Hodge Podge pictures

The five of us were pleasantly surprised when Gary's mom and dad called and said that they desperately needed to get away. Gary's dad has been working too much :) Well, they started driving and arrived at our home 4 days later. It was so much fun having them visit for about 1 week. Thanks, Mamaw and Papaw for coming out to see us. I don't know if they really got a break, but we were ecstatic to visit with them.

Back track to Halloween night and guess what my two boys decided to dress up for on Halloween??? Yes, football players. Wesley decided to skip out on the jersey and replace it with this special t-shirt from Gramma Sturgill. "No questions.....just put the candy in the bag."

I couldn't leave out this angel face. She did not dress up like this for Halloween, but she did get her face painted on our last trip to Knott's Berry Farm.

It has been a busy month, but I wanted to get some pictures out. We love you all (unless, of course, we don't know you and you just happened upon my blog)!

Fall means pumpkins

Growing up in the mid-west, I always loved fall. The cool crisp, evenings, and the colorful, falling leaves. For reasons other than these two, I still love autumn. We do have cool, crisp evenings (occasionally), and I actually see a tree losing its' leaves every once in awhile. Pumpkins, however, are in abundance. There are pumpkin patches everywhere!


Yesterday, the kids picked out their own pumpkin and we brought them home to carve. If you look carefully at the picture below, you will see each one behind their respective pumpkin. They named them "Jack," "O" and "Lantern." We even roasted the pumpkin seeds. I have to admit that has never been one of my favorite treats, but Gary said "it is something you have to do every once in awhile, just because it is fall!"

A California Visit

May I never cease to be amazed at how God works things out. I especially notice when He works things out in ways that I want. Dad was asked to speak at an AACS conference, hosted at none other than Ventura, CA. Thank you God for using them in ministry and allowing it to be in our own backyard :) Below are some pictures mom sent me from the weekend. It was good for Gramma and Poppa to be able to watch Andrew in action on the football field. It was a short, full, enjoyable weekend for each one of us.

A new look

Wesley had an appointment today to get things checked out with his broken ankle. It has been three weeks since the break. He and Gary made a morning of it and went out to IHOP and then proceeded to the doctor's office. Wesley did get his cast removed. It was an interesting process, as he explained it to me :) The x-ray showed good improvement, so he is now able to wear a boot. He is still reliant upon his crutches, but he is able to remove the boot for sleeping and bathing.

I have heard people's horror stories about casts and the itching and the stinking. So, it is nice to have a protective wear that can be removed when he is sitting. We were also happy to see that his leg did not have any bruises. When the cast was put on, his leg was badly bruised, but he has healed rather nicely.

Thanks for the cards, comments, and prayers. He is doing great!

Wherever you find yourself

Last night, Gary and I had the privilege to attend a Casting Crowns' concert. What a blessing it was and a challenge. I write this post to challenge any Christian who reads it, but also as a reminder to myself. I know I will come back to this in a couple of months, when I find I need a reminder.

One thing I love about the music of Casting Crowns is that it gives such a clear message of glory to God and hope for a very lost world. The songs are filled with so much Bible. In fact, each CD lists numerous Bible verses that support the message of each song. It is fun to be able to sing what the Bible states to be true.

The lead singer, Mark Hall is a youth pastor in Atlanta. He, like so many Christians, has been a Christian for a long time and often finds himself in a "rut." I love the analogies that he used. He talked straight to Christians: "At church, everything makes sense. We know how to live and what direction to take. Everything is black and white. But once we leave the church doors, so often, life turns gray." He went on to explain that he knows he is a Christian. His heart belongs to the King of kings, but as a Christian, we often have a brain that is lost. We make excuses for not sharing the gospel. We prioritize so many things over God's call on our life. We rationalize our good, but not godly choices. We pursue our career, rather than His calling. We work so hard to have a personal relationship with God, that it never affects anyone outside of our own person. We forget that we have one purpose on this earth and Satan keeps us plenty busy doing everything but that purpose.

The song below is one I have listened to repeatedly today. I know I get caught in the middle often, but I pray God just keeps pulling me closer to Himself.

Life with a cast

With limited mobility, changes and lessons are many for each person in the Beard household.
Here is our current top ten list:

10. Wesley can no longer wait until the last minute to go to the bathroom.
9. Wesley cannot sneak up on me anymore. I can hear him coming from quite a few yards away.
8. I have never been so thankful for a one story house.
7. Their are way too many stairs at most schools!
6. Things no longer get misplaced in pairs. I am constantly finding one sock......or one shoe.
5. If you break your ankle, why does the cast have to go all the way up your leg? (Just so you know, it has something to do with the growth plate.)
4. How many people can you fit in a car if one person takes the whole backseat?
3. I have to help with baths, for the first time in many years.
2. Someone recently told us to go to an amusement park, and we would get access to the front of every line. Good idea!!
1. Who wants a cool colored cast when instead you can get a white one.....that glows in the dark??

The first game of the season......and for one of them.....the last

Today was the first day of the season for Wesley and Andrew and the Ventura Buccaneers. They have been practicing 5-6 days a week for 6 weeks now, and they have had several scrimmages, and we were all quite excited about the big day.

Andrew's game was first. It was a home game, which is at Ventura College---a place I have grown to love. He was very excited and played well. He made the first tackle of the season! Even though the other team scored on their first possession, and I feared it might be a very long day, Andrew's team came back to win 22 to 18.


After Andrew's game, we headed out to Wesley's game, about 1/2 hour away. Wesley was equally excited. Good news first: Wesley's team won their first game also. Bad news: Wesley broke his leg during the second quarter. He was doing a great job "on the line," and we were excited to see some of his moves. However, after one particular play, I couldn't find him. A few minutes later, he came hobbling off the field. He was a true team player and hung around and supported his team as they went on to win. After the game, one of the coaches looked more closely and said we should probably take him to the ER. Five hours later, he came out with a splint. His cast will be placed on Monday. I am glad we got some good pictures of his game. His season lasts just 8 more weeks, and Wesley's doctor said he would be in a cast for 6-8 weeks. I asked him as we pulled out of the hospital, "Did you have fun, Wesley?" He looked at me and smiled, "Yeah, it was alot of fun until I got hurt."

The dismal end of the season for one Ventura Buccaneer!

Sometimes that chisel can really be uncomfortable

I trust that you will take a few minutes to watch a provoking video. Our Pastor used a part of this in his message on Sunday, and I was happy to find the whole video on You Tube. It is funny, and it is spiritually challenging. I thank God for continual reminders of His love and opportunities for growth. I pray this video will be the same for you.

Back to school for everyone

Today was the first day of school for everyone. Wesley started 5th grade; Andrew is now in third grade; but, the biggest adventure was for Little Miss Brooke, who began first grade today. I even had my first day of classes at the college.

It was a great day overall for all of them. Wesley's favorite part was learning that he is not required to write in cursive. (He hates writing in cursive.) Andrew did not share too much with me, but he came home with a Chinese hat???? I asked Brooke what she did: "I wrote a page of letters. It was O." Did you read today? "No, we had free reading time, but Ms. Darby said I could just look at the pictures." Ha :) I am thankful, again, for a Christian school with a great dedicated staff. Here is to a great year of school.

It was grand!

We had a 4-day vacation at the Grand Canyon. Mom and Dad were celebrating their 40th anniversary, and they let us come vacation with them for a couple of days. We had an 8-hour trip to the Grand Canyon; we drove during the night so that the kids (and I) could sleep. We arrived at the Grand Canyon just as the sun was rising that morning. We bypassed the hotel and went straight to get our first look and watch the sunrise. It was beautiful, and truly breath-taking.

We spent three days hiking in the Canyon, observing different viewpoints, and shuttling around the enormous state park. Below are some favorite pictures, but I will have many more on the slide show. Actually, Gary and I took over 450 pictures---look for the book coming out next spring :)
The kids enjoyed spending time with Grandma and Poppa. Andrew, who was normally very fearful of the water, overcame his fear this vacation and became successful at swimming, floating, and doing the cannonball. We were all pretty proud of him!