Birthday Boys and Canyons

We finally made it home this past Sunday after driving over 6,000 miles on the great American interstates, highways, and tiny winding roads for 5 full weeks. As beautiful as all the sights were it has been so sweet to be back in Texas.... in our home, the place where God has called our family for this season. Texas, I completely heart you!!

Our trip was such an incredible journey for our family. We had an amazing time and made so many fun memories along the way. After our first stop in the Palo Duro Canyon, where we celebrated Joseph's 10th birthday, we headed to the big daddy...The Grand Canyon. We got to celebrate John's 4th birthday there. Two birthday boys, two different canyons! :)

These two godly young men are such a strength and blessing to our family. They make our life hilariously fun and certainly more adventurous. It was really special to be able to celebrate their birthdays on our trip!

The Grand Canyon was so incredible that I actually got a little teary eyed when I first saw it. It is overwhelming and is such a "small" picture of the glory and greatness of God. I took so many pictures of it but was really never able to capture its grandeur...much like trying to find the words to describe the attributes of God. He is just too much!!!!

Here is my feeble attempt to show off His work:

Our life would be so dull without this guy! He is the one who talked me into hiking down a bit into the canyon despite my many reasons on why we should not take 5 kids down onto the narrow, winding trail....

Notice the drop off not too far behind them :)

The big kids got to hike down even further on a REALLY narrow path.

I wish I could've captured the depth of the canyon, right beyond the rock they were sitting on!

My sleepy birthday boy after a big day

God's Word overlooking His creation

Psalm 104:24 (The Message)

What a wildly wonderful world, God!
You made it all, with Wisdom at your side,
made earth overflow with your wonderful creations.

Job 5:9 He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,

miracles that cannot be counted.

Exodus 15:11 Who among the gods is like you, O LORD ?

Who is like you—
majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
working wonders?

My Guest Writer: Hannah Nicole

Hello! This is Hannah... my mom wanted me to do an entry for an update on our life :) So where she left of was Rebekah's b-day...... in JANUARY :) Since that I had my b-day and Joseph and John A. had theirs. A little before my b-day we went to see my GIGI and Grandpa. They live in SA and I miss seeing them. They gave me a little b-day party and me and the kids swam like there was no tomorrow:) On my actual b-day(May 20th), I opened presents and we went to Pei-Wei for dinner with my family and my Enna(anna) and Noel. Then we enjoyed Jamba Juice for desert :)

My Birthday in San Antonio

All these are at Jamba Juice :)

Then the memories begin.....of the RV trip :) We rented a 42 foot RV and the person that had it before us had accidentally backed up on one of the bottom doors to hold storage. So that delayed the trip about 2 days. So we finally got it on Tuesday morning (we were supposed to get it Sunday) and packed it. The packing took us ALL NGHT and thank God we had Noel to help us or else it would have taken a LOT longer. So we left Wednesday, May 26th about noon and got really far......we went 3 Miles from our house! My dad noticed something was wrong with the engine. So we called the guy that we rented the RV from and he sent an mechanic out to see what was wrong the mechanic thought he fixed it so we went around the block for a test drive and...well.... the engine died on Keller Parkway. Luckily we died right in front of Keystone Church and a young man and his wife stopped to see if we were ok. If it wouldn't have been for him we would have not gotten the RV home that night. He so happened to know a diesel mechanic and called him and took me, my mom, and all the kids home. The next morning another mechanic came out and worked on the RV for 4 hours and figured out that it was the fuel pump( whatever that is) and told us it had to be towed to the repair shop. Me and my mom were out doing errands and were praying that we would not have to unload it. Well...obviously we did not pray hard enough and we came home seeing my dad UNLOADING the RV:( We wanted to lay on the couch and cry. So we unloaded the WHOLE THING without Noel:( Then they towed it away and worked on it for a week. Meanwhile we were at home thinking the RV was for sure cancelled. But God had a different plan... we left sure enough in the same RV 10 days later. It was 10x smoother and running great. We packed it AGAIN and left Sunday. We went to Palo Duro Canyon for our first stop(2nd largest canyon in the USA). It was so beautiful. My mom and I HATE bugs of any kind except for maybe lady bugs and butterflies. We went to see a show at an outside amphitheater and it was really cool and they had some manly cowboys.....that did ballet :) Me and my parents were LOL. The dinner was HORRIBLE.... as my mom would say, "A big overcooked glob of FAT." Me and my mom were scared half to death when we had to go on a trail in pitch black with horrible flashlights that did not shine very well. My mom nearly passed out when she asked one of the lady that worked there about going on the trails or not. The lady said, "Oh, I wouldn't go on the trails if i were you because thats when the rattlesnakes come out."

The next morning we set out for another hike through the canyon... YIKES.... me and my mom were quoting scripture the whole way "The Lord did not give us a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind." Little john had scraped his knee AND got bull-needle stuck in his hand but he was a trooper and kept on going. We were relived when we were done and we saw a little sign that said "worlds best hamburgers." We were all surprised when we took the first bite and loved the hamburgers. They were the best hamburgers I have had in TX besides my dad's. After that we headed out and went to Albuquerque, NM for a quick nights stay. Our next destinations: GRAND CANYON!!! I will continue to post as soon as i can :)

PICTURES:

This is the show "Texas" that we went and saw. Notice the MANLY cowboy :)

Our 42' Rv in the Palo Duro Canyon

Rebekah....you make my heart smile!

Rebekah Elise turned 5 on Jan 10th (yes, I am behind as usual). We had to cancel her little party because everyone had a 48 hour bug and ended up celebrating with just the fam, Erin, Anna and Noel (her 20 something year old friends!).

Rebekah is our family member who is always happy. I mean full of joy, always smiling and saying the funniest things. A couple months ago we bought her a pair of flip flops and she was so thankful. She told John, "Dad, I love flip flops. They feel good between your toes and they just make the right sound." She also asked me the other day why women had "cracks right here?" as she pointed to her chest (cleavage). Then says, " I want a crack!" Yes, that's my girl! I am so thankful for her and her comic relief on almost a daily basis.

Here is an example of her fun, creative little self. She came down stairs all dressed up one day-notice the tie hanging off of her belt:

Birthday table:

Her first big girl bike

Erin

Noel

Anna..these are her big girl friends... although she thinks she is the same age as them!

Her favorite buddy, John (they are 17 mo. apart)

I love my girl!

The first time she blew out her candles I totally missed it SO... we had a re do! She made sure she did it niccee anndd sloooww for Mom the second time :)

I love you dearly Rebekah! Thank you so much for making our family brighter and making any old occasion a party! The Bible says in Proverbs, "A joyful heart is good medicine." You are definitely a great dose of joy! I love your heart for Jesus and how you love to worship Him, I love how nurturing you are to your siblings, I love your adorable giggle and that one little dimple that shows when you laugh, I love how you can be serious and ask deep, profound questions about God, I love you..... and everything about you! Happy Birthday sweet muffiin :)

Pressing It In

It was so sweet of God to let me stumble upon the LPM blog a few years back. I had done some Beth Moore studies, listened to several of her teachings and of course just loved the woman! So, when I discovered her blog I was elated. There are so many great things about this blog.

A. You get more of Beth, her wisdom, encouragement and a ton of laughs

B. You get to hear from her two girls, Amanda and Melissa, who like their Mom are the REAL deal..genuine, full of wisdom, insight and they have that hilarious "Moore" humor

C. There is such a COOL sisterhood between all of the women who visit LPM...the "Siestas" :).

In December 2008, Beth invited us to join her in memorizing scriptures for the 2009 year. We memorized 2 scriptures a month (you were free to choose) and then held each other accountable by sharing them on the LPM blog on the 1st and 15th. Let me tell you...it rocked my world! I have memorized Scripture before but NEVER this much and NEVER this consistent. There were times in prayer (for myself or others) that the Scriptures I was memorizing poured out like rivers of living water! Beth reminded us to look over our spirals and remember where we have been with Him. I love that! It really is a picture of my ups and downs, struggles, victories and longings of my heart from 2009. My little spiral is now one of my dearest treasures. And you can imagine how my heart leapt when I saw my 11 year old whip out her spiral this morning and started going through her own scriptures without me asking her to do it. :)

Well, January 22nd/23rd was a weekend I have been looking forward to for over a year! Over 500 women met at Beth's church, Houston First Baptist, to celebrate a year of hiding His Word in our hearts. I started the night by getting to meet one of my favorite bloggers, BIG MAMA! Melanie was super sweet as I went on and on about how she keeps me (and sometimes even my man) laughing on a regular basis. (Just to clarify...he does not read blogs nor does he understand why I do, but he humors me every once in a while and will listen to me read one out loud). I do have to say it just felt so wrong calling her "Big Mama" to her face when she is indeed a very small mama!

The 3 Moore girls came out and the party began! Beth was over the top hilarious and full of energy....and I mean full all weekend! Her teaching was out of Psalm 119 and was of course amazing. She started off by saying we were going to memorize all 176 verses of the Psalm that weekend! Of course she was kidding but seriously how cool would that be??

*(Ok, side note: I had to laugh at this because my husband literally has given a challenge to our family: anyone who memorizes Psalm 119 gets $500. I tell him all the time the reason I love Beth so much is because she reminds me of him...he is totally crazy about God's Word and when he teaches or talks about it,it is always with a ton of enthusiasm and passion!!! )

Anyways, we finished the night with Beth's fabulous Texas Sheet Cake and then I got to meet Amanda, a few Siestas like Nicole from Canada and some girls from Oregon. I have to admit I left feeling a bit sad to be there alone. My BFF was supposed to be with me but she had a baby the week before and I wasn't staying at the hotel where most Siestas were. For the record, everyone was super sweet..it was totally a me thing missing my friend!

The next morning I arrived bright and early and God was so sweet to have me sit next to some really fun Siestas. Dana, Paula, Kelli Jo and Yvonne became my new friends and were so great and totally pulled me right in. I was definitely feeling the Siesta Love! Worship with Travis was awesome and Beth finished her teaching with this phrase:

"I'm a resident alien..seeking direction... in deep want of wonder... in peril and need... troubled by humanity... especially my own... knowing that to follow is the only free road... to a straying sheep longing to be found."

At one point she talked about "pressing it in," making sure the Word that is taught/heard gets pressed in to your heart. Making sure it is on good soil, taken in, chewed on and then letting it transform. I can still picture her holding both hands over her heart as she said this and related it to the seed from the parable of the sower. Her teaching was so rich that I am still pressing it in. I looked over my notes today and was astounded at how God spoke to me in so many ways and in so many areas of my life. I will say this, to hear Beth say, " I LIVE to hear Him," stirs my heart. Stirs my heart to continue to pursue His voice and pursue Him through His Word. One of my scriptures I memorized was: "Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are they who keep His testimonies, and who seek, inquire for and of Him and crave Him with the whole heart" (Psalm 119:2 ). Lord, help me crave you over anything or anyone and live to Hear your voice.

We then broke up into small groups and said our memory verses together and then I snuck off to take some pictures of the Siestas spread ALL over the church campus. Such a cool sight watching and listening to 100's of women sharing their scriptures with one another! When everyone came back in we finished off the weekended with some question and answer time, an awsome commissioning and then worship. I loved getting to end the weekend worshipping our King with a bunch of His daughters. He is so good and so faithful! I am so thankful for His grace to stay consistent this year and helping me memorize all 24 scriptures! Thank you LPM staff (you were amazing!), Beth, Amanda and Melissa. Thank you for loving us and for giving such an incredibly memorable weekend and transforming year!

Psalm 33:4 "For the Word of the Lord is right and ALL His work is done in faithfulness."

Beth and her spiral..because God did create spirals on the 8th day :)

Love this one of her and Melissa

She was running to give someone a hug....she was so excited about everything all weekend! And I totally loved it

The next morning with my new friends:

Paula, Me, Yvonne and Dana

Beth with Amanda

Doing her thing...teaching His Word like nobody's business!

It is finished...

Now, let the Scriptures begin....

Kellie Jo listening to me

I love this shot. It was NOT posed. I was walking around and caught this as they were finishing! Celebration!

Beth and her beloved Starbucks

Siesta Memory Commissioning

"My dear Siesta, you have honored your God by treasuring His word. You have been through a rough year but here you are, the delight of your Father’s heart and a thorn in the devil’s side. As we go our separate ways, hold fast to God’s precepts. Let him use his decrees to put iron in your soul. Let no sin have dominion over you and when you stray (and you probably will) and you feel like you can’t find God, cry out to Him with all your might and he will come find you. Because never forget that the son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost. Now girlfriend, go out there and do that thing!"

-Beth