I picked a few items out of the garden yesterday and arranged them for a nice display. Phil has done such a great job on the garden and I am so proud of him for putting tomatoes on our table when we can't seem to find any in restaurants or stores (the e-coli scare). Thanks babe.
Phil entered the Wester States Nationals and did well, but...
Squat - 276
Bench - 198, tried 237 and in his words "Oh, Mama!" he felt something go in his left shoulder. So he was not able to complete that lift. So what does he do?, stays in the meet so he can see if he can do the deadlift.
Deadlift-408
Yep, I am married to a weightlifting lunatic.
David and Kelly went to Italy for two weeks and had a wonderful time. Meanwhile back at the ranch Jim Taggart and I kept things going with the help of the rest of the guys. We were also trying to get their new accounting package ready to go for their return. We were moving from Quickbooks/Filemaker/Other to Microsoft Accounting; no small feat mind you.
The week they returned I helped the other Kelli with Music camp by running a drama class for 4,5,6th graders. I had 22 kids in my class but the remarkable number was that there were over 260 kids signed up for music camp this year. Partly because we ran it in the afternoons right after VBX. We had a wonderful program that Friday night with about 400+ kids on the platform. There was singing, orff instruments, stomp, dance, drama and more! The week just flew but there were many decisions for Christ, and that was what it was all about.
Almost caught up (sort of).
Phil added another project to the backyard in May; he planted grass!!! Yippee, hallelujah! (yes I can now hear the sound of Phil rolling his eyes...) For those of you who know, the dirt bowl has been there for quite some time and I for one, am truly grateful for the new beauty of our backyard.
CONGRATULATIONS SHANE!
Our dear sweet son Shane graduated from ASU with a degree in business finance. It was a long hard road for him, but we are so proud of his perseverence, and his accomplishment. Grandpa Howdy and Millie came to visit for a week. Shane unfortunately missed the deadline so he could walk the aisle for his diploma so we had a small party for him anyway. Now he is going to have to find something to do with all of his spare time - just kidding Shaner. He hopes to find a job in his new field so he can continue to Rock out with his band "Dust Jacket". Shane, we wish you lots of success, we are so proud of you.
Praise the Lord! Noah and Tristan, Ashley's twin brothers are here!
Born on April 14, 2008 at 7:46 am within 30 seconds of each other.
This is such a blessing for Eric and Kathy Moore. We love Eric and Kathy so much for the loving parents they have been for Ashley and now God has blessed them with these precious boys.
It's hard to believe that we have four grandchildren now...go figure ; )
Check out their site to find out more about this precious family http://ashleyfaith.aboutmybaby.com/
March was a challenging month for me. I had a physical thing to deal with that worked out ok, but there was a little nervousness in the beginning.
Then it was time to prepare for Easter. Tammy and I were talking early in the month and I shared with her the story of how when I was a kid in So-Cal that we went to Forest Home and saw a presentation of "The Last Supper". It was a copy of the DiVinci painting but done in a dramatic way. There was a large curtain that opened and a dramatic reading while spotlights highlighted certain parts of the painting as part of the story. I think I was only in the 5th grade at the time so obviously it had an impact on me to remember it all these years. We decided to use that concept for Easter at SBC. I was to come up with some paintings and we would get a script done and have someone read it. Tammy would normally have spearheaded that effort except Tim's father passed away and they needed to go to North Dakota for the funeral. I finalized a script, asked Jim Taggart and Pete Meygasi to help out. We went to Pete's and recorded the script. I then finalized the paintings. Each painting was 8' tall and 4 ' wide and they were placed in order on the top ledge of either side of the platform. As the reading was played each painting was highlighted then dimmed at the appropriate time. I actually sat out of one of the Easter services to see if it turned out the way I hoped-Praise God, it did. 
Here are a few of my notes:
Nothing is more important than Worship. It is:
-Privilege of Praise
-Inspiration of intimacy with God
-Intentional discipleship
-Understanding people
-Knowing God more clearly
-The experience of the Human Spirit
One of the most important relationships you have is with your Pastor and your Worship director.
You need to get involved and pray for them in:
1. Purpose
2. Preparation
3. Partnership
-Worship begins with God
-Jesus Christ is the Director of Worship
-We are all here by Divine appointment with the Living God.
-We join Christ Jesus in the instigation of Worship to the Father.
-Does the worshipper view us, or our Lord God?
-Truth enables intimacy
**Are you preparing your congregation to do something they will do forever? In heaven worship will be all that we do, are you preparing your congregation to do just that?
-Adoration – the thermostat of the Spirit: The perfect proportion of “in” flow and “out” flow.
-There is a need for silence in worship, so that we can listen to God.
-We dare not bore people in our worship time by not being prepared.
-“I preach as a dying man to a dying man, every Sunday”
And finally a few words from Keith Getty:
“Sometimes we avoid suffering in our songs because we believe people don’t want to hear them; Everyone lives in quiet desperation – The need to hear a word from God”
We need to teach our congregation truths of Christian Faith:
-Singable songs that engage the whole being
-What comes in, comes out
-The traditional items that can be remembered long after they are sung
-What will people remember during trials?
-We need all of our words to speak truth to the daily trials of life
After the conference we were able to walk with Ed to his office and spend a little time with him. The next morning Cheryl and a few more of us from SBC joined Ed at his church. I was able to sit next to him in the service and it was such a blessing. Funny thing was, when I started to sing some of the congregational singing, it was just like it was 22 years ago when I had to try out to be a part of the small groups. I was nervous! I sure do miss him and Mary Lou. Speaking of Mary Lou, we didnt get to see her because Cami had just had her baby boy and the new grandmother was helping out. Welcome to the Grandparents club!
Happy New Year.
I always loved this holiday because to me it means a fresh start, a new place to begin. I often think of Christ's forgiveness like a new year, with the old sin and struggles a mere memory. Thank you Lord Jesus for that sacrifice that allowed that to happpen.
January brought another "New" thing in my life. I started a bible study for artists at SBC. We are working on the book titled "The Creative Call". We meet the last Monday evening of each month. I have met some wonderful people that have encouraged and prayed for me and for others in the group. It also encouraged me to start working on other art projects outside of my comfort zone.
One of those projects being for a ministry art walk evening. We were to chose a ministry and create something that would reflect that ministry. I chose the prison ministry. It's a little unusual for me and a little outside of the box of "pretty" things I like to paint but it received some good feedback.
Christmas Morning. Our most precious gift is specially wrapped and waiting to be opened first; God's word, with the story of Jesus birth marked and ready to be read aloud. This year Shane read the story for us. I love listening to his deep voice.
Another tradition, for the girls at least is the Christmas Jammies. Mom even got into the spirit of things. We couldn't find a match for Shelby so we got something in the 
same color family. Phil took the picture of 4 generations in their jammies :)
Later in the morning Dad and Lena joined us again. Great memories!
It is hard to believe that Shelby is four weeks old already. I was able to spend a few hours alone with her this past Friday after I kicked her mom out of the house. (Sorry sweetie, but you know you are supposed to share :) )
We had a nice time together but mom came back soon because she was going through "baby withdrawals" already. Jenn snapped a few pictures of me with Shelby. My apologies to the viewing crowd, it was my day off and I did't have any make-up on; you should be looking at Shelby anyway, she is waaaayyyy, cuter.Dad had knee replacement surgery this past week. The surgery went well and we praise God for that. He will be sore for a while and then have to go through rehabilitation. Our prayer is that once he is healed that he will be ready to be as active as he has always been - look out Milly.
There are times in my life where I feel like such an airhead. I lost my blog password, couldn't remember my login to request the password...Man, I'm getting old!
So I was able to get into email for the first time in months and started cleaning out the 5, 368 emails in there and I found my initial sign-up for the blog. Yippee, I was able to get in, change my password and now I am updating for the first time in 2008. (I know, its pathetic)
My only prayer is that my family and friends will love me anyway in spite of this great lapse of communication.
So over the next few days, I will be adding lots of updates and posts.
