easter week...

i promise i am still alive and i am doing ok! i know i have been very absent from blogging (writing, reading and commenting) as of late. i just don't know where the days have been going, they have been going much too fast for my liking. i feel like i blink and the day is half over and time for lunch. then i blink again and it is completely over and time for bed. if anyone has figured out the formula for slowing down the days yet, please let me know :)

so these days for me have been filled with the normal things a mom has to do everyday, which has included cleaning out closets and switching the wardrobes over to lighter spring clothing! yeah - i am so glad that spring is here! i am ready for some consistent warm days and let it just rain at night! it always seems that i buy clothes for the kids for the new season and then the weather goes back to the old season. but i think slowly but surely spring is coming to stay!

with easter just a few days away, can you believe it?, i will be busy this week putting the finishing touches on our easter outfits and getting stuff for the kids' easter baskets. we will be spending this week and easter weekend, egging the city of charlotte. our church, which meets at several campuses throughout a normal weekend, will be meeting all together for one big huge easter service. we will be having our worship experience at time warner arena (home of the bobcats basketball team) and we are expecting atleast 10,000 people to be in attendance! holy excitement! i can not wait to be a part of this awesome day!

i make no promises, (but surely hope) to blog again this week before easter! so, if i don't get back here before easter, i wish each of you a happy easter! i have been horrible at taking pictures lately, so i will be sure to do that this weekend so i can share how cute my kids are! i also have some exciting news to share but i am saving that for a post of it's own (nope, i am not pregnant, i know that was your first thought!).

until next time!

many blessings,
dawn

a new day...

the gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to Him.
ezra 8:22

last week i had one of those days. it was just one of those no good. horrible. bad days. you know we all have them. situations occur, you are tested on every level. you say things to the ones closest to you that you should not have said. your tone was wrong. you shed tears, you shake your head in disbelief. you get angry, impatient and mad. you take it out on everything and everyone in your path. it may not be throwing things or lashing out. we each have our own way of handling the our emotions.

i have a hard time keeping my emotions back, i can not hide how i feel especially with those that are closest to me. i was dealing with something that caused me so much pain and it had nothing to do with my family. but my kids got the worst of me that day and not the best. because i was shaken and broken and just couldn't get it together. and as hard as i tried i just could not shake it off.

the quality time didn't happen. i didn't talk nice. i just couldn't wait for bedtime. i just needed to be all by myself. in a quiet place to think, to breathe, to cry. deep inside, i knew i handled it wrong with my kids. i let my negative emotions get the best of me. but i hadn't the strength to handle it right. to suppress my emotions and be the mom i knew i should be. it is hard to admit but it is the truth.

not giving myself any kind of excuses, fully knowing it is an area of weakness for me, i tucked each of them into bed and whispered, "mommy is so sorry that i was impatient with you and that i yelled a lot today, but tomorrow when we wake up this will be behind us. this day will be over. and tomorrow will be a new day and we can start all over."

and only because of His grace.

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 about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
2 corinthians 12:9

consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials
of many kinds, because you know that the testing
of your faith develops perseverance.
james 1:2

bye bye week, hello weekend!

i know it has been a week since my last post. this week has just been one of those really "off" kind of weeks for me. lots of ups and downs. and i must say that i am so glad it is friday! this morning, i am taking the little kids to the park! hopefully, i will remember my camera. we are going to meet some new friends there!

this last week started off with me being sick. i actually started with some kind of stomach bug, where i just felt queasy and achy and yucky on sunday, so i had to miss serving as the nursery coordinator, i just couldn't spread my germs to those sweet babies. it lasted a few days. i didn't have much of an appetite. so i think starting off the week being sick just threw the whole week off. i am feeling so much better now.

and of course this week was full of tests and challenges on top of me being sick. but through all of it i was able to really focus on God's desire in how i handled the things that came at me left and right. i was able to see that these road blocks were put in my way to throw me off course. but i will not allow it because He is my strength. i know that the plans God has for my life are from Him and i will persevere through the trials and overcome them! so, i have been able to put it all behind me and move ahead in the right direction towards Him.

so i am glad that this week is over and i am looking forward to a great weekend! we are starting it off with a date night to celebrate my hubby's birthday and then we plan to have lots of family time! which will include some spring time shopping! i am ready to change over the closets and get rid of the winter coats and sweaters! i am so excited that spring is upon us!!

happy weekend everyone!

many blessings ~
dawn

floating...

the anchor has sunk and the ship is just floating along. not really going forward and not really going backward. lots of stuff stirring inside and along the edges of the ship but no real direction or movement being made. lots of clutter being removed and scrubbing of the decks gives a fresh feel but still not going forward. a course not mapped out and not challenge to undertake. no sign of a storm to come and know the captain is in full control.

*****

waiting is so hard for me. not hearing a direction or knowing a move to make. i like to be moving and doing, while God has been calling me to just be. while i have been waiting for a direction to take or a move to make, He has been working on me from the inside out. feeling like i was getting close to whatever He has planned, whatever that something "big" is i feel coming. i surrender all to Him as i learn to just be, knowing He is in control of this ship. wanting Him to fully use me to His glory i wait. and just as i am getting use to waiting, He gives me this direction*, stay busy doing the last thing I told you to do.* in obedience, but not by my design i focus on the last thing He has called me to do. for now. i am comforted that He is in control and that i gave it all to Him.

so where is your ship today, floating and waiting? cruising and doing? or sinking and shaken?

        I surrender all, I surrender all, 
 all to thee, my blessed Savior, 
 I surrender all. 

 All to Jesus I surrender; 
 humbly at his feet I bow, 
 worldly pleasures all forsaken; 
 take me, Jesus, take me now. 

i cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills His purpose for me.
psalm 57:2

but thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him.
2 corinthians 2:14


*taken from a leader in the making by joyce meyer

eyeglasses...

joshua got his first pair of glasses!
doesn't he look so smart?

wordless wednesday...

five...

it feels like yesterday when i loaded up josh and jordyn and headed out to run some last minute errands to get a few last minute "must haves". later that same night after being with a group of friends from church, i installed the infant seat in the back of the van. thinking i was ahead of the game, two weeks before my due date these things were done and the bags were pretty much packed for the hospital.
little did i know as i was checking off the remaining "to dos" baby #3 was ready to make his way into the world, even if i wasn't.

five years ago today, i gave birth to the sweetest baby boy ever. you can read the rest of his birth story here.

today jesiah celebrates his fifth birthday! last night we celebrated with a party and he had his first sleepover with two of his best buddies! today we had a family day, and he got to pick out a few gifts at his favorite store - target!

jesiah,
you are such a kind and sweet boy. mommy and daddy are so proud of the big boy you are becoming. you say the sweetest things that melt my heart. i love how you hold jaelyn's little hand when you are sitting next to her in the van. you have become such a great big brother to jaelyn. jesiah you are so bright and know so much at five years old. you have endless energy and are so busy. most days you play so well all by yourself. you love to dress up and pretend play. you are becoming so good at video games too! you are so laid back and so full of life. you are starting to really take an interest in learning and reading, which is perfect timing considering you will be heading off to kindergarten in august. mommy is going to miss you so much when you are in school, but we have so many months left until that day. i am just going to focus on loving you and teaching you all about God over the next few months. you are such a special little boy and God has such big plans for you, jesiah. you are such a blessing to our family. we love you so much! happy fifth birthday, little buddy!
love, mommy

almost five...

tomorrow, my "baby boy" jesiah will turn five years old!
can you believe it?
i can not!
he is not a baby, toddler or preschooler any more!
he is a big boy!
(insert happy sigh here)
he is such a blessing he is to me and our family.
jesiah is so full of life and i am so excited to celebrate his big day!!!

in honor of his birthday tomorrow, here is a look back at the last four years...


birth to one...

read birth story here

one...

two...

three...

read birthday post here

four...

read birthday post here

i shall return over the weekend with another post all about jesiah and
also some birthday pictures of his celebration!

until then, i am off to love on my four year old, because he is not officially five yet!

things that make me smile...

jaelyn's little voice
**
looking at jesiah's baby pictures
**
& thinking about the day he was born
**
watching tv on the couch with my hubby after a long day
**
getting a sweet comment on my blog or an encouraging text message from a friend
**
planning a baby shower for a friend
**
crossing something off of my to do list
**
going to church


so, what are you things that make you smile today?
focus one those thoughts and not the ones that don't.

Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10

wordless wednesday...

photo take by the beautiful mess

read this instead...

today is one of those days where i just am at a loss for words, i have been for a few days. no worries, nothing is going on. everything is good! i just don't feel like "talking" that much. my twitter and facebook updates have been lacking too, not just my blog. i am busy this week planning and getting ready for jesiah's birthday. he will be five on saturday. i also have some other things i am working on for church.

while i was catching up on my blog reading, i read this and wanted to share it with you. ephesians 3:20 is the theme for my blog and one of my favorite verses ever. it is one of my pastor's too. so, since i don't have much to say today, read this! i promise it will give you such a great perspective and leave you very encouraged!

at the bottom of our dirty laundry...

i have been reading the book, a leader in the making by joyce meyer for a weekly bible study. we just finished up a few chapters on negative conditions of the heart. wow! there were twenty of them listed and i didn't realize how much junk can be in our hearts. junk that God certainly doesn't want there. junk that satan puts there to keep us from truly being who God is calling us to be.

the book focuses on the fact that we have to work on these negative heart conditions before God can use our leadership potential. regardless if you see yourself as a leader or not, it is important to find out what negative conditions of the heart you may possess so that you can live a life that fully worships God. some negative conditions that were described were a proud heart, a faint heart, a greedy, lustful heart and an unforgiving heart. i am realizing our hearts can be full of these negative things and we may not even know. and only God can reveal them to us if we ask.

the other day i was doing laundry. i had gotten way behind on it due to the stomach bug that hit us last week. it was really piled up. and i started thinking, i did a ton of laundry last week, why am i so behind? that is when i realized, i was only doing the stuff on top of the piles, the stuff that was the dirtiest. i was able to get that cleaned and put away. but the bottom of the piles never got washed, because i just couldn't get to it. the stuff on the top of the piles consumed me and i never got to the bottom. in fact, i had forgotten that we had some of those clothes. as i was digging my way to the bottom of the piles, i thought how much my dirty laundry piles are like our hearts.

we have these negative conditions of our hearts, the messy ones that are on top and we deal with and we get a handle on. we get a handle on those and think we are all set. but because we are always maintaining what is on the top, because just like dirty laundry it continues to pile up, we don't have time or we forget to work on what is on the bottom. so we have to dig really deep to get to the bottom of our heart and pull the things out that we haven't dealt with. just like the huge dirty laundry piles sitting on our laundry floor. they may not always be there, we may get caught up but before we know it those piles appear once again.

so, my encouragement to you to do on a very discouraging topic, is to dig deep. ask God to reveal to you the things that He wants you to work so that He can take you to the next level of where He is calling you to be.

for the Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance,
but the Lord looks on the heart. 1 samuel 16:7

what's your story, morning glory*...

after writing this last week, it really got me to thinking about something that is missing on my blog. something that i look for when i visit new blogs. i want to know the blogger's story, their background. who they are. and i realized that i don't even have what i am looking for on my own blog.

when i end up on a new blog, sometimes i have no idea how i got there but when i do, before i read their most recent post, i like to know a little bit about them. it just helps identify with who they are. it's like reading a novel, you have to identify with the character to really get into their story and what they are sharing. and i like to be able to read their story easily, like by just clicking a link, and then i get a good review of who they are!

i have started working on this for my blog. a link that will share my story. i want new readers, or those of you who don't know my whole story, to know a little bit more about me. for those of you that know me pretty well, it may be a bit boring for you, because you know my story. it will be like one huge testimony to God and to how He has worked in my life and it will share about the trials and triumphs i have gone through.

my story, is a piece of writing that is in the working stages! i am excited about sharing it with you. i will let you know when it is done - no promises on a date! but soon!

so, how about you, do you share "your story" on your blog?



*i couldn't help but using lyrics from a song to entitle this post and so funny that i would use this title, seeing as how i am not at all a morning person!!

oh what a week...

phewwww....last week was a long week!

first, it is hard to believe that over valentine's weekend we were playing in snow and then this past weekend we were outside playing in 60 degree sunny beautiful weather. and now as i sit here and write this it is raining outside - yuck! i am so over this wet weather! i am reading for sunny days, with lots of rain at night!!!

if you remember, last weekend, jesiah had that yucky stomach bug,(you know the one that is going around way too much these days!) and then it spread through most of our family during the first part of last week....







yup, on sunday afternoon, jaelyn began running a fever and was feeling plain awful.


then, jordyn came home from school on monday and complained of a stomach ache and within an hour she started throwing up.



jaelyn's fever continued while jordyn missed school on tuesday and wednesday. i did take jaelyn to the doctor because she kept running a fever and had no other symptoms other than just feeling yucky and little appetite. i thought maybe it could be an ear infection. our doctor tested her for h1n1, which was negative and checked her ears and nothing. she must have had the same kind of virus, although she never threw up. which i am certainly not complaining about. somewhere in the midst of all of that, jamil got sick but it hit him hard and fast he was over it in like less than 12 hours! josh never got the stomach bug, he did have a little cough and cold but nothing stomach related and nothing that required much attention or missing school!! praise God!

and believe it or not, even after caring for a sick family, i never really got it!!! my stomach was a little off but i never threw up. i had one day where i didn't feel great but it could have been a mind over matter thing. seeing and cleaning up after everyone else can make you feel sick!! i was so scared that i would get it, but just kept telling myself that i wouldn't. and that is when i called in my prayer warriors to help me fight it off! and as they prayed for me, i kept praying and speaking health and wellness and i was able to fight it off! i am so thankful that i had people praying for me! one of them wrote this about fighting off sickness with the power of His healing! you should read it, it is good stuff! wow! the power of prayer and speaking truth amazes me

(one thing you have to know about me is that i have never had a stomach bug that resulted in throwing up. never. praise God!! which is so good because i hate to throw up! hate it! the handful of times that i threw up were because of morning sickness in my pregnancies!)

even though the start of the week was filled with sickness, we conquered that and were able to end the week by attending a super special, super fun birthday party for our pastor. and then we were able to go about our weekend as usual, with some family time and lots of time at church!!

so, as i sit here and type this, i am so glad God has healed our family and i am looking forward to a much different week!! i hope that you are having a good start to your week!

share your ministry...

no matter what your story, no matter where you are in life, i believe that each of us has our own ministry. we have people in our lives even if for a short season who we have touched by something we have said or something we have done. your ministry it is the purpose and the calling that God has placed on your life.

God uses each of us to minister to someone else. whether you have lived through a tragedy, gone through a trial, pastor a church, experienced a miracle, lead an organization, or are just a plain "old ordinary girl" who thinks you have nothing to share...

you have a story. therefore you have a ministry.

and for many of us we share our stories on our blogs. some bloggers have a huge following and some do not. it doesn't really matter the number. the point is you are sharing your ministry. you are doing what God asks of us.

this week over at kelly's korner she is highlighing "show us your ministry". if you have a blog and it tells your story, that is your ministry. God uses each of us and our blogs in a different way and to minister to different people.

here on my blog, i share a lot stories and pictures of our large family. i hope you will take a few minutes to check out my blog and learn a little bit about us! i also share in more meaningful posts how God is teaching me and using me. i share from my heart and believe in being transparent and real. but i also realize there is a line between being yourself and being "too personal". i always write my posts with the goal of leaving my readers encouraged! sometimes that is why i won't publish certain things, if i haven't figured out how to post it in a encouraging way, a lot of times i will wait until God shows me what that is. and if i still don't have an answer, i know if i just look to my bible, He will give me a scripture to share and then i can hit that "publish post" button!!


while i don't have a story that shares a journey of something really huge whether it be a trial or a triumph, i still have a story (and with four kids there are lots of them!). i believe that God will use my stories to minister to those that He intends for it too. i may not have a large number of readers and followers, but i believe that if what i write just touches one person than the goal of that writing was accomplished.

i am passionate about other women, especially expecting mothers and mothers of young children. i know God has placed that passion on my heart and i know my ministry is primarily to that group of women. that doesn't mean what i have to say won't apply to someone in a different category, because God will use us it lots of different ways that we don't expect! He knows no limits when it comes to sharing His power and glory!

i will continue in another post more specifics and an overall "about me" kind of post, so you will have to come back and check out part two of this post. that is where i will share a little more of "my story"

so, what is your ministry and what do you share on your blog!
link up to kelly's blog and share who you are and why you keep a blog!

thanks for stopping by, leave a comment and let me know you were here and pleaes come back again soon!

one week, one city and 5,000 volunteers...

there is no better way to celebrate elevation's four year anniversary and valentine's day than with love week! last week we celebrated the four year anniversary of our church in a huge way!
and this week it gets even better!

one word that can be used to totally describe our church is audacious! and what we are doing at elevation church this week through God and for our city is completely audacious.

this week we will be unleashing the power of 5,000 volunteer hours spread across our city to reach out and serve. the goal of this project is to have 5,000 volunteer hours logged. it is only tuesday day 3 of the project and we have logged over 3,000 hours already!

at elevation, we invest a large portion of our money back into the city of charlotte. we also invest a lot of time and energy serving with strategic community outreach partners. i volunteer regularly with one of them called safe journey, a program that helps teem moms stay in school. i enjoy every second of time i can put into giving back to this organization.

there are so many ways to get involved in community outreach and this week is a great way to get started. if you don't live in the charlotte area, i am sure there are plenty of ways to get involved in your city. you can go here to find out what we are doing to serve the city of charlotte. check it out and maybe it will inspire you to get involved and show some love in your city.

one way, i will be volunteering this week is by posting on twitter and facebook statistics about some of our community outreach partners. if you aren't already, follow me on twitter - dawnkmassey. or become my friend on facebook, so you can find out how important it is to get involved and spread some love!

you can listen to pastor steven's sermon here, it is all about love week! you don't want to miss this one!

little mommy...

jaelyn turned sixteen months old on february 6!
since it was not so long ago that i did a 15 month update,
i am going to share this sweet picture and little story!

at sixteen months old, jaelyn loves to carry around baby dolls and purses!
oh. my. it is so stinkin' cute.
she will say "bay-beee" and hold the doll and be super sweet with it!
it is so cute to see her acting like a little mommy.
she is a girl after my own heart.


a lot of people are telling me that she is looking more like me.
so what do you think?

clebrating valentine's weekend with...

.....some snow, so sick little boy, snow balls,
snow cream, yummy soup and seriously cute sugar cookies.

on friday night we had a date night and it started snowing while we were out! it started accumulating faster than we expected and too a long time to get home. but we arrived home safe and sound. thankful for God's protection around us!

we were catching up on some recorded tv and heard one of the kids in the bathroom. quickly we realized it was jesiah and he had thrown up several times. yuck. he only managed to make it to the toilet one time. so our date night ended with cleaning up, changing sheets and caring for our sick little boy. he continued to throw up every hour through the middle of the night. poor guy.

on saturday morning we woke up to several inches of beautiful white fluffy snow. i was so excited that we could have a family day in the snow. but before we could go out and play, josh and jamil headed off to their last basketball game and end of season party.


poor jesiah had to miss his last game. he was still feeling sick, but thankfully not throwing up!




when jamil and josh returned home we got ready to go outside and play in the "winter wonderland". by this time, the snow had begun to melt but we still had enough to be able to play.

jaelyn all bundled up to go out and play!
her first time in the snow!!!

had to make everyone pose for a picture before they went off to play!



mommy and jaelyn!
yes, i went outside this time!!

jaelyn loved being in the snow!!!

jordyn and i made a snowman
and then we decided two snowmen are always better than one....

huge snowball made by josh and jamil!

jamil & jaelyn!

huge snowball became a snowman and part of the family!

jesiah had fallen asleep on the couch before we went outside, so it was easy to sneak out without him. but, oh. my. it was so sad to have him miss this fun!! this is what he looked like while we were outside, seriously, i checked on him several times and this is what i would find...

out like a light!

we came inside and made some yummy homemad pasta e fagioli soup for dinner and made snow cream too! yummy!

jesiah was awake and he even ate some.

jordyn is feeding jaelyn snow cream! they love it!!

jamil headed off to church and we stayed at home not wanting to share jesiah's germs. jordyn and josh worked on their valentine's cards to take to school tomorrow.



and then we made some sugar cookies and decorated them!

jaelyn didn't decorate any cookies but she enjoyed eating them!

before the kids headed off to bed and before i crashed on the couch we watched a charlie brown valentine!!


today, we had to miss going to church, which we hated to do. we were all disappointed. it is elevation's four year anniversary and we are kicking off "love week". but i wanted to keep jesiah home, he was still not back to 100%. so we had some heart shaped pancakes for breakfasst and have been hanging around in our pjs. i spent the morning cleaning up around the house and worked on gathering paperwork to file our taxes tomorrow.

so how did you spend your valentine's weeken? was it as eventful as our? hope it was a great one and even more romantic than mine!

two valentine's, two surprises...

in honor of valentine's day, i am reflecting back on two special valentine's days that jamil and i have celebrated. each of them were surprises! one year he surprised me and the other one i surprised him! i am also linking up to kelly's show us your life valentine's dates and memories! so welcome, if this is your first time stopping by! read a post or two or three and leave a comment and let me know you were here!



his surprise to me...

i wouldn't say that jamil is the most romantic man as far as planning surprises and gifts. but this year he planned such a special surprise date that i have always remembered. i do not like surprises at all. especially if i know there is a surprise coming, i would rather just know. but this day, he totally blew me away and i did not see it coming. he put a lot of thought and detail into this special date.

it was valentine's day 2003, i was about 4 months pregnant with jordyn. at that time our life was pretty stressful. jamil was working a full time job with not so good benefits and working three small part time jobs on the side. jamil has always worked super hard to provide for our family so that i can stay home with our kids. one of his part time jobs at the time was serving tables at a restaurant. so of course he was scheduled to work that valentine's weekend! i was sad that we wouldn't be able to do a date night. but little did i know he had planned a surprise for me.

it was a friday morning and i was at a ladie's bible study. as we were wrapping up our study, one of the ladies who was hosting the study was closing in prayer and began to pray for me and for the baby (jordyn!) i was carrying. she also prayed for my husband. she closed the prayer and then began to read a sweet letter to me that was written by my husband.

in the letter he shared his affection for me and then told me that he had a surprise planned for me that day. i was handed a rose and sent on my way home with directions to go home and get dressed up. when i arrived at our house there were balloons decorating my front porch. another letter inside of our house said that childcare was arranged for josh and that i was suppose to get ready to go on a lunch date. i would be told of the location later. after josh was settled in at my mother in law's house, i received a note from her that was from jamil giving me directions to my destination although i didn't know where it was. as i started driving, jamil told me to meet me at an italian restaurant. when i arrived, he was there waiting for me with a dozen roses. we then had a special lunch date together.

even though i don't have any pictures to share, (i probably have the letters somewhere), i will always remember what time and thought jamil put into that special date.


little did he know five years and 3 kids later i would have a surprise for him...

my surprise to him...

i had the "baby itch" for a long time, when jamil told me that he was ready to consider adding a fourth child to our family. i was so excited that we were finally on the same page! in january 2008, i had every sign, symptom and feeling of being pregnant. but to my sadness, i was not. just one month later, i was barely late, and decided to take another pregnancy test. i thought that i could be pregnant but after going through such immense disappointment the previous month, i didn't wan to get my hopes up. when the test showed a very faint positive, i was so thrilled. but because of that faint (really faint) line, i didn't get my hopes up too high. after taking a few more tests and seeing the positive sign, i knew i was. i never keep secrets like this. i am the most loyal person if someone shares their secret with me. but when it comes to my own, i can not contain myself.

i received the positive tests just a few days before valentine's day. so i decided to surprise jamil in a big way. i bought him a new bible and then found several scripture verses that had to do with having babies, new life and multiplying! i cut out little hearts and wrote the scripture reference on each one and stuck them inside of the bible like bookmarks. i gave him the bible. he read the verses and kind of just looked at me and said, i know, i know you want another baby, i guess that is what you are trying to say. after he said that i handed him his own copy that he got when i was pregnant with josh, of "she's having a baby and i am having a breakdown". and that is when he got it and said/asked, "you're pregnant?" he didn't really believe me until i showed him all three positive pregnancy tests, even though they were faint lines, i reminded him a line is a line, it doesn't matter what intensity of color!! you can also go here to read about it, when i posted it two years ago!!


that brings me to this year, i am pretty sure that there will be no surprises from either of us. i know for sure that i am not planning one this year, maybe next year though ;) we have plans to go out tonight on a "shopping date", but i just heard that they are calling for more snow again in charoltte, so we will see.

happy valentine's day and thanks so much for sharing these special memories with me!

captured...

has it really been a week since i have posted something here? uggghhh! this week has gone by super fast. by the way, if you read my blog on google reader or bloglines (or something like that), it will go completely unnoticed to you that i have indeed been on here updating our pictures! so you will have to go to the actual blog to see the new pictures i have added, so go check it out!

speaking of our new family pictures, when i look at them, i just stare at them and am amazed at how each image captured so much about our family and about each of our kids. i can't get over how much older each of them is looking. (and acting too! - as i scream inside, please stop growing up so fast!!!) each of their sweet faces has taken on a new look. baby faces are fading away and being replaced by more definition and less chubbiness!


i am filled with joy and feel so blessed to have such an amazing family (and amazing photographers who captured all of this!) i am amazed at how God created each one of my kids and my husband. how he has knitted us together and made our family what it is! i do not take for granted how special each member of my family is. i am so thankful for each little personality that is represented in each one of my kids. and i am so thankful for such a Godly husband who is leading our family and these kids who are so real and so full of personality in an amazing way.



i get overwhelmed thinking about how blessed i am and completely captured by it!


candice and daniel did such a fabulous job on capturing so much about our family! thanks guys! you do an amazing job and i am so thankful for you!!