May is here!

Can't believe that May is already here. I have been so busy that I have not had time to blog at all.

Sarah is still busy taking pictures. She worked for a few weeks at a Studio in McKinney, but that didn't work out. The lady moved her business back home & let Sarah go. Now Sarah is trying to find victims clients to take pictures of. We had her do our family pic last week. What do you think?

The Boys with Scott

The Girls with me

May is full of closing out our school year & my Mom2Mom year. It is hard to believe that another year is already over.

Mom2Mom went really well this year. We ended our year with a special Tea for the Moms & their guest.

Here I am with my Co-Leader, Kerith Leffler. She is amazing & has talents beyond me. She has become a very good friend that I will treasure for years to come. We had about 140 moms come to the Tea. Our Heart Warmers (older mentoring moms) decorated 16 tables & prepared most of the food. And if that wasn't enough, they served the moms their Tea & food.
Here is one of the tables. The all looked this pretty with fresh flowers in the center & beautiful china at each setting.


Here is the room, all ready for the moms on the morning of the Tea, May 1st.

The first week of May also marks the end of AWANA at our church. Gracie, Zach & Ben all participated this year. Josh helped with games. He was asked to play the part of Sparky during the AWANA closing ceremonies.

Here is Josh. He stayed just like in the picture the whole time he was on stage. People said he was the tallest Sparky they had ever seen. :o)

Here is Gracie with her Cubbies group just before they sang. She is the one smiling in the center of everyone else.

Here is Zach with his group. He wasn't much for memorizing the verses, but he has fun where ever he goes.

The biggest event for us in May is Ashley turning 18 & graduating. Her birthday was on Mother's Day.

The Seniors were recognized in our church last Sunday in both services. Pastor Chuck presented each Senior with his last book. It isn't even in stores yet. The pictures are a little out of order. Sorry!

We are having a small get together for Ashley, June 7th. I will have more pics after that to show how much fun we had celebrating Ashley's graduation.

Spring Happenings

It has been a long time since I posted, so I thought I should catch you up on what is going on with the Bailey Bunch.

We are already gearing up for summer. Sarah is planning a mission trip to Alaska through Global Expeditions. She has raised a little over half of her money, needing about $2,000 total. She has a blog that she is updating. Click; Alaska Trip Blog She has a great blog you will want to check on it.

Ashley is going to Honduras. She is needing to raise about $2200 for her trip. I will get more details for you soon.

I(Dana) is staying very busy with Mom2Mom. Our year is almost over & that is hard to believe! We have about 165 moms on our roster with about 100 coming faithfully. It has been exciting watching the Lord work in the lives of these moms as he draws them closer to Him.

Scott has a new job of looking for a new job. His real estate business is beyond slow, it is dead. With no closings since September, he has decided that it is time to look for something to bring in money until the real estate market picks up again. He is also open to starting something new if that is where the Lord is leading him. He has sent out at least 20 resume's and application in the past month with no leads so far. We know that the Lord already knows the direction we are to take, we are just waiting, trying to be patient until that next job comes about. Scott is having to look for a job for the first time in his life & it has proven to be a very exhausting & weary experience.

We are living on God's Manna. With barely an income coming in we have had to humble ourselves & accept financial help from friends & family, but we are so thankful to those who have been so generous in their giving to us. God continues to show us everyday His love for us through the blessings we receive from others. We draw our strength from his Word, without Him, we would surely falter in our faith.

Our school year is also coming to a close quickly. Ashley will be graduating in May. That is hard to believe! We hope to be able to give her a special party with family & friends to celebrate her achievements.

Hopefully, I will remember to update more often. Things have been crazy around here with Mom2Mom & Scott looking for work & I forget to update the blogs.

Take Care!

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Celebrating Holy Week as a Family

Today(4.6.09) marks the beginning of Holy Week, which is the week before Easter. I decided years ago that we would use this week to closely examine the last week of Jesus life on Earth & the reasons for his coming. It has proven to be a wonderful time together as a family every year.

We use this Easter Study as a guide. Sometimes we add a little to it & other times we don't do what it says, only read the scriptures. There are suggested activities to do with your children & lots of links to help you dive a little deeper.

We read together as a family the Gospel account of the last days of Jesus. We let the older kids take turns reading & sometimes my husband will read it. But, letting your children read will keep them involved and focused.

After we read the scriptures we discuss to make sure they understand what just happened. Then we let the kids(my younger ones) do something to help them remember what we discussed. Many times this is acting out the passage. Mom or Dad will read as narrator as the kids act out what is going on.

The last part of our time together is focused on application. How can we apply what we have just read to our lives today? What can we learn from Jesus life or the actions of others that can cause us to love God more?

Today's reading takes you to the Temple where Jesus drives out the sellers. They were making a profit off of Passover. What can we learn from this? He tells them, "My house will be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers."(Luke 19:46) I grew up thinking that this was only speaking of the church building, but now I believe that it is more than that. Discuss with your children what we let into our homes that could make our home into a "den of robbers". What takes us away from His Truth of mercy & grace? What about your heart & mind? What do you let into your heart & mind that draws you away from the Lord?

Read Philippians 4:8 together.

Other neat resources to use this week:

The Children's Story Book, by Catherine Vos ~ A Bible for children, written as if told by a mother to her children. Very accurate to scripture.

Suddenly One Morning, by Chuck Swindoll ~ Awesome read!!

Annie's Easter Website