First Time Skiing

A view from the hill. We went skiing with the home school group today. It was the kids' first time. They had such a great time! Olivia can't wait to go again. It was very cold up there. Every time I went out to take their pictures, my fingers just about fell off! They both loved the ski lift. They skiied for 5 1/2 hours! We will go again each Wednesday for the next three weeks. Fun, fun!





Kolby Deagle, Olivia, & Garrett, ready for their lessons!

Happy 60th Birthday Pastor Presley?

Happy 60th Birthday, Pastor Mike!

Last Monday, our dear Pastor Mike Powell turned 60 years old. The poor
guy spent the week thinking that we had all forgotten about him. Little did he know what plans we had up our sleeves!

Our fearless Women's Ministries leader, Janet Wright, had put together a little plan to set up a birthday party like an assisted living center. But, I'll get to that in a minute....

Isn't this cake the awesome? Janet's friend, Lori Price, super imposed
Pastor Mike's face on Elvis Presley's body! The cake reads, "Elvis may be dead but...at 60 you are the bomb!!!" What a riot! We couldn't quit laughing! Now every Sunday morning, we are going to be picturing Elvis at the pulpit!









Back to the party plans...

Welcome to Shady Acres! We set up Jamie and Colleen Mayer's home like an assisted living center. All, well, most all, of our guests came dressed as elderly folks. When Pastor Mike came in, he was greeted by Matt, the resident volunteer, who showed him around his new home. Matt showed him the living area, the game area, etc. We were all downstairs playing bingo, chess, and putting puzzles together. When he came down, we just kept on doing our thing. Matt loudly announced that we had a new resident, and asked if we had anything that we would like to say to him; We all shouted, "Happy Birthday!" It was a great time for a great guy!


From top to bottom, Matt and Kristi Davenport. Eric and Cristina Comparini. The Comparini's are from Brazil. Don't they make an adorable elderly Brazilian couple?



Mike Evans tries to look like Einstein. The Hotrum family are always willing to dress up for a party. Pastor Mike opens his gifts. What a party!

Scuba diving field trip

This past Thursday, the Pocatello Christian Homeschool Group went on a scuba diving field trip. Last year, the kids had been apprehensive about going, so they didn't. This year, Garrett knew that he wanted to do it because his friend who had done it last year said that it was a lot of fun. Olivia, after reading the list of possible complications, decided not to do it this year. (I think that she will do it next year.) Garrett had a blast and can't wait to do it again.

Prayer

Tuesday evening, we had a quarterly ladies gathering at church. As a Women's Ministries, our theme this year has been "Eagerly Watch and Pray." Our speaker at Tuesday's meeting talked about confession. She has a way with word pictures; here is one that she gave that really helped me. She talked about farming as a child and how in the fall, they would pick all of the large rocks off the top of the fields. In the spring, there would be more rocks and they would pick up those rocks. Then, she talked about a time when she went to drop her kids off at school and they couldn't get the van door open. She hopped out of the van, went around back, and fell flat on her back. The gravel that had been laid on the road during the winter, caused her to fall. She said, "There will be times when, during confession, we pick the 'big rocks' off. Confess the big sins and go on. But, if we don't watch out for the 'gravel,' those little sins in our hearts, we are going to slip and fall."

She talked about going back to the 10 commandments to begin with to see if there are any sins that they point out in our hearts. She talked about things like finances, spouses, children (our role as parents), etc. I was convicted about several areas of sin in my life. Not to mention the fact that I rarely ever feel that I grieve the Holy Spirit and I need to come to the point that I am so convicted by my sin that I realize that I have broken His heart.

Then, a friend of mine emailed me a quote that her 4 year old daughter said. It is as follows...Dani climbed in bed with me this morning and before she even gets her eyes open good she starts talking – in fact, when she started I wasn’t sure she was awake! She said, “Mom, Jesus doesn’t want you this close to Him – she had her hands up flat against each other – he wants you this close to Him – she then intertwined her fingers as in prayer.” What a great reminder from one so little, yet understands so much!

God is good. I thank Him that He continually draws me to talk with Him. Once again, the awesome thought, that the Creator of the universe desires to have a relationship with me. WOW!

Sledding!

A few days after Christmas, we invited some of the kids' friends to come over to play. After an hour of sledding at the park, they were ready to come home and warm up! Laughter was heard as they played "Apples to Apples", ate snacks, and drank hot cocoa.

Mitch & Kolby Deagle, Garrett, Olivia, & Wynmm Murphy.

Christmas Day 2007

Bright and early Christmas morning, Nanook had to go potty...a good excuse to get up at 4:30 a.m and start opening Christmas presents! Matt, Garrett and Olivia pose with their stockings! I wonder what joys they will find...




To the left...Garrett chuckles as he unwraps some
Nerf dart refill packs. These things get lost every-
where!

On the right...Olivia grins as she proudly displays her can of Cheese Whiz! The girl loves this stuff and I never buy it, so I thought it would be a fun thing for her stocking. It is under lock and key in her room as I write this!



This was our first Christmas with Nanook.
Santa brought him a toy pheasant for
Christmas. He sure looks tired. I bet he
didn't have a clue what he was in for!


This was the nicest Christmas that we have
had in a long time. We refrained from going
overboard this year and it was such a
blessing. It was less overwhelming than years past.
We really relaxed and thoroughly enjoyed one another.
It was great!

Trip to Boise

We enjoyed a nice visit with my grandparents. When we left, Grandma said, "I always enjoy it when you come to visit."It was so sweet.







Here, Garrett and Olivia are opening gifts from Grandpa Mike and Grandma Kathy. We really enjoyed our visit with them. We hadn't seen my dad much this year, so it was really nice. We took my mom shopping in a wheelchair this year. She is still very fatigued from the West Nile Virus. It was a fun experience, pushing her around the Boise Towne Square in a wheelchair.



Dad opens a new popcorn popper that we bought him while Olivia sports the bow from his package.








Here, Garrett and Olivia pose with their friends, Addison, Carolyn, and Calvin Williams. The Williams moved to Idaho 3 years ago. Their mom, Rebekah, and I have been friends since we were toddlers. It is so nice to have them close enough to visit each time we go to Boise. Though this visit was short, it was a blessing to spend time with them.




Garrett and Olivia helped Grandpa Bob raise the United States and POW flag on Grandpa's new flagpole. Here, Grandpa and Garrett gaze at the two flags blowing in the famous Murphy breeze. That night, Garrett and Alex helped Grandpa take the flag down. Garrett said that it was really stressful because if it touched the ground, they would have to burn it!




Alex, Ashley, Olivia, Garrett,
Nikki, Kenlee, & Alyssa gather around
Grandpa Bob & Grandma Sue's tree.
These cousins treasure time spent with
one another. What a gift God has given
them! They have so much fun at their
grandparents' house.

Last game of the season

On December 15, 2007, Olivia had her last basketball game of the season. They lost by one point. It was a very good, very intense game. Afterward, there was a pizza/bowling party for the girls. I think that they all had a very good time.