And 2010 begins...

Can't BELIEVE January is almost over... Life is going by at warp speed! Nothing big going on around here, so I thought I would just post some random pictures of the month so far... duck hunting (Russ's love), friends' birthdays, dressing up, and just hanging around the house. Both boys are in the midst of basketball season - wish I had some shots to post, but those gym lights hate my camera :/ Truth be known, I can't WAIT for baseball season... love watchin' my guys, plus baseball = spring/summer is almost here! Just gotta wait a little bit longer....

Kristen's best guy friend, Nick, turned 16, complete with a surprise party...
known him since kindergarten, great kid.
So fun (and a little sad) watching these awesome kids grow up.

My little man Jake getting ready to duck hunt with his dad. I LOVE this picture!

I took this before Madi went to bed... she had made this life size poster
of herself in preschool that day. She was SO proud of herself...

Jake and Clay hanging out watching TV with their best friend Saylor.
This dog is so spoiled :)

Dressing up... this was for an Anniversary Ball that her
high school sorority sponsored. She and her "sisters" put in many
community service hours to be able to attend.
(Pictured here are her friends Caitlin, Spencer, Matt, Vyvy, and Corey)

Kristen and her friend Matt... they all looked so nice
and had a great time.

Sweet friends Vyvy and Caitlin... they looked gorgeous.

Another best friend's birthday - Carly! We love this girl like our very own - she turned
16 last week and Kristen threw her an awesome party with all their friends at Chili's.

My 16-year-old nephew, David and friend Josh came down from Springdale
and spent a weekend with us so they could go hunting with Russ and Clay. What fine
young men - we had such a great time with them.

Two boys, two girls....

Well that is the "title" that I chose for this blog when I started a couple of years ago... obviously referring to my kids, of whom these posts are usually about :-) Actually, this post is about another set of "two boys and two girls" that are unknown to me at this point, but are high priority in my prayers. They are my children's future spouses! Now of course, marriage is FAR in the future for them, especially the younger ones, but I feel it's never too early to begin praying about the 2nd most important decision your child will make (1st being salvation). I started when Kristen was a toddler; as I prayed for her future, I felt absolutely compelled to pray for the man that she would someday make a commitment to. As of now, I pray for 4 nameless people, whoever, wherever they are.... funny to think I could be praying for someone my child goes to school with, or someone I've never met half-way across the country!

My prayers for them include lots of things, but in a nutshell: I pray that as they grow that they would come to know God early in their life, and be not luke-warm, but passionate about their faith; that God would bless their family and protect and prosper them in every way possible; that they would make wise decisions, protect their hearts as teenagers, and place a high value on waiting for my son or daughter; and that the relationship will happen in God's perfect and ordained time. And it could be that my children are being prayed for in this way, as well ~ what an amazing thought!

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Since I'm on the dating/marriage subject, I'll do a book plug. For my older two, it has been "required reading" - haha... and they loved it. It's called "Dateable" and I think it helped answer their questions in a way that made sense to them. When I was teaching youth, a friend suggested I go through this book with my class, which I did and they ate it up! It's great, the best I've seen on the subject in awhile, because it puts the whole dating concept in perspective. It's extremely teen-friendly, aimed at both guys and girls, and speaks the truth plainly with a sense of humor to hold their attention.