Like it or not....

Constant change is a part of modern life. What in the world doesn't change?


1. God's Love
2. The Power of the Holy Spirit

When I think I have had just about all the change I can stand; I am trying to reach out and take one step further into GOD'S wide arms. Though his love, friendship,and power never change he made me a big elastic spiritual chord that stretches with every tug and pull. He knows exactly how much give it's got. I know he is calling me to stretch, he knows I've got what it takes. REACH!

God knows change can make our lives richer. We live for today but hold our hands open for tomorrow. We anticipate the future and it's changes with joy (okay so the joy has not come yet:)). There is a seed of God's love in every unpleasant situation in which we may find ourselves.

I am trying to not get stuck in a rut or hung up on an outdated blessing. We serve a GOD of change.

The moon and the ocean both provide exquisite models of the rhythm of life - constant in the waving and waning, advance and retreat. Ebb and flow; but in our brief earthly journey most of us haven't quite been able to get the hang of it. We dread the ebbing, fearing flow will never return. We demand a constancy that is impossible.

If the joy is in the flow- the moments of great advance, the rush- then the maturing and growing is in the retreat. The pulling back the ebb, during which there is a grand preparation and anticipation of the next exciting surge forward. THE mighty ocean wave retreats to empower it's next forward motion. (Like when we take the kids to the ocean, we run toward the water when it is retreating and then run away from the water when it advances.... yet we were anticipating the waters return)

In God's infinite understating of the human condition, he reaches out to assuage the dread and fear of change. "Trust me" he says. I will never leave you. Come to me and I will give you rest. In my presence is fullness of Joy"

***Okay so maybe this was just for me today, and so I apologize. The analogy with the ocean is of particular interest to me if you know how much I like the sun, the surf and the sand. I am trying to hold stong today but it is hard, as I think about it there were so many first here at Washington Community, it may take a little getting used to that this is the end, for we have loved and been loved.

Zach and Aaron

Ebay has been a wonderful thing..... for the most part.


Matt recently won a footlocker gift certificate
so this week he took Zach and Aaron to the mall
to get new basketball shoes.













Guess what they have been doing all week??????













It also helps living next to a gym.

















One day they hope to be as tall as their
Uncle Darren and play ball as well too!

I will

The song title is "You will"

But today it is "I Will"

Yea, yea,hmmm, hmm, another bird has flown another part of me is gone, another right has been wronged, still I go on and on until the words for me are all to real, still I am not able to feel what you feel, and I cannot say a how long it will take for me to heal..... but I believe I will.

Someday my broken heart will mend ,I know it will and I will find my smile again, take my time for time is what it is going to take and then one morning I'll awake to find I've one less tear and then I'll heal.... I believe I will.

The world has left me down,
and words that could explain could not be found, to say that I understand is not enough, its going to be a little while before my heart can learn to trust, but I believe I will, I will,
Some day my broken heart will mend I know it will and I will find my smile again so take my time for time is what it is going to take and then one morning I'll awake to find there is one less tear and then I'll heal.... I believe I will.

When I feel like all my hope is gone keep holding on till I find my way back to the garden find a way to give my heart again.

I know my broken heart will mend I know it will and I will find my smile again so take my time cause time is what it is going to take and then one morning I'll awake to find there is one less tear and then I'll heal.....I believe I will.

The Wetest Day Ever!

Three years ago we were invited by our very good friends Mark and Janise Judkins to Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. We were to leave on Fathers day after church go into the park on a twilight pass and spend the entire day the next day, Monday. As we were walking into church talking about the upcoming departure another friend mentioned that they heard on Focus on the family just that morning that Father's day in cedar point was an unofficial National Gay Day, and did we really want to subject our children to what we might see? Well, needless to say after a quick discussion and some scrambling to cancel reservations for that Sunday at Breakers the area hotel on the beachfront we found "Great Wolf Lodge." We made reservations for one night. That would take care of Sunday and we would still enter the Park on Monday and spend the entire day which we did. However.... We quickly found that one day would not be enough for "Great Wolf Lodge" it is an indoor water park, with several water slides, pools and a giant bucket that when the bell rings this bucket drops 5,ooo gallons of water below with kids standing beneath it. Well, we had the opportunity to visit great wolf lodge again this past Sunday to Monday and a great time was had by all!!!!!



Did I mention the bucket drops 5,000 gallons of water?

Micah was not cooperating when I wanted to take a picture, so he got a little encouragment.

In the lobby of the hotel

Matt took this picture by himself, not bad for a novice eh?

What every teenage boy does with a wet towel when presented with the opportunity!

Aaron and mom, it only took 5 takes to get this picture.

Rock climbing is proving to be Noahs speciality.

Micah found plenty of waterfall options, and once again pronounced Great Wolf Lodge, The Wetest Day Ever!

The Onyx

Took the boys ice skating today since daddy is still in New York. We are getting bored sitting around , well the boys have X-Box and their game boys and PSP's, fortunately the Olympics have been on this week to give me something to watch (since we do not have cable) but there is only so much of that you can take; and of course my favorite; the women's figure skating is not on till next weekend.

The weather is too cold to be outside today; a frigid 12 degrees' but the Onyx is an indoor ice arena in Rochester, about a 7 minute drive from home.

It had been about 3 years since we had been ice skating, that would have made Micah about 4 the last time he went yet today he held his own.
Noah would have been 7 Micah's age today and he did pretty well himself, he is such a petite thing he just spins around on the ice like he is not even on skates.
Aaron and Zach seemed to enjoy themselves, Zach's friend Steve McCoy and his mother Rox joined us for the fun........ even I donned a pair of skates and did not fall once, not bad for a 38 year old mother of 4!
It was a nice way to spend a few hours out of the house.
( I will post pictures later, I am having trouble downloading them right now.)
okay, all set w/ pics.....

Tonight "Back to the future" is on Television so I think we will eat pizza and cuddle in my bed. The weather man says it is "snuggle alert" tonight anyway!

Matt's dad seems to be doing okay. They are taking the tube out of his throat today, it is getting him agitated having it in there and we do not want him to get agitated and break any blood vessels, he is able to follow directions on his right side, his left remains paralyzed. We are not sure if he can see out of his left eye either. His mind seems to be okay, the family and Doctor's are asking him questions and he is able to respond by writing, although he is writing letters on top of other letters so they are not sure what he is saying. Every one seems to be encouraged by his progress but still covet your prayers.

Mexico 2006

Tapestries Of Life














Zach














The children who need a home















just checking things out
















Los Casa De Gemes


















43 children, teens and adults from CWC
participated this year.

Nah.1:12

"Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more."

There is a limit to affliction. God sends it, and removes it.

I sigh and say "when will the end be?"

Let me quietly wait and patiently endure the will of the Lord till he comes.....

My father takes away the rod when HIS design in using it is fully served..... If the aflliction is sent for testing that my graces may glorify God, it will end when the Lord has made me bear witness to HIS praise. I would not wish the affliction to depart until GOD has gotten out of me all the honor which I can possibly yield him.
There may be today a great calm, who knows how soon these raging billows will give place to a sea of glass and the sea birds sit on the gentle waves?
It is not hard for the Lord to turn night into day. He that sends the clouds can easily clear the skies. Trial IS only for a season....(right?) trial is for a purpose, "if need be."

The very fact of trial proves there is something in us very precious to our LORD; else he would not spend so much time on us.....


Matt's dad had a massive stroke on Wednesday morning sometime.....he is in a Binghamton, NY hospital. He is currently paralyzed on his left side. Today he looks better and when they brought him out of the induced coma to test his brain activity; when asked for a thumbs up he gave it! His body is fighting an infection but he is receiving antibiotics and responding well. The Dr's will keep him in the coma but bring him out slowly so as not to cause any more damage to the blood vessels in the brain and are encouraged by Dave's progress so far. Matt is thinking he will leave NY Sunday and his sister Ruthie and her husband John will arrive and stay with Ellen. Please keep all those traveling in your prayers the next few days and weeks.

I am holding on to; if only by my pinky fingers ;to the words , The showers soon pass. Weeping may tarry only for a few hours (although it has already been months) it must be gone by daybreak. Our light affliction is but for a moment.

Valentine's Day

Aaron and Mom
Noah and Dad (when a school activity is on an Tuesday, dad's day off, he gets to party too!!)



I remember celebrating Valentine's Day as a kid. Even as an pre-teen. Picking out the perfect card for your family and friends. Sitting at the kitchen table writing out your cards for your classmates; to: so and so, from: Joelle, the little ones for the class the bigger ones for your teachers, I do not however remember having a Valentine Party at school!
Duncan does parties, and they do them big.

Check out the pictures and see what I mean.

6th grade, Aaron's class had breakfast made by their teacher. Ms Pryz. Made bacon and eggs, sausage and pancakes, with apple juice, orange juice and fruit. Nice way to begin the day.

Not to be undone, Noah's class with Mrs Janceski had all sorts of cupcakes and candy with homemade cookies that the class got to decorate and eat while they played BINGO and received MORE candy after they filled the appropriate spots on their cards. The big hit of the day was with Micah's class,

Aaron with his sidekicks Ben and Derrick


Yes! That is a chocolate fountain, it was complete with all the fixings, oreos, marshmallow, cherries, strawberries and my favorite pretzels, and of course everything could be dipped in sprinkles to top it off

The Return of the King??????

Sometime Sunday afternoon the 12th, the group departs Tol in Fabens, Texas to get to the airport. Flight #1526 departs El Paso, Texas at 5:22 and arrives in Ft. Worth at8:03. They depart Dallas/ Ft Worth at 8:47 pm on flight #0474 and arrive in Detroit Monday at 12:16 am.
They then arrive back to CWC at 2:00 am.

Zachary proceeds to get his belongings say some short goodbyes and take the long, cold walk home. (avg. temp in Mexico this time of year between 50-70). I believe his head hit the pillow by 2:11am. He did not wake up until now. 5:21pm. I promised him Taco Bell, so we are off.(after he showers and does something with that hair) He will most likely be back in bed within a few hours. Tomorrow it is back to school. oh, by the way from an earlier post, he did not do so well in the picture taking department, but our friend Donna Hall said she would make me a disk of what she was able to take with her camera....

The Trumpet......Mark 5:36 b

My people, this is the hour of transformation, a time of new beginnings.

It is a time when I would have you forget all of those things that are behind you so that you can press and push toward the mark of the high calling of your Lord, which has been set for you, your destiny fulfilled.

You are entering a season in which you can be all that you have been called to be in My kingdom, says the Lord. But, you must let go today of those things that have held you back.

Begin again, and let Me, your Master Potter, take you in My hand and make you a new vessel.

There are new opportunities ahead of you. I will move you by the power and might of My Holy Spirit. Behold, I come as fire upon you to bring you into the fullness of your destiny.

Beloved, I am preparing you to rise above all doubt and unbelief and to go forth as true believers in which signs and wonders will follow you. The enemy has done his best to kill your faith and cause you to be complacent. His intimidation in your circumstances has made you afraid to believe for anything beyond what your natural mind can comprehend. But, I tell you that I am loosing the gift of faith among My people that will overcome all of the work of the devil as you begin to speak My word in faith.

Watch and be amazed at the great and mighty miracles that I will do in your midst as you move ahead with faith and courage, says the Lord.

Mark 5:36b "Do not be afraid; only believe."

The search is on.....

As we begin our quest there are a few opportunities,

Heritage Church here in Macomb county looking for a Sr. Pastor(non-denominational), meets at Lutheran High North........Heritage Wesleyan in Rock Hill Illinois, restructuring and potentially adding staff pastor. Wesleyan Church planting somewhere near by; perhaps Oakland county,Oxford area?????(need to go to Church Planting assessment in April 2006) and lastly for now anyway:

The Position

Senior Pastor for Crosswinds Wesleyan Church, currently averages 1,300 in weekend worship, with services that are innovative, contemporary, and seeker-focused. Excellent children's and youth ministries. Strong compassion ministries in the community. Emphasis on small groups. Thriving preschool.

About Crosswinds
Crosswinds is a Wesleyan Church of about 1300 situated in a 48,000 sq. Ft. campus on 37 acres on the west side of Canandaigua Lake in the center of the finger lakes region of central New York.


Living In The Finger Lakes
Living in the Finger Lakes throughout the seasons of the year is truly "Life To The Full."Here you will find year round sports from Bristol Ski Mountain to Canandaigua Lake. Our nation's history from the birthplace of Women's Rights to The George Eastman House. Music & Art from the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra to the brand new Finger Lakes Performing Arts Center opening in June, 2006. Quality education in the highly regarded Canandaigua School District and every store, business & convenience possible within 25 miles.

There have been approx. 40 candidates for this position and the list has been narrowed down to 4-6. We are on that list.

Crosswinds seems to offer all the things we are looking for in a ministry and then thngs we would be proud to be a part of. Plenty of opportunities for the boys,with a strong emphasis on missions locally and globally(for Joelle) , and a basketball league for Matt:)

Continue to pray for our family ...... We will keep you posted:)

CrosswindsWesleyan Church 3360 Middle Cheshire Road, Canandaigua, New York 14424 Phone: (585) 394-5857
http://crosswindsonline.org

Can you Guess What Today is?

Hip Hip hooray! It's the 100th Day!

Today was Micah's 1ooth day of school.

The project was pick and item, use 100 of them and create something.... hmmm.

Now if you were 7 years old what would you choose?

Micah chose skittles and he created a large number "100"
count them 100!!!! We are not sure how many he ate before they made it to the poster board, or how many Noah or Jabez ate for that matter. He counted them, ate them, re counted them, ate some more and counted them one more time and wa-la, his completed project.
I think there are still some skittles left......shhh , i will eat them tomorrow.

Jewelry anyone?

Doreen Torres hosted a Cookie Lee Jewelry party last night. Leave it to her to throw the biggest party on the block.
Every one was there, Cheri Wellman and her daughter Megan, Shelley, (Jason Fullums' girlfriend that we all like, J-Man, this is probably the one son!),Virginia Vought and Edith Guza and many more........






I think she probably earned herself a lot of free stuff and some half off things as well......



There was plenty of food too, that always makes for a great party!!!!

Jewelry was flowing every where and there was something for the youngest to the oldest.

I opted for a red leather chain with a silver heart locket, but tried several different options. I think I will get the earrings next time.
Way to go Dor-dor!

to find out more about cookie lee or to find a consultant in your area go to http://cookielee.com

Are you ready for some football?

I always told the boys "When the Pittsburgh Steelers are in the Super Bowl we will have a party"









tonight was our night .........








Aaron had his terrible towel going strong,
I did get to use it a few times.
We were decked out in black and yellow (gold).
The boys had their megaphones,

I had on my Steelers beenie, thanks to Robert Hall.













Micah was practicing his end zone dance for when he is in ths Super bowl?????? year 2020????


The Big game being played in "our" town, and "our" team (because once you are a Steelers fan, you are always a Steelers fan) won! Does it get any better than that?
now if I could just get one of those Steelers jerseys ............

Zach is still in Mexico, he did get to watch the game (and I believe the outpost has a giant screen TV), he just did not get to watch it with us. I did call him however to see whom he thought would be MVP. He thought Jerome Bettis, our home town hero; after 13 years the Bus stopped here(Pittsburgh fans will miss him) Matt and I thought Ben Rothlesberger,quarterbacks almost always win the mvp; but Aaron was the only one right, and Hines Ward walked away with the trophy. Maybe it should have been Coach Bill Cowher, tonight he was the best of the best!

My Firstborn

My firstborn is growing way to quick.

Zach was up at 4:45 am this morning and to the church by 5.

He is headed to Mexico as part of a team that is spending a week helping Pastor Steve and Cathy Brewer build the first Amerian run orphange in Mexico, Tapestries of LIfe.

The Biblical mandate to take care of the widows and orphans is in the process of being fulfilled in the orphanage that is being built in Guadalupe, MX. This orphanage will house over 250 children and the government promised to fill it within 24 hours of when it's doors open with a small percentage of the over 7000 children that are living on the street in this area alone.

TLM has 27 acres of land in Guadalupe, Mexico. It is 10 miles from the United States border crossing in Fabens, Texas. The home is designed in the shape of a cross, is two stories high, and is about 55,000 square feet. The land will have a separate church building, cafeteria, nursery, clinic, school, gym, a shop, housing for Mexican staff, and storage buildings.
The children's home is called Casa De Los Gemas, which means The Home Of The Gems.

Visit Tol by going to http://www.tapestriesoflife.com

This is not Zach's first mision trip BUT it is his first with out a parent. Randy and Jude Hall, good friends of our family, offered to be his guardian for the week and I am trusting they will treat him as their own.

I made him promise to call us regularly(on that new cell phone he got for Christmas) so I will keep you posted as I get information, but I am sure the pictures will have to wait until Zach's arrival home. I got him two disposable cameras for the occasion, we will see how well he does in that department.

Keep him and the team, 43 in all, in your prayers, Zach was not feeling 100% when he left and is taking anitbiotics and Airborne. A week of up early, hard work and to bed late wears on you after a while, as well as sleeping in dorm facilities with other team members, it passes the germs around like wildfire, so you see there are many things you can be praying for.

Get into the experience

experience more

Go Steelers!