HE IS RISEN!!

HAPPY EASTER!!!

I know Easter is still a few days away, but we have an incredibly busy week ahead, so I wanted to be sure to get this post out.

We are so excited for Easter again this year. We will be heading to the local high school to have our Easter Sunday service, it can seat 1000-1100 people and we are expecting every seat to be full! It is the once-a-year opportunity for our church to meet as a whole...during the year we have 2 services with Sunday school in between...there are people that attend the 1st service who don't know the people that attend the 2nd. This is the one time of the year you get to see ALL the people that attend Community Chapel! In years past it has been such an energizing, exciting service...all of those people there for one purpose, to celebrate the Risen Lord!!!

The girls helped prepare for Easter this week in our Palm Sunday service, they read the scripture readings to start off the service. They did a great job! Hannah read her scriptures with such enthusiasm....'HOSANNA, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, HOSANNA in the Highest!'

We have already taken pictures of the kids in their Easter outfits...we did that this weekend while Margaret was here, we got some great pictures of all 4 kids, oh, and Daisy joined in on the fun too!

Our prayer is that wherever you find yourself this Easter you will find yourself celebrating that the tomb is EMPTY! He is ALIVE!! Because of this truth we have HOPE! It is the Hope of Easter that I am clinging to these days, especially with the things going on in our lives right now. If I didn't believe in the empty tomb these situations would seem bleak, like there is no hope to be found, but I DO believe!! Despite what is going on around us, despite what the world tells us, despite what the enemy would want us to believe...HE IS ALIVE and BECAUSE HE'S ALIVE, I LIVE and HAVE HOPE!!!

Could it really be true??

Is spring almost here?? I am sure enjoying the 'signs' of spring being just around the corner! Today the kids were begging to go outside, so I, of course, obliged! Not only did they get in some great play time, but I also got in some peace and quiet and let me tell you after a long winter like we've had, some peace and quiet was just what the doctor ordered!!

Here are some photos of the kids enjoying the signs of spring...even Daisy got in on the action!

Yearly Power Outage

Yup, you read that right! Just about once a year (sometimes more) we lose our power for multiple days in a row...not just a couple of minutes/hours. We are not sure why this is, but you could go to the bank with it -- sometime during the year we will find ourselves throwing out everything in the fridge/freezer, finding a hotel, or staying with a friend.

It is the most frustrating thing in the world to have this happen, especially when you have kids! It just messes everything up! But, try doing all this with a new puppy! Well, that adds a WHOLE NEW dimension to it all! Although, Daisy did VERY well with all the adjustments, considering! The kids on the other hand, I think we will be trying to make-up for the lost sleep for a couple of days to come!!

As frustrating it all is, the kids actually said they like the power outage because we got to have a 'family sleep-over' in the living room. (Mom did NOT like this, not that I didn't like being with my kids, but there was not much 'sleeping' being had, that and it was REALLY cold!!!)

So, here are some photos from this year's outage. We are praying this will not be a year of MULTIPLE outages as in past years! Enjoy!

Daisy

Well, there is a new member of our little family, her name is Daisy. She is a four month old Shih-tzu puppy! She is so sweet and so cute! The kids absolutely adore her and she adores them. Last night when they went to bed, she sat at the bottom of the stairs just staring, waiting for them to come back! It was so cute!! Enjoy some pictures!

January Fun

We have been having fun this January...especially since Upward basketball started again! Thought you'd all enjoy some pictures of our future WNBA stars! :)

Happy Birthday Kaitlyn!

WOW! Where does the time go?? With the craziness of the holidays, I put off this post until I had more time to process what just happened....my daughter turned 10! That's double digits, one 'e' away from TEEN! Six months from YOUTH GROUP!! AH! It is just not possible!! Jeff and I kept telling her that no one in our house was allowed to turn double-digits...to which she replied 'you're double-digits!' :)

All of the sad, sappy mommy stuff aside...there is NO OTHER ten year old anywhere I would rather have as a daughter than my Kaitlyn!

She is so full of kindness, compassion, love, generosity, the list could go on! Last year she had to grow up more than any other 9-year-old should have when she had to help take care of me after my severe back issues. I will always be thankful to her for that, but will always feel a sense of guilt that she lost some of her childhood there. I am trying to help her regain that this year, helping her to relax and just be a kid!

With the holidays and basketball and other things that are keeping us busy, she can't have her normal sleep-over birthday party. So, we have decided to take her and her 3 best friends to Chunky's for dinner and a movie! Thought that might be something special for a special 10-year-old.

Even now, it is so hard for me to write...10! I know, stop being so sappy! :)

I truly am excited for what is to come with Kaitlyn! She is such an amazing young lady and I cannot wait to see what God has in store for her!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY 'BABY' GIRL!!!!!

Happy New Year!!

Wow, can it be true, is it really 2010???

This year seemed to fly by, but then again, they all do, don't they?

We had another great year, filled with good times and bad, happy and sad.

Here are some things I will remember about 2009:

I will remember it as the year my 'baby' turned 10! (ack!)

I will remember it as the year I finally reached my weight goal...NEVER in a million years thought it would happen!

I will remember it as the year Caleb's speech blossomed! We had been praying for that!

I will remember it as the year Hannah finally learned how to ride her bike without training wheels.

I will remember it as the year Jeff and I celebrated 11 years of marriage! SO thankful for him!

I will remember it as the year the Scott Family reunion happened -- first time we had all been together in a LONG time (want to say over 15 years??)...what a wonderful opportunity!

I will remember Disney World with my family, Sea World with my kids, getting dizzy at Six Flags, and all the other fun adventures we had.

I will remember the Kleppinger Family Christmas -- it had been 3 years since we did that!

I will also remember it as the year we said good-bye to one of the most wonderful, Godly women I know--my grandmother, Lois Scott.

There were tears of laughter, tears of joy, and tears of sorrow and sadness. There were times we wondered what God was doing, and times we saw those answers.

I do not know what 2010 has in store for our little family. I can only hope and pray it is again filled with joy and laughter! I also hope and pray that God would continue to shape our little family into the family He wants us to be. May we be more loving, compassionate, steadfast, trustworthy, faithful, self-controlled, patient, peaceful, kind, hopeful, and gentle to each other and to those we come in contact with everyday.

Our prayer for you is that the God of peace, joy, hope, and love would bless you and your families during 2010! May you come to know Him better this year!