Crusin'

Finally, she did it!
We've been waiting and waiting... On the eve of Easter Sunday, Ella decided to stand and it has been busy, busy, busy ever since. She's crusin', as the song would say! We're headed to the beach in June and it would be so much better for momma, if she could walk. NOTE.... Add to prayer list! :) Until then, she will be crusin' and the Odle house is back in the business of "no no's" and baby gates! YAY!! Now, if we could only grow some hair!

Eleventh Birthday!

On every April 13th we celebrate Jacob Daniel McKee Odle. He was the first boy born in our family in 3 generations. He was named after my grandfather Bill McKee. My grandfather, as far as I was always concerned, could walk on water... he was a man of integrity, hard worker, man of his word, loved his wife, family, and most importantly his God! I miss him!! He was a great example of what a follower of Christ should be.
My grandfather was an amazing baseball player. I never got to see him play, but many who did grow up watching him, or had him as a coach have always raved about how good he was. He was so good that he was drafted by the Pittsburg Pirates in 1947 to play in their Triple A League.
We asked Jake what he would like to do for his birthday and we talked about the possibility of many things, but he finally decided on a Louisville Bats game, Triple A ball club for the Reds.
As we drove downtown, the weather was gorgeous, the kids were excited, chatting in the car, and I couldn't help but to think of my grandpa. How proud he would've been of Jacob. As I sat quietly and tried to take it all in as the night progressed, I watched the sweet boy that God gave me, I watched as an old man walked up to my son and gave him a game ball the team was practicing with,( it made me think of my grandpa, Thank you, Lord!) I watched his sweet friends with hats and gloves on, watching the game. I watched them get excited about an outfielder throwing them a ball, and get mad as Bekah, (the only girl in the group) caught the ball. She shouted "Girl Power" as she caught it! I watched them throw popcorn up in the air and try to catch it in their mouths, I watched them eat snow cones, and throw the baseball in the pitching radar. I watched as a man sitting close to the boys told Jacob how much he liked his Cubs shirt, and Jake, with a smile from ear to ear, so proudly yelled back, "GO CUBBIES!" I cherished the moment!
I knew in my heart that these days were numbered, as little boys grow up to be men, and little girls, women. I knew this was the only eleventh birthday he will celebrate, and it was good!! I celebrated! My heart was bursting with joy and pride!! It was fabulous! It was only fitting that we happened to celebrate it at a Triple A ballpark, in the city, on a beautiful spring night at the beginning of baseball season. A season his namesake knew all too well!! Happy Birthday Jacob Daniel MCKEE Odle! Your grandfather was proud of you. Wear the name well!

Easter 2010

Fridays + Man Lunches = Faith in Action

Since we've been homeschooling, every Friday is what our boys call their "Man Lunch" with dad! Friday is Dan's day off and he takes the boys out to lunch every Friday.The boys look forward to spending coveted time with dad and Dan really enjoys getting to "talk" to them about life, what it means to be a man, and scripture. This Friday was a little different!
About three weeks ago, our sweet neighbor, Mr. Whitaker, 72, went home to be with the Lord. He was a precious pastor in our community, and the children loved playing in his driveway. We would talk now and then and the children would always talk to him when he was outside. It was very sad for the children when they learned of his death.
Today, at " the man lunch" Dan talked to the boys how the bible teaches us to take care of widows and orphans, and so the boys (and Bekah) put that faith into action. They raked, mowed, and cleaned Mrs. Whitakers yard. It took them all day, and they were so tired but Dan and I couldn't have been prouder! Our children... learning what the bible says... and then not just hearing it ... but doing it!

Music Team Ladies

The one thing that I've always enjoyed and looked forward to, since being at Highview, are fun times with the praise team ladies. We've been at East and Fegenbush both.. and I have to say, those have been some of the sweetest times in our ten years here. Did I just say that? Ten years?! A couple of Saturdays ago was no exception. Three sweet ladies on our music team are expecting and we had a sweet ladies luncheon for them. A labor of love on my part, but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE hosting! I'm especially proud of the cake from scratch (yes I'm bragging!) It is a true honor for me to celebrate with each of them.
Meg(boy) Ashley(girl) and Kim(boy).. are going to be great momma's! So happy for them.

My "from scratch" Lemonade cake... Amazing! (still bragging)

The "ya ya sisterhood"

The girls with their baskets

Bekah and her bff Alyvia helped serve.

Having it all?

Just recently came across this ...read this article in the October 26th issue of TIME and ladies, it turns out we can't have it all after all...but I think most of us have already figured that out. The article is titled The State of the American Woman and here are a few of the statistics comparing where we are today with where we were in the 70s:

• Today 61% of women are overweight compared with 41% in the 70s
• 39% of all births are to unmarried mothers compared to 12% in 1972
• 71% of women with children under 18 are working moms - it was 47% in 1975
• By the end of the year (2009) they're guessing the majority of workers in this country will be women (a first in history), which lays more of the family's financial stress on the shoulders of women.

The article celebrates the fact that women are now making .77 for every dollar a man makes, compared to .58 in 1972. This might sound a little disappointing to some, but we are definitely making progress and that's worth celebrating. It also notes that more women are holding high ranking positions in companies and places of power; 57% of college students are women; and more women than men are going on to get advanced degrees. However, after crunching all the numbers and weighing the facts, the finding that has everyone stumped is that "as women have gained more freedom, more education and more economic power, they have become less happy." Interesting. It turns out that what we thought would make us happy has actually left us stressed out, empty, and exhausted.

This article gives a hint of the fallout our girls may experience if we support that lie in our homes. It's obvious when you read the statistics that our generation bought fully into the "have it all, do it all, be whatever you want" myth and now we and our families are paying for it. Instead of teaching our kids to trust God with whatever He has planned and live fully for Him, we've modeled a lifestyle that's about following our own plans and asking God for help to get what we want...which reminds me of that line in Bruce Almighty when God asks Bruce "Since when do people know what they want?" Ummm...almost never.

Along with fighting the "you can have it all" myth, we need to help our girls understand that whether God has motherhood in store for them or a career as an astronaut (or both), each job has value but neither should determine their personal worth. Our value was settled once and for all when Jesus gave up everything in order to save us from ourselves and the consequences of our sins. We were never meant to pursue the things of this world with all our hearts and put all our hopes and dreams on the outcome of that pursuit. We were told simply to seek God with all our hearts and trust Him completely with our lives.

If you get a chance to read the Time article, it's worth the read. It offers valuable insight into the world in which our girls are growing up. Of course, the most valuable tool we can offer our daughters is our own personal example of living a Christ-centered life. It's time to expose the lie and tell our daughters that the world's formula for "having it all" is a faulty equation that doesn't add up in the end. Most importantly, let's show them by the way we live out our daily lives that "having it all" is the product of making Jesus Christ our all-in-all.

Another Day.. Another Birthday!

I'm not a big birthday gal! I go all out for my children, always have, but not so much for me. I've never had a surprise party, or a big get-together, although... that would be nice. *hint!!
This year for my birthday, my sister in law, Maribeth, was getting married. Dan was doing the ceremony, of course, so my birthday consisted of getting school done, packing up five children (Note. I don't pack for Dan) and traveling to Southern Illinois. Packing for a wedding isn't easy and even harder with kids. Making sure I had church shoes, socks, shirts, suits, dresses, jewelry and hair accessories took my whole day! The afternoon was eventful, packing the car and a three hour drive in the middle of nowhere, literally, followed by a wedding rehearsal, dinner, checking into the hotel, swimming and finally in our rooms at 10 pm. No cake, no singing, no presents, no fancy restaurant... but a sweet husband coming in the hotel room with a box of Hulk cupcakes and a personal cake just for me. Micah had given me his Puzzle's Fun Dome invitation to someone else's party. It wasn't anything to write about, but just me and my family! As I get older and birthdays start to remind me of my morality, I am also reminded of the sweet blessings in my life and that I'm allowed to live a little longer to enjoy them!