Snow Days

About 2 weeks ago we had a nice snow for our area. My children, cousins and neighbors all got together to make a huge snowman. Below is my oldest boy being King of the Snowman!

The snowman was so big that they needed a ramp to get the body on and then they called my dad to come with his truck to get the head on. It was nuts!

But the finished product was awesome....a 12 foot snowman that was the coolest ever. So many people stopped to take pictures of it. It was so big that it took 12 days to fully melt even in 60 degree weather.

When Marshall was little and he would get in trouble he would tell us that "Bobby" did it.....that was his made up scape goat! It got to be a joke even as he got older. If someone broke something and no one remembered doing it then one of the kids would say that Bobby did it? So Marshall named the snowman....Bobby.........every day as he was melting the kids would wake-up to see if he was still standing and someone would yell.."Bobby lives"....Now we are waiting for the next snow and Bobby2

What FUN!!!

We had a blast with our friends! There are not many families (actually I do not know of any other family) that I could spend 12 days with and wish they could stay longer! Our approach to child rearing is very similar. Their kids are very polite and helpful...full of laughter and a heart to serve. I laughed till I hurt on more than one occasion.

We did go about half way through the "Do hard things" book. That was so good...it brought up so much conversation with the kids. It challenged me and I know it challenged the kids as well.

One day we joined my sisters at my moms house for a tea party...it was such a fun time. We will make that a tradition. Now we are trying to figure out how Eric and I can speak in churches down through FL so we can plan a visit soon.

It all reminds me of the importance of having good friends who you can laugh and cry with but also friends who have the freedom to speak truth into your lives. We love the Zaldivar's!!!!

Beauty and the Beast

OK.....finally I am getting to this post! Beauty and the Beast was wonderful! We have had so much positive feedback!! The kids seemed to have a great time and so did we. We are so grateful for all those who made this happen! Without the volunteers this would not have been a success...Thank you...Thank you...Thank you!! From our friends who were with us to those who put in many many hours prior to the event and then again on the night of BB. Thank you for praying for us! Thank you First Baptist Woodstock for hosting this event!!!! Enjoy these pictures!

The picture above is of the Matt Tillman Band. They did an amazing job!

It is awesome when kids raise their hands in worship to the Lord.

Eric brought Brandon Apon in to do a demonstration....He did a great job!




My honey loves to share the gospel!

Eric and I both did demonstrations showing how to make healthy choices when choosing food.

Oh my goodness...Kari Robertson did an amazing job speaking to the girls. She is beautiful...I love her! She has an amazing voice...I should have had her sing??? She made it all the way to the top 10 in the Miss America Padget??!! I love her testimony!!



I loved sharing with the girls!!!

Smoothie King came and gave out 250 free samples! And the kids were able to sample healthy protein and snack bars.




Publix donated many many waters and my daddy is guarding them!




Here are the kids below hanging out between the sessions and enjoying all the goodies.

This was an awesome night! Subway and Chick fil A donated sandwiches to every kid who came! Amazing! 2 kids made professions of faith that night and many more recommitted themselves to making a difference for Jesus!

Why is our first thought NO!

I am getting better the longer I am a mother...but I still fight it.....that urge for the first response to be.... NO. I am thinking...that is too messy...that is too much trouble...it is too hot...it is too cold. I really try to stop and ask myself....is this really a big deal. I always tell my kids that they are in charge of clean up and they almost always agree that clean up is still worth whatever it is they want to do??? Kids?? We had a really big rain and this is the giant puddle that was created at our church across the street. The kids had a great time until the security guys stopped all the fun...party poopers....although you know they secretly wished their mothers had let them play in such a great puddle!