This just in...

Earlier this month, we left Passion 07 with a challenge to raise enough money to cover the translation of 100 verses of the New Testament into the language of the Dela people, a group of people on the island of Rote in Indonesia.

Our assignment was to raise $2000 to translate James 2:26 - 1 Peter 2:19, and at the time, we didn't know that the leadership of our church was planning to teach through the book of James this month. Yesterday, our Young Adult Minister taught in the book of James and presented to our church the opportunity to join in the work of translating these 100 verses for the Dela people. A special offering was received, and a total of

$3,750

was collected! That's almost enough to sponsor 200 verses!!

For some of you who went to Passion with us but have yet not had the chance to contribute to the translation, there is still time... maybe you can help us raise the remaining $250 so that we can double our initial commitment and fully support the translation of 200 verses. Brian and I will have the online account information later this week. If you are interested, e-mail me at myfrontporchblog@gmail.com, and I will send you the details.

To learn more about OneVerse and the Dela People, visit their website at http://www.oneverse.org/.

Anti-Procrastination Challenge: Day 7...

Today is the final day of Mrs. Wilt's Anti-Procrastination Challenge, and I started bright and early... thanks to little Miss B! The main thing I wanted to get done was to go down to Kerbler's, the local glass shop, and have a glass shelf cut to fit one of my new kitchen cabinets. The children and I trudged out into the snow (Brrrr....), and ordered the shelf. Unfortunately, my schedule is really full today with dental appointments and a small group dinner, so other than some housecleaning, I think this marks the end of my "official" AP projects. More projects will follow, but I just won't be documenting them here.

And Karen... I didn't win any of the challenges, but Mrs. Wilt is giving everyone who participated all week a copy of one of her books. So this has truly been a win-win week!

Anti-Procrastination Challenge: Day Six...

Ahhhhh... a day of rest!! Today was another snowy Sunday around Central Ohio, so after church we came home and just rested all afternoon. Simultaneously, Brian, Dylan, and Brooklyn took their afternoon naps affording me about an hour or more of purely quiet time --- no tv, a little classical music playing very lowly in the background, and a little reading and planning for the upcoming week. One by one they started to wake up (Brooklyn first, of course), and the "noise" resumed.

I did take advantage of Brian being home to get a couple of pictures hung... I know, according to Mrs. Wilt, we should have today off from the AP Challenge, but I just can't reach the spot where these pictures needed to be hung without Brian's help. So, another completed task!

Anti-Procrastination Challenge: Day Five...

AP Challenge Project for today... family breakfast! We tend to do a more leisurely breakfast every Saturday morning, so this wasn't out of the norm for us. However, today would have been an easy day to skip breakfast together in lieu of just getting everyone ready and out of the door. We've had a long list of things to get done today before we need to be at church tonight, so my challenge was really to make this breakfast take priority on a day when skipping it would have relieved my schedule a little. By the way, it was yummy!!

Oh... and no challenge will be done tomorrow! I'll be resting!

Anti-Procrastination Challenge: Day Four...

Today's AP Challenge projects were simple tasks that just needed to be done:

--- Cleaned off the boot tray which has been accumulating lots of wet and snowy shoes over the past week

--- Made some new tiebacks for the curtains that I altered yesterday

--- Assembled, addressed, and sent out banquet invitations that should have been sent out three or four days ago

That's all for now...

Anti-Procrastination Challenge: Day Three...

It's Day 3 of Mrs. Wilt's AP Challenge, and I thought I had a pretty easy project to do --- hem the new curtains that are going in our newly remodeled kitchen. I was wrong!!!

I've had these new curtains since right after Christmas, but I just haven't gotten around to hemming them. We've had so many folks in and out of the kitchen working on the remodel that the curtains seemed really secondary (more like tertiary) to installing the cabinets and flooring. So today I decided to pull them off the rods and finish them off.

At least I can say they are done, but the fabric was so difficult to work with that it took much longer than I ever expected. Bottom line is they are hemmed and hanging nicely in the kitchen windows, and I am one step closer to a completely remodeled kitchen.

Snow Day...

Just a couple of pictures from Sunday, our most recent Snow Day...

Anti-Procrastination Challenge: Day Two

I've heard it called a "Launch Pad"... you know, that spot by the door where everyone tends to drop their stuff when they walk in the house. Ours is more like a "Drop Zone" than a "Launch Pad" --- things tend to be dropped off, but rarely do I see them actually launch from here! Rather, it is an acculation of completly random items (aka "clutter").

So, this was my AP Challenge project for the day. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you'll have to check out Mrs. Wilt's blog "The Sparrow's Nest" to find out the details.

We call this thing the "Serpentine Chest" --- that was the official name for it when we bought it, and the name stuck. I started off by taking the top drawer - the "junk" drawer - out and emptying it completely. I refilled only with the things that are necessary.

Then I cleared off the top and the stuff that sat nearby on the floor. The end result... a much nicer, more inviting entryway!

Brooklyn, 9 months...

Brooklyn & Bossier at 9 months! At least I got these pictures posted before she turns 10 months. These days she is all over the place --- crawling and pulling up on everything! At mealtimes, she only wants to feed herself, and she'll let you know if the food isn't coming fast enough. She smiles all the time and is generally a very happy baby.


Her 9 month pictures were taken in a little rocking chair that was mine when I was a little girl.


This is a
picture of her
"thinking" face... looks a lot like some of the faces I've seen Nana make!

Anti-Procrastination Challenge: Day One

I recently stumbled upon a blog called The Sparrow's Nest. Mrs. Wilt, the blog owner, is quite prolific when it comes to writing about homekeeping matters, and I've found myself skimming as many of her recent posts as I possibly can. So today she issued an Anti-Procrastination Challenge. The point is to tackle one project each day that you've been dreading and delaying. Each day she'll pick a random winner to receive a copy of one of her e-books. So here's my Tuesday project...

TOYS!!! TOYS!!! TOYS!!!

With two little ones, the toys seem to pile up... especially post-Christmas!! Today, I spent just a few minutes sorting the toys and storing them in plastic bins. I threw out some of the toys that were broken or missing key parts, and I put away the toys that were too small to have around with Brooklyn exploring every nook of the house. The end result was a cleaner family room that still contains the 4-foot inflatable space shuttle my son received for Christmas (Thank you Auntie Cayenne... we love playing with it)!

Under the weather...

I feel like we've been in the house for days now... This past Sunday it snowed a few inches here, and other than playing in the snow for a while that day, we've been indoors since then. Brooklyn has a terrible cold, and Dylan seems to be on the verge of getting it too. On top of that, the floor installers have been here for the past couple of days. And that's the great news!! We now have a brand new kitchen floor and a brand new bathroom floor (downstairs)!! If you had seen the old one, you would truly understand our elation at this simple change! We're getting really close to the end of this remodel, and truthfully, the rest is up to me and Brian --- a little trimwork painting, a little decorating, attaching those missing hinges --- that's about it!! We're almost ready to have someone over for dinner... any takers?? You pick the menu!!

Just something I can't stop listening to...

We've had this song on the iPod for a while now, but after Passion, I just can't get this one out of my head (or my heart, for that matter). Bookmark it --- "From the Inside Out" Video!



"From the Inside Out" by Hillsong United
A thousand times I've failed, Still Your mercy remains
And should I stumble again, I'm caught in Your grace
Everlasting... Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending... Your glory goes beyond all fame

Your will above all else, My purpose remains
The art of losing myself, In bringing You praise
Everlasting... Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending... Your glory goes beyond all fame

In my heart and my soul, Lord I give You control
Consume me from the inside out, Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love you from the inside out
Everlasting... Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending... Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise
From the inside out, Lord my soul cries out

The Chaos Continues...

The kitchen chaos continues... but the good news is we're getting a lot closer to the end. We had to take a bit of a break while we were at Passion and while the replacement cabinets & countertop were on order, but as of today, we have officially resumed the project. The final cabinets were installed this afternoon --- well, except for the doors. Of course, the manufacturer forgot to ship hinges for the replacement cabinet that was received yesterday, and we'll have to wait a week or so on that one. The flooring will be delivered tomorrow, and hopefully, the trimwork/molding will be installed on the cabinets on Friday. Progress...

Want a sneak peak?? Okay, so these pictures are from very early on in the remodel, and right now the walls are completely painted and the cabinets are installed. More pictures will come after the flooring has been installed, but for now I don't want to give too much away!

More Passion 07 Pics...

Check out the Passion webpage for the professional pics of our week in Atlanta. There's a pic of Chad on Day 1 #15 and one of Tammy on Day 1 #16. The slideshow is pretty long...just a warning.

Detour through Durham...

On our way home from Passion, Brian and I took a minor detour through Durham, NC to visit Brian's brother and his family. It's been a while since we last saw them, and we had a great visit --- short, but lots of fun!

Scott, Sarah, & Nathan --- Thanks for hosting us!! Hope to see you our way in a month or so.

Passion 07, Atlanta...

Unless you have been to a Passion event, it is virtually impossible to truly understand what it is like. Articulating what Passion is and how much it means to us is extremely difficult. Brian and I have been involved with Passion since our days in Houston nearly 10 years ago, and with the wonderful help of my Mom, we were able to make the trip down to Atlanta this year. Here are just a few pics from our week in Atlanta. You can still check out the Main Sessions which will be streaming on the Passion webpage through the end of this week (I think).

Mom, thanks so much for staying with the kids!! You sacrificed so much to be here, and your sacrifice enabled our service. We could not have gone without your help, and thank you for offering even before we thought to ask! You are truly one-of-a-kind!