Consumed

dressed up...

2011-06-09T05:51:00.003-04:00

...for Mother's Day! :)

easter

2011-06-08T06:04:00.006-04:00

eggs

2011-04-26T04:34:00.003-04:00

happy easter

2011-04-23T22:02:00.002-04:00

Throughout the course of his public ministry, Jesus knew both the adoration and desertion of the crowds. Today, just as 2,000 years ago, the gospel asks a question that demands an answer: Will we follow? This video illustrates this truth through the dynamic lens of a 21st-century social network.

hats

2011-04-21T06:28:00.002-04:00

celebration

2011-04-18T05:46:00.011-04:00

Last weekend, we gathered with our family to celebrate the boys' birthdays! We had a great time hanging out, opening presents and eating cake! The theme this year was "Toy Story" and, needless to say, they had a wonderful time! :) Here are a few pics from the celebration:

{untitled}

2011-04-15T05:42:00.004-04:00

a day at the museum...

2011-04-13T05:53:00.007-04:00

A few pics from our recent visit to the McKinley Monument, Museum and Discovery World in Canton...

happy birthday

2011-04-10T16:55:00.001-04:00

Happy 5th Birthday, Hudson!

You are God's masterpiece!

Our birthday prayer for you...

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.

Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take."

~Proverbs 3:5-6

We love you, Precious Boy!

making words

2011-04-06T06:20:00.011-04:00

For some time now, Hudson has really taken a great interest in writing. As we've talked about before, he has been loving preschool and developing nicely over the past two years. Over that time, through learning each letter in class, doing "[super cute] preschool homework" and working with him at home, he has really been growing in this area.

A common practice for preschool/kindergarten-age children is to label common household items so children can begin developing literacy skills by recognizing vocabulary by sight. So, last week we came up with the idea to label some items in his room with Post-It Notes, but with a twist...allowing HIM to do it! This was so much fun and a great learning experience!

He wrote all of these completely on his own! We used several strategies for making these words. For some notes, we said the word first and spelled it out while he wrote each letter. For some, we would make the letter sound for each letter in the word and from the sound, he would identify and write each letter. For others we simply spelled out the word, and after he wrote it, helped him identify the letter sounds and blends in the word. Other times, we'd spell the word and then we'd ask him where he thoughtthe Post-It note should go and we would find that he would stick it in the correct areaof his room. So, so fun and we are so proud of him! :)

look-a-likes

2011-04-05T05:45:00.004-04:00

Who do our boys look like?? Hmmm. Let's take a look...

HUDSON

GREYSON

The eyes give it all away! :)

birthday boy

2011-04-04T05:21:00.006-04:00

Since the boys' birthday party isn't until this weekend, on Greyson's real birthday, we did a little celebrating at home with the fam! Here are a few pics from Greyson's special day.

zoo

2011-04-04T05:01:00.005-04:00

This post is so long overdue! :) A few weeks ago when the weather warmed up, Rebekah took the boys to the Akron Zoo. It was great to finally get outside and enjoy some sunshine! Amen!?!

happy birthday

2011-03-24T05:29:00.004-04:00

Happy 3rd Birthday, Sweet Boy!

You are God's masterpiece!

Our birthday prayer for you...

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength." ~Deuteronomy 6:5

You will do GREAT things!

You are loved by the King!

birthday boys

2011-03-22T06:28:00.007-04:00

With our boys' birthdays quickly approaching, we thought it was time to snap a couple pictures to celebrate. Here are some of our favorite pictures of our soon-to-be "birthday boys"!

momma's boy...

2011-03-21T05:45:00.001-04:00

great is your faithfulness

2011-03-19T15:09:00.003-04:00

Lamentations 3:22-24

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

^{I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;}

therefore I will wait for him.”

little worker

2011-03-18T21:15:00.003-04:00

cereal

2011-03-18T05:44:00.002-04:00

Oh, how we LOVE cereal in our home...

adding texture

2011-03-17T05:53:00.006-04:00

One way to subtly add character to a photograph is by adding texture. I love to play around with this technique so I thought I’d share an example so you can decide for yourself, if texturing is something for you. Lets look at a picture I recently took of our oldest son.

Before (Original)

I love this picture just the way it is, but to spruce it up a little, I’ve added a subtle texture and altered the coloring a bit. It's just a slight change, yet it can make a big impact.

After (with Texture)

Adding an ever-so-slight texture can sometimes bring great depth and subtle flare to the photograph. Give it a try!

snow, snow, snow...

2011-03-12T15:44:00.002-05:00

good and great

2011-03-02T05:07:00.003-05:00

a good picture of the boys...

a great picture of the boys...

rescue babies now

2011-02-25T06:55:00.020-05:00

If you've followed our blog for any length of time, you already know that a few years ago we "adopted" a little girl, Nathaly, into our family through the child sponsorship program of Compassion International (see the link in the sidebar). Isn't she adorable?! It has been such a joyous experience for our family to establish a relationship with this sweet and amazing little girl in Ecuador. Over the years and on a regular basis, we have sent and received numerous letters, drawings, pictures and most of all, HOPE! :)

"And His name will be the hope of all the world." ~Matthew 12:21

We absolutely love that our boys are naturally learning that other people matter and that it's not all about us. In our culture, it's so easy to live in the sheltered and false reality that poverty is somebody else's problem to solve. As Jesus-followers, it's ours. These are not somebody else's children, they are ours. It's not their choice to live like this, it's ours. And so we choose...

We choose to love. We choose to invest, in Jesus' kingdom, a mere $38 a month to give a child hope in Jesus' name! We are blessed so that we can be a blessing to others. Think about it. Pray about it. And if you feel led to, sponsor a child.

We cannot say enough about all the wonderful initiatives that Compassion International is responsible for beginning, really, it's quite astonishing. The child sponsorship program at Compassion hosts children beginning at age 3, BUT the reality is that many children never make it to their 3rd birthday. Heartbreaking. Please, please watch this...

Did you let that sink in? Please allow that sink in. Will you consider joining us in supporting the Child Survival Program? It's simply $20 a month. Priceless. Your support is a demonstration of Christ's compassion for people. All people. We are specifically giving each month to the Jaramijo Child Survival Program (also in Ecuador) as it is a ministry of a church that will be planted by RiverTree Christian Church in cooperation with Compassion.

For more information, visit

www.rescuebabiesnow.org

canaan

2011-02-24T10:42:00.005-05:00

we watched canaan a couple weeks ago while kim & josh went to dinner for josh's birthday. the boys loved playing with him and thought it was so neat that he would reach out and grab a toy from them! of course, andrew had to take some pictures too...i thought this was such a cute one!!

snowy days...

2011-02-17T20:40:00.007-05:00

Here are a few pictures from a couple weeks ago when we had a big snow and ice storm. We had so much fun being "stranded" at home together and tried to keep busy playing outside in the snow...

...and we had to get a little creative too with some fun indoor activities including balloon rockets and some art-time!

bath time fun

2011-02-01T15:36:00.000-05:00

personalities

2011-01-27T06:31:00.008-05:00

We adore this picture because it's so very representative of their uniquely different personalities:

Hudson - calm confidence, cool, collected, cautious, shy and reserved.

Greyson - silly, outspoken, outgoing, loud, excited and demands attention.

Love this picture, love these boys! :)

Thank you, Lord, for making [them] so wonderfully complex, your workmanship is marvelous! (Psalm 139:14)

a new look...

2011-01-25T06:14:00.006-05:00

There are always so many exciting things going on at RiverTree and the updated website has lots of new information and features. The media tab is a great resource that allows you to keep up to date with the latest weekend gatherings (audio or video), even from afar! It's been a year now that we've been going through the book of Matthew and it's been incredibly life-changing! Click on the links (in this post or on the sidebar) to visit the new site site and get a glimpse into how God is using the people of RiverTree to transform lives, communities and the world. Awesome, awesome!

snow day

2011-01-19T11:53:00.004-05:00

snow + anxious, energy-filled boys + sleds + great backyard hill = SNOW DAY FUN!

CHECK OUT our family snow day fun! :)

toy story

2011-01-16T22:21:00.003-05:00

This past weekend, we had a wonderful time going to Cleveland with the whole family to see Toy Story on Ice! Hudson and Greyson absolutely LOVE Toy Story and they were so excited when we surprised them with going to the show. It was spectacular and definitely a fun time!

Although we ended up taking more videos than pictures, here are a few to share with you:

CLICK HERE to see some pictures of the show!

bowling

2011-01-04T05:57:00.007-05:00

On New Year's Eve, we took the boys bowling for the first time ever and we had a ball! Oh my goodness, it was so fun to see their faces light up when we walked in the door and when they realized where we were (mind you, they had only ever "been bowling" by playing the Wii). They thought it was the coolest thing! They loved the fancy shoes, grabbing the ball out of the return, and seeing their names up on the big screen. Both Hudson and Greyson insisted on carrying the ball all by themselves each time which was hilarious. So, so fun!

Be sure to CLICK HERE to check out some photos from our first bowling experience!

starbucks

2011-01-02T15:48:00.002-05:00

december

2011-01-01T15:33:00.005-05:00

CLICK HERE

to see some random pictures from December

and from our Christmas celebrations with our families!

Enjoy your day! :)

worshipper

2010-12-31T16:12:00.010-05:00

Several weeks ago Rebekah snapped these adorable pictures of Greyson when he decided one day to be a worship leader! :) All on his own, he grabbed his toy rocket launcher and used it as a microphone and his guitar and said that we was "singing worship at church". Oh, how I love the heart of a child...

After all, all things were made by God and for God. We were designed to be worshippers and bring Him glory! Sometimes the sweet and innocent little actions of a child (that come so naturally, might I add) can be a huge reminder of God's greatness and desires for us all!

preschool

2010-12-30T21:38:00.004-05:00

Hudson has been thriving in preschool this year! We are so thankful to have him in a wonderful class with two teachers who love and nurture him as their own! :) He has been learning a ton, reading, writing, and sharing about all their fun experiences as a class. It's amazing how even in preschool the curriculum can be so academically driven, learning about everything from the alphabet, reading, writing and science to fire safety, ocean life and magnets (to name a few) all while weaving Bible stories and Jesus into it all . Of course they do all the fun stuff too, like gym, recess, play games and make lots and lots of creative crafts! He even has homework every week! It's been great for him and we are seeing how this will enable him to be well-prepared for kindergarten next year!

During the month of December, the preschool put on a cute little Christmas program in which Hudson did wonderfully! He sang and smiled his way through the whole program which is a great improvement from our experiences last year at family programs! Ha ha! :) Classroom parties are always fun, too, especially since Rebekah always helps as a room-mom coordinator which is great. For the Christmas party, we were both able to attend and we had fun being a part of it!

CLICK HERE to see a short slideshow of some pics from the party!

merry christmas!

2010-12-24T15:16:00.009-05:00

Wishing you a warm and wonderful

M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S

from our family to yours as we celebrate JESUS today!

"And His name shall be the hope of all the world."

Matthew 12:21

november

2010-12-23T22:18:00.002-05:00

chicago

2010-12-23T13:28:00.008-05:00

Although we mentioned it in our lastpost, our trip to Chicago most definitely needs a post all to itself. We had the wonderful opportunity to visit the beautiful city of Chicago, just the two of us (thanks to Mom & Dad Snavely!). Making it even more exciting was that neither one of us had even been there before and we got to spend time with our family who now lives there! :) We had so much fun exploring and roaming the city with Nick & Rachel and Leanne!

Together we enjoyed all the sightseeing attractions, wonderful meals together, train rides, city walks, warm coffee and late-night talks! The weather was absolutely beautiful and the fall leaves were in peak season. It was a wonderful, relaxing and refreshing break for the two of us and now we can't wait to go back soon with the boys! :)

We have so many wonderful photos to share from our time in Chicago that we couldn't even come close to including them all within the post, so please CLICK HERE to view them all! Enjoy and check back soon for more updates! :)

october

2010-12-22T15:56:00.012-05:00

October was a busy and super-exciting time for our family! :) Lets recap the events of the the month of October using only 4 words! Here we go!

P.U.M.P.K.I.N.S.

F.I.R.E. S.T.A.T.I.O.N.

C.A.N.A.A.N.

{Joyously celebrating the birth of our new nephew!}

C.H.I.C.A.G.O.

september

2010-12-22T15:32:00.006-05:00

Wow, has it been a looooong time since we've updated our blog, or what!?! Does anybody still read this anyways? Well nonetheless, now that all the photography stuff is slowing down since the cold weather has approached, we'd like to think that our hiatus from blogging is over! We have so much to share and of course there's never a shortage of pictures either! :) As much as we'd love to jump right in and tell you all the things that are going on now with our fam, we first must recap the past several months to bring you up to date. We've practically missed the whole autumn season! So let's start with some pictures from September!

a special thank you...

2010-11-02T07:23:00.004-04:00

Usually it's Andrew that does all the updating on our blog. As you can tell, he has not been posting things as often as usual. The main reason is because he has been SO busy working on everything else! We are so blessed and thankful that his photography business has really taken off. We could have never imagined all of this! Andrew has been waking up at 4:15 am for the past 6 weeks to keep up with all the work...mainly because he does not want to take away from family time in the evenings. I just wanted to take this chance to say thank you to him and let him know that the boys and I appreciate all of his hard work and we love him so very much! :)

apples

2010-10-05T22:01:00.006-04:00

It's been just over 3 weeks since we took the boys apple picking and we're just now getting around to posting some pictures. The boys always love doing this each fall season and this time was no different. We LOVE fall! :-)

flip-flops

2010-10-05T21:44:00.003-04:00

one last pic to remind of us the summer that is now long gone! :(

our god

2010-09-09T06:10:00.003-04:00

We have completely fallen in love with this song lately and we have to share it! It's called "Our God" by Chris Tomlin and the lyrics are amazingly awesome! It especially hit home this week because after visiting the Cleveland Clinic 8 months ago and having no issues since, Hudson had yet another seizure this week. Despite the clear disappointment of it all, it doesn't matter and there's no need to worry. It's okay, it really is. It's a reminder that we are not in control and our God is greater and our Healer! We are remaining strong in our confident hope that God works everything out for the good of those who love Him and ultimately for His glory. We hope you are uplifted and encouraged just as we have been by this song today!

back to preschool

2010-09-07T06:37:00.004-04:00

Last week, Hudson headed back to school for his second year of preschool. He looks so grown up and it's hard to believe at this time next year he'll be off to kindergarten! Isn't it unbelievable how fast time flies?!?

We're so excited for another year of learning! He's already coming home telling us about all that he's learning and we're looking forward to another year full of many new discoveries!

love

2010-09-01T06:19:00.001-04:00

great wolf lodge

2010-08-25T06:13:00.005-04:00

What a summer it has been! We've been home together all summer and it's been great! This summer was so much fun because, rather than going on a week-long vacation, we went on a ton of day-trips, nearly one every week! Since it's back-to-school time and our schedules will be changing soon, we wanted to get 'away' and do one more thing together as a family.

We decided on booking a couple days at Great Wolf Lodge in Sandusky! Our boys had never really been to a water park and we thought it would be a great time, not to mention, very kid-friendly! We were definitely not disappointed and the boys loved every minute of it. It was so nice to get away for a couple days and watch the excitement of the boys as they experienced something brand new. Hudson shocked us by going down all of the big slides all by himself (remember, he's our thrill-seeker)!

The best part of the whole thing was that the whole place was so kid-friendly. They were not only able to play in the water-park, but they got to watch a show in the evening, have story-time, get ice cream, make a craft and play games in the 'Cub Club' and play in a the arcade. They loved it.

It was sooooo hard to get pictures in the water-park area since there was (literally) water flying everywhere, all the time, but CLICK HERE to see the ones that we got! We had a great time and can't wait to go back again in the future!

bike ride

2010-08-24T21:35:00.007-04:00

For some reason or another, we forgot to include these pictures in our last post. Several weeks ago we rented bikes and went on a bike ride on the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath. It was so much fun and we ended up riding over 8 miles together. Hudson loved riding on the back "hook-on" part of the bike and Greyson loved getting to sit back and relax in his trailer. Afterwards, we cooled off by having ice cream at the Blue Heron Deli right the path. Thank you, Aunt Leanne, this was a wonderful birthday gift idea and we had a blast!! We'll definitely be doing this again! :-)

lake

2010-08-19T06:37:00.008-04:00

We had a great time spending last weekend down at Atwood Lake with Mimi & Papa Snavely! We enjoyed a beautiful evening boat ride, the park, had a campfire, enjoyed a whole day swimming at "boater's beach" and Hudson (our thrill-seeker) even enjoyed tubing for the first time! It was great and he had a blast, in fact, he kept telling us he wanted to go all by himself! It's great to be able to spend time down there and this time was no different. Thanks for a great weekend! :-)

CLICK HERE to see some pics from our time at Atwood!

balloons

2010-08-17T15:15:00.006-04:00

We had such a great time with our family at the annual Hall of Fame Balloonfest, especially since we were given tickets (thanks Grandpa!) to be in a tent right on the field! We had so much fun being able to eat all the food/drinks we wanted and watch the balloons up close. The boys had a blast and to make it even more special, we got to watch Grandma as she took off up in one of the balloons! So much fun!!! :-)

CLICK HERE to see some pics from the Balloonfest!

pool time

2010-08-17T14:49:00.006-04:00

his glory

2010-08-11T16:27:00.002-04:00

For everything comes from him

and exists by his power

and is intended for his glory.

All glory to him forever!

Amen.

{Romans 11:36}

headlands beach

2010-07-22T07:46:00.006-04:00

A couple weeks ago, we made a trip up to Headlands Beach State Park. This is a wonderful beach destination in Mentor, Ohio and it's beautiful. You literally feel like you're at the ocean (minus the salt water!) and the kids absolutely love it! Here are several pictures from our day:

preston's hope park

2010-07-10T07:37:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago we made a day-trip up to Beechwood with (Aunt) Darby and the Smith cousins to Preston's Hope Park. This is our favorite park and you may remember us visiting last year. The park is great because it's huge and is made to look like a little town. It was great and the kids had a blast playing together!

CLICK HERE to see some of our pictures from the park!

too long...

2010-07-04T15:00:00.004-04:00

It's been far too long since the last update! We've been so busy lately, have tons of things to share, not to mention many, many photographs, but it seems no time to get it all together. We'll try and update soon with some of our latest happenings! So for now, here are a few pics of the boys from when we went up to the Lodi Station Outlets. We made a special trip up to ride the infamous train, only to buy tickets, wait in line for 30 minutes and then find out that we couldn't ride it after all due to some kind of "technical difficulty". Oh well, we had fun anyways and made a trip out of it and it turned out being a great day after all!

fun in a field...

2010-06-19T16:17:00.004-04:00

welcome

2010-06-17T21:52:00.005-04:00

A week ago today, we welcomed a new niece into our family. Her name is Elizabeth. Isn't she precious!?!

Unfortunately, the boys were not allowed to go into the room to meet her so they had to wait outside. They were totally bummed, but had fun in the waiting room with Mimi and Papa.

As we were leaving the hospital, we took advantage of the beautiful courtyard outside and snapped a few pics of the boys.

safety fest

2010-06-14T15:05:00.006-04:00

about a week ago we attended a safety fest at clay's park resort. it was great for the boys to see all the things they love...firetrucks, police cars, tractors, and helicopters! they loved watching the helicopters fly in and land in the field and for the chance to hang out with uncle nick, who is a firemedic for one of the local crews represented there. here are just a few pics from the event:

silly bandz

2010-06-10T15:57:00.003-04:00

okay, are anybody else's kids obsessed with these animal silly bandz bracelets!?! they are pretty cool (if you've never seen them before). hudson absolutely loves these things and doesn't go anywhere without them! kinda fun! :-)

take a ride

2010-06-06T06:31:00.004-04:00

we had a really fun afternoon at an event at clay's park resort yesterday (more on that to come later!) and when we saw this old, piece of playground equipment, we had to jump right on and take a ride (and take a few pictures of it too!). do you remember these things!? the boys loved spinning around and around. they sure don't make playground equipment like this anymore...

atwood lake

2010-06-02T06:30:00.006-04:00

last weekend we made our first, of what will be many, trips down to atwood lake this season. mimi and papa have a wonderful trailer on a beautiful lakefront property along with a pontoon boat. needless to say, the kids LOVE going down and spending time there and this time was no different. they loved playing by the water, going on the boat, swimming in the lake and roasting hot dogs over the fire.

CLICK HERE to see a slideshow of all the pictures of our time at the lake!

the eyes have it...

2010-05-29T17:03:00.000-04:00

celebration of learning

2010-05-28T06:31:00.005-04:00

Hudson has officially completed his first year of preschool and yesterday we celebrated by attending his "Celebration of Learning Ceremony". It was SO great to see him receive his first preschool diploma and interact with the other kids. He's had a wonderful year, with amazing teachers, and has learned a lot! We are so very proud of him! He's blossomed into a little boy in such a short amount of time! Look at how much he's grown and matured...

This was him on the first day of preschool last fall:

Look at him now, on the last day of preschool:

Here are a few pictures from the ceremony...

anniversary

2010-05-27T06:18:00.009-04:00

Long time no blog, right? We've been so busy lately and have so many updates, it's hard to know where to even begin. For now, lets start with our anniversary. On May 15th we were so very blessed to celebrate 6 years of marriage. Looking back, it's amazing to see how God's hand as been so present in our lives over this time.

About a year ago, the photographer that shot our wedding gave us everything she had from our wedding including discs, negatives, proofs, etc. (after 5 years she gives everything back to her clients, isn't that nice!?). It was great to be able to re-edit some of them, too, since obviously wedding photography has changed so much from the way it was back then! Anyways, it was SO fun to go back through and take a look at those photographs and the amazing memories of that day that changed our lives forever!

The funny thing is, we can still remember this day and all the events that took place, like it was yesterday! There are SO many more pictures, I wish we could share them all...maybe in another post sometime!

Thank you, Lord, for 6 amazing years!

brothers

2010-05-05T06:14:00.004-04:00

these are some random pictures we took in our cul-de-sac of our boys this weekend. aren't they getting so big!?! with the nice weather, we've practically been living outside. these brothers truly enjoy each others company (well, most of time, at least)!

ice cream & fire trucks

2010-04-30T06:26:00.008-04:00

Yesterday, we heard that Baskin-Robbins, in an effort to support the National Fallen Firefighters Association, was having a "Be a Hero at 31 Cent Scoop Night" event. We could not pass that up so decided to head on down and check it out! We we pulled in the parking lot, this is what we saw:

Needless to say the boys were SO excited! So we headed in to get ice cream and of course they chose, as any kid most likely would, this flavor of ice cream:

Don't they look just slightly happy about it!?!? Then we headed out to the parking lot where they got to "drive" the fire truck, climb all over it, get stickers, coloring books and more!

wordless wednesday

2010-04-28T06:42:00.004-04:00

tractor time

2010-04-24T20:46:00.005-04:00

Oh man, our boys were in paradise yesterday!!! We went over to our dear friends house for a cookout and they just got a new tractor. Needless to say, the boys loved climbing all over it, turning the lights on and off and, of course, especially driving it up and down the hills!

Their faces absolutely lit up when they got to raise, lower, and dump the bucket of the tractor!

We ended the evening with a bonfire, s'mores, and great friends!

can you guess?

2010-04-23T22:43:00.003-04:00

can you guess what we did tonight? here are a couple clues...

check back tomorrow to find out! ;-)

can't wait...

2010-04-21T06:13:00.006-04:00

these pictures were taken a few weeks ago. we can't wait until summertime, can you tell?!?

lets talk about sex...

2010-04-18T22:06:00.004-04:00

...that's exactly what we did at church this weekend! seriously!!! if you follow our blog, you know that our church is studying through the book of matthew and we are currently in chapter 5. the past couple of weeks and into next week, all the teachings are related to marriage. this week happen to be about sexual purity and we were asked to be interviewed as part of the service. it went wonderfully and we were so encouraged and thankful to be able to share our story so that others can also be changed. God is good! take a listen to the sermon below!

if interested, you can join with us in our study and access all the sermon videos HERE!

party

2010-04-14T06:14:00.006-04:00

On Saturday, we celebrated Hudson's 4th birthday and Greyson's 2nd birthday with our families. We had everyone over to our home and had a John Deere-themed party! This seemed like the perfect theme since both of the boys are completely obsessed with tractors, trucks, etc.

All the cousins had a wonderful time and had fun eating cake, playing in the backyard an exploring the new toys.

A great day it was and we felt entirely blessed at the end of it all. Great family, good times and a wonderful time celebrating the incredible joy we've experienced in having our two little ones. Happy Birthday, Boys!

If you weren't able to be there, CLICK HERE to experience the party, too!

Oh, and in case you were wondering, Aunt Darby made the wonderful tractor cakes! They were perfect and obviously delicious...

birthday

2010-04-11T22:28:00.003-04:00

on hudson's birthday, he was so excited about his special day that he wanted birthday candles on everything. so, we decided to have some fun with it! for breakfast when we asked what he wanted, he said a cereal bar. so what did we do??? why, put candles in it, of course!

and for lunch he got is most very favorite meal, "nuggets and fries" and what did he want to go with his meal...CANDLES! So, each nugget got a candle stuck in it! isn't that hilarious!?!??

and what about dinner??? well, you'll have to stay tuned for that because it was PARTYTIME with the family and we had a BLAST!!! check back soon! ;-)

four

2010-04-10T07:42:00.004-04:00

Hudson,

You are truly inspiring and one-of-a-kind. You are uniquely crafted and a masterpiece, perfect in every way. We can’t believe you are 4 years old as it seems like yesterday when we held you in our arms for the first time.

You have changed our lives forever and have been our greatest teacher. You’ve taught us so much about ourselves, about love and patience, perseverance, grace, faith and hope. Over the years, you’ve made us laugh, cry, worry and believe, but through it all you’re amazing! Thank you for ultimately bringing us closer to the King. We love you beyond words.

Happy 4^th Birthday, Big Boy!

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength! (Deuteronomy 6:5)

easter celebrations

2010-04-09T06:29:00.004-04:00

Wow, we had a whirlwind of a weekend last Easter weekend, but boy, we sure did have wonderful time celebrating Christ's victory with family we love dearly!

The first celebration was held the day before easter with our THRIVE group (they are part of our "family" too!). We had a blast sharing a meal together and having a big egg hunt with all the kids who range in age from 2 to 16. It was wonderful and we are feel so very blessed to have such amazing friends, not to mention, our boys have a ball when we're all together!

Next it was off to church on Saturday evening, a great service with an inspiring message challenging us to know, understand and live in the reality of the infinite value of Jesus. So often, we filter our knowledge of Jesus through things and people, but we need to know Him, really know Him and live like it - that's what this holiday is all about!

On Sunday morning it was off to Mimi and Papa's house for another meal and egg hunt. One of the best parts was when Mimi made "Resurrection Rolls" with the kids. It was a great way to involve and engage the kids while teaching them about the truth on why we were celebrating on this day. It was a great way to start the celebration.

That evening, we heading over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for the last celebration. We, again, had a wonderful meal, some great cupcakes, and Aunt Darby shared "Resurrection Eggs" with all the kids. It was great watching the kids interact and talk about Jesus.

Now, because we know that pictures are FAR better than words, CLICK HERE to see all our our pictures from our awesome Easter celebrations!

christ is risen

2010-04-04T21:59:00.004-04:00

egg dying

2010-04-03T15:10:00.005-04:00

candles

2010-03-31T16:19:00.008-04:00

the birthday boy blew out candles on his special birthday breakfast, on his cupcakes for lunch...

...and on his cake after dinner!

two

2010-03-24T06:01:00.009-04:00

Our “little” man amazingly turns TWO today!

It’s incredible to think of how fast these years have gone and it’s amazing to think about

how much love, joy and laughter Greyson has brought into our lives.

And it’s only the beginning!

God’s way is perfect and He knew that Grey would be a perfect completion to our family.

Thank you, Lord, for creating him so perfectly, for allowing us to enjoy this precious gift here on Earth.

Happy 2^nd Birthday, Baby Boy!

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength! (Deuteronomy 6:5)

revelation song

2010-03-20T16:15:00.004-04:00

this weekend, we are playing/singing this awesome new worship song at church. it is called "revelation song" and it's by an artist named kari jobe. she is a worship leader at gateway worship and she wrote the song for her church. she later went on to make an album and this was one if the hit songs on it. it's unbelievable and perfect for this time of year! take a listen for sure!

revealed

2010-03-17T06:29:00.005-04:00

people always ask, "who takes the pictures in your family"...

and there you have it, the truth is revealed (which does not come as any surprise for most of you), especially if you are familiar with this:

spring has come!

2010-03-12T21:33:00.006-05:00

we woke up this morning and found these beauties in our flower bed. thank you, Lord, for your remarkable creation!

The flowers are springing up,
the season of singing birds has come...

~Song of Solomon 2:12

and, of course, no post can go without a photo of each of our boys!

and in case you didn't notice already...yes, hudson is outside in his favorite 'cars' pjs and bright yellow crocs (a great combination, don't you think!?!?), in addition to walking around with a snack. nice, warm days are the best! God is good, and spring has come!

sunshine

2010-03-09T06:25:00.008-05:00

this past weekend was so refreshing! the weather finally broke, the temperature was over 50 degrees, and the sun was shining! we've been waiting for weather like this for a long time so needless to say, when the sun came out, out we went too. the boys finally got to play outside again and ride their bikes. they were ecstatic, can you tell!?!?

random

2010-03-07T18:06:00.007-05:00

throughout the past couple of months, we posted about a lot of events that took place in our lives (i.e., disney on ice, snow pictures, etc.) but we realized that we had so many other random pictures too, that we didn't want to slip by without sharing.

like this one of greyson:

and this one of hudson:

how could we just let those pictures go unshared?!?!? ;-) anyways, so CLICK HERE to see the random pictures that didn't really fit into any other post we wrote during the months of january and february. some of the things that you'll see in the photos are pictures from rebekah's birthday parties, hudson's valentine's day party at preschool, a visit to the canal fulton fire department to visit uncle nick, and rebekah's cousin briana as she came from out of state and stayed with us for a weekend. hope you enjoy the slideshow!

jesus journey

2010-03-06T16:35:00.004-05:00

We are on a Jesus journey, did you know? (If not, you’ll have to go back and catch up by reading about our new word for the year in 2010.) The best way to grow in Christian faith is simple…to truly get to know Jesus. Not just know about Him or talk about him (oh, aren’t we sooooo good at that?!?), or attend church every week or weekly Bible studies…none of that ultimately matters if it means nothing…but actually knowing Him is what makes the difference. Getting to know Jesus enables us to become like Him and bring God’s kingdom to Earth here and now. That’s our ultimate purpose!

We are on this journey not only together as a family, but also as a church family. In fact, our church is actually what truly began the whole thing. In January of this year, the leaders of our church decided that instead of organizing sermons around themes and series, instead they would simply begin teaching through the book of Matthew (an account of Jesus’ life) and work through it. There is no timeline, no limits and so far it’s been life altering and transforming. Seriously. Even the children’s ministries are aligning the lessons with the weekly sermons. It’s so cool to see our boys learning the same/similar thing that we are each week.

God is doing amazing things through the people at RiverTree and the surrounding areas. This journey is serious. At times, it’s tough. Some of the sermons are challenging, but they are very real. The truth is being proclaimed in a new and fresh way. The Bible and stories in it are becoming oh-so-clear and the history and context of it all is astonishing! And sometimes it’s hard to hear, it’s not always feel-good, and certainly not everyone agrees, however it’s necessary and it’s the truth. God’s truth. (To catch a glimpse into a “tough to hear” type message, read Pastor Greg’s blog post “Find Another Church”.) It’s so good, so real, so necessary. No more walking on eggshells or watering down what really needs to be said, it’s time to wake up and really know and be Jesus, not just talk about it for the rest of our lives. or worse yet, actually believe that we’re such great “Christian” people who have it all together when we’re really not at all even close! We’re really all a mess. We really all need Jesus. And really, we are all in the same boat here and all have a choice to make everyday. Are we going to really follow Him or not? Or are we just going to act like we are?

Do you want to join the journey, too? Are you interested in learning more? You can certainly be part of it too! You can access the sermons in video format and join right in along the way. Here is the latest one, where the question was asked: Why would God bless those who don't deserve it?:

We are currently in Matthew 5. If you prefer audio recording, you can download the podcast on iTunes. You can also become a “fan” of RiverTree Christian Church on Facebook for updates and announcements. You’ll notice, if you do, that as a particular passage in the Bible is studied we are being challenged to ask ourselves these three questions:

What is God saying in this passage?

What is God telling me through this passage?

What am I going to do about it?

Good questions, huh? Especially the last one. That's the one that most people never get to asking or doing, for that matter. Write them down for sure. They really do make you think. We use these questions as a guide for discussions at our weekend services at RiverTree, in our THRIVE group meeting and through our own personal Bible study at home. Why are we sharing all this? Because we are changing. God is changing us and it feels good. And maybe, just maybe, something about our journey may happen to catch and tug at your heart along the way and you will change too.

snow much fun

2010-02-18T16:36:00.005-05:00

we have been having snow much fun these past few weeks. we've had sooooo much snow lately, it's crazy! the kids are loving it!!!

CLICK HERE to see some pics from our snowy days.

dad & me

2010-02-09T21:51:00.008-05:00

a few weeks ago, hudson's preschool sponsored a special event called "dad and me night". this was a great special event where dads could bring their preschool-age children to the school/church and just hang out with them. all the teachers were there and there were all sorts of fun game stations and activities and hudson loved "driving" the golf cart and snow mobile. he loved the parachute, puzzles, games and taking apart an old computer. it was a great way to spend quality time with hudson and he really felt special that evening. we had so much fun together and we'll most definitely attend next year, too!

CLICK HERE to see a few pictures from this special night.

rejoice

2010-02-09T06:39:00.003-05:00

I will tell of the Lord’s unfailing love.
      I will praise the Lord for all he has done.
   I will rejoice in his great goodness...
      which he has granted according to his mercy and love.

Isaiah 63:7

the many sides of...

2010-02-05T06:16:00.007-05:00

...greyson!

these pictures are so telling of his personality! can you guess what kind of kid he is?

greater glory

2010-01-28T21:19:00.013-05:00

Lets talk about this child for a moment….

Hudson is (obviously) our oldest son and one of the lights of our lives. He is truly extraordinary, uniquely crafted. He changed our lives forever when came into this world and God has big plans in store for him. But, to be completely honest with you, at times he also tends to be a big source of worry for us. Let us explain.

Some of you may know how the story goes, but to those of you who don’t, here’s the gist of it. When Hudson was about 2 years old he had, what we thought to be a seizure (although with seizures, doctors don’t really ever confirm them or not, because basically they don’t know unless they see it). Very scary, we didn’t know what to do. We took him to the ER and they first told us that they were going to do a CAT scan to make sure he didn’t have a brain tumor. Imagine what was going through our minds as we looked at our precious boy lying in the hospital bed as we awaited those results. The CAT scan came back clear, and we praised God, but we still didn’t know the cause. After taking him to a pediatric neurologist and cardiologist, and after having many tests performed such as an EEG, EKG, etc., everything kept coming back “clear” and “normal”. The doctors response – “hopefully this just won’t ever happen again”. NOT comforting, Doc!!! Turns out, doctors don’t really ever come out and confirm that it was or was not a seizure, because truly they can’t say unless something shows up on a test; it’s all about “data” and “hard evidence”. But, we know that GOD knows! In fact, He planned this out before the beginning of time and so we were able to rest assured in knowing that it was okay. You see, that’s the thing about God – it’s really not about us. It’s not about our COMFORT. What he cares about is our CHARACTER, so we found strength and trust in his promises. And after all in James 1: 2-4 we are told that “when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing”. So this was the mindset we considered whenever worry crept into our minds.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). And so, we prayed and tried as much as humanly possible to leave our worry behind. And we did.

So time went on and nearly a year passed and then it happened again. Shock, disappointment, fright. Now what to do!? We again take him back to visit the many specialists, where they run more tests on him (because really, what else are they going to do anyways). He had 2 more EEGs, blood sugar testing and some other junk and still nothing. Good, right?!? Yes, but what’s going on here with our child? Is he okay? Again we looked to God (because really what else could we do). At this point we had to make a choice. Were we going to be consumed with worry and have anxiety about all the “what-ifs” or were we going to trust our loving God? Well, God’s way is perfect! Listen to this: “God’s way is perfect. All the LORD’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection” (Psalm 18:30). We fell in love with this verse! Notice that it’s not necessarily the easiest way or the most comfortable, but it’s perfect, no matter what, and he will be our shield of protection and comfort. We had to let the worry go and to trust him fully, not making it about us or how we feel. It’s his plan and it will work out according to his purpose.

So here we are today, two more “seizures” have occurred and we have gotten through them. One even happened when he was away from us while he was at preschool, but no matter what, we are still having faith and trusting fully in our Almighty God. More tests have been run including an echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart), another EKG, a 24-hour EKG and a 24-hour EEG and all the results have come back clear. Hudson has been amazing through all these tests and has had a peace about him through it all. He is truly one special boy!

So, at this point we have made an appointment with another neurologist to get a second opinion but in the meantime, we are letting 1 Thessalonians 5:16 -18 consume our minds, “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Jesus”. The word in that verse that always sticks out to us is “ALL” and it is an important word nonetheless, but lets focus in on the word “IN”. Notice we are not necessarily told to give thanks FOR our circumstances, but rather IN them. We’re not expected to be thankful for problems and hardships that come our way. That sure was refreshing to hear, given all that we have experienced! The bottom line is that He ultimately does reign and will use ALL circumstances to make us more like him and to bring him greater glory.

loving the licorice...

2010-01-23T15:04:00.005-05:00

disney on ice

2010-01-19T06:48:00.008-05:00

Thanks to Leanne (Andrew's sister) and her awesome Christmas gift idea, we enjoyed a wonderful evening at Disney on Ice last night in Cleveland. It was a spectacular show and the boys had a ball! They were so mesmerized by the characters and lights. Their faces lit up with huge smiles when they saw Mickey Mouse for the first time and then when it "snowed" at the end of the show. It was so much fun and we'll most certainly do it again! Thanks, Leanne, for a wonderful evening for our family...we love you!

CLICK HERE to see some pictures from the event!

help haiti

2010-01-18T14:03:00.007-05:00

are you looking for a way to help in the wake of a terrible disaster? first and foremost, PRAY!

now, if you're interested in moving beyond prayer, look no further.

this is the wonderful, reputable organization that we work with in sponsoring a child in Equador and they have set up a way for people to help financially. this is a tangible way to bless families in need immediately. you can go Compassion's website to see specifically how different dollar donations can be used and where the money would be going. Compassion has many child development centers/programs located in Haiti and they are clearly in dire need of prayer and support.

would you consider giving?

please join us in lifting up prayers for the families that have been affected and all the rescue workers working all day and night in Haiti.

birthday

2010-01-12T06:42:00.006-05:00

ok, so normally we don't really make a big deal about birthdays, but i couldn't let this one slip by unacknowledged. sooooo...

happy birthday, love! you're amazing, beautiful in every way and have changed my life forever! you are the most selfless, loving mother I know and you truly make a difference everyday in the lives of our children. i love you so very much and am blessed beyond words to be on this journey together with you to see what God has in store for us in the days, months and years ahead! and, by the way, you don't look a day over 29! ;-)

new year, new word

2010-01-10T15:55:00.017-05:00

Along with our THRIVE group, we just finished a great bible study called The Tangible Kindgom: Primer. It sure did put A LOT of things into perspective and made for some good, authentic conversations about how our lives should reflect God's Kingdom in a tangible way.

The premise of the book is essentially that "God's Kingdom doesn't usually unfold in a nice, neat package or linear progression. In fact, He is much more likely to show up in unexpected places and in unique experiences that only He can orchestrate. The hope is that the book will will help you be ready when He does. This includes listening and being willing to be changed. It also includes learning to take personal responsibility for your own calling to be "sent" (John 20:19-22) and dealing with those parts of your flesh that keep you from following Jesus as he leads you out into the world."

One part of the book that really stuck with us was the idea of becoming an "apprentice" of JESUS. Here are a few quotes that explain what this means...

"When you think of what it means to be a disciple of Christ, what comes to mind? Typically, when this question is asked in church groups we get the generic responses like studying the Bible, prayer, attending church, or being involved in a small group. In contrast, if you would have asked some of the first disciples what it was like being one of Jesus' students, they probably would have responded with, "He always tested our faith and our motives. He always took us to places we wouldn't have gone ourselves. We became friends with people we would have hated before. Looking back, it was the most wildly transforming process I could have ever imagined. I'll never be the same."

"Discipleship for the disciples was different from our idea in one major way: it actually involved following JESUS where he went and doing what he did. How do we replicate this process of discipleship? In our modern era, we have in many instances reduced the "discipleship" process to a passive act of being taught about Jesus or studying other in history that have modeled true discipleship. This gap between learning and action has handicapped the modern church by producing passive disciples. We have taken discipleship off the streets and brought it into the classroom and the church pew."

"Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says..." (James 1:22)

"While it's good to learn about becoming a disciple, there is significantly more that can only be understood through practice [and action]. In order to re-engage the discipleship process, we need to redefine it in a way that better captures the essence of discipleship today. That world is apprenticeship."

"Often people get discouraged in their faith experience. We complain about church, other Christians, and even gripe to God. We feel He's let us down, and sometimes we bail on faith altogether. Here's one thought to consider. Maybe God hasn't let anyone down. Maybe the reason we don't see his power or work in our lives is that we've never moved from passive discipleship to apprenticeship. "

With all this in mind, we desire to be true apprentices of Christ. We will not be content with being a passive disciples. We want to know JESUS, really know him...and model our lives after his life (not to mention, model and share JESUS with our children). This is a huge, life-long journey, we know, but this is right where we want to focus during 2010. We want to move beyond the norm, the mediocre. Less talk and more action. We truly want to be the "hands and feet" of JESUS. Our lives are intended to be a mission and that takes a whole lot of deliberate practice and action to prepare our hearts for that! That is why we've finally landed on our new "word" for 2010 being simply...JESUS!!!

If you have no idea what we mean by our "new word" you'll have to go back and read this post from the beginning of last year. Anyhow, this seemed like the perfect word for our family for this year. Our church is teaching through the book of Matthew (an account of JESUS' life) for the entire year (and likely much longer) with this goal as well, in addition to our THRIVE group studying this it too. We can't wait to listen, hear and obey what God's is calling us to do everyday of our lives! We are excited to see what this year holds and to hopefully share some of our journey with you. Oh, Christ be the center of our lives, be the place we fix our eyes, be the center of our lives!

snowy days...

2009-12-30T15:08:00.007-05:00

we had our first "real" snowfall and boy, did we have fun in the snow. look at these sweet snow babies:

the boys LOVED sledding down the hill in our backyard. we even got in on the action, it was a blast.

oh, and of course, what kid can play in the snow without a little taste?!?!

CLICK HERE to see a few photographs from our snow fun!!

christmas pictures...

2009-12-27T21:20:00.007-05:00

hope you had a wonderful christmas as we did too! we spent the days celebrating Christ's birth with both sides of our family and had an amazing, relaxing time with them. we just LOVE our families and the boys had so much fun playing with all their cousins!

CLICK HERE to see some of our christmas snapshots!

merry christmas!

2009-12-24T15:03:00.005-05:00

I bring you good news that will bring great joy to ALL people.

The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today.

{Luke 2:10-11}

M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S !

picture update

2009-12-22T22:05:00.008-05:00

well, it's been a long while since our last picture update (since october, actually). there's been so much going on this time of year we haven't had the chance to get pictures together for a slideshow, but of course we have tons to share with you!

CLICK HERE to see a slideshow of pictures that highlight things that have happened in the months of november and december (so far) with our family. some of the things you'll see are greyson having fun with paint, hudson's first preschool christmas performance and a trip to starbucks with daddy and the fun we had in the first snowfall of the season.

center

2009-12-19T21:25:00.006-05:00

at a time of year when things like

shopping,

gifts,

santa,

and busyness

consume and overshadow

the truth of christmas,

this is our prayer...

oh, CHRIST, be the center of our lives!

{and the center of this season!}