I have a story I want to shout from the rooftops: Kinley (almost 7) asked Jesus to wash away her sins and live in her heart forever!! One evening about two weeks ago all three kids got in a big fight and were all sent to their beds to calm down. I made the rounds to talk them through it and pray with them. When I got to Kinley I explained for the thousandth time that hitting people is a sin and it separates her from God and the people she hits. She said " I know mommy! I can't take one more sin! I have so many sins my heart is black. (Back story: for about two months she's been randomly saying "I need something but I don't know what it is") She said "this morning God told me in my heart that what I need is Jesus and I didn't know what He meant but now I know! I need Jesus to take away my sin and live in my heart!" I of course said "well you can have Him! He will wash all of your sin away!" Josh and I got to pray with her that night as she accepted His amazing grace and gift of salvation and His presence forever! Nothing could be more encouraging, strengthening or life giving to me than for my child to enter into a personal relationship with Jesus! What was amazing was to watch the Holy Spirit's roll in it. It was all the same information she's been getting her whole little life; nothing was different in that moment of discipline except that the eyes of her heart were opened and God gave her understanding of the hole in her heart that only He could fill! After we prayed with Kinley, God gave Josh and I a visual to share with her. We told her that now she has hung her heart on God and it will never come off. No matter where she goes, what she does, or if she decides she wants nothing to do with Him she cannot separate herself from Him.  Because of that, the farther she goes from Him the more her heart will hurt. She belongs close to Him and that is where she will be the happiest. She told us that she felt so much better after she got Jesus in her heart. She was beaming and said her heart was so happy. She has told many people her big news and can't wait to obey God and be baptized. We are blessed in the best way and just had to share! ❤️

Mallory turned 4 July 9th!  The one thing she wanted for her birthday was a big tub of cheese balls.  She was SO excited when she opened them.

 She had her birthday at Barbra Wagner's neighborhood swimming pool.  She invited Caroline Butters, Corrine Schulte, Ethan Logan, James, and Kinley.  She went off the low dive and down the slide a million times.  She also figured out how to swim from the middle of the pool to the side without a float! 

 Thanks to Edward Jones Josh and I were blessed to take my parents to Italy for 10 days in July!  We had a great time seeing the sights and drinking the wine!  We started out in Rome, took a day trip to Venice, another one to Oriveto, stayed a night in Vernazza, and one in Pisa.  

 This was a ritzy shopping street in Rome

 Josh to a panoramic pic of Vernazza the Coastal town on the Italian Riviera we stayed in one night.  

 Beautiful sunset in Pisa!

 Our dear friends the Reynolds family moved indefinitely to the Middle East in August.  We are excited to partner with them as they share Jesus with their new community.  

 James turned 9 August 4th.  He had a lego party with Joshua Butter, Ethan Logan, Gavin Sponsler, and Ezra Henslee.  All he wants these days is more legos!  He can make some pretty impressive attack space ships with no directions.

 First day of school pics!

James has realized that 3rd grade is serious school. He is still doing well but struggling more with getting things done in a timely manner.  He is having to figure out how to stay focused and how to not be such a perfectionist.  He loves reading, science, writing, and he is very good at math.

 Kinley started Kindergarten.  I have been pretty distraught over the whole thing.  I can't believe how big my kids are and that I have passed through the phase I always dreamed of living.  Working on that midlife crisis but I know God's got me.

Kinley is loving school and doing a great job listening, learning, and making friends.

 Mid August we ate breakfast on the back porch and a preying mantis landed on my back.  I of course flung it off and then the kids caught it and observed it for a while.  We discovered that she loved crickets and moths.  After a few weeks we went to check on her one morning and there was a male on the outside of her cage.  We let him in.  They mated for 24 hours.  Kinley describes it in great detail.  "the mom opened her bottom and the dad put his bottom in side her bottom and then just stayed there all day!"  Oh brother!  Anyway, they mated all day and we assume all night and when we checked on them the next morning there was no dad...only a spare leg at the bottom of the cage.  The mom then grew very large and made an egg sack.  Two days after the sack we left the cage in the sun on mom died.  We are hoping the sac still works.  The babies should hatch in March!  

 The Morris family has experienced a lot of loss the past couple of months.  Josh's mom's mom Grandmother passed at the end of August.  The girls were so excited to receive some of her costume jewelry and wore it proudly to her memorial service.  Then at the beginning of October Josh's dad's dad Pop passed.  We are so thankful for the legacy of marriage, morals, and faith his grandparents left.  They were wonderful people and will are thankful to have known them. 

 The kids love to play dictionary on a big white board.  Mallory is hilarious though because she is still learning to draw actual objects so when it is her turn she will draw something abstract (view pic below) and we will start guessing "bunny, no, hairbrush, no, penguin, no, human fetus, YES!"  

 This was Mallory's first self portrait.  Those are cheeks on either side of her nose.

 We went on our annual Beavers's Bend camp trip and unfortunately took no pictures except this one at Walmart the day before we left.  We buy at TON of stuff when we go camping.  Sometimes I think going to the beach might be cheaper.  

 Our 2014 jack o lantern

 Trick or treating with the Henslee's.  James is the ninja, Kinley was a fawn again and Mallory was a black cat again.  I love that they take the cheap easy route!

 Jenks West had an end of school carnival and the girls chose to spend the whole time we were there (2 hours) in line to have their faces painted.  They are becoming good friends as you can see in the picture...when they aren't fighting.

Mallory often asks "is it tomorrow?" when she is excited about something happening that I said would happen tomorrow.  That is such a funny question to me and a good example of the way toddlers will make you feel crazy.  

Josh and James went on a campout the last day of school.  They went to Lake Keystone and canoed to an island and camped there for the night.  James was in heaven.  He and Josh had some great conversation and male bonding.  Josh was able to share a little about his relationship with God and how he prays which has ended up really helping James learn how to go to God when he is scared or angry.

 James is playing basketball this summer with some church friends and he loves it.  He is growing in is ability to dribble and keep up with the fast pace of the game.

 Josh and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary June 5.  Our friends kept the kids for the night and we got to go to a nice dinner.  We are so amazed at what God has done in our lives through our marriage and we are so thankful for all of His provision and care.  

 We go to Big Cedar every other year with the Morris family.  Below is Ezra, Jason and Emily's son,  and Mallory being hugging cousins.

 They had the best time together.  The big four slept in a room together which they do anytime we are all together.  They fall asleep giggling and wake up giggling.  

In June we attended the Edward Jones summer regional meeting in Kansas City.  We have done this every year for the last 9 years.  This was the first year we felt like it was actually fun. The kids are finally old enough to sleep in a hotel room and eat at a hotel buffet without any major issues.  We were able to go to Legoland which made all of James' dreams come true.  He is very into legos right now.  

 We also got to go to the King Tutt museum.  James was really interested because he has been studying ancient egypt in school and he is obsessed with gold.  The girls couldn't have cared less about the artifacts but like the audio guide which felt a bit like a cell phone.  When my mom asked Mallory "what was the guide saying to you?"  she responded "blah blah blah blah!"  At least we got out of there without causing any major damage.

 James and Kinley are so close it's sweet.  They love sharing a bed on vacation.  Below is one afternoon in Kansas City after a full morning of swimming.  

My baby girl turned 6!!  She of course chose a Frozen theme for her party.  She invited 11 of her closest friends or as she says "everyone she knows".  We played pin the nose on Olaf, had a dance party, and played with fake snow.  It wasn't pinterest worthy but it was so easy.

Amazing Aunt Jen made the beautiful cake!  Kinley is reading pretty well on her own.  She loves music.  She is the one who most readily chooses to sacrifice what she wants for what one of her siblings wants.  Anytime we talk about being like Jesus she is ready and willing to do what He would do. She has such a kind passionate heart.  She is very excited to start kindergarten at Jenks West in August.

 

The biggest news of spring is Hank the Double Doodle.  He was born March 27 and come home with us May 22.  Below his is the fat little tan one on the far left.  

 It's a good thing he's cute because he is a pistol.  Actually I hear he is a really good puppy but is just a puppy.  He is potty training pretty well, except for last week when he had diarrhea.  

 He does several "tricks" and is learning more all the time.  The kids love him and seem to forgive him quickly for biting them.  He gets in moods and chews anything within reach.  He is sleeping through the night now and that is nice.  

 He loves to lay on hard cold surfaces.  Below he found the fireplace hearth to take a nap on.

Our dear friend Ed Wagner is Hank's vet.  It has been fun to see Dr. Wagner in his work environment.  He lets the kids be a big part of the appointments so that is fun.  Hank was 6 lbs when we got him and is up to 13 now.  He should grow to around 30 lbs.

This was the day we got him.  Can you believe I'm holding a dog and smiling?!  I'm trying really hard to like him but it is requiring a lot of self sacrifice :(.  

 In January we found out that Josh and Kinley have H-pylori which is a bacteria in the stomach that if left unattended can cause stomach cancer.  It's main symptom is acid reflux.  Josh took a heavy round of antibiotics and has not been the same since.  He actually has an appointment with a gastro doc May 15.  Prayers for answers, direction, and healing are appreciated!  He has gone through extensive testing and nothing turned up so they will probably scope him.  We opted not to give Kinley the antibiotics and have been trying all kinds of weird things to try to kill the bacteria on our own.  We will retest her in June to see if her numbers have changed.  

 In February I kept James out of school on a day that the girls had preschool and we went to the Tulsa Children's Museum.  We and a blast.  They have a creation room where the object that week was to make something you can wear using no cloth.  James and I made boots. Then we went to Ted's for lunch.  I had asked him where he wanted to go and he thought about it for a long time then chose Taco Bueno.  I talked him into upgrading to Ted's :)!

 James has had an excellent year in scouts.  At the March pack meeting he got to carry the flag to open the meeting.  It is such a blessing to see him developing respect.  He takes scouts very seriously and inspire of his crazy, inattentive, disrespectful den mates he works hard to listen, participate, and learn from scout activities.  

We took our annual Morris/Henslee camping trip to Devil's Den this year.  We parked our tents right next to the river pictured above so the kids got to play in the water and rocks a lot.  It is a beautiful place.  The first night we had a big steak dinner.  We made T-bones, skillet sweet potatoes, grilled asparagus, cheesy garlic bread and chocolate chip cookie pie all over the fire!  We also got to experience two thunderstorms in our tent which has to be among the coolest experiences.  

 We've been enjoying our canoe and kayak a lot!

 Levi and Mallory were playing in the hammock together and had it closed over themselves.  I could hear then whispering so I went to listen and I heard Levi say "did you like it when I tickled your privates?"!!! Mallory said "uhhh huuhhh".  I ripped open that hammock and said "what are you guys doing?!"  They both put their hands to their mouths and smiled as guilty as can be.  We had lots of long talks with each child and are watching them like hawks now.  And we are praying like crazy that God develops His perspective in them about "privates"! Of course when we were done talking to them we had lots of laughs - we have to laugh to keep from crying!

 The gang!

 James actually took this picture...yea for him getting big!

The Henlsees just moved three minutes away form us.  We are so excited to have good friends so close! 

 I started babysitting a sweet little baby girl named Adina in January.  She comes three afternoons a week for about 3 hours.  Her parents are friends of ours and gave us a PF Changs gift card and offered to babysit for us to have a date so for my birthday we went to dinner then went to Pino't Pallet. Above are our ugly paintings.  We had a great time painting though.  We have faced so much opposition to going on dates lately I am just thankful we made it out and have fun together!  Josh earned two trips this past year through Edward Jones and we saved them so that we can take my parents somewhere with us.  They chose Italy! We will all four being going to Italy in July!

 The many faces of Mallory!

 One night last week Mallory woke up in the middle of the night crying.  She came to me and said she had a really bad dream.  I asked what it was about and she said that it was that she didn't have God's Spirit in her heart!  I just about died it was so sweet and sad.  I asked her if she knew how to get God's Spirit in her heart and she said "no"  I said well all you have to do is ask.  I was hoping she would say "I want to ask"  then I would have explained it all and prayed with her right there but she didn't.  I prayed over her and put her back to bed.  The next day when I asked her about it still hoping it would turn into a decision  she explained that a really big crab was on her hand and was going to bite her because God's Spirit had fallen from her heart down to her stomach.  Then she went to sleep and God's Spirit came back.  Oh brother...I am still encouraged that God is moving in her heart and drawing her to Him even if it's through dreams about crabs! 

 I was so blessed to get to go to the Captivating retreat which is put on by John and Stasi Eldridge's ministry Ransomed Heart.  Josh was so supportive and encouraged me to go.  God provided half the cost of the conference through Alicia Butters and airline tickets through Delta points.  I got to go with Roselene who is my mentor and prayer team partner at church.  We had a wonderful time soaking in God's truth and presence.  God spoke to me so much about the lies I have been allowing myself to live in everyday and has given me truth to replace them with.  We stayed at a young life camp near Winter Park, CO.  Josh and the kids did wonderfully.  He cooked, cleaned, babysat other peoples kids, hosted and led life group, and had a smile on his face when I got home.  He's amazing!

 Mallory and Caroline Butters at their school egg hunt.

 Kinley and her best friend Abby Butters.

 For Easter weekend my mom, Steve, sister, nephews, and grandma all came to stay for 4 days.  We and a great time relaxing and being together.  Mom took Kelly, me and Kinely for pedicures.  It was Kinely's first time.  She liked it but messed up her toes three times and said it wasn't what she expected.  Kinley has been so curious about spiritual things lately.  She is asking tons of questions about why Jesus had to die, why God requires the blood of something pure to cover sin, how we trust someone we can't see, why aren't some prayers answered, why do stories about the Bible contradict each other (nails in Jesus' hands or wrists), etc.  It is overwhelming but really cool.  Love to see God stirring her heart too.

 James has had a really good semester at school.  He won the gold medal in the reading olympics reading over 600 minutes in 3 weeks.  The teacher had them do student led conferences and he did an excellent job taking me through all that he is learning.  He is such a good student and loves learning.  He had a lot of trouble the first semester with recess because all the boys would do was play chase and he didn't want to play chase so he would just sit under a tree by himself the whole time.  Now he has found a few boys that like to play basketball and he loves basketball (he says he is going to be in the NBA when he grows up) so that has been very good for him.

 Ours plus Cade and Tristan in the Easter clothes.

Cousins sporting the piñata they busted.

I love James' intense face. He was serious about crushing that thing.

We are bringing home a puppy May 24th!!!  It will be a double doodle which is a labradoodle/goldendoodle mix.  As of today we think our first choice will be the one on the top left.  Curly hair with the white stripe on it's head and neck.  If we end up with him we will name him Hank.  We are number 5 to pick out of 10 and only one of the people in front of us wants a boy so hopefully they will pick a different boy. We will be going to visit them May 3 and will officially put in our top two choices.  If we end up with a girl we have no idea what we will name it...we have a lot of trouble naming girls in our family :)!