All the Girls!

Make-up! Julianna, Alyssa, and Gracie aka Boo, Girlie, and Boog
Aren't they sweet? Lauren aka Bidgie and Gracie
Lauren, want some of my yogurt?
Cutie Patooties
Playing with ice. It was FREEZING outside yet they insisted on going out. The mommy was the only one complaining:)

Girlie, Boo and Bidgie, Ms Gibson and Pipes and Boog had a ball with you:))

Congratulations Papa!

Yeah Papa!!!
Papa and Gamma

Papa's Fan Club-His friends Richard, Bobby, Ryan, and Nicole

Papa Ron graduated Thursday night with his GED! So we made a quick trip to Angier to celebrate with him! This man has quite a testimony. Why get your GED in your 50s?

I want to attempt to share his story with you here. So that we can all give glory to God! Ron grew up in an abusive home, his mom and dad were both alcoholics and abusive to him and his four siblings. In his early teens, 12 I think, he was taken from his home. He ended up in a boy's home, awaiting foster care placement. I think there were a total of three homes he was in. When he was 17 he got into some trouble and ended up in prison. This was a turning point in his life. While on work release, Ron was placed with a dear Christian family. He saw what is was like to have a loving family and desired that for himself. The Lassiter's went to the church where Wanda and her family went and Ron began going with them. He and Wanda quickly fell in love and were wed as soon as Wanda was of age:) Then they began their own family. They had two boys, Jeremy and Jason. For most of their childhood, Ron worked three jobs to keep food on the table and a roof over their head. The hours were long and the pay was little. When Jeremy was in highschool, Ron began his own construction business. He has been very successful and God has provided. About three years ago he had a serious operation on his neck. Work for him really slowed down after that. He realized he wanted to spend his time enjoying life more. So he has been taking it easier and maintaing their rental properties. After all, he needed a break!

Ron and Wanda have always had a heart for more children! So they are open to helping children who are in need. They want to be a witness! They have much to offer:)

Ron decided to get his GED. He had the time, so why not? He was the oldest in his class and God used him to minister to the other students. He was a witness!

Papa Ron, may God receive the glory for this accomplishment! CONGRATULATIONS!!! We LOVE you!

We're still here:)

I am still alive, I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted! I have started several posts and haven't been able to finish them. So you can espect a few more soon.

Well we had some fun this week! First there were two little girls, then there were FIVE, then there were SIX, then there were SEVEN!!! We were able to watch the Morrison girls on Monday and Tuesday so John and Juli could get away for a little while. Then we had Ellie in the afternoon too, so Kim could go visit her little boys in the NICU, then Tristen stopped by with Aunt Abbie for a few minutes. It was so funny having all these girls! I must say, I loved it though! They were all great and soooo sweet. I haven't heard that much giggling in a long time:) I was so glad that Gracie had Alyssa and Julianna to play with, some older girls. She is the oldest child of most everyone we hang out with. And most of them have boys. So that was really nice.

Thank you everyone for letting us have your girlies over! It's an honor.

I have been trying to post pics with this, but alas it's not working, so here is the post. Pics to come.

They're Baaack!

Yes, my girlies came back home yesterday! They have been at Gamma and Papa Ron's since last Friday!! They were having so much fun that they begged for a few more days. So Jeremy and I let them stay. What a gift it is to be able to let my children spend precious time at their grandparents like this. And what a blessing that we have Ron and Wanda to desire this time with them. You guys rock!

Which leads me to my next point... Part of my plan for reviewing 2007 is to honor those who have invested in my life. You are supposed to write them a letter but there are sooooo many people who have invested in me. I just thought I would honor them here, one by one so that all of us can give glory to God for them. So maybe I will do one a week. Who knows? They will be in random order:) Starting with my dear in-laws.

Ron and Wanda, Thank you for my husband first of all. Thank you for caring for him those 21 years before I met him. For loving him unconditionally. And thank you for loving me like you do. That is such a privilege that I do not take lightly. That you would accept me into your family and love me like I was your own. Thank you so much for that. And thank you for loving my children. Oh my, they soooo love spending time with you. I am so grateful to God that we live close enough to see you as often as we do. Thank you for the effort you put into making that happen. Gracie asked me the other day about where our geese had gone. (We have a pond with geese) I told her they flew south for the winter. Gracie wanted to know if she could go to Angier for the winter!!! It was sooo cute, but what a testimony to the care they receive from you. They adore you two! Thank you for playing so hard with them and spending quality time with them while they are there. Thank you for trying your best to uphold our standards:) You do a great job honoring our wishes.

Most of all we love seeing you grow in your walk with the Lord. Papa Ron, thank you for consistently seeking the Lord! I love hearing about what he is doing in your life. And thank you for pointing Gracie and Piper to Him often.

You are both incredible servants. They do meal on wheels for homebound people in their area. They have been doing this for years. I used to go with Wanda when I lived there. It was so neat to see how many lives they have touched doing this. Wanda also just started reaching out to a nursing home in their area. She saw that noone was caring for these people outside of the staff that work there and she got busy. Now three churches are involved! They have provided food, clothing, parties, and lots of love to these dear people. This is just the tip of the iceberg!

I love you guys! Thank you for investing in my life through your love for me, my husband/your son, and my children. Thank you for taking the girls so that I can have a break, go on a trip, or spend extended time with the Lord. You are a blessing! I will be there to testify to the Lord of your faithfulness on the last day. I can't wait to hear Him say to you "Well done my good and faithful servants!"

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." YOU LIVE THIS SO WELL. GOD IS PLEASED!

Retreat

Thank you girls for your encouragement about my personal retreat and for meal ideas. I received a new crockpot from Jeremy's Grandma for Christmas and I was so excited! It is one of the bigger ones. I put at least one crock pot meal a week on my planner and maybe I'll do more Shawna! That sounds really good. Wow Robin, cooking every night! Go girl! That's really what I want to strive to do.

Another thing my sister and I have done in the past and in fact we did yesterday is make freezer meals. So we spent ALL day making meals to have for the month. Yesterday we made 10 each but I think we have made as many as 20 before. That took us about three days to do. I find it exhausting but sure do reap the benefits for a while. I think there was a stretch where I didn't cook for about three months but we had dinner every night just from pulling one out of the freezer. It was awesome. One word of caution-this is best done without little ones! Tristen, my niece plays so well by herself so she does great, mine, not so much. They are at Grandmas so I usually take this time to so things like this. But if you can't get time without kiddos you can double meals for a while each night and freeze those. I think I might try that some too.

Meghann, call me. I do have some ideas for you!

Thank you all, please send me more ideas!

Personal Retreat

Hey All, I am back and have been since Sunday night. Lisa and I had a great time with the Lord and with each other. We headed to mom and dad's condo at the beach. So here is what I worked on... My primary focus is to love God more passionately this year. I plan on doing that in a major way through loving and serving Jeremy better. So I worked on outlining how to serve him better most of the time I was there. I started reading the book "Passionate Housewives Desperate for God" which is very good! I also asked myself this question "How Do I love and serve Jeremy better?" I know, genius! Then made a list of what I thought his priorities for me would be. Here they are: Growing in humility by respecting, loving and serving him more, making meals more consistently, love his children more, and well you know, romance him more. I won't go into any details here;) Pray for me, I am selfish and lazy!

Then I made a schedule for the girls and I. And a meal schedule for the next two months. Contrary to popular belief, Lindsay does not prefer cooking. She would go out to eat every meal of every day if allowed to. Now of course this would not serve her family very well. So she is growing in serving them better in this area by having a plan! Mostly she gets into trouble on the weekends when she doesn't have dinner Sat night or lunch ideas for Sunday. That one is so hard for her!

So anyways, I am sharing this with you so you can keep me accountable and know what God has placed on my heart. I have a long ways to go but my God will meet me this year as He will each and every one of you!

Personal Growth Priorities 2008

At least, this is what we called New Year's Resolutions in our care group. I like it better. At the suggestion of my dear friend Michelle, I looked at the blog Your Sacred Calling (Love this blog!!)and she had suggestions for how to reflect on this past year. There are three things that you do.. 1. Outline and chronicle the many providences of God 2. Say thank you to those who have invested in your life 3. Forgive those who have wronged you.
So I started with numero uno.This past week I have been recounting God's faithfulness to the Gibson's over 2007. I went through the entire year week by week. I learned that I need to journal better! It was so neat to see the things that God did in our lives. He has met us mightily. He has carried us through the storms. What a great God we serve!
This weekend I am going on my first ever planning retreat!! I am so excited to see what God is going to do. I have developed some goals for my time and #2 and #3 above are on the list. I have lots of thank you notes to write to everyone who has invested in my life! That is going to be fun:)
A few other things on my list are: Make a daily schedule for the girls and I-one that actually works:), Make a meal schedule, Read, Outline how to love and serve Jeremy better, and most importantly- come up with a plan as to how I am going to love God more passionately this year. Whew! It will be busy.
Sweet Lisa is coming with me. I so love our time together.
Can't wait to share what God is going to do in 2008 with you all and update you on my retreat!