I have moved

Hi everyone,  I have decieded through much prayer and indepth research that I am moving back to blogger.  I really have some awesome ideas and I just want to share it with everyone.  I am going to keep this blog open for anyone who wants to read it.  But, I am going to start a whole new blog.  I thought about just moving over to blogger and keep going.  That is not the direction I am feeling right now.  This blog will be here if you want to read through it.  I have felt a whole new calling and I am going to obey that calling right now.  If you would like to keep up with my new post, please go here.  God bless all of you and Ihope to see you on the other blog.  Tanya

Some of my Favorite Sites

 

I am so blessed to be able to click on my computer and surf the net.  Through my surfing I have come upon many sites and I have liked some and not some.  But one of my favorite sites is “Crowned with Silver“.  I love the fact that this site teaches about the Titus 2 women.  I have been blessed by their stories of women who touched them,  recipes for food and cleaning supplies, how to be a better wife and mother and most of all testimonies.  This site touches my heart. Another site that I have spent some time on and I truly love is “No Greater Joy“.  Michael and Debi Pearl are very real Christians with a passion for family, marriage and homeschooling.  Their children have also joined this crusade and it makes me feel so delighted about my family and our future with Christ.  They have many videos, Cd’s and books that you can order, and I highly recommend all of them.  I have been reading some excerpts from Rebekah Pearls diary’s of her mission trip, it is amazing .  I think this will be my next book to read.  The next website is the “KJV Fundamental 500 websites“.  This website has many different sites on it, blogs, websites, colleges etc.  I stumbled upon this last week and I have been having a hay day.  I love the blogs, most of the women’s blogs are Victorian like and love raising their families.  I have been so blessed by the blogs.  Jeff and I also stumbled upon a three year course about the books of the bibles.  We are in prayer about weather we should tackle this or not.  It looks really awesome I might add. The last site that I am going to share with you is “A Christian Home“.   There is so much information on this blog and I have been so blessed by the topics.  I highly recommend this to all ladies who are just looking for information on children, home and being a christian wife.  I hope that you will seek out all of these sites and that you will be blessed as much as I was. 

A Correction

I would like to make a correction from my last post.  It was not Zinc that I was taking for the grey hair but Folic Acid.  I am also taking Zinc,  but I am taking zinc for my acne and a wart that started on my knee.  The acne is really limited and I do not have as much and the wart is gone.  Other benefits of Zinc are healing of Childhood malnutrition, peptic ulcers, infertility, Wilson’s disease, replenish taste or smell, prevention of common cold and many other.  If you would like to see a better chart of benefits of Zinc go here. 

I just take one vitamin of Zinc a day and there are many foods with Zinc in them.  One of the highest is Oysters.  If you would like to see a chart with certain foods that contain Zinc, go here.  There are so many vitamins that we do not take or get in our daily diet.  I am starting to feel so much better.  I challenge all of you to look into folic acid, Zinc, calcium, vitamin D etc.  It is really important that we get a daily allowance of certain nutrition’s.

Foods that Heal

My hair started to grey when I was about twenty five. I came from a family where all of my aunts and uncles including my dad had this silvery hair by time they were twenty. I really did not mind it, ever so often I would dye it and that was that. But the grey hair that I have would not take dyes very well and within two weeks my hair was grey again. But it was not until a couple of years ago that my hair was really getting white. I had some health problems and not only was my hair so grey, but I also lost quite a bit of hair.

For Christmas, I asked my husband to get me a book called “The Power of Healing, The Power of God” By Bill Sardi. I started to do some reading about the food that we eat and how it really effects our bodies. I found some information on what to do with grey hair in another book called “The Herbal Home Remedy Book.” You can see in this picture below the dark roots coming in under the grey.

In the book it says people who are lacking Zinc and certain foods can cause grey hair. Of course remember with time we will grey and it is not unusual. It still would not hurt to start a new meal regimen and see if it is from a deficiency. Other foods on the list  would be Omega-3’s like fish, Salmon and halibut, broccoli, spinach, sweet potatoes, squash and strawberries. There are more in the list. raw eggs, legumes, yeast, cauliflower, bananas, carrots and mushrooms.

Here is a picture of my scalp, I know it is not a great pictures, but it does show some of the darker hair that is coming in. I am going to incorporate more of these foods into our diet. It will really help with health also. I am amazed at the difference that food makes.

I would like to share a simple receipe for you. It is so yummy and the family really enjoyed it. It is a matter of cutting up the veggies and then let simmer for a while.

7 peeled and sliced potatoes.
2 handfuls of fresh spinage leaves, cut up
1/2 white onion sliced up into small bits
fresh garlic, to taste.
1 stalk of brocoli, slicesed up
8 baby carrots, sliced
1 Tbsp. Paprika
1 Tbsp. ground Pepper
1tsp. Salt
1 can of evaperated milk

In a large pot place all the chopped vegitables with water. Place on the stove on Med High. Let simmer for a good hour or until the potatoes are soft. At time turn down the heat and add the evaperated milk. Let simmer for a half an hour and then serve. The family really liked this soup and if gives alot more vegitables that they may not be getting through the day.  I served it with yogurt biscuts.

UpDate on Thrift Stores

I have received an e-mail from Heather.  Here is an up date about the new regulations and I hope that it will help.  Go here for more information. If you need more information call the 1-800 number from the previous post.

What will happen to our thrift stores?

I am not sure if any of you have heard,  but our thrift stores may or may not be jeopardized by a new law that was just passed.  The CPSC “Consumer Product Safety Commission” has just passed a law that consignment stores, thrift store or even garage sales may not be able to sell children’s 12 and other clothes or toys. If you want to find out more information here is the CPSC website with the information. Or if you would like to call someone here is the number 1-800-638-2772. I called them this morning and talked to one of the workers there. She said that the Pregnancy Center will not be effected by this new law, because I am not selling the clothes and if I had more information to send an email with a return email address for more information. This does scare me, I love the thrift shop and I have heard from some other people that some of the shops in other states are considering closing. The whole thing is, that the shops have to have all the clothes lead tested and this may run into some deep money.  Please pray, look into this and if you find out more information let me know. I will keep updating as I find out more. Thank Tanya

Marriage, God’s Style

I have really felt the Lord pulling me to teach Luke and Melanie on Marriage, sexual Purity, budgeting, etc.  A couple of weeks ago I showed the first DVD of Love and Respect to the kids.  It was really good and it did help Luke realize that his wife and even I, need to respect him in order for him to love back.  But it was not until yesterday that I changed  my mind.  Jeff, the kids and I sat down and watched the DVD  “Marriage God’s Way” by Michael Pearl, for the husband.  I was so impressed by how Mr. Pearl directed the marriage straight from the scriptures and he gave a run down of the roles of a man.  It was so amazing and after we were done, Jeff said he only wanted me to teach from this series.  I tell you what, it is powerful, and I realized that I have been a bossy women to Jeff.  Michael Pearl makes it clear that a marriage is 100/100.  That we should give 100% of ourselves to our spouse all the time.  And if we are giving a 100% and our spouse is not, that is okay, because as we give to our spouse, he will see it and he will change his heart. 

The one thing that he said that made me relax alot about training the kids to be good spouses is this.  When you are walking down the isle remember,  you have been a son, friend, brother, cousin and a nephew.  You have never been a husband.  When you say your I do’s, you will start to be a husband and it will take time to realize how to take care of someone else.  This made me realize that Luke will be equipped, but he really will not use this information until he is a husband.  I still need to show  him the path and then give it to God and let Him do the rest for Luke.  Also, our kids will see our marriage and therefore this also guides them.  Lead by example.

So here is why I feel that I have been a bossy wife.  At the end of the DVD,  Michael Pearl takes questions from some of the women in the congresgation.  A couple of the questions was, “the husband does not lead in devotions.”  Michael Pearl was like “so what.”  Michael stated that he did not lead the family in devotion and look how his kids turned out.  He was trying to say that a family lives by example and the children see you reading, and you will even read to the kids.  But these little issues are just that little.  My hounding on Jeff is not going to get him to do devotions with the kids,  and all it will cause is strife between the two of us.  I have decided to let it go and make sure the kids are in the word. 

This is a two dvd set.  There is one for the wives and one for the husbands.  He is verydiscriptive about  different  roles between a husband and wife.  Mr. Pearl also goes into a great detail on certain word from the scriptures.  It is an awesome dvd set and if you have read Debi Pearl’s book “How to be your husbands helpmeet.”  This ties it all together.  I hope that you will look into it. If you would like to order this dvd or see what other product they carry, go here.

I have been in the books of Samuel lately.  I was reading the first five chapters of 2 Samuel this morning.  It amazed me about these people who came to David and stated that they killed Saul or other people in the great battle at the end of 1 Samuel.  David did not reward these people by any means, he slew them.  David was not impressed on who they took out or killed.  Especially not the person who killed or stated that he kill Saul, the man that killed Saul than killed himself, so this guy was a liar to begin with.  David had plenty of chances to kill Saul, he never took them because Saul was anointed by God.  If fact, when the person came to David and told him that he killed Saul, David asked how he could kill the anointed?   David did not care of your statues or your great victory.  In fact, David did not care about anything except what God cared about.  I believe this is why David was known as a man after God own heart. 

I read about David and I so pray for the focus on God like he had.  I find that sometimes I am so focused on what other people think of me or say about me, that I totally loose focus of the divine one.  David knew that God was the only person he could cry out to.  I am finding that this is true also.  No matter what I am going through, it is hard to tell someone else what I am feeling because frankly, the person I am talking to  was not there.  No one will honestly understand the feelings that I am feeling, the loneliness that I am going through, the guilt that I am struggling with.  No one except God, He knows my heart and He knows what I am going through.  I believe this is why David went to God,  He knew that God was the only person to know what David was feeling.  Feelings are deep and they are so captivating sometimes, sometimes I feel crazy just because of my feelings.  I read Psalms and I say, Yes, I feel that way right now. 

Oh, I am not going through anything right now.  I just feel so connected to David and the more that I read about him, the more I love him and feel his life.  I hope that when I do go to heaven, I will be able to meet David first hand.  He was a deep individual who love God with all of his heart.  I know that my life is different than David’s life and God has me on a marvelous journey, but sometimes my heart wanders to the characters of the bible and I just want to be them for a minute.  Maybe I am one of them  for a minute,but  my life is what God and I make it.

Melanie and I have been reading this book together called “Maidens of Virtue.”  The first chapter talks about how we refer to our daughters in this day in age.  For example,  the pet names we give our daughter and sons.  For many years I called my little princess, “Sexy Mama”  or “Chicky.”  I realized after reading this passage in the book, that I am setting up behaviors by the pet names I give them.  I looked to Melanie and said,  “From now on I am going to call you princess,  daughter of God or Little Maiden.” 

This went further in my mind on how I viewed God by the names I was called.  See, there was names given to me as a teenager by ones that I loved, I do not believe that they were given to me for abuse as much as a fear tack tic.   I believe the names caused me to have an attitude towards God.  “Does He perceive me as that name” or  “does He think of me that way?”   “Maybe they are right, I am a tramp or slut?”   I believe that this is very harmful to our little princesses and our princes.  I am seeing that the way I speak to my children plays a  role in how they view the opposite sex .  If my daughter does not have a high regard for who she is,  she will find it in the opposite sex.  Also, if we do not treat our daughter with high regard in front of our son, he will treat women with a disrespect.  We have to up lift our children and build their self esteem within them.  Showing them the direction that God has for them and the love that He wants them to know.  It starts with our hearts and comes out our mouths.  I do not believe that all parents intentionally try to hurt their children by what they say or the pet names.  But we need to be aware of the harm that we may cause. 

Also,  I started to think about what the words mean.  Sexy Mama for instance,  it  refers  to my daughter as being some kind of sex magnet in a way.  It also makes her look at her body in a way that may not be pleasing to the Lord.  And I have realized that certain words should not even be in my vocabulary when it comes to the kids.  Like “fat”, you can cut the fat off the meat, but do not say it to the kids?  Or “You have the Kenney but”,  okay what did that do to my daughter,  and is it a good thing?  See how the word game gets started.  I highly recommend two books,  I am sure that there are more out there that are good,  but these are the two that I have or currently are reading.  The first is of course “Maidens of Virtue” and the second is “Who calls me beautiful?”  Both are awesome books and if your daughter are babies,  they are awesome to just read and get yourself started.  It is never early or late to start a new tradition.  Watch those words and have a great weekend.  Love from one princess to another.

What a Year

I have to say that I am really looking forward to the New Year 2009.  I can not believe that it is here already.  2008 was a really challenging year for our family.  In March I was going through some health challenges.  God finally lead me to a doctor that found out what was wrong and I was able to get healthy.  Jeff also had some health challenges and I believe that God has shown us direction on that.  Jeff will be doing much better really soon.  Jeff’s sister and family moved back to Red Oak from Iowa City and they are now settled in a new home and jobs.  But the most memorable part of 2008 was my relationship with God.  I had some experiences this year with Him that I never thought that I would have with anyone.  He showed me love beyond love, healing that I never thought was possible and closeness with Him that I only dreamed of.  I am so glad that I was humble and open to Him to let Him be able to work in my life.  I am looking forward to more.  I will never be totally there with God, I will be growing from now until I die.  But I guarantee that I will be the daughter that He needs me to be, will I fall, sure I will.  But in the long run, I will learn and grow and that is what I have done in 2008.  So, bring on 2009,  I will be a year older and I will be celebrating twenty years from my high school graduation,  but I will be stronger and wiser in the Lord.  God bless all of you and I love you all.

Our Awesome Christmas

We were so blessed to have our own Christmas eve at home.  It is such a wonderful tradition.  In the past we have had Christmas eve and day with Jeff’s family.  I have really enjoyed the time with my husband and the kids.  We start out the night with the bible and the story of Jesus.   Then the kids and Jeff and I open gifts.  After that it is just a quiet evening with the kids and us.  Oh what a wonderful time. 
Melanie and Rudy are enjoying the time together.

This is the doll that I got Melanie, it is suppose to be able to fit the American Girl clothes. Melanie really likes her. Her name is Sophie.
Leix and I are enjoying some movies together and here I am with some of my gifts.  I am finding that I really enjoy The David Crowder band. 

Luke really likes his t shirt and here are blankets that my Step mother made Luke and Melanie.  I really want one of those blankets.  They are so soft and heavy.

Our Blessing to You

I will probably not be able to be on the computer for a couple of days because of the Christmas activities that will be going on.  Jeff, Melanie, Luke and I would like to wish all of you a great and Merry Christmas.  I also pray that the New Year brings nothing but blessing for you and your families.  I want to thank all of you who come and read this blog.  I am blessed by each and everyone of you.  For all who comment and for all who do not.  God bless all of you and be safe.  God bless you, from the Ross Family.

He Knows

This morning is the coldest in the history of Iowa,  It is -11 and with the wind chill, it is a whopping -25.  Yesterday the channels kept posting all the school closures and different activities from Omaha that cancelled for today.  Jeff and I could not really feel the cool weather, we stayed in and kept warm.  So imagine our surprise this morning when the furnacedid not work.   It would not kick in and the temperature in the house was falling fast.  So, I picked up the phone and called a local furnace repair man.  The lady on the other end was telling me that he was really busy and had been yesterday also, but she would call him and see how long it would be before he could get to our house.  She called right back and told me that it would be about an hour to a hour and a half.  We started the fireplace and just drank hot chocolate and waited.  While we were waiting, I prayed.  “Dear Lord, you know our finances and how we are standing right now.  Please do not give us more than we can handle, amen”  So, not to long after that prayer, here comes the repair man.  He was down stairs for about five minutes when I heard the furnace kick in.  Then he walked out, came back in and did something else and then he left.  He talked to Jeff and told him that the fuse had burned out and the filter was replaced.   God is so good and He knows what we need when we need it.  I am so blessed by the fact that my Lord will always keep my family, friends and myself safe.  We will not always understand “why”, but if we look up and praise Him, he will take care of the rest. 

My Dearest Lord,  Thank you so much for giving us enough that we can handle.  I pray that all of my brother and sisters in you have a wonderful and merry Christmas.  I also pray for all those who are out of work, do not have a home, or presents for their children or food on their tables. I pray that we as your dear and loving children would reach out to them and love on them.  Telling them about the first Christmas, so long ago.  Warming them with our hearts and our hospitality.  Thank you for the love that you give us, so that we can love on others.  And thank you so very much for just knowing.  amen.

Just Believe

As some of you seen this morning, we got hit again by another storm.  It was not so much snow as the ice.  My brother in law came by before it hit and offered us shelter if our lights go out.  I informed him that I prayed to the Lord to keep our lights on and I intend to stay home.  He then said, “I am glad you prayed, but from history with ice storms our power has always gone off.”   I said,  “have faith brother, the Lord is going to save us.”   I started thinking about the Word of God.  You know the word talks about how we pray. 

1John 5:14-15 “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:  And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petition that we desired of him.”

John 14:12-15 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.  And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.  If ye love me,  keep my commandments.

There are many more of these verses.  I realized that I need to stand on the word more often and not the opinion of others.  Oh, I love my family, but I realize that in the end, God is all I really need.  He will rain down on my family and I,  and as I get closure to Him, so will my love for my family.  And let me tell you something, if you do not get what you asked for right now, it does not mean that He will not answer.  Because a “No” is an answer, and He knows more than we do.  And sometimes you will recieve an answer  months, year, or even days after you ask.  He is not chained by time like we are.  God bless all of you and let your heart be filled with the Word of God.

I have Seen It!

Through the mist of a very trying week, the Lord showed me something that was just awesome.  I have a client that has been attending the parenting classes on Tuesday nights now for a couple of years.  She has been one of my more challenging clients, but she has grown.  Well, Thursday I was contacted by two individuals who have to stay anonymous, these two individuals wanted to give my client Christmas gifts for her children and some gift cards for some of the grocery stores here in town.  Of course, they have to stay anonymous and so contacted me to deliver the gifts.  I was so blessed by this kind act and I was able to see the hand of Christ in this.  I first of all thank  the Lord for the prevledge to be a part of the Pregnancy Center, but I also am blessed and humble to be able to see these children being blessed by such an awesome God and people who love Him enough to do His will.  This is the second act of the Christmas season that I have witnessed first hand.  He is in this time of the year, we just have to let Him in.  I have more stories coming up and I want to share them with all of you.  My prayer for all of you is to seek out Christ this Christmas and let him fill your heart with joy and peace.  God bless all of you and I love you.

Completely Humble

“Wait upon the Lord, Have good courage and He will give your strength, just wait upon the Lord.”  Psalm 27:14  These are the words that the Lord echoed in my heart on Wednesday night as I was on my knees.  I can not get into details on what happened to get me on my knees, but I can tell you what.  When I was on my knees, I was the weakest christian alive.  At that point all there is, is up.  I can not go down any further and yet I was down.  Crying out to my loving Father and knowing that He is going to give me an answer, any answer would be nice, something that would encourage me.  I felt like King David running from his enemies.  And then these words came to my heart, wait on me Tanya, be of good courage and I will strengthen you, but most of all wait on me.   He is right you know, because any move that I made at that moment was going to be my move, I would make it all about me.  I wanted to rush my enemy, tell them what I really thought of them.  I wanted to lash out with anger and cause them pain like I was feeling at that moment.  But, it would of been about me.  It has to be about him, it has to glorify him.  He has to be furthered by my actions.  This is what I believe, his word says so.  So, I wait on the Lord,  I humble myself, relieve myself of pride and I love my enemy.  I lift my enemy up with prayer and I let the Lord do the rest.  I am completely humble and I am in the best position I need to be, on my knees.

An awesome way to study my bible

 I was listening to another mp3 from a lady named Caffey Whitney, she did a lesson on Meditating on Scripture.  She was really good and she gave some awesome ideas on how to get into the bible.  Caffey said that we can get into the word and read our chapter a day, but do we study the word?  She gave several suggestions, but one that I really want to share with all of you is this one.  Philippians 4:8  “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report;  if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

This is how it works,  find a passage in the bible.  Example would be 1 Cornthinas 13, the love chapter.  Read throught the chapter and as you read ask your self questions using Phil 4:8.  Here is an example “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” 1 Corinthians 13:1

What is true about this passage,  That if I do not speak without love, I might as well be a sounding brass or tinkling cymbal.

What is honest,  That I must be a loving speaking person, if not, this will lead to others not seeing Christ in me.

What is just,  Love

What is pure,  my speech should be.

What is lovely,  letting God have my speech and speaking it to others.

What is a good report,  that I will apply this to my life and let the Lord control my speech.

I just used scripture to interpret scripture.  Is that not awesome or what?  I really encourage you to listen to this study on how to study the word.  It really helped me this morning when Luke, Melanie and I read the scriptures.  If you have any questions, please leave me a comment.  God bless all of you, Love Tanya

See God in everything

I woke up this morning to the white world of snow. This is actually our second snow this winter. It is cold and windy today. I love the snow, except when the sun comes out, it can be really bright.

I have been in the word a lot this last couple of days. Through the time with my Jesus, I have realized that I am like these bare trees. I am naked before the Lord and I am humble. I am ready to give some bad behavior to Him and grow. And when spring comes, I will be full of new buds and bloom like no other. I do need your prayers, it seems that when I am in the word, other things happen and I fall back to the old self. I need to grow and let go of self. I am going to rule over my flesh and not let it have what it wants. So I need all the prayers of protection you can muster. Winter is a time for rest and renewal, I am going to bask in the arms of my Father and let him fight for me. Funny how I can see my Father in all things, even some bare trees. Love all of you.

A Moment with My little Girl

This is my little girl Melanie, she just turned eleven this year. She has been going through some feelings that I went through as a child. The only difference for her, is that I want a better life for her. I pray every day that my son and daughter have an awesome relationship with Jesus. I also want them both to wait until they are married to kiss or even have sex. Most people may think this is not obtainable. I am telling you it is. So last night Melanie and I sat down and watched this video. It is a true story of a young girl who’s father wanted her to wait for that certain man. Out of watching this movie, Melanie asked alot of question and I was so proud of her. She was not sure what to think, but we had a great time and I was able to share God’s love with her. I really recommend this video to everyone who has daughter and sons. This is a special movie and you can find it at cbd.com.
God bless all of you. Love Tanya

What happened to Christ in Christmas?

Last night I took Jeff to work and then picked up Luke from work.  I was noticing all the decorations and the pretty lights.  I kept thinking, something is missing, but what?   When I got home, I did little decorating and I came to my nativity scene and then it hit me.  There are no decorations of Jesus and the manager scene.  I seen Santa, reindeer, snowmen and lots of lights,  but no Jesus.  This really bothered me and then later on I was watching TV,  Mike Huckabee has his own show and he was talking about the recent terrorist attacks in India.  Then he talked about the recent death of a Walmart employee on Black Friday.  A crowd of people were waiting for the doors to open,  when the employee opened the doors about a hundred people came stampeding in the doors and trampled on this man.  In the process, they killed him and hurt four other people, including a women who was eight months pregnant.  I was so appalled.   Where is the good cheer, the love of others, the real reason for the season?  It is not about what is under our tree on Christmas morning, it is about Jesus, our family, our love to one another.  It so saddens me that we are so selfish and there is no concern for other people.  My plan this Christmas is to spread the Love of Jesus to other people.  I also want to find it and see it.  So, this Christmas I am going to be bloging about what I have seen in my community that is so related to my Jesus.  I am putting Christ back into Christmas in my small area of the world.  I hope that you all find this also.  If any of you what to share something awesome or spread this to others, let me know.  I would love to hear from you.  God bless all of you and have a wonderful and Merry Christmas.

Sour Cream Apple Pie

This pie was so easy to make and it was so good.  If you want the receipe, you can go here.   

I think that I will try a cream cheese apple pie for Christmas.  The food network has many different receipes also.

Here was my Thanksgiving.

You would think that this was Christmas instead of Thanksgiving with all the decorations out, but yes it was our Thanksgiving. I lost my voice for most of the day, but I have to tell you it was the best Thanksgiving that I have ever had. We ate, talked and played games all evening. It was so fun.

This is Luke and his friend Micah having their light sabre show.  Micah was able to come and join our family for a meal and time with Luke.  Melanie and her cousins also had a wonderful time and they all got along so well.  The family was able to play Apples to Apples and we had a blast.  If you ever get a chance to play the game, I so encourage it. 
Then their was the moment that all of us were sitting around the table and everyone went around the table talking about what we were thankful for.  Their was silly answers and then there was wonderful answers.  Like, Jesus our savior,  family, friends, fellowship etc.  What a wonderful time to just share and love one another. 

 Then there was this palm tree, what is up with that?  It is a wonderful tree and it makes me think of Bethleham which will be our next holiday to look at.  I hope that all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I would love to hear what you are all thankful for this season of your lives.  God bless all of you and I love you all.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Dear Precious Provider,  Thank you so much for the breath that I am privileged to use every day.  Thank you for the family who loves me and rely on for support.  Thank you for the opportunity to raise children to love and follow you.  Thank you so much for the food that will grace our table.  Thank you for picking me out of a thousand, because of that knowledge, help me always to remember how special I am.  Thank you for caring for me enough to sacrifice your son for me.  Amen. 

From my family to yours,  may your Thanksgiving not be short of thanks.  Love from the Ross Family

Here is the answer

I decided that before I answered the challenge question, I was going to listen to that sermon again.  I heard more information that I want to share with you.  First of all, the author of the book is Barbara Hughes.  Her book is called the “Direction of a Godly Women.”  She is talking to a room full of christian women and ministers wives.  So, this is directed for believers.  Barbara talks about the books of the bible and that every book directed to the coming of Jesus and his character.  If you would like to down load the mp3 go here.  So, here is the answer to that question I posed.  “Can you define the gospel in one sentence?”.  Here is the answer, ” Jesus is Lord”,  if you look at the gospels,  all four of them,  that is what they are trying to tell you.  God sent His son to die for us and in turn we choose to make Him Lord.  Once you get this from your head to your heart,  it makes so much sense.  I am amazed at how this changed my thinking towards Jesus.  He was born to die and live again.  Amazing.  I will talk to you all later, love Tanya

Oh, by the way, I wanted to share the fact that I have a tendency to make Christianity so complicated.  And you know, I am realizing that it is not as complicated as I think.  Give it to God.

Hello everyone!!!!

I have a lot to share with all of you.  Today is my oldest son’s birthday.  Luke is now seventeen years old.  I still can not believe that he is such a handsome young man.  Where does the time go?  Yesterday the family got together and celebrated Luke and his grandmother’s birthday.  It was an awesome day and the family had a great time.  Luke received some new guitar strings and this is what he is doing.  Dad and Luke strung his guitar,  it was an experience to say the least.  I think they ended up breaking one of the strings, but no one got hurt.  I did not realize that is could be so dangerous.  He also got a new cell phone, some axel deodorant and body wash and twenty dollars.  Then there is this guy.  Remember him?  This is my old timer Rudy. I just shaved him this week and he is sporting a new dew.  I do not shave him normally in the winter, but I shaved him to soon in the summer and his fur came back fast.  I just love this dog, he is so loyal to the family and he is fun to play with.  He still loves to play with his rope and ball. He has been hurting alittle bit more this year. He turned ten in September.  I think he is feeling it. 

 

 

And lets not forget this guy.  This is our new cat Leix.  He has found a new place to sleep.  He is now sleeping behind Jeff’s big speakers. He is fitting well with the family and he even has come out and let the dogs sniff him.  He did give Gideon a run for his money the other night.  Gideon got a little to close for comfort and Leix told him what he thought of Gideon.  It did not go well.

Is it a burrito or a hot dog?  Gideon is not spoiled or anything.  Melanie wrapped him up in her blanket the other night.  He just laid there and did not wake up.  He has been alittle under the weather.  He started getting these sores all over his body and we took him to the vet to find out that he has eczema.  So we have been doing wipes and pills.  He has been much better.  He is such a baby. 

I noticed that no body took me on my challenge of summing up the gospel in one sentence.  I think I will wait a little bit and then I will tell all of you what she said.  I am doing good, but I do need your prayers for protection and an openness to God’s direction.  I am going through somethings and I have been going to Jesus for it.  I hope that maybe once I muddle through this, I will be able to share it with you.  Right not I can not do it.  I love all of you and I will keep putting pictures up.  Talk to ya later, love Tanya

I have a challenge for you!!

I was listening to this Author talk about her book to a room full of women.  The Author was talking about the roll of a women and wife.  She stated that a women does not know her roll until she understands the gospel.  The challenge is this, tell me the gospel of Jesus Christ in one sentence.  It can only be one sentence.  I will tell you what she said after I hear from some of you.  I know that this really challenged my heart.  Talk to you all later, love Tanya

A Road I must Travel!

Last night my family and I settled in for what we thought would be a long night of election coverage.  It wasn’t long and the final vote came in and our new President was announced.  I have to tell you, I was bummed and scared all at the same time.  Jeff and I did alot of talking after the kids went to bed and decided that we were going to trust in Jesus and let Him be the director of our lives.  So, this morning I received a phone call from a friend and she was telling me that there was already threats on Obama’s life.  I started to think about this and realized that I may not agree with Obama, but I do not want him hurt either.  So, I started to pray for protection of Mr. Obama and his family.  I started praying for the protection of our governmental officials and the decisions that is before all of them.  I then went to other blogs and I have to say, I am really proud of alot of christians who are bummed like me.  The whole agreement is the same as mine, we need to pray for our new president.  What ever you are feeling this morning, go to God, we need to start doing the will of our Father.  This is really hard for me, I am afraid, but I am going to travel down this road with Jesus and let Him show me the right path.  I hope that all of you pick the same path, it’s the God thing to do.  Love Tanya

Do Not forget to do your civic duty!

I just wanted to remind all of you to make sure you get out there and vote today.  I can not believe that this day is already here.  This year is going by so fast.  God bless everyone and may the best man win.

Do Not Walk on the Sidewalks!!!!!

I am writing this post to warn all the people who live in our town to not walk on the sidewalks.  This kid in this picture is now a legal driver with the assist of a parent.  I have to tell you,  it is not the kid who scares me as much as the parent who will be in the car with the kid.  I may be sitting next to him every once in a while and I will do my best to control him.  But when this guy is with him,  look out!!!

 Seriously though,  I have to tell  you, I was so surprised when Luke came home with a permit in his hands.  He did drive this morning with Jeff and he did an awesome job.  I believe that Luke is going to be a responsible driver.  I am laughing at Jeff’s shirt.  Luke went to Seattle and found this shirt for Jeff.  Can you see where their mind is sometimes?  Pray for me.  I am very pleased with both of these guys,  they are really awesome.  Talk to all of you later.  Love Tanya

Welcoming, Tolerant and Liberal

I recently was in a very in depth conversation with a couple of ladies on the words welcoming, tolerant and liberal.  First of all,  I am a christian and therefore I am accountable to  God and His bible.  I believe that every word in the bible is true and therefore I need to be accountable to the word and live my life accordingly.  The word welcoming is referred to the people who walk into the church on Sunday morning,  these people may live lives that we do not agree with.  For example,  a young women comes into the church who is a lesbian.  Yes, by all means I welcome this person in, I love this person and I take them to the bible and show them God’s word.  We need not to judge but love and pray for this person.  In time, this person will either seek God or she will not,  but it is not my place to judge or condemn her for her decisions at that time.  If in time they do not change and they keep doing what they are doing,  then it  will take a group of people within the church to show her the word and keep her accountable.  This is where tolerant comes in,  we can not be tolerant of her lifestyle and just except it.  We need to show and live by God’s word.  This is not judging the person, this is accountability.  Therefore, I support God’s word.   I will not become tolerant to gay, lesbian,  I will love them but I will not except their lifestyles.  Tolerant is dangerous because it can cause christian to bend or justify God’s word.  Did I just not say that I follow God’s word, I am not going to justify it or change it to suit my lifestyle.  We as christian have a responsibility to keep God’s word preserved and alive,  we do this by obeying His word.  So, tolerating a person who does not change their thinking is not preserving God’s word. 

The most deadly word for a christian is liberal,  I will tell you why.  Liberal means that you welcome every thinkingknown to man into the church.  And then the church changes the bible because of this thinking.  For example,  the women who is a lesbian,  lets not change her thinking, let except it and let all of our young ladies be able to make a choice.  That is dangerous.  Example of this thinking is in the election this year,  tell me why you are a christian and you are voting for Obama?  You are a christian and you are okay that he believes in every aspect of abortion, homosexuality, different religions etc.  That is a liberal christian,  and from what I have read in the word does not exist.  A liberal christian is not a christian,  all of this thinking is against God’s word.  Do you not believe that if you just vote for the man that is moralistic, that God will take care of everything else.  He will protect us, stop looking at the world and look to Jesus. 

Not what I use to think

I have been listening to the bible on my Zune.  I deceided to listen to Acts.  When I got to chapter 11,  I started playing it over and over again.  Then last night I sat down and read chapter 11.  It has really intrigued me and I was not sure why,  until I talked with my husband and I realized why.  In chapter 11,  Peter has an experience with some Gentiles and ends up leading them to Christ.  When Peter comes back, the circumcised or believers pull Peter aside and asks him about what he did.  Then Peter tells them about this vision he has about unclean meat.  And then it leads back into what happens with the Gentiles.  You have to really pray and read this passage.  Any ways,  I thought God was talking to me about food and I was praying my way through this.  It has nothing to do with food.  It has everything to do with the way I think.  See, I have been trying to understand God,  trying to see God’s works in an earthly way.  Like,  this economy,  how is it all going to turn out.  Well,  I can not understand it.  I realized there is another realm so far but yet so near,  it is the spiritual realm.  I may never see it while I am alive, but it is there.  And because of this realm, all things are possible.  You know like the scripture Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for: the evidence of things not seen.”   See, my thinking is not the way it use to be,  I have the powerful God in my heart.  And that same thing happened to Peter,  Peter tells God that he has never eaten any unclean meat.  This answer Peter gives to God is a result of Peters up bringing.   When Peter walked with Jesus,  and Jesus sent all the disciples out,  they were only to talk to the Jews.  Well, now Peter was under a new convenant and Jesus wanted Peter to tell the Gentiles also of Him.  What Jesus was telling Peter was this,  “You are not the same person you were before all this happened,  you are now a new person and you need to change your thinking.” 

This is when it hit me,  I am not the same person.  I have not been this same person for some time.  I need to change my thinking.  I need to stop understanding life, the world, Jesus etc.  And I need to just place it in His hands and trust.  This does not mean I am going to go half cocked and believe everything.  I am still only going to believe it if for one it is in the word and two God has given me revelation on it.  I believe we should still question our churches, leaders of the church etc.  It is common sense and protection.  I am however not going to analyze my creator and I am just going to believe.  I am also going to stop looking at situations here within friends and family and let thinking hurt or discourage me.  I mean like old thinking, because I am a new creation in Christ Jesus.  I can let shame and guilt ruin my life and then I pitty myself, I have to remember that once I seek forgiveness with Jesus, it is done.  I also have to believe every word of my bible and live the way it reads.  But, I am not that scared little girl who wants everything.  I have everything through Jesus Christ.  He is my life.

Thirteen Jars

Tuesday night while I was at the Pregnancy Center, a small package came in the mail.  I almost did not see it, because it was shoved in the afternoon newspaper.  I pulled out the package and opened it.  This small book fell out of it.  This book is written by a man named Rob Fischer from Spokane, Washington.  I brought the book home and sat down to read it.  I read it in one night and I was so moved by this book.  It is about a nurse who takes these jars from the doctor.  The doctor wants her to get rid of them discreetly.  I am not telling you anymore.  If you want to know more about this book go to this website.  I have to tell you, as I do the will of my Father, I am amazed at how much He wants me to know and place in my heart.  I really encourage you to check out this book.  It touched my heart.  Love all of you, from Tanya

Who are you voting for?

I have been watching the debates, I have been listening to other people talk etc etc. I have looked at the issues of both candidate.   Seriously, I have been a little concerned about christians who want to vote for Obama.  First of all,  I have not heard anything from Obama about change.  He has been really good about pulling out McCain’s mistakes, but not showing much change.  Secondly,  I can not get myself to vote for someone who is for abortion, stem cell research on babies and homosexual relationships.  I found an awesome site that you may want to place in you favorites,  it is called Election 2008.  Here is a site that has all the issues in this years election,  this is Obama’s issues.  This is McCain’s issues,  Now, I am voting for McCain because he seems to be more morally set than Obama.  I find it really irritating that I can not vote for a person on issues for the country, I have to vote in a person who has morals.  And tell me why is abortion an issue?  Does not God talk about not killing?  I am going to vote because For one, I feel like it is my duty for my country and secondly, when I start to complain, I will remember that I did do my duty.  If you do not vote, you can not complain.  Just recently a minister walked into a public school here in town and presented the kids with bananas and condemns,  I think you can figure out the rest.  So, why is this such a world that schools are passing out condemns and birth control to the kids.  Why are we not teaching these kids about self esteem and goals for their lives?  But no, we are so worried about economy and health care,  I am not down grading these things, but we as parents need to kick it in and protect our family from anything that is going to happen in our schools.  Also, Obama may be talking about taking our troops out,  but he first has to go through the house of representative and the senate before any thing can be changed.  See,  they can promise us the world and offer nothing,  they do not have all the power.  We have to remember this when we vote.  You will have to vote the way you feel to vote,  but I am voting moralistic.  I want the freedom to home school my children,  I also want the freedom to go into the school and talk to the children about saving themselves for their future spouse, making goals for themselves and em brassing God.  I pray for the freedom of families, making the choice to have their babies at home or in the hospital.  When the fore fathers build this government,  they embrassed God and they believed that God should run the government.  There is an awesome site that you must look into,  it is called Wall builders.  The website is full of information on our forefathers and the beginning of government.  Well, I believe that I have said enough,  I hope that you pray and let God lead you in the decisions that you need to make on November 4th.  God bless all of you, from Tanya

When do ya call it quits?

I was reading some of my favorite blogs and reminiscing about last winter, when I seemed to have more time to post something.  I realized that I have placed myself in a jam.  I have made myself so busy that now I am praying that God will cancel things so that I can rest.  I am not sure when I am going to realize that I need time to sit back and read my bible.  I find it interesting that just last night I was talking to my son about building a relationship with God.  “Now Luke, how do you get to know Jesus”,  I said.  “Reading the bible and praying to Jesus mom” replies Luke.  You are right dude,  and that is my dilemma.  See, I had this weekend all planned out.  I was going to a women’s meeting Saturday and then I was asked to come to a fund raiser for the Pregnancy Center.  I had no idea that my nephew was going to come to town and we were going to be gone Friday night and all day Saturday.  Friday, I started to pray,  Lord, I am already tired.  What do you want me to do?  Well, God cancelled the women’s group.  But honestly,  I made plans before our nephew did and I was not going to back down on the pregnancy center.  I really believe that God has given me a ministry and that I need to do that. And honestly, I was so blessed by the fundraiser and I seen friends that I haven’t talked to in a long time.  Not to mention the food was great.   One thing that I am sure of, is that I am not going to back down on this one.  And I tell you, that when I start getting busy, things lack.  One of them is my blog, but most importantly, my bible time and even my prayer time.  This is something I can not afford to let go,  I need to know these instructions for living on earth.  I was in prayer last night about questions that are burning in my heart.  I know that the only way that those questions will be answered is from the bible. 

So from one sister to another,  I tell you, do not get busy and shuffle the bible away.  We have to be in the bible to know what we need to do in this life. And I realize that we are getting in the season where we are busy, but take that time for Jesus.   We are servant to a living and merciful God.  We need to know what to do.  I am not going to let busyness cloud my walk with my savior.  I will still do my groups, but I will not let it overwhelm me or cause me to not focus. I will take that time with Jesus and be in the word.  Life is too short.  Love ya all and talk to ya later.

P.S.  I would like you all to see my other blog, go to www.wilderness-shiloh.blogspot.com.  I just posted this morning and it has alot of good information.

Just a little note

Is that not a view of beauty.  I just love it.  I have really been loving this autumn.  I love all the leaves turning and the smells.  I thought I would post something and let you all know that I am fine, I have been really busy with life.  But, I hope that after this weekend I will be able to tell you all about life for me.  I love all of you and until Monday, have a great weekend.  Love Tanya

My Boy is Home!!!!!

Well as some of you all know, our son Luke was in Seattle Washington for two weeks.  And I tell you what, I sure did miss him.  Today he came home,  and his flight home was great.  No delays and he came into Omaha on time with no scraps.  How awesome is that.  I stood at the gate and waited for him,  when he came up the ramp he looked so grown  up and I started to look at him differently.  But, the most awesome sight I saw tonight was my daughter and son embrasing.  I weld up and I was so proud of both of them.  They held on to each other for like hours.  She kept saying that she had missed him and he said the same.  They were glad to see each other.  He is a great boy and I am so proud of him and what God has done for him.  My boy is back.  Thank you for all of your prayers and comments.  I do not think I could of gotten through all of this without your support.  I love all of you, love Tanya

I also wanted to say that it was awesome to see Jeff and Luke.  They held each other for sometime and they kept telling each other that they loved each other and they do not want to be away from each other that long again.  It may sound kind of weird, but that makes me feel good that they are so close and they love one another.  Talk to you all later, love Tanya

New Chapter in my Life

Janet Wheat, Cara Crawford, Pastor Alan Dean and I

As most of you may or may not know, I am now the Volunteer Director of the Pregnancy Center of South West Iowa.  Our former director Janet stepped down to pursue other ministries.  At first I was really scared to step up to this new, a lot of responsibility job.  But, of course God already knew this and He provided a new volunteer that is really stepping up and helping me.  That is Cara,  who is in the black..  See, I am realizing that I can not do this on my own, and personally this is not about me.  This is totally about my Jesus and the direction He wants for the ministry that He directed me to go to.  I was amazed at how the Lord has taken me from a Board member to an adviser and now a director.  God knows what He is doing.  I ask for your prayers for the center, we have changed hours and we are busy every Tuesday and Wednesdays.  It is so busy that I am having a hard time on Tuesdays, keeping up with clients and teaching a parenting class.  I also am blessed to be teaching three couple.  We are currently doing “Love and Respect.”  The donations have been fenaminable also, our donation box is always full and I am amazed at how God does it.  I am so blessed to know such passionate people who want to work for the Lord.  This encourages me and helps me to look to Him more.  God bless all of you and I love ya lots.  Tanya

Is this not just the most beautiful picture?

I would love to know when you think life begins?  This is an interesting question to me.  Let’s throw it out there and discuss this.  God bless all of you. 

Boaz, a man of honor

I sat down last night and read some of the book of Ruth.  I always pray before I start reading and one thing that I asked God to do, was to show me what He wanted me to get from the book.  As I read the chapter I was so impressed with Boaz.  He is definitly a man of honor,  he took in a young women he knew nothing about and made sure she had food enough for her and her mother in law. 

 

See, Boaz took care of Ruth because she was the daughter in law of a family member.  He wanted to make sure that his family was taken care of,  all of them.  This is an admiral thing to do.  Today, men are not treated the way they were in the bible.  Men were honored by their wives, daughters and mothers and even the community.  They were the head of their households.  As, I go through life, I realize that I did not honor my husband as well as Ruth did Boaz.  She did not even know him and yet there was such respect and honor from her to him, she listened to his directions and respected his wishes.   I am touched by this.  I am going to place my husband in the role of head of our house hold and I am going to honor and respect him.  Ladies if you are having trouble with this,  there is an awesome program called “Love and Respect” by Emerson Eggerson. I also want to add, submission is volunteering, you do not have to do it, but it does change the relationship of you and your spouse if you choose to do it. Love and Respect  is an awesome program,  Emerson  talks to the men also.  But, I believe that the changes in my marriage has to start with me.  I can not go through life trying to change my husband.  This has even effected my realtionship with my dad and father in law.  I choose to respect and honor their authority.  For they have to honor and respect God and the church.  If you do not know much about the book of Ruth,  I really recommend it.  It is an awesome book and it really showed me the proper way to be a lady of honor,  it starts with honoring and respecting first.  God bless all of you.  Love Tanya

This is really funny…..

 

Jeff and Luke meet Brad Stine a couple of years ago at a Promise Keepers.  They really liked him and we have been getting his DVD since then.  I just got this DVD for Jeff for our anniversary by Brad.  It is called “Wussification.”  Oh my gosh it was so funny.  I hope that you all like this.  I love Captin Kangaroo and I never was a big Barney fan.  So, this is funny.  Enjoy, love Tanya

I would like to dedicate this to?

This is Jeff and I outside our home.

I would like to dedicate this post to my husband.  See, tomorrow Jeff and I will be celebrating eighteen years of marriage.  I say this with a proud and loving heart, because in the history of my family that is a record.  I am so pleased to be Jeff’s wife and I am glad that God brought Jeff and I together.  He is my best friend above all of my sister’s in Christ.  He is my confidant, friend, lover and leader of our home.  Happy Anniversary sweetheart and here’s to many more to come.  Love Bear.

A little house cleaning

Jeff and I have been doing some work around our home.  Last night we were visited by a man who may be able to replace all the windows in our home.  I hope that this is true and the house will start looking awesome.  Jeff and I, with the help of all the kids. We tore up all the carpet that was on these stairs and look what we found underneath them. Isn’t that a beautiful sight. We are now going to have to redo them and paint some walls.  Cool.

This stove was given to my by Jeff’s sister.  It is one of those convectional ovens.  It has a glass top.  I have had to put a little money into it.  But it is really a fine stove and I have really enjoyed cooking on it.  It goes great with all of my white that I have going on.  I hope to paint in here a yellow.  I love sunflowers and that is what I am going with. 

 

This is my breakfast nook off from my kitchen. I purchased that book case for 15.00 at the EBay store here in town.  I placed all of my nick knacks on it.  It really freed up some  of my counter space in the kitchen.  I also got those chairs for free.  I got five of them and placed them around my table in the nook.  They are really good chairs. 

 

Melanie is sitting in our new chair.  We got this at a used furniture store for $75.  It is a Lazy boy and boy it is comfortable.  Soon, we will have a solid color couch and love seat to match it.  We also need to get rid of some of our other furniture of course.  Like the one that the dogs are laying in. 

I also purchased two of these lamps at the used furniture store.  They were 15.00 a piece.  They are beautiful lamps and they light up this living room nicely.  I can not wait until we have all the furniture and curtains to really spruce up the place. 

Last but not least, our bedroom.  We used to have one of those Super King sized water beds that took up the whole room.  Well we purchased this queen sized bed and the room looks huge.  I could not capture the size of the room.  But there is going to be enough room for us to move around.  It is a large room.  At least Leix our cat thinks so.  The house is going to really look good when we are done.  I will show you more pictures as we get projects finished.  Talk to all of you later, Love Tanya

p.s.  Luke is having a blast and he is already counting down until he comes home.

Our little adventure??

Well, Saturday morning at two in the morning came and found four tired people.  But we dragged our bodies out of bed and got ready.  I tried to call the airport several times and no answer.  So Jeff and I made the decision to just go to the airport.  Any ways, when we finally got to the airport, we found out that Luke’s flight did not leave at seven fifteen, but it left at twelve fifty five p.m.  Ohhhh, I was alittle upset to say the least.  I called my parents and woke them up.  And she knew that the time had changed and she said that she sent the new times to me.  I never received them.  So, Jeff and I took Luke and Melanie to break feast at Perkins and then we went to Walmart and some other places as they opened up.  We went back to the airport and arranged for his tickets and for Jeff’s gate pass.  We then sat around and talked and of course gave Luke instructions about flying.  It was time for Jeff and Luke to leave for the gate.  As I type this, I am crying, it was the hardest event I have even went through.  When Luke was little, I did not bond with him and I made choices that hurt him.  There had been walls up that stopped me from  growing  with him,  but after I excepted Jesus as my Lord and savior,  Jesus saved our relationship.  I love him and I am so proud of the young man that God is making out of him.  So, I had to stand back and let go, just as we are starting to grow a relationship.  And in a couple of years, I am going to have to do the same thing, stand back and hope that God gave me the tools to prepare him for his life.  Jeff actually took it better than I did,  and I really believe that this has caused Jeff to change and grow more in the Lord.  Luke made it to Washington state thirty minutes early and he was so hyper.  I have talked to him everyday since he has been gone.  He is really having alot of fun and he is seeing alot of Everett, Washington.  I used the picture of the Enterprise for Luke, he is a Star Trekkie.  I am sure he would of loved flying in that to Washington State.  I do ask for prayer, my sister, who lives in Everett is causing some problems  with Luke and my parents.  Luke and my parents are getting along, but she keeps throwing wrenches into the machinery.  Just pray for protection and that she will leave it alone.  I am doing fine today and I do miss him,  but he will be home on October 5th and I know that God is in control.  God bless all of you and I am praying for all of you.  Love Tanya

Well we are off!

Well, we are up at 2:30 am in the morning to take Luke to the airport. Yawn.  I am tired, but I am not so sure I am up to this. Please keep praying for us and that Luke has a safe trip. I love these pictures.  We took them yesterday and I can not believe how big the kids are getting, time flies.  Have a great day.  Love Tanya