Isaac, the Bible scholar

So last night after Church, Isaac's sunday school teacher comes up to me and goes, I asked Isaac to start bringing his bible to church so that we could have them begin reading and memorizing scripture and he says "My Mom and Dad don't really want me reading the Bible, it's no big deal" THIS KID! He is killing me! So, after assuring her that we would never discourage Isaac from reading his Bible, though it really had not occured to me until she said it, that he really is old enough to begin reading it on his own, I had a little chat with him. I did tell him that it was Mom and Dad's fault that we had not begun to encourage him to read it on his own and that he did indeed own a Bible and that we would pull it out and talk about it when we got home.

As soon as we got home he ran into his room and pulled it out of the drawer and I as I was in my bedroom changing clothes, I heard him reading it aloud...."In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." No sound could have been more sweet to my ears and my eyes welled up with tears. I stopped right then and thanked God for not only giving him the ability to read and speak, but I prayed that he would instill in him a Love for his Word. Once I pulled it together, I walked in and gave him a big kiss on the forehead and told him how proud it made me to hear him reading God's word to which he replies...."You mean every word in the world is in here?" to which I answered...."The only ones that matter are.":)

Oh taste and see that the Lord is good

I could not wait to sit down this morning and write this post. My cup got filled to the brim last night and is still overflowing this morning. I got the oppotrunity to attend the Girls Night Out with Hunter Street and Sherry Burgess came to speak. That seemed exciting enough, but there was so much more in store for us. After singing worship songs and just praising the Lord for a little while the song "I will rise" by Chris Tomlin began to play and one by one these beautiful woman of God holding cardboard signs came walking out. Each sign told of some unimaginable trials or some heartbreaking bondage by sin. Once they stood for a while and revealed the deepest parts of themselves, they flipped the cardboard and revealed God's amazing work in thier lives, his Deliverance, his Grace, and his Love. I am always overwhelmed by God's loving mercy, no matter how many times he displays it so clearly right in front of my face. The Holy Spirit was so thick in that place, all I could do was cry and praise him for loving me. Each one was so amazing, but when I saw one of the most dearest people in my life walk out with her sign, I was just floored! My instant reaction was to want to run up there and hold her hand, I did not want her to stand up there alone...but see she has a friend that sticks closer than a brother and He was there holding all of those ladies hands the entire time. Because these woman did not get up there to praise themselves for what they had overcome or to show how strong they were, but to Magnify our Savior and show how AWESOME HE is.

Afterwards, Sherry Burgess got up and shared her amazing testimony. Her love for God is so evident and her purpose is so clear. She was not there for pity or praise, but to encourage others to go out and work to further His kingdom regardless of our circumstances.....

It was such a great night and I am so thankful I got to be there. If I get my hands on a DVD you better watch out, I am holding a screening.

And to my dear friend....Thank you

Avri's Pony Party

If I heard pony once, I heard it 1,000 times. This kid wanted a pony party and she wanted it bad! So since we had never done anything extremely grand for her parties before and Isaac has had more than his fair share of birthday blow outs, I decided 5 was a good age to just go all out! I called and set up the ponies and this crazy birthday planning began. First off, our yard is a mess, so I put Phillip right to work, fixing our deck, removing old stumps from the yard, cutting grass, hauling out old stuff from under the deck, preassure washing, that poor man was just beat. The things you do for these kids:) Finally, after a reschedule because of rain, the pony party day came. It was everything she had dreamed of! Two ponies, farm animals to pet, a homemade pony cake, and lots of people who love her! We have some of the best friends in the world and they pulled on thier boots and came out to join us! We all had a really awesome time! When it was all over with and everybody had gone home, she looked at me and said "Thanks for working so hard on my party mama, it was a perfect day"........totally worth it!

We finally got a peice of the pie!

So after two long years with a patch on my ceiling (I won't name any names;), I finally have them repaired!!!! It has been a long time comin girls and I am thrilled. And to top it all off, I finally got some new furniture!!! We have had the same beautiful burgandy leather set since the day with got married and I finally got an upgrade! I feel like the Jefferson's...we are movin' on up! Check it out and tell me what you think!!! I hate the stripes, so I am covering some of the pillows wtih fabric my sweet and oh so chic friend Marie helped me pick out! I am doing some curtains in that paisley too!

Oh snap!

Oh Snap!, I just like to say that...it has been forever since I blogged or read any (don't hate me) so stay tuned.....

Prayers of a child

There is something about listening to my children's prayers at night that just fills me up to the brim with joy. Tonight was one of those sweet prayers that I wanted to jot down before my febal mind forgot it. Avri was praying tonight and as she always does, she asked God to bless each family member by name, her friends, her animals and then out of the blue she says "And God, please bless the ponies that are coming to my party (birthday) with the strength to give us a ride and still enjoy my party. Please let them know that we are thankful for them." It was just so sweet and it made me proud! I could take a lesson from her. So often I pray for strength for myself, whether it be physical, spiritual, or emotional, and never think to pray for the strength of others. So tonight, I am praying for the strength of all my friends and family whatever thier circumstance..........from the mouth of babes.........

Happy Birthday to my darling daughter!

5 years ago today, I met my daughter. The way that she entered the world would be a small glimpse into the personality of this little girl. She raced to get here the day she was born, two weeks to early and in record time compared to her brother (4 hours). From the moment she breathed in her first breath she let us know exactly how she felt. She screamed from the moment she was born until the moment that she was finally cleaned up and dressed like a lady should be! Til this day, she is exactly the same. She can't wait to do all the things that the big girls do and she will let you know what she thinks wheather you want to hear it or not. Although it can be a challange at times, I love that she is so sure of herself, confident, and enjoys just being Avri.

Avri has changed my life in so many ways. She makes me want to be a woman that she can model herself after. I want her to grow up and know that though I was not perfect that I wanted to teach her most of all how much God loves her and that this life is meant to serve him. I want her to know that beauty really is just skin deep and that the beauty of your heart will continue to shine despite the lines and gray hair. And I want her to know that she has made my life so amazing and that her little smile and silly laugh has turned this world upside down in the most wonderful way:)

Avri, I hope you always remember what this day represents not only for you, but for your entire family! We love you so much and cannot wait to see the amazing life that God has in store for you! You are fearfully and wonderfully made!

I love you!

Mamma