Teacher Gift!

Every year I make these wonderful conference survival packs for everyone at our boys school. I wanted to share this idea with you, for all of that leftover Halloween candy that you may have laying around! :)

The first year I did this, I did it only for my boys individual teachers, but then decided it wouldn't be much more work to make more for everyone in the whole school: Teachers, staff, and volunteers. So each year I make 75 bags (little more than the number given to me by my office), and drop them off the first day of conference week so the wonderful Ms. Shawn in our office can hand them out to everyone. I know just by having 6 kids the week of parent teacher conference is exhausting, so the teachers I know feel it 1000 times more, meeting with 30+ parents for an entire week after they already have taught for a full school day. So to brighten that time, I give chocolate, which as we all know, makes any hard day, week, or year, just a bit better. :)

Here is a picture of my finished product:

Here is the card I make for the packs. Feel free to use this one, or if you want just make one of your own. 

I hope this encourages you to thanks those teachers for their work and love for your children! They sure do deserve it!

Week 34-39 52 week photo project

My favorite brother Silas came for a visit (He is one of the name sakes that I gave my son John Silas)! I love this man! It's been four years since we have seen each other, God is good giving us 3 days together, to catch up, to hang out, and just to laugh together! I really don't know where I would be if this man didn't help me through high school and encourage me to go to Ozark for college, I am guessing my life would look a lot different! We are just a year apart almost to the day, and I am grateful each and everyday that though we are not blood that God has created something deep and bonding in us as siblings! 

 Time for some camping! We set up some tents in the back yard, had our wonderful friends join us and started a huge new adventure. From setting up the tents to sleeping through the night, it was an adventure at every turn! We had smores, we got eaten by bugs, we slept on rocks, and we woke up cold, sounds like camping to me! The boys had such a great time and can't wait to do it again next year!

My handsome Ximon (photo taken by Shawn), I love this photo of him, one of my absolute favorites. Breathtaking is all I can say! 

It was a craft day in our house, theses boys were working for hours on these hats. I think they turned out so great! Each one so unique and awesome, just like the little men that made them! And of course nothing is complete with out a goofy face picture! 

Our great friends from California came for a visit. Adam, Lori and their gang of 6 kids (mostly girls) came and visited us for a week. We had such an amazing time, we (well ME) loved having some girls around (I got to do hair, snuggle, enjoy the awesome girly outfits). We so enjoyed catching up with our great friends, including this day out with Thomas the tank engine. These two amaze me on a daily basis, they have two sets of identical twin girls, + their two older children, Lori home schools this bunch and each and every day they conquer with patience, grace, and a mighty love of the Lord. They are a family that we admire and are honored to call friends! And I love that they join us in the full quiver club! :) 

Another great picture of this dude! Oh my Bryce, I think this is his mischievous look! :) Still and forever this little man makes me laugh!

Heavy hurt heart

Another great chapter this morning: Ps. 39. Oh how our Lord speaks to us! 

I have been having some horrible conflict with someone close in our life. I am attacked, slandered, hurt beyond compare, named called, just taking as much nastiness as some can throw at me. Yet I am silent, the hardest thing for me ever (even though I have slipped up from time to time in this) I am silent to just take it all, endure it all, creating a terrible heaviness in my soul and my heart, weeping, crying out to God to listen, to bring relief.

 All of that to say, I'm thankful for chapters like Psalm 39! God calls us to silence sometimes (no not always, but sometimes), so we don't sin and cause more harm than good(I know from experience), even though we boil inside, even though we are so sorrowful. God still hears, God will bring justice. We then can take that boiling, that sorrow inside and lay it before the feet of our Lord and watch him work, watch him do what he does best, comfort, listen, and yes even be our defender, maybe not today but some time in the future those things will be brought to justice.

We in this life are to error on the side of grace, no matter how hard that may be, no matter what people will throw in our face, no matter how wrong they are. We show grace and we keep silent. We continue to Love, to show mercy, to give to those what they don't deserve. Which in us will teach and grow us to be more like Christ. I know for me, that's so hard, to show kindness to those that spit on you. That ability only comes from the Lord because in us is the desire for self preservation, for self defense, but I know that by having mercy that I am dying to self and becoming more like my Lord. 

So for my friends and family out there today, hang tight to the promises of our God, he is Good, nothing gets past him, and error on the side of grace if you are going to error, love always, show mercy, and pray, none of those will ever be the wrong choice.  

Week 33 52 week photo project

The many blessings in my life! 7 of the most awesome things the Lord has given me! I am a very lucky women and count those blessing each and every day! It's a new year of school which means new beginnings, new worries, new struggles and so many new joys. I look forward to what this school year will bring and can't wait to see each of my boys grow more and more! I am so proud of each of my little guys, each one overcoming so much, working so hard and just being such great little Jesus soldiers in the small ways each and every day. They had the most wonderful first day of school, over came some nervousness, made new friends, helped old ones, and as always loved on their teachers with help, compliments and just being them! Thank you Lord for these little ones, please equip me each and every day to be the mom they need me to be and the one you have designed me to be!

Side note, here are their grades for those of you trying to keep up :)
John, and Ximon 5th grade
James 4th grade
Ezekiel 3rd grade
Corban 2nd grade
Jordan 1st grade

Week 31 and 32 of 52 week photo project

Ahh my silly guys! These two can never take just a normal picture, but I love it! They make me laugh each and every day! This is just a great everyday kind of photo, which I love about it!

What a great day! Possibly my most favorite picture of the whole year! Today James was baptized! What a great day in our house, another reason to rejoice, to celebrate, to be thankful to our Lord! I am so proud of James and what this commitment will mean to his life in the years to come. And we can't wait to see what more God has in store for him! My heart overflows!

Week 28-30 52 week photo project

 Ahh Friendship! There is nothing better! We are so blessed to have these two wonderful couples and their families in our life (Of course it does give us 12 kids to wrangle when we all get together)! God is so good to bring people into our lives to encourage us, call us out, cry with us, laugh, and best of all serve with at church! Thank you Lord for these awesome people who grace us with their lives, children, and just friendship each and everyday!!

 Coupon class! Oh what a blessing it is to coupon and an even bigger blessing to teach others to do the same. This was my second class, but I had so many more women come and learn. I was honored to teach these 10 ladies how to save and hopefully knock their groceries bills down to almost nothing. I am excited to have another class in September and to see what God is going to continue to do in this little ministry.

Me and the precious princess Lillian! My newest niece! Yay! A girl, the first girl on the Reinsel side, we are so excited to say the least, especially Grandpa and Grandma!! We were excited to have Lilly and her parents come for a little visit! Already everyone loves and is spoiling this newest little one, the boys are of course super excited and also a bit sad that they missed this visit! :( But many more visits are coming and we can't wait!!

Week 26 and 27 of 52 week photo project

 Our little family. I love this photo of us. All squished together, so happy, so blessed. There are no words, and I'm just so thankful!

Another tattoo, and of course that means another story, another verse, another way to remember the blessings in my life. Shawn and I got these arrows to represent our boys, as you can see each one is different, each unique, just like our little men. The scripture for us that these represent is Psalm 127: 3-5 "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of ones youth. Happy is a man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed." We are so thankful everyday for our quiver full of little men and we are blessed each day we have them. Thank you Jesus for another blessing in our lives that we don't deserve but you have given us, we will care for them according to your word, and will!

Week 24 and 25 of 52 week photo project

 It's birthday time around here. Summer is so crazy with birthday's in our house, 2 in June, 2 in July and then Shawn and I in August. The boys opted again for a combined birthday since they all wanted skylanders as the theme (it's a video game for those of you who don't know). So here are my birthday men, Ximon 10, James 9, Corban 7, and Jordan 6. I am so blessed by each of these little guys and honored to by called their mom. I am looking forward to the year to come to see all that they will do and all that God will do through them. Happy Birthday boys!!

Well we finally did it, we microwaved ivory soap. It's been on our summer bucket list (thanks pinterest), and today was the perfect day for it. :) The boys loved it, they loved watching it grow in the microwave (I cut the bar into small blocks so we could watch it grow lots, and have smaller pieces, I would like to see what a whole bar would look like). They liked taking it out of the microwave and feeling it (it looks like it would be wet and mushy, but it's not at all), and then we loved taking it outside and making it snow, smashing it, having a soap flake fight, and then even just rubbing it with our hands on the concrete. I say all in all it was a huge success and we can't wait to do it again. And as a side note, I love this picture of Memphis holding it, I think he was still a little unsure of it at this point, but was super excited just to get outside and see what he could do with it. :)

Week 22 and 23 of 52 week photo project

One of my all time favorite photos ever! Jess was such a sport to capture these shots of pregnancy, cravings, and yes just food! Love it! I love this girl and I have been honored to be an adopted part of her family as the nanny to her two wonderful children and soon to be third. I thank the Lord for them!

Our new family addition! This is Godzilla our new puppy. We call her Zilla, it's a little more girly, since she is our princess. We adopted her from dumb friends league. Shawn was out of town and my dear friend and I wanted an indoor activity to take the boys to. So we went to ddfl to look at the animals, sure didn't expect to bring one home. We saw her with her sister in their kennel, and just fell in love. We then met with her and fell even more in love. I was instantly on the phone with shawn telling him all about her and sending pictures. We have wanted for awhile, a small house dog, and she was perfect. She is little only 3lbs and won't get much bigger, she hardly sheds, and makes really no noise. She is a beagle, chihuahua mix, called a cheagle. She is the size of a chihuahua but looks just like a shrunk beagle. So cute! We love her so much, and are so happy to have this little girl apart of our lives. She really just loves to eat, sleep in everyone's lap, and play. Keep your eyes open for more pictures to come!

Week 21 photo 52 week photo project

Tattoo number 2 for me! This was our anniversary gift to each other this year. And again as with all tattoos that I will ever get this one is very important to me. Bonus points if you know what is says, come on bible scholars out there!! Ok, well now since you are out of guesses I will tell you. The blue one is Shawn's and it says "My Joy" in Hebrew (Gili), which is what he calls me. Mine which of course is pink says "My love" in Hebrew (Ahuvi), which is what I call Shawn. They are each on our left wrists, to remind us of one another and what a gift God has given us in each other. I am so blessed and honored to be married to my husband, 4 years and counting! Thank you Lord!!

Week 19-20 52 week photo project

 Our group at the school carnival. I choose this picture, because the friends with us, they have become a part of our extended family. We are so blessed each day by the Treu family! They serve along side us at the Denver campus, both in worship ministry and in children's ministry. Excellent at each! We are blessed by their two little boys, who fit right in with our gang of little men. Thank you Lord for the wonderful friends that you have brought into our lives. We are forever changed because of these great people! We are honored to be called their friends!

Maybe one of my all time favorite photos of this little man. I love Bryce so much, and I have been honored to watch him grow up. Almost 2 years old and I can't believe it, how much he has grown, how funny he is becoming each and everyday, and it just warms my heart how much he loves me! Such a precious little man, I can't wait for the years ahead, and to see the man he will become! Thank you Cathy family for giving me such a wonderful part of your family each week. I am so blessed by all of you, to be included in your family and to get to each day laugh with you, cry with you, and just share a part of this little man with all of you! 

Week 16-18 of 52 photo a week project

Soccer friends! Soccer has started for the spring, and we are so excited! Corban and Jordan are loving their first year playing, and are doing so well. We are also so excited to be able to play with our good friends the Claycamp family (Justin is one of theirs seen in this picture). The older boys (Ximon, James and Zeke), are also doing great, dominating as always! I'm sure you will see more pictures of soccer in the weeks to come! 

James in his first ever choir concert. He has been practicing all winter/spring and he did so great at his performance. He said he was a bit nervous, but you wouldn't know it. We are so proud of him!! 

 Probably my all time favorite picture of me and this wonderful little girl! I am so blessed to have extra kiddos in my life to take care of. This is Quinn and I at the zoo early this week. I love her! What a princess! She is the only one among all of these boys! I love that she will sit with me for hours on end, truly has the voice of an angle, she always wants to hold my hand, and I even get the great joy of her sleeping in my arms. Thank you Lord for bringing this little girl into my life!

Why Lord Why?

I know when we are going through those really rough patches in our life, we are in constant battle with the Lord asking why over and over again, and not hearing an answer.

Right now some very dear friends of ours are going through the hardest thing you can face in our life here on this earth, the battle between death and life. Our pastors son, is in critical condition. He is hanging in the balance, he has a wife and a very young son. They are all hanging on to that hope of life. I'm sure asking why, pleading with our Lord, on why Eddie wasn't saved from this awful thing, why it happened in the first place, why might I face death of someone so dear to me. Why me? I am a follower of God, I am your beloved, why Lord, why?

Through all of this, time and time again, the Lord keeps bringing me back to the story of Him and Lazarus.

Lazarus a man that Jesus loved dearly! We read in John 11, Jesus's groan as he comes near the tomb of his dear friend. His sisters distraught over why Jesus would not come when he first heard of their brothers sickness. Why Lord? You could have saved him, you could have kept him from this, why? Why did you not come?  I know you could have saved him, kept him from this, so why didn't you? I know we feel this way, we believe in the power of our Lord, but why did this thing happen, why are we hurting, why didn't you save me from this? You are my Lord, you love me, you love him, so why?

But the story doesn't end there, with them and us saying "oh he died, you could have stopped it, but didn't, we are so sad, oh Lord why?"

The story continues, the real show of Jesus's great love for us, for Lazarus, for Lazarus's family, for all of those watching, waiting.

You want to know why? An answer to all of those really bad times, because there is HIS Glory to be shown through this, HE will be the victor, HE will triumph, no matter the outcome. It is to show HIS great love for us, HIS awesomeness, nothing else. He tells us, you will see my glory through this, maybe not by any other means, but I am here to show you my greatness. Come look and see, Lazarus come forth!! HIS glory shown through terribleness, through death, through life.

Our God is that Great, Our God is that Good, hold to that, let us see the Glory of Jesus shown through those tough times!

So I know as I ask why so many times in my life, so many times over this past weekend, I have the answer, I have the hope. It's to see Jesus, to see HIS glory, to see HIS promise lived out and fulfilled in our lives. I hold to that, we cling to that, in facing death, our Lord is the victor, he will be glorified even in death!

Please keep praying for Ed (my dear pastor), Marie (his wife). They are parents holding so tightly to their son, praying for a miracle.

Pray for Eddie (the man in critical condition), pray for healing, complete, miraculous healing, pray for Rachael (his dear wife), she is sitting next to her husband, crying out for answers, for hope, for something, just to have the man she loves back, to have more days with him, to share their life together. And for their little boy (Levi). The joy of everyones heart.

I know so many of you have been faithful in these prayers over the past weekend, and I thank you! Our Lord is a God of miracles, he hears us, he comforts us, HIS Glory will be shown through this! Keep praying as we are still in critical times for Eddie. Pray for comfort over all of the Taylor's as they walk this terrible valley.

Week 14 and 15 of 52 week photo project

Family autism ski weekend! We are so blessed by this yearly trip. We get to see and meet other families that have autistic children. The boys have a blast skiing with tons of helpers, that challenge and encourage them. This year Grandma Becky, Grandpa Fits, Vlada, and Alex were also able to join us for these wonderful two days! More pictures will come but I just loved this one of our whole group! God is so good!!

My boys all ready for summer, new haircuts! They were enjoying the warm weather that seems only to come for a few short hours here and there this spring. They are all growing up so fast, and bring such a joy to my heart and life each and every day! I say it all of the time and I will say it again, I am a very lucky mommy!!

Week 13 52 week photo project

I decided to use one of James's pictures for this weeks photo. That little man really is turning into an excellent photographer! I can't wait to see what comes from him in the years to come. I did not edit this in anyway, it was his pure picture! Just fantastic!

52 week photo project weeks 10-12

 The boys built a fort. They had all the blankets and pillows in the house in there. We decided to all go in and have a little fun! They slept in that thing for 2 days! I love being a mom of boys!! Never a dull moment!

Some of the wonderful leaders of our church! It was such a great opportunity for Shawn and I to go and learn, and also enjoy a little get away with some great people. God is so good! We are so blessed and honored to serve along side these wonderful men and women!

James petting a giraffe at the zoo. This little guy loved all of the attention. He actually let all of the boys pet him, even without all of them having crackers to feed him. So cute!

52 week photo project weeks 6-9

 John and his best friend Lacy at his 10th birthday party! Lacy is such an amazing girl and just loves our little man so much. We are all so blessed to have her in our lives!

Valentines day craft. All of the boys made yarn hearts for valentines day. Ah crafts are so fun!!!

 Community groups leaders meeting. So awesome to serve along side all of these men and women! Can't wait to see what God is going to do, raising up new leaders among the groups represented here.

Our bags for the homeless. Great out reach project we decided to do. I gathered up items that I have gotten from couponing (toothbrushes, toothpaste, granola bars, gum, deodorants, shampoo, etc.) and we sat down and assembled these bags. We will keep the bags in the car and when we see a homeless person we are going to hand out the bags. The boys were so excited to do this with me and are so excited to hand these out. I don't think they have ever been so excited to see a homeless person. God is so good!!!!

Week 4 and 5 52 week photo project

Week 4

Toddler Kraz!!! It was a fun day of chasing toddlers around my house! I love how all of these little ones get along so well! Still a little shocked that I survived, the parents of these little ones, need a well deserved break!! :) I'm so thankful that I can be a part of their lives and them a part of mine! Awesome joy! God is good!

Week 5
A day celebrating Justin! This was at his birthday party! He is in the middle of the parachute, with all of his friends and family surronding him, cheering him on as he turned 6! We love this little guy and his family so much and are so thankful that God brought us together, through their very funny, persistent son Jeremy, had he not called everyday asking to play we may never have crossed paths!

Week 3 52week photo project

Art Class! The boys have the wonderful opportunity of having a great women named Donna come and teach art to them 2 times a month. This is the first class, and they are making their portfolios to keep all of their art in. Donna is a very patient woman to take on my 6 little men at her age. :) The boys had such a great first class and can't wait for her to come back and teach them more. Next on the list, drawing a bird!

Week 2 photo 52 week project

Such a blessed week in our house. This is a photo from Wednesday night when our elders, and other pastors prayed over our family, as Shawn steps in as the overseeing pastor at Denver Campus. Thank you Lord for the blessing of this ministry. Such an amazing time! We are blessed everyday by our church family! We can't wait to see where God is going to take us as a family in this new year, in this new ministry. God is so good!!

Week one photo of my 52 week 2013 photo project

Ok, well it's week one, and I have lots of pictures to chose from. I am still in the mindset of a photo a day, and wake up each morning thinking of what I will photograph today. However a new year, new project, so be ready for those 52 photos coming at you.

Photo week one:
A new year, a new table!! I have been dying for a round table my whole life it seems, it's my favorite kind of table. You can see everyone, it fits tons of people, it is always so open and inviting. Ask my college friends, that's the only place we sat in college, the large round open table, no square small tables for me. :)  So after 31 years, I finally have my own! A huge 6 foot dining table ready to seat our family, any extended family and our friends!! Yay!! God totally blessed us with beautiful, in perfect shape table off of craigslist, a total steal, really I was actually thinking, no way are they selling this table for this price, it can't be!!  Chairs from ikea, table clothes from bed bath and beyond. Only piece left will be our 3 foot lazy susan for the middle, a project my mother in law and I are working on. I'm so thankful for this new piece of our house and all the memories that will be made around it in the days and years to come.

365 365+1 2012

I DID IT! I really can't believe it, but I did it, a picture a day for a whole year! Yay! This was a daunting, scary, and hard project. However it was so rewarding, so much fun, a challenge, and such a blessing to see it come to completion! I am proud of myself for sticking to it, even in those weeks when I did get behind. I love looking back at the photos I have taken during 2012, a complete look at the everyday's of our family, my loves, beauty, mundane experiences, and just life, captured! Love it! In 2013 I have decided to to the 52 week photo project. It's just a picture a week, something I know after this year won't be so hard for me. I can't wait to share those stories and photos with you. Thanks for hanging in there with me this year and sharing our family!

343-364 365+1 2012

 Just what I need on a cold day, hot coco with whipped cream, almost makes my bad week better.

 How I feel this week! :( We are being attacked left and right, my world is upside down, hoping, praying this valley of death passes quickly. God is in control, we are holding tightly to him, praying for resolution, praying hard hearts be made soft, praying for our family! God is good even in this, we know!!

 Great reminders this morning! Bringing some peace to our aching hearts!!

 Shawn's photo of James's art work at school! So cool!

 New, early Christmas present from my hubby. A new computer, trying to learn it, it's not going great. And side note this actually didn't last in our home, we took it back within 3 days, I just wasn't getting it and it wasn't doing what we needed. So back in it's place is my oldie computer that I love! It might be slow but it works!!

 Jeremy's picture of Shawn and I at the train museum. I love this photo of Shawn and I!

 One of my favorites of the wonderful Molly during the maternity photo shoot I did for her! We had so much fun and I loved capturing her glowing beauty!!

 Christmas party at Hacienda Colorado. We are so lucky to get invited to this each year, though we don't work there, however, I guess when you eat there at least once a week and you actually have a relationship with the management that helps! ;) The boys as always loved doing all of the activities that they had set up.

 Jordan reading his woof book to the doggies! The puppies loved listening to him read and he was having so much fun saying woof, woof to them!

 My wonderful husband, on a very rough week, surprised me with a starbucks venti frappachino! I am so very blessed!

 My sweet, cowboy man Bryce!

 My little men, laughing it up in downtown Golden! They sure are cute! John really wasn't having a good time, he was ready for home.

 Another one of Jeremy's photos from our trip to the train museum. I love this family photo of all of us!

 James and little Eva! It was so great that she and her family were able to come and spend a few before Christmas days with us! James was so surprised and so excited to get a visit from his favorite little girl!

 Family Game Night! Yahtzee please!

 Zeke and his Christmas eve gift from James. He makes for a pretty cute police man! Stick 'm up, while I call for backup!!

 The boys and their "big" christmas present. We were able to get them all their own tablets! They were SOOO excited! I love their faces in this one, and really wish now I would have video taped their gasps and screams! What a blessing that we found these for such a great price, and so thankful to my wonderful husband who spent so many hours getting these ready for the boys, complete with games, school sites, pictures, etc.

 Well I would say it was a great christmas! Jordan with his huge christmas haul!

 Clean coupon table ready for the new year of savings! It feels so great to be caught up and ready for the new year!

 New phones!

 John and his great grandma (GG). It was wonderful to spend some time with GG after christmas!

Jordan and Corban's handmade robots. Grandma Becky bought each of the boys robot kits that they can make themselves. It has been a week of robot building, battling, and watching them all walk on the ground. Best gifts ever!