We hope you enjoy reading about our family as much as we enjoy being a family....

month of giveaways

2011-11-14T19:02:00.001-08:00

This month we have tons of giveaways over at The Kindle Crew!

2011-05-15T15:30:00.001-07:00

Hope this finds all of my long lost readers doing well. I moved my blog and have gone private so if you were a reader and still want to be, email me and let me know so I can add you to my readers list.

free book....

2011-02-07T12:05:00.000-08:00

giving away a free book over on our new blog....be sure and check it out by clicking HERE!

new address.....

2011-01-11T20:54:00.000-08:00

Our family blog has moved......hope you will follow us over at....

coming soon...

2011-01-08T20:30:00.000-08:00

I've missed blogging and I look forward to getting back to it...I know the Lord has big plans for this coming year in and through our family. New blog look coming soon....hope you are as excited as I am!!!

shout out...

2011-01-08T09:10:00.000-08:00

I hope you will pray and consider taking a part in this weekend.....it's like choosing to walk into a blesssing!

I see it like this....you want God's best for your family, you'll consider this weekend. You're fine with how things are.....you'll stay at home...just a thought! :)

Cast of Characters...

2011-01-01T16:56:00.000-08:00

Like all of the books I've read by Max Lucado, he brings home details and thoughts that I would never have thought of just reading through God's Word. In his Cast of Characters, he gives insight into what they might be thinking, what prompted them to do or say or think such and such and makes it easy to put yourself into the shoes of these characters in the Bible.

An easy book to read but it takes a while to chew on and process what the Spirit is speaking through this book. My favorite has been about our Saturday tragedies becoming Sunday victories if we will linger with Jesus through the tragedy. I think it's best to read this book one chapter at a time and mediate on what the application for us is.

Each chapter ends with questions causing you to search your own heart. I've enjoyed this entire book.

I got this book FREE from booksneeze.com. Check it out!

Poppa's Boy

2010-12-21T07:52:00.000-08:00

Crew is Poppa's boy.....wherever Poppa goes...Crew wants to go. Here he is trying to figure this spur thing out.

thankful

2010-12-13T22:20:00.000-08:00

The thanksgiving holiday has come and gone all too quickly but I'm very thankful today...thankful for my family, friendships that grow me in Christ and for the Lord's provisions in drawing me to him.

I'm thankful for healthy, beautiful to me children. Children which bring so much of God's refining process to me. Children who love me unconditionally and are quick to forgive.

Thankful for Brandon who works so hard to provide for us and encourages me and stands by me in God's call for us to nurture the hearts of these little ones at home. I have the finest husband a girl could ask for and I'm thankful for how he handles situations with such grace and wisdom.

All thanks goes to a Creator who knew me before the foundation of the world. My God, who so blessed me to be born into the free country I live in, to be protected from evil as a child and to be introduced to his son, Jesus, at an early age. The blessings I recongize from my Lord are everything.....I am blessed because I have the gift of salvation handed to me, only requiring me to accept....I'm thankful I'm not homeless, thankful I'm healthy, thankful I can see, touch, smell, taste, walk, eat, feel. love and be loved, thankful for peace, thankful for every minute detail we take for granted. If all was taken from us and we had nothing except our security of salvation...would we still feel blessed and be thankful?

****************************

Miss Kate Marie is having her first Papa & Nana sleep over toinght and I will be excited to hear how it went. They kept her while we took the boys to see The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (which I was very disappointed in....didn't do the book justice in my opinion).

Kate loves her Nana & Papa (they are my grandparents) and I'm sure she was treated like royalty. I loved spending the night with them when I was a little girl. Nana still has the little bunny rabbit that I threw up all over! I'm thankful that my grandparents are able to invest in and speak truth into the lives of my kiddos....we are very blessed for the foundation of faith!

This picture is a month or so old but I'm thankful we can do fun stuff like camp out on the trampoline.

I'm thankful I have a house full of little warriors. They love punching on the punching bag.....they think they have big muscles!

Crew loves riding Red and he's pretty sure that Red likes him best! Little cowpoke loves The Ranch. The other day in the car Kate said, "my daddy is working cows" and Crew was politely corrective and said, "no he's not....he's putting hay out in the pasture" Not so politely the sweet little girl voice answered, "unt uh...my daddy's working cows!" They are funny. Reminds me of when Brett was asked what his favorite food was and in his best East Texas voice he said, "deer meat!" Oh my...we're from the country.

Couldn't figure out how to rotate this picture but it is too funny....we had play doh night last week and this is one of Brandon's artistic doings........the boys LOVED it.

one reason it's hard to get a good family picture....

2010-12-10T14:31:00.000-08:00

Christmas Cards

2010-12-05T20:56:00.000-08:00

I had myself talked out of Christmas cards this year until my blogger friend posted the promotion from Shutterfly .....blog about my favorite designs they have this year and get 50 free cards....so...who can pass that up right?

Here are a few of my favorite:

I like this one because I just do.....

This one caught my eye because it says, "Joy" and because those kiddos are super adorable. What I believe is that without the Lord we will never really know joy because God is a God of joy and without Him...well, we may experience happiness...but never real joy...so, I like this one because to me it says, "wishing you Jesus this year"

I like this one where the donkey is trying to lick baby Jesus' head......

and last but not least....I like this one because the Lord continues to show Himself faithful and increases my faith, He is my only hope and it's through His unconditional love that keeps me going.

support a cause

2010-11-29T07:49:00.000-08:00

What if Whole Heart Ministries earned a donation every time you searched the Internet? Or how about if a percentage of every purchase you made online went to support our cause? Well, now it can!

GoodSearch.com is a new Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and watch the donations add up!

GoodShop.com is a new online shopping mall which donates up to 30 percent of each purchase to your favorite cause! Hundreds of great stores including Amazon, Target, Gap, Best Buy, eBay, Macy’s and Barnes & Noble have teamed up with GoodShop and every time you place an order, you’ll be supporting your favorite cause.

And if you download the GoodSearch – Whole Heart Ministries toolbar, our cause will earn money every time you shop and search online – even if you forget to go to GoodShop or GoodSearch first! Add the Whole Heart Ministries toolbar at http://www.goodsearch.com/toolbar/whole-heart-ministries

*I added the toolbar to my computer....super easy!
Take a look at all the stores you can shop from.....http://www.goodsearch.com/goodshop.aspx

there's no place like home

2010-11-19T23:34:00.000-08:00

This girl cracks me up. She loves shoes and I love that she is creative in her fashion statements...be bold baby, be bold! As I pray over this sweet princess I pray that she finds her self worth in the Lord. I pray that she stands strong against culture regardless if she stands alone or not. I pray that the Lord keeps her pure in mind, body and spirit. It's been heavy on my heart lately to be diligent in praying for her friends. Girls are drama and it's heart to find a friend with the same heart beat. I pray the Lord will bring friends into Kate's life that will encourage her in her walk with the Lord, friends that will hold her accountable to Truth and won't let her be complacent with the world's standards. As I look at this silly picture...I pray that Kate will be comfortable in who God created her to be...with whatever personality our all-knowing Creator gave her..that she will never try to be someone that He didn't intend for her to be.

I pray over these sweet spirited boys. As they are in training to become godly young men, I pray that they too be bold as they learn to walk in the light of God's Truth. I pray that their design and personalities will come alive as they find their freedom in Christ. These two are as different as night and day and what a perfect picture of different personalities coming together to compliment one another and be used for God's glory. I pray that will be strong warriors as they take a stand against the devil's schemes.

Brett has been asking for a few years about losing his first tooth. Most of his friends and cousins got their teeth early so they've all lost a few so he has been waiting eagerly. A very happy and excited boy we have!

Crew Kindle is adorable! Yes, this picture needs to be rotated...use your imagination! He slipped, fell and smacked his face on the coffee table which resulted in a cut eye-lid and a swollen nose. Broken? Who knows but it's about three times it's normal, cute, little pug size....Mimi got splatter painted with blood in the process....it was as interesting as Crew is himself. For this little guy I pray that the Lord give him a passion for others and for kingdom work. He is a passionate boy by nature so I pray and trust God will use his life to bring others into his kingdom He is a fiery fellow and I pray that even at an early age the love of Christ will consume his little heart.

She is a princess and I'm thankful for a husband that will speak truth and beauty into this little ones life.

Little Miss Kate on roller sKates......

We are looking forward to this coming week as we focus on specific ways we can be thankful.

Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

checking in....

2010-11-17T13:37:00.000-08:00

awh....the sweet joys of being home with my children all day.......thanking the Lord today for the calling He has made clear.....

Isaiah 30:21
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

How will we ever know the way in which to "walk in it" if we aren't seeking the Savior?

Brett is funny

2010-11-02T21:35:00.000-07:00

I haven't cleaned out the pantry since before our road trip. Brett came in the school room holding the package of rolls. He tossed the package on the floor and as he was running to the bathroom he said, "what kind of bread did you buy??" He was gagging!

I knew how old that package was and started laughing......

I found him in the bathroom cleaning his mouth!

He didn't turn the kitchen light on and just starting eating away on one of these rolls....I found a big bite taken out of the roll in the trashcan.....too funny and sooooo gross!

intentional...that word again

2010-10-29T13:46:00.001-07:00

Read this great post about goals.

Great ideas for the weekend

2010-10-27T18:19:00.000-07:00

I'm game....check it out....

The Five Scariest Things you Can do this Weekend

Road Trip

2010-10-22T07:32:00.000-07:00

I started adding pictures from our road trip and reailzed there are way too many and that it would take forever...so..here are a few for now....

Kids on Ohio River...they might be a little crazy!

At the Creation Museum...Kate isn't fond of dinos.

Parker loves museums and reads almost everything!

Gardens at Creation Museum

Mimi...it was a fun trip!

It's not a big deal....

2010-10-05T15:01:00.000-07:00

It's that season again when I want to decorate my porch with pumpkins and mums and wishing that Texas actually had seasons. It's hard to find a plastic pumpkin that isn't a jack-o-lantern but I'm over it.

The kids have told me that they told a friend that halloween is celebrated as Satan's day. Geez....seriously? I started thinking about this and thought maybe I should call the parents then decided that I wouldn't have anything to say...no apologies.....my kids will probably be "that kid" that tells everyone Santa isn't real...but...he isn't so oh well, right? Politically correct...it's a funny term.

I've been praying for discernment and that the Lord will give me timely words, that I would speak as if speaking the very words of God...that's what His Word tells us to speak like, ya know. I've also been praying for boldness and unapologetically standing on Truth. Lately I've been avoiding the conversations about "what are your kids going to be for halloween?" Why? I'm not sure except that is it one of those areas that are soap boxes that could divide and there's no sense in it....hhmm?

I've been reading God's Word and searching out what I can claim as Truth and not Jennifer's opinion. I never want to add or take away from Scripture. I think that the Christian culture believes lies and that things are not that big of a deal, it's all for fun, it's for the kids, etc etc. I also think that it's Satan's way of desensitizing us to his plans and evil ways and we completely fall for it if we aren't soaking ourselves in His Word so we can discern His good, pleasing and perfect will.

So...what's my response to halloween? Well, to keep it as short and possible and get my point across about what my conviction is...and not to condemn or pass judgment but just to give you some food for thought....

Let's start with the description of Eli's sons in 1 Samuel 2:12. They were described as wicked men because they had no regard for the Lord.

Wicked, really? Wicked. That's such a strong word. Scripture also says that the Lord was provoked to anger because the Israelites did wicked things such as burn incense and put up Asherah Poles...what's the big deal? That's the old testament...

Proverbs 4:14&15 speaks specifically to us when it instructs us...do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evil men. AVOID IT, do not travel on it, turn from it and go on your way.

Instead of chewing on the fact that we might be under that label of being wicked if we acknowledge evil or witchcraft, we put it on the back burner of our hearts and pass it off as "just fun for the kids...no harm done!"

Deut. 18:9-13
When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritists or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the Lord your God.

Wow. This is a perfect description of halloween (in my opinion which may be a little skewed since I'm trying my best see things as the Lord sees them.)

I don't pass judgment on those of you who do halloween but I will venture out and ask you to pray over your family's decision based on what God's Word speaks to us.

The thought of "to much is given, much is required" speaks volumes to my heart. For me to acknowledge halloween by partaking in all of the "fun for the kids" would be in complete disobedience because the Lord has put this strong conviction in my heart. I pray that your heart will be softened as you seek God's plan for your family this fall season.

sweet as honey

2010-10-03T13:43:00.000-07:00

The Kindle children, for some reason or another, have come to think they can talk down to each other. Yes, by the world's standards..most people probably wouldn't even realize what I'm talking about because "they're just kids and kids will be kids"...I don't buy into all those lies. They are just kids but two of them have asked Jesus into their hearts and one of them should know better and should've learned from all of his "come to Jesus meetings!"

I've stayed up late lately reading God's Word and seeking His wisdom in how to deal with this issue becuase it has been a burden for me lately. Psalm 107:6 is a promise to me that if I cry out to the LORD in my trouble, then he will deliver me from my distress.

I couldn't fall asleep last night and as I was thinking about grace, mercy and showing these to my children...planting seeds of righteousness, showing them a better way, etc....I realized that I react to their sin in a way that doesn't please the Lord either. How am I to show them a better way and teach them through my actions if I respond in an unrighteous manner when I'm training them. Ugghh...but, God is a God of hope so I prayed for creativity and the Lord brought to mind what I use to do with Parker a long time ago when he dabbled in name calling. Balsalmic Vinegar! I wasn't quite sure if that reminder was from the Lord because I never was certain about whether it was a good idea or not so...I went to sleep!

It is not natural to consider others better than ourselves. It so clear in even young children that we are selfish sinners focused on ourselves and our wants. As I was putting (another) load of clothes into the washer, the boys were sorting their dirty laundry but not without nasty words about who was doing more work, blah blah....my blood wasn't boiling but it was warming up and I decided I would submit to the Holy Spirit and choose to make this a learning activity, "what, Lord...give me something quick before the teachable moment passes..." Balsalmic Vinegar! We didn't have any which was great because the Lord brought to my mind how sweet vanilla smells but it's a horrible thing to have in your mouth. Thank you, Jesus. I'm always saying that we should have words as sweet as honey so....honey and vanilla...."boys, come here please!!!"

I held the treats before them and we all recited "kind words are like honey - sweet to the soul and healthy to the body" and then I went on to tell them how unhappy it makes me for them to talk to each other with nasty mouths and from now on until we can learn to use words that are as sweet as honey, we will get a taste of this sweet vanilla every time our mouth is nasty.

Parker and Crew got to taste the vanilla and then they, along with Brett, smelled it. Crew said, "it smells good but tastes nasty!" My reply, "Yes, Crew...just like you, you look cute on the outside but your mouth is nasty and your words are nasty. From the outside looking in, we would think you are sweet but those words were not sweet were they?" Brett piped it with, "my words were sweet like honey" And, they were so he got a lick of the sweet honey and I explained to them that honey looks yummy, smells yummy and even tastes yummy and that's how we want to be. We want to look good on the outside, we want our hearts all pretty on the inside and the words out of our mouths should be nice and sweet like honey.

Either my children will be quick learners or they may be drunk on vanilla....only time will tell.

loving to read

2010-09-29T20:20:00.000-07:00

The boys and I are reading through The Chronicles of Narnia and they are beside themselves with excitement. Mimi is reading along as well so they can discuss it together so it's quite exciting to see how they anticipate our readings together. Tonight I read for two solid hours and Parker and Brett both just sat there captivated. They weren't playing with toys, no drawing or messing around: complete, undivided attention, they hung on every word.

After the little adventure seekers were put to bed, Brandon and I talked about the key ingredient to instilling a love for reading into the lives of children, especially our boys.....adventure. Regardless of personality differences, likes and dislikes...it's born into these boys of mine to love adventure, to desire to be warriors and to seek to be brave young men.

Ironically enough, Sally Clarkson's blog today was about boys and reading...check it out!

When I finished the two hour reading, Parker wanted me to start the next book....I thought about how much of "my" reading I could accomplish in two hours. How much I would miss if I was concerned about "my" books and what I wanted to get read. What a joy to journey on an adventure with these boys of mine.

I do declare

2010-09-28T22:08:00.000-07:00

It's been 12 whole days since I last blogged....hhhmmm.

long time no pics

2010-09-17T13:47:00.000-07:00

Here's for you, Trisha...I haven't ever posted pictures of Decker. Yes, he is cute but I'm not attached. I do remember to feed him and we play with him...kids daily...me, often! Decker loves the cat, Landry. He likes to walk on top of her and chew her ear...she spends most of her days sleeping under the grill....did I mention they are both outside animals now! Landry wasn't too happy with the idea but I think she's gotten use to it.

We have been studying bones and how useful they are....along with the creativity of our Lord to design them in a way to repair themselves, etc. etc.....we made people out of clay and tried standing them up but they wouldn't hold their form. So, we put toothpicks into them to act as bones and waaaalaaaah....from right to left: Brett's, Momma's, Parker's.

The boys have made up what they call "Super Brothers" where they fight lava monsters. You can see that they get very creative; Crew has mittens on his feet. Brett said that there are different levels and they killed all the lava monsters so now they have become the Lost Boys and are fighting ice creatures such as panda bears and "stuff like that." (He is loving reading Peter Pan with his Mimi.) They are warriors at heart and Crew is always quoting the mouse on Prince Caspian saying, "you people have no imagination" then he jabs with his imaginary sword. I love these boys and I love how God created them to be protectors and strong warriors ready for battle at a moments notice.

Warriors they are...but they can still be silly. See what happens when you leave accessories around.

I had to give him all of my money to be able to take this picture!

We are definitely out-numbered when it comes to warriors vs. princesses but this one girl and all her princessness makes it pretty even. She is a hoot and we love her too. I'm glad that God created her with a sweet, motherly spirit even at two...so delicate of a heart.....I'm praying for her to have friends that are passionate about Jesus, friends that will lead her on in becoming a young lady after God's own heart.

Lamber Reunion

2010-09-11T19:49:00.000-07:00

Today we gathered at my G-parent's house for the Lambert Reunion. Here's a picture of my Nana and Papa with their family (minus a few)....

It was a fun day with swimming for the kiddos, great food and visiting cousins that my mom, aunt and uncle grew up with....you know...all that family reunion jazz where immediate family members that don't know anyone else seems to stay in their own little cliques! I will talk to a tree and I know all of Nana's sisters and most of their kiddos so I actually enjoyed myself.

Here's my Nana with her sisters and their nephew they are so proud of. Miranda is on the road so we weren't graced with her presence but...who can blame her....Italy or family reunion? Hhhmmm....love my fam but I would vote Italy.

There were nine Lambert children. My great grandfather passed before I was born and my g.g.mother passed a few weeks before my first birthday. Memories of them are only from stories and pictures. The four Lambert brothers have passed as well but the sisters keep on truckin' along. Ranging from 70 to 90 years in age....I'm thankful to know each of them and I'm blessed to have been able to sit in on many a conversation over lunch with the sisters. I will admit that my Nana is the cream of the crop but all of these sweet ladies are cute. Rick adds some spice to the picture I suppose.

Hope you all have had a blessed weekend.

Date with B-Rett!

2010-09-09T21:36:00.000-07:00

I adore my children and the time I get to spend with all of them. Their unique personalities point to a very creative Creator and I so enjoy my date nights.

Date nights have been few and far between with tball taking up the end of Spring and Summer being Summer but we picked them back up tonight. Brett and I were first on the calendar so we headed to Dairy Queen for a blizzard.

Background info: Brett is a natural athlete and we allowed him to play baseball this summer but I don't feel like that is the best use of our family time and we struggle with the fact that He is naturally athletic and we don't want to miss out on organized sports if that's God's way of using Brett in a mighty way...yes, he is only six but we think like that! I believe every family decision should be taken to the Lord in prayer and just because everyone and their dog plays summer ball doesn't mean that the Lord's blessing is on that so......

I told Brett I would take him on a beach vacation next summer if he wouldn't play...yeah, keep your thoughts to yourself! He said I could take him anywhere in the world and he would still rather play baseball his entire life. I gave him a few more heads up on games being longer, practices being longer, cousins may not always be on the same team, etc etc so he pondered deeply for a moment before he belted out, "FINE...I won't play if you give me a hundred dollars and leave Parker, Crew and Kate with Mimi and take me to Marbles (he meant Marble Slab!)" I immediately said, "it's a deal baby!"

A day or so went by and I was convicted over the entire situation and I made a deal with Brett. We decided that our entire family would pray about the baseball situation all year and that we would trust the Lord to show us what we should do.

BACK TO DATE NIGHT....
Brett ordered a double fudge cookie dough blizzard and went to town. The kid is absolutely hilarious. He ate as if he hadn't seen food in days and when he finally took a break, he stuff his spoon into the chocolate yumminess, leaned back in the booth with his eyes closed, chewed with over exaggeration and simply stated, "this is awesome, it's my best ever!" I could only laugh and tell him how much I love him.

As he started slowing down I asked if he had thought about tball anymore and if he had been praying about it. He looked up and said, "I prayed about it in the car on the way here." Really. I was shocked. I didn't respond just yet, we had to play muscial booths before we could find one that wasn't freezing. After about five different spots, we decided on the bench outside. I opened up discussion again with, "so, you prayed about tball, huh? I've been praying about it too. What did you pray?"

My adorable, soft-hearted, spirited little six year old melted my heart, "I told the Lord that I know He knows more than me so if he wants me to play then I will play and if he doesn't want me to play then I won't play." Awwwh.....the Lord is indeed watering those seeds.....

I would miss so much if I wasn't talking about things when we walked along the road, when we sit at home, when we lie down and get up...when we eat blizzards....