Vision for 2013 Part 3: A Balanced Heart

2012 was a truly incredible year for Royal Stage. We got our own building, out on some great shows and got some amazing ministry opportunities.

If someone asked me to sum up the year as royal stage director I would say,

"This year we were blessed with every single thing we needed to not only survive but thrive. We taught dance to rescued prostitutes, to abused women and to inner city children who had been wrongly taught to not have hope. "

I am so humbled and blessed to be a part of RS.

It was also a very difficult year. A lot of people left. Not for bad reasons or anything the ministry did - but life just changed a lot of things for a lot of individuals. Viewpoints changed, schedules changed - it was tough. I've found myself in a perpetual state of grieving those who have moved on. I know it's normal. I could never be a pastor of a church - I don't know how they do it all the time - my heart would cave in.

My personal ministry vision in 2013 is To trust more. God has never let us fall, so why do I continue to be so afraid?

My god, my father - he desires blessings upon those who love Him. And oh I do! So that's it then.

There is a great year ahead in royal stage - so I will stop. Being. Afraid! He has brought is so far - why ever would I shy away now. To hide from His perfect will an blessings would be crazy. And hiding in the shelter of His wings is perfection.

Vision for 2013 Part 2: Charming Charlie

This year was the first we experienced with two young, active children. This time last year Charlotte was still very much a baby. This time going into the new year she is a vibrant, energetic and fearless
20 month old.


Charlotte is the apple of her daddy's eye and I love having another girl in the house. She'll climb into bed with me in the morning while frank is getting ready for work and snuggle up close face to face like she's telling me secrets.

This year I was so proud of Charlotte because:

- she has learned so many things and amazes me with how quickly she grows and comprehends.

- she is a sweet little nurturer. From tucking her baby dolls into bed to patting our backs and nuzzling us when we pick her up, her tender heart is apparent on a daily basis.

Goals for Charlotte in 2013:

- start to instill more structure and discipline in her life. She is gracious in taking and as she turns 2 we will begin to teach her to be gracious in giving.

- learning more about our values. CBS is a total must for Charlie this year as it has been during her nursery time. The "twos" class is where Sam received truly incredible teaching. I was so amazed at what they taught these little ones and I look forward to experiencing it again.

This year in Charlotte we saw:
Love, affection, kindness, beauty, joy

Virtues I am praying for our girl:
Generosity, salvation, patience, peace.

Vision for 2013 Part One: Sweet Sam

Family vision is big on my heart as 2012 comes to a close. I'm trying to hold myself back from biting off way more I can chew with this, as everything I think about instantly turns into a "project", but I think I've got it down to wanting to focus on these key areas for 2013 to be successful, and most importantly, joyful. Of course, all of this must go with the flow of God's will, which we've well learned y now can be way different than ours, and life is much more agreeable if we just lean into it rather than fighting against it. Our Daddy always knows what's best anyhow!

Sam is a big presence in my mind right now. Obviously he and Charlotte both always are, but Sam has a particularly big year coming up. In 2013, he will start Kindergarten, finish his final year of CBS, and will get to direct his own passions a bit.

 Sam made me so proud in 2012:

• He shows consistent compassion for others 
• He accepted Jesus as his Savior last month, and hasn't forgotten this important step. 
•  He has an incredible sense of humor 
• He isn't even 4 and a half yet, but has a 2nd grade reading level.
•  He went through surgery again. This was the first he was old enough to really understand what was going on, and the first time he expressed fear, anger and pain over it. And then he graciously thanked his nurses and doctors and celebrated the fact he hopefully will never see them again!
•  He expresses such love and patience toward his sister. (most of the time). And trust me, she does everything possible to annoy him sometimes.

He has started helping with household chores with joy and obedience. He learned for the first time through being at Royal Stage with me about kids who don't have parents who love them in the right ways, and he grasped the concepts of gratefulness, generosity and grace for the first time. I love this boy.

 My 2013 Goals for Sam

• To expose him to joyful service. He has compassion, we want to teach him little actions. 
•  To grow in God's word - we've started a FABULOUS children's daily devotional. It is the sweetest time and I hope it continues! 
• To give him regular, consistent responsibilities at home. 
• To select a Kindergarten we both love, and that he will thrive at. To allow him to explore his own interests, even if that means cutting down on mine (and it will. and that's okay)

  Prayers Answered 

  I continue to pray biblical virtues over our children. It's been so fun to see answered prayer through Sam.

This year we saw: - Salvation! - Growth in grace - Love for God's Word - Courage - Kindness - Generosity - Contentment - Gratitude

This year I'm praying for: - Self-control (do any 4 year olds have this?!) - Responsibility - Honesty & integrity - Did I mention self control?

2012 Please Stay Forever!

It's been an incredible year. Do you know why? Because I have completely sucked at blogging, which means life has been way too busy and way too fun!

Here is our ministry update in glorious electronic form for all to enjoy. I plan to do a kiddo update soon.

Merry almost Christmas!


Royal Stage 2012

A Day at the Pumpkin Farm

Checking out the animals.

                             

Look it's a sheep!

I have no idea what this new pose is, but he did it for 20+ pics I deleted.

Better ;)

Addi likes to play dolls - with Charlotte. C keeps reminding her she does not like to be involved in doll drafts.

"This pumpkin is SO heavy, mommy help!"

Proud of his find.

                                            

Now this is a serious pumpkin patch!

Whatever you do kids, DON'T look up for a single dang picture! Sheesh.

She found one her size!

I have the best pumpkinette of all!

Piggy kisses. This was not expected.

Stole big brother's pumpkin

My little one is still best!

See?

With his BFF Sean

Dirty and happy

I have no idea who this child is that is hugging my daughter.

Too quick to get kissed by the pig.

Have you seen my pumpkin? :)

So sleepy.

Go ahead, Charlie - kiss the pig!

Feeding the llama..alpaca..furry horse...whatev.

friends!

She loves Miss Elisa!

Disneyland Weekend with Both Our Babies!

So, I likely have the best husband ever. This is especially easy to say when he surprises me with Disneyland tickets for my birthday :) We just got back.....my mom once said "When I think of Hell, I think of Disneyland in the summertime." Now that I've done it with two little kids, I tend to agree. But still, a very fun and rewarding sort of Hell. All of that feeding, lifting, stroller pushing, sunscreen slathering, height requirement checking and attempting to look away from all of the sugar being consumed was totally worth it to see the looks on their faces all weekend :)

Here are the highlights (aka WAY to many pictures of their cute mugs). I am way too lazy to put them in order, sorry readers! :)

                                         SO excited to get through that main gate!

                                         SO excited for Pooh, the first ride o the day - his pick :)

                                         Charlotte's first reaction to her very first Disneyland ride LOL.

                                          I love this photo.

                                          The brand-spankin' new Cars Land

                                         Sam was wearing a Toy Story shirt - Woody is pointing himself out.

                                         Hitting the pool

                                            Sorry, told you out of order.....

                                         

                                          Getting more sunscreen put on :)

                                          Auntie Karen!

                                         He got to see his Katie!

                                      I have no idea whose pee/drool/spilled water is on me in this pic.

                                         Disneyland Half Marathon ChEAR Squad - 6am, woot!

                                          Swimming <3 nbsp="nbsp" p="p">

                                         15,000 runners ran through this castle

                                         No thanks to Disneyland for the complimentary noise makers.

                                          Go Nana and Kayla!

                                         Princesses shouldn't eat muffins the same color as their dress. Slightly alarming.

                                         With Daddy her prince charming.

                                         So much fun getting to wander through Disneyland before they opened.

                                          Cheering at the finish line!

                                         

                                           Kayla ran 13.1 miles in 2 hrs!

                                                 Never have I been so jealous of a 4 year old.

                                          It was sort of ridiculous how the kids got to hang out with the characters one-on-one, even on a super crowded weekend!

                                           Not so sure about the first roller coaster, but ended up loving it!

                                         Conquered his fear :)

                                         Hour 9 in Snow White costume, still unable to find Snow White....

                                       WHERE the heck is she?!?!?!

                                     FINALLY. We found her. 5 minutes before she left for the day. The guy running the princess area went up and asked Snow White to make an exception and take a picture with Charlotte since he was so sick of seeing our face all day long, searching for this damn princess. Snow White was very nice, and Charlotte cried in response to being literally thrown at Snow White. The best picture we got of this one, with a beautiful, gracious princess and my little one who looks as if she is flipping off the camera. Fail.

                            My uncle, Sam, (Uncle Sam haha) and a very big burrito.

It was a fun weekend :)