Friday, February 26, 2010

Foto Friday


Sometimes in the busyness of life,
I don't appreciate the simple joys of motherhood
 and the reasons why I have the greatest job in the world are overlooked.

::adorable smiles
::sweet soft kisses
::the touch of a little tiny hand
::the smell of a baby's head
::a hug from a tall teen-ager
::a simple "thank you, mom"
::pitter patter of little feet
::a heartfelt child's prayer
::a little body sitting on my lap with all kinds of questions
::the thought from a little mind, that I do have all the answsers
::little leg creases (not on me!) :)
::chunky tiny fingers
::belly laughs
::a hug around the neck
::pure, genuine, unconditional love

And the realization that,
Someday,
I am going to miss this! 

Appreciate today,
the little things!




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Thursday, February 25, 2010

A bunny and a baby, (oh and a couple of sisters)


I have somewhat of a germ phobia. Animals are my worst enemy. But because I am such a selfless person, HA, I have allowed for MANY animals to enter my home because of my adorable children! So while I was out the other day and left my animal loving girls home to babysit, I saw these pictures on my computer. They felt it necessary to allow their germ-infested  sweet bunny to snuggle up to the baby while feeding him my milk through a bottle. 
I just hope they did not try to give a taste to the bunny first! :(


I sure am glad we don't have a pot-belly pig at our house! 






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Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Dying to self...



Dying to self is:
  • hard
  • a contstant struggle
  • a battle
  • uncommon to the world
  • pleasing to God
  • asked of us by God
  • led by example from Jesus to the point of His death
  • possible
  • a command
  • profitable to us spiritually
  • usable because God can replace the "Him" mentality with the "me" mentality :)
  • neccesary
  • essential when following Christ
The more of Him we have in us, the better equipt we are to see things the way Christ does.  If we are in the way, He cannot do the things HE desires to do effectively in our life.  If attempting to do things in our own strength, we are just setting ourselves up for failure.  Only in Him and through Him, are we able to give up self and have the ability to replace all that we are not with all that He is

Today Jesus, I pray that every inch that I have will be willingly submitted to You and your plan for my life.  The more I seek You, may I find You that much more.  The more I find You, the more I love You!!  Help me to give everything up for You no matter what I "feel"!  Thank you for the true Joy only you can give!

Friday, February 19, 2010

Foto Friday

One of the sweetest things in life for me,
 is to witness a baby sleeping! 
I could not pass up the chance to take this picture!

Have a restful weekend relaxing is Jesus!:)





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Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Another B-day!


4 years has come and gone,
but the joy and smiles you have brought,
leave lasting memories on our hearts!
Can't wait to see what God has in store for you little man!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!






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Tuesday, February 16, 2010

The difference

The difference between the 1st and the 11th:

  1. With the first child, you cannot WAIT to wear materinity clothes!   With the 11th, your regular clothes ARE your maternity clothes!  :)

  2. The 1st pregnancy, you watch and know EVERYTHING that you eat, by the 11th, you realize that a diet coke here or a candy bar there won't do permnant damage on the baby!

  3. With the 1st baby, I had the nursery ready 3 months before the baby was even due!  By the 11th, I had to have my husband get down the bassinet and newborn clothes the day we came home from the hospital.

  4. My 1st child had matching nursery decor and beautiful white burp cloths.  My 11th has every color of the rainbow blankets and burp cloths?  As long as there is SOMETHING around to wipe it up, we are good!
  5. 1st child, had a closet full of brand new baby clothes that FILLED his closet, my 11th does not even have a closet!
  6. All of my 1st babies clothes fit him perfectly!  My 11th wears whatever I have out.  Maybe a little snug, maybe have to roll the sleeves up a bit, but at least he is warm!
  7. The baby book I have for my 1st child has EVERYTHING written down from weight to gifts, the 11th...have not EVEN started his baby book yet and he is 8 months old!  
  8. The 1st seemed so "old" to me when he was 2 years old, the 11th seems like a newborn at 8 months!  
  9. My 1st had birthday "celebrations"  with store bought cakes and Chuck 'e' Cheese with an entire choir of family and friends singing happy birthday.   My 11th... will have a homemade birthday cake after we eat dinner!  (Hey, at least he will still have an entire choir singing happy birthday!)  
  10. I just HAD to get my 1st child potty-trained by the time he was 2!  My 11th?  I fully understand he will not want to wear diapers by the time he leaves home! 
  11. With the first child, naps were NEVER missed!  By the 11th, if we need to go somewhere, he can sleep in the car!
  12. I always gave the first baby his daily bath after my shower EVERY day, the 11th?  When I feel like he needs one. 
  13. I had a wipe warmer for the first baby!  #11?  As long as it's wet, it will do! 
  14. My first had a crib, diaper changer table, dresser, rocking chair and swing in his room.  With 11, he has a crib in our room that is all! 
  15. I love my first with everything in me so much that it hurts!  #11?  Nothing has changed!
Motherhood does not get easier with the 11th, but I do know that I take time to enjoy the little things more and spend less time sweating the small stuff!  I love this job!  God is sooooooo good!

Friday, February 12, 2010

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!


:
The joy you bring into this home is amazing!
You:

::have shown us see how funny it can be hearing somebody learn to communicate with 12 other people!
::proved an 18 month old CAN learn 12 other peoples names and speak them fluently!
::show us how innocent an 18 month seems, but how that mysteriously changes by the age of 2!
::when asked what you are doing, you reply with "Nuffing!"
::everything you say has an 'e' at the end- car'e, gum'e, bed'e
::can be giving kisses one minute and then sit in a sulk the next
::still NEED 2 naps a day
::love any fruit
::learned to eat with a spoon and fork at 13 months
::did not sleep through the night until you were 14 months when you were staying at grandma's
::ever since then, you sleep from 7 pm - 7am every night
::RUN to daddy when he gets home
::will do ANYTHING for somebody to play ball with you 
::OR ANTHING for a jellybean
::learned how to copy what seven 7 boys do WAY to fast! (Good AND bad!)
::are attached to your blanket at nap and bed time
::love kittens (the love IS NOT mutual)
::say "no" for yes
::chew gum and make us laugh because you look like a cow chewing your cud
::are jealous when your big brother holds the baby
::love baths but hate swimming
::would be outside 24 hours a day if we let you
::are the RUNT of your siblings weighing in only 3 pounds more than your 8 month old baby brother!

And you have...

wrapped us ALL around you little finger,
made us smile more,
 laugh more!

What a beautiful 2 years this has been!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY our big 2 year old!!





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Wednesday, February 10, 2010

If You Give Your Wife New Furniture...

If you have never read the children's book, "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie...",
 You might not appreciate this as much.  But after my husband bought new furniture for us, (which was VERY apprectiated I might add), my mind began to wander as I sat on our new couch in our living room...

Because...
IF you give your wife new furniture...
She is going to want new curtains to match...
and...
then new carpet,
new tables,
new lamps,
new fireplace screen,
new chairs,
and new paint for the walls.

But if you do all of that,
then...
she will want a new house to go with it!

So, for now..
 because money does NOT grow on trees.
I will be sitting in my white-walled living room with my old tables and lamps enjoying our new couch!

We don't have the chance to buy new things often, and IF we do, they are from thrift stores.  Which is still great!  But for our family of 13, used couches don't last long!  No thrift store for this one! 
A BRAND SPANKING NEW, LEATHER COUCH!
Believe me when I say I am no happier than I was before the couch, (okay, maybe a temporary happy), but how less stressful it is to not have to take a deep breath every time I sit down  for fear of wondering if the frame is going to hold! :)

I am so thankful that we have this new addition in our living room, but I am always amazed how the flesh wants more and more!  I have learned to be content for now, and that is VERY good!  I am thankful for what I have and realize I only WANT more, not NEED more!  :)








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Tuesday, February 9, 2010

I am the clay...

 I have been praying and asking God to replace all of ME with all of HIM so there is nothing left of me!  I am just to that point where I am so tired of SELF.  God has been showing me how much of ME there is in my life and so I realized I have not because I ask not!  I have been asking and He has been so faithful!  How uncomfortable it is to get pruned!  The analogy I have really been meditating on is:

Isaiah 64:8~ But now, O Lord, You are our Father;  We are the clay, and You our potter;  And all we are the work of Your hand.

A lump of clay is nothing without the potter but a form of yuck!  And if the clay sits to long it gets hard and unmoldable, the potter must add water continually to get it soft enough to make something beautiful.  Do I allow myself to stay soft and pliable so my potter can use His hands to mold Me?  Or do I "sit" to long on MY shelf so that I become to hard and unworkable for my potter's hands?  Well, to make a long story short, I have had to have some water dumped on my head!

What do I need to do for my potter to mold me?  NOTHING!  Just as a lump of clay does nothing but sit and be molded into something beautiful by the potter's hands, I don't  have to do anything but be pliable and allow Him to design and mold me in His image!  When I try to give my ideas and work out things in my timing, I have interfered with the potter's plan and the clay pot cannot be what He has planned, something beautiful and usable! 

How I long to be a walking, breathing, living testimony for Him as I give ALL that I am for All that He is




Friday, February 5, 2010

Foto Friday

My computer is down so I am using an old one that we have that has many of my old pictures on it.  I found this picture and just got a good giggle!
Hoping it might bring a smile to your face too!
Have a great, God-filled weekend~






Wednesday, February 3, 2010

DON"T TOUCH!



How many times I have I said the word's DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING to my kids when walking into a store filled with breakables! Usually I don't even dare take them in because even if they listen and obey, accidents can and do happen! Well, today I should have been the one to tell myself, DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING!


My girls and I went to the mall for a short time and decided to checkout the book and bible store.  I reluctantly agreed even though our time was short.  Books got looked at but nothing purchased.  (If you know me or have read my blog for any amount of time, that is a milestone!)  I was so proud of myself and patting myself on the back...UNTIL....

I stopped at a pretty little glass shelf with the most adorable ceramic mug on it.  It was the cutest thing!  It had a little spoon that fit right INTO the handle so you could just place it back after you were done stirring!  So inventive and handy, kind-of!  I soon decided that was the DUMBEST idea ever!  Without even seeing what was written on the adorable, (*ahem* cough, cough,) mug, I picked it up, turned it upside down to see the price that was so unintelligently intelligently stuck to the BOTTOM of the mug!  Well, that would be great IF the spoon had been somehow taped or temporarily held to the handle of the mug!  But nope, as I looked at the price sticker (which I might add was rediculously high), the spoon went slidding out and fell onto the glass shelf and yep, you guessed it, broke!  Did I have the thought of pretending nothing happened and quickly fleeing the scene?  Me, NEVER!  (okay, maybe for a split minute second)  My girls said (rather loudly from my perspective), "Mom, did you break it?  MOM YOU DID BREAK IT!"  So, I picked up the pieces to the spoon and looked at the mugs caption for the first time that just happened to say, "Sisters, God chose us as sisters, we chose to be friends!"   Very sweet, IF you have a sister! 

So knowing that I would be full willing to pay for the item but hoping in the back of my mind that they would be so thankful I was honest and tell me they have insurance for accidents like this and let me on my way,
I walked up to the counter and showed them the mug and told them I had accidently broke it.  I told her I would be willing to pay for it and that I was sorry.  She begins to wrap it it some tissue paper and another lady begins to ring it up on the cash register.  I was beginning to get the idea that they did not understand what happened.  I then said I did not want it, I had just needed to pay for it because I had broken it!  (Still hoping they would excuse it and tell me accidents happen!)  She said,"Oh you don't WANT it?!  Well do you want to give it a homeless shelter or something?  You know, since your paying for it and all?!"  You have to understand, at this point I was very frustrated with myself for even touching the silly adorable mug because I did not even want it!  And I was afraid that if I brought it home to use it for myself, that it may end up shattered on the wall.  (I really am kidding about that one!  I don't throw things when I am mad!)  Anyway, the LAST thing I wanted was to bring it home to remind me of having to pay for it!  She continued to tell me how she could not believe that I even considered bringing to to her!  (She did not know that she was talking to a lady that one time had noticed I underpaid $.06  at Wal-mart and drove all the way back to pay them!  That was just how my mom raised me!  Just think if everyone that walked into Wal-mart did that for just one day!  Thank how much money $.06 would be over and over! )

I must admit, I was not happy about paying for the mug!  Little did I know how God would use this for HIS glory!  My daughter decided she wanted the mug so I told her that was fine and she went back to get it.  I went to get the car.  Picked up my daughter and she began to tell me what the lady said to her.  "You have a very special mom and please remember what she did today!  There are not that many honest people left in this world!  Go give her a hug and tell her thank you!" 

Now, I don't say that to brag about myself because I think anyone would do what I did! I just hope that people are that way!  I did nothing that God would be impressed with!  But, if my girls remember this someday when they are making a decision between what is easier and what is right,  maybe God will bring this to their minds and heart!  How cool is that!  And as for the ladies at the store, I don't know, but it was very surprising to me at a CHRISTIAN book and bible store, they were surprised that I would even think of telling them that I had broken it!  Maybe, just maybe God used this for them today also!  I am so in awe of how much my flesh wants to rule!  But I am so glad that I am a child of the Most High and He used little old me today, to teach my children!  We must obey Him and His word!  As we always tell our children, "obey your mother and your father... and it will go well with you!"  That also goes for us obeying God!  When we obey, it WILL go well with us!  (Even if I do have to stare at an ugly adorable ceramic mug in my kitchen cabinet!)

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

A Parents Prayer

I have this hanging on my wall and I think it is such a beautiful prayer!  It makes me stop sometimes and look at my parenting skills, (or lack there of), and my children, (no lack in that area! :). May this be a blessing to you as it is me! 

Lord, as I live this day, please grant me
the ability to laugh at my children's antics;
the time to share their moments of pride;
the need to praise their separate strengths;
 the faith to trust their growing judgemet;
the patience to understand their changing moods;
the virtue to forgive their disrespect;
the openness to learn their ways and styles;
the ears to hear what they are saying;
the tenderness to understand their broken dreams;
and wisdom to accept that their lives,
as my own, are built just one day at a time.
Amen.






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