Christmas Day 8

Christmas Program 1998 at Life Center Christian Center in Lakewood, CA. Chase played the role of "Joseph." Chase was 7 1/2 years old. Don't you just love the creativity of the costume? Notice his cast on his arm under the sleeve. A few weeks prior he was playing football with his Dad in his Grandma Smith's backyard on Thanksgiving afternoon. He fell on his arm trying to catch a pass.

Christmas Day 7

Christmas 1993....Landon's first Christmas and almost 1 years old. Chase is two 1/2 years old and Kaylee is almost 4. It was Christmas Eve @ PaPa and Grandma Smith's house...Their Uncle Todd had wrapped their presents with their names big and bold on them. If you look closely at Landon's face he is just getting over the chicken pox. What a little trooper. Notice Kaylee's red nail polish? Too cute! Chase is showing his relaxed side with his shoes off and all...

Happy 12th Birthday Brenna!

Brenna helping me to bake 4th of July cupcakes... She has had a lot of practice with baking by helping her Mom in the kitchen. Brenna wanted to decorate the cupcakes just right... Then it was time for Brenna to taste her cupcakes...Notice that Beth was taste testing them too! Hi Brenna...I wanted to wish you a Happy 12th Birthday! I can't believe you are twelve already! You are a sweety and you are very special to me! I love the gentle spirit Jesus has blessed you with. Love, Aunt Shelley

Christmas Day 6

My sister Laura and I on Christmas morning in 1974. In the picture Laura is 4 and I am 9.(35 years ago YiKes!) Notice we have matching night gowns? I am sure that's the present my mom had us open up on Christmas Eve. It has been so much fun looking for photos of different Christmas memories.

Christmas Day 5

Landon's Christmas program for Kindergarten in 1998. That's him in the middle standing with a smile and a black top hat. Gotta love how kids have their own unique personalities! Notice how each kid is kind of doing it their own way. Some looking at the next person, some singing by heart, some looking at the words on their folder, some hiding their face with their folder. I think as adults we are actually still like children. Especially in the Lord's eyes anyways. He watches us try to do things on our own and longs for us to ask Him for help. Ask Him for strength. Ask Him for wisdom. We are in this program called life. Each day is like a rehearsal. I want to be ready for the "Performance" when he says, "Well done my good and faithful servant."

Christmas Day 4

Oh my goodness, I think I am the age in this picture that my son Landon is now: 16! Larry is 18 the age Chase is now. We were just kids! I never thought time would go by so fast...Christmas seems like it arrives faster and faster every year. Back then we had no worries in the world and all the time in the world. Wish we would have realized that then!

Christmas Day 3

My First Christmas in 1965! First rocking chair(a gift from my Grandma Betty). Check out that Fisher Price telephone on the end-table! How about the silver tinsel? Too funny to find old photos and see what is in the back ground setting of the picture. Looking back over my 44 years so far, I have had a lot of firsts. So glad God allows us to have seconds and third do-overs sometimes. God is the creator of Firsts! First day of a new job; first day being a mom; first day being a wife; first day being a friend; first time helping a friend go thru a really hard time; first time losing a pet; first time moving away etc. I pray that I will always remember to love others because God first loved us.

Christmas Day 2

December 1998: Kaylee, Chase and Landon really loved this time of year when they were little! They loved the Christmas lights, helping Grandma decorate for Christmas,and planning their "Cuzins of Faith" performance for Christmmas Eve. In this picture Kaylee is 8 almost 9! Chase is 7 and Landon is 5! They are now almost 20, 18 and almost 17! The time has gone by so fast! I love seeing Christmas thru the eyes of a child!

25 days of Christmas Day 1

Thought it would be fun to try to blog 25 days in a row building up to Christmas Day! So here it goes! We celebrated our first Christmas as parents in December of 1991. Chase was eight months old. We were for sure more excited about his first Christmas than he was! Larry wanted Chase to have his first Tonka Truck. He said, "every boy should have Tonka Trucks to play with." Who would have thought you could spend so much time in a Toys R Us store trying to pick out the perfect gift? That's how Jesus sees us...as his children. He wanted to give us the perfect gift of his son Jesus. Something that would never wear out or brake or get lost. I am so glad for the gift of baby Jesus. HE is the perfect gift no matter what age we are.

Happy Birthday Lacey!

Happy Birthday Lacey! We are thinking of you today. May you know you are very special to us and we love you very much! We love your enthusiasm for life! We love how you love adventure...sailing, sky-diving etc. May the Lord make himself known to you in new ways and may you sense and know how much he loves you and wants to continually fill your life with His joy and wants to truly bless you with the desires of your heart. We love you bigger than the sky! Uncle Larry, Aunt Shelley, Chase and Landon

Happy Birthday Beth!

Wow Beth you are NiNe! I hope you have a great day! The party you have planned with your friends sounds like so much fun. You are growing up so fast. Hard to believe it has been nine years since I was there waiting with your Mom and Dad for you to come. It was very special to be able to be there when you were born. I loved getting to hold you in the middle of the night out in the family room so your Mom could try to get some rest. You are a sweet girl and I can see the Love of the Lord thru you. Love you Bigger than the Sky! Aunt Shelley

Not Just on Halloween...

Chase and Landon didn't need an official holiday for a reason to dress up...pretending and dress up was a part of their everyday play routine. Thought it would be fun to post some of those daily events. I am so thankful they were able to play and just be a kid! Their back-yard was a back drop for any scene they wanted to be in! Memories of these times are priceless!

Happy Birthday to our Bro-n-law Scott!

Scott...thinking of you on your birthday! We are so blessed to have you in our family! Awesome seeing how great you are with Kaylee, Brodie and Harley! It's nice too having a mechanic in the family. Thanks for always helping out on our cars! We enjoy your sense of humor... If we were closer we would help you celebrate getting another year older! May God make this year another exciting journey! We love you lots! Larry, Shelley, Chase and Landon

"Happy 7th Birthday Brodie!"

Wow...time is going by so fast! It feels like I was just there celebrating Brodie's sixth Birthday. Now he is seven today! Love this photo of Brodie...when he was a little guy on Halloween! Happy 7th Birthday Brodie! Brodie is in the 2nd grade and is a Big Brother to Harley! We are so excited for you and we love you Bigger than the Sky! Love, Uncle Larry, Aunt Sis, Chase and Landon

Happy 39th Birthday to my Sis on:October 11, 2009!

Sis, remember this? Thought this would be fun to remind you of how funny our life has been sometimes! I kept thinking of what pictures I wanted to use...and these came to mind! Isn't Mom cute how after all these years she still wants us to have matching things? I think we laughed so hard...we actually cried! Mom! Gotta love her creative imagination for things that she thinks we would love to have! Sis, May you have a great day today! Happy 39 years of being alive! Wish I was there to help celebrate with you! Enjoy your last year of being in your 30's! Although being in the 40's is pretty good too! Love you Bigger than the Sky! Love, Sis

Happy 24th Birthday Tabitha!

Happy Birthday Tabitha! We love you and we are very proud of you! We are excited about what the Lord has in store for you. May you have a blessed day! Enjoy the adventure of being 24. Take each day and live it to the fullest! Love, Aunt Shelley

Happy Birthday to my friend Leanne...

My friend Leanne turned "40" today! I met her in September of 1995...when her son Alex was just a few months old. Since then I have had the priviledge of watching her raise her children Alex, Brenna and Beth! Three amazing kids with two awesome parents! It's been fun watching Leanne's journey as she has trailed just behind me with her kids being just behind the seasons of my kids! Thinking of her today! Thinking that I am so glad that I have had the blessing of her being in my life! Happy 40th Birthday Leanne! I think the 40's thing is kind of nice! You kind of begin to really enjoy things that you didn't appreciate so much while in your 30's! Love ya lots! See you soon! Your friend, Shelley

We celebrated 26 years today!

It was September 10, 1983....we were oh so young... I was 18 and Larry had just turned 20! We had no idea what was ahead of us. But what we did know was that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together! Wow...26 years later and two sons 18 and 16! God has truly blessed us beyond measure! Our life verse has been "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4 We are looking forward to the many more years together! Excited about what the future holds!

"Happy Birthday Kiddo!"

I have been celebrating birthdays with Larry since he was 15 years old! How exciting is that? That's a total of 31 birthdays so far! What to get him, what to get him...funny how our presents change thru out the years. This year we found this great deal on an almost new BBQ at a yard sale last Saturday...This thing was spotless! I think the people may have used it three times at the most. Finding a present we all can benefit from! It's a good thing! Happy Birthday to my best friend for life!

I will never look at the Grocery Store the same again!

Oh My....imagine what the store workers thought of these shoppers! You can see they didn't even need a shopping list. They knew exactly what they wanted! Silly boys! Gotta love em! These kids (my sons and nieces) took a mundane chore in life and made it fun! They found creativity in the most unlikely place! I want to do that more! I want to have more fun doing the everyday stuff in life! I think God wants us to do that too! He wants us to look for joy in the most unlikely places. It's not about the things on our grocery list it's about our attitude while we are putting them in our cart. Asking yourself questions like, "Lord who would you have me serve this week?" Who should we share a meal with? Thank you for providing so we can buy groceries. Thank you that I am able to drive myself to the grocery store and get out of the car by myself and push my own cart. Thank you that I can find the opportunity to smile at a stranger in the produce section. Thank you that I can talk to the clerk and ask them about their day. Lord, thank you for allowing me to see you in everything! By the way I need to go "Grocery shopping."

Three things that can cause us to lose our Spiritual Strength...

It's Thursday, July 30th and I still find myself thinking about Pastor Harley's message last Sunday July 26th. The title of his sermon was: "Don't Lose Your Spiritual Strength." He talked about how "you havn't run well if you didn't finish." He referenced Ephesians 6:10-11 where it says: Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil. Pastor Harley mentioned these things: satan has a stragegy for each one of us! Three things that can cause us to lose spiritual strength: 1. self indulgence - undisciplined 2. resentment - weakens your life, satan wants us to always be caught up in the past 3. carelessness - with our actions, words and time We are only as strong as our weakest link! How strong is your weakest link? Lord, May we recognize those things in our life that make us weak. Help us to realize each day that our strength comes from you! Help us to be disciplined, help us to forgive others so we don't build up resentment. Help us to be careful with our actions, words and how we use our time. Help us to run this race well and to FINISH STRONG! In your precious name, Amen

My two sons...

My boys are my pride and joy! I am so thankful they have their own personal relationship with the Lord. It is a rewarding thing to see them develop in their walk and it will be fun to see where the Lord takes them on their journey. When they were little I would often wonder what they would be like as young men. I am for sure seeing it now. They each have their unique gifts and will be used by the Lord in many different ways. Lord, I pray for Chase and Landon. Continually be their guide. Let them constantly be aware of your presence in their lives. Bless whatever they put their minds and hands to. Guard their hearts, keep them safe. I pray that they will reach many for your kingdom, In your precious name, Amen

Our niece Tabitha and our son Chase is back from Fiji...

Our niece Tabitha has been staying with us for the summer. She went on the same missions trip to Fiji as our son Chase did. Tabitha was on the medical team and Chase was on the ministry team. Tabitha graduated from Vanguard a couple of years ago. She is now working at a Christian High School in Orange County, California. She thought it would be fun to come hang with us and do life with us here in Rocklin, CA. We have loved having her! She jumped right in and helped out with the high school group and got involved in the "512" Young adult group. She is a blessing and we are very proud of her! Between her and our other niece Kaylee (who also lives with us) they have added a whole new dimension to our home! Laughter, shoes, did I mention shoes? I have loved having girls in the home. We stayed up late on several Mondays and watched the Bachelorette on TVO! God is good! How awesome of Him to bless us with those unplanned moments that turn out be our most memorable ones! Girl energy is amazing to have in the house!

Three for tea...

On Friday I had the pleasure of having two of my neighborhood friends over for tea. They happen to be sisters and they happen to be twins! Eight year olds who are on there way to being in the third grade. A while ago, actually Christmas time...they had given me an adorable cookie jar filled with packaged cookies. I mentioned that we would have to have a tea party sometime to enjoy the cookies. Here it is summer and I thought I better get on that. I arranged with my friends to come over so I could make good on that suggestion and celebrate with them the joy of taking time out for tea! Quite simple and easy. We had p&j's; egg salad sandwiches; sliced nectarines; cookies and cherry flavored suckers and mango fruit tea of course along with some strawberry/lemonade flavored mix. What is something you need to make good on? Those things we mention casually of doing someday. Make time to do those things! You will be glad you did!

Hike from Big Meadows to Dardanelles Lake

This weekend I accomplished a "first." First time hiking into the woods with a 35 lb. pack on my back. Four miles up and and four miles down. We stayed over night. Yes...I came home alive! There were some parts where I thought I can't do this! I just had to keep putting one foot in front of the other. The power of pressing on towards the goal! The flowers, the meadow, the lake, the scenery was beautiful! I never thought dehyrdrated food could taste so good! We had Teryiaki Beef with rice for dinner and Blueberry Cheesecake for dessert. This morning scrambled eggs with bacon and granola cereal w/powdered milk. I would encourage all of you to do this and possibly put it on your 1001 things to do before you die list. We went with two other couples. Steve and Parisa Holt and Bob and Rachel Silva. We had a great time experiencing this together. Crazy how the encouragement of "Good Job"; "Your doing great"; "We're almost there!" would help us to keep going! Team work for sure! My husband led the way. He loves the outdoors. Everything about it! He took good care of me while out in the wilderness. He even brought up a small/mini coffee perculator so we could have fresh hot coffee! I fall in love with him more each day!

July 11th Happy Birthday Dad!

You can find my Dad doing the funniest things sometimes. A few months ago when my parents visited us, my Dad went m.i.a. Lo and behold I found him out in my car with the hatch back up sitting inside eating mini chocolate donuts. The kids were helping a friend out changing her tire. Dad thought he would supervise from a dry location while they were all out working in the rain. Too funny! Dad's really do the darndest things sometimes more than kids. Dad, This blog is for you! I love you bigger than the sky! May you have a great day! Eat as much as you want and take as many naps as you want! It's your day, kick up your feet and relax! Love daughter #1.... Shelley

Chase is off to Fiji 7/8 thru 7/22

Here Chase goes again! Off to do what he feels God has called him to do. Share Jesus with the Fijian people. He is looking forward to seeing Talla Talla Bill (Talla=Pastor). I am excited to hear what God does thru the team while they are there! Last year Chase was so moved by a young man who led worship in the village. He led worship with no instrument. At the end of the trip Chase felt like God was telling him to give him his guitar. The young worship leader was so thankful, he cried and kept telling Chase thank you. Soon after Chase returned home from Fiji, one day I found him crying in the church foyer. I came up to him to ask if everthing was okay. He just shook his head yes! His youth pastor Kyle Bethke followed the leading of the Lord and gave Chase his guitar. Isn't that awesome? God has a way of always providing. When Chase originally gave his guitar away he had no idea God would provide him another one so soon. I love this faithwalk we are on. Sometimes things just don't make sense when we hear the voice of the Lord. We can sometimes come up with so many excuses of why we should or should not do something. That's where we just need to obey and trust. God's word says 1 Samuel 15:22 To obey is better than sacrafice. That scripture makes me think of the late Keith Green's song. What an awesome God we serve!

Celebrate America!

Recently our church held a "Celebrate America" event at one of our local parks here in Rocklin. It was awesome to see so many come out to particpate in an event that brings us all together in unity. There was a crowd of over 5,000 people. Sometimes in our busyness of life we tend to forget what our freedom cost. We daily need to remember to as God to continue to bless America! In the picture to the right are my sons Chase and Landon. I am so proud of them!