Swagbucks 2

Only 17 days ago I posted about Swagbucks - a new search engine where you can earn gift certificates to Amazon (and many other things). Well Ive already earned a 2nd $5 gift card in only about 2.5 weeks! All I did is use it for my regular searches.

Last time I posted my friend Hilary signed up and so I earn any swagbucks she earns up to 100. She's already earned 17 - go Hil! :)

Im excited to use the gift codes to buy homeschooling books :)

To learn more and sign up, click here: SWAGBUCKS

Zoo day!

We had an awesome morning! June is member appreciation month at the Ft Worth zoo so people with passes (like us!) can ride the train and carousal for free and get in an hour early. This is the last Mon in June so we did our best to get there around 9 and it was great! We went to the far end of the zoo that we've never gotten to - otters, an alligator, jaguar, etc.

I do feel sad for the animals at the zoo. But its such an educational place and I figure they will still be in captivity whether we go enjoy them or not. Plus its a great tool when you homeschool. We are definitely going to incorporate it for the Fall.

It was not hot-like-death (yet) which was nice and we were there about 2hrs which was perfect!

Members get 30% off in the gift store and I totally indulged Jayna in a $6 PINK cowboy hat with sequins and a tiara that lights up. Seriously. Its awesome in girlyness. Its also huge which makes it even cuter :) Pictures to come as soon as I find the charger for my camera battery!!! :)

Just very thankful for a special day with all of us together :)

Baby birds!

Several weeks (months?) ago we figured out we had a bird building a nest in the attic space above the closet in Noah and Abrams room. They finished out the attic up there. Where a vent exists to the outside, they put a hinged cover. There is wire mesh covering the vent but somehow there is a hole and the bird got in through there.

There are stairs in the closet. This is a picture:
(the room now has laminate flooring and mirrored closet doors!)


Heres what it looks like up in the attic part:
From where I was standing to take this picture, the window is right behind my head.

So we've been hearing little peeps the last few weeks and I finally peeked in the nest recently to see 4 little featherless sparrows. So precious! (its not so precious that there are feathers and straw and twigs all down the stairs and all over the floor!) I loved nursing Abram to sleep in his room and know that the mama sparrow was lovingly caring for her babies a the same time!

Well this morning I found one of the little baby birds on the floor in the closet :( I put him up in the nest and none of the other babies were there! They have some feathers, but not many, so I cant imagine them flying. I looked outside and didnt find any more.

After we got home today I heard a VERY loud, very hungry little birdie again. I found another one on the floor in the closet! I put it back in the nest and there was another one in there. Maybe I missed it the first time? Anyways I did see the mama bird this morning so Im not sure if she is still feeding them or not? where did the other 2 go?

If they keep peeping like mad up there we may need to care for them ourselves. or if they keep falling out! Its HOT, hot, hot up there in the attic and Im worried about them :(

We used to find baby birds all the time when we rode horses at my step-grandmas. The arena is covered and they'd fall from their nests. One of the birds we adopted and named "Peep". We thought it was hilarious to say, "Whats your name?!" and he'd "peep!" and we'd say, "yes! youre such a smart bird!!!!" :) He stayed with our family 10 YEARS! Isnt that crazy?! He died recently.

Anyways. All that to say Im worried about the hungry, hot, falling baby birds in our attic :)

If we can figure out how to close up that hole (once they are grown) and get the A/C working in there we are going to convert it to a room for Noah. Dont tell him though. he may die of excitement ;)

Fun in the Sun!

Its been over 100 degrees for many days here now. The heat index has been over 105 by the afternoon which makes it miserably hot. One day, before the heat got quite so bad, I took the kids outside and just let them play with the hose to cool off. They had a ton of fun :) (Noah isnt in many pictures because he spent most of the time in timeout....sigh)


Abram was very concerned about the hose.
And not in a good way.








Giving the tree a drink.

Lia Sophia!

My sister is a Lia Sophia representative. They are a jewelry company that sells through home shows. (dont worry, Id never heard of them either!) I was skeptical but my mom bought me several pieces and I really, really love them! Its been fun to branch out and try new things.



So Im hosting a Lia Sophia party at the end of July. Ill also be taking catalog orders, through email, phone, whatever's convenient. You can check out the jewelry here: Lia Sophia (click on "Our Jewelry" and then the Spring/Summer 2009 catalog)

The really cool this is that in August the new catalog comes out which means many of the current pieces will no longer be available....because of that there is an awesome special in July -

Buy 1, get 2 half off. AND the one you pay full price for can be the least expensive!

So pay for the earrings and get the bracelet and necklace half off. Its a really, really good deal. Shipping is a flat price no matter what you order ($3?) and once I close the show the jewelry will arrive in ONE WEEK!

I'm hard to impress and I'm impressed so far. Its cheered me up having some fun, new things to wear too :)

All jewelry has a lifetime guarantee. They've been in business over 30yrs and the company has actually grown as the economy has struggled. They are reliable for a reason! :)

I hope all my local friends will come have some girl time. Its great for early Christmas/birthday/mothers day gifts or even just to come try some one and relax! If your not local let me know if you want to order anything and Ill hook you up!

ugh!

My little rooster is set for 6:30 am. I hate it when they go through these stages!!!! It wouldnt be so bad if my oldest rooster wasnt also getting up and continually finding a way to wake the other kids up too (this is a trend we WILL reverse). And since they are going to bed late because its so light outside .... ugh.....poor Jayna is just not getting enough sleep.

i have a cold. My head is so stuffed up and my cough hurts down in my chest. This morning there is some major pressure going on in there too.I got 7hrs of sleep. That sounds like a lot, but its not working for me. Im so tired. :(

We at least have a fun swim party to go to today. Hopefully the boys can contain their testosterone and enjoy themselves and not spend half the party in time-out (especially since the party is for the little girl Jaynas age!)

Life/cell group is here Sun so then I need to turn my focus on cooking and cleaning for that.

When's naptime?

I hate whining on my blog but sometimes it just has to be done.

Giana's birthday party

Im slowly going through some family pictures from my vacation while also working on previous photo shoots. Its much less stressful to just do family pictures! These are just edited in Picasa, not GIMP. There are WAY to many to even think of doing each one individually!

Here is a collage from my niece Giana's 1st birthday.
It was a Tropical/beach theme and they went all out!
(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

From Giana's Party!

And here are all the pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Momto3blessings/GianaSParty#

Some favorites:

My sister Sarah, niece Giana and BIL Garrett

awwwwh! Daddy!
(she printed this for Fathers Day)

One of Garretts friends Ronnie.
Abram loved him right away. They were quite a sight together ;)
(yes this grossed me out and I told him to knock it off LOL)

My niece Nevaeh. One of the triplets.
She takes awhile to warm up LOL

My dad and Giana. Love this picture!

Abram REALLY walking :)

(This gives you a good idea of what our tile looks like :))

Abram Walking II

Here he is :)

He kept coming after me so fast I could barely get away. So it looks like Im teasing him and he starts crying LOL. But I let him have the toy and play, no worries :) He's walking further and further every day! so fun!

Giana

We *tried* to do a photoshoot with Giana for her 1yr birthday when I was out in California. She is a very smiley, friendly baby but for some reason she was not thrilled with life that morning. So smiles were sparse. But she's so stinkin' cute anyways :)

(click to enlarge)

heres one of my favs that came out small in the collage (picasa creates and it wont let you move them around)

:)

We headed to a neat park on our last day in california. It has water features! It was super fun. The babies conked out before we got there though :)

check out the gorgeous mountain my dad lives by. not too shabby of a view

June in TX

wasnt happy to find this on weather.com this morning. Here comes summer!

Issued by The National Weather Service
Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
8:05 am CDT, Tue., Jun. 16, 2009

... HOT AND HUMID WEATHER TO CONTINUE ACROSS NORTH TEXAS THIS WEEK...

A STRONG UPPER RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL STRENGTHEN OVER NORTH TEXAS THIS WEEK HELPING TO PUSH TEMPERATURES SLIGHTLY ABOVE THE CENTURY MARK... PARTICULARLY OVER THE SOUTHERN PARTS OF NORTH TEXAS. THE RAINFALL FROM LAST WEEK WILL ONLY ADD TO THE HUMIDITY VALUES AND WILL RESULT IN HEAT INDEX VALUES EACH AFTERNOON BETWEEN 100 AND 105 DEGREES.

IF INVOLVED IN OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES... TAKE FREQUENT BREAKS IN THE SHADE OR AN AIR-CONDITIONED STRUCTURE AND DRINK PLENTY OF WATER. AVOID CARBONATED AND ALCOHOLIC DRINKS. ALSO... NEVER LEAVE CHILDREN OR PETS IN A VEHICLE... EVEN FOR A SHORT TIME... AS VEHICLES CAN HEAT UP TO LETHAL LEVELS WITHIN MINUTES.

Update on Abram

Abrams feeling MUCH better - Praise the Lord! Yesterday he still wasn't himself, he didnt want to play like usual, etc (e.g. cried when we threw him up in the air which he usually loves). But today was much better :) I think his tummy is on the mend too, much less in that dept than yesterday.

Tomorrow at 3pm we go for the EEG at the Children's hospital. I totally have peace from the Lord about this part. I still cry at times when I think of what happened, still a bit emotional, but definitely have peace about his overall health. This lady today at Costco kind of whispered to me today, "he's so precious!" and that made me cry. Im thinking, "i know, he is, my baby, waaaaa" LOL.

Heres a picture we took in California of me, Noah, Abram and my sister and her daughter, Giana. Giana and Abram are 9 weeks apart (She's older) :)

(**Click to Enlarge)

cheering myself up with baby M

been learning some new techniques for converting to black and white in GIMP. here are the ones I came up with. definitely better than what i was getting before. kind of cheers me up.

stress and anxiety is still high. it was like that anyways before the seizure but now its worse. trying to just take some deep breaths and keep praying for grace. the Lord is definitely near, im just a hard case ;)

abrams fever broke last night! Thank you Jesus!!!! He still has diarrhea though and is fussy. I can tell he doesnt feel good. so we are praying for a complete recovery. He's taking a nice nap right now, he is so worn out.

on to baby M.....




(I posted this picture below. i converted this one a different way and its much lighter/brighter. i like it better this way! i like the high-contrast look)

More info on Febrile Seizures

You KNOW I am online reading about febrile seizures now that I finally got Abram to sleep on his own ;) Its just what I do, im an information junkie!

I found this very imformative article. If anyone is interested in reading more about febrile seizures this is a great place to get all the facts. Its very reassuring to me that Abram has a very, very small chance of having another one.

Article
(http://www.epilepsyontario.org/client/EO/EOWeb.nsf/web/Febrile+Seizures)

Night!

p.s. swagbucks

totally not important in the scheme of things BUT you may have noticed my new swagbucks dealio on the side. its basically just a search engine. randomly you win "swagbucks" for searching. its actually kind of exciting when you get one :) You cant make yourself win, it doesnt matter if you click the links, etc. Just use it for your normal searching. When you get 45 swagbucks you can get a $5 Amazon e-gift card. I know several readers who love books like we do so you know thats exciting! i just got my first one! since I search online anyways I think of it as free money :) And the search results are good too, powered by Google. If you want to sign up click HERE! (I win points when you win if you go through me)

(http://swagbucks.com/?cmd=sb-register&rb=452848)

Abram update

Thank you so much, everyone, for praying for Abram.

He is still sick. His fever comes back easily once the advil wears off. Once it gets up to 101 I give him the advil again. Its so hard for me because I know fever is helpful and its better not to have it break and come back, break and come back. But I also dont want to gamble with it spiking again. Please pray he is over this virus quickly. I have a lot of peace that he is ok, but its still very mentally and emotionally draining to keep watch over him and worry and pray.

He plays when the fevers done/gone. He's still doing great at walking and today I saw him stand up on his own for the first time (not holding onto anything) His new thing is pointing. When he woke up in the ER last night he pointed and showed me all kinds of things :) its precious. He's a sharp little dude :)

I am thankful for SO many things in light of yesterday. Here are a few!
- that we live in a country where medical professionals are only a phone call and a few mins away
- for our EMT and the firefighters. They were so calm and kind and reassuring.
- that we live only 10-15 mins from a Childrens hospital
- for our ER doctor. She was very kind and compassionate and very respectful about our decision not to vaccinate. I figured Id get reamed but she was very, very respectful.
- for friends - who got on their knees and prayed for my baby, knowing our Father is faithful and good.
- for the messages on my cell phone. I didnt get them until 2am but thank you!
- for my neighbors who are always willing to help
- for living near good friends who will come by and watch the kids or do whatever else you need. community is a beautiful thing!
- that Ive been blessed to breastfeed another baby. Nursing was such a comfort to Abram last night, so calming, for both of us.
- the peace that only Jesus brings!!!!

Steve works until past midnight tonight. I need to get the kids ready for bed and asleep. Abram will be up awhile, he was asleep but woke every time I tried to put him down. I dont mind though, Id rather have him with me right now!

kisses from cousin Giana

we lost a sock on our way there. he crawled around without it.
I think he ate some dirt right after this too LOL

(airplane)

I realized that Abrams learned to love by grabbing and pulling down. Thats what his siblings do to him and thats what he did to Giana all the time~ she paid him back by taking all his toys in the car :)

Abram

Last night Abram had a seizure. I could not begin to describe how horrifying it was, as a parent, to see my baby like that. I called 911 (of course) and the lady *tried* to calm me down until the paramedics got there. It felt like that was forever but I know they were here quickly. (I was standing on my front porch just screaming for Jesus to help. She was like "you need to listen" and I said, "but I need to pray!" ... i was pretty much just freaking out! I did calm down though and listen, but it wasnt easy) I am still brought to tears even thinking of him like that - unresponsive, not breathing, stiff, frothing at the mouth, and then limp :( It felt like it lasted soooo long.

we rode to the ER at the local childrens hospital in the ambulance. He came around and was screaming at the paremedic by the time we got there ;) Thank you to everyone who prayed! My cell phone died, literally, as I climbed in the ambulence. So it was tricky getting the word out.

Whats a little concerning to the Dr is that he had the seizure on the second day of illness. Typically its right at the beginning. The blood tests came back ok and she thinks its a virus causing the fever, but they will culture it and let us know if there is anything else going on. He will go for an EEG on Mon to rule out epilepsy as a cause.

Steve was exactly this age when he had a seizure. Ive heard his parents talk about how horrible it was to see him like that, and now, unfortunately, I understand. :( They do know that genetics can play a part. Im so thankful our first 3 children didnt have this problem. I always let their fevers play out naturally, with no meds, as long as they can eat and sleep.

Abrams fever had been 102.9 the night before and I just held him and nursed. Then yesterday it was 99 all day and he seemed much better. Suddenly it started to creep up again and got to 103. I gave him a bath. IT seemed to warm so I added some cold and then he got the goosebumps so i took him out. His fever after the bath was 100.5. But it suddenly shot back up again to 103.3. I texted Steve that he seemed sicker all the sudden. Then I gave him a dose of motrin. About 5 mins after that, the seizure started :(

About 5hrs after Motrin his fever is starting to come back. Its almost to 100 right now. So we will be using advil until this virus has passed through. I still believe we are wonderfully and fearfully made and that fever is part of Gods design, a natural way to fight off disease. Ive been reading online (of course ;)) to reassure myself that febrile seizures are not dangerous and to know what to do if it happens again. But please pray it doesnt! Im not sure I can handle that aagain. Truly horrifying :( My heart just breaks for mothers who go through this regularly :(

thank you again for praying for our sweet Abram!

Crocs

I personally am not a huge fan of the look of crocs. But I know a lot of people like them and that they are well made. They have an awesome outlet page (http://www.crocs.com/products/outlet/)

I just got the boys rainboots for next winter. They are normally $49.95 and I paid $14.99 each! Use the code"work0609" and you get free shipping too! So what would have normally cost about $105 I got for $30. Love deals like that :)

They only have the boots in blue and size 2/4. Noah wears a 1 and Caleb is probably a 12 or 13 so these should fit fine next season with some socks. And if you know my boys, you know its safest to send them out in boots....or full body armor ;)

Pier 39 photos

Pier 39 has really changed since the last time I was there! Here are some pictures. I added captions instead of blogging - its saving me a lot of time and I get to share more :)

Pier 39_June 09

Graduation Pictures

I had to get these together quickly for my aunt Cathy so Im just going to share the whole album through Picasa. I added captions for explanation. This was Friday evening around 7pm.

Alexa's Graduation

I'm overwhelmed being home again. I forgot how stressful it can be to get Abram down for a simple nap. The house is just small and the kids are LOUD. Its not on purpose, things just happen...over and over and over. Poor Abram. I think he is fighting a stomach virus too (diarrhea), my niece has it as well. So he needs to rest.

Getting off the computer to tend to the laundry. I didnt miss being online when I was gone - I need to be on it less here at home and do more chores!

we are home!

we made it home. it was a long, frustrating day but we made it and im so happy to be home!

abram and i just got up at 9am TX time - about the time we were getting up in Ca. Im completely wiped out, it will take a few days to recover!

but my very sweet husband had the house clean, dishes done, did laundry, etc. so it was wonderful to come home to a clean slate! :)

more soon. uploading pictures now!!!!! thanks to everyone who prayed - although our airport and airplane experience was very stressful, the Lord really granted me peace on the plane! He is so good!

Heading home tomorrow!

It turns out we'd have to leave here at 5am tomorrow to get to the San Francisco aiport in time for my 10:30am flight (traffic) so my sister and I are going to stay in a hotel in SF tonight. We are leaving here in less than 2 hrs to drive out and have dinner with my dad and say goodbye to him and then to my mom. Im glad we are going to split up the driving because Abram's been screaming a lot in the car.

My flight is at 10:30am Ca time/ 12:30pm TX time and should last about 3-3.5hrs. Please be praying for us again, for a smooth trip through security, a SAFE uneventful flight, and PEACE. I really appreciated everyone's prayers last time, thank you! The Lord certainly answered them :) Please pray for us again!

Our time has been great but I miss Steve and the other kids and Im ready to go home. Back to reality! (and back to eating healthy!)

Millions of pictures coming soon!!!!

- Rachel

Having Fun in California!

Hello out there! :)

its 10pm california time on Friday. Im writing this, sitting in my dad's kitchen. Last night was the first time, and most likely the only time (at least for a long time!) that my 5 siblings and I slept under the same roof. So cool! There were 10 of us here all together - my dad's 6 kids, 2 of his 6 grandchildren and he and my stepmom. Pretty fun :) Its not quiet that for sure!

right now its quiet....Sarah and I just came home early from the post-graduation party at Alexa's moms house to put our babies to bed. Abram and Noah are done and its very quiet and peaceful right now. I can hear my dad's fountain gurgling outside, crickets chirping, and airplane far away and the occasional chorus of frogs out in the pond ....*sigh*.... so nice. :)

San Francisco was FUN! Pier 39 has changed so, so much since I was there as a child. We at at Bubba Gumps (pretty much went off the diet with a bang with my crab-stuffed shrimp....um, yeah. YUM!) It looks out over the water. We saw the sea lions and Noah rode the carousal and we shopped and ate chocolate .....good day :)

Today I worked out with my sister at "mommy Boot Camp". I didnt bring tennis shoes so the running to the park and the sprinting parts were especially fun in my flip-flops ;) Im pretty stinkin' sore already. I hope i can walk tomorow. Fun times. There is non-stop sugar and delicious food (already had In and Out once!) so working out was a must. I figure Ill gain some but I dont want to fall completely off the wagon. :)

(the frogs are freaking out....wonder what they are talking about....)

well i just had to check in. Ill have about 1000 pictures to post when I get home :)

oh and MAJOR, MAJOR "PRAISE THE LORD" about my flight!!!!! I had total freedom!!!!! God is so good! once we got through the security and all that I was totally good! We flew on a huge plane that was so powerful and big and I felt so safe. We had the 3 middle seats to ourselves and Abram even napped 1.5hrs! it was over before I knew it. I was not on the edge the whole time like usual and when we had some turbulence I didnt panic at all. that course online helped me so much.....the Lord knew thats what I needed. He is so kind!

ok. off I go. time to stay up super late talking with my sister. its what we do - that and eat cheesecake :) Bye!

Ending with this

Why am I blogging so much today? Its my nerves I think. keeps my mind occupied ;) still waiting for my beloved to get home from work...all the kids are sleeping. its so nice and quiet!


Hey look, the tile!!!! I know I still havent posted picts for those who dont live here. Its really hard to get a good one, the light is funky in the kitchen, coming from all directions. The hallway came out the best (thanks Dan!) with the least amount of uneven places. It was a LOT of cutting (Thanks self!) but it was worth it. Please excuse the junk at the end of the hall. Its not there now :)


Caleb watching his first baseball game! The Rangers whooped the Los Angeles Angels


Abram was thrilled about being in the megasaucer while I planted plants and the kids played. cant you tell? :)

ok. thats it. Im cutting myself off. NIGHT! thanks for praying!!!!!

speaking of carseats......

Y'all know how I feel about carseat safety ;) I often wonder why Im so passionate about this. I guess its just one of those things that is EASY to do, so it baffles me why intelligent people who can afford to have their children ride safely, dont? ****disclaimer**** I KNOW that most people who dont have a safe seating situation for their kids just dont know its unsafe. Some people dont care, that is true. But most of the moms are great moms who have no idea. I certainly wouldnt if I werent online and researching it. Unfortunately like many other things in this country, whats legal is not always whats safe. So we have to go beyond that and do our our digging. :) And once you know better, you do better! :)

I read today online that car accidents kill more children ages 4-8 years old than any other age (and they are the #1 cause of death in children in general). WHY? My guess its because so many people think their 4/5 yr old doesnt need a carseat anymore. I see kids that age not only riding without a carseat or booster but even in the front seat!

A 5 point harness is the safest, plain and simple. Boosters advertise for children starting at 3yrs and 30lbs but unless you have a VERY large and very mature 3yr old, that is just not the safest option. Noah is 6.5 and 55 or so lbs and will remain in a 5pt harness until he is 65lbs. That is the limit on his seat. Then it converts to a booster that lasts up to 100lbs (most kids will outgrow it before this. see checklist below).

Article: Are they ready for a Booster? (has videos of crash test dummies to compare harnessed vs. a booster)

Are they ready for a seatbelt?

The 5 Step Test
If you answer "No" to any of these questions, your child must be in a booster seat:
1. Does the child sit all the way back against the auto seat?
2. Do the child's knees bend comfortably at the edge of the auto seat?
3. Is the lap belt touching the top of the thighs, not the tummy?
4. Is the shoulder belt centered on the shoulder and chest?
5. Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?
BELT-POSITIONING BOOSTERS CAN NOT be used with only a lap belt!
(See your car dealer for a lap/shoulder belt retrofit.)

If you do decide to go with a booster, a high-back booster is safest. If you have low seat backs or no headrests than DEFINITELY get a high-back booster. otherwise the child has no protection from their neck going backwards in a crash.

Instead of lugging Noahs seat to Ca and paying luggage fees, we decided to buy a high-back booster in Ca for him to use (my moms picking it up for us tonight) He is obedient enough to sit still in it. And I will be watching him like a hawk. Its safe if they sit correctly in it. At home he will remain in a 5pt harness as long as possible.

I guess of all the things in life that we CAN control, this seems like such an easy choice to me? How horrible would it be to lose a child in a car crash and look back and wish you'd paid $45 for a booster (Graco Turbobooster - Walmart)? or went ahead and spent the extra money on a 5pt harness for higher heights when they outgrew their baby seat? (we have Britax Marathon for Jayna, First Years True Fit for Abram and Graco Nautilus' for the boys)

I know its not "cool" but its worth it to me. Noah has been asking to sit in a booster because his friends do. A lot of his friends dont even have boosters (and he's one of the tallest). But I have to do whats safest for them, cool, convenient....or not. He's going to have to get used to that from us, we are kind of rebels in general ;)

*jumping off my soapbox*
(but boy do I love getting up there!)

Rachel :)

*Free carseats for Low Income Families*

what was i thinking?

what was i thinking, leaving two of my babies for SIX days?!?! I know they will do fine with Daddy and Ill be busy in Ca, etc etc. but I am going to miss them so much :(

Jayna woke up with a 99 degree fever and it slowly climbed up to 101. The only good part of that is we got a lot of cuddling in today. I painted her toenails glittery pink and tonight I gave her a bath all alone - to make sure I leave her with clean and pretty hair :) Please pray she recovers quickly!

I dont think Caleb will miss me too much (especially with surprise guest Papa Steve coming and all the swimming and movies they have planned!) but I think jayna and i will have a hard time being apart. She is so precious.

I organized all her bows and bracelets for daddy and laid out 6 outfits for him. I thought that was better than his plan to let her dress herself ;)

Put the kids to bed an hour early. I dont have much packing left to do but we are going to get them up early so it was needed. I just need to shower and paint my toenails and do some final organizing and planning :)

My flight is 10am-1:30pm. Thank you to everyone who is praying! I want to walk off that plane totally victorious, in complete peace, not anxious and exhausted and stressed out! and then its off to Pier 39 for some fresh fish out of the Bay for lunch! (and ghiradelli chocolate - woohoo!)

This is on the way home from our first TX Rangers baseball game. He was O-U-T. Calebs always been our best sleeper. Noah and Jayna gave up their nap at 2 but he napped until 4. And he still falls asleep any time we are out driving late evening.

Whats the face for? We found this cool new park on one of our long walks and I made him sit out with me for 10 mins. He just wouldnt stop talking, arguing with everything I said, etc. I told him to stop and he didnt - that mouth of his just gets away from him! ;) so i got the pouty face - it was too cute not to take a picture of though :) look at all those freckles! just like his mama and nana,

This is Jayna any time you take her in the car past 1:00pm.
(still rear-facing! its safest until after 3 or 35lbs)

Please pray

Many of you know Ive struggled with a fear of flying for a long time. The Lord is so kind, and gracious and He is really working with me on this. I feel a lot of peace about flying tomorrow and Im praying and hoping that it will be the most peaceful, non-fearful, even enjoyable flight Ive ever taken!

I didnt know about the plane that disappeared on its way to Paris until last night (thanks Steve). It certainly doesnt help, but I know its still rare (yes, I know, its safer to fly than to drive!)

We just had a big thunder storm move through and weather.com says it will hang around through tomorrow. PLEASE pray that the weather is CLEAR tomorrow morning. My flight is at 10am. Please pray its on time, there are no delays, and we dont have ANY turbulence.

If anyone else struggles, check out this FREE online course www.FearofFlyinghelp.com
Its 5 lessons and they really do help. It was an answer to prayer for me!

anyways. just pleading for prayer. And please pray Abram is happy and content in my lap! Thanks! :) Cant wait to see my family in california!!!! :)

Rachel

Pictures

Last night

There is so much to say but to get to the point......the Lord is really working in my heart, challenging me to REALLY love others like Jesus did/does.

The Bible is clear that the bottom line is love .....to love the Lord and love others. And if you love Jesus then you want to be like Him. And what did He do? He loved others. He wasnt just a nice person who smiled and waved at His neighbors. He didnt send a check to a ministry that feeds the poor. He went out to people and LOVED them - he touched them, he prayed for them, he fed them and held their children. He noticed the outcasts, he loved those that other people wouldnt even come near! He loved the rich too and reached out to them, but wow did he have a heart for the poor and the broken!

I want to love like that. Its easy to love your family and friends, but what about everyone else?? We have met so many people over the last year that truly do love people like Jesus would, that seek after that kind of love and living the gospel out in that way. Its moving and life-changing. and its exciting!!!!

SO. All that to say....... Last night I asked a walmart employee, an older black woman, for some help finding a certain product. They moved our walmart all around and she knew what i was talking about but we couldnt find it. She was kind but seemed sad, and tired. The Lord told me to ask her how I could pray for her but I was scared to. I walked by her again and felt him nudge me, but I chickened out. I whispered to Him, "I am SO week! I need you to do it through me". We came by again and I walked up to her and let her know I didnt find the product in the other area we thought it might be in. Then i said, "this may seem weird, but is there any way I can be praying for you?" She seemed taken aback and said, "what did you say?"

I thought for a split second that maybe she was offended or thought I was crazy. I repeated myself and she said, "How did you know to ask me that? .... God sent you didnt He?" and I told her that, yes, God had told me to ask! It turns out that she is having some major money/bills issues since Wed. She has two sons in college and things are hard right now. I asked if I could pray with her right there (that was God, Id never have that much guts on my own!!!) and she said yes. So I put my had on her and prayed. I totally felt filled with love, the Holy Spirit was there with us, blessing both of us! When I opened my eyes and looked at her again - she was crying. She told me how she was just going around with a smile on her face but had been holding it all in. She continued to cry and thank me and tell me she knows He will provide. He had lifted that heavy burden from her!

it was just an amazing experience. I felt so blessed to be used like that. I asked if she knew Jesus as her savior and she does. But she just needed some love, she needed someone to notice that she was having a hard time. She knows He will provide and that was His way to love her, to encourage her, to reach out and touch her .... through me. Its nothing special about me, all we have to do is be willing to be used!!!!

Its scary to step out like that (for me anyways) but we are supposed to BE Jesus to other people. We cant do that keeping the faith, joy and hope He gives us all to ourselves. In the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan (on the right there) he said its like if Jesus gave us the fishes and loaves and we held them and just kept thanking Him for them. Thats great to be thankful, but we are supposed to break them up and feed 5000 people!!!!

so Im learning to pray wherever I go, to ask God to show me who He wants me to reach out to. To be open to listen to the Holy Spirit and how He might tell me to love someone. It may be asking to pray for them, telling them God loves them, sharing your testimony, or maybe just a hug on a really bad day. But we need to LOVE RADICALLY. Because thats what Jesus did. I want Him to just pour out of me to others!!!! Our culture is more and more and more individualistic .... but people are hurting and they need Him more than ever!

packing!

Just trying to get mentally and physically prepared for my trip. We leave Wed morning early! Im feeling sad some moments and excited others. I am glad I spent the last 4 weeks working out, Ive lost about 16lbs and I feel much better about myself (and have cuter clothes to wear!) Ive been making lists for Steve - of the meals Ive prepared and frozen, what they can have for snacks, what the dosages for any medications, etc. I know he will do fine, i just want it to be easy for him :)

I still struggle with my fear of flying but the Lord has given me a lot of peace right now. Please pray that I can not only be peaceful but even enjoy the flight! I want to just relax and enjoy and trust Him. I pray he removes this fear inside me that makes my stomach turn when I even think of looking out a plane window. I want to look out and marvel at his creation....not want to puke and die and run away all the same time ;) Prayer is much appreciated!

speaking of prayer.....yesterday Steve got called into work. His boss texted him and said every branch needed 6 accounts before they could close. This is on his only day off before I leave and 1 hour before closing on a Sunday. In other words, beyond ridiculous. Sunday is usually a very slow day anyways but they did have 2 accounts. Each branch has a monthly goal and Steves branch had already exceeded it (go Steve!) BUT the district was behind as a whole and that meant no bonus for his boss.

So I was really bummed he had to go - and so was he of course. So the kids and I sat down and prayed. I told them were just going to ask for Daddy to be home for dinner and trust in faith that God would make it work! I prayed specifically for him to be home by 5:30 and prayed they'd even get an account as he drove there. This was about 3:30pm. Noah prayed after me and prayed he'd get his accounts by 4:59 :) I just had this sense of faith that the Lord was going to do something to show the kids how awesome he is!

I got a call at 5:12....Steve was on his way home!!!! Thats how AWESOME our God is! Six accounts are a lot for a regular day - they are an act of God on a Sunday :) Steve had no idea about our prayer but as I told him about it, he told me it was probably about 4:59 that they got the 6th one! The faith of a child!!! :)

He is good!