Hyduke wedding

The beautiful flowers
Kisses from my boys:

Leaving for the wedding

Our friends Patrick and Terry with their oldest daughter
Erin who was married this weekend
Terry and I at the reception

Chris and Patrick, Accountablity Partners

I love sharing life with good friends. Small group, mission trips, church, ministry teams, weddings, babies, mexican food, faith, families and friendships!

So this is college

The living room
nice bedroom
yes, thats a fireplace
a clean kitchen
and a marble and gold

bathroom.

This is not the kind of dorm or college housing that I remember.

How blessed he is.

Please pray for my son Loren as he starts his freshmen year at the

University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee!

Closing the door

I have been gone from blog land for awhile due to my job situation. I work in the local school district in a Early Childhood Special Needs classroom. I have been there for seven years now and things have continued to go down hill every year. After Christmas last year my husband and I started to talk about me not going back. Our classroom has continued to be more involved every year and the administration continues to not put the kids first...they have turned our classroom into a daycare center, where we are unable to teach or keep our kids safe. Due to the frustration I started praying that God would show me where he wanted me.
Shortly after our conversation the teacher that I work with told me that she was considering posting for a new job...for all the same reasons. I felt that God was definitely affirming me in that I needed to change jobs or not return. For months after my friends job went thru I was sure that God had given me a sign that I was to not return. Then in April they came to our department and told us that they would be breaking up our Early Childhood Center and forming a new one at a new location that we either had to volunteer for or they would displace us and make decisions for us. Needless to say, things got very ugly. Was this another sign. At the end of school our department was turned upside down...people began whispering and plotting. I was told by a coworker that she intended to bump me out of my position. I totally understood, she had 20+ yrs in the district and her grandchildren who live with her attended our school. I tried to be a light in this very dark place and situation.
Even thou we knew this was going to happen back in April, our district just started processing it this week. So, I received a phone call confirming my displacement and told that I need to come down and pick a new job. So, I went, I was called in, given a list and told to pick. Ladies seriously I spend much more time picking out what shoes I'm going to wear than they were willing to give me for a new job that I would spend 8 hours at every single day. To my surprise suddenly one of the ladies from the union brings up a job that I would love. It was working in a school that I had always wanted to get into and it I would be working in the pool providing therapy to the orthopedic impaired students, I was thrilled. After my allotted time, I was told to pick..."please hurry we have alot of people." OK, I'll take it. I was very excited, I called my husband, my mother, sisters, friends....this was actually turning out great. Something very positive in a negative situation. Thank You Jesus for this new job, I knew that this position would normally not have turned up...It was my sign to stay, God had given me exactly what I wanted. Well guess what???? I received a phone call about 6 hours later???? What was it about?????We're very sorry, we made a mistake....you need to pick a new, new job. What would you like????
After three minutes of pleading and trying everything in my power to get "my" job back, I was told to pick again. I was very upset and the folks on my conference call really had no time for me and my questions. Sorry its just not available, we made a mistake...pick another. So I did. I picked a job and immediately after I hung up...it registered. Why was I not listening? I had been on my knees about my job situation since April. God was showing me but I was trying to do it my way. He had prodded and tried to show me, and I was not listening. Only after He slammed that door closed did I think about His way.
He had been telling me since Christmas and I went on searching for what I thought. After it came to me I thought God must have been looking down and thinking...how many times is it going to take...I don't want you there!
So I called HR back after 10 minutes and I explained that I had made a mistake and what I really wanted to do was to take a leave of absence. So now I get to wait and see what God has planned for me. But for now I get to marvel in the fact that my God loves me enough that He would spend His time shutting doors for His daughter....wont it be exciting to see what doors He opens next? To be continued!!!!

Doggy sitting!

My sisters dog, Cooper!!!

Isn't he just the cutest thing!

They went up North for the week, so we get the pleasure of watching Cooper!

We have two miniature daschunds

that are not quite as enthralled with him as we are.

He just wants to play and Gracie and Sadie have pretty much told him they are not too interested in playing with him.

They better hurry home or else we might just keep him!

The Threat

He's at the 20...He's at the 10!

The Racine Threat!

Thats my son....

the one carrying the ball!

Looking forward to another season of football.

In high school I use to look out and I could always find him because he was one of the biggest boys out there.

This season I look for one of the smaller guys....

these are grown men!

Hey get off my boy....leave him alone.

After the game....We won 61 - 12

The stranger at our door

Please pray with us for the stranger at the door. Last night at 3:00a.m. our doorbell rang. I dont know how you are when this sort of thing happens but I usually jump to and try gathering my senses. My body is always ahead by a few seconds, feeling groggy and wondering...am I dreaming, where are my kids, what day is it, whats happening??????

Well when the doorbell rang... I wondered and my heart dropped. As I jumped out of bed and told DH, "someones at the door" the dogs were barking and all of the world seemed to make no sense. I looked out the second story window and saw a young lady running down the driveway, my first thought was...it must be my youth group kids playing one of their games. We are often included in toliet papering, forking, saran wrapping etc when our youth group gets together. Of course this only happens because I have been known to be talked into doing such things to our youth pastor and fellow leaders homes.....all in the name of fun!

As my husband and I made it to the front door I was already realizing, this was not the case tonight. When my husband went out the door this young lady ran back up our driveway and proclaimed that "I know Im your neighbor". He said ok..well what can i do for you and she started crying that we had to save her children...needless to say my heart was racing at this point. I had grabbed the phone and was wondering do I call 911 or do I wait to hear more. Suddenly she starting running down the street, ( she was in pjs and had no shoes on) she was running down the middle of the road into oncoming traffic. When DH came in he said I need to follow her and call the police. He got into the car and drove down the street, he found her a few miles down the street, still running in the middle of the road, almost getting hit by a few vechicles. He had called the police and was trying to calm this young lady down, but she was running and fleeing from something. She ran across the street and started pounding on the window of a house....she broke the window and then grabbed a large piece of glass and ran back into the road. Thank goodness the police arrived at this point....they did draw their guns and tazerers because she refused to put down this shard of glass. She finally dropped the glass and the officers had to wrestle her down...tha whole time she is screaming...."save my children...help my children". As I was on the phone with DH the whole time...I started panicking that she had left "her children" somewhere in our yard, etc. As I was talking to DH I was looking down my driveway at my empty garabe cans that had been left out...due to sheer laziness ...and my heart sank. What kind of world do we live in where my mind actually went to wondering if there was a child in my garbage can.

After DH talked with the police, they thanked him and sent him on his way. He came home and we were both very shaken by the stranger at our door. One does not just climb back into bed and drift off to a lovely place after something like this. I sat just wondering and praying that we had done all that we could. When there is nothing left to do.....I start wondering and start praying.

So please pray with us for this young lady and her childen. We have not heard anything today, but we have brought her before the Lord often. Our world needs Jesus! She needs Jesus! We all need Jesus!

Are there really strangers at our doors?
Please pray!

Blessings of a vacation

This was our sight each morning heading out the front door!

God is awesome!

His creation is to be marveled at each day!

We are just returning from our vacation in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

We had a wonderful time!

Chris and I went out early, we had a few quiet days before our boys came out.

It was the perfect combo...alone time and family time.

I thank God for what He can do in our rest and relaxation, how He can restore our souls in the quietness of His creation and in the beauty of each day.

Here are a few pictures from our trip:

The boys with their toys!

Christian and I getting ready to head out on our daily walk.
Lake Geneva has a walking lakeshore path that goes around the entire lake, it is 21 miles long and it shows off the beauty of each house and property.

Papa, Daddy and Christian all sitting on the dock,what are they watching you ask?

Uncle Loren, who was trying to perfect .....the belly flop

Christian loved floating not flopping!

And this you just have to love, (please excuse the adorable bare bottom) Christian waving "Hi" to daddy!

And although it does look like it, he is not on the dock alone...papa is within arms length just outside of the shot!

We had an awesoome time!!!!