Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Our Final adventure of 2008

We all woke up sick this morning with colds, except for Joey... He uses a Neti Pot. every morning... He swears that his Neti Pot routine is the reason that he never gets sick... I totally believe him and I wish that I was as skilled with the Neti Pot as my Joey is... watch this video... What I can't figure out is how to get the salt water to come out the other side of my nose... It goes down my throat and I start gagging... Needless to say, The Neti Pot is a topic of "intense fellowship" in our home... Ok, enough about that... Moving onto our final adventure of 2008...


A few days ago we were blessed with some free Sea World passes that had to be used by today... So, runny noses and all, we piled the whole family into the car and headed down there...

I was so excited about the Shamu show!!! It's the only thing that I wanted to make sure that we did while we were at the park... And it was 50 x's better than I remembered it to be... there was even a point in the show that I got all teary eyed!!! The part where they bring out a kid who has always wanted to meet Shamu... I don't know why it was so emotional (in a good way) for me... maybe it was the inspirational music that was playing in the background... or maybe it was my kids sitting next to me cheering for Shamu as he jumped so high out of the water...

Is Siah growing up or what??? He doesn't even look like a toddler... I guess he probably shouldn't look like a toddler anymore considering that he's going to be FOUR in a few short months!!!!

CHECK THIS OUT!!! I got so excited every time Shamu did a trick... it was as if I had never seen the show before (even though I had seen them many times growing up!)


Joey took this picture of the kids with our new camera and I just liked it...

The kids were sitting on "ice" in the arctic place where the polar bears and penguins were... It's not really ice, just in case you were wondering :)

It was a fun last day of 2008...
See ya next year!!!!

Monday, December 29, 2008

A New Year...

I'm not big on New Years resolutions... wait, let me rephrase that... I've made MANY new years resolutions throughout the years but I'm not big on following through...

So this year... I had a thought... It's just a thought, but there's something about it that seems a little more promising than my previous attempts at New Years resolutions...

A few days ago I started asking the Lord to bring to mind a few things that HE would have me move forward with this next year... I read through my journal from this past year... seven things have come to mind... some are more shallow, some are more deep... But my thought is that instead of seven New Years Resolutions, My seven things would become topics of prayer for this next year... they will be things that I hope to talk with the Lord about often... Things that I will believe with all my being that the Lord will grow me in throughout the next year... I do not have the expectation that I will by any means master any of these things but I am excited to seek the Lord about them and see what happens... It will be kinda fun to look back next January and see how the Lord has grown me and my family... and I look forward to giving him all the glory!!!!

The Spectacular Seven for 2009...

1. I wanna be a better listener...
A I read through my journal I found these verses in one of my entries... "A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his own opinion." (proverbs 18:2)... "If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame." (Proverbs 18:13)... "A fools lips walk right into a fight and his mouth invites a beating." (Proverbs 18:6)... "The ear of the wise seeks knowledge." (Proverbs 18:15)... I find that with my children I am often so anxious to correct them that I forget to listen to them. I must confess that there have been times that i have disciplined them for things that they didn't even do simply because I did not take the time to listen BEFORE I corrected. This year Lord, please make me aware of my folly each and every time that I am forgetting to be a good listener!!!


2. I want to feed my body healthy food...
I just want to make the effort to put more good stuff into my body and less oreos...


3. I want to be more intentional about exercising...
Thank goodness for my precious neighbor Milly!!! It's so hard to do this exercise thing alone and I am grateful for her friendship and her willingness to spur me on in this area... Thanks friend... Will I have a six pack by 2010???? J/K


4. I want to be the best lover that I can be... Lover of my Jesus, lover of my husband, of my children, of my friends, of my family...
"His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that." (Ephesians 5) Lord , this year, in your grace, help me to love like you love.


5. I want to be in The Word daily, even if it's just one little verse...


6. I want to be on my knees daily for my children... I want to daily tell them about the extravagant love that their Savior has for them...
7x7 (Check out the icon in the sidebar)... Precious Tara, thanks for my prayer cards... I have posted them all over the house and today was my first day of praying them over the kids!!! Lord please, please, please, help me to stay committed to this... I eagerly await to see the ways that you are going to work in my children's lives this year!!!

Finally...
7. I want to learn how to use my new camera
Considering that I am extremely intimidated by technology, this is a very real and serious prayer for the new year... I do not want my fear or my lack of patience to prevent me from trying to figure out how to use this thing...
By the way... Thank you to my WHOLE family who pitched in this Christmas to help me get this camera... Some of my favorite things in the whole world are pictures!!! Especially those of my three little treasures...Thank you!!!


So, I know it's not quite New Years Day, but I thought I would get started on #7... tonight Joey showed me a few things with my camera.. How to turn it off and on (Silly I know, but I've got to start somewhere right? :) I took my first picture of my treasures...



My little Reesie is a woman of many faces!!!! Josiah was making her laugh in some of these pictures... She still lights up every time that she sees Siah.





Siah... what can I say about Siah... he's just handsome isn't he?


And my Hal... She was sad about Mommy taking her picture... is that a sad face or what?

Well, Happy New Year!! I'm praying that maybe the Lord will put on your heart some New Years prayers for 2009!!! Have a blessed year my sweet friends!!!

Blessing upon Blessing...

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Christmas With The Clarks...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!


We love visiting family all over the US during the holidays... I love road trips with Joey and the kids... I love the craziness of everyone being together; all the chatter, the mounds of delectable food, the giving of gifts, the joy on all the kids faces... I love family coming together.

But this year we are at our home! It has been a few years since we have woken up in our own house on Christmas morning... So I am soaking it up... And we still get the joy of being with family... My amazing parents live close by and we got to spend a wonderful afternoon with them.

Granny got the whole fam Diego wash clothes... She's always so fun!

Reesie got some carrots all over her "Christmas" sweater... Oh well :)

Gramps and Reesie!!! So cute, huh?

I just like this picture


***
I am in love with traditions... I love to watch the kids get so excited each year when we pile into the car and head to Home Depot to pick out our tree... I love how their face lights up when they come down stairs from their naps and see the whole house decorated with Christmas cheer... I love that we get to talk about Jesus the whole month of December... All that is going on is an opportunity for Joey and I to explain, teach, & live out Christ towards our children...

***

Some of our traditions...

We have tried to come up with some things that we can do each year with the kids that exemplify the meaning of this season... We started out Christmas week by talking with them about giving... We talked about how giving is a tangible thing that we can do to show others God's love... Originally we asked the kids to pick out three toys that they wanted to "give" to kids that might not have any toys... I was afraid that it might be difficult for them to give up their stuff but instead of being hesitant they were overflowing with generosity!!! When it came time to pick toys, we ended up with six grocery bags full of stuff that they were wanting to share with others... Then I was afraid that they didn't really understand and that when we dropped the stuff off at the Goodwill there would be many tears... I was wrong again... Siah told the guy that helped us unload our car that "these toys are for kids that don't have any." And as we drove away he asked me, "Is that man going to share our toys with the kids that don't have them? He needs to share those toys!" He totally got it!!! Halee did too... She kept saying to herself in a singsong fashion in the backseat, "I share my toys, I share my toys," the whole ride home. We are praying that our kids will truly find as much joy in giving as they do in recieving... and after this years experience I feel like we are off to a good start. :)

***

On Tuesday evening Joey did "What God Wants For Christmas," with the kids. It's really awesome if you're looking for a way to bring the Christmas story to life with your kiddos... The kids were totally into it!!! It's so interactive and Joey got to talk through the whole story of Christmas with them... I just cherish these family times... seriously :)

***

We have been asking the kids everyday, "What is Christmas?" We want them to know that Christmas is ALL ABOUT JESUS! It's Jesus' birthday! It's a time each year for us to tell God, thank you for sending your son!!!! Our prayer is that they will grow up loving Christmas because of their great love for Jesus!

***

On Wednesday, Christmas Eve, we went to the Wild Animal Park. (Not that we plan on doing this every year but it was an extra special treat spending time together) ...




Joey spent the afternoon making Edible Christmas Wreaths (He used to make them with his mom when he was a kid.)

This year he decided to call it "Grinch poop" cuz it doesn't look much like a wreath... Sophisticated, I know. :)

But the best part of the day was taking the kids to a service... this year we were super blessed to be involved in a service at the Schmaltz Family Home!!! I got a little teary eyed looking around their living room while we were singing Christmas songs... All the people there were families that Joey and I grew up with in church... What I loved most about it was that it just felt like REAL CHRISTMAS!!! We were all sitting there singing at the top of lungs, worshiping our sweet Savior!!! I can't even think of words to describe how wonderful the evening was for my heart!!! Blessing upon blessing!!!!!!!!

When we put the kids to bed on Christmas eve, we didn't talk much about waking up to presents... instead we talked excitedly about waking up to Jesus' birthday... We told them that we're going to have a delicious breakfast in celebration of our Savior... we told them that we get to listen to Papa read the Christmas story to us... we told them that it's going to be one of the best days ever!!

***

Christmas morning... We read the Christmas Story out loud to the kids... When we got to the part about the wise men bringing gifts to Jesus we began our gift opening tradition!

(A lady in a study that I was in a few years back shared with me that she gives her son three presents each year because the three wise men brought Jesus three gifts in celebration of His birth... So we started that tradition a couple years ago...
But this year, my amazing friend Tara, (the one who made my blog so beautiful :) shared with me a way that I could make our tradition even more meaningful! Instead of just giving them three random gifts we give them one for their soul (their main want), one for their body (clothes or something of that sort), and one for their spirit (something that will grow their relationship with God!)... Brilliant, just brilliant I say!!! So that's what we did this year...

Although our kids are really small and I know that they don't always understand everything that we share with them, but I feel like they are so moldable... So I am asking the Lord to help me to not miss out on any opportunities that allow Joey and I to show them, live out towards them, speak life; true life; Jesus life into them, into their hearts...



My parents helped us get Hal a dollhouse... She loved it so much that she didn't want to stop playing long enough to eat breakfast...



Siah got a zillion tools and Las Vegas Grandma got him a tent...

I am so grateful for the Christmas season and for this season in our lives, this season in our parenting, this season in our marriage, in our family, and this season in our journey with Christ! I am learning soo much and I am soo grateful!

A Most Merry Christmas From The Clark Clan!!!!


Monday, December 22, 2008

Happy Birthday Samuel and Barnabas!!!!!!

Two of our precious treasures would be FIVE years old today!!!

Samuel and Barnabas we just wanted you, and the rest of our little world to know that today we were...

Thinking about you...
Talking about you...
Praising God for you...
Crying tears of sadness and tears of joy for you....
Loving you...
Dreaming about you...
Feeling Thankful for you...
Wishing you were here...

Happy Happy Birthday to our precious boys!!! We will love you forever and ever always!!!!
Love your Mama & Papa


We have had this stocking since you were born and we hang it up every year to remind us of the amazing things that the Lord did (and is still doing) in our hearts through your little lives!

Christmas With Gramma and Grandpa

We had a lovely little getaway to Gramma and Grandpa's this weekend. On friday we drove up to Fremont (near San Francisco:)... Gramma so generously blessed us with an amazing hotel! It had two rooms and a living room. the living room even had a fireplace! It was lovely and romantic... and yes, I got a most lovely kiss from my man by the fireplace!!!! (I love kisses by the fireplace, don't you! :)

Ok, back to our weekend... On saturday we got up and went to Gramma's house... We walked into the wonderful smell of her homemade waffles... delicious!!!! She had decorated her house so beautifully for Christmas! (My mom LOVED decorating for Christmas and now that I have my own little family I am following in her footsteps... I just really cherish the little details that go into making each holiday special. Thanks for all the details Gramma :)


Here's Gramma's Beautiful Christmas Tree


Then we opened presents... as always Gramma and Grandpa blessed us above and beyond... Halee is IN LOVE with the baby doll that she got... She rarely sets it down... This morning she wanted to take it into the bath tub with her...

Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Jason gave the kids fun masks...

Dinner was delicious... The power went out which I found to be an extra special treat cuz we got to eat dinner by candle light with all the aunts, uncles and cousins... It made dinner that much more memorable. Gramma got all her grandkids matching PJ's and of course when ALL the kids were in front of the tree I couldn't find my camera anywhere but later I got some of our three kids in front of Gramma's beautiful tree...




I love trying to get pictures of all three kids... I know before I start that it is practically impossible but for some reason I find myself attempting to accomplish the impossible time after time... The series of pictures that I get are actually quite humorous... They might not be perfect but they make me smile :) And I enjoy the memory made...

We went to Church on Sunday, had lunch and then headed home... I always love car rides with Joey... I love the conversation, listening to music and I actually even love the times of silence...


Thanks Gramma and Grandpa for a lovely weekend!!!
Merry Christmas! :)

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Resting In Heartache

Last Night we got a letter in the mail about the pictures of our boys... My heart sank as I read the following...

" We regret to inform you that the pictures you requested are no longer in your file."

Joey was standing with me in the kitchen... My head fell onto his chest and the tears couldn't help but fall out of my eyes... He gently said, "you got your hopes up, huh?" Then he just held me... "The Lord knows the reason why we didn't need to see those pictures," he said.

I was just quiet...
Internally I was wondering how much more my heart could be broken.

I knew that this was a possibility and I have no regrets in sending in the paper work... I have no doubt that taking that step was all part of the journey that the Lord seems to be taking me on right now...

***

Then I woke up this morning to an email that a dear friend had sent sometime in the night... It was filled with God's Word... It was all about rest... It was water to my soul...

The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still." Exodus 14:14


"Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him,
for he shields him all day long,
and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders." Deut. 33:12



This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:

"In repentance and rest is your salvation,

in quietness and trust is your strength.

Isa 30:15



The LORD is gracious and righteous;

our God is full of compassion.

The LORD protects the simplehearted;

when I was in great need, he saved me.

Be at rest once more, O my soul,

for the LORD has been good to you.

Ps. 116:5-7


During this Christmas season I know that it seems almost impossible to slow down enough to REST BETWEEN THE SHOULDERS OF THE LORD, but I can testify first hand that it is the absolute best place to be...

Hide out in your closet, close the bathroom door... Where ever you can go to just be still for a few short moments... For IN QUIETNESS AND TRUST IS OUR STRENGTH!!!

***

I wanted nothing more than to post some pictures of our beautiful boys. When we were sitting on the couch last night talking about the pictures, Joey said they probably look just like a "Clark Kid."

So here they are ... The Clark Kids... FULL of personality and life!!!


Thankful for a place to rest through this time of heartache...

Signing off for now... :)



Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Christmas Lights...

Tonight was a special treat for our family... Some of our most favorite friends, The Barons, invited us to a "candy cane lane" out in Rancho Penisquitos to look at Christmas lights... I packed some sandwiches and some snacks and told the kids that we were going to have a picnic in the car on the way to see the lights... They jumped up and down and squeaked and squawked and kept saying, "I so excited! I so excited!" You would have thought that we told them we were going to Disney Land or something...



The neighborhood was huge and the lights seemed endless... the kids were wide eyed and super stoked!!! And that made Joey and I stoked...



There was one house that had this whole miniature train town built in their front yard... We drove through most of the neighborhood, but we decided to get out in front of this house cuz there was so much to look at....



I just love this girl... I have been so blessed by her friendship... the Lord has used her mightily to challenge me and encourage me and draw me closer to Him... Our kids are almost the exact same age... Skyler and Delaney are our youngest... They're only 5 weeks apart...



Hal and Wyatt are only 10 days apart...
How cute are these cuties??????? We were at the train house for almost a half hour and they didn't even want leave when it was time to go...

Sweet Times... Soo fun!!!

Monday, December 15, 2008

More Memories For My Treasure Chest...

Memory #1

Our kids have no idea how funny they are... They are super into pretend play... they pretend about EVERYTHING... They also love to watch Diego...

Last night I was up stairs putting laundry away and Halee tip toes in and says,
"Mommy, shhhhhh."

So, I whisper, "why are we being so quiet?"
Then she whispers... "cuz the pumas ar ober tear, farting unner da wawerfa we no other em." Translation... Because the pumas are over there farting under the waterfall and we don't want to bother them!" ...

Are you serious????
Where does she come up with this stuff!!!!!


This girl is full of life!!
She's pretending to be a monkey in this picture. :)


Memory #2

Yesterday was one of the best days in ever for my Mommy heart!!!! Lately I have been trying to pick up the kids early from their class at church so that they can come in and be with us during the singing time at the end of the service... They don't know the words really to any of the songs but I love us all being together even if it is just for a small portion of the service...


So yesterday we were all sitting together and and I closed my eyes for just a few minutes while we were singing and when I opened my eyes I didn't see Siah. So I looked around to see where he might have escaped to and when I looked behind me there he was with his eyes closed looking up towards the ceiling singing his heart out to the Lord! I don't know what words he was singing (they weren't the words' to the song that everyone else was singing)... but he was singing something with his whole heart! It was seriously one of the coolest things my eyes have ever seen and my heart has ever felt!

I love this little boy!!!!
I pray with my whole being that the Lord captivates his heart despite my myself and my mistakes.


Memory #3

I believe the saying goes, "Oh snap"... Siah started saying it all the time... When he drops something he'll say it... When he's gettin something he likes he'll say it... In the midst of playing and for no apparant reason he'll say it... I have no idea where he picked it up... But the funny part is, instead of saying, "Oh snap," he says, "Oh snack"...

How cute is that???

Saturday, December 13, 2008

I know that I know that I know...

A few weeks back... I was having a streak of grouchiness... I was very aware of this bad attitude and I kept apologizing to Joey and the kids but then the same bad attitude kept creeping back in...

One morning Joey came down stairs and said, "I think I found something that might encourage your heart and help you to look a little more on the bright side... He had downloaded Jon Foreman's new CD... He put on the very first song and it just blessed my socks off!!!!

It's called Your Love Is Strong...

Music has a way with me... The sound, the rhythm, the melody, the words... They all have this ability to change my mood, my attitude, my outlook towards my day... what I find so tender is that Joey knows that about me, and he went out of his way to encourage me rather than to just be annoyed by the things I was struggling with...

I have been listening to "Your Love Is Strong" constantly...(That's another silly thing about me... when I like a song I kinda listen to it exhaustively.) There's one part of the song that says,

So why do I worry?
Why do I freak out?
God knows what I need
You know what I need

Your love is
Your love is
Your love is strong



And as I listened to it over and over and over again, the words started to sink in... Oh how much the Lord knows my heart... and above that... oh how much He LOVES my heart!!! His love is strong and there is no reason for me to continue on in my grouchiness... So whenever I can feel that my attitude for the day is not reflective of the fact that My Savior in madly in love with me, I have been turning on this song. And God somehow uses it to remind me of his GREAT LOVE for me.

I know that I know that I know, that The Lord loves me... and...
I know that I know that I know, that the Lord loves Joey... and...
I know that I know that I know that Joey loves me!

Here I am in the midst of a season of growth... and once again I find myself feeling grateful...



Friday, December 12, 2008

Thank you

An amazing friend...


My generous and loving friend Tara... Thank you SOOO much for making our blog home look so beautiful!!!! I just love what you've done with the place! :)

You bless my socks off my sweet friend!!!

Didn't she do a great job?????? I just love it... I really really love it!!!

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Zephaniah 3:17

"The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing."

Zephaniah 3:17 A few months ago i went to a "comfort party" that my friend Jeanelle had with some ladies from our church. They have a company that sells comfort products for newborns all the way up to adults... you can check it out here.
They are truy wonderful products :)


Anyways.. one of the verses that she shared was Zephaniah 3:17... and it stuck with me... and it keeps coming up in all sorts of places... and people keep randomly sending it to me as a source of encouragement...


So, Joey and I have been talking about our sweet baby and whether or not we should give him a name... ALL of our other kids have names and although we did not know this baby for very long, he is still in our hearts as if we have known him for years... So we have been thinking about what me might call him...



In our kitchen we have a white board above our table that we write verses on and then when we eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, we try to memorize the verses together while we eat. On the board this week is Zephaniah 3:17...
I walked by it yesterday several times and then a simple little thought went through my mind... "That's it. That's his name."...


So I went outside to Joey's office and told him my thought about how that verse has been so prevalent in our lives over the past few months... it's almost as if the Lord gave it to us "for such a time as this."



It was quiet for a moment... we looked at each other... then each nodded our heads and mumbled a quiet, "yeah" under our breath.



And it was decided... His name is Zephaniah and God has used his little life to,
" quiet us with his love,"
&
" rejoice over us with singing."



Remember our jar full of sand... Well we were putting ornaments on the tree the other day and we came across this one... Joey pointed out that it was just like our jar... So we put it on top of our tree as this years tree topper... representing our memories with our precious Zephaniah.



They're Here!!!!

Every year my gracious friend Lauren takes these beautiful pictures of my treasures...

These were the ones from last year...


These are from two years ago...



And here are the ones from this year!!!!!!!!












Thank you Soooo Much my sweet friend... These photos are one of my favorite gifts every year!! You bless my socks off...