These little "Red Flannels' were give to
us by Aunt Donna & Uncle Arnold
28 years ago for our oldest son, Bradley.
Each of the kids have worn them and now to
follow suit with her siblings, Victoria has
grown into them! Its hard to imagine that
they have lasted this long, but there still
is alot of life in them and hopefully the
grandkids can at least get a picture taken
in them too!

Dave and Casey
August 24, 2007

The day started off rainy and dreary, but by 5:00 pm
the sun was out and the setting was beautiful.
The wedding was perfect, no issues, no drama!
We all had the best time ever and everyone commented
that it was the best wedding and reception they had ever been
at!
Here are a few pictures of the evening!


Our "beautiful" Family

Den and I with Dave and Casey

Dave and Casey chose to do "sanding" instead
of the Unity Candle.
Its rather unique and this picture tells it all!

Victoria enjoying her rocking chair and teddy
that Grandma and Grandpa DeWeese gave to her!
The rocking chair was handcrafted by Grandpa!
(Colson helped from behind to hold her in the chair)
Its so cute watching her with the teddy because she
attacks it like a dog with a bone!!!!

Tori enjoying her first time in the "johnny jumper"

Isn't this just the best shot of our two
youngest children? Colson is the best
big brother and takes such good care
of Victoria. He keeps her amused and I
know when school starts in a few weeks
she is surely going to miss him!

Its amazing how God has a way of putting ones life into perspective. My past few blogs have been about our personal little life dramas; how we get so caught up in them we fail to realize our real mission and purpose, and even when we do realize just what we are really called to do, we don't always do it and we fall victim to our own circumstances and struggles. I have to confess that living out my drama each day overtook my emotions, my attitude, my style of living, and totally affected my walk with Christ or really lack of walk with Christ. Small things like a washer breaking down, being without a steady income, struggling to pay utilities, whatever does not compare to serious health issues. I was overcome with emotion tonight as I received a call from Den about his sister-in-law; finding a cancerous spot on her lung (a total non-smoker). Hit me like a ton of bricks, rocked my world totally; my heart and mind coming together seeking God in this situation, and realizing my drama is no longer of immediate importance or relevant. The life of a fellow follower of Christ, a family member, a mom, a wife, and a serious health issue becomes my immediate concern. My mind is realing with what, how, why and we should have or why didn't we. . . . .forgiveness is totally on my mind, and my body should be laying prostrate as I share this, asking God to totally remove the sin in my life and the self-absorbtion. I want, in the utmost way, to serve Him completely, in my daily walk, in the way I mother my children, in the relationship with my husband, in friendships, in all I do, yet I tend to do the opposite and struggle to put aside "self". It seems to always take something extreme to push me to grab ahold of Christ and not let go. What consumes my time? what controls me? Its unfortuate that things get prominate place over Christ. . . . . . it takes one phone call to change your world. . . . . . . and from tonight on I want my life to completely count for the cause of Christ; searching out what He wants from me and what He wants from my day, not what can I give Him out of the leftovers, if there are any; falling into bed tired and barely uttering a simple prayer for the completion of my day. This moment, I am asking God to cleanse my heart, to open my heart to His will and to see past all the "stuff" and search and serve Him. Please pray for my sister-in-law and their family as they work through the emotions of this; they are strong in their faith, and they have a trememdous support system through their church family. We know that God does not allow anything that isn't for our good and for His honor and Glory; may He be glorified in this situation!

A simple little boy sock. . . . . . that was the culprit with the dysfunctional washer! What amazes me is how a little sock gets into a drain hose. Thankfully that was all that was wrong with my machine and its once again running non-stop. Den was such a help he took 5 loads of laundry to the laundrymat and washed them and carted them all home for me to dry or hang on the clothes line outside. I am a die-hard outdoor clothes hanging fanatic! I love seeing a breeze move the clothes on the line, there is something soothing and peaceful about it. I made a trip to Amish country several years back and what intrigued me the most was the clothes on the lines. They were hung evenly, and the way they blew in the breeze was, to me, beautiful! I didn't much care about going to the flea market or eating in the famous restaurant there but just loved traveling the backroads, enjoying the peacefulness of the farms, the homes and the people. Its hard to imagine life without the modern conveniences, microwaves, "cell phones" (just how did we get along with them?), computers, email, etc. I used to love to hear Den's grandmas stories of when she was little, newly married, etc. Her life intrigued me, the work she did, without all our conveniences, was amazing. I am a strong proponent of hard physical work but I can't even be compared to Den's grandma and the work that woman did, alot by herself. I was impressed and inspired. It made me realize how fortunate I am to have what I have, all the helps to make my life a little easier, a little quicker. I can't even begin to imagine scrubbing clothes on a scrub board in a tub of water. No wonder they didn't have many clothes, it was back-breaking work I am sure. I guess when things happen in our lives they most definitely happen for reasons, sometimes I know its for me to gain a proper perspective on the situation. Many times I have had to ask forgiveness from God for my self-pity and ask Him to allow me to be sensitive to the needs of others, as I said before, we all get caught up in our own little dramas, never thinking others have them too and how could I possibly help or encourage someone. Thank you to those of you who so graciously posted kind words. My heart was so touched and I was so encouraged. We have been blessed to have been a part of some awesome ministries in the past, the kids we served are held near to our hearts, we still have a picture of a group of kids from Berean Baptist Church in Portage, sitting on a shelf in Den's office. Great memories, great kids! Thank you to all of you out there, you know who you are, for enriching our lives, loving us and caring for not only Den and I but our children as well. You are gifts to us!