Here is how it starts:
I am tired from a long day juggling 80 different things. Jeremy is tired from seminary stress, work load, and “God, what are you doing…” conversations. So, to the outside we go.

We are sitting on our porch. Bella sees the ball. Then, the competitive, Lucarelli nature begins to boil in all of us. Bella says, “Socca!” over and over until we give (which usually doesn’t take too long). I go to one end of the yard and Jeremy to the other.

Bella usually runs back and forth between us. What starts as a simple pass and kick game with Bella turns into a Premier Cup Match up in our backyard. Max, our dog, is beside himself while we run around, kicking, screaming, and trying to get the ball past each other. After a few minutes, Bella gives up running and asks to be held. This would usually stop the faint at heart, but not the Lucarellis. One of us picks her up and she sits on our hip, running with us, laughing the entire way. The small game has turned brutal, as it is now just me and Jeremy battling it out for glory.

One night it was stopped by Max’s digestive system that had gone a rye getting all over our “kit.” Another evening the lightning stopped us, but tonight we battled it out until the sun went down. It is a good thing that we have to put our daughter to bed sometime.

While Chattanooga has been undergoing some intense weather, we had some pretty huge storms on the Friday that is called Good in Charlotte as well. Jeremy and I were able to walk through the Stations of the Cross at Jeremy’s sister’s church, Lake Forrest Community Church. Their congregation has been celebrating Lent, culminating in the memorial of Christ’s death on the cross through original art work from the congregation and then the Resurrection Day service. Thunder crashed as we read through some of the Old Testament prophecies and New Testament crucifixion accounts of Christ’s death on the cross. Jeremy wrote a post about it on his blog–jeremylucarelli.com

Saturated grounds, muddy flood plains could not stop us from Isabella’s first Easter Egg hunt with her cousins! Ben, Beara, and Bella had a grand old time at Latta Plantation, an old historic home built in the 1800′s where Jeremy grew up. Kids were dressed to the 9′s, which made the mud and slop even more of an experience. Suffice to say, Bella has inherited her Mom and Dad’s competitive spirit, which without the Holy Spirit leads to pushing and shoving unsuspecting egg snatchers out of the way.

Here are some great pictures taken by Jeremy’s sister, Amy:

It has rained non-stop for the past several days. Max, the dog, has been going crazy. Bella, too, has been ready to get outside to run around in the grass. Mom and Dad, as well, have been ready to put the dreary weather aside for a bit. Today was that day, thank God!

Amanda and I (Becky) took the little ones–Bella, Clarity, and Cambria–to the park. It was 73 degress today, so a picnic at the park was in order. If there is a picnic, there must be pictures too! Here are some pictures of our great time. Bella ran and ran and ran… swung on the swings… and kicked an 8 year old who was in her space (she had a talking to about that one).

Let’s hope that Spring is around the corner.

Bella, as many of you know, has been singing her ABC’s for months now. She sings ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle, “Birfday Song,” and Jesus loves me like there is no tomorrow.

I went out with friends last night, which means that Jeremy and ‘bella mess around on my computer. I can’t figure out how to upload the file to this site, so we dumped into this address. Enjoy!

Beautiful Blues from Bella-boo! She did so great… all of the little ones made it through the weekend (Spring Forward and all) without a hitch!

Except for blurry Bella and Jeremy’s cup, this is a great photo of the family (minus Max).

Rehearsal Dinner snap.

I’m not a math person, but someone described the growing 1 trillion dollar stimulus package like this:

Okay,

While I was in Lawrence, KS this past weekend I saw this report playing in the background of my hotel room (the guy I was rooming with was watching while I was working on another paper).

As a result of the nationalized banks, paying for other people’s mortgages, and the looming infiltration of socialism to every strata of our society, I’m joining a Tea Party. Yes, I know what some of you will say… “We’re supposed to pray for our government.” Oh, let me reassure you, we’ve been praying! We’ve been realizing that unless the king or the government officials turns his heart toward the Lord, then judgment falls upon the nation, not just Israel… but every nation (Ezekiel 14). We’ve also realized that Righteousness exalts a nation, pride comes before destruction, and that you can’t build a house on greed and expect it to stand. So, we pray for the President… to repent and relent.

I’m not saying that it is wrong to help those that are in need! I believe the church has missed the mark when it comes to defending the helpless, widow, orphan, and alien. Even more personal, we’ve been evaluating our role in fulfilling this kingdom initiative within our community. However, this is not a call for government to take over. This, too, is another reason why our family is joining the Tea Party… maybe even organizing one here in Chattanooga. I work. I pay taxes. My tax money is going to things that do not promote life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Congress and the President are signing millions of dollars away without even reading the bill! Media is screaming that GOP members refuse to be bi-partisan on this issue… GOOD! It is about time some people stand up for the fundamentals of the party. In the meantime, my tax money is now rewarding and, thereby, enabling those who have made wrong choices. Why work? Why go to school? Why pay the mortgage, electric bill, or the credit card when other tax payers can pay the bill?

You might be mad too… as stocks continue to plummet, jobs are lost, and benefits dry up… while representatives and “Change We Can Believe In” continues to spend an unprecedented amount of our money. The only thing the stimulus packages have stimulated is the public outcry of Americans. Hopefully, it will stimulate the need for personal responsibility, revival, and a resurgence of the Judeo-Christian work ethic in this country.

Check it:

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Our online counterpart, www.veracitygroupllc.com, is now live. Be sure to check out the VG history, current studies, and register so that you can view the samples! In one day, we’ve already had internationals sign up for the samples in addition to a couple hundred people in the States!

Also, VG has made some significant connections with other ministries via Twitter. If you’re on twitter, check us out at www.twitter.com/veracitygroup

Facebook? Yep, VG is represented there as well. Type in Veracity Group in the FB search engine to find us… better yet, just go to the veracitygroupllc.com page and we’ll put a link up to both feeds for ya!

Keep praying for us. The Lord is doing some pretty amazing things. Though the circumstances look horrific with the economic crisis and the stumbling of truth in the streets, the Lord is raising up a generation of Jeremiah’s!