Bittersweet

It's official... Nathan is back in school. While I LOVED every minute of our school year at home last year, he's back in public school for now. I have mixed feelings about this and am trusting the Lord to get us through this too! (I told you.... trusting Him for EVERYTHING)! Nathan is excited to be back at school. While a lot of teachers, the principal and students have left, he is still looking forward to 4th grade at his "old school."

Those of you who know me, this won't be a shocker. I cried and cried dropping him off! I was doing great UNTIL a sweet friend saw me outside the school waiting to get in and asked how I was doing. "I am fine," I replied as I got choked up and the tears began to flow. What a day to forget my sunglasses at home! Man, I was gonna wear them inside to help hide my tears. Oh well! I am thankful that Jason was able to go with us and be my support.

I really am missing him and once again will go through another time of greiving. The way I look at it, it's just another journey God has me on. So, what will He teach me on this journey? By the way.... how many journeys can one person be on at a time anyway?

So, I pray for Nathan as he begins his 4th grade journey back in school. He is such a sweet, bright, happy young boy. I can't wait to hear all about his first day back at school. 3:30 can't get here fast enough as far as I am concerned.

Here is a welcome "Goody" bag that his teacher had on his desk: (Yes, I cried reading it!)

Side note.... we walked in the door from dropping Nathan off at school, I was of course crying. Jason mentioned that it was a little hard for him too. Then Ryan says (a little sad and teary), "I miss him. I wish he were here. But, at least he's only there a half day." Aww, so sweet... and it made me cry some more. Then I had to tell Ryan that Nathan was gone for a full day at school, not a half day.

Stay tuned for the next chapter of back to school blues in 2 weeks. My baby starts Kindergarten. I am not sure how I am gonna survive that one!

Getting Ready

My little boy is getting ready to start Kindergarten. I can hardly believe it. I am savoring the last few moments I have with him.

This is what I found tonight as he was getting ready for bed.

MELTED my heart!!!

Goodness, I love this boy!

He can see clearly now!

In April we all had eye exams and all was well. Fast forward to July... Nathan had his 9 yr. check up at the pediatrician and "failed" his eye exam. I was shocked. Long story short, we took him back to the eye Dr. to be re-checked. Sure enough, his eyes had changed in just a few short months. I was worried that something was really wrong. The eye Dr. said it could have been due to a growth spurt. Anyway.... Nathan now has glasses.


I was afraid he was going to put up a fight, but Boy, was I wrong!! He was thrilled! Okay, really?? He was very careful to select the "right" glasses and was bummed he would have to wait a week to get them. Since he is nearsighted, he only has to wear them for distance.


Once he got them, the whole ride home was very comical (to me). He was shouting and exclaiming all the things he could see and read at a distance. We had no idea everything was blurry to him before. He can see clearly now and looks quite handsome too!

The Museum

Just found this group today. I really love this song!

Lately, I feel that God has been using music more to speak to me. I am so thankful that the Lord is my strength, my giver of life, my refuge and my provider. Trusting in Him and walking beside Him in this journey, He is teaching me so much! I see Him at work and it continues to amaze me how He can take care of even the smallest things. Thank you, Lord!!

My Heart Beats On

8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NIV)

When life gets hard and trials hit, that's when we get weary and want to give up. 5, 6, 7 weeks ago, that's where I was. I wanted to crawl in a hole or run away. Through this season of seeking a job for Jason, I've become so dependent on the Lord. Well, after my initial devastation. I'm telling you, it "rocked my world." Once I got through the shock and anger, I realized that I can't continue to suffer alone... or with my husband. God is teaching me so much!

I know that He will carry us through. Some days seam harder than others, but He is what motivates me to press on! Being reminded of what God has done for me, salvation through grace alone..... makes my heart beat on! He KNOWS my every need. He KNOWS what I am going through and how it feels. I take comfort in that.

We will come through this season of our life so much stronger, I feel it already. But, I have to say the valley isn't fun. Then I remember, God doesn't promise that everything will be easy and fun. (Ugh!! That's how I would like it.) How much would I be missing then if life was always easy? He has us right where He wants us!

So through this, I will keep my eyes on Him, because the moment I take my eyes off Him..... I flatline. And that my friend, is no way to live!

My Help!

"I look up to the mountains - does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made the heavens and the earth." Psalm 121:1-2 (NLT)

Where does your help come from?

Hello, Mr. Snaggletooth!

Nathan is growing up and along with growing up comes the gawky stages and loosing teeth! Wow, how that can really change your look. His two front teeth have been loose for a little over a year! He would wiggle them from time to time, but for some reason had a fear of losing those teeth.

Well they eventually got so loose that I knew it would be "any day." Friday evening, he was playing at a friends and got a little assistance with nudging one of them out. They were playing like boys do and Nathan realized that his tooth was about ready. So, he pulled it! Yay! Here is what he looked like:

The other front tooth was just dangling for the most part. Last night I convinced him to keep twisting it back and forth just until it hurt. Well, what do you know.... it loosened it even more! At one point he twisted his tooth one and a half turns and it got stuck sideways! He thought that was funny, but didn't know what to do. I got a tissue to help blot up a little blood and when I went to dab he pulled his head back. There in the tissue laid his little tooth. Finally, it was out. Boy, was he happy and so was I! Here he is sporting his new look:

Perfect ending

It was cold outside in the snow. Once inside, it seemed just perfect to make a batch of hot chocolate for us all. The boys and I like Peppermint hot chocolate. Daddy likes his chocolate and more chocolate - all the way chocolate! We sat by the fire and enjoyed the yummy hot cocoa.

Doesn't it look good?

For dinner we had grilled cheese and soup. This is a delicious creamy Zucchini soup (and it's not green). Don't tell the kids.... they don't know it's packed with yummy veggies. Oh, so yummy!

I would say it was a perfect ending to our snow filled day. Wonder what the rest of the weekend will be like?

The Big Snow

Snow. That's something we don't see much of here. Well, today that changed. It began snowing around 10:30 am and it didn't stop until around 4:40 pm. We are expected to get between 6 to 10 inches today and tomorrow! As of around 6:00 tonight, we have about 4 1/2 inches. It was a blast to play in today. Jason got to leave work early. That was a nice treat. The best part was getting to bundle up and go outside so we could all play. It was like being a kid again. We had so much fun!

Video and Slide Show are below:





Here's the slide show:

His Best Friend

The other night as I was putting Ryan to bed, we read a book about Rabbit, Tigger and Pooh. In the story, Rabbit gets really tired of Tigger always bouncing on him. He decided that they should all take a walk in the Hundred-Acre Woods and lose Tigger. Ryan did not like that. He was very sad for Tigger. As the story goes along Rabbit ends up getting lost and guess who rescues him? Yep, B-o-I-n-G..... Tigger! Rabbit was so very happy to see Tigger.

After the story we were discussing how they must have each felt, how we are to treat our friends and ways to be a good friend. I asked Ryan, do you have a good friend like that? Like what we talked about? He sat for a minute and kind of hmmmm'd around. After a minute, he stopped, looked up at me with his big eyes and a bright smile on his face. Yep, Mommy I do! God! God's my best friend in the whole wide world! I told him I was so glad that God was His best friend. God is truly the best friend we can have. He never lets us down, He's ALWAYS there for us, He is loyal, He is trustworthy and He always watches over us.... knowing EXACTLY what we need and when we need it. I rejoice in the fact that my sweet little boy knows he has a best friend like that!

God showed up!

I've recently started a new Bible study with my Tues. night group of girls. I am so thankful for them and what God is teaching us. God has really been speaking to me and changing me.

This past week there was a part of our book that talked about stress and worry. Honestly, I think either one or both of those could have been my middle name. They fit me so well. I was informed this week that both of those "reek of arrogance!" Eeek.... that's not what I wanted to hear! But you know what, that's just what I needed to hear so I can make a change.

The past few months have been tough. J's job situation has been rough. Meeting goal has been sparse which = pay is less than expected. I haven't been stressed, but concerned, naturally. We both have. We've really been praying and relying on the Lord to see us through this valley.

In my daily prayer time, I've been asking God to help me see Him more, more in everyday situations, the little things, not just the big. Let me tell you... I've seen Him and I've felt Him! Woo!

This is just one way.... paying for Ryan's MDO the next few months was a concern. We had all the money saved up from Sept. to Jan. We just knew the rest would come in time. Well, here we are getting ready to have to pay Feb. tuition and I didn't know how we were going to come up with the money. I turned it over to God. I was at peace that we just might have to pull him out. I knew it would be hard on him, especially this month that he could celebrate his b'day at school with his classmates, but I was ready to do what I had to.

Well, as most know, a few months back I had my wisdom teeth removed. We were recently informed that we were overcharged and they were refunding us some money. Hoping it would be refunded before Christmas was our plan. Thankfully, we didn't need it then. God knew that. We've been waiting and waiting for the check to show up. Earlier this week the check came. It was $10 less than the amount we needed to pay Ryan's tuition for Feb.! I just cried. God knew our needs and exactly when we needed it. Thank you, Lord!

There have been 3 other situations this week where God has provided and revealed Himself to me and how He is working. I am so thankful that I was aware of Him in these situations. He is all I need!

Shower of blessings

I've always been the type who likes to do for others. I love helping out and lending a hand. Being a blessing to others is something that I strive to be. I also want to be an encourager. Of course, I've had my failures and pitfalls. I'm not perfect. I've been reminded lately that I need to be more positive and encouraging. I feel like I've strayed from that. Yikes! That's something I am working on.

This past week as I was praying and praising God when I felt Him tugging at my heart. I wasn't quite sure what He was trying to tell me. Had I missed something? Was He trying to get my attention? Yep! But not how I was thinking. He made me realize that I have a hard time accepting blessings. I feel obligated or bad that others try to do something for me. Basically, I can dish it out just fine, but I can take it. God was telling me I needed to learn to accept His blessings and this week he gave me 2 opportunities. Oh gosh! It was so hard. In one situtation I said, "no." I was asked to pray about it. That's when I remember what God had revealed to me the other day. It was my turn to allow somene to be a blessing to me. In both situations I felt obligated to give something in return. How would I do that? I kept thinking, why would someone do something for me like that? God has placed in my life some amazing people. I thank God for them!

One interesting thing... one of these friends shared with me how many times I've been such an encouragement to her and really challenged her. I never had a clue! Wow! God is so good!