Praise You in this storm

Today I spent the morning listening to P&W music and doing devotions. I realized I had lost my complete faith in God's perfect plan and I need to get it back. Here are some things that I've noted to help me regain that complete faith and remind me that God is GOOD all the time.

My chains are gone
I've been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy rains
Unending love, Amazing grace

"One of the first signs that you are growing in Christ is that you think about what Jesus has done on your behalf. You reflect upon it and you praise Him for it."

- Adrian Rogers

Far too often, when Christians encounter difficulties, instead of going to the church, they seek comfort and counsel in the world. That, my friend, will only compound the problem. Go to church. Worship God. Seek counsel from godly people. Pray. Don't listen to your enemy, the devil.

How big is your God? Now, how big is your problem? If you think your problem is too big for God to handle, you need to think again. God created the universe and He created you. He chooses kings and cuts down nations. I guarantee you that He will overcome your problems.

Psalm 121:7-8 "The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore." NKJV

Into the darkness you shine out of the ashes we rise there's no one like you none like You!
Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other.
Our God is Healer, Awesome in Power, Our God! Our God!

To not be ashamed allows the power of God to be released through your words. We represent life. Those who are criticizing represent death. We have the responsibility and we have the power to share the gospel of Christ.

Today, ask the Lord to forgive you for not speaking up and for not speaking out for Him. Today, as you wait for Him to open the door, ask the Lord to give you an opportunity to speak about Him. Today, ask the Lord to teach you to be bold for Him because you do not ever want Him to be ashamed of you. And today, thank the Lord for saving you, forgiving you and giving you His Holy Spirit so His will.

Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. - Psalm 62:8

“It is impossible to go through life without trust; that is to be imprisoned in the worst cell of all, oneself.” -Graham Greene (1904-1991)

Isaiah 4 Surelyour griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried ; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,Smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He wascrushed for our iniquities ; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourgingwe are healed. 

Isaiah 53: 6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way ; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. 7 He was oppressed and He wasafflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth ; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment He wastaken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of theliving For the transgression of my people, 

Colossians 1
19 For it wasthe Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile allthings to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross ; through Him, I say, whetherthings on earth or things in heaven.

Galatians 6:14

14 But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, throughwhich the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world

Isaiah 26:4

Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord is the Rock Eternal.

Thoughts on today's verse

When we see mountains we feel small, knowing not only how much larger they are than we are, but also how much longer they have been here than we have been. But the Lord existed long before any mountain and will exist long after it has melted into nothing. The only rock of security, and all the forevers we have, are found in him.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up... To more than I can be.

"Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust."  Psalm 16:1

And I'll praise You in this storm

And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
And every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

 "...it is good for me to draw near to God; 
I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all Your works." Psalm 73:28

"In You, O Lord, I put my trust; Let me never be put to shame.
Deliver me in Your righteousness." Psalm 71:1-2

Busy week

Tuesday was Mason's open house for preschool. He was so excited to go and see his teachers. He can't wait until Tuesday. Emma loved being there too. She was playing with everything and she was upset she had to leave. I think she'll love preschool next year. It's crazy to think Mason will be in kindergarten and Emma will be going into preschool. Mason will be riding the bus this year to preschool. He begged me all last year to let him ride so he's looking forward to riding this year.

I started school on Wednesday... wish I could say it was good to be back. LOL It was the most boring class ever. Hopefully it gets better. I'm ready for this quarter to be over already.

I went to the doctor yesterday. I had blood work done to check my thyroid and such and everything was fine. I have to go see a GI doctor. He said I have colitis and possibly crohn's disease and wants to rule out colon cancer even though he said it's very rare for women to get. *eye roll*  So yay me. I can't wait to have to have a stupid scope done. -_-  If it's not one thing, it's another. The only thing I'm worried about is that dumb bill ;)

It's labor day weekend. We're having a cookout with my family on Sunday. I look forward to that. I guess I better take the kids to cedar point sometime this weekend. The season is almost over. Get more use of our passes.

Are we the only ones around here that has a million flies? OMG. I kill so many flies everyday. It's so disgusting. I'm ready for fall. I love fall weather. I think fall is my favorite season. I so look forward to pumpkins, apple cider, Halloween for the kids, and thanksgiving. Such a great time of the year.

I don't have any pics to share. I've been slacking this week. I'll update again in the few days :)

Past few days

Going back to Saturday...

Saturday was a great day. It was Andrew's last day of overtime. He had been working a lot and pretty much was only home to eat dinner and sleep. So it's nice to have things back to normal now. Saturday morning we went to the bank. Kids got stickers. For some reason, Mason thinks that the sticker's belong over your mouth- not on your shirt. Somedays, I think I should invest in a lot of stickers for when he's being sassy ;)

We went to lunch at Applebee's with Sarah. (Mason's favorite!) We had a great lunch. But poor Sarah almost got chocolate milk spilled on her more times than we could count. Emma was being so clumsily and just making such a mess. The poor server told me I was brave for taking my kids out to eat. She said she doesn't take her kids which are the same age as mine out to eat. That's surprising to me. My kids go where I go for the most part.  I couldn't imagine having to stay cooped up in the house afraid of taking my kids places. They are no angels but they won't learn if they aren't taken places. And what fun is that?

After we ate we went and checked out the new bed, bath, and beyond. Let me just say, I found my new favorite store. :) 

So we came home, kids took naps, and then we went tool shopping with Andrew. We stopped at the frosty frog before hand and the kids got slushies. Let me just say this... NEVER AGAIN. lol I will never get them slushies before taking them shopping. I was that Mom with the uncontrollable kids that just run up and down the aisles and people giving me the "look". lol They weren't hurting anything just playing tag. haha. After Lowes, we went to Sears and I learned my lesson and put them both in a shopping cart. I saw a lot of past co-workers... glad they are doing well. 

After shopping we went to Bradley and Tela's for Westy's birthday party. We had pizza and just had a fun time. Kids are obsessed with ice so they were playing in the cooler eating ice. 

And who doesn't love cake?!

On to Sunday...

We got up and went to church. It was a great service. Pastor Mike did a great job preaching. Music was beautiful as always. Kids had a blast in their classes. We came home and took naps and I went back in to help with Quizzing. Then I met Andrew and the kids at Granny's house. Andrew mowed her grass and Chris and I just sat outside chatting with her while the kids played and ran their little hearts out. They were playing in the garden running through the corn. It brought back so many memories as a kid. Playing with Brandon, Chris and Brey in the garden was always a highlight in the summer time. Seems so long ago but such great memories. Reminds me of the days of "helping" pick beans with Granny and Papaw. I remember playing with the soaking beans in the wheel barrel,  helping break the beans and sitting out by the wood house and throwing beans back and forth with Papaw. Granny would get so mad. :)  It's crazy to think how long he's been gone with the memories still so fresh and vivid in my mind. I pray I never forget. I pray that as my children grow up they can have the precious memories with their grandparents. My memories are filled with my Granny and Papaw. They have always been such a big part of my life and even though Papaw has been gone for long time now, there still isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of him. Granny talks about him often lately and I know she misses him terribly. She's such an incredible woman.

Anyways, back to the kids playing. Granny has this fake black bird in her garage. She found it a few weeks ago while cleaning. Well Mason is absolutely terrified of this thing. And it's just the funniest thing. So every so often while we're over there Mason we'll get the bird out and just set it somewhere and wait for Mason to see it. (I know, I know, we are terrible) Here's a pic of him running from the garage, all the way behind the garage to the garden to hid. hehehe

You can barely see him but he's in there. :)

Well as you can see we had a great weekend. I love family time and love having Andrew be finished with over time even though the paychecks were great. We're going to be looking at a few houses this week with our Realtor. Fingers crossed we find something. 

A little catch up on our family!

Here we are already at the end of August. My where has the year gone? It's been quiet the year. Mason turned 4 in March and Emma turned 2 in May. 

Mason starts preschool on September 5. He'll be going 4 days a week and will be riding the bus this year. I just can't believe that next year at this time I'll be sending my baby away to a big school all day, everyday. It seems like just yesterday I found out I was pregnant with him and scared to death at how life was going to turn out. (And I must say, it's turned out GREAT). He just played his last game of soccer last night. He has made a great goalie these past few weeks, but that's about it. LOL He ran his little legs off following the ball but he didn't like to get in and get in the action and actually play. He would rather play tag, ring around the rosie, or spank his friends butt. It's always a good time with Mason. He's definitely my little miracle (and I don't use that loosely). 

Then we have Emma. She is in her terrible two's. Which is so different from Mason's terrible two's. Mason had a little temper- Emma is more mischievous than a hot head. I can't turn my back from her for one minute. She will be in the fridge pulling out strawberries, blueberries or whatever she can get her little hands on. She'll take a box of fruitloops and pour them all into a bowl, which of course doesn't all FIT into the bowl so goes all over the floor. She has gone potty in her toilet before then get up and threw it across the living room (OMG... imagine how mad I was!) She took a nice long nap for that one! Yesterday, she took the bag of chips and ripped the bag opened and dumped them all over my couch. (Now I have a nice little oil stain from them). The other day I found her in the sink "washing her feet"

I'm telling you, there is never ever a dull moment with her. Emma is my naked child. She hates clothes and she hates shoes. There's very few "action" photo's that I take of her that she has clothes on. I can't say that I blame her! She has a very active imagination and it is so neat to watch the things that she does. I can't wait to watch her blossom. She is doing really well with potty training. I still put her in pull ups if I go to the store and slowly braving putting her in underwear going to people's houses. But she is doing great. I need to brave up and start leaving her in underwear when we go to the store or somewhere else. I  know she's ready. 

Andrew and I are doing great. It's so nice to be married to someone who knows me better than myself and is a kind, patient, hard-working, loving man. (I know, GAG ME right?! LOL) In July, we celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary. It's crazy to to think how fast these past 4 years has went by. I can't wait to see what the future holds.

Andrew is now a journeyman electrician. He finished his apprenticeship in the Spring. It's so nice to have him all done with school and have a permanent job.

 We have been house shopping on and off for a long time now. We are patiently (impatiently!!!!!) awaiting the "perfect" house for us. We have such a hard time wanting the same things and if we do find a house that we both like then it always falls through. I'm praying God will give us the "perfect" house and will give it to us soon. We outgrew our house 2 years ago and it feels like it just keeps getting smaller and smaller. I really hope and pray we can find something by the holidays!

Andrew and I have been trying to expand our family for a little while now. Last fall, I was diagnosed with Poly-cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). I had to have two surgeries to remove cysts from my ovaries and the doctor removed half of my left ovary. He told us we didn't have long to wait if we wanted to have more children and that we needed to get the ball rolling so we started trying a few months later. So here we are doing all the right things and it's just not happening. I'm slowly trying to change my diet to help with PCOS, I'm always researching things, temping and charting, and definitely always praying. 

Anyone who knows us, know's that Mason wasn't planned. And knowing what I know now, I know God knew what he was doing. Everything happens for a reason. Emma was conceived the first month of trying.. I just knew that I was made to have a large family and my body was made for this. Shoot, even after my 3 hour labor/delivery with Emma the nurse even told my body was made for having babies. (New Michelle Duggar??? haha) With my pregnancy with Mason, it was text book perfect after the 1st trimester. With Emma, I had pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) - my doctor was so shocked that I had since I didn't have it with my 1st. Fast-forward to now... PIH is a side effect of PCOS. So I believe I had the start of it when I got pregnant with our Emma. 

I feel so incredibly blessed to have my two children. They are such blessings in our lives and I couldn't imagine life without them. God know's what he's doing- even in situations that don't seem ideal or perfect. He's in control.

I know if God wants us to have more children, it'll be in His time. And if He doesn't then we both agree that we would love to become foster parents when our kids are older and/or adopt. I am so lucky to have a husband who has the same desires as I do. This has been a rough past few months and has been emotionally draining but I'm okay and accepting at whatever he has planned for our life. I mean, it's turned out great this far- so obviously it will be great with whatever is in store for us.

--

Jeremiah 29:11

New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Anyways, I start back to school next Wednesday. It'll be interesting to be back. I've had such a great summer off with my kids. I've been a stay at home mom with them again and it just feels so right. Seeing how fast my kids grow up- I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I'm so glad I'm part time in school now... The few months I was full time definitely was overly time consuming having kids. I missed out with so much with them and their attitudes definitely reflected it. It wasn't fair to them and I'm glad things have turned out the way they have. I feel so blessed to have the time home with my kids that I do, and am so blessed that I have a husband who wants me home with them. Some days are hectic- but I wouldn't have it any other way. I have been considering doing childcare out of my home again. I did it once before and loved it. But I am waiting until we get a bigger home  and have more room and also be finished with school before making that commitment though.

I feel like this was a "catch up" blog. Hopefully, the next ones won't be so serious and I'll get to share all of our day's adventures! 

Stay tuned...