I must post!

I don´t have a lot of time today. I feel like I am doing 100 things at once. Getting dinner ready to take to a missionary get-together, finishing school with the boys, and blogging are only some of them. Of course, there are always the little things that come up, like phone calls, questions, and snacks.

It enters my mind maybe once that I shouldn´t be blogging this post, but that´s out of the question. It must be done. I must link to another blog post I wrote. I must post for Nan´s meme because, my home is really singing today. Except maybe, for one of my boys who seems to be dragging a bit, but life will go on. It must! I must post!

What is so important that I must blog about it and not let another day pass? It´s so big! It just can´t wait. At my rate, I wouldn´t get it posted till Friday, if I wait. I am bursting with motherly pride of my son´s God given talent and hard work. We give God all the glory. He played his first guitar duet with his daddy yesterday for our church services. Andrew is only 9 years old, taking right after his daddy who started playing guitar at the age of nine.

Also, go and check out here what we did Saturday in beautiful Asturias, Spain. We were able to distribute 400 envelopes of hope to a nearby coastal town. What is an envelope of hope? Well, you just have to go on over and find out.

It´s done.. I posted! Life can go on now. Now to get the food out of the oven and jet on over to our fellow missionary friend´s house in the nearby city.

Success!

This weeks Friday Photo Flashback is from the more recent past, a little more than 7 years ago. Our youngest had just undergone open heart surgury to correct a hole between his left and right ventrical wall. The hole was more than an inch in diameter. His poor heart just couldn´t pump hard enough. His heart had grown to almost half the size of his chest.

Michael had just turned 1 the week before. This picture is the only picture I have of his time in the hospital. He was in ICU for 2 days and then only 3 more days in our own room. He healed so fast! He was such a trooper! The doctors told us we would probably be there a total of 10 days. We were planning to stay in Madrid for 2 weeks but we got to go home after only a week. The very first thing Michael did when he got home after his open heart surgery, was to climb the stairs for the first time. His surgery was a total success!

We praise God for His great Healing Hand over our little Michael. He is now a tall, scrapy, healthy, eight year old. There is no evidance of the patch they put over the hole. His body has totally assimulated it into his heart tissue. Amazing!

Mommy and Michael, June 2002

Do you have any special pre digital fotos you would like to share? Alicia´s meme is just for you! head on over and link up!

Winning and Singing!

The Arizona Cardinals NFL football team won their first game this season and our home was singing the NFL happy tunes this morning while the boys and I watched our favorite player´s highlights.

The Cardinal´s quarterback Kurt Warner is a very outspoken Christian. We have followed him since he was with the St. Louis Rams in 1998. And Joseph had always been a Rams fan since he grew up watching them in LA. We were able to watch all the of the Arizona Cardinal´s games last year. It was a momentous occasion to see Warner in the Super Bowl once again with the Cardinals.

Some of you are lost now and that´s ok. Let´s just say my life is surrounded by football. If I hadn´t grown up with it all my life, I would be lost too. It has actually become something of a part of home, that we miss greatly being on the mission field.

I think our home would sing even more and even shout for joy a little too, if we could at least watch a full game. We have missed seeing the first two games of the season as the internet streaming isn´t working like it did last year. We make the best of it though.

So on this Monday, what´s making your home sing? Maybe it´s a little thing like family time around a football game. What ever it may be, may Christ be the center.

Posted especially for,

by:

Weekend Flash

HERE AT GOSPEL2GIJON, WE ARE SO HAPPY IT´S THE WEEKEND!

We want to stop and share some the blessings of our week.

1. A very smooth school week, almost every lesson taught and every quiz and test given. I am so thankful at how well the boys are doing!

2. Our schedule flowed fairly smoothly as stated on my last post. Only a few minor changes as to my wake up time. We had an unexpected, but very welcomed guest come in Tuesday from Bolivia very late. Then it was up late talking and getting ready for school the next day.

3. We kept up with all our dishes, and laundry this week, even with a broken dryer. (It has decided not to heat up anymore.)

4. And I am especially thankful for a nice guilt free nap today!

Ok, so humor me and pretend that it´s still Friday for a moment. I missed out on Alicia´s meme yesterday, due to a lot of running around from music practice, to working out, to karate, and to getting groceries. I suppose I could post the night before, but I like to live on the edge a little.

Here it is. What you all have been waiting for. (right?)

My wedding pictures.

The ceremony was on one of my favorite bays that flow out of Lake Ontario. For those who have never been to upstate NY, it is one of the most beautiful places to live in the Spring, Summer and Fall. If you like snow, then you would like the winter too.


My uncle did our ceremony as I had always wanted since I was a little girl. I wasn´t one of those who plans her whole wedding out from the time she is 5, but I did have that in mind. He had also done my parents wedding. There was one other thing that was important to me. I wanted an outdoor wedding on the lake. I wanted it at the lighthouse originally, but just in case it rained we had it at the country golf club. The Lord blessed us with an awesome day!

Here we are at the lighthouse after the ceremony.

This was one of my favorite proofs of which we never got copies made.

And we were off!

Off to El Paso, TX to begin my first year of teaching as a second grade teacher and my hubby to be an assistant pastor.

Our marriage is even more beautiful today. I am so blessed beyond my wildest dreams! Thanking my Lord for my marriage of 12 years.

Running Fairly Smooth

School Schedule 09-10

You can zoom in or view it in full screen.

Our school schedule is working out fairly well. The biggest change this year is our Bible time. We use to have Bible time as a class right after we started school but this year we are starting School with family devotions instead of doing them after our big meal of the day. This has been such a huge blessing combining Bible class with our family devotions. It has been two fold. We are fresh and ready for the day and instead of sitting and getting sleepy after our big meal, we can get busy on music practice.

Following this schedule the best we can is going to make things go smooth and help our home sing a little bit cheerier.

I didn´t want to miss out on Making Your Home Sing Monday. We are keeping on. How is your schedule going?

Alma Mater

Do you know my Alma Mater? I guess it´s been on my brain a lot lately as I have been prepping for a new school year. Getting out all my teaching visuals, flashcards, incentive charts and chalkboard writing, has all the memories flooding back from those days in my Elementary Education classes. I do owe a lot to my college education.

I graduated from Pensacola Christian College in May of 1997. I was already married and such a happy, happy newly-wed graduate!

My parents were so key in my college education. They saw fit that my every bill was paid. I worked to pay as much as I could and paid for my books, but they did the rest! Thank- you again, Mom and Dad! Your sacrifice means so much!

Come on and join us for some great flashbacks with your own non-digital Photos.

***Yes, I realize this is a re-post of pictures from one of my first Friday Foto Flashbacks. Actually I didn´t realize till after I did the post. Guess, I have lost more than just 5 inches this past month. Oh, yeah that was my last post. ***

I have LOST it!

Please don´t cry for me,

because I have lost it!

It´s gone forever, I pray,

Never to come back to jiggle and haunt.

Never to give me possible diabetes or gout.

I won´t miss it, that´s for sure.

So, please, I want you to rejoice,

as it´s no longer part of me.

"What could it be?" you ask.

Oh, It´s just 5 inches off my back!

Thanks to the 30 day shred dvd and continual work on the fitness journey of my life, God has allowed me the victory of seeing a total of 5 inches gone off of me in this past month. It´s amazing to see how sweat, hard work, and discipline are paying off.

It´s no longer,

"oh, I hope I can get in shape and feel healthy"

It´s

"Let´s get healthy and stay that way!"

It only takes some hard work and consistancy. God gives the strength we need. A verse that has always helped me through workouts is

Psalm 121:1 "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth."

He can help you too, no matter what it may be.

It´s a done deal!

The first day of school and our new schoolroom initiation is a done deal! We had a great first day of our 7th year of homeschooling. As far as following the schedule and getting some goals met it was fantastic. As far as getting through material, we still have some kinks to work out, but we will get through. We must!

We have a science museum and fun geography lessons to look forward to this year. We have to get through the day so we can do our Science and History classes. These are my favorites and I leave them for last, as they are in the curriculum. It just seems like we don´t get to do nearly all I would like to. Praying that this won´t take away my joy, and that we will be able to keep on singing through the whole year. 33 weeks of school here we come!

Here are my dear son/students and their new and improved classroom!

Our homeschool is now singing it´s first stanza of our school year. By far, is it perfect. This evening, I had a bit of a crying moment and felt down about something that happened (not school related), but it won´t keep us down.

How are you all coming along?

Come and join us when you can.

Scroll on down to see some of the decorations.

Then and Now

Here we are in 2001, when 4 became 5. We had been in Spain a little over a year, having the last two boys in Spanish hospitals. (which all went great aside from not speaking the language fluently enough and having the doctor roll her eyes at me.)

Look at our little peanuts! They were a lot of work then, but they are really close friends!

Here we are now. This picture was taken at the beginning of August 2009 in our church building.

Happy Friday everyone and maybe next week you can join in on Alicia´s Friday Photo Flashback, too. I will be coming around to see yours soon!

Sneak Peek

The schoolroom is almost finished, but I have a few surprises up my sleeve so you won´t see it all today. I want to surprise the boys first on Monday.

It is fishing lure green with a few desks in it. Actually, the color is growing on me. I am really enjoying the fresh, lively look.

Here we go.

The tailer.

The sneak peek.

I made that bus in college, and have to use it every year.

(This is the wall with the guest bed. Using the green bed spread I have had since college as grass. )

Upper elementary charts from our sending church help to decorate.

It was a trick getting four desks situated in the room. For the full length version stay tuned till Monday.

Here is my desk. The first year of homeschooling in 5 years to have a desk of my own! My good o´l laptop will be sitting right there with me.

Special thanks to my dear hubby who helped so much with this project. We made a good team as should be.