Bryan

tender-hearted to the core. 

miss.vangie, our bus driver, saw it the first day she met him in first grade.  i remember it like it was yesterday.  after he sat down she said to me,

 "stephanie, he has a tender-heart doesn't he?" 

i smiled.  she saw it in in eyes. 

he's stong, athletic, and always moving! 

blessed, are the people who have the opportunity to coach him.  his body is a gift from God.  i pray he always treats it like one.

you wouldn't know it by looking at him, but he is also sweet, sensitive, and shy. 

he gets his feelings hurt easily.

he hates to loose.

he's kind.

his best friend is nana. 

his favorite color is purple.

he loves swimming and penut butter and jelly sandwiches.

and...he's a momma's boy.  what can i say? 

he loves me. 

he calls my name just to see where i am. 

he follows me, checks on me, watches me, hugs me, holds my hand, and brushes my hair. 

he's nine.  

i know it may not last much longer,

but...

i am so blessed to be his mom.   

Beautiful Brooke

she's beautiful.  breath-taking, actually. 

and she take's mine away.  everyday.  her friends are blessed because they have her in their lives.  she's a lover.  and a leader.  the life of the party. 

if she were left on a desert island alone, she would talk to the rocks.  friendly and free-spirited.  she's like a caged bird.  seven, going on 17, just waiting for her chance to fly.  

driven, determined, independent, and intelligent.  grounded in her faith and bold enough to share it.  she meets people and says to them, "do you know Jesus?  I can't be your friend if you don't know Jesus."  maybe i'm raising the next female billy graham.  

she's strong-willed and stubborn.  would rather serve, than be served.  i say to her at least once a week, "brooke, you will be a wonderful mother one day.  but not today."   that's why we battle so much. 

she wants my job.

  

 

Down and Out

i took these pic's at 6:00 pm tonite, after our long day at the pool. 

here's God's lullaby to you my precious babies:

"The Lord your God is with you.  He is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you.  He will quiet you with His love.  He will rejoice over you with singing."  -Zephaniah 3:17

The Pool Posse

meet the lake manassas pool posse.  at least some of our day is spent here, each day.  all summer.

meet lifeguard tim.  he's the BEST!

he's so good to us. 

the boys of summer:  bryan, brock, miles, liem, and hunter. 

playing a game of baseball.

having a handstand contest

raft wars and water guns.  always a favorite.

this girl is beautiful.  period.

meanwhile...

see, i eventually let go.  :)

and by the end of the day...

watch her go!!!

love the blue goggles. 

notice she changed her swimsuit halfway through the day?

faith, "i'll eat you up, i love you so".

Only Brooke

its summertime.  i think i hear "mom" 800 times a day.  literally.  not a bad thing, i'm just saying...

so brooke and i are watching tv together.  charlie is at his computer working.  i tell him, "i can't WAIT for portland.  48 hours where noboby calls my name."

brooke answers, "when's that going to be mom?  when you get to heaven?"

only brooke.

Joy

such a beautiful word.  it's the second fruit of the spirit.  what's the secret to living a joyful life?  how do we get more of it?  where does it come from?  just some of the questions we are talking about in bible study this week. 

Jesus said, "These things have I spoken unto you, that my JOY might remain in you, and that your JOY might be full.  This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.  Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."  -John 15:11-13

  

  what a mind blowing statement.   

could it be, that the key to living a joy-filled life, has nothing to do with the things we posess, but rather the tangible and intangible things we give away? 

what kind of love lays down his life for his friends? how can we love like that?  

the answer?  go back to our first week's lesson.  abide in Jesus.  now which kid will come up with the answer first?

i'm actually not quite sure, but i'll let you know. 

Happy Fathers Day!!

happy father's day granddad, pop-pop, and charlie!  we love you!

charlie and the kids spent the afternoon visiting with grandma, pop-pop, aunt sarah, uncle sam, and baby luke!

i stayed here because it looked like a bomb of laundry exploded all over the house.  it kept spreading and spreading and spreading...i couldn't stand it anymore! 

uncle lenny's wife, aunt jackie, always says, "i never complain about the laundry because when the laundry's gone, the kids are gone."  she has 5, almost grown kids.  i know she's right.  but i'm just not feelin' the love on that one yet, aunt jackie! 

after countless loads of folding and putting away, i made father's day dinner for charlie and my dad.  can you guess what we ate?

apparently faith thought it was VERY yummy!

brookie volunteered to do the dishes!

then she helped me bake chocolate chip cookies for dessert! 

faith helped too.  well, sort of.  i think she just pretended to help so she could eat all the cookie dough.  hmmm...wonder who she got that from?

Sweet Faith

the kids and i went to the christian bookstore in manassas to buy father's day cards a couple days ago.  on our way to check out i found the kids looking in the "toy section".  faith says to me, "mom, can i have this watch?  then i can run on the treadmill like you."  how could i resist? 

as i was putting her to bed that night, i told her daddy was taking bryan and brookie to the swim meet in the morning.  we could play together, just her and me.  she said, "mom, you bike, i run.  deal?"  i didn't know whether to laugh or cry.  so i gave her a high five and said, "deal" and turned to walk out of her room.  she said, "no mom, i want to pound it."  :)   

the next morning i came home from a long run as she was waking up.  she said, "go biking mom".  i told her no, i was tired from my run, but i would work her out on the treadmill if she wanted.  she ran a mile!  what did she ask to drink on the treadmill?  orange juice and water.  my drink. 

and here's us again this morning.

she's a girl after my own heart.  so i pray,

Lord, break my heart for the things that break yours.  help me to be just like you...because she wants to be like me.  in Jesus name. 

 Amen

Africa

my friend at church is in the process of adopting two boys from rwanda.  it has taken almost two years it get to this point in her journey.

she is in africa now!  picking up her boys!  she has a beautiful video of her and her family meeting them for the first time at the orphanage.  i have watched it over.and.over.  i cry tears of joy every time.  check it out.  and bring a kleenex.   http://cassadas.blogspot.com/    

Look Who's Swimming...

brooke took these pic's today with my phone.  she's just so darn cute when she swims, i had to put them up here.

faith swimming TO me...

and faith swimming AWAY from me.

the only problem with this is that now i have to be in the pool with her all. the. time.  maybe i should wear my wetsuit:)

Fruit for Jesus

"I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing."  -John 15:5

i am trying something new this summer.  bible study with my kids.  we are studying the fruits of the spirit found in Galatains 5:22.  

but before we could talk about growing the fruit, we had to talk about the Source of the fruit, found in John 15:5.  we talked about what it means to "abide" in Jesus, how we can do that, and as a result of our "abiding", we will bear fruit.  for Him.  for His glory. 

there are 9 fruits of the spirit.  we are learning about one fruit a week.  today we began with the first fruit:  love.

we learned obedience is one way we can show love.  tomorrow we will talk about serving as a way to show love.

he is lovin' our bible time!  see that sparkle in his eyes?  takes my breath away. 

i bought each kid a journal.  they write bible verses we talk about, prayer requests, praises, and they can also keep a record of things they do that day that show they are practicing what they learned.  and they can share it the next day during our bible time.

here's brooke writing in her journal.  have i told you lately that your beautiful, brooke?

so excited to take this journey with my kids.  praying God will change us this summer, even just a little, so we can shine even brighter for Him:)

Happy 67th Birthday Granddad

we brought a friend to church this morning.  ashley!  if i had remembered my camera, i would have taken a picture...i'm still working on that one.

the girls wore their new dresses grandma bought for them the other day.  they were so excited to wear them "out".  brooke insisted we take ashley to lunch after church.  so we did. 

after church i had 4 loads of laundry waiting for me.  i was blessed to have a helper though.  can you guess which kid it is?

next activity, cooking granddads birthday dinner!

and then washing and drying dishes after granddads birthday dinner. 

yes, faithy is my helper.  she wants to be just like me.  scary thought.

granddad reading his birthday cards with the girls.

and nana

then onto the cake!

i love this picture.  it captures my life.  look, i can scoop ice cream and serve cake while talking on the phone as my 3 dogs are barking and 3 kids are anxiously awaiting their sugar fix.  and granddad in the background, he taking a ribbon off his head.  why?  because brooke decided he needed to wear a necklace. 

i'm tired now.  and so thankful for this verse,

 "they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.  they shall mount up like wings on eagles.  they shall run and not grow weary.  they shall walk and not grow faint."

-isaiah 40:31

Let the Good Times Roll

 friday was the last day of school for the kids!  it was "award day" at school.  bryan came home with these.

grandma picked brookie up from the bus stop. they had a fun day of shopping.  look at the girls new dresses!  Thank you grandma! 

i had to add in this picture of brookie.  we came home from swim team one night this past week and found yellow daisies on the table.  they were from hunter, our neighbor:)  getting flowers already...and she's only 7.  Oh, my. 

and so our summer begins.  fasten your seat belts kids, and let the good times roll!

My Heart

i took this from here:  http://www.amazima.org/  and visit katies blogspot.  you'll find my heart. 

"We bend.

I bend to sweep crumbs and I bend to wipe vomit and I bend to pick up little ones and wipe away tears. I bend over a big pot of stew and I bend to fold endless laundry and I bend over math books and spelling sentences and history quiz corrections. And at the end of these days I bend next to the bed and I ask only that I could bend more, bend lower.

Because I serve a Savior who came to be a servant. He lived bent low. And bent down here is where I see His face.

He lived, only to die.

Could I?

Die to self and just break open for love.

This Savior, His one purpose to spend Himself on behalf of messy us. Will I spend myself on behalf of those in front of me?

And people say, “Don’t you get tired?” and yes, I do. But I’m face to face with Jesus in the dirt, and the more I bend the harder and better and fuller this life gets. And sure, we are tired, but oh we are happy. Because bent down low is where we find fullness of Joy.

Praying for you as you bend today for whoever is in front of you. He will meet you there."

peace