New Friends

It is not always easy making new friends. I am an extrovert, and have lots of friends, but mostly I keep people at arms length. I don't like to get real personal with people. I am learning that there are only a couple of people who "really know me". Anyway, a couple of months ago a new pastor at our church introduced us to a man and his son. Instantly my husband and him seemed to hit it off. Shortly after that we met his wife and daughter. In just a short time our lives have changed and it is a blessing to watch. My oldest son is very interested in our new friends, and references them often. See, the man we met is deaf, and therefore makes it a challenge for us to communicate with him. However, God is moving our family in ways that I could have never imagined. We have begun to learn sign language, and I must say, I am impatient. I am enjoying getting to know this family, and I really wish that I could sign. His wife is hearing, which makes it a little easier, but it frustrates me when I am not able to talk with him. Anyway, it is really neat watching this relationship develop and watch as God moves in our family. All 3 of our kids are enjoying learning sign language, and one day, we will be able to carry on a conversation with this new friend of ours. So, to my new friends, what a blessing you are to us in so many different ways that I can't even put them into words. I look forward to getting to know you all more and learning more signs too! Thank you for being patient with us as we learn :)

Friends :)

I am so thankful that the Lord gave us friends. They are always there when you need them, and when you think you don't need them. The older I get, the more I am learning about myself. One of the things I am learning is that when things get really difficult for me, or there is something going on in my life that is really tough for me I shut myself off from everyone. I don't get depressed, but I don't really share anything with anyone and try to "work it out" on my own. Well, that is not working anymore and the Lord is using my friends to show me this. He is revealing things to my friends and they are asking me about them and they don't even know it. I can say this much, I am so very thankful for each and every one of you! You are so very precious to me. "Just as lotions and fragrance give sensual delight, a sweet friendship refreshes the soul." Proverbs 27:9 To you, my dear friends, thank you for refreshing my soul and helping me get back on track. For showing me that you can be trusted and that you love me. I LOVE YOU TOO!!!!!

Kids :)

We had my nephew and a little girl spend the night last night. So we had 5 kids in our home last night and it was full of excitement! We went on a hike at a park and made some smores there too. We figured we would load them up with load them up with sugar then take a 2 mile hike to burn it off. It worked too! Came home, showered them down, got in their pajamas and watched a movie. They were nice and tired for bed so no rough playing while they were in their rooms. Today has been another adventure! It has been very interesting watching them all play today. We had some inside play time and some outside play time in the pool. My nephew and our little girl friend are both "only" children, so they don't always know how to play with other kids, if that makes sense. The really interesting part is the little girl lives with her "Grandparents" who are 87 & 91. It is fun watching her transform into a little girl. Today they broke out in dance as we finished a movie. Now they are pretending to be zoo animals and are crawling around on the floor making very unusual sounds as they are trying to escape from the zoo. Time with kids seems to go so very fast, so it has been such a precious time watching and enjoying these children play together in my house. I can't wait for the next time!

Technology!

Sometimes all of this stuff on the computer can be overwhelming to me. It is exciting though to learn it, well some of it. One of the exciting things to me is hooking up with people I went to high school or college with. Last night I had the opportunity to get together with one of my best friends from high school. We have not seen each other for many, many years and when we met we talked like it had not been that long. We caught up on what was going on in each others lives and all of that stuff, had some really good food, and then went shopping. What a great way to get back together after such a long time. We spent over 5 hours together and I can't wait to get together with her again. I am looking forward to meeting her kids and my kids can't wait to meet them either. It is fun listening to them ask me about her, and I love answering their questions. So, along with the frustrations of the technology, I can't wait to see who else I can get back in touch with and reconnect with once again!

Check this out...

It has been a few days since I have posted. Things has been crazy with me, but fun and exciting all in the same time. My daughter has finished cheering for upward basketball and I must say that I am so thankful. She has not been into it and we have learned this time that she just is not to be a cheerleader. So, now it is onto gymnastics, which she is really good at. Now, I have another blog and this month I am supporting a family in my church who is adopting. So through out March I will be sharing her story. As you get the chance, stop on by and read her story. As the Lord leads pray for her as many of you reading can definitely relate to her and what she is going through. She check's the blog and is excited to share her story with anyone who will read it. Anyway, I am back and I can't wait to catch up on the blog world and see what has been going on in my blogger friends lives.

Oh, Precious Hearts is my other blog and the address is: http://hisprecioushearts.blogspot.com/

How exciting!

What an exciting week. First I was healed on Monday evening. Then on Wednesday I found out the county I live in was granted permanency for our youngest son so now we can proceed in adopting him. And then tonight my daughter has a Christmas concert and she is so excited. Our families are coming to the church to watch her and I am so excited for her. Then tomorrow, I get to go out on a date with my husband. We are dropping the kids off in the early afternoon and we have the rest of the day into the evening to spend time together, get some dinner and finish our Christmas shopping. I am so excited and blessed to have friends and family who cares for me. I praise God for them everyday and can't imagine my life with out any of them. I also want to say congratulations to Terri for winning the candle raffle! I know she will enjoy the candles!

Last Week!

Last week was a busy week for me. That is why i didn't post. Let me tell you about some of it. Monday I had the privilege of spending the afternoon with a friend of mine. She adopted her youngest daughter on National Adoption Day and it was so exciting. Me and my kids had a great time with their family, celebrating this special day with them. Thursday and Friday, I watched my best friends kids while they went to a craft show. It was fun. Everyone got along so good and played nicely. It was a blessing for me to be able to help them. My kids were upset with me when we left them on Friday and were disappointed on Saturday when we didn't go back out there to play again. Saturday marked the two year anniversary that we adopted our oldest two children. We didn't make a big deal out of it, but we did just hang out together and spend the entire day as a family. We watched movies, ate lots of food and played games and tickled a bit too. We had such a fun and relaxing day together that none of us wanted it to end. Anyway, I just wanted to give you a quick update of last weeks events so you would know where I was and why I didn't post. I hope everyone has a blessed day today!

Saturday update

I normally don't post on Saturday mornings. The weekends are very busy for me as with most people, but this morning I just wanted to give a quick update on some things I have posted in the past few days. They walking is going good. I walked this morning which made my fourth day this week and I have met my goal for this week. Now next weeks goal is five days - yeah! My love dares are going great. I can see a change in my husband and I have shocked him a couple of times already and it is only day 5. Today could be a challenge for me as he is going to have to tell me a few things about me, but actually, I am ready for this because I really want to change for the better and this way I will know some things that effect him and how I can change to be a better wife. I am so thankful the Lord has called me to this love dare book and encourage everyone who is married to read it. God has blessed me with two other friends doing the book with me and it has been encouraging to go through it with them. Okay, now last night, I had so much fun with our friends. The food was good, slow, but good. Then the playing was fun. The kids went off and played in the play area, the older kids (Dad's included) went off and played and the babies and moms sat around and talked. It was just so much fun being with friends and playing. I really wish I could do this more often. So, I guess this wasn't really as quick as I thought but it is just some ramblings on my heart this morning. I hope everyone has a great weekend and has an incredible encounter with the Lord!

11 Years!

Saturday, I celebrated my 11th year anniversary with my husband. It was fun thinking about what the day was like 11 years ago and all the planning that went into our wedding. Things were much different then than they are now that is for sure. We were really busy this weekend and we kind of celebrated in stages. First, Tim bought us tickets to see Michael W. Smith and Stephen Curtis Chapman in concert on Thursday. It was lots of fun and relaxing as we had a babysitter for the kids so we actually went out on a date! Then Saturday he surprised me with a dozen roses. I can't remember the last time I had roses, let alone 12 of them! Then Saturday evening we went to a bonfire at my parents with my extended family. It was a fun and busy day, but I am so thankful that we have been married for 11 years. I know that there are always times of frustration and questioning, but I am so thankful that God knew what He was doing when he brought Tim and I together so many years ago. I can't imagine my life with out him and I am looking forward to the many years ahead of us. He is my encourager, my friend, my supporter and my one true love! Tim, I love you very much and with all of my heart and I look forward to spending the rest of my life with you by my side!

I am sorry

I am trying to wait on the Lord and only do what He wants me to do. This is hard for me sometimes as there are things I want to do in my flesh. I am learning that I need to keep my mouth shut and really pray about things before I even talk about them to anybody. This is a very new concept for me and I am not doing very good at it. My quiet times have been really tough and I am learning so many great things about my Heavenly Father, and He is teaching me so many things about myself too that it is hard sometimes to even just keep going. I am pressing in and doing what the Lord is leading me to do, but that isn't always the easy thing. I know that I have hurt some people along the way and that really grieves me. I know there is nothing I can do to make things right, so I am trusting the Lord to take care of the mistakes I have made and to help me make things right. I can only hope that the people who I have hurt will one day forgive me and things can be okay again. I am in a place where I feel alone and that is a tough yet rewarding place to be. Father God, please give me the strength to endure what You are taking me through and thank You Lord for my friends that You have given to me. I praise Your name for Your love endures forever!

Under my feet!

My house has been really crazy, in a good way. We have some extra friends staying with us and it has been lots of fun. The thing is, Satin has been attacking my husband and I. It took me until the middle of the morning to figure it out. Every time my husband and I had a conversation we would end up having some very intense fellowship. Another words, we would say some things to each other that definitely weren't uplifting or encouraging to each other. So I did get up and manage to have some quiet time with the Lord and during my prayer time I prayed for everyone and that there would be peace in this house. Then, satin attacked full force. Well, I was ready and I had him right where I wanted him, under my feet. I don't always remember that the Lord has put us over him and we have that authority to step on his head, so that is what I did. I brought it to my husbands attention and we started praying. God is good! He has taken care of it and my husband and I are doing great again. I know it is a change to have so many people here in our small home, but we love our friends and would do anything for them. We are praying they are having a wonderful time while they are away and we can't wait to talk to them tonight! Thank you Lord, for being there and for reminding me that I have the authority to take what the enemy has stolen from me and I can stomp him out of my life!

Crazyness!

This morning has been one of most exciting mornings I have had in a long time. I got up really early, had a little quiet time and then I took my friends to the airport. I am watching their kids for them while they are away for a week. I am so excited to see what God has to teach me and my husband through having all these kids in our home. There are seven in total; a 6 month old, a 12 month old, a 17 month old, a 4 year old, a 6 year old, a 7 year old and an 11 year old. It is 10:15am and everyone has had spats and disagreements except the oldest and the youngest. I am so excited to be helping my friends while they are away. I was praying this morning for everyone and that God would work in their lives while we have this time to spend together. I am looking forward to the blessings that we are going to experience this week and I pray my friends have a Great time away! I will miss you!

My new adventure!

Well, my husband and I have decided to home school our children. There is a small part that is a little nervous, but there is a huge part that is excited! It is overwhelming trying to decide what to use and what might work with my children's learning behaviors. I am thankful to have friends who are homeschooling and are willing to share what they have learned. That is making this process a little easier. I am also thankful that the Lord is changing me now, and showing me how important a clean home is and how even more important a daily routine is. He has been getting me up every morning for time alone with him for over two weeks now which is a miracle for me because I am a late night person. I have been loving my time with Him and how he is showing me more about my life and my family and where He wants to take us. So, here we go, on our home school adventure!

Peer Pressure

My friend pressured me into this blog. However she has assured me that I will become a blog addict as she writes this post for me! She now will have someone she actually knows in person that she can check up on. Isn't that what friends are for?!