Kat Chat: My New Bird

Some of you know that we used to have a bird named Polly. Polly was the sweetest bird.
When Polly died (08/05), we went to Pet's'mart and got 2 birds... then 2 more birds.
Well, recently, Sunshine, one of our four birds died. Here are pictures of my new bird, St. Patrick. I recently changed his name.

John Dear: Bullet

Hi, it's me again...
I have a rabbit named Bullet.
He is three years old.
This is Bullet and me when we were little.














This is Bullet now with his wife Cotton.

John Dear: Fishing

Hi. It's me again, John.
You know what?
You already know...
I like to fish.
Here is another picture of me...
fishing at Grassy Pond.

Mom's Morning Post: My Mother's Heart

I am preparing 'My Mother's Heart' this week for Katherine's upcoming Tae Kwon Do belt test on Saturday. She will test for her 2nd Poom black belt.
Please join me in praying for her as she prepares her heart and body for this test.
I love Katherine's joy for life. She is anticipating this adventure with much excitement. Although she has her moments re: the sparring event, she is confident she'll be good at dodging the three individuals she will be required to spar at one time...I'm not sure if I should laugh or cry!
She says, 'Breaking boards is a piece of cake'. Watching Kat break boards is much more enjoyable but still nerve wrecking. Katherine does make it look fun...uh, most of the time.
She will be the first in our family to reach this level in the Tae Kwon Do program our family is involved in... (www.yeshaministries.com).

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the LORD, and in the power of his might.
Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalitis, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."
(Ephesians 6:10-13)

Katherine, we love you and are very proud of your accomplishments. Be strong in the LORD...

Kat Chat: Our Cats

Hi, it's me again. Today I am writing about two blessings we have enjoyed for three years. Our cats. We adopted Maple Mae from the Humane Society 7/17/06. A few months later, we welcomed Tinker Tae into our hearts and home when we realized she was a feral kitty eating food we put on our front porch for our neighbor's cat. Maple is the "meow, please let me out" type because she loves 'the great outdoors'. Tinkerbell is the"meow, no, no I don't want to go out" type because she survived the wild by herself until we took her in. She is afraid of the BIG BAD backporch. I won't chatter any more. Here are the pics. Maple Mae(r) and Tinker Tae(l) (Don't be fooled. Tink is not usually this tolerant of Maple.) Zsa Zsa Tinker Tae Maple Mae in the Christmas tree

John Dear: Me

Geshou pigaboo ok i'll stop, I want to tell you that I like to fish. I remember when I cought five fish at Grassypound and cought seaweed omoast every time. GOOD BEY

(Mom's addendum...After John's first two posts, during which he did not want to sit down and type but rather begged me to type as he dictated his thoughts to me, I loved seeing this post!! This post is PRECIOUS to me!! Surprisingly, John sat down at my computer while we were getting ready for church this Sunday morning and started to type. I didn't imagine he'd publish his thoughts, but he did! 'Oh my, what did you write?' When Mark and I saw it, we laughed and agreed, 'This is priceless!' Teaching John how to spell/edit will come later! Reading his heart and seeing his initiative was a great start to his blogging adventures!)

John Dear: Ouch

"Ouch! What is this? Oh, it's my tooth!
Boy that hurt! Thanks Mom."

Mom's Morning Post

This morning, I'm reflective of the accident 'Dad' had on his way to work a few weeks ago. He lost control of his 2004 GMC Canyon truck on the Dames Pointe bridge while driving through the rain. We continue to praise the LORD for HIS blessing of protection; Dad was not hurt but the truck was totaled. We consider it a miracle that no other vehicles were involved in the accident during this rush hour time.
For now, three drivers in our family are sharing our very dependable '98 Suburban while we are taking time to look for a replacement vehicle. Seemingly, the loss of the truck is great, considering it was paid for and had low mileage. However, the gain of knowing that the LORD protected Mark far exceeds any disappointment we could imagine.

We are very grateful for friends who've offered their 'sitting' vehicles to us for use. What a blessing! We are not surprised the LORD's provision is perfect.
Thank you Jesus for preserving Dad, who cannot be replaced!

Kat Chat: Blessings and counting...

Today, my family visited my grandparents, Meme and Poppy. Meme and Poppy are my mom's parents. They moved furniture around at their house this week and decided they didn't want the foot board to one of their beds... so, guess what?
They gave it to Mom and Dad. WOW! What a blessing.
"The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it" (Proverbs 10:22).

Before today, my parents only had the headboard to their bed. The addition of a 'new' foot board looks really nice. Here are a couple of pics of Meme and Poppy and Mom and Dad's 'new' bed.

Thank you Meme and Poppy. We love you!

Tune in next time for the "Kat Chat".

John Dear

"My name is John. To Mom and Dad I am 'John Dear'. I am 8 years old and the youngest in our family. Right now, I have a loose tooth that everyone wants to pull! I'll let you know when it comes out...Bye for now."

Kat Chat

This is me, Katherine. I am 10 years old and the third born child in the Gray family. I came along after my parents realized their desperate need for a girl. Well... really, Matthew was the one who begged God for me. Yeah, funny how Matt did not beg God for another sister after I came ;).
I'll be around for posting some of the events and blessings that take place in our family. You can count on me to bring you the "Kat Chat". Stay tuned...

In the bloginning...

God created a desire within our hearts to rehearse and record HIS goodness through out our day to day lives.
Thank you for joining us...
Mark, Karen, Mark Jr., Matthew, Katherine, and John.