Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Summer is here - almost

It is almost Summer.... and you may not see us around much, but I assure you we have not fallen off the face of the planet. This is the time of year when we seem to be the busiest. With Baseball, swimming lessons, library days and so much more we may not get to see you as often as we would like.
Around here weekends are for catching up and cook outs, so feel free to call us or stop by any Saturday afternoon.
We will be busy a few Saturday's that we know of so I'll let you know up front which ones you may not find us at home:

June 9th - Mom's Birthday
June 16th - Jessica's "Bachelorette" party at The Beach water park near Cincy
June 23rd- Simeon and Erica's Wedding
June 30th - Jessica's Bridal Shower and possibly Amy's baby shower? and maybe a church get together? - We won't be home all weekend, I'm sure!
July 7th - Kim's Birthday
July 14th - Blaze and Jessica's Wedding

Towards the end of July we would like to have a cookout/luau some Saturday evening.

See you soon,
Amanda

Friday, May 25, 2007

Mason's in the house....Woop Woop


Mason is officially out of school for the year, He is turning 5 on Monday, and will be going to Kindergarden at Lakewood next year.

We are so proud of him, and maybe I am biased, but I think he is the coolest Mason, Ever!

Also, You are invited to a cookout/birthday party for Mason on Saturday, May 26th from 2p-4p. We are having hamburgs, hotdogs, chips, and cake!



Happy Birthday to my Baby!



See you soon!

Amanda and Mason ;-)

Monday, May 21, 2007

New Sounds

Hey everyone,
My sister showed me how to add music to my blog! This is so cool, or maybe I am easily impressed, anyways, let me know what you think.

To add this to your blog all you need to do is go to www.projectplaylist.com and sign up for an account. Build your play list by searching for music and adding songs. When you are ready click on the "add my playlist to myspace" button, as you go through you will see where it asks if you want to generate code for blogger, click to get your code.
Copy the code.
Then in blogger go to your "customize" link, add a feature, you will see where it says add links, list and so on, select the Configure HTML/JavaScript. Then paste your code, save your changes and you are good to go!
And if you get tired of listening, just scroll down- the player is on the lower right hand side - and hit pause.
Neat!
See you soon,
Amanda

Sunday, May 20, 2007

A Good Day... One of many it seems.

Today was really just a good day.
Sunday School was interesting, we seem to get off topic sometimes, but we always wind up where we need to be.
We got onto the topic of "Spiritual Mentoring" - this isn't a new term for me, but it might be for some, and may need some explanation. What is a Spiritual Mentor?
Let's see - the bible actually gives us some examples of spiritual mentors in the New Testament. Paul was a "spiritual mentor" to Timothy, now this doesn't mean that he beat him over the head with the Bible, or that he bossed him around. But Paul watched out for Timothy and tried to make sure that he was cared for. The Apostle Paul wrote Timothy - who he was spiritually mentoring - instructing him to entrust to some faithful men the things that he had taught him, these men would in turn teach others to do the same (2 Timothy 2:2). This model is still relevant, and can be a way to reach out to other Christians who are struggling, without judging or the notorious "righteous confrontation" (which is usually no such thing)

What did Timothy gain from Paul that he should pass on to others, and teach them so that they might pass it on? 2 Timothy 3:10-11 gives us an idea when Paul wrote, "you know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings ..." Timothy saw Paul's faith integrated within all aspects of his life and how it shaped his very existence.
Spiritual mentoring is one person coming alongside another as a companion on the journey of faith to help them answer the questions "Who is God?", "Who am I in Christ?", and "To what has God called me as I live out my life?"
Timothy submits himself to Paul. Acts 17:15, Acts 19:22, 1 Corinthians 4:17, and accepts his direction. Their relationship is seen growing throughout the New Testament starting in Acts 16:1 when they meet and continuing through Hebrews. Early on Timothy is an assistant, Acts 19:22, but is later referred to as a son, 1 Corinthians 4:17.
Spiritual mentoring isn't a new concept. - It is about loving other believers and coming along side them to help them grow in their faith - and an added benefit? By being a "spiritual mentor" you will grow, too!

Anyways, we had a nice lunch today with a family from our church - you know who you are- FYI Drason finally got the chicken cooked all the way through - and we have just enough time for a nap.
Enough for now,
Love you all bunches and hope to hear from you soon!
Amanda

Monday, May 14, 2007

Great Weekend


We had a super day Saturday.
Mason had soccer in the morning and he scored his first goal, they run really fast for little kids so I didn't get a picture of the goal... just his feet - he is the one in the blue socks ....

Marshal finally has overcome his fear of sliding into home plate, the only problem? He slid too soon and wound up stopping 6 feet before the plate. Good thing T-ball is just for fun and they don't keep score :-)

Then we had a picnic lunch and it was time for Macguines' game. He made 2 great hits, scored his first run of the season, and got to play catcher -


On top of that he batted in the winning run, whoo hoo Macguines!

Mother's Day was extra special this year. As many of you know Grandma Keen has been in and out of the hospital and nursing home and suffered another stroke last Tuesday. She was in LMH for the rest of the week, but they released her Saturday evening and she was able to come over to the house for a nice Mother's day lunch. Even our aunts and uncles from out of town were able to stop by and see her. We had a great party and were able to spend some real quality time with our mothers and grandmothers.
Love you all bunches and see you soon,
Amanda

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Busy Times

With Baseball, T-ball, Soccer, Karate, AWANA's. Children's Choir, Mother's Day and Mason's birthday coming up fast, it has been difficult to find time to post anything. I must not be the only one feeling this way, because I have noticed that many of our friends haven't been posting either.

Why do we get so caught up in the day to day life?

I am reminded of something a counselor friend told me several years ago. People stay busy because it is easier to be a "human doing" rather than a "human being". What she meant was it is easy to get caught up in a busy life, and miss what is really important.

Yesterday I felt like I hadn't seen Drason in about a month, with opposite schedules, and so many activities it seems like we never have "us" time.

Last night, after the stars came out, he asked me to go outside and star gaze with him.


You really feel small compared to all that, and greatly loved.

So if you get a chance today, enjoy the beautiful day outside, or go star gazing tonight!

See you soon,

Amanda

PS. Trying out a new template, what do you think?

Thursday, May 3, 2007

Awana's awards

Macguines and Marshal had Awana's awards night, last night and we were so proud of them. Mason had Cubbies awards a few weeks ago, and he did really well too. They didn't get started in Awana's until April and both were able to complete their 1st book. Here are some pics.