We Are Proud Parents!

We are very proud of Eric. Having switched schools we have been concerned that he would get caught up with his academic skills. He has really taken this as a challenge. He has put his heart and soul into his school work and we have seen tremendous results cause of his diligence. We tend to feel bad because he gets more homework than usual so that he can get caught up but he does not complain and works so hard. His first spelling test he got an A+! We don't think he enjoys all the work but he just plows through it all. It is an amazing feeling as a parent to be so proud of your child's hard efforts. He is having difficulty with the current spelling list but we are working hard and going over the rules to help him. This morning we reviewed what we went over last night and it seems he may have caught onto the spelling rules. We will see on tomorrows spelling test if he really comprehended. We know that he is trying hard and that is what counts for us.
Not only has he worked really hard at school but all 3 of the kids have worked diligently on their AWANA memorizing. Eric said 4 sections last night. He had worked on 7 but got stumped on the 5th section. He came to mom afterwards almost crying and said he only said 4 sections. Dad and mom both reassured him that it was ok and he did a great job. He tends to put a lot of pressure on himself. But we are encouraged to see him striving hard to do his best.
We have been overjoyed at his maturity and had to share it with those we love dearly.
Gregory and Audrey both make us proud as well. In fact, we had talked about doing right on your own even if those around are doing wrong in our Bible time one evening. The other day the kids were doing something they shouldn't have been(I can't remember what it was) but Gregory told them they shouldn't be doing it and came to mom and told her he did right. (there was a huge grin on his face as he told her) It is a blessing as parents to see that your children really do listen and sometimes they take it to heart.
Audrey loves to look pretty. That can be good at times. So lately we have tried to teach her that it is ok to look pretty but our hearts should be pretty as well. We aren't real sure if she is catching onto the concept yet but the seeds have been planted.
We pray that each of our children will come to know the Lord as their personal Savior and grow to serve him. Eric has asked Jesus to be his Savior almost a year ago. We feel that is why he is doing so well. Children are an heritage of the Lord and we thank him for our heritage!

Making the most of the snow!

This weekend we continued to get more snow! The kids were absolutely delighted. That meant fresh snow to play in. They played all weekend in the snow and loved every minute of it. Daddy even got out there with them and joined in the fun. Of course mommy had to take the pictures.

By the end of the week we are supposed to hit a high of 40 degrees. I am beginning to miss the TN weather very much right now. It has been fun to see the kids having so much though. They even like to eat the snow! I remember doing that when I was a kid. We make sure it is good clean snow first though.

The moose are still plenteous here. We continually see them and also see their footprints in our yard. No matter how much you see them it still seems just as exciting as as the first time you saw them. Gregory said, "Mom I want to shoot one and put it on our wall." One church we have been visiting the pastor let Gregory go in his office and he had the head of a huge moose mounted on his wall. It had a really nice set of antlers. He was quite amazed since we haven't seen them with their antlers yet. So now he wants one on our wall.

We thank the Lord for a good weekend and pray for him to be with us as we start a new week. Hope you all have a blessed week as well.

More Snow!

Yesterday at about 2:30 pm it started to snow! :( It didn't stop until the middle of the night. Just when it was starting to warm up (30 degrees) it decided to snow again. It sure did make everything look pretty again though. From what we hear it always make you think that spring has arrived and then it snows again. Oh well, at least we know there will be warmer weather on the way sooner or later!
Robert has continued to do really well at work through the week. Yesterday he signed 4 more products!!! We can only praise the Lord for his continual blessings. We would just like to ask you all to pray that he could sign some real estate deals. Those are what help him to get more commission. If he could get a couple of those along with what he has already gotten it would be a huge blessing. We know that there are several people praying for us and we are very appreciative of each and every prayer.
Gregory continually asks me if his party is today. He know his b-day is coming and is ever so ready to be 5 years old! After all when he is 5 he is going to school. (not until the fall but he is still quite anxious) As parents we rejoice with our children at each milestone in their lives but it is also hard seeing them grow up so fast.
Audrey will ask if she is going to school as well after listening to Gregory's conversation on the school subject. We then let her know that she gets to have time with mommy for a year before going to school. Her simple reply of "Yeah!" was satisfying to our ears. She really does love her time with daddy and mommy.
Eric has just switched schools and is having to adjust once again. He has had a wonderful attitude about it all. We thank the Lord for his maturity during this time. He is such a sweet boy and willing and ready to please the Lord. He is so soft toward spiritual things and is always wanting to talk about what he has learned about the Bible. What is even more enjoyable is when he starts to tell us how he can apply it to each and every day. (ie the story of Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego. They obeyed even when it wasn't popular. He said, "Mom I should obey even if other kids do not because God always sees me.") How thrilling to see him grow in such a way.

Can Anyone Send Us Warm Weather?

We are in need of some warm weather. I am sitting here typing this blog with cold hands. :) The weather really isn't that bad it's just that we are longing for the warmer weather. It will be coming soon though.
We had another moose hang out in our front yard all yesterday morning. The kids thought it rather neat. In fact they were concerned about us driving into the driveway with him standing right next to it. When we pulled in he just took a few steps away and then moved right back after we passed. Many moose have come down from the mountains due to so much snow up there. We still get thrilled each time we see a moose.
This next month we are enrolling the boys into soccer. Eric is especially excited about this. He is really talented at soccer and has been anticipating the season for some time. He could have started in January with indoor soccer but it was a little much to handle with just moving here and all. Once the season starts we will post pictures.
Robert had a really good day at work yesterday. He has to sign 15 products a month and yesterday alone he signed 4! We praise the Lord for his blessings yesterday. I am so proud of my hardworking husband. He has always worked very hard to provide for the family. The Lord certainly is good.

Weekend to Remember

This last weekend Robert and I were in Anchorage for a marriage conference. It was great to get away without the kids. (even though we do love them dearly) Sometimes we just need a break. It wasn't as relaxing as we had pictured in our minds but still it was definitely a weekend to remember. We got there Friday evening and started into session right away. Then we spent all day Sat in sessions and Sat evening was our date night. Then again all day Sun more sessions. It was so good to sit and reflect on what marriage truly is and how to make your marriage better no matter how good your marriage is now. It actually can be a very humbling experience. I thank God for the opportunity to attend this conference. It has meant so much to Robert and I. They do give you so much information it feels like you are on overload.
After all this I do have to say that I truly do love and appreciate my husband Robert. I have realized that even though I have always felt this way it is easy to think he already knows this. But I was reminded that he needs to hear this regularly. He is all I could have ever asked for and more. I love you sweetheart!
Anyway, I am coming off this weekend with many things I would like to implement as a wife and mother but am beginning to wonder how I am going to do all this at once. I realize I must take it one step at a time with God's help. Please pray that I will follow through with these many good ideas.
Robert and I are excited to see what all God plans to do with our family. We hope you all had a great and wonderful weekend as well.

The love of a child

Last night we were waiting to pick Gregory up from his Uncle Tim and Audrey was sitting in the back of the van. She was almost in tears and said, "Mommy I am sad!" It almost made me cry. I asked her why she was sad. She replied with, "I miss Gregory!" as she fought back tears. I assured her we were there to wait for Gregory. After I assured her a big grin spread across her face. I thought it was so sweet to see her miss her own brother with whom she fights with all the time. It reminds me of our relationship with Christ at times. We may not obey the Lord as we should all the time but even still he will miss our fellowship with him. No matter where we are he wants our constant communing with him even though we may let him down. He is always ready to accept us back into his arms with forgiveness. Through it all he loves us and shows his grace and mercy. It is wonderful to know we can rest in him.

AWANA memorizing

Today I was helping Audrey memorize her verse for Cubbies. Her verse was "...while we were sinners.. Christ died for us.." She then quoted "while we were sinners, He sent his boy." It was so cute. Even though she said it wrong she had the story right. It goes to show that she is beginning to understand. I couldn't help but laugh. She is struggling with memorizing it correctly but we are keeping at it!

Kids imaginations!

The boys were having a sword fight with each other. Out of the blue Gregory says, "Prepare to Die!" as he is swinging his "sword" back and forth at Eric. He kept repeating it as he advanced toward Eric. In return Eric made no reply other than his fighting sounds, "Eyah" Boys will be boys. It was pretty comical to watch.

Then we have Audrey. The sweet adorable Audrey... She was playing around with daddy the other night and this is was came out of it. The silly crazy Audrey. Can you tell she was with daddy? She adores her daddy very much.

I'm back

Sorry for the delay in posting again. But praise the Lord we have gotten our computer situation fixed as far as we know. I am now able to post on my own computer.
Things have been busy for us. Eric is on Spring break for the week. We are enjoying being able to sleep in for now. It is much easier when he is around. He can be quite a big help with the other kids. He has a few loose teeth right now. We just discovered that his new tooth is coming in behind one that is loose. The tooth is far from coming out though. Unfortunately it seems he will have teeth like his mother. We see possible braces in his future.
Each of the kids are involved in AWANA. They all thoroughly enjoy it. It is neat to see our kids so excited about learning scripture. Gregory asks everyday if it is time for Cubbies. I myself used to teach Cubbies while I was in college. I absolutely loved teaching them. It makes a little extra special to see my kids now enjoying Cubbies.
It is still cold here but the ground is looking quite ugly as there is not much snow here now. Who knows we may end up getting more snow yet. It is hard to tell. We hear that it always fools you to think spring is here and then low and behold you get dumped with more snow.
We really do look forward to spring or at least warmer weather.
God has been really good to us and we thank him for his mercy and grace in our lives. We pray you all are doing well. Take care and we will continue to update more often now that our computer is settled.

Wind, Wind, and More Wind!!!

Today we have winds with gusts of up to 80 mph if not more. I am trying to be conservative! Eric has school canceled due to the bad winds. It was rather exciting to be driving in it as well. It is pretty bad when you keep veering off to the side of the road. It reminded me a lot of our drive through Wyoming only this time I could see what was in front of me. :)
Several have asked if we have been able to see the northern lights yet. We wish we would have but unfortunately we have not. We do look forward to the day when we can view the spectacular moment. We will be sure to take some pics and post them when we do.
We do look forward to hearing from each of you. If we have not heard from you in a while please drop us an email or comment. We do love and miss you all! Take care and God Bless.

Iditarod of 2007

We were in Anchorage today for our car to be checked at the car dealer. While we were there we had a chance to go watch the start of the Iditarod. Several dog sled teams started at a stagger. The kids eyes were big with amazement as they watched each team get started. It truly is neat to see these dogs work together so wonderfully. It reminds us how we as Christians should all be working together to further the kingdom of God. Having seen films of other dog sled teams it to me does not look fun to ride on such a small sled for days on end in the freezing cold and snow. Same with our Christian life. Everything does not always seem fun and enjoyable but in the end it is all worth it when we face our Lord.

Robert was certainly surprised last night for his party. It really was a lot of fun. We were able to meet another young couple as well. The fun is now over and back to reality! Just kidding! We should still have fun in life. As many of you know, Robert always does!

Happenings in our home!

Eric went to Anchorage for the ACSI speech competition today. He had to quote a poem from memory and use expression. There were 18 kids in his category and he took second place! We are so very proud of him. He was so excited to go and compete. He really put a lot of effort and practice into it and we told him it really did pay off. His teacher had nothing but praise about him. She said he was well behaved and obedient on the whole trip. It was an all day affair. Mom is relieved for it to be over! :)

We are still amazed at God's beauty here in Alaska. The sunset pics are from the front of our house. No matter where we are in our town we can always see parts of the mountain chain here. Almost everyday we comment on how beautiful it is, thanks to our heavenly creator.

Yesterday Robert had his 30TH birthday! Little does he know that we are having a surprise party for him tonight. I took him some balloons and a present to him at work yesterday. So he thinks he has had his birthday. Tonight we are going to his brother's house for this surprise. I will definitely post about his party afterwards.

We thank the Lord for each and every day he gives us with each other. We have had our ups and downs in life, as does all, but lately we have realized how good God has been through it all. Our love for each other continues to blossom as the days go by. We continue to look to him on a daily basis for each and every step of life we face. What a great God we serve!