I don't know what time Greg took this pic but  we have at least 24 inches now......suppossed to get another 6-8 before it's done.

Mark and Greg are out shoveling and snowblowing. These pics are taken with Gregs awesome camera- thx Greg:)

Mike and Jen - a storm without you is just not the same:( hurry home..... they'll be no hurrying for sure...

As you can imagine, everything is shut down around here. We'll be in for the weekend. I got lots of movies to watch:)

Andrea and I went to see "Dear John" last night. It was good, but didn't go by the book at all -very wierd - I don't know why they do that. The ending was totally different. I won't say how in case anyone is reading the book or going to see the movie....

So ,it's 10:30, I'm still in my PJ's, don't think I'm gonna get out of them all day:)......

Gotta go, Greg just hollered in here to me to "put a robe on" and come out there and take some more pics....so...... I'm off.... with more than a robe- thats for sure!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olSyCLJU3O0

I have said and thought many times, I would love to go back. We too soon forget...

this takes about 5 min. to watch, it's worth it:)

Bible study this morning... what a neat place to spend some time..... what  a wealth of truth to digest...

God came to set the captive free- no matter what kind of yoke may be binding them.

He came to bind up the brokenhearted- no matter what broke the heart.

He came to open the eyes of the blind- no matter what my have veiled their vision.

We all probably know someone who is in so much bondage it would take a miracle of God for them to break free... as believers, we have at our disposal  a "Wonder of a councelor". The woman with the "isssue of blood" knew it when she reached through a crowd to touch the hem/edge of Jesus' garment. The prayer garment that Jesus would have been wearing had tassels on the corners- it made it easier to grab. She had dealt with her issue for 12 years....... 12 years....it was time for her to do something different. She had been to every doctor- she had tried everything.   She was here with her issue, Jesus was there with her healing. It was time to cross the boarder. And so she did... and as the "power went out from Jesus" , the woman was healed.

Isaiah talks of 3 kinds of suffering Jesus would endure. Physical(he was beaten), mental (rejected,oppressed)and spiritual ( "How could this be even your permssive will?") So which one do you think is worse? Probably whichever one you are presently enduring. Just know that Jesus has been there.

Lots of times we might be tempted to think God is wounding us to hurt us...... He allows us to be wounded so He can heal us....

Nothing needs the infiltration of God's truth more than the heart. We wil find freedom to the degree our hearts accept, rely, and respond to God's truth.

I am baking off some of that Amsih friendship  bread today.... that stuff is a pain in the butt (sorry Holly:) I totally forgot to add the stuff on day 6, so I added it on day 10 and waited the 4 extra days to bake it. Who has time for all this trying to figure out what day it is on your fermenting bread dough- much less remember to massage the  dough in the bag daily. the dumb stuff bettter be ediable is all I have to say.

and this ..... well it should be illegal. Mark(ie) bought the "Royal Rumble" off of Pay per view Sunday night . It's some live wrestling thing.... (eyes rolling!) It cost him $45 ! Of course the other boys wanted to watch too ..... so to defer his cost, Mark made them pay a "cover charge" to get in his room. Now I'm sure once they got in there, there was no place to even sit... but they did it. Poor Devan got out his wallet and forked over his savings......

I can't believe January is over, not really sad to see it go, just realizing how fast life goes. It is a vapor...

Full weekend, went snow tubing with Steve, Dawn , Hope , Chub and the kids. Oh and Brian and Lisa. Haven't seen them in awhile so that was nice. on the way there Andrea and I talked about the HUGE full moon, she said the full moon freaks her out because it makes the night too bright....I love the full moon ...I sure wish I had some pics of our tubing experience but there is something wrong with it. I put new batteries in before we left and they were dead after the 2 " carload" pics I took- bummer. Have to get a new one.

Sat. was finally a laid back day for me. Slept in (M had to work), got  a few things ready for Sun dinner and headed back to my bed to read and do computer stuff. Steve txd me around 11 to bring pancake mix out to him and have bfast with them. So, Dev and i went out.

Went to some upward bball games in the afternoon. Spiddy couldn't believe that I didn't have any tic tacs for her:( I'm slipping. Julia did great in her game. She is th ebest one on her team. We watched Dee's kids too and at 1/2 time Pastor Vaughn asked for a gfather who could shoot baskets... we all pointed to  Greg. I  don't hink he liked being put on the spot but he got a nice travel coffee mug out of it:)

Got home in time to leave for church. Checked in 43 new families (2 services) and gave them the red carpet treatment. I love my job.

Today I went in for first service to help Sarah get ready for the kick off gathering at Liberty place tonight. I was bummed we couldn't go . We had lifegroup here tonight. I would have really liked to gone down there.

I told M I can't wait for next Sunday at this time. This week ahead is  rather daunting. I have all my Aunts kids plus alot of things to do and people to see...We are haivng our foster child's parents here next weekend.i'm glad they are coming but it will be a little ???? i don't really know how it will go.At least there is a light at the end of the tunnel and I'll appreciate my regular routine the next week. My Aunt is cruising somewhere off     the California coast..... and my neighbors are in sunny Florida.... no, I'm not jealous, no, I'm not jealous....ok, i am.

Ok, I'm done rambling. If this entry makes little sense we will blame it on my watching "I shouldn't be alive".while writing this. Some guy gets attacked  by a grizzly bear while hunting for elk  on Horseshoe mountain in Montana.

O., one more thing. I read a great book this weekend. "Dear John"... written by the guy who wrote "The Notebook"...... l.o.v.e.d. it!!!

Had a couple extra kids today which made things a bit crazy which is why I am posting at 5:43 pm, that hardly ever happens....

Day 2- Anyone know what Jotham(OT king) refused to do? 10 points for you if you know....:)  He refused to remove the "high places". The high places were sites elevated on hilltops and dedicated to worship of pagan gods. The thought of the people of God building shrines to other gods is almost unthinkable, yet they did it time and time again. God warned them over and over that if they continued to engage in such practices, it would lead them into captivity. They listened about as good as we do sometimes. So then you might think Jotham wasn't a good king, on the contrary, he sought God faithfully and walked steadfastly before Him. He just wanted to be the boss. It is at this point God called Isaiah. He was one of them, yet a cut above. Educated. Opinionated. Of probable means. Like the rest of us, Isaiah probably tended to act like those he spent his time with. Then one day....."he saw the Lord seated on the throne,high and exalted".    Thats the only way we'll ever see the Lord. He cannot be less than who he is. That is the day Isaiah penned the words of Isaiah 6. For indeed , out of the overflow of a changed heart the mouth most beautifully speaks. 

So, I wonder what is on that "high place" in my life?? May we vountarily dethrone anything that does not belong there and put them in their rightful places. Only then are we able to see the Lord seated on the throne, high and lifted up, as we journey to our destination.....

This goes way back....... anyone know who these two little people are??

Started a new bible study yesterday. Beth Moores revised version of Breaking Free. She mentioned that she had once thought that  only the spiritually lost could be "captive'. Gal.5:1 suggests different. Anything that mentally preoccupies us has us in bondage.That is not Gods plan - He wants us to be free.

Whatever we may end up setting on the alter will be wholly recieved by God. One of our biggest stumbling blocks is worrying about what we have to give up.... nothing we are hanging onto is worth what we are giving up to stay in bondage . Don't be afraid to lay it down.... be afraid to miss out on what God has for you.

In other news.....:)

My 89 yr. old  Gma spent all of Monday night on the floor when she "fell and could not get up" , so my parents wre in there all yesterday. I went in last night for awhile. My dad had to tell her that the doctor really would like her to go to a skilled care facility for a few weeks to get back on her feet. If you know my G-ma , you know how well that could potentially go.....my dad prayed with her before talking to her and it went really well.....what an awesome example I have in my dad.

Dillans truck took $$$$$$$$$$$$ to get inspected, cleaned the poor kid out+ some.....he did not take it too well. He called to see if he could work this morning at his new job before he catches chickens this afternoon.

I'm going to lunch with Mandies Mom today before I head out of town for  a few hours.

Wow!! That week went fast! 

Friday night I had a kid check in party, Mark went to help move wrestling mats to the new gym at MC.

Sat. Devan had his first wrestling tournament. Parents had to vol. a 2 hr. slot each. M did the mats the night before so I signed up for  "runner" 8-10. I had no idea what that was. I ended up working it till 2:15. I rather liked it. Devan wrestled 4x . He even managed to get his Uncle Steve there (thats a feat! ) who took video of each match...... then my dad took us all to Pizza Hut for a late lunch. We had just enough time to change  and head to church for 2. We had a guest church visiting to see how we do things so we were busy taking care of them. Lots of new people again this weekend:)

Sunday , church am , chilled all afternoon and did computer work for check in.... life group at night.

Today= crazy! Up early, got 2 kids in the door, got the boys up, took my van out to Larry so he could plug a slow leaking tire. He told me " all the wires" were showing on my front 2 tires. I was clueless- he said "Don't drive it till you get new tires"..... alrighty then. I'll be back out there at 2:) After my favorite appt!!!:)

Tomorrow I start a new Bible study- Beth Moore- Breaking Free-   

 and I have some extra kids this week and next......busy, busy, busy.....

Made cheesy potato soup (lunch)for my spoiled boys  and made the dough for stomboli for supper. The boys picked all the meals this week. Made it easy for me! 

Thats all for now-

Haven't read Beth Moores blog in awhile so this morning I went over there and read the following. She had just told a story that had happened while she was playing with her grandson. He was building something-she tried to help and he said " thats NOT what I'm doing".... she then gave that event a  spiritual app.........

The lesson wasn't wasted on me. I didn't have to wait till my head was on the pillow and started spinning. I never made it off the floor without thinking how often I try to help God out with ideas. "Why don't You do it this way?" Or, "why don't You do so and so with so and so?"

I'm forever giving God workable suggestions about how He could - sometimes, if I may be so bold, should - handle something. Or someone.

Anybody else?

Don't you know there are times He wants to say to us right out loud in our stubborn hearing, "Child, THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M DOING."

Often, we just don't know what God is doing. So often we think we do but, the truth is, we just don't. Thankfully, He does. He really does. He doesn't need our help. Our brilliant ideas. Or our last ditch efforts because He ignored our first ten suggestions. He just wants our cooperation.

He is constructing something beyond our human rationale. He knows in advance every piece - past, present, and future - that will be required for the finished work. He has all the patience in the universe to put it together. We see one little part and one little moment. He, the One who is, who was, and is to come, sees beyond the singular piece to every generation and condition He means to effect. Meanwhile, He works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. The one thing may not be good at all by itself. In fact, it may be horrendous. Criminal. It's when He weaves it with all that comes before it and all that will come around and behind it that something good, something beneficial, emerges.

Never let Romans 8:28 become so familiar that you subconsciously fold it into your spiritual fairy tale file. It is as true today as it was the moment the Apostle dripped the letters on the parchment. Don't blow them dry.

Maybe it's not that God isn't listening. Maybe it's just that what we keep suggesting is not exactly what He's doing. And, if that's so, what He's doing can only be better and more effectual than what we think we'd do in His place.

John 13:7 says something that keeps ringing in my ears.

Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."

Later.

LATER.

L.A.T.E.R.

We WILL understand.

Great insight for today....

Today was th e kick off in the new building for the Harrisburg campus!! We'll see video of how that went next week.

 Going through Proverbs..... thats good:) Today we focused on being disciplined in our lives and developing the art of advanced decision making. This includes reviewing all the benefits of a disciplined decision and all the costs of an undisciplined decision.

and we got big news.... we have been looking for  another campus site in th e Ephrata area- we still are working on that, but meanwhile another location was pretty much dropped in our laps. Liberty Place right in Lancster city  will be a new site and will be launched in just 6 weeks!!!!!!! I am so excited for this location. Remember all those people that are having to be picked up by our friends?.....now a location right in their neighborhood! Awesome. I talked to the Funks this am and they said they will continue brining people Sat. nights until we start a Sat. night service there.

Exciting stuff........ I'm so grateful to be part of it.....

This was Devans first wrestling scrimage. It was not what he (nor I)would have  imagined.   It was at the old gym at MC. It is very tight quarters. They had chairs set up 2 rows deep for parents, and it was wall to wall kids in the middle. Poor Devan, with just 4 weeks of experience, he was up against kids with 4 yrs.experience.....it was ugly. I wil spare you the details.

the good part of this day? My dad took us to pizza hut for lunch:)

Friday we went out.... late..... we never go out late. Devan snapped this while we were waiting for Dee and Greg.

Chuck and Steph....

a friend.....:)

We were very close to turning into pumpkins with this late night:)

Made smoothies yesterday for breakfast. Motts starwberry/ banana juice, strawberry nonfat yogart, strawberries from dads garden - frozen, and a liitle flaxseed meal. Flax is suppossed to be good for keeping focused/concentration so I put it into the kids drinks, you know, in high hopes they will stay focused to do their work..... Heck, I need it for myself!

Can I just say, getting this picture was painful. Dillan didn't want ANY picture  taken and Mandie has to approve all pics taken (I don't blame her:)

Had a great dinner at Rockwells :):) 

Ashley and Sarah then took Devan to  wrestling which I'm sure he absolutly loved.

and this...... we found this morning. Can you believe these are the two that used to fight like crazy? Hang in there Moms with little ones..... they do grow up - and way too fast!!

Happy Birthday to my cousin Kim and my Mom, neither of whom read this blog .....

Stephanie- I really do like the shred. It's a 20 min thing as oppossed to an hr. with p90x (which doesn't fit into my schedule) It's a great workout. It is on my "on demand" so I didn't buy it. I am doing level 2, and it's very do-able- for me anyway..

http://www.wabi.tv/news/9412/father-and-son-escape-icy-waters

Check out this news clip. The guy being interviewed is Marks nephew.He and his dad had a little scare the other day while ice fishing. My bil- Linwood has now used up ALL of his 9 lives!!!

Nothing really new here..... Ashley goes back to LU tomorrow. Her friend is coming today to ride back with her. We are all going out to dinner tonight.

Dillan is going with Chris this morning up to HACK- not sure why.... Chris is starting there next week so I guess he has to do something and wants Dillan to go with.

Dee is away overnight at a speaking engagment. If I would have had my act together I'd be there with her-ughhh. It's at the Country Cupboard. She spoke last night and I think she speaks 3 times today. I made supper for Greg and the kids, and I need to get her boys sometime today... Oh, I hope I don"t forget!!!

P90x update:

I  have switched to Jillian Michaels 30 day shred because I couldn't get the CD to work yesterday. I think it's a better fit for me:) So, I will be shredding here very soon:)

Watched the bachelor last night... who oh who will he choose? I think I know. I think Allie is a good fit for him.

Have a great day!

OK, P90x is a killer , and I only did 1/2 hr. of he 1 hr session. I'm barely moving...I better see some significant losses in some areas:)

Ashley and I wentto see "It's complicated" last night. She let me get a LARGE soda, knowing full well how big it really was. I drank continually for 2 hours and I still came home with 3/4 of it. Waste of $! She said she thought "I knew" what I was doing. I asked her if I ever really know what I'm doing.... she laughed. Take that as you will. Good movie,one very funny part!

I am looking for new cookware- mid line price range. If you have any that you LOVE, let me know what it is.

And, I would love to read "Going Rouge". If anyone has it and is not needing it for a week or so and would be willing to lend it- well, then, I would be happy with you:)

Bright and sunny here today , with a fresh coating of the white stuff.......

Enjoy the day:)

So we are being challenged at church to read throught the book of Proverbs 12 times throughout this year. I'm game, no problem. Now my boys....? They heard the same challenge....When we talked about it, they had to agree it was a good idea, would they really do it? So, I did it. I  offered them a monetary reward if they would do it. To prove to me that they really did read it, I asked (and am doing myself) a one line summary of the chapter. When I recieve 12 sheets with 31 lines filled at the end of the year- I'll show them the money:):) I think it will be interesting to see the different things that we will glean from the same chapter from month to month.

Last night I met with a friend I've known since 4th grade. I met her at the mennonite scool I was attending. I was very much in the minority- if not the only one- NOT wering a head covering...Great memories there. Steve and I  learned 4 part harmony there when we heard a "pitch pipe" for the first time and wondered what in the world that sound  was...We were not mennonite ,but we might as well have been.  My dad would still make a great mennonite.  Bless his heart. I love that we connect instantly when we get together. Her, where she is, and me where I  am. Boy, do we need each other! We are not meant to do life alone. We talked for 21/2 hrs straight. And we weren't near done. M can't comprehend it. He can't imagine that there would be that much to say....(come on girls, tell him THERE IS. ) I told this friend last night that once a year is just not enough, so we are going to get together once a month. And M is fine with it:)- he's a good guy!!!

From the book Jen gave me:

"You see friends, God is interested in the growth of our faith. One of the ways He does this is to allow a variety of experiences to come our way- both good and bad. In fact, one of the tolls Gd uses to bring about transformation is tribulation. these trials are not given to us haphazardly. They're allowed to come into our lives by a great and loving God. There isa perfect pupose to them."

Pressing on-

PS. Pray for me as I attempt to start p90x!!!!

Got this book from Jen. I read the first chapter this morning. Enlightening.....Carole Lewis tells how gratitude brings hope and healing to our lives .... and she knows first hand. She lost her 39 yr. old daughter to a drunk driver, leaving 3 kids and her husband behind. Her comment at the end of the chapter is what I thought was interesting. "I am convinced today that we cannot become the people God wants us to become unless we learn to accept what we cannot change"......

Weekend recap.....

Vol. both services Sat. night. Tim brought 10 carloads of people from Lancaster city. Found out after they all got there that he had brought some gang members who were "armed".... that set security in action:) The girls who informed him didn't think they would try to harm anyone, they were more worried they might try to steal from the offering. Everything was fine. It will be interesting to see if they come back and just what God has planned in that situation.

Sunday we were challenged to step outside our "safe places and comfortable ciricles" and make a difference in some peoples lives. And then I get a text from a neighbor inviting us to their house for New Years eve. Not the neighbors we usually spend time with....... def. out of our comfort zone...... we're going.With high hopes of someday being priveldged to be part of their "story".....

Sunday night we went to see our Oma who didn't come for Christmas becasue of the impending ice prediction. As it turned out she could have come. unfotunate. I took her the calendar we had made for her. She loved it. Ashley fixed her computer for her. 96 and computer literate..... hows that? She is amazing. We love her to death!

I took off this week babysitting (only would have had Lita) except tomorrow when I'll have Bobby J... to spend some time with Ashley . She has off for a few days here so we're gonna do something FUN:) I have my most favorite appointment today with very good timing. I used a free 3 day pass to the gym yesterday and did things I'v e never done before...

Mark(ie) gave everyone a nice (not so) wake up call......

A dangerous, homeless drifter who grew up picking cotton in virtual slavery. An upscaleart dealer accustomed to the world of Armani and Chanel. A gusty woman with a stubborn dream. A story so incredible no novelist would dare to dream it.

It begins outside a burning plantation hut in Louisiana.... and an East Texas honky- tonk.... and without a doubt, in the heart of God. It unfolds in a Hollywood hacienda..... an upscale New Your gallery..... a downtown dumpster... a Texas ranch.

Gritty with pain and betrayaland brutality, it also sines with an unexpected, life-changing love.

Found this book on a blog I read. They are going to read it for their book club starting Jan.1..... I finished it Sunday night. If you want to see a short video with the authors go over to Angies blog at http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/

Mandies family came last night...... and loved it. Her  step-dad told me he hasn't been to church in 30 years .... and he thinks he will come back.....Little Bobbi J looked downright adorable in his little 3 piece suit! I am going to be  watching him every Tuesday now starting next week. The boys are so excited!