Time for Some Pics

I have been seriously lacking in the picture department lately! My kiddos are growing so fast it sometimes takes a picture for me to realize it.

EJ looked so pretty on Sunday in her new dress Aunt Jen found at a garage sale, but the little stinker wouldn't let me take a pic of her so the back will have to do. :)



We love to laugh and tease at our house. Seriously, if you don't have a sense of humor you may not want to enter our abode. It amazes me how much our three year old picks up on already. All I have to do is look at her sometimes and she will flash her smile at me and say, "Mom, you are teasing me!" I Love it!




Now on to this little man, wait a sec, he is by far not LITTLE anymore! Look at my boy he is growing up big time, my baby is almost gone. (Insert tears here) He is so close to walking now and crawling at the same time; our house is going to be crazy very soon folks! I love my little chunky man!

Jonah

(I actually wrote this yesterday, but blogger wouldn't let me post it)

Jonah is a very “short” book of the bible, just 4 chapters long. I am sure I have read it before, but it’s been a long, long time, and how many times growing up have I heard the shortened version of the story of Jonah and have even read it to my daughter. The one thing I have always remembered is he was swallowed by a really big fish for 3 days and then God allowed him to be puked up. Nice, huh? Of course there is so MUCH more to this story! I read it today on my ½ hour lunch and you would not believe the lessons I re-learned today!

From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God whom he had been trying to hide from. He said: “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me.” That was me this morning in my mind. Desperately I was saying Lord, I need you to speak to me, and I need you to ease my human mind of my worldly fears.

Then when Jonah followed what the Lord wanted and went to Nineveh and proclaimed that in forty more days Nineveh would be overturned the Ninevites believed God and what was to come. ALL of them fasted, put on sackcloth, and turned to God. When God saw this he had compassion on Nineveh because they had turned from their evil ways, and the Almighty did not bring the destruction he had promised.

Do you see that? God gives us a second chance because he loves us that much. It saddens him when we turn away and do not trust and he wants us to turn ourselves over to him whole heartily and allow him to have the control he has in our lives.

I needed God to speak this very truth to me today through Jonah. Life has been super crazy since May and today I am tired, I was feeling very weary, and allowing fear of the unknown to set in. There is so much going on that I won’t drag on about, but I needed to remember that God is in control and if I allow him to lead he will not lead me where he will not take care of my every need and my families.

We Ladies Can Be Real Silly Sometimes!

First off let me say this. I really appreciate the woman that looks just sharp and together everyday. You know the beautiful outfits, perfect hair, matching shoes, jewelry, and purses. I sometimes think why don’t I do that more, but to me that is hard work that I can’t seem to get myself to invest in. So I really appreciate the woman that can do that everyday, heck even once a week!

My hubby would be the first to tell you that IF I go shopping for myself I set out to buy one thing and then end up buying the same thing I always do. He likes to call my outfits my work uniform. I work in a casual office and so my outfits tend to be plain colored shirts and tan pants so I can then wear them on the weekend too. I am pretty boring, but in my mind I am being very practical. It seems to have become worse with the addition of a second child too. I think in my mind I need new clothes, but then I think I have more than enough, more than most in the world and that is fine.

Here is the thing I was struggling with today. The hubby and I rarely go out, especially w/out the kids, and this Friday I am taking the day off of work to soak in my kids, and then we are going on a date! The first part of the evening will be just the hubby and I with a little old bottle of wine and hopefully some really good conversation (you know more than what we have in passing and talking over a 3 year old who loves to be the center of attention right now.  ). Then we are going to meet up with some old friends that we haven’t really spent a ton of time with in a VERY long time.

So as excited as I am about this the first thing that came to my mind today was, “WHAT WILL I WEAR????” Seriously I was having a hard time with this. I have been telling myself all day that it doesn’t matter because what I am excited about is the fellowship of the evening. But I am a chick and sometimes I just feel frumpy! My friend, she’s a really sharp dresser, and well I am not. So maybe that is part of it too. That and the fact I literally have gained about 10 lbs since being back to work from my time off with Mighty Mo and everything I own right now is tight! GRRRR…need to learn to control. At any rate, that’s a whole different subject.

So I was feeling very frumpy and then I recalled this verse below:

The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
1 Samuel 16:7

You see that??? IT DOESN’T MATTER! What I am learning over and over again is that beauty radiates from the heart; the heart I have for my God and my Jesus. And as I strive to be more like my Jesus, material things really are just that material, and I have so much! Yes my shoes need polished, and my pants have stains on them, and my shirts are pretty much T-shirts, but who really cares? I am beautiful to my God, to my Hubby, and to all who really know me and that is what is important. My joy doesn’t come from the perfect outfit it comes from the love I have for Jesus and how I am relaying that to the world.

So to all my lady friends….don’t let the frumpiness take over because God has so much beauty in you for him and he has great plans for you!

Similar Pictures

We finally landscaped this past weekend after a year of no landscaping when we tiled around the house. It looks awesome; my hubby does a really good job. I decided to take a pic of EJ in front of this really awesome shrub/tree we planted, and of course she refused to look at the camera, but I still love the pic.



When I downloaded this pic the other day it brought back to memory another favorite picture of EJ I took only about 8 months after she had been home. I remember that it was a cool morning before the heat came and Kent was gone. I thought this outfit was cute and decided on a whim to take some pics of our sweet girl. Our lives are so blessed with her in it, our first baby, God's precious gift.



I just love pictures. I have them everywhere. I love the memories they bring just with a glance. Even though many things weigh on my heart, I am joyful and full of peace in Christ, and I try to not take any moment for granted and live in him at all times. I truly am thankful for all he has given our family. We are undeserving, and give all the glory to God.

And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
~ Colossians 3:15

Deuteronomy 6: 5-7

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Dear Father,

I do not want to be a substitute Mom anymore because of working Full Time. I want to invest in the children you have so graciously blessed me with. I want to teach them as you have instructed in your precious word. Help me to see the path you are laying before me and to know what to do in order to fulfill the most precious of jobs you have given me...being a wife and a mother. I struggle, you know it, I lose patience with the day to day rush, and I am not the best wife or mother I can be. Give me strength and knowledge and help me to put my whole trust in you and to live out the plan you have for me in my part of your story here on earth.

Amen

Real Pictures

This is what really happens sometimes when we try to capture "smiley" moments in pictures...Ahhhh isn't it just sweet??!!! :)

HE'S ONE!!

Our handsome sweetie Mighty Mo is 1 today!

My how he has changed and grown. We had his party on Sunday and to be honest it was the fastest party I have ever thrown! Poor Mo was teething and tired and really could have cared less. This first pic is the best one we got of him. He still liked eating the cake, but was pretty tired while doing it, and we also zipped through the presents quickly. His portion of the party was literally done in an hour. Hopefully next year he will have more fun, but we celebrated this precious life by holding him and cuddling him all night. Nothing is sweeter than that!






EJ giving Mo some morning birthday Love!



The kids always get a gift first thing when the wake on their birthday's, bed head and all...




Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.
~ Psalm 37:24

This is the verse I will put in a letter to Mo on our private blog, but wanted to share it with you all today.

Our boy is such a joy and a blessing and we are so very thankful for this precious child of God.