twin nephews: need prayer

i would ask that anyone who comes across this blog to please pray for the boys - john and gabe. many of you know they've been diagnosed as being developmentally delayed - with the main concern being speech. they've recently been enrolled in a special education pre-school class, and the teachers have recommended they be tested for autism in the coming months.

while we love them to no end no matter what, we hate to see them struggle... and i know that God has specifically chosen tim and bridget to take care of these precious, beautiful, special boys... and His plan in perfect!

here are a few pictures of the boys from their first christmas in their "new" home!

christmas 2008

here are a few pictures from the past few days.

tess decided to use me as a bed:


so santa brought her a bed:


she gets on it but doesn't stay long:




bri reading on christmas night:

bri looking at my music box that i got for christmas! (i LOVE it!):


my christmas socks that were adorable but made my feet look weird: (note that one of santa's hands is missing because my dog took it off without me knowing)


tess in her christmas coat:


playing a christmas story monopoly this morning:

dec 23rd

holy crapola it's christmas eve eve. did christmas sneak up on anyone else??

here are the finished products: the pink yankees blanket for mom, and a new york mets blanket for mike and thea. and i'm hoping they don't follow this blog. if they do, they better act surprised on christmas morning :)

dec 22nd

this morning my mom went into work early, so i had to get up early to get her christmas present made. she's always hogging my red sox blanket, so i've decided to make her a yankees blanket. as i was laying out the bottom fleece, my lovely dog decided she needed to sit and wash her face on it. too cute.

december 21st

i didn't have my real camera today, so... a picture i took this morning from my crackberry will have to do!

you want a photo amanda??

HERE YOU GO.

oh amanda!

catch up

the internet on my laptop stopped working about 2 weeks ago... so i stopped posting pictures for the daily photo project... so naturally i stopped taking pictures, too. here are a few i've taken since then... and i promise to be faithful from here on out.

ps, amanda - your husband is a genius. all it took was rebooting the router and voila! i'm back online. tell him thank you very much :)

from 12/9: the advent calendar mike & thea bought 2 years ago... we love it!

from 12/10: the reindeer antlers on my car - the day before i lost them on I-95 :(


from 12/11: the advent wreath at church:

last week i took some pictures of my band kids hoping to print them out and make cards this week for their parents... i only got to take pictures of 1 of my bands...
yes, these are the children i get to work with every day:
(l-r) trumpets: jonathan, elijah and nicholas

drummers (note how many... and this is ONE of my 7th grade bands):
back row, l-r:david, nico, merfy, anthony, fred.. front row: austin & jake

clarinets: kelsey (look how happy she is!), chayanne, autumn and kim
julio (sax), isiah (flute) and donald (sax).

from 12/12 - a picture of my puppy cuddled up on the red sox blanket amanda and christie made me:

then i stopped taking pictures... until today. consider this my december 19th photo... so far we've had about 8-10" of snow, with more expected sunday! i'm hoping for a white christmas... haven't had one in i don't know how long!
my bedroom window:

the back yard... near the garden:

back yard again:

front porch:

dpp # 8

so we're a week in, and i've been feeling pressured just to get a dumb picture up! it's usually an after thought, so this week i'm attempting to bring my camera with me wherever i go so i can get something more than christmas things from my house :)

dpp # 7

last year my dad got a hand made manger scene for my mom's birthday. we absolutely love it... i couldn't get a good shot of the entire set... so here's the most important part:

photo # 6

this is in loving memory of my friend daniel brigham. today we finally got around to decorating the tree (it's been up since the day after thanksgiving)... daniel loved all things christmas... loved being an emt... and loved life. we still miss him every day, but especially during the holidays.

when daniel passed away in august of 2003, at just 23 years old. his mom had christmas ornaments made in his memory, and each year when we take it out we think about the good times we had with him.

photo # 5

ok so i admit... it's actually 12:05am and i just got in from being out for the night... but i did take the picture before i left, which was technically on december 5th. i'm only posting on the 6th... in fact i think i'll change the date of the post :)

here's an ornament on our tree - and it's a reminder of what this season is truly about:



rachel - i'm a little disappointed that i don't see a picture yet. hopefully you're more of a night owl than i am and will be posting one soon. :)

photo # 4

goodness gracious my life has to slow down. i feel like there's no time for these stinkin pictures! this is something i was hoping would allow me to expand on my picture taking skills, but i feel so rushed and as though i just have to get a picture posted!

tonight's photo is of my baby girl. stay tuned - later in the month i'm sure she'll be appearing in some pretty cute outfits :)



ps THANKS FOR STICKING UP FOR ME, RACHEL. those pregnancy hormones have apparently gotten ahold of our dear amanda!

day 3

i miss my old house so much... in fact, when i dream about things that happen at home, it's still my parents old house... not their current home.

there is one thing that is nice about this house - if the sun is shining and it's not cloudy... there's always a beautiful sunset.

day 2

well folks, i didn't think this one was going to happen. pretty sad seeing as it's only the 2nd day. tonight i decided to take a picture of what i see coming home every night during the month of december:


this week is going to be a tough one - especially tomorrow: school, staff meeting, then dinner, youth group and choir all at church. i'm determined to do it though! :)

dpp

i heard about the december photo project from rachel and thought to myself "i have no life, i can do this!" and i might even get a little better at taking photos than i am now (i have a TON of room for improvement!!!!)

i'm starting with a photo i just took about 15 minutes ago. we sprung for an electric fireplace yesterday, and dad asked me to take a few pictures so he could show the guys at work (for a guy who didn't want it in the first place, he sure is enjoying it!). so... there's nothing spectacular about it; it's just the only picture i've taken today! the rest will (hopefully) get more interesting and artsy. i think it'll be interesting to see the progress of the month! :)

thankfulness and rambling

i'm going to try to gather my thoughts for the enormous list of things i am thankful for.

first and foremost, i am extremely thankful for a God who loves me even when it's difficult to love myself. In the past months my faith has grown leaps and bounds, and it seems to happen when i'm not trying to grow my faith, but when i'm listening more to my heavenly Father than trying to tell Him what i need in my life.

i'm thankful for my family. we're spread out across the country, but a phone call to my sister in arizona, or my brother in chicago (well, michigan as of tomorrow!) or my other brother in new jersey never fails to bring light to a difficult situation or laughter to a bad day. my parents have raised me to love the Lord with all my heart, all my soul and all my strength, and for that i am extremely thankful.

my church family. they've loved me since i walked through those doors when i was 4 years old. now, 26 years later, i've formed lasting relationships with my extended family. The Renzonis. The Morths. The Replogles. The Teeples. The Morris'. their example is more powerful than they'll ever be aware.

**note** this entry was started at about 8am thanksgiving morning. the craziness of the day got the better of me, and now that i am home from midnight outlet shopping i'm determined to attempt to complete my list at nearly 3am.**

my dog. she's always there to greet me when i come in the door, or to lick my tears. she's the best.

my friends. never more than a phone call away for advice, an ear, a shoulder or a laugh.

a job. granted it's stressful, but i absolutely love the kids i teach. the more challenging, the more i love them - especially when i break down the wall they put up. it's happened with quite a few students already this year. also, a few kids have come to talk to me about their faith - it's incredible. to be able to share my faith with students is something that will never get old. i'm convinced that my school is my mission field.

a warm bed. a reliable car. electricity. the gift of music. the youth of ghbc. HDTV. running water. baseball. hugs. financial needs met. old hymns.

this week i've been thinking about the little things that God provides for that we, in general, completely overlook. each day is a gift and God is deserving of our praise for even the little things in life. it's my hope and goal to become more grateful for the little things in life, and less focused on just thanking God for the big things or specific answers to prayer. green lights when i'm running late. water when i'm thirsty. pain - it means i'm alive.

angie smith had a challenge for thanksgiving. she's challenged her readers to thank God for something that was difficult to go through (her example was losing her infant daughter hours after she was born). it was amazing to read the readers responses to her challenge. i encourage you to go to her blog and check it out.

ok it's late and i'm not quite sure where i'm going with this. just some things i've been thinking about lately and wanted to get it written down.

i hope whoever happens to stumble across this entry had a blessed thanksgiving. don't forget to thank God for all things, even the things that we aren't naturally thankful for.

once again: He gives, and takes away.

and my heart will chose to say "Blessed be Your name!"

fact # 261: i hate having to say goodbye. one of the major perks of being a believer is knowing that no matter what happens on this earth, i will, without a doubt, see loved ones again. while it's a great comfort, it doesn't take away the pain of having to say goodbye to someone whom i have much respect for.

dave brown has been a part of my church for almost 3 1/2 years, which seems impossible. time has gone by quickly, and i am kicking myself for not having taken full advantage of having such a great man of God and someone with a vast, deep and thorough wisdom of the Bible just a phone call or short drive away.

lots of tears were shed today... this place just won't be the same without him.

philly 2005:

nyc 2005:

frisbee golf 2006:



after ghbc softball:

fenway - dave's first time!:



one of a billion midday visits to dave's office:

my birthday:

fenway again:



Groton Height Baptist Church Worship Team: