answer to Jason but will have James to deal with as well. We love him lots.

Quote from Os Guinness

"The trouble is that, as modern people, we have too much to live with and too little to live for. Some feel they have time but not enough money, others feel they have money but not enough time. But for most of us, in the midst of material plenty, we have spiritual poverty."

The Call
Os Guinness

She's Our Thinker

Acacia is our Thinker. No matter if she is reading, singing, praying, watching T.V., playing a game or in a classroom she is always thinking and coming up with interesting questions or saying the most intriguing thought that comes to her mind.

We Are So Proud!

Isabel has had 9 consecutive days of great behavior in School!

Just For Fun

Sanctity of Human Life Sunday

Today is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. With shame and hope I offer up the following prayer.

Father and Creator of the universe and all of us.

Thank you for your many blessing, especially the blessing of forgiven sin. I confess to you Father that I forgot that today we would celebrate the sanctity of human life. I confess that I don’t give the subject the time and effort that it deserves. Lord, no doubt the abortion of an unborn life, the extinguishing of a life that is disabled, or the willful ending of a life that is deemed “not worthy to live” is a stench to your nostrils and a stain to your eyes. How you must hate it and I confess that I have not shown that I care much about the subject. Forgive me for that sin.

Lord, I also come before you and confess the sin of our nation. We as a nation have made a profession of killing people. Thousands of people die each and every day because we deem them to be not worth the trouble. Mothers don’t want the inconvenience of raising a child of your creation. The fathers, many times, go right along and are complicit in this murder. Many parents choose to terminate a child in the womb because they have found out the baby will be born, but born with a incurable disease, or born mentally retarded, or won’t live longer than a year or two. Countless elderly are looked upon as being a drain on their families and on society. They are convinced that all would be better if they were simply gone, so they seek out means to “die with dignity.” Forgive us for cheapening life, cheapening your creation.

I humbly ask Lord that not only would you grant us forgiveness, but also grant us eyes to see the truth. You have said in your word:

13For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.14I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.16Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

Lord, grant this very knowledge to our governing officials and judges/justices who serve our country. May they see the truth of the value of every single human life, from conception until death.

I pray that you would also open the eyes of every single woman, who is today considering terminating their pregnancy for whatever reason. Change their hearts oh God!

Grant courage and boldness to all Christians to stand up for the truth of your Word. The culture we live in is heading in one direction on this issue: Continued Murder. May we stand against that current and be a shining beacon of truth, Your Truth.

Jason

Papa Steve Visits Isabel's Class

Just before Christmas Papa Steve and Grandma Karen came by our house for a visit. Isabel was excited that she had share day at school and that Papa Steve and Grandma Karen were in town. So, she took Papa Steve to school to share him with her other classmates. She had a blast showing off how much fun her Papa Steve is.

Brenton Hanging Out With Family

Brenton was able to spend a little time with his Auntie Dena and cousins this past Saturday during Acacia's Birthday party.

A Nod To Acacia and My Wife

This past Saturday Acacia had some friends over to celebrate her fifth birthday. We are so thankful that God has blessed us with Acacia and we all had fun honoring her birth.

As for my wife: I am amazed at how much effort she puts in to celebrate the kid's birthday. For Acacia's party she put together a wonderful Luau theme. Below are some pictures of her effort. She might do a post of her own regarding the party and how much fun it was. But, I wanted to let everyone know that I love my wife for thousands of reasons, and one of the reasons is how much she loves our kids and puts creativity and effort as feet to that love.

Heather showing the kids how to do the Hula

Very Thankful

I am very thankful that my kids love each other. The first thing Isabel does in the morning when she wakes up is to wake Acacia. Acacia returns the favor when she gets up first. The first thing James wants to do when he gets up in the morning is to see his sisters. He prances out of his room and directly to theirs. This pictures is a great example of how much they enjoy being around one another.

Jason

My Accelerating Reader

I just had the pleasure of sitting and listening to Isabel read to me. For Christmas my folks got her a childhood favorite Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman. My dad used to read it with a very distinct voice for the little bird and I remember it always being a very favorite story of mine. One cannot forget the "Snort" who saves the little baby bird and returns him to his nest. Well, I have only read it once to the kids since they got the book but Isabel has enjoyed reading it on her own a number of times. While I haven't used the same voice for the little bird as Pop did I have given him a little bird voice of his own. In listening to Isabel read to me this story this afternoon it was delightful to not only hear her read with such fluency and enjoyment but to also hear her own little voice for the baby bird as he desperately looked for his mother. She has come so far and even in the last three weeks of her Christmas break she is reading like I never thought she would, at least this year. She loves to read and will often ask if she can read to me instead of me reading to her.

Along those same lines, one of her teachers, Mrs. Lewis, wrote her a lovely little note which she received in the mail a couple of days ago. Isabel loves receiving mail, it makes her feel so special, and to receive a letter from her teacher...well what could be better!? Mrs. Lewis wrote a short note thanking Isabel for the Christmas gift we gave her before break. This is now on Isabel's preferred reading list. After reading her book to me this afternoon she went to her room to rest. I told her to close her door and turn off the light, which she did most willingly, after reading through Mrs. Lewis's letter once again. She anticipates more than ever now returning to school on Monday and getting to see Mrs. Lewis. Our thanks to Mrs. Lewis for making Isabel feel so special and encouraging her in her love for reading by writing her a letter. :)

Happy Birthday Acacia!

It is our daughter Acacia's 5th birthday today. Pictures of the day and the party are coming soon!

My Two Favorite Pictures From My In-Laws House

Pictures can do amazing things. These two happen to cause me to think about all sorts of things. I see so much depth in them that it inspires me to think about my faith and my life.

Jason

Curse the Fall

I had to go back to work yesterday. :( Being home for two weeks with Heather and the kids is a wonderful blessing and something I can get very used to. Curse the Fall!

Jason

God's Creativity

Being at my in-laws last week reminded me of God's amazing creativity in creation. One of my mother-in-laws favorite hobbies is to watch birds. To help her with that she hangs many bird feeders outside her front door, just off her deck. We were blessed to see many different types of birds fluttering away right in front of our eyes.







It was also fun to see leaves that had character. It seems that the leaves in Canyon Country are very ordinary. Yet, the leaves at my in-laws have some personality. It reminded me that God has created an amazing planet and it just takes a little looking around to notice it.

Look What I Can Do!!

Brenton is growing up right before our very eyes! We're still trying to work through the whole sleeping thing which is a part of life that he'd just as soon skip over; but slowly we're getting through that too.
He's getting so big and cuter by the day! He is now sitting up albeit a little wobbly at times. He still falls over if he gets too excited. He grabs for toys and brings them to his mouth (because what else are toys for?). His favorite toys are his hands, our hands or his toes, whichever he can see and reach for best at the moment. Enjoy these pictures of my "Little Mister Man".

James and Hats

I love this picture of James because it shows his love for wearing hats and a future love of the Dodgers!

Jason