so much fun.

what a week we had! we had a lot of visitors just after easter... it was such a blast! we had such a wonderful time hanging out with friends and family. our week started with an early easter service... 8:00 a.m. it was such a blessing. still missing friends and family who got to sunrise service at grace baptist at 6:00 a.m., we had such a wonderful time in our new church. it felt like we were home.

todd finished up his 'duties' in the third service and we all jumped in the car to head down to santa clarita. we spent a few hours in the car with very excited kiddos. they just wanted to see papa and auntie breezi... oh yes, and go for an easter egg hunt. they had such a good time... eating candy and playing around in papa's back yard.

after a fantastic bar.b.que we had a little celebration. we celebrated tony (bro), beth (sister.in.law) and my birthday. tony's birthday was the 10th and beth and i share a birthday... march 24! it was so fun. we each got our own pie. i love lemon meriangue. my favorite pie ever! we went out to the fetter's house in much need of some rest! after spending the night, we took katy home with us to enjoy spring break up in SLO.

my favorite day we had together was going to avila and playing at the beach. ashlynn built sand castles... 'swam 'in the water (by herself)... ran around.

and jeremy, well... this is what he did...

yep... he rolled around. so sandy that i wasn't sure how i was going to get the sand off of him! he had so much fun... but wasn't as adventerous in the water!

its been a long while.

'silly kiddos before church'...

poor sunday school teachers.

so i am still trying to get consistent at blogging but it isn't working. my busy-ness takes over and i honestly forget. why do we allow ourselves to get so busy that we forget to correspond with our family and friends that we dearly love? seriously why? it makes me sad that i am not better at it. it is a struggle that i wish i could overcome and i truly try really hard to overcome. i love to hear about what is going on in the lives of those i truly cherish. i need to lay aside my selfish ambitions and focus on that which is truly important and lovable! my goal!!! cherish those relationships that i love... my SAVIOR, family and friends. hugs & love.

our garden.

we planted a garden. it's little, but it is going to be so fun. ashlynn and jeremy take care of it everyday. they make sure the plants have enough water. they want to go out each morning and see if the plants have grown. they are waiting... patiently... for the cucumbers and yellow squash to sprout up from seeds. WELCOME SPRING!

'like i talk to jesus'

'i'll talk to papa like i talk to jesus'

was the response i got from ashlynn when we talked to her about my daddy. as some of you know my dad is fighting for his life. he has battled kidney cancer for the last 16 years... wow! i type that and i truly can't believe it has been that long. last week, my dad got the results read of his scans. the tumors are shrinking... praise the LORD. however (i truly hate this word), the medication he is on this time is not meant to cure his cancer, but rather to 'give him some time.' we are not sure how much 'time' the LORD has granted him, but we know that our time is precious. it always has been with my dad.

my mom and dad have always been very upfront with us about what is going on in his battle with cancer. i beyond appreciate it! i have taken the same stance with my kiddos. they know what is going on in papa life. it is their way of being connected to what mommy cries about. so we told them that papa is sick again and that we need to take as much time as we can with him before he goes home to be with JESUS.

ashlynn has ALWAYS had such a unique bond with my dad. it impresses me beyond belief. my dad is able to calm her in a way that no one else can... i really mean no one. i am not sure where the bond comes from, but it is unique nonetheless. to see them together is a joy of mine. ash becomes this sweet little girl and not a girl who is often hard to handle. if you know ashlynn at all, you know that she is 'spicy'. her spicy-ness drips away with my dad. she loves her papa more than she loves anything. her favorite bear, mooches, in which she must have in order to fall asleep, comes from her papa. a bond like no other.

when we told her, her response was... 'i'll talk to papa, like i talk to jesus.' i melted. i cried. i hurt for her. i hurt for me. i hurt for my siblings and their families. my dad is amazing. i hope everyone gets to meet him! love you daddy!

tools.

about a year ago todd was teaching on the fruit of the spirit @ our old church back in santa clarita. during that time i was reading a book about the fruit by jerry bridges called the fruitful life. (if you have never read it, please pick one up... it truly did change my life.) one of the things that it brought me to do was think about how i can implement the fruit of the spirit in a fun way into the lives of my kiddos && teach them discipline at the same time. i came up with this idea of happy/sad jars. the "happy jar" has the list of the fruit of the spirit. the "sad jar" has lists of things that each of my kids struggle toward. example: whining. complaining. hitting. hurtful words. strife. the list goes on. the idea is to get marbles (as many as you can) into the happy jar... without having them in the sad jar. i took ashlynn and jeremy to micheal.s and let them pick out the color of their marbles. they helped me decorate the mason jars. this, of course, makes the jars theirs. it becomes a since of pride for them. plus i have a jar with extra marbles up high... i caught ashlynn trying to give jeremy one for being nice. cute but not ok... they both got one for being so sweet... of course.

when we moved up to SLO, the jars got boxed and left amongst the garage. when we finally pulled them out (we waited so long i'm afraid to say), both ashlynn and jeremy were so excited. they counted their marbles in each jar.

heres how it works:

1. start with 5 happy marbles. (positive reinforcement)

2. when they exhibit the fruit of the spirit they get a marble from the "overflow jar", or if they have some marbles in the "sad jar", they get to remove 1 from that jar and put it into the "happy jar". RECITE with them the fruit of the spirit. a song or something catchy... we make it silly... this way they can learn the fruit.

3. if they do something that exhibits a negative trait, they take a marble from the "happy jar" and place it in the "sad jar". (unfortunately there are times when there are no marbles in the "happy jar", that again is when you would use the "overflow jar".

4. REWARD when they get to 10/20/30 "happy marbles". use whatever works for your kids. ashlynn wants "dollars". she is our saver. she has to keep them in the "happy jar" and not use them. they are there! she has $3!

top 10.

the day before valentine.s day we got ready! we decorated the table. hung hand.made by ashlynn and jeremy valentine hearts from the lights. then in a big huge heart wrote down 10 things that they love. here there are in very specific order... their order.

ASHYLNN.
1. my Jesus.
2. my papa.
3. my grammie
4.my whole family.
5. my dog hurley.
6. grandpa & grandma
7. san luis obispo
8. elephants
9. my uncle danny & aunt lindsey
10. my mommy & daddy (bff.s)

JEREMY.
1. tigers & elephants.
2. woody & jessie
3. Jesus & God
4. lions.
5. pluto.
6. my dog.
7. my sister... ashlynn.
8. that.s all i love... i don.t love anything else!

love day.

ashynn got a "pink princess cookbook" for christmas from my mom. we celebrated christmas with her when she came out from texas last week. ashlynn carried the cookbook pretty much where ever she went, claiming that she was going to try and figure out what she wanted to make. she landed on making chocolate dipped pretzels with sprinkles. (vanilla candy coating/ candy making chocolate, powedered food coloring (optional), pretzel rods/ twist pretzels, and assorted sprinkles). as we were making them, ashlynn decided she was going to make them to share with the girls at winter camp. she did just that. she came out of her shell and offered her handmade, delicious pretzels to people all on her own. a very proud moment for my extremely shy daughter. she definitely blessed my spirit with her willingness to share and serve.