Christmas story review...

I have been waiting all day to sit down with the 3 munchkins before bed and go through this Christmas in a box story. Now, in my head I am imagining this sweet time with the kids reviewing the glorious story of Christ's birth. Where all of the kids are hanging on every word I say and that each of them share with me in turn the story of Christ's birth, as we reminisce together. Needless to say things didn't go as planned... The girls fought over who opened the box and from there it was fights over who opened the little boxes, who was moving the figures in the nativity, who was touching who, who was tackling who and who could talk louder than mom while I am trying to read the story. Chris says I often envision these lovely moments and more often than not they never end up the way I am thinking. Oh well, I got the story in there. Now at least they know Gabriel wasn't Mary's friend (that was Ryah) and that baby Jesus didn't come to bring us food (that was Cade), by the end they could've lead anyone to Jesus with the gospel story! Take every advantage to pour into your kids that Christmas is the celebration of the life of Christ and not how many presents are under the tree...

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!!

It's that most wonderful time of the year again... I love Christmas! But, I must admit, I do lose my mind a bit more than usual during this time because of the busyness. Our friends, the Yuen's, had invited us over for dinner and I asked them if they could just come over to our house because the kids have school and it would be easier. She said no problem and that she would bring a pot roast and all I had to do was provide the sides. Fair enough easy for me. That was on Sunday, well Wednesday rolls around and I'm getting my day together and trying to figure out what I shall make for our guests that evening. I decide on spaghetti. So I make a trip to the market, come home and start making my (or should I say Brenda's) homemade sauce. It's 6:00 and the doorbell rings and as I am walking toward the door I can see the Yuen's through the window and they are holding something. I think to myself oh good they brought dessert, I hadn't thought about that. As I get closer and place my hand on the doorknob and we are looking at each other through the window, I realize they are holding a pot roast! In a matter of seconds my brain is processing what to do now. I think should I run to the kitchen and hide the spaghetti dinner I made, and then I realized how awkward that would be to go from holding the doorknob staring at them through the window to running away into my kitchen. So , I decide to face the music. The music, not only that here Nancy had slaved all day over a pot roast that she told me 3 days earlier she would bring, to the fact that at 32 I am losing my mind! I don't know which is worse. Thankfully they are some really great people and went with it! Thank you Yuen's!!! All that to say, I was reading a devotional about Christmas and it was talking about how John 3:16 reads during Christmas time "For God so loved the world that He gave His only forgotten son". It hit me because I am so guilty of getting caught up in the celebration of the season that I forget the very One I am celebrating. In a world that pushes Christ out of Christmas more and more every year, it is our responsibility to make sure that we always pointing back to Him. I went into a store the other day to buy stamps and the lady said, "we only have Christmas stamps, oh I mean holiday stamps. We aren't allowed to Christmas this year, because it has the word Christ in it". I asked her, "isn't that the very one were suppose to be celebrating this year?" She said, "well maybe you are but other people are celebrating something else". "Like what?" I asked. This world has so diminished itself that we are celebrating whatever it is you want to celebrate. Be loud for Christ this Christmas and use every opportunity to share the true reason for celebration this season.

What do you do???

What do you do???

As many of you may know, I take some pride in how my kids look. I mean we all know that our kids are a reflection of us and so I always make sure to iron my kids clothes and do their hair and make sure they look good. I'm actually really kind of obsessed about this! Well, yesterday I went to pick up Ryah from Kindergarten and I am laughing and talking with other moms and out the door runs Ryah with her adorable cute smile, and poor thing, little does she know... Well, Fridays are Daddy-gets-me-dressed-and-takes-me-to-school days and I really try to help him out by setting out the kids clothes for the day. We've had some mishaps of Ryah wearing Cade's clothes and Cade wearing Ryah's clothes and we've had some strange shoe situations and crazy hair days. But Friday was a new one I must admit! When I picked Ryah up she had her shirt on inside out, and it was the kind of tank that has a built in bra (why they put a built in bra in a size 4 shirt for girls is beyond me), so the bra part was on the outside (if you can see it in the pic), and if that was not enough her pants were on backwards (notice the BIG back pockets in the pic)! I was devastated for her and for me. Luckily Ryah is still young enough that she had a great day at school and wasn't bothered at all by her clothing. I'm sure her substitute teacher that day thinks we are a little weird and I'm not quite sure why she didn't help a girl out! I called Chris to ask him if he bothers looking at the kids before he takes them to school and he said yes. But, I'm still not so sure about that. What do you do? Be thankful that your hubby tries and that your daughter is only 5!!!

Homework:(

Mondays is our day off and we take full advantage of it. Chris and I like to start the day with going out to breakfast, which we did. Then we shopped for a friends birthday present and spent some time at Peet's Coffee (have I ever mentioned they have the best coffee ever!!!) relaxing and talking. We grabbed the kids from school, did some grocery shopping, what a great day, huh? Who could ask for more? Then there's this little part of our day called HOMEWORK! Now, I know teachers give this to the kids under the pretense that they are suppose to do it, but let's be realistic here, it's really the parents that are doing this stuff. Tonight I was interviewing my dad (for Elias), collecting info from my mom-in-law (for Elias) while Chris was transcribing a story about Halloween (for Ryah). And if you ever run across this Elias' teacher I didn't do the WHOLE assignment for him, but let's be real, my dad did not want to sit on the other end of the phone and wait for Elias to correctly write out what school was like when my dad was little, what his chores were and what he did for fun as a boy. Now I am putting down teachers, I have many beloved teachers in my life, my own sister, sister- in-law, brother-in-law, Lisa, Melissa and the list goes on... But I've graduated now and I don't want to do homework anymore...

Master

This week in SHEminstries we have been studying the name Adonai, which means Master. Today in our study Simone was teaching about how slaves were consumed with their masters. They even tried to take on their masters way of thinking, so they could better serve them. There was no room or time for them to even think of their own wants or desires. I started thinking about how self-consumed our society is. Everything we do is for us, for our benefit. We put ourselves above our husbands, children, friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, strangers, everybody. Christ exampled a life of constant self- sacrafice. Could you imagine our world if we all took on selflessness. Think about your day. What did you do today, what did you think about today, who did you serve today? Was it yourself or others? As Chris and I were flying out over Montana, it was such a clear day and you could see the trees changing colors and the snow capped mountains and for miles you could see. I was reminded how BIG God is and how little my view is. God who created the vastness of the heavens and earth, formed me in my mothers womb and knows my name. I need to get off the planet "Tatum" and see the bigger picture. To remember I am not here for me, I am here for Him. To be His hands and His feet to people. To live a selfless life, to be abandoned to my Master, my Jesus. Lord help me...

One of "those" weeks!

Have you ever had one those weeks? One of those weeks when everything seems to go wrong, or in my case everything seems to break??? Well, everything broke this week (I know maybe I am being a little dramatic but that is what we women do, we're a little dramatic every now and then). It all started on Wednesday, Chris came home from work and we headed to Yogurtland (the best ever yogurt spot by the way, if you can find one even remotely near you it is worth the travel). I was sitting there enjoying my plain and blueberry tart, with peanut butter and coffee topped with chocolate chips and rainbow sprinkles (yum!), with my hubby and kiddos. When all of sudden out of my pocket slips my brand new iphone right onto the floor. This man picks it up and hands it to me and I just want to cry, my brand new iphone is shattered. I had to be strong and blow it off like no big deal, I mean what are you going to do in front of a bunch of strangers, cry? I was mourning inside though. Then we get home and I make Chris stay up late with me and rearrange the furniture in our bedroom. Of course that is not something he wanted to be doing at 9:30 at night, but when I get something in my mind, I have to do it! So, needless to say their might be some slight tensions in the room when Chris grabs a weight to move it and accidently hits his guitar and puts a scratch in it. We decided it was best to just go to bed and end the day. Well yesterday I wake up to a fresh new day and decide to have my friend Trish come over to help me rearrange the rest of the house. Much to Chris dismay, he doesn't like change, but I thought we needed a little revamp. Well we ended up rearranging the living room and then turning the family room into a dining room and the dining room into a reading room with a cozy chair and table. So, Trish leaves and I am upstairs cleaning and the kiddos are down stairs with a buddy and all of a sudden I hear a crash and go running to find the glass tabletop broken on the floor. I politely tell our neighbor to go home because the kiddos are in BIG trouble. I tell them all to go to their rooms, and then Cade starts crying and I see lots of blood on the couch and and realize her hand is cut. So I shout out for the kiddos to get on their shoes and we're off to the the emergency room. On the way we meet Chris and pull over for him to check out the cut. He is holding Cade who is crying and Ryah is in the back seat crying too. I ask her what is wrong and she says "Nobody needs me!" (this is what Reinhardt calls the middle child syndrome), so we calm everyone down. Chris decides Cade is ok and we should just go home and treat it. Well going home was another story because he still hadn't seent the lovely redecorating. Now was defintaely not the best time to be showing off the new arrangement but what do you do. So we get home and I run inside and act busy in the kitchen like nothing is new and Chris says what is this room, pointing at the room with the cozy chair and table and I tell him it's the reading room. He wasn't so impressed that I turned the dining room into a reading room and the family room into a dining room. Trust me it all looks really good. I told him I was willing to move it all back, i'll keep you posted! End of another day. So today, started off well, then Cade, Ryah and I went to the grocery store. My cart was FULL, and Cade was hanging on the side and I told her to get off because it would tip. She gave me one of her looks like, make me. Well, the very next instance the whole cart falls over on her, she is trapped. Men come running from every corner of the store to lift it off her, she is screaming and everyone is staring. I want to crawl in a hole, is this really happening right now. Her back is cut, her ankles are cut and bruised. I have people offering her water, juice, ice-paks, phone calls (did I really look that stressed), candy, stickers, anything. I wanted to just run out of the store, but the Sanchez's were coming over for dinner and iIneeded to buy food. So I held Cade trying to calm her down and in a way so no one could see her ankles and think I was crazy for continuing to shop and not tend to her wounds. We got our stuff and left, all with her screaming and everyone staring at me. I was trying to act like I was completely fine, when in reality after everything that had happened this week, I was going crazy inside. Then I balance myself out by saying at least were all still alive and mostly well! It could be worse, but I sure hope not!:) But a cute story to end with is Ryah went to girls scouts today and we got into the car and I asked her what she did and she said that they made pumpkins. I asked her what for and she said because her teachers know a lot of papas and grandmas that we don't know and they are going to give them to them. What is actually happening is they are going to give them to a convelescent home. I love kids simplicity, even in all my chaos this week, they just keep smiling and enjoying life (well except for Cade- for obvious reasons)! I'm trying too! :) Pray for us to have a better week!!!

Storms

I've been thinking a lot about the story of Jesus calming the storm at sea lately. We're all the like the disciples in one way or another (or in a lot of ways!). Here they have Jesus in their boat with them and a storms starts brewing and soon the experienced fisherman are overwhelmed because the waves are out of control. This must have been some crazy storm! Fisherman are used to these kinds of things and they are usually tough guys. You know how guys don't even want to ask for directions, nonetheless help with their boat during a storm. How many of them are there, and how many of Jesus are there? Finally, as last resort, after toughing it out for as long as they could, they go to Jesus. Now why didn't they go to Him sooner, why did they wait until their boat was full of water and they were zapped of strength? And what was Jesus doing, oh He's just sleeping. You see He's not worried at all, He's got it all under control, in fact with one word He ends the storm, He calms the sea, and the disciples. This is just like me, I get into a stormy situation and I try to weather it on my own, thinking I am experienced and tough, and if not I've got friends to turn to. Then all of sudden it gets much too big for me to handle and as last resort I'm running to Jesus with a "you've got to do something now!" Why do I forget Jesus is there with me in the circumstance. He was ready to help in the beginning, but He is still ready to help in the end as well. I hope I learn to weather storms with Him and then be able to see how He decides to calm them. Remember God is in the boat with you too and He will calm the storm...

Fresh Life in Montana!

Well Chris and I arrived late on Saturday night in Kalispell Montana. Sunday Chris spoke at our friend Levi Luskos church called Fresh Life. Kalispell is a small resort town and the church meets in an old movie theatre built in the early 1900's in downtown. It's a great building to have a church. The church is exploding, it has grown to about 700 in just 2 years. The staff is amazing and the people are so sweet. The service was great and Chris did an amazing job challenging people in God's Word. After we had lunch with the staff and then spent the evening having fun at the Luskos. Today we headed to Glacier National Park. It was a beautiful day, overcast and cold, but so beautiful. You can't even describe the scenery, it is so picturesque! We went on a 4 mile hike to Avalanche Lake, but we didn't make it all the way. It was raining pretty hard and I have an amazing fear of grizzlies! Pretty much I spent a lot of the time discussing with Chris how I was afraid of bears and that all the brochures talk about how common it is to come across one in Glacier and how there have been people eaten by them and that I didn't want to be one of those people. But, Chris kept pressing us on, so this was my conversation with the Lord, "Lord, you know I don't feel good about this and I don't want to be doing this, I don't want to see a bear, but I am being submissive and going on this hike with him, so please don't let us get eaten by a bear or for that matter even see one, thanks!" God was faithful and we had an amazing bearless hike in an amazingly beautiful place! Tonight we had a Montana date night including a great dinner, a walk through Target and a McDonalds ice cream (when you don't have 3 kids with you anything you do is fun!). We even thought about getting these amazing jammies, I wouldn't mind being caught in these!:) It has been a great trip and I am so thankful for the opportunites God has given us to go and see His amazing creation and to see how He is moving in other churches and communities. Tomorrow we head home to the kiddos and warm weather, California here I come!!!

Seattle!!!

Well Chris and I got a wild hair today and decided to miss our early
flight into Montana and take a 10 hour layover in Seattle! This is a
truly amazing city! The color of the fall trees, the ocean,lakes,the
city and all the cute neighborhoods. Everything you could ask for all
rolled into one cool place, not to mention the beautiful day God gave
us! We went downtown to Pikes Place and saw the original Starbucks,
then we met Bethany and Maritza for lunch at Roxy's Diner in Fremont,
drove around, saw where the girls live and go to school and now Chris
and I are at Petes Coffee in Queen Anns. I went for a walk while he
studied,so beautiful, such a neat town. Tomorrow Chris speaks at
Fresh Life Church in Montana and we're excited to see Jen, Carrie and
the gang, and to see all that God is doing there!

Should This Be Happening In Kindergarten???

Ryah comes home from school today with this story:

Ryah: Mom, I know there is this boy at school that has a crush on me.

Me: How do you know?

Ryah: I was sitting in the dirt at school by myself playing and this boy walks over to me and asks me what I am doing and I tell him I am playing and he says do you know there is one girl in this school that I like and it is you.

Me: You tell him that your daddy owns a really big gun! (just kidding, maybe!):)

Just another Tuesday...

Well Tuesdays are the craziest of all days in my week. It started with running late to get Elias to school, so I slip on my jacket and leave on my pajama shorts and think to myself I am just running out to the car in my driveway no big deal. So out we go and I realize my car is not in my driveway it is in the street. I check to make sure the coast is clear and tell the kids to run, and as I am loading the bunch in the car I realize my neighbor is backing his car up all the way down the street towards me, (mind you I am in my jammies, and all of this seems to be happening in slow motion), I am thinking if I can just get these kids in the car and myself then I am clear, but getting in the car is a very long ordeal with 3 kiddos because we fight about who gets in first and who is going to sit where and all I care about is getting in the car as fast as I can. Well, I don't make it in on time and he stops at my car and there I stand in all my glory in my jammies, and he rolls down the window and offers to give Elias a ride to school. I gladly accept, just wanting them to hurry and drive off, so now I am working to quickly get Elias out of my car and trying to ignore the fact that I am still in my jammies. Elias gets out, I shove him in their car and say a quick thanks and goodbye and as they drive off down the street I am wondering if he noticed, then I realize who am I kidding!

Then I quickly get the girls ready and rush over to Target to get some things (including a lunchable for Ryah because I haven't done any grocery shopping in weeks, what else is new? Side note, Lunchable are disgusting and they are only bought in desperate situations like today), and there I am looking at cotton balls when Cade shouts out, "look mom, that baby is huge!!!" I look over and this poor mom is staring back at us, probably heart broken that her child was referred that way, I try and make it better by saying you were a huge baby too Cade (do I think that was a comfort to her, probably not but it was the first thing that came to mind). After Target we take Ryah to school and then off to the church for a staff meeting. Those are always fun! :) Pick Ryah up from school take her home, change her into her gymnastics leotard and then pick up Elias, go back to the house because we forgot his piano books and then off to gymnastics. Cade informs me in the car out of the blue, that she doesn't like me and then when I tell her I am going to cry, she tells me she loves me (wow!). Ryah does great in gymnastics, and I wish I could jump on the trampoline (they do have a night where adults can come and have open gym time but I don't think I could actually let myself do that, it would be weird. But if I could have the whole gym to myself, I would be all over those trampolines.) Then we head to Elias piano lessons. During which I get to snuggle and play with Steven (a baby they took in from Haiti for the last 3 months), he is adorable. Cade had so much fun with him, every time he drooled, she would wipe his mouth and shout out "he's drowning mom!". After that we went to In-N-Out for the sole purpose of their name (in n out, meaning fast service), but it was more like In- and in a while, you'll be-Out. No problem, rush home, clean up the house real quick, bathe kids, do homework, and then our home fellowship. Let me say, we have an amazing home fellowship group. Great discussion on the gifts of prophecy and tongues. After we all sat around like a bunch of spoiled orange county people and added each other to our Loopt application on our iphones! It's now midnight and I should get to bed. And men wonder what we moms do all day, well there you go...

Pastors Wives Conference

Well another year has passed and the Pastors Wives Conference came and went. I was excited to get away for a couple days with one of our pastors wives, Lela. I was a little more hesitant to leave this time because Chris was a little more shaken about being left behind with the kiddos. He usually does great, but the thought of dressing the girls really stresses him out. We were sitting on the couch the day I was leaving talking about the next couple of days and the kiddos schedules and Ryah says "Mom, when you leave sometimes we get mixed up on what were suppose to do". Perfectly said!!! Chris ended up doing a great job with the kids, even a friend from school told me that he seemed relax and the kids always matched and hair was combed. Did they get a bath, 1. Did they have lunches packed, yes but I found all 3 days still left in their backpacks (I must admit I wouldn't have eaten them either). Did they get to school and activities, yes, maybe a little late. Did they have fun- YES! Good job Babe, you'd make a great Mr. Mom!!! I had a great time at the Conf. There were over 900 pastors wives there, the most they've had so far. I was challenged by one of the speakers who was talking about our influence in our homes, churches and communities. I get so busy with life that I forget about the power of influence. Am I influencing people in a way that draws them closer to Christ and points to Him. Humanity is not getting any better and I have the Love that it needs, the only Love that can transform a life. Am I influencing the world with Love? Am I influencing my husband in a way that points to Christ? Which in turn causes him to be more effective in what God calls him to do. What about my children? Am I influencing them in a way that causes them to be an influence at school, to show love and mercy, and not be influenced by this world. In ministry am I just going through the notion or am I really influencing lives for Christ? What about the world around me, do they see Christ in me or just another busy person too busy for people. I want them to see a person who cares for them, who considers every encounter an opportunity to influence a person to know Christ. May we consider our actions, attitudes and words to see that they correctly represent Christ and His character to all God places in our path...

More conversations...

Driving in the car with Cade and it's silent...

Cade: Mom, Jesus loves me.

Me: Yes He does, does he love me too?

Cade: No. But He will love you someday mom.

Me: Cade, Jesus doesn't love me?

Cade: No mom.

Next morning driving again and it's silent...

Cade: Mom, Jesus loves you now.

(I kept thinking is God trying to speak to me through this kid, am I in sin or something. Either way I guess I'm good now!:)

And of course Ryah is amazing... I pick her up from class today and she says "mom, don't open the front pocket of my back pack I've got a cricket in there." Sure enough we get home and there is a one legged cricket in her backpack! I just hope he lost his leg prior to being kept in solitary confinement by Ryah. She also informed me that she is teaching the other kids on the playground how to catch lizards, and she has been successful so far, I think she should start charging for these things!

Just like the man at the pool of Bethesda

I was reading in John 5 about the man at the pool of Betheseda. Here was a man who was unable to walk for 38 years, sitting by a pool waiting for a miracle. Hopeless at this point, and Jesus walks onto the scene. There was a great multitude of people in need of a healing and for whatever reason this man catches Jesus eye. A man, who didn't even know who Jesus was, catches His eye, and Jesus asks, "Do you want to be made well?" The man avoiding the question, answers with an excuse, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me." Jesus is there, able to heal and the man is missing it entirely, he is explaining to Jesus why a healing is just not possible for him. Jesus doesn't care, He doesn't care that the man doesn't know who He is, that the man doesn't know that He can heal him. There is no faith here, just straight mercy being offered to a hopeless soul. Jesus answers, "Rise, take up your bed and walk". And immediately the man was made well. I was so touched by this story as I often find myself as the man at the pool, stricken with sin, guilt searching for a way to redeem myself. Then for no reason, other than His great love and compassion, Jesus turns to me and says "Do you want to be made well?" and of course just like that man, I come up with all of my excuses of why I can't. Then He heals me, out of His great mercy I rise up out of my affliction and walk once again, no longer paralyzed by sin. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Psalm 51:10

Home Fellowship

Tonight was our first night of Home Fellowship, and I must say we have a pretty cool group of people. It's so neat to hear all the God stories everybody has (even with 9 kiddos running around the house:) ). I always think I've got it made and God does amazing things in my life and it's so crazy to think He is doing those amazing things in everybody's life! I am so blessed by all our new friends and am looking forward to this next year of HF!

Kid Conversations...

In the car while driving...
Cadence: Mommy, you messded my hair when yous was turning.

Next day...
Ryah: Aunt Tara is the greatest girl ever!

Cadence: No she's not.

Ryah: Yes she is, she worships God.

(to aunt Tara's defense Cade thought Ryah was talking about a scary character in a movie and not aunt Tara, she was confused, she is a great girl!)

So cute!

Honduras~ Day 4

Today was our last full day here in Honduras, tomorrow we make the long trek home! It was so cute Ryah made a comment on my blog and told Chris and I to have a safe "drive" home:)! Today is Independence Day here in Honduras so everybody was downtown celebrating with a big parade, it was really neat. We had the chance to visit 2 beautiful villages today. You drive these off- roads for about an hour and a half to these remote villages, it's amazing. We met with the farmers in each village and were able to encourage them in all of their hard work. We visited with the children, one of which Chris accidently asked him "where are you", instead of "how are you" and the boy looked very confused... Also, my poor hubby spent most of the day sick, stomach sick, I feel so bad for him, but he is doing a bit better this evening. As I reflect on this trip I am very thankful God allowed me to come. It is so good to step outside of Orange County and to step into the lives of other people, to hear their stories, to see their life. I have been reminded of the things that matter. It's not about schedules and material items and all my busyness, it's about relationships, most importantly our relationship with God our Creator. He wants us to know Him, to love Him, and to make His love known. That's what it's all about. Our children, it is our responsibility to leave a legacy of Godliness for them to follow, to teach them God's word and to pour into them His grace and love. I am reminded that I need to be God's hands to love the unlovable, his feet to go and share His love, His eyes to see beyond my tunnel vision. I was blessed by all the poor who are rich in Christ that I got to meet and share stories with, or maybe just a hug or a smile. I am excited to see what God will do through our church here in Honduras and through Growers First; which is an amazing ministry that gives people earthly hope through a better quality of life and eternal hope through Jesus Christ. I had a great time with our team, Chris, Mike, Gordon and Dave, along with Eber, Hugo and Suri. It was a blessing to serve in Honduras with them all. I look forward to seeing my kiddos sweet smiling faces wed. morning! Blessed be the name of the Lord...

Honduras~ Day 3

Yet another great day here in Honduras! We missed Kingsfield this morning, but had a great time at the service here at Ebenezer Church. Ebenezer Church is in town, it's a great facility they just purchased in Jan. Pastor Hugo is the lead pastor. Church began at 9am with singing (some oldies but goodies from Calvary), and it was sweet they had the words up in English for us. We obviously couldn't understand the Bible Study but it was neat to see the church and how their Christian culture is. After we headed off to another farming village. The drive is always so beautiful, pine trees (of all things), banana trees, coffee bean plants and just tons of greeness (I know that's not a word but it just describes it best). We were going to visit a church in the village but it turns out that the pastors brother-in-law was killed in an accident yesterday so they canceled church. We ended up at the house of the pastors parents. Had an amazing time visiting with his mom, a women who has an amazing legacy. We sat and listened to her story (via translator), her husband and her have served in ministry since they were young. Starting Bible studies that turned into churches and then would move on, and on top of that she raised 12 children!!!! She was so beautiful and so sweet, and to hear of how the Lord has used her was amazing. Some of the local farmers came by and we visited with them as well. Dave told us to take a look at these faces and remember them when you are sipping your cup of coffee, to pray for them. That really impacted me, I did sit there and take in each one of their faces, worn from many years of hard work and a hard life; and I will remember to pray for them as I am sipping my cup of coffee. Especially now that I have seen all the hard work that goes into each cup and the little profit that they receive from it. It would be so neat to put their pictures on coffee mugs (Carrie catch the vision...!). They took us down to where they are going to build a small plant together across from the church (none of them are believers as of yet, so much to pray for). We hiked to the top of this hill and just took in the beauty of God's creation, and then went to check out the church. The church is a very small fabricated building with wooden benches in it. We sat with the windows open and talked, birds and bugs making singing in the background, it is indescribable. After that we hiked to a waterfall, and then drove back down into the city for a prayer meeting at the church. We prayed with the youth, which was really neat. Almost all of them prayed for their families to get saved, it is very common here for children to go to church without their parents, so sad. After prayer, they had some fun laughing at our driver license pictures, I was trying to explain to one boy that I was pregnant in that picture with my first child and now I have 3, he translated it that I was currently pregnant with 3 babies and seemed very amazed, but I was able to get a translator to help straighten the story out:)! After that we walked for ice-cream and went to the central park, and then when we came back we went to our room and wa-la, they had changed our curtains, bed spread and bed skirt from purple to gold. It's amazing, where do you find that in America??? Anyways, it was a great day and I am so thankful God allowed me to come here and meet these people and try to impact them with love and encouragement the best I can. Kiddos, mommy loves you!!! I will see you soon! Carrie you too (since I know you are reading this faithfully)!:) Till tomorrow...

Honduras~ Day 2

Our first full day here in Honduras. We started the day with a tour of a coffee bean plant. It was very interesting to see all that goes into coffee, and how often the beans are handled in the process. The coffee at the plant tasted great, the best I've had here so far. After that we headed out to a village in the mountains on a dirt road about an hour and a half away, where Suri's farm is. Suri is a local farmer, who is the most successful farmer around, making about $2000 a year. He is a part of the local church. (Suri is on the left in the picture to the right) Please pray for his 12 year old son who has blood cancer, they just found out in June and he is currently getting treatment, but it will be a very long process. The village he lives in is called San Heronimo, a very poor community, you can't even imagine the places these people call home. Cows, horses, dogs and chickens running around everywhere, homes with partial walls and no windows, cement floors, no running water or electricity or appliances. We have so much to be thankful for. We played basketball with some of the kids, which was very fun. I must admit I had a hard time between my competitive side and my sweet side. I mean when the ball gets thrown to you do you just take it and go for the goal or do you pass it on to the little guy you know isn't going to make it because the hoop is 10 times his size? Well, of course I did a little of both.;) The kids were so cute, they wanted to play with you and talk with you, once again I wish I could speak Spanish! We also visited with the people, and had coffee, they were very sweet. It was so beautiful there, green and lush. We headed back into town, and walked around and had dinner. It was a great day. It is amazing to me the joy these people have. Like Suri , who always has a huge smile on his face and is so happy. Here is man, whose son is sick, who works very hard, and according to American standards, has nothing, and yet he has the joy of the Lord. I'm reminded I need to look past my circumstances, and find my joy constantly in the Lord and in Him alone. We have so much to be thankful for. Sometimes God is good when life is good, but I'm reminded here once again that God is good all the time! Eli-Ky, Ry-Ry Scouterpants and Caderbugs I love you and miss you! I'm going to be bringing back some surprises for you!

Honduras ~ Day 1

Well, we took off yesterday from our house at 8:30pm for LAX airport. I sadly left behind our 3 kiddos, one of which was a sicky-poo (and I need to give Kudos to Carrie for taking on the task of caring for sicky-poo Cade all night long as she cried- you’re a true friend girl, thank you!!!), but was also excited about the trip. Our plane took off at 2am, which left us with pretty much a sleepless night. I was really wishing I had one of those neck pillow things, I saw them at Target and thought I should get one of those and then decided not to spend the moo-la on it (next time I’m spending the moo-la on it!), Gordon Henry had one and he looked like he was getting some good rest (or maybe it was the Dramamine the guys took). We had a layover in El Salvador and then headed over to Honduras, arrived about 9:30am. Took a taxi for a 2 hour drive to grab some lunch at a lake where they had a cool 4 story tree house, teeter-totters and cool swings! After that we had another hour drive to our Home Sweet Home. Grabbed a quick nap and went to have dinner with the local Growers First board and off to a musical that the local kids were in, directed by a missionary here in Honduras. Honduras reminds me a lot of Mexico, but a lot greener. The people are very nice. I really wish I spoke Spanish, it’s frustrating not being able to communicate. The food hasn’t made me sick yet, though I did have a some type of miniature crab leg in my soup which made me a bit quesy and there are lizards in the bathroom, but hey this is a mission trip, gotta have some excitement! Looking forward to visiting some farms tomorrow. Keep praying for us! Kiddos if you read this- Mommy and Daddy Love You!!!

The Big Toe Is Free At Last

3 weeks ago Elias was doing stunt tricks while dancing to Jana Alyra and ended up in the ER with a broken BIG toe.  

He ended up having surgery to put a metal rod into the toe while it was healing.  God is so good, it turned out that the anesthesiologist was a friend of ours from church. We prayed for Elias and then Chris and I had a lot of fun picking on him while he was getting loopy from the meds!  The surgery was successful and we took our little man home.  

The rod they in

serted stuck out of the front of his toe and he kept hitting it on everything so the next day

 they decided to cast his foot.  Elias chose a bright yellow  cast(I tried to talk him out of it and into something that would go better with all his clothes).  So crutches and all, he missed the first couple weeks of soccer, couldn't swim and had to start off his first week of school.  

But today we took him in and they said it healed perfectly!  They pulled the metal rod out and gave it to him as a cool souvenir and now o

ur little man is free to swim, play soccer, and whatever else his heart desires.  He handled it all like a champ!

God answers...

Earlier this year I was feeling like I was in a rut in my walk with the Lord. Not that I didn't sense He was there, but that I had become mundane in my passion for Him. It started me thinking about when I was younger and had gone on a mission trip and how it changed my life and shook up my walk with the Lord. So I started praying that God would do that in my life once again. I was desperate for Him to give me passion once again. I knew I was in a different place in my life being married and having kiddos now, so I just asked Him to work around that and to give me an opportunity to be uncomfortable for Him and to be shooken up. Never would I have imagined I would go on a mission trip anytime soon. Well, here I am days aways from going on a mission trip to Honduras, and it just dawned on me this morning while I was blow drying my hair that this was all an answer to a prayer from the beginning of the year. How sad that I am so slow to realize and that I had stopped asking God to move, but how thankful I am that He is not slow in keeping His promises. He heard those prayers and knew how and when he was going to answer them. I have gone back and forth a couple of times wondering if I made the right decision to go, and God confirmed to me this morning that His hand is all over this and now I am more excited than ever to see how God is going to shake the world up through me and shake my world up in me! Remember God hears every prayer and He answers...

Exterminator

I have this thing for spiders, I really do hate them and whenever I see them I just need to kill them.  My most used form of extermination is hairspray and a lighter, I torch them.  I know this might all sound so morbid but they are just so gross.  Well tonight we were at the Porter's house for dinner and we were eating outside, when off in the distance in the bushes I see a huge spider building a web, I tried to ignore it, but I just couldn't.  I stood up, grabbed an outdoor torch they had lit, climbed up on the wall and lit the spider, he fell to the ground.  A little while later Darren notices a huge one above Chris head.  So, I grab the torch again as Chris is yelling don't do it Tatum your gonna drop the torch...  I put the torch under the spider he does a total spiderman move, latches onto his web and comes full swing at me... I yell, jump back and without thinking I throw the torch...  Chris runs over and grabs it trying to keep the bushes from catching on fire, picks it up and now the whole torch is on fire, he drops it to the ground, the kerosene leaks out and we've got ourselves a mini fire in the backyard...  The bushes catch fire, the fence and the next thing we know it's heading for the house, we throw the kids in the pool and Chris grabs the hose, his shirt catches fire and he has to do the stop, drop and roll...  O.K. just kidding about everything catching on fire, the guys were able to put it out.  I'm just thankful for very fun friends who will still let me come over after I almost burn their house with my extermination skills and even share their Disneyland candies with me!:)  Thanks Porters for a night of fun and thanks babe for saving me from the fire!!!

Gotta love the honesty

Elias: Dad your my favorite person in the family because you are so much fun.

Me: Elias, what about me, you are going to hurt my feelings.

Elias: Well you like him more than us too!

Why do dads always get to be the fun ones???

S-C-H-O-O-L

So yesterday was the end of a great and busy summer and the beginning of s-c-h-o-o-l. I think I am more bummed than the kiddos. Elias is in 2nd grade now and is beginning the year with his bright yellow cast (side note, he jumped off the couch onto the coffee table and broke his big toe. They had to put a rod into it to keep it in place while it heals). I must say he is handling it like a champ. His teacher this year is Mr. Henry and according to Elias he is really funny! Elias says he likes school, but is anxious to get his cast off so he can play soccer.








Ryah is in Kindergarten and her teacher is Mrs. Standley (an amazing teacher, the same one Elias had). Today as I was parking the car at her school she informed me that I didn't need to walk her to class she could walk by herself. I told her no that I wanted to go with her and again she told me I could just watch her from the car. Either I am already embarrassing her or she isn't suffering from any kind of separation anxiety. I walked her to class because I have to and because I love to see the huge smile on her face as she waits for Mrs. Standley to walk them in. She loves school and informed me today that everyone wants to be her friend, everyone! I don't blame them. I miss my little buddies... But I've still got CADE!!!

4 am!!!

Well, it all started last August when Chris and I went on a backpacking trip in Idyllwild. I am a huge fan of hiking but not backpacking for the simple fear of wild animals and sleeping in a tent out in the middle of nowhere. Well, the first night I pretty much didn't sleep, I was up all night waiting to be attacked by wild animals. The next day Chris and I went hiking and ran into a couple of ranger ladies whom I asked about the bear situation and they reassured me that there are no bears in the area and that they sleep out at night under the stars with no tent! So the second night rolls around and I am feeling much better about allowing myself to sleep, so I finally at some point drift off into slumberland. Suddenly I am awoken by the sound of a distant crunching leaves and sticks and it is slowly getting closer and closer. Now mind you we are miles away from any other person or civilization. Chris awakens and tells me not to move. We both are unsure if it's some crazy man or wild beast. As it comes upon are camp site we realize it is some type of wild beast and it isn't small either. I laid there in fear for 45 minutes as this beast enjoyed our food and campsite, even at one point enjoying a short nap next to me outside my tent. I have truly never been so afraid in my whole life. I saw the headlines in my head reading "Husband and wife eaten by wild beast while backpacking, leaving behind 3 small children" When it finally left Chris reassured me that it would probably come back, so just go to sleep. No such luck, I laid there petrified for hours waiting for the first sign of light so we could pack up and go. Sure enough hours later, I hear the same crunching sound of leaves and sticks off in the distance as it grows closer once again. The same frightening scene for another 30 min. I was so sick to my stomach. Upon returning home and now even a year later I still have that same fear run through my body when I hear the sound of crunching leaves at night. So as it goes our house backs up to the wilderness and I am often awoken by "the sound". I lay in bed in fear and eventually drift off. Well, the other night I had enough, I was awoken at 4am by "the sound", I lay there in fear wondering is some crazy man in my back yard or is it a wild beast. I decided no more am I going to live in fear, I am conquering this one. Knowing that it would be of no use to wake up Chris (he would tell me to go down and check it out and let him know what it was) I make my way down the stairs to discover what was down in my back yard. I slowly go down the stpes and round the corner, I see a dark shadow and it looks big, but I was determined, I figured I could scream if I needed back up. I slowly approach the back door, flip the light on and this is what I discover...

A RACCOON! A cute raccoon, inside our dog crate eating the food. All that for a raccoon! I am so excited I run and wake up Chris to come see my cute discovery and he says no he would rather sleep. So I go back down and decide to try and trap it in the crate, so I can show the fam in the morning. Needless to say I wasn't successful at raccoon trapping, but I think I was successful in overcoming my fear of "the sound"! And that is good enough for me!

Being a kid...

So my son Elias often thinks that he is much smarter than I, his wealth of knowledge is limitless in his own eyes.  Here is a conversation we had this morning while cleaning his ears...

Elias: I know how long it takes to grow potatoes.

Me: How long?

Elias: 2 days.

Me: How do you know that?

Elias: Because every 2 days you clean my ears.

Oh to be a child again...  With innocence and trust.  I remember when I use to believe that someone drove the moon around and that at night a group of men would pull the sun down from the sky.  Though it is good to let go of our own fables and learn how things really work, in that I don't want to lose my childlike reliance on the Lord, trusting in Him completely and still believing that He can make the unbelievable happen...

So yesterday  I woke up and heard the water running in the kitchen.  My first instinct was to yell out "turn off the water", but then I decided to check out what exactly was going on.  I walk down the steps and peek into the kitchen and low and behold to my surprise I find my 7 year old son doing the dishes, voluntarily nonetheless.  But the best part about it was later at the pool when our neighbor Don asked him why he did the dishes, his reply was "because I love my mom".  Is that the sweetest thing ever or what.  

I will never leave you or forsake you!

I was reading today about how we humans are always expecting that God is preparing and fitting us for some BIG exceptional thing. But that is not so, God want to be glorified in our day to day ordinary life, and that is the BIG exceptional thing. That we could live our daily lives honoring and glorifying Him. Life is full of constant striving to be more like Jesus and less like ourselves. We do this by knowing that our Savior "never leaves us or forsakes us" (Heb. 13:5), even when we fail, He is right there picking us up and pushing us on.

Luke 9:23 "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me".

She's Brilliant (must be from the Hillrich side)

Cadence: "Look mom, I have 2 hands"

Wicked!

So my great friend Monica took me to see Wicked for my birthday today. We saw the 2:00 showing because we are old now and figured we would fall asleep at the 8:00 showing. That's what happens when your 32 and when your friend is prego. I recommend everyone to see this show, it was the best! After, we had dinner at my fav. place to get a honey vanilla latte, the Urth Cafe, and finished the day off with shopping at the Grove. Thank you Monica for a great day!

My Kool Cat...

Elias was in his 1st grade class play on friday, and of course he was the best (and no I am not bias). He sang his little heart out as loud as he could. I think maybe he should be a movie star.

I beat him to the punch...

So I have been thinking about starting a blog for some time now, but my hubby told me not too. He's probably afraid I will say something I shouldn't and rightfully so, I have been known to put my foot in my mouth on more than one occasion. But now he has told me that he is going to start one and so I decided to beat him to the punch... I figure a wife of a pastor and a mommy to 3 crazy kids has something to write worth reading, so here it goes... Have Fun!!!