Jael Mercy Sanford

On Saturday night we got a call around 11:00 pm saying that Jennifer (my sis-in-law) had gone into labor. I knew Mom and Dad would want to go down right away to be there for Josh and Jen, and to meet their adorable little granddaughter. But I also knew that Sunday was Easter; we all didn't really want to miss that time with our church family. I also knew we were going to have friends over Sunday evening; we all seriously did not want to cancel. So Mom and Dad decided that we would go down to Oklahoma bright and early on Monday morning which pleased everybody.  So we packed up and headed out for the 10 hour and 40 minute drive down to Josh and Jen's apartment. Once there we were greeted by this adorable face... 

Granny getting to hold her beautiful Granddaughter.

 "Air Force Princess" A cute little outfit we bought her before she was born. 

Gramps holding his granddaughter for the very first time. 

The new and beautiful Sanford family.

What I want to know is when did my brother got old enough to get married, let alone have a kid of his own?!? Life sure does fly by! I'm reminded every day that I am not getting any younger and neither is my family. I remember as a little girl wishing/dreaming/waiting for the day when my older brothers would have families of their own so we could all go and visit them. I remember thinking about how neat it would be to become an Aunt and know that the kid I was holding was my very own niece/nephew. And now as I look around and see all the rest of my younger siblings getting big enough to fit in my clothes, wear my shoes, or become old enough to drive, it just makes me stop and think about all the ways I am blessed of God. But it also makes me wonder where the time went? I need to remind myself that how I spend every moment of today will affect not only my future, but the futures of those I am surrounded by. I love my family and cannot wait to see what God has in store for us in this new chapter of our lives. It fills my heart with joy to know that I have tons of siblings; soon we will all have our own families and so many kids that Mom and Dad will be messing their names up and who they belong to all the time. *laughs* I cannot wait. :D And yet change is sorta scary... but then again nothing is scary or frightening when we have the Lord Jesus with us. *smiles at the thought*

So there ya go... that's a peek into my mind and world at the moment. Hope I didn't bore y'all too bad. ;)

Hasta Luego!
~Meli

Good Friday

Today it is dark and gloomy outside with rain falling by the bucket loads. It sort of reminds me of the verse in the Bible right before Jesus dies on the cross it says: 


"Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?'" ~ Matthew 27:45-46


That part of the bible always sends chills up my spine thinking how God had to literally turn His back on His Son. I don't think we will ever be able to understand how that feels fully and completely... But today I am thanking Jesus all the more for dying on the cross and going through the pain of having His Father turn His back on Him, all for the sake of saving us, the Elect, from God's wrath.  


"Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ." ~Ephesians 2:12-13 


Now we can rejoice because Christ not only died on the cross to save us but He rose again from the dead so that we might have life in Him!! Praise be to the Lord and giver of Eternal Life. 

"Low in the grave He lay, Jesus my Savior,

Waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!

Up from the grave He arose,

With a mighty triumph o’er His foes,

He arose a Victor from the dark domain,

And He lives forever, with His saints to reign.

He arose! He arose!

Hallelujah! Christ arose!"

A very thankful,

~Melinda

Ice cream and movies with friends

Monday was the last day that my sweet grandparents were going to be here with us so we decided to do something fun. :) Some friends of ours had already been talking about going to see the movie "Source Code" and so we planned to go and see it together. It was kinda a last minute spontaneous thing to do but we had a blast! It was my brilliant idea to go to Culvers beforehand cause I knew my grandparents loved that place and I knew I wouldn't get any fuss from our family. *cheesy grin* So anyway, we met up at Culvers with the Ryken family and then headed to see the movie together. :)

My amazing Papa and I before we left home. I love this man. <3

 This is the "girl" table at the restaurant....

Here is the "guy" table...

And here's the "adult" table. 

Me and Rebecca stopped for a picture together at the movie theater and Elaina decided to jump in at the last minute. I seriously have the most amazing sisters. <3

Jesi, Rebecca, and I had a blast sitting together and laughing/whispering about what we thought was gonna happen. lol We were pretty off on judging how the movie was gonna end but we still had fun while guessing. :) 

The row in front of us with Adrianna, Ashly, and Elaina. I just happened to sneak in too... O:-)

The guy row trying to look nonchalant. 

And the adult row laughing cause I cracked a joke at them cause they weren't smiling in the first picture. ;)

The movie wasn't really scary at all...

Jesi's face cracks me up in this picture! *laughs* I love that girl. <3 I also love how Jesi's says, "Act like you're really scared!" and this is the face Rebecca and I make... *shakes head and laughs* :D

"Source Code" turned out to be a really good movie and I think we all sincerely enjoyed it!! Not to mention it had a happy ending which is always a winner in my book. *grin* I think what made it more fun though was getting to see it with our friends. Hurray for amazing parents who let us be spontaneous with wonderful friends. ;D 


Hasta la próxima vez!
~Meli 

American Vision World View Conference 2011

Sometimes being a Deacon's kid can mean lots of work and no goofing off with friends. But on this day I'd say being a Deacon's kid was the best experience ever! Our church held the second annual American Vision conference last weekend and that meant lots of work to be done. We spent the whole week preparing food and cleaning the church so it would look it's best for the conference. When it was time for the conference to start some of us were bummed it was smaller than last year but I think in the end it turned out quite nicely and blessed all those who attended. I know I speak for more than myself when I say lots of fun memories were made during that weekend. :D Here are some pictures of what went on...

Friday afternoon there wasn't much going on behind the scenes which means that the cameras got brought out and goofy pictures were taken. These girls are amazing! <3 And the orange is so random...

We all took turns manning the snack station and here Adrianna and Zach are doing a grand job of it.

Pastor opening everyone up in some prayer and Hymn singing.

Mr. Gary DeMar's sessions were amazing and very thought provoking. I was only able to listen in on bits and pieces but those who heard all of it were blessed by him.

During most of the talks we girls were in the kitchen working away on meals for the speakers and the workers. In this picture Grace and I were having a blast talking about what we want our futures to look like. *cough/grin* I love that girl. <3

Mrs. McDonald is always an encouraging speaker and yet what she has to say always makes me stop and think about what kind of woman I want to be.

Mr. Bojidar Marinov was new to most of us but he did a great job speaking as well and had a great personality to go along with it.

This is my favorite picture from the whole weekend. I just love to look on her face! 

Here are two of the four men who made things run smoothly behind the scenes for everyone. This year was easier on them because of having done it the year before and knowing what to expect but they still pulled it off great and the weekend wouldn't have worked as well without them. :)

And that's your peek into last weekend. This weekend we have a wedding we are attending and I am singing a duet with Jess for it. *nervous smile* It's gonna be sorta nerve racking but also great and I cannot wait to attend! :)

Hasta la próxima vez!
To God be the glory!
~Melinda

Amazing friends and a party

The amazing McDonald family invited my family over for a lovely evening of fellowship and gift giving. Since Daddy's birthday was only last week they wanted to give him a present from their family. You can see a picture of what he was given a little later in the post. Anyway the evening was spent walking, talking, laughing, and eating delicious food! I think we all had a great time together. :D

On our walk I got a picture of their lake. 

And a picture of Melissa taking a picture of William. These two have such an amazing relationship and it's sweet to watch older sister and little brother. 

Art. <3

Here's the group who went on a walk together. This shot is really cool and we look like some sort of super band. 

I love doing this, now Jess has a picture of me and I have one of her. :) 

Friendship isn't a big thing - it's a million little things.  ~Author Unknown

The McDonald's were beyond sweet to my daddy to throw a mini party for him and give him a gift as well as great food that wouldn't affect his sugar levels. 

Dad's face says it all. *grin*

Remember those black bean brownies I was telling y'all about. Well Jess makes them waaaay better than I do and here's Adrianna showing it off. These were delicious! :)

My amazing grandparents came in town from VA to stay with us while mom was in OK. We had a blast with them and will be very sorry to see them go. 

And the last picture of Jess, Gramma, and I. I love both of these people so much! <3

We had a brilliant time together and cannot wait to do it all over again! But next time we need to have them over to our house. *cheesy grin*

Hasta la próxima vez!

~Melinda

Next up, pictures from the American Vision conference. :)

Sunday passed then he was 50...

This past Sunday it was so absolutely beautiful outside that some of the girls and I just had to go on a walk around the church a couple of times to soak up the sunshine. Besides it being a bit windy I think it was the prettiest day we have had this year. :) And what walk is complete without a few pictures? 

Friends. <3

Crazy girls...

 Notice Rebecca in the background. *laughs* And I'm sorry I really was very happy it's just this picture was taken right before I smiled. lol :)

Rebecca says, "You have to post this picture cause my eyes are so pretty in it." So here ya go, brother and sister being beautifully handsome together. 

So on Monday the man of the house turned the big five'o and for his birthday we decorated the kitchen with black and "over the hill" little signs. It was a complete surprise to him when he walked in after work to the house looking like this:

 Before he came home though, I made him some "black bean brownies" that turned out deliciously good. You'd think by putting black beans into brownies that it would taste terrible, right? But it was actually very good and he was able to eat all he wanted cause there was no sugar except for the icing. 

This was my first attempt at "writing" on a cake like this. In my humble opinion it's not *too* bad for a first timer... But next time I will try to make it look better. :)

And here comes the birthday boy!

 As soon as he walked in the door I stuck that adorable party hat on his head and good for Daddy he left it on the whole time without complaining! *grin*

Blowing out his 5x10 candles...

Here Dad is talking about how he was suspicious of something going on cause I kept asking him when he was gonna get home. Oops. *cheesy grin*

Reading all his sweet cards/letters from great friends and loving family members.

My Daddy isn't perfect, but I will say with all my heart that he is the most perfect father for our crazy family. I love him so much and I couldn't imagine life without him! He is the glue that holds our family together and keeps us from going down the wrong paths. He is an amazing leader but also very good at serving others. He's an amazing listener but also great at giving us all advice on how to better ourselves before the Lord. I am thankful that God saw fit to bless every single one of my siblings and I with such an amazing man of God as our father!

I love you, Daddy!!! <3
~Melinda