Sam Turned Three!

As you can tell from the pictures Sam is a baseball fan even though he's never been to a real baseball game since he was a small baby.  He is a real Yankee fan, always wanting a Yankee hat.  We did a baseball theme for his birthday this year.  I actually bought a store bought cake (even though it didn't taste that good to me) it had baseball players and the field on it.  The little baseball players were a huge hit.  He really enjoyed opening his presents this year too.  The last picture is my favorite!!!!  I knew they were watching his new Winnie the Pooh movie but I didn't  realize he had piled up on his sister.  I think she was just about as tired as he was.  That's another fun part of having little ones so close in age, they celebrate as much as the actual birthday person.  I guess turning three and being a birthday boy just wore him out.  He enjoyed relaxing and watching his new movie before bed.  Happy Birthday to our 3 year old sweet boy!!!!

Fathers Day

Happy Fathers Day Dad!!!

Sarah's 4th Birthday

Happy 4th birthday to our dear precious Sarah!!!  You are such a joy to all of us!!  We had a princess birthday for Sarah.  She woke up to our dining room being decorated for her princess celebration.  We eventually had to put a few things away till that evening.  It was too tempting for 3 little ones in the house not to bother. That evening her Daddy even surprised her with a dozen roses and pizza for her birthday supper.  It's hard to believe that she is already 4, seems like she should still be the little baby of the family.

Moore Family Films: Watch Free Online-It Is Your Life: The Moss Famil...

Moore Family Films: Watch Free Online-It Is Your Life: The Moss Famil...: On sale for $10.00 (Regular price $15.95) During the month of June, Moore Family Films is offering another one of our films free for o... This month the Moore Family is sharing another great DVD. We enjoyed watching this. It was great seeing the story of another Mom who has had MANY c-section!!! I'm sure that anyone who watches this will come away very inspired by this family!

National Bible Bee

It's that time of year. The time that our family gets really excited about a box being delivered to our home from the National Bible Bee. This year they have made a few changes and instead of learning about 8-10 verses per day it is more like 8-12 verses per week. Also there is personal and family Bible study that will take about 20 minutes or so per day. This will be very manageable for most people. Now one of the best things will be a chance to go to Nationals in November. They will be held in Tennessee again this year. The Pigeon Forge area will be the location and since that is so close to us we are excited about going even if Morgan's scores don't get her there to compete. Last year Kirk Cameron, Voddie Baucham and the Gettys were special guests along with many others. Just going to the conference will be wonderful-getting to compete in the finalist would be even better. We will do this study all summer as a family and encourage and help Morgan with the memorization part. Since she was a little girl she has always been blessed with the ability to memorize things. It just comes easy for her (unlike her Mother). When she was in Kindergarten we started going to a different church near the end of January/beginning Feb. we were very glad they had the AWANA program there. Our previous church had not yet started their AWANA program and we had hear great things about it. I was a bit concerned that it would be difficult for Morgan to finish her first year book since we had started so late. She thoroughly enjoyed going to AWANA. It was a very small group and she really liked her teacher. She quickly devoured the book and completed it by the end of March! She then went back over it again and by this time we knew that the Lord had blessed her with a gift of memorizing things very easily. When we first heard about the Bible Bee several years ago we knew this would be just right for Morgan. She had went as far as she could in AWANA and we knew how much she loved to memorize Gods word. For different reasons she has never competed at the locals but this year our goal is to finish well and by that I mean to do her best in the local competition and then see where that might lead. I cannot stress enough that this is more than a competition but it is memorizing the scriptures that will stay with you for a lifetime and also personal and family devotions. I hope to do updates about our experience with the Bible Bee all summer. I also hope to find other families that are blogging about their participation with the Bee and maybe do a link up. Sign-ups are through the end of the month!!! Spread the word!!!

Strawberries and Mothers Day

Last Saturday we went to pick strawberries..

Mothers Day A rare picture with all my sweet ones!

Tuesday Linkup

I'm linking up with Tesha's Tuesday link up.  She has a blog that has been a blessing to so many.  This is something that she sent out to other Mommy's that have suffered a loss.  I read through all the names and thought of how all of these women have had to go through so much.  I am so thankful that the Lord blessed me with 8 children and I can't imagine what it would be like if I hadn't been able to enjoy every single one of them.  I am blessed each day with hearing the laughs, giggles and of course on some days the screaming and crying of 7 of them but I am forever changed after having Daniel.  Those few weeks with him still inside me were difficult with the pregnancy problems but they were at the same time wonderful and a gift from God.  Things that were once taken for granted are now hoped and prayed for.  Mercy Me has a new song that I heard on Sunday.  I'm sure that we can all relate to this song if we have suffered a true loss of any kind.

When will we learn?

1) The more popular something is usually means the less Christ-Like.

2) Everything really does come down to my relationship with Jesus Christ.

3) Satisfaction is not in a ministry or life goal, but in Jesus Christ.

4) Children ARE a blessing and most families want and have few.

5) Love is not based upon feeling but on commitment.

6) Being in debt is a curse and most families want, and have a great deal.

7) Worship is not a style of music or preaching.

8) A good sign of a growing church is NOT how many people are attending.

9) Success is only measured by how successful we are in submitting and following Jesus Christ and His mandates, not our career.

10) The mission field begins at home and the first disciple is your spouse.

Sam's Haircut

Sam's first Haircut!

 

Lots of Links

It's a busy Friday around here but I had to take time to mention 4 things:

Morgan has a new blog that she has been working on. It has a bit more of an "older girl" feel to it. 

It is so pretty and she has done such a good job with it. I only wish I could do things like this. 

Visit it HERE.

Our friends, The Munck Family are having a giveaway and they are also sharing about how their family made some changes to find simplicity, and a peaceful lifestyle. This would be a great DVD for any family to have. They also share about The Maxwell Family and the wonderful ministry that this family has. Visit their blog and giveaway HERE.

Moore Family Films have released several documentaries on The Family!  We have 3 of these and love them.  We bought these shortly after Daniel had passed away, and they were truly an encouragement to us.  Right now you can watch one for free during the month of April.  It is well worth your time.  We usually watch one of these at least once a week. They're having a special price right now and it would be a great investment at such a low price. There are lots of extras on the DVD that I actually find just as enjoyable to watch as much as the main part. The other movies they sell are just as good and we can't wait to see the next one.  

There is a link-up at Tesha's Treasures for anyone who has experienced the loss of a child through miscarriage, stillborn, and the death of an older child. Tesha has found so many things online that are meant to help Moms and Dads with their grief. Somehow I came upon her blog one day and realized that we had both lost our little boys at about the same time. This link up tells of so many that have lost children of all ages. It has been hard to read, but it has shown me that I need to write down all the details of our time with Daniel. I don't want to forget anything about our short time with him. I will never forget him, but I want to be able to remember not only his passing, but those weeks that we had with him. The ultra sounds, hearing and seeing his little heartbeat for the first time, finding out by accident very early that he was our 5th son,  sharing with family and friends about him and all those exciting things that go along with finding out you have been blessed again with a baby.  These things I want to always treasure even though our time with him was so short.  

Alive!