Invitations

Last night after a fun family time at a new park in town and a quick bite to eat, we were reviewing the books of NT & OT with the kids. We have a song we sing and so David went on to sing "Isaiah, Jeremiah who wrote invitations." I LOVE it!!! I didn't want Rody to correct him but he did...so Jeremiah is no longer writing invitations but Lamentations. :-)

Give Me Jesus

I read a post on a friend's facebook the other day on idols. I read it, commented that it was good and went on. Last night God spoke ever so softly reminding me that even "good" things can become idols. As a mom and a wife who so loves her family, I have to be very careful that in my pursuit of being a godly wife and mom, I do not make my husband, my children, my home or our family an idol. Now that is not to say we are to use this as an excuse...b/c we are given very clear mandates in His word about our roles and duties. But I was thinking last night...what do I want my "legacy" to be (yes I heard the song on K-Love). What do I want my kids, my husband, my neighbors and friends and everyone who knows me to remember? I want them to remember that I was totally enthralled and in love with Jesus. Not just in theory but in live it out, can be messy, real life.

I read a familiar passage today in John 1. I love when Jesus asks them "What seek ye?" What do you want? You know in His ministry so many people had an answer...healing, power, peace or a political plan (for Jesus to overthrow the Romans)...then there were those that just wanted Jesus. Plain and simple...relationship, redemption. And then Jesus meets Peter. He knows Peter by name. I don't know about you, but to know that Jesus knows my name gives me value, makes me loved and completely humble. Then Jesus calls him Cephas. Not only does Jesus know who Peter is...but who he will become. Thank you Lord that you know the beginning from the end. You have pulled me from the miry, muck and set my feet upon a rock. You know what kind of Christ follower I will become...not there yet but getting there. You know what kind of mom and teacher I will become...not there yet but getting there. You know what kind of wife, friend and daughter i will become...not there yet but getting there.

I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold; I’d rather be His than have riches untold; I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands, I’d rather be led by His nail pierced hand.


Than to be a king of a vast domain Or be held in sin’s dread sway, I’d rather have Jesus than anything This world affords today.


I’d rather have Jesus than men’s applause; I’d rather be faithful to His dear cause; I’d rather have Jesus than world-wide fame, I’d rather be true to His holy name.


Than to be a king of a vast domain Or be held in sin’s dread sway, I’d rather have Jesus than anything This world affords today.

A gorgeous sunset from Padre...

Vacation Posts

Okay I think I have all the vacation pics posted (not all--I don't want to subject to that torture). We did have a great time and are so thankful for the invitation from my parents--thank you! It was a much needed time of rest, renewal and down time as a family.

The Birds

The seagulls are always a fun part of going to the beach. The scavengers are always on the lookout for food. One day the people under the tent next to us were feeding the birds and David and Kyra were creating these huge, elaborate "zoos" for their animals when David tossed a plastic pig out of his zoo. A seagull swooped down to get it but dropped it realizing it was not food. So on our last day a young couple next to us were feeding the seagulls bread. Kyra was quite frustrated that people did that as it attracts a ton of birds. Well all frustration was lost when they offered us an entire bag of bread. The kids went crazy and you could literally throw small pieces in the air and they would swipe it out of mid air. They were full birds when we were done.

Family Time

No doubt the best part of vacation was hanging out with one another and playing, talking and just being together. Thank you Lord for the blessing of my family. I love watching the kids play together and they got along so well!

More Family Pics

Kayak

While at Nana & Paw Paw's earlier this summer, David really enjoyed the kayak. So we were delighted to learn the place where we were staying had a kayak in the garage and we could try it on the ocean. David and Rody had a great time doing this and then I tried as well. Wow--talk about a work out. It really works your core and thighs...hmm I should have spent the entire vacation on it and come back in shape. :-)

Boogey Boarding

While on vacation, most days were spent swimming in the pool, playing in the sand under our really cool tent (that was destroyed in a two minute squall)....and then there was boogey boarding. David especially was fond of this new found sport....the fact that Rody would do the hard work of dragging him to the waves made it even better. These light little ones could travel great distances on the waves and it was so cool to watch them experience this.

They also had a blast on these blow up toys..they were perfect for the pool and waves.

Katie and the Water

After reading a friend's blog I was reminded this blog will essentially be my kid's baby books. :-) And since Katie is the baby it is time to update some of her progression. She is fully potty trained and doing so well. She will soon be moving to a big girl bed as soon as her momma can decide between bunk beds or a full (since the girls sleep together anyway). She is just a funny kid. She is always saying the funniest things to make us laugh. Last night she came in talking about the "deckos" which interpretted is Geckos. She is a very animated and expressive talker and I love to watch the world through her eyes. She ADORES her sister & brother and I love watching her when she wakes up to pick one and snuggle with them (I lucked out yesterday and they were still both asleep--so I got snuggle time).

So back to the water post. After our near drowing experience at Typhoon Lagoon last year and her incredible fear of the waves, I was so afraid she was going to dislike the ocean. (PS--we didn't really almost drown but it was tramatic for her). On the contrary--as soon as we woke up at the beach, she would say "Let's swim at the beach". She loved it. She ran and jumped in the waves and then would run to rub her eyes on my swimsuit to get the salt out of her eyes and mouth. She was so brave and just loved being in the water. She preferred that to the sand and would play until she would just crash.

Can you say Wienerschnitzel?

I love these funny moments...

The Kid in You

There is nothing like the beach to bring the kid out in you. It has been such a joy this past week to watch my kids dig & play in the sand, to see them ride the waves, dig their toes in the sand and chase the seagulls. It brings back great memories of coming to the beach as a kid reliving the excitement and awe of how big the ocean truly is.. I cannot ever step on a beach and see the bright stars that I do not think of God's covenant with Abraham..to make his decendents as numerous as the sand and the stars. What promises has God given you that you need to remember today?

My favorite part...is just hanging out loving on my family and getting to be with them.

Back at the Ranch

Well after a long journey we were back at the ranch. While poor Kyra had to stay hooked to oxygen, the younger two spent all the time they could on horseback. They fed horses, checked cows and made dad lead them all around. They had a great time and all three of them just have an incredible love for horses.

Cowgirl Katie

Here is Katie our little cowgirl. She rode a horse ALL BY HERSELF...I never thought we were going to get her off. "One more time" she would say. Oh and here she is in her cowgirl hat with coffee going with granddad to feed the horses.

Turn of Events

Well our much anticipated trip to the mountains didn't quite end as we planned. We arrived on Saturday and by Tuesday, Kyra started getting really sick. By Tuesday night we knew she probably had pneumonia. Luckily the lady at the campground had asthma and allowed us to borrow her nebulizer through the night. After taking treatments every 2-3 hours, you know it is bad when Kyra asks for them, we took her into the hospital around 5 am. Her oxygen level was at 87 so they gave her an antibotic, steroid, breathing treatment and put her on oxygen. And then of course they admitted her. So there we sat--in the hospital in Alamosa, an hour from our campground where we had no cell signal, separated from our family. Okay that was the bad part...good part was we had so many prayers and well wishes from friends & family. A friend from Clovis has a sister who works at that hospital so I got a daily delivery of Sonic Dr. Pepper and she arranged for me to get meals with Kyra (since I was afoot with Rody having the vehicle). We received EXCELLENT care and the pediatrician at the hospital did her residency with all of Kyra's docs in Lubbock. God provided many connections and wonderful people to make the situation as good as it could be.

Thankfully on Friday, the doctor released us with oxygen hoping the lower elevation would help her. We left with a 92 O2 saturation. We headed for Roswell where on Saturday we went to the ER..we were still at 92, but the incredible ER doc said go back to Rody's parents, keep her on oxygen, keep giving her the oral steroids and breating treatments b/c that is all we would do here. So on Sunday we went back by where they checked her 02 and we were holding steady so we headed home with a bigger oxygen bottle. On Monday we went to see our doc and by then she was at 95 on room air. So she was removed from the oxygen. Woo-hoo.

You know I was really frustrated and shared that with the Lord as we so desparately needed down time and time as a family. For over 2 years Rody has wanted to go to the mountains. We haven't been there since I was pregnant with Katie when we went to Estes Park, CO for our 10 year anniversary. I was sick on that trip. Us Chesser girls just have a hard time in the mountains. :-) But you know, God is faithful and has a reason for everything.

Here are picks of Camel Rock in NM and a gorgeous NM sunset

The Waterfall

One of the highlights of our Colorado trip was a hike we took up to a waterfall. It was 1.3 mile hike up and a pretty good hike. Thank goodness we had the kids that had to stop often b/c I was dying my own self. Goal for the Fall--get back into shape. Ugh. It was beautiful and the kids loved it. After a long trip up we made it. It was so gorgeous to see the waterfall. And the water was freezing. Katie got to ride up in the backpack when it started getting really steep and when we got there she was crashed. We took her off thinking she would wake up...nope! She slept through the whole thing and woke up half way down the mountain. Thank you Lord for this experience. Truly in your creation we experience your majesty and power!

More pictures from the waterfall...God's creation is beautiful.