our weekend project

We got the itch to give Kade his own room last week. He has been upset a couple of times recently because he keeps getting lumped in with his younger brothers for not picking toys up or cleaning their room. He does end up being the one that ends up doing a lot of the work many times when we ask them to clean up their messes, so we thought this seemed like a good time to let him have a little space of his own.

I put out a call for a twin bed/mattress once we made the decision and almost immediately had this bed and mattress donated (HUGE BLESSINGS from my friends, Alison and Heather!). Alison even sent a gallon of blue paint which worked perfectly with the lime green paint that was already on two of the walls in the room we had been using for our playroom. So - pretty much after painting two walls, putting the bed together and moving the other furniture, Kade had a new room and Kale got to officially move from the toddler mattress on the floor to the bottom bunk that Kade used to occupy. Kale looks a little too excited that Kade is out of their room now ;-).


I had to include this pic below because it was taken the morning after the first night in his own room - I love that they all end up in the same bed to start their morning off. It's a sweet bond that these four siblings have - I pray that bond remains strong all through their lives.
My project that I'm hoping to finish this next weekend: refinishing our buffet. So far, I've sanded and primed it. All that's left is the turquoise paint!

the ten commandments

I don't brag about my husband near as I ought to when it comes to how he communicates God's Word. He is hand's down my favorite pastor and teacher - and I am 99.9999% sure I would say that even if he wasn't my husband. He is so passionate about people having a solid theology - not only that but his passion is contagious and makes those around him want to know God better.
He kicked off a new series at church this past Sunday called Words From the Fire. He introduced the Ten Commandments and talked about the first commandment, "You shall have no other gods before me." I've never been more excited about studying the Ten Commandments as I was when I left church. If you're in need of a fresh love for God's Word and His commands - click on the link above. You can also print out a study guide to go with it if you like to take notes like me.

we're going on a heart hunt

OK, so as of 11 p.m. last night, I did not have one thing planned for Valentine's Day for the kids - I know, horrible mom. I've been too busy going on dates with my man ;-) We just wrapped up a four night stint of getting to go on dates every night. I have no idea how that happened, and I'm almost certain it probably won't ever happen again - or at least for the next 18 years. But, it has been so fun and refreshing to get to spend so much quality time with Keith and be reminded that he is the absolute love of my life. We just have so much fun together and even after four nights of getting to hang out, I'm already ready for our next date - just can't get enough of Ferguson!
I have also been reminded how wonderful my mom is to be available four nights in a row for us! She didn't move here until I was pregnant with #4, so I know I was able to manage without having her here, but I'm so thankful that she is here now to spoil us. We were pretty creative back then in finding ways to get our weekly date in - trading off date nights and utilizing the monthly "Family Night" at the YMCA - but I do have to admit that having mom here makes things easier and I love that the kids get to have such special memories with her.
Back to the title of my post though :-)
I came up with this idea this morning and it was so easy to quickly implement. I know that Valentine's is over, but the idea could be used for birthday's, Easter or "just because."
Now for the idea:
Write a poem.
Put each word on a separate heart.

Hide the hearts.

Let the kids find them.

Make the kids figure out the order of the words to make the poem - SO THAT - they can find a little something special for them.

I had random things waiting for them: tennis balls, fruit snacks, one can of play-doh and a couple of books (one of the books was "Fly Guy Meets Fly Girl." Kamden thinks the Fly Guy books are the funniest - don't know about that, but I love that he enjoys reading them.)

This involved team work, reading and puzzle-solving skills, so I totally counted it as school-time too ;-) They really liked that part!

mail from mama e.

Keith's mom, or Mama E., as the kids know her, is so good about sending mail addressed to each child on a regular basis. I'm hoping that by the time I have grandkids, I have developed the skill of mailing cards to people on regular basis - so far, it has proved to be a skill I'm definitely lacking in my life.

We stopped by the mailbox on the way home from our Valentine's Chuck E. Cheese party and found Valentine's cards for each of the kids and for Keith and I. I think we get just as excited as they do to find one of her cards in the mail!

Thanks, E., for being so thoughtful! You made our day :-)

school time

We decided to homeschool Kade, Kamden, and Kale this semester. We are finishing up Week 6 tomorrow and I can still say that I am loving it. I had my doubts because it definitely keeps me inside more than what is normal for me. But...that is actually a beautiful thing. Because I am very social and because the nature of Keith's profession keeps us going all the time, it has been wonderful to have an "excuse" to totally focus on the kids. Plus, I have always had a hidden desire to teach, so the lesson prep stuff actually energizes me instead of being draining. Our home seems more peaceful because we're not loading and unloading in and out of the car all the time - which for those of you with large families, you know that is a BEAST and can make the most pleasant day go bad very quickly. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure we'll be back in the public schools at some point. We've been blessed to have had an awesome experience with our elementary school. We just simply wanted more time with the kids and wanted to be able to engage them in their educational process more than we were finding the opportunity to while they were at public school. Today was such a good day where they all stayed on task that I had to capture a couple of pictures.


Keith has been taking the boys through this book the past couple of weeks. Don't be fooled by the fact that Kale is asleep and Kamden is very close to being asleep - they really do love the book and the special time with their daddy.

daddy's girl

Here are pics from Bryn's first Daddy/Daughter Dance. She sang "I'm going on a date with dada, I'm going on a date with dada...," the whole way to the salon to get her hair done. She is pretty smitten with her daddy and I'm noticing that her daddy is pretty smitten with her too.

Jada and I, along with Mary and Tomi, spent the evening looking at Shock photo albums while our hubbies were away with our daughters. All I can say is this pic of Nick and Keith below is much better than a couple of the photos we unearthed from ten years ago - before these girls had joined our families :-) It was so fun to be reminded of the precious friendship our two families have enjoyed for almost 12 years now.

Now, Keith might be smitten with his daughter, but I still have his heart ;-)

what she does while we're sick...

I talk a lot about how Brynlee likes to keep busy and how many times that leads to messes in our home. Well, she got to enjoy two days this past week of unfiltered fun because neither Keith nor I felt like going to find her everytime she disappeared - but I did manage to grab a picture or two of her "busywork."

First, she took every cup from the kid shelf in the kitchen and moved them to our bathtub.

Next, she got the cornbread muffins that I was saving for a friend to pick up later that day and stuck a sour gummy worm right in the center of each one....I struggled to get upset with her for this though because it was so creative. And, I have modeled this for her. The kids love for me to hide a gummy worm somewhere on their plates - they think it's the best thing ever. So, I guess she was just wanting to provide the same fun for the Magee kids :-)

It's been so long since I've blogged...I feel like I need to introduce myself again. I can't promise that I'm going to ever be regular, but it does feel good to blog again!

Special Night

Kamden trusted Jesus Christ as his Savior tonight after our Real Life Group was over. He has been telling us for over a week now that he wanted to become a Christian and we kept saying that we would continue to dialog about it. Well, tonight after baths, he basically came into the room and told Keith and I that he had prayed to God and told Him he was sorry for all the bad things he and his brothers had done today. That led us into how God forgives us when we ask because of the cross. He said "I know Jesus died on the cross for bad people." We asked who the bad people are and he said me and Kale and you and daddy and everybody. The more that we discussed it and listened to Kamden explain what he believed, the more we understood that he was really ready to pray. He prayed first and then Keith got to lead him in a prayer that conveyed everything that Kam had already told us. It was so cool to hear him communicate the gospel thru the gospel fuzzies that our teachers sing to our kids faithfully every week at church. He was already trying to evangelize to Kale, but Kale's response was, "Kamden, did you know when you eat a lot of food that you get a headache?" Seriously, though, I hope that Kamden does have the chance to lead his younger brother and/or sister to the Lord - that would be so awesome! Well, I know I hardly ever blog anymore, but I thought this was definitely worth journaling about :)

Trip Full of Adventures

We've had an incredible time in Estes Park, CO with our three boys. This was definitely a trip of firsts for them - airplane ride, ice skating, tubing and sledding, driving a snowmobile, hiking up a mountain trail, being 20 feet from an elk, climbing up a frozen waterfall, hiking around a frozen lake while it was snowing and roller skating. It has been a little boys' dream vacation - full of adventure and firsts. I will say that I have been hit hard on this trip with the reality that my boys enjoy being with their daddy over their mommy. I know that is a good thing and I want them to be attracted to masculinity, but I am having to process how my role as the nurturer in the family needs to change now that they are all out of the toddler stage. Though part of me has wanted to mourn the loss of the "mama's boy" stage they have all gone thru, the other part of me rejoices that my boys have such a strong desire to be associated with all things manly. I asked Keith to take a picture of me with the boys one day and Kade laughed at Keith calling him a "lady because only ladies take pictures." You can tell that he is sorting out in his brain constantly which activities are associated with men/women.
Speaking of taking pictures, he has it right that it is the lady in our family that loves taking pictures - here is the link that will take you to our Picassa album of the trip. And I know, this is record speed for me. I just told Keith that usually the process to get my pictures from my camera to our blog takes at least a month - maybe I've gotten better in my old age :)

Colorado Trip

Ringing In The New Year

We had such a blast ringing in the new year. We started off with dinner at Hudson's On The Bend. Thanks to Aaron and Laura Murray, our sweet friends who treated us to dinner, we now know that an expensive wine really does taste better than a cheap wine and we will always remember what foie gras is - goose liver, not a sweet cream sauce! Not only was the food simply amazing, but the company was even better. Keith and I have been so blessed by the friendships that God has put in our lives. It was a sweet time of fellowship with the Murray's and Shock's.

Then, we all headed over to one of our mutual friends' 30th birthday party. It was at a little shop/cafe on the Georgetown square. There was karaoke and dancing - what more do you need to ring in the new year? I never knew how much Laura enjoyed karaoke - I so know what we're going to do on her next birthday :) The whole night was special and just reminded Keith and I what a sweet year 2009 was and how much we have to look forward to in 2010. Thank you, Lord, for blessing us beyond anything we could have imagined. And, thank you mom for allowing us to go out on New Year's Eve - that was a special treat!

From New Years Eve Fun

Family Pics Time Again :)

This is one of the most anticipated events of the year for me. Picture time with Rachel. Once a year. I am always excited and anxious at the same time. For those of you who have tried to get four kids under the age of six to smile on cue and all at the same time over and over again know what I mean...I'm excited to get good shots of my family but anxious/frustrated/resolved (in that order) knowing deep down that the "perfect" family shot is just not going to happen at this stage of life. But you know what I always realize afterwards? That for us, it wouldn't be perfect unless it included at least one child looking away and maybe one crying. Because that's our life, and in my book, it is perfect and I want to capture it just the way we are in real life - imperfect but blessed beyond measure.

I know...some of you have forgotten what the Ferguson family looks like since I have been on a blogging sabbatical. Here are some pics to jog your memory :) I think you just click on the link for the photo album.

Family Pics 09 Rachel

Refreshed

I didn't get to post much last month, but only because I could barely keep up with life, much less recording life. We had so much fun during the month of June - we celebrated my birthday all month, went on vacation, went on a study break (without the kids), finished the triathlon, enjoyed our typical summer playdates at the pool and the free movies, traveled to Dallas for a friend's baby shower and had Brynlee's 1st birthday party. Not to mention all the normal routine stuff that keeps us busy anyways like church, real life group, date nights, changing diapers, reading stories and studying God's Word. I so love that our life is full, but at the same time I struggle because deep down I know that I will never catch up on recording all these memories.

One of my friends got me wanting to try my hand again at digital scrapbooking - so here was my first project...a reflection on the three days in June when we were totally refreshed - of course, we were by ourselves at a bed and breakfast in the hill country. And the refreshment only lasted thru day two of being back in the chaos of our life. But...it was awesome :)


I got this quick page from jessicasprague.com. She has a free tutorial on how to get into digital scrapbooking with Photoshop Elements - you should check it out if you're into scrapbooking.

Lifelong Friends

There's just something sweet about celebrating the upcoming birth of one of your closest friends from high school's baby girl. She's going to be the greatest mommy. It was so much fun to get to spend time with a couple of girl friends that I know are friends for life. Due to us all living in different cities, our time together is pretty sparse these days, but I know that I can always count on these ladies to be there when I need them. Here's to lifelong friends that accept you on your good days and bad :)

She swims...she bikes...she runs...sheRox!!

I did it - completed my first ever sprint triathlon! I say first ever because I definitely think that I'm a glutton for punishment and will be talked into doing it again next year with my crazy friends. My goal was to finish in under 2 1/2 hours and my final time was 2 hours 19 minutes. Not only did I achieve that goal, but I also got back to the weight I wanted to get to and feel so much healthier than I did when I started training. Plus, I trained with some awesome ladies that I am just so blessed to be friends with. They challenged me to do something that was very BIG in my book and I am so thankful to them for that. Here are some pics from the event...beginning with my favorite moment of the day, my family (minus Bryn who was at home with granny) running with me across the finish line - priceless.


We ended family vacation by going to the Danskin Expo, where we put our bikes in the transition area, got our timing chip and colored swim cap and found out what wave we were going to start with. This year, we went with the Buddy group so that we could all start together. I think next year we'll go with our age group so that we don't have to wait until the very end to take off, but it was such a memorable experience standing in the water with my friends as we waited for the go signal to start our swim.

Here is a back shot of me about to cross the line to complete the 12 mile biking portion of the event. If only you could see my face, you would know how much I hate biking. I'm going to have to really practice in this area to improve my time for next year.

Laura, looking like it was no thing at all to just have biked 12 miles. I say it's because of the clips and camel pack :)
Here is Alison coming out of the transition area to begin the 3 mile run. She made an incredible time - finishing somewhere around 600 out of almost 2000 ladies - pretty impressive!


I wish we had a picture of the beginning, when the four of us were standing with our wave (all the purple caps) by the lake waiting for it to be our turn to begin the swim. I can't even describe the adrenaline as we got into place and put our goggles on. And then we were off...swimming with a mass of women all trying to get to the same place. What makes us want to swim in dirty water and get kicked in the side and face to boot? I don't know, but I do know that I have grown the most in my swimming ability. I couldn't do two laps without being totally out of breath when we began training and now, I can swim a mile without stopping to rest. That's a miracle and a testimony that it is possible for anyone to take up swimming.

Here's me coming out of the transition area. My smile is because I am 2/3's of the way done!

Yes, I feel like I look in this picture - ready to drop. But what a neat feeling to be on the other side wearing the medal. Pretty cool.
Alison Robert, Alison Ryan, me and Laura Murray - we make a fun fitness team.


Anyone want to join us for next year? Women came from all over Texas to participate. And trust me, if I can do it, anyone can!

I have to end by giving a special thanks to my mother-in-law, E., as most of you know her. She should really get mother-in-law of the year award because she had to walk (pushing a stroller) at least 1.5 miles to get to the event and 1.5 miles back (up two hills each time). And Keith couldn't have made it with the boys without her. It was special to have you there mom. Thanks. And thanks to my mom who got up to bring us breakfast at 5:30 a.m. and then watched Brynlee for the event.
And I can't close without thanking my sweet husband - who has run many miles with me to help me prepare, stayed up with me a lot of the night before the event and has encouraged me so much with his confidence in me. You're simply amazing and I am totally in love with you.

Kade's Baptism Pics

Babe, You're Amazing

Today, Keith and I celebrated being married nine years. I want to take a moment to publicly tell my husband how truly incredible I think he is...bear with me, it will get mushy :)

Baby,

You have enriched my life so much. You make me so much better than I would be by myself. The Lord has used you in my life to give me a tangible picture of what His love is like. I thank God all the time that I get to walk thru this life with you. He blessed me with so much more than I deserve when he put us together.
You make me feel loved all the time - that gives me a confidence that I can't even explain. I have never once doubted in our marriage if you loved me because you show me love daily in your words and in your actions. You provide for me and our family so well. You encourage me in my mommy role by placing such a high value on it that you choose to sacrifice in other areas so that I can stay home with our children. Thank you for having so much confidence in me.
You are still the one that I enjoy being with the most. I can't get enough time with you. I so love just sitting and talking with you about anything (even theology :)...I know I tease you that God put me here to help keep you humble, but seriously, I think you're the smartest person I've ever met. I just won't tell you that too often because I don't want it to go to your head ;)
I love how you love the Lord. I am so thankful that you lead our home spiritually - that makes my role as your wife so much easier. You gently point me to God everytime I start looking somewhere else. Your walk with God, your conviction in the gospel, and your commitment to see those around you become Christ followers inspire me.
I am so blessed to be your wife. Did I mention that I think you're HOT? You are..very much..and I'm so glad that God gave you to me.

love you,
barie sue

You know how there are those things that you just don't realize you need until someone introduces you to it...well, I was just visiting my sweet friend's blog (check it out...At Home in Austin) when I discovered this:



Is this not the coolest ride ever?!!! I could have so much fun taking our four little ones around the neighborhood with this. I wonder if Keith would think this was a need also? Probably not, but a girl can dream :)

A Sad Week

Yesterday we got a call from Keith's mom that his Mimi (E.'s mom) had passed away. She was 92 and up until about a year and a half ago, she was in extremely good health, both mentally and physically. She lived past her husband, one son and most of her friends and had a fascinating perspective on life because she had lived thru so much, including the Great Depression. Keith and I got to spend time with one of her nieces last summer and gained a whole new appreciation for Mimi as we listened to Delight Marie talk about her with an awe and reverence for the tough woman she was. She said that all the nieces were inspired by how Mimi could tackle anything that life threw at her with a "Deal with it and move on" mentality. I've seen that same spirit in E. and also in Keith. I remember being in awe of her when I first went to Gladewater to visit her with Keith because she had e-mail and knew how to use the Internet. She was in her 80's then - you've got to admit that it is very rare to find someone that age who is in to surfing the Internet and keeping up with people by e-mail :) She seemed to be a woman with few words but with so much wisdom.

Please pray for E. and the rest of Mimi's family as they say goodbye to someone they love so much. And pray for Keith as he prepares to preach at his Mimi's funeral on his 30th birthday. That will be a bittersweet day. Pray for Karen, my sister-in-law, who will be struggling with wanting to celebrate her husband's graduation from medical school this weekend while also mourning the loss of her grandmother. Not to mention that she has a new baby boy that is keeping her up at night...speaking of Evan, I don't think I've posted a picture yet of him. He is a cutie...here he is with Alan, the proud daddy:



Here are a couple of pics of Mimi:


with Kade...

with Kamden...

with Kale...
with Brynlee, taken a couple of months ago...When we asked the boys what they wanted to pray for tonight at dinner, both Kade and Kamden wanted to pray that Mimi would have fun in heaven. And Kale just wants E. to not be sad anymore. Kids keep things sweet.

A Formal and Blue Hair :)

Keith and I got to have fun getting dressed up in formal attire for a Gala event last weekend (thanks, John!). We had a blast even though the virus was beginning to make me feel sick towards the end of the night. What really made the evening memorable was coming home and getting changed just in time for our two oldest boys to throw up all over their room. There's nothing like lots of throw-up to get you back to reality :) Here we are pre-sickness:

I am married to one HOT man and I'm so thankful that he is the absolute love of my life. I know many of you are going to get a chuckle out of this: we had to stop by the store and pick up dog food on the way home and we actually heard a couple of comments that we must have just come back from prom. If only they knew that we were on our way home to take care of our FOUR kids and that we were about to turn the big 3-0!

Speaking of the big 3-0, we are one week away from kicking off our month long celebration. That's right, I figure that with all that Keith went thru with his health last year that we need to really celebrate life and turning 30 is a good reason to have fun :)

I actually began prepping for turning 30 a couple of weeks ago when I had my hair done - can you see my blue streaks in this picture ;) The boys think I'm the coolest mom ever because I have blue hair. Kamden came up to me this morning with a red marker and asked me to bend down so that he could give me red hair. I'm a little afraid to go to sleep while they are awake now!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Mom,
So I know that I give you grief 95% of the time. I am known for teasing you even while you are in the midst of serving me or my family. I am sure that I take you for granted a lot. But I love you. Lots. And I think that you are a wonderful mom and granny. You're fun and I enjoy having you close by to be a part of our daily life. Sorry I don't tell you that as often as I should.