Seasons change...Like it or not!

                    As much as I would like to say I'm talking about the weather, well, I am not.

   I have to say though, that I am always amazed at just how perfect God's timing is.  You would think after seventeen years of being a believer, I would not be shocked or certainly surprised by His timing in my life.  I guess one could say I'm a slow learner :-).  As quickly and irrationally as I walk away from God, He is there. Still picking up the pieces of all of my sins.  And when I decide, because of life, to return to Him, He receives me with open arms as if I had never gone away!  I ask Him daily why?  Why do you still care?  Why am I so important to you?  He doesn't speak audibly to me.  No, the Lord meets me right where I am, every day, in every circumstance through my devotions and through His word.  Reminding me that I am not alone, and that He loves me, with no conditions!  His love for me and my family is so immeasurable, it truly renders me speechless.  And for those of you who know me well, I'm sure that's hard to believe:-).
   This season of life I am in, is not fun.  Plain and simple.  It stinks!  But, I have peace.  A peace that can not be taken away or stifled.  A peace that only the Prince of Peace can so mercifully and freely give.  No strings attached.  The only thing I have to do is trust.  It seems so simple, and yet it is one of the hardest things I have ever done willingly.  Trust God, and His infinite wisdom that I don't have to worry about this season of my life that I brought upon myself.  I am given the freedom to hand over all the worry, heartache, anxiousness, and self doubt...I can give it all over to him.  In fact I am commanded to do just that.  In the book of Philippians it reminds me, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  Phil 4:6-7
   That is one of my absolute, favorite verses in the bible.  It is tangible in a way that most can understand it's meaning clearly.  It is truth, understated, but Holy powerful!  I go back to a time, nearly eleven years ago, when I heard Him speak to me (not audibly, mind you).  He just kept reminding me over and over again, "I love you child.  Let me worry for you.  I love you"....over and over again until I knew that it was Him!  He chooses are most vulnerable moments, and to put it bluntly, our weakest human moments to speak softly to us that He is still there. Sometimes for me, he has to use a 2x4 to get my attention.  But, we only have to stop, take a slow breath, and see how He is moving in our lives.  I am human, believe it or not...Ha-Ha!  I don't always want to stop my life, that I'm trying to run all by my little self, to see what God wants to reveal to me.  We are made of the flesh, but we have His Holy breath, breathed in us.  I owe it to my creator to stop and pay attention.  To stop being so selfish, and just be still.  Be thankful.  I will not allow the enemy to win.  God gets to have me, for better or for worse.  Worse most days, but by his grace alone I am better!
    Before you head out the door, in a hurried frenzy to start the day, please stop and be thankful.
 Praise God for all he has done, and will continue to do on your behalf.
Kiss your babies one extra time, even if they don't like it :-).
Remind your spouse, or significant other, just how much of a blessing they are to you.  We can't just live for the moment, we must live for God and his perfect timing.  Even if it means we have to be still, and wait in it.

Blessings
A

New Adventures

 Watching my three year old play with my new iphone, has been, to say the least, entertaining!  I have many things for her to do here at the shop, but none of it keeps her busy more than a few seconds.  Until.....I joined the 21st century and got an iphone.  We have tried many new preschool apps, but by far her favorite thing to do is to lay on my counter (at the shop) and watch her self with the camera.  Can you say vanity?   Oh well, it's keeping her occupied and that keeps me sane for the time being:-)   

On another note, we are impatiently waiting for SNOW!!!!!  My kiddos can hardly stand the anticipation.  Let's hope the weather guru's are right this time, for my kids sake and others alike. 

Have a blessed and safe next 48 hours. 

Some Quiet Time to Reflect

I was sitting at the computer most of last evening, between helping kids with homework, reading with them, listening to the whining, but still trying to get my mommy things done.  I have lost all of my addresses of friends and family, so I've been sending FB messages to lots of people in need of their addresses.  While on the computer, I realized suddenly that the whole house is quiet!  No T.V. on, no radio, hubby is out of town and all the kiddos are in bed.  God uses solitude for such glorious things.  I am so overwhelmingly blessed in this life, that is so fragile and precious.  I love how He reminds me to love my life, not the stuff in it, but the precious many people I have the priviledge to have in my life.  I am in a place of such peace, and I pray it doesn't soon leave.  I am blessed beyond measure to be married to the love of my life, through the good and bad, I will take it all, as long as I know my Saviour is walking with us on this every twisting journey. 
I just needed to get that jotted down, so I don't forget how very blessed I am, and how thankful I am for Christ and his unending love for us all!

Blessings,
A

Peace and Quiet (for the moment)

Today I decided I needed, as well as the kids needed, a break from one an other for a few hours.  So I headed up north, dropped off my babies at a sweet friends house and headed on my way home.  Of course I had oodles of things on my to do list in my head since my house would be empty, but got a text from my mom to go hit some garage sales instead.  Some days I loath them, other days I love them (garage sales that is:-), but because I'm trying to stock pile clothes for the kiddos and have an ongoing inventory, I decided to tag along.  My youngest two have more than they need for the upcoming winter, and about the same amount for summer 2012 as well.  That leaves me with the oldest two in dire need of clothes and shoes, so I decided to go to some sales instead of working on my to do list.  In hind site, probably not a good idea, but let me tell you, I got some wonderful clothes from a dear friends sale for the two oldest, and hit numerous others and scored fairly well at those too.  The deal of the day however was a gently used bike for my oldest girl and a bag full of name brand clothes, all for the low, low cost of, are you ready for this, $22!!!
I know, I get excited over silly stuff, but just the realization of how much money I saved at only one garage sale, made my day.  And now my big girl finally has a bike that will accommodate her lanky legs:-)  And it's in great condition, which makes it a double bonus.  I think the kids will be pleased with all the loot, I know I sure am. 
Now I'm home, and as you well can read, I am typing this blog entry, because I am so about what only a few dollars can get you if you're willing to go and look for it and barter a little if need be.  But I must get some house work done so that I'm not paying for child care so I can spend money at garage sales;-)

God blesses us every day in distinct and unique ways, but what matters is if you recognize those blessings when they are there and thank Him for them.  It may sound trivial to some, but for me and our budget, God blessed us immensely today answering my prayers of finding a new bike and clothes for the two kids that need them.  I have found that when I don't pray and ask, I run into the temptation to buy much more than we need, and always for the kids that don't need it.  I just have to be willing to ask, seek and go.  God truly is in all the small details.  Today I give him praise for helping me accomplish a step on the way to my budgeting and stock piling goals. 

What blessings are you thankful for today?

Blessings,
A

Leaning on Him

  Today I find myself, I guess you could say a little blue.  You see over the past couple of years I have watched most of my precious close friendships fade to mostly acquaintances, and it has become overwhelmingly sad for me.  God reminded me this morning in His subtle way, that no matter how many or how few earthly friends I have, He is the one I should ALWAYS lean on for support.  That realization has brought me much comfort.  I still mourn these friendships, but I know that the Lord has different ones in store for me in the future, I only need be patient and focus my energies on my relationship with him rather than dwelling on what I can not change.  After all, my relationship with Him is the most important relationship I can have, a long with that of my hubs:-)  I love all the ladies in my life, no matter the disconnect, and will always cherish the friendships, and thank God daily for the past, present, and future friends He has as will put in life.  Having the time to sit down and type this out, has in a way given me some much needed closer, and most importantly, reminded me that my relationship with God has as well been fading, and it is up to me to fix that!

I am so thankful to have my babies home for the summer, and it chokes me up every time I think about school starting again and them leaving me once again. Selfish I know.  I have challenged myself to do more than just chores and sitting at home with them though. They deserve to have an active mom, who wants to spend time with them having fun:-)  We have had some play dates, and sleep overs, and they definitely want to do more.  Some zoo trips have happened, and more are planned.  And a special 10th birthday vacation will be happening in the very near future for one very special little (oops, big) girl and her momma:-)

My hubs and I have been blessed with some much needed dates here and there, but it never seems like we get to often enough.  We have a on going joke about our most common date being one to TSC (tractor supply co, for those you who didn't know:-).  It seems as though every time he needs to go pick up something there, weekly at best, we end up going together.  You know, it's actually been nice to spend any time we can together, even if it is to TSC.  Don't we lead such glamorous lives? ;-)

Even though I started this day in a funk, I am counting my many blessings one at a time, to ensure that I don't overwhelm myself with what worries my heart.  God and my precious family is what holds this girl together!  Enough said.

Don't waste valuable time fretting about what you can not change, but focus on what you can and all the blessings God has given you.

Blessings
A

A Great Day!

  If you know me well, you know that I have a love, kinda like, relationship with my two year old daughter.  I loving refer to her as, dun dun dun, NUMBER 4;-)  I have been known to say to people in Walmart, when she's throwing a fit, as she always does in any store, that she is number four, but if she had been first she'd be an only child. What kind of a mother says this about the very child that grew in her womb for nine months, and gave birth to her, unmedicated and sixteen hours long I might add?  I ask again, what kind of mother says these things?  Me, that's who.  I am very much aware of the blessing she is to me and our family, and I praise God daily for her and my other three blessings!  But, long pause..., she drains me most every day, of all energy and the will to be, well, nice.  A little too transparent for ya?  Sorry, but that's me, take me or leave me.

  Ok, now that I have your attention, and have all that off my chest, I want to tell you about the wonderful day we shared together yesterday.  I love how God works, in so many ways.  But the way he gently reminds me of the miracles these children of mine truly are, is quite frankly a miracle in of itself!  When you pray for four long years to be called "Mommy, Mama, Mom", and then you hear it all  the time, usually in a not so nice tone, it's hard to remember that God gave these precious babies to me and it is my responsibility to love them, no matter what.  Thankfully, I know He loves them more than I ever could, so those gaps are always filled on my not so nice days.  I do have to frequently humble myself though, and ask them for forgiveness for my not so nice behavior:-(  But I know that's all his plan as well. 

  Any way, back to my great day with number four.  We started out our day with an early morning trip to Hyvee to get some good deals and all the wonderful freebies they dole out to the kiddos,  then went to the accountants office to drop off our e-file papers (yay for returns), and went home for a good nap (#4 took the nap:-).  While she was napping I worked on my new couponing binder, over whelmed much?  I got to take a quiet shower, put on my make up alone, and do my hair alone.  Once she woke up we went and grabbed some Wendy's for lunch and took it to the zoo, where we had so much fun together.  I am rambling, oh my, I must be quiet.  Here are a few pictures of our great day together!

She really is a precious child, and I am eternally grateful to my Lord for having enough faith in me to allow me the privilege of being her mama!

Thanks for listening to my ramblings, and for being good friends and encouraging me when I have bad mama days:-) 

Blessings,

a

A long time coming....Part I

Well, after four months of living in our new/old/remodeled home I have finally decided to post some pictures.  Mostly for one special friend in Texas who hasn't seen it yet and keeps dinging me about it, but also for all my friends and family who are curious, haven't seen it since we gutted it, haven't seen it since we started renovations, or just haven't seen it!  Hope you enjoy the slide show:-)   
These are the before pictures:

Family Room

Kitchen YUCK!

Kitchen Yuck, yuck

Kitchen and look into the mold ridden laundry!

Laundry room = nastiness and mold

More laundry and mold (wall w/ door will soon be gone!)

Living room

Upstairs landing

Avery's room - The only room we did nothing to except the flooring.  We just couldn't cover the murals:-)

Brianna's built in desk.  Tilt your head to the left, I forgot to rotate this one;-)

Another pic of upstairs landing-future home of kids' t.v./wii room.

Another pic of Avery's mural.

Aren't these the cutest, chubbiest, fuzziest pony and cow you've ever seen? 

Have you asked yourself why we would possibly want to endure this?  We did, but the end result is so worth it.  Can honestly say we will never, ever do this again though!

Sorry for the teaser but for some reason the renovation pictures won't upload, so stayed tuned tomorrow  

for

    PART II:-)

Blessings!

a