Prayer for the New Year

Billy Graham's Prayer for the New Year




December 30, 2010 - This prayer from Billy Graham, written for "The Saturday Evening Post" in 2008, is just as relevant in 2011.



Help us to humbly put our hands into Your hand, and to trust You and to seek Your will for our lives during this coming year.

Our Father and our God, as we stand at the beginning of this new year we confess our need of Your presence and Your guidance as we face the future.



We each have our hopes and expectations for the year that is ahead of us—but You alone know what it holds for us, and only You can give us the strength and the wisdom we will need to meet its challenges. So help us to humbly put our hands into Your hand, and to trust You and to seek Your will for our lives during this coming year.



In the midst of life’s uncertainties in the days ahead, assure us of the certainty of Your unchanging love.



In the midst of life’s inevitable disappointments and heartaches, help us to turn to You for the stability and comfort we will need.



In the midst of life’s temptations and the pull of our stubborn self-will, help us not to lose our way but to have the courage to do what is right in Your sight, regardless of the cost.



And in the midst of our daily preoccupations and pursuits, open our eyes to the sorrows and injustices of our hurting world, and help us to respond with compassion and sacrifice to those who are friendless and in need. May our constant prayer be that of the ancient Psalmist: “Teach me, O Lord, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end” (Psalm 119:33).



We pray for our nation and its leaders during these difficult times, and for all those who are seeking to bring peace and justice to our dangerous and troubled world. We pray especially for Your protection on all those who serve in our armed forces, and we thank You for their commitment to defend our freedoms, even at the cost of their own lives. Be with their families also, and assure them of Your love and concern for them.



Bring our divided nation together, and give us a greater vision of what You would have us to be. Your Word reminds us that “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Psalm 33:12).



As we look back over this past year we thank You for Your goodness to us—far beyond what we have deserved. May we never presume on Your past goodness or forget all Your mercies to us, but may they instead lead us to repentance, and to a new commitment to make You the foundation and center of our lives this year.



And so, our Father, we thank You for the promise and hope of this new year, and we look forward to it with expectancy and faith. This I ask in the name of our Lord and Savior, who by His death and resurrection has given us hope both for this world and the world to come.



Amen

Reprinted from The Saturday Evening Post magazine, © 2008 Saturday Evening Post Society. www.saturdayeveningpost.com. Reprinted with permission.

Year in Review

I can't belive that as I am sitting here blogging that its already time for us to close another year. Seriously, didn't it just turn January 1st a couple months ago? Thanks to all those who have joined us in this wild and adventurous ride we call life by reading our blog. A wild and crazy ride its been this past year, hoping that this year is just as fun in ways, crazier in some and calmer in others...no matter what we are ready for the New Year, I think! 
 The kids and I will be celebrating in our annual Wethington fashion....pizza, Wii and hoping to stay up until the ball drops. Brian will be working, so needless to say I won't sleep much worrying about him.
Looking back on this year some highlights/memories  are:

January
Hayley turned 6
Hunter turned 8

February
Began logging
Hayley went to her 1st dance camp
Snowed 7.2"

March
Brian got a new truck
Hayley gets 4 set of tubes

April
Hunter gets his 1st turkey
We start on the barn

May
Brian and I were married 8 years
Hunter and Brian went to the Diesel Truck Pull in Bowling Green

June
Hayley gets staff (2nd time), 4 days in Kosairs
Father's Day
VBS

July
Paradise
Holiday World
I turned 30

August
School starts, kids are in 1 & 3
cousin swim party
Naville Reunion

September
Rode Horses daily
Grandparents Day at school
Promise Ridge Rodeo

October
Halloween
Kids 1st Horse Show (Waddy)

November
Gingerbread House Weekend with Grandma/Grandpa Fisher
Christmas with Granny
Hunter get his 1st deer

December
Christmas Play
Snow Days
Mega Cavern
Brian turns 30!

WOW...and to think that was just a few things, we are a busy and blessed family! I'm exhausted just thinking about it all.

Lunch and a movie

Aunt Amy called last night and asked if we'd like to meet them for lunch and a movie! Heck yeah! I've been cooped up in this house too long and thought it might be a special treat for the kids. We met at Tumbleweed and were greeted by none other then Octopus Prime!!

Lunch was YUMMY as always and was even special because we got to watch the UK/UL game while we eat--another special treat!

After lunch we headed to see Tangled....very cute! Thanks for such a fun filled day with some of our most favorite people!! Love you all

GG and Gramps

Hunter, Gramps, GG and Hayley

We stopped by my grandparents today while we were in Indiana and it's always a special treat when we get to see them.  The kids are blessed with both sets of Great Grandparents still alive. Pictures like these are priceless and ones I will always treasure. Thanks for our visit, we love you GG and Gramps!

Go CATS!!!!!!!

We got all decked out in our new UK gear that we got for Christmas today in honor of the UK/UL game. Needless to say we all knew who would win.....CATS!!! Final score 78-63

First Step

The kids and I made a trip to town to get our Pass Port Applications!! It's the first step and going to take the longest, 4-6 weeks to get back. We are going to mail these out this week!! Wish us luck that everything goes smoothly or else no cruise for us!

Vacation plans

I know it's a little early to start thinking about Spring and Summer, but we are tired of this cold and dreary weather we have been having. So, needless to say I have been in vacation thinking and planning mode. If I don't get some idea of what or where we are going and get it on the calendar then its not going to happen.

Well this is where we are going...

Nassau Bahama's

And we are going to get there on this:

                                                        

CARNIVAL IMAGINATION CRUISE

It only took 8 years of convincing/sweet talking Brian into and he finally said YES!!! We are super excited and are looking forward to it!! Will keep you posted on all the updates as they happen~

Daddy turns 30

Brian finally got to join the big "30" club yesterday so we had a little birthday celebration for him. It's hard to plan anything, like surprise parties, lunch/dinner with family and friends when you work a schedule like his. Don't worry, we will do the big family lunch celebration in January when we do the kids.

we made his favorite dinner:

country fried steak, mashed taters, green beans, corn and rolls

sang happy birthday to him

make a wish Daddy

and got some good snuggle time in before he headed back to work!

Happy Birthday Daddy...we love you!

Two Thumbs Up

We have had lots of fun playing all the new Wii games that we have gotten for Christmas! The kids absolutely love Family Game Night and it bring back lots of fun memories of all the games we had of when we were kids: Mousetrap, Life, Twister, Life  and Yahtzee!

Death of me?

Santa brought Hayley a pink guitar and Grandma/Grandpa Fisher bought her a karaoke machine...both of which will be the death of me! From the moment she wakes up to the moment she goes to bed, I hear nothing but non stop singing and playing from her room. I am super glad that she LOVES her presents and keeps us entertained, but at the same time we are wondering if the newness will wear off anytime soon? Not likely, she is going to start taking guitar lessons on Wednesday/Sunday from a boy who we go to church with (Grant Gartland) and is singing in Erin's wedding in October!

This picture is for you Aunt Erin...she was really into "Romeo and Juliet"  You may want to start rethinking your song choice for the wedding!!

Hoping that one day all this will pay off and she will make Mommy and Daddy lots of money!! Until then, I will be looking for earplugs!!

Birthday Preparations

As soon as Brian left for work last night the kids were in a hurry to hang up their decorations that they made for him. There are some extra benefits of him working 3rd shift, we can do things like this without him knowing. I held my breath,  bit my tongue and stayed out of the kitchen when they were decorating and this is how it looked when they were done:

Clayton even made him a picture!

Toad is Brian's nickname thanks to Pa

This is his chair at the kitchen table

After all that decorating we had to get busy making a cake for him. Well, the kids decided that he needed some cupcakes instead. So my little helpers got busy and got the job done.

Yes, Brian is weird and doesn't care for iced cupcakes! It some Wethington thing--any normal person wants the icing piled on there...so we did a few uniced just for him!! Now on to waiting for him to get off work!!

Only Hayley....

I told the kids to get dressed today and this is what Hayley comes out in

Black tights and black velvet dress...guess she is dressing to impress these days. Too bad we are just staying home all day long. Oh well, you chose your battles, right?!

So sweet

I have the best and most thoughtful kids ever. The are always leaving notes and letting us know how much they love us. Makes me have a proud Momma moment....always making sure your kids know and feel loved!  This is what I found on the fridge last night....

Christmas all over!?!?!?

I got my long awaited package in the mail last night. It's like Christmas all over for me. Heart palpitations, sweaty palms and one mission...open as quickly and carefully as possible and pull out......

MY CUSTOM MADE coupon binder by yours truly COUPON CASEY!

Remember me telling you about the coupon party that I went to a while back. Well, it was super cool and very informative and I can't even begin to share or tell you all that I learned. I am SUPER excited to put all my coupons into my book and start shopping!!

lots of pretty labeled pages

all complete with tabs and everything!

My goal this year to keep a running total of how much I save and put that money into our vacation account....we are going on a cruise (more on that later)

Check out Casey's blog, she is new and trying to get all the quirks out:

http://couponcasey.blogspot.com

So start clipping those coupons and shop smart!

Crayon Maker

Santa brought Hayley a Crayola Crayon Maker so we decided to try it out

breaking crayons

red/blue in one section

yellow/green in another

crayons melting

Daddy helped us pour

(I was a scared that they would tilt correclty, so he helped them tilt)

cool new colors

finished product

You never know these days with toys/products on how easy they are going to be and if they will actually work. I can honestly say this is 2 thumbs up...going to be lots of new crayon making in our future!

Happy coloring!!

Argument

As I was sitting here posting pictures I hear the kids arguing over something (shocker I know) and it goes something like this:

Hunter: "Is too"
Hayley: "Is not"
Hunter: "Is too"
Hayley: "Is not"
Me:  "What are you arguing over?"
Hayley: "It just said on the TV that Michelle Obama was the First Lady
Me: " Yes, Hayley she is. That is what they call whoever is married to the President"
Hayley: "No, Momma. Eve was the first lady!"

PRICELESS!!!!

Enter lots of giggles and laughter here.....never a dull moment in our house!!

On a mission

Since tomorrow is Brian's big 3-0 birthday the kids wanted to make some decorations to hang up. Don't worry, he goes back to work tonight, so he won't see these until he gets home in the morning. I was told that when he leaves tonight we are going to decorate the house! LOVE the way the kids get so excite and come up with ideas on their own, they really love their Daddy.

Triplets?

Clayton asked Santa for a DS since the kids have one and guess what...he delivered!! All 3 kids have DS's and love to play with each other. It's amazing how quiet the house gets now.

Last Christmas

Tonight was our last Christmas, we headed down to the barn to see Mimi and Papaw. She had asked Brian and I this summer what we thought about the kids getting a horse from them since she was wanting to downsize. Brian wasn't all that thrilled about it but after seeing how much the kids loved riding this summer and helping her at the barn, gave in!! He's in trouble now!!

Mimi had the stall all decorated for the kids

Lighting is the newest addition to the farm

Not a great picture, but the only one that turned out of both the kids

LOVE how excited Hunter is!

Lighting is going to stay at Mimi's right now until the spring so that he can have his own stall. The kids have already been told that there is lots of work to be done (clearing/leveling more land, stalls, hay, etc) before we can play all the time. Both Hunter and Hayley are already asking if we can ride tomorrow!! Hopefully we will get to ride later in the week since the temps are going to be a little warmer. Definitely on New Year's Day...that means you will ride all year long!!

Allison

Catherine and Allison came and played for a bit today while we got to catch up and plan our weeks. I can' t believe that starting Monday, Allison will be at the Spotted Cow 5 days a week...seems impossible! Looking forward to it but also am worried about Cat going back to work, they both have been spoiled with each other this far.  Its going to be lots of fun, Leah is only 3 days older then Allison and they both are night and day different. I feel very blessed that I get to stay at home and play with their babies while they are at work!

Until Monday.....

Fisher's Christmas

We headed "over the river and through the woods" to Grandma and Grandpa Fisher's house today for Christmas. The kids loved playing and wrestling with Keegan, Aunt Erin and Uncle Brian. It's so much fun anytime we get together and we always leave worn out from the excitement!!

Keegan got a guitar too!

Hunter, Keegan and Hayley

Stockings

MONEY!!!

Grandma and Grandpa got each kid a cool piggy bank that digitally counts your change and keeps a running total. We are starting to save our pennies, literally, for our fun money in Disney!

Hayley, Hunter,  and Aunt Erin

more Beyblades

The human karaoke, got a karaoke machine and CD's

 Keegan LOVED his "blue mote control (remote control) truck"

A cool atlas sicker book from GG

GG got Hayley a Hannah Montana hat/wig

Grandma couldn't resist

Hunter was into his Beyblades

Son in laws got a coupon book that us girls were so excited about!

Aunt Erin and Hayley tested her karaoke machine

You never know when at any moment wrestle mania will bust out.

We had a great Christmas and are truly blessed. Thank you for all that you do for us and the constant love you show. We love you more then you will ever know.

*T minus 300 days til Erin's wedding*