Because I Now Know Its Value

I've been reluctant to post this, but I feel like it may help some of you out there who are going through this same thought process as I was.  So, here goes....

When I was younger, like middle school, I think, I was Baptized by a family Pastor friend.  My brother and I actually shared this moment together.  It was special and I knew exactly what I was doing.  The Pastor counseled my brother and I before-hand so we knew what to expect and so we realized what exactly Baptism was.

But, I was very young, with little life experience.  Just for laughs (and to lighten the mood a little bit) let me tell you just how young I was.  I was just hitting puberty and had begun wearing a training bra.  But, on the day of my baptism I had forgotten to put it on and I was so embarrassed to tell my mom that I needed to go back to the house to get it, that I was left thinking of ANY excuse to make it back to the house without anyone knowing.  Have I ever mentioned that I am SO glad that I am done living in those awkward middle and high school years, ha!

Anyway...

A couple of months ago, at the end of every service our staff began announcing about our Worship night that would be coming up and that we would have a time to "Go Public" and come forward to get Baptized.  I don't know why I felt a tug at my heart, but the feeling got stronger and stronger each week as I stood up on stage listening to the end of service announcements.

One week, after church, I brought it up to Josh to see what he thought.  He was in full support, giddy almost, when I told him that I needed to get re-baptized.

Well, the Worship night rolled around and I wrestled with the thought all day.  In fact, I intentionally walked out the door without an extra pair of clothes, thinking that the feeling would just go away if I didn't have clothes to change into.

Well, it didn't.

In fact, as soon as I saw Pastor Paul and Pastor Jimmy at the front doing their sound checks, my body became shaky and I began uncontrollably crying.  I walked up to them and asked what they thought about re-baptism and told them my story.

Pastor Jimmy went on to tell me a story.  I don't remember all the details so if it's a little inaccurate, bear with me and just focus on the main point.

There was a young boy who had a very precious jewel.  He knew it was precious, as much as a little boy could comprehend such things, and decided that he wanted to give it to the Queen.  As the boy got older he became more and more aware of just how precious that jewel was.  He began to inquire about it and went back to the queen and asked for it back.  The Queen couldn't refuse, but was reluctant to let it go, because she knew how much it was worth.  As she offered the jewel back to the boy, who was now a man, he took it in his hands, and re-offered it back to the Queen saying, "because now I KNOW it's worth."

See, he really did gift the queen with a precious jewel as a child but didn't exactly know the worth of his sacrifice until he got older.

My first Baptism counted.  It didn't not work...it's just that now, after years of life experience, foolish choices and now choosing to walk with the Lord and seek His ways I know it's worth.

And what better way to set that right in my heart than to go public...again...in front of hundreds of people.  Talk about getting out of my comfort zone:)

And wouldn't you know...Journey just happened to have some clothes for me to borrow so I could take this step of obedience...

So, if you are feeling that tug at your heart but feel like you've "already done it" don't be scared.  Don't discredit your initial public moment, but move on in faith and obedience clinging to the fact that you now know its worth!

Music To My Ears - Kyle Polk (Shhh..it's a FREE Christmas download!)

Kyle Polk is one of the most creative musicians I know.  He and Josh played music together back in our college days, where our relationship grew with him and his wife, Rita.

Kyle and Rita have a daughter named Ivelee who is just about Micaiah's age.  They had fun playing together when we took our trip to GA last spring.:)  They are friends of ours from college and are in the process of walking in faith as they pack up their lives from Monks Corner, SC to move to be a part of a Church Plant near Atlanta Georgia with some other friends of ours.

Anyway, Kyle sent us his FREE Download for his Lo-Fi Christmas album and said I could share it with the world (that's you) so you can enjoy it with your family this Christmas season!

ENJOY!

He was also part of a band called RedBirds and you can check out some more of their music HERE!

Black Friday and New Thanksmas

It was Wednesday morning and I had several errands to run before heading up north for "New Thanksmas".  I decided to get all my deals together because Tasha + Black Friday + Way Too Many People + Long Lines All Alone = Well, it doesn't equal anything, because it just doesn't exist, ha!

But, I did decide that I have GOT to get back into the CVS game.  This decision was made after I actually had to pay for my last tube of toothpaste.  I know *gasp*...  I haven't had to do that in 3 years!  Anyway, I got my load of ECB's (I only had 3 left ya'll!) and headed out to get my pre-black-friday deals.  I scored HUGE!  I also got an amazing deal at Kroger.  I finished up my errands getting almost $100 worth of stuff from CVS and Kroger and only spending $11!  What?!  It feels so good to be back in the game.  Now, let's see if I can keep this up.

I got home and we packed up the car.

My side of the family met this year to celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year all smooshed into one big holiday - "New Thanksmas".  We squeezed a year's worth of tradition into 2 days.  It was short and sweet, but man, oh so fun!

I'll be sharing more about our time with my family because I KNOW you all are dying to see String Party Pictures!
_______________________________________

So, even though I don't venture out into the world the day after Holidays, I L.O.V.E. to hear about all the deals that everyone else gets!  It's way more exciting for me than waking up at the butt-crack of dawn, or camping in a parking lot, or whatever else you crazy people do, ha!

So, let me know how your Thanksgiving was (because I missed you all, although I did enjoy the short blogging hiatus) and if you went out and scored big...on Christmas Presents, silly, this is a G-rated blog;)

Soooo, share...ready...GO!

Lessons From The Classroom - Leaves

It felt SOOOOOOO good outside.

So

we opened up all the windows

danced around the house

and then went outside and raked the largest leaf pile you ever did see.

 I then called school to order

and then

we played in the leaves all day.

We played in the leaves until the wind blew so cold 

and the rain started coming down.

And then school was over!

Sometimes you just need to stop and play:)

Adoption Resources

Josh and I are wanting to be as prepared as we can be for whatever this adoption may hold.  We know that there is no way to be completely ready for what lays ahead but we'd be naive to think that there was nothing we could learn during this process.

Josh got online and found a couple of books we are going to be reading through together, but we want more!

We are specifically wanting to read about international adoptions and interracial families.  We know that this is a very emotional process...for us and the little black child we're going to be bringing into our family and we want to be sensitive to this.

So, what books do you suggest that we read as we try to prepare for this new Journey as a family?

Not Me Monday

I don't understand why my kids always wait until the last minute to go to the bathroom.

Really?!

I know they feel like they are going to miss something really important, like the part of the movie they have only seen 2,016 times already, or pushing the train around the track one more time, or stuffing just one more thing in a lunchbox, or brushing a pony's hair just a few more strokes...

but GOOD - GRIEF!

And seeing how irritated I get at my kids for waiting So...Long...To...Pee...

I'd NEVER do that myself.

Nope, I always pee in a timely matter.

I mean, really, I'm a mature adult.

I'd never sit here, catching up on emails and reading blogs so long that I began getting stomach cramps because I had to pee so bad.

Nope, not me!  I always go to the bathroom right away.

Especially knowing what my bladder can be like after having 3 babies *ahem*

Nope, not me;)

On The Move

Family Photos Taken By: Heidi Mayhugh

Fun Facts For Friday - Boxes, Dots, Vulnerability, Gifts and Christian Celebrity

Many of you have asked how in the world I got so smart and gained so much wisdom.  Well, not actually, but if you did, I'd say from lots of prayer, mistakes and learning from other people.  Here are just a few things I've learned just this week.  Check them out!

1 - Save your cereal boxes.  Not only for a great cause, but to save lives.  Check it out HERE!

2 - We are constantly mixing up Zeke and Cai's clothes after we do laundry and then we wonder why Zeke can't get his pants zipped and why Cai's shirt sleeves have to be rolled up 3 times.  Here is a GREAT IDEA on how to avoid this catastrophe.  Who would have thought?!

3 -  Here is a great post about making yourself vulnerable for your children.  It's beautiful!

4 - Shop for Christmas, help an orphan.  Check out THIS organization and make your gifts count.

5 -  Josh and I love Relevant Magazine.  They wrote a great article called "The Irony Of Christian Celebrity".  It would be totally worth your time to go read it!

Happy reading and Happy Friday!

A Puddle Of Tears and Music To My Ears

I have been a puddle of tears this morning, and I'm an ugly cryer, ya'll!

I'm sitting here in my hotel room trying to have some time with the Lord and all I can do is cry.  The song that came on is Ascend The Hill's, "Take The World, But Give Me Jesus" from their album Ascend The Hills.

We sang this song last night.  I say this all the time, but if I sit here and meditate on the words, do I really believe these words?!

Is Jesus really all I need?  Or do I need the security of a paycheck, the approval of others, notoriety as a musician, "The Perfect Mom"label, the Christianized American dream, instant gratification from comments on a blog post (can I get an amen?)...

It goes on and on, really.  When does it stop?!

But if Jesus really is all that I need, like I've been telling the nations on mission trips and pouring into my children's hearts, that would be it!

Nothing else would matter.  NOTHING...

Lord, I want to be real.  I want to be passionate about you and only You!  I want you to pour out of my life, leaving room for nothing else!

So God, take the world, but give me Jesus

4 1/2 Bearded Men

And this has been the bearded crew that I've had the privilege of hanging out with this week.  We have yet to walk into a building or gas station without comments such as "Wow, look at all the hair!" and "You guys look weird" ha!

Josh and I are doing a YouthAlive Conference this week in Chatham, VA.  His dad is speaking and we are leading the music part of the worship, 'cause that's just what we do:).  Several young people have come forward to receive Christ and more than a dozen others have made other types of decisions for Christ.  It's been a GREAT week!

We've had an incredible band!  A band like this is a worship leader's dream, Josh says, allowing him to worship without worrying about what is going on behind him.  Not only are they incredible musicians, they're pretty stinkin' hilarious.  They can entertain themselves for hours!

Pictured above:
Weston Keith - Bass/ Scott Spruill - Keys and vocals/ Joshie-poo - Guitar and vocals/ Patrick Downing - Electric and vocals/ Travis Motley - Drums and making the sound amazing!

Today is our last day for this conference.  We'll pack up and head further north for a weekend event in Richmond, VA.

PS - In case you didn't hear...our application got approved for our adoption!

Lessons From The Classroom - Thankful Tree

In light of the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday, and the need to spice up the Fall decor in our house:), we have been working on a special activity.  We call it the Thankful Tree.  I've seen this idea from many other sites and thought it was great!

We went outside and gathered some sticks.  You can spray paint them if you want.  Then, we sat down and talked about Fall Colors.  We picked out all of our fall color paint and painted some construction paper.  Later, we took a walk outside and the kids picked out a couple of their favorite leaves.  We use those to trace the leave shapes on the paper.  They are then cut out and taped on the sticks.

Here's the "Thankful" part.  Each day we are thinking of something relevant (this just means that if they say "for all the people in the world", we narrow it down a little bit, or make it a bit more practical, ha!) that we are thankful for and write it on a leaf.

If you remember, last week I started another new activity, as well.  Whenever the kids start bickering at each other they have to stop and take turns telling each other things that they are thankful for, or appreciate, about the other one.  It helps get their minds off of their quarrel and back on to their hearts.

How about you, have you been having some Thankful fun this week?

It's Time For Christmas Cards

My friend, Heidi, just took our annual family photos last week and we are beginning to put together our Christmas cards to send out.  There are SO many companies to decide from when it comes to getting your Christmas cards out.

This year we're going with Shutterfly.  One of the reasons we like Shutterfly because they have set shipping, and when we order pictures, WE.ORDER.PICTURES!  Not only do they have your standard Christmas Photo Cards, but they have Photo Christmas Gifts, Photo Invitations and Photo Gift Tags so you can personalize your whole Christmas Season:)

This year we are doing a bit more than just your standard Christmas card.  We are going to make some photo cards as prayer cards for our Adoption!

As an added Bonus for Bloggers, Shutterfly is willing to partner with you.  They are giving away 50 FREE Christmas cards!  So, go to SHUTTERFLY and inquire about their Blogger Promotion...and go look around at their great selection of Photo Gifts and Christmas Cards while you are there!

Wake Up Happy Rule

I've always been a schedule momma and I'm not ashamed to say it.  I've stuck pretty close to the Baby Wise method and it has worked for us.  It doesn't mean that it is the only way to parent, it is just the only way WE have chosen to parent.  It works, and when we find something that works, I'm not really inclined to change much, ya know?

That being said, I have had a breakthrough with Micaiah.

It has always taken Micaiah a L-O-N-G time to fully wake up after a nap.

I mean, maybe you have "one of those kids" who automatically wakes up and talks and plays when they wake up from a nap, but Cai - not so much.

Until one day.

I had accidentally left a toy caterpillar rattle in his bed with him.  It was about the time he usually wakes up and I thought I kept hearing something from his room.

Finally, I got up and stood by his door and listened.

Sure enough, he was sitting in his bed, talking to himself and playing with his little toy as he waited patiently for me to come and get him out of bed.

What?!  Why in the world had I never thought of this before???  Maybe because "the book" said to never put toys in the child's bed because he might get confused with play time and sleep time.

So, even though my wonderful book of parenting advice has rarely failed me, I have come to a new conclusion: Maybe a toy or two in the bed isn't such a bad idea after all.  It may, in fact, become the sweetest distraction for the whole family to divert his "I'm awake, get me up!" scream.

Have you found anything that helps your baby wake up happy?  I'd love to hear some other tricks in case he becomes immune to the toy-in-the-bed thing:)

Not Me Monday

Areyna is such a wonderful student 100% of the time.  She always does exactly what I ask of her.

And being the kind of student that she is, she would never roll her eyes at me when it comes time to do school.

Nope, not Areyna.  Not MY child!

Where in the world would she get that kind of attitude from anyway?!

Not me!


That being said,

I'd never have to keep interrupting her "guessing game" while continuing to say "Just SOUND IT OUT!  The word is right there!  You JUST read it 2 seconds ago...before you kicked the chair over with your foot while rolling around on the floor!"

Geez.  What kind of mother would lose her temper over a reading lesson anyway.

Not me!

I would never, then threaten to enroll Areyna into an all-day, every-day Kindergarten class because she continued to stare off into space and roll around on the floor instead of read the words on the page!  Or better yet, just give up and say "school is over for today" and walk out of the room.

Nope, not me!  Our schooling goes way more smoothly than that;)

You CAN Make A Difference

How can you look at a face like this

and NOT melt?!

Each of these children have a future.

We can help make sure that their future is secure.

You CAN Make A Difference In A Child's Life!

By sponsoring a child for only $30/month YOU can ensure that:

they have food, education, and the much needed medical treatment they deserve.

Above all else, YOU can ensure that they grow up hearing 

about the HOPE and TRUTH of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Come out to Journey this weekend to see which child you are going to sponsor.

"Religion that God our Father accepts 

as pure and faultless is this: 

to look after orphans and widows in their distress 

and to keep oneself 

from being polluted by the world."

James 1:27

Fun Facts For Friday

Boy are you in for a treat today!  I've got lots of Fun Facts to throw at you today:)

1 - Why is it that when I'm trying to be really quiet...I continually drop things, the kitchen cabinet doors slip out of my fingers and slam shut, the toilet seat seems to crash down and my cell phone starts going bonkers?!  Poor Josh was probably ready to throw something at me this morning!

2 - I love when my kids take things literally.  Like, when their arm or leg falls asleep they say: "My leg is really tired." or "My arm is sleepy and won't wake up."=)

3 - I talked on the phone to my sister-in-law for a total of 1 hr. and 41 min.  For anyone who knows me, you know that is a BIG DEAL!  Especially since it is the sister-in-law that I see on at least a weekly basis...  What in the world did we talk about anyway?!

4 - I've started a new discipline trick this week, in light of Thanksgiving.  When the kids start fighting or bickering with each other I make them STOP, look each other in the face and take turns telling each other three things that they love or are thankful for about the other one.  It seems to be working, at least in 20 minute increments.

5 - I have been working my butt off getting these Orphanage Sponsor Packets ready for Sunday.  Hopefully I'll be bringing them to Journey to get these kids funded!

6 - We went and filled up our Shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.  I absolutely LOVE doing this and the kids really enjoyed picking out special things for their boxes, but oh.my.goodness...I about have an anxiety attack walking into the Dollar Tree with 3 kids who want to put one of everything in their box and oh my goodness, if it doesn't all fit in there...

7 - No Shave November was a no-go in this house.  Well, at least for me, that is!  Yes, Josh beat me, but I hate it when my leg hair begins catching on the material inside of my jeans.  I'm just kidding, but Josh did try to talk me into abstaining from shaving this month, ewww!

8 - This is what happened when I sat down with my cup of coffee this morning!

Nope, that is not from the bean casserole I made last night

because I don't like beans so I'd never make a bean casserole...

but anywho...

I sat down and my favorite jammie bottoms totally ripped write down the butt=(

It was time for them to be retired since I bought them, like 6 years ago!

9 - This one is just a freebie because I can't just have 9 facts.  That just doesn't feel right.

10 - I could hardly get my mind to slow down long enough to fall asleep last night.  And then I woke up REALLY early, hence the reason I was up before Josh, and when I DID wake up I felt like I'd already had 3 cups of coffee.  And you better believe I made one more, because if I hadn't made another cup of coffee I wouldn't have been able to sit down and rip my favorite pair of jammy bottoms, now would I, ha!

Let The Journey Begin - It's A Big Day!

As I write this, Josh is on his to the post office with Areyna and Zeke 

to mail our application off to our agency.

Yes, we found a great agency.

Yes, we are going through with this.

No, there is no turning back now.

Yes, we're SO excited.

Full steam ahead!

Only A Storm Lover

Only a storm lover get giddy over looking at a map like this, ha!

"Little Star"

You may remember when I reviewed the book, This Little Prayer of Mine by Anthony DeStefano.

Well, he has sent me his next children's book titled, Little Star.  It is the story of the birth of Jesus' through the perspective of the Bright Star that shown on that night.

It's really cute!  In fact, I liked it more than the first book that I read.  I like the illustrations.  I liked the fact that Little Star was bold enough to shine when all the other stars wouldn't believe that Jesus was, indeed, the King of Kings.

It takes quite a few liberties, but hey, it's a children's book!

Make sure you check out, Little Star!  It's a super cute read, especially as we near the Christmas season.

Lessons From The Classroom

I'm not going to lie and say we've always got it together in the homeschool department around here.

As a matter of fact, last week the Lord was doing such a number in the heart's of our family that I was basically in survival mode.  This wasn't due to any awful or heart-wrenching experience, it was a good thing.  A VERY good thing!  But it consumed my whole being.  Have you ever had one of those days?

I was determined to do school, though.

My focus for this year has been to teach Areyna to read.  So, that's what we did.  We read and read and read some more!  Areyna read books to me, I read books to her, she read books to Zeke and Zeke made up stories to the pictures in the books:)

And that was our week.  I don't feel a bit guilty for it either.

I've come to realize that I can't try to be a kind of teacher that I am not.  If we are going to succeed at homeschooling I am going to have to learn to find out what kind of teacher I am, what kind of learners my children are, and stop worrying about the friends around me who do it differently.  I am beginning to realize that there isn't a wrong or right way of doing this thing, just different ways to do them.

So, whether you are a workbook kind of mama, a curriculum following kind of mama, a fly by the seat of your pants kind of mama,  or a artsy, hands-on kind of mama, if we are seeking the Lord in this journey we can't go wrong.

Micaiah's To Do List

Micaiah must have a To-Do list in his back pocket tucked in his diaper, and he must be like his momma who likes to check things off, because every day he accomplishes his list before the time we tuck him into bed.  It's so funny because he does these SAME THINGS every day!

He pushes the button on the back of our fan.  It sits on the floor in our bedroom and the oscillator part of the fan is broken, so when we turn the fan on before we hop in bed every night it starts clicking, and we just smile, knowing that Cai had once again made his rounds:)

Every day he pushes all the books on the bookshelf back against the wall...and every day I push them back up.  They should be about 1" from the front and all even, right?  RIGHT?  Right.

No matter how many times I tell him (and sign to him), "No, No!" or "No, Sir!" or "No Buttons, Cai!"  he is determined to turn the dishwasher on, at least once a day, and it must be on long enough for him to hear the whirring sound or he will continue to pursue it until he does.

He's obsessed with unplugging Josh's computer.  You know, that magnetic thing that charges the battery on the Mac.  Yup, every day...

This is Micaiah's daily chore list.

Not Me Monday

I would never post a post, just to post a post.

Nope, not me!

I ALWAYS have something interesting to say and I'm always on top of my game.

Really...F-O-C-U-S is my middle name, here, over the past week or so.

And when I say "focus" I mean, on my normal, everyday tasks like fixing meals, changing poopy diapers, breaking up sibling fights over bubbies, bags and whatever else they tend to fight over.  Oh, and blogging too, of course!

And, by the way, who on earth would let themselves get so mentally distracted that they just catch themselves staring off into space with a bewildered look on their face.

Surely not me!

Especially when it's over an adoption journey that has only just begun.

So glad that's NOT ME, or my poor family would really be in for a long ride:)

I mean, I was warned that "baby brain" could take effect during the adoption process.  But that would never happen to this momma!

Nope, not me.


But, if for some CRAZY reason this were me, I'd be so grateful for the faithful family/friends/readers who I could count on for encouragement and prayers, and for continuing to read my blog, no matter how scattered and "un"focused it may be:)

Can I get an AMEN?!

And Then There Were 4!!!!

Let The Journey Begin!

You can read Josh's take on the process to get more details:)

Trash Or Treasure

We have this book called, The Big Book of Boy Stuff.  Josh and Zeke started looking through it and found an awesome activity.  At least Zeke thought so!

Here's what you'll need:
A trash can
A couch that hasn't been cleaned out in a while

This is what I walked into

The gist of the activity was to go on a treasure hunt

in the couch.

While picking up the random objects

from within the couch crevasses

ask yourself...

"Trash or Treasure?"

Zeke got a handful of "treasures"

and I...

well I got a clean couch out of it without even having to ask, ha!

Music To My Ears - Sara Scott

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So many times we listen to music because of the name that is attached to it and not because of the content, lyrical depth, melody or skill.

I decided that, as an independent artist (well, at least the wife of one, ha!) I wanted to do some shout outs to some of my friends and friends' friends who write awesome music independently that you may or may not have ever heard of before.

I'm going to highlight different artists here on the blog so there are two responsibilities you have here:

1 - go get some of this awesome music and help support some independent artists with wonderful talent

and

2 - let me know of some artists that you LOVE to fill your iPod with so that I can possibly highlight them here as well

So, without further ado...

Here's the first artist I want to highlight:

Sara Scott

She is one of my favorite people.  She is young, beautiful, full of raw talent and has a heart for the Lord (yes men, she's single, but don't tell her I told you that;)

Not only do I enjoy her music, but I appreciate her heart.  She loves on my kids and goes out of her way to love on them and show them that she cares about them.  If that doesn't speak volumes to a mama, I don't know what does!

We've done several projects with her.  In fact, I had the privilege of playing on her first album.  She is a great songwriter and her voice is exquisite.  I know she is in the process of working on a new EP and I cannot wait to hear it.

You can listen to some of her music HERE.

If you like what you hear, which I'm SURE you will, go download some of her original tunes HERE and make sure you keep checking back with her to find out when she will release her new EP.

Lessons From The Classroom - Pumpkins

Last week we focused on Pumpkins.

We started out with an incredibly fun outing to the pumpkin patch;)  This was just the beginning!  The rest of the week was full of Pumpkin Fun.

We learned about the word "Hypothesis" and then we each made an educated guess about the circumference of each of the pumpkins we had.  We later graphed the results.

Pumpkin carving was a must-do activity.  Areyna chose a kitty-cat and Zeke chose Spiderman.  We saved the seeds for some other activities I had planned.  Rainy and I lovingly referred to Zeke as the "Pumpkin Wuss" because he refused to touch the stringy insides and get the seeds out.  Don't worry he's not been scarred for life.  As a matter of fact, he was making up songs about it!

We did three main activities with the pumpkin seeds:

1 - Math - We made math problems and counted them out with pumpkin seeds.

2 - Art - Pumpkin Seed Mosaic

3 - Cooking - We roasted them in the oven.  Make sure you do this activity in an oven.  I made the mistake of "roasting" pumpkin seeds in my microwave in college the day of open dorms (I think my whole dorm was mad at me) and the whole bowl caught on fire, the room filled with green smoke, which later spread throughout the whole hallway, which lead to the accusation of me smoking pot in my dorm room.  My roommate and I walked around campus smelling like chain smokers for two weeks...it was AWFUL!  So, the key word here is O-V-E-N...

HERE was a fun site that I got a couple of ideas from.

BONUS ACTIVITY:  You can't have a week of pumpkin fun without a Fall Festival and Trick-or-Treating, right? RIGHT?!:)

A GREAT activity to do with the kids is to put all their Halloween candy together in one bowl, basket or bucket and count it before they go to bed.  Then, when they wake up in the morning you can count it again and see how many pieces mommy and daddy ate after they went to bed:)

Did you have any pumpkin fun with your kids?

When You Say "Yes" To God

When you feel a stirring in your heart that undoubtedly comes from the Lord you have a choice to make.

By doing nothing you are essentially saying "no" to the creator of the universe.

You will forfeit the peace that comes with obedience.

When you say "yes" you may not get all the details of what that "yes" will entail right away.

You may only get one step at a time.

You will be forced to step out in faith.

To step out in the world of the unknown.

Like Abraham, when the Lord told him to pack up his family and "go" to a place that was unknown to them.

And don't think that saying "yes" means that the process will be easy.

Some times Many times the "yes" journey is difficult.

You may be tempted to question what the Lord told you to do.

But don't give up.

Just because the road is difficult doesn't mean that you need to quit.

The Lord will provide exactly what you need, when you need it.

You will probably feel uncomfortable, as the Lord calls you to do things out of your comfort zone.

You may feel like the financing will never go through, or the details will never line up.

That's okay.

He's not called us to understand what's going on.

He's just waiting for us to say "yes".

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart 

and lean not on your own understanding.  

In all your ways acknowledge him 

and he will direct your paths."

Proverbs 3:4-6

Not Me Monday

I am all about cloth diapers.

I love everything about them!

The way I haven't had to budget in disposable diapers...the way they make Cai's little butt look so doggon' cute...the absence of diaper rash...the ease of cleaning them...

So, when I realized that Micaiah had become very predictable in the poop department I would NEVER try to time it just right and put a disposable diaper from my stash on him right before he poops, just so I don't have to mess with the "mess".

Nope, not me!

Because, like I said, I love everything about them!

Smeared poop, stinky pee smells and all!