Fun Times At Christmas

Wow! I have so much to post! I feel like I have such little time to update the blog, and when I do I have days and days worth of updates! Well, I will just jump right in and start with Christmas Eve. Zach started his vacation on this day and doesn't have to go back until a week from Monday! Praise the Lord! We had a busy day of baking cookies, making buckeyes and preparing a big meal. We had great fun, though! Ethan cut out the sugar cookies with cookie cutters. I frosted them and he sprinkled them with sprinkles. Let's just say, very memorable! That night, we opened up our stockings from mom, which really got everyone excited for opening presents the next morning. Christmas day, I cooked a big breakfast, and when Oma arrived, we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and the opened presents! Needless to say, we had lots of fun! Ethan really got into it this year, but Ayden at 14 months of age liked ripping the paper and chewing on everything. Among other things, Ethan got a new bike from mommy and daddy, and new nascars from Oma. Oma went all out and got Ethan and Zach a round of golf at a local country club. It will be too funny watching my four year old on the golf course. If you know Ethan, he loves golf and CANNOT wait to go. In fact he told his daddy today that it was the PERFECT day to go golfing. Our wonderful friends, the Piatt family, came over for lunch and spent the rest of the day with us! We had such a good time. Our children love to play with each other so you can imagine how much fun the kids had! We got to share some wonderful fellowship with them! We ended the evening at my mother's house where we all shared Christmas dinner together. We are so thankful for such a wonderful day. I must pause here and say that although, we had lots of fun, food and presents, we always kept the true reason for Christmas in the forefront of our minds. Christmas is Christ Jesus' Birthday and without His coming to this earth to die on the cross for our sins Christmas would mean nothing. Unfortunately, Christmas has been so commercialized, but the Lang family still celebrates the true meaning of Christmas, our Saviors birthday! We love you Jesus and thank you for coming to this earth for us! You love us so much!

Yesterday was spent relaxing and the boys played with all their new toys. I even got to take a nap! Today was busy with lots of running around and one very memorable event! Ayden got his first haircut today! It was very difficult for me to give in but it was time. People were starting to think he was a girl. He had these pretty little curls and he is such a pretty little baby, I can understand the confusion. He did really well! My hair dresser had Ethan sit with Ayden in the chair which really worked out nice. I think it helped to have Ethan sitting with him. Ayden played with my chap stick while Mommy, daddy and Ethan talked to him. He did great! So gone our the beautiful curls and instead you see a handsome little boy. He is too cute with his hair cut!

Here are the curls before the haircut!

This is the front view before the haircut!

During the haircut with his big brother right next to him!

No more curls!

Big boy haircut from the front!

Thanks for sharing in our memories! We make lots of them, and we love to share them with you!

Love,

The Lang Family

We're Home!

Thank you so much for your prayers! It was quite the eventful trip, but we made it home safely. Our original intent for going to Ohio was to help my grandmother move to her new apartment. We did help with this task, but there was a major kink thrown into the whole equation. My grandmother has diverticulitis (sp?) which is a disease that can cause one to spontaneously hemorrhage from the rectum. Sounds pleasant doesn't it? Well, it decided to flair up on the first day of the move. To make a long story short, my grandmother is doing well after several blood transfusions, days in the hospital, and she almost had to have surgery. She is now recovering at her new apartment. Please continue to pray for her, and that she doesn't have another "episode". Much of my time and my mother's time was spent at the hospital so the move did not go as quickly and efficiently as we had hoped. In fact, my mother is still in Ohio trying to wrap things up and making sure my grandmother is going to be ok! When we realized that everything was going to take so much longer than expected, I called my wonderful husband and begged him to come get us. So Zach jumped in the car and came to get us! He drove straight through to come rescue us! He truly is my "knight in shining armor"! The drive home was fun. The boys were antsy in the car so we made a few extra stops. One of the stops was at the Corvette museum. My guys truly had fun at that one and I did too. Than we stopped in Brentwood, TN (home of Dave Ramsey) for lunch. My hubby got the bright idea to drive around town to try to find "Financial Peace Plaza", Dave Ramsey's office! If you can believe it, we actually found it! We were so excited as we walked into the lobby of his building! When you walk into the lobby, you can see his radio room and they actually have seats outside the soundproof room so you can watch him do his broadcast! The best of all was that he was actually doing a live show at that time, and we got to witness it! He waved at us too! For those of you who know that we are "Financial Peace" coordinators, you know what a thrill that was for us! Needless to say, we were pumped. We made it safely home, and I have never been so happy to be home! Look below to see some recent picks of the boys.

Ayden with his comfy pillow for the car ride!

Ethan with his comfy pillow!

My angels in front of our tree!

Look how tall Ethan is. That's a 6 foot tree!

My Baby!

I hope you enjoyed stopping by to catch up with us! There's always something going on with our very busy family!

Was Your Thanksgiving Wonderful?

Was your Thanksgiving wonderful? Ours was! Zach's family came to town to celebrate Thanksgiving with us, and we had a wonderful time! Ethan was so happy to have Papa, Grandma, and Aunt Jen with us, and they certainly kept him very busy. Ayden loved being with them too. We were sad to see them go, but they have arrived safely home already. We are so grateful for God's hand of protection over their travels! I don't know about you, but I have done nothing but eat these last few days! God is so good to have provided for us so bountifully. We have so much to be thankful for! Did anyone brave the "Door Buster" sales they day after Thanksgiving? Thanks to my "pro" of a mother-in-law, I was initiated into my first experience this year! My mother-in-law thrives on this stuff and she actually talked me into going to, of all places, WALMART!!!! I may be sick but it was actually a thrill for me. I think I enjoyed it so much because I actually got what I came for, and there were only seven of this item! Needless to say, after being shoved into the entire display and gaining some bruises and scratches, I got what I came for and got a great deal!!! Thanks Teena! However, I have to say that I have never seen anything like it before in my life! It was utter mayhem! Oh, and I also got a camera and a FREE printer! Yeah!!!
Please be in prayer for us this week! My mom, the boys and I leave this Tuesday to go to Ohio to help my grandmother move from the house she has lived in for 50 years. It is a long story but the short of it is that she has been evicted. We would greatly appreciate your prayers for safety and for wisdom in helping my grandmother. She is not at all happy about leaving the home she raised 8 children in! Pray for Zach as he has to fend for himself for over a week. Just kidding! He can handle it, but we will certainly miss each other. Please let me know how all of you Thanksgiving Holidays were! Thanks for checking in with us!

Sincerely,
Cathy
P.S
I will ask Zach to post some pictures while I am away!

Are you still there?!?

Hey everyone! No I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, but we have been extremely busy so that is why I haven't posted any updates in a long time! Anyway, we are all doing fine, and so far no one has been sick this cold and flu season. I am praising the Lord that we have been healthy so far. We wrapped up our "Financial Peace University" class, and I am so proud of all our graduates. It is so exciting to see how God has blessed. One of our families has gotten a significant pay raise since the starting the class. Another man has gotten a second job to help pay off debt, and several others have found creative ways to pay off debt in such a short period of time. Our small class of roughly 13 people had payed off $45,000 of debt in just 13 weeks. Awesome!! Besides FPU, we've had Dr.s appointments to contend with, Uppercase Living Parties and Ministries keeping us busy, but God is so Good. I do have several prayer requests to humbly ask you to pray for, so here it goes: No, I am not pregnant, but I did have an appointment with my OB for my regular exam and to talk about plans for having more children in the future. Basically, he said he fully anticipates me having the same pregnancy complications again. To say the least, that is a little disheartening. However, I serve a God who knows no problem to big or obstacle to hard to overcome. So I asked that you pray that we prove 'em all wrong, and that I have no complications at all next time! That is not too big for my GOD! I've seen amazing things happen when God's people pray, and I would greatly appreciate your intercession in this matter. Secondly, we are trying to sell our Pontiac Grand Prix in hopes of moving into a van. Please pray that our car will sell and that we can find a spectacular deal on a van. Sorry for bombarding you, but it is so nice to know that others are praying for you needs and wishes! Hope this finds everyone doing well, and we will post pictures soon.

He looks like me!

Have you ever had on of those "Ah, Ha!" moments? Well I had one today and I will explain that moment in a minute, but I have to tell you what led up to that "Ah, Ha!" moment first. I was talking to my mom today and she made a comment about how when she was holding Ayden the other day it was like looking into my face when I was a baby. She said that she couldn't believe how much he looks like me! I have to tell you, I hardly hear anyone comment that either one of my children look like me! In fact, Ethan looks uncannily like his daddy, and pretty much everyone thinks the same of Ayden. So while we were at my mom's today, I decided to pull out my old baby pictures. I was shocked at what I saw. It was like looking at pictures of Ayden, but it was me. It is a rather surreal experience to realize that there is someone out there who looks like you. The only distinction between the two of us was that Ayden has lighter hair and I had darker hair. I was so excited! You see, I love the fact that my son resembles me! There is no way that anyone can deny that he is my son! That brings such satisfaction.

God has taught me so much spiritually through the blessing of being a parent! Now for the "Ah, HA!" moment: If I get so excited that my son physically looks like me, how happy and excited does my God, my Heavenly Father get when I resemble Him. You see the Bible talks about being conformed to the image of His Son Jesus. Jesus came to earth to be our example, and the more we walk according to Jesus' example, the more we resemble our Heavenly Father. I knew all of this before! However, now that I am a parent, and on a very small scale, can relate to my Heavenly Parent, I feel like I truly know how important it is to Him that I resemble Him! Our God loves when we resemble Him. And you know, when we resemble Him, there is no denying that we are HIS!

Thank you Lord, for allowing me to be a parent so that I may learn these truths on a deeper level!

Fun Days

Yesterday was such a fun day! We got to go to the park with some friends, and we had a great time just being together. The day couldn't have been more beautiful! I had an Uppercase Living Party last night which means Zach, Ethan, and Ayden had a boys night. I always have so much fun sharing the Uppercase Living Product and of course the fellowship is always wonderful. I am ready to crash though. WE had our missions conference Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday was my Uppercase Living Party and tonight is our FPU class. I have not been home any night this week. I'm feeling very tired today, but the Lord always gives me the strength I need. Needless to say, I am looking forward to the weekend!

For those of you who don't know, we facilitate Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University class through our church. God has blessed incredibly and we are thrilled to have a part in this ministry. We have seen God change lives through this program. In the day and age we live in, it is a miracle to say that one can live in financial peace! It can be done and we are living proof. We get a front row seat each week to see the miracles of God and how HE provides. What a blessing! I will try to post a link on the side if anyone is interested in looking into Dave Ramsey's program.

Not much else going on. The boys are great and always very active. Thank you Lord for two healthy children!

Prayer for Our Country

Dear Lord, today is a pivotal point in our country's history. A record number of voters will be turning out for today's election. Please Father, turn their hearts to you. This has been my prayer way before today's date but this is where the rubber meets the rode! No matter what the outcome, I know that you sit on the throne and are in control of everything. I am so thankful that I serve an all powerful God who loves ME and wants the best for ME! Thank you for your love and thank you for sending your only SON to die for my sins so that I may spend eternity with you in heaven. Watch over us while we spend the remainder of our days on earth and touch us with your merciful hand. Father, no matter what happens today, I promise to live for you and raise my children for you for the rest of my days! I pray all these things in Jesus' precious and HOLY NAME, AMEN!

Hello everyone! I have really been thinking a lot about the elections next week, and I have to say, where does one begin when trying to express their feelings on such a hot topic? First and foremost I ask that we all pray for the Lord's will to be done. I do believe that this is a pivotal election that can change America's future. I ask you, do you really know WHY you are voting for your candidate? Is your decision based upon the principles that our country was founded on? How many of us can actually say that we have truly researched each candidate, and not only that, but that we are truly looking for the person whom our forefathers entrusted to uphold the United States Constitution. I have personally grown a lot in this area over the recent years. However, I'm sure I'd be accurate to say that most Americans are looking for the candidate who fits their personal lifestyle, agenda's, upbringing, etc. the most. In fact, I'd go so far as to say, in a few short years I'm not sure that our Constitution is going to matter much anymore. Why is that? I believe it is because United States Citizens have wandered so far away from what (rather I should say Whom) our constitution was founded upon. The Bible tells of the story of the foolish man who built his house on a foundation of sand, and the house came tumbling down. And then there was the wise man who built his house on the ROCK, and his house stood firm. This is in reference to the fact that our lives, home, principles, relationships, everything in our lives should be centered around God. If God is the foundation that our homes should be built upon, than how much more should our country have this same firm foundation? Well folks, I ask that you search your hearts and ask the Lord to reveal to us what we can do for our country. I could go on and on about this topic, but instead, I ask that Holy Spirit to take control and work in each one of us to do what is right. I will leave you with this challenge. Research what principles our country was founded on. Research what our founding fathers believed. VOTE based upon those principles and not your own desires, wishes or agendas. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest! Now onto more pictures!

I know these pictures may be used as blackmail later, but they had so much fun in their first bubble bath together!

Cruisin' around in my birthday present.

Ethan loves the book "Horton Hatches the Egg" by Dr. Seuss! Here he is pretending to be Horton sitting on his egg which is in his nest. He's my silly goose!

Thanks for stopping by and come back soon for more Lang Family Fun!

Ayden's First Steps

Ayden got brave on us tonight! Unbelievably, we were both here to witness Ayden's first steps! He was holding on to the armoir in the living room and just decided to let go and took a couple of steps. So, we decided to try to catch it on camera and this was the best he provided for us. Hope you enjoy!

Birthday Pictures

I'm finally getting around to posting Birthday pics! Ayden turned one year old on October 21st! My baby is now a toddler, and time has gone so fast. We had just a small family get together with me Zach, Ethan, my mom and my aunt Nissie. We had a good time, but had a blast watching Ayden with his first cake experience. At first he didn't know what to think of it, but he loved eating it, and loved making a mess more!

What's this? I've not seen this before!

I'll try anything once!

Here it goes!

He is actually doing the baby sign for more.

I'm so cute!

What a mess and what a memory!

Thanks for visiting and we will be posting more pics soon! Actually, probably more pics tomorrow. I've got a bunch of cute ones I've taken recently but it's getting late so enough for tonight!

Lots of pictures!

I'm sorry I haven't posted any pictures in a while, but life has been crazy! I've got lots of pictures to share and I hope you enjoy them! Our family got to go to the pumkin patch a few weekends ago and we all had a great time!

Here we are in the barn over-looking the corn maze!

Ayden and Daddy climbing the hay bales.

Ethan's turn!

Not quite sure what to think of this stuff! What is it anyway?!?

I'm driving mommy! Can I take this tractor home with me?

Ethan's first pony ride! He loved it. He wasn't quite sure what to think as you can tell from his facial expression.

One more thing to explore!

It is such a blessing to be able to see your children experience things for the first time! Ethan and Ayden had a great time on the hay ride. Ethan got to jump around in a bunch of cotton called the "cotton bounce", and they both got to climb the hay bales with daddy! I praise God that we can make these wonderful family memories together!

On a side note, I have another praise. Ethan has started to read! That is exciting news in and of itself, but I am all the more excited because I got to be the one to teach him! The light bulb just clicked and he started sounding out short words! My baby is becoming so grown up, and I am so proud of him! He is excited about "school". We are home-schooling and he loves it! Thanks again to my husband who works so hard that I may stay home and have these wonderful privileges.

More pictures to come tomorrow. It's late and we have church tomorrow!

God is so good to us all!

As my baby turns one year old tomorrow, I have been reflecting on God's goodness to me! Many of you know what a struggle it was to bring Ayden into this world, Ethan too for that matter, but here we are getting ready to celebrate his birthday! Thank you Lord for my miracle children! I can hardly believe how time has gone by, but my God has been so good, hence today's title! Let me share with you just some of the things I am so thankful for.
God gave me a WONDERFUL husband who knows me better than I know myself! Zach diligently provides for our every need. He is a man of honor, integrity, sincerity, loyalty (the list could go on an on) and he loves me! I can hardly believe it! He is an amazing father who emulates our Heavenly Father! I love you Zach! Thank you God for my husband.
God gave me two beautiful, healthy, vibrant, and energetic children. Ethan is so smart he scares me sometimes. He is so tender-hearted and my bright spot each day! That little boy is going to be a preacher some day you just wait and see. He loves the Lord so much it is inspiring, all at the tender age of three. Ayden keeps me on my toes every day, and he keeps us laughing with his crazy stunts and his contagious smile! He loves his big brother so much! Thank you God for my children!
God gave me a wonderful mother who would do absolutly anything for me and my family! I could not list all the things she has done for us as this would then turn into a book. Mom, I love you, and thank you for everything you have done. Thank you for being there for me no matter what! Thank you God for my mother!
God has given us an amazing church family in Mountain View Baptist Church. The people of this church have been so supportive and encouraging. I praise the Lord He has given us a church that we can know the Word of God will be preached. I praise the Lord for those who diligently serve in this ministry! Thank you God for our church!
Thank you God for our comfortable home that we are sheltered in. Thank you God for the nourishing food you provide. Thank you God for the warm clothing to cover us with. Thank you God for our health. Thank you God for our friends, family, and loved ones! I thank God that I live in the greatest country on earth, the great USA!
Thank you God for my freedoms, and thank you God for those who fight for those freedoms!
Most importantly, I thank you God for my Salvation! I thank you for sending your son, Jesus Christ, to die for my sin so that I may spend my eternity with you in heaven! Thank you that you made it so simple to receive that wonderful gift of salvation and that you extend that gift to all who believe. Thank you God for Jesus Christ!
Friends, today I ask you to consider your blessings. It is so easy to take simple things like food and clothing for granted, but think of those who lack those simple items. I ask you to ponder who and what you are thankful for, and share your thankfulness with others. Our country has become so ungrateful for it's blessings. Be thankful and lets pass along our spirit of thankfulness to everyone around us. And above all else, I ask you to condider the Giver of your blessings , our wonderful, loving, God!
Cathy

Busy Day!

More Pics! Ayden is our little mischeviousman!




Hello Everyone! We had such a busy day today, hence the title "Busy Day"! My mom, the boys and myself went to the Kids Market and Mom Sale this morning and found some great deals on clothes for the boys. I'm always so amazed at how God supplies our every need, and this clothing sale has surely played a part in clothing our children. Ethan is Mr. Social Bug and made friends with all the little kids running around, and Ayden just tried to "help" mommy the whole time. Anyway, we had a great time!
I also wanted to give a husge praise. Our family and church family has been praying for a sweet dear family whose son was diagnosed with a serious form of lukemia at 11 weeks of age. Praise the Lord he is now in remission. I encourage you, no, I challenge you to go to is blog www.ethankrawiec.blogspot.com! You will never be so blessed and challenged in your life! I hope you enjoy!

Our First Race

Again, please bare with us as we now advance into the twenty-first century! Ethan and Daddy got to go to Talladega yesterday! If you know my son, you know that he is a race fan (yes, even at the age of three!) They had such a good time, and we wanted to share that with you! It is getting pretty late, so I will have to cut this short, but I can't wait to share more about our wonderful family through this blog! I will be posting more pictures with Ayden too! He is so cute, but watch out he is hard to keep up with!

Bear with us as we figure out what in the world we are doing!!!