Crazy busy

Well this week has been a good one so far.  I love watching the little girl 3x a week, and Marissa just adores her!  I asked M if she wanted a little sister and she said "NO!  I want HER!!" LOL :)  It's been fun swimming every other day, the kids love it, it's good exercise, and I have been getting tan . . . well, tan for me anyway ;)  Tomorrow is the big Webkinz event!  I hope it's as much fun as it looks in the pictures.  I will be spending the day surrounded by Webkinz!  I know my kids will have fun, and that's what it's all about!!  God has been blessing us financially while we wait to sell our house, so that is a HUGE blessing!!  I love staying here with my parents, it has been really a huge blessing to all of us, and I know the kids love spending so much time with their grandparents.  The little girl I babysit even calls them "Nana and Papa" LOL :)  We are still praying the house sells soon, but we are so thankful for letting the transition go smoothly!!  We are also praying Nathan can get a lead job at work.  It's a full time job and also pays $10K more than now, so that would be a HUGE blessing as well.  It's all in God's hands and His timing.  As long as we are in His will, we will trust God to provide!

Big day for Marissa

We have had a very busy week this week.  I started watching a little girl 3x a week, which the kids love because then we get to go swimming every day she is here :)  Which means Marissa has learned to swim without a life jacket.  She is so excited about that, and she loves to swim under water.  She is getting really good at that!  the other big news for her is that she lost her first tooth!  She was REALLY excited about that, since she was the only one to not have any teeth missing (Dylan knocked out 2).  On Saturday we have a church picnic, and on Sunday we are going to the huge Webkinz roadtrip thing.  So this is a very exciting week for our family :)  I will make sure to get lots of pictures at the Webkinz event.  No news on the house yet, but it's all in God's timing.  We are praising Him for providing for us during this "waiting period".  Thank you all for your prayers!

The Passion of the Christ

I don't know about you, but I hate this movie.  Well, I guess I love it, but I hate it.  I love that it is so real and so honest about what could have happened to Jesus Christ in his last hours.  I hate that it is so sad, and the fact that I am so undeserving of the free gift Christ has given us.  I do not deserve to have Him love me enough to go through all of that pain, suffering, and death for me.  I am in awe how Christ loves the people in this world so much that He gave His life for us.  For me!!  When I think about what He gave up, it really makes me try harder to be like Christ.  To love my enemies, to raise godly children, and to teach others about salvation.  Noone deserves to get to heaven.  We are wicked, cruel people.  We deserve to go to hell.  But Christ, who was perfect, sacrificed His own life, miraculously raising himself 3 days later so that we that believe in Him will be able to enter into heaven.  We will be washed clean, given a new life.  I pray that you have Christ in your heart.  All you have to do is admit that you are a sinner (Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”), believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins (John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”), and trust your life to Christ (Romans 10:13 “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”).  We are not perfect people and we could never work our way into heaven.  Only through Christ, can our sins be made clean.  Only through Christ, can that emptiness in our lives be filled.  You won't be perfect after salvation, but you will have the perfect example to follow.  I am so thankful to Christ for my salvation!  If I had nothing else in this world, that alone would make me happy.  Thank you Jesus for saving me!!

Webkinz

I don't know if any of you have kids that like Webkinz, but my kids LOVE it!  I admit, I have fun playing some of the games as well :)  I know one of my kids has probably 30 of them.  The joy of it is that each stuffed animal unlocks a virtual pet, which means I have over 30 of these things in my house :/  Oh well, I guess my parents had to put up with Troll dolls, I can manage a few stuffed animals!!  As long as they are out of sight ;) 
In just a few weeks, the Webkinz Van will be headed our way!!  I doubt I will have a camera by then, but I promise I will borrow one so I can get lots of pictures of my kids as well as hundreds others that will be attending the event.  The things we do for our kids!!  My kids are all very excited to go, and talk about it almost daily!  It's actually really cute to see them so excited :)  Something fun to do while we wait out the summer until we can join some homeschool groups.  We are also going to MOSI that same week, but that is a whole other post :)

Fun in the sun

I really need to get a new camera!!  We had an awesome weekend with my cousin Suwanee!  We went to the beach pretty much every day, ate on top of a pier overlooking the ocean, had authentic Thai food (YUMMY), and had wonderful talks together!!  We had a blast.  I only wish I had a camera to capture the fun.  Regardless, it was a great week and we really can't wait to get together again.  I actually got a little tan, for me anyway :)  The weather is warming up enough to go swimming now.  This summer I will be teaching Marissa and hopefully Dylan how to swim without their vests.  They haven't learned yet, since we are hardly ever in water, but now is the time to learn!!  I had a fun time alone with each of my girls today, which was a nice treat for all of us.  I love the Steak and Shake 1/2 price shakes!  It makes for a fun and cheap date!!  We are all exhausted today, and looking forward to bed tonight!!  I hope we all sleep REALLY well tonight!

Thankful for family and friends

Today, I am so thankful for my family and friends.  I really screw up so much, I don't feel deserving of such love!  I am sure everyone feels that way, but I really appreciate my loved ones.  They all mean so much to me.  I know noone is perfect, but to love someone despite their flaws really means a lot.  Luckily I haven't done anything too stupid lately, but just looking back, it is really neat to see God carry me through my bad times with my family and friends right there.  I can't say that I have lost a lot of friends throughout the years.  Usually, if we grow apart, when we see each other again, it's like old times, and I love that!!  I know life happens and people are busy, but to still have a bond after all that time is really something special.  I really treasure my family and friends.  They are each so special and unique.  It is a relief to know that I'm not the only one that screws up, and it's even better to laugh about the past with people that were there.  :)  I try not to have regrets, but to learn from my past.  Although I have done a lot of stupid things, there are a few things I've done right.  I kept my baby when I could have had an abortion.  I didn't just marry any guy to give her a dad, as easy as that could have been.  I waited for the perfect guy.  We have 3 beautiful children who are growing closer to the Lord every day (which is my main prayer for them!).  We aren't drowning in debt like so many people.  All of these are huge blessings for me and I am so thankful that God loves me enough to give me what I don't deserve, and to not give me what I do deserve (Hell!)  I am truly thankful for my friends and family that are honest with me.  They don't sugar coat my mistakes, but bring it to light and help me overcome them.  It takes a true friends to be honest with someone, and I really appreciate my true friends!!  One of my favorite cousins is coming tonight, and I can't wait!  Whenever we get together it is like old times.  We have such an amazing bond, I will love her forever :)  God brought two little girls together from opposite sides of the world.  I am so thankful for that!!  God really does know the whole picture, even parts we don't know about yet.  I know He has a lot more in store for my life than I can imagine.  Some good, some bad, but regardless of what happens, I will praise Him and love Him.  And thank Him for showing me His love through my loved ones!  They are a little bit of Heaven here on earth :)

Tribute to Jimmy

Every year around this time I subconsciously start to get depressed.  Then I look at the calendar and realize that 3 years ago on April 16^th began the worst week of my life.  It was the day I found out my boss, my friend, and my brother in Christ passed away. It was literally the worst week of my life.  I hope I never have to experience that ever again.  I did not just get a phone call telling me the sad news.  I had to be the strength for my sister as she sped to his house, knowing in her heart he was gone, but not having the proof. . . yet.  I had to keep her calm and collected but the challenge was, I could only do it over the phone.  She was 600 miles from me.  All I could do was talk to her.   Keep her calm when she couldn’t get there fast enough, keep her calm when the stupid nurse at the hospital told her smugly that “he wasn’t dead”, and then, as she ran from the hospital  to his house, the phone went dead.  I had to wait.  Wait what seemed like hours to get the call.  The confirmation that we knew in our hearts.  My heart sank.  I have never in my life lost someone so young, so full of life.  A month shy of turning 27, Jimmy passed away.  He was in the bathroom and had a seizure.  He fell and got tangled in the shower curtain and suffocated.   Jimmy, my sister’s fiancé.  Jimmy, who was so kind to let me work for him from home so I could get extra money and be with my family.  He gave my 9 yr old daughter a uniform so she could work at his store anytime she was in town.  My son was the first baby he had ever held, which made him the happiest I had ever seen him.  My then 3 yr old still remembers how funny it was when he dropped his glasses in our toilet and called out to us from the bathroom "Hey everyone come see what I just did in the toilet" LOL.  Jimmy, one of the most self-less men I will ever meet.   I felt hopeless. . . devastated.   I was so far away, but I knew I would be there if my sister needed me.  She did need me.  So at midnight I booked a flight for later that morning for my 3 kids and myself.   I didn’t have anyone that could drive me the 2 hrs to the airport, but I knew God would give me super human strength.  The strength to make the drive on no sleep and with tears streaming down my face.  The strength to carry 2 huge suitcases, 2 car seats and a 1 yr old baby all the way from the parking lot to the gate.  The strength to be strong for my kids, for my sister, and for Jimmy’s family.  I never could have done it alone, but I knew God could do it for me.  And He did.  He gave me the strength to get there alone, he gave me strength to carry way more weight than I ever could on my own, and He gave me the strength to think clearly when others could not.   When I got to FL it was a whirlwind.  There was a funeral in Seminole, and also a funeral and burial in Miami.  All in one week.  God worked miracles that week, in ways I never could imagine.  We had so many loving people bring food and let us stay with them.  Some were strangers to us, but they felt like family.  The funeral was beautiful in Seminole, and then we needed to get everyone to Miami.  My poor sister packed her bag for the trip, but packed everything BUT the necessities.  I can’t imagine what was going through her mind.  I helped her pack up and we were on our way with our parents and my kids.  This Sunday morning at church we sang “O, victory in Jesus”, which made me tear up thinking of Jimmy.  Even three years later, it is still very raw.  When we were in Miami, that is the song my sister sang at his funeral.  She started singing up at the podium, and then she started choking out the words, and the whole congregation started to sing along with her.  It was such a beautiful moment; I know Jimmy would be smiling down on us seeing how much we all loved him.  It was a very precious moment that I will never forget.  After returning to Seminole, we had to get Jimmy’s business taken care of.  Since I worked for him, I took care of canceling orders and returning money to his customers.  Most were understanding, but I got a couple nasty emails saying they didn’t believe he was dead and that I was lying.  I must confess I wasn’t the nicest to them in my reply, but I am glad to say my sister never had to deal with their cruelty and insensitivity.  That was one of the hardest things to deal with so soon after his passing.  Every year at this time I say a special prayer for his family.  I still feel the pain of losing a friend; I cannot imagine the pain of losing a son, a brother, a twin.  I cannot imagine the pain they feel, and will forever feel.  I can only pray they have comfort in knowing Jimmy is with the Lord.  I have no doubt of his salvation and I know he is in heaven right now, wondering why I am sad.  Knowing he can hear again, knowing he will never have another seizure.  We should rejoice for him.  Still, it makes me think of my family and friends.  How many of them would not be so lucky to go to heaven.  How many of them need the salvation Christ offers freely.  If even one person got saved from Jimmy’s death, I know he would feel it was all worth it. I know I would.   It does not ease the pain, but it would bring some sort of comfort.  We each have to look within to accept salvation.  Noone can do it for you.  You have to reach out to Christ, confess your sins and your need for salvation, and believe He will save you.  I know I will see Jimmy again.  That puts a tiny smile on my tear-stained face.

Patience

These past few months God has really been teaching me a lot of things.  Mainly how much I still need work (and will ALWAYS need work) at being more Christ-like.  I sometimes can run my mouth without thinking-one of my biggest struggles, but I am working on it.  It's a daily struggle between the flesh and the spirit.  Most days the spirit wins, but not always.  I am reminded that noone is perfect and that I have no right to judge another person.  I usually don't struggle with judging others, but it's always a good reminder that we are no better than anyone else.  Besides running my mouth, my other biggest struggle is patience.  I really don't have much of it, but God has REALLY been working in my life in that regard.  I have to wait for everything.  Wait for the house to sell, wait to buy something, wait, wait, wait!!!!!  I really think it is a good thing He is teaching me.  I need to just give it all to God, know that it will happen in His time, and then let it go.  Don't dwell on it, but just let it go.  I have a hard time letting go of things.  The good and the bad.  But I know that there is no reason to hold on to things.  Just let God handle it.  Try to do my best every day, and the rest is God's to do with as He pleases.  I am still working on it, but I have gotten much better.  I don't stress over things (as much) as I used to.  I know that God's way is better than anything I could dream up.   So for now, I will try my best not to worry about the house, or finances, or anything else.  Just focus on making my family's day the best it can be, and making sure every day is focused on the Lord.  That's what I'm trying to focus on. 

Good day

Tonight my (most of the time) very sweet brother in law took my husband and me out for our birthday's to Arigato's!  It's one of my very favorite restaurants.  It's a Japanese Hibachi Grill, where they cook your food in front of you.  Always a good show and always good food!!  We had a blast.  Thank you Aaron, if you read my blog :) We had a blast!! Domo Arigato!!!  *Thank you very much ;)
Also on a good note, I got a job today!!  I had been praying for a while now asking God if it was His will for me to get a job to help out with the financial strain we have while we wait (still) for our home in NC to sell.  I definitely wanted something that I could do and not miss the kids, maybe at night or something.  Well, I was at a MOPS meeting, and this girl was talking with my mom about looking into day care for her daughter.  I just said in passing that I would be willing to do it if the day care didn't work out.  I mean, once you have a few kids, what is one more, right?!  She was very happy because we are Christian's, and she knows my family, so I got the job for 3x a week!  I am so excited at how God just provided for both my family and her's!  His way is definitely best, and not always what we expect.  I am so thankful for this opportunity and I know that God had His hand in this!  There is nothing too big (or small) for God!  I am in awe of how He provides for us!  What an awesome God we serve :)

I can't wait!!

In just a few days, my sweet cousin Suwanee is coming to visit!!  I cannot wait!!  We will have so much fun going to the beach, doing touristy things, having great food, and lots of talks :)  I am so excited!!  I cannot believe it's been almost 2 years since we got together last.  Time flies by too quickly!  I can't wait to catch up!  She will always have a special place in my heart!  I love her like a sister.  :)

God is awesome!!

Today I had good news and bad news.  The bad news is that wonderful friends of ours went to our house to mow the lawn, but someone had broken into one of our sheds.  It was probably kids, and I don't think anything was taken, but the door is now broken :(  We are having people look at the house tomorrow, so hopefully that won't deter them.  I know it is all in God's hands.  The good news (besides someone looking at the house) is that I may have a job opportunity.  I might be watching a little girl through the summer.  That would be a huge blessing to us, since we could use some extra money with everything that has been happening.  You never know how God works, but His way is perfect!  I am so thankful for the way He shows me that He cares about me, and my family.  He truly is an awesome God!  I will keep you posted on what happens, but for now I am trying not to worry and I'm still learning patience!! 

Birthday!!!!

Today is Nathan's 29th birthday!  Unfortunately, he had to work today, but we had a great time planning a "surprise" party for him.  Marissa spent so much time decorating the house, even putting confetti all over the floor in the entry way :) It was so adorable!!  I made him a strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting, and Ashley made a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting (for the people that don't like strawberry!).  I also made chicken marsala.  I have never made it before, but it was SO delicious!!  Nathan said it was his new favorite meal.  So it was a huge success!!  The kids were great and made him their own presents.  Marissa worked for like a month making him pictures, a puppet, games, and a birthday crown.  Dylan wrapped up some of his toys and I love the look on his face when he watches Nathan open the gifts!  It is precious!  Ashley and I had a great plan to take a package that was delivered to Nathan today, and wrap it up as if we got it for him.  The picture didn't come out, but the look on his face was priceless!  It was so funny :)  We had a great night together, and I know Nathan really had a good birthday!  Here are a few pictures.  The ones of the gifts Ashley and I gave him were really blurry :( but here are some that tuned out:

Look at Dylan's face, I love it :)

Dylan gave Nathan his toys.

My beautiful family!

Marissa explaining the game she made.

The "pin the tail on Scamp" game.

Children are a blessing!

I am so blessed to be surrounded by children I love.  I cannot imagine how boring life would be without them.  They are so funny, especially when they don't know you are watching.  So honest, even brutally sometimes!  So innocent and sincere.  I love each and every one of my children.  They are each so different, yet so similar.  I can't explain how amazing God is and how blessed we feel because He gave us the kids we have, so we can train them and teach them to become godly Christians.  What better job in the world.  I cannot think of a better place to be than at home with my children.  Snuggling with them at night, teaching them during the day.  Answering questions, and also being challenged to find answers to questions I have never thought of on my own.  Learning to be artistic when I really have no idea what I am doing :)  Learning to sword fight which is actually really fun!  Learning to be a friend as well as a parent.  To help my kids to grow and to think for themselves.  I think that is a scary concept, but I know I can't always be with them.  They need to prepare to leave and raise their own families.  But I know that even when they are gone, they will ALWAYS be my children.  No matter what.  But for now I am cherishing every moment we have together.  I am so honored to be a wife and a mother. 

Homeschooling

As you all know, I homeschool our kids and I love it!  It is not easy, it's not always fun, but it's what God wants me to do, and I do it proudly!  I found on YouTube a little thing about homeschooling and I loved it, so I thought I would share the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2ambQ6uX4s&NR=1
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!  I am so excited to see what God has in store this next year.  When I have a 7th grader, 2nd grader and kindergartner!  Wow, what fun we will have!  I am thinking of joining a co-op that has classes on Friday's from 9-1.  We'll see what happens, but I am excited to look into it!  I hope you all consider homeschooling.  It's the best way to know what your kids are being taught!!