The Porch Light copyright by Revka (2006-2010). All rights reserved.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Happy Anniversary to Us!

I know I've been gone for over a week now, but we had a blast! We celebrated our 9th anniversary last Thursday by dropping the kids off with relatives and heading up to Busch Gardens Europe in Williamsburg, Viriginia for a much-needed getaway for just Mr. Incredible and me.

We had soooo much fun! I don't have pics of us riding the roller coasters (awesome!), but I do have some of us playing putt-putt golf on Friday. I'll share pics and tell you more about it later.

If you'd like to see what else has been occupying my time, visit Danajill Designs, Sweetcheeks Scrapbooks (nearly finished), and Sparkle and Charm Boutique (in progress now). I also completed 4 smaller projects this past week; no wonder I've been scarce here!

I hope you have been doing well.

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Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Going for the Gold

Michael Phelps' feat is astonishing: 8 gold medals and 7 world records in 8 Olympic events. The whole world applauds what he has accomplished, and it is right that his achievement be recognized.

However, his noteworthy achievement did not happen by chance. He didn't decide one morning a month or two ago that he was going to compete in the Olympics and try to win 8 gold medals. No, his achievement is the result of years of unnoticed sacrifice and determined dedication.

We Christians, too, are going for the gold. Our gold, however, is not a temporary award we will receive here on earth. It is the eternal reward we will receive in heaven. We will not receive applause for our sacrifices and dedication here on earth. On the contrary, people may laugh at us and think we are crazy because of what we sacrifice and the dedication we exhibit in our life as a Christian.

"Why can't you [fill in the blank]?" people may question. "There's nothing wrong with it."

They may be right; there may be nothing wrong with the activity in question. But if it doesn't help us in the right direction, it is something that should be sacrificed if we wish to reach our final goal - "Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of thy Lord."

Not only am I going for the gold in my Christian life, but I am also striving for excellence in my roles as a woman, wife, and mother. I don't have time for myself? That's okay. My family needs me, and I am going for the gold. People wonder why I stay at home or home school my children? Those are sacrifices Mr. Incredible and I have chosen to make so that we can give our children what we deem best for them.

There are many other areas where I have chosen to go for the gold, and in many of those areas I need to recommit myself to sacrificing what is holding me back from reaching those goals.

How about you? Are you going for the gold?

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Monday, August 18, 2008

I Am Thankful

  • for all four of my children ...
  • but especially for my "responsible 5 year old" (Pookie Bear)
  • for a door left open
  • for happy endings
Be careful when you wonder how someone could do something - you never know when you will be the one to have done that! All's well that ends well...

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Monday, August 11, 2008

Pics from Baby Bear's B-day Party

I'm sorry that I have not posted much the past two weeks. I am absolutely swamped with design work, which is a good thing, but I have not had time for anything else. I don't even want to tell you how many hours I have spent on the computer some days; let's just say I pity my poor kids, and I'm trying really hard to do better this week. :(

Baby Bear's birthday was actually two weeks ago, but her party was a week before this past Saturday. Nearly all of our immediate families came; the only exception was Mr. Incredible's brother and family, and their absence could have been due to the fact that I only informed them of the party the day before the event. (rolling eyes) I didn't intentionally forget to invite them, but I still feel bad. Sarah and Joe hung out with us until 7, which was really nice since he shipped out the next day.

Anyway, here are a couple of photos. Baby Bear chose Genie from Aladdin for her cake. Is there an unwritten law that requires my girls to choose characters that are at least 10 years old?! I was happy with how it turned out, though.

I'm 3!

It didn't look like that; I smudged out her name for posting here.

So how have you been doing?

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Sunday, August 03, 2008

Buddy Bear

I can't believe that Buddy Bear is already 6 weeks old! I also can't believe people's generosity in giving us baby items for him. Two friends at church have given us enough infant boy clothes to outfit Buddy Bear through at least size 12 months. Another friend gave us a Graco playpen (the Fold and Go Care Center Lite). And diapers! I am optimistically hoping that we have enough diapers to last his first six months. We certainly thank the Lord for His provision.

Buddy Bear is a good baby, but he is vocal. When I had recovered enough to return to church after having Buddy, I had planned to keep him in the service with us for at least a couple of months. (You know how many germs and viruses float around a church nursery!) Unfortunately, that plan lasted all of two services. Both times, I ended up having to take him out at the beginning of the message because he kept grunting loudly, and I could not get him quiet.

Tonight, one of the nursery workers told me that he is one of the noisiest babies she had seen (this lady has 6 kids of her own!), and after my mother kept the kids overnight Thursday (THANKS, MOM!), she told me that she ended up holding him during the night because he wouldn't get quiet any other way and kept waking her up. I am only now starting to be able to tune out his non-vital grunting during the night.

He loves to eat. I'm going to post a nearly newborn photo of him first and then put up photos from today so you can see the difference. Enjoy looking at my handsome little man. :)

Newborn cuteness


Almost smiling


Doesn't look all that comfortable, does he? Though I love the outfit!


Am I really supposed to be awake?


You're funny, Mama! (I love his dimpled cheek.)

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