Birthdays!

January not only starts the new year, but it also starts the beginning of birthdays for our family. Our daughters birthday is January 27th and she turned 8 this year. Sometimes it is hard for me to believe that she is my big girl now and not my little girl anymore. She wants to wear her hair differently and wear more grown up clothes. She really wants to wear a bra, but I am not ready to go there. Next she will be asking me to shave her legs.... anyway, she is growing up so fast on me and she is turning into a beautiful young lady! February brings our next birthday, our youngest son turned 3 on February 14th. He is our valentines baby and boy does he know how to love his mommy! I love the way he says "mommy, love you" sometimes just for no reason. He is growing up really fast and each day it seems like he has new words that he is using that I did not hear the day before. He has definitely lost his "baby" look and is definitely into the toddler look. We get March off, and then comes April. My oldest son turned 6 on April 26th, and boy is he growing up so fast too! He learned to ride a 2 wheeler right before his birthday so we bought him a new bike. Unfortunately he has not been able to try it out because of his stitches, but he looks at it almost every day and can't wait to try it out next week. He is changing so much too as he now has lost all of that "little boy" look and now looks so much older to me. I feel so blessed to be called their mom, and humbled that the Lord would allow me to be their mother! I love you Joyona, Elijah and Tra!

Silly ;)

So many times times we share things we need help with, or we share personal things that we just need to get off of our chest. Sometimes we take some time to share something very personal about our self that only the closest of friends know about us. Well, this is not one of those times. Actually, this time, I am going to share something very silly about myself. Sometimes we just have to laugh at ourselves, and I laugh at myself daily! Tonight I was eating a late night snack of chex mix and realized that no matter what I am eating, I eat things in a certain way. For instance, I eat chex mix one thing at a time. I eat the pretzels, then I eat the bread sticks, and then I eat the chex cereal. I do not like the bagel chips so I throw them out. I eat every plate of food in a certain order and I don't like my food to touch each other. Mixed veggies and a salad are just about the only exception, unless it comes "made that way". I always eat my french fries before I eat the sandwich or pizza. I cannot eat fries and take a bite of other food, yuck! Oh, and I separate the colors of the M&M's and eat one color at a time, unless I am driving and can't separate them. Anyway, just a silly post about something that is very corky about me that I thought I would share. Feel free to share anything about you that is fun. I would love to hear it :)

A new adventure!

Yesterday I took my daughter to her trampoline and tumbling class and about 15 minutes into the class my darling husband called me. He informed me that Tra, our oldest son, cut himself with a pair of scissors on his knee and is not sure if it needs stitches. So, he had our neighbor look at it and she thought we should take him to the emergency room. So, Tim packed up our boys and headed over to the gym where I met them and took Tra to the emergency room. We checked in at 7pm and finally got to a room to be worked on at 9pm. Lets just say that Tra was great in the beginning. First a nurse walks in with a bag of goodies to help "entertain" him. Then in walks in the tech who is going to performing the cleaning and stitches, if he needs them. Well, they soon found out that he is pretty strong so they stopped and got reinforcements. We had to change rooms so that there could be people all around the table to help keep him secured. So, we entered our new room, and got Tra settled down, again. Then in walks one more nurse and the tech, with the plate of equipment needed to clean his wound and then stitch it up. Well, Tra was good until he saw the needle and he was so strong and fast that he pulled out the top of the needle where the medicine goes and the liquid went all over him, me and the table. Out went the tech and the extra nurse, so now it was just me, Tra and the entertainment nurse. We got him calmed down again and we got him to lay down and relax for a minute. Next, the door opened and in walks the tech and two more nurses. Now, we are ready for battle! The entertainment nurse and I were on the upper body and the other two nurses had one leg each. The tech worked fast, I was impressed. Tra, well lets just say that he did not like anyone in that room and was THRILLED when it was over! He did like the stitches when he was able to see them, and was even more excited that he got his first, very own bandage to wrap around the stitches. Because it is on his knee, he is not allowed to really bend his knee and definitely not allowed to do any rough playing or crawling on his knees. Thankfully, this should only last for 2 weeks, but for me it is going to be a long two weeks. Today Tra is doing good, but is in some pain. So, we went to the library and have some movies to watch and some Motrin to take for the pain. I can say that he does not want to play with scissors any more. Oh yeah, I guess I never did say how our trip began. Tra decided that he did not want any of the strings on the hole that was in the knee of his jeans, so he took a pair of scissors and tried to cut the strings off, like a knife. He removed the strings and got a one inch deep cut in his knee! These were child scissors for school, so today, all of the scissors are put up where not one child in my home knows where they are, and that includes the really big child ;). No more trips to the ER this week for me!

Hmmmm....

I would like to say that I am a dedicated blogger, but as you can see, I am not. There are so many things I want to say, but can never seem to find the time to put them down into words. In the past few months so many things have happened to me and my family that I am going to try my very best to share them with you. Honestly, the reason I have not put much down here is because I have been trying not to be too personal in my blog, but that just is not working for me anymore. Starting now I am going to be sharing all of my heart with you. I have realized that I am very guarded with my thoughts and sometimes the Lord wants me to share them. Here is a brief summary of what has happened and what is to come, along with anything new that comes along. My daughter turned 8, my youngest son turned 3, Belize, Midwest home school conference, and more I am sure that I can't remember. So, if you are interested in hearing more about my heart keep checking back! It should be pretty interesting stuff :)

Kids...

There is nothing really more to say. They are wonderful, and frustrating all in the same breath. Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE my kids!!!!! They can get my blood boiling sometimes. Here is my latest issue. I have 3 kids, 8, 5, and 3 year old (well he will be 3 on Sunday). The older two play together nicely, then in comes the 3 year old and boom, instant screaming and fighting! I am so tired of it and I just don't know what else to do about it anymore. I have tried so many different things that I don't know what else to try anymore. So, I am reaching out for some help or words of wisdom from anyone who reads this! The only thing is got is "this too shall pass"!

Belize!

I have the opportunity to go on a mission trip next month to Belize and I am so excited. There will be 13 of us going from March 10th to the 18th and it can't get here fast enough. We have the opportunity to equip and pray for the pastors there and local tribes around the facility we will be staying at. I was a little excited before my meeting, but now I can't even put it into words. It is coming so quickly and God is blessing me in so many ways. I am looking forward to sharing what the Lord is doing in my life through this experience. This is my first time out of the country and on a missions trip, and I think each day I am getting more excited about going. I am just honored that God would choose me to go and to use me in during this time to minister to His people there. Can't wait!!!!!

Faith Like Potatoes

It is a movie my husband and I watched last night after the kids went to bed. We have owned it since before Christmas and have never watched it until last night. It is a great movie! I am not going to tell you anything about it, but you should get it and watch it for yourself. It really challenged me and had me question where is my faith? It is in the Lord, but not like I want it to be that is for sure. I want to live my life with such faith that I am shocked if the Lord does not show up and move in mighty ways. I think sometimes the longer I have been a christian the more I forget. It is simple really, just take the time to spend with the Lord everyday, read His word and talk to Him like he is right beside you all the time and then let Him be in control of everything. I want to get back to that "child like faith" where everything is new and exciting and I am learning all the time. Like when my youngest saw the Christmas tree lights turn on, it was new and he was amazed! That is how I want my life to be. Each moment of my day to be fully dedicated to the Lord and watch in amazement as He moves in and through me. I want to have faith like potatoes!

So Fast...

Kids grow up so fast. One day they want to sit on your lap and cuddle, the next they want nothing to do with you. Well, not to that extreme, but something like that. My older two kids are in an art class on Friday mornings and they are becoming so independent. This morning they wanted me to just drop them off, because they are "old enough" to go in by them selves now that they are 8 and 5. I could watch them, but still, I guess I am not ready for them to do things on their own yet. I guess it is time for me to let go some and let them start doing more things on their own, like going into art class with out me walking them in. I guess I am still glad to have my youngest, who still wants to hold my hand when he gets out of the van, because he does not like being too far from me. I wish I would have cherished those memories more instead of just letting them go by. I am trying to stop more and just watch them as they are growing, because before I know it they are going to be out on their own. I am just so thankful that the Lord allowed me to have this time with them and to be their mom. What a blessing they are!

Fighting!

Today I am taking back what the enemy has stolen from me. He is fighting me with a cold and the Lord clearly revealed it to me. By His stripes I was completely healed Tuesday night after prayer from a friend, only to wake up to the same congestion and aches on Wednesday morning. The enemy is not letting go, but I am done bowing down to this sickness. Today, I am crushing him and no longer going to sit and watch him steal life from me or my family. It is past time for him to leave, and today I, through Jesus Christ, am kicking his sneaky little butt right out of our house and out of our bodies. No more asthma symptoms, no more congestion, no more coughing and no more infection because we have had enough! The enemy is no longer going to steal His Glory! Jesus has paid the price for me and my family, and we are no longer going to live like paupers. We are children of the Most High King, and we are going to begin to live like the royalty that we are! Thank you Jesus for paying the price for me to live free today, even though I did not deserve it, you died for me. You are the King of King and the Lord of Lords, and I will worship you with all that I am, and give You all the glory! Thank you for healing us Jesus!

My Focus?

This new year has been a strange year so far for me. My focus seems to be changing, and I am having a hard time keeping focused on any one task. Lets recap January... my youngest son had a double ear infection for over 3 weeks, with two different medications, and still has some congestion trying to escape his body. My oldest son has been healed of his asthma, but got a cold two weeks ago that gave him asthma symptoms and now has a cough that will not go away. My husband had an infection in root under a tooth in his mouth from an old root canal he had done over 15 years ago. He went to a specialist, got the infection cleared out and has to go back next week to get the cap replaced on the tooth. I have been dealing with a cough and congestion for over a month now and am on my second round of medications to clear it out. My daughter, praise the Lord, has not been touched by any sickness! Last week I found out that my 46 year old cousin died unexpectedly, and we are not sure why. Now, I share all of this, not for any pity, but to say that since the new year has started, my focus has definitely been on me, my family, and all of our "issues". I have noticed that in my life when I keep my focus on myself I tend to get hurt more and I take things way more personally than I should. This month I have felt used, abused, abandoned, hurt, left out, and stretched beyond what I wanted. But, I have also felt loved, cared for, missed and very blessed by my husband and friends. I know, how can I have all of those things? Well it is easy. This week started a new month, and with it came a thumping from the Holy Spirit. He showed me where my focus has been, and even though I have not been focused on the things I should have, He has still blessed me and taken care of me. I can truly say that January 2010, I can only see one set of footprints in the sand, and they are not mine! I want my focus to be only on Jesus! I want to live my life glorifying Him, and praising Him in all I do. I want people to see only Him in me when they look at me and talk to me. No more Tammie, only Jesus! Thank you Jesus for loving me even when I don't deserve it. Thank you Jesus for giving up your life so that I may live. Thank you for healing me when I doubted, and for meeting with me just because I asked. Jesus, I love you, and I give you all that I am. "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!" Psalm 150:6