And YOU thought your children were Weird?

PSALM 126:2a-3

"Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
and our tongue with singing...
The LORD hath done great things for us;
whereof we are glad."

Natty and Marie have some of the best times playing together. They have the wildest imaginations which are indeed a special gift from their marvelous Creator. We had found a large garbage bag marked dress up clothes for $2.50 at a consignment sale about two weeks ago. We couldn't see inside the bag when we bought it, but we thought we would take a chance and be surprised. We were surprised alright when we finally got around to opening the bag. There were about 13 different princess dresses ranging from Disney store to boutique styles. There were also several pairs of dress up shoes that light up, princess hats, batons, and more. The girls were absolutely thrilled. They played for hours that day with all their many treasures. I so much enjoy having little girls in our house. You cannot help but smile and laugh.

As for the strange and weird side of my children... well, let's just say they get that from their Father!! Andrew is always coming up with the most creative games to play with the girls, so I really wasn't surprised to see how his creative genius rubbed off on the girls this morning. I had been putting Mercy down for a nap when I heard the most hilarious laughing coming from the living room. I came out to find Natty and Marie stuffing their pajamas with play food, and believe me when I say they were STUFFED. We had to take a few pictures of the action along with this short video clip. Only the girls can describe best their play time fun. Oh, by the way, some of the statements I heard while in the other room were, "Does this make me look big?" I wondered out loud, "What in the world is going on out there?" You can see for yourself what brought that on. ENJOY!!



Even more hilarious was the realization of Marie when she cried out, "HELP! I have to go potty." It was a sight to see her running for the bathroom with her pajamas completely stuffed yelling, "Mommy. Help me. There's too much food! I got to go potty!!!"

Our Three Valentine Frogs

This is how we know
what LOVE is:
Jesus Christ laid down
His life for us.
And we ought to lay down
our lives for our brothers.
I John 3:16 (NIV)

Happy Valentine's Day From Our House To Yours. Natty, Marie, and Mercy were all decked out in their pink frog shirts that we purchased from Target, and we thought they we would bring a few Valentine Smiles your way. Our morning started off with Ladies' Bible Study at church and then a GOURMET meal from MacDonalds for lunch. The girls received their special Valentine Goodies this morning before we headed off on our adventures. Popop and Gumma-Gum sent a fun package for the girls, and they were delighted with their beloved Valentine Treats. They are currently coloring in their new coloring books as I type.

Valentine's Day has always been a special time for me even before I was married to my wonderful husband, Andrew. My earthly father who is now in heaven with Jesus always commemorated Valentine's Day by giving me a rose as well as my mother. Of course, I couldn't understand why Mama always got more roses than I did :). Now I know. After my Daddy died, I didn't know who would give me roses anymore for Valentine's Day. That first Valentine's Day after he went home to heaven, I woke up thinking I would not get a rose that day and my heart was very sad. My faithful Jesus knew otherwise. My beloved cousin, Kenny, who is currently serving in the military overseas in Iraq, showed up at our door that day with a rose for me and my mother. I remember feeling so awed at the love of my Savior for remembering and bringing Kenny to deliver them. As time went on, the Lord always remembered and throughout my high school years, somehow and someway, God would bring a rose to me. One Valentine's that especially sticks out in my mind is my sophomore year in college. I was studying in Israel, and again I woke up Valentine's morning thinking no rose this year. That year I had a real desire for a yellow rose because it was such a reflection to me of the light of Jesus and the glory of heaven. I just love yellow roses. I recall praying and telling the Lord, "I may be in Israel, but Lord, you have always been faithful to give me a rose for Valentine's Day, and Lord, I really want a yellow rose." Of course no one but the Lord knew that I wanted a rose. My Israel teachers' wives had divided our group of girls into sections to have Bible Studies with them. I had about five girls in my group and I was placed with Mrs. Cook, the wife of one of the head teachers. When we separated into our groups, I looked over and saw that the other teachers' wives were giving their girls Valentine's treats of candy, cookies, and the like. I thought how nice of them and wondered if Mrs. Cook would do the same for our group. To my surprise she approached us with five roses...4 red and 1 yellow. She said to my surprise, "I hope you girls like roses :). I wanted to get all red roses, but the store only had 4 left so I had to get a yellow one". As she passed them around, she handed me the yellow rose. All I could do was cry out in my heart with praise and thanksgiving to God. He had orchestrated the whole thing for me. My Jesus never forgets His promises to us. Of course I had to tell Mrs. Cook later how the Lord had heard my prayer and used her in such a mighty way.

So as you can see, Valentine's Day, is a special day to me. It is not just a time to express our love and thanks to each other as family and friends, but it is a time to reflect on God's Ultimate Love to us. He gave His life so that we might live and we have the wonderful privilege and opportunity to share that with others. May the Lord bless your day and remind you in some way of His Love and Faithfulness to You.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY





Valentine Girls waiting in the church hallway after Bible Study...






Mercy was enthralled with something of course. Our friend, Katie, joined in for the picture.

Natty looks in on her friend, Patrick's violin lesson, after Bible Study.

Mercy's friend, Emily, gives a warm greeting and the best is Katie giving Valentine kisses to her friend, Amber. The Mommies all had to chuckle on that one.

YELLOW ROSE: THE LIGHT OF JESUS AND GLORY OF HEAVEN

We Are Tiny Trackers, Trackin' Down the TRUTH!

"And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates." Deuteronomy 6:7-9

Well, you guessed it. We are putting a plug in for our favorite Wednesday night activity...Tiny Trackers, better known as TRUTH TRACKERS! Andrew and I have been given the special privilege to teach the K-5 Wednesday Night Class at our Church, Calvary Baptist, in Simpsonville, South Carolina. Our church has a wonderful program called TRUTH TRACKERS that we conduct for the children. Truth Trackers is going on its third year so it is somewhat of a new program, but very beneficial in reaching children for Jesus Christ. You can read all about when you connect to the So You May Know Link on our blog. Our good friends, Pastor Ben and Dayna Ice, who by the way are by products of MARANATHA BAPTIST BIBLE COLLEGE in Watertown, Wisconsin, where Courtney currently attends, wrote the Truth Trackers curriculum. I have to get my plug in for Maranatha as well! Ben and Dayna played a very influential role in the Lord's leading Courtney to Maranatha, and we truly praise the Lord for them and their ministry to our family and all our friends. Ben and Dayna began Truth Trackers with the help of another Maranatha friend, Lukas Counterman, by writing the material and initiating the program at our church. By God's unending grace, Truth Trackers, has taken off and several more churches have joined in and shared a part of this life changing program.








There are several sections to TRUTH TRACKERS, one being the Tiny Trackers, of which Andrew and I teach. Tiny Trackers are represented by the 3 to 5 year olds. We have a hound dog as our mascot. His name is Tiny and his sister comes along to visit sometimes too. Her name is Tracy. Hound dogs as you know are good trackers especially when they need to find a rabbit or a fox in the woods. We are hound dogs too, but in the Biblical sense. We are not trackin' down rabbits. Instead, we are trackin' down the truths in God's Word. Pretty catchy if you ask me. Below is a clip of our theme song in action: We are Tiny Trackers. It was written by our beloved Patch the Pirate, Ron Hamilton, and Cheryl Reid from our church. Our kids really love to sing it and they especially love to howl at the end...it can keep going for quite some time :). Oh, and if I can add a disclaimer, when I tell the kids to take a deep breath, I am NOT pushing Yoga. I thought about that when I saw it and didn't want anyone to get any ideas and starting kidding me...I know how some of you are :). The children needed to take a deep breath to keep up all that howling and there is plenty to be had!






Andrew and I truly love to teach the children. I especially enjoy being with the little ones for they are God's precious vessels to raise up for Him. They are so open to the Gospel at this young age and ready to soak up all they can about Jesus. I tell Andrew that I could have 10 children if the stork would drop them off at the door and I could forgo the pregnancy part :). Until then, which of course will never happen, I am content with my 3 girls and having my 10 or more by teaching other children. The best part is they can go home after we're finished. I only have my three "poops" to deal with. Hee Hee. We are especially blessed this year because Natty and Marie are apart of our class. Marie is 3, but I have never had my little one so devoted to wanting to be apart of Tiny Trackers. She is technically in the 2 year old class because of her birthday being in December. I had her stay in with me for a visit at our class Christmas party, and she has been hooked ever since. Marie begs to stay. She says to me, "Oh, Mommy, please let me go to Tiny Trackers and hear the story and puppets." She prays for Tiny Trackers every night and asks every day if today is the day she is going to Tiny Trackers. She absolutely loves the singing, stories, coloring, craft, snack, and best of all, the puppet shows.






Speaking of puppet shows, we thought you would enjoy seeing a little of what we do. We have some great helpers in our class that assist us at times in our puppet shows and with the voices. My very good friend, April Menking, helps out in our class along with one of my sister's friends, Bekah Rigsby. We have Bob Jones students on occasion, and sometimes we recruit my friend's husband, Ben. He just "adores" working with puppets and "leaps" at the chance to provide a voice. Well, I might be stretching it just a little, but we do appreciate all his help :). Andrew built the "stage" and a dear lady from church, Mrs. Kennedy, sewed the black curtain to fit the pipes. I have quite the collection of puppets. I get them from various places, and they are a lot of fun to work with.

One of the children's favorite puppets is Billy Bunny. There's just something about Billy Bunny that sends the kids in an uproar of laughter. Billy Bunny is a lot of fun to do. I guess its because I can relate so much to his silly antics and it is another side of me that comes out when working with him. Even when I am exceptionally tired, the Lord gives renewed strength for me to keep going. I absolutely love to hear the children laugh. It brings such delight to my soul. In the short clip below, you will see Billy Bunny really partaking of the key word of the night "FORGET" and applying his verse, "I will not forget thy Word..." Psalm 119:16. The clips to follow show some of Billy Bunny and other puppets with of course the help of our friends. If you want to see the whole show, you will just have to come to Tiny Trackers to see what all the fun and excitement is about!




In the clip below, we find Zacharias hearing from the angel, Gabriel. Gabriel tells Zacharias that his wife, Elizabeth, will give birth to a son even in her old age...Luke 1:5-25...of course, Zacharias, finds this hard to believe. The Word of the Night for this Tiny Trackers was "ASK" to go with their verse, "If...my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" John 15:7.



Zacharias' wife, Elizabeth, is quite a character in puppet form. We thought you might enjoy seeing a little of her humorous qualities.



Some of our puppet friends include Beatrice Sheep and Kyle Coyote. Here is a little segment of their interaction leading into the word of the night, "ASK."



When I have the opportunity, I will take some pictures and video of our mascot puppets, Tiny and Tracy. This will keep you checking back on more of the action. For now, I leave you with a clip of our Natty and Marie which includes their Wednesday night ritual of running around the car instead of getting in it and singing "Tiny Trackers."

RALLY AROUND COURTNEY

Job 23:10-14
"But he KNOWETH the way that I take: when he hath TRIED me, I shall come forth as GOLD. My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth. For he performeth the thing that is APPOINTED for me: and many such things are with him."

Our beloved Courtney is going through a battle right now, "a battle not against flesh and blood but against the principalities against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age..." Ephesians 6:12ff. Courtney is seeking after the Lord and His Word with all her heart, and the devil indeed hates it. He in turn is seeking to rob her of her joy. As you know, our COCO is currently in Wisconsin at Maranatha Baptist Bible College. It is -9 degrees today for her and bitterly cold. She has 16 hours of piano practice every week that she is required to do for her studies...not to mention taking 18 credit hours, orchestra, choir, freshman student council, and much more. She will be playing the offertory at her church, Brookside, this Sunday night for the start of their revival services with Will Galkin. She is very excited, but heavy at heart. There are those around her that would seek to pull her down with their words.

Please encourage her today by posting a Bible Verse or word of love to her on the comment board. We need our friends to show that we are "RALLYING AROUND" our precious sister in Christ.

WE LOVE YOU, COURTNEY. STAND FAST FOR JESUS.
HE WILL LIFT YOU UP!!!

A Picture Worth A Thousand Words: HURRAY! IT'S SNOWING!

Job 37:5-7 "God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend. For He says to the SNOW, 'Fall on the earth';
Likewise to the gentle rain and the heavy rain of His strength. He seals the hand of every man,
That ALL men may KNOW His Work."

The FIRST SNOW OF 2008: JANUARY 16-17
And Mercy's First SNOW

Frosty The Snowman Stops in for A Visit
in the Backyard of the Shumakers












Frosty Getting
His Picture Taken
at Papa's Office

It began to snow while we were at Wednesday Night Church, Tiny Trackers. We were teaching our K-5 class when I turned to see the snow falling outside the window. The boys and girls were currently coloring, but not for long! What precious squeals of delight came from their mouths as they pressed their hands and faces up at the windows to see the white snow fall. After Church, we went to Arby's for supper. The snow started really coming down. Emmy, Natty, and Marie could not wait to get outside in it....oh, and don't forget Andrew! What a special time of fun and laughter we had running around the parking lot and throwing snow balls at each other.

Snow Invasion at Arby's

Today we found the ground covered with a blanket of white...a very light blanket, but still a blanket....some rain too, but it stopped after awhile. It was enough snow to allow the girls have a Snow Day! We went to Papa's Office this morning not for the snow though. Mercy had stayed up the whole night previous crying inconsolably. We discovered today that she had a double ear infection...NOT FUN!!! Papa fixed her up though and she is doing much better. We shall see how tonight goes. She really was in awe over all the SNOW! By the way, this snow is nothing in comparison to our COCO's SNOW in Wisconsin. Saturday's forecast for her predicts a -9 degree low. BBBBRRRRRR!!! And for COCO...that is COLD!!! She can barely make it if it is 50 degrees. She is dressed like an ESKIMO...a very fashionable ESKIMO, of course! So to encourage our beloved Courtney, we made this little video clip for you! LOVE YOU LOTS and as Natty says, "MISS YOU!"

A SNOW VIEW FROM THE CAR:
THE FOUNTAIN INN POST OFFICE


DRIVING TO PAPA'S OFFICE IN THE FIRST SNOW of 2008





PRAISE THE LORD FOR HIS GIFT OF SNOW...IT IS A REMINDER TO US THAT THE LORD CLEANSES OUR SINS
AND THEY SHALL BE AS WHITE AS SNOW!
ISAIAH 1:18

Dancing and Eating Markers...All in A Good Day's Work

2Corinthians 9:6 "But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully."

Our little Mercy Rose has less than a week to go and she will be 8 months old. How this precious time flies with God's humble little treasures. Natty, Marie, and Mercy are indeed a great work of the Lord. Last week, at my morning lady's Bible Study, I learned that I have been given one of the Greatest Assignments a woman can have...I have been entrusted with 3 little souls to raise up to love our Saving and Wonderful Jesus.

Everyday that has been given to me with them is a Gift. I am truly baffled by other mothers who are so wrapped up in their careers that they can leave their little ones behind to be raised by someone else while they go to work. I may not be driving the fancy car, having the big salary, or buying all the great looking shoes and outfits I want; instead I have something even more great. I have the opportunity to invest in a SOUL which means so much more for eternity than all the stacks of paperwork on an office desk that will one day burn up. Don't get me wrong. Some mothers have to go to work. They do not have a choice especially if their spouse dies. In that, the Lord will take care of your little ones and He will take care of you too. Yet, if your husband works, believe me when I say, that the Lord will take care of the extra finances. YOU invest in your little ones. They are only young once. You will not have them forever, and you want to be the one that guides and directs them into the man or woman they are to become.

On that note, I should probably tell you the reason for my writing this title. Natty, Marie, and Mercy were playing today in their room. Natty and Marie had out their Dora Doll House...of which we have two...one we found on the side of the road thrown out and the other at a yard sale for $5.00 (with accessories). Courtney and Emmy had a hand in the side of the road one. It was right after Christmas. "You've never seen any two girls jump out of the car faster to grab up a doll house," states my Mama. By the way, it was pouring down rain too! That of course did NOT deter their mission.

Anyway, there are several buttons that make noise on the doll house when you push it. There is the radio button which says, "Vamos A Bailar." That means, "Let's Dance" in espanol. Well, Marie pushed that button and Mercy's ears perked up. She started bouncing, so I lifted her up on her feet...she holds herself up pretty well now with help...and off she went. The little video clip below shows her "Dancing Debut." I had to put the camera up on a shelf to hold her up and tape it at the same time, so it's a little off centered, but you get the idea.


As for the markers, they were on the floor in the girls' room, and Mercy found them. I turned my back for a second to find her sucking on one. I thought, "That's ok, the cap is on." I had to LOOK and THINK AGAIN! She had got the cap off all by herself. As I pulled the marker out of her mouth, I found a completely green tongue with green lips. She had colored on her arms and bib as well. How did my child get to be so smart?




I cleaned her up and let her enjoy playing with them a few minutes more under close supervision and of course with the caps on! It's All in a Good Day's Work...for a Baby anyway.

"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work"
2 Corinthians 9:8

Christmas Memories

"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do thy light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven" Matthew 5:14-16.

Here are three precious pictures taken from our Christmas Season this year. The first is of Santa Claus
better known as Mr. Johnson who lives in Fountain Inn.

He is a very kind man who absolutely adored our 3 little blessings from Jesus. He even had Natty confused when he told her that his beard was real. He reenacted the Miracle on 34th street number by having her pull his beard
and saying, "Ow!"
The delight on her face was a sight to see.

The second is our attempt at a Christmas Picture to try and send out. The third is the actual picture. It was quite an ordeal getting these three rascals dressed...not to mention trying to all make them smile at the same time. Oh, and by the way, I was alone for this due to Andrew being at work. The final Christmas picture was not my original intention. I had hoped to have their picture taken on the beautiful couch of our State Senator's home as shown in a previous post. He and his wife live just down the road from our house and they go to our church. After the 15 minute photo session, this was the best I was able to get...you can see for yourself...the girls had quite enough of the picture taking!

Of course, I was not satisfied with this "enchanting picture," so we tried again at the airport in Greenville/Spartanburg. We had to pick up Courtney from her flight in from Wisconsin and the girls were still dressed...so here you have it, the photo is taken in front of the Poinsettia Tree at our wonderful airport...truly these are the memories worth remembering!

HAVE A BLESSED NEW YEAR!