A Day in the Life of Angie

Javin's 9

2009-07-10T14:19:00.005-04:00

I am lagging way behind on blogging. So no one probaby checks this anyway. But for those who do, here's a little recap of Javin's birthday.

Top of Javin's list this year was going to Cedar Point. So instead of a party he got to take some friends to Cedar Point. Wow! What a day. Javin had a great time! A little overwhelming for the friends but they survived. We take coaster riding to the next level, I guess. Ride On! He is alredy planning Kailyn's next Cedar Point trip. We've got a great park for riding roller coasters, much better than Disney.

On his actual birthday we went to Columbus to see the fireworks at Red, White and Boom. That was a fun little outing, except for the parking mess.

The newest past time is riding his Rip Stick (and all the video and computer games). Check it out. It is a like a skateboard but rotates in the center.

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I'll try to add more later.

Little Fishy

2009-04-22T10:28:00.005-04:00

Kailyn has been fishing around in the water for the past few weeks. She just loves swimming lessons.

She has perfected the underwater hand stand. Now to get some endurance going in her swimming and she will be all set.

She is doing great. She has jumped of the diving board a few times. Yesterday she practiced swimming in the deeper water without her floatation belt.

Way to go, girl!

Get Movin'

2009-04-10T22:33:00.007-04:00

With springs arrival and Tae Kwon Do's completion, the search began for good exercise outlets for our family. One option was a basketball hoop for our driveway.

Last Saturday, Poppy and Marlin volunteered their muscles to dig the hole and cement the base of the pole into the ground. Thank you so much, guys! Javin was right there helping as well. He gave the post hole digger a new name: the tweezers!

Wednesday night Joel and Gary tackled the assembling of the adjustable backboard. They were so faithful and diligent about it. It was finally completed at 10:45 pm. Javin was right out there shooting some hoops in the dark!

We are looking forward to lots of fun and exercise around the hoop.

Speaking of exercise, Kailyn started another round of swimming lessons this month. She is doing good and enjoys being in the water. She was so proud that she was able to show another kid in the water how to do his swimming. So she is going straight to teaching it seems. Her swim teacher better watch out, Kailyn might steal her job.

And I have been swinging my hips at my Zumba exercise class. It is a blend of latin and hip hop dance moves that make for a good workout. I wish I could go to the class that Kelly helps teach but Berlin is so much closer, so I'll make do.

Awana awards

2009-02-26T22:46:00.004-05:00

Javin is blasting away in the new program that our kids are doing at church. We starting Awana's last fall on Wednesday night. He has been memorizing Bible verses and the books of the
Bible. He doing great at it. He received a special award for completing his first book. It was quite an accomplishment. The program is awesome. I am so glad we are doing it. A big thanks goes out to all the wonderful helpers that make it successful.

Way to go, Javin. It been a BIG month for Javin. Here he is with his school friend, Michael, that he brought along to Awana.

Blue Belt Javin

2009-02-10T21:57:00.008-05:00

Tonight was Javin's big test to move up to his next level of Tae Kwon Do - from green to blue.

It was a long night of standing still and listening to instructions. And he did awesome! Here he is getting ready. He is quite flexible these days.

Here he is in fighting stance, listening to the commands he is to demonstrate(while mom flashes the camera at him). He has to be very focused and listen well. Good practice for Javin.

Then they spar or fight in pairs. Lastly, they break a board. He broke the board with a back kick.

My new blue belt champion!

Kailyn's Special Day

2009-01-28T17:00:00.006-05:00

Kailyn has been anticipating her birthday for most of last year, I think. She knew it was in January, so on January 1st she began asking if it was time for her birthday.

She had a special day filled with fun times. The day started out with breakfast in bed served by Javin and Mommy. Nothing says birthday like smiley face pancakes.

Add to that treat the excitement of having your friend here for a sleepover. Kailyn and Sarah just couldn't stop playing or talking for that matter until late the night before. They were so cute.

Kailyn was absolutely thrilled with her princess dress that came in the mail from Pampaw and Grandma in Florida. What a delight. She wore it the rest of the day and the next one too.

Mommy served birthday tea to the little princess as well. So it was a good day, followed by a birthday celebration at preschool too. The big party is on Saturday, so more news later.

What to do when it's freezing outside

2009-01-25T21:43:00.005-05:00

Last weekend was a record cold snap for us. I had a low of -21 one night. Add more snow on top of what we already had and what do you get? 2 school snow days plus a Martin Luther King holiday weekend. That's 5 days off school. Snow days are great for sleeping in and lounging around the house, but that only lasts for so long. Then we get creative. Let's go for a swim! Yeah for indoor pools! Let's have a play date! Yeah for preschool friends and Aunties. Let's watch a movie. Yeah for Hotel for Dogs! And let's build a car in the living room.... huh? Checkout Javin's car demo below.

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The snow is here

2009-01-10T14:53:00.006-05:00

Snow has arrived once again in our neck of the woods. Successfully canceling all my plans! So... what is there to do but bundle up and go play outside. Last night we got out the sled and broke in the hill. The kids' favorite thing to do is to hang onto the back of the sled and slide on their stomach behind. We call it the sled train, complete with caboose.

Today the snow was deeper and wetter, producing much better snowballs. So the snowmen were erected and a snow duck and snow boat on a snow lake thanks to Kailyn.

Javin was deeply engrossed in building a snow fort and stock piling snowballs for a great battle. Any boy who wants to come over and have a snowball war is welcome. Having 2 girls in the house who don't appreciate the fine art of snowball fights, he was a bit disappointed.

Mom is in trouble now...

Christmas Whirlwind Recap

2009-01-08T21:13:00.010-05:00

I am a bit behind on blogging. And behind on everything it seems. I don't even have all my pictures from our trip loaded on the computer yet. Yicks. So these will have to do for now. Where does the time go? I haven't been able to catch it since the holidays. Well there is lots to say so I will dive in.

We headed south for Christmas this year, thankfully on an airplane as, 1. my car was in the shop (a whole other story) and 2. it was freezing rain when we left. So hurray for air travel that gets you to Florida in 2 hours or so. My family and my brother-in-law's crew converged on the grandparents for a week of family fun - 9 in all counting great-grandma.

One of our highlights was the Medieval Dinner Theater. Javin was totally enthralled with the real live sword fighting and battles!! Awesome! And Kailyn was swooning over the knight who tossed a flower to her in the stands. Don't forget, eating everything with only your hands, a kid's dream come true! Good times!

Then it was on to a day at the beach with the overbearing sea gulls, 2 sand angels, a sand fortress and a sand obstacle course. The kids were covered in sand from head to toe. I am sure the restaurant we ate at on the way home appreciated all the sand we left behind.

Busch Gardens was the park we choose to visit this time around. Our ticket was good for 2 days so we were able to stretch our enjoyment. The rollercoasters were great! Sheikra, was my favorite by far. That was one steep hill!! Javin was intense about riding everything. He loved all the rollercoasters. Kailyn tried the log ride, which had a pretty big hill at the end. She was scared but choose to ride it a second time. They had 2 great kids areas that she loved. The fun thing about Busch Gardens is that they have animals as well. So we got in our zoo experience for year as well. The tigers were awesome to watch and feeding the birds nectar was a thrilling experience too.

We were so blessed at Christmas time. The kids have so much stuff they don't know what to play with it seems. Star Wars was a big hit with Javin along with an mp3 player to name a few. Kailyn was ecstatic about her Polly Pockets and Fur Real doggie and Cabbage Patch. We were so blessed just to be able to spend some time together since we dont get to see these relatives very often.

I had fun trying to get everything in our suitcases for the trip back home. Not to worry, I accomplished the goal and the bags were maxxed out.

When we arrived back home it was more Christmas celebrations with my family and friends. The Yoder celebration was filled with good times too, along with some clowning around. Star Wars and a Pet School computer game were big hitters for Javin. A doll house and more Polly's for Kailyn. And lots and lots more. This time I was able to load it all up in my car and drive up the driveway. (Yes, my car is back.)

Then the friend parties began and went on through New Years Eve. We are so blessed to have so many loving and supportive friends and family in our lives. I couldn't do it with ya! I love you all and wish you God's best for 2009.

School days

2008-12-16T13:56:00.008-05:00

Javin's had some fun times at school lately. I got to come along for the Thanksgiving party this year. Which also happened to be Pajama Day at school. The kids had fun with the games and snacks. Everybody loves party day.

In December Javin's grade was part of the school Christmas Program. He got to sing lots of songs and had one line to recite. He was really excited about the performance. They were all colors from the coloring box, that is the reason for the cone hats. It was a cute program.

Snow much fun

2008-11-25T17:35:00.005-05:00

Winter has begun in Ohio. We have had snow all day today and cold, snowy weather for the past week. However, it is too warm to stick, so there's not much to talk about but coldness. One day last week school was delayed for 2 hours, which prompted a sledding run for the kids. Even though there was barely enough snow to cover the ground, the sled did slide. Especially if you put the sled ON the slide, Javin discovered. I actually saw him exercise some caution and give the sled a test run without any passengers. It passed his standards and he hopped on for a fast ride down the slide.

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2008-11-15T21:21:00.007-05:00

Kailyn's dream in life is to get married and be mommy. It is so amazing to see how God made us to with such a precious hope in life. She constantly talks about when she is a mommy and how many babies she is going to have and is fascinated with weddings. We scored a bride costume for her on the after Halloween sale rack. So cute.

Kailyn finished up her swimming lessons last week. She enjoyed swimming each week and improved her skills. She sure loves the water. Several weeks ago she overcame a big fear and jumped off the diving board in the deep end with her swimming belt on. Yeah for, Kailyn. Then on the last day of lessons she was really brave and took it off and jumped in. Way to go!

I seem to be short on pictures of Javin, maybe because he is always on the move. Here he is flying out of the jousting hut at the fall family festival. What a busy guy. He is taking drum lessons, which he loves. And he is finishing up his Tae Kwon Do commitment, which he is not as enthusiastic about anymore. A full year of lessons is a big commitment for a little guy. Well, he is not so little anymore. Did you know that his feet are almost the same size as mine??!! Okay... I have little feet, but he is only 8 years old. I can't imagine how big they will be one day!!

Here's a little video of Kailyn at swimming lessons. Don't mind the noodle battle going on the foreground. (The class was a bit out of control at times.)

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Flashes and Wheels

2008-11-03T14:39:00.001-05:00

It seems that everyone is taking pictures this month. School, Preschool and Church. Javin seemed to have something against the camera though. Several of the pictures came out with some interesting faces. Sigh! This one turned out alright. The one from school he is not even looking at the camera.

The big excitement at our house has been getting a new car. What a long process! All in God's timing though. I had previously stated that I was going to get a CR-V. Well, that didn't work out. Then I was back to the drawing board to decide what I wanted to get. There are a lot of nice car out there these days. Making the desicion rather hard for me. I finally narrowed it down to the Nissan Murano. Then the hunt began to find a good used one with leather seats and low miles. My search took me as far as Texas and Minnesota on ebay. But I finally found one in Cuyahoga Falls that was just perfect for me. I am so loving this new car.

The other great news is that I had a buyer for my car even before I bought the new one. God's timing sure is great!

leaf piles

2008-11-03T11:05:00.003-05:00

This year Molly joined in the leaf jumping fun. She was a crazy dog, tearing around in the leaves. The kids had fun with her, as long as they didn't get hurt. Which happened when speed dog crashed into sitting child.

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Pumpkin Patch Freeze

2008-11-02T15:02:00.007-05:00

Last week was Kailyn's Preschool Field trip to the Pumpkin Patch and farm. In case you haven't heard, near winter weather has set in here in Ohio. So it was one frigid day for an outdoor event. I was wishing for my warm snow boots even though there was no snow. The kids had a good time despite the miserable cold. (I am such a complainer.)

They got to ride in a horse drawn wagon to the pumpkin patch and pick their pumpkin. Then tour the barn and see the pens and pens of goats and cows. The goats were very entertaining with all their jumping and tricks and trying to eat their coats. The young goats could jump on the momma's back and balance. The cow licked everything that came near him including your coat when you were least expecting it. Kailyn got to hold a 1 week old goat and bottle feed a pot belly pig with milk that she helped milk from a goat.

It was a very memorable trip for the kids, however my toes did not return to normal until late that afternoon.

Fall Smiles

2008-10-12T23:57:00.003-04:00

My 2 sweeties, who I love dearly, even when they drive me crazy! It's been one of those weeks. Sigh! I need a breakthrough.

Antique Festival Parade

2008-10-10T22:41:00.009-04:00

Kailyn was in her glory riding atop the royal carriage in the Antique Festival. Even better, there was a queen in the back who had a wand. This queen absolutely made her day by letting her hold the wand. It was a real wand, she told me.

She was so adorable waving to all the people at the parade. Poppy said she talked the whole way through.

By the end of the parade when I was watching her, she was so exhausted that she let out a big yawn in the midst of her waving.

Too cute.

Javin was so gracious to share the top seat with his sister this time. He has been the miniature driver for at least 4 years.

Country for a Day...

2008-10-05T22:43:00.004-04:00

Take a peek at the country line dance I was in at church. Yee Haw!! It was THE most fun dance I can remember doing.

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Second Half....

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But then again, I don't remember the dances I have been in very well... So it was the most fun piece I have done recently, that I can remember. How's that?

Angie's update

2008-10-04T08:53:00.007-04:00

What happened to September? It feels like I missed a month and Fall is here already. Wow! I love Fall but I love warm weather too. It's all good. So you have heard about the kids and all the soccer games, preschool adventures and fair rides, but what has Angie been up to, you wonder? SCRAPBOOKING has been the main event.

In September I helped to coordinate our annual fall overnighter scrapbooking event. I love to do this sort of thing, but then why do I get so stressed out? I tried really hard to be calm and relaxed but I don't think I pulled it off. It all stems down to my drive for perfection. If only I could accept the fact that there will be glitches and bumps in the road and be okay with that. Anyway, we had 3 consultants come together with 55 people this time. The Amish Door was wonderful, of course. The food was a hit. The scrappers were happy and productive, so that is all that really matters. And I even got to work some in my own album! 15 more pages done! Yeah! So I am looking to the future for the next time we all come together - March 27 and September 18, 2009. Mark it down ladies!

On another note, I am heading out to my friend's overnight crop today - minus the overnighter part for me. Can't wait to get some undivided work time on my albums. I hope I have enough pages laid out and pictures printed to last till midnight. If not, then I guess I will be home early.

And now the best news for last. I am now the proud owner of a Cricut (pronounced cricket)Expression die cutting machine. For those not in the scrapbooking world, it is the most wonderful machine around! I love it. This machine will cut out any phrase or word that I want in a multitude of sizes. The deal clincher for me was the software that you can get to go with it. With this added bonus you can link all your letters together and end up with a whole string instead of individual letters. Yippee. That will save a lot of time, I am hoping. I haven't actually used the software at home yet. At the overnighter I tried out a friends and was hooked. So hopefully once I get the hang of how the software works, it really will be a time saver. And the addition of a laptop to use in the basement would really help. So if anyone sees a great deal on laptops, let me know. So next time you come to my "House Of Scrapbooking," you will be able to try it out for yourself. Double Yeah!

So happy creating to all of you!

Rides are so FUN!!

2008-09-30T15:26:00.007-04:00

It was a hometown fair type of weekend. This past weekend we headed out to Sugarcreek to experience the joys of greasy, over priced food and rides at the Swiss Festival. I was shocked to discover a ride pass came at the cost of $14 a child. That is ridiculous IMHO! We managed a few rides, cotton candy and the traditional apple fritter, accompanied by lots of begging for stuff from the dear children!

Monday for some crazy reason I subjected us to another day of greasy food and rides at the Coshocton County Fair. This time it was $8 a person so we made out better, I guess - you see this time I had to pay too. Oh well, we had more time and Kailyn rode lots of rides for her money. Poor Javin was stuck in school. Oh the joys of preschool freedom.

She loved the Dizzy Dragons and managed to make Mommy very dizzy. She kept asking if I was bizzy instead of dizzy. It was so cute. Her other favorite was the super slide. Wheee!

Kailyn's Preschool World

2008-09-22T22:18:00.007-04:00

Kailyn is just loving preschool these days. She goes Tuesday and Thursday mornings for 2 hours and 15 minutes. She has made several friends already. Although she can't remember their names, so she calls them all by the same name. It is cute.

I got to go to school to be the helper last week. So Kailyn was the special helper. She declared what the weather was outside and counted all the days with a pointer for the calendar. Doesn't get much better than that. She loves to dress up in her skirts to go.

Kailyn's favorite part about preschool is the dress up clothes and the housekeeping area. Speaking of dressing up, she just came downstairs, after I had put her to bed, with a lady bug costume on, a pirate's eye patch and hat and a hook arm. So much for going to bed early. :(

It has been kinda weird for me to come home to an empty house during preschool. Although I am usually out running around on some errand. Times are definitely changing around here.

Here she is on the first day with her new pink backpack.

Soccer in full swing

2008-09-18T20:46:00.004-04:00

Javin is getting out all his extra energy at soccer these past few weeks. Not that he has a lot of energy left from school, but he does manage to find some to spur him on.

Run, run and run some more. He sure sleeps well on game nights.

It has been fun to watch him play and have a good time. Park District soccer is great because they don't put the emphasis on winning but having fun. Cause if we were keeping score...it wouldn't be good. BUT they are having fun and learning how to play as a team.

Go Black!

Color options

2008-09-04T22:48:00.003-04:00

An update on the car...it hasn't happened yet. I love not being pressured to make a decision as all car salesmen would like me to be. So here's the deal, I don't really care that awfully much about the color as long as it is a good car. But I need to pick one, so what color do I pick? Augh! I don't know. The options are: Nighthawk Black Pearl, Glacier Blue Metallic, Borrego Beige Metallic, Whistler Silver Metallic, Tango Red Pearl, Royal Blue Pearl, Green Tea Metallic, and Taffeta White. Who in the world comes up with these names? What is Borrego? I have no idea. I looked it up in the dictionary and it is not in there. Why would that make me want to buy that color? No idea. Needless to say, the Borrego is my least favorite, absolutely will not buy color. The Whistler I am steering away from because I just had a car that color and want something different. So, what color do you think is just so Angie and crew? Here a link to look at the colors: http://automobiles.honda.com/cr-v/exterior-colors.aspx Click the comment link below and submit your color ideas.

Cavernous explorations

2008-09-02T20:53:00.004-04:00

It was a hot and muggy day...but we discovered a whole new world below ground.

On a whim Mom and Dad and my crew took off for Delaware, Ohio and the Olentangy Caverns on Labor Day. As we descended the steep stairs to the underground world, we were met with wonderful, natural air conditioning. Caves are always 54 degrees no mater how cold or hot it is upstairs. We had a fun time exploring the various rooms, like Catherdral Hall-it had a really tall ceiling. Some of the rooms were very spacious and some of the passageways were a tight squeeze to get through. We learned about how the Indians used the cavern for protection from enemies and as a meeting place. We also found out that the caverns flooded 3 times this June from a sink hole on the property. Pretty interesting stuff.

We added a picnic lunch, some hiking through the woods and a replica of an old town to the menu. Topped it off with Handles homemade ice cream and it turned out be a great little adventure.

Back to School

2008-08-31T21:49:00.009-04:00

School is back in session! We are trying to get ourselves adjusted to being back to the school routine. Summer sure wrecked that - none of this get out the door or you're gonna miss the bus; you better run like the wind she's waiting! :) Javin loves his new teacher and enjoys being a 2nd grader. His favorite special activity is gym, his favorite subjects are math and science, his favorite thing to do at recess is play tag, and his favorite non-learning activity is lunch.

Kailyn is gearing up for her first full session of preschool on Tuesday. She is excited to go and most importantly to wear her new pink backpack. She goes Tuesday and Thursday morning for 2 hours or so.

We had a fun day today at the Coshocton Water park with some of our friends. It was the last day of operation and we had a beautiful day to enjoy it all. Tomorrow we are planning a day of hiking in Mohican State Park.

My past week or so has been consumed with researching new compact SUV's. I came up with a broad list of possibilities and began narrowing it down based on mpg, size and reviews. And the winner is Honda CR-V, America's number 1 compact SUV. Okay so that was one reason it began fairly low on the list to start out, because "everyone" has one (no offense to all you CR-V owners out there who are reading this). That drives me nuts, but what can I say? It has the right mpg, the right size, a great track record on reliability and looks sporty. The models that almost made it were: Nissan Rogue, Mitsubishi Outlander and Saturn Vue. Which one would you vote for? Someday soon I will be joining the masses as a CR-V owner. I haven't bought one yet, but I am relieved to have finally decided on what I want to get. I'll keep ya posted.

New Mexico

2008-08-14T22:40:00.005-04:00

After the Mexican heat had zapped all our energy and robbed us of our sleep, we headed north to air conditioning and swimming pools - New Mexico. We had a wonderful time hanging out with the Carignan family. The kids swam in the pool everyday, several times a day - not much else to do outside in New Mexico. We learned very quickly what the "smell of money" was - they are surrounded by mega diary farms that put off quite a stench but are very prosperous. Josie and I got to do all the fun girl stuff - go shopping, drink coffee, get pedicures in a massage chair. Ahh vacation! Brad got to go to work and babysit for us! HeeHee! The kids played and played. Kailyn and Jordana were the absolute cutest little girlfriends. They played together nonstop!

We made it home through 3 layovers almost without a hitch. Well... it happened in Denver. We had a 34 minute layover which I was kinda nervous about. Every airline person assured me that was enough time and it would have been. However, I didn't get my boarding passes until the flight before and the plane was already booked up so we didn't have seats together. We arrived in Denver with a few minutes to spare but had to wait while a very harried airline lady tried to swap seats around for us and 3 other groups who wanted to sit together. Finally she handed us our passes and boarding begins. By this time I have had to go to the bathroom for awhile so, I decided to sneak away thinking we have some time while they board. Well Kailyn turned ultra-friendly with every lady in the bathroom commenting on how nice their shoes were and taking a very long time washing her hands. Needless to say we got back to our gate and the only people left were just getting on. Close call!! After telling my life group this story they gave me a hard time about the whole "hand washing thing". Their advise: next time skip the handing washing and make sure I get on the flight and honestly the kids won't die from the germs! Truthfully, I didn't think it was going to be that close. Oh well we made it.

Mexico adventure

2008-08-09T22:17:00.012-04:00

I have been trying to find the time to write about our trip to Mexico and it has been hard to come by. So here I am at last! I am so glad I was able to expose my kids to another culture and way of life. It was a wonderful trip of sharing the love of Jesus is such simple ways.

We spent our mornings helping with chapel for the kids. We had a children's pastor along who did a wonderful job teaching the kids. I even got to pray with the ones who wanted to receive Christ in their hearts!! After that we played with the kids in whatever way we could (Uno, jump ropes, playground equipment). We even had a princess party for the girls and painted their nails and gave them flowers. One night we grilled hot dogs and made smores for a special treat. I was able to share a little lesson with flashlights for each kid.

It was so hot that during the day they stayed inside most of the time. One afternoon we set up our travel DVD player and drew quite a crowd to watch a movie. On the last day we bought 3 swimming pools and had them filled with water for the kids. The sheer excitement and joy that was on their faces was priceless. What a simple way to make some one's day a little brighter!

When we got there the pantry and freezer were empty and they had not had meat for the kids for a week. So we headed right out to buy groceries and get them stocked up for awhile. Thanks to everyone who donated school supplies. They were thrilled with them and will put them to good use when school starts up again.

We packed a lot into 2 days. Including Brad and his new sidekick, Javin, who filmed a documentary on the orphanage. Javin was so intrigued with the cameras and all that was going on. He wants to be a camera man when he grows up now. Kailyn did so well and jumped right in and played with the kids in the midst of the 100 degree weather. It was a good trip and we were honored to be able to share the love of Jesus with these kids who live just 10 miles from the US border. Thanks to all who prayed for us!

2008-07-28T18:30:00.004-04:00

We are so excited! It is finally time for our mission trip to Mexico!! The bags are packed and we are raring to go. A BIG thank you to everyone who donated school supplies for the children. I have 2 suitcases full of stuff to take along. How much fun is that!!

We will be at the orphanage for 3 days, where we will be teaching the kids, playing games with them and just spending time together. In the evening we will be at 2 different churches. We are going with friends or ours, Brad and Josie and their kids, their children's pastor and a film crew.

Please pray for us:

· Pray for us to truly show the love of Jesus to these kids.
· Pray for God to transform their hearts and ours too.
· Pray for divine appointments.
· Pray for us to persevere and not get discouraged in the midst of heat and challenges.
· Pray for grace to adjust to a different culture.
· Pray for protection against any attacks from the enemy.

Tenting

2008-07-19T12:59:00.005-04:00

We went tenting this week! You see, it wasn't really camping because we were in the yard right behind the house. So I could hardly call that camping. But we had the tent set up and we had a fire. So we will call it tenting! We all slept out one night and the kids attempted to sleep out there one their own the next night. Kailyn kept coming back into the house every few minutes, then they finally settled down. Then at 1:30 I heard her banging around and trying to get in the house again. So she had to go to the bathroom and it was so dark that she got scared and didn't want to go back out. Javin was quite disappointed that she didn't stay. He would have gladly helped her in and out with a light if she would have woke him. He says next time he is going to lock her in the tent so she has to wake him up. That is his way of saying that he wanted to help her. It was cute.

We also set up the swimming pool this week. That was just what we needed on this hot week. They played and played in it. We had friends over one day and that filled up the pool. They soon headed off to the slide for some water sliding action. Kailyn is still working on her swimming and getting better and better. She can swim a little ways on her own. With some practice she will be on her way!

Heaven Sent

2008-07-16T22:45:00.005-04:00

Well we returned from our trip this weekend. It went pretty good. As good as can be expected from kids with short attention spans. :)

We headed south on Thursday afternoon loaded down in Marlin and Paula's van. The kids did great on the long 5 hour drive. When we arrived we got settled into our rooms. We were staying at an old school building. So the Pecks had a whole classroom to ourselves. And to our surprise we got the tricycle room! Wheee! The school used to house a head start preschool program which left behind some stuff.

Friday we descended upon a retired pastor's house, which the youth had been working on all week. Our job was to finish scrapping the old paint off and put 2 coats of paint on it. The kids worked for about an hour or so before the heat was too much and the novelty of painting wore off. Arielle and crew to the rescue. They took charge all the kids - 9, I think, while the parents kept on working.

After lunch we switched gears and went to the food packaging office. We assembled food packets that are distributed to disaster victims, orphanages, and poor across the world. Each kid had a job either measuring out food, weighing or sorting bags. We kept at it and packaged up 20 boxes of food. Way to go guys!

On to the next adventure - downtown ministry. We set up at a downtown park and began handing out hot dog dinners and making friends. We were able to feed quite a few people and encourage them as well.

On the way home I noticed the Kailyn was hot with fever so that began a bit of a "detour" for us. She ran a fever for a few hours that night and then slept really late. The next morning was painting again so Javin headed off with the crew and I stayed home with Kailyn. After her afternoon nap she seemed to be better.

In the afternoon we helped with a kid's outreach. A local church brought in a van load of kids and we played games and held a mini carnival for them. At the end we did a little program with them and fed them. Javin and I got to teach the kids dance. It all went good.

That evening we were scheduled to have group time at the school but that got rearranged as little Ben had an accident on the merry-go-round and broke his leg. He went to the hospital and had surgery to have it set that night. (They just got home today and are doing as good as can be expected.)

Sunday morning we packed everything up and headed in to town for church, then hit the road for the return trip. I must say, the trip was trying at times. Keeping track of both kids and dealing with their meltdowns and excitement was challenging. But overall they did okay and had a good experience.

Outreach Weekend coming up

2008-07-09T21:43:00.004-04:00

Pray for us this weekend as we heading out for an outreach in WV. The kids are both going along. I am praying for a memorable experience for them in serving others. It should be pretty interesting! :) I hear we get to sleep in an old school. We will be doing some work projects and an outreach. Check back next week to see how it went!

On another note, look me up on facebook. I have finally joined the club! What fun connecting with friends from way, way back.

A Star Wars Birthday

2008-07-04T22:27:00.006-04:00

I find it hard to believe but Javin turned 8 yesterday at exactly 11:45 pm. He enjoyed correcting everyone, informing them that he wasn't officially 8 until then. We had his birthday party the day before. And what a fun party it was! Star Wars was the fascination this year. I found a hint on a party web site about making light sabers out of pool noodles. You cut one in half and then use black duct tape to wrap the bottom to make it look like a handle. They were a big hit. If you get hit, it doesn't really hurt. So the younglings were invited to the Jedi Academy to complete their Light Saber Training before they unleashed their fury on each other. (In other words, we had some games to play with the light sabers before the fighting began.)

Biking was the focus this year it seems. He got a ramp and some trick spokes for his little bike. So watch out now, the scary stuff begins. Jumps and fancy feet and who knows what. He also got his first gear bike. So now he can keep up with mom on the trail. Or I should say that now he an leave me in the dust. You know, you have to realize that I still have a 35 lb, 4 year old on the back of my bike as well. Excuses, excuses. I have a lot of them. We went for ride today on the roads near our house. There is nothing flat about where I live! Have I ever told you how much I love the rails to trails? IT IS FLAT! Perfect for riding a bike. Me and hills just don't mix.

So that's the birthday bash in a nut shell.

Swimming Lessons

2008-06-26T21:44:00.007-04:00

Swimming lessons have been going on this week for my kids. Javin has discovered that he knows how to swim, but he is going to have to work hard if he wants to be a really good swimmer. Last year he started learning rhythmic breathing and found it to be a different from the way he is used to swimming. So this year he is improving on his breathing techniques. It is good for him to have a challenge and really have to work on something. So many things he can do without much effort, it seems. Today was a highlight because they spent the whole session jumping off the diving board. As you can see Javin wasted no time getting a big jump off right away and some diving practice.

Kailyn has just blossomed at her lessons. On the thrid day she attempted swimming a few feet on her own and loved it. She was doing it over and over without her instructor. She was so excited that she could do it. Then today they worked on back floats and she just laid herself back and floated without any help. This is such a big improvement for her. She wants to swim and is going to just take off this summer I think. Hopefully we can get her confidence built. She always says she can't but now she knows that she can. A little more practice and she will be giving Javin a chase.

Spoiled Rotten

2008-06-21T08:26:00.010-04:00

Today could be a very interesting day! After 3 solid days of pure spoiling by the beloved Uncle Darin, my kids are loaded with sugar - ice cream, fudge, doughnuts, pop, you name - and accustomed to entertainment from Ohio best rides at Cedar Point, local amusements at Putt N Stuff and operating on less sleep than normal. But I am ready! I have had my coffee, the time out chair is ready and a mandatory nap time is scheduled.

We had a lot of fun at Cedar Point this year. Javin was so excited because he reached the last height requirement for the roller coasters. So he put in a whirlwind day riding 13 major rides 18 times. He lucked out with the kid swap feature Cedar Point offers. Darin and Javin would wait in line while I took Kailyn on the kiddie rides. After their ride, Javin and I could go up the exit and he got to ride it again with me. So he got 2 rides for the wait of one. Cool! I don't think he realized the value of this feature, but I sure did.

He had several favorites: the praying Mantis ,that's what he called it (It's the stand up coaster, I think he liked it just because Mom doesn't.) and the Maverick (new for 2007 and very fun although a little bit rough) and the Raptor (still one of THE best rides). He even took on the Top Thrill Dragster, traveling 120 mph to a height of 420 feet. Now that's pretty brave for a 7 year old.

Kailyn was awesome at the amusement park too. She had a blast riding all the kiddie rides. I think we managed to get her to every single one at the 3 kiddie lands throughout the park. She really liked the Jr. Gemni roller coaster and rode it 4 times. She even tried the Woodstock Express coaster at Camp Snoopy even though it goes a bit faster. She liked it but didn't want to do it again. She was very brave too. She thought we should be called the brave family because we like to ride roller coasters. She's a little more timid about the fast rides than Javin was at her age, but I think she will come around in time. She also liked the sky ride and antique cars. What was amazing was that a 4 year old was still in a good mood right up to closing at 10 pm.

How to have a water fight

2008-06-17T13:02:00.005-04:00

The temps have been really high for June in Ohio. So we have been enjoying the many ways of cooling off imaginative kids come up with. We've been swimming a couple of times and don't forget the barrel dunking I told you about earlier. So the latest fun has been perfecting the WATER FIGHT!
Good thing we had some willing participants after our Sunday BBQ. Thanks big brother Leroy for keeping the ladies out of it. The key to a successful water fight must be in the goggles.
So come prepared when you visit us again.

Fairy Princess

2008-06-08T19:10:00.004-04:00

Kailyn's big ballet performance was this weekend. She was soooo cute! Her class was the Fairy Princesses. As she left the stage on the last night she added an extra spin and bow. It was so adorable. We were so proud of her. Javin even gave her a hug and kiss afterwards.

I loved this pictures of the girls peeking into the stage before their rehearsal began.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

It's HOT!

2008-06-06T22:34:00.007-04:00

Summer is really here, I guess, because it is hot, hot, hot! So what do you do when it is hot? Go swimming of course. What do you do if you just want a little dip? Well, you fill up your trash barrel (otherwise known as the toy barrel) and jump in .

This has been the kids favorite pasttime lately. Javin set up a dunking booth like at the fair. When you hit the designated circle with a ball, he jumps in to the cold water.

However, today the barrel was a warm swimming pool with both of them in goggles under water. Anything to cool off!

It's never boring around here!

Field Day

2008-06-04T13:29:00.006-04:00

Okay now it 's my turn to steal the computer. This is Javin. I have to tell you all about my fun Field Day at school. We spent the whole morning outside playing games. It was such a blast! The 6th graders planned all the games and took us around to each station. Mom even got to come and watch me. The best part was the water sponge game and capture the flag. I got the guys really wet with a sponge. And I was so sneaky that I stole the flag right out from under the guards nose! We even got to eat our lunches outside. What a fun day at school!

Me and my teacher! She's the best. I love school!

My Preschool

2008-05-29T15:59:00.009-04:00

Hi there, This is Kailyn. I have taken over Mom's computer while she is working outside. Shh, don't tell or I"ll get in trouble.

I just wanted to show you some of my preschool pictures. Wednesday was my last day. I sure love Mrs. Mary and all the fun toys we play with. One of my favorite things to do is go under the canopy for story time. My other favorite thing is dressing up in all the wonderful costumes. I have learned many Bible stories and songs. I always have fun making crafts. I like making pretend food. I get cold playing in the igloo. Brrr!

If you have a little kid my age that wants to go to preschool, call my mom and she will tell you all about it. Bye-Bye.

Nature Calls

2008-05-28T21:49:00.005-04:00

No, not THAT way! Nature has been calling out to us as spring comes into full bloom. We have been enjoying the Rails to Trails soooo much! Sunday afternoons we load up the bikes and hit the trail. We are so blessed to have such a nice bike trail surrounded by God's creation. Okay, biking past Walmart is not the most serene nature view but hey, beyond Walmart it is beautiful! Sorry there are no pictures - too hard to take a picture and ride a bike with Kailyn on the back. :)

The kids and I spent Memorial Day at a Lake Erie beach. We joined my Mom and Dad and their friends who were vacationing up there. It was so nice to be able to get away and enjoy the sunshine and feel the breeze. The water was quite cold but Javin and a few other boys were not hindered by that fact. The kids spent most the afternoon playing in the sand. We would like to go back some more. Does anybody have a recommendation for a good beach area along Lake Erie?

Flower Appeal

2008-05-20T21:26:00.008-04:00

Flowers are blooming at my house and that ALWAYS brightens up my day. Here's what I have growing:

I am being overrun with these delightful little jumping jacks with sweet smiling faces. These are Kailyn's favorites.

I was blessed with this wonderful basket from Grandma and Grandpa Peck for Mother's Day! Thank you. My iris's are the most gorgeous they have ever been this year. In fact I don't ever remember having some that were burgundy before. That's strange.

My rhododendrons are just about ready to burst open. I love to watch their progress.Lupines are one of my most favorite flowers. I bought this plant last year and it bloomed a little then. But this year it is beginning to really take off.

Drum Crazy!

2008-05-19T22:53:00.002-04:00

Listen in on some beginning drumming by Javin...

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

May update

2008-05-18T20:46:00.011-04:00

May has been nonstop for us. I have am so behind on updates for this blog that I am not sure where to start. I guess I can start with announcing that I finally have a camera again. so there will more pictures from now on. I got the Canon G6 used from Ebay for a pretty good price. I am happy with it.

Angie's news: My overnighter turned out great! Only a slight food issue on Saturday but no one starved! Thank goodness. I even managed to got 18 pages done in my albums. I can't wait until Sept 19 for the next one. I have annual flowers planted and my flower beds weeded. I have been busy organizing my office and all the paper work that accumulates in there!

Javin's news: Baseball has been moving along. He loves the catcher position. They have won some and lost some, I haven't been keeping track to closely. He is having a good time, that's what counts. Only 2 1/2 more weeks of school. One night Javin decided to make bread all by himself, without a recipe. He mixed it all up and left it to rise and then forgot all about it. I kneaded it before I went to bed and then he shaped it into a loaf in the morning and I baked it for him. And the loaf looked great. The only problem was that he forgot to add salt so it didn't have a very good taste to it. He is quite the baker!

Javin has been so consumed with Stars Wars for the past few months that he began to have some behaviour problems. So had a break from Star Wars for a month. One night this week I went in to check on him before I went to bed and found him sleeping on his beloved Star Wars book.

Kailyn's news: Kailyn is preparing for her ballet recital on June 6 and 7. She is quite the dancer. She just couldn't contain herself last week during the special music at offering time and broke free from mom and began dancing across the front of the church. She sings and talks constantly. She is still enjoying her preschool for 2 more weeks.

Family events: We had a fun family bowling event with the church. The kids had a great time. Thank goodness for bumpers! They especially loved it when they turned on the disco light and black lighting!

Between all this rain we have been having we managed to squeeze in a bike trip to the trail and enjoy the beauty of crisp spring day!

We also enjoyed the family night at school. Javin tried some rope tricks and played all the games. They had Right to Read Week in a cowboy theme. They got to dress up all week at school. Friday he even went to school with cowboy boots on!

La Red Link

2008-05-06T20:59:00.004-04:00

To find out more about the principles I have been talking about click on the La Red web site link http://lared.org/Home/ and go to the Training tab then to Foundations for Achievement. There you will find a listing of all the principles that can be downloaded. There is an audio discussion of each topic available as well. If anyone is looking for material to start a discussion and bring about positive change, this will get ya going.

For those of you who have been participating on Sunday mornings, I challenge you to listen to the audio on the principles we have discussed and go deeper!

Baseball season

2008-05-05T21:10:00.004-04:00

Baseball has officially begun at our house. This week Javin has 3 games! He has been playing catcher as much as he can. He loves that position. He is enjoying playing on a team. He is on the coach pitch level and is learning a lot.

Go Blue Go!

Overnighter

2008-04-28T08:33:00.010-04:00

I am busy getting ready for my big spring overnight scrapbooking event at the Amish door. I can hardly wait. I have my pictures all printed, organized and even have picked out paper and stickers to go with each page. So each page should be relatively easy. My hope is to get at least a few pages done. I am so excited to have a big group of friends and soon-to-be friends coming. I have several coming that I do not know yet. How cool! The whole group is up to 67 people!! I have 23 of those! I love these events to get away. You come back tired but energized because you got so much accomplished. Now that's ambition in action! Hopefully I can inspire you to join me next time! What an opportunity! Can't you feel my enthusiasm!

If you didn't follow the last part, let me fill you in. I am still going through round table principles at Sunday School and at kinship. So I am immersed in this character stuff right now. Inspiration, enthusiasm and opportunity are just a few. I've got the enthusiasm down for the overnighter, now I just need to keep my attitude in check. That's a challenging one for me.

I tried my hand at inspiring Javin to be more responsible and so on. I took my group's suggestion of sitting down for "tea" to create a welcome atmosphere. We made cappuccinos instead. Yum. Javin created a list of things that he wanted to do or own someday (like a 4-wheeler). The concept of inspiration is to encourage others to follow your dreams. Then I gave a list of things that I hope to see in his life someday. Then he came up with a list of consequences that would motivate him to keep him on track. (Losing his light saber was one of them.) I made a list of my promises in how I would communicate with him. (Here is where the attitude is such a problem, but I am working on it.)

So our first "situation" arose last night and he handled his consequences very well. Now this morning, it was another story. A good nights sleep must have erased our whole conversation and he denies that we even talked about his consequences. I held my end and didn't yell or get upset. And he managed to get himself together in time to get on the bus. Yeah! Progress, I think.

Painting the Day Away

2008-04-16T21:48:00.007-04:00

I have definitely increased my ambition rating this past week. If you have been at the ladies round table Sunday School class, you know what I am talking about. For the rest of you, we are going through a series of principles and one of them is ambition. So how ambitious are you?

My project was the basement - painting the walls. What a transformation! I went from white walls to a nice warm and homey brown. So now all my scrapbookers will feel comfy and cozy in my basement when they come.

The amazing thing is that I pulled off the project pretty much on my own, (Kailyn helped paint a little and Mom helped with the kids and a little bit of painting) and didn't have a major catastrophe! I only stepped in the paint twice!! Can you believe it? Thank goodness I had on my garden clogs and could quickly go wash off the paint, no real damage. My triceps are aching from all the rolling but other than that I'm doing good.

The wall going down the steps didn't turn out to be the color I had imagined. It is green but more on the cool side and I thought it would be a warmer tone. Oh well, it works. The lighter brown, Basalt Mineral, is great and the chocolate brown, Olympia's Curls, is striking! Okay, so who in the world thinks up these crazy paint names? Olympia must have some dark curls on her head!!

I have one more project left, the steps. I am thinking about Olympia's Curls to tie it all together. But a dark color for the steps will probably show dirt really quickly. What do you think? Should I go dark or light on the steps?

Princess Tea

2008-04-13T21:56:00.010-04:00

Last week Kailyn and her friend, Bianca, had a memorable time at the library's Princess Tea Story Time. The girls got all dressed up in their princess outfits and Mimi escorted them to their night out. Bianca and Kailyn are best of friends. We are NOT looking forward to May when Bianca and her family will return to Ukraine. It has been such a joy having a friend like Bianca.

The princesses arrived at the library and joined a room full of other princesses. They had a story about a princess, made princess necklaces and hats. They were even awarded rings. The event ended with princess "tea" (apple juice and cookies) with real china cups.

What a great night! It's so fun to be a princess when you're 4!

Swimming Day Outing

2008-03-28T15:39:00.007-04:00

Javin has enjoyed being home and taking a break from studying. Today we visited a beautiful indoor swimming pool. The kids had a great time splashing around and getting wet. Javin was really interested in his goggles. He swam the length of the pool breathing through the air tube underwater. He only got water in the air tube a few times. That was quite a shock to him when that happened though. He kept working at it until he got the hang of it.

Kailyn enjoyed her goggles as well. She loves to go underwater and pick up rings on the steps. It won't be long until she is swimming on her own. Here she is goofing off with Javin's goggles.

The best part was the nice hot tub. We relaxed in it several times and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves this morning. Ahh, vacation. What fun!

Discover World

2008-03-26T08:47:00.009-04:00

It's Spring Break and we are enjoying having Javin around the house again.

We joined some friends for a trip to the Discover World Museum at the McKinley Monument in Canton yesterday. It was a nice little museum for the kids to explore.

The roaring dinosaur made quite an impression on Kailyn. Javin loved the shadow maker wall and the robotic arm.

So if you are looking for a fun and educational adventure with your kids, check out Discover World. It's not COSI, but it's local. Here's the web site for more info http://www.mckinleymuseum.org/discover_world

Do you want to hear more?

2008-03-21T10:42:00.002-04:00

This Sunday I will speaking during our morning service for a few minutes. Please pray for me if you think about it. Surprisingly enough, I am not nervous about it. Maybe singing in front of 3,000 cured me of my speaking in front of crowds ailment! I will be sharing about how the trip impacted me and the opportunity that I had to minster to the brokenhearted.

Then on Sunday night, March 30, our team will be sharing about our trip from 6 to 8 pm at BCF. You are all welcome to come out and hear what God did through our trip. We will have pictures and video for you to see. Hope you can come. Thanks again to everyone who prayed for us and invested in this trip.

Saving for Change

2008-03-21T10:18:00.005-04:00

Another glimpse into my trip last week...

We were meeting under a mango tree with a Saving for Change group and learning from them regarding their support of one another in business and the principles and guidelines they follow. As we observed them, there were so many revelations and so much inspiration we were overwhelmed. Simple, yet so effective, much like the Amish Culture of Berlin. Their eyes had hope in them and their faces had smiles! Because they are an oral society (this nation is the second most illiterate nation in the world), they recite and memorize everything they need. Their minds are much sharper than ours who rely on electronics to do our thinking for us! They recite the guidelines and parameters clearly before and after each meeting and have to remember the amount they have invested into the treasury box and the total amount their neighbor owes in loans as well as the total amount the group has in the box and out in loans. They each contribute to the seed money each week and decide as group who gets a 2-month loan to start a business. Fines are paid for being late or missing a meeting.

We also watched the Mentor, a young lady from ACTS, and learned much from her about how to tell stories that illustrate principles. The principle she shared was Goals using the illustration of two ladies, one with goals and one without, then asking coaching questions after her story as to which one they wanted to be like. One of the most impacting thing to all of us was their answer to our question: what happens if a business fails and the money is gone? They smiled and said there is no such thing, they think positive! Pressed for more, they said there is no rule regarding failure. There is no room for it. It they made room for it then people would fail. That jarred the paradigm within all of us and confirmed Heidi's revelation from the Lord that in Him, we could not fail. Many of these ladies don't even have Him and they still believed they could not fail!

While we were interacting with these ladies, the chief of the village approached with his "entourage." He held a crop in his hand as a symbol of authority. The male leaders of ACTS that had escorted us responded immediately. The Chief wanted to greet us, shake our hand, and sit with us and the ladies under the tree all of which is absolutely unheard of in this culture. At first we sensed the ladies seemed to be uneasy as to what this might mean. As he shook each of our hands and expressed his gratitude for the program and support of it to help his people, they seemed to relax. On our side we expressed our respect for him following the lead of the ACTS team and the genuine positional respect for him we instinctively felt. He was a chief, an idol worshipping, animal sacrificing chief, but a chief none the less. Arman, the Supervisor of the Saving for Change program for ACTS, and his team were so excited at the attention because they said they had never been acknowledged by a chief in any of the many villages where they work.

Then lo and behold another astonishing thing happened. We were invited to his home. A breakthrough was happening. Women were never acknowledged, let alone asked to his home! The name of his village meant "To Multiply". It was started by three men that saw it multiplying and expanding out. We believe that in the Spirit. When we met with him under a tree he said he saw the respect we had for him and he was pleased with that and was happy we were helping the ladies and his village. He received our gift and gave us a live chicken in return. (Sharyl was thanking God we did not have to participate in the sacrificing of it and we were thanking God for that too!) We are so happy that our visit brought favor and support from the chief and ushered the leaders into a relationship with him that we are sure will be transforming.

Power Encounter

2008-03-18T21:51:00.006-04:00

The following is a team summary of the events of our Sunday night service in Ouagadougou at a Pentecostal Church.

"And the whole city was gathered together at the door. Then he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons... " Mark 1:34

Before our arrival, Joanna, ACTS Executive Director in Burkina Faso, had a significant decision to make regarding our first venue. Since she knew part of our anointing was to the marketplace, she wondered if she should arrange a hotel as a neutral environment as an outreach. As God would have it, he started first in His body, the church. A precious prayer warrior spoke to her pastor and he agreed to host us in his lovely, hospitable church in town. What a time we had under this pastor that is so supportive of women!! Our male covering would have been so happy to meet him and personally thank him for the security that first experience gave us in this nation. The house was overflowing and people gathered at the door. There were many widows, young mothers and others.

After joining the women in their jubilant dancing around the church for worship, the Pastor turned the evening over to Sharyl and Joanna and their new friends from Kenya and BCF. Joanna told us they are too consumed by looking at their problems instead of looking to God. We were there to help them see God. And see God they did! We were on a FREEDOM MISSION, to preach the Kingdom news to the poor and set the captives free. In her gentle, disarming way, Sharyl introduced us to the church and her view of what we carried. The anointing fell according to the words spoken by Joanna and Sharyl and the many words and prayers spoken over us by our church body. After introductions, Erma opened up with the Word God had given her from Genesis and spoke it over the place just in case there were any enemy remnants hanging about! As an example of the saying "Preach the Gospel and only if necessary use words, Heidi danced one of the most beautiful worship dances any of us had ever seen, using her body as her investment into the Kingdom. Even though the crowd may not have had much in the way of finances, they all had bodies.

The foundation for freedom was laid. Gail was told by the Lord to invite three widows up and act out the parable of the talents. Angie handed the "talents" to each one. One young widow left with what to these precious people was a small fortune. Even though we felt very bad for the one who was left with nothing (Ok, we slipped something into her hand just for participating), she gave a powerful testimony on how the Lord had been dealing with her regarding her calling and she had been afraid. Now she was more afraid NOT to walk out in it!! Praise be to God! The other two also gave powerful testimonies regarding the barriers to getting there that night that they had overcome! What a prophetic picture of what the remainder of the week would be like.

Regina brought forth her encouragement for them to overcome the mental lies of the enemy that they are not good enough or valuable as she had to do. Angie encouraged the widows and all of the listeners with her message as the vessel of the comforting overcomer that she is. We all shared our testimonies on how we travelled from darkness to light.

Then, God dropped the final bomb onto that church, Susan Onguko. With her story of the rejection of her father, the death of her only friend, her mother, when she was still a child, the rescue of Derrick Prince, and her ultimate authority in Christ as a Bishop's wife with a calling over all of Africa, she set the captives free! Our ministry of prayer then broke out that none of us will ever forget. Every person in the church came for prayer. As Erma said, she has never seen such a "wall of people" like that before. This was after the authority and glory of the Lord burst on the scene as Susan walked around the breadth and the width of the church with the microphone in her hand taking authority over the sin, the demonic, and any barriers those present were feeling. The three pastors jumped off the platform and were following her, interpreting for her and agreeing with her in unison. Erma said it is a picture she will never forget as long as she lives and I am sure the people won't either. The broken hearted were healed, the captives were set free, the sick were healed, and demons fled long held territory. The people were released into the city to be fruitful and fruitful they will be! Glory be to God!

Burkina Faso Summary

2008-03-18T20:44:00.013-04:00

I have returned from my power packed trip of destiny! Burkina Faso was an amazing land to experience. The heat was hot and dry with dust as thick as fog. But the people were warm and friendly and hard working despite their harsh circumstances. God let us in to the very heart of the country. We encountered some of the most influential and some of the most downtrodden in the land.

Here are the highlights:

We arrived safely, beating the storm that dumped on Ohio as we were leaving.

Sunday our team ministered in Pastor Florence's church in the morning
Sunday evening we had a powerful business women's meeting at a church in Ouagadougou. The presence of God fell in a powerful way and many were set free.

Monday we toured the Acts Center which houses a school, wood shop, sewing school, grain mill, orphanage, garden, nurses station and well. There we met Abdu and Eunice, 2 orphans that stole our hearts.

Monday night we returned to minister to the orphans through dance and prayer.
Tuesday we visited a "Saving For Change" village outside of town and received the unexpected honor of meeting with the chief and his gift of a chicken. (I'll write more later on this program.)
Tuesday night we accompanied our host and Acts Ministry leader, Joanna, to the calling hours of a well know pastor's wife who had just died and sang a song in front of 3,000 people as well and TV cameras. Now this was a huge stretch for me!!

Wednesday morning we went to the Acts Center School and had activities for 225 students on the grounds. Susan taught on Citizenship, Heidi and Regina and I taught the kids a dance, then we had games. We also told the Easter story and made cross necklaces with the kids, and shared letters from an Amish school and told them about the Amish culture. They in turn wrote letters back to the Amish kids.

Thursday was the first day of our Women's conference in Saonre. I shared my testimony of how God helped me through tough times and taught me how to trust him fully. It was a real connection point for the ladies there. I was honored to be able to share my life with them.
Friday we continued the conference and the ladies responded so eagerly to the messages that were brought.

Saturday we finished up the conference and handed over 4 of the goats from the catalog project to the orphans to care for. I also went to a radio station and recorded my testimony for a family radio program that Joanna airs. That night we took off and began our journey home

Sunday we were still traveling and finally arrived home late Sunday night.

I am still processing all that God has done in my life, but it was amazing to see how he used each of us on the team in different ways. We all worked together and God flowed in an amazing way. The environment was ripe with expectation and God did not disappoint. It was an honor to be a part of such a mature and spiritually minded team. The Act Ministry has a wonderful program going on there and I hope to be involved in their work again in the future. God is bringing change to Burkina Faso.

Thank you to everyone who prayed for me and the trip. It was because of such great prayer support that the trip was so successful.

Waga Land, here we come!

2008-03-05T22:42:00.003-05:00

Friday is Launch Day! I can't believe the time has actually come. I am heading out to Burkina Faso on the trip of a lifetime! I am filled with such excitement and anticipation. I've been doing my best to keep fear at bay, so keep praying for me that I will have the confidence of the Lord. My biggest issue is speaking in front of people. I was all fired up to prepare my messages and I feel the Ord has given me a speacial message to impart. Now as I think about actually standing in front of people and giving my message, I am not as wild about the idea. It has been so amazing to see how God has brought me step by step. Even little things like having to make that announcement for the Gift Catalog in front of the church last December. I was so nervous and then it went wonderfully. So I need to keep reminding myself that when I get up there God will meet me and everything will go smoothly. Grace, grace; much grace needed, Lord!

So here's the low down. Our team of mighty warriors leave for the airport on Friday morning. The Pecks are here to stay with my kiddies. Pray for them to be able to handle the separation peacefully. Our travel time is 27 hours with all our layovers. The are ahead by 5 hours. Sunday we go to church and hold a business women's meeting in the capital, Ouagadougou (pronounced Wah-ga-doo-goo). Monday through Wednesday will be various ministry opportunities with the orphans and women in the villages. Thursday we begin the "Woman, God has a purpose for you" conference. I will be speaking on Thursday morning on Esther, Woman of Destiny. Then again on Saturday with my life story called Tragedy to Triumph. All the ladies on the team will be speaking during this morning and evening conference held under a tree. Then we fly home Saturday night and Sunday.

Prayer requests:

Please pray for me and our team of ladies (Erma Yoder, Gail Crites, Heidi Hershberger, Regina Gingerich, Susan Onguko and Sharyl Seih) while we are gone March 7-16.
Pray for unity among the team and for us to flow in what the Spirit is doing on this trip.
Pray for protection and safety for us and the supplies that we are bringing along.
Pray for open ears to hear from heaven and open hearts to minister to these dear people.
Pray for Burkina Faso to be established in righteousness, and that no weapon forged against her will prevail. Isaiah 54:14, 17
Pray for strength and health for our bodies as we adjust to the time change, schedule demands and new foods.
Pray for boldness and confidence as we speak to the women who come for the conference.
Pray for the seeds that are planted to go deep into the hearts and produce long lasting fruit.
Pray for peace and stability for my children back at home. I am believing for Isaiah 54:13 for them “Great will be your children's peace.”

Overdue update!

2008-02-28T21:06:00.008-05:00

It just keeps on snowing. I love it! Ahh the beauty of winter...a crisp blanket of snow covering the earth. Wonderful!

Last week we discovered a new sport that Javin enjoys. Skiing! The guy is fearless! A few times down the bunny hill and off to the lifts we went. In no time he was cruising down blue trails - the straighter the better, since he can't turn very well. He loved to take off at the top before anyone else and race straight down the hill. He was just flying! Stopping was a challenge. He often ended up in a tumble but bounced right back. He was making it down without any falls in such a short time. I wish I had pictures but then I was too afraid that I might fall myself to bring a camera along. And besides I don't have one right now. More on that later. Anyway, skiing came back pretty quickly for me and I managed not to fall the whole night. Granted, I spent most of the night stopping and starting with Javin until he got the hang of it. So we had a great time. However the night turned long and just happened to be a school night. Javin had a challenging next day staying alert! Poor guy had his Tae Kwon Do testing that evening. Not very good timing on our part. Couple that with a belt mix up and we thought he didn't pass. Oh the drama!! But alas, he had passed to the green belt status and they had just misplaced his belt. They were really generous, I thought.

Kailyn, on the other hand, has started going to a preschool of sorts. It's not official preschool but sure runs just like one. There is a lovely church nearby that has an awesome preschool room. Their Children's Director takes 6 kids (between 3-5 years old that are potty trained) for 2 hours a week. It is very affordable - awesome. She has really grown up since she can go to her own school. It's big stuff! If anyone wants more info just send me an email. They still have openings, I think.

So I have been researching this camera decision for days now. I go back and forth on which features that I just have to have. Don't you love that American consumer mind set that says I just have to have the biggest and best out there! Do I really need a 18x optical zoom or 6x enough? How fast do I need to get good sports shots? Lithium ion or AAs? Tilting LCD or not? SD or XD? Too many options! Did you know that Sony has a smile feature that detects when the subject smiles and takes the picture for you? That's almost too automatic for me! So I have narrowed it down to the Panasonic DMC-FZ18. 18x optical zoom with a wide angle lens, lithium ion battery with stationary LCD, super fast between shots. One review said it had not so good image quality and the other said it had great image quality so I think I will wait and see for myself on that one. My next step is go to a store and actually play around with one and make sure I like the feel of it. Who knows, I may be back to square one, I've been there several times already. My 2 favorite sites for researching are http://www.dpreview.com/ and http://www.steves-digicams.com/. So check them out next time you are in the market for a new camera.

Snow!

2008-02-14T22:24:00.005-05:00

This has been an interesting week. Sunday started off with a very chilly 3 degrees and a houseful of people. We had the Burkina Faso team and their famiies and some guests over for lunch after church. The lady from Acts Ministries and her husband were in town. We had a wonderful time hearing more about what it is like over there and about the work they are doing. They are an amazing couple with a heart of service. We are definitely going to the poorest of poor. What a privilege to be bringing the Word of Truth to them and helping them get out of the cycle of poverty. Please pray for wisdom for our team to know what God wants us to do. The needs are so great that it can be overwhelming. We want to know what God is doing and to do that.

Monday we woke up and got Javin ready to catch the bus only to find out that school was cancelled. It was too cold. I don't remember having that rule when I was in school. Well that led right into Tuesday's big snow storm. It snowed and snowed and then rained and snowed some more. Obviously school was cancelled. By Wednseday I had high hopes of school being back in session, but no it was still closed! So what did we do during all this free time...played outside in the snow (for only a short time), improved our SSX Tricky characters, watched Spy Kids (many thanks Mimi), and lots of laundry.

We love the snow. Kailyn and I went out while it was raining and the snow was prefect for packing and built a little snowman. The problem was that it was raining and we got soaked and our snowman fell over right after we got back inside. Now that was a short life!

Thursday was my day to lead the Valentine's party at Javin's class. He was so excited that his mom was in charge and got to tell everyone what to do. I guess that is cool! The party went well and everyone had fun. I don't have the pictures yet from the other mom to post. My pictures may be few these days. My camera had a fatal accident yesterday so I am shopping for a new one. Does anyone have a recomendation for a good digital camera?

Angie's List

2008-02-07T23:24:00.001-05:00

It's winter in Ohio and what's there to do? Not much besides watch movies, scrapbook, clean and read books. My scrapbooks are all unorganized right now so I am not very motivated to work on them. Cleaning, yuck! So it's movies and books. Thought I would let you in on my latest picks.

Movies:
The Ultimate Gift
The Star Wars series (Javin is watching for them for the first time. I have realized that I am not knowledgeable enough to answer all his questions concerning these movies. I have to send him to Uncle Eugene.)
SuperNanny Season 1
Hitch

Books:
on Parenting
Be A Great Parent by H. Norman Wright
Respectful Kids by Todd Cartmell (All time favorite)
Raising children on purpose : helping your children find their God-given calling by Wesley H. Fleming
Parenting With Kingdom Purpose by Ken Hemphill

on teaching my kids
Big truths for little kids : teaching your children to live for God by Susan Hunt
My ABC Bible Verses: Hiding God's Word in Little Hearts By Susan Hunt
Sign & say : Bible verses for children by Daphna Flegal
52 Family Time Ideas by Timothy Smith

Fun Reference
Kids Love Ohio by George and Michele Zavatsky (Great ideas of fun stuff to do with your kids)

Devotional reading
Your Best Life Now for Moms by Joel Osteen
Your Scars are Beautiful to God by Sharon Jaynes (haven't started yet, but hopefully I will get to it soon.)

Fictional jaunts
Hood by Stephen Lawhead
Scarlet by Stephen Lawhead

Story time with the kids
Epossumondas Saves the Day by Coleen Salley
The Gingerbread Girl by Lisa Campbell Ernst (She's smarter than her brother)
Pennsylvania Dutch Night before Christmas by Chet Williamson (Hillarious book if you are from Holmes County)

Power Parenting Prayer!

2008-01-30T13:26:00.000-05:00

I picked up a book about parenting (Be a Great Parent by H. Norman Wright) that began with a chapter on praying for your kids. I loved this prayer.

Dear God,
I am powerless and my life is unmanageable without your love and
guidance. I come to you today because I believe that you can restore and renew
me to meet my needs tomorrow and to help me meet the needs of my children.

Since I cannot manage my life or affairs, I have decided to give them to
you. I put my life, my will, my thoughts, my desires and ambitions in your
hands.

I give you each of my children. I know that you will work them
out in accordance with your plan. Such as I am, take and use me in your service.

Guide and direct my ways and show me what to do for you. I cannot
control or change my children, other family members, or friends, so I release
them into your care for your loving hands to do with as you will.

Just keep me loving and free from judging them. If they need changing, God, you'll
have to do it; I can't.

Just make me willing and ready to be of service to you, to have my shortcomings removed, and to do my best.

I am seeking to know you better, to love you more. I am seeking the knowledge of your will for me and the power to carry it out.

Amen.

Kailyn's Princess Party

2008-01-27T22:39:00.000-05:00

Kailyn celebrated her 4th birthday yesterday! We started out the day with breakfast in bed for the birthday princess.

She was so excited for her party with her friends. Kailyn loves her friends and is a very social person. She loves to be around people.

There were 3 beautiful princesses and a handsome prince in attendance.

The girls got to have their nails painted at the party. That was a special treat! Everyone had a good time playing with toys, a few party games and lots of cake and ice cream.

Thanks to everyone who showered her with birthday presents. It seemed like she opened presents all day long.

She is growing up so fast. It is hard to believe that she is really 4 now! My baby is growing up!

My Secret Side Job

2008-01-25T22:58:00.001-05:00

I am pretty sure that most of you out there don't know that I have a little photography business on the side. The whole thing just makes me laugh. Me, of all people, getting paid to take pictures. Who would have thought? The reason I find this so funny is that Kevin was so into photography and read all these books and experimented with this and that to create such awesome photographs. Just another of his many hobbies. And now here I am, the one who does not grasp anything about f-stops or shutter speed whatsoever; the one who uses the green automatic mode on my camera most of the time, taking pictures for an Amish guy's harness catalog. So there ya have it, I am Angie, the photographer that only an Amish guy could love.

My Amish guy calls me every now and then to take pictures for him. I burn them on a CD or email them to his printer. His printer does wonders with them and turns them into nice catalog prints. Amazing! Well, last week the dear fellow calls and needs some pictures taken. He has very little light inside his shop so all the pictures are taken outside. In case you are not from Ohio right now, let me tell you it is very cold here right now. So there I was, trying to take pictures of a brown harness that was on a brown 3-year old skittish horse. First mistake was leaving my gloves in the car. Second, was trying to get a good picture on a brown horse, it just doesn't show up well enough. Believe me, this one was the best out of all of them and this is after I doctored it up quite a bit. After 45 minutes in the freezing cold my hands were red and numb but they were finally done bringing out stuff. Boy, was I disappointed when I got home and realized that I will be going back out in the cold to do these over because they just didn't turn out good enough.

I was back at it Monday and I think the inventory must have doubled since the first time, but lucky for me they decided to ditch the live horse and just hung the items up on a post. It's a wonder, but posts are so much easier to take pictures of then a horse who is prancing around and moving his head and ears this way and that. This time I came prepared with thin gloves that I could wear while taking pictures. Needless to say, it was still VERY cold. I was thinking that maybe I should charge double for winter time photo shoots, what do you think? Anyway this money will go toward my trip to Burkina Faso in 5 WEEKS!! So it's worth it all in the end!

Women's conference run down

2008-01-21T17:04:00.000-05:00

I just have to praise the Lord. God is doing such great things in my life. We had our annual Women's Conference put on by our church ladies this past weekend. Each year is always so inspiring and uplifting. This year turned out to be just as great! We had a lovely meal including the largest piece of double decker chocolate cake and tons of icing I have ever seen. I couldn't even eat all of it. Friday night was devoted to worship and it was awesome. Our women's worship team was wonderful. We have such talent at our church. This was followed by ministry time of personal prayer. Good words and and powerful prayers! I think the best part is being there with your friends. I had such a fun time catching up with friends and building deeper relationships. Just some time away from my wonderful kids does the heart good. Later that night the line dancing began - country style. I didn't just say that, did I? I am having a flash back. Okay my deep dark secret....I listened to country music for a short period in my life. Now the truth is out! Thank goodness that phase didn't last long. Anyway it was fun, falling all over each other and trying to keep up with all the turns and moves. Yee haw! From there we headed to socializing game time until way too late in the night!!

Saturday morning came way too quickly and I think I downed 3 cup of coffee by lunch time. We had some awesome speakers and break out sessions. I was very encouraged and challenged and inspired. The prophetic and prayer breakout was so fun. It was a time of being prayed over individually. I just have to laugh and cry at the same time. God's words to me are so exciting and fun and I am not surprised at all. It must be written all over me. I guess I can actually say, I felt joy in my life this weekend. True joy like I haven't felt for a long time. Thanks to all the ladies who prayed for the conference and made it happen. I have been so blessed.

New Year's Eve Fun

2008-01-06T20:38:00.000-05:00

Okay so, my internet connection has been less than stable the last few weeks. So I am a bit behind on posting! Let's see, where to start...

We had a fun New Year's Eve celebration at the Elliott household. And yes, the kids stayed up until midnight! Kailyn's hyperness grew and grew as the hours went on. The more tired she is the more wound up she gets! The boys ruled the video games and the girls played well. The adults even got to play several rounds of Speed Scrabble and Boggle.

Good times!!

Nathan and Kailyn had matching jammies!!

We are blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful friends and to be making new friends! We were blessed to host a Ukrainian couple, Stepan and Oxana, and their 18 month old, Elliana for a few days. Poor Elliana came down with croup and was not feeling well while they were here. I enjoyed getting to know them and drinking lots of tea. The tea kettle was heating on the stove the whole time! So now when we visit Ukraine we will have quite a few friends to see!

Happy New Year's to all of you!

More Christmas pictures

2007-12-27T13:55:00.000-05:00

Kailyn and all her ballerina stuff.

Christmas Jammies.

Christmas Eve family picture.

Kailyn's version of Silent Night.

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Christmas Festivities

2007-12-26T22:16:00.001-05:00

There is so much to share today that I am not sure where to start. We started off the Christmas weekend with Javin getting sick. So that put a damper on a few things. He ran a low grade fever for several days till I finally got him to the doctor's office. Only to discover he has strep! Boy, was I surprised! It must have been the world mildest case. Hopefully he didn't get anyone infected. I opted for the shot in light of our past experiences with Javin and medicine. Better a few minutes of pain than 10 days of torture! He is on the mend now and we even managed to have our Christmas celebration along with lots of Germ-X and hand washing!

What else...We had a fun Birthday Party for Jesus with a bunch of kids. They acted out the Christmas story in an impromptu play, ate birthday cake and played party games! It was fun and hopefully memorable for them. The kids also had their Christmas program at church this weekend. Javin was in the choir and a wise man. He also made an appearance as a dancer with his solo break dancing stint! The crowd went wild. He was quite nervous when it came time to go on stage and remember he did all this with strep! Kailyn got to go up front to sing a few songs and I helped get the 5 and 6 years going on an angel dance.

Then came the presents and lots of 'em. They kids were blessed abundantly. And so was I. We stayed up late watching Shrek 3. Then the kids and Molly piled into my bed for our Christmas Eve tradition of everyone gets to sleep in mom's bed. Such good memories!

Christmas morning I served brunch for 10 at my house. It was so much fun to come up with some interesting new recipes. I was brave and made all untried dishes and believe it or not they all turned out good! Thank goodness. We had crab quiche bake, spiced almond peaches, and french toast fingers, and lots more. Te day was filled with lots of visiting and friendship.

Our Christmas was a busy time but full all the stuff that good memories are made of!

Launching Out

2007-12-21T14:01:00.000-05:00

I am so excited to share my latest news with you. I am going to Burkina Faso in March to minister to widows and orphans with Acts Ministry. A small group from our church (including my mom) is going over for 10 days. You can checkout their web site at http://www.acts-burkina.org/php/anHome.php Burkina Faso is a landlocked, western African country located above Ghana that is in a state of great poverty. The ministry we are working with seeks to help widows learn a vocation to support themselves and helps orphans to get an education and daily meals.

Grandpa and Grandpa Peck have graciously agreed to come up and stay with my kids so that I can go. All I can say is that I am really, really looking forward to this. I know it is the next the step for me and that God is going to speak to me during this trip. I just have this feeling that it is going to be one of those turning points in life. Please pray with me for God to direct our family. He has really been burdening my heart to get involved with the poor and forgotten ones in greater way. So we will see where this next step leads.

Holiday Kitchen Fun

2007-12-16T15:50:00.000-05:00

We love to make Christmas treats at our house. One of our latest traditions has been the Cookie Exchange at my Grandma's house. Kailyn and I busied ourselves in preparation of this fun cookie filled day. We made Peanut Butter Cup Cookies. They are easy to make and a sure favorite! We got on our cookie-making gear, it's just more fun in an apron and baker's hat! Kailyn helped a bunch with unwrapping the peanut butter cups. She even was a big help rolling the dough into little balls. I have included the recipe for you to try out yourself.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
INGREDIENTS
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
40 miniature chocolate covered peanut butter cups, unwrapped
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda; set aside.
Cream together the butter, sugar, peanut butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla and milk. Add the flour mixture; mix well.
Shape into 40 balls and place each into an ungreased mini muffin pan.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press a mini peanut butter cup into each ball. Cool and carefully remove from pan.

The next thing on our list was gingerbread men. My kids love the gingerbread man story!! I cheated this year by buying the ready made gingerbread cookie dough. It was so easy and tastes really good. Thanks Pillsbury! They rolled and cut out the little men. We have a running gingerbread man and regular gingerbread man. Javin entertained us with his retelling of the story and the many variations he has heard. Later in the day we decorated our men with icing and mini M&M's. Yum! The green and blue one that Javin is holding is his depiction of me.

Then we moved on to constructing a gingerbread house for our men. In the past, we have bought the kit from a store. That was always fun, but I never let them eat it, who knows what they put in those things to make them last so long! So this year we tried making the house out of graham crackers. The challenging part was making the royal icing to hold it all together. It is supposed to be really stiff when it dries. I don't think I have that part down yet. It was a little runny and adding more and more powdered sugar wasn't helping. But they stayed together. So now our men have houses! Fun times!

Our Snowman's Short Life

2007-12-12T08:46:00.000-05:00

Saturday the weather warmed up just enough to make the snow perfect for packing. The snow balls were flying everywhere! We built a huge snowman. I should say, I built a snowman. Kailyn made her own little one and Javin worked on building a snow fort with his snow brick molds. The big snowman needed to go on a diet because his middle was bigger than his bottom part. Ooops. He began to lean over rather quickly and looked like he was bowing.

It has warmed up considerably by now and this is all that is left of our dear snowman.

It's Enough

2007-12-06T21:51:00.000-05:00

The weather has been so cold up here. It seems especially cold since we were just in Florida, I think. We got a few flurries on Monday but nothing much. My opinion is that if it has to be so very cold than snow would make it much better. Well we were pleasantly surprised on Wednesday when we got up and the world was covered in white and still coming down. Molly started barking and woke us all up. Then Kailyn looked out and and started yelling "It's enough! It's enough!" The translation on that would be that she is so excited that it's enough snow to build a snowman and go sledding and make snow angels. All the things she has been wanting to do. It was so cute! Here is a picture of Kailyn wishing there was enough snow on Monday.

Javin's school was cancelled and Kailyn was outside with snow clothes on over her pajamas by 8 am. We enjoyed a day at home together. We did try to go away but my battery was dead so we just forgot about it and let it charge up. The kids had fun sledding, even got mom to go a couple of times. Did you know there are 2 ways to go down a hill of snow? On the sled and off the sled! Here is a clip of them coming down the hill ON the sled and one of Kailyn coming down SANS sled. We love snow!!

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Orange belt

2007-12-06T21:37:00.000-05:00

Javin has stepped up to the next level in his Tae Kwon Do training. He is now officially an orange belt! Way to channel all that energy into something productive, Javin!! Here he is at class getting his new belt.

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Seven Mountains Gift Catalog

2007-12-03T15:31:00.000-05:00

Well the Seven Mountains Gift Catalog project that I have been working on is finally at the launching stage!! We have overcome some major hurdles. I am still amazed that God brought this all together in such a short amount of time. Wow! God is good and has all the resources we need. It was amazing to see all the talented people God brought in to help us. It was stretching at times, like Sunday when I was designated as the one to share the vision with the whole church! I was so nervous but then when I got up to speak I was so relaxed doing what I knew I was supposed to be doing. Javin even came up front with me and shared his wishlist with the congregation. This is just the beginning of something great and we are so excited to see where God takes us from here. So jump on over and check out the new Seven Mountains Gift Catalog web site at http://www.sevenmountainsgift.com/ and BECOME A MOUNTAIN MOVER!!!

What's it all about? You can now give a gift this Christmas that will keep on giving all year long. Go to our web site to see the list of opportunities that are ready for you to purchase. We have goats to purchase in Burkina Faso, guitars for churches in Nepal, food for orphans in Kenya and much more. This gift catalog is designed to give you the leverage to actually change some one's world. We have selected country representatives from 9 nations who are involved in the message of the 7 Mountains. Simply put, you are influencing church, family, education. government, media, entertainment and business. Seven of the mind-molders of society. Each project is designed to sustain itself so your gift reproduces again and again. The exciting aspect of the project is that we have tried and true relationships built with each country representative and they are dedicated to completing the purchase of these gifts for you. With each purchase you will receive a gift card to give to someone telling them how you bought these gifts in their honor. All gifts are tax-deductible. We are promoting this project digitally and therefore have no printing or mailing costs.

Join me as we make the world a better place this Christmas and throughout the year. And invite all your friends to check us out as well!

Florida trip review

2007-12-01T22:05:00.000-05:00

We have finally returned to the land of cold, wind and sleet! Florida was sure a nice break from our "lovely" Ohio weather! It was in the 70's and 80's everyday. We were definitely blessed with great weather during our trip.

We had a wonderful time visiting with the Pecks and enjoying Florida. The kids did great on the plane ride.

Highlights were our windy trip to the Fort DeSoto Beach in St. Petersburg and our 2-day Sea World excursion in Orlando. Javin even got to feed the dolphins!

We packed 2 holiday celebrations in as well - Thanksgiving and then Christmas a few days later! Now that's a lot of celebrating!

The kids went swimming at the pool every chance they could.

They also went to a Children's Musuem. Fun times!

The most exciting time I had was getting locked out of the house. I had to have a neighbor pry the screen off a window so I could crawl inside! What an ordeal!

I also took the opportunity to experience Black Friday shopping since I had babysitters available. I have never gone really early and experienced the crowds. I was quite amazed at the amount of people that were up at 5 am. I didn't have anything I really wanted, it was just interesting to see all the people lined up with their bargains. Later in the day I did find a good deal on shoes for Javin and waited in line for an hour to buy them. That was crazy! But that kid goes through shoes like you wouldn't believe. He's on his second pair of sneakers for school!

It was fun to take a break from the old routine and soak in the sunshine.

The News...

2007-11-15T13:16:00.000-05:00

I know you are all wondering where in world is Angie?? Ha! Well, I am still here...just a bit busy right now. I am so excited to be working on an awesome gift catalog project to benefit people in other countries. I'll tell ya more later. But it's gonna be great! And I am getting ready to head for the sun in Florida! WooHoo! Can't wait, but I got a lot to do before then.

Let's see, last weekend I packed my house out with new and old friends for a game night. It was awesome. I just love to have my house filled up with people who are talking and having a good time. There were so many people standing in my kitchen that you literally could not move. We had to pass the milk down the line to get it to the refrigerator! It really made me smile! Here's picture of the kids enjoying a movie.

This week Javin had his testing for Tae Kwon Do to advance to orange belt status. He seemed to do pretty well, but we don't find out the results until later. He was so pumped because he broke his first board with his fist! Now that's some power! Can you believe I forgot the camera!! But here is a picture of him in his sparring gear. Sparring is when they fight each other. What boy wouldn't love that, "legalized" fighting! Usually you get in trouble for this, right. He is pretty aggressive, now he needs to work on some strategies.

Kailyn is learning a new dance for ballet and enjoying that. And generally keeping very, very busy!

Clowning Around

2007-11-04T17:21:00.000-05:00

The kids have been clowning around all week it seems. Kailyn has really taken an interest in dressing up. One day she was a lion, next a pirate, then a lady bug and then Tigger - you get the picture. Eugene and Joani brought Trick or Treating to our door. Does that count as Trick or Treating if the treat bearers come to YOUR door?

Our church had a Fall Festival that they got to get dressed up for. Javin looked delightful in his clown costume. Pants, shoes and shirt courtesy of Save and Serve. He loved having his face painted, although it was a bit itchy. He reminded me so much of Kevin and how he loved to clown around. They had a great time playing on the inflatables and doing all the fun kids stuff at church. Javin looked quite comical in his sumo wrestler outfit. They used a modified leaf blower to fill the suit up with air. It was a little too big for him and he fell over pretty easily. But he had fun any way.

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Leaf Jumping

2007-10-30T21:50:00.000-04:00

Javin's goal was to build the largest pile of leaves ever. We did pretty good. The pile was almost as tall as him. The best was jumping in. Oh the joys of doing a "cannonball" into a pile of leaves! Watch the video below and see him in action. Look carefully at the end and you will see Kailyn pop out of the pile.
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I love ballet video

2007-10-29T21:35:00.001-04:00

I am loving video sharing!! How fun!!A 3 year old's song about her love for ballet...
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Dog Power

2007-10-29T15:58:00.000-04:00

Here's a little clip of Molly pullng Javin on his scooter when we were at the Rails to Trails.

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Of Games and Story Hour and Leaves

2007-10-28T21:19:00.000-04:00

One of Javin's goals in life must be to be able to play every game before the recommended age on the package! This week he added 2 new games to his repertoire of games - Rook and Speed Scrabble. Both games are for age 8 and up. He has played Hearts before so he had the concept of tricks already for Rook. He's got the name a bit skewed though; he calls it Brook. Speed Scrabble was played at a not so speedy rate, which was fine. I gave him some help but he understood the gist of it. He was coming up with words on his own. He loves words and does excellent on his spelling tests!

Kailyn loves to go to our little Story Hour program that is not so little any more. Well, the only little part about it is the space. Last week there were 20 kids and their moms and siblings packed into this tiny space. Such excitement over Story Hour. They sing songs, listen to stories and make crafts. She loves it!

The leaves are falling all around us this week,which provided us with some great leaf jumping opportunities. What a great childhood past time. I have many fond memories of jumping and burying myself in leaves as a kid. The funny thing is that now MY kids jump in the leaves that fall from the SAME trees that were there when I was a child. Isn't that weird?

Kailyn had some friends over to help in the leaf fun one day. The leaf-stuffed man also came out this fall. This year he is stationed at Mimi's house. I think he needs to go on a diet! He is looking kinda chubby.

October News

2007-10-25T20:22:00.000-04:00

So I've got some catching up to do. Last weekend was quite different for us. Javin went camping with a friend. So it was just the girls at home. Javin had a great time, although I haven't got many details out of him. Males - they just don't think details are important! :) Kailyn and I had a fun shopping date on Saturday. We went to a restaurant and she was quite the social charmer, making friends with everyone around us.

When Javin returned we decided to enjoy the beautiful fall day at the rails to trails with Molly. Kailyn took her bike and Javin had his scooter. If we would have been tourists we would have hit it just right. But we are not, and all the buggies we met on the trail did not impress us. Kailyn freaked every time one passed us. We never last very long it seems. Kailyn got tired of riding after only a short distance and wanted to hold Molly. Well, they start running and Kailyn tripped and fell and it was all over. She cried and whined the whole way back to the car. Plan B kicked in and we headed to a playground to burn some more energy.

It is so easy to get frustrated when things don't go the way I plan. I'm envisioning a fun time enjoying God's creation and then I have to give myself a reality check. What's more important - having a good time at all costs or helping my child handle the bumps of life? Oh yeah...life's a journey; enjoy the process! I tend to get so focused on the end result that I can miss the point altogether. Does anyone else suffer from this disease?

Soccer Energy

2007-10-19T13:58:00.000-04:00

The kids were sure blessed with great weather this soccer season. We have had a very mild fall so far. Javin has one game left, then soccer is officially over for this year. He has had a great time running up and down the field. This is truly a sport that Javin can readily apply all that energy that God has blessed him with. His favorite position to play is fullback. He played in the goalie position one time. He did well as goalie but had a hard time staying focused on his own game. He kept stealing a peak at Tre's game when the ball has at the other end.

The boys have had a fun time and have been improving too. We will be sad to see the soccer season end this year. Way to go Berlin Gray! We are not supposed to keep score but IF we were keeping score I think they only lost one game. ;)

Me and my little helper

2007-10-16T22:11:00.000-04:00

Today I bravely took on the the task of painting my picnic table and chairs. Truthfully, I don't do well with big projects like this.

My first task with preparing the furniture. Okay, so I blasted it with the pressure washer. Well... I got the green buildup off and some old paint. Are all those wood splinters supposed to come off? Not a good sign! Then I got the paint from the hardware. No problems there. Thank goodness.

Today I finally had some time, but the weather called for rain. It didn't look very rainy and the radar showed the rain just missing us. So I decided to try it. Kailyn join in on the "fun". She was a really good helper, seriously. She just didn't last very long. The painting went alright until the rain came and I had to stop. Kailyn and I were a bit sloppy and got some paint on my patio. I figured it was water-base paint so it should wash up. Well it soaked into the concrete and DID NOT wash up fine.

After looking at the furniture tonight, I am definitely going to have to sand the seats down or we'll have splinters in our rears every time we eat outside. So, the job is not over yet.

Top Two Tips Today: Don't put me in charge of your next fixer-upper job. And you gotta watch Kailyn or she'll lick the paint! :) Better luck next time, I guess.

Fun-Filled Farm Day

2007-10-13T21:38:00.000-04:00

Sunday afternoon Kelly and I loaded her van full of kids and headed up to the Ramseyer Farms. That is one cool (not in terms of temperature) place. The kiddos had a great time running around on the obstacle course, corn maze, stationary horse and a bunch of other neat things.

The corn maze has the roads of Ohio as the passageways through it. You are supposed to find the hidden stamping stations throughout the maze. We found one before we were just too hot to go anymore.

Okay so this is October but the temperature is 90 and no breeze. Talk about crisp fall weather!! :) We were so very hot and thirsty. The little ones needed naps so that didn't help the situation any.

But then we found the corn pit, a wagon filled with field corn, that was out of the sun. They played and played in there burying themselves in nice, cool corn.

Lastly we tramped out into the pumpkin field with our wagon and picked out pumpkins.

So many good memories are created each day!

Chop, chop!

2007-10-10T08:48:00.000-04:00

Kailyn is one busy little girl. I guess this story starts a week or so ago. Kailyn snipped a little bit of her hair. It wasn't much and we had a big talk about it. I thought, well that's over with now.

But no, it wasn't. Over the weekend she decided to try out Mimi's big hair cutting scissors and really whacked off a chunk of hair right in the front. So we headed for the hairdresser as soon as we could with our hair emergency. Now she has the cutest little haircut. It is really short in the back and longer it the front with bangs, of course. Thankfully she didn't cut real close to her scalp so bangs work well.

Overall it didn't work out that bad. I think she knows she is not supposed to do that now. I hope!

Tribal Praise

2007-10-07T20:40:00.000-04:00

Today was Javin's big day. He has been practicing for a Men's Tribal Dance for church for the past month. He was so excited to be a part of this. Some of the men from church had a vision for worshipping the Lord in a powerful, manly way. It was just awesome!! (I wish Kevin would have been here for it. He would have been right up there with them. But he is up in heaven right now doing his own dance before our Creator!) The guys had sticks and pounded them to the beat of the African music. Javin and his friend, Tre, got to start it it off with their part of the choreography. What an opportunity to praise the Lord.

A Hunter in the Making

2007-10-01T15:44:00.000-04:00

Javin never ceases to amaze me. The opportunity to go deer hunting on Saturday came up and he jumped for it. He just about couldn't wait until it was time to go. Pastor Bill generously invited him to a big boys hunting trip with Tre. Let me remind you that this is Javin, the boy who lasts about 10 minutes at fishing and then is bored.

The report that came back was that Bill covered them up in camouflage and they sat outside for 3 hours watching for deer. Now this is Javin and Tre who have about as much energy as 2 space shuttles. And the amazing thing is, they did it! They sat so quietly and without moving that they actually saw a small buck. Too bad it was too small to shoot.

So who knows, maybe Javin will grow up to be a hunter. Who would have thought?

Soccer Daze

2007-09-28T15:43:00.000-04:00

We have entered the Soccer phase of life. Practices are now completed and the League has begun.

Javin plays on a team made up of 1st and 2nd grade boys from his school. He enjoys all the action that is involved in soccer. The first game was hot so they went through lots of water. Better hot than snowing. They play all through the month of October, so snow is a very real possibility.

The big news is that Javin scored his first goal!! He played great all last year but connecting with the ball and getting in the goal never happened. He was thrilled with his accomplishment but was quick to say that Bradley helped him score by passing to him. Way to go displaying good sportsmanship!

Kailyn's Fair Day

2007-09-26T08:24:00.000-04:00

Last week Kailyn and I went to the fair to see the Horse Show with Mimi and Poppy. We watched the Show for awhile and then hit the rides. Kailyn loved all the kiddie rides, especially the Fun Slide. She kept going and going! Of course she made friends wherever she went. It was a fun and dusty day!

The rollercoaster however was not a hit with Kailyn. She had to cry when it finally stopped. It was just too fast and jerky around the corners.

Poor Javin was a school and missed out on the fun. Don't feel too sorry for him, because he got to got Geagua Lake all day with mom this summer.

The 12 Peck Commandments

2007-09-21T14:34:00.000-04:00

Kailyn had a Sunday School lessons on the 10 Commandments recently. We were taking about them afterwards and our conversation turned to the rules at our house. They started naming our rules and I quick grabbed a paper and jotted them down. Today I found the paper as I was going through the endless piles of papers that collect around the house. It is interesting to hear what stands out to your kids. So here is Javin and Kailyn's version of the 12 Peck Commandments (they took turns submitting entries).

Love God with all your heart.

Love your neighbor as yourself and be kind.

Don't poo in your panties. (Kailyn)

Eat with your mouth closed.

Pee only in the potty. (she was on a roll)

No jumping on the furniture.

No hitting, kicking or biting.

No banging the bar stool on the counter.

No saying "stupid".

No climbing on top of the play set.

No climbing up the slide.

Be kind to the dog.

Javin's version of the Statue of Liberty.

What a week!

2007-09-17T21:28:00.000-04:00

Last week was a big week for all of us. Javin's soccer practices started on Tuesday. He loved it. His games will start in a week. Sorry but I don't have any pictures for ya.

Kailyn's Wednesday night ballet classes kicked off this week too. She goes with a friend from Ukraine, Bianca. They were so excited to wear their pink leotards and tights. Kailyn did wonderful they say. Their practice room is not parent accessible. :( So I couldn't watch. She's been doing her moves around the house all the time.

For me this week was filled with planning and preparations for our first Amish Door Overnighter. Going somewhere new is a bit stressful, but boy was it worth it. The facility was just awesome. The ladies were thrilled with the conference room that has windows all around and a gorgeous view. They took very good care of us and everyone enjoyed themselves. I was so wound up on Friday that, I must admit, I didn't feel so well. I finally relaxed later in the evening. I went to bed a little early - 3 am, instead of my usual 4 or 5 am at overnighters. I am such a night owl that is it hard to stop scrapbooking when I am really on a roll. I was able to complete 12 pages in my own albums and had fun taking care of my customers. I snapped a few pictures at the start of the weekend. I should have taken some more when it was packed out with people. We had 62 people in attendance. We were so pleased with the awesome response. The whole weekend was a lot of fun!

A BIG thanks to Mom and Dad for watching my kids!

Parading Through Town

2007-09-11T21:21:00.000-04:00

Last weekend the kids both got to be in a little hometown parade. Javin was in his usual spot as Poppy's sidekick atop the white Cinderella carriage. They wear matching bow ties and top hats. What a pair!

The surprise was that Kailyn got to ride in the barrel train with a bunch of other kids at the last minute. She got a bag of candy to throw as they went along the route. As we watched the parade dark storm clouds began to circle overhead. Just as Kailyn's train came to a stop at the end of the parade the clouds burst open and the rain fell for a few minutes on us. Otherwise it was a great little parade.

Transformation

2007-09-08T21:42:00.000-04:00

The gravel driveway at my house has disappeared and has been replaced by inky black pavement that's as smooth as... butter - well, not butter on a hot day, that would be too runny - you know what I mean! So much for my attempts at imagery.

I decided to black top my driveway this summer and see if I could surprise Javin. I thought it would so fun to have him come home from school or wake up one day and see trucks working on the driveway to his surprise. But he managed to get wind that something was going on. However, he didn't not know when this was going to take place and neither did I for that matter.

So when he came home from school Tuesday he spotted the grader and truck from the school bus and flew in the driveway dumping his bike in the grass right away so he could take it all in. He got to watch some grading and hauling as they got the site prepared. Then he had some fun helping Dave mark off the driveway with a spray can that was hooked up to a trigger. Kailyn got to try her hand at it too. He even wrote out his name before the paint disappeared. I wonder if the estimate figured in the amount of spray paint my kids would be playing with!

Then the pavement crew arrived on the scene and the base coat of 300-degree asphalt was laid. Late that evening, after answering a ton of questions from a curious 1st grader, they called it quits. The crew was back again the following afternoon carefully laying the top coat on a sweltering day. Kailyn watched a little then headed in for naptime. After this coat, we were not allowed to drive on it for the rest of the day. So that night Javin eagerly set his alarm for 6:30 am, so that he would be ready for school with time to spare for riding his bike up and down our new driveway. He met his goal in the morning and we flew in and out on our bikes until the bus arrived.

So the next time you visit me, you will have a smooth ride in the whole way.

The joys of being a kid

2007-09-07T09:52:00.000-04:00

A day playing at the park is worth all the effort in a child's eyes. We drove to a nearby town and squeezed 3 car seats in the back seat and headed out for some free-for-all running, exploring, grand, fun time at the park. The kids played pirates in the castle and ship playground set up. Kailyn proved to me quite the leader as she took charge of the playground and ordered everyone around. Josh didn't seem to mind and Jacob just did his own thing. In this picture Kailyn is planting a tree leaf. Meanwhile Sher and I relished in some time of adult conversation!! Thanks Sher, I always love it when we get to talk! Great times. Then it was off to "Donald's" for some nuggets and ice cream.

Javin is the king of ingenious play toys. Here he confiscated Mimi's scooped out watermelon shell and turned it into a water fountain. He has such an amazing imagination and can come up with the most creative works of art. Who needs toys when you can play with a watermelon!

Kailyn has her share of imagination too. Here she is fishing in the mud with a stick. She was catching all kinds of fish! Silly girl!!

Downriver

2007-09-06T08:42:00.000-04:00

Labor Day weekend was full of fun times for all. The highlight was a canoeing/kayaking trip down the Mohican River. A group of friends from church joined us as we paddled down river. Javin really wanted to kayak so we got a double for him and I. After awhile he began visiting other canoes in the group and Kailyn joined me in the kayak. Well Javin ended up in Kyle's canoe and the horseplay ensued. The water was splashing around and soon the only ones left in their canoe was the 2 boys. Javin thought it was great fun to rock the canoe. To his delight and amusement he tipped Kyle right out of the canoe and managed to stay inside himself. Well, not too long afterwards he really tipped it and they were both standing in very cold river water. And their canoe...well it was completely filled with water. They had to drag it out and dump the water before they could go on. He did settle down after that because he was so cold. But it was a hot day so don't feel too sorry for him. It was a beautiful day to be outside and enjoy the world God created for us.

Yellow belt

2007-08-30T21:10:00.000-04:00

Great news! Javin passed his Tae Kwon Do test and will be receiving his yellow belt later. It was so fun to watch the boys all crowded around the list congratulating each other for passing. Check back for pictures of him receiving his new belt. It's a big honor to get your new belt! He has been doing great at class and even practices at home. Way to go Javin!

Church picnic fun day

2007-08-28T22:13:00.000-04:00

We had a great time at the church picnic this year. The kids both had a blast at the water stuff! Kailyn flew down the super slide like a maniac. It is a 400 foot slide that ends up in the lake. She just kept going again and again. Javin did some fishing (with only one bite)and played a bunch on the water trampoline and super slide. I ventured out and tried the zip line this year. I didn't mind the crawl up the tree. Jumping off was the hardest part. Then zooming over the lake was cool. That's me way up on the platform. Squint real hard and you might see me!

Skyview is such a fun camp. Kevin would have loved playing here all day!

So Long Status Quo

2007-08-26T22:27:00.000-04:00

Have you ever had a song stop you in your tracks and speak directly to you? Everytime I hear the song "Brave" by Nichole Nordeman I feel it in my heart. That song speaks right to me. Challenging me where I am and how I am living. So here's your challenge. Listen to the song "Brave" if you can and read the lyrics below. Don't let fear tie you down, be brave and just let go. God believes in you. Go for it.

Brave
by Nichole Nordeman

The gate is wide
The road is paved in moderation
The crowd is kind and quick to pull you in
Welcome to the middle ground
You're safe and sound and
Until now it's where I've been'
Cause it's been fear that ties me down to everything
But it's been love, Your love, that cuts the strings

So long status quo
I think I just let go
You make me want to be brave
The way it always was
Is no longer good enough
You make me want to be brave
Brave, brave

I am small
And I speak when I'm spoken to
But I am willing to risk it all
I say Your name
Just Your name and I'm ready to jump
Even ready to fall...

Why did I take this vow of compromise?
Why did I try to keep it all inside?

I've never known a fire that didn't begin with a flame
Every storm will start with just a drop of rain
But if you believe in me
That changes everything

Big Smiles

2007-08-24T23:16:00.000-04:00

Kailyn, my child who is full of joy and spunk, adds such drama to life. Today she called me to come in the house because she needed me. I opened the door and found that she had pulled a whole basketful of stuff onto the floor. The first thing she said was "Mommy, it's okay." As if she needed to reassure me that it wasn't a catastrophe, she was just looking for something. She's right, I need to repeat that to myself over and over the next time a glass is broken, or my latte gets spilled, or all the puzzled are dumped on a heap. (These things have actually occurred at my house in the past week or so.) It's not a big deal, just accidents, just kids being kids. Relax, Angie, and enjoy your kids.

A Big Day for Javin

2007-08-22T22:09:00.000-04:00

Such excitement at our house today!! Today was Javin's first day of 1st grade. He was so excited he couldn't get to sleeplast night, so he woke up a bit sleepy this morning. But he was off to the bus without a hitch. Kailyn pouted the whole way back to the house. She was so sad her brother went to school. She can't wait until she is big enough to go. Only 2 more years, now that is a scary thought for mom! She got lots of one-on-one time with me today so she was happy. Javin came home with a good report. He enjoyed his day and even earned a special reward sticker for raising his hand in class.

After all of that, he had to get ready for his Tae Kwon Do testing. This was his first time testing to get his next level belt (yellow). We weren't sure what to expect. So everyone did the lower level kicks together. Then white belts (beginners) were asked a few questions. Then he could sit out and watch the other levels complete their testing. He did well I thought, but we will find out next week if he passed it or not.

We headed to Java Jo's for coffee to celebrate and the lady behind the ice cream counter gave him a free scoop of ice cream. So I think he had a pretty good day. We will leave out the melt down at bedtime and chalk that one up to the extra stimulating day.

New Hair Day

2007-08-18T21:15:00.000-04:00

Before:
After:

Yesterday Javin went "under the knife" or clippers I should say. He has been very serious about his long hair for the last while. But today he saw a picture of a boy with spiked hair and decided he wanted to do that with his hair. I was quite amazed that he went for such a drastic change on a whim. So now he is Javin, the Spike, Peck and ready for school. Mom got spike lessons from the hair dresser so we are all set for one cool dude headed off to first grade next week.

Geauga Lake Madness

2007-08-18T20:54:00.000-04:00

Javin and I decided to try out Geauga Lake for something different this year. We have been going to Cedar Point, which is awesome, for the past few years. Geauga Lake was not busy at all which was great for us. We practically walked on to all of the rides. Waiting in long lines the whole day is such a drag. So we had it made with no waiting! With one exceptation - a new tube water ride, Liquid Lightning. It was an awesome ride in a 4 man tube that had a 60 foot vertical drop with speeds up to 24 mph. Quite fast for a just sitting in a tube with no seat belts on!! Javin rode every ride he could. He did all the rollercoasters and upside down, spinning things possible. There was only 2 rides that he was not tall enough to do. Sometimes he was the only person on a ride. I skipped out on the spinning rides and by the end of the day on the upside down ones too. But I went on most them with him. The water park was filled with cool slides and other fun water things.

Geauga Lake is definitely not up to Cedar Point caliber but, it was cheaper and had an amusement park and a water park all in one. Javin loved it. Ahh the fun times of summer!