Please pray with me...

I just wanted to ask you to come together with me and pray for a dear family in our church. I don't know if many of you heard about this last July. But their son Austin Whetsell went on a missions trip to Zihuantenejo, Mexico with our church. Austin went missing while swimming off the coast of Mexico. The waves there can be quite high and Austin was hit by a series of waves and apparently knocked unconscious. The turbulent waters prevented other members of the team reaching him before he was swept out of the cove where they were swimming. They found his body a day later. As you can imagine, this has been a very hard time for the family. Tomorrow is going to be another mile stone for the family to over come. This will his first birthday without him. Please keep them in your prayers. They need it. I can't even imagine how they are feeling but we can pray for them and help them in any way. If you are interested, our church has set up a blog. The address is:
http://www.austinupdate.blogspot.com/

Please continue to pray for the family as the one year anniversary is coming up. I know that the family is planning a trip down to Mexico around that time so they can be there as they dedicate the basketball court and sports field in memory of him.
If you are interested in donating money to the Austin Whetsell fund, please go the blogspot (found above) and make a donation.

Thank you in joining me in this time of need for the family. I ask that you will keep the Whetsell family in your prayers.


Thank you and God Bless you.
Pauline

OOPS, I forgot!!

I forgot to add the pictures of our little zip line in the back yard. James put up a zip line in his back yard and the kids love it. Here are some pictures.

Egg Hunt, zip line, Kingstree and a tent...

Yes, we have been busy. I had not posted any pictures of our actual Easter Egg hunt and wanted to share that with everybody. Also, this past Friday we went to Kingstree, SC to see our friends Shelby & Colleen. We ended up roasting marshmallows and making smoores. We had a good time.
Then Saturday morning we woke up and wanted to be "adventuresome" so instead of going somewhere for the weekend, we went to Dick's Sporting Goods and bought a great big tent (sleeps 8) and set it up in the back yard. We actually camped out in it that night. It was a lot of fun- Josiah in his pack and play and the kids in their sleeping bags. We had fun. Who knows Marjolein, maybe when you guys are here we can go camping for a night. What do you think???? Just an idea.

Talk to you later,
Pauline


The tent set up in the back yard. Joel & Daddy did a great job. Don't you think?

Pictures of our "camp out" in the back yard.
Jo Jo in his pack and play camping out.

In Kingstree,SC visiting friends and making smoors. The kids had a blast.

My baby Jo Jo is getting SO big!



My beautiful RiRi.

Easter Sunday in the back yard with good friends (our neighbors) and having fun.

The boys at Easter.

Just us girls.

Riley and her best friend, Lilli
Our Family Easter Picture.

A day in the life of the Rogers family.

Here are just some pictures I thought I would post of "a day in the life at the Rogers house". I hope you enjoy them. Pauline

Saturday afternoon painting eggs for Easter.

Lilli and her daddy came over to pain eggs with us.




Josiah playing with Ty. He loves dogs.








Josiah enjoying his "big boy bath".






Boys and trees, you can't keep them out:)

Posing for Mommy and her new camera.

I love you, Joopie.

The whole gang.

I love my BIG brother.

Lilli & Riley, Best Friends.

My new kitchen.

This is not the "final product "but thought I would show you the color on the wall. Terry still has to do the doors of the cabinets but I think he did a pretty awsome job so far. Thank you, Terry! I luzze ya!

Terry taping EVERYTHING!
Oh, Finally! The paint is going on!
The end result without the doors on the cabinet.
Our new shelving system. I love it:)

We also got a new sink but did not get a picture of it yet. I'll post that soon.

Play Date at the Zueberts

What a fun time we had yesterday. I actually had to take Josiah to the doctor for his 9 month check up and I REALLY didn't want to take all 4 with me. So I asked my friend MaryJo if it was possible for her to watch the other kids while I took Josiah. I am sure they had a blast while mommy was gone. When I got back, Riley, Jesse and Charles were painting and Joel and Philip were playing on the computer. After lunch I put Josiah down for a nap while the kids were playing outside. Now MaryJo and I had some time to "play". She showed me some of her scrap pages she is working on and also showed me some new "techniques". We had a lot of fun. So, since Terry was working late and Gary was out of town, we decided to have dinner together too. The boys were so happy. They don't see each other that often and when they do they have fun:) It is just nice to see them get along so well, they have been friends for such a long time-pretty much since birth. I hope they will be friends for a long time.
MaryJo actually took a lot of pictures of our little "play date" and as soon as I get some copies of them, I will try to post them. She got some really good ones.

Then this morning she called me and told me that she was planning a trip to Adventure with her kids and wanted to take Joel. As you can imagine, he was so excited. He said, "Wow mommy, I am really playing a lot with Philip this Spring Break, aren't I". I was actually thinking maybe going with her and taking all the kids for a fun day. But I think Jesse is very tired from yesterday and had a BIG melt down this morning. I think he spent about an hour in his room just crying and not obeying me. I would go in and talk to him and he would have another fit. So I decided I wouldn't say anything to the kids and just let Joel go. He loves his friend Philip very much and it is probably a good idea for him to have some "alone time" with his friend. Although we probably would have had fun. Oh well, summer is coming and we will have about 3 months of trying to come up with things.

Thanks MaryJo for a great day.

Old Friend...

As I sit here tonight just surfing the Internet (mainly My Space) I came across my best friend's (Rachelle) My Space page and it hit me, I really miss her. I think it has been about 3 years now since we have last seen each other. We have been friends for such a long time. This past August it has been 21 years. NO WAY! I cannot believe that. I remember seeing her outside of Publix after the first day of 6 grade selling poodle puppies. I remember telling my mom "look, that girl is new in my class". I can't believe we have been friends for that long. It is nice to have friends that you know will always be there for you. We used to talk at least once a week but that seem to have changed since I have gotten married and have 4 children now. And she is a very busy girl too. Now it seems like we talk every 3 or 4 months but when we do talk it is like we see each other every day. I hope I will be able to go down to Miami sometime and see her. It has been such a long time. Or who knows, maybe she can come and visit us one day soon.

God, Thank you for bringing Rachelletje into my life. I don't know if I would know you personally if it wasn't for her inviting me to church and talking about you. She is such a good friend. And I look forward to seeing what you have in store for us. I can see us both at age 99 sitting in our little rocking chairs talking about insignificant stuff.


Rachelletje, if you are reading this. Thank you for being such a good friend. I love you lots and wish we were closer. Please know I think of you often and wish we could hang out more. We need to have a WCS Class reunion with just our close friends-Erick; Lori; Laura. I would LOVE for that to happen.

I love you.
Pauline

More Easter Ideas.

I went to Taste and See last night (a group for Moms of any age or stage in life where we get together and talk about things that are important to us. We meet every third Tuesday at the Watershed http://www.thewatershed.msites.com/) Anway, we got together and talked about ways to Celebrate Easter. Here is a copy of the information we got from Michelle Butler. I hope it helps. I know there are some things on there I would love to do with my kids.

Easter Ideas:

We always have a lamb cake. The mold can be found at craft stores or Ebay. We also give our daughter something to promote her spiritual growth and tell the Easter Story in great detail beginning a few days before. We discuss our emotion.
-Michelle Butler

Easter Egg Prayers:

Use a permanent marker to label seven plastic eggs with the numbers one through seven. Place the following items in the eggs: 1. A small square of bread; 2. a grape; 3. a piece of purple cloth; 4. a thorn; 5. a piece of a leather shoe lace; 6. a cross; and 7. a stone.

Hide the eggs around the room. Tell kids that you're going to have an Easter egg prayer hunt. Let kids hunt until they've found all seven eggs; gather and take turns opening the eggs in order.

After each egg is opened, have kids combine their knowledge of the Easter story to tell the significance of that item. Then have someone pray a prayer of thanks for that part of the Easter story. For instance, a prayer for the bread might be, "Thank you, Lord, that you are the bread of life. Thank you that you let your body be broken for us". If your children are very young or not familiar with the Easter story, tell about the items and offer thanks for them yourself.

Age 0-7 (ideas from Focus on the Family):

Help your little ones stuff hollow plastic eggs with one chocolate heart, because Jesus came to give us a new heart toward God. Then allow your little one to hand them out to friends, neighbors, or people you meet during the day. You might want to include a note inside with the passage from John 14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust in God; trust also in me, Jesus".

Hold a neighborhood egg hunt, but have one empty egg, representing the empty tomb. Whena child finds the empty egg he or she must call out, "He is not here he has risen, just as he said". Be sure to conclude the hunt with an Easter story on the lawn. I'd recommend The Parable of the Lily, by Liz Curtis Higgs.

Ages 8-18:

Sometimes the greatest joy is in the giving. Visit a nearby hospital or retirement home and greet one of the residents with a fresh Easter lily. You may want to attach a card with some encouraging words about hope we have in our risen Lord. Children this age might enjoy a surprise field trip for a sunrise service at the park or nearby lake. Be sure to bring a Bible, hymnbook or maybe even a guitar for a worshipful early morning celebration.

All Ages:

Since there are many new visitors attending church for the Easter service, make a point to greet and invite someone to lunch afterwards. Then remember to make plans to sit together next Sunday at church.

I hope this will give you some ideas. I am looking forward to see what God has in store for us this Easter.

Happy Easter!
Pauline

Easter Story Cookies (To be made the evening before Easter)

I found this recipe in our Church cook book and wanted to share it with you all. I am hoping to do this on Saturday.
Pauline



1 cup whole pecans
1 tsp. vinegar
3 egg whites
Pinch of salt
1 cup of sugar
zipper baggie
Wooden spoon
tape
Bible

Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested He was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3. Let each child smell the vinegar. Put vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross He was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:20-30. Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11. Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23:27. So far the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16. Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12-15 minutes until stiff pears are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3. Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matthew 27:57-60. Preheat oven to 350. Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven off. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matthew 27:65-66. GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22. On Easter morning, open the oven and give everybody a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matthew 28:1-9. Great message for little ones to hear!

I can't wait to do this with the kids:)
Happy Easter.
Pauline

Spring Break...

Terry started his spring break this past Monday and he has been so busy. We decided to paint our kitchen. I have wanted to pain the kitchen since the day we moved in, which is almost 6 years ago now. So we finally decided to do it. Terry started on Monday morning and is almost done.I do believe this is taking longer then he thought it would take but it is really starting to look nice. He painted the walls yellow and now he is working on the cabinets-painting them white. He had to sand them and prime them. The cabinets in the kitchen are done but now he still has to paint the doors. The thing I am SO excited about is my new sink and faucet. I know this is a very strange thing I am getting excited about but if you have ever seen my kitchen- it is very small so any kind change that happens is VERY exciting. As soon as the kitchen is all done, I will post pictures.

Josiah is getting bigger. Can you believe he is 9 months old? He is getting so big. He is trying so hard to move but has not figured out how to do it yet. He gets so frustrated. Most of the time when he wants a toy and can't get to it he starts to scream and cry. But not to worry, there is always an older brother of sister near by who will give it to him. He is also working on his third tooth. He is getting a sense of humor too. His belly laugh is too cute:) Another thing that he has learned this week is clapping his hands. He loves to show it off, especially when he is on his changing table. He loves his changing table, he always has a big smile on his face. His new thing is to try to turn onto his belly when I am changing him. So today I tried to be the "stricked" mommy and tell him "NO!" when he was rolling over and all he could do was-laugh at me. He just stared at me. I thought he was going to cry but then started laughing at me. He just thought I was very funny I guess.

I hope everybody has a great weekend and I hope to post pictures soon.

See ya:)
Pauline