Plans and Providence

Blog

2010-04-27T10:23:00.000-05:00

Paul recently began contributing to a blog created by a friend of ours. Check it out here.

Download "Far Away" and Benefit Haiti :: Desiring God

2010-02-10T16:15:00.000-06:00

Take a look at this video that gets into the questions we all ask when disaster happens.

Download "Far Away" and Benefit Haiti :: Desiring God

Funnies.

2009-10-26T17:12:00.000-05:00

Twiggy left me this week for vacation with her Mimi and cousin, Bird. My mom (Mimi) has been updating us via e-mail about the trip and the following is a conversation that took place between the girls while having dinner at Outback Steakhouse:

Contemplative Bird: “Why are there more boys in here than girls?”
Worldly-wise Twiggy: “It’s ‘cuz of the beer!”

This afternoon I was looking at pictures from Texas when we came across this one:

Frankie pointed to it and said, "Look, Mommy! A ladybug!"

Little Dude...

2009-10-12T21:53:00.002-05:00

...turns 7 months and as you can see, he loves the Pack already.

The Mind of Christ

2009-10-11T13:47:00.009-05:00

I love that I serve the living God, who is actively working in my life to conform me to the image of His Son!

For no apparent reason, I woke up this morning with a heart that was heavy over the selfishness that oozes out of my life. I complain because I am selfish. I snap at my husband and my children because I am selfish. I am critical of those around me because I am selfish.

All these thoughts were running through my mind throughout the course of the morning, and little did I know that God was preparing me for what the He wanted me to hear this morning at church.

The missionary who spoke this morning read from Philippians chapter two:

So, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry of conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves....Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus....

How priceless it would be to live a life with that mindset! What if I were to fully embrace the plans God has for my family knowing that He is in complete control and knows where He wants us (as opposed to complaining that they are not what I want)? What if I treated my family as I ought to treat them? Or what if I truly lived out this passage as it relates to those of whom I am now critical? Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves....

These are such simple truths, but today they had a profound impact on me. I truly want the Lord to transform me. I am confident that He will.

My Compassionate Little Fly Guy

2009-10-09T00:07:00.003-05:00

With the weather getting colder a countless number of flies have sought refuge in the warmth of our home only to discover Rocky, our four-year-old, on a mission to "slay dragons" for his mommy. Or in this case, flies.

Rocky will swat flies anywhere, whether they land in his sister's breakfast bowl or on his brother's head, it makes no difference. If they are in our house, he will hunt them down.

While on this morning's hunt he found a few flies trapped between the screen and the pane of our living room window. After a few minutes of trying to reach them with his orange fly swatter, he sighed.

"Oh, the poor little fellas!" he exclaimed. "They'll die in there!"

Beware of Lion!

2009-10-04T21:01:00.002-05:00

Promises

2009-10-01T14:10:00.005-05:00

After this many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him. So Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you want to go away as well?" Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life..."

I love this passage because it so much echoes the cry of my heart right now. When I read passages like that in Matthew 24 where Christ tells us that we "will be hated by all nations for My Name's sake" I kind of feel claustrophobic as I think about how truly tangible this is, not just where we live as a family, but all over the world. I mean, really! Is following Christ really worth the promise of ridicule, hatred, even death? Life would be so much easier if I were to give up and be washed away in this world and all the pleasures it has for me! In all honesty, the thought has crossed my mind on more than one occasion lately.

But God draws me back (as He so faithfully does) to the Truth of this passage in John chapter six. Where would I go? What better offer is there? Oh, the world has a lot to offer me that looks so good, but what happens when it's gone? Wh at then? This world offers me neither salvation, nor does it offer me a savior. Not only does Christ have the words of eternal life, but He is eternal life! Christ makes this life worth the pain! Oh God, help me endure!

Rules.

2009-07-02T23:24:00.002-05:00

Being an oldest child, Twiggy thought it fitting to post a list of "Room Rules" to hang up in the kids' bedroom. She carefully wrote out each rule and then asked if she could type them on the computer. I said yes, but never thought to look at the rules she was writing until I heard her reading them to Daisy and Rocky. Below is Twiggy's list of rules:

1. When you are don with a toy put it away.
2. Do not open the hall atic (two bats in the house is plenty).
3. Sleep ing rool. 1, blankit 1, stuft Animal or doll and 1 pill0w.
4. Cleen up any BIG messes befor heding down stairs.
5. Obay the Lord Jesus Christ
6. Obay Gods Rools
7. Obay these Rools
8. Honer your Mom and Dad.
9. Do not comit ad0letre
10. Do not steel
11. Do not have any other gods except the tru GOD.

We may have some explaining to do concerning rule #9. Then again.....maybe not.

Four!!

2009-05-09T14:38:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday Rocky!

Twiggy's Concert

2009-04-24T07:22:00.005-05:00

Although we homeschool Twiggy, she goes to the local public school daily for "specials" which include music, art, and physical education. Last night she was able to participate in the spring concert held at the school. The theme was based on a whole bunch of songs that define the music throughout the history of the United States. Below are a few clips from her concert. Sorry about the poor quality.

"Elijah and Joshua"

"Swingin' the Night Away"

Here is Twiggy and a friend singing "Old Dan Tucker". My battery went dead before I could record the concert of is so they agreed to perform it again.

Breaking the Silence.

2009-04-01T15:34:00.008-05:00

You know, keeping up with a blog on a regular basis is much easier than letting it go for a while and trying to start up again. After eight months of silence, where in the world do you begin?

I could start by announcing to our handful of readers (although I'm sure they are already aware) that we just recently had our fifth child, a boy whom we'll call Dude.

He's a sweet little guy and is greatly loved by all of his siblings, especially Frankie who will push the others out of the way while yelling, "My baby!"

We are currently back in my hometown after 8 months of excellent training with To Every Tribe Ministries. We loved our time down in Southern Texas and made some wonderful (and hopefully life-long lasting) friendships with the people there. Now we are pursuing whatever the Lord puts in front of us, which includes more schooling for Paul. Along with working full time, he has also been able to get involved tutoring immigrants on a weekly basis and is loving it!

I have been busy at home and I am enjoying having five kids. Yes, mothering five kids has its challenges, especially when you throw meals, dishes, laundry, school, etc....etc....etc....into the mix, but I mostly love it! I say mostly because there is nothing that teaches me how sinful I really am like having kids! Ugh!

So, this is our life, in a very small nutshell. If you need me to fill in any details please feel free to ask. I'm not making any promises, but we'll see where this post takes us.

What's Providence?

2008-07-01T12:30:00.002-05:00

Here is a great article on the examples of God's providence in scripture.

Medical/Dental Clinic in Jicaral

2008-06-19T13:35:00.012-05:00

From May 25-June 5 I was with a team as part of our training at the CPCP(Center for Pioneer Church Planting) with TETM(To Every Tribe Ministries). The purpose of the trip was to do a Medical/Dental clinic in Jicaral, a village in Oaxaca, Mexico deep into the mountains. This was the first opportunity for the students to put the basic dentistry training to practice. It was a bit harder to do a filling on a squirming 5 year old than it was with the maniquine in class!
The medical and dental clinics have been a great avenue for building relationships with the people for the purpose of sharing the gospel. The language spoken by the Coicoyan people of Jicaral is a form of Mixteco. In order to communicate we usually needed double translation from English to Spanish to Mixteco. The longer we were there the more we found that the people can understand Spanish but aren't very quick to speak it.
In the past, the people of Jicaral have been wary of outside influence as remote villages often are. In particular they have been resistant to the gospel. Several years ago a Mexican church planter was run out of the area. When some of the villagers found out where he lived they went to find him. He wasn't home but his wife was and they slit her throat. Because of the dangers the TETM trips have used a team approach and have focused on using the medical and dental clinics to gain the people's trust.
Slowly the receptivity has increased over the past 5+ years as teams have gone in. This year the people seemed to be comfortable with us being there. We were able to play soccer with the kids, speak to several of the parents about the gospel(while their children were receiving fluoride treatments), and even hold their babies! The response to the gospel was one of indifference, but we are praying that that will change.
Before we left the leader of the village asked us several times about sending an English teacher for their school! This may be an opportunity for the beginning of a church planting team among the Coicoyan people. Would you pray that the details would come together for a team to be able to live there permanently? There is also one known Coicoyan believer who lives about a four hour drive away who is interested in helping planting a church among his people. Ask the Lord to give him the courage to follow the Spirit's leading in spite of cultural pressure against it.
Here are a few pics of the trip. Enjoy and keep praying for us!

Our training will be done in August and then we will be doing some travelling to raise support for our long term plans in Papua New Guinea! Lord willing, most of our time this fall will be spent travelling in the midwest.

On the way down to southern Mexico we had engine trouble that delayed us 2.5 days, just long enough to meet a fellow missionary that has experience in church planting among unreached peoples and is also interested in the Coicoyan people!

We had a doctor from Mexico (Alexandra) and a nurse from Canada(Kathy). North America was well represented on this trip.

It was great to have Gerry, our dental instructor, along on the trip. He stayed busy doing extractions all day.

Josef and Lina Urban, missionaries from northern Mexico joined us for the trip. Their boldness with the gospel was encouraging. They're looking to move to southern Mexico to work.

La Barra de la Cruz

2008-05-11T21:48:00.009-05:00

We just recently got back from a mission trip to a small village named La Barra in southern Mexico on the Pacific coast. This trip was part of our training at the CPCP(Center for Pioneer Church Planting) in Los Fresnos, TX. We were joined by CPCP staff and fellow students from the school.

Since we were the largest family on the trip we drove the TETM suburban and pulled the team trailer. I was warned to slow down for signs that say "tope" (Spanish for speed bump). Every village has five or six "topes" and sometimes the village is so small you can't tell it's there until you test your suspension on the first bump. Overall I adjusted well to Mexican driving, but I did have to let a few cars pass me since I was pulling the trailer.

Here's Frankie and Daddy taking a break on the way to La Barra.

On our third day of driving we hit a road block and weren't able to move for around four hours. We found out after about three hours that the village blocking the road was doing so as a protest against the Mexican government that had failed to send needed medical care and supplies. With the delay from the roadblock we arrived in La Barra de la Cruz on the fourth day of driving. The village leaders were immediatley wary of our presence just as they have been in the past when missionaries have visited. They have a concern that the presence of a "Protestant" church will bring changes they don't want. La Barra has a great surfing beach that's becoming more well known; so they've become more open to outsiders as long as they don't have an agenda to "change the people of La Barra."

Even though the village leaders have made it clear they are not interested in the gospel, many of the people are willing to listen and now there is a small group of believers(all women) who have confessed the name of Christ and also have a desire to meet for fellowship around the word of God. Please pray for Eva. She and her husband Rafael allowed us to stay on their land in spite of the pressure from the village leadership. Rafael is not a believer, but has been hospitable to visiting missionaries. Eva has been carrying a heavy load mostly on her own because of her public testimony of faith in Christ and her leadership among the believing women in the village.

Eva and Frankie(As you can see, Frankie was held pretty much 24/7 on this trip)

Eva and Rafael's son, Jonathan, who is twelve also came to the fellowship times and listened closely to what was taught. He seemed to enjoy the times of praise and joined in on the songs that he knew. Jonathan is an avid surfer and we were able to make it to the beach a few times to watch him catch some waves. It would be great to see God raise up this young guy through the faithful testimony of his mother to reach the village from the inside! There is such a need for godly men in the church at La Barra.

While we were in La Barra Hannah turned seven so we had a cake and pinata for her and invited kids from the village over to celebrate. Here are a few pics of the party.

Before we left for La Barra we asked the Lord to give us opportunities to connect with the people so we could encourage them with the gospel. One way this prayer was answered was through the laundry! Keri and Hannah tried their hand at Eva's new wash station complete with a washboard built into a concrete slab.

We are now past the half way point in our training with TETM(To Every Tribe Ministries). The Lord's direction seems to be pointing in the direction of Papua New Guinea for us so we are going to pursue that as we prepare for the future. Lord willing, in the fall we will be ready to hit the road to share our burden for unreached places with some churches. Pray for us as we prepare and pray for those who have never heard the "name that is above every name."

Papua New Guinea

2008-03-29T11:35:00.020-05:00

On February 15th Paul packed up and, with 6 other guys from the school, made the 30-hour trip to Papua New Guinea for some on-the-field training. He had a great time and learned so much! Right now he is 6 days a week in dental training, while working on a update letter/e-mails, studying...etc....etc......etc..... Although he could do a much better job at relaying the happenings of the trip, I will do my best to get our 11 faithful blog readers up to speed! :)

(sorry for the last two posts.....I'm not sure why the first post didn't take.)

An aerial view of the jungles of New Guinea

Above Paul's group is packing canoes for the trip to Chambri island. On a good day it will only take two and a half hours to reach Chambri Island (the canoe part of the trip anyways).

Chambri Island: straight ahead.

Paul was the designated camera man for the trip.

The picture above is the spring where Paul was able to bathe.

Paul preaching as David Sitton translates. The language they speak is called Melanesian Pigeon. The whole language consists of about 5,000 words and is a mixture of English and, I think, German. Paul said that by the end of the month-long trip he was able to understand a lot of what they were saying.

Paul had a lot of fun with the kids that he met. One afternoon he was coming back from a teaching session and saw a group of boys playing by the water. He ran and jumped in the middle of them into the water and they thought it was funny. He then took a running start and did a flip into the water and they all laughed even harder. After he got out of the water, he picked up one of the boys and threw him into the water. The rest of the boys ran away.

Above is a picture of an Albino from the village of Chambri

Many of the villages had a mumu when the group came to visit (see video clip above). This mumu, not to be confused with the moo moos your grandmother may wear, is a feast where the villagers cook a pig and vegetables in an oven made of sticks and banana leaves covered in dirt. Paul said that the pork was some of the best he's ever tasted. These feasts are a big deal to people who don't have much. Here's more info. on a mumu, if anyone is interested.

This is the hut of Machete Bob, where Paul stayed while in the villiage of Chambri. Long story made short, this is the man who went after David Sitton with a machete years ago, but by the grace of God, has been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.

Above is a woman named Prisca and her husband, John, and their son. Prisca was one of the first believers of Chambri. After believing she suffered persecution many years both by her husband and other men of the village before their eyes were opened to the Truth. Paul said her face shines with the joy of the Lord despite what she has been through.

Here is a video clip of what Paul was greeted with while at a village

Paul with the mud man from Asaro

Which one is which??

A church building in the villiage of Nupeha

Alex and Paul showered with gifts from the people of Nupeha

This picture was taken in honor of the teens at Faith Baptist. We love you guys!!!

Here Paul is standing with Fred and Reg, two men from New Zealand who met joined Paul's group when they landed in New Guinea. Paul really enjoyed getting to know these great men and hopes to keep in contact with them. Here they are lifting Paul up so that he would be in the same picture with them (they are both over 6 feet tall) ;)

This shirt is based from a song that the people of Goroka sang together, "God is good all the time; all the time God is good" Not that these people don't have their spiritual struggles, but what a challenge it is to me that people with horrific backgrounds who have been brought out of the darkness and into the marvelous Light can say that about their God! We have that same God and no matter what He allows into our lives, good or bad, He is working it together for good to those who love Him...ALL the time! Please remind me of that!

Paul had a great trip and, again, I apologize for the sketchy job explaining his trip. If you have any questions for Paul concerning more of the details of the trip, or if you are interested in getting updates from us, don't hesitate to e-mail us at pkpoppe@gmail.com.

Oops!

2008-03-26T21:53:00.002-05:00

I'm not exactly sure what happened with that last post. I actually posted a blurb and all it saved was the title.....twice. Thank you for the comments as I had a good chuckle over them.

Time Passes

2008-03-26T10:49:00.002-05:00

She Sits!!

2008-02-06T10:14:00.000-06:00

A Weak Narrative of Our Day at the Zoo

2008-02-02T08:21:00.000-06:00

Last weekend a bunch of us went to the local zoo with our kids...13 kids to be exact, ages 9 and under (I don't know....we probably looked like we belonged at the zoo). We had a great time, even though by the end of the day we were all in sensory over-load! As usual I didn't get many pictures, but I will share what random pics I have:

Twiggy and her friend Luke acting like Monkeys.

A monkey acting like Paul when he's relaxing on the couch after a long school day (I had permission to write that).

Here are alllllllll 13 kids. The alligator is not real.

Here's Frankie enjoying her favorite part of the zoo.

3/4ths of my clan.

The moms early in the day......cool, calm and collected.

Rocky: I'm not sure if he's preparing for tribal missions or just imitating his mother (wink, wink)

*Twiggy and Daisy want all their friends to know that if they come for a visit they can go with them to the zoo for FREE!

Announcement....

2008-01-30T09:02:00.000-06:00

In honor of our sweet Wisconsin family and friends I officially declare today a SNOW DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah!

We are thinking of you and love you all so much! We are praying for your safety in this weather.

P.S. My Minnesota friends....this SO includes you!

Culture Shock

2008-01-22T22:44:00.000-06:00

This week at the Center for Pioneer Church Planting(CPCP) we've had two guest speakers from the missions department at Southern Seminary, Dr. David Sills and Dr. Herschel York. Today in class Dr. Sills focused on culture in missions and specifically what it's like for a missionary to try to survive culture shock. The only culture shock I've had to deal with so far was on our honeymoon to Spain. We stayed right on the Mediterranean in the tourist town of Roses. What we didn't know is that it was a tourist destination for people from Europe. No one spoke English there. I can remember our waiter getting so frustrated with our lack of Spanish that he had someone else come out and finish our order! When I came back from Spain I understood what it was like to want to kiss the ground.

I am so thankful that the God who has called us to get the gospel to the nations is the same One who transcends culture. He created people groups at the tower of Babel. He can give us the grace and love to adapt to another culture so that we can share the gospel. Will you pray for us specifically in regard to the challenge of adapting to a new culture? Does anybody else have a culture shock story?

Update from Southern Tex.

2008-01-19T21:54:00.000-06:00

Well, my desire to update the blog every week is not off to a good start....but here I go anyways.

Paul is entering his third week of training and he is LOVING the teaching he is receiving (which makes me a little jealous that I have only been able to hear it from his mouth so far...I hope to sit in on a couple of classes in the very near future). This next week two men from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary are coming to teach, so in a way, I feel like a piece of my brother is coming down with them (Hi Jason--I will ask them to give you a hug and kiss from me, okay?). I am hoping that soon Paul will post on the specifics of class and what the Lord has been teaching him (hint, hint).

We are now beginning to get into a routine around home. The kids are getting to know the kids of the other students (which is a huge answer to prayer). We are back in full swing of homeschooling, which Twiggy has been able to tolerate knowing that her new friends are in their apartments doing the same thing. I am starting to realize that I am not on vacation and I'm getting back into the mode of preparing menus and grocery shopping, laundry, cleaning, etc...etc..... I am enjoying getting to know the other students' wives and I'm seeing different things that I could learn from each one of them. They are a fun group of women.

As for the near future; Paul will be headed to New Guinea in about a month where he'll do hands-on training with To Every Tribe. When he gets back, we will have a week of spring break and then, Lord willing, both Paul and I will be taking a course in dentistry where we will be learning how to clean teeth and fill cavities without the use of electricity--very intense! We've been told that when you get out into these remote areas of the world often times the people there will request a dentist even before they will request a doctor or a nurse because the dental needs are so bad. We are looking forward to using these skills, along with my nursing skills, to show the love of Christ to these people with the hopes of one day sharing with them the eternal healing that comes through faith in the Son of God!

More posts to come.....hopefully sooner than later. Thanks for faithfully checking!

Dear Mommy,

2007-12-20T14:59:00.000-06:00

I was wondering if you noticed something.....something very serious......

I do not like carrots.
At all.
When you put them in my mouth....I spit them back out at you.

I would rather eat my bib.

Give me cereal or give me death....

....but, please, no more carrots. They make me gag.

Love, Frankie

P.S. Don't worry, you're still my favorite person.

Get Out Of Debt

2007-12-17T10:14:00.001-06:00

This is a great reminder for the Christmas season. "Godliness with contentment is great gain."

What is going on???

2007-12-12T11:16:00.000-06:00

We've had a few people in our small circle of blog readers who have little to no idea of what has been happening in our lives for the past few months so I decided to use a post to get everyone up to speed. For those of you who know the ins and outs of the changes going on at Plans and Providence, bear with me for a post or two....

We have currently re-located to a big town (well, relatively speaking) in Southern Texas where we will be spending the next 8 months to a year in training that specializes in getting the gospel of Jesus Christ to people who have never heard. This decision was not come by quickly or easily (especially on my part) but one where we have seen our God work in such a way that we have no doubt in His direction of our lives thus far.

In February of 2006, Paul went to the Bethlehem Conference for Pastors in the cities, where the topic of the conference was "How Must a Pastor Die? The Cost of Caring Like Jesus". The topic caught Paul's attention right away, especially living in the American culture where it's easy for us to want to be called Christian, as long as suffering is not included in that calling; a great weakness I see in myself as well. One of the speakers was a man named David Sitton who shared his burden for the unwanted, unreached, sometimes hostile people groups around the world who God has promised will be praising his name around the throne one day (Revelation 7:9-10). The Holy Spirit began to move in the heart of my unsuspecting husband and he prayed with his friend sitting next to him that the Lord would give him direction and clarity as to God's purpose and will.

Paul came home from the conference and very cautiously shared with me the details of the conference and his desire to maybe someday down the road in the distant, distant....distant future look into the possibility of persuing missions to unreached people groups. Immediately I thought of sending my children out to play, worrying that they would be eaten by cannibals and my heart was very closed to the idea. Paul made no mention of it over the weeks that followed, but in my mind we were talking about it pretty much 24/7. Then one early morning as Paul was sleeping (peacefully, I might add) I was awake crying and stubbornly arguing with God, thinking about every reason why it would not be a good idea for us to go into missions. I was foolishly asking God how He could ask us to do this thing, when He asked me, "Keri, do you love Me more than anything?" and I could not argue with Him anymore because He had revealed to me the condition of my heart. That night I gave up arguing with my all-knowing, all-powerful God, and surrendered to the idea of going into missions training. From that point on I cannot tell you what specifically happened in my heart to get me to the point I am now, but He has brought me from being reluctant and unwilling to where I am excited for the training we will receive and for the plans the Lord has for us.

Although we had pursued other areas of possible missions training, those fell through, and the Lord kept bringing To Every Tribe Ministries to Paul's mind. Nothing much was said about it throughout the next 10 months until February 2007 when Paul called David Sitton. He said he was going to be at the Bethlehem Conference for Pastors again this year and would meet with Paul there. To make an already long story shorter, Paul and David Sitton met and we went down to Southern Texas for a visit in April. In May Paul resigned his position as youth pastor at our church in Chetek, Paul finished his last day on the first of June, Frankie was born the beginning of July, we put our house up for sale in August (and had an offer on it within a week), and sold the house and moved in with my parents in September. We lived with my mom and dad until December 4th when we headed down to Texas, which brings us to the present time.

I am not going to lie to you and tell you that everything has been easy-going this whole time. I cannot tell you the depth of the lonliness I feel for my family and friends back home; much of my time has been spent in tears (not that that comes as a shock to those of you who really know me), but I have no doubt of the Lord's leading and because of that I can say that this time is good.

I should go for now, but if you have any questions for us, please don't hesitate to leave a comment or e-mail us at pkpoppe@gmail.com.

Child, you have no idea.....

2007-11-15T16:58:00.001-06:00

I overheard the following this morning between Twiggy, who is six-and-a-half, and her friend who spent the night last night. I was getting ready for the day and Twiggy had picked up and was entertaining Frankie. Frankie spit up on Twiggy's arm and as I was handing her the burp rag...

Friend: Ewwwww! That is SO disgusting!!

Twiggy: (with a roll of her eyes and a sassiness in her voice) Well, WELCOME to motherhood!

Eight Years!

2007-11-13T09:26:00.000-06:00

Eight years ago today I married the sweetest man in the world!

Above is a picture of us in November of 1999...

And here is a picture of us now (except he is on the left and I am on the right). What he has lost in hair I have gained in weight so it all evens out, I guess. ;)

Anyhoo...I love you, my sweet man! Thanks for never leaving me wondering whether or not you loved me!

Misc. Pictures

2007-11-08T23:40:00.000-06:00

Rocky in his "dude glasses"

Where's Frankie???

Jumping in the Leaves

Princess Daisy

Any Takers???

2007-10-27T09:49:00.000-05:00

They book birthday parties, weddings, and in this case, 4th of July celebrations.

Craziness I'll Never Understand!

2007-10-24T10:20:00.000-05:00

I always knew that my husband was a sports maniac, and football season is no exception. Since Fantasy Football has become a major part of the season, however, Paul has taken his insanity to a new level, which never really affected me until yesterday. Those of you who are Fantasy Football "coaches" (or wives of these crazy men) know what I'm talking about when 8 o' clock (central time) on Tuesday morning rolls around and those football free agents suddenly become "available".

For some reason a guy named Earnest Graham was the coveted player. I personally thought there was nothing special about him but, nonetheless, Paul was determined to "pick him up" (which I thought was a dating term, but...okay). Unfortunately Paul had to work yesterday so our morning went something like this:

5 am! Paul woke me up: "Hon, do you mind if I take the computer to work today?"

me: "Well, we kinda use it for school. Don't you have to work?"

Paul: "Yes, but there's this free agent that I have to pick up"

me: "When are you going to have time to pick him up?"

Paul: "Well...maybe you could do it for me..."

me: "...........okay?"

Paul: "--GREAT! I'll get the computer set up so all you have to do is press the "pick up this player" button.......but if for some reason the computer needs to be reset, let me show you how to get where you need to be."

He proceeds to take me through the detailed layout of the Fantasy Football website along with the list of possible "pick-ups" if I fail my attempt to pick up Earnest...by this time I decided to get ready for the day and camp out close to the computer since I was wide awake in fear of forgetting my crash course in Fantasy Football 101.

7:39 am My cell phone rings. "Honey, are you awake?"

"Yes. I never went back to sleep."

"Oh........okay, just checking. Love you! Bye!"

7:42 am Cell phone rings again. "If you can't pick up Graham, first try Adrian Peterson, and then Jesse Chapman, and then whoever else is on the list. And don't forget to drop Ted Ginn, Jr."

7:56 am (I'm not kidding) Ring, ring! "Hey! I also wanted to tell you to to go by the clock on your cell phone. That's real time."

GRRRRR!!! By this time I'm sweating bullets, and my heart rate is actually rising! There I am at 7:58 am staring at this page that I would've never gone to of my own accord and I am once again feeling like I did in high school just before the gun sounded during a cross country meet...

7:59 am My finger is on the mouse, my eyes are on the "pick up player" button. I quickly glance to make sure I have the right player...10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1... click........

silence

Okay, you know what? I didn't get the player. Because some MANIAC COACH beat me to him!!! Not only that, but when I went to find out who had stolen this Earnest what's-his-name, there were 4 or 5 more maniacs scurrying around like ants on candy picking up their "coveted players"!

....craziness I will never understand....

The Gift of Worship

2007-10-22T07:18:00.001-05:00

Seems like the Lord is reminding me of this a lot lately. Thanks, God's Daisy, for sharing!

P.S.

2007-10-20T13:19:00.001-05:00

Does anyone see anything odd about this picture (I mean, besides the poor quality)?

This is a sign we saw while on our excursion in Illinois. Girlie Girl was thinking that maybe the Bud "Family 24 Pack" comes with a nipple for the baby...only in Illinois...okay...and maybe Wisconsin.

Our Weekend With Branching Out

2007-10-16T23:40:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I am a little late on this post--I can't believe a week has gone by--but we had a wonderful weekend last weekend with the fine couple over there at Branching Out (pictured below).

You graciously allowed seven of us invade their home and, I must say, your hospitality exceeded our expectations (you even had Coke in the refrigerator and Sunday night popcorn)! We had such a good time catching up with you; hearing how the Lord has been working in your lives and reminiscing about our days together at camp...not to mention our weekend at that...well...ritsy golf resort with Jeremy and Brina! We loved getting to know your sweet boys; we were excited that Rocky finally had some boys to play with (as I type this he is being coerced by his older sisters to play "wedding" with them). Going out to eat with you on Saturday night was such a treat (many, many, many thanks to WeeBecca) and we left wondering why we don't keep in better touch with you!

This post may specifically be for Branching Out...I know I am not that swell at putting my thoughts into words--and I know this post does not do it justice--but you were a huge encouragement to our family last weekend, probably more than you will ever know. We love you guys!

Where to start?

2007-10-08T23:40:00.000-05:00

I can't even count the number of times I have started to post on my blog and then stopped thinking, "Is this really blog-worthy after being a non-blogger for so long?" Tonight I have decided that is does not matter, I'm just going to post with high hopes that blogging will just get easier from here on out (does anyone understand what I mean...the first post is always so hard after being away for a while).

So much has changed since August 15th. The biggest change being that as of August 31st, we have been homeless and living with my parents. We are thanking God for doing the impossible by selling our house in less than a month; if that wasn't a push, I don't know what else could be! Closing day was an emotional one for all of us (including "Frankie", our newborn, who cried through the whole signing process). I am especially missing my sister who lived just a block away--now she lives 5 minutes away! Although they are so excited to live with Papa and Mimi the kids miss "going home". We are very thankful for Papa and Mimi allowing us to live with them even though I'm sure the house gets a little louder and a little messier than what they are used to!

The kids are doing well. Twiggy is now in first grade and loving it so much more than Kindergarten (as am I). Her reading is getting so much better and I can tell that she's really starting to enjoy the challenge of picking up a book and sounding out words she does not know.

Daisy is equally eager to learn and enjoys sitting in on school lessons. Her favorite thing to do lately is to sing and color at the same time and I love to listen to her sweet voice.

Rocky is all boy. His two new passions in life are Thomas the Tank Engine and driving his older sisters crazy! His younger sister, however, can do no wrong and he is SO protective of her. The other day at church he came crying to me, "Mom, those kids are watching my sister!" As a two-year-old, he is almost as tall as his four-year-old sister!

Frankie has obviously done the most changing! She smiles a lot and LOVES her brother and sisters...and is maybe a little spoiled! We are all thoroughly enjoying watching her grow and change!

Paul and I are doing well. While we our hearts ache at the thought of leaving here in two months our urgency grows as we get closer to moving. We are looking forward to this next chapter in our lives as we prepare with To Every Tribe Ministries, but are longing for God to teach us and grow us during this transition time as well. I am amazed already at how specifically God has proven Himself to be the almighty, all-powerful God who can do anything!

Birthday Girl!

2007-08-15T07:41:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday, Daisy!

We are so thankful for every day the Lord has given us with you and we love you so much!

Happy Birthday also to Uncle John (30!) and happy 9th anniversary to the couple

over at Helms Deep!

For You, Granny

2007-07-22T20:47:00.000-05:00

Hi Granny. I made my Mommy take some pictures for you. Here they are, in no particular order:

Here I am sleeping. Don't you like how I have my hands up by my chin? Mommy thinks it looks picturesque, whatever that means.

Here I am sleeping with Daddy. His arm is very comfortable. If only he didn't snore. How can a baby sleep?

Here we are again.

Mommy surprized me with this one!

Here I am with the whole fam except for Mommy.

Here we are again. Don't Rocky and I look happy?

Here I am in my new dress. Daddy and Mommy think I look pretty in blue.

And last, but not least, a full body shot. Pay no attention to those rolls on my legs.

And that's all for now! I love you, Granny!

Big Brother

2007-07-07T16:00:00.000-05:00

Today Rocky really started to bond with the baby.
He has been asking to hold her much of the day
and has remained by her side often.
He has been pretty protective of her making
sure the girls are not too rough with her (hee hee).

Here are some pictures from this morning:

P.S. Congratulations on your wedding, Princess Teresa!

I hope all went well! We wish we could've been there

New Arrival

2007-07-05T21:38:00.000-05:00

The Fourth of July turned out quite eventful at the Poppe household with the arrival of this little firecracker:

We are continually praising the Lord for a safe labor and delivery of this much-anticipated little blessing and look forward to seeing what He is going to do in her little life. Mommy and Daddy are doing well and Twiggy, Daisy and Rocky love their little sister very much.

If you are interested in details on the little one, please feel free to e-mail us!

Big Boy.

2007-07-02T09:05:00.000-05:00

Does this look like the face of a boy who woke up dry this morning?

Well, it is...

...just for the record, so did I.

What DO They Do?

2007-06-27T08:32:00.000-05:00

I was upstairs getting clothes for the kids to wear today and I came downstairs to this "discussion" Daisy and Rocky were having at the breakfast table:

Rocky: Where's Daddy?

Daisy: He's working...

Rocky: No! He's at church!

Daisy: No, he's working!

Rocky: No, he's...at...CHURCH!!

(...and so on...)

I guess even pastor's kids wonder what these men do when it's not Sunday!

p.s. no baby yet.

Tick...tick...tick...

2007-06-24T15:16:00.000-05:00

I am thankful that God is in control and I am not (even though sometimes I like to think I am). After having pretty steady contractions for three days with no "results", I can so easily and selfishly say, "Poor me! How can this be good?" God is saying, "This is good! I will be glorified"

Thank you to those who have been thinking of and praying for me these past few days--they truly have been good days! Please continue to pray that the Lord would give me patience and that He would be glorified in the birth of this baby!

Twiggy's appendix

2007-06-19T10:38:00.000-05:00

One of Twiggy's close friends, Rara, just had her appendix removed so Twiggy has been talking about it a lot. Today, she came to me looking like she does in the picture below. Did she break her arm? No. Did she sprain her arm? No....

She had her appendix removed!

Pamper the Pregnant Lady, Part II

2007-06-13T10:47:00.000-05:00

For those of you who have also been keeping up with my sister's blog, you may remember her post from last October when she was a pampered pregnant woman. Well, yesterday, I was the pampered one and was sent off by some wonderful friends to get my very own pedicure. These women are quite the troopers because they had twelve children in their charge while I was relaxing in the quiet of the salon. Here are my feet:

Besides being ugly feet, don't they look beautiful???

After my pedicure, I went shopping all by myself before heading to my midwife appointment.

I had a wonderful day and would highly recommend being 9 months pregnant for anyone who has terrific friends! Thank you tons and tons, Mommy, Molly, and Rachel! The day was so much appreciated!

Water Fight at Helms Deep

2007-06-12T08:21:00.000-05:00

Yesterday the kids and I headed down the road to Helms Deep for fun in the sprinkler. Our air conditioning is not working right now and since the temps soared to the upper 80s, we thought we'd take advantage of water. Once again, I did not think to grab my camera until we were almost done with the water, so you are only seeing aftershots...sorry!

Can you believe there is a year-and-a-half difference in age between these two (above)?

The kids had a great time (except for some reason they were willing to get the Mommies very wet, but a little more unwilling to let the Mommies get them wet). After our water fight we hooked the hose to the slide and the kids had fun on the make-shift water slide (I have video of the water slide but am not sure how to post video...sorry...again).

Above is my little native in his loin cloth. Wouldn't he fit in well in Papua New Guinea???

One of these evenings when I have lots of time I will update you on what is going on in our lives. Between a baby coming (three weeks to go), selling our house, and getting ready for the upcoming move we've been very busy.

Remembering that Freedom is not Free

2007-05-28T08:10:00.000-05:00

Thank you to the people who are serving in our military. We appreciate the sacrifices you are making on our behalf. We remember you today and always and you are in our prayers!

Thinking of you, Big Brother!

2007-05-18T16:22:00.000-05:00

Johnny, today the kids and I made cookie dough just for the purpose of eating it!

We love you!

More Fun With Math-U-See

2007-05-14T11:26:00.000-05:00

Echoing my sister's thoughts, we love this Math-U-See curriculum! Math is probably Twiggy's favorite subject and the younger two love to play with the blocks while Twiggy is doing school! Rocky found a new use for the blocks...

"Mommy look! Socks!"

Twiggy's turn!

2007-05-12T17:01:00.000-05:00

All I have been blogging lately are weddings and birthdays, it seems. We really do have other stuff going on! Yesterday Twiggy was in a friend's wedding. The ceremony was out-of-doors and the weather was beautiful! Twiggy was right in her element! I know it's ridiculous, but when she came down the aisle I cried!

She loved her tiarra!

Here she is with the beautiful bride, Amber.

Here's Rocky with what he feels is a good use for the flower girl basket!

Happy Birthday Rocky!

2007-05-09T08:07:00.000-05:00

Rocky is two years old today and, Lord willing, as I type this he is flying in the air with Paul on their way to North Carolina. He has been talking about going to Granny and Grandad's constantly for the last 24 hours or so saying, "Airplane! Granny and Grandad! Cake!" (Granny ordered a cake for his birthday).

Rocky, I miss you and Daddy already and, Daddy, if you read this today give the birthday boy a big smooch from his mama!

We love you, Big Boy!

I've been tagged.

2007-05-03T22:28:00.000-05:00

I think this is the first time I have ever responded to a tag (no...make that the second time). Not that I don't like to be tagged, I'm just a lazy blogger at times. So, here goes...

Here's how it works, I’ll write 10 facts about me and/or habits of mine.- I’ll tag 10 people.- If you’ve been tagged, you do your own list and tag 10 more people...or however many you wnat (”No tag backs.”).

1. I am not very well organized (if any of you who are rotfl can get up now--I know this is common knowledge). If I need something organized, my sister volunteers to come over and help me because she loves to organize. I hope she will still volunteer even after we move to Texas! ;)

2. I do not like to talk business on the telephone and will avoid it at all cost. If I have to make a doctor appointment for one of my children, I would much rather go to the clinic and set it up face-to-face. If I have to make a phone call I will write down word-for-word what I am going to say and rehearse it or else my mind will go blank while on the phone. This does not bode well being a nurse...you have to talk to doctors on the phone every day--and sometimes in the middle of the night!

3. I like to sleep on my stomach. This is hard to do when you are 7 months pregnant!

4. I love to go for walks!

5. I'm not too keen on formalities. There! You have the dirty scoop on me! I don't understand why, if you are able to give a heartfelt "thank you" on the telephone or in person, you are still required to send a thank you card? I am working on getting better at this one, but don't know if I will ever understand it.

6. I don't mind being corrected. If I have offended someone or have done something wrong, I would much rather someone tell me instead of keeping it to themselves.

7. I do not want to be a man. I love the role of a woman! I love being able to nurture and take care of my children while my husband is out slaying dragons. What an honor (and huge, scary, responsibility) to be able to raise the next generation to love the Lord!

8. I am not a very good reader. I don't know if it has to do with the phase of life I'm in, but I don't read very much and it bothers me (yes, I is a learnin' my children at home). I have great respect for people like my husband who read and read! I'm working on this one too!

9. I have lived in Chetek all my life. This move to Texas will be a huge transition.

10. I love shopping!

And the 8 people I tag are...

Froggy
Mommy
Fannie
Mindy
Branching Out
Gknee
Zack S.
Paul (my man!)

Twiggy is Six!

2007-04-25T09:02:00.000-05:00

Six years ago today this crazy, beautiful, sweet little girl was born into the world.
This girl keeps us in stitches with all the funny things she says and does
(like yesterday during school when she slapped her hand on her forehead and exclaimed,
"Mama, I'm trying to think but nothing is coming out!"--she's a lot like her mama).

We are thanking the Lord that He is giving us the honor of raising this one!

Happy Birthday, Twiggy!
We love you so much!

Psalm 8:3-4

2007-04-24T12:54:00.000-05:00

"When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have set in place,
What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the Son of man that You care for Him?"

Moving

2007-04-15T22:53:00.000-05:00

It's official--I can now tell the world that we are moving to Texas in the fall. The main reason we went to Texas on vacation was to check out To Every Tribe Ministries, a mission board that specializes in church planting to unreached tribes. Though we do not know specifically where the Lord is directing us, we are going to be training at the school there in Texas. This has been mulling around in our heads for over a year now and today it became official (well, public anyways). I would love to share with you how the Lord brought us to this point, which I think I will save for another post.

Now the kids are in bed, Paul is at Applebee's with a good friend of his and as I sit here in the silence of our house my heart sinks. I don't know if it's just the release of finally making all of these plans public, or even what it is exactly, but the tears just will not stop. I have no doubt of my Lord's leading thus far and I am so very excited about this next step but I think tonight it really became a reality as we shared the ministry with our home church; we are moving from the place that has been my home for the last 28 years--my parents, my sisters, my grandparents, and the church that I grew up in, all these people that I love so greatly--everything that is so familiar to me will change in a matter of months. I am going to miss everyone so much that my heart aches already. Why is it that sometimes doing what the Lord wants you to do has to be so hard? I hate change! In my flesh I want to stay here and have life continue on as it has been...

...but then my all-loving, all-knowing, all-powerful God reminds me that He is never going to change. It is He who brought me out of the pit in the first place and He is not going to leave me. He will be with us in Texas and wherever He sends us after that. The very same God that is in Wisconsin as I type this is also in Texas ( not to mention North Carolina, Kentucky, Florida, South Dakota...). I don't really know what else to say except that I love all of you that I dread leaving and I love my never-changing GOD!

"I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps." Jeremiah 10:23

Our Little Princess

2007-04-15T13:50:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Daisy was in her first wedding. She was very nervous but did an excellent job for an almost 4-year-old. During the rehearsal she was instructed to throw the petals, but instead would squat down, place a petal on the floor, stand up, take another couple of steps, and do the whole process over again. She was then shown how to throw the petals. So when the next practice came and she was told to throw three petals, she walked about halfway to the front of the church, squatted down, placed three petals on the floor, stood up and walked the rest of the way (she makes her mama smile). Here are a few pictures of the little princess:

Daisy with her "dashing" young escort, Dash.

Just minutes before the wedding, Daisy was getting very nervous, but Twiggy was right by her side to reassure her.

I love this picture of Daisy with the bride, Becca.

Happy Easter!

2007-04-08T08:43:00.000-05:00

We serve an awesome God who not only will be victorious in the end, but already has the victory! Death has been defeated because Christ is alive! What a cause for celebration!

San Antonio, Texas

2007-04-04T21:43:00.000-05:00

Well, we did make it to San Antonio last night, but the drive took a good 6 hours instead of the 4 we thought it would take. Between potty breaks, a Wal-Mart run, potty breaks, stopping for food, and potty breaks, the trip took a little longer (I'm thinking that having everyone wear diapers would not have been a bad idea after all, ha ha).

A little back-tracking...

In Dallas we went to The Sixth Floor, the JFK assasination museum. "Why," you might be asking, "would you take your children to a place like that?" Well, I must admit, the museum was a little bit over their heads, and maybe a little sobering, but it was still very interesting to see the place where JFK was shot and to learn a little more history on the subject.

Though this looks like just a picture of a street, the "X" you see in the middle of the street is where JFK was shot. The two handome men in the background (the one in the blue shirt who's holding the one in the green shirt) are my huband and son.

Here are Daisy and Twiggy sitting on "The Grassy Knoll".

Fast forwarding...

Today in San Antonio, we went to see the Alamo. Is that where Custard had his last stand? I think I learned too much of my history from Patch the Pirate. : ) No, seriously, another interesting landmark in our nation's history that if you are ever in the San Antonio area I would highly recommend visiting...or if you are homeschooling your children (Froggy) and would like to take a little field trip during your study of the Alamo ; ). Call me really dumb, but I did not know that Davey Crockett was killed at the seige of the Alamo...guess I should have paid more attention in my history classes.

Well, so far it may seem like we've had a kind of morbid vacation (at least the sight-seeing part), but we are hoping to take the kids to the zoo and the gulf on Thursday and Friday. They were very excited to get to our final destination, Los Fresnos, this afternoon, where we will be spending the next three days...a few days of not riding in the car is always a good thing for small children, a pregnant woman...and her husband. I'll close with a few pictures of the kids during their favorite pasttime:

I forgot to tell you...

We do have pictures of the Alamo, but we'll have to post them when we get back. I did not have the memory card in the camera and forgot the connecting cable at home. Oops!

We Made It

2007-04-03T08:07:00.000-05:00

We arrived in Dallas, Texas yesterday afternoon at about 3:30. The trip couldn't have gone better. The kids did great and Paul and I stayed awake when we needed to. Thanks to the Lord, I had no trouble with my restless legs while I was driving and that was a huge answer to prayer!

Today we are going to do a little sight-seeing here in Dallas and then drive the 4 hours to San Antonio where we will be spending a day or so. We miss you all there in Chetek! Twiggy sends her love to Mimi and Papa. She has already said through tears that she misses you, Papa and Mimi! Stay tuned...

Here's To 78-degree Weather...In March!

2007-03-26T22:52:00.000-05:00

Bird, Twiggy, and Daisy in the mud puddle.
Bird, Daisy, Twiggy, and an orange in the mud puddle.
I think Bird may have sat in the mud puddle.
Beautiful Bird!

Thawed mud...and my sweet Twiggy!

Rocky sporting his brand new DQ hat from Papa and Mimi!

"Baby" Rocky

2007-03-18T23:02:00.000-05:00

Rocky wanted to be swaddled tonight like "Ikie". He loves his little cousin so much!

He looked pretty funny, being so much bigger than a normal swaddled baby, however, as you can see from the picture below he looks pretty content (especially for a kid who did not like being swaddled as an infant).

I love how they notice things about other kids at such a young age (which means they probably notice things about parents at a young age too...scary).

Deep Thoughts in the Night

2007-03-15T18:36:00.000-05:00

"You know you can see if you're blinded"

I had a dream last night that I walked outside on a sunny day just after a snowfall and was blinded by it's brightness.

Does anyone else think strange things during the middle of the night? Should I be worried? I think pregnancy is taking it's toll on me.

The Story of Three Sisters

2007-03-06T07:58:00.000-06:00

Once there were three sisters who decided to go out for the eldest sister's birthday.

These sisters were of rare beauty...very rare.

The eldest sister anxiously awaited the arrival of her tasty delicacy of mild boneless buffalo wings (for 1/2price, mind you).

But the youngest was slightly miffed, for how could she partake in mild buffalo wings--despite the "mild" name, they were still quite spicy. "The honey BBQ would have been a much better choice," she murmered to herself.

The middle sister, however, was just happy to be out with no children.

While waiting for her food, Melinda (that's what we'll call the eldest daughter) said, "I'm parched," and took a drink of her strawberry lemonade...

...but as she did, a lemon fell out right into her mouth. She made an awful face (as one can imagine she would).

Suddenly she thought to herself, "When life hands me lemons, why not make lemonade" and gracefully smiled.

But the youngest sister did not think it was something to smile about.

Just then, two young gentlemen approached the table where the three were sitting and asked if they could join "such lovely beauties..."

...these lovely beauties (don't they look thinner?).

But after discussing it amongst themselves, Felicity (the second sister) kindly stated that they would sooner eat with a wombat than with the two gentlemen standing before them...

...and sent them on their way.

At last their food arrived and Felicity promptly "dug in".

She thought the food was delicious and was so overjoyed that she smiled.

But Tiffany (the youngest) was not amused.

Finally, the bill was brought to the table. Tiffany grabbed the bill and sweetly exclaimed, "I'll pay for it!"

"Why would she be so excited to pay for the food?" Felicity inquired of Melinda, then looking closer noticed that in Tiffany's hand was the credit card her husband had left in her purse.

Felcity and Melinda nodded knowingly.

And that is the end of the story...

...or is it?

Appy Birthday, Froggy!

2007-03-05T09:14:00.000-06:00

Here is a picture of my dear sissy who turns a year older today. Though the quality of the picture is not the best, I'm sure you can still tell just how good-looking she is *wink, wink*.

Believe it or not this next picture is not a picture of this same sissy. In fact it's not a picture of any of my siblings nor does it have anything to do with birthdays (although I've heard it resembles very much the birthday girl's husband when he first wakes up in the morning). Twiggy has an interest in Wombats lately and we got a kick out of this picture we found.

Isn't it cute!?!

Appy Birthday Froggy! I love you!

In like a lion...

2007-03-01T17:15:00.000-06:00

Winter has come to Wisconsin!

The girls attempted to go outside and play with Daddy, but almost as soon as they got outdoors the wind picked up along with the snow. The girls lasted about 10 minutes (which is about 10 minutes longer than I would've lasted) and then left Daddy to play outside by himself. Daddy may have to get used to the gals abandoning him on days like today, but he has high hopes that Rocky will stick by him through thick and thin.

Baby #4

2007-02-28T00:01:00.000-06:00

Sorry the pictures are a little blurry, but I think the point comes across pretty clearly.

Twiggy saw the picture and exclaimed in horror, "She looks like a duck!"

The Power of the Cross

2007-02-26T11:45:00.000-06:00

I have been coveting a certain CD ever since it came out, which wasn't really very long ago, but thanks to Jason and Andrea (thank you!) I now have it. I love the words one song in particular, but by the looks of it, all the songs are wonderful. Enough of my typing, I'll let their words speak for themselves:

The Power of the Cross by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend

Oh, to see the dawn
Of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men,
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood.

(Refrain)
This, the power of the cross:
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame, bore the wrath--
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh, to see the pain
Written on Your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Every bitter thought,
Every evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.

Now the daylight flees:
Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two,
Dead are raised to life:
"Finished!" the victory cry.

Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death;
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.

(Final refrain)
This, the power of the cross:
Son of God--slain for us
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross!

God In Good and Bad

2007-02-22T09:17:00.000-06:00

Many of you "Camp Chetekies" may remember Pastor Leigh Crockett from camp, and I'm sure that many of you have also heard this story. I love stories like this where even doctors will say that this is nothing short of a miracle. One thing is for sure, we have an amazing Creator! I pray that I will continue to praise Him, not only on the mountain tops, but also in the valleys.

"...but He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Fot the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

We love you, Daddy!

2007-02-19T10:04:00.000-06:00

Okay, I know their season is long past, but I had to post this while Paul was unsuspecting.

Just for the record, Twiggy said, "Let's take a picture for Daddy!"

We love you, Daddy!

Rocky the Cowboy

2007-02-13T09:07:00.000-06:00

This is how Rocky rides horseback (or Daddy-back in this case).

A Must Read!

2007-02-06T10:34:00.000-06:00

I highly recommend the book, "The Heart of Anger" by Lou Priolo to anyone who has children-- regardless of age--or is planning on having children, or if you know of any children who could use some biblical discipline (excluding mine because I'm already reading the book : )). I am reading it right now and...well, for lack of better words, "it will lay you flat" as a parent. The book centers around Ephesians 6:4 where God commands, "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." The author addresses the "thoughts and intents of the heart," not only of angry children, but also of their parents.

It's chapters include:

Angry Kids
Provocative Parents
Angry Attitudes
Discipline: What It Really Means
Practical Biblical Communication
Journaling: A Helpful Tool
What's at the Heart of Anger?
Getting Anger Problems Right
Disrespect and Manipulation
Conquering Disrespect and Manipulation
The Think Room
The Appeal Process
A Good Investment

Lest I say too much, I'm signing out now. Enjoy the book (okay, maybe enjoy is not the right word)!

This and That

2007-02-01T13:51:00.000-06:00

Here's some pics of the children from this, the first day of February. I love February because it's one month closer to warm weather. Anyhoo, the kids are really big into wrestling these days, especially with Daddy, but when he's not here they are more than willing to tackle each other.

Here's Twiggy giving you her best smile.

That's all for now.
BTW, my husband has offically entered the blogging world
with his first post below.

Proverbs As Told By Children

2007-02-01T12:32:00.000-06:00

I found this online and read it to the teens in our church last night. Bill Cosby must have spent some time talking to these kids!

A first grade teacher collected old, well known proverbs. She gave each kid in her class the first half of a proverb, and had them come up with the rest. Here's a sampling:

As you shall make your bed so shall you...mess it up.

Better to be safe than...punch a 5th grader.

It's always darkest before...daylight savings time.

You can lead a horse to water but...how?

Don't bite the hand that...looks dirty.

A miss is as good as a...Mr.

You can't teach an old dog new...math.

An idle mind is...the best way to relax.

Where there's smoke there's...pollution.

If at first you don't succeed...get new batteries.

You get out of something what...you see pictured on the box.

I'm It!!

2007-01-29T08:39:00.000-06:00

I've been tagged by fannie (by the way, you need to go read her Jan. 28th post--hilarious)!!

...sooo, five little known facts about me...hmmm....

1. I used to cry when my twin brother was getting his immunization shots, not because I felt bad for him, but because
I knew I was next.

2. I HATE to be tickled!!! Paul asks me, "Then why do you laugh?" Can you not laugh when your being tickled??? He now knows that if he tickles me, my wrath is upon him. He doesn't want to see that.

3. I used to pick gum up off the mall floor and eat it (hey, when you're little, gum is a treat and you get it any way you can--at least I did)!

4. When I was in junior high I loved the name "Kiki" and was determined that it would be the name of one of my daughters some day.

5. I love the taste and smell of bubblegum-flavored Amoxicillin (not to worry, I have not taken any from my kids nor have I stolen any from work).

There's the fun and exciting list. If I can catch them, I tag Jen, Banana, Michells2000 and Stacy O.

Yes or No?

2007-01-27T14:04:00.000-06:00

This actually happened a couple of nights ago when the teens in our church took Paul's challenge and memorized the passage of scripture he had given them. Each teen took a turn shaving a part of his head (of course, I forgot my camera for the actual head-shaving process). So here is the end result...is it a look he should keep?

Computers

2007-01-23T17:29:00.000-06:00

We got a new computer!! It came today....stay tuned.... ; )

Barber shop

2006-11-15T14:15:00.000-06:00

What an eventful morning we've had! While I was sick and in the bathroom, Daisy was busy playing barber shop! The long strand you see on the left used to belong to Twiggy and the jumbled up hairball was once attached to the top of Daisy's head...couldn't collect enough of Rocky's as it was scattered all over the room.

Seven years ago today...

2006-11-13T09:20:00.000-06:00

...I married the man I love. I remember that the temperature was in th 70's and I was so nervous until my dad spanked me on the rear in front of 200+ people! I am so thankful that the Lord has given us seven very good years together. I'm thankful now for the many "discussions" we have had that the Lord has used to draw us closer to eachother and closer to Him. I am thankful for the three children (plus the one on the way ; ) ) that the Lord has blessed us with. I love you, Paul, and there is no one I'd rather spend my life with than you!

Oh BROTHER!!!

2006-10-14T16:24:00.000-05:00

Why is it that no one had to teach Rocky how to do this???

Snow Day

2006-10-12T13:04:00.000-05:00

This morning we looked out the window to find that snow was not only falling to the ground, but sticking there. So we took a recess from school to go out and enjoy the snow (Recess is very important, or so Twiggy tells me nearly every day). We are not quite yet prepared for snow so we made due with what we had; Daisy wore mittens that were too big for her, Rocky wore socks for mittens, and all three kids wore their tennis shoes. Pictured below is Twiggy with a good friend while Daisy is "looking on" (hee hee) in the background (I've always wanted to write that).

Rocky is such a little outdoorsmen. He often stands at the back door saying, "'side!....'side!..." because he wants to be outside almost all the time--no matter what the weather.

I love how kids appreciate the things in life that we as adults take for granted. I am reminded that the excitement and awe my children show about God's creation is the excitement and awe He desires from His children when we see and know Him!

Birthdays!

2006-10-10T09:50:00.000-05:00

Here's to a Happy 76th birthday to my grandpa.
Here is a picture of him now...

...and below is a picture of him when he was in his twenties.
He hasn't changed a whole lot has he?

Also, happy birthday to my future sister-in-law, Andrea!
Hope you have a wonderful day,
I'm just sorry you have to share it with a chicken!!!

I love you both!

Longing

2006-10-05T18:18:00.000-05:00

The woman in our Bible study today echoed what I am feeling...I'm looking forward to having a new body that is not marred by sin in heaven, but I so much long for the day when my heart is totally pure! I'm looking forward to the day that I no longer have the feelings of jealousy, anger, spite, hatred, self-righteousness, etc, etc, etc...

Things I've done...

2006-10-04T03:31:00.000-05:00

I got this off of Froggy's bloggy. I tried to do this when I got home from work at 3 o' clock this morning, but I was laughing so hard, I decided to wait until I had had a little sleep--now I have no idea what I found so funny! *Arg!* Well, if there is anyone out there who has not done this, just cut and paste and don't laugh too hard!

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game (and survived the crush afterwards)
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe: I was in Europe and had a backpack with me.
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites: in Spain
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie: does the one where I died "falling" down the hill count???
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently: EYYY YOU!!!!!!!!
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children - still raising!
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking: every day--my poor children
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart: Not something I'm proud of!
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach: accidentally
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

"Taste of the 50's"

2006-10-01T14:05:00.000-05:00

Last night was "Taste of the 50's" night at our church so we decided to dress for the decade. The girls loved their poodle skirts that I made for them (they look pretty good if you don't get too close) because they twirl out so far when you spin. The gym was set up to be "Mel's diner" where a waiter or waitress would come to our table and take our order for supper.

We also enjoyed a talent show after dinner. Twiggy, Daisy, and cousin Bird were the "Teacups" singing, "I'm a Little Teapot"--sorry--no pictures are available of their act bacause the camera batteries went dead on us. But you can see from the pictures below that even the kids thoroughly enjoyed the show. NC said that Rocky clapped the hardest when the quartet that I was in sang, "Chapel of Love". I guess we have one fan anyways!

We had a really good time last evening! It brought back memories of the New Year's Eve talent show we had at church when I was junior high!

Remembering...

2006-09-26T16:06:00.000-05:00

To my friends Sarah and Jeremy

We are remembering Nathan today and praying for you!

I love you!

Omelets in a Bag

2006-09-20T21:13:00.000-05:00

I received an e-mail yesterday with a recipe for "Ziploc Omelets". We decided to try them out for lunch today. The girls had a blast making their own lunches. Daisy squeezed the life out of her bag of omelets that we had to empty its contents into another bag--no loss of omelet. Twiggy fell into the natural role of taking charge and placing the omelet bags into a pot of boiling water (no need to worry--she was well supervised).

The verdict...

The omelets were a big hit! Even for NC, whole declaired that they were better than any omelet he's had in a restaurant. And in Twiggy's own words, "These are sooo good I can't even imagine it!"

For those who haven't gotten this e-mail and would like the recipe, here it is:

Squish two large eggs (excluding shells) into a quart-size Ziploc bag.
Add favorite ingredients to the bag (ham, cheese, peppers, mushrooms, etc...)
Squish bag again
Seal the bag, making sure you get as much air out of the bag as possible.
Place bags into pot of already boiling water
Boil for exactly 13 minutes.
Remove bags and cut the top off the bag
Omelet will slide easily out onto a plate.
Season with salt and pepper as desired
Eat.

Let me know what you think!

Reminders

2006-09-15T09:29:00.000-05:00

The Lord looks down from heaven

on the children of man, to see if there are any

who understand, who seek after God.

They have all turned aside;

together they have become corrupt;

there is none who does good,

not even one.

Psalm 14:2-3 (ESV)

For while we were still weak,

at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--

though perhaps for a good person

one would dare even to die--

but God shows his love for us

in that while we were still sinners,

Christ died for us.

Since, therefore,

we have now been justified by His blood,

much more shall we be saved

by Him from the wrath of God.

For if while we were enemies

we were reconciled to God

by the death of His Son,

much more, now that we are reconciled,

shall we be saved by His life...

Romans 5: 6-10 (ESV)

(bolding added)

I love it when I'm reading scripture and the Lord shows me something and I think, "Wow, I've never noticed that before!" Then there are those times, like now, that the Lord reminds of His grace in my life--that it was not me who pursued Him, but it was He who has given me life.

How merciful a God who, while I was still His sworn enemy, chose to reconcile me to Himself by the blood of His precious Son!

Toe lint.

2006-09-13T12:15:00.000-05:00

I always thought that when Rocky was picking at his toes that he was trying to get the lint out from between his toes. This morning, however, I had to laugh when I saw him pick up a piece of lint from the carpet and put it in-between his toes! I think Bird will have to help him out with this one!

Mimi was right when she nick-named him Pig-Pen!

Psalm 36:7-9

2006-09-12T13:00:00.000-05:00

How precious is Your steadfast love, O God!

The children of mankind take refuge

in the shadow of Your wings.

They feast on the abundance of Your house,

and You give them drink from

the river of Your delights.

For with You is the fountain of life;

In Your light do we see light.

Psalm 36:7-9

We aren't as embarrassing as we think...yet!

2006-09-09T08:44:00.000-05:00

To my sisters: You know how we say that our children will probably be embarrassed by the crazy things we do--you know like we were about Mom and Aunt Julie? Well, they are not to that point yet.

This morning I went to wake up the girls and Twiggy told me that last night she, Daisy, and Bird were pretending they were the three of us girls!! I think we are right up there with Mary, Laura, and Carrie!!!

Happy 30th, Honey!

2006-09-09T07:55:00.000-05:00

NC is officially "old" (at least in his mind) as of yesterday! The girls and I cooked him his favorite supper (steak, baby red potatoes, and creamy cucumbers) and then we got a baby-sitter and NC and I went to see a movie. We went to see "Invinsible" but three-quarters of the way through the movie the film tangled up in itself so we got free movie passes to come back to another movie.

The"icing on the cake," so-to-speak, was that I was finally able to pull a surprize party off for NC without his knowledge. We had decided to go to Applebees for 1/2 price appetizers, but what he didn't know was that some of his friends were going to be there. He never expected it (probably because his mind isn't as sharp as it used to be)!

For those of you who are wondering about the pink shirts...NC is in a Fantasy Football league. One of his biggest rivals is the trash-talkin' Pink Pansies, owned by a good friend of his. Well, rather than being loyal to Daddy's team, the Hobbits, Twiggy and Daisy are huge Pink Pansy fans (Twiggy even wants to go to a Pink Pansy game). The pink shirts you see were made by Mike's wife for our girls. The yellow you see in the corner of the picture is a Packer T-shirt they gave to Rocky--only because NC is a Vikings fan (yes, girls, love is blind).

Happy Birthday NC!! I love you very much!

No homeschooling mother is complete without...

2006-09-06T14:19:00.000-05:00

...the jean jumper!!! Thanks to my sister I now have one of my very own!

First Day of School

2006-09-05T20:47:00.000-05:00

Today was Twiggy's first day of school and I must say I was pleasantly surprized by how the day went. We decided that we are going to, as much as possible, stick to a schedule of starting school at 10 o' clock and finishing around noon (being she's only in Kindergarten). I'm very thankful because Twiggy announced at supper tonight that she couldn't wait for school again tomorrow. As of her first day, here are Twiggy's stats:

Favorite subjects: Math and Art

Least-favorite subject: HANDWRITING (only a few tears were shed)!!!

Words she can read: cat, hat, pup, cup, etc.... and spank (you should've seen the look on her face when she figured that one out)

Favorite Teacher: Mommy (heh, heh....)

Curriculum used: Math-U-See and Five in a Row.

I'm sure we'll have days when we will wonder what in the world we're doing, but if today is any indication of what homeschooling could be like, I'm one very excited Mommy!

Breathing Easy.

2006-09-04T12:47:00.000-05:00

Here's Twiggy and a friend's son with a bicycle pump "giving more air to the world".

Trying this again...

2006-09-02T11:25:00.000-05:00

After many failed attempts (and one very mean sister), I am trying this blog-thing again. I thought now would be a great time to start since Twiggy starts school on Tuesday.

I chose a new theme for this blog as well because it has been a running theme in our family over these past months. The Lord continues to show NC and I that it is God who directs our steps and what we can do is look to Him for guidance and wisdom as we walk through life.

In closing of this first new post I would like to share with you two pictures that I took this morning (yes, this morning) on our new DIGITAL CAMERA!!