Our friend Chris

Last night (early this morning) our friend Chris Greene passed away. At the early age of 38, he walked from this life into eternity. Left on earth to mourn are his wife, Greta, and their children, Lydia, Trey and Grace Anne.

Chris and his family went with us to Indiana last year and have been great friends ever since! Chris was a man who exemplied Christ in the way he led his family, the way he loved others, and the way he served Christ. We were blessed beyond measure to know him.

Our prayers are with the Greene family and we plead with you to lift them up daily.

Snow in Alabama....

I thought I had already posted this photo, but in my old age, I guess I didn't. The kids really enjoyed the snow that we had on March 1st. Jett just wanted to eat it....The snowman they made lasted for 4 days. It was a great time for all of us!

New York!

We recently returned from a 5 day trip to New York. It was the first time in almost 8 years that we had taken a trip without any of the children.....so odd for us! We enjoyed our time together immensely. We were celebrating our 19 years of marriage (on May 12th)....we have always talked about taking a trip for our anniversary but the date seems to fall during our "busy" season. So, this year we went early. We enjoyed it thoroughly! We loved having the break but also loved coming home to lots of hugs and kisses!

Jett Turns Five!

Jett with Jim and Donna Houston.
Jett with Brianna, Brian and Jamie Labello.

Jett and his friend, J.P.

Jett with Uncle David, Uncle Daniel and Uncle Bill!

Jett with Rich, Angelia, Caroline and Savannah Stewart.

Josiah Jett Turner turned five this week....oh, how time flies. We had his celebration at a Jump Zone, a local party place in Pelham, Alabama. It was such a great time for all of the adults and kids.

On the way home from the party, JT and I were talking about how much fun it was. Even as adults, we joined in on all the jumping, sliding and running around. It was a blast. We realized how important it is to us that people invest in the lives of children. Not just play...but really invest. Almost all of the adults were able to just let loose and be kids. They played with my children and invested in their lives. I can recall being a kid and thinking how much fun my uncles (Jerry, Frank and Arthur) were. They played with us and spent quality time with us. They didn't just sit around and talk to the adults. They invested in our lives. Those are memoriest that will stick with me.

In much the same way, we realize that we are passionate about raising our children in such a way that they know they are loved beyond degree, they develop a genuine love for Christ and others, and that they sacrifice themselves to serve others. We are showing them how to do these things. If we are constantly on our computer, talking on the phone or visiting with other adults, we are not showing them how to live. We are showing them how to socialize. We have been deeply convicted of this during this past year. We have fallen in love with people who truly invest in our kids. We are so grateful for the impact they have had on our children.

We pray that we can live our lives in such a way that our kids will see Christ. We want them to know that we chose them....chose them over everyone else except God and Mommy/Daddy. They are third on our list. They are important. They are loved. They are sacrificed for on a daily basis. We pray that they see this daily and know it for the rest of their lives.

Grandma Graves

All of my life, I have known the love of a grandma. This morning at 1:00 am, my grandmother passed into eternity to fully know the love of a Heavenly Father. I'm so excited for her that she is no longer suffering and that she is in the presence of God Almighty. I will miss her deeply. I remember....

• always getting a big hug at the door of her home
• hearing her tell stories that made me laugh so hard my stomach hurt
• fried chocolate pies
• never calling my husband JT but always referring to him as John
• always going to church because hearing the Word was important
• making family a priority
• her deep loss and sadness over losing my Uncle Bill so early in life, losing my granddaddy and then missing my father.
• her love for the Savior.

Grandma will be missed but she will not be missing us. Praise God for His goodness and mercy.

4 Years and The Circus

Yesterday marked 4 years since the fire that devasted our house....one of the children mentioned it at breakfast, and we all just sat and thought about it for a moment. God has done some wonderful things in our lives since then. It has been 4 years of growth and stretching like never before.

To celebrate our 100th day of school (which was last week), the kids worked extra hard to have the day off yesterday. It was joyous! We all went to the circus...it was the first time for Jett and Heather to ever see a circus.

There is just something about seeing mouths open with amazement, eyes so large you think they'll pop, and hearing "this is the best day ever" over and over again. The "thank you's" stopped about 2 hours after we returned home. It was so much fun to share the joy and excitement with all of the kids!

Jesus Did It!

Before our dinner tonight Kaitlyn was playing around with a digital picture frame we have and the pictures would not appear as they normally do. Jett was very bothered by this, and Kaitlyn's attempts to rectify the situation did not produce any satisfactory results. Jett became even more upset because the generic pictures were being displayed, and he didn't know any of the people in the pictures.

So, he brought me his sorrow, and I recommended that he pray about it. Jett, in his childlike faith, said, "Oh, yeah, Jesus can fix it!" So, he asked everyone in the room (Heather, Madison, Kaitlyn and me) to close our eyes while he laid face down on the couch. When he was finished, he announced that he had talked to God. Just then, the pictures came right back on the photo frame.....Jett shouted, "Jesus did it! That's so cool!" Oh, the prayers of a child.....