Saturday, July 30, 2011

Heaven is real!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVtNzONbaiU

Friday, July 29, 2011

Its a girl!!


We have been blessed with 3 children, 2 boys and a girl who is our baby. I am used to little boys since that is where most of my experience is. Our oldest is 10 middle child 2 1/2 and our daughter is only18 months old. I can tell you a few things that I have learned so far about little girls, they are so sweet, dainty, gentle, obedient (so far), loving and they definitely know how to melt your heart. Our oldest is very smart, kind and loving and our middle, well, lets just say he is one of those kids that when we wake up we hit the floor RUNNING! I wouldn’t trade any of it! We were very nervous about having a girl, we wanted all boys since we felt safer with them. I am aware that all children are at risk for certain things and we need to watch all of them closely but there is something that makes you into MAJOR protection mode where girls are concerned. Its safe to say with her daddy and 2 older brothers she will be watched, closely! I watch in amazement sometimes at how by instinct my daughter will pick up paper off the floor and bring it to me, then thank me for taking it! My boys, well they just walk on it. I watch how she is ALWAYS in her play kitchen just like mommy,and she tries to help when I fold laundry. It is so awesome to see how boys and girls are so different and God made it so we would fit perfectly with one another. I can’t wait until she is older so I can teach her things and pass traditions to her, so many ideas flood your mind where girls are concerned. Of course there are things you pass to your sons as well, like how to treat females. Now that they have a sister she is watched over like a HAWK especially by our oldest. He has already let us know that nobody will be dating her, EVER! All of our children are a blessing but little girls are like the cherry on top. I am so thankful and not a day goes by where I don’t look at them and know it. I see the way my husband looks at her and how his face lights up and when she sees her daddy its a look that she has for nobody else but him, its so precious. We are truly blessed. The picture at the top is what the sonographer gave me and I took home and we let our oldest open and read it, Congrats you’re having a baby girl!!! He was the first to know and that was so special to him.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Our children need prayer!


Most people will agree with me that children are a blessing to us, however, what is wrong with people these days that just toss them away like they are trash? Do they not fear the Judgement of God? Do they think that this goes unseen? I have struggled with issues like this where the accused walks away as if nothing ever happened and its boggled my mind many times how the Lord could allow this. I have come to the realization though that we are given "Free will". We are not robots who can be made to do a certain thing or act a certain way. We have a choice and its unfortunate that many people suffer at the hands of evil people. I do believe though, that one day, they WILL stand accountable, don't you agree?? Justice ultimately belongs to God. My blog is titled "Graciously Given" because of the scripture Genesis 33:5 where Esau asks Jacob who all the children are that are with him and he replies "These are the children that God has SO GRACIOUSLY given me". They are a gift, they belong to the Lord. We have a job here to raise them right, teach them morals, how to have empathy and sympathy towards others so that when they are older they are a blessing to this World and to society. We can only do the best we can as long as we know in our hearts we are raising and treating them right. Children are innocent and defenseless and we need to take a stand and protect them. I pray now that God keep my kids safe so when the times comes that they leave my house I can only trust them in the care of the Lord. Of course I would like to keep them home forever :) I know that I can't. Its a scary world and there are plenty people out there who care, changes need to be made to keep our children safe. I pray that things will change, laws be changed, that parents hearts grow soft and not cold towards their children. Thats all that we can do. Prayer changes things. Will you all agree to pray that way with me, daily? I know you will. God Bless.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Anxious


So, I haven't been able to blog for a few days due to my hubby being admitted into the hospital. He went to the ER Wednesday around noon and was admitted for chest pain. I was so worried, home with 3 kids my parents live an hour away and obviously I can't take little kids into the ER where he was kept, needless to say I WAS STRESSING!! I tend to either get really worried when things happen or I kinda shut down and try to ignore it as if it will go away, NOT! So my hubby had a whole workup down along with bloodwork, EKG, Stress test and check for clots. The diagnosis was STRESS. The Doc said it can and will cause physical problems, which we all know, and it is something we really need to try and control. There are many factors that play into it however we are really trying to live a stress free life. Wonder how hard this will be! I am reminded of the scripture Phillipians 4:6 "Do NOT be anxious about anything" Well that is easier said then done. We are going to try though. Sometimes there are things you have to limit in your life or people you have to limit your contact with in order to be stress free. So many things that are actually painful to remove. Hubby is home now and we are working on the things that cause us the most stress and cutting them out! I am praying that the Lord help us because we will need it. Life is too short so why be stressed so much, why give any of your time to things that just upset us? It seems so silly when you think about it. If we were to count the amount of minutes, hours or even days we stress it would such a shame to think that was time we could have used for happy things. Making happy memories instead of being angry or upset. Please remember my family in your prayers and I will keep everyone in mine. Life can really be difficult. We need to surround ourselves with people who lift our spirits and not bring them down.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Thankful Heart


Hello, I hope everyone is enjoying their Summer. We are! I love spending time with the family and relaxing. Kids grow SO FAST! I enjoy watching them everyday learn new words, songs, animal names and so much more! I am so blessed to be able to Homeschool our children and I am blessed with a wonderful husband as well. I am always thankful to God for putting him in my life. We are not perfect, and have ups and downs like the next but the important thing is we work through it, and for that I am extremely blessed. Our neighbor's wife passed away about 3 months ago and I just found out that the elderly man has passed as well. I always find it interesting that when a spouse passes away, within a few months to 2 years the other goes. Its not in all cases but in alot. I guess when God created Adam and the Eve as his "help mate" when one goes there is such a void the other seems to sort of just go on behind them. I pray that whoever goes first in my marriage the other one goes on awhile, we do have kids and I want them to have their parents as long as the Lord sees fit. I am reading the book "Heaven in real" right now and its about Colton Burpo and it talks about his experience when his appendix ruptured as a 4 year old and his visit to heaven. Well, It will be like a family reunion there! How exciting, gives us so much hope and so much to look forward too! That will be the biggest family reunion ever! Awesome. I am on a mission to learn how to cherish all the time I have now with my kids, one day when they are older I WILL miss it. That is a fact. So I am so thankful for my Marriage, My husband, kids and the ability to stay home with them. I pray for blessing in all your lives as well. I am trying to have a new outlook on what I have and not what we don't.
Phillipians 4:11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.

Sunday, July 17, 2011


How many of you out there are the type who need to follow a schedule? Since we homeschool and I have 3 kids I do best with a schedule. Most days its extremely hard to follow but for the most part I feel organized at least to have one. I have the personality where I HATE things to be out of sorts and with having 2 kids under 3 and a 10 year old, I am out of sorts ALOT. One day we may be extremely productive and get a ton of stuff done and then the next 2 days we do nothing. I am trying to learn to not sweat stuff that doesn’t matter, you know the saying “Don’t sweat the small stuff”. Life is so short and so what if my house isn’t always clean, who cares if there is a dirty dish in my sink right? These are things I struggle with since I am always trying to make everything perfect. I am learning that my need to be that way also robs me of precious time with the most important things in life, my Family. So starting this week I am going to make a schedule, set our school time, activities, and then when those are complete its free for all! I may even say from 9-1 is school, 1-2 is crafts/activities and then after that its whatever we want to do as a family and have fun, no cleaning, no stressing about the house being perfect and just live life and cherish the time! We live in a super fast paced society today and its very easy to let things that are most important slip right by. I don’t want that to happen. Like my hubby always says “The dishes will be there in the morning” Well DUH of course they will, how many men wash them! So in saying all this I just want everyone to revaluate the way they use their time, is it with the things that matter, or are you spending most of it stressing and not cherishing?? I hope this is a word that would encourage someone!!

Monday, July 11, 2011

Psalm 144:4


I hope everyone had a good day today. Monday's are always so hard for us to get moving. I was extremely exhausted from all the work and cleaning I did on Sunday and trust me, I felt it!! Now I am only in my mid 30s but some days I feel like I am 60! Having small kids will wear a person out. I just love it when I feel like I have everything taken care of and I sit down and then I hear "Mom, josh spilled my milk" or "Mom, sissy stinks" and I know what that means! Its a never ending cycle of up and down. I do know though that as much as I am tired, I would not change it for the World! We live in a world where people just do not appreciate what they have, people don't have time for their kids, they don't have time for family PERIOD! I do not want to be that way. My goal in raising our kids is to raise them with strong family morals and to be close with one another, try to get along and appreciate each other, defend one another. We need more of that....We won't always get along, that doesn't mean we still can't love and appreciate each other. One day we will be gone and it's the memories we leave that will matter most. I want to leave good ones.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Beautiful Saturday


Well today my husband took and on call shift so me and the kids have done NOTHING. Aside from getting dressed and brushing our teeth we have literally, played all day, watched cartoons and now we are snacking....It feels so good....I hope you all are enjoying your weekend and relaxing. The weather is beautiful, just a bit too hot to take the little ones out without a pool. I don't think they could handle 90 some degree weather and no way to cool off. Maybe next year a pool is just what we need! Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I will be back Monday for my blog!!

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Guilt Free Home School!


Today started out as a sunny, hot day, and quickly turned into a thunderstorm with hail and dark skies. I had some things planned today and whenever it rains there is something about it that just makes me want to be lazy! I don't know if its in my head since so many think the same or is there really something about it?? Whatever it may be I did very little. I often feel guilty since we are home schoolers if I do not do something every minute of the day. Why is that? I am used to how a public school system works and therefore I compare what we do at home to what they do at school. That does not make sense does it, after all we home school because we don't either approve or like the way the public schools run. I need to drill in my head that its ok to just chill once in awhile, we all deserve to relax and be guilt free. I often feel like my need to always do something is because so many people judge me for our decision in home schooling our kids. Therefore I feel like I always need an answer as to what we did today or what we do tomorrow. I think one thing I am going to try to come to grips with this summer is, its ok to do NOTHING!! It really is.....It is not hurting anyone! We are home schooling all year round so there is PLENTY of room for learning...Relax, I need to relax and trust God that I am making the best choices for our kids. This will be hard for me but I am willing to try!! Pray for me in this area :)

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Justice?


I can't help today but struggle with our Justice system, its a disgrace it seems to me. I am so tired of holier then though people saying things to me like "Well its not our place to judge"! Well whose place is it then? Are we not allowed to hate sin here on earth, are we not allowed to pray that justice be served for a child who was murdered? Is that asking to much? Does that make us judgmental and casting stones? I remember that King David prayed for justice. Was that wrong, a man after Gods own heart? We are human, we parents look at our children and cannot help but only touch the tip of what a loss would feel like if they were taken. I am allowed to be angry at that, I am allowed to be angry because a 3 year old was murdered. What would it say if we did NOT become angry. It only shows me that the end times are drawing near. In the end people are hard, they have no sympathy, only care about themselves and what feels good. Lets not hurt anyones feelings. I am sick of it. I am tired of feeling like I have to walk on egg shells because I am a "christian" YES the ultimate Justice will come from GOD and that is the only true justice we will ever get and that is the only justice those who walk free on earth may get. Better them then me. I would much rather stand before a jury of my peers then the God of the universe. He IS just. So today I learned that the God of the Universe, the maker of EVERYTHING will see that justice be served. Its in his hands. It doesn't mean that I am not upset about how our earthly justice system has failed. God does not and will not. He can't. Luke 18~ "And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”