grand canyon

better late than never, right?

bryson will be writing his first chapter/personal story in school, and so he brought home an "idea sheet." we had to write down some ideas, about a trip he had recently taken. he decided to either write about our drive to the grand canyon, or our hike up the narrows (in zion, utah). i got to thinking about our trip and how i had never posted pics from either of those.....

so here are some pics from the grand canyon!

sickie boy fell asleep during the last 20 min. of the three hour drive!

when we left zion, it was about 95 degrees.

we had NO idea that it would be 52 degrees (and raining!) at the canyon!!

we were all wearing shorts, short sleeved shirts, and flip flops!

there was not a sweatshirt in sight!! yikes!

(pizza and hot chocolate in the lodge helped to warm us up!!)

i was astounded by God's beauty....

josh and bryson got out with the rest of our group, while i stayed in the car for a bit and let hudson sleep. when he woke up....we got out and went to see the canyon.

it was so foggy/cloudy and rainy that you could not see a thing!

i basically said this to the Lord....."um, God....we did not drive all this way for nothing. please....i beg You.....lift the fog so that we can see Your beauty! You don't want us to miss it!!"

about 15 minutes later, the canyon started clearing out. words cannot describe the glory and the beauty of it. the grand canyon is so vast...so incredible. neither josh or i had ever seen it...and we were in awe.

God- You are good!

it's fun to look at these amazing pics. though the trip was taken less than two months ago, it feels like it has been much longer than that!

seeing them again reminds me of God's creation....of His glory....of His beauty- all around us!

thank You, Lord....for an amazing time at the grand canyon!

it's my blog....

....and i'll solicit if i want to. :)

anyone in so cal want a 2007 chevy suburban???

it's black with black leather interior....

if you are interested in finding out more, please email me at:

2boys2love@gmail.com

(just figured i'd "throw it out there"...since we're considering downsizing!)

a few recommendations...

my mom got this devotional for bryson a while back...and i love it!! i read one to him each day, before he heads off to school. the thing is- i think the message is usually for me (even though it's a kids devotional book!). it's funny....i will have just read something during my study time, or i'll have recently heard a message...and then i'll read a devotion to bryson...and it will be about the same thing! that's when i know God is trying to send me a message!! i love it when the Lord gives me recurring themes, or messages...and i love it when He speaks to me!!

i recommend this book to anyone with school age children. not only will it speak to them...but you just might get more out of it than they do! each day has a verse, a short devotion, and a prayer. here's an example:

sept. 26

going where you cannot see

"we live by faith, not by sight."

2 corinthians 5:7

in 1934, an explorer named william beebe and an engineer named otis barton created a steel chamber called a bathysphere so that they could go to great depths in the ocean. they went down about 3,200 feet to look around. they were hooked to a ship on the surface by a long cable and they had a telephone. beebe looked out the window and reported what he saw to a person on the surface. in 1948 swiss physicist auguste piccard created a diving vessel he called the bathyscaphe. he went down 4,600 feet. in the 1950s jacques piccard joined his father, and they buit a vessel that went down to 10,300 feet. in 1958 the u.s. navy had a ship called the trieste, and it went to the deepest point known on earth: 35,810 feet. that is deep!

explorers like beebe and piccard led risky lived because they went where no one else had been. they didn't know exactly what would happen when they descended into the ocean. it took a lot of faith to do what they did- especially the first time. they had to have faith in their idea and faith in the people who helped them build their vessels.

as children of God, we also lead lives that require faith. we don't know what tomorrow may bring. it could be exciting and fun. or it could be scary and sad. it's important to have faith in God. whatever happens, He is going there with you.

dear Lord, i know You are with me wherever i go. amen.

and make sure to get......we cry out...the worship project!

jeremy camp's new release, we cry out, is amazing!! it's so worshipful. there will be songs you recognize and some that you don't....and they're all grrrrreat!!! he's so gifted!! praise God! to be honest, you can't go wrong with any of his CDs. (jeremy's wife, adie camp, came out with a worship cd a few months back! it's also a wonderful cd!!)

happy reading and listening!!

i'm not a poet, and boy do i know it!

once upon a monday...

there was an unidentifiable smell.

though it was not pleasant...

it sure didn't smell like pheasant.

the bible study ladies...

they did come.

i asked them to use their sniffers...

and take big whiffers.

one said, "it smells like gas"....

while yet another said, "no...it's a skunk."

i wasn't sure what it was....

but it was some kind of nasty funk.

a friend decided to sniff my wall....

to see if that's what was stinking up my hall.

aghast, she stepped back...

and said, "ewww!!! smell this!"

"it's coming from in here!" she said in a shriek.

so, of course...we needed to take a peek.

now, we here women could not imagine...

doing such a thing alone.

so we yelled for the man of the house...

to come and chaperone.

he came to examine....

and what did he find??

a little mouse....

who had electrocuted his own behind!

r.i.p. little fried mouse

lolo

i love newborns. i could hold one all day long. this particular newbie has melted my heart already...

lolo-

auntie kristi loves you so much!!

you are such a miracle. we are in awe of what God has created!!

you are perfect in every way!

introducing....

london kate

sept. 20, 2010

1:47 pm

7 lb. 14 oz.

20.5 inches

...a perfect, little gift from God!

my sis and her beautiful family!

i'm a proud auntie!!

(tons more pics to share, but it's late and they're on josh's computer!)

au naturale

the little menashe's are going au naturale.

yep...believe it or not (i still can't)....but my kids will be eating 100% natural foods come tuesday.

call it behavior modification, with the added bonus of eating healthier.

i went through my pantry and fridge today (still have to do the freezer) and i got rid of tons of stuff. don't worry....i am not wasting a bunch of food. i have invited friends to "shop" in my kitchen, and whatever they don't take will be donated to our church.

i keep opening my refrigerator...just because it looks so clean and organized!

and...guess what else???

i am now making my own bread. yep, you can call me susie (as in little susie homemaker)! the second loaf is going right now...and my first came out perfectly. the boys love it, and i figured i'd get a jump start on their new diet by making a few loaves tonight.

well, you may be laughing (when you remember whose blog you're reading)....

you may be rolling your eyes....

or

you may just happen to be supportive of such a thing.

there have been some behavioral issues going on lately, which have caused me to pray and really seek the Lord on how to deal with it/them. for now- this is what our family has decided to do. i will continue to pray, as well.

my friend, theresa, has been a huge help to me.

she drove me to whole foods, and she gave me her bread recipes.

she lent me her "diet" book...that tells me every food i can buy for the boys.

i am so thankful for friends who are willing to help.

i am thankful for new beginnings.

i am thankful for my boys.

i am thankful for a supportive husband.

i am thankful for clean cupboards!

i am thankful for my amazing friends.....many of which know the exact frustrations and challenges going on over here....who call me and ask if they can pray with me!

i am thankful for a sovereign God.

aaahhhh....

and i am thankful that the boys are going to bed and i can jump in the tub with my book!

weekends=parties

this past weekend, we got to attend a party for our niece. she's turning three in october, but my sis is having niece #2 next week....so she wanted to do peytie's party a little early this year.

peytie's party was held at freckled frog, in yorba linda. everything was so cute and so

g-i-r-l-y. and i mean.....GIRLY.

all of the little girls got their makeup done, and they dressed up like princesses.

papa somehow bribed bryson and got him to dress up like a knight.

the dessert table....yum!

the dress up station....

pretty, little princesses.....

mom, sis, kris

birthday girl :)

hudson: hater of all things girl

j will kill me if he sees this, but i'm pretty sure he doesn't read my blog!

i don't think j or kel knew they had to dress up, and it actually scared peytie. she started crying when she saw them. it was pretty sad!

happy again....until everyone started singing. i don't think she liked all the attention....

game time!

cute fam....

brothers-in-law

love this cutie pie!!

big bro and little bro (who finally cracked a smile...it went like this...."hudson, if you want dessert- you better smile!")

after getting home from p's party...it was time to frost some cupcakes and head to leah's house! we got to celebrate her birthday, with her family. tommy (leah's hubby) b.b.q.'d lots of yummy stuff, and there were tons of yummy side dishes! the kids had a blast- running around together...and the adults had lots of fun chatting, too! leah and i watched (online) part of a 9/11 service taking place at our church, and then we had cake and watched leah open her gifts.

i made these for my beautiful, godly, amazing, incredible, smiley, caring,

loyal, trustworthy, loving friend

singin' to the birthday girl!

tommy got leah a yummy ice cream cake!

leah and drew (leah's sis and her son are in the back)

he's eatin' his cupcake- and i just want to eat him up!

luke and his cupcake!

it's so awesome to be able to celebrate God's goodness and His faithfulness with friends and family! we are SO blessed.

grandparents day

yesterday was grandparents day, and though we've never "celebrated" it before....

we wanted to honor my parents a bit this year.

all of their grandkids made them cards, and i made dinner (tacos). my sister and b-i-l got our favorite dessert (froyo). we served "mimi" and "papa" on you are special today plates! after we put the kids to bed, my parents taught us a new card game. it was a super fun night as a fam.

can you believe that i didn't stop to snap a photo of mimi and papa with their precious kiddos? lame. lame. lame.

here are mimi and papa with their special plates

(my mom gave my sis and i these plates years ago, so they are very sentimental!)

aunt kel helped bryson with his star of the week poster...

rub a dub dub...two cuties in the tub!

(they'll kill me for this someday)

mimi and papa-

we love you and are so blessed to have you in our lives.

you're the bestest!

love,

j+k+b+h+j+k+p+l