Something Great

I read this great quote from John Wesley in a book that I am reading that contains selected Prayers, Hymns and Sermons. When I read it, I thought I have to have this somewhere to see all the time!

"Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the poeple you can,
As long as ever you can."

Isn't that awesome! I have just found our family's life purpose. It is how I will refocus our training and attention. It feels good to read something so encouraging.

Learning Lessons

My 33rd birthday came and went. It was a very nice time with my husband. I went thrift store shopping (because I love finding great deals), ate a delicious dinner at Red Lobster ( I LOVE their biscuits), had dessert at Cold Stone and just enjoyed my time with my husband.

I love how the Lord is always working on me. And this is something I have to share. I want you all to understand that I am not perfect, I don't have the answers and my life isn't always easy and I don't handle all situations in a godly manner, but I do have a desire to do the Lord's will always and to grow my children to love and obey the Lord.

So here it goes...
I have been struggling greatly with my oldest. He turned 10 this past weekend. You see he goes for one week a month to his father's and unfortunately he is not a believer and neither is the girlfriend that he lives with. They argue constantly, especially in front of him. And of course I don't know all the details all the time, but I do know that there are situations in which I don't agree and I do know that there are times that they tell my oldest not to tell me.

It is heart breaking because I can't even express to you the amount of times I have already blamed myself for walking down the aisle when I heard the Lord screaming for me to not. I didn't listen. I know that I am forgiven but I do have the consequences to deal with. It is hard.

There is nothing I want more than for my son to love the Lord, however, because his dad will go to hell, he also wants to go there. I get frustrated when he spends 90% of his time with me and his sisters, he gives all of himself to someone I just don't really like. It is frustrating to say the least.

I love him so much and the Lord is taking me through this. I have a plan and will discuss more of it once it is in place. If you remember please pray. Pray for wisdom as I want to show the Love of Jesus in all I do, and not sure how to do that in a conflict siutation. I just want to be calm, cool and collected, not the angry emotional mama I want to be.

God bless.

Girls Having Fun

Lauren and Emma, created to be best friends, sisters for life. They are polar opposites. Emma loves getting dressed up, being outwardly beautiful. Lauren, she is a tomboy, loves to run and play. To get her to sit to play "beauty parlor" was completely out of her element. She giggled the whole time. It is funny how God makes families with so many different personalities, and how we learn to adapt ourselves to the ones we love.

Lauren and Emma...oh and a little peek of Danielle.

Gotta love that smile! And yes, those are her own curls. She is so beautiful and makes me smile each day, but she has a temper like no one else I know. She can get angry at anything, but she is working on it and the Lord is so gracious to show her opportunities to "overlook" but she says that is too hard.

Emma is me when I was growing up, she looks identical except I had Lauren curls. She is hilarious and so overly sensitive that I tend to lose my patience at times. But she is so loving and sweet. However, she does know how to push everyone's buttons to make others angry, but she is learning ways to bless even when someone has hurt her.

God bless and have a wonderful weekend. I know that this is mine and Hunter's birthday weekend together. My mom is coming down to allow Bret and I some time together. Not sure what will happen, but with my husband I know I will be smiling and my heart will be full of my love for him.

When a toddler is quiet...Part 2

This is what the Crayola marker was used for....and yes it is my car! :)

When a toddler is quiet...

When a toddler is quiet, all could be going wrong. But with the right heart and spirit what you will get are memories and laughter. Today was a quiet moment with laughter. I hope you enjoy a normal day in my home.

She is so cute, she makes me smile even when she looks like this.

"hans dirty mommy."

"cheeze."

"i see mommy, i see..."

This is brought to you by a quiet moment, may all get one and enjoy the adventure that children bring.

God bless.

Sick

Okay, so 4 of my children got sick, then I got sick and now we are all sick! It really isn't fun. And it went from high fevers and chills, to now a sore throat and cough that is lingering. So it may be a few more days before I post. Hope everyone is doing well! Have a blessed day.

Baking Fun

After, just because it looks better. :)

The before. I am so excited to try my pie. If it isn't good, I didn't make it. :) That is what I always tell my kids.

I love baking. I love baking for my family. I have never been a great pie maker, however, I am striving to be a great pie baker. So here is my second attempt to making home made crust and a mixed berry filling.

Fun Times

Life gets pretty busy, so if we don't stop and smell the roses, the roses wilt and eventually die.

So one night we sat in our backyard and made grilled pizzas over our firepit and of course smores for dessert. It was so much fun. The kids loved it and still talk about it a couple of weeks later.

It was such a hit, we will of course have to do it again!

Here they are by the fire enjoying warming their feet.

Cooking the marshmallows for smores. I have to say, those are so awesome! My love doesn't care for them, so there was more for us. :)

4 months as of Sunday. I can't believe how fast time has gone by. She is such a sweet, precious, joyful gift. She makes my heart melt.

She loves to smile and laugh. I love how she gives them so freely. She is awesome! I truly can't wait for more. Maybe that is why I am losing weight so fast. :)

They all love having their picture taken. They are so sweet. Oh, and by the way, Hunter will be 10 in 13 days! I think I will have to cry. :)

Life is so good and God has given me all things that are good. I love the Lord with all my heart and am so thankful for all that he is done. I hope that your week is blessed and smile, life is short.

The In's and Out's

Well, though my intentions were really good. I seemed to have learned again another lesson from the Lord. I am stubborn and don't listen. I started this wonderful business with the intention of just helping out and have found that I just don't have the time for it. I am now trying to sell it and all the inventory which has proved to be a very difficult situation. So now we are out the money at the moment that we invested into the business and beside knowing that I didn't listen to God or my husband, I feel like a terrible failure!

Another wonderful lesson I am learning is that I am completely impatient. I got rid of some books accidentally and I wish I would have them back. And though I have searched for them and put out emails to my home school group to see if anyone had them, there has not been any takers on my email. Oh, how frustrated I am to learn again the lessons.

I am thankful for God though in being so sweet and gracious as He teaches me. He reminds of how my heart needs to be toward my children as I teach and train them at home.

I am also getting ready for the Maxwell Family to speak here in Tucson this January. I am so excited to see them again. They are such a wonderful godly family who truly serve others. Their children just have a light around them that shows how much they love the Lord! So if you are going to be here Jan. 15-16, 2010 join us. You can visit their site for more information, www.titus2.com.

I pray that everyone is having a wonderful day!