The One Year Book of Hymns

Georgia Settle gave me this book - it seems ages ago - and in it she wrote, "May the songs of our Savior fill your heart to His Glory" Christmas 1997

I love this book and music has always had a way of moving my heart. This last weekend was so tough on me and I found myself crying more than naught. Speaking words I would normally never speak. I found myself so angry - angrier than I have ever been and moments later sadder than I have ever known. In the few days since the move - I've realized I am not being who I want to be - I'm not responding in a manner reflecting Gods love for me or even as a woman that I WANT to be.

In the middle of this heartbreak and loss and unpacking my room - trying to make order in the chaos I found my book - and when leafing through it I found several hymns that bring balm to my crushed soul.

I thought I'd share one of the hymns with you from time to time - today's being:

There is a Wideness in Gods Mercy

There is a wideness in God's mercy,

Like the wideness in the sea;

There is a kindness in His justice,

Which is more than Liberty.

There is welcome for the sinner,

And more graces for the good,

There is mercy with the Savior;

There is healing in His blood.

For the love of God is broader

Than the measure of man's mind;

And the heart of the Eternal

Is most wonderfully kind.

If our love were but more simple,

We should take Him at His word;

And our lives would be all sunshine

In the sweetness of our Lord.

Frederick William Faber ( 1814-1863)

Change does not come easy for anyone and christian growth is not instantaneous but gradual. Thomas Kempis writes, "One thing that draws one back from spiritual progress is the fear of the difficulty of the labor and combat. Don't give up what you have started" I feel lately I'm in the thick of it and do not want to give up! So in this time after the move - I want my heart in the RIGHT place. With hymns and songs as well as scripture - these bring my focus away from me and the sadness and lift me to a place where I can be WHO I want to be and maybe others can see Christ also. That is all anyone can ask really. The songs stay with me throughout the day and remind me of the promises of God so that they are brought back to me again and again.

Almost time to go and pick up children - can't wait to see them today! Its rainy and cold and can't wait to have some hot chocolate cookies for them fresh from the oven. :)

Oh - and I unpacked 4 boxes today in my closet/bedroom/bathroom area!

WV Fun Part 3

I love kitchen windows - and I have to tell you Anne and Max's one of my favorites to look out -

Rachel and that bubble blower; she loved it and it drove me crazy all summer long - kept getting spilled everywhere we went.. but she loved it.

Comparing muscles.... (so funny and cute - considering they have no muscles.)

Cousins - Patrick loved meeting all the 'new' cousins for him - it's so hard to live so far away.

Early game of baseball before breakfast.

Rachel caught a frog - and loved it - had trouble getting her to let it go.

More baseball....

Most of us that day...

Grace didn't know what to think about that 'other' baby on her momma's hip!

Before breakfast - Rachel sitting on the porch swing. :) She loved the porch swing- might have to get one at our new house. :)

Early morning looking towards the barn.

Morning dew on the blueberry fencing with a cool spider web - :)

I think this little blue flower is chicory - not sure will need to read up but it was everywhere and so pretty.

Rachel and Courage kept eating red raspberries from the bushes - it's a wonder they had any left to sell! :)

Looking from over the garden towards the barn... I might have to make a calendar!

Faith and Grace on porch - love this picture.

Mark playing piano - Grace checking out PawPaw's belongings - Max and PawPaw were singing

Ben flying down slide with 'towel cape' - they had so much fun playing down by the Greenbriar River - lovely park.

Mercy - swinging high!

Back at the farm after swimming.....

Cousins riding in the back of the truck to the river... PawPaw and I didn't fit so we followed in the van - and took pictures..

Swimming in the Greenbriar River - we had had so much rain - the river was up 4-5 feet.

PawPaw waving - I brought a chair so he could sit up off the ground.

That cute Katie Dee Robinson - they grow them pretty in West Virginia.

Patience, Ben and Patrick - trying to dunk each other...

Rachel asked me the other day "Mom can we go back to Uncle Max's Farm?" So it's been almost two months and she is still talking about the farm. :) I realized I had not posted pictures of the farm yet. I keep trying to explain to her that he is our cousin but she keeps calling him Uncle Max. :)

I have triple the amount of pictures that are posted - and you probably think we were there for days and days... no ~ just 24 hours! It was just so much fun and so many things to take pictures of - we loved it. There will be one more blog posting of West Virginia pictures and I'll try to get those done before we move.

Gotta run and eat - and then friends are popping in this evening to help pack dishes! yea! I'll update you later.

Jesus What a Friend for Sinners

At our new church plant service Sunday night they had several hymns printed in the bulletin and this hymn has always been a favorite and I thought I'd share it with you. It was such a wonderful surprise to see it in the bulletin. It's always comforting to be reminded of it's simple but unfailing truths.

Jesus! What a friend for sinners!

Jesus! Lover of my soul;

Friends may fail me, foes assail me,

He, my Savior, makes me whole.

(chorus) Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Hallelujah! What a friend

Saving, helping, keeping, loving

He is with me to the end.

Jesus What a strength in weakness

Let me hide myself in Him

Tempted, tried, and sometimes failing

He, my strength, my victory wins.

(chorus)

Jesus What a help in sorrow

While the billows o'er me roll

Even when my heart is breaking

He my comfort, helps my soul

(chorus)

Jesus I do now receive Him

More than all in Him I find

He hath granted me forgiveness

I am His and He is mine

Hallelujah What a Savior

Hallelujah What a friend

Saving, helping, keeping, loving

He is with me to the end.

I hope you know and or reminded that He is with us when everything else seems to be falling away, your heart is breaking and the issues of your daily life is roll over you like waves knocking you down, taking your breath away. He is there, our Friend, loves us, never fails us.

WV Fun Part 2

I wanted to put more pictures of our fantastic time we had in West Virginia.

I can see our time getting busier and busier as the days go by and as soon as our home sells I will be swamped with packing and trying to find a new home! :) So.... more West Virginia Fun!

Tygart Lake - Jenny rented a pontoon boat for us all to have fun on the lake with family!

I can't remember which son this is - Justice or Honor? He was so funny to watch up on the rock we started a running commentary of his time on top of the rock - to jump? or not to jump? He did jump but it took him a minute or two! :)

Cousin Mark and PawPaw - trying to look like Santa I think. :)

Baby Grace - such a cutie!

Courage driving the boat! AND what a ham - he loved having his picture taken!

Cousin Mark & his lovely wife; Faith :)

Cousins Calvin & Asher encouraging Patrick to jump... (what's wrong with this picture!?)

My son leaps........ (this is actually his second jump - and I was in the water for his first - very close by..... :)

On the way down..............

Splash! (his cousin Calvin was near by too - at his Aunt Tammy's request)

This is the crew - Aunt Jenny rented the pontoon boat on their free day from working at the camp - so it was the only day we had.... and it was 68 degrees and raining! But we were all going swimming any way right? so what's a bit of rain... - it was fun and my children are still talking about it!

Aunt Jenny rented the pontoon boat and let each child take a turn driving the boat - here's Rachel driving - she loved it and I think drove more than anyone - (she didn't swim in the lake) She learned that there are fish in the lake and decided that she would NOT be swimming with the fishes! :)

It really is a beautiful lake - and if you get the chance you ought to give it a try!

Rachel and her PawPaw - it was a chilly 68 degrees with rain and some wind! :)

This is the lake at the Kern Cabin north of Buchannon, WV - we had a blast and were there for three days! What a place to go and visit and be quiet and just enjoy each other -no TV, no computers - no cell phones. I loved it. Love the porch and rocking chairs - can't believe I didn't get pictures of the 'cabin' itself - I just put my camera down while 'in' the cabin. :) I guess I was just '''soooo''' relaxed. :) haha

Did you know that Abraham Lincoln 'spoke & wrote' West Virginia into statehood by proclamation & signature - June 20, 1863..... Saaaalute!

Rachel - visiting our Baire relatives - this creek - I used to play in as a child, my mother played in as a child and I have to tell you - Rachel was NOT getting in the water but her cousins AJ and Asher loved it and had a blast playing in the creek. My Grandma Baire's house sat just above this creek and we visited her every week when I was little - but every now and then when the rains came - the creek would rise... and sometimes rise right up to her front porch... so the old saying, "Lord willing the creek don't rise" is a very true statement.

A hike in the Kanawha Forest State Park - these trees are so beautiful - children had a wonderful time - I'm the only one that ended up with a tick - thankfully Aunt Jenny was in town so she could help me remove it from - well - that's another story. :)

Rachel met her cousin Chrissy - they had a blast - and want to be sisters. It was so much fun to see them playing badminton, barbies, watching movies, air hockey - they had a blast.

OK - there are a ton more pictures but this is it for today!

First Day of School!

Oh the children are so excited about meeting their teachers and I'm so excited - I hear good things about their teachers. :) It is always nice when other moms come up and tell you about your current teacher!

The children picked out their own clothes for the first day of school - and well - it was something else - I think Patrick grew 2 inches over night!

It's hard to believe that they are in 3rd and 4th grade! Where is time going so fast - last December hubby reminded me that our son was at his half way birthday... I looked at him confused and he said, "He's 9" (!!) WHAT!? I was floored and still am , and I'm also reminded by my cousin's blog that her son is beginning his new journey this week with starting college! My dad used to tease me when Patrick was 1 that "oh my he'd be heading to college soon, getting married next - does he really think that's funny?

But sometimes it seems like it passes in the blink of an eye and like Mary Kathryn - our children are just not the person they are today but they are the infants we held, the toddler we watched learn to walk, learn to ride their bikes and now wanting to walk to school by themselves... but that child we send off to college and into the world. So take that extra moment to hug them, listen to them, play with them when they ask b/c you may laugh but they will be heading off to college soon! (as my dad and in-laws tease me) That's ok - I'll laugh too as we enjoy our children growing up. Have a great week!

2 Weeks in West Virginia... = F-U-N (Part 1)

We had so much fun getting together with family and friends. The family picnic was a blast - we realize later maybe we open it up to all Robinson's but this year - our first year we just had my dad and his sisters and our first cousins - and their children. The picnic was out at Kanawha State Forest and it's beautiful - the trees are so amazingly tall - and

green. So a couple of snapshots of the picnic are attached.

Quiet moments with my aunts and uncles and the laughter with my cousins was just what my heart needed. Patrick and Rachel loved their time with family and new friends that they will now have fond memories forever.

West Virginia offers so much - it's hard to believe it's not overwhelmed with tourism - it's not glitzy - or commercialized but it's a beautiful and I'm glad some of the places I've been going all my life are still there so I could share them with my children.

Hawks Nest - my parents started taking me here when I was a child.

New River Gorge Bridge - so beautiful.

Babcock State Park - the children loved- loved climbing on those big rocks!

(** when I was taking this picture - I heard my name and turned around and saw my friend Melissa from FRISCO, TEXAS - exactly! What are the odds!? ) It was a funny moment!

Tygart Lake State Park - my sister Jenny rented a pontoon boat for all of us - Cousin Mark and his lovely wife Faith joined us with their six children! What a day - it was so cold and rainy but we were going to be wet any way... right? Check out my nine year old leaping off that big rock! He is still talking about it!

Oh my! We visited my cousin Max and his wonderful family - the farm was so much fun - my children didn't know what to do but quickly joined in with Max's children and Mark's six that were fortunately 'stuck' there with van issues! So.... ELEVEN children running around the outside the house(make that 10 - Baby Grace is still attached to her momma's hip) - laughing, squealing :) Cousin Anne -was amazing with the cooking for 16 mouths - and it was wonderful - we mostly ate in shifts but there was nary a complaint - everyone just ate and kept running! We are so glad they were able to let us visit in their busy blueberry schedule. I remember visiting this farm when they were 'thinking' about buying it - so it was exciting to see how their hands have transformed it to an amazing home and farm.

The cabin - ah - the cabin is hidden away and belongs to the Kern Family - talk about a cool place - the children swam in the lake, there's a stocked trout stream just feet away from the front door and the trees were - yes - amazing - some days you don't see the sun unless it was just right... and it had to be directly over head! Neither child wanted to leave the cabin.

Let's see - what else? Oh - on the way home we were able to stop and spend some time with Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Fred - the children loved their time there and with Leah. Lucy was being being a social butterfly. When we left there - we stopped by President Lincoln's boyhood home and birth place - it's a national park so we've begun something new to do! National Parks! The children enjoyed that - and are still talking about it too. Then a quick night with Grammy and home again, home again jiggity jig.... :)

The reason of part I and II - is pictures - I'm having trouble loading them up and moving them around -so - easier to just put it in two blogs! :) Hope your summer was as grand as ours!

Blue Grass Parkway and Capital today :)

Those who know the area will be proud - I drove all the way down to ...hmmm can't remember the name of the bridge - went over the bridge and back up to University of Charleston and took this picture from the river side of the college to get the capital in the background - then found my way back to the other side of the river :) Kids were impressed when we were on the Kanawha Blvd and looked back at the college and realized where they had just been. :) (make sense?)

check out this action shot! He was bounding away from the crazy lady in the van... following him... :)
Can't get away from me and my camera............

Patrick and Rachel loved this shot!


She's till there - let's quietly walk away maybe she will forget we are here..

Why did you choose this part of the highway to stop and eat - the human is 'watching' us....