13 years

13 years ago, I said, "I do" to this handsome man.

Here's proof...

We kissed...

We danced...

We ate cake...

Everyone had a great time...

We've been through a lot of ups and downs. We made 3 beautiful kids.

(Thanks, by the way)

We've made a lot of memories and had a few fights.

We've been separated by deployments, and been brought back together.

 Through it all, I would choose him again. Every time.

This kid

See this kid? He's my baby, my youngest, my heart!

He used to look like this...

Then he turned into this...

 

Next thing I knew he was 2!

And then 3!

4...there was no stopping this train.

5...such a big boy!

6...starting school

Where in the world is my baby??

Oh...there he is!

He's never leaving home, I won't let him!

Summer Time!

We kicked off summer this week. What better way than a friendly water gun fight?

 

Wait, this isn't looking too friendly!

But here comes Jamie to save me!! He chases his brother away!

Then we headed East to visit grandparents and see my nephew graduate.

Wait, what?? He was just a little boy yesterday. When I graduated from high school, he was just two years old. What the heck happened?!?

We did a little fishing...

Josh quickly got bored with it...

and decided to play with the bait instead!

Then we visited grandmother and her goats

and her trampoline...

And this was just the beginning ! More to come...

Prayer Warrior

So, I've known for a long time my spiritual gift is prayer. It comes easily for me and I can and will do it on and off all day. There are times when God puts someone or something on my heart and I know without a doubt I am to stop and pray for them.

For the past few weeks at church, we have been discussing spiritual gifts and how you can and should be using yours. I felt I needed to step up and start using my gift in the Body, not just in the quiet safety of my own home. Talk about scary! I am happy in my own little world. I am happy to be on the sidelines cheering others on, occasionally pitching in and helping out. So, when I approached the pastor's daughter and asked where I can help in this area, I was out of my comfort zone. But, still, I expected a little direction, maybe to be on the prayer chain. What I wasn't expecting was for her to tell me, "Ok, it's all yours! Go, figure out what you want to do and let me know."

Wow! Umm, ok, I can do that. I started thinking about it and realized I can do this! "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Phil 4:13

Then, I became excited. Ideas began swirling though my mind and I was ready to get started. I wanted to use a new way to reach out in prayer. Facebook! I could start a Facebook page for prayer requests. It's quick, it's easy, it's all encompassing. Everyone has a Facebook page! I ran it by my pastor and he agreed it is a good idea, but the older people in the church might be hurt and left out. Well, I didn't want to exclude anyone so I had my techie husband whip me up a prayer chain sign up sheet for those who would prefer to be called with the prayer requests. But I still felt more could be done. I wanted to personal aspect of prayer. The relational aspect of prayer. God says, "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." Matt 8:20 

So, now our church has a Facebook prayer page   http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sunrise-Baptist-Church-Prayer-Warriors/183373028378699
We also have a phone prayer chain
And we are starting up a Sunday morning Prayer Warriors Group

The moral of this story:  When God calls you out of your comfort zone, go for it! You will be the one blessed!