20 Things to Remember

My Granny & Papaw are such strength, courage, wisdom and love to me. They are still so in love with each other and with the Lord. It is a blessing to witness their lives and all they have accomplished, with God right in the middle! They are always sending encouraging words to the family and this is one of them. Thank you so much for being the wonderful grandparents I never had!!

1. Faith is the ability to not panic.

2. If you worry, you didn't pray. If you prayed, don't worry.

3. As a child of God, prayer is kinda like calling home every day.

4. Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.

5. When we get tangled up in our problems, be still. God wants us to be still so He can untangle the knot.

6. Do the math. Count your blessings.

7. God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.

8. Dear God: I have a problem. It's me.

9. Silence is often misinterpreted, but never misquoted.

10. Laugh every day - it's like inner jogging.

11. The most important things in your home are the people.

12. Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional. (Live it; Preach it!)

13. There is no key to happiness. The door is always open. Come on in.

14. A grudge is a heavy thing to carry.

15. He who dies with the most toys is still dead.

16. We do not remember days - but moments. Life moves too fast so enjoy your precious moments.

17. Nothing is real to you until you experience it; otherwise it's just hearsay.

18. It's all right to sit on your pity pot every now and again. Just be sure to flush when you are done.

19. Surviving and living your life successfully requires courage. The goals and dreams you're seeking require courage and risk-taking. Learn from the turtle, it only makes progress when it sticks out its neck.

20. Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. Your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are. No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting. Leave gentle fingerprints on the soul of anothe for the angels to read. I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.

God bless you!!!

Family Updates....

Well I have to apologize for the lack of pictures with all my posts. My son broke our nice new laptop which had all my nice camera software on it. So...I'm using my WAY old laptop, who bless the poor thing is still kicking it for me:-)

I'm proud to say that Ben (my husband) started his 3rd Term of school today! Woo Hoo wtg baby. The Lord has been so faithful to us through this past year. He has given us what we needed when we needed it. With that being said Ben just got a small raise too! Which is a nice blessing because he does not get paid for the 1 day a week he is in school. Keep up the good work honey, only 9 more weeks of school for the whole year!!

Oh my pretty princess Ella Grace will be 3 this Saturday, where does the time go?? She is such a beautiful girl inside and out. We definitely have our challenges with her, she seems to be a teenager trapped in a 3 year old body:-0 She adores little babies and wants mom to have a baby brother, she loves to pester her brother, mainly because she loves him so much! But Ben being a 5 year old boy, loves his space from his Lil Sis. Like her brother, she is starting to take an interest in school. So I'm going to go to the Learning Palace and stock up on some more Pre-School books for her. I will start with colors and shapes and sizes then move up to writing.

My sweet sweet Benjamin Isaac had his 5th birthday on June 5th. He is so proud to be a ''big'' boy now, he looks up to and adores all his older cousins and tries so hard to be ''cool'' like them:-) He doesn't have to try hard, he is sooo cool! He's still my sweet gentle spirited loving boy. I love that about him, he truly cares for everyone. He is so excited to start Kindergarten in the Fall. I have been homeschooling him as well as Pre-School and he just loves it! He has a knack for school and learning so I'm embracing that while I can:-)

I have been blessed ( by my great friends) with a little extra money on the side from babysitting. It has been nice to have a little extra cash and this time I actually spent some on myself! I'm hoping to get a few cleaning jobs on the side, thanks to Bonnie for getting me started! She is such a delightful generous caring woman:-) She is my sister-in-laws, Mother-in-law. I just finished up an amazing bible study with the most amazing group of women! I can't wait to start the new study in the fall, Beth Moore's Esther.

Well that is about it for now. We are just having fun enjoying the wonderful sun here. The 4th of July was a bit too hot for us, 94! I'm more of an 80's girl, in more ways than one:-)

Until next time, have a blessed summer!!

Happy Fathers Day Dad & Ben !!

I just have to say how blessed of a women I am to have a compassionate Godly father and an amazingly loving Godly husband. Both men are so important in my life and a crucial part of my childrens lives. God the Father is our number 1 then Ben my husband and Keith my father:-0

I want to thank you Daddy for being supportive of me and loving me through my terrible teen years! Your patience grace and love was what got me through:-0 For all the fun motorcycle rides and coffee dates, for the extra little gifts to help us get by, for being a wonderful grandad to Ben and Ella and most of all for loving me like you do:-)

I want to thank you my dear sweet husband for loving me for who I am, for being an amazing devoted fun-loving father to our 2 beautiful kids! For working so very hard while going to school to support your family! Our lives would not be complete with out you baby!!

Our sweet Benjamin Isaac!

Our beautiful Ella Grace!

God is a Promise Keeper *!*

I came across some encouraging words today reminding me that God is a promise maker and keeper! Trust and seek Him daily and all your needs will be met.

**This is so true, we have been praying faithfully and trusting in Him for our finances we paid Junes mortgage and have a little extra money to caryover for next month! That is such a blessing and I want to say THANK YOU Lord for giving what we need when we need it. **

I hope you all are encouraged by these words and scriptures as I was today. Have a wonderful week!

EXPECT TO BE REWARDED AS YOU DILIGENTLY SEEK THE LORD.
“God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6)

You can ask in faith for a token from the Lord to encourage and rekindle your confidence. God is always on time, and He knows you need a ray of hope and good news in your time of testing. Expect Him to keep His promise to reward you now, when you are in greatest need. God cannot lie – He has said He rewards those who diligently seek Him – so seek Him daily. And truly believe this will be your season of great spiritual blessing.

Kids Can Sleep Anywhere *!*

If only I could get the good sleep like my kids do! On Sunday Ben woke from his nap I thought he was going to go to the bathroom....about 5 minutes later after I realized he was not in his room I started looking and was very surprised to see where we found him!

He was fast asleep, not sure how that happened:-0 Too stinking cute not to share with everyone!!

More family fun times to come!!!

Random Fun Family Times

Can I just say how much I loved the 80 degree days! We had a lot of fun as a family outside. I think it was the last nice day we were all outside washing all the vehicles when I captured these fun pictures.

I absolutly love this picture of Ella! She looks so grown up and her eyes are just sparkling with life...ah my little baby is not a baby anymore:-(

Yeah this was cute too! Right after we washed it she climbed up...um wrong way baby!

Ah my sweet Benjamin, he will be 5 in June and right now all he cares about is being ''cool'' Everyday he asks ''Mom do I look cool, are these jeans cool, is my shirt cool" Thus the ''cool'' pose stance for the picture!! He is too funny

Again more ''cool'' poses!

This is one of my favorite pictures. Normally before naptime they both have quiet time in their room to ''unwind'' and get ready to sleep. Well this day I was busy cleaning and doing laundry I wasnt really paying attention to them. Finally I realized it was time to sleep I couldnt find Ella and at first glance at Ben's bed he wasnt there either....then I heard the giggles! Ella had brought her pillow and blanket into Bens room and they were reading books together on the floor, I quickly ran and got the camera to capture this precious moment! They were so quiet and enjoyed it so much I let them do that for another 20 minutes. Ha proof to my kids they love each other!!

This act of love is perfect example for Ben to really learn his current weeks scripture:

Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love. Romans 12:10

Field Trip to Children's Museum!

We went on a field trip with Ben's preschool a few weeks ago to The Children's Museum, man it was SO fun and exhausting:-)
So much for the kids to do and ''get into'' they had a blast! I was very happy to learn that there was a Coffee's On there, woo hoo for mom I got to treat myself to a delicious White Chocolate Mocha, yummo's my fav.

I think Ben's favorite was the water room with all kind's of gadgets and trinkets

As you can tell my Ella's face in the top picture, she hated getting the water on her! Also in this pic was the Art room that was a lot of fun for them as well because it was so hands ''messy'' on!

The Theatre room was very cute. It had a lot of dress up, a real stage and curtain they could pull. I got a good laugh out of the cool ''hand''! Also loved the Alligator pic...um Ella thought it was a bed:-)


This one was great! Ella was twirling and having fun until she saw me taking pictures, then her mood quickly changed:-) The top corner picture is of Ben and his bestfriend Ethan, they are two peas in a pod:-)

They day definetly was loads of fun. Both kids had a blast and both fell asleep in the car ride home at 12:45! Gatta love that

Fun Times With Great Friends!

I know it has been a while since I have updated the family blog so I'm dedicating tonight for several posts! (so you better be checking it out girley) A few weeks ago we had our good friends Ryan, Chris and Ava (Vavs) over for dinner. We captured some cute pictures of the kids ''dancing'' on Ben's bed! Too cute I must say:-)

This is one of my favs! Lil Vav's doing her Chicken Dance!

LOL! Another favorite:-) You go girl. Notice Ella trying to ''Knock'' her down, little turkey:-)

Ben is such a serious dancer. Big smiles Little Red

Ah my little Red Vavs. I feel so blessed to have her in our lives! Such a great sweet girl, Ben really enjoys her too hee hee can you say little crush:-0

I hope that my kids can remember such fun times with great friends. I guess that is why we ''blog'' them.

New Year's Resolution/Goals Update

Well I have to just laugh because I realize it's been SUCH a long time since I've updating my family blog! Thanks to my dear friend Christina did she kindly remind to ''update your blog girl!''

So here goes:

First goal I set: Live a better life for Christ

Update: I started another amazing bible study, ''The fingerprints of God'' with my friend Chris and it has really transformed my relationship with God! It's such an intimate study, enriching my faith, love and life in the Lord. I feel a lot closer to Him now and feel I am becoming the Godly woman He has called me to be.

Second Goal: Show love to other's more often.

Update: Well with the ongoing process of the first goal I have found every aspect of my life change. With a more enriched relationship with Christ, I have more love to give. I have tried to go out of my way to give a smile, lend a helping hand or a simple word of encouragement to people. It's amazing how a simple thing can bring out a smile or a tearful thank-you from a stranger.

Third Goal: Engage in my children to the fullest!

Update: Well again going back to the very first goal, that is the rock, my foundation of my whole life and way of living. I am more patient, quiet and overall loving. I have struggled with patience and ''yelling'' for a while. I feel the Lord has lead me away from that and it's so freeing! I love and adore my children and enjoy every waking moment with them. I try to do special projects with them together and individually. Their favorite thing to do with mom is baking/cooking in the kitchen with me! Such great memories:-)

Fourth Goal: Have more compassion and appreciation for my husband.

Update: Well this one has changed quite a bit. I have found our marriage changing and enriching for the better. A simple word of encouragement, a note in his lunch or an act of love goes a long way. It's not that hard or time consuming and goes a long way with the spouse. He has noticed a change in me as well and has encouraged him to try harder to do nice things for me.

Fifth Goal: Live a healthier lifestyle, no dieting, just eating right and exercising. Be a good role model for my children

Update: Well this is an exciting update!!! About 3 weeks ago I bought an elliptical machine and have FAITHFULLY worked out at least 3 days a week! I look forward to my workouts now:-) I have more energy I have found I actually want to eat better and it's easier to ''just say no to the cookies!'' Sadly at first I was only able to do 15 minutes on the machine, now I'm up to 35 easily, I just pop in a movie and go to town! I finish up with Pilate's style body sculpting . My husband has seen an improvement and has given me many words of encouragement. All-in-all the goals I have set I have stuck to and met on some level.

I would have to say that if you choose to have your first goal Living for Christ, the rest will fall into place:-)

Thanks for the motivation Chris to finally update!!

I am a Kept Women!

I Am a 'Kept' Woman

You see, there were a few times when I thought I would lose my mind, But GOD kept me sane.

(Isa. 26:3)

There were times when I thought I could go on no longer, But the LORD kept me moving.

(Gen 28:15)

At times, I've wanted to lash out at those whom I felt had done me wrong, But the LORD kept my mouth shut.

(Psa. 13) I AM STILL WORKING ON THIS ONE :-)

Sometimes, I think the money just isn't enough, But GOD has helped me to keep the lights on, the water on, the car paid, the house paid, etc..,

(Matt. 6:25 -34)

When I thought I would fall, HE kept me up. When I thought I was weak, HE kept me strong!

(I Pet. 5:7, Matt. 11:28-30 )

I could go on and on and on, but I'm sure you hear me! I'm blessed to be 'kept.' Are you...or do you know a 'kept' woman ? If so pass it on to her to let them know they are kept'
I'm Kept by the Love and Grace of God!

New Year's Resolution Time!

Wow I can't believe it's 2009 already! Where did 2008 go?? I guess the hustle and bustle of life takes over. Well that means it's that time again, time to set more New Years resolution goals. My biggest goal....KEEP MY GOALS I SET!! Ha easier said then done I know. That is why I'm setting acheivable life goals.

First and foremost: Live a better life for Christ!

Second: Show love to other's more often:-)

Third: Engage in my children to the fullest, they are only young once.

Fourth: Can't leave out those husbands! Have more compassion and appreciation for him.

Fifth and final: Live a healthier lifestyle, NO DIETS, just eat better and exercise. Be a good example for my children to follow.

Now that I've actually have them jotted down, I need to keep them:-) I would suggest grabbing a bff to help out with maintaining your goals. Maybe you can set and achieve some together? Maybe getting out of the house and taking a walk with the kiddos. What ever may come of these I know if I fail I will keep on trudging. I know threw Christ, He will strengthen me:-)