Living to the Fullest?

As I sit down to type this we are about to end yet another month.  Believe it or not Summer is in full swing and our weekend plans for the 4th of July are made.  It literally seems like yesterday we were rushing around here trying to get Algebra lessons completed so that we could be finished with school.  And now we are talking about July 4th. 

This has been an interesting year for our family.  We have been plagued with more vehicle troubles than I can even add on one hand.  Our house was damaged with hail.  (And we are STILL waiting for the contractors to come and repair.)  We are watching the circle-of-life take place as my husband's grandmothers are living in their 9th decade.  And we have watched and comforted as loved ones have dealt with death and serious illness.  My sister-in-law and I have a joke that we really don't want to wish time away, but seriously...2011 really has been one of those years we'd rather not relive. 

However, despite all of the challenges this year have been thrown our way it is hard not to step back and think, "Where in the world does time go?"  

I have been reading the book, "One Month to Live Thirty Days to a No-Regrets Life".  The authors are Kerry & Chris Shook.  If you haven't read it, I would recommend it.

The book focuses on four principals for a "No-Regrets" life.  

•   LIVE PASSIONATELY
•   LIVE COMPLETELY
•   LEARN HUMBLY
•   LEAVE BOLDLY

Time is not slowing down.  There are still 24 hours in a day 365 days to a year.  My children are growing at a pace that I was NEVER prepared for.  And just to let you in on a little secret, my husband celebrated his Birthday last month and it was THEN that I realized that I am actually an ENTIRE YEAR older than what I honestly was thinking I was.  I only have 1/2 a year of being 35....and in November I'll be an entire 1 1/2 years older than I originally thought I was.

I want to make this life count.  Do you?    Do you Live Passionately?  Love Completely?  Learn Humbly?  And what are you doing today that is creating a legacy that will impact generations?  Do you struggle with any (or all of these?)  I would love to get some conversation going with all ages as to what you value in your life and how do you make the most of your time.

I don't want to get to the end of my life
and find that I have just lived the length of it.
I want to have lived the width of it as well.

~Diane Ackerman

 

Having fun

HI this Natalie this weekend I will be having fun with my mom  and dad and Nathan my brother :) so that will be funny .It will be fun because will be going to car 2 the movie. And having fun with my famliy

Nathan's News

Hi this is Nathan. 

I am a hockey player. 

This is me in my equipment I got when playing with The Little Pittsburgh Penguins this Winter.



I have been a very busy boy this week.

First, I learned how to ride my new 2 wheel bike.  Thanks Uncle J.B. & Kara for the GREAT Birthday present.

Second, I got to go to swimming lessons for the 1st time.  The weather was cold.  I learned bouncing under the water and how to float on my back.



I like to swim on my back.  My instructor, Matt was fun!



Have a fun Summer Everyone!

Nathan

2o1! sTaN\eY cUp ChAmpS

I'm sitting here listening to some good ole' My Chemical Romance, (songs that I've heard probably 1,000,000 times that never get old)  &  thinking about what I should blog about this week. 

Nothing particularly interesting is coming to mind. Fail. 


Well, as most of you probably don't know, the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup last week! I can't tell you all how happy that makes me. For most of you, you're probably thinking "What the hell is a Stanley Cup?"  I'll answer you. 

It's the best trophy you could ever win. The Boston Bruins were the best team in the NHL this year, and they definitely deserved winning the Stanley Cup. The Bruins played against the Vancouver Canucks  for the Cup. I must say that the Nucks might be the most undeserving team in the NHL & I can't express to you how  ecstatic I am that they didn't win. 

After 7 long  games, I can't imagine how amazing it felt to actually beat those dirty , diving, pieces of trash from Vancouver. 

If you haven't heard how disgusting the Canucks are, let me summarize some things for you. 

Nathan Horton  (a winger for the Boston Bruins)  took a cheap shot from the  Canucks defensemen Aaron Rome, and was not able to  play the rest of the series. Personally, I think Rome should've been suspended from the NHL completely.  A very classless individual he is.


The goaltender for the Canucks, Roberto Luongo , made a very rude\cocky\made-a-huge-jerk-of-himself statement referring to Tim Thomas . (The Bruins goalie.)


The Canucks had no reason to be in the finals. Any team who gives up 8 goals MORE than once in ONE game in the playoffs...has no  business being in the finals. 


Oh, & did I mention the non-stop cheap shots that were dished out? I'm shocked that they're weren't more serious injuries. The Bruins have some tough men on their team. 


Let's not even go to the subject of the CONSTANT whining of that Canadian team. I'd love to shove a pacifier into both of the Sedin 'sister's' mouths.

The Boston Bruins earned the Stanley Cup. If anyone was to win the title of the champions other than the Blackhawks, I'd definitely want it to be Boston. 

Needless to say, I hate the Vancouver Canucks...more than the Detroit Redwings. That's sad. 

If you haven't unsubscribed to this blog, good for you! You just endured reading about hockey & survived. Hockey really isn't that bad people. In fact, it's the best sport ever. :)


I can't wait for hockey season to start up again, I miss it already. 

Relay Reflections

Relay for Life 2011

We are now seasoned veterans of Relay for Life. This was our second year walking in memory of Josh with our team: Laps of Love. This year we chose to spend the night and walk through out. Wow, am I tired today. I am not certain how many people now are team members but a one point last night we had close to 20 people under the canopy. Pretty impressive considering just a few years ago my sister brought up the idea as a way to honor Josh. This year we also remember my brother-in-law's father Dale. These men both had wonderful spirits and lived their life to serve others. It is truly our honor to give back and remember the impact these friends had in our lives.

Relay is a great way for community to come together and help the fight against cancer. This is a ministry everyone can be involved in. The chance to give to a just cause and honer the lives of those who have gone on into eternity. If you do not have a current ministry you are involved in I challenge you to look in to it. It might not be your calling, then again...it might be! The Apostle Paul in the book of Galaltians teaches us this: "For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh."

Only by the power of God's Spirit can we find what we are called to do. So as Paul teaches us Walk in that Spirit and find your niche. Life is about serving others.

Ask Creator what you can do. Life happens in a blink, what the Bible calls a vapor.

Blessings
Phil

Time has never been my strong point.....

Well, you know the saying "Better Late Than Never..."  That sums up my life sometimes!

My day to blog is Tuesday's.  However, with many things on my to do list blogging just never made it into the cut.  I promised myself that I would get it done (tomorrow or in other words today) and seeing that it is now 9:30 pm, I better get this written  er uuh typed.

With Father's Day on the horizon, I decided to honor my husband. 

I know, he isn't MY father...however, he is one of the greatest father's I know.

First and foremost, Phil loves The Lord with all his heart & soul & mind. 

He has shared a vision with our family to think of others and love meet them where they are.  We have met some very special people along the way.

This is our family with a dear friend from Nigeria, Africa.  You can always hear a jolly, "Money's Coming!"  Whenever Peter Adigwe is near.

P ~ Passionate

Anyone that meets my husband knows that he is a Passionate man.  One of his famous sayings is, "If you are going to do something....Do it with passion or don't do it at all."

He is Passionate about Jesus.

He is Passionate about his Family.

He is Passionate about providing for his family through his work.

He is Passionate about Reconciliation within the Native Americans of our Nation.

And we can NOT forget that he is Passionate about hockey!

Phil playing hockey with Nathan and our niece, Maici, on his parent's porch.



H ~ Humorous

Phil has quite the sense of humor.  In fact, most people that meet him will find themselves with a smile on their face at some point with their interaction with Phil.  There are many times when you aren't sure if he is serious or not.  And if you like it 'dry'.  (As in dry sense of humor.)  You can have a lovely conversation with this dry sense of humor person!  (I must admit, that he gets his dry sense of humor honestly, from his father.)

I ~ Indigenous

The calling that Phil has for the Indigenous people does not come to just anyone.  If you take a few moments to converse with him you will hear his desire to get to know these people for who they are.  He wants them to not fear him, but to view him as someone that has a love and a concern for them.  His desire to meet them where they are and to just listen to their hurts, their fears, etc. does not just come to anyone.

L ~ Love

Phil may kill me for putting this,(not trying to ruin your "tough guy" persona, dear) but he really has a lot of love to give a-way to others.  There isn't a day that goes by that everyone in our family doesn't hear an

"I love you!" from Phil.  The love he shows to myself and our children is something I wish for everyone.

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.  So I'll conclude this post with photos and no more words.  Only these:

Phil, I am grateful for all that you do for our family.  Happy Father's Day!

Love, Me



With Grandma

HI this is natalie tomorrow i will be making cookies with my Grandma for a Relay for Life we will be making all difrent kinds. Of cookies it will be FUN :) . Today I will be going to her houes to get it set up then we will bake.

Here is a picture with my Grandma and sister and brothers.

Alive Festival 2011 Overview

So I'm going to the Alive Festival this year, & I thought I would give my over-view\opinions on the artists that are going to be performing there.

I'm a metal head. Definition; I love metalcore\hardcore\screamo\hard rock\punk\emo music. Anything with crazy guitar rifts, drums beating louder\faster than anything you could ever imagine, and lyrics and vocals that make you feel the music.

Personally, the two bands that I am excited for the most are Fireflight, & Skillet.

I've always listened to Skillet, and quite honestly, I think they're a fantastic band. If you have never heard of Skillet, I highly suggest them. Their lead singer sounds like a chain smoker but makes it sound cool. They've toned their music down a little bit since their album "Comatose", but I still enjoy them. Three cheers for LOUD guitars & screaming vocals!

Fireflight is also going to be present at this event, which I am so stoked for! Fireflight is a rock band with a female lead singer. I love the lead singer's power\passion behind her voice. Whenever I listen to them, I almost feel like they are telling a story with the song. Needless to say, I will most definitely be singing along & dancing to them at Alive.

Switchfoot is another band that will be performing at Alive. I think they're cheesy. Some people really enjoy Switchfoot & that's okay. It's your personal music choice, & if you like people who can't perform live, that's fine. ;) Over-all Switchfoot does have some good lyrics, but they're definitely not somebody who I typically listen to.

"TOBYMAC! AHHHHHH!"- The fan girls scream. TobyMac might be one of the most popular Christian artists, ever. It would be a lie if I said I wasn't excited to see Toby. My brother Dylan is one of his biggest fans & I know I will be drug to this concert. Just kidding, I actually am pretty stoked to see him. He's got some of the catchiest songs I've ever heard & they all have great messages.

Family.Force.5 ! So I might have lied when I said that Fireflight & Skillet are the bands I'm most excited for because FF5 is going to be there. They kind of have a pop sound to them, but it drowns out with their amazing guitars! Plus, the guys are hot. Oh yeah, I'm so going to the FF5 event.

How could I forget Newsboys & Third Day. Oh, that's right...because it's what my mother listens too. And no, I'm not posting a picture. Too freakin' lazy.

Those are just some of the artists that are going to be performing at the Alive Festival this year, not to mention all my newly found favorite HARDCORE bands I just found out were performing. It should be a blast.

I'm excited, you should be excited too. Yeah.

Okay, that's all I have to say this week. Remember, any questions you have about music, I'm the person to ask. ;)

Do what you can with what you have.

This is Phil and here goes the first blog. Since this is the first blog I will give you a little info on who I am. Misti and I are the parents of four ages 14-5. This alone can make life interesting as we go from one sporting event to the next. The children all have unique persanalitites and interests. Life for the most part has been a joy with the kids and I am truly blessed. I enjoy watching hockey and tinkering with the cars if  I have time.

My heart is for the Native people of our Nation. The needs are tremendous. As Jesus said:  "The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest." These are not just spiritual needs, they have basic human needs that are not sufice. These are needs you and I take for granted everyday. On some reservations the unemployment rate is as high as 85-90%. Black mold lives in about 60% of the homes, tubecolocis is 800% higher than the national average, gang violence, alcholism, cervical cancer, diabetes and miscarriage are all much higher on the Res. To me this is unacceptable for a people who were the original caretakers of America.

We are the body of Christ. We are supposed to be His hands and feet. Christ did not call us out of darkness to sit in a pew as the frozen choosen. Following the Jesus Way requires a life of sacrifice that we don't always understand or are willing to partake. I alone will not solve all of these problems and neither will the anyone else but we have to start somewhere. As James said in Chapter 4:17 "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."
My goal is to focus on one thing and do it well. Please join me in praying for our forgotten brothers and sisters.

Until next week
Phil

WHATZ UP

Hey people this Dylan.I am the 2nd oldest in my family.I live in a house of 6.I love hockey even though I do not play it.My favorite team in the NHL Pittsburgh Penguins.The rest of my family likes the blackhawks.My youngest bro is Nathan he always likes to fight me and play wii.Natalie makes everyone mad and plays outside all the time.Hayley and I are freinds and loves music.I am the best of the four.I love playing basket ball and listening to anything to pop to rock to rapping.I like watching action movies.Thats about all see you next friday
bye.        

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Natalie's Nature

Hi I am Natalie I like to cook and do art am A Figer Skater and I love it. :) I am the second youngest out of four. I love my sister and my two brothers . I love my mom and dad . that is all :)

The Mind of The Mother

I got up first thing this morning to hear my youngest daughter go, "Whose day is it to blog?"

Since this was my idea, I guess I better get my post started before everything around me consumes my time to write this blog.

PTL that we are only doing introductions this week.  (I think I can do this one on-the-fly.)

I am a stay-at-home mom of 4 wonderful children.  I just finished my 3rd year as Learning Coach to 3 of the 4 children.  Next year I will be the teacher for all 4!  YIKES!  Where does the time go?

If I am not schooling the children you can find me running actually driving my children to their different lessons and or games.  As you will soon learn most of our family life is spent at the Ice Rink.  A place I never really saw myself at, considering I am a lover of hot weather.  However, I LOVE the rink.  Almost as much as my children do.  2 of the 4 play hockey, 1 is a figure skater, and the other one...well he can be found dribbling a ball down the court.  (Which is where you will find me if I'm not at the rink or home.)

Life is busy having 4 children, but I really wouldn't have it any other way.  Something I have learned in the past few years is "normal" is really anything BUT "normal", and life is constantly changing.  It wouldn't be my life without something changing.

Christ is my rock, and I have no idea how anyone is able to go through life without Him. 

My latest obsession is finding a way to get as many products for my family as I possibly can by spending the least amount of money.  (I do this by couponing, of course.) 

You will never know what you are going to hear from me on Tuesday's.  I envision sharing some of my money saving ideas, updates on my latest adventures with my family, and of course whatever it is The Lord lays upon my life.

Have a great Tuesday, everyone!

Misti

And the Blogging Begins .......

Hey, it's Hayley. I'm not allowed to put my last name in blogs, so if you have OCD, just make up a last name for me.

Basically my mom got this fantastic idea that our family would start a blog for this summer, and if it goes well, we will continue it throughout the school year as well. Each one of our family members has a certain day to write about what's going on in their lives. I chose Monday, that way I could magically make somebody's day better by my awesome blog-writing-skills. (That's sarcasm, people. I highly doubt anybody will read this anyway.)

Since it's my first blog entry, I suppose I'll tell you a little bit about myself.

I'm the oldest of 4 kids & the first grand-baby to my grandparents, which makes me the favorite\best. ;)
My passion is hockey, I love it with all my heart.
I'm trying out for the Wooster Oilers High School Hockey team this August.
I live at the ice rink.
The Chicago Blackhawks are my pride & joy.
I have fallen deeply in love with music, we have a serious relationship.
Nirvana is my favorite band, ever.
My Chemical Romance is my second favorite band. I am in love with Gerard Way (lead singer) & now I will go cry because I know I can never have him.
My favorite color is black.
I guess I'm pretty outspoken & not afraid to share my opinion on any subject. You might call that being a loud mouth, I call it being fearless.
My brother Dylan is literally my best friend.
My sister Natalie & I are complete opposites.
My brother Nathan wants to be just like me, so I try to be the best role model I can be for him.
I have 3 best\close friends that I trust with everything inside me.
I hate when people stereotype & put a label on me, but I've gotten used to it.

That's about it for this week, because I'm lazy & don't feel like typing anything else. I'll be back to write another post next Monday. :)

FYI- I find this blog thing super cheesy, but it's interesting me at the same time.

Sigh.

About 3 weeks ago I was asked to play in a 3 day, women's hockey tournament. It was a great time & I played 7 short-benched games. I was exhausted, by the time Sunday came around. I met a girl (Kayla^ who is now my best friend) that also was invited to play on my team as well. We had a blast hanging out together and made tons of memories. I.Love.Hockey.

Welcome!

Welcome to Money's Memories! 

As a family we have decided to do a family blog.  This week on our specific days you are going to get a chance to get to know some of us. 
Our plan is to have each member of our family share something one day a week.

-You will be able to catch Hayley on Monday's.
-Tuesday you will learn all about Misti.
-Wednesday's are the days Natalie will inspire us all.
-Thursday you will want to check out Nathan's happenings.
-Rounding out the work week will be Dylan on Friday.
-And Phil will share his heart with us on Saturday.

We have decided to have Sunday as a free day since we are typically busy with church & family activities.
If you are up for an adventure check us out frequently.  Having every personality type represented in our family, you will never know what you are going to find.
Enjoy!
-Misti :)