The Sweetest Picture in the World

Caleb and Rachel sent this to Jacob on his birthday!

Jacob turns 7

We had a sleepover for Jacob's birthday. It actually wasn't planned that way, but it worked out really well. We had the Simmon's kids, Drew and Shelby, and Alex spend the night. Everyone played really well together and it was actually easier than just having my three kids at the house. Wierd.

Jacob got the Tony Stewart hat and shirt from Drew and Shelby. As you can see, he loved it!

Jacob got Star Wars Wii for his birthday and Jacob and Drew played every chance they got.

I wasn't too interested in making a cake since we already did a big party for him, but I thought it would be fun if I let the kids decorate their own cupcakes. They had a lot of fun, but I wish I had taken a picture of all of their cupcakes when they were done.

Audrey, Alex and Shelby played together the whole time. Ethan probably would have been in the mix, but he wasn't feeling well that night so he spent his time watching Jacob and Drew play Star Wars Wii.

So Sweet.

A Day at the Zoo

Dawn, Jennifer and myself braved the St. Louis humidity to take the kids to the Zoo. We had a great morning together, but I think we were all a bit pooped by the end.

In this picture from left to right is Ethan, Luke, Alex, Audrey, Jacob, Drew and Shelby

Hmmm, I wasn't sure I thought the explaination about how an alligator twists you around and drowns you was appropriate for this audience, or the story about a women's arm being ripped off. Dawn and I were trying to get the kids out of there as quickly as possible after that story!!

Jacob Lost His First Tooth

Jacob was very excited when he lost his first tooth. We were over at a friend's house and Micah and Jacob were horsing around, his face got smashed into the carpet and out popped his tooth. Now, we're trying to repeat the event to get his second tooth out, but it doesn't seem to be working.

Now this is humid!

The other morning we woke up and saw condensation on all our windows!

Today's S.O.A.P (a little longer than normal)

Jeremiah Chapter 10

Scripture: Verse 23 – I know, O Lord, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.

Observation: This chapter is talking about how the people in the land of Jacob have created idols for themselves. At the end of the chapter Jeremiah prays to the Lord and I felt verse 23 was very profound.

Application: Verse 23 sums up what could be an idol in our culture today which is anything that causes a man to direct his own steps. I think often times we are our own idol. We feel we have the power to accomplish things on our own merit without the help of God. We glorify ourselves when things go well for us. We honor ourselves when we do something “noble” for someone else. We exalt ourselves because of our intelligence, work ethic, money we've made, houses we live in, athletic abilities, our children (at times) and any number of other things. If we are seeking things for our own benefit and glory then aren’t we really saying that our ways are better than God’s ways? In doing that we are elevating ourselves to God status and in essence worshipping ourselves.

Prayer: Lord, how many times have I tried to do things on my own? How many times have I glorified myself? How many times have I wallowed in my own self-pity because things didn’t go the way “I” wanted them to go? Why is it so hard to realize that I am not in control? I cannot direct my steps and have all things turn out for good. Lord, you are the creator of all things. Nothing happens on earth or above that is out of your control. I fall before you and praise your name. All that I need and desire is in you. Let my heart not wander and put more value on myself than what is due. You created me to glorify you on earth and in heaven when I die. Help me not fall into this carnal world of self-empowerment. The people of ancient times felt the idols they made could help them and the people of modern times think they have everything within themselves they need to help themselves. How foolish we are to think that we alone can supply all our needs? Even though I live in a culture that seeks to glorify oneself, let those ideas be blaspheme to my soul. Shield my heart and ears from the slightest notion that it is even possible. I glorify you alone, I praise you alone, I worship you alone because you alone are worthy of that praise and glory. Amen.

S.O.A.P has changed my life!

What is S.O.A.P.? It stands for:
Scripture
Observation
Application
Prayer 

Reading the bible at times been difficult for me. I sometimes felt I should be getting something more out of it. Often times I would read some verses or a chapter and I was happy that I did, but it didn't seem to have the impact on me I was hoping it would. The S.O.A.P. method has changed everything. I now journal after I've read a passage and simply go through the list. First, I write down a Scripture that really seemed to speak to me. Then, I write my Observation about what I just read. Next, I write about how it Applies (Application) to my life. Then at the end, I write a Prayer. I only write between one to three sentences for each area so it doesn't take a lot of time, but what's been interesting is that I've gained so much more from my reading by journaling using the S.O.A.P. method. I now look forward to reading the bible which means I don't do it because I know I'm suppose to, I do it because I want to. Another tool that has helped me decide what to read is downloading a bible reading plan at http://www.zondervan.com/. It gives me direction and focus and takes away any uncertainty about what I should read next.

I really want to encourge any of you who are struggling with getting into the bible to try this for yourselves. Buy a notebook to journal in and download a reading plan! I promise it will change the way you read the bible.

Jacob's Sleep Study

Keeping Jacob up all night was a success. He had no problems falling asleep. Doug actually had a difficult time waking him up. We'll see if there was anything they discovered in a couple days.

All-Nighter

OK, so I've been catching up on my blog tonight because Jacob and I are pulling an all-nighter. He has a doctor's appointment in the morning and needs to fall asleep. Right now it's 3:25 in the morning and we have watched Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back and we are currently watching Return of the Jedi. We bought him the movies today just for this purpose and its worked. He hasn't moved for the last 6 hours and he's still very much awake. We have 1 1/2 more hours to go before Doug wakes up and I can go to bed.

Jacob has to stay awake because he needs to be able to fall asleep when he goes in at 6:30 this morning. They want to monitor his brain activity while he's sleeping because we recently found out that his random episodes of throwing up at 5 am every 3 months since he was 2 1/2 are actually seizures. Thankfully, we finally know what has been causing him to throw-up since we always thought it was food related. The good news is that his seizures are not severe. Unfortunately, it's going to take Jacob and I a few days to catch up on our sleep, but I figured it was better me than Doug.

Jacob's NASCAR Birthday

We celebrated Jacob's birthday early this year because he wanted a NASCAR birthday and there just happen to be NASCAR race in town the month of his birthday. So, we let him invite a couple friends and their dad's to join us. It turned out to be a lot of fun and it was a new experience for everyone!

We let Jacob open one of his presents early because we figured he would want to play Mariokart with his friends when they arrived. As you can tell he was pretty excited to get it.

Decorations!

This was the easiest party to decorate for because we already had everything we needed. We had planned a NASCAR birthday for Jacob two years ago, but we had to cancel at the last minute because Audrey and Ethan came down with a stomach virus. Jacob took the disappointment really well and I was happy to finally give him the NASCAR birthday he wanted.

I made these bags for the boys. I found them on clearance at Micheal's, dyed them black, printed off iron on's and then ironed them to the bags. I put fan misters, ear plugs, sun glasses and an envelope with some money in it so they could buy something to eat or drink at the race.

I think they would have been happy playing Wii the whole night.

Such a cute picture!!

The start of the race

Corey, Jacob, Drew, Doug and Ethan

Neighborhood friends - Riley, Craig and Riley's dad Brian

Audrey and I, and yes, we enjoyed the race too!

The misters were a big hit. The kids sprayed themselves and each other when they got a little bored with the race.

I thought this picture was cute with Jacob and his three friends sitting together.

Rapp Family Vacation at Lake Tahoe

Hangin' out at the enormous house! It had plenty of room for all 21 of us!

We went on a gondola ride at Hevenly Ski Resort our first full day there.

I love this picture of Audrey and Rachel holding hands!

Haag's

Rapp's

Almeida's

Edwards'

Doug, Scott, the kids and I took a hike in the woods behind our house. The rock Audrey is holding actually made it's way back to Illinois and is currently sitting in the laundry room!

This is one out of control bubble bath.

We spent our second day at the beach.

I love this picture with my sisters.

Andrew and Scott

I also love this picture with my brother and two sisters!

Everyone had a blast on the paddle boats

and playing in the sand and water!

Chuck and Melinda

Surprise!!! They thought they were posing for a picture, but got covered in silly string.

Having fun in the hot tub

Mom with her grandkids!

 Caleb is the only one missing. He wasn't interested in having his picture taken,

but we'll let him off the hook since he is the youngest.

In the picture is:

Josh, Allyson, Mom, Ryan, Sarah, Andrew

Jacob, Rachel, Darren, Audrey and Ethan