founding fathers

"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity,religion and morality are indispensable supports. It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible."
- George Washington


"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ! For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom ofworship here."
- Patrick Henry

"Providence has given our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as privilege and interest, of a Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers."
- John Jay,
first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, one of threemen most responsible for our Constitution


hmmmmm...

cute quips from our little junie b.

em's quotes about her injury:
i was praying the night of her injury and said, "thank you for protecting em today."
em interupted me, "mom, i fell and cut open my head today." (therefore, God was not protecting me)
yes, i know em, but your brain didn't get hurt."
"oh, okay."

and when i said it was time to get ready for awana she said,
"mom, don't you remember i have a hole in my head."

how did she do that

to clarify, em did not shoot herself with a staple gun. the doctor did that. she was spinning, lost her balance, and careened into the corner of a door frame.
she said , i'm going to take a break from spinning for a while."
she also wants to take a break from brushing her hair.

red hair

em's excited.
for a few hours today
she had red hair.













we are not sure how
much this new style
will cost us.







we won't get the
er bill for several
weeks. (the
two shiny objects
are staples.)
she thought the
staple gun was
cool











but she's fine
that's all that
matters!










mad and em were
very good and
brave at the
hospital.






(em is upset that we have to wash the red out.)

much more

mad often serinades us, so we weren't surprised when she broke into song on the way home from church on sunday. the words were astonishing for a three year old:
"i need to obey
i need to obey
i need to obey much more
amen"

to that we cry:
"amen! amen!"

tundra

em's been praying for this all winter!

hail to the chief

driving home from school today:
"mom, why are the flags low?"
"the flags are at half-staff because a man who was once the president of the united states died. they lower the flags to honor him and to show respect. his name was gerald ford and he was president a long time ago. the predident is the leader of the U.S. and makes a lot of tough decisions"
"i could do that. i'll be the president one day."
"that's the great thing about the United States, em. you could be president one day."

so for today, the dog-walking dentist aspirations are on hold while she prepares to be the leader of the free-world.

the nippon initiative

read for yourself the nippon initiative
our church's mission to reach the souls residing in japan

tagged

i've been tagged by wandering heart!

When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought? i could have used more sleep

How much cash do you have on you? about $12.00 - left over from my Christmas money. otherwise i usually have $0.00.

What's a word that rhymes with DOOR? shore (as in gulf shores, al - our family vacation spot)

Do you label yourself? unfortunately

Bright or Dark Room? dark - see my cave

Why is there always a missing question? my girls are searching for the missing question by asking me 100's of ?'s every hour

What does your watch look like? i don't have a watch

What were you doing at midnight last night? almost asleep

Where is your nearest 7-11? i have no idea...

What's a word that you say a lot? phrase - what am i going to do with you two? answer- "keep us!"

Who told you he/she loved you last? maddie

Last furry thing you touched? jessie, our cat

How many rolls of film do you need developed? what's film? i've thousands of digital picts waiting to escape cyber space.

Favorite age you have been so far? 21- engaged and married; 26 - emmy; 28 - maddie

Your worst enemy? myself

What is your current desktop picture? desktop - n-, em and mad on the boat at lake monroe. the laptop - narnia

What was the last thing you said to someone? you may not get out of bed again. sleep well. i love you, maddie.

The last song you listened to? united states and capitol song from one of the girl's educational cds

What time of day were you born? i have no clue

What do you do when vending machines steal your money? kick it. unless the girls are with me

Do you consider yourself kind? usually

What's your life motto? (God) is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that i can ask or even imagine.

Name three things you have on you at all times. diamond wedding ring, tanzanite "mommy" ring ( n- got this for me the mother's day before em's was born), and a sapphire bracelet - my Christmas present

Can you change the oil on a car? nope.

When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it? Christmas 2006

i tag caslon, trader mom and elea

stain glass masquerade

is there anyone that fails
is there anyone that falls
am i the only one in church today feelin' so small

'cause when i take a look around
everyone seems so strong
i know they'll soon discover
that i don't belong

i tuck it all away, like everything's okay
if i make them all believe it, maybe i'll believe it too
so with a painted grin, i play the part again
so everyone will see me the way i see them

is there anyone who's been there
are there any hands to raise
am i the only one who's traded
in the alter for a stage

the performance is convincing
and we know every line by heart
only when no one's watching
can we really fall apart

but would it set me free
if i dared to let you see
the truth behind the person
that you imagine me to be

would your arms be open
or would you walk away
would the love of jesus
be enough to make you stay

are we happy plastic people
under shiny plastic steeples
with walls around our weakness
and smiles to hide our pain
but if the invitation's open
to every heart that has been broken
maybe then we close the curtain on our
stained glass masquerade

mark hall nichole nordeman - casting crowns

mark hall writes "i don't think it bothers the world that we sin. i think it bothers the world that we act like we don't."

you can do anything that you want to do

polar slide
at the children's
museum

























"play scape"
one giant sand
box













around the
world















playing in
a construction
zone














4-story glass
structure














mad is amazed
at the glass
structure










em's own glass
"masterpiece"













digging for bones













outside of our
museum














end of the day











we took some of our Christmas money and bought a year's pass to the children's museum.
so if you're in town be ready to pilot a boat down a river, escavate dino bones, design you own glass structure, construct a suspension bridge, etc... anything is possible.