Seventy degrees in Amarillo Texas on January 28th....um, what alternative universe are we living in? The weather was AMAZING today. So obviously there will be snow next week. No, seriously, the high on Tuesday is going to be 22! Only in Amarillo.

Experiencing an interesting new dynamic at the Dyer home - life without video games. Blake has been a little too "social" at school lately and he lost his gaming priviledges for a while. Unfortunately, this punishment hurts me and Jill as much as Blake! Not only do WE not get to play, he's never played on his own a day in his life...so he wants to be constantly entertained by us! Not gonna happen. We'll see how the next week goes!

Tomorrow holds:
Basketball Game for Blake @ 9am
Bridal Shower for Jill @ 2pm
Wedding for Brent @ 2pm
Party for Kate @ 4pm

I love nice relaxing saturdays...

Today @ "Lake Walmart"

There is a small lake across the street from Super Walmart - we refer to it as "Lake Walmart."  Today the kids rode their scooters around the lake while I took pictures of the 10,000 geese relaxing in the water.  Here are a few of the pics. . .

None But Jesus

There is no one else for me
None but Jesus
Crucified to set me free
Now I live to bring Him praise

In the quiet in the stillness
I know that You are God
In the secret of Your presence
I know there I am restored
When You call I won't refuse
Each new day again
I'll choose

In the chaos in confusion
I know You're sovereign still
In the moment of my weakness
You give me grace to do Your will
When You call I won't delay
This my song through all my days

All my delight is in You Lord
All of my hope
All of my strength
All my delight is in You Lord
Forevermore

Upward Basketball

Blake's first Upward Basketball game of the 2011 season was this morning at 9:00am at Paramount.  Needless to say, he was the star player - scoring 5 of the 8 baskets.  Each boy is assigned a player on the opposite team to guard - pretty sure Blake's guy never made it more than 2 or 3 steps before he stole the ball and was headed to his end of the court!

Pictures and video below . . .

Prayer before the game. . . 

Blake's first basket started like this - the ref hit the goal and the ball went in. . . 

Happy Birthday, Blake!

It's hard to believe eight years ago today, Blake Dyer was born.  I never imagined or dreamed how much I could love one little boy. . . I can't imagine being any more proud of him.  If you don't know Blake, you're missing out on knowing a boy who is kind, loving, smart, sensitive, athletic, and a million other adjectives.

I've posted some of my favorite pictures from his life - then below you will find pics of today's birthday celebration with eight very loud, crazy boys.

 And Today @ the Party . . . 

G-Daddy "resting"

Hockey in the Gym

At Home With Kate. . .

So I'm home with Kate today, she's sick (again) with strep (again) and Jill was dying to get out of the house and attend BSF.  As I was sitting with my baby girl catching up on all the old "Phineas and Ferb" episodes I've missed, I started browsing facebook and stumbled on the blog of a childhood friend.  Sitting there in the bedroom reading the blog I was reminded of Gods provision, protection and blessing.  Many times all I see is the negative (I know this comes as a great surprise to all of you who know me well), but this morning I was reminded that God has protected and provided for us in ways we don't deserve and couldn't have imagined. 

I'm reminded of the story of Joseph - his brothers hated him, he was sold into slavery, given an amazing job in Potiphar's house only to be thrown into prison for unfounded accusations by Potiphar's wife.  Later, interpreted some dreams, and long story short, became one of the most powerful men in the land.  I'm pretty sure as each of these things were happening he might have become frustrated, sad, depressed, upset, etc.  He had no crystal ball to know what God had planned.  He had no foreknowledge of how it would all work out in the end.  All he knew was he loved God.  His desire was to bring honor to the Father. 

I have no idea what the future holds for us.  Everything we know could change in an instant.  The past three weeks demonstrated this - our friends have experienced a fatal car accident, a business burning down, and a headache that turned into brain surgery.  There is one thing I know, just as God was working in Joseph's life, he's working in ours.  Everything...every decision, every mistake, every word, every move...God is working.  I believe that with every ounce of my being (and that's a lot of ounces!).

It's my prayer that even in my own weakness, stupidity, selfishness, and sometimes small view of God's plan, I would bring honor to my Father and seek to love him with all I have.

New Year's Day

This afternoon we celebrated the new year with some great friends...