Thank You, Jesus

I'm definitely in a place to say thank you. My God has given me more than I could expect, ask, or imagine... I'm grateful for the normal things, salvation(!), food, our nice little apartment, the Christian brothers and sisters we've met while moving here, there and everywhere (it feels like it anyway... CA, NE, OK, and now TX), but am I thanking God for the things I see as struggles now? The things I know He is using for my best interest... for His interest in me?

Can I say "Thank you, Lord" for this pregnancy and all the discomfort that has come with it? This pregnancy has been much, much more pain-filled than the first two.

Can I say "Thank you, Lord" for moving us away from great friends, from our families, from our familiar surroundings?

Can I say "Thank you, Lord" For my husband working so many late nights and my feelings of isolation and loneliness?

Can I say "Thank you, for putting us in this teeny, little town with nothing to do, and almost no way I can see to meet people; where Theona asks if we're going to "the Wal-mart" when we drive toward town because THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE HERE?!

Do I want to say "Thank you" for these things? 

I do.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

I want obedience. I want to give thanks in the tough things. I want to give thanks in everything. I want to see where God takes me from there... or here, I guess.

"Oh, Thank you, Lord for this pregnancy, even, thank you that there has been so much extra pain this time. I pray you would use it for your glory and that you work in me through it."

"Thank you, that my husband has had so many extra hours to work and you've been providing a commission that is such an answer to prayer and obvious provision. Thank you, Lord for meeting needs in a practical way."

"Thank you for this little town. Thank you for bringing us here. Thank you for giving my husband a position that makes him known in our community. Please give him grace and strength to continue to honor and glorify You - that you would give him grace in the eyes of people watching."

"Thank you, Lord that I feel so lonely. I have you to call on and you put a song on my lips. Oh, how you encourage me in those times when I'm searching for a friend and you make yourself known to me..."

A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24

Here's something, be blessed.

Lord, please teach me to give thanks in all things. Would you help me continue, and would you grow this into something that brings glory to You?

real quick... My little BFF

Very often at dinner, Theona says to me, "Mom, you're the best cook." Honestly, I love it. I'm pleased that my family enjoys food I make for them.

Tonight, Theona looks up at dinner and says to me,

"Mom, you're my best friend."

 

*sigh* she's such a sweetie... 

I can hardly believe she's almost three. I love hearing these sweet,  surprising little things she has to say. So, this is partly for my own memory, and partly to share how amazing my little girlie is.   ;)

I should make myself a note to come back and read this when we're not having this kind of day.

My biggest crochet project ever... Coming soon!

I've been working on a child size afghan for Theona. It's probably going to be a Christmas present (as she keeps asking if I'm making it for her for Christmas. ha ha). The pattern has several stitches that were new to me when I started, but I think my crochet skills have improved a lot since beginning this project. Also, this pattern calls for like, 47 ounces of yarn. The yarn I'm using comes 5 ounces to a skein, good thing I got it on sale!

In other crafty news, I tried to knit a baby hat "in the round". I pretty much failed miserably! I think I need a different size of knitting needles with a shorter chord between them. I'd like to make some to donate to the hospital in my town, and in McAllen. When Theona was born she got a special hand knit baby hat, not just the little blue and pink striped standard. I thought it was sooo special! I'll let you know if/when I attempt this again. Especially if I'm successful!

In the meantime, I'll be finishing up my Theona blanket, the "BIG" one, the 47 ouncer... haha. 

I know you're on pins and needles just waiting for pictures.  Hopefully soon, I need Abe's help for that... I miss my trusty ol' simple Mac!

On the Road to Homeschooling! (Funny Story)

I hope to home school as the kids reach school age, but I'm sure like many young moms, I'm intimidated by the idea. I hope I can do a good job and teach my kids well, so not only do they get an excellent education, but just as importantly that they know the Lord and have a godly and biblical worldview. 

We talk about lots of things throughout our days. Theona has lots of questions and I just try to talk out loud about the things we are doing so she has an opportunity to learn more about whatever it is and so Jecoa hears a lot of language. He's starting to talk more, and it's fun to hear his new little phrases.

One thing we've been doing a lot of lately is coloring with chalk outside. Theona is always asking me to draw certain pictures or letters, and she'll tell me what she is drawing. I wondered how much she understood the letters. She knows the alphabet song, but I didn't really think she was learning to recognize any letters yet. When she would ask me to draw a "T" I'd tell her "T for Theona"

Well (you need a little background here), there's a cemetery that we drive through on our way into town, and they recently built a little shrine at one of the grave sites. They also built a metal cross. It's about 20 feet tall! It has solar lights on it, so at night it lights up. 

We were driving on Saturday, after dark, and I told Theona to watch for the houses with lights on them, as some people already have Christmas lights up. She was telling us, "Look at the lights on that house! Look at the lights on that house!" As we passed houses with lights, then as we passed the cemetery she exclaimed, "Mom, look at the lights on that 'T'!" - the new big cross! I thought that was too cute! I was so proud that my bright little daughter has recognized the first letter of her name! How funny, huh!

So I guess we are well on our way toward homeschooling! I'm not the most gifted teacher ever, but she's learning! If my girlie is recognizing letters without much practice, I suppose we're on the right track. She's learning lots of things every day, and I'm so glad that I'm making a good learning environment for her!

HE LOVES Us! (I just can't get over this song!)

"God wants to encounter you. And wants you to feel His love - His amazing love. Without it, these are just songs, these are just words, these are just instruments. Without the Love of God we're just up here making noise, but the love of God changes us, and we're never the same, we're never the same after we encounter the Love of God!

"We're never the same after we encounter the Love of God!

"And right now, if you haven't encountered the Love of God - And you would know, because you wouldn't be the same! You'd never be the same again! - If you want to encounter the Love of God right now, you better just brace yourself, 'cause He's about to just blow in this place!"

I've been enjoying worship on YouTube so much lately. There's something really special about a big group (or a small group) of believers just worshiping and seeking the Lord. We've been spending a lot of time worshiping and reading the Word as a family lately, but I'm really hoping to find a worship concert or something like that in my area. I think that sounds like great fun!

Ahhh...

Today turned into a great day. 

We took it easy this morning. Kept things low key. Had brunch when Abe got home (He's been having a lot of special showings in the morning for school groups and stuff since Madagascar came out. That's good, even though he has to get up earlier than he would like! I'll let him sleep in tomorrow.) 

 

I discovered Jecoa's bottom 2 teeth he has been working on both broke through last night. Hopefully that will bring him some relief.

Abe ordered an XBOX 360 online and it arrived this afternoon. He was pretty happy about that.

 

I even snuck in a little nap! (A much needed nap! I started feeling much better and my shoulder stopped hurting, yay!)

Theona's cough picked up this evening. I'm still not sure what to make of it. I ended up giving her some cough medicine before bed, but I'm really not too sure. She doesn't seem to have other symptoms. Maybe it's an allergy cough like her momma... :(

We tidied up the house After Abe left for work. I'm sure he'll be glad to come home to a clean house. Toys are back where they belong and the kitchen is clean! That's always good ;)

My baby belly has been so busy today. And it's definately growing!

It's so fun getting toward the end of this pregnancy. I'm enjoying feeling this busy baby, especially when brother or sister is on my lap and the baby gets wiggly! It will be so fun to see them with this new little one. 

Well, I'm glad to share a good day, and a good start to the weekend. It's bedtime now! I'm sure I'll be asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow! 

Goodnight.

So Tired...

I'm tired today. 

The kids didn't sleep well last night. I think Theona has the beginning of a cold and Jecoa had two bottom teeth (I think molars) break through last night. Yep, we're busy.

I have things to get done today, but I'm sure not motivated. I guess I'll have to just plug along and get things done anyway. I'd much rather sit around and read to and snuggle my babies today. I've spent most of the morning doing this, so I guess it's time to move on to other things. 

Theona is laying on my bed watching a Fraggle (remember Fraggle Rock!) and Jecoa just went down for a nap. 

Now is the time.

Love Song from Creation to Creator: The More I Seek You

Ahh... Such a beautiful song. Be blessed seeking the Lord today!

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."                                     Matt 7:7-8

Why I Blog

So, back to why I started a blog in the first place: I want to serve the Lord with all I have!

Becomming a stay at home mom was not a dificult transition for me. Working at a Christian Preschool, however, was. I think I didn't see a mission field at the time, but I was wrong, boy was it one! I do see being home as an amazing mission field, and so much more! blogging is becomming one way I can give a testimony about what's going on with us. (Sometimes it's hard to be totally real, but the Lord is teaching me to be transparent and unashamed in living my life for Him.)

My Lord has called me to serving Him at home by serving my kids, my husband, and whoever comes across my path I guess...

To be quite honest, I should pray for a renewed desire for evangelism. I love sharing my Lord with others. Why don't I do it more?

The Lord encouraged me so much. I was listening to this song called "He Love Us" and there's a line toward the end that says, "I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way...He loves us! Oh, how He loves us..." 

I don't have to worry about my past or my shortcomings... I am so encouraged to serve the Lord where I am at and do what he's called me to do. Amazing. Thank you, Jesus.

I'm so thankful for this season of my life. Having little ones and a whole different pace to my day week life is challenging and fun! Sharing the truth with them and seeing them grow in prayer and praise is beyond exciting. For now, we are enjoying our time where we're at!

Still I hope, come soon Lord Jesus! Maranatha.

Dress-Up Animal Costumes!

** I see a couple of these are turned sideways. I'll come back and fix them tomorrow with Abe. I thought I turned them, but I guess he'll have to show me how to keep them turned. oops.

Yesterday, when we went to town for church, we stopped by Target for a couple things and since we were early we decided to kill a little time and check out the left over costumes. We had been wanting to pick out some dress-up play clothes. I was thinking butterfly wings; Theona has a small pair and I had seem some really cool big ones I thought she might like. We didn't find any wings, but they had some really cute animals left!

Jecoa loved his puppy. He was giggling when Abe showed it to him, and we just had to throw it in. It was only $4.00! We decided it was totally worth it, and I'm glad we did. He loved wearing it and running around and would tell us "Puh-ppy" over and over.

Theona loved this horse. I didn't think she'd like it so much. It was a horse and rider outfit, so her legs are the horse's back legs and there are some little legs in stirrups hanging down and it's held up with suspenders. So funny! When she walks she kicks out the front legs of the horse. It's really cute.

Coa is the cutest little puppy! He kept clapping the paws together.

Theona and her horse, galloping! 

She loved running back and forth with it.

Abe and I didn't notice the tail until it was on him. It totally cracked us up!

A day in our life: Skateboarding, Watermelon, and A Nap Time Walk

Last week we had a very fun and busy day, and since Abe was home (I think it was Tuesday) he was glad to take plenty of pictures.

Theona figured out how to ride Papa's old skateboard

We had a watermelon plant (vine??) appear on our back patio. It grew up from next to our telephone utility box and just sprawled out on our brick patio! It was pretty cool, but it didn't come out until very late in the season. At one point we had at least eight small melons growing but only two ended up getting very large. One rotted from the end, and we decided decided a few days later that we better pick the other big one while we still had a chance. It was pretty big, but an odd shape.

Theona helped carry it in.

We sliced it after lunch, hoping for a special treat for desert, but sadly it wasn't ripe enough. We didn't want sick tummies, so we decided to pass.

The kids absolutely would not go to sleep for nap time. (This has never happened, and I decided we needed a creative solution this day.) I don't know how they were able to fight sleep for so long, but after a while I kind of gave up and loaded them up in the stroller for a walk around the neighborhood . We were barely out of the drive way and Theona was out. Jecoa held on for a while and fell asleep sitting up propped up on his elbows. Abe and I had a very nice walk and put the kids in bed when we got back home. Theona's eyes immediately popped open and she said, "I don't want to sleep!" 

She slept anyway.

It was a good day, and Theona talked about the watermelon that we had to throw away "'Cause it's yucky. It'll make our tummies sick" for the next few days.  Maybe we'll have to plant one on purpose next year!

Good Morning

It's Monday, and it's already starting off a little extra busy (as Mondays for me often are). The kids woke up a lot last night (which is not that usual for them), and extra early. I guess because of the time change?? Nah, it was early anyway!

We had breakfast and cleaned up a big mess on the floor that Coa left us last night. He poured out a bag of expired yeast all over the back corner of my kitchen floor right before bedtime, and I promptly forgot about it and put them to bed and went to bed myself only to wake in the middle of the night imagining the kids waking up and making it an even bigger mess! I went back to sleep, deciding to clean it up first thing in the morning.

I have a big pile of clothes to fold (some of which got folded and un-folded with the assistance of my two helpers...mostly the bigger of the two) I really shouldn't do a bunch of laundry late Saturday night. It never gets put away on Sunday and I hate getting the laundry halfway done... At least it's clean I guess.  I won't mind  having a chance to sit and fold today. I probably could use a sitting-down-job today. I'm tired already... not that I won't have to jump up ten times, right? 

Oh, and the funniest thing that happened already this morning: Jecoa put my cell phone in the sub-woofer. It has a sound hole in front and he occasionally slips toys in there when no one is looking. Well, I was looking, but I didn't make it in time. Plop. There went the phone. At least I saw it, 'cause I would have been hunting all day. I never would have guessed where it was. So we had to wake Abe up a few minutes early, so he could get it (and the cars, toothbrush, and golf ball that were also in there) before he went to work.

To do today:

-fold laundry

-make bread

-check menu plan for the week, and see if it needs any editing

-mop the kitchen

I think that's probably enough for today. I need a slow Monday. Maybe we'll make banana bread if we have a little extra time today. I have some banana's that are calling me.

Happy Birthday, Sister!

It's my little sister's birthday today. 

She's married to a great guy, has a beautiful daughter, a house (that takes up much time and money at the moment, but will be well worth it), a blog, does the college thing... she's a busy girl.

Aren't they so cute?!

I wish we were closer, but for now it's lots of pictures and phone calls... I miss you.

Happy Birthday, Kimberlee. I love you.

Yearn

[When You said,] "Seek My face," My heart said to You, "Your face, LORD, I will seek."

Psalm 27:8

Here's Shane and Shane singing "Yearn". 

I love worshiping the Lord with these guys. Even on YouTube...such sincerity, and God is so absolutely worthy. 

Have a wonderful day worshiping the Savior Jesus Christ!