Kisses

Let's smother mommy with our kisses ... 

        You won't find me complaining! 

But first, let me take a selfie

Kid #1

Kid #2

Kid #3

Kid #4

#bassfishin'

A family that fishes together, stays together

On this particular outing, the two youngest punks were too busy stomping in mud puddles and wouldn't let me snap any pictures *stinkers*

boys, boys, boys

Boy-  Noise with dirt on it

Ahhh, yes quite possibly.  But I am not here to talk about the messiness of boys.

I am at this point in my life where I look at my baby boy who is no longer a baby, he just turned 4, but he is MY baby, my last child that I carried in my womb for 9 months.  Oh, how my heart is saddened by the thought of this, and oh how this little guy has stolen his mommy's heart. This empty nest that I will one day have, "we" will one day have makes me sad, and just like that, all of our children will be gone.  I know this won't happen for many many years, but it is hard to grasp that thought.

And so today, I am looking forward to that not only do I have one little boy that I gave birth too, but that I will soon have 2 more little fellas AND their dad in my life, and for that I can not wait!  I also know some little girls who are pretty stoked about this, as well as their brother.

*Calm down, no proposal yet ... but I know it's coming*  wink wink

Starring: Savannah, Ella, Lily, Connor, Dillon and none other mister grouchy pants Graham

*photo bomb exclusively by fat guy in a little suit* 

Blessings! xo

How to raise a teenager?

I am not quite sure, can someone please tell me.  -K- thanks!

Everyday I ask myself that question. "How do I raise a teenager?"  Especially a daughter, and one day I will have teenagers all at the same time, but at least at that point, I'll have a little testosterone to throw into this mixture of hormonal women.  Geeesh, I am really going to feel sorry for these boys.  We are definitely going to need some kind of man-cave in our house Joshua.

In a way, I don't think it can necessarily be all on the parents. I've heard it takes a village to raise kids, I think it takes more like a flipping city or community to raise a teenager! Especially in our world today.

I am so grateful to be able to say that I or we have that surrounding us. I am grateful for our loved ones, our church family and friends we consider family to help raise this teenage child.

                                                   I can feel the gray hairs begin to sprout!



Blessings!
xo

A talk with God

Prayer: noun  /prer/ an address (as a petition) to God or a god in word or thought

Each night when it is bedtime, the 3 littles and I all pile on my bed, talk about our "hi-low" parts of our day, and then we each take a turn and pray. Each one of them, including myself, pray the exact same thing every single night. When it comes to my prayer with them, I will pray for specific things for each of them, but for the most part, I pray the same things each night.  

                                                 

                                                     I struggle with this on a daily basis.

                                                              I am going to be real.  

I don't know how to pray.  Is there a correct way to pray? To be honest, I am not quite sure. You and I may have a conversation with one another and you could share your struggles with me, ask me to pray for you and I'd say that I'd be more than happy and willing too. However, beyond that point, I become at a loss for words. How do I pray for my friend?  I have no clue; and that makes me sad.

I then bring myself back to the realization of that, well, our thoughts to the Lord are our prayers, my prayers. He knows them before I speak them silently from my mouth.  He knows our every thought before they are even thought (if that doesn't just blow you away, because I sure do think A LOT!) 

As I drove into downtown this morning, I was reminded from a song, "when you don't know what to say, and the words won't come, just say Jesus."

                                                                     JESUS  

What an awesome reminder that we, I, don't need a proper prayer, there is no right or a wrong way to pray We can speak his sweet name, and HE knows our hearts.

I pray you will be blessed and encouraged today.

Blessings!

XO

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.  Romans 8:26

We all need rest

I haven't posted anything in the past few weeks because, well, my heart has been a little heavy.  I have been trying to be inspired or "search" for the correct thing to talk about and it just never came to me; until this morning.

A very dear friend of mine (K) sent me a message out of the blue this morning and said, "I woke up with you on my heart, is everything okay?"  I responded to her, thanking her for reaching out, that in fact, I was not doing that well.  I shared my heart and we left it at that. I know this friend, without a doubt is praying for me, and I for her, and in 3 weeks when we chat again, we'll pick right back up where we left off!

On my drive to work, I frequently listen to praise and worship, and consider this my alone time with God. Because as you know, with 4 kids, it can sometimes be difficult to have "quiet, alone time" with Him. So this morning, after responding to (K's) message and on my way into downtown, I let my guard down. I began to reflect on my response to her about what was going on in my life. I began to pray and meditate, and sing, not so quietly to the Lord.  My heart has been heavy for quite sometime now, for someone very dear to me, someone who is very much loved. He has been going through a difficult time. His disappointment has become my disappointment, and when he is discouraged, I've become discouraged. I feel I am in constant prayer for the situation at hand, sometimes finding myself asking God, WHY? Why can't this situation be turned around? When will his situation get better? It HAS to get better! It can't get any worse than this, or can it God? And then as I continued my drive, I felt this sense of peace come over me ... these burdens that I have been carrying for my loved one, the heaviness that I've had on my heart for weeks, and even some sleepless nights should be placed out of my mind because God is already carrying these burdens. 

He says in Matthew 11:28-29 "Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."  

Just as I have carried a heavy heart, I was reminded today there is no need too.  I know that our God is in control of this situation, and although "I" "we" "he" wants this fixed now, we both know that it will all be in God's timing and His is ALWAYS better than ours.  

Blessings!

XO

#3

    This little fella, my superhero, has nothing but determination on his face.  Oh how I love this little guy.
      Even if he does have smeared bubblegum Big League Chew on the top left shoulder of his jersey.

Patience little one

I do not have patience. Let me repeat. I. DO. NOT. HAVE. PATIENCE.

                                                           Oy.

How I do wish I had this gift that so many do have.

I am a goal setter. A go "getter". A, things need to be done right now type of person only in some aspects in my life. Maybe some of you have that type of personality as well. On the other side of that personality of mine, I am laid back, a tad high maintenance every now and then, and shy especially if I don't know you.

But let's get back to this patience thing. I just don't have it and it is something I am beginning to yearn for. I am finding it is doing me more harm than good. It is becoming a huge obstacle for me to overcome. I want to be able to do everything in my time. To get it done. To take my own path and not wait on God. God knows my heart and your heart. He knows every desire we long for even before we speak of it.  He knows our needs and he knows our selfish wants. But what God wants from us is to be patient in these things, and  if it is His one and only will, things will come to pass. He wants us to have dreams too! One of my dreams? Crazy and weird as it may sound is to have a classic southern home, with navy blue shutters and wrap around porch. An acre of land with a few goats and a cow with no name (because we'd eventually kill the cow for meat, it's cheaper with a large family, and Josh and I will definitely have a LARGE family) But that is besides the point. 

All of my girls have the "Jesus Calling" devotional by Sarah Young.  It is an amazing feeling knowing that all 3 girls are in God's word daily, reading the same thing as me all on their very own level. Last night Lily asked if she could read hers aloud before bedtime. Well it was late and I was growing rather impatient that the 2 little girls and my little mister were still wide awake and I snapped and said no!  Their faces of disappointment grew and I withdrew my "no" to a sure, but "hurry up (which that is another topic I'll touch on another day), it is past your bedtime!"  God spoke to me right there. It was like a slap in the face. Ouch. Lily began to read and it was like God knew EXACTLY what I needed to hear. 

From Jesus Calling, January 9 "I AM WITH YOU AND FOR YOU. When you decide on a course of action that is in line with My will, nothing in heaven or on earth can stop you."   "Much, much stress results from your wanting to make things happen before their times have come. One of the main ways I assert My sovereignty is in the timing of events. If you want to stay close to Me and do things My way, ask Me to show you the path forward moment by moment. Instead of dashing headlong toward your goal, let Me set the pace. Slow down, and enjoy the journey in My Presence."

My prayer today is this: That I will stop trying to persuade God of the things I want. He knows my wants, my needs and my heart. He has MY best interests at hand. He has mapped out my life. All I need to do is open my heart to the path he has laid out for me and join Him on it. To be patient. It is not my timing, but His.  

Blessings! 

 

Baby it's cold outside

As a Floridian, I have come to the conclusion that I am not made for the cold weather we are having.  I sit in my office wearing my winter coat and beanie because I simply can not warm up! My hands are like ice as I sit here and type and I sit Indian style in my seat to keep my feet warm. In saying this, I feel absolutely ashamed.  

I work right in the heart of downtown Jacksonville;  I have a window that overlooks a busy one way street. On a daily basis the homeless walk back and forth in front of my office. Today there was some office chatter taking place about how cold it is and the homeless were brought up on why they were out on the streets (in a jokingly matter by co-workers) I was rather taken back as I sat and listened. I did speak up and said that we should be thankful that we can each go to our homes that has heat, and by my mentioning of this, it was merely dismissed. Tonight when we get into our warm beds and snuggle up in our blankets with our loved ones, these people, the homeless, the less fortunate, will struggle looking for that exact warmth and shelter.  God doesn't see them any differently than he sees us. He created these men, women and children in the like of his own image, we are a part of that same category.

I have looked at our forecast for the next several days/week and here in Jacksonville and it is supposed to be pretty chilly.  Something we are not used to. I challenge each of you to this. This weekend, I am going to gather blankets and gently used jackets that we can no longer use or wear in our home and take them to one of our shelters downtown in the next coming days.  I am not sharing this to "brag", but just to encourage you to get outside of your comfort zone and respond to a need that our city has. I feel God has always placed on my heart to help the less fortunate, and I want to teach my children to have a servants heart. When God chooses us to do HIS work, then we should respond and do it however uncomfortable it may be. 


Blessings!
xo


"Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others." Philippians 2:4 

"If there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers, in any of your towns in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother.  Deuteronomy 15:7