Jenna Rocks!!

The elementary school where Joy and Jenna go to school has an assembly every Friday called Rucker Rocks! Each week, the kids who've had birthdays that week, get to come up on stage and dance in front of the entire school. Well, today was that day for Jenna. I wasn't sure what she would do when she got on stage in front of her entire school, but I knew that at least she would have Joy's best friend, Kensey, up there with her because they have the same birthday.

Here are Jenna and Kensey when they got up on stage (sorry, it's a little blurry.)



Well...then the music started and Jenna wasted NO time!! My sweet, adorable baby girl can really GET DOWN!!! My jaw hit the floor (and I think Kensey's did, too!)





When I saw what she was doing, I immediately switched my camera to video because, seriously, who wouldn't want to watch that over and over again! Well, she only did the get down on one hand and spin around thing once so I missed it with the video, but here is the rest of her birthday "dance".

Happy 6th Birthday, Jenna!!

Today, our baby turned 6 years old! I was so sad this morning when she had to use TWO hands to show us!! How did we already get to two hands?? I wish I could dig up digital pictures all the way back 6 years ago, but unfortunately, Jenna was already a year and a half when we finally bought a digital camera. So here is a look back at her from age 2 to today.

Age 2



Age 3



Age 4



Age 5 (I love this picture, she fell asleep in my bedroom floor on top of her new book.)



And...here is our sweet baby, Jenna, TODAY!!





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BONUS POST!!!!

Okay, for all of you gazillion people who have been asking to see a picture of my new hair which is really just a shorter version of my old hair...have a good laugh at me on not one, but TWO different occasions trying to do a photoshoot of my hair by myself. AND...I'm not really liking it all that much so I have another appointment to get it cut again next week! Go ahead and laugh your heads off...I know I'm not photogenic and these pics prove it!!! :)

A pencil and paper and a sprinkle of Jenna's imagination

Jenna loves to draw, color, cut, glue...just create in general. Not a single day ever goes by that she doesn't create something. She is ALWAYS on mission looking for paper...any paper...doesn't matter. Today, she was all cozied up in the big round comfy chair with a sketch pad and a pencil. I glanced over at her from time to time to just see what she was up to because she was hard at work doing something. Most of the time when a child is quiet for a long time, you suspect they are up to something...not Jenna. When she is quiet for very long periods of time, she is busy creating. Today, she made wings. She even drew strips to cut out and attach so that she could wear the wings. Here is my sweet little bird!

Chris Tomlin Concert

What can I possibly say??? WOW!!! John and I went to Chris Tomlin's concert last night for my birthday. IT WAS AMAZING!!!! Our seats were on the 11th row so he was like RIGHT THERE!!! I have to admit that I had to keep from swooning because...well...John was right there, too. But seriously, he was so close, I would swear he looked at me a couple of times!

The concert was PHENOMINAL!!! Israel Houghton and New Breed opened up, and they were really good, too. I knew this concert was going to be good because I have heard many people talk about how amazing the worship is at Chris Tomlin concerts, but really, I had no idea. I wish that I could put into words what it felt like, but I just fall so short. The Holy Spirit was so strong and real in that place and to join with so many thousands of people in worship was absolutely incredible. I never wanted it to be over! I could have stayed there all night singing and worshiping my God. I wish every single one of you could have been there with me...all five of you need to go with me next time!!! As long as it is in my power, I will never miss another Chris Tomlin concert! I have a pic to share with you, but it isn't very good since it was taken with John's phone, and I also have a couple of video clips, but we can't seem to get them to work yet so you will have to wait for those. Here's the pic.



Here is a short video clip that I found on youtube. It is from his concert in Denver just a couple of weeks ago. It is my favorite song, and apparantly Chris' as well! :) I hope you get just a tiny little taste of what last night was like (and we were really that close, too!)

Counting my birthday blessings

I am 35 today. I've really been dreading it for a few weeks now. I don't know why, I just didn't want to be 35 years old. People who are 35 are grown up with lots of kids and resposibilities and stuff...oh wait...that's ME!

SO...as I woke up this morning, I decided that since I couldn't change things, they are what they are, I am indeed 35 years old; I was going to get all the kids and John off to school and work, and curl up in my favorite big, round chair and spend completely unhurried, untimed, unagendad (I know it's not a word, but work with me here) time with God. I was desperate for His presence, for His peace, for His love. He didn't stand me up, He showed up just like the faithful Daddy that He is. I love Him in this moment more than I know how to put into words. I love Him because He has loved me and loved me well.

God didn't show up today empty handed on my birthday, either, because you see, He loves to give good gifts. My birthday gift from God today was like a video of sorts reminding me of 35 years of blessings, 35 years of God's faithfulness in my life, 35 years of walking in His goodness, 35 years of getting to know Him more and more. You see, I gave my life to Him when I was eight years old, but I still believe that as a child, He was with me even before that night when I acknowledged how much I needed and wanted Him in my life.

My life has not been picture perfect by any stretch of the imagination. I can even remember a very Godly woman asking me when I was still a teenager if I ever felt like Job. I assured her that I did indeed, but that I also believed in the same God as Job as well.

From the drama of puberty, to my parents divorcing in the middle of my teen years and then the fiery hell I lived through in the years that followed that to running into a teen pregnancy and marriage just to escape that hell and just landing in another one, to watching my brother, my Godly anchor who prayed over me more than I will ever know, die of cancer and through so many, many more trials and hardships one thing has never changed. God is faithful. He has never left me, He has never abandoned me, He has never disappointed me. God has held me tight, and I can never be snatched out of His hand. He has faithfully carried me through every single hurt and hard time I've ever experienced, and He has made me grateful for those times because I know of His faithfulness. I know of His provision. I know of His protection. I know His grace and forgiveness. I know His comfort. I know His strength. I know His friendship. I know His peace.

God has given me 35 years to seek Him and know Him. I pray that for every day, week, month, year that He gives me beyond this, that I will continue to know Him more and more through every trial, every valley, every deep water, and every mountaintop. And...I pray that you will, too.

"But now, this is what the LORD says-he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel; 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the water, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior'" Isaiah 43:1-3a

question

How does a mother truly repent of the sin of worry if true repentance is turning away from the sin?

I fell out of my car yesterday.

Yes, really, and today I am sitting very gingerly because my behind is very, very sore. Would you like to know what happened? Okay, so it all began when...

We were getting home from school, and I noticed that Jenna had left some papers in the backseat of the car. She had already gotten to the door of the house, and I hollared at her to wait a minute. I opened the back door and stepped up inside the suburban and reached across to get the papers. As I was stepping back down (backwards mind you), I realized that Jenna had come to the door and was right behind/underneath me. I realized this because I was stepping on her!! Somehow or another in her attempt to get out of the way and me trying not to come down on top of her and hurt her, I must have lost my balance and with both hands full and one foot getting stuck between the running board and the car, I landed sqarely on my bottom on the garage floor. Jenna also fell down back behind me because in my falling, I'm sure I must have pushed her. Luckily, she was completely unharmed, but rather worried about her mommy. I was unsure for a minute or two if I was going to be able to stand up and walk what with my throbbing left ankle and the pain in my behind...literally. But, I finally did get up and limp into the house and lay down on the couch (because I could NOT SIT on the couch! OUCH!!)

Well, I managed to not break anything (as far as I know anyways) and even though my ankle was sore for the rest of the day and John had enough pity on me that I did not have to cook dinner last night, my ankle is just fine today. My backside on the other hand, did not fare as well. It is rather bruised and sore, and I am sitting very carefully.

To boil it all down, a mother's instinct is always to protect her child before herself even if it is a pain in the behind!