The Fisher Family

The day we performed a ballet

2012-02-13T14:38:00.000-08:00

Today, we stayed inside all day. We try to at least have one rest day. The girls decided to do a ballet. It was just oh so adorable. Love love these too.

Also, I have left myself no time for a lengthy post (as in well thought out! ha!) But, I want to post Galatians 6. It has been what I have been meditating on all day today. Hope it's as much of a blessing to you as it has been to me. I think I'm going to post it in the message version because although it is a paraphrase, it is a good one and a fresh new way to look at this passage of scripture.

Galatians 6

^1-3 Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day's out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ's law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived.
^4-5Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don't be impressed with yourself. Don't compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.
⁶Be very sure now, you who have been trained to a self-sufficient maturity, that you enter into a generous common life with those who have trained you, sharing all the good things that you have and experience.
^7-8Don't be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he'll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.
^9-10So let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith.
^11-13Now, in these last sentences, I want to emphasize in the bold scrawls of my personal handwriting the immense importance of what I have written to you. These people who are attempting to force the ways of circumcision on you have only one motive: They want an easy way to look good before others, lacking the courage to live by a faith that shares Christ's suffering and death. All their talk about the law is gas. They themselves don't keep the law! And they are highly selective in the laws they do observe. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast of their success in recruiting you to their side. That is contemptible!
^14-16For my part, I am going to boast about nothing but the Cross of our Master, Jesus Christ. Because of that Cross, I have been crucified in relation to the world, set free from the stifling atmosphere of pleasing others and fitting into the little patterns that they dictate. Can't you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do—submit to circumcision, reject circumcision. It is what God is doing, and he is creating something totally new, a free life! All who walk by this standard are the true Israel of God—his chosen people. Peace and mercy on them!
¹⁷Quite frankly, I don't want to be bothered anymore by these disputes. I have far more important things to do—the serious living of this faith. I bear in my body scars from my service to Jesus.
¹⁸May what our Master Jesus Christ gives freely be deeply and personally yours, my friends. Oh, yes!

Blessed

2012-02-12T19:10:00.000-08:00

Today has been such a great day in the Lord. I had the privilege of leading worship again this morning. It is such a privilege and I pray I see it that way always. It's so weird because when I am not leading worship I sit and bawl my eyes out but although I have wanted to bawl on stage leading again, it is easier to hold it together, I guess because of the responsibility that comes with leading people in worship, maybe, I don't know. ha!

Anyway, after church we have been having the college students over for lunch and small group. We had a great group today and we discussed anger. Adam lead the discussion and I thought he did a great job!! I'm so proud of him for following the Lord in leading this group. I will try to post about our discussions on "the mind" and/or "anger" tomorrow.

Happy Rest Day!

all you need is L-O-V-E

2012-02-11T18:11:00.000-08:00

It's a holiday week at the Fisher house and so we are living it up. Valentine's Day is one of Annabelle and my favorite holidays because of the pink and fun crafts we get to do.

Before the girls went to the doctor the other day I snapped some pictures of the girls.

Since daddy was here he could make them smile. :)

Annabelle and I made these Valentines for her teachers (attached is chocolate truffles :) ). I loved the poem. I found it online somewhere.

And I put these together for Annabelle's class mates and our friends. I got the elephants because Annabelle could put on the stickers and she did and enjoyed it.

I went ahead and included Adelyn just because I wanted to and I didn't think any of Annabelle's class mates would mind. :)

Annabelle made this Valentine card for us at school. I just love it.

And it is hard to see, but for her card, she wrote her whole name and she did so good. I was so proud because we have been working on Annabelle's name at home.

These were from last week's practicing.

And one day Adam brought cookies home from work that James had brought him..haha :)

Also we got a super fun package!!

Also, today I was studying Galatians for my bible study and came upon Galatians 6:2, "Share each other's burdens and in this way obey the law of Christ."

The interesting thing is that the way to obey the law of Christ is to LOVE. "The law of LOVE fulfills the entire law." -McArthur

The whole law can be summed up in 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Galatians 5:14

This is something I so desperately try to teach the girls on how to treat each other but never ever need to forget to practice myself. I believe this is the very best way to teach them to treat other s Christ would, to model it for them.

I am incapable of doing this without Christ's help for sure! May he help all of us in the body of Christ love one another (1 Corin 13), look out for the best intrests of others (Phil 2:4), carry each others burdens (Gal 6:2), and treat each other as Christ treated us, sacrificing for one another. (Eph 5:2)

2012-02-10T18:35:00.000-08:00

Today we had the girls 2 and 3 year well checks. We are so off on our schedule of taking them in because they had so much ear trouble and both have tubes that when they both got better the last thing I wanted to do was to take them to the doctor again. Anyway, they did sooooo well today. At one point they jumped into the basket..haha!

They were both perfectly normal and right on track for everything. It is just such a blessing to have healthy children especially after experiencing the opposite. I am so thankful to God for these two little blessings and their health!!

Also, I found out some great great news tonight! (I'm not pregnant!) And I am still rejoicing in it!

I was reminded that "The Lord has established His throne; And His sovereignty rules over all!" Psalm 139:19 So thankful that tonight, His sovereignty brought such great news!

Snow Fun with Annabelle & The Sovereign Lord

2012-02-09T14:59:00.000-08:00

Isaiah 61:1-3
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me,
      for the LORD has anointed me
      to bring good news to the poor.
   He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted
      and to proclaim that captives will be released
      and prisoners will be freed.
2 He has sent me to tell those who mourn
      that the time of the LORD’s favor has come,
      and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.
3 To all who mourn....,
      he will give a crown of beauty for ashes,
   a joyous blessing instead of mourning,
      festive praise instead of despair.
   In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks
      that the LORD has planted for his own glory.

Snow Day Tea Party

2012-02-08T18:02:00.000-08:00

Thankful Tuesday

2012-02-07T19:30:00.000-08:00

It's Thankful Tuesday!

I have so much to be thankful for....so much it's unreal but the thing I am most thankful for is my relationship with Christ. Today on facebook I posted the definition of peace: the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ and therefore fearing nothing from God but being content with ones earthly lot, whatever sort it is (studylight.org) This peace can only come through knowing Christ.

Amen to that. I am thankful for peace in Him today and with that I will post my verses about peace I have been looking at (neeeeed to memorize!!):

You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.

Isaiah 26:3

Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. Psalm 119:65

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

LORD, you establish peace for us... Isaiah 26:12

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27

My God who I serve is able to deliver us, and he will deliver us. But even if he doesn't, let it be known to you, that we will not serve any other god but our Lord Jesus Christ. Daniel 3:18ish

And ya'll know I love this one:

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Colossians 3:15

That's all, ya'll! What are you learning or what are you thankful for? I would love to hear from you!

Super Bowl Fun 2012

2012-02-06T14:44:00.000-08:00

Love this sweet baby's hair

And love this girl in black :) Wish her eyes were open.

Yesterday was so great for so many reasons:

1) The Lord gave me His strength to lead worship again for the first time in a year.

2) The small group of college students and young adults went so so well and I loved all the college students input and interactions!

3) We got to all hang out for a bit and watch the super bowl with some college students and friends and Annabelle and Adelyn had such a great time playing with their friends there!!!

Valentine's Day Shirts & Bows

2012-02-03T18:13:00.000-08:00

Today I finished these Valentine's Day shirts for the girls. I really am a horrible seamstress so when I sew shirts for the girls I always make them something easy. These were the easiest shirts yet!

When I was thinking about a plan for easy shirts I remembered Annabelle's third birthday shirt. The ribbon is just perfect Valentine material. I got the ribbon and the shirts from our Walmart here. (Sometimes Walmart has these shirts on sale for 1$ or 2$ if you watch and they are good many times washable material.)

I don't ever use any patterns or anything, I just wing it. It's the same with me a recipes usually. :) Maybe that's why neither work out a lot! ha! One shirt I sewed with the sewing machine and one I hand sewed because my machine was acting funny and I like the hand sewed version much better. For both shirts and bows the total cost was 14 dollars and really didn't take long at all. (I'm not sure how long because I did it in little bits of time throughout a few days.)

Just wanted to share in case anyone needed an easy and cheap project this winter!

I can't wait to see these shirts on the girlies. They are so sweet when I make them things and always get really excited and it definitely makes it all worth the effort!!

Also, I wrote for 6:33 Women today on PEACE. You can read the post by clicking here.

Today so far....

2012-02-02T11:25:00.000-08:00

They were just too irresistibly cute not to photograph this morning.

"Jesus Calling" this am was dead on to what I have been studying on the mind and the scripture underneath that you cannot see in the picture was even Romans 12:2

One of my out of town friends remembered how much I loved the cupcake shop I took her to when she visited and sent these to me today! What a sweet and wonderful surprise!!

After school and a visit to Walmart (below) and receiving our cupcakes, we went to the park. Yes, it was 38 degrees but it was sunny and didn't feel that bad. :) We had fun getting out and getting some sun!

I just thought it was sweet how the girls held hands and ran though Walmart. The really funny part of this story was that after this, the girls both had huge breakdowns in Walmart. (It has been a long time since this has happened) and I had to take them and have the "grateful talk" with them and this lady came up to me afterwards and said, "I heard your talk with your girls and I like your style." It was just the encouragement I needed after being so thoroughly embarrassed!

This has been such a crazy week as far as me being sick, and just things going on with us, but I feel like the Lord is testing me to see if I really believe what I am going to talk about with the college students on Sunday about our minds and how to take our thoughts captive. I am thankful that in and of myself I do not have even the strength to give my thoughts over to Him but His strength through me is more than enough. He is a good good God. And I just want to put this verse here, I know someone out there needs to hear it today, just like I do:

"We are assured and know that all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose." Romans 8:28

Adam's Trip,Our Fun while He was Gone, Sunday, and John Piper

2012-02-01T19:10:00.000-08:00

This past weekend Adam was in a wedding in Memphis. He absolutely hates dressing up and suits and this is the picture he sent me when I asked for a picture. ha!

We had a pretty good time while we was gone. We just tried our best to stay busy.

Adam left Thursday morning and came back Saturday morning so it would have just been silly for us to be in the car for 20 plus hours to be there for 1 full day.

On Sunday the girls looked so adorable and I tried to snap some pictures. Ab didn't want her picture taken of course, she's in a stage with that. I need to charge up my good camera again.

I have been so sick since Monday, worse today and yesterday. Hoping I get better so soon!

I know I am always so random but on a totally different note, I found this today at the "Desiring God" website and this particular article was written by John Piper. It really spoke to me and I just know it can speak to someone else out there:

Happy Hump Day!!

Ephesians 2/Thankful Tuesday

2012-01-31T17:13:00.001-08:00

1Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world.He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Raising Little Girls

2012-01-27T12:30:00.000-08:00

3 Things To Do When Raising Little Girls:

1) Prepare you mind before the day begins. (1 Peter 1:13)

The best way I know how to do this is by spending time with the Lord, letting Him show me where I need my heart cleaned, talking with Him, and spending intimate time in His word. Without this “renewing of my mind” Romans 12:2 my day just doesn’t go the same. I am not filled up with Him in order to give to my children. Also, it helps set my priorities for the day.

If you are not a morning person, no big deal, the best solution I have heard for this is to simply make a note or two of what the Lord teaches you at night and then make sure you wake up the next morning and give your day to Him and refresh your memory on what He taught you and wants you to do by looking at your notes from the afternoon or night before.

2) Exercise Self Control (1 Peter 1:13)

At my house, emotions run high. I have two girls 14 months apart, and both have very strong personalities. There is no passive child at our house. Therefore, it’s easy when the girls emotions take off with them, for mine to as well. For example, one girl steals another toy, one screams, the other screams, they hit each other, I walk over and they start hitting me. What I really want to do is to get mad because let’s be honest, no one likes to get hit, but the Word says I must exercise self control. I must as the original language suggests of this text, be calm, collected and temperate. It is not an option, it is a command. My girls are looking to see how I react and in essence I am teaching them how to respond by my example.

3) Practice Being Grateful (1 Thes 5:18)

Being ungrateful is a vicious cycle that begins when we are children. The only way we begin to express gratitude is when we are taught to be grateful and thankful. Whenever the girls start whining about wanting something they don’t have (in other words being covetous and ungrateful) I redirect their thoughts to how many things they have to be grateful for and then if it continues I tell them that if they cannot be grateful for what they have, they will simply not get to have or play with anything at all. Even if gratitude is not their heart felt emotion, sometimes we have to practice until we do “feel” what we are disciplining ourselves to do. In other words, if I continually remind our children to be thankful, most likely, they will take this action on themselves and even if they don’t, they will remember that they should, in their hearts.

The Lord has laid it on my heart to continue to write out areas of my life that I need to give to Him in order to show an example to my girls of how to love Him. All three of these areas I have struggled with or am struggling with currently, I, by no means do all of these things perfectly, but by searching His word for how I am to raise my children and live a life for Him, He does teach me. I am thankful that through my kids, I see myself before the Lord as His child whom He disciplines because He loves. There is nothing that has taught me more about myself than my marriage and children, and although some of the things revealed are hard to swallow, I love how much it challenges me to grow in the strength of the Lord. Without Him, I really can do nothing. (John 15)

This week so far we....

2012-01-26T12:16:00.000-08:00

1) Visited the fish at Walmart

2) Finished some puzzles

3) I Lost my credit card and found it

4) Saved $42.42 at Kroger without coupons just shopping their sale

5) Annabelle wore a little braid in her hair to hide her new self imposed haircut

6) I spent special time with Adelyn while Annabelle was at school

7) God spoke through His word

8) received their Hunter Boots from their sweet Aunt Janice!

Thankful Tuesday

2012-01-24T18:32:00.000-08:00

It's Thankful Tuesday and today I am super thankful to God that I get to be a stay at home mommy to these two. It is by far the hardest thing I have ever done but it is so so worth it for me and I don't type this without thinking how blessed I am because I know some moms would love to stay at home and simply can't afford it.

God has just blessed me with so much. I found a quote on pintrest the other day that said, "God thank you for this beautiful life. I'm sorry if I don't love it enough."

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thes 5:18

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

Psalm 107:1

Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ Ephesians 5:2

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:15-17

Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!

2 Corinthians 9:15

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Philippians 4:6

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:17

Baby Food, Boupbwacks and More...

2012-01-23T19:31:00.000-08:00

The girls looked so cute before church on Sunday. These were their "Christmas Dresses" and I decided it's a great idea to get holiday clothes that don't just have to go for that day. I got these dresses at the gap kids outlet with my friend Crystal when I went to Denver to visit her and her sweet baby Mack. I got them for such a steal. I wish we had a gap outlet here! Oh and I love how Adelyn is putting on her "boupbwoks" here. What a cutie!

Annabelle has been into eating baby food again. haha Ok not really or kinda. I saw the "on the go" fruit things on clearance and decided to try some for the girls and Annabelle just loves them and Adelyn doesn't like them at all! ha! Could've guessed.

Today, the girls and I decided to make princess cookies. (They have shoes on them if you can't tell.)

They were pretty yummy and it was fun!

I caught the girls playing ring around the rosy and it was so so sweet. I love how much they love each other!

And I read this this morning and I was so convicted about how the girls probably don't think I am a very thankful person. What a way to reveal to me the area that God needs to work on my heart in! (Oh and this is from "Choosing Gratitude" if you couldn't have guessed. :) )

Beauty & the Beast

2012-01-21T16:57:00.000-08:00

Today, I took Annabelle to the movies to see Beauty and the Beast with some of her friends.

I'm pretty sure she felt pretty special getting to go with the older girls! :)

Before we left we tried to get a picture and this is what we came up with. Ad is still not exactly herself yet.

And Annabelle helped me pick the giveaway winner and I am kind of showing off the basement color and the floors down there. I love love love it. I wasn't sure about it at first but I really am liking it all now.

NICOLE MULLINS!

You are the winner of "Choosing Gratitude." Just direct message me your address or e-mail it to me. :) Thank you all for entering. I just really wanted to bless someone with a free book that really helped me since "blog world" for the most part has been such a blessing to me.

'No one expects you to be superhuman'...

2012-01-20T13:35:00.000-08:00

I finished "Choosing Gratitude" today and this passage just particularly spoke to me so I wanted to post it. I'm so excited to give this book away. It is a must read!

A and A looked so cute snuggling this am on the couch. Ab was reading a book and Ad was of course eating. By looking at Adelyn, you would never know she eats literally the whole time she's awake! ha! She has the Fisher metabolism! Lucky girl!

And I had to snap some pics of this cutie with her sissy's clothes on and with her daddy. Annabelle was hiding from the camera so maybe I'll get her next time!

I'll draw a name randomly for the giveaway tomorrow morning before I take Annabelle to see "Beauty and the Beast!"

'But Not Without Sacrifice' and Curly Hair

2012-01-19T18:37:00.000-08:00

Today's chapter I read in the book "Choosing Gratitude"is called "But Not without Sacrifice." It is the chapter of this book I have been waiting to read. It is all about choosing gratitude toward God even in the hardest of times. I simply want to record in bullet point style some of the things that really spoke to my heart.

"To give thanks to Him for all things, is indeed, a very difficult duty; for it include giving thanks for trials of all kinds; for suffering and pain; for reproaches; for loneliness. Yet those who have learned submission will not find it a hard duty." -Priscilla Maurice

"God, I have never thanked you for my thorn! I have thanked you a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorn. Teach me the glory of the cross I bear; teach me the value of my thorns. Show me that I have climbed to you by the path of pain. Show me that my tears have made my rainbow." -George Matheson

"The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. Job 1:21

"Not unscarred, not unmoved, not functioning out of reality like robots, but still spotting reasons for hope and promise. They seem to know that the only thing more debilitating than what they're going through would be going through it ungratefully." (or unchanged!!) -Nancy Lee DeMoss

"No, the days don't always get easier. The night can still drag until utter exhaustion finally pulls a person under for a few hours' sleep. But those who say "No" to resentment and "Yes" to gratitude even in the face of excruciating pain, incomprehensible loss, and ongoing adversity, are the ones who really survive. They stand against the tide of memories, threats, loss, sadness, and answer back. With gratitude." -Nancy Lee DeMoss

"The question that came to her heart was: 'Can you thank Me for trusting you with this experience, even if I never tell you why?' " -Helen Roseveare

"My circumstances didn't change but He changed me in the midst of them." -Nancy Lee DeMoss

"I have learned along the way that, regardless of how I may feel, anything that makes me need God is (ultimately, in the truest sense) a blessing. Be it disappointment. Be it physical suffering. Be it mental or relational anguish." -Nancy Lee Demoss

"Gratitude may not change your situation, perhaps not even a little. But it will put you in the only possible position for experiencing everything God desires for you throughout this hard stretch of life." -Nancy Lee DeMoss

"I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be on my mouth!"Psalm 34:1

Today while Annabelle was in school, Adelyn decided she wanted to take a bath and so her hair was so curly. I was just dying at how cute it was so I finally got out my camera and took some pictures and then I snapped one of the snow today for the snow lovers.

Hoping my sweet babies feel better soon!

Oh and don't forget about the giveaway of the book "Choosing Gratitude" by Nancy Lee DeMoss. Comment here if you would like to enter!

8 Fun Things A & A did while we were in Memphis

2012-01-18T18:19:00.000-08:00

I have been just horrible about taking pictures this month. I have literally taken zero with my good camera. But, since I spent a week in Memphis with family I did want to do a post about what we did while we were there.

8 Fun Things Annabelle & Adelyn did while they were in Memphis:

1) Played and played with our cousins

2) Met our newest cousin Zoe Jennifer Fisher

3) Had a slumber party with our friends Payton and Kaylee

4) Played at the park

5)Watched a movie on the big screen at Gigi and GePaw's house

6) Played the piano

7) Took a bath in a BIG bathtub

8) Played outside at Marmie and PapaDaddy's house with our new Barbie car!

Thankful Tuesday and a GIVEAWAY!

2012-01-17T19:14:00.000-08:00

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts

and always be THANKFUL!

Colossians 3:2

Today is Thankful Tuesday. I have been anticipating celebrating this special day again on the blog because the Lord has been doing a mighty work in this ungrateful heart of mine on this topic.

On mention of "Choosing Gratitude" by Nancy Lee DeMoss by my dear friend Maly, I decided to read this book on being thankful to the Lord. I had no idea what kind of a ride I was in for.

The title "Choosing Gratitude" sums up the challenge of the book that in any and every situation there is something to be grateful to God for even if it is remembering back to the day that Christ saved your soul.

The Lord absolutely had His hand in the timing of me reading this book and it reminds me of how much He cares about the details of my life. In a time in my life where it would be easy to sink and sulk, I am constantly reminded through scripture and this book that I have so much to be grateful to God for that it is almost unbelieveable.

I thought when I first began reading "Choosing Gratitude" that Nancy Lee would say the dreaded "just choose the bright side" and "always be happy and thankful" and I thought to myself, this is not how someone is when they are going through a hard time and that is ok. If you know about some of the characters of the bible, including David in the Psalms, Jeremiah, and Job, all of them cried out to God for Him to take their lives because of the heartfelt pain inflicted on their souls. Even Jesus in the garden, shed drops of blood as sweat because of his pain. No one would say that Jesus should have been upbeat, smiling at the point when He knew what was about to happen.

But somewhere along the way of reading this book, the part of me that wanted to hold on to being unthankful as part of my right for what I've been through in my life disappeared. And God started changing my heart. It doesn't mean that I don't have bad days and things don't genuinely upset me, that I don't take a moment to cry out to God about what is causing me pain, and that my flesh doesn't rear it's ugly head every now. But, deep down in my soul, I feel so much gratitude to the Lord not only the good but also the bad in my life because I know that my God, who loves me so dearly, has a plan for my life that will bring Him so much glory and that is what I am made for!

I am not finished on my journey toward lifelong gratitude and I will never have "arrived" in this area I am very aware of this especially since unthankfulness is something my flesh just loves to meditate on BUT I am striving to give over this area of my life to God daily and I am truly thankful to the Lord for my friend Maly (I am hoping she will write for me one day!!) and for her mentioning this book to me.

All of that being said, I am going to give away a copy! So, if you would like a copy of "Choosing Gratitude" by Nancy Lee DeMoss; I am going to make this easy. Just enter your name and how I can contact you if you win as a comment and I will randomly pick a winner on Saturday!!

...more on "Choosing Gratitude" to come....

And you know I can't leave Thankful Tuesday without saying how Thankful I am for these two:

1 Chronicles 16:8

Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon His name, make known His deeds among the people!

Random iPhone Post

2012-01-16T13:05:00.001-08:00

Sweet Babies before church yesterday.

Been loving Jesus Calling lately! If you don't have it; you need this book!!

God gave me this scripture today for a particular thing I am going through. Love how His words speaks directly to my heart!

We went to the doctor today and my poor Annabelle is sick. She's on meds now

But both of my babies took a nap today! This hasn't happened in ages!!!

Love this too an just had to post!!

Flowers from a friend..

And she's decided she wants to be a doctor! So cute!

How random can one post be?!?

Passion 2012 Part II

2012-01-15T13:36:00.000-08:00

Beth Moore also spoke at Passion. If you know me, you know how much I enjoy her teaching. She has such a genuine spirit about her and is an excellent bible teacher. She spoke on Luke 8:

⁴⁰ On the other side of the lake the crowds welcomed Jesus, because they had been waiting for him. ⁴¹ Then a man named Jairus, a leader of the local synagogue, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come home with him. ⁴² His only daughter, who was about twelve years old, was dying.

As Jesus went with him, he was surrounded by the crowds. ⁴³ A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding,and she could find no cure. ⁴⁴ Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped.

⁴⁵ “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.

Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you.”

⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.” ⁴⁷ When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed. ⁴⁸ “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

⁴⁹ While he was still speaking to her, a messenger arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. He told him, “Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.”

⁵⁰ But when Jesus heard what had happened, he said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith, and she will be healed.”

⁵¹ When they arrived at the house, Jesus wouldn’t let anyone go in with him except Peter, John, James, and the little girl’s father and mother. ⁵² The house was filled with people weeping and wailing, but he said, “Stop the weeping! She isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.”

⁵³ But the crowd laughed at him because they all knew she had died. ⁵⁴ Then Jesus took her by the hand and said in a loud voice, “My child, get up!” ⁵⁵ And at that moment her lifereturned, and she immediately stood up! Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. ⁵⁶ Her parents were overwhelmed, but Jesus insisted that they not tell anyone what had happened.

These are two stories of Jesus healing people. One a girl who was 12 years old and another, a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years.

Beth Moore said, "No one would have considered this lady a priority but Jesus did. We cannot go unnoticed by God if we have this kind of faith."

The woman with the disease was considered "unclean" by that day's customs. If she was in public, anything she touched would be made unclean. Numbers 19:22 She was called defiled. The free dictionary defines the word defiles as: one who is unclean, dirtied, polluted, tainted, impure, besmirched, skank. Who would want to be known like that? And for a good part of her life? She stepped out in faith that day. She knew Jesus was in a hurry to heal the girl who was sick but she reached out just to grab a tassel on Jesus' robe. Beth Moore said, "The men in that day wore the tassels on their garments to remind them of the law." So the woman grabbed the very part of Jesus' clothing that was supposed to remind him of how unclean or defiled she was.

Beth Moore said, "Praise the Lord that we cannot be too unclean for God to come to our rescue and heal us!." Amen to that! I know I have had times in my life where my mind has had such a stronghold, I didn't know if I would ever see my way out of thinking a certain way but PTL He can heal and does.

Another awesome thing about this story is that Jesus was on the road to heal the sick girl, got interrupted by the woman with the blood disease, healed her, and then went on to raise the little girl from the dead. No one if we were there would have said that Jesus should have done things just like this. But God's plans are always right; He is always right on time and His plan can always be trusted!

Beth ended with "If we forget you have been cleansed, we go back to your uncleanness. We must allow God's forgiveness to continue so we can behave out of how we feel and not out of what we know and not how we feel." I heard this quote awhile ago and it changed my life. We must think on truth and truth is the word of God. When we think on truth, it does change how we feel, it heals!

And to the woman Jesus said, "And your faith has made you well, Go in Peace!" Luke 8:48

Passion 2012 Part I

2012-01-14T10:59:00.000-08:00

Passion was such a Jesus centered event this year. In looking for a way to describe it, this best describes and compliments Passion as a whole this year. I am so pumped that we had the opportunity to take some of the college students from our church to an event like this one.

When asked, “How was Passion this year?” The way I thought to explain it was that God can do so much work in a person’s life when one takes away all of the distractions from the world and in return pours the word of God and the worship of God in one’s mind. The neat thing about the words I felt like the Lord gave me to describe Passion is that although there truly is a time and a place for everything (Ecclesiates 3:1) and Passion is a monumental event in most people’s lives, the principle continues to stand true daily that when we take the worldly influences out of our life and in turn pour God and His word and worship of Him into our lives, God changes us and makes us more like Him. This process simply looks different on a day to day basis than it does at a big event.

My prayer for the students as they left was that they would see the need for the word of God and true relationship with Him in their life. Talking to friends about God, listening to sermons, and going to church are all wonderful things but nothing can have the same impact in your relationship with God as spending quality time with Him in His word every day. Without this time, there really is no relationship at all, or just not a thriving one.

The Lord used this very timely event in my life to teach me many things through the many speakers and more than anything it was an encouragement to my soul that God is right beside me in my journey of life. My plan is to write out as much as I can about what God taught me through Passion because it truly helps me to process.

The first night of passion Louie spoke on Luke 7:11-16:

“Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”
14 Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
16 They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” 17 This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.”

Louie said, “The enemy’s plan is to bury you like that boy.” His point was that whether we are an unbeliever who the enemy had captured our soul and was taking us down to hell with him or whether we are a christian who is living in defeat, Satan has a plan to bury our lives and not to let “He who began a good work in us carry it on to completion in Christ Jesus.” Phil 1:6

I could absolutely relate to times in my life where I had allowed Satan to take over my heart- some part of my mind, will, and/or emotions and he was dragging me down to my grave and I’m sure most people could.

But Louie didn’t stop there. He declared that “Jesus has the willingness and power to raise the dead,” wherever we are and whatever we are stuck in.

His two points were:
1)Jesus touched the very thing that is dragging us to the grave and says, “Stop,” “Get Up!”
2)”Wake up, O sleeper. Rise from the dead.” Ephesians 2:1

And the awesome thing about this passage is that it ends with “..and the news about Jesus spread throughout the country!” How awesome is that?! When our lives are changed and awakened, He will get the glory! Praise Him!!

It reminds me of my life verses: Psalm 40:1-3:

¹I waited patiently for the LORD;

he inclined to me and heard my cry.

²He drew me up from the pit of destruction,

out of the miry bog,

and set my feet upon a rock,

making my steps secure.

³He put a new song in my mouth,

a song of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear,

and put their trust in the LORD.

Praise Him, because He alone can do such a work in a person like me.

Life Application Bible

God is in control of today and every day.

2012-01-12T16:10:00.001-08:00

well, today was such a day for so many reasons. I finally made it home and no there will be no "formal blogging" if that's even a term and you even know what I mean. I am so behind on blogging because I have been gone from my house for 12 days and I forgot my computer charger (duh!!)

Anyway, one thing that was absolutely evident is that God is so in control of all of my life.

My verses I sent out this morning were:
Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time Hebrews 4:16

Gods ways are perfect and His promises prove true! He is a shield to those who look to Him for protection! Psalm 18

Amen to these! They truly spoke my heart's cry today!

I have really missed blogging a lot and one thing I cannot wait to blog about is this:

Yep, that's Passion 2012. Simply amazing really only because it was all about lifting high the name of Jesus!!

Ill be back tomorrow until then...goodnight from one tired mama.��

Happy New Year 2012

2012-01-01T05:19:00.000-08:00

As I think back on the past year there are many thoughts that come to mind. I will not say that it has been an easy year because that would be a lie but I would say that amidst the many trials we have been through this year and the many many more blessings, that it has been a good year. Maybe the word "good" just doesn't mean what I thought it meant.

I do not have any desire to dwell on the hard times because I know by experience how miserable that makes a person. I do desire however, to glorify God in giving thanks to Him for all He has done for me this year. Some overt blessings and some blessings hidden in disguise but all blessings none the less and all things that have as Joni Erikson Tata says, " pulled and pushed me into the arms of my Savior where true joy is really found."

I am grateful for 2011 for it has been a year in which I fell so deeply in love with the word of God that it hurt. And now nothing can take it's place in my life. It gives me that true peace and joy that no hobby or tv show could ever give.

I am grateful for my husband who has been such a faithful person to follow. His love for my Savior and the word inspires me all the more which I realize is a huge blessing in this day and age.

I am grateful for my baby dolls. The most fun part of my life where my joy is never absent in their presence. They are two little sunshines in my heart.

I am grateful for so many things but above all my Savior who graciously gives me "new mercies every single morning" and whose "continued mercies" never come to an end for me. (Lamentations 3) Without Him, I would be so so lost in this world.

Again, I am making no other goals for this year but to know Him more, to fall deeper in love with my Savior. I love goals and in no way think they are wrong or out of place, but for me, this is my mission. To Galatians 1:10, to live to please my Savior above all else.

Yesterday, on the final day of 2011, God gave me the most beautiful insight to a scripture I have heard a thousand and one times. John 15, "I am the vine, you are the branches: He that ABIDES in me, and I in him, he will bear much fruit: for apart from me, you can do nothing!." The Lord took me to the original definition of the word "abide" and there so plainly in the last line of the definition was the command He has been whispering in my ear for the past few months..... "to wait for." God is calling me to wait for Him, for Him to fulfill all the promises in the word He has given me and above all to "work everything out for my good" and His glory.

My prayer is that 2012 will be as "good" as 2011 was to us.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

from Annabelle & Adelyn

January 2011

February 2011

March 2011

April 2011

May 2011

June 2011

July 2011

August 2011

September 2011

October 2011

November 2011

December 2011

Mom's Birthday Celebration

2011-12-31T07:04:00.000-08:00

Mom is turning 53 tomorrow and before her and Chris left we had to have a party of course!!

We went to O'Charley's per mom's request. The girls were crazy but the food was so yummy and we had fun!

Afterward, we went to the mall to get me a new phone. Mine has been acting up in all kinds of ways and so they gave me a new one for free!!

Then, we swung by Der Dutchmen for some cinnamon rolls!! Yum!

The girls had a time fighting over who was going to get to blow out the candle! :) Annabelle won.

I took my mom to the airport this morning and it was sad but having such fun memories makes it not so bad. I will see my mom again on her spring break in March, until then we will miss you Lala!

Love you Momski! Happy Birthday!!

Adelyn's 2nd Birthday Dinner

2011-12-30T19:06:00.000-08:00

Adelyn had a birthday dinner for her second birthday.

We decided not to have a full out party this year for a lot of reasons but my mom always likes to be here for birthday celebrations and so we just planned a dinner for Ad when my mom was going to be in town.

I decided to do a snowflake themed party. I thought it was a fun after Christmas but still seasonal and so cheap! :)

I always enjoy putting up pictures from the year before. It's so fun to watch how much the girls grow and change. It always fills my heart with such happiness.

I also like to do party hats although the girls never ever like them! ha!

I loved how the light blue and red turned out. All of the snowflake paper is wrapping paper. It came with 4 rolls for 5 dollars! Like I said cheap, but I felt like it was still cute!

I took a piece of the wrapping paper to the cake shop for them to understand the theme and they made this cake! I loved it! The hole in the side of the cake is from Adelyn putting her finger in it!

I asked if they could make her a cupcake to match but when I got it out this is what it looked like...

so I improvised and scraped off the icing and started over. I know I'm not a pro but at least it didn't look smooshed!

I wanted an up close of how I did Adelyn's shirt. I monogrammed her name and a 2 on her snowflake shirt.

Adelyn was so happy for her party.

She had such.a.great.time.

and she loves her pepop

Oh we love that sweet baby!

Adelyn just LOVED trying to blow out her candles.

She was so so so cute.

Annabelle enjoyed the cake too!!

I love the cake on the face pics!

We decided to invite the Ridgeways because they had invited us to be a part of their family for Christmas. Adelyn was so glad that they came!

She opened so fun presents! :)

Even though it was a very small dinner, we enjoyed every second of us celebrating Adelyn's birthday.

My mom is convinced that the girls are going to think it's someone's birthday every day!

I didn't think that was such a bad idea!! :) Love those sweet eyes. I instagrammed that this girl never ever has a clean mouth! Probably because she eats literally all day long!!

What a fun time. I am so glad we decided at least to celebrate with a dinner. I just love birthdays and I hope the girls will too!

Evey present Adelyn got she said, "I love it." It was so so funny because that is what I do I think. :)

What a sweet baby!! Happy 2nd Birthday Adelyn!!!

Adelyn's Birthday Dinner Preview

2011-12-30T12:46:00.001-08:00

These are some of my favorites from last night's birthday dinner. Post to come. :)

Christmas Day in Pictures

2011-12-28T20:13:00.000-08:00

Also on Christmas, we read the Christmas story, laughed our heads off, and Annabelle did a ballet! What a great holiday and celebration of Jesus birth! Again, so thankful for the family that "took us in" this year to celebrate with them! God is good.

Annabelle's Christmas Day Ballet

2011-12-28T20:11:00.000-08:00

Twas the day before Christmas....

2011-12-27T18:39:00.000-08:00

Adam and the girls played all morning on Christmas Eve while I cooked. It was sweet to watch them play with their toys all together.

After lunch, we had a birthday party for Jesus. It was fun. I definitely want this to be a tradition for our family. I thought about not doing it this year because they had so many birthday parties for Jesus at school and church but I decided it would be a good to do at our house as well and so we did.

While Adelyn was napping Annabelle and I made the cookies for Santa. We love it when Adelyn helps but it only really works out with Adam at home. :)

We only had time to make four cookies and Annabelle picked out which cookie cutters we picked.

At about four o'clock we started getting ready to go to church. Adam was there setting up and so it was me and the girls.

They looked so precious in their Christmas dresses and polka dots.

Adam did SUCH A GREAT JOB on the Christmas Eve Music. I wish it was recorded. :)

It was my friend Emily's birthday and so we took a pic :) Isn't she cute..

and the kiddos ran and ran. I think they needed to get some energy out!

After church, we went to the Ridgeways for Christmas Eve dinner. We were the only people there that weren't their family. It was so so kind of them to have us over and the girls had a blast there. This was them after we all ate. Don't let the picture fool you, they only sat there for only a few minutes.

We had such a great time at the Ridgeways! We played games and had fun and when we got home, we decorated out cookies for Santa.

They both LOVED decorating cookies!

and then got dressed in their sweet Christmas jammies which came with jammies for their dolls but they have bunnies and bears instead and the jammies fit them perfectly! It was great!

And after the sweet girlies went to sleep, I played Santa. It was so much fun! We really only bought them a few things but they have more than enough "stuff" and were spoiled rotten by all the grandparents (which we are INCREDIBLY thankful for, since we are in the ministry and just don't make boo coos of moula)

Adelyn's stash

and Annabelle's stash.

What a great Christmas Eve. We had wonderful holidays here in Ohio. We felt extremely blessed to be taken in by another family for their Christmas celebrations. I really hope to do that for someone some day because it meant the world to me.

I'm so excited to post about Christmas tomorrow! What a great day we had!

Christmas Decorations

2011-12-27T13:33:00.000-08:00

I feel a little silly posting about my Christmas decor when some people don't even have enough to buy presents for themselves but I will consider myself a blessed person and relish in all of the blessings God has given me. Also, I wanted to link up before Christmas but I never got a chance so right before I took down my decorations yesterday I snapped some pictures. One more thing, I am documenting this because I know Annabelle will thoroughly enjoy it one day. Just wanted to get that out there. :)

Our matchy matchy tree. :)

The pretty part...

and the part that Annabelle decorated for me. :)

I put up a few frames, one from before we moved to Marysville with some dear friends and the other one from a few years ago of our family.

We always put up a few little hogs lights.

..and a tiny tree in the bathroom that is getting old and a little lopsided.

I loved decorating my little "show off" board with pictures of our family,our old Christmas cards, and our picture of Santa and the girls.

This year I decided to put up Adam and my old tree, the first tree we ever had. I wanted a tree to put all of the ornaments the girls have made. It was so so fun to have this tree up this year and we will most definitely be doing this again next year!

I am such a sentimental person. I got ornaments on all of the fun trips we took this year. :)

And I love some of the "old" ornaments we have as well.

And the ornaments Annabelle made at school.

The Advent calender was the new thing we got this year. I loved these when I was little, moving the little snowflake from space to space.

And my dining room, my favorite room in the house. :)

The new ornaments the girls got for Christmas

And Annabelle got this special ornament in her stocking because she is on a ballet streak!

Today is Thankful Tuesday and I cannot help but think about all of the things I am thankful to God for this year. I will write more about that later on my end of the year post! Next, I wanna write all about our Christmas Eve and Christmas.

But, before I go, these were my verses for this morning:

PSALM 103:1-5
1 Let all that I am praise the Lord;
      with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
² Let all that I am praise the Lord;
      may I never forget the good things he does for me.
³ He forgives all my sins
      and heals all my diseases.
⁴ He redeems me from death
      and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
⁵ He fills my life with good things.

AMEN!

We had a MERRY Christmas!!!

2011-12-26T19:36:00.001-08:00

More to come...

Christmas Tradition- The Christmas Story

2011-12-25T11:46:00.000-08:00

One of my most favorite traditions is Adam reading the girls the Christmas. Last year (I can't believe how small they look!) it was a little kid book about Christmas but this year he was going to read the story from the bible. It was hilarious because the girls were not that interested. ha! What a great tradition and cute picture though! :)

Happy Birthday Jesus

2011-12-24T20:32:00.000-08:00

We had our birthday party for Jesus in our jammies today right after lunch. Today was such a crazy day but I really wanted to make sure we carry on this tradition to emphasize the importance of the real reason for Christmas.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Luke 2:1-2

The Birth of Jesus

¹ At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. ² (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. ⁴ And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. ⁵ He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant. ⁶ And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. ⁷ She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

The Shepherds and Angels

⁸ That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. ⁹ Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, ¹⁰ but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. ¹¹ The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! ¹² And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” ¹³ Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
¹⁴ “Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
¹⁵ When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
¹⁶ They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. ¹⁷ After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. ¹⁸ All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, ¹⁹ but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. ²⁰ The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

The Promise of Christmas

2011-12-23T15:15:00.001-08:00

***My sweet friend Maggie sent this to me because she knows I'm "waiting" and I love it and wanted to post it for others who are waiting for God to fulfill a promise in their lives!!***

The Promise of Christmas

"The incarnation is the supreme example of fulfilled prophecy, the supreme example of God’s faithfulness to his promises….

What God did when he sent his Son into the world is an absolute guarantee that he will do everything he has ever promised to do.

Look at it in a personal sense: ‘All things work together for good to them that love God’—that is a promise—‘to them who are the called according to his purpose’ (Rom. 8:28, KJV).

'But how can I know that is true for me?' asks someone.

The answer is the incarnation.

God has given the final proof that all his promises are sure, that he is faithful to everything he has ever said. So that promise is sure for you.

Whatever your state or condition may be, whatever may happen to you, he has said, ‘I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee’ (Heb. 13:5, KJV)—and he will not. He has said so, and we have absolute proof that he fulfills his promises.

He does not always do it immediately in the way that we think. No, no! But he does it!

And he will never fail to do it.”

D. Martyn Lloyd Jones

Don't you love it! God is ALWAYS faithful to His promises!!!

Wishing You A Very Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-22T18:18:00.000-08:00

How we celebrated Adelyn's Birthday!

2011-12-21T12:20:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Adelyn's birthday. I got to pull out the banner I used for her last year's birthday party to put up in our house! There definitely are some perks for your birthday being right by Christmas, the same theme each year and decorations galore!

I made her this hat and she hated it :) haha and I think she liked her sign and her streamers. Annabelle really enjoyed all of that (which I knew she would) Annabelle woke up and asked if all of it was for her and I said, "No, it's for your baby." and she was excited. She asked, "Does that sign say baby Jane Fisher?" :) :)

Adelyn got the pizza for breakfast that she had been craving! Adam had kept them the night before so I could go to a Christmas party and he let them sleep in their clothes from the day before in case anyone was wondering...haha!

Next, Adelyn got dressed and then opened some of her presents. :)

And we played for a bit.

Someone had to wear the hat...right?!

Next, we headed off to Build A Bear to pick out a bear to make for her birthday.

She picked a bunny and when she really likes something she throws it on the ground and sits on it and so that is what she did..haha...don't ask.

She then got to pick out the heart...

and a sweet little lady helped her stuff her bunny...

of course she couldn't keep from hugging the bunny..

and kissing the bunny. It was so sweet. Adelyn is a little hugger and kisser for sure! And her bunny was ready to go!!

She got to wash her bunny. We asked her what she wanted to name her new furry friend and she appropriately said, "Bunny." haha.

We had such a great time and I was so glad that Adam had the day off so he could go with us and that Annabelle had school so we could have some alone time with Adelyn. It was so precious.

After, we got "bunny" we went to the play place and Adelyn kept asking for her "sissy." It is so sweet to know that the girls like to play together and love each other. I really feel like they don't know what to do without each other sometimes.

After we picked Annabelle up from school, we opened more presents. We just gave Adelyn two little things and her bunny.

This was one of the presents we gave her because she looooooves veggie tales!

After naps, we went to the zoo to see the zoo lights. We knew the girls would LOVE it and they did!

It wasnt really that cold but I was so glad we wore all the stuff we did because it kept us warm. I wasn't cold even a bit and when it started raining, we had so many clothes on that none of us got wet!

We saw some really neat lights!

And we definitely want to go back again soon!!

One funny thing that happened was that we went to see the polar bears. The girls love the polar bears at the zoo and we didn't see them and then we spotted them sleeping and I told the girls we would see them next time when they woke up and so from then on Adelyn was yelling "Wolar Wears...r u?" :)

Adleyn talked my ear off last night. It was the cutest thing.

She kept saying, "Rain, rain, go away." and I'd say, "Come again another day." and she would try to say it with me.

When we got home, we had a snack and Adelyn opened her other present from us, a little bath set with some lipgloss (or "liplocks" as Annabelle says or "boupbwacks" as Adelyn now says.) she kept putting it on her chin. It was hilarious!

And sweet Annabelle let her put some on her too!

What a great birthday! We had so much fun celebrating!!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Sweet Adelyn Jane!

2011-12-20T19:15:00.000-08:00

Dear Adelyn,

Today was so much fun getting to see you so excited and feel so special. It really couldn't have been more perfect. You loved your pizza for breakfast and your face was so sweet when you picked out your bunny, you were just so excited. You so loved getting to see the Christmas lights tonight at the zoo. I could tell you felt really really special today and I am so thankful because that is exactly what I wanted for you!
I loved how you talked to me the entire time through the zoo lights. It is just so amazing how much you are growing and learning and how much you are communicating with us now. I love watching you grow up. You are just so precious and so much fun to be around. I know you are going to be the life of the party wherever you go!
You know how people say that time as flown by, well, I don't really feel that way with you so far. It has been a hard couple of years for mommy and daddy and I hope that one day I can share with you all that God has taught me through this time. In the midst of these hard times, I feel like we have had some really special times and I am so gad that you will be able to read about them here. I want more than anything for you to know and love my Savior and I pray that happens for you at a young age. He really is everything you will ever need and more and without Him I have no idea what in the world I would be doing.
I know I always say this, but I am so glad that God healed your sweet little body from the esophageal reflux that hurt you so bad, your ear troubles and from most of your allergies. I pray you will have no trouble with those things in the future.
Adelyn, I love you more than words can say. Every single morning when you wake up I am so excited to see your face. I feel so blessed daily that I get to stay at home with you and play and be a stay at home mom. It is such a special time for me. I hope you always feel loved and special and I pray that I teach you how to look to the one who can really fulfill all your needs.
I love you sweet baby!

~Your Mommy

Today, on Thankful Tuesday I can not describe how thankful I am for the blessing of my sweet Adelyn! God is so good to me and I don't even deserve a bit of it!

Lots of Randoms

2011-12-19T12:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Annabelle's class at church sang for the church during the offering. Annabelle was hilarious and much like she was on Tuesday night at her school performance. She just stood there, actually tried to get down and covered her ears. I am going to post videos for the grandparents soon.

These were the girls before church. I just love little Christmas clothes. So precious.

Yesterday afternoon I finally thought of a plan to teach Annabelle how to give back at Christmas time. Since all the strange stuff has gone down since halloween, I have taken a break from ministry things. It was just very evident to me from my time in the word that this was what I was supposed to do.

The Lord had already had me on a break from singing on Sunday mornings and then I stopped working with the kids in Annabelle's class and so "taking a break" just included not meeting with 2 people I met with weekly and doing youth things. Not everyone understands why I am doing this and I know not everyone is happy. As a pastor's wife there are a lot of unsaid things that are required of you but I have to say that the lesson that God has been trying to pound in my head is Galations 1:10, "Am I trying to win the approval of men or of God? If I am still trying to win the approval of man I would not be a servant of Christ!"

I would never ever ever make stipulations on someone else's life. Everyone has their own thing going on and their own relationship with Christ. I guess for me, I am just learning and thinking that I want to make absolutely sure that my priorities are in line, serving my husband and taking care of my kids and everything else is a bonus. My kids are little, I would hate to look back and have any regrets and so I am very happy with my decisions to "take a break" right now.

All of that being said, I was thinking of ways to include my children in ministry and teach them about ministry and someone suggested to make all the people on my street treats. So we decided to do this not just to our close neighbors but lots of neighbors and then deliver them as a family with a Christmas card with the gospel on it, hopefully opening the door to get to know some of our farther away neighbors. I loved that Annabelle could help with the whole process of making these. It was funny too because I kept trying to get her to understand what we were doing with them. I would say, "Who are we taking these too?" and she would say "Santa," and I'd say "No,who?" and she'd say, "Jesus," and I'd say "No, our neighbors." It was funny and she finally got it. Annabelle had the job of saying Merry Christmas when the people opened the door which was fun for her. I hope we can carry on this tradition every year. It's so neat that I don't have to neglect my little kids to do ministry but can actually include them and teach them. What a blessing!! God is slowly teaching me, if I'll just listen to Him!

The Lord has been so so faithful to me through his word and I am so grateful. We had a lot going on this week and God provided everything we needed in this time. Praise Him!

This was the girls this morning, I was asking them how old Adelyn is going to be tomorrow. :)

We ran around all morning and they just had so much fun. It's so nice that I can do that with them now and not be super overwhelmed with two little babies!

This afternoon before Adelyn went down we had a tea party! So fun! Our family is coming to visit tomorrow for Adelyn's birthday!! I'm so excited to have house guests and get to celebrate a birthday!! Yah!!

So much more to say but that's all for now!!

Santa

2011-12-18T17:39:00.000-08:00

2011

2010

2009

We didn't take a picture with Santa in 2008. Annabelle was a few months old, we were in the middle of moving to Marysville and living with Adam's parents. I regret it now but what can you do?

I was so glad the Santa experience went so well this year! Annabelle asked for barbies :) which she is getting!! :)

Only a few days left until Christmas and a couple days until my baby's birthday!!! So excited for both of these big events!!

Judging- Revised

2011-12-16T11:36:00.001-08:00

I've been thinking about this post for a while now. The topic has really been on my heart. I guess because it's in the forefront of my mind right now with everything going on.

The bible in Matthew 7:1-2 says, "DO NOT judge and criticize and condemn others, so that you may not be judged and criticized and condemned yourselves. For just as you judge and criticize and condemn others, you will be judged and criticized and condemned, and in accordance with the measure you [use to] deal out to others, it will be dealt out again to you." (Amplified)

If you know me, you know how much I enjoy studying the original language of the bible. Well, the word "judge" is the word "krino" in the Greek and part of its definition is:to separate, put asunder, to pick out, select, choose
to approve, esteem, to prefer
to be of opinion, deem, think, to be of opinion
to determine, resolve, decree
to judge
to pronounce an opinion concerning right and wrong
to be judged, i.e. summoned to trial that one's case may be examined and judgment passed upon it
to pronounce judgment, to subject to censure
of those who act the part of judges or arbiters in matters of common life, or pass judgment on the deeds and words of others

There are many parts of that Greek definition that I can learn from and need to apply to my life regularly but the part that sticks out to me right now is: to pronounce an opinion concerning right or wrong.

Now, that is convicting!! But here is where it becomes applicable. If we are going to live according to what the bible tells us to do, then we are never ever to place judgement meaning to pronounce our opinion concerning right or wrong about how another is dealing with any situation. Our "opinions" need to be what is solid fact from God's word and we should never place what is not in the word of God as a stipulation on someone else's life. In fact, we should probably only look into our own life for faults in how we live. I know I could spend all my time there!

Isn't it wonderful what we can learn from God's word when we actually take time to study it.

Pronouncing our opinions about other people's lives is part of our culture and most definitely accepted even in the church, but if we are going to follow Christ and truly do what He calls us to do, we will not take part in this whether it be in our head or in our hearts.

What a challenge to myself today. I love God's word.

Sweet Baby Girls

2011-12-15T18:37:00.000-08:00

My sweet girl wanted a braid today in her hair before school. She has yet to request a hair "do" so I thought it was so sweet.

After school, we headed to the mall to hang out and play.

And tonight we tried to make muffins for our neighbors and it was hilarious. Adam was supposed to be home but he went out for visitation and so me and the girls made the muffins. Annabelle was saying that we were making them for Alice, the bear she got for her birthday.

So, the point of them knowing we were doing them for others has not come across yet...haha but maybe it will when we deliver them. I hope so at least. :)

I gave them each their own bowl to have fun with and they loved it..

and then they wanted to eat their fruit snacks on the ground and so I said that was ok.

After muffins, we painted in the bath tub, an idea I saw on Pintrest. The girls loved it and painted themselves and each other. It was so cute!! We will def be doing that again soon!!

And here is Adelyn enjoying one of the muffins we made. :) They really didn't turn out great which usually happens when I have little hands helping so I think I'm going to have to start over again tomorrow but Oh well it was fun in the process. :)

My Praises are for You alone!

2011-12-15T14:55:00.000-08:00

Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength & turn their hearts from the Lord....but blessed are those who trust in the Lord & make Him their hope and confidence.

They are like trees planted along the riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried about long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.

The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and so desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But, I Lord, search all hearts and examine all secret motives. I give all people their due rewards according to what their actions deserve.

O Lord, if you heal me, I will truly be healed; if you save me, I will truly be saved, My praises are for you alone!

Jeremiah 17: 5,7-10, 14

Our Ginger Bread House

2011-12-14T11:28:00.000-08:00

It's not a contest winner, but it was so so fun!!!! :)

An Adelyn and Mommy Date

2011-12-14T11:13:00.000-08:00

I decided when we decided to put Annabelle in school that I wanted to make this time that Annabelle's in school special time with Adelyn. I know it's not realistic for me to do something special with her every time Annabelle is at school but I at least want to make a point to do it every once in a while.

Yesterday was one of those days for us. We started out by going to starbucks. Adelyn got banana/ chocolate chip bread. Next, we went to the library and Adelyn had the time of her life. I think sometimes she just likes playing with toys without her sister so she doesn't have to share. :)

After the library, we had to run by the store real quick and Adelyn got a balloon which she was pumped about. Then, we went to see daddy and picked Annabelle up from school.

It's so fun for the girls to have each other to play with but I know it's also important that I get to spend time with them by themselves. I'm so glad I got to hang out with my baby girl. I hope to have many more fun dates next semester!

Thankful Tuesday/ Annabelle's Christmas Musical

2011-12-13T19:19:00.000-08:00

It's Thankful Tuesday, I know every week I say I'm thankful for my children but I really am so thankful for them. I made their shirts and to see the girls wear them just makes me so happy. I know that sound so cheesy but I cannot even explain why. It's just one of those simple joys in life for me. :)

Also, Annabelle brought this ornament home from school today and I know she got to pick the color she put in it and that she made it purple just for me. It was one of the sweetest moments for me!

And, I got to spend the whole morning with this little cutie. I'm going to try to post on this tomorrow. She just makes me so happy, seriously! Look at that face!

Tonight, Annabelle had her little Christmas musical at school. I almost didn't include this picture but her teacher Mrs. Lisa is just so good with her. I love how I can tell how much she cares about Annabelle; it blesses my heart :) I hope Annabelle always has teachers that care about her like Mrs. Lisa does.

I took this picture of Ryley. We were so excited that Ryley, Luke, and Miles were in the Christmas program with Annabelle too!

I think Annabelle's nervous habit is chewing on her hair. It.drives.me.crazy. :)

Seeing her up there in her little musical is just another one of those things that is really special for me. I don't know if all parents are this way but it just makes me so happy and thankful that I am a parent when I get to go and watch my little girl sing. :)

The funny part of the whole thing was that Annabelle didn't really even sing. haha. She just sat there most of the time completely out of it. hahaha. We filmed it; it was hilarious.

She even turned around and just starred at the girl singing loudly behind her for a while. haha.

I was glad Adelyn came with us in the end. I wasn't so sure at first..haha. I told her that her job was to clap for Annabelle and she did such a great job. After every song she said, "yah!!" and clapped for "Amamelle." It was so adorable to see her support her sissy. :)

I am so incredibly blessed with these two little girls. I know being a mom is such a hard job but I never ever want to forget what wonderful blessings these girls are and who has given me these blessings.

What's a Mom to Do?

2011-12-11T19:04:00.000-08:00

I have been asking the Lord to teach me more about how to abide in Him. I know my Lord has a sense of humor because this morning was crazy. I ended up praying out loud several times (which I do when the girls are being particularly bad and I feel like I am going to lose my patience.) It's funny because praying out loud always makes the girls look at me dumbfounded and then somehow they start acting better as if they are scared out my "out loud" prayers. haha. Anyway, I am just waiting for the day when Annabelle starts copying those prayers. It will be hilarious!

Anyway, I managed to snap some pictures because they were way too cute this morning for me not to. And all day I thought long and hard about how God is actually answering my prayers about learning to abide in Him by giving me no other option. My flesh hates having no control and crying out to God and depending on Him but my spirit just loves every second of it.

I would never ever claim to be perfect or to "have it all together." In fact, right now, I think those are the very last things I would say about myself. But you know, that is not what I want my girls to think about me anyway. I want them to see me as a mom who desperately loves her Savior and that depends on Him for her every move.

I have been crying out for wisdom to God on how to parent my girls. He is teaching me little by little every day. I am so thankful for my God. He has blessed me with two precious little babies that He has entrusted me to teach how to love Him through how I live. I cannot think of any better or more important job. May I honor Him with how I parent and show the girls that when I mess up, it just shows me and them how much more I need to depend on Christ for everything I do.

That's all. Goodnight.

Clinging to this....

2011-12-10T17:49:00.001-08:00

The Smadelyn

2011-12-09T19:53:00.001-08:00

Yep, that's Adelyn for ya....eating spoonfuls of Parmesan cheese! Ha!!

Can't believe my baby girl will be 2 so soon!!!

"You Can't Catch Me....I'm the Gingerbread Man!"

2011-12-08T12:43:00.000-08:00

Today before school Annabelle looked so adorable so I had to snap a few pictures! I'm getting really excited about Annabelle's Christmas program on Tuesday night!

After lunch, the girls and made some gingerbread men from a kit my mom sent us. It was so fun for us to do a craft that didn't overwhelm me and since Annabelle has been so obsessed with ornaments this year I thought it would be great to tell her she could hang it on the tree.

Also, we made gingerbread cookies the other day so I knew they would both know what they were and Annabelle loves to say, "Run, run, as fast as you can. You can't catch me! I'm the gingerbread man!!"

They both did great. It's so fun that they can do these things together because they are so close in age....it is finally paying off. :)

They were so proud of their finished products.

And were so excited to hang them....now let's see how long they stay up there....haha!

What a wonderful season to have little kids. Everything is so fun with kids at Christmastime.

On another note, I am wanting to try to teach the girls to give during this season. But it's been hard to think of ways for that with them being so small. I know Adelyn probably won't get it this year but any ideas for a three year old on teaching her that it's more blessed to give than receive?

Christmas Play Group and Cookie Exchange

2011-12-07T17:50:00.000-08:00

Last night we made cookies for our cookie exchange this morning. We decided on Gingerbread Men.

Adelyn cried and cried because she thought we weren't going to include her but we most definitely did!

We just used whatever was in our kitchen to decorate which happened to be chocolate chips and green sprinkles. To me they kinda looked like green monster gingerbread men.

At the cookie exchange/play date we also made these adorable ornaments out of the kids hand print. Adelyn didn't want to get paint on her hand so just Annabelle made one. Aren't they just so cute!

Afterward, we went to McDonalds to get some energy out. Ad just looked so cute and of course she has food all over her face

These two just always have a blast together!

What a good and fun day we had. Not to be a downer but the picture above is of 2 Timothy 3:16 says, ''All those who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." The right side of the picture gives the greek definition of "persecution." Just such a great reminder to me that this is what we are called to and that God wants to be with us and teach us so much through it!! I love God's word; the true source of comfort!

Update on Our Life Lately & Thankful Tuesday

2011-12-06T13:03:00.000-08:00

Today is Thankful Tuesday. I am very very thankful for my family today, Adam and the girls. They are what keep me going and being able to stay at home with my girls just fills me with such joy.

Yes, we are still devastated by the things going on around us but we have found some joy in the midst of it and I am thankful to the Lord for His goodness to us! This past weekend, we put up our Christmas Tree. It was so great because we got the girls to help us. Although it took forever and we did it in spirts..

It was well worth it for them to have so much fun!!

Annabelle LOVED putting on the ornaments on both trees. (Ignore my post work out look.) We did two trees this year, the first one was Adam and my first tree, I put it up because I wanted a tree to put up all the "keepsake" ornaments we have selected BUT I wanted to have another one that I do my matchy matchy ornaments on.

I have yet to get a picture of both completed trees so I will surely do that sometime soon!

Adam put Dora on top of the tree as a joke. The girls loved it....me not so much. :)

What fun we had!

I alsopicked up an advent calender with chocolates and scripture! It's been a big hit at our house!

Also this weekend, Adam's very most favorite place was open for 3 days only and so we took a trip to get some Italian Shaved Ice! I got pumpkin and shared with Adelyn and Adam got a gellati with pumpkin and Annabelle got mango! The girls loved it and remembered Rocky's. It was cute!!

On Saturday night we went to eat Mexican food and the "Balloon Man" was walking around and both girls got balloons. You'd thought we won the lottery; they were so excited!

On Sunday, Annabelle and I went to KY for Brit's Shower and we stopped at Starbucks and I told her she could get whatever she wanted and she said, "I want milk and a cake pop." :)

Adam and Adelyn went to the Ridgeway's to watch football and eat lunch and Adam sent me this picture of Adelyn. So sweet!!

Yesterday, the girls were running around in their diaper and underwear and then sat on the couch to watch a show and Adelyn shared her blanket. She is soooo attached to that blanket! It was a sweet sister moment!

This morning Adelyn and I got to snuggle on the couch while Ab was at school; it was special for me. I love our alone time while Ab is at school.

The Lord has been so good to me with His word. He has provided me with every single thing I have needed during this difficult time. I am so thankful to Him for being more than enough and providing me with so many blessings!!

Baby Pickett's Baby Shower

2011-12-05T07:36:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I got the chance to drive to Kentucky for Brit's baby shower.

I took Annabelle with me and she did pretty good. This is Brittney's second baby and so the theme was "2" and Little Man.

The girls that are her friends in KY did such a great job throwing the shower. They graciously allowed me to "help" as in bring a few things like pop. I knew I couldn't do much because I had Annabelle with me and it's a two and a half hour drive.

Annabelle played in the game room, sat in my lap, eat cake, and played games on my phone. :) Praise the Lord for iphones!!

The cake was so beautiful or handsome! :)

After the shower, we went to hang out with Brittney for a while and Presley and Annabelle got along for a long time! It was great! So glad it worked out for me to go! What a great memory with a wonderful friend! I cannot wait to meet baby Pickett!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

2011-12-03T18:54:00.000-08:00

I love it when I can pull out the girl's Christmas clothes for them to wear! It's juts too fun for me!

And this morning, being in the holiday spirit, we made chocolate bananas for brunch! :) I hope I always remember these fun times with the girls!

Thanksgiving 2011 Part Two

2011-12-02T14:53:00.000-08:00

The night of Thanksgiving we went over to the Fishers house. The girls are always totally spent at the end of Thanksgiving day so we didn't stay too long because we knew we were going to Little Rock the day after Thanksgiving to see all of Adam's side of the family and Marmie's side of the family.

We got to Little Rock to watch the big LSU/AR game with the family. Adam had such a great time watching a HOGS game with all of his family! My mom ended up traveling with my aunt and my grandma from Fayetteville so they could see us in Little Rock.

It was so sweet of them to drive 3 hours to see us! And I so much enjoyed getting to see my mom even if it was only for a few hours!

We hung out in the fellowship hall for a long while and watched the HOGS get beat :( and then headed to Christi and Lawson's where we were staying to change and go grab a bite to eat and go to the dance.

The dance was a lot of fun. The girls had a blast!! I am always so glad when they have a good time!

After that we were all pooped and went back to Lawson and Christi's a crashed!

The next morning the girls and our kids went on the annual Granny Walk. This year it was not very long which was a great thing since my girls don't like to stroll while the guys played in the annual Granny Cup Golf Tournament.

We stayed in Little Rock for 3 days. It is all kind of blur right now but it was super fun! The sister in laws even got to Starbucks and hang out for a while one night!!

What a great time with friends and family! The last time we had the chance to go to Little Rock after Thanksgiving was three years ago and we have no idea when we are going to get to go again just because it is such a long drive and we have to take a Sunday off etc so we cherish that time with family!

Thanksgiving 2011 Part One

2011-11-30T07:12:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving this year was divided into many different parts. We saw as many family members as we could possibly see in a 6 day period and although it was fun and more than chaotic, when I sit back and think about it, I realize how incredibly blessed we are to have so much family who loves us dearly.

We are not those people who don't get along with family or don't enjoy being around family. We LOVE every second we get to spend with our family. It is such special time to us.

The first place we went on Thanksgiving day was to my grandparents house. My grandparents are such precious people. They love the Lord so much.

This year, not everybody was able to be at Thanksgiving lunch but many were and it was fun. (The table below was filled!:) )

The girls had such a great time with their second cousins running around and playing outside. We haven't been able to play outside in Ohio at all lately and so they just had a last running around outside and enjoying the sun and all the leaves.

We stayed over there for a huge part of the day and then decided to go ahead and get the girls in the car because we knew they would go to sleep and drive over to the Fishers.

I totally forgot about Thankful Tuesday yesterday. All day I thought it was Monday. Of course, I am thankful for this time with family.

Also, I cannot help but be thankful for how the Lord is going to heal in the coming days. I know He will because it is consistent with what He does for people all throughout the bible who give their hearts fully over to Him.

As I was studying the word "heal" this morning this particular verse stuck out to me: "Nevertheless, the time will come when I will heal Jerusalem's wounds and give it prosperity and true peace." Jeremiah 33: 6. This verse was a glimpse into the future of what God was promising to do for Jerusalem when they decide to turn their hearts to Him and although it is not specifically written to me, I feel like it definitely applies.

My God is so faithful to me. He knows my heart wants to follow Him with all I am.

Websters definition for "heal" is to make sound or whole, to heal a wound, to restore to health, to cause an undesirable condition to be overcome, to mend the troubles of, to patch up a breach between friends, to restore to original purity or integrity as in being healed of sin and being returned to a sound state.

This morning, as I am thankful for so many things including the healing God has performed on my heart in the past, my heart goes out to those that need to be healed. Healed from their sin and/or from the hurt that someone else's sin has caused them. I know that my God is faithful and that healing will happen for those who love Him in His time......

Random Thoughts on Blogging, Being Authentic & New Clothes

2011-11-29T11:47:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a while. Honestly, I wrote out this extremely long post on our way home for Thanksgiving and BlogPress deleted it, so I just took it that I was not supposed to write that particular post and moved on with life and enjoyed time with family and the crazy chaos.

Honestly, I've been debating as I often do whether to even keep my blog open to the public. The longer I have the blog the more I realize that the reason I want it is for memories sake. It is not as if I can write every feeling I have on here, it's just too public and if it were private I still wouldn't write all of my thoughts out on a blog. I guess I have just heard so many people say lately how social media things make them feel jealous or left out. I don't have that particular struggle (not that I couldn't or am above it in any way or will never have that struggle) but I feel for those who do.

When I ran into family members this weekend that said, "Oh your girls looks so cute on facebook, they are always dressed so cute." I immediately told them that the reason they think that is because I get to decided when I want to take pictures and 99% of the time it is when everyone is dressed and something fun is going on. I assure you, this is not our life for most of the time. Those are just the memories I want to capture and stay with me. I think everyone is much the same way, even if you don't particularly want to document or you don't enjoy taking pictures like I do.

I guess my point is that as Christians one of our goals aside from trying to become like Christ (which is our primary goal) is to be authentic and transparent. Should we be transparent, as in spilling our guts to everyone? No way, that would mean that everyone would know way too much about every detail in our lives and that could even be a stumbling block to some. You know what I mean right? I guess more than transparent, I desire to be authentic. This was a term my sister in law said so many times in our conversations this past week and it is sticking with me. I want to be authentic. I looked up authentic in webster and the definition said: true to one's own personality, spirit, or character.

This morning was pretty much a disaster. It was one of those mornings in which I disciplined for the same thing about 20 times. We were in a rush to get Ab to school. Everyone was tired and has somewhat of a cold and I cannot figure out in my mind if I am being too hard on Ab because I know she is tired or if I should just keep on keeping on expecting things from her. I got angry and yelled (which disgusts me about myself), Annabelle cried and cried and when she left I just felt guilty and yucky. I knew I had messed up and I hated myself for it. When all of the sudden, I get the stark realization that this is all the more why I need my Savior. These days, sin just whirls me right back around, from guilt to realizing that I cannot live a single second of the day without leaning on my Savior's strength. He doesn't want excuses. He wants me to rely on Him, to stop focusing on what I didn't do and just strive to love Him and depend on Him all the more.

This blog was never ever meant for me to portray a "perfect life." I doubt anyone has thought that, but just in case, I wanted to get that out there. I am a human and I struggle with so so so many things. I love to post on here what God is teaching me, in hopes that someone can relate and it can be an encouragement to someone. That's all. I know blogging and all social media can seem so narcissistic at times, but it doesn't have to be. My goal in it all is not to "over spiritualize" life but if we are all honest with ourselves and God, we would have to say that everything in life is spiritual and everything in some way involves Him, I mean does it not say that "He goes before all things and through Him all things coexist." Col 1 something. The goal of this blog is to document the things God has given me to enjoy in this life and always always point to Him.

The part I want to remember about this morning:

Annabelle looked like a doll. Anita, my sweet step-mom, took me and Annabelle shopping and got us some new clothes and Annabelle had on all of her new clothes today. So, instead of remembering the bad of this morning, here is my precious little girl looking cute almost ready for school.

If you made it through all of these random thoughts I hope you have a great day!!

Little Turkeys & Psalm 62:5-8

2011-11-20T15:30:00.000-08:00

Visit from Bear, Jobeth, Evangeline & Eli!

2011-11-19T19:48:00.000-08:00

This week our sweet family, Adam's brother Barrett and his wife JoBeth and their kids Eli and Evangeline came to visit us. The girls had such a blast! They loved playing dress up and being girly, of course! They are only three weeks apart and so they just have so much fun! We let them sleep together in Annabelle's room and they stayed up until midnight talking....this is the first of many times I'm sure!

This little guy was so stinking sweet. I didn't get that many pictures because we were busy with 4 under 3 years of age.

But, God has blessed me so much allowing me to be surrounded by so many people that love and care about me lately. What a blessing true friends and family are!

Being around Bear and Jobeth is always so fun! We love to just hang out, have fun, and talk! JoBeth and I connect on so many levels and her love for the Lord is so inspiring. Being around them really makes me see how selfish I am living in America. When they talk about living in a third world country it's mind blowing and even more mind blowing thinking about some of the problems we think we have here in America. We cannot wait to see them more while they are in the States!!

My Visit with the Abernathy Family!

2011-11-18T17:51:00.000-08:00

I had the amazing privelage to visit my sweet friend Crystal and her family in Denver Colorado.

It was such a wonderful and much needed time for me. I was supposed to take Adelyn with me but at the last minute decided not to and it worked out well. Don't get me wrong, I missed my babies to pieces but a break is good every now and again for everyone. :)

This little boy, Mack was such a sweetie!! And Crystal is such a great mommy.

We have so many memories and she just has a special place in my heart.

We can be silly and serious all in the same minute. So fun!

She married a good one too! They are just such a precious family and

I'm so blessed to have them in my life! What a wonderful memory! I am thankful!!

"Loving the Little Years" & Sharing a Room

2011-11-17T11:15:00.000-08:00

"Little girls can be scared to death when their emotions run off with them," us big girls understand. "They need the security of parents pulling them back." "Something I love about fruit bearing trees and branches- that God told them to make something, and they do it enthusiastically. They don't care about what happens to the fruit. They do not measure their efforts or fuss when no one appreciate it." This is how we are to be in life but especially in relation to our parenthood.

The story behind these pictures of the girls in their beds is that we were trying to make them sleep together because Adelyn is having trouble sleeping and going to sleep without someone with her these days. I think it may be her molars but then again, who knows? So, it has been fun/funny to think about all of the things we have tried....so far with no success at all. The story of parenthood right....just keep trying until something works!

A while ago I got an amazing book from my cousin-in law Rachel Fisher. The book is entitled "Loving The Little Years" by Rachel Jancovic. I have posted many of her articles on this blog in the past. I was so encouraged by this book and want to pass it on but need to record some of the valuable things I learned from it so I decided to post them today to take my mind off the waiting.

Psalm 128, "Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house and your children will be like olive shoots around your table." "The funny thing is that in this verse, the fruitful vine is not bearing children, she is bearing fruit. The children were all off her vine long ago and are responsible for their own fruit bearing. She is just a heavy laden vine. My mom has always taught me that fruitfulness is not equal to bearing children. The mere fact that you bear children does not mean that you are a fruitful person. That would be like the apple trees calling it off after their first year of bearing fruit. But true fruitfulness requires constant, year round attention."

"But God loves a cheerful worker. I am still frequently in over my head. Actually, most of the time! But deciding not to wallow in that fact has removed one of the biggest obstacles to my work- my calculation of how hard the job is!"

"Christian child-bearing is a pastoral pursuit, not an organizational chart." "Be a pastor to your children. Study them. Seek them out. Sacrifice the hing you were doing to work through their emotional issues." "Prioritize your children far above the other work you need to get done. They are the only part of the work that really matters in the end."

"Fat souls are better than clean floors." "Motherhood uses your body the way God designed it to be used. Scars, stretch marks, and muffin tops are all kingdom work." :) Love that one.

"My children's attitudes are tethered to mine. If I pray for ideas to help them, how to make a new hard phase fun, and how to appreciate their need, then the change on my part usually clears up a lot of things. I am not saying eliminate the need for discipline, but it makes it much more gloriously clear cut and sweet. My attitude is no longer a player, and it is no longer a "big situation", change is just normal life.

I'll definitely post when we figure something out about the sleeping arrangements but until then, I am just trying to enjoy every minute. It is becoming more apparent to me that they are only this small for a time.......

Thankful for the Waiting

2011-11-15T08:34:00.001-08:00

"Waiting Here For You" Christy Nockells
If faith can move the mountains
Let the mountains move
We come with expectation
Waiting here for you, waiting here for you

You're the Lord of all creation
And still you know my heart
The author of salvation
You've loved us from the start

Waiting here for you
With our hands lifted high in praise
And it's you we adore
Singing Alleluia

You are everything you've promised
Your faithfulness is true
And we're desperate for your presence
All we need is you

Waiting here for you, Lord
With our hands lifted high in praise
And it's you, Lord, we adore
Singing Alleluia

We will wait for you, Lord, he'll stand with you
We will sing alleluia
Singing Alleluia, alleluia
Singing Alleluia, alleluia

Waiting here for you
With our hands lifted high in praise
And it's you we adore, we adore
Singing Alleluia

Waiting here for you
With our hands lifted high in praise
And it's you we adore
Singing Alleluia, singing Alleluia

Waiting here for you
With our hands lifted high in praise
And it's you we adore, with our lives
Singing Alleluia, singing Alleluia

Songwriters: Jesse Pryor Reeves, Martin James Smith, Christopher Tomlin

On this Thankful Tuesday, I am thankful for the waiting periods in my life where God teaches me how to trust Him in deeper ways.

Oh and for these two always!!

:)

Nevertheless.....

2011-11-13T16:15:00.001-08:00

Jonah 2:4

From Angie Smith's book, "What Women Fear"

Thankful Tuesday...Consider This...

2011-11-08T19:14:00.001-08:00

[But what of that?] For I consider that the sufferings of this present time (this present life) are not worth being compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us and for us!

Romans 8:18

It's Thankful Tuesday and besides those two precious babies, I am thankful for my Savior in whom I trust....

who knows what is very best for me and never allows anything to happen in my life that is not for my good and His glory! Praise Him!!

The Fisher Family

The day we performed a ballet

Blessed

all you need is L-O-V-E

Snow Fun with Annabelle & The Sovereign Lord

Snow Day Tea Party

Thankful Tuesday

Super Bowl Fun 2012

Valentine's Day Shirts & Bows

Today so far....

Adam's Trip,Our Fun while He was Gone, Sunday, and John Piper

Ephesians 2/Thankful Tuesday

Raising Little Girls

This week so far we....

Thankful Tuesday

Baby Food, Boupbwacks and More...

Beauty & the Beast

'No one expects you to be superhuman'...

'But Not Without Sacrifice' and Curly Hair

8 Fun Things A & A did while we were in Memphis

Thankful Tuesday and a GIVEAWAY!

Random iPhone Post

Passion 2012 Part II

Passion 2012 Part I

God is in control of today and every day.

Happy New Year 2012

Mom's Birthday Celebration

Adelyn's 2nd Birthday Dinner

Adelyn's Birthday Dinner Preview

Christmas Day in Pictures

Annabelle's Christmas Day Ballet

Twas the day before Christmas....

Christmas Decorations

We had a MERRY Christmas!!!

Christmas Tradition- The Christmas Story

Happy Birthday Jesus

Luke 2:1-2

The Birth of Jesus

The Shepherds and Angels

The Promise of Christmas

Wishing You A Very Merry Christmas 2011

How we celebrated Adelyn's Birthday!

Happy 2nd Birthday Sweet Adelyn Jane!

Lots of Randoms

Santa

Judging- Revised

Sweet Baby Girls

My Praises are for You alone!

O Lord, if you heal me, I will truly be healed; if you save me, I will truly be saved, My praises are for you alone!Jeremiah 17: 5,7-10, 14

Our Ginger Bread House

An Adelyn and Mommy Date

Thankful Tuesday/ Annabelle's Christmas Musical

What's a Mom to Do?

Clinging to this....

The Smadelyn

"You Can't Catch Me....I'm the Gingerbread Man!"

Christmas Play Group and Cookie Exchange

Update on Our Life Lately & Thankful Tuesday

Baby Pickett's Baby Shower

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Thanksgiving 2011 Part Two

Thanksgiving 2011 Part One

Random Thoughts on Blogging, Being Authentic & New Clothes

Little Turkeys & Psalm 62:5-8

Visit from Bear, Jobeth, Evangeline & Eli!

My Visit with the Abernathy Family!

"Loving the Little Years" & Sharing a Room

Thankful for the Waiting

Nevertheless.....

Thankful Tuesday...Consider This...

O Lord, if you heal me, I will truly be healed; if you save me, I will truly be saved, My praises are for you alone!

Jeremiah 17: 5,7-10, 14