18

Today is Zach's Birthday. He is 18 years old!
Old enough to Vote! Old enough to be drafted. Old enough . . .

He was my fattest baby, and my skinniest kid!
When he was little, my nieces nicknamed him "Gus Gus",
the fat little mouse in Cinderella!
His little T-shirt never met his diaper, with his little belly sticking out!
(He will just love that I'm sharing this!) :)


He was extremely shy, if an adult were to ever speak to him,
he would hide behind my legs.
And now he can stand in front of hundreds of people,
play his guitar, sing, & lead them in Worship.



He is becoming an Amazing Young Man! We are so Proud of him.


Happy Birthday Zach! Now finally: "You are the Man!" (no longer my little boy!)
We Love you.

Leaving

My husband got laid off from his job. When you're a Pastor and work for a Church, it means big changes for the entire family. It's not just dad's job, it's our Church. It means leaving all your friends you've had for (in our case) the last Six and a half years. And possibly another cross country move. . . We started working at this Church right before my girls started Kindergarten. They are now in the middle of their 6th grade year. So, needless to say this is the only Church they remember being part of. All their BFF's are there. Their biggest concern is weather or not they will still get to see their friends.

John & his team rocking the house together for the last time!

For our boys it's a whole other issue. Zach is right in the middle of his Senior year of High School. He's worked so hard at getting into the highest Jazz Band, the top 2 choirs, and on the Track team of the largest high school in Arizona. We do not want to move him during his Senior year, where he would have to start all over. And Kyle most likely can't live at home and attend a Bible Collage, as inexpensively anywhere else. And I don't know that I could handle moving away and leaving the boys here. We've had several people tell us that the boys could stay with them for the duration of the school year, if it came to that. But, how do you do that? And it's extremely difficult to find another Church in the same area that needs a Music Pastor.

John singing his heart out, with Zach playing in the background

So, yesterday was our last Sunday at Mesa First. We had a family meeting in the morning before John & the boys left for Church. I just told the kids that "I know today is going to be a hard day, but we will get through it because we have each other, and we have a lot of people who care about us. And even though we are hurt, or sad, or maybe angry, we're going to hold our heads up high, and have class & dignity, we're gonna love on people like we always have. We're not gonna be grouchy, or short with people. Even if you're hurting, we're gonna leave on a high & positive note!" And that's what we tried to do. John lead Worship in the morning and rocked the house! (like he always does) We video taped it, and once it's edited, I'll put it here on the Blog, for all to see & hear. And then they made the announcement. I was fine until everyone stood to their feet clapping for us. Then I started crying.

Me with the girls

After Church my friend, who is the Mom of my girls BFF's, had the girls over. I texted her in the afternoon to ask how the girls were doing. (She had told me her daughter had sobbed for an hour when she heard we were leaving.) She said they were good, and that they were making BFF T-shirts. How cool of her to do that for them. (Thanks so much Michele.) They all four, her two daughters, and my two daughters, wore them last night. They also got BFF necklaces from them.

Isabeau, Erica, Cailin, Lexi

And last night they had a going away reception for us (and the other two Pastor's that got laid off as well). We really felt an outpouring of love for our family. We were given cards & gifts. And was so blessed to have people tell us how we had impacted their lives. And in my girls class they had a going away party for them. And they were really loved on, they were given Flowers, cake, cards, necklaces, and gift cards. We were blown away! That meant so much to us. This is an all girls group. It's our Churches equivalent of Girl scouts. And my girls have just finished the program, and should receive the highest award they can this next year. (Another reason we want to be able to find another Church quickly.)

I guess it takes 3 leaders for 2 girls!
Tandra, Kathy, and Vicky

We got to hear our boys (and Olivia, Kyle's girlfriend) lead Worship in the Youth Group for the last time. And at the end of their service they called the boys up and prayed for them. We told both the boys and Olivia, that if they wanted to stay on as leaders in their Youth group or the College group, they were more than welcome to do that and we would be fine with it. (At least until we knew where we were gonna end up.) They weren't sure if they wanted to do that, with out us being a part of the Church any more, and I understand that. We'll see what happens after some time passes.

Zach leading his peers in Worship

We would greatly appreciate your prayers as we see what God has for us in this next chapter of our lives. I've always been one who actually likes change. I find it exciting, just the prospect of the new and unknown adventure ahead of us. But, at the same time, I am scared to death. How we will provide for our family? And of course, Christmas is right around the corner. (If you follow me on Twitter, you know it is just 39 days from today! Yikes!) Where we will end up? If we'll have to move? How that will impact the kids? I can tell you with all certainty, that moving when your kids are younger is MUCH easier than when they are older. We've had four cross country moves. But, when your kids have their own close friends & their own lives, it is much harder on them to leave. When their younger they bounce back so fast. It hurts much more the older they are.

The Little Drummer Boy, Kyle

Olivia, on stage, ready to sing

And we want to say a great big Thank You to Mesa First.
For the outpouring of love to our family,
and for the many years of memories that we take with us.
Even though we are leaving,
you will always be a part of our lives.

Thankful Thursday

Every Thursday for the month of November is what I'm calling Thankful Thursday. I started off the month last week, by letting you know how thankful I am for work. And I'd like to continue today by sharing how thankful I am for Love.

First of all for the Love of God. A God who loved me enough to send His only Son to die on a cross for my Forgiveness and Salvation. (John 3:16) A God who knew me before I was born, and has a plan for my life. (Psalm 139) A God who knows my name. (Psalm 147:4) A God who is Love. (I John 4:7-11)

And second, for the Love of a good man. My husband John. We've been married for over 22 years now. Many of them have been wonderful years. Not all of them have been easy, but we've gotten through the rough times together. And came out stronger for having gone through them.

This is a song that sums it up:

City of Love
By Martina McBride

This is no yellow brick road
we've been travelin' on
A river of tears washed us here
We're right where we belong

We rode it out, no we didn't drown
And look at what we've found

Every street we take is paved with Truth
If a mountain's in our way that's a mountain we move
Baby there ain't nothin' we can't do
Since me and you built this city of Love

Through shiftin' sand with our own hands
We dug to solid ground
Where we found out what loves about
Yeah, there's no stoppin' us now

Yeah, on our own stone by stone
We built a fortress strong

Where every street we take is paved with Truth
If a mountain's in our way that's a mountain we move
Baby there ain't nothin' we can't do
Since me and you built this city of Love
This City of Love

I Love you John, and Thank you for loving me. And God, there is no Love like Your Love. Thank you is not enough. Yes, this Thanksgiving, and all year long, I am thankful to have Love in my life. Please share with me what you are thankful for . . .

The Game of Life

This month at our Church, we're doing a series called The Game of Life! You remember playing that game don't you? You can get married, have kids, go to school, get a career, earn & spend money, etc., etc., etc.

(Pastor Jeff, taking a spin!)

The first week we talked about marriage. How besides your relationship with God, it is the most important relationship you have. And how we need to nourish that relationship.

(You can kind of see the stage set-up,
That's my man rocking out!)

This week we talked about parenting. How it's the most important job we have. Pastor Jeff asked, for fun, Which of these T.V. shows displays the best example of parenting? My first thought was The Cosby Show! Until he gave us our choices. (We had to text in our answer and then later in the service we'd see the results) The choices were:

A. Leave it to Beaver


B. The Brady Bunch


C. The Cosby Show


D. Seventh Heaven

As I said, my first thought was The Cosby Show. Look at the title of my Blog. I love parenting with humor! That was until he said, Seventh Heaven. I loved that show! It was about a Pastor & his family. And yes, it was a little cheesy, and they could always solve any problem, no matter how big in an hour episode. But, I loved that they always talked about everything & anything. And I'm a talker! But, I came in second. The Cosby Show got the most votes. (I can live with that) Then Seventh Heaven, Then Leave it to Beaver, and last, but not least, The Brady Bunch. (which I've always loved too!) Which would have voted for?

(John leading Worship; they did an acoustic set this week.

I know it's not real clear, but that's Kyle on the drums behind his dad,
and Zach on the guitar to the right.
Like Father, like sons!)

Babysitting 101

More proof that my girls are growing up. . . tonight they "practiced" Babysitting. Yes, they are 12 years old now, that magical age that we've always told them they could start Babysitting at. (They've been asking for a couple of years now.) They went over to a friends house, who will be turning 12 this next year, and then another friend left their two little girls there with the three Pre-teens. John & I were home all night if they had needed to get a hold of us. We don't live too far from where they were at.

They had so much fun. And, according to them, they did a great job! "See Mom, we told you we're old enough to Babysit!" I heard from them more than once. (But, I guess with Twins, I hear everything twice anyway!)

When they got home I told them I was gonna call the house & say in a whisper "Have you checked the children?" Lexi said, "and I would have said, 'Mom, I know it's you!'" After all that's what my friends did to me when I was a teenager & Babysat! At least after the movie When A Stranger Calls came out. If you like scary movies, it's a good one! (And of course my girls have not seen that movie!) Zach likes suspenseful movies, so he & I had a Mother/Son bonding time watching the new remake of it! He loved hearing how scary the first one was to me as a teenage girl babysitting! I haven't been able to find the original yet, for him to see. But I digress.

So, now I have two 12 year old girls, who really want to start Babysitting for real. They may be ready for this, but I don't know if I am. They are supposed to be babysat, not doing the sitting! I guess I better gear up for our own Adventures In Babysitting! (another movie from back in the day!) I'm really aging myself with this Blog post, aren't I?! Any advice for the Mother of girls who babysit?

Thankful Thursday

I'm starting something new on the Blog, in honor of Thanksgiving. For the month of November, every Thursday will be "Thankful Thursday!" Where I'll just talk about something I'm thankful for. And I hope you will share with me some of the things you are thankful for as well. Because we all have so much to be thankful for.

I am thankful for work. My job, and yes, my paycheck! In this economy it is such a blessing to be able to work and to have a job. There are so many people out of work & struggling right now. And, though we are not well off by any means, when I was in New York City last summer on that Missions Trip, I met many homeless people, who had lost their jobs, and couldn't find another one. I realized it can really happen to anyone. Good people down on their luck. Or, who's bad choices, or circumstances beyond their control, left there mark on their lives. I'm so happy to be able to work.

And it is such a blessing to love what you do. And to really like your job. There is a saying that goes "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." I really do love my job. It's fun and challenging. Not to mention the clothes! :) I work for a good company. And the mall is less than 5 minuets from my house now. That makes it so nice. I may not get rich doing it, just like being in the ministry and working for a Church, but it helps. I'm so thankful to have a job that I really enjoy. Thank you God, for my job.

Playing Dress Up!

I thought, just for fun, I'd share with you our families costumes for Halloween:

I was a Hawaiian girl, and John was a Baseball Player!

I needed to be something I could work in, that was comfortable & cute!
We dressed up for work that day! It was fun.

Kyle was a "Surfer Dude" with Olivia as his Life Guard!

I think he liked that long blond wig a little too much!


Then, my girls, being on the Twilight bandwagon, would only go as Vampires!

Lexi

Erica

That evening some friends had us over to eat, play games,
hand out candy & Trick or Treat.


And Zach went as a Rubik's Cube!

He can actually do a Rubik's Cube!
His record is 59 seconds,
from when you hand him one, all messed up,
for him to have it all put together right!
(I can not even come close to solving it!)

This is what we did with his costume at the end of the night,
put it on the fire pit!
And watched it go up in flames!
Talk about ending the night with a big bang!


I hope you & yours had a fun and safe weekend too!