Wednesday, February 26, 2014

It's Going To Be A Slam Dunk Time!

This morning, Tyson presented a birthday-EVE gift to his daddy, before going to school! This special gift has been planned out for over a week now and I am very proud of Ty for keeping this secret from his playmate daddy!

As Darren and I get older, coming up with ideas for the hubby is getting increasingly harder.  I began thinking about all of Darren's loves...

Christ
Working Out
Dates With His Wife
A Good Meal
Football
His Children
Fellowship
Peanut Butter
The Beach
Sports
Coaching
Virginia Tech
Coffee
A Good Book

The list is endless and I can't really list many more of his "loves" otherwise, it may give away some of the gifts I am giving him tomorrow... his actual birthday! FYI, that above list is in NO particular order, other than CHRIST being #1.  LOL!
If you look closely, in this photo, you can see the "white boy"!
I thought it would be nice for Darren to get out with our small group guys and do something fun. It's the rare occasion that the men get together.  It's always the women taking advantage of that opportunity.  With that being said, I took interest (and FAST) when I spotted the WSLS daily deal for Harlam Globetrotters' tickets.  I was able to successfully compile a list of "yeses" from our small group guys and 5/6 were happy to join Darren. It's Zach's late night, at work, so he can't go.  Boo!  I hope the men don't mind, but being Tyson is in basketball season right now, I thought it would be nice for Ty to go and watch this entertaining event, so I bought Tyson a ticket also. 

How was this gift presented to Darren?  Basically, I created this silly little "invitation" and stuck it to a basketball.  While eating breakfast, Tyson grabbed the ball and exclaimed, "Hey Dad, think fast!" And threw the ball his way.  Then Darren read the invitation allowed.
"You might be the ONLY white boy there, but you're going to have a ball!"
What: Harlam Globtrotters
When: February 27th @ 7:00 pm
Where: Roanoke Civic Center
Who: Aaron, Brett, Dennis, Nathan, Tyson & YOU!
Why: Because it's your birthday! AND you deserve to have some fun.

I came up with the idea in a matter of seconds, after speaking with Ty about ways we could surprise his daddy.  Ty was so excited to be a part of both the planning, presenting, and accompanying the birthday boy at this event.  
I sure hope the guys have a great time!

*Side note: after giving him this gift, he says, "I could have gotten 10 free tickets from the GYB (glenvar youth boosters).  I think I almost threw up.

This below video appears "planned".  Darren's reaction was so immediate, almost as if he knew, but he had no clue.  I'm not so sure he's excited.  LOL!  He doesn't get excited about anything that puts a bump in his routine, but if history repeats itself, he'll come home and say, "I had a great time!"  He always does.


Sunday, February 23, 2014

Our Faith!


Welcome to our NEW blog design! I thought the BEST way to start out this new look is by giving honor and glory to God, by speaking of "our faith".  The tab "Our Faith", on our blog, is now filled in, but I also want to take this time to share our faith with you and I am sorry/regretful that I have not done this sooner.  

Our Faith

We call ourselves "Christ followers", simply put, because Jesus Christ is who we believe in and what we stand for.  Jesus is our Lord and our Savior.  

What We Believe


We stand firm in believing in the gospel aka the "good news".  We give glory to a holy God, who is sinless, spotless, perfect and set apart from the rest of this world.  He is the maker of heaven and earth. WE are all sinners, wicked, vile, and detestable to Him above.  We need a Savior, for there is no way sinful man can be in contact with a holy God.  Therefore, God, merciful God, gave us an opportunity to be reconciled to Him. This opportunity comes in the form of a perfect man named Jesus Christ. Jesus was human like us, fully man, but also fully God. He faced all of the temptations that we as sinners do, however he was able to refrain from them. He lived a perfect life, a life that none of us could ever accomplish. He lived a sinless life full of complete and total obedience to our heavenly Father, obedience even to the point of being beaten, mocked, and slain on a cross.


"...And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." ~Philippians 2:8


And He did this for us while were haters of Him.  


"...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." ~Romans 5:8


Let me stress, that in order for us to be reconciled to a holy God, we needed a perfect, spotless sacrifice.  Jesus Christ is His name!  There had to be a punishment for sin/sinners in order to be made pure in God's eyes.  After Jesus' birth, life, death, and resurrection from the dead, it was made to known to us that God had indeed accepted Christ as our wrath bearer and substitution for sin. What a grace! What a marvelous grace. If we repent and believe/have faith, AND true genuine faith, not just flippant, sloppy faith, then we are righteous in God's eyes.


After Jesus' resurrection, we were given the promise of the Holy Spirit, who resides in us. He is our helper, convicts us of sin, and strengthens us in Christ.  Daily, we die to our old ways, aka "repent".  Day after day, we are sanctified and conformed into the the image of our Savior, Jesus Christ.


Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  NO ONE comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6


Where does our faith come from?  Aside from the obvious... God, creation speaks of His evidence, AND the Holy Spirit, aka our "helper", our knowledge comes solely from the Bible. These words are NOT our own.  Again, we draw you to scripture for proof of our beliefs, not beliefs of our own making.

"All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." ~2 Timothy 3:16
To sum things up, I love what Nancy Leigh Demoss writes,
"It was at Calvary that God's mercy and love for sinners and the Truth of His holy hatred for sin found a meeting place.  At Calvary, God heaped upon Jesus all the punishment for all the sin of the world.  At the same time, He offered peace and reconciliation to sinners who had been estranged from Him. The Cross shows us in the starkest possible terms what God thinks of our sin; it reveals the incredible cost He paid to redeem us from those "weaknesses" that we trivialize in our minds.  The Cross also displays in brilliant [detail] the love and mercy of God for even the "chief of sinners."
Sadly, the standard way our world thinks, is that when you die, you go to Heaven. Please do not deceive yourselves. You cannot love your sin, live a life without repentance and belief in Jesus Christ, and reside in a holy place when you pass away.  Your life will end in one of two ways, 1. eternal life in hell or 2. eternal life in Heaven.  Which path do you desire? 

"Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you, depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' " ~Matthew 7:21-23

If you do not know HIM or think that you do, but realize now you do not, and if feel a conviction to know more, we would love to talk to you openly about this amazing grace that God gives to those who believe.  

God Bless!

Below are three great hymns that speak of the beauty of what Christ and his blood have done ONLY for those who repent and believe. 



Saturday, February 22, 2014

Remnants of Valentine's Day 2014

We spread so much love on Valentine's Day, in our home, some were with material gifts, other ways were by use of food, sweet notes/cards, and decor/ambience.  So many people make an effort to express their negative thoughts behind the "one day a year set aside to show your wife/husband/family love" and think that Valentine's Day is dumb, but in our home, WE LOVE IT!!! It's not ONE day set aside to show our loved ones LOVE (we love our family members daily), it's a special day set aside to do something a little extra for the ones you love.  I think that mentality is one of a "slacker", looking for an excuse, to NOT have to be creative or spread some extra love.  

Jax's gifts from mommy and daddy.
I bought Jax a shirt that has Lilah's name on it.
Tyson's gifts from mommy and daddy!
Lilah's gifts from mommy and daddy.
Lilah received a shirt that had Jax's name on it.
Darren bought me beautiful roses, chocolate, a sweet card, and CASH!
#nomnom
Valentine's Day Morning Menu:
Heart-shaped bacon
Sunny side up egg in a heart cut out bread
Heart-shaped pancakes
Heart-shaped strawberries
The bacon grease remnants even were heart-shaped.
Heart-shaped ravioli!
I served these the night before.
Daddy always gets his little girl a special Valentine gift.
She was all smiles!
I bought this sweet t-shirt. I wear it proudly because I truly believe I have the BEST hubby ever.
RED HOT lipstick
Hubby and Wifey (what we call each other) pillowcases.
Candle lite bedroom!
Gifts for Big D!
French Press
Lap Desk
Fit Bit Clip
"I love you BEERY Much"
It was a LOVELY day, filled with LOVELY, sweet sentiments for one another.

Monday, February 17, 2014

Tis The Season To Be Freezin!

Last Wednesday, the snow began to fall and fall and fall and fall.  We received over 23 inches of snow and the kids wound up having a lovely "snow-cation" until today, and even still they were delayed 2 hours.  Here are some photos of our snow fun!
Most people order a HOT coffee when it's snowing out.  Haha.  Not me.  Always trying to be different.  Hehe.  NO really, I wasn't playing in the snow.  I was being a chef and a baker, so I didn't mind sipping on something cold.
The beginning stages of our upside down snow man!
The kids were having a hard time figuring this out.  Jax kept trying to put "frosty's" hat on.  LOL!  But I told him his head was on the ground.
We used broom sticks for the legs and arms.  
And snow boots for the "feet".
There's SNOW-man like you!
He hung upside down for about 45 minutes and then the weather started to warm up, and we watched him topple over.
Look, he even had a carrot nose.
Blowing up our new snow tube.  
Anxious and waiting to use it.
My winter crew all bundled up and prepared to go outside.
Up to SNOW good!
Snow-licious!
Just "chillin" having a little snack.
After the kids came inside, I took a few shots of their rosy red cheeks.
He's so handsome, I can't take it.
She's looking mighty Tom boyish here.
Cold Hands, Warm Hearts!
No rosy cheeks here, just crossed eyes.  Weirdo!  Always keeps me laughing.
Just a short few clips of our snow tubing.  I waited days to join in on the fun.  I don't prefer anything WET or COLD, unless it's ice coffee or diet coke.  Jody said she has re-watched this video 15 times, just laughing away at me.  Some friend.  My idea of thrills, doesn't come in the form of a ride.