bear cub play

jackson family

My little brother Ross and his family (Angel, Ezra and baby G) dropped by on their way through to OC. We love them all tons.

pirateship battles

bunk love

The joys of sharing, sharing toys, a room and really almost everything. I love that we have two boys that can grow up together, play together, fight and forgive, and that they get to have bunkbeds. I always have loved bunkbeds, and now my boys do too.

J says that his is a tree house and O's is a cave. We got these set up a couple of weeks ago. They have been sharing a room since November. They really like their beds, and they love being in the same room. O has slept so much better since we put them together. He used to get scared at night, I think that since he is in the same room with is brother he feels safer. I would, J is a fierce warrior! :) Good times.

12?

We know a beautiful family who has 12 chillins, yep 12 kids-- no not cats. On friday night we got to spend the evening with them, they blessed us with clam chowder, fishsticks, salad and the most amazing cheesecake ever (thanks Claire)!!! We talked, discussed, and made fun of eachother (all in great fun) Brad was blessed as much as I was. It is so fun to be around people that get you, get your jokes and seem to enjoy you just as much as you enjoy them. It was so encouraging also to see that, the older kids are amazingly well behaved/responsible/respectful/sweet/kind and gentle, not only that but also loving with their younger siblings. Honesty, that is a biggie for me, and these folks are honest to the core. We disused stubborn children, and just what that looks like...yes families of 12 have to deal with stubbornness as well. Blessings to them.

I know that we are blessed by them, by their calling and obedience. They are such fun people to hang out with. I could try to tell you their story, but you should check out the blog posts coming from someone who knows what it is like to have 12 kids. Matt Szabo (aka Sabo) (aka Team Sabo leader numero 1) writes his own blog on the struggles, joys and there you can see their heart and fall in love all on your own. Do they really have 12 kids? yep, 12.

There you'll find some fun posts on being a diaper changer for 19 years, on counting our lives too dear, and my favourite....how they ended up with 12 amazing jewels!

ps. for the pictures it was really hard to get everyone in the same area. I didn't do so well with that, but I wanted to enjoy our time there so I just took the above two. I always am bummed that I don't take more....but I just like to visit :)

I'm in the upper room

God is moving, doing great things in our church, in our land. I was blessed to be able to go to Saturday night prayer, we met in the prayer chapel with the other 150 or so people from our church. The power of a group of men and women and youth on their knees, standing, sitting and all crying out to God for our nation of America, for nations around the world, and for the next generation was tangible. I am moved, God is stirring hearts here in America. This recent change of power I believe is going to cause us to stand stronger and firmer as we answer the call to separate ourselves as living sacrifices before the Lord.

We don't want to soak in the blessing and hold it for ourselves, the cry of our church is to pour out and to reach those who need it. More than ever before in America I am seeing the fire that was lost through years of corporate complacency is fading. We are done deceiving ourselves, we know this is not a godly nation and that God has called us to change. The best way to change a heart, to change a culture, to change the world is to find yourself crying out to God that he would save, that he would move and that if it be his will that he would use you.


A Call to Prayer and Fasting:
Our church, Calvary Chapel Corvallis is being called to a week long fast. A week of corporate fasting and prayer. We will be meeting every night from 7-8 pm, in the mornings from 6-7am and in the afternoon from 9am-12pm for corporate prayer and worship. Our leadership believes that this is the time to step up, the time to be called into action and move from a church who is comfortable to a church that lives in discomfort for the furthering of the gospel, for the outpouring of the holy spirit all over the world.

Fasting in the Bible is shown in different forms and intensity levels, but always holds power especially when done as a group. There are tons of Old and New Testament references to Corporate or Congregational fasting*, God moves when his children seek and pray. The leadership of Calvary Chapel Corvallis has really emphasized that it is not a hunger strike, but that it is a time to humble yourself before the lord and pray, commune with him, worship and pray with the rest of the church and dive deeper and then dive deeper still. Fasting is depriving your physical self of things in order to humble your personal desires and therefore be more in tune with the leading of the Spirit, of God and to open yourself to hear His voice clearly.

The fast starts on superbowl sunday! Pastor Rob thought superbowl sunday was in January but said that he wasn't going to apologize for the date that the fast week was set for as he and the leadership prayed and that was the week they were lead to. God doesn't care about superbowl sunday. I love being in a church that doesn't schedule God around the events that the culture finds important. They don't worry that no one will show up, God has called them to do something and they do! I have craved for that, a body that hears God and acts and therefore sees Him and move.

In giving us the privilege of fasting as well as praying, God has added a powerful weapon to our armory! In her folly and ignorance the Church has largely looked upon it as obsolete. She has thrown it down in some dark corner to rust and there it has lain forgotten for centuries. An hour of impending crisis for the Church and the world demands its recovery!
-Andrew Murray (from "This Chosen Fast")

* Old Testament:Judges 20:26, 2 Chronicles 20:3, Ezra 8:21-23, Esther 4:3, Esther 4:16, Daniel 9-10, Zechariah 7:5
New Testament: Matthew 4:2 Matthew 6:16-18, Matthew 17:21, Acts 13:2-3, Act 14: 23, 1Corinthians 7:5, 2 Corinthians 11:27

Tomato Bread Pudding

This is an amazing recipe, I have used it twice now and it will be around our house to stay. We all love it, B the boys and I. YUM! I didn't know if bread pudding sounded too good, but I am convinced %100.

Tomato Bread Pudding
(Katie Brown Celebrates, p. 182)
Serves 12 (makes one 13 by 9-inch pan)

This is a a great way to use up tomatoes and bread that are about to go. Combine them with cheese and spices, and you will have a delicious pudding.

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Large Onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
5 Tablespoons fresh thyme
1+1/4 Cups Heavy Cream
2+1/4 Cups Chicken Stock (we use veggie stock bouillon)
1 Tablespoon Salt
1+1/2 Teaspoons black pepper
2 eggs
10 Cups cubed french bread
2+1/2 Cups grated Parmesan
6 Cups Halved Cherry Tomatoes ( I use roma tomatoes that I canned...they are soooo good!)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Heat a medium-size saute pan over high heat and add olive oil. When oil is hot, add onion, garlic and thyme. Lower heat to medium and cook until onion is soft, about 6 minutes. Place mixture in a large mixing bowl and allow to cool. Add cream, stock, salt, pepper, and eggs, and whisk until well combined.

3. Add bread, Parmesan, and tomatoes, tossing well to coat everything, and allow mixture to sit for at least 10 minutes. Place in a greased 13 by 9-inch pan and bake until top is golden brown and pudding is set, about 45 minutes.

ENJOY~

obamaicon.me

Then there is this site, the Obamaicon.me where you can upload your own photos and play with them and add different banners. Fun stuffs! Enjoy :)

Oh, and another fun site is The Obamameter where you can track the promises Obama made during his campaign and then see if he is fulfilling his promises, breaking them or not working on that promise yet. You can even see that he is in the process of choosing the much famed family dog , about which he says he has received more input than on his financial policy!