Exciting news from Scott and Debbie (French) Degelman

Just wanted to announce that Grandpa's Hook, the novel by Scott Degelman (Debbie's husband), co-created by Ward French, is now available at BarnesandNoble.com's website.

Here's the direct URL to the purchase site.http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Grandpas-Hook/Scott-Degelman/e/9781604779424/?tabname=custreview

May God get the glory!
Scott and Debbie and family

(We are so proud of Scott...he has been working on this prolife novel for a few years. We are praying that it will change lives!)

Baby Steps...

We recently finished 13 weeks of our Financial Peace University Class by Dave Ramsey, held at our church and facilitated by our good friends, Marc and Talisha Taylor. It was many things to us, but the word I can think of that best describes it is that it gave us HOPE. Robb was taught to be a giver, and never really planned for the future. Add to that recipe a very optimistic personality ("next month will be better..."), a risk-taking demeanor (and I realize that some risks are good), almost 6 kids in 10 years and a one-income family, and an economy where work became less profitable, and you can see that we were in need of a financial class!

This class was nothing really profound, just wisdom from God's Word and things your grandma probably did, but such great reminders and lessons for this couple! We have not been able to put everything into practice yet, but are working toward a goal. It is especially exciting to see our kids also practicing these principles and we are excited that they may not have to learn these financial concepts the "hard" way!

Dave Ramsey uses the analogy of taking "Baby Steps" when it comes to financial freedom. With a little one at our house just learning to walk everywhere, I can see how this is a perfect picture of what we are doing with our finances (and really, our walk of faith in general). Some things I have noticed about little Preston's journey are:

• you have to be willing to give up what is comfortable (for him crawling - he was such a FAST crawler) in order to have a better, more secure future


• it is not a fast process...this has taken a couple of weeks of trying to walk a few steps, getting tired, and trying again tomorrow


• there is a lot of falling down


• and there is someone bigger and stronger than you who helps you get back up


• you expand on yesterday's successes...today may be 5 steps; tomorrow may be 10, but progress is being made


• it actually feels good to stretch yourself and learn something new...Preston is never sad when he is walking...just a huge smile on his face


• you need a good support system...In this house there is a lot of cheering from the family every time effort is made!

Every journey begins with a single step. GO PRESTON!!

Your prayers...

Please pray for the Steven Curtis Chapman family today as their little 5 year old girl was killed yesterday after being struck by the vehicle her teenage brother was driving. Maria Sue was adopted from China and I have always admired this family for their giving hearts. I know the brother will especially need prayers to get through this, and I know the Chapman's home must feel incredibly empty today.
http://stevencurtischapman.com/ (if you look on their web page, be sure to watch the video of Steven and little Maria taken 2 months ago.)

I can't get the words of Steven's song out of my head, "God is God and I am not...I can only see a part of the picture He's painting..."

Our big Kindergartener...

Thursday was Kindergarten graduation at our co-op. We have 9 very lively and fun kindergartens who performed a song and some poems for us. Their teacher had interviewed them and shared with us what they said. Jayce said that he loved learning History this year, and that he wanted to be a songwriter when he grew up. I later asked him if he wanted to be a dad, and he said, "I WILL be a dad!". It will be exciting to see what the future holds for these little guys. The moms and graduates!

Our sweet, happy, sensitive little guy
Getting a certificate from his teacher, Mrs. Baillie
The cake table with their "autograph dogs" on it
Here is some wisdom that was shared yesterday: (Sometimes the greatest wisdom is not learned in the castles of our universities, but in the sandboxes in our backyards.)

"Everything I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten"

by Robert Fulghum

• Share everything
• Play fair
• Put things back where you found them
• Clean up your own mess
• Don't take things that aren't yours
• Say you're sorry when you hurt someone
• Wash your hands before you eat
• Flush
• Warm cookies and milk are good for you
• Live a balanced life...learn some and think some and draw some and paint some and sing some and dance some and play and work some every day some
• Take a nap every afternoon
• Be aware of wonder; remember the tiny seed in the Styrofoam cup; the roots go down and the plant goes up and no one really knows why or how
• Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die and so do we
• When you go out in the worlds, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together
• And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK!
  

Seeking His face...

These words to a popular contemporary Christian song have been going around in my head, "...seeking Your face, and not only Your hand...". (Big Daddy Weave -Audience of One)

We have been seeking His hand and asking for big things lately, but am I seeking His face? It's ALL about the relationship!

Blessed...

Here is the guy who rose up early and called me "blessed!" Thanks so much, honey!!

Three great blessings in my life...

• being the wife of Robb...I would not want to share this journey with any other



• being the mother to five (almost 6) delightful little ones and experiencing the joy that comes with knowing each one



• being the daughter of my mother who invested so much into my life (and now invests in my children's lives every chance she gets)

Yesterday was a wonderful day, not because we did anything spectacular, but because we were all together. That always makes for a good day! (We did get to go bike riding on the greenbelt Saturday evening.) Robb and the kids spoiled me by fixing breakfast and not letting me change even one diaper!

I did miss being with my mother yesterday...it seems like so long ago that we shared Mother's Day together. I am thinking of her especially this weekend as she will be having a hip-replacement surgery tomorrow afternoon and is really dreading it! Please pray for peace and quick healing for her tomorrow. I really wish I could be there with her, but she has some good friends coming to be with her. I hope to make the trip soon to see her.

Another person I have been thinking about this weekend is my dear mother-in-law, Hattie. She gave me the greatest gift by raising her son to be a man of deep character and love. I so wish I could have known her longer and better; she had so much to teach me. I loved the days I did spend with her and there are so many times when I wish our children could know her and her dear ways. Heaven is definitely sweeter and I can hardly wait for the reunion!

A fun Saturday...

Saturday morning while Robb was at the Men's breakfast at church, the kids and I got busy together. After baking bread, cleaning the house (with all four "big" kids helping and Preston napping...I have to add how much I love the chore system I invested some time into from the book, "Managers of Their Chores" by Steven and Terri Maxwell...it has been a life saver for me and the kids really do love to help), practicing violin, mowing the lawn, and Drew and Robb spraying the lawn for weeds, we were ready to have a fun afternoon!
Robb had a cabin to look at and bid out of town, so we headed to McCall, Idaho. It was still a little chilly and snowy in McCall, but we had a great time on the way home as we stopped by the river and let the kids play. The weather was wonderful, and the place we stopped even had a nice little beach. Preston loved the sand!
As evening settled in, we had Subway sandwiches and cookies and Robb and Drew made a fire.

This is the stuff memories with the family are made of!