The Rangers have lost the first two...and I am BUMMED! So to brighten my day and hopefully yours, I just finished editing these photos. To see more of this fabulous family of 8, click here!

ENCOURAGE THEM!

NPayne and I have the following expectation....if you put forth your best effort, then we are happy with whatever the outcome may be. This includes school, sports, Bible Study, everything. Of course I want my children to be succesful in school, sports, dance, etc.; but what I really want for them is to have integrity and good character.....to be happy! I'm not a parent who has put a lot of thought into where they are going to college or what they are going to be when they grow up, or where they are going to live....I'm a parent who has put a lot of thought into how they treat others, helping them learn to be responsible people, encouraging them to take care of their temple, being accepting and kind and loving. Last night two of my girls and I had a little.....ahem....civilized meeting.....where I shared some expectations, and they.....LISTENED! I We decided that I would help them with a few things over the next week or so.....just to make sure we're on the right track. As they both agreed with big smiles on their faces (insert sarcasm), they scooted off to finish homework or go to bed; I got started on a few things to encourage them in a few areas where there have been some struggles. As soon as it's complete, I'll share.....

For now, I sent them off to school with high expectations and encouragement for their afternoon arrival.

GAME 3

HOLY MOLY GUACAMOLE....HELP ME HENRY....GOOD GRAVY.....GOOD NIGHT NURSE!

My sister in law and her beau just gave us two

tickets to Game 3 of The World Series!

One of my lifelong aspirations has just come true!!

I can never in a gazillion years thank you enough Melinda and Matt.

I was weeping true sports tears of joy Friday when the Rangers won

the Championship, and again today when I was holding these tickets.

I am completely VERKLEMPT!

WORLD SERIES

There are a lot of things I want to do in my lifetime. Honestly most of them involve living life the way God intended and nothing too fancy.

Would I like to go to Italy?

Would I like to go on a cruise?

Would I like to own a fancy car?

Would I like to own a vacation home?

These are definitely things I would do....if given the opportunity (except driving the fancy car....I'm not a fancy car kinda gal), BUT....these are not goals I strive to do in my lifetime. I think these are things that would definitely be grand and probably something I would enjoy thoroughly. However the things I would really like to do....in my lifetime are things I know would excite me beyond belief and things I would enjoy IMMENSELY.

I've always wanted to be on The Price Is Right....not just in the audience, but an actual contestant! Playing Plinko or whatever and spinning the wheel to get in the SHOWCASE!!! Yes siree!

I've always wanted to go on a tour of Graceland....I'm an Elvis fan....not a fanatic...just a fan! But I think Nashville, Memphis, many parts of Tennessee would be great to see; but especially Graceland.

I've always wanted to go to a World Series game....any game really....but if it was one where my home team was playing....HELP ME HENRY...that would be simply spectacular.

I've never doubted my Texas Rangers could make it to a World Series, although they haven't yet. As I sit here and type this, I watch them playing for the Championship against the Yankees. One more game and....WORLD SERIES here we come. Baseball is by far my favorite sport.

NPayne likes BB too, but his favorite would be football. Many years ago, we were given the chance to go to the SuperBowl in Atlanta. Not only did we get to go to the Super Bowl, BUT we got to see our home team....the Dallas Cowboys play and....drum roll please....WIN! I'll have to admit it was pretty grand. Now we are this close to seeing our favorite baseball team play in the world series, and ....drum roll please....I know they can WIN! Although I likely won't get to actually attend the world series and have that dream come to fruition....since the tickets in the upper deck are currently selling for about $400. I'm not giving up on them going again and getting a chance to go. As for this year, I'm not completely giving up on going. I'll keep begging searching for a ticket I can afford. The tailgating, souvenirs, dot races are all fun; but for me.....it's all about the game.

Now....excuse me while I look for things in our house to sell...so I can get a ticket! ;) I'll keep you posted on the outcome!

Balance....Or Lack There Of!

I'm struggling a little lately with balance. This is really nothing new....I struggle with this a lot. Sometimes more than others, and lately it's more. Am I where I'm suppose to be? Am I doing what I'm suppose to be doing? Honestly I don't really feel like I am, BUT....I have more to consider than just myself....so I wait and pray for guidance. And in the meantime...I'll continue to praise Him, seek Him and grow my relationship with Him.

This is one of the many things I did this weekend....I know you're dying to see more from this family! They were FABULOSO to shoot. Wanna see more? I know you do, so click here!

Where Have I Been?

I realized today that it has almost been one week, since I've blogged.....GOOD GRIEF! Things have been crazy busy, and honestly I'm exhausted. WHEW! The Christmas photo sessions are starting to be in full swing, and as much as I absolutely adore taking photos....editing....making cards....etc.; it's a lot of work and takes much of my time. Then of course there's keeping Baby M....she is a really good baby....but I can't get much done when she's in my care, because well....she's a baby! Then there's the preschool job, then there's the keeping up with the house cleaning, then there's the shuffling kids here and there, then there's the infamous Spookarama coming up this weekend.....I can't wait for that one! Needless to say, it's a busy season for me right now....and as we all know....I am not a fan of being overly busy! I need a little down time, so with that being said....as soon as I finish that photo book, pack my lunch box for work tomorrow, blow dry my hair, fold up those clothes that have been sitting in that laundry basket since yesterday, mop the kitchen floor....because I can't stand the floor to be dirty, and get my clothes and Elli's clothes out for school; I am going to curl up in my bed and finish watching the Ranger game. Unless of course it's over by then, then I'll just ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!

FOUR DAY WEEKEND

RESPITE Night

Night alone shopping

High School Football

Soccer Game

Dinner together

Church together

Ranger Game :(

Cleaning House

Bible Study

Dinner with my best friend

NPayne day off

Karate Kid

Letters To God

Driving Range

Dinner together with Grandma

Trip to Braums for ice cream

Staying in our PJs

Lounging around

LAUGHING

LAUGHING

LAUGHING

Love being together for 4 full days!

Mixed Emotions

Life on earth can be so joyful.....and so sorrowful. It's a good thing that it's only temporary, and that there is so much more waiting for us!

Bullying

I remember being bullied once, but only once. I was at the skating rink when I was in 4th grade, and some middle school girls decided to tease me for what I was wearing. They even cornered me in the bathroom to tease. I have to admit, I was a little quirky, when I was younger; and my parents let me embrace that quirkiness which I applaud them for. For the most part....I fit in, made friends. and did well in school....even though I was extremely shy. Other than that one time, I don't ever remember being bullied. Two of my five children have been bullied at one time or another, one verbally and one physically and verbally. Thank GOD, our school and the teachers were right on top of this and took complete control of the situations and handled it. I never had to do anything but tell them what was going on. I was so worried about Cal being bullied in middle school that I even asked Addi if that was going to be a problem. She said, "No....kids with special needs don't get bullied. It's the kids that don't fit in, that get bullied!" It makes me so very sad to know that there are kids....being so hurtful and hateful to another that it would drive them to take their own life. I remember telling my daughter, that was bullied, that we should pray for those boys who were bullying her. She looked a little confused at first. I explained that I thought bullies bullied, because there is something really unhappy or unstable in their lives; so they take it out on others. I told her that was definitely not the right way to handle their unhappiness or problems, but sometimes they are just doing what they know. However, I definitely think these children should be held responsible for their actions. My friend, Robin, shared a link to a blogpost written by Single Dad Laughing about his experience with being bullied. I encourage you to read it from the bullies stand point and from the bullied stand point, and keep your eyes, ears and hearts open.

Watch for signs and do something to stop it.

STEWARDSHIP!

Serving from the heart....what do you think that means? I think it means exactly what it says....serving in areas where your heart leads you to serve. Sometimes we also may serve in areas where our heart doesn't necessarily lead us to serve, but once we get there; we realize that we were suppose to be serving there all along. And sometimes we get there and realize that maybe it's not something God was calling us to do. I also think that serving means being the hands and feet of Jesus, as well as or in addition to, serving with financial support. We are told to be cheerful givers.

2 Corinthians 9:7 (New International Version)

⁷Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

I know for me, I was never taught to tithe; so when I started attending church regularly....it felt odd and oftentimes my tithe took a backseat to other expenditures. Now I treat tithing as a monthly expense, and I pray about it often. I feel that although NPayne and I are not in a financial place to tithe the 10% The Bible tells us to....we are giving "what we have decided in our hearts to give". I can't speak for NPayne, but I can say that I honestly tithe cheerfully; but I also tithe with a longing for more. To some people, our tithe may not seem like much....but to us, it is; and we do give til it hurts. In a few years, many things will change....our house will be paid for, many of our debts will be paid off, and although we will accrue new expenses with having a child of driving age and then college and then another child to follow and another and another and another.....I feel positive that we will be able to tithe more. Before our current pastor was our pastor, there was a pastor who led our church....who....how shall I say this kindly....let everything revolve around money. Now I am not being judgmental....I'm not.....I'm being honest. There were many inappropriate handlings of people in the congregation's money, and it was not pretty. It was a manipulative situation, and if you didn't tithe A LOT....you were not invited to sit on any committee or be involved with any sort of decision making or leadership in the church; so of course....NPayne and I were NEVER invited. As a matter of fact, when someone mentioned my name for a committee....they were told "NO" and it was because I didn't "give" enough. It didn't matter if a member walked the walk and talked the talk....if you didn't "give" enough money....in this man's opinon....you were just a number in the count on Sunday morning. I'll admit later when I found out about all of this manipulation, misuse, etc.; I was a little angry but mostly I was sad. I felt like I was being judged on my monetary worth only and who cares if you LOVE Jesus, are being called to serve, want to serve, are giving until it hurts....that doesn't make any difference. But I know IT DOES! I know that committees, in our church and maybe all churches, should be made up of people with a vested interest in the church and congregation and all of those we serve. I know that sometimes that's people who are the hands and feet, sometimes that's people who have the financial means, and sometimes that's people who are both. I know it may seem like an odd dream for those who already tithe 10% or those who have never tithed at all, but I cannot wait until the day comes that we can tithe more. I feel like it is a gift for us to be able to support our church, its missions, and ministries by going out and doing, by praying, and by giving! I thank God for the opportunity to serve with gifts, service, presence and witness!

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!

For more information about Christmas specials, visit LoriePaynePhotography!

Sunday Sermon Summary: ANGER

The dictionary describes being angry as:

–adjective, -gri·er, -gri·est.

1.

feeling or showing anger or strong resentment (usually fol.by at, with, or about ): to be angry at the dean; to be angryabout the snub.

2.

expressing, caused by, or characterized by anger; wrathful:angry words.

3.

Chiefly New England and Midland U.S. inflamed, as a sore;exhibiting inflammation.

4.

(of an object or phenomenon) exhibiting a characteristic orcreating a mood associated with anger or danger, as bycolor, sound, force, etc.: an angry sea; the boom of angryguns.

The sermon today was about anger.

Ken finished the study on the book of Jonah with Jonah Chapter 4.

Jonah 4

Jonah's Anger at the Lord 's Compassion

¹ But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. ² He prayed to the LORD, "O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. ³ Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live."

⁴ But the LORD replied, "Have you any right to be angry?"

⁵ Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. ⁶ Then the LORD God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine. ⁷ But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered. ⁸ When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, "It would be better for me to die than to live."

⁹ But God said to Jonah, "Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?"
"I do," he said. "I am angry enough to die."

¹⁰ But the LORD said, "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. ¹¹ But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?"

Being angry....we have all been angry, maybe are currently angry, and will most certainly be angry again at some point in the future. Being angry is a normal emotion, a feeling that humans experience....sometimes more often than we would care for! Sometimes a situation that has made us angry has been over and done with for quite some time, and maybe the person/people who we are angry at...don't even know you're angry; but we still stew it over in our minds and let it take control of our hearts. I think one of the hardest things to do is to forget....it's not that challenging for me to forgive someone, but forgetting is something I have a hard time doing....and sometimes I hold onto it longer than I should. As I said earlier, anger is a natural emotion for humans; and it's not wrong to be angry. I think where being angry can cause harm is how we handle the anger. The Bible tells us it's okay to be angry, but It also tells us to be careful in how we handle our anger.

Ephesians 4:26-27 (The Message)

^26-27Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don't use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don't stay angry. Don't go to bed angry. Don't give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.

This week in my Bible Study, we also discussed anger and the appropriateness of that emotion. One of the ladies who attends told us how one of her high school coaches use to explain being angry to them. The coach told them (I'm paraphrasing here) there's a difference in being angry and being mad.....if you are angry, it is a controlled emotion. A feeling you get, but a feeling that you should be able to sit down, take a deep breath and think about how to handle it before you react. Being mad is not a controlled emotion....it's flying off the handle, reacting before you think, oftentimes doing or saying something you might really regret.

The dictionary describes being mad as:

–adjective

1.

mentally disturbed; deranged; insane; demented.

2.

enraged; greatly provoked or irritated; angry.

3.

(of animals)

a.

abnormally furious; ferocious: a mad bull.

b.

affected with rabies; rabid: a mad dog.

4.

extremely foolish or unwise; imprudent; irrational: a madscheme to invade France.

Sure there are times when we are going to be angry, but remember that The Bible instructs us not to sin in our anger, use our anger to fuel revenge, let the sun go down while we are angry, let the Devil get a foothold on us. Honestly if you remember these few verses next time someone cuts you off in traffic, doesn't clean their room, leaves their socks on the floor, or more extremely....hurts or wrongs someone you love; your anger can be just what it is intended to be....a rational emotion. Deal with your anger and then move on....forgive even if the person who wronged you doesn't know they've wronged you....forgive. Holding on to your anger is much more detrimental to you than to anyone else.