Happy Father's Day!

We had such a great Father's Day! We started off the day at church. Shawn, his dad, and my dad all sang for the "Real Men Worship" during our praise time at KCC. It was so cool to see them all singing together and there were 130 men up there! I love hearing men sing. It is so strong and powerful.
After that we all went to Olive Garden for lunch. All 15 of us! It was a great time and the girls did really well eating out in public. For those of you with kids, you understand!
Most everyone came back to our house for the rest of the day. The weather was gorgeous so we sat outside and let the kids play on our swingset.
Shawn wanted to grill for dinner so we had a potluck of sorts and had a great time.
I think this was the first time we have had a bbq at our house! It was so nice to have most everyone together. Those times are few and far between!

I am thanking the Lord for the Shawn and what a great daddy he is. I know he has learned many things from his dad and my dad so it is encouraging to have a legacy that has been passed down. We are so blessed to have both of our dad's be a part of our lives. They even get along togther too!
One of the things I love most about Shawn is his constant giving of himself to all of us. He is always willing to serve and loves us the way we are! I know our girls will have a constant, stable source of love and encouragement from their daddy!

Misunderstood

Does anyone often feel misunderstood? I have had many instances these past few weeks where people have assumed things about me that are not true. Frankly, it hurts and I don't know quite what to do about it. Am I way off in the way I see myself or the way the Lord sees me?
I think part of it is that people make assumptions without actually talking to the person first. They think they know what you're thinking or feeling and then base their feelings and reactions off of that. I have no clue how anyone can know what someone else is thinking without talking to the them first.
The verse in Philippians 4 comes to mind a lot. I really try to remember this when I have to talk with someone.
"Finally brothers, whatever is TRUE, whatever is NOBLE, whatever is RIGHT, whatever is PURE, whatever is LOVELY, whatever is admirable-- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy---think about such things."
I do know that if you have a relationship with someone, you know their heart. You know that if they do say something that rubs you the wrong way, that might hurt you, you would first go to them. Because deep down you would know that how it came across might not be what they wanted to convey. GO TO THE SOURCE!
One of the things I can't stand about other christians is that they say one thing to your face and then behind your back they say another. Where is the integrity and truth in that?

I admit, I am feeling very vulnerable right now. I don't even know what to say to people because I feel like they are going to take it wrong anyway. They are going to come up with their own interpretation of it and not find the truth. I don't have ulterior motives when I talk to people. I am who you see. There is nothing hidden!
No one is perfect. No one ALWAYS reacts the way they should. Believe me, being a parent really opens my eyes to the MANY times I mess up every day.
I have to believe that the Lord uses us anyway. That He loves us the way we are. That He is constantly molding us into His image if we let Him.

I wish I could be completely unselfish. I wish I could give more of my time and energy to everyone else. I wish the whole world could be like that. But, because of sin, it's not. We have to try and live our life through the Holy Spirit. We have to be open to where He wants to lead us.

Sometimes I wish I lived on a desert island. Then there would be no hurt or confrontation or assumptions. But that is not possible so we have to learn how to deal with it in a loving,
God-honoring way.

My heart is heavy but I pray that through this we will see God working in mighty ways.

Summertime Goals:)

Shawn is finally done with school! He was officially done May 30th, but he subbed for Brad at Vanguard for a week. We were so thankful for that!
Here are a few of our goals this summer!

1. Continue working on the yard. We have ALOT of work to do but it is starting to look really nice.
2. Re-do the downstairs bathroom before the baby comes.
3. Transition Eliza into a twin bed and put the girls in the same room (NOT looking forward to this one!)
4. Try not to be extremely anal about all the nesting I'm starting to do.
5. Get ready for our VACATION! Yes, we can actually say we are going on VACATION! I am SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!
6. Try and spend as much time with our families and friends as possible.
7. Organize our toy store and get rid of toys that have been gathering dust.:)
8. Look forward to finding out what our baby is!
9. Get Adrianna ready for preschool.
10. Become better prayer warriors!
11. Continue teaching piano lessons
12. Shawn turns 30!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
13. Continue planning and organizing the CARE team for our ABC kick off in the fall. (with Amber and Sarah D.'s help!)
14. Finish Eliza's baby book and 1st year book.
15. Finish 2006 scrapbook and start 2007.

That's all I can think of for now, but I'm sure more will come up!
I would love to know some of your goals for the summer!

Usually it is a difficult transition to have Shawn home for the summer. Granted he still has some responsibilities at school and with marching band, but he is definitely home more. Marching Band actually starts July 8th! This year it has been so great! This has actually been the most easy transition I can remember. I'm not sure why! Maybe because I'm pregnant and it is nice to have help during the day! The girls are loving it and selfishly I can get more work done!
Thank the Lord for my dear husband who has a job he loves and also allows him to be home a little more in the summer!

Bandana Girls

Can we say "ornery"!:)










"Cheese"!

Yummy!

I have always wanted to do this! We were all sharing a Berry Swirl Milkshake from Arby's!
Yummy!

Smiles:)

It's off to Preschool!

Well, it's official! Adrianna is signed up for preschool! It was just a matter of turning in some paperwork and paying a deposit, but I still got a little teary! We decided to do 3 days mainly because we think Adrianna will LOVE it! She is so busy and will enjoy all the things she gets to do. I even get to buy her a backpack!
She is growing up so fast, I wish I could hold on to her forever, but I can't. This is the next step in our lives that we have to take, as sad as it might be! I know she will get a great christian education at our church and she is familiar with it already. I think she will be less apt to scream and cling to me since she knows what to expect. We can only pray...:)
I am looking forward to spending some time with just Eliza while Adrianna is at school. We won't ever have that time again!
So we trust that God will be with us each new step of our journey and look forward to the exciting things He has for us!