Sorry it's been so long...

For those of you out there dying to read another blog post from me....I apologize! To all my loyal fans and friends I send out a "hello!" Life has been crazy...you know, 3 kids, homeschooling, 3 photography sessions in 2 weeks, editing on a 7-year old computer, 3 kids, 1 sexy husband, housework, bills, shopping.....just life! :) So, I have a minute...thougt I'd just say hi and that I'm still alive. If you are one of the many people that have called me lately or are awaiting a call, just know I'm trying to catch up...I'm about 2 weeks behind in life right now. Hang in there!

What's new? Well, we got a new computer! Yea! It's great! But, we don't have any pictures or email addresses transferred over yet, so we have to get to that. But, my photo editing should go a lot quicker now.

Hey-I've lost 21.6 pounds since January 1! Yea! That makes me about 10 pounds less than when I got pregnant! yea! I'm still working, though. Just thought I'd share! I'm pretty happy!

Other than that...I still haven't gotten to my Bible Doctrines book. I keep planning to...just gotta do it. I've been studying up on the Proverbs 31 woman for our women's study coming soon. It looks like I'll be leading that class, which I'm very excited about. She has been one I've studied for several years. God just shows you more and more everytime you study her. I don't feel qualified to teach her because I feel like I am so like her yet, but I love learning about her. Pray for me as I prepare for that.

Well, some Jehovah's Witnesses came to my door last week. I just stood there in my pj's with the baby on my arm wishing Shane were there. He's so good with them and with Mormons. He always knows just what to say. I, on the other hand, found myself stumbling over my, "I'm sorry I can't take your literature. I don't believe the same way you do." What does that mean? What do we believe differently? I mean, I know there are differences, but I realized I didn't know what they were enough to invite these ladies in. When I shut the door, and they drove away, I broke down in tears. "Lord, I want to know what I know. I want to be prepared in season and out of season. I want to have an answer for the hope that lies within me." So, I prayed, asked God for forgiveness, and talked to my friend Monica later. We made a goal to study up on Jehovah's Witnesses, and on the person of Christ, and on Justification by Faith, so that we can be prepared. She's already started working on it. I've just been trying to take care of the homestead. But, it's another goal I hope to get going on this week. There are those that would say, "just love Jesus. That's all you need. You don't need to study any of this. Jesus didn't." Well, folks, Jesus wrote it all. He also said that I am to have an answer for the hope that lies within me. I don't want to know so that I can duke it out with the next JW's that come to my door, but rather, again, I know it was God just giving me a chance to see the need for knowing doctrine. It was a hard lesson, but a loving exhortation from the Lord.

Well, besides all that, we pulled off Lizzie's 5th birthday party on Saturday. She had a pirate party. Yes, my precious baby girl wanted a pirate party. It was the least planned party we've ever had, last minute...and probably the best! We had a few friends over and had a pinata anc a cake and bubbles...what more do you need? :) She is a precious girl, and we wish she didn't have to grow up. She's just a lot of fun! When I asked her what food she would like to have at her birthday party, she said, "deer heart." Really. That child is her father in short form! They love deer heart steaks...which really aren't as bad as they sound, but I just can't get over the "heart" part. Needless to say, we ended up having hot dogs. She hasn't learned yet that deer heart is socially unacceptable! :) Hey, we live in the country, folks.

On that note, I will sign off for now! :)