The Rumors Are True..

After lots of prayer, serious discussions, research up the kazoo...we have finally decided to answer the Lord's call and homeschool. This was laid on our hearts months ago...but we fought it tooth and nail. I had every excuse in the book, listed out all of my faults that would cause me to fail the kids, even had a few nightmares of college age children who can't read! But the Lord knew better, duh! Now, with just a little over a month before we kick off our adventure, I can honestly say I am excited. I know that we are going to encounter hurdles and meltdowns, both the kids and me! I am anxious if I picked the right curriculum or if I will be able to answer all their questions. But knowing that I am following the will of the Lord and the direction He has shown us...well, that part is just plain awesome! His wisdom, patience and endurance are the only things that will get us through this next year. We are praying that His grace would flood our lives and our home will be filled with all that is pleasing t0 Him.

What We've Been Up To

Sami & Kate ~ AWANA Award Ceremony

Matthew ~ AWANA Award Ceremony


T Ball Trophy ~ Only time we will ever say "Go Yankees"

Sami's Birthday trip to American Girl Store in LA

Best Buds ~ Sami & Amelia

Last days of school at St. Paul's ~

Sami finished 2nd grade and Matthew Preschool

End of the Trail Half Marathon

I can't believe I did it...13.1 miles in 2:17! I CANNOT wait until the next one!

Blessings

These past couple of months have been a whirlwhind of activity! February brought us Valentine's Day and the Father Daughter Dance which Sami looks forward to ALL year. According to Sami, "when Daddy gets on his knees and dances with me, it's the best night of my life! And when he does the robot!". I love that girl and I love that man for showing her what real love looks like! March held two birthdays-including a surprise birthday for my Mom which was priceless. I ran in my first race, a 10K in Exeter and squashed by goal time - made in 58 minutes! Cory and I spent 3 nights in San Diego to be a part of the Master Pools Guild meeting and Excellence in Design Awards banquet. Genesis Pools brought home 4 Gold Awards! I didn't fully understand or appreciate what the Guild is until experiencing it first hand. Now I am just as proud to be a part of such an elite group of builders as Cory always has been. But even more so, I am extraordinarily proud of my husband. Being there to see all of the hard work pay off was phenomenal, it really was! Then this week a man by the name of Randy Dukes came with some others to film one of Cory's pools under construction for training purposes. Mr. Dukes is huge in in the pool industry, a leader and expert in plaster/quartz and various other products for pools. It was quite the honor to have him here on one of Cory's jobs and Cory gained massive amounts of knowledge during the visit.

So, now you can see why this post had to be titled "blessings" because that it what all of this has been...blessings from God plain and simple! And we give Him all the glory!

Love the Lord our God

January 10, 2011 marked the rebirth of Samantha Jane Reeder as our sister in Christ. That's right folks, our dear Sami asked the Lord to be her Savior and for the Holy Spirit to fill her heart! It was nothing short of amazing and completely inspiring to see the innocence and trust of a child. I don't know that she even fully understood what had happened, it was completely Spirit inspired and led. Sami had actually been in a little bit of trouble that evening. Cory had taken her into her room to talk to her about her behavior. A little while into it I saw him come out and get his Bible. Finally, 30 minutes after that, Cory emerges with tears streaming down his cheeks. I wasn't quite sure what had happened, almost scared to ask. But when he started telling me what had unfolded in that room...I was amazed and full of joy. The two of them had a good conversation and when it was done Cory had told her to go ahead and pray on her own that night. She asked if he would just stay with her while she prayed, so he did. They knelt by the bed and she began praying. Before Cory knew it, she was asking the Holy Spirit to "come into her heart." After hearing what had happened, I went into her room with tears now streaming down my face and gave her a huge hug! She looked a little confused....I told her, "honey, you're my sister in Christ...we'll be together forever in heaven now." She says back, "I wasn't going to heaven before?? I've always loved Jesus Mommy!." Oh...how I love that girl and even more love our Lord who chose Sami to be part of His flock!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

We have had the most wonderful past 2 weeks celebrating the holidays with family and friends! We had four different Christmas celebrations, 2 holiday parties, a trip to Hartland Christian Camp and New Year's with family we hadn't seen in too long! My Grandma Horton (who lives in North Carolina) has been here for the last couple of months and has been able to spend the holidays with all of us, not to mention meet the kids for the first time! We spent the weekend before Christmas celebrating with my brother and his family, Christmas Eve at my parents, Christmas Day at our house and the next day with the Reeder's. The kids were spoiled rotten, we all ate to much and laughed even more. It was wonderful! A couple days later we then went up to Hartland Christian Camp and spent 2 days there before heading home for New Year's. An old friend/family Lars and his mom (from Denmark) were able to spend New Year's Eve with us as they traveled through the area to cap off a month full of celebrating and memories! We are so blessed...and exhausted!

Drama King