God's Goodness....

 May I always be looking for HIS beauty.....

 

And listening for HIS voice.

Honest Owen.....

Owen - such a good little man!

Helpful

Thoughtful

Affectionate

Kind

He is a terrific little champ, but he had a problem.

He lied!  Without thinking, he lied.  If he was asked something the first thing out of his mouth was the opposite of what happened.  It was just an automatic outburst of words. 

We were at our wits end to know how to solve this problem.  Many tears were shed (mostly mine) and many prayers were prayed.  We had stern talks and other forms of discipline, but that still didn't seem to touch the issue.

Finally, one night, after many tears and an hour of trying to get him to tell the truth, I called my absolutely wonderful Dad and was talking to him.  All the things he suggested, I had already tried.  So he said he would be praying.

The next morning, I woke up and the thought immediately came to me (from God, I'm sure) to make him a "Honest Owen" chart.

I let him pick stickers for the chart and explained how it would work.

*Every time the truth was told, he would get a sticker.  (this wasn't just for piddly things either)

*Every time an UNtruth was told, not only would he NOT get a sticker, he had to CROSS OUT a sticker he had already earned and would need to re-earn it.

*When the chart was full we would take him to Dairy Queen and he could pick out anything on the menu. (as HUGE treat, as we rarely go anywhere to eat)

I told him that the devil wanted more than anything for him not to please Jesus and for him to lie.  I reminded him about Sir Sinful (Mrs. Jackson taught at Children's Chapel) that sits on our shoulder and tells us things that aren't true.

"There are times that you can even say, **NO** to the devil -  out loud, but you must always tell the truth."

I made the chart with 20 spaces thinking he would have that filled in no time.  Much to our surprise, it has taken him a few months to fill his chart and to our total excitement he has only had to cross out two of his stickers.

Overall, he has been better behaved and there have been times when I've asked him things..

"Owen, did you hit Megan?" (As she was screaming in the other room) He scratched his head (like only my brother Jeremy can do) and looked to the floor and looked to the ceiling and finally burst out, "NO!!! I will tell the truth.  Yes, Mom, I hit Megan" and then burst into tears."

This Mama cried, too.

So Saturday was the big day, he got his last sticker.  The entire family cheered and hugged and celebrated!

 He ordered a Sundae with chocolate and strawberries on top and they were gracious enough to make it for him. :)

 And just because she's so cute.....

I can't tell you how proud we are of Owen.  I hope this has helped him to make a habit of always telling the truth without even thinking.

It's so interesting/difficult/intimidating being a parent and knowing that YOU are responsible for this child making it to Heaven.  We pray daily for wisdom.

So if you've actually gotten to the end of this post - thank you. Owen wanted Grandpa to see. :)

Owen thinks the world of my dad and would often ask to call Grandpa when he got a sticker.  On the other hand, he didn't want Grandpa knowing that he had to cross those two stickers out.  

I'm not posting this because I think we're the perfect parents and have it all in the bag, so to speak.  I just wanted to share what *I* believe God helped us with and publicly thank HIM for His help.  Daily!  We could not do it without Him!

Ashlyn Hope 4 1/2 months old......

It's so hard to believe how fast babies grow.

Ashlyn is full of life and really getting her own personality.

 She loves to coo and smile at anyone that takes time to look at her. She loves her Daddy more than anyone - and her Daddy loves her. :)

 She is a very good baby!  She is happy, healthy and a HUGE blessing to our family!

We love you, Baby Girl!

Happy Days....

Last week Keith and Kristyn were out of school for Spring Break.  We had a very fun week!!

 Flowers started blooming - YAY!!

 Onions started pushing through the ground - WONDERFUL!

 Lettuce started sprouting - Heavenly!!!!

 REAL MEN WEAR BABIES!!!! :) (even on walks out in public)

 Tis the season to be tilling.........YEAH!!!!!!!

 Tired, dirty, but happy boy!

 I LOVE this picture!

 I don't know where this child's mother was.  She should NEVER run with a sucker in her mouth.....

 (sigh) some people.....

 Obviously, this little lady could care less....

 We went on the 4-wheeler to check calves.  (yes, all 7 of us still fit on it quite nicely) :)

We counted 25 new calves - I think Spring is FINALLY here!!!!!!

 I hope you are enjoying the beautiful weather in your neck of the woods.  Thanks for stopping by to see us.

There's another new post below this one. :)

Fun Times At Grandma and Grandpa's...

I have so much to catch up on.  We have been so busy the last couple of weeks, but it's been a GOOD couple of weeks.  Two weeks ago, the kids and I went to visit my parents for a few days.  Keith had a convention that he needed to be at, so we jumped in the suburban and sped our way to Oklahoma.  The kids did great and Mommy kept her sanity, so the trip was a success! :)

I'll hush now and show you some pictures.

My dad has these cool stilts to walk on, so Owen thought he needed to try them out.

 Fun times!!!!

 This was my dad's car when he was a little boy.

 Soaking in some fresh air with Grandpa

 Cool rocks :)

I don't the kids have ever been to Grandma's and not had a tea party.  This time was no exception.

Thanks Grandma - they loved it!

Thankfully, Grandma had not planted any flowers yet, so the flower beds made a perfect play spot.

 

Time to cool down with a popsicle

 Aunt Mandy and her kids came down to visit, so the kids were more than happy to have another tea party. :)

 Uncle Quentin came by and gave the kids rides on his motor cycle - Thank you, Uncle Quentin!!!

 We made a pit stop on the way going and coming from OK to see these beauties and take some pictures!!!!  Thank you, Misty, for feeding our faces. :)

 It's hard to believe how big Ashlyn is compared to Clayton and Courtney.

We got to see many Aunts and Uncles and cousins and Grandma and Papa, too.  It was such a fun week.  We made lots of memories.  Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa, for putting us up for the week!

We love you!!!