~Who Am I??~

I came across this song....it is one of my favorites. We all have fears and struggles. Today this song just spoke to me louder than usual. The Holy Spirit gives us the affirmation that each of us are needing whether it be through His word or speaking to us directly, but I also feel like He can use absolutely anything to get our attention or make us realize what He is saying to us. So many times a song or a kind word that I was needing to hear will speak volumes, which lets me know He is saying: "hello....it's me....listen to what I am saying!!"


by Casting Crowns
Who am I?
That the Lord of all the earth,
Would care to know my name,
Would care to feel my hurt.
Who am I?
That the bright and morning star,
Would choose to light the way,
For my ever wandering heart.

Not because of who I am,
But because of what you've done.
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who you are.
I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,(ocean)
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I'm calling,
Lord, you catch me when I'm falling,
And you've told me who I am.
I am yours.
I am yours.
Who am I?
That the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love
And watch me rise again.
Who am I?
That the voice that calmed the sea,
Would call out through the rain,
And calm the storm in me.

I am yours.
I am yours.
Whom shall I fear?
Whom shall I fear?
'Cause I am yours.
I am yours.
May God Continue to Bless You All~r

~Seeking Privacy~

SEEKING PRIVACY

The following humorous piece was sent to me author unknown:

ATTENTION CHILDREN:

The Bathroom Door is Closed.

Please do not stand here and talk, whine, or ask questions.

Wait until I get out.Yes, it is locked.

I want it that way.

It is not broken, I am not trapped.

I know I have left it unlocked, and even open at times, since you were born,

because I was afraid some horrible tragedy might occur while I was in here,

but it's been 10 years and I want some PRIVACY.

Do not ask me how long I will be.

I will come out when I am done.

Do not bring the phone to the bathroom door.

Do not go running back to the phone yelling, "She's in the BATHROOM!"

Do not begin to fight as soon as I go in.

Do not stick your little fingers under the door and wiggle them.

This was funny when you were two, but not now.

Do not slide pennies, Legos, or notes under the door.

Even when you were two this got a little tiresome.

If you have followed me down the hall talking,

and are still talking as you face this closed door,

please turn around, walk away, and wait for me in another room.

I will be glad to listen to you when I am done.

And yes, I still love you.

(signed)Mom

*My sweet friend, Jennifer, sent this to me and I just had to pass it along......HA HA ;-)))))

~r

~It's Raining Mommy!~

Marlee and Maggie have been obsessed with the rain this evening. It is as though they have never seen it before. "It's wraining Mommy!" "Let's go see!" I have always seen Sis' kids get excited about the rain, but the girls never acted one way or another. It was absolutely adorable.

Of course a song comes to mind by Michael W. Smith....I love this song:
Let it rain
Let it rain
Open the flood gates of Heaven
Let it rain
Let it rain
Open the flood gates of Heaven(Repeat)
The Lord reigns
Let the earth be glad
Let the distant shores rejoice
Clouds and thick darkness surround Him
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne
Fire goes before Him
And consumes His foes on every side
His lightning lights up the world
The earth sees and trembles
The mountains melt like wax
Before the Lord of all the earth
The heavens proclaim His righteousness
And all the people see His glory.

Let it rain
Let it rain
Open the flood gates of Heaven
Let it rain
Let it rain
Open the flood gates of Heaven.(Repeat)
~r

~Is this week over yet?~

This has been one crazy week....All I have heard from all three of the girls is crying and screaming. I don't know what is in the air out here?
Tomorrow I think we will head to Splash for the day to get out of the house...that is if it doesn't rain. Maybe that is it....We are used to swimming in the afternoons and we haven't in a day or so. HMMMM?? Who knows?? All kids go through phases, but seriously I am needing Daddy to come home for a few days for some relief. :-)))

On a different note....
I was able to visit with some one at church tonight that I had no idea we had so much in common. WOW! Once again, God has hand picked some one to share a story or something in their life that I could relate too. I pray that I will be that kind of person to someone. It's amazing how just a kind word or a smile from someone can be the thing that changes their mood or what they are feeling at that moment.

Thank you Father....you have blessed me with so many wonderful things in my life. Too many to count. Thank you for giving us grace, your unconditional love and most of all your precious Son. We love you and give you all of the glory in all that we do.
In Jesus Name....AMEN!
~r

~Fun Games for Kids~

I wanted to share a few of the websites that Keely loves to play games on:
http://www.girlsgogames.com
http://www.funbrain.com/
http://www.starfall.com/
http://shop.knowledgeadventure.com/Departments/JumpStart-Series.aspx

~;-))))enjoy!
~r

~God Is Working~

I have been pondering so many different things lately. Typically I am the worrier, stresser & all around people pleaser....it has caused me so much grief mentally, emotionally & physically. So, finishing up this last bible study has really helped me so much...but God has shown me so much more over the past month that makes me understand even more why we go through different trials in our lives. God convicts us in different ways...He may be working on me one way, but someone else totally differently. One of the things that I would honestly do would be to always pray that "the other people" in my life would change instead of me changing. I know that sounds ridiculous, but follow me...If I was upset or thought I should pray about something; I would start by saying aloud or even quietly "please change this situation or how this person feels" instead of praying for God to change my views, my heart & open my eyes to His grace. Why do we tend to be so hard on ourselves and others when God shows us amazing grace? Why do we find ourselves judging others when it does not even matter? Life is way too short for us to be trying to figure out others....God needs us to deal with ourselves. I have said it before, but this is so true for me....I am a slow learner and need to be hit over the head several times to learn what God needs for me to do. Satan is so sneaky that he worms his way in to our lives before we even know it. He plants seeds for dissension and resentment.
So, here I have been dealing with all of this when our awesome pastor delivers the greatest sermon....he does this often:-)). After the sermon and as we are singing one of the last songs I was down on my knees praying that God would send someone to me with a word of encouragement. We gathered our things & said our "good byes" when a very godly woman that I respect comes up to me with a great word of encouragement. Of course, all I could do at this point is break down balling like a little baby. She was a true gift from God. I needed to hear every word and to just have her arms around me.
It is amazing to see God working in my life. We all have struggles that we deal with and even allow them to consume us, but God has shown me His grace and love time and time again, which blesses me more than I could even express.

Thank God that I have an awesome family, friends and church who love me just as I am..they have been such a blessing to me with arms around me time and time again allowing me to realize what is important. You have all been hand picked from God and sent in to my life.
~r
The sermon series is "Transformation"...if you get a chance to listen you can link it from my favorites.

~Cellphones...YIKES!~

So, we have had an extra cellphone for about a year now that we let Tyler use when he is going to be away from home for an extended amount of time.....anyway, a couple of weeks ago he got it wet while out horseback riding. No biggie...it was just an old free phone that was on it's last leg. We decided that I would call this morning and get another "free phone" or a least a cheap one.
I was so proud of myself.....I held my ground as the customer service rep was trying to get me to upgrade on all of this stuff. I told her my whole life story and she gave us a new phone for hardly nothing. I am still on cloud nine about that......when I decided to go out to put some shock in the pool and dropped MY CELLPHONE in the water! No, I don't have insurance on it and even if I did it doesn't cover water damage. Clearly, this was not one of my finer moments! Luckily my sweet brother-in-law has a phone that I can use until I am eligible for another phone. You can't make this stuff up???
~r

~Camp is Hot!!~

I got a phone call from the campers saying that "it's hot"! Please keep them in your prayers while they are gone. I know they are having a blast. Eric is loving every second and of course Keely has had a great time. We..the girlies, Tyler & I....are ready for them to come home. Marlee walks around asking everyone "where's Keely and where's my Daddy?" I let the girlies talk to their Daddy last night and literally thought I was never going to get them off the phone. What can I say...we just miss those two and are ready to see them. ~;-))))

~r

~The Hair-Do!~

So, many of you have already seen it, but for those who haven't I thought I would take a cheezie picture to show it off. Clearly this is my natural hair color. I love it!!! It is super short, but so fun and easy. The best part is with me you never know how long I'll keep a do and thank goodness for hair that grows so fast.

~r

~Let the Countdown Begin~

Only 144 days until Christmas!

~Great Day of Fun!~

We had such a fun day playing outside and hanging out with Grace for her "actual" birthday. Her and Cannon's party will be next week, so Sis and I thought it would be fun to hang out today...eating, playing, swimming and just having an all around fun day with her. It is so hard for me to believe that she is 6 years old now.
Sis and I sat outside watching the kids play in the water and jump on the trampoline all day never once thinking about putting some sunscreen on our lily white bodies, so clearly now I am as red as a tomato. I have to say though I have kinda been down in the dumps lately, so being in the sun really did help. You hear people talk about that, but never have I really seen the effects. Then I gave Bop, Cannon, Mason & Eric all hair cuts. The boys look so cute in their summer do's.
Last week I got to keep Amanda's nephews...they are such precious boys. We all had so much fun playing with them. I think when you have majority of girls at your house that it is fun to get to play and hang out with little boys. They are exceptionally good kids. I was so blessed by them and the sweet sounds of their laughter.

I had put this collage together about a year ago and came across it again today. It is amazing how much all of the kids have grown and changed through the years. (blogger wouldn't upload the picture, so I'll have to try again another day)

~Update on the Kiddos~

Tyler is riding horses all the time with a gentleman from church. He loves every second of it. They go a couple of times a week and sometimes it is from 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM...you would think that he would be entirely too tired to go again, but he is up and wanting to go the next day.

Keely girl can only think about camp right now and how much fun she is going to have. That is all we have heard about. Of course with school coming up another big concern for her is a new backpack or book bag of some sort. We have tried out several at the stores, but haven't come up with the exact one yet. Decisions....decisions!!

Marlee is talking so much and has an opinion about everything right now. She loves to tell you "this is so FUN!", "Why?" and "Where is my Daddy?"....she is his keeper. ;)) Just when we think we are out of the biting stage she attacks again. Even with the biting she is absolutely precious with her sweet heart and loving spirit. Her hugs are infamous!

Last but not least, Maggie May is changing as well. She loves to sing and even uses this old T-Ball post as her microphone(I think she has just a little of her momma in her). She likes a couple of songs..."I've got the joy, joy, joy down in my heart...." and "Twinkle, Twinkle little star". She doesn't like the water as much as the others, but just about the time you are ready to go in she will finally be inching her way into the pool.

Sorry for such a long post, but I guess I had A LOT to say. ~;-))))
~r