Holy cheeks

What a chunker!

Paysie has now met AP

To stay in form with her brothers, Paysie went to her first Andrew Peterson concert. He is currently doing a cd release tour for his newest cd, Resurrection Letters! It is a great cd, and I recommend it to everyone.

It seems like each time we meet up, I have had a new child. That's just the way it goes, I guess!

The first concert I ever went to, I was newly pregnant with Gideon.

While I was pregnant with Haddon, we went to the Ryman for his Christmas show. BTW, if you've never seen his Christmas show, GO SEE IT! It is amazing! It is so not your ordinary Christmas music. I also saw him a couple months after that.

Then, we helped our church have him come for a concert, when Haddon was a baby. And later that year, had him come to our church for his Christmas tour.

Fast forward several months, I was pregnant and a couple months from my due date with Jamison, when we helped him come to town, yet again! And saw him again for his Christmas tour in Greenville, SC or NC...I can't remember...when Jamison was a week old!

And finally, Paysie met the great AP last night. It all comes around full circle. Though I can't say that, the next time I see him, that I'll have a new baby with me. I'm thinking probably not!

If you've read this far, good for you. If you were able to follow the above ramble...great, lol.


And CONGRATS to Ben Shive who just welcomed baby #4!!

Children's Catechism...

I recently posted about a new cd that answers the first 21 questions of the children's cathechism.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I love this cd! It is great, and the kids love it....and it's not cheesy (like a lot of Christian kid's music).

Here are the kids in the car this morning, singing the first song.

They were being silly and if you can't understand what they are saying...here it is:

Who made you? God did!
What else did God make? God made all things!
Why did God make you and all things? For His own glory!

repeat, lol

Earth Fare 2008

My kids have a new favorite store. They really enjoyed Sam's Club for awhile...but the food samples seem to have dwindled down.

Today, we made our first trip to Earth Fare, that just opened up a couple of days ago. Gideon was in cheese heaven. Nolan was in steak heaven. Haddon was in peach pie heaven. Jamison wasn't picky about anything and gobbled everything down he could get his hands on.

My boys even ate smoked salmon and rainbow trout. Now, you know they would never eat that if I tried to serve it here at home!

The selection of organic food was great. I didn't get any, since right now, we have plenty of food and fruit at home. But in the future...I will be getting all my fruits and veggies there....it's actually cheaper than at the regular grocery store :)

I did walk away with a couple giant pumpkins and 2 pots of purple mums for the front door. Nolan wants to chop the pumpkins open so we can make faces in them, but I think we'll wait!

Mohler responds to the Robert George article

The Abortion Question and the Future

True Woman Manifesto

Please read and join in by signing!

I regard the True Woman Manifesto as a faithful, clear, true, wise—indeed—magnificent document. What an amazing thing it would be if hundreds of thousands of women in America signed on with their heart to the True Woman Manifesto.

—Pastor John Piper

If you see biblical womanhood as a gift from God, and agree with the True Woman Manifesto, sign it by filling out the form below. We are believing God for 100,000 people like you to join this movement!

True Woman Manifesto

Obama's Abortion Extremism

I urge you to read this article. It is unfathomable the amount of influence Obama will have over the unborn if he is elected. It is amazing to me how many Christians and young evangelicals can simply overlook the facts when it comes to Obama's feelings toward the unborn. Why are people willing to say that the abortion issue is just a side issue in this election?

Obama's Abortion Extremism by Robert George

Downtown Chicago

Entering the city...

A building...oooh, aaah!

Some water and some boats....ooooooooh, aaaaaaaaaah!

Erin, Paysie and I, in front of the giant silver bean....

A class at the outside symphony place....

Erin in front of this cool water/brick/fountain thing...
This is my friend Teresa. I'm thinking Melanie might recognize her....
I heard that these lions had Bears football helmets on them when they made it to the Superbowl...she's up higher than she looks!

Who knew that out of the three of us, no one would like olives? This is what was left of our bruschetta....yum!
Although, Teresa knew just what to do with the olives!
You can't go to Chicago and not get a stuffed pizza!!! Sooooo good! (in case you were wondering...we got broccoli, green pepper, and fresh tomato)
Our very own Vanna!

Erin is happy she doesn't live in Chicago....between the cheesecake and the pizza....oy!

We had so much fun...thanks to Teresa, our tour guide! I don't think I would have been able to manuever through the traffic!

A few odds and ends....

Here's the mall we went to...talk about confusing! See all those walk ways?

Here's Erin at the Lego store...Hi Mark!

Paysie loves her Auntie Erin....

So pretty....dressed up for the last morning of the conference.

Check out this pimped up car at our hotel, lol.

Is this not a weird coffee pot? See the spout? Pure craziness!

True Woman 2008: My Experience

This past February, I invited my sister, Erin, to attend the True Woman Conference with me. She gladly accepted the invite...and that was only the beginning.

The night before I left for the conference (last Wednesday), John took a trip to Sam's Club, in preparation for my absence. He came home with:

I suppose this is what happens when the woman of the house leaves for a few days!

Thursday morning brought with it a drive to Asheville, NC...to get to a flight that was delayed. I wasn't even able to enjoy the scenery since it was still dark out.

We checked in, went through security and settled in. I took several trips to the bathroom with the girl. She is an expert pooper and isn't shy about it. In the bathroom there was something I'd never seen before:

Interesting, huh?

One layover in Detroit, and we landed in Chicago. I called Erin who was waiting for me. She watched the elevator with anticipation. Unfortunately, she was watching the wrong elevator. I walked toward her, still chatting on the phone. I told her I could see her, yet she wasn't looking in the right place. Finally, when I was almost within arm's length...she spotted us! It didn't take long for her to snatch Paysie out of the stroller and love on her.

We were shuttled to Hertz by a Chris Rock lookalike. Erin was convinced! After waiting in line, I met a woman who was also going to the conference. The Hertz lady asked us about the conference and then added...'So that's why everyone has been so nice today!' That's always nice to hear whenever a large group of Christians are communing. We picked up a cute little Hyundai Santa Fe, and we were off!

After checking into our hotel, we left for the Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center.

The excitement was building. It was also easy to see the cars and vans heading to the conference...there were women everywhere!

Our ticket in was a hot pink True Women bracelet. Go pink :) I still haven't taken mine off. It's a great reminder to me to apply what I heard this past weekend to my day.

The amount of seats was overwhelming. 6200+ to be exact! There was a trifold screen up front, along with four other giant screens hung throughout the auditorium.

On each seat, there was a tote bag. Inside the bag was a kneeler, informational booklets, Piper and Grudem's book on Biblical womanhood, tissues, a handkerchief, a name tag, pen, marker, etc. The name tag was blank and you were to fill it in yourself.

When Erin started to fill hers in, she asked me why hers didn't look like mine. Um, she forgot to take tag out of the plastic holder first. We both had a good laugh, lol.

We saved our seats:

and went to check out the displays and bookstore that was next door.

We settled in our seats and Keith and Kristyn Getty began leading us in music and worship.

John Piper was the keynote speaker and really laid the groundwork for each message that followed with the topic of The Ultimate Meaning of True Womanhood. To sum it up in his thesis statement...Wimpy theology creates wimpy women.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss followed with an exposition of the doxology. Wow.

When the speakers were done, we closed in song, and exited the building.

Houston, we have a problem.

Where was our car??? Seriously, we couldn't remember where we parked. It's amazing how different everything looks in the dark. We wandered around for close to 45 minutes. We went up the aisles of cars. We went down the aisles of cars. Paysie fell asleep...which was good, otherwise we would have had to deal with a crying baby while stuck in the traffic of people leaving.

I think it was close to an hour of searching, until we found it.

It wasn't where we thought it was. Go figure.

We were so exhausted and hadn't had anything for dinner. We weren't up to stopping anywhere, so we were going to order in or get room service or something. Our hotel didn't have room service though. We went to sleep hungry. We were really too tired to care.

Erin had never been to Panera Bread, so I decided to introduce her to their orange scones.

Believe me when I say that it wasn't our last of this trip.

Mary Kassian was the first speaker of the day. She has written several books, one titled The Feminine Mistake. I will get this book! She went through the history of feminism and what women's true calling should be. After some more music, Karen Loritts came next. You can read Challies live blog of the morning here.

Ever see what lunch would be like for over 6,000 people?

Yep, crazy!

Unfortunately, Joni couldn't attend due some serious pain issues she's been having. Please pray for her. She did tape her message this past week, but won't be leading one of the break-out sessions. Nancy did one instead, titled 'Devotions: Duty or Delight'. We went to that one.

For the second session, we attended Intentional Motherhood. Excellent...and the speaker is mom to 8...so she definitely knows what she's talking about.

You'll be able to hear most of these messages online soon!

We broke for dinner and decided to go to The Cheesecake Factory. We were very rushed, but dinner was sooo good. Best cheesecake ever...which I ate later. Yum!

While we were waiting for our table, we went to the mall:

Janet Parshall was next. She was great...speaking about Hannah. Joni's prerecorded message was played. She is such an inspiration. She just exudes joy...even in her daily suffering. Live-blogging here.

The next morning, brought a panel of the break-out speakers. Moderated by a man...we hadn't seen too many of them around those parts.

Nancy Leigh Demoss followed that with a message about what we are to do with what we have learned this weekend. That this really isn't just an event...but the beginning of a movement. Really excellent!

The reading of the True Woman Manifesto came next. Wow. I had read through it, since we received copies the day before...but hearing it read aloud and taking the oath, brought tears to lots of eyes.

You can listen or watch each of the messages here.

I've gone to many conferences and always recommend that anyone reading this to watch and listen. The True Woman conference is no different...but in a way it is. If you are a mom of young kids, single, childless, young, old, even if you are a man....I think there is a sense of urgency to get our churches back to Biblical Womanhood. Please please please...watch, learn, and listen.

And just so you can know what it's like to have gone to this conference...

Yeah, we were pooped...but still had enough energy to spend a night on the town in Chicago....coming soon...

"You can milk just about anything with nipples"

A little hello

A few morsels of information and a few prayer requests!

*I leave in the morning (with Paysie) to fly into Chicago for the True Woman conference :) Pray that our hearts are receptive to what we hear.

*Yesterday, John got in an accident. Thankfully no one was hurt! He was rear-ended, and we are planning on his car being totalled. He currently has a loaner for their insurance company. Please pray that we are able to find a good dependable car...quickly!

*Paysie has been pooping through her clothing on a daily basis. Let's hope she doesn't do this during our flights tomorrow.

*Tonight, the kids are going on a 'field trip' with their Wednesday night class from church. They are in a program called Sing to the King...and are going out singing tonight!

*I am bringing Jamison to the Pediatrician this afternoon. For the past couple of days, he has been fine in the morning, but wakes up from his nap with a fever over 102 and has been fussy throughout the night and let's add diarrhea to the mix! I'm thinking it's his ears.

*Pray for John. He'll be taking care of the boys while I'm gone...and working tomorrow and Friday on top of that. Pray for well behaved boys that listen to their daddy!

Until Sunday...I'm signing off!!

Old-Fashioned Orange Layer Cake

Old-Fashioned Orange Layer Cake

Cake:

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

5 eggs, at room temperature

1 tablespoon grated orange rind

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

2 1/2 cups self-rising flour

1 cup 2 % reduced-fat milk

Icing:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 tablespoon grated orange rind

1/3 cup fresh orange juice

1 (1-pound) package confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.

To prepare cake, combine sugar and butter; cream with a mixer at medium-high speed. Add eggs and orange rind; blend well. Reduce speed to low and beat in orange juice. Add flour alternately with milk; beat well. Pour into pans. Bake 22 to 25 minutes, until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans 15 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

To prepare icing, combine butter, orange rind, orange juice and half of the confectioners' sugar. Using a mixer at low speed, beat until well blended. Gradually add remaining sugar; beat until smooth. Spread about 3/4 cup icing on top of one layer. Place second layer on top. Spread remaining icing in a thin layer over top and sides. Serves 20.

This picture and recipe are from Cherry Hill Cottage

Okay, finally some smiles

It's not that she hasn't been smiling, it's that I just haven't had my camera around when the smiles are in abundance!

They always find a way to lose

and this year will be no different...but I saw this on Justin Taylor's blog and had to give a little shout to my brother-in-law who is a big Cubs fan.

Paysie and her big brothers

The boys wanted to hold her....oh what a difference (almost) 7 weeks makes.

In these pictures, I think she actually looks a little like my baby pictures!

A day at the apple festival

Today, I took Nolan, Gideon, Haddon and Paysie to a local festival. I left Jamison home with John because I knew he wouldn't enjoy being stuck in a stroller for a few hours. I knew he would get ornery, and he would start poking Paysie in the eyes in the side by side jogging stroller.

John stayed home to do some minor gardening (or so he thought). John's dad ripped out our bushes that were way too overgrown, and we are now replacing them with something a bit more tame and pretty. Who would have thought that cleaning out some old roots, leveling some dirt, and planting new bushes would turn into all day affair???

Anyway, back to the Apple Festival!

My boys did great, holding on, eating their kettle corn and whatever other treat they could get...while I pushed a sleeping Paysie in a tank of a stroller, through a street mobbed with so many people, that oftentimes we were at a stand still.

The kids didn't complain and were thrilled when I let them pick out one amusement to go on. They chose some sort of bounce house, of course!

We ate lunch at Sonic, and they were so excited. They've never eaten real food there before and kept thanking me over and over again for my great idea!

Here they are eating fudge filled mini-ice cream cones:

And what Paysie-girl looked like for the majority of the festival:


And sweet little Jamison has no idea what he missed!

About the Desiring God Conference

It was great. So nice to relax and catch up with old friends!

Paysie did great on the plane! She ate and slept the whole time. She really is a great little baby hardly ever making a peep!

On Friday, we were able to go to Stillwater, MN where there is an old church that has been transformed into the largest theology bookstore in the United States. (I think that's right) It was a bit overwhelming, to say the least!

John had told me that Stillwater reminded him a lot of the small towns in Maine, and I felt the same way. The streets are lined with cute little stores and businesses that are one-of-a-kind...thriving on tourists. It's right on the water, and we had a lovely afternoon...eating outside, good food, good company, the news crews being present because the drawbridge was stuck, the incessant bell-ringing...did I mention the bell-ringing? It wasn't too bad unless you had trouble ignoring it!

Now, Paysie was awake for the better part of the day and decided that she would take cat naps instead of her usual 2-3 hour naps. We registered for the conference around 6ish, and she was awake. What I heard from Sinclair Ferguson was really good, but because I spent most of it walking around the back with a baby, I'm sure I missed a bunch!

All of her non-sleeping paid off, because that night, she slept almost 9 hours straight! If it weren't for a dirty diaper, I'm sure she would have slept longer!

Needless to say, Saturday was filled to the brim with information...Bob Kaulfin, Mark Driscoll, Dan Taylor and Paul Tripp. Wow. I was able to sit through most of it all too, because Paysie was sooo tuckered out, she slept the day away, eating inbetween naps.

The next morning, she slept through Piper's talk...though I'm sure she was receiving all that he was saying.

That afternoon, I walked around the city with my girl. And we finished off that Sunday with a trip to the Melting Pot. Yum! All I can say is that it's a good thing there isn't a Melting Pot in Johnson City!!

We headed over to the mall on Monday and got to the airport, ate, and reached our gate just in time for take off.

Such a relaxing trip...though it was a hectic schedule! I am looking forward to doing it again this week :)

We did really good not buying too many books. This is the first time that we didn't have to buy an extra suitcase. My books-to-read list is long enough as it is!

A highlight of the trip was meeting Noel Piper :)

and meeting up with Carolyn McCulley again. She was happy to meet Paysie and was signing her new book titled Radical Womanhood. I've already read it and HIGHLY recommend it to all the women I know!

Next year's conference is going to be great! It's on John Calvin...and I can't wait to hear who the speakers are going to be!!

If you've never gone to a DG conference...I urge you to start saving now to attend next year!

I'm a bad blogger

I don't want to turn into one of those people who have a blog yet never blog. I'm sure it has to do with the fact that I am trying to get my house in some sort of order before I go out of town again in a week!

Who would have thought that having five children, six and under...plus homeschooling and my other duties, would ever keep me from blogging on a daily basis???

Anyway, here are a couple new pictures of the girl. She's getting big, I tell ya! I need to work harder to get her smiles captured!



(her shirt says: I was worth the wait)