Trying new things....

For now it's...basketball! I learned when Meghan and Sara were little, that children want to try so many new things, until they find what they like the best, are good at and enjoy the most. Now Ronnie is doing basketball. I must say, I LOVE this program! He is doing the "Upwards" program at a local church. It is non-competitive, instructional AND they have scripture memory every week and work on biblical character qualities....what is not to love?! Ronnie is loving it! He is pretty good, too, for not playing before....he is really good at shooting.
One thing that is good for him is the "guy" time...he spends A LOT of time with his dad, doing almost everything together, but with 3 sisters, he really enjoys "guy" stuff!

His Uncle Todd has been working with him (Todd is very good at basketball), even bought him his own basketball...and he has brought Ty up both weeks so they could see Ronnie....boy, does Ronnie's face light up when he sees Uncle Todd and Ty!
His coach is great! He, also, has 4 children....two of which are 7 year old twin boys on Ronnie's team! Needless to say, he is really patient with the boys!
Listening to instruction...each week, the boys get a green star if they memorize their scripture verse, and on game day everyone gets a different colored star for some effort...for instance, sportsmanship, Christ-likeness, offense, defense, effort....as they are learning, they are gaining confidence, as well.

Ronnie wants to do the Upwards program in the Spring as well, that is when they do flag-football....another thing that I like about it is that they learn the rules of the game with out any competition....I think that really takes the pressure off when they are young and learning.

Well....Ronnie has had a busy day....spent the afternoon with his friend Caleb...then straight to basketball....I think that is enough "guy time" for one day! LOL Now, I think he needs a little "Mom" time! Be blessed.......~Sue~

Dance for Jesus....

The past 2 days have been wonderful days of special worship....yesterday, Meghan's piano recital focused on Jesus thru music...today, Sara & Anna's worship dance Christmas "mini-recital" also focused on Jesus...thru dance and the music that they danced to. I love this dance school that they go to! Everything is Christ-centered...every movement, the songs and even what they wear has to be modest and Christ honoring....nothing unmodest either in clothing or music. They had a nice reception first, with cake, cookies and drinks...it was so nice for me, because I got to see a lot of MY friends there! LOL Ronnie even had a chance to hang out all afternoon with his friend, Caleb...talking Legos the whole time! Sara demonstrating her ballet techniques at the barre....they all have a pretty strict ballet time as part of their classes...teaching proper form, techniques and really working on form.

Our "Tiny Dance"...little Anna...she was so excited, she could hardly stand still!

I love this one! She was so serious, and did such a great job remembering her steps and following the dance!
Sara does so beautifully....she was born to sing and dance for the Lord! I think Anna is, too. The two of them are always singing and dancing all over the house. Anna has mastered "O Little Town of Bethlehem" and "O Come, O Come Emmanual"...she loves to sing!

After we came home, and had a simple dinner....we lit 2 candles tonight for the second Sunday of Advent and did our devotions...Ronnie read Luke 2:1-7, we sang and then talked about 2 more names of Jesus....we followed this with watching "The Nativity Story" movie....I feel so blessed to be able to continuously point my children to the Lord...and how all of life confirms the Word! I hope everyone had a very peaceful, blessed Sabbath! ~Sue~

A "musical" moment....and other fun ways to spend a Saturday!

Today was Meghan's piano recital. She LOVES the piano...and is so good at it! It's something that I always wished I knew. We love her teacher, and one of the nice things that she does, is she makes the recitals about serving....they are always an outreach at a nursing home, and really bless the residents with their music and sing-a-longs. Today was no exception. Meghan played beautifully!!! She played "I'll be home for Christmas", "Oh, Holy Night"...then ended with "Have yourself a Merry little Christmas"....Oh, how we enjoyed them!
My beautiful daughter!

We are so blessed with a close, supportive family! All of her grandparents came out to hear her play...above, her Buppy & Grammy drove over an hour to be here.

Meghan with M.E....and Zedoh....he really wasn't cranky, he always takes pictures like that! LOL We like to tease him...
Meghan with Ron's mom , Ro...and the beautiful flowers she got her....she recieved 2 big bunches of flowers today to brighten up her room.
Meghan, her teacher Mrs. Serra and all the students who performed.

Her supportive sister and one of her biggest fans! Afterwards, most of the family came back to our house for homemade beef stew and soft, homemade rolls hot out of the oven! So good...especially since it was very cold and snow flurrying....but that wasn't the first thing we did today! After getting the dough rising for the rolls and the stew in the crockpot...I left at 11am to take the little ones to a birthday party.....
This is Ronnie at a birthday party for his friend, Isaac. I took Anna, too, since she is friends with Isaac's sister, Sophie....the kids had a great time! My friend, Rebecca, had such a nice time for the kids! It was nice for me to visit with her, too!
Anna and Sophie....the Kirk's homeschool as well, and Anna & Sophie go to the same dance school.

After we left the party, we stopped for a short, but special visit with old friends from our old neighborhood....I hadn't seen Danielle in ages, and we had a nice visit.

This is Ronnie and his old friend, Miles. Miles and Ronnie's birthdays are 3 weeks apart...and they lived down the street from us before we moved. I have so many pictures of the boys from babies on up to almost 8...I love watching their interests and personalities grow and change, but still love being friends and spending time together.

This is Danielle's daughter, Isabelle....and she will be 10 years old on Monday! Isabelle and Miles were singing in a Christmas choir tonight, and Isabelle wasn't ready....but she took time out to play with Anna.....Anna really looks up to her and enjoys playing with her...and Isabelle is so good with her!
~So, after a very full day....my little ones are tucked into bed, Meghan & Sara are working on some Christmas gifts while they watch a movie....Ron starts work at 2am, so he is trying to stay awake to watch the Penguin game, then try and get as much sleep as he can....and I feel like it has been a blessed day!....Now off to bed, to prepare for another one! LOL After church, we'll just have time for lunch before going to Sara and Anna's Christmas dance recital/party at 2pm....I know dinner will be simple tomorrow...and we're already planning another evening in front of the fire after dinner....not too many evenings are free for all of us, so we cherish them. May the Lord bless your Sabbath tomorrow! ~Sue~

It's a Wonderful Life!

I really DO love my life! What an amazing day! Actually...it's been a pretty great week! We've really been praying about keeping our focus this month firmly where it belongs...on Christ. As everyone knows, with all the hype and marketing...it is so easy to be distracted by the deceiver...to focus on the "holiday" and the 'busyness'.

We started a few years ago, to basically get rid of all Christmas decorations that were not Christ centered...I kept just a couple homemade things that either my mom made, or were special gifts....but I started collecting nativities.

This year, we pulled out our Christian unit studies. One is Christian symbols of Christmas, another is the history of Christian Christmas hymns, and my favorite is 25 names of Jesus. These have been constant, wonderful reminders of why we are celebrating Christmas...and my little ones are really getting it...and reminding us frequently as well! LOL

Yesterday, after Ron had put up the outside lights....Ronnie and Anna ran outside to view them, where Anna exclaimed "OH! They are PERFECT, Dad!"....then..."why do we put up lights for Christmas?" To which Ronnie, with all the wisdom of his almost 8 years replied " Because Jesus is the light of the world, of course!" Which made perfect sense to Anna! LOL Oh, the perfect trust of children!

Today, we had an amazing day. We have a tradition, that every year, Ron takes all the children to pick out the "perfect" tree....and I stay home. The 5 of them find the perfect tree and lug it home, where Ron and I string the lights, then the kids help decorate it....well, today for the first time in 20 years, Ron & I put up the tree, with Christmas carols in the background without any swearing, attitudes or fighting....we even teased each other and laughed! LOL What a blessing!

Then, instead of the very healthy meal I had planned, we ate hotdogs (yes, on buns!), and tater tots in the livingroom in front of the fire while we watched "White Christmas"....what a fun, memorable evening we had! Half-way thru the movie...Sara (the expert) started roasting marshmallows,too. I think this should become a tradition...when Mom relaxes the "food police"...and we all just have fun!

Will be posting some pictures and observations of things we are doing differently this year...some things that are helping us to be Christ focused....and making memories, as well! Hope you all are having a blessed start to our Christmas season! ~Sue~

Twilight Zone

*OHHHHHHH MYYYYYY GOSSHHHHHHH!*

That is the sound of millions of tween/teenage girls dashing to the movie theaters to see the newest phenomenon since High School Musical: Twilight. New Moon to be exact.

I don't know about any of ya'll, but anytime I hear/see anything related to Robert Pattinson, Twilight, or vampires I groan, roll my eyes, or shake my head (or all of the above). I mean, come on! The story is a romance/thriller (as it is officially categorized by the National Film Association) so there you have it: the category goes with teen girls as much as lip gloss and texting does. But while they are watching this movie, do you think they will be focusing on anything God related? If you answered no, you deserve a prize. They will be focusing on how cute Mr. Pattinson is, how perfect a match Edward & Bella are, or how sweetly protective of her he is... GAG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, in honor of my fellow twilight-hatin homies, I have found a tee shirt (I know, big surprise) that fondly states my views:Oh yeah, how cool is this?

A Closer look:

Jesus is THE LIGHT! Jesus said I am the light of the world. Those who believe in me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life. Put that on a t-shirt! (Oh wait, they just did!)

It just cannot get any better than this unless God suddenly granted my request to make horses free of cost... but anyways, whatdya think?

Comment on it!

PS: To any Twilight Lovers, I apoligize but this had to be said!

Thanksgiving Memories....

Thanksgiving 2009....so much to be thankful for!!! After an insanely busy week and weekend... and me not feeling well...I finally got around to posting our pictures! We were able to celebrate with family from my side and Ron's....see family in from out of town...it was a nice day! The Gorecki family at my mom's house...Meghan 16, Sara 14, Ronnie almost 8 and Anna 5...Ron & I....old! LOL
" Grammy's Girls"...Tina 13, Sara 14, Lauren 20, Anna 5 and Meghan 16

Our little Angel, Ty with his best friend, Anna....
One of our many "sister" pictures...(they always put me in the middle!)

My mom and I at the end of a wonderful meal and visit...and then it was off to Ron's mom's house....
Where we were thrilled to spend time with Ben, Crystal and my Great-Nephew, Hayden, who were visiting from Delaware. I FINALLY finished Hayden's quilt in time to give it to them. It ended up much bigger than I thought....so it should last him a very long time! He is growing so fast (and is so darn cute!)...even if he is giving his mommy and daddy a run for their money! LOL(that's what babies do!)
Great-Grandma, RoRo....dancing with Hayden in the kitchen.
Ron's sister , Mauren....otherwise known now as "Grandma ReRe" with Hayden...he looks so much like his daddy did as a baby!

This is what little girl cousins do when they have nothing else to do...."draw" on the condensation on the door with their feet...check out Anna and Julia!

Ron's brother Sean was in from Chicago...Ronnie LOVES spending time with Uncle Sean!

~Friday morning, the girls and I got up and headed out to do some shopping. First, we hit Starbucks around 8am (Sara treats every year) ...then headed to Joann's Fabric for some great sales...from there, we headed to Michael's for more craft supplies/gifts....then we visited my great aunt in the hospital...after which we had the BEST pizza (hey...we needed nourishment for the rest of the day!)...then to the resale shop and Family Christian stores....finally home to decorate for Christmas! Thank goodness Meghan had made an extra casserole the other day...we were able to pop it into the oven, then light a fire and relax when we were done!

Yesterday, we did a lot of cleaning and then.... RoRo took 3 special little girls to see the play "Madeline's Christmas"...cousins, Anna, Molly and Julia. They had a great time, then she treated them to Sarris' for icecream! What a treat!
Anna picked out her "princess" dress to wear to the play

The happy girls after the play and icecream...

~We spent the rest of the day cleaning up....made some popcorn, watched the Crippled Lamb....and hit the hay! Today...after a wonderful time of worship and a timely sermon on "rejoicing always, praying continuously and giving thanks in ALL circumstances"....only possible with the Holy Spirit!

Hit the grocery store after church...then Ronnie has his friends, Steven & David over for the afternoon....it is so nice outside!!! Yesterday...the Lord provided us with a FREE basketball hoop! I've wanted one since I was young...I wanted one at the old house, and I've wanted one here....yesterday, someone was giving one away for FREE....what a blessing!!! We've had so much fun already! (Ronnie can't believe I can play basketball!) Not only does the Lord provide for our needs...but He delights in giving us the desires of our hearts! Now it is off to finish dinner....do our devotions for Advent...light a fire and have a special beginning to our Advent season! God bless everyone! ~Sue~

Happy Thanksgiving!

Quote: "Your blood, has washed away my sins...Jesus thank you!!! The Father's wrath completely satisfied...Jesus thank you!!! Once your enemy, now seated at your table...Jesus thank you!!!"
Sovereign Grace Music

~This is the song that was going thru my head, all night long...I woke up with it this morning, and as I quietly lay in bed, I realized that THIS is what I am most thankful for! May everyone have a very, very blessed Thanksgiving!~

~Sue~

Priceless.....

These are a few of my favorite things....dough rising for homemade dinner rolls....
six pumpkin rolls DONE...

a little calico kitty by a fire....

kitchen help from a 5 year old....
Priceless!!!