He's Always Been Faithful

We've been tagged!!!

2008-12-06T07:47:00.000-08:00

And the 5th pic of the 5th folder is.......

"The Brothers Three"

2008-08-07T18:00:00.000-07:00

Ever have those nights where you just sit at home bored stiff wondering what to do? Tonight was one of those nights. We were all kinda just bummin' around until mom asked if we wanted to go to Wal Mart with her. The three "bones brothers" and Wal Mart never make for a boring combination! It was so much fun to have a night where the three of us could be together laughing and having a good ole time!!

Black Jeans and Jorts...YES!

Late night goo anyone??

2008-08-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

For those of you wondering if the Dowlings are ever going to update their blog, the day has finally arrived! I'm not very confident that anyone will even see this post, for obvious reasons, but I thought I'd give it a try anyway. These pics are from our Saturday night putt-putt trip to the Oceanfront. Hopefully it lasts you for another 4 months when we get around to updating our blog once again! :)

A Very Special Wedding Day

2008-04-09T07:43:00.000-07:00

The Happy couple!!

Greeting guests immediately following the ceremony

Across the street from the chruch to the Dowling's neighbors, the Walkers, for pictures.

Three generations Katie's grandma, me, and Kaite

The beautiful cake Annie made...She did and awesome job!

Dance with pops - Lyle sang a song to Katie and Wes later in the evening at the reception. It was tear jerker!!! It was so special!

The two lovebirds first dance...Aren't they cute :)

Fun at the reception!! Enjoy the pictures!

Catching Up ...

2008-01-08T05:14:00.000-08:00

A couple pictures from New Years Eve at the Hewitts!

Nate and Jordy!

Jimmy LOVED Char ... everytime she would put him down he would follow her and grab her shirt to pick him back up! It was so cute!

All the boys in their NEW PJS! We have a tradition that every Christmas Eve we get new PJ pants!

The Moms

Me and Nel Nel

A few pictures from the Singles Banquet, it was a blast and decorated beautifully thanks to our new singles planning team!

Christmas Season Fun

2007-12-17T12:59:00.000-08:00

Don't fall off your chair, now that you see a new post. This is just the beginning of some Christmas Season fun. Each year the Seniors in our Church put on a Christmas party for all the teens and their parents. This year the theme was famous pairs. Can you guess any of these pairs?
Debra and I went as Ragedy Ann and Andy. Lyle was working so Debra graciously took Andy so we could be a pair.

Josh and his friends Phillip and Steven all went as Red White and Blue. You should have smelled them after all the paint they sprayed on their clothes. Our house smelled like paint for days, just from them getting ready. I wonder how healthy that was for them?!?!?!?!

Danny and Josh's boss, Jack and his wife, came as....can you guess who? Barney Fife and Thelma Lou

Sean and his good friend Kyle came as Gilligan and Skipper

Beau and Joey as Starsky and Hutch. They wore Aunt Jenny's jeans. They were a perfect fit for the part!

Now here's a Royal Couple. Can you guess who? Lady Dianna and Prince Charles. Way to go Jenny and Joe!

Engagement Pictures - Finally!

2007-11-29T05:20:00.000-08:00

Okay, so finally! Here are some of our engagement pictures! Katy took them and did a wonderful job! We love them! Our favorite ones aren't on here, because we will probably send those out with the invitations!

The sunset was so gorgeous and perfect!

No one likes this one, but I think its fun...even though my nose is like POKING his eye OUT!

ENGAGED

2007-10-16T04:42:00.000-07:00

Wes asked me to marry him on saturday morning at the beach during the sunrise! I will write more about it later...but just want to say how faithful the lord is! So many nights (when we weren't together) I would cry myself to sleep wondering why the lord ever allowed us to be together because it hurt so bad . . . and now to look back and see how he used EVERY little trial to bring us to this point! I am reminded of how the Lord is so Sovereign and is ALWAYS in control, even when nothing seems to make sense to me! He knows the big picture and has so many blessings in store for those who love him! Thank you lord for bringing this wonderful (and adorable) boy into my life to help draw me closer to my precious savior!

Soon to be Brothers!

The girls and I admiring the BEAUTIFUL ring! A few of the girls told Wes "When we get boyfriends you need to help them pick out the ring!" It is more beautiful than anything I could have picked out myself!

My NEW Fiance' and I - isn't he just so adorable?

A fun-filled weekend

2007-10-10T08:01:00.001-07:00

Having a wonderful time bowling and enjoying the fellowship of our good friends and family!

Some of my dear friends and I went to Williamsburg to spend the day together. We had a wonderful time enjoying each others company, looking at the little shops, and having lunch at The Lodge in Willaimsburg.

We had good Biblical fellowship talking about areas where God has been doing a work in our hearts. I took a picture of our "leader" Jenny who is always so good at leading discussion, however it ended up looking pretty silly so I opted not to post that picture...Jenny you'll thank me later! HAHA

Debra was a trooper as she felt a migrain coming on while driving the scenic view Annie took us down. She was a bit dizzy and held Jennys arm as she did her best to enjoy her time. Debra I'm glad you started feeling better as the day went on.

I put these pictures in the wrong order...but here is the beautiful scenery we were able to enjoy...with the exception of Debra who was getting dizzier each passing mile...Was it all the curves, or Annies driving?!?! heehee Seriously Annie, thanks for drving it was an enjoyable day spent together!

After getting home Lyle and I planned on going bowling with some friends. However because of some pride, misunderstanding, and lack of communication we had a major family conflict. You know the kind that feels like you can cut the air with a knife? After some one suggested we talk the issue through - we started to communicate with a lot of awkwardness....and many ringing phones from home phone, to cell phone, to another cell phone, to home phone, etc (of course no one answering because we were in the midst of resolving the conflict)....we finally came to a place of repentance and forgiveness, between all those involved. Eventhough walking through the conflict was difficult, and at some points painful, I was reminded of Gods faithfulness in restoring relationships through forgiveness.

Interestingly we ladies had just been discussing the book "Relationships, A Mess Worth Making",earlier in the day. I was sharing how I was seeing evidence of Gods Grace in my life by communicating in ways that please Him... However when I got home there was more evidence of sin on my part then on the Grace I had been experiencing as of late.

In God's kindness He helped each one of us walk through the conflict and see that much Grace was available and evident after the conflict was all settled. One of my children said and the end of the day, "Isn't God's Grace amazing?" Referring to the fact that there was so much tention and pain during the conflict, but how there was so much love and appreciation for each other after it. We were able to enjoyspending an evening together bowling with each other and our friends.

I am so thankful that God used that conflict to remind me that I am in need of a Savior every day, every moment of the day!

Having fun together!

Enjoying our time bowling and fellowshiping!

Right after we got into the bowling alley Lyle noticed David Wright, a pro baseball player. He plays third base for the New York Mets I think. Anyway Lyle asked if they could get their picture taken with him.

Someone told us we look alike - what were they thinking?!?

2007-09-25T19:09:00.000-07:00

Katie and I were laughing the other day about how often we get told we look alike. We were joking and saying wouldn't it be funny if we responded with, "You're kidding me, we've never heard that before. You mean you really think we look alike?"

Bringing back the 50's?

Woah what on earth happened?!

My Dear Friend Debra

2007-09-19T05:44:00.000-07:00

My dear Debra, I was praying for you this morning thanking Our Lord for you and Beau. You have both become such dear friends to our family, especially over these past two years. My boys consider Beau one of their closest friends; Of course Katie loves to tease Beau as much as he loves to tease her! heehee
Debra you have been such an encouragement to me over the past 2 1/2 years. You have inspired me not only in your words, but in how you live your life! Although God has called you to be a single parent at this time, I've seen you embrace that call with all your heart. I am continually amazed at how you work so hard, not only at your job, but in bringing everything back to the cross when life seems to be getting difficult! You have been an inspiration to me on more occasions than you'll ever know. Today I wanted you to know how much you mean to me as a special friend, and how I have grown to love you as my dear sister! Have a wonderful week serving Our Savior Jesus Christ!
With much love and repect!
Linda

Happy Anniversary to the love of my life

2007-09-16T18:12:00.000-07:00

I wrote this note to Lyle right after we were engaged. For our anniversary this year Lyle put it in a card he gave me. He has kept it in his wallet for all these years. Isn't this so SWEET!?!

Celebrating twenty three years of marriage! This picture was taken on our trip to Cancun this past Spring. I guess we got to celebrate early because Lyle worked so hard to earn the trip!

Its hard to believe 23 years have gone by already! God has truly blessed me with the perfect helpmate in you Lyle! What I love most about you is your love and commitment to God, and your desire to know Him deeper every day. You have been the most influential person in my life, as to what it looks like to spend time alone with God, by your daily example. Your actions have spoken volumes to me and the kids over the years. Thank you for loving our Savior with all your heart! I met the man of my dreams finding not only a godly man, but one who loved to sing as much as I did. Remember one of our first dates singing "Tom the Toad"? What about the songs we sang to each other at our wedding? I still enjoy hearing you sing in the morning after your quiet time, as much or more as I did when we were first married.

Two young hearts grow up and become one flesh!

Happy anniversary Lyle! Thank you for 23 wonderful years together! I love you so very much! Linda

Monday

2007-09-10T18:55:00.000-07:00

This is a pretty typical monday night for us. Dad is off work mondays so usually the boys will get some tennis going at night - sometimes we have to beg them to let the girls play...so tonight they did! Wes and I played mom and dad.

Typically we have some sort of company over...well usually Wes and Preston, but they aren't really considered company anymore! I was just telling someone the other day that I'm sad that summer is over, because the boys always have friends over, and I love having all the comotion (sp?) and noise ... I guess thats what comes from growing up in a LOUD family w/ 3 brothers! I love it!

Dad and Josh playing with the air soft gun....

Relaxed on the porch swing. Lish and Jay gave us this swing and we definately put it to use! I love it, especially in the spring and the fall when it is not so hot - its really nice for napping ;)

WORKING HARD AT FASTSIGNS!

Random

2007-09-07T20:05:00.000-07:00

This is a really random post. These are some pictures I took awhile ago, and I wanted to put some new pictures up...I was getting sick of looking at the cup of spilled milk ;) I love this picture of the tree though...mainly because of the "sepia" setting!

I am so blessed with a wonderful family... 2 amazing parents and 3 wonderful brothers! I couldn't ask for anything more in a family. Mom is always serving all of us in more ways than we will ever know. Dad is faithfully working long hard days and still making time to spend with us...especially playing tennis :). There is something different that stands out in each of the boys...Dannys would be faithfully serving in so many ways..at work and home especially. Sean is growing so much in serving...(i.e. putting away the dishes every night before bed without being asked). Josh has such a tender heart. The spirit is definately at work, he is quick to ask for forgiveness! The Lord has worked so abundantly in ALL of our lives since our move to VA. I am so grateful for Dad listening to the lord calling us out here! Thanks daddyo for leading our family so well! I could write lots more, but everyone is going to bed and I don't like being up by myself :)!

Spilled Milk

2007-09-05T13:43:00.000-07:00

Have you ever heard the old saying; "No sense crying over spilled milk"? Well I had an interesting morning the first day of school this week. I wanted to cry over spilled milk! I woke up late and was just beginning my time alone with God when all of the sudden, one of my children went to lift a new gallon of milk out of the refrigerator when it slipped out of his/her hand and landed like a bomb on the floor. The reason I say bomb is because it pretty much exploded all over the kitchen. The refigerator, island, barstools, cubboards, table and oven were all covered with milk. As my child rushed the leaking jug to the sink; the floor, the dishwasher, many more cubboards, and even the window were freshly saturated with milk. I give you this vivid picture of my morning in order to share with you the way the Lord used this experience to get to an issue in my heart.

You see I had plans for my morning, I had things I wanted to get done. Helping to clean up a gallon of spilled milk was not on my agenda. As I was mumbling in my heart,"what a way to start out the day". I was quickly reminded of a verse I had written in my journal just minutes prior to the explosion. It was from Ecclesiates 7:9 "Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit for anger resides in the lap of fools." So I was doing my best to not be angry with my child, however I continued grumbling in my heart. Thinking thoughts like, "This isn't how I wanted to start my day especially on the first day of school" and "How am I ever going to get everthing accomplished now?" You can imagine the other thoughts that ran through my mind as well.

After working together to get all the milk wiped up I went back to what I had started a half hour before, my quiet time. (I decided I could mop the floors after my devotions). I was gently reminded by what seem to be a whisper from the Lord, "Maybe this isn't what you had planned for your day, but it is exactly what I had planned for you today!" You see, I had been praying for God to reveal sin in my heart and that is exactly what He did. I had my plans and I didn't want them to be interrupted. I had an adgenda and didn't want it to be "jolted" with an unexpected gallon of spilled milk.

I'm thankful that God graciously brought to the forefront the sinfulness that presides in my heart. The area of pride, thinking I know what is best for me. The idea that I deserve a life of ease, without "spilled milk" interrupting my plans. As I continued in my quiet time the Lord highlighted another verse that spoke volumes to me, found in II Corinthians 7:10 "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death". I'm grateful that the Lord helped me to see that I needed to repent of the sin of pride that was so evident in my life that morning. His Holy Spirit helped me to have that "godly sorrow" as a result of my sin. I'm thankful that He opened my eyes once again to see my need for a Savior in every moment of my life, especially when there is "spilled milk" along the way!

Happy Birthday Mom/Grandma

2007-09-04T05:07:00.000-07:00

My dear Mom! Now shes a woman to be praised, as Scritpure talks about in Proverbs 31! As her daughter, she taught me many skills I continually use now that I am grown and married myself. It was her unselfish dedication to investing time and energy teaching me how to sew, cook, play sports, work hard, make creative stuff with little or no money, how be be devoted to her husband (my dad), to be a godly wife and mother, and the list goes on. She was my biggest cheerleader when it came to trying anything. She would be the first to tell me I could do it, no matter what the task at hand might be .

Then as my family grew she invested the same time and energy into my children. She would often take the kids and just spend fun time with them, camping, garage sailing, going to "Call of the Wild", and the list goes on. Not to mention all the hours spent reading and recording books so that my little ones would have stories to listen to as they went to sleep at night!

Mom today as you celebrate your birthday I wanted to take the time to wish you a very special day! You are the best Mom ever! Thank you first and foremost for teaching me to love Our Savior Jesus Christ. Thank you also for teaching me what it means to be a commited and faithful wife, as you and dad celebrate 50 years of marriage this November. Thank you also for being my friend. I love you so very much! Have a wonderful Birthday. Lin

This picture is of my family growing up. Notice all the green dresses that match? My mom made them. I still remember because I think they were partially wool and they were picky! HEEHEE

Catching Up

2007-08-30T10:13:00.000-07:00

Tuesday nights are supposed to be my dinner night. I'm not always the best at planning ahead, but I've been doing a little bit better (sometimes). Anyway, this tuesday, all the boys ended up being gone, so we had Wes, Char, Josh and Preston over for dinner. I was just going to make a bg chicken ceasar salad, but we need to make it go a little farther, so mom had the great idea of adding noodles to it..and it turned out to be pretty good! Not the greatest picture, but I thought to take it just before the salad was gone.

Josh, Char, Wes and I

COUSIN NIGHT! Saturday night the Smiths had people over to watch a movie, and after everyone left...if was just the cousins! We talked and laughed for awhile, and we stayed the night! Nate, Keek and Rach...when you guys come for Katies wedding...we have to have a sleepover!!

Clay & Kate

Clay Gabe and Wes

Dancing the night away! The Bartows had a coming home/going away DANCE party for Tyler. Matt and Peter taught everyone "The Hustle". It was alot of fun!

Date Night

2007-08-24T05:12:00.000-07:00

Friday nights are typically the nights Wes will take me on a date. I always tell him that I want him to surprise me with what we're doing, but then usually try to figure it out instead of letting it be a surprise. Anyway, we went to outback to get food TO GO and brought it to the beach. We had to eat some of it on the way there as it took awhile to get there, and we were both starving, and we didn't want the food to get too cold! Well it was a blast, we ate and then just sat on the lifegaurd stand and watched the surfers (and played around with my camera that he got me for my birthday;) ) I am so thankful for you Wes...thank you for always laying down your life to serve me and make our dates special!

Waiting for our food...

Baptism- They want to live for Christ!

2007-08-19T15:00:00.002-07:00

Wes under the water.

Sean under the water
Josh just coming out of the water

Danny sharing his testimony...

Will he be a preacher??? Eric Hughes prayed for the boys indicating that three chords to make a rope are stronger than one. And how these brothers (the three of them) can encourage and provoke each other in their walks with the Lord...and how much stonger they will be growing together in the Lord. Thank you Eric for all you impart to our family..We love you and are blessed to call you our friend and Pastor!

Charity and Josh waiting for their turn to be

baptized

Wes, Josh and Ray waiting to be baptized

B
Bret sharing about what it means to to Baptized

Many of our church family and friends supporting every ones decision to make a public confirmation of the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ

Baptism - They want to live their lives for Chirst!

2007-08-19T14:45:00.000-07:00

Lyle singing Katie's Birthday Song

2007-08-15T19:18:00.000-07:00

"My Little Girl"

Our little girl turns 21!

2007-08-15T08:46:00.000-07:00

Katie turned 21 on Saturday so we had a few families and several of Katies friends over on Monday to honor her for her special day. A highlight of the evening was when her "popie" (daddy) wrote her a surprise song and sang it while everyone was gathered to share some thoughts with her. He spent the afternoon up in our bedroom working on this song for her....it was so thoughtful! Of course I cried, I think Katie shed a few tears too. She did say it was the best birthday present ever! (we hope to try to post the song if we can figure out how add it to our blog). Several people took time to honor Katie with words of encouragement, which is always a special time for birthdays around here.

As I was reflecting back on the evening I was reminded of Gods kindness to our family. He has blessed Katie , and all of us, with such dear friends . We are so grateful for how God has filled our cup to overflowing with people who love, encourage, exhort and pray for us. Thank you all who have become such wonderful examples to our family as well as extrodinary friends - We love you all dearly!
The next post we hope to share the "group gift" purchase which I hope you'll enjoy. Thanks again for all you who helped to make Our Little Girl's Day Special!! Here are some more pictures of the evening spent together......

Summer Fun . . .

2007-08-12T19:07:00.000-07:00

Mag Mel Chels Jap and Me...eating lunch at the park after chruch! Our families came today so it was alot of fun! Usually it is just the singles that go out, so it was a nice change to have our families there (Smith, Dowling, Kamrath & Johns)! It was a beautiful day, a nice break from the extreme heat!
Rach and Heather

Sean Beau and Danny

The Mommas!

Saturday - we went to the beach for the ENTIRE day (10-5), and then that night we went to Brusters to get ice cream! I am so blessed with such great friendships and an amazing family.

Wes and Preston carried me part of the way back from the beach on the cooler! SO Strong ;)

Me and my cutie boy....

Mel and Jac

The boys had a blast playing bachi ball (sp?) all around the beach! We went to Sandbridge and it was beautiful. Thank you everyone who came, it was pretty cold and really cloudy at first, but the lord blessed us with what turned out to be the perfect beach day! When I woke up in the morning, I thought with a complaining heart "Man, of all days, we planned on going to the beach (on my bday) and it has to be so overcast..what a bomb day." Well we ended up just going anyway, and at first it was all gray skies, really windy, and actually kind of chilly ... but it ended up being a wonderfully sunny day! The lord blessed me in the midst of my sin!

Mexico E-Team 2007

2007-08-04T16:02:00.000-07:00

We had quite a layover in Dallas on the way home. Our plane was delayed about two hours, so was had a lot of time to just relax!

The girls were hard at work many nights, preparing for the next day's painting. The kindergarten looked awesome!

Marcos was so excited to let me know that he finally learned how to "snap" and I now could teach him the "hit-snap-clap" game.

Little Marcos was my "pal" the whole week. He didn't handle me leaving very well. He was teary-eyed the whole morning. It was so hard to leave, but Lord willing I will hopefully have the chance to go back next year!

Here is Katie Reynolds serving away in the kitchen. Her and her mother Barbra made every meal for us and they were all superb!

These are the four oldest boys (l-r: David, Jovanny, Antonio, and Alfredo). One night I asked David if he knew if Jesus died to forgive his sins and he told me yes. It was so encouraging to here. I'm not sure about the other three, but I pray for them daily. The orphanage doesn't have a high school so they go to public school and face many of the same struggles and temptations we do here in the US.

I was able to grow pretty close to these boys (l-r: Estevan, Jonathin, and Miguel). They were so much fun to be with.

We spent almost every night under the "sombrero" playing soccer with the kids, having sing-a-longs, or just hanging out and talking. There wasn't one night that wrapped up before midnight! Obviously the younger kids were in bed, but the older ones were going strong til one or two am some nights.

Brian Crabb executed excellent leadership and was the reason so much work got done on the PC in a little over one week!

This was at the Sovereign Grace Church in Juarez. Mr Hughes spoke that Sunday and he gave a great message on Rev 5 about worship in Heaven. I was able to ask a few of the kids later how they enjoyed church and they said they really like it. It was encouraging to hear that the Holy Spirit is working, ever so slightly, in their lives.

This restaurant was the Mexican version of Hardees. It was the first time our group went out to lunch with all of the kids. They had a blast! Evidently, the owner of the place knew Dean (who runs the Ranch) and he treated all of the kids to a free meal. It was so special to be able to go to church and to lunch with them.

After lunch, we went to the market in Juarez. It was a blast! All of us sporting our new hats :)

This swing was a favorite of many of the young kids.

On the last morning, I went up to the cross to see the sunrise. It was so amazing to see a reflection of God's glory in His creation!

It has been about three weeks since I was in Mexico, but it doesn't seem that long ago. I had such a good time while I was there. God truly did a work in my life that week. The last morning during morning worship we sang the song "Let Your Kingdom Come" and a line that really stuck out to me more than usual was "Lord use us as you want, whatever the test." I went in with an attitude ready to serve in whatever way I could. On my last trip everyone stayed at the Ranch to work all day. We'd start work after breakfast, eat lunch at about 1, have a siesta time until about 3:30, then go back to work until dinner. I thought this year was going to be the same type of thing and so that was the type of serving I was looking forward to. Upon my arrival, I found out that this year was going to be different. Each day, a team of men was formed to go to Juarez after breakfast and work there all day on the Latin American Pastor's College. We'd pack up around 5:30 to be on time for dinner at 7:30. I was on this team four out of the five work days. The first few days were difficult for me. My friends had to continually remind me that I was here to serve! In my selfishness, I wanted to be back at the Ranch to be with the kids. After all, that was why we came, I thought. I'm so thankful for God's faithfulness in turning my selfish heart into a heart longing to do His will. I can honestly say that my heart slowly changed as the week progressed. That is why that line sounded so sweet. Though I failed " the tests" many times, I have a savior who has succeeded in every way for me and gives me power to succeed the next time.

Smith-Korday Wedding ... sure do know how to throw a great party!

2007-07-30T15:25:00.000-07:00

Josh lovin' up on the kiddos! The Wedding was Gorgeous! Nothing could have been done better, it was perfect! Nel looked amazing! All her ideas were so creative and made it all the more fun!

Grandma Jane with her grandkids

All the groomsmen had to do the YMCA!

FIRST DANCE...its a really blury picture, we didn't get many good ones!

Aunt Jen & I. She looked great in her designer dress ;) I think it was like Vera Wang or something! It was on clearance for $947 or something like that...I don't really remember where the decimal point was....:)

Mr. and Mrs. Jordan Joseph Smith!

Beau, Josh, Wes, Mikey and Sean

Mom and dad looked so cute. She made him a tie to match the dress that she made.

Wesley looked So cute!

Groomsmen - Aaron Matt Caleb Nate and Danny (Joey and Clay -the 2 best men- were in front of Aaron)

Me, Nate, Mag & Matt

The Studs!

Bridal Party with some sweet GRILLS! We walked into the song "Grillz", so in the car on the way there, we were talking about how we wanted to do something fun when we walked in...So Mag thought of the idea! Gum Wrappers! It was so funny!

In the room right before walking out into the ceremony

Nelly, girl, you couldn't have looked any better! You were a GORGEOUS bride :)

The Flowers were so beautiful....

MOTHER OF THE BRIDE - FINAL STAGES OF GETTING READY BEFORE GOING TO THE CHURCH

We decided to do masks before we started getting ready.

Jordy and Grandma Smith

Bridal Luncheon & 4-Wheeling

2007-07-26T19:19:00.000-07:00

READY TO RACE!

Lish had all the girls and kids over for dinner tonight while all the guys were at Jords Bachelor party. They have such a beautiful house and yard! It is so peaceful out there with lots of land and beautiful country houses! Jay let Mag and I take out the boys 4-wheelers!

Zay Zay - letting Mag and I ride his 4-wheelers!

The girls with the lovely BRIDE

The Ladies

Perfect BEACH day/night & Worship

2007-07-22T13:20:00.000-07:00

Fun on The Beach!

Rach, Treese, Heather, me, Nik & Dino

Dino, Jon & Parker

Ray Ray, Blowing kisses at someone . . .

Last night we had a singles worship night at the beach. It was so awesome to look at the waves and the stars in the sky as we worshiped! Just to see such beauty in God's creation. It was a perfect night for it too, cool, breezy, waves crashing and the stars out so bright! It was a neat time together!

Rachel, Lauren, Heather Coleman, Stacey and me. Lauren and Stacey came to visit Coleman and Rachel from Covenant Life. t was fun to get to know them a bit!

Andy, Wes, Sean & Josh
The beach durning the day was perfect yesteday as well! It wasn't hot, so you could just rest and lay on the beach without ROASTING! The waves were pretty big too!

MOVIE NIGHT

2007-07-20T06:08:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night, it was just us kids home and it was a rainy night, so we went got candy, and rented a movie! These are some pictures from the car ride home. The boys were having pinching wars in the back seat, and as you can see by the looks on their faces ... some of them really hurt!!!

The clouds were so beautiful today...they looked fake, the picture doesn't do it justice, but they were so awesome! The bottom one is from early evening and the top two are from later that night. Looking at the clouds, a SMALL part of creation, makes me ponder how amazing God is. Its funny how sometimes the simplest things help you to see God the most! I can't even imagine what it will be like on the day of his return! Something more beautiful than we could ever imagine. The top 2 pictures, with the light shining bright from behind the clouds, making those long streaks of light, is what I thought, when I was a little girl, that it would look like when Jesus came back...who knows....but one day we will see! Lord, make our hearts long for that day when we will finally be HOME!

Nel's Shower

2007-07-15T14:41:00.000-07:00

Nel's shower was alot of fun! There was alot of work put into planning and decorating this beautiful shower! Wendy graciously hosted it, and everthing was perfect. I don't have any pictures of Nel because my camera battery died. Kinda funny to post pictures from HER shower and have none of her! The cookies looked so cute, we decorated them a few nights before the shower...and they looked great! Can't wait for the wedding Nel! It's going to be so much fun! I love you tons and am so grateful for your friendship. You are such a faithful and loving friend...soon to be COUSIN! :)

Beautiful bouquet...we had toilet paper wedding dress contest. Its suprising how creative people can get with toilet paper!

Free Chick-Fil-A

2007-07-15T14:21:00.000-07:00

Chick-Fil-A was having "Cow Appreciation Day". . . and if you dressed up like a cow, you got free food. So dad and the boys got out the black paper and taped spots on their shirts (the black shirts have chunks of cotton) and mom pinned a tail and ears on dad! I wish I would have been home to see them in person. What we would do for some freeeeee foooood! :)

After the adventure....eating their food hard earned free food!

Trip to Revive

2007-07-13T08:35:00.000-07:00

OOOOOOPPPPPSSS!! Char and I locked both of our keys in our room the first night we got there. It was already almost midnight so there really wasn't anyway we could get another key....so Wes and Mr. Korday took the whole door frame off, and finally got in!! Guess we will be a little more careful next time :) Here are some more pictures from another camera....

Because Lyle had to work all three days of the conference he was unable to go with t us to Revive.; However we are grateful for the job the Lord has provided for him to support our family.
We ended up car pooling with Beau and Debra. Debra Katie Charity and I all rode in Debra's car and Danny drove all the boys in the Van. Here are some pictures of the trip. Also a beautiful picture of the Mountians which we were in the middle of at James Madison University in Harrisburg VA. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

REVIVE

2007-07-13T06:51:00.001-07:00

As I, (Linda) have been reflecting back on Revive and engaging people on what they had learned I have been reminded over and over of a profound truth that has been provoking me. The message that triggered this truth was entiteled "LIVING FOR HIM WHO DIED FOR US" What does in look like to take up your Cross? -Dying to self"; taken from II Cor 5:15. "and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on thier behalf ." The four points Brent Detwhiler made in this message were 1. Self Denial is intentional. In other words it doesn't just happen, you have to purposefully deny your selfish desires. 2. Self denial in daily - it means that you never take a vacation from denying your self and your desires. 3. Self denial is painful. It is a battle ground that requires hard decisions. 4. Self denial is mortal. We have to continually put our selfishness to death. Brent made practical application as to how to die to self by giving several examples. One of these examples was when you go up the stairs and see your brother or sisters shoes, that aren't yours, take them to his or her room. You die to self - though these aren't mine, I will take care of them, I will die to self and serve Christ by serving my brother or sister. Another example he gave was, "think of an area in your church where you wouldn't normally want to serve...then serve there." Now that was piercing. I enjoy serving in some areas, so it is not hard to die to self...but what about the areas that aren't so enjoyable, then am I willing to die to self and serve there? I pray God will give me the Grace to continually die to self!

The specific truth that has been probing my heart was brought up in our 316 Care Group when we were talking about this particular message and Barry Herman reminded us that the verse right before says, "out of our love for Christ..." don't live for yourself, but serve others. So often I can be serving others expecting something in return. Or I can be serving thinking now people are going to think highly of me. Or I can serve thinking now I can check that off my list of service. THESE all are being done with the wrong motives...My motivation should be OUT OF MY LOVE FOR CHRIST AM DYING TO SELF TO SERVE OTHERS. I pray as time goes on, and the newness of these teachings wear off, that God will continue to remind me of this very important truth! Lets remind each other continually of this...are you with me? OUT OF MY LOVE FOR CHRIST I WILL DIE TO SELF AND SERVE OTHERS!!!!

Dinner at Smiths - Church Picnic - Bek & Bobby's Wedding

2007-07-03T15:39:00.000-07:00

Here are the ladies out on the screened in porch! It was a gorgeous night!

Now, we could never go to the Smiths without some hearty Ping Pong! Aunt Jenny and Uncle Joe had us all over for dinner to meet our friend Dusty Parkers family who was in town to visit him. He had wanted his family to meet all of us, so the Smiths had a cook out! Desserts - Basketball - Ping Pong - Fellowship - Music etc...

Sean Kyle and Wes - getting ready to play some basketball!

Anderson Johns is one of the cutest boys ever!

Dancing the night away! The wedding was alot of fun! Mag Mel & I twirling while we waited for the boys to clean up after the reception ;) Thanks for serving!
Keeky & Mag - too bad they're related!

Pete - It has been great to have Peter back around for the summer! We don't want him to leave us again! He and Sharon pulled out some fancy swing moves at the reception - wish I had a picture of that!
Bek & Bob * Their first dance as Mr. & Mrs. Hewitt!!!

Katy & Clay - looking great...

The Ladies in Red! Mom found her dress at goodwill, added the white belt, polka dot straps and trim at the bottom! It looked so cute!
Roomies - Wes & Ray Ray
Cutie Boys! My brothers weren't able to come...wish there were some pictures of them to put on! It would have been so much better if they were there! ;) Love you boys!
Debra looked great in her cute yellow skirt!

Another Saturday

2007-06-26T19:59:00.000-07:00

Saturday the boys helped out one of our Pastors by filling their crawl space with sand. So up at 7:00 am all three boys loaded the van with the wheelbarrow, shovels and rakes. Off to Trevor Haynes to spread the sand. Pictues will be coming as Danny has his camera with him so I can't up load them at this time.

Katie and I cleaned the house until around 11:00 then went to the YMCA. It was a lot of fun spending a few hours together. It's not very often that we have that opportunity. Katy Van came for a short time too. It's always good to talk to her. She is so good at drawing people out about what the Lord is doing in her life. Thanks Kit!

Lyle he has been working so hard to support our family so here is another Saturday he sacrifices for us and heads off to work - Thanks honey we really do appreciate what you do to care for our family!

Mall Time!

2007-06-26T19:05:00.000-07:00

After work, Mag, Mel and I went to MacArthur to find outfits for Beks wedding this weekend. Mag had some luck, but Mel and I had NONE! Out of the 3 of us, none of us really ever drive on the interstate, Mag drives to school, but thats about it, so we knew it might be interesting getting to the mall (even though it is very simple for anyone else!)...anyway, the way there was fine, we got there great...and we had planned before we left that we had to leave the mall by a certain time to make it to Josh, Sean and Joeys B-ball game that we really wanted to see. Well, we left the mall way later than planned, we tried to rush back and didn't quite know where we were going. We got a little turned around, and time kept ticking...we knew we were missing lots of the game! Anyway, finally we turned back around and found our way to the game in time to see the 2nd half! It was a blast! The boys won there game by a TON! It is so fun now that Josh, Sean and Joey are on the same team...GO COUGARS!! I'll have to wait for Danny's camera to get home to post some pics from the game!

WOW! Those are some pretty stylish manicans!

Mel shopping away...

CHAMPS!

2007-06-26T05:20:00.000-07:00

Sunday night, a group of people went to the chruch to play volleyball. Mag and I were on the same team and we WON every game! It was probably all because of us too. . .we're both pretty experienced in volleyball ;)! Anyway, after we were done with volley ball we decided to have a little race. One person would hold themselves up on 2 other peoples shoulders and then have to race to the other end of the gym! We won at that too...so we were the sunday night champs!

Jacko's going away

2007-06-26T05:06:00.000-07:00

Brain Crabb had a going away party for our friend Jacko who is in the Navy and moving to California. As always, Brian has some crazy ideas of fun...which always do end up being a great time! We had a cook out, watermelon seed spitting contest, and then we went down by the "lake" (I don't know really what you would call it) where Brian jumped in! I don't know if anyone really knows why he did it, but it was some nasty water thats for sure! After that we all went to starbucks and then back to Brians to watch a movie....OUTSIDE! He put up a sheet on the side of his house, brought all his furniture outside, and we watched Batman. It was alot of fun. It's been so fun to have someone here who plans such out of the ordinary events!

National Flip Flop Day

2007-06-22T11:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Tropical Smoothie had their National Flip Flop Day. . . They were giving away free smoothies, so we called Unlce Joe to see if Mag and I could take a quick run while Jord was here to hold down the fort . . . and of course he let us because he's a softy! They were SOOO good!!!! Then, because Wes and I didn't have a ton to do that day, Uncle Joe let us have off half the day to go to the Y....Thanks Uncle Joe---You're the Best boss EVER!

Beach Day

2007-06-21T15:52:00.001-07:00

Today was our family's first offical beach day with SGC. Sean had a Doctor appt to get a planters wart burned off his foot. We went right to the beach from the Dr's Office, and ended up being the first ones there...we drove down the strip and found a Tropical Smoothie - they were giving out free smoothies to the first 500 people that wore flip flops in the store. Once we got our free smoothies we headed back to 4th street and began the fun day of soaking up sun and visiting with many friends from SGC.

BUG EYES!

2007-06-20T05:07:00.000-07:00

Thought you might get a kick out of these pictures. We found these glasses at the thrift store, and laugh so hard everytime we try them on! Sean wore them into Wendy's one time and got a heck of a reaction from the cashier..."woah!!!!"

Ray, Rob, me, Wes, Preston and Josh

Summer Basketball & Wes' Birthday

2007-06-19T18:26:00.001-07:00

Josh and Sean had their first summer basketball game tonight. I took some pictures but they didn't turn out. They play on the same team so it makes it extra fun to watch. They won their game by eight points. They had a pretty good crowd between family and church family singles and fellow 316 friends.
We all sang Happy BIrthday to Wes as he turned 23 today. Can you tell he's a little embarrased? Just a little pink in the checks. We came home after the game and grilled porkchops had cheesy potatoes toss salad and brocholli for his birthday dinner. Preston joined us as well. Ray and Rob were over but didn't eat with us.

5th Annual Father Son Whiffleball Tournament

2007-06-19T08:37:00.001-07:00

The church had their annual whiffleball tournament last weekend. Unfortunately Lyle was unable to make it due to the fact he had to work. However, Wes, Danny, Josh, and Sean were on a team and won all their preliminary games. The first game was played against the Smiths, Clay and Beau I wont' say to much other than the Dowlings won - BAM!! So they boys ended up going to the "World Series" with the Gable family. The Gables were ahead in the bottom of the last inning... .the Dowlings were down by 3 runs, with 2 outs. Sean starts the 2 run ralley with a home run, Wes follows with another, and Josh ties up the game with a 3rd homerun. Danny is up to bat, (No pressure though HAHA) and slams the 4th home run to win the final game which made them Chamions of the whiffle ball tournament in their age bracket. It was a SWEET game to watch with such a come back. Sorry Gables....maybe next year will be your year...

Cutest Brothers in the World!

2007-06-16T12:39:00.000-07:00

Aren't they the most handsome boys ever? I think so! I am so grateful for my dear "little" brothers. As we all grow older, and our lives get busier, I realize how precious the time we get to spend together is. I LOVE it when we are all together at home! There nothing like quality family time. Thank you lord for blessing me so abundantly with this precious family and calling each of them to be your children!

2007-06-15T16:46:00.000-07:00

We had fun on our date night, however we didn't end up going to Red Lobster as it was graduation weekend and there was a huge waiting line....So we drove around the parking lot and found a Panara Bread, and guess what we just happened to have a gift card for that resturant as well....God is so faithful!!

Date Night

2007-06-15T15:17:00.000-07:00

Aren't they so cute!! Mom and dad are going on a date night tonight to Red Lobster. Dad has been winning all these gift cards at work, so he has a stash of like 10 or more different gift cards to a bunch of nice restaraunts. So off they go. The boys are in Williamsburg at the outlet mall, they should be home soon and will probably then go play tennis! I am just trying to figure out what I'm going to eat for dinner. Its pretty rare that I am home alone, probably mostly because I'll just leave if no one is home..especially at night! So I will sign off for now to get something to eat and then be off to Wes and Rays...they (Ray) invited a bunch of people over! Goodbye for now.

Handiwork by Sean

2007-06-15T14:45:00.000-07:00

As you know my mom and dad were here for about 10 days. While they were here the boys got a lesson from my dad on how to use a table saw safely, along with some other helpful things from my dad. Now that they are gone Sean decided to put into practice what he learned from Grandpa. He built a mini table to hold our computer mouse and paper. This was taken in the shed where the table saw is ...Sean is intently working on the table which he designed himself!

2007-06-15T10:20:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon fun

2007-06-10T15:10:00.000-07:00

Today was a relaxing sunday afternoon. Danny and Sean are playing cards, Josh was at the church playing basketball with the guys, and dad just got done in the GYM! As you can see, he is such a muscle man! Well, better be off now, we're about ready to leave for the Smiths for a birthday party for MAG.

Tennis Anyone?

2007-06-10T14:50:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon, dad decided he and mom wanted to take Danny and I on in a game of tennis. The plan was to go to the beach, but it ended up being kinda cool and cloudy. So along came the next best thing....Tennis! I hate to admit, Danny and I lost. It was a close game, but mom and pop still got game!

Out to lunch for Maggies 20th

2007-06-10T14:46:00.000-07:00

Every sunday after church, the singles go out to lunch somewhere, so today, we went to some new mexican restaurant for Mag's 20th Birthday!

Harbor Fest

2007-06-10T14:45:00.001-07:00

The girls

A bunch of people decided to go to Harbor Fest last night to watch the fireworks. We ended up leaving before the fireworks started...it was SO crowded, so the boys thought it would be best if we left before because of all of the traffic..which was fine with us anyway. But we did have fun just walking around for awhile.

Watching the Pistons and hanging out

2007-06-08T05:16:00.000-07:00

The other night, a few people came over to watch the Pistons game and just hang out!

Colaymon playing the guitar trying to figure out some songs from New Attitude.

Fun with Grandpa and Grandma

2007-06-08T04:54:00.000-07:00

This is one of thie many nights we played cards with grandpa and grandma -- "Don't mess with your neighbor".

One night we decided to go to Sonic because they were giving away free rootbeer floats.

Grandpa and Grandma have been here for a couple weeks and we've had a blast with them! They have been serving the whole time they've been here. Grandpa fixing or making things, grandma recovering a lazy boy recliner (LOTS OF WORK). They love to play games, and we love to play with them so every night we've played some sort of game and ate some kind of yummy desert! The weather has been great also, so they've gotten to go the beach a couple times! Aren't they soooo cute?! Their 50th wedding anniversary is coming up this year! Congratulation Grandpa and Grandma on living out a faithful Christ centered marriage! Thank you for your example to all of us!