Dont cry over spilled coffee!

Hey everyone! As I write this I've just cleaned up an entire cup of coffee that I've accidently spilled all over my computer desk. And it's kinda funny, now that it's cleaned, that as I was making my way up here to post "something" today I was thinking well I really don't have much to say, so I'll just get up there and see what happens. Well something happened. And yes I can thank God for the opportunity to spill coffee and clean is all up before 8:00 in the morning just so I'll have something to blog about today. LOL! You've got to be a good place spiritually to praise Him for the spills, Ha! But on a serious note, it made me think of all the stuff going on in our life with house. And that yesterday was a good, news wise, which I'll tell you about in a minute. But that, if everything falls through again, will I continue to praise God "in this storm"? I pray so. I've never doubted or questioned or even been angry with Him before, but will I praise Him daily even in the hard time? I guess that's why were given the tough stuff at times. To refine us and create the strength we need when sometimes praising Him is a sacrifice, that is said in the bible and I never really rested upon that before. "A sacrifice of praise", I guess God know that we have those times when it is a sacrifice to us, but he know our hearts is right and even if it's hard we make the choice to do it. That means so much to the Father's heart I believe. We were sitting in church on Sunday and a few rows in front of us a father walks in with his son, and they're sitting right in front, and right in front of us, just up couple rows. His son was in a wheelchair and had a disability of some sort. Severe cerebral palsy, I believe. And I keep watching the interaction between this father and son. Not to be a lookey-lou but the beauty of the picture was hard to not watch at times. To see a man, a father, not past 40 with a his young teenage son, and how he tenderly cared for him. Propping his head, adjusting him so he'd be comfortable, constantly looking at him. And I thought, they're here. He cares enough to bring him to church, and sit with him and worship the Lord with him. That is a picture of love to me that speaks to me on so many levels. God can only give you that kind of unconditional love, because that father probably doesn't get much in return from the son, besides the sounds of his comfort from time to time, but he does it continually without favor. You can only receive that strength from the Lord, but it also creates in you something different. I believe that parents of children with disabilities have a level of love that we don't necessarily experience. I was so beautiful to watch. So I got to thinking of our Father. How He guides us and takes care of us and watches us even when a lot of time He gets nothing back in return. But it never deters Him, He does it with unconditional agape love for His kids. I love how he'll speak to you through things you'll never expect. And as great as the service and teaching and worship was that day, that picture gave me a lesson that the Lord wanted me to see. Anyhow....

Yes I'm still here, just been busy, busy, busy. Everyone here is finally starting to feel better. I'm still battling a little bit of it, but nothing like before. Let's see, where to start. We do have news on the home front. Yesterday we went into escrow, Yay! They must've opened the escrow back when we signed the addendum's last week because our closing date is April 22nd. Yeah, I cant believe I have to start packing again, ahhhhh! But what a blessed opportunity this is for our family. The appraisal and the inspection are all supposed to happen this week, so things are really moving along. I'll try to drive by it this week and put some pics on, I dont know why theres not a pic on Zillow. Anyhow, I have a doctors appt this week on Thursday and I also register David for kinder on Thursday as well. Luckily, we have so many neighbors that are so awesome, so we'll be able to use one of their addresses to keep the kids at their same school. I just don't want to take them away from a school that they're just thriving in. I'm very grateful to have the opportunity to keep them where they are. We took the kids out on the boat last Thursday as well and that's the pics I put with this blog. We had a great time in the sun and we all got our first sunburns! :-) Anyway, I hope everything is well with everyone, I think about you all often and I'm so looking forward to Easter to see some family! Love and blessings on you all!

Catching up

Wow everyone it's been one of those weeks, with sick kids and spring break I don't know where the time has gone, but it certainly hasn't been on here. I think I had just enough in me to check in once and awhile and make sure every one's okay. Glad to hear that so far everything is pretty good. I will thank God for that until I hear differently. There are some updates I'd like to give though. Nothing serious but if you have a passing moment and would like to lift these up for me I would be very appreciative. First the continued strength of my husband as he works to support his ever-growing family and as we are in the process of buying a house. Secondly, for the continued health and provision for my kids, my sister is pregnant as most of you probably know and has been having some cramping and contractions (she's only 22 weeks) so that's not a good thing. Her doctor did, however, take her off of work and put her on disability, but prayer for her rest and strength and the continued health and development of baby Katie would be awesome. My Dad is having some health issues, nothing serious, but I pray for him to make wise choices and take it easy when he can, to not let things get to him. He's a believer and I believe with all of our prayers that God will reveal to him what he needs to do. I appreciate so much all of your thoughts and prayers so much. I love doing this blog so much because I've heard from family and friends that I wouldn't necessarily talk to one of whom I spoke via email to last night. Her name his Debbie and for those of you who don't know, let me fill you in on their story. It's quite a testimony and I think will bless those who hear it, I know is did Chris and I. Anyway, Bill and Debbie were our neighbors when we rented our first house in the high desert back in 2001. They were the first people we met and we became very close friends, Chris and Bill especially. They had one daughter, Corrina, who my kids played with daily. You know, sleep overs and the like. Anyway, we were neighbors for years until they moved to Tennessee. We missed them so much but knew they were living their dream. They bought land and built a beautiful home on it, so our hearts were big for them. Well when we were living in Wyoming,we got an early morning phone call, you know the ones that wake you up and you know somethings not right. It was right after Christmas 2006. It was Debbie. She called to inform us that Corrina has passed away the day before. As you can imagine, I was stunned, just frozen. I do remember exchanging some words with Debbie and giving the phone to Chris. That was one of hardest things we've had to experience. I just couldn't believe that it was true and I never doubted God but this was one of things that I was like, why? How is this going to turn for out for good? Well, I'll tell you. About 6 months ago, Chris called Bill to check in. Now they talked every now and then since Corrinas death but it was never quite the same. But this time they were on the phone for hours. I just knew something magical was happening with Bill and Debbie. When Chris hung up the phone, through his tears told me of one of the most awesome testimonies I've heard. Bill and Debbie were grieving their daughter and could only find solace in God's word and in church (which is huge). And during their healing, they both began to think that maybe they should have another child, not telling each other though. Eventually, they speak to each other about it. Now I am leaving out so much detail because I would be typing forever but, they talk to each other and decide to try. Now Bill had been fixed for years, and they knew it would be a long shot. So they contact a specialist who said the waiting list was almost a year long. So they really didn't know what was going to happen. Bill was getting on a plane out to California so see his doctor for his back. (He was injured at work and suffered back problems because of it). When he was at the airport he got a call from the fertility specialist and they said they just had an opening if he could get on a plane they could see him that weekend. Well he got directions and the office "happened to be" a few doors down from his back doctor. So he had the procedure and went home. They tried invetro it didn't take. And they decided that if God opened all these doors for them that they were going to step aside and let him work. And they did and Debbie was pregnant right away. They ended up having a baby girl named Stephanie a few months ago. This story, shortened as I've had to make it paints a picture to me of how God can turn anything into something for His glory. Something as dark and scary and painful as losing a child, your only child, which He experienced, and using that to cultivate new growth in hearts and lives. Through Corrinas life she brought memories, laughter and beauty and is now in heaven doing the same thing. But her parents are saved now, living for God and receiving the bounty of His blessings and the strength of his Love and presence, and a gift of another daughter. Someone to share Corrinas life with and raise in the love and beauty of our Father. I think that God can turn ANYTHING into beauty and does everyday, we just have to choose to see it. I if we walk around with hardened hearts and blinders on our eyes we miss the gifts of His glory that He gives us everyday. Corrina's dying was a robbery to us here, but she lived her life and served her purpose and even wrote in a journal that she had found God, and I think that the Father knew when He took Corrina home it would hurt her parents deeply and take them to places of grief that are unimaginable but He knew the end result. I think the Father knew taking Corrina early in her life was a small price to pay to have her parents walking with Him and eventually their new baby. Corrina gave them a gift and give us all a gift, we just have to choose to see it. I thank God for His compassion, for His love for His kids and for is never-ending faithfulness to do what's best for us, even when it hurts. Blessings to you all! I love and miss you and you all in prayers!

Missing you All

Hey everyone! I want to catch up with you all and say hey and thank you for your prayers for my sick family. I am starting to turn the corner I think, but the kids are getting worse, I guess it's just going around and has to run it's course, but I thank you and covet your prayers. Speaking of prayers, the motivations for Moms really is speaking to me....again. It's about encouraging prayer requests and praise reports. I really want to put out there that I love praying for you and really will and do if you need anything. I would like to create button for my page for prayer requests but until I do I want to encourage all of you to please leave a comment , I check them daily, of anything and everything you need prayer for and I will. And anyone out there who can guide me on my quest to learn to create a button for page I definitely could use your help too. I thank you in advance for your help. Anyway, I'm going to go and eat my breakfast, I'm feeling good enough today to do that, Yay! I will be on here later though.....

Also please pray for Stellan, a beautiful little boy who's very sick! I dont know him, except through his mommy's blog, but were praying for him and his family. For more info on his family click the "praying for stellan" button on the left side of my page. Thanks!
Blessings and love to you all!

Desert Riding

Nathan, Papa and Devin

Nathan, Papa and Jonathan

Nathan and Devin

Nathan (on the dirt bike, Jonathan on the quad and Devin standing)

Jonathan chasing Devin

Jonathan, Nathan and Devin

Nathan and Devin

Devin and Jonathan

The Three Musketeers

Hi everyone! I feel like it's been forever since I've been on here, but then the last 2 days seem like a week. We've had the flu going around this house and I was no exception. Yuck! It hasn't been fun around here. But thanks to Tylenol (the only thing I can take) I'm pretty much functioning on a normal level at least. Anyway, I guess I need to be thankful that were sick during Spring break and not missing school. But aside from sickness were all fine and the boys went riding on Saturday and had a great time and I have some pics of that for you! Church was awesome yesterday too! Tim Kuhl did an awesome job and Steve and the worship team rocked it! Were so lucky to have such an awesome place to worship and it must make God smile to see all His kids worshipping Him. Anyway, I've got to get breakfast going. Have a wonderful week everyone!

Fun Stuff

Hi all! I hope your all having a great weekend so far. Chris had to work and like I wrote last night, the boys are with Papa and Devin riding in the desert. So it's just Hannah, David, Jeremiah and myself today. They were kind of disappointed that they couldn't go riding too so I took them to the mall after we went grocery shopping. They played in the play area, threw pennies in the fountain, ate Happy Meals, and then walked around with Mama through the mall. I went into Motherhood and got a tummy sleeve. Greatest invention for preggo Mama's! I love it. It a black sleeve that you wear around your tummy, but it looks like your wearing a tank top under your shirt. So I dont have to buy maternity clothes right away and the stage I'm at right now is that I have to constantly un-button my pants so this thing is awesome. I'm so comfortable in my jeans again. Yay! I dont think I'm showing, I thinks it's more fluid and bloating, but that's how it all starts! :-). I'll put a pic on later! Anyways, I was checking out some blogs last night and I came across these questions, it's 22 questions you should ask your kids and they're all about you. I know some of you have young kids, but the ones who have kids that can answer them, it's really interesting to see what they think of you. I asked David last night and I was really cute to hear his answers. I'm going to ask all the kids and write their answers down and I'll post it when were done. Anyway, here's the questions:

1. What is something mom always says to you?
2. What makes Mom happy?
3. What makes Mom sad?
4. How does your Mom make you laugh?
5. What was your Mom like as a child?
6. How old is your Mom?
7. How tall is your Mom?
8. What is her favorite thing to watch on tv?
9. What does your Mom do when your not around?
10. If you Mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
11. What is your Mom really good at?
12. What is your Mom not very good at?
13. What does your Mom do for her job?
14. What is your Mom's favorite food?
15. What makes you proud of your Mom?
16. If your Mom was a cartoon character, who would she be?
17. What do you and your Mom do together?
18. How are you and your Mom the same?
19. How are you and your Mom different?
20. How do you know your Mom loves you?
21. What does your Mom like most about your Dad?
22. Where is your Mom's favorite place to go?

Hope you have with your kids with this. Also, an update on Emily. She has finished her radiation and will have chemo until early July. She still has lots of energy and smiles like an angel in her pics! Thanks be to God for hearing the prayers of His kids!

Have a great weekend everyone! Love and blessings to you all!

Happy Spring

Happy Spring everyone! I looked at my calendar today and noticed that today is the first day of spring! Yay! I love spring and summer, something about the new growth and the warmth of the sun seems to wake me up again. I actually love every season, fall is awesome when the leaves are changing colors and dusted all over the ground, and winter, it's so cozy and festive, and summers just fun! But something about spring is just beautiful. I guess it's the newness of it. See the plants, trees and flowers bloom again. Aside from my allergies I love it! LOL! It's also been fun to be outside to much. The kids and I have spent every afternoon outside just talking and stuff. I read and watch them ride their bikes and scooters. Something about being outside, we end up talking more and laughing together. When were inside there's so many other distractions, like tv and computers and stuff. So it's been very nice to almost reconnect. I liked the motivations for mom today about laughing with your kids. I noticed joy when were laughing and being silly together that you cant recreate with anything else.

Anyway, all is good here. Kids are all feeling better, except Jeremiah. He's still got a runny and some issues going to bathroom, but other wise his stomach isn't hurting anymore, but he sure had an attitude to boot today. He didn't nap and by 7:00 it was definitely night-night Jeremiah. He didn't fight too much, and he's asleep now! The boys (Jonathan and Nathan) are super excited. They're going out to the desert with Papa and Devin (cousin) to ride their dirt bike and quad. They're going out to breakfast and then to the desert to ride and they are so giddy. They really deserve it too. They've been doing so well with the house thing and new baby coming, there has been some stress. But they're so resilient and have been so good during all of this and not to mention how good they're doing in school too. Hannah was disappointed that she's not going, but I told her after we go grocery shopping that we'll go to the mall and go the play area and get some lunch with David and Jeremiah. My kids love going to the mall I don't know why but they do. So I figured that'll be a nice way to get them out of the house too.

Well not much else going on. Still waiting, waiting, waiting on the house thing. I swear when this over if I don't have patience to spare then I don't know whats wrong with me. I'll hopefully have some pics from my Dad soon of the boys riding and I'll post them on here. Blessings to everyone! Love you all!

Our First Glimpse

Hi all! I had my first ultrasound today! That was so exciting. I'll tell you it never gets old seeing that. Especially being as early in the pregnancy as I am, I'm not showing or feeling movement, so in my mind I know it's real but when I imagine the baby I still think it's like a blob or something. So to see just how much work God has done in the last few weeks with the precious baby is totally amazing! I keep referring to it as a she or her, because I just have this deep down feeling it's a girl but who knows. Anyways, to see the baby moving around so much and kicking and squirming, it was really something! I've attached a pic, I know for a lot of you it wont look like much but to me it's so perfect. Hope you all enjoy and have a great day!

More of my ramblings....:-)

Happy Wednesday everyone! I hope your week so far has been a good one. We've had a pretty good one here. Not much going on so that's nice compared to the crazy week before and next week is the kids Easter break, yes 3 weeks before Easter, who knew? So I'm preparing myself to have them home all week. I hope the weather continues to be as nice then we can go outside or to the park and stuff and pass the time.

Anyhow, I've been reading Romans and today, I read chapter 8. Wow! I took soooo many notes while reading because there is just so much to take in in that chapter. And I'm telling you God knew what I needed to hear because that chapter really spoke to me in a different way. Towards the end of the chapter is where I really just drank it all in. Starting in vrs. 26-27, Paul is talking about praying and how the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And my commentary really got into what exactly that means. What I learned was that when I pray I don't need to direct God or tell Him what I think He needs to do, I need to surrender the situation to Him and allow Him to work in it. That's what prayer is. The commentary said, "Prayer is not getting my will done in Heaven, it's getting God's will done on Earth." Basically I need to back off and say Lord this is Yours, take it and do with it what is best for me, despite my personal feelings, You created me, You know whats best for me. I thank God He didn't give me everything I asked for or thought was best, because I'd probably be in a heap of trouble if He did. I believe God would open doors and do amazing things in our lives if we gave Him the room to do it. If we kept out of it and allow Him to do what He does best. I also love in Rom. 8:15-18. It says that we have been adopted, where we can cry, Abba, Father and that we are not only heirs but joint-heirs with Christ because we have been adopted by God. He is not our ruler sitting on a throne with His hands clenched ready to pound us, He's our Papa. He's a loving, concerned, compassionate Dad who just wants the best for His kids. And like we do with our own kids, we discipline and correct and sometimes step back and allow them to fall, whereby they learn and grow and mature. That is who our Papa is, He is preparing us to be the best we can, He is preparing us for eternity. Where we will finally be the kids He created us to be. On that same point of being joint-heirs, the bible says that God sees us as if our glorified state has already taken place. When He looks at us He doesn't see sin, He sees His son. He sees righteousness. And not by anything we've done but by what Jesus did. The commentary said, what would happen if we stopped picking or judging each other and looked at one another as God sees us, we would see each other differently, I think if we did, we see Christ in each other. There's so much in that chapter I could write about for days probably. But to sum it up on my part, God is so much more than God. He's so much more personal than that. And I think I do myself a huge favor to continue searching the scriptures and learning about the depth of who He really is. I am going to end with one of my favorite verses ever, if I don't end now, I'll probably go for 1000's more words and you all don't have time for that, although I appreciate so much you reading my ramblings, anyway~Zephaniah 3:17~

"The LORD your God is with you,

He is mighty to save.

He will take great delight in you,

He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing."

Did you catch that? He takes great delight in us, He quiets us with His love and He rejoices over us with singing. That brings tears to my eyes every time I read it. I think for too long I've missed that picture. God rejoices over me? He sings over me? He takes great delight in me? That renders me speechless.....

Why am I surprised isn't that how we feel about our children? He's our Papa, our Daddy, my relationship is different with Him because of the picture that verse brings to mind. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do. Love you all! :-)

Laundry and runny noses

Hey everyone, well Monday was a pretty busy day. Basically trying to catch up from the busy week and weekend. Jeremiah and David both have coughs and runny noses and Nathan's seems to be getting better. Hannah was up all night last night with leg cramps. I believe they're growing pains of some kind, but nothing works except ice and walking around, believe it or not. So she was up from 11 to 3:30 am. Yeah it was a long night. I actually planned on letting her sleep in and not go to school, but she heard the boys getting ready and was up and didn't want to miss. Today is St. Patricks day as you know and they have a spirit contest at school so she did not want to stay home. So hopefully tonight is better. Aside from that stuff everything else is all well and good. Were still waiting to hear about the house. And this waiting I am becoming very good at. I've never been a patient person but this is definitely a lesson the Lord is trying to teach me because this is forcing me to be patient and surrender it to Him. Speaking of our Saviour, I was outside watering yesterday and I was thinking of my life since I became a christian and I started thinking how grateful I am that I have my Jesus. And that there is truly nothing the world could offer me or do to me that would cause me to doubt Him or His love. The word "captivated" came to mind out of the blue. And I thought that's what He's done to me. He's captivated me, my heart, my life, and my soul. And there's nothing that could take me from Him. How comforting in these times to know that no matter what He wont leave or change. He's faithful and everlasting. AMEN!!!

Anyways, I'm going to get in the shower and try to get motivated from this long night. I"ll be back on later. Blessings to everyone!

Jonathan's 10th birthday

Hey all, it' seems like forever since I've been on here, but we've been pretty busy. Friday was great, we spend alot of time outside so I just didn't get on here to update. But that's pretty much all we did friday was play outside and I was able to get caught up with some yardwork and I also got a chance to wash my car, yay!

Saturday, yesterday, was awesome. It was Jonathan's birthday, so the kids were all up early, excited for Jonathan to open his presents and for us to head down the hill. So he opened his presents from us first, and was really happy with what he got. And Chris ended up tricking him, saying that we didn't get the new parts for his skateboard so he'd just try to fix it with what they have and when Jonathan went to get it from the garage he was so excited to see that we put new trucks and bearings on it as one of his gifts, so he got to ride yesterday for the first time in awhile. After that, we left and headed for my mom and dad's house, which the kids loved. They haven't been there in awhile and we haven't seen them in awhile because the last time they tried to come on the kids day off from school the pass was closed because of snow. So they were really happy to get to see them. And Jeremiah was so happy I said do you want to go see grammie and papa?, and he says "oh yes, my best friend papa, I lub him". So cute. So we spend some time there and then headed to the skatepark in Brea. We got some food and ate there and let the kids ride and play on the toys there. They had a lot of fun in the skatepark riding. There happened to be some pro scooter riders there, promoting a scooter camp and they were doing all kinds of tricks and stuff. So the kids just loved it. Next we headed to Chris's grandma's house to spend some time there, and Jonathan and Nathan got their presents and we ate and just hung out. It was a pretty nice visit aside from the weather being so gloomy. Then on our way home we went to my sister's house, auntie annie and uncle richies. And we ended up staying there until 11:00 pm. The kids played and played with their cousins and Annie and I just talked and Chris and Richie hung out and talked and played playstation with the kids. Annie so cute with her preggo belly and the kids seem so happy. It was an awesome visit and an awesome day. We got to see and do so much and Jonathan said it was his best birthday ever, which made the day for Chris and I. Anyway, enjoy some pics of the day and have a great Sunday everyone! Love ya!

Jonathan and his presents in the morning...

His new purity ring...

Chris and the boys setting up some of Jon's new stuff...

Skatepark stuff...

Waiting on the Lord

Hey everyone! I hope everyone is having a great week. The boys and I had SMILES today (mommie's bible study) and it was really good. I missed last week because Jeremiah wasn't feeling good, so it was good to be back this week fellowshipping and worshipping with my sisters. I feel so lucky to have the opportunities that I have. I'm trying not to take for granted how blessed I am. I think it's easy to do by focusing on the all the things that I could stress about, but my prayer is that I would really give all that to the Lord, wait on Him and truly thank Him for how much I do have. My husband, who works so hard to support us and loves, cares and protects us unconditionally, my kids who are all happy, healthy and love the Lord, my family, friends, church, health, a roof over my head, food on the table, cloths on my back, transportation, tv, computer, freedom to worship, read my bible and teach my kids about the Lord. The endless blessings I have convicts my heart that I'm not walking around with a smile on my face all the time thanking God just for the opportunity of a new day.

Anyway, were having small group at our house tonight. So hopefully the kids will be good and I might possibly get to be a part of the small group tonight. Chris is in a small group and I am in SMILES because with 5 kids it's hard to imagine taking them all to someones house. But I'm sure God will open that door for us in time. I hoping that we can lead a small group at house eventually like we used to, but we'll see what God has in store.

I really liked the motivations for Mom's today about keeping a list of prayer requests and praying as a family. I have to admit I haven't been journaling like I should and I need too. I think it would be a great lesson for the kids to see prayer requests written down and be able to mark them as a praise when God answers them. I'm going to keep that in mind for part of our bedtime routine. I've also been wanting to have a prayer request area on my page somewhere. I think as Mom's, wives, women in general we all have our struggles and really need to be taking advantage of the power we have in praying for each other. And any of you reading please feel free to tell me your prayer requests, I will pray for you. Anyways, I better get ready for tonight. Blessings to all of you!

A Wonderful Wednesday

Hey everyone, were at the middle of the week and I hope everyone is well and having a great week. We are all doing fine here and today was a great day. I'm all caught up with my housework, which in and of itself is worth a celebration. But I need to catch up on some stuff that happened this week.

First I got some pics of Jonathan in the kitchen. He's really been wanting to learn to cook and be a part of making dinner. So I've been letting him make the sides and he does really well. He'll read the directions and measure everything out and do the cooking. It's wonderful to see him growing and able to do truly helpful things around the house. And I can see the sense of accomplishment it gives him.

Secondly, we had Grace today. Melissa and Andrew went to get their hair cut and Gracie spent the day with the Goodmans. Which was a lot of fun and was nice to watch her get comfortable in our house and with me. The boys had fun playing with her today too. Also, when Melissa and Andrew got back, Andrew and David were playing and they were wrapping themselves up in blankets and calling themselves "corndogs". We got some pics of that too, because it was so cute and funny. "Corndogs", I mean come on you'd have to be a kid to have that kind of imagination, or we should really stop feeding them convenient food for snacks :-). LOL!! Anyways, Gracie joined in we called her "mini corndog". Too funny!!!

And last, I think, was that Hannah came home with a certificate from school, because she was student of the day and got to say the "pledge of allegiance" on the speaker from the principals office. So she was very happy about that. She also got the best writing paragraph in her class today also. So it was a good day for her!

Anyways, all the kids are happy and healthy, and so are mom and dad. We'll be talking again soon. Love you all!

Tuesday's happenings

Well this morning I took David to his check-up. He needed a physical to be enrolled in kindergarten. All went pretty good. Jeremiah was very patient during all the paperwork and waiting, which is a testament to how he's growing up, because a year ago there's no way I could've taken him. But anyways, all was good, exept at the end David needed a TB test and he pulled back during it so they had to do it AGAIN, which was so sad. But he held it together and was brave. He got his eyes checked and his hearing, blood pressure and all that it was perfect.

When we got home, Jeremiah's favorite show was on, "the imagination movers" and they were singing this song and he was dancing along with it so I taped it and put it on here. There's a part where they're singing about wiggling your hips and he thinks they're saying "lips" so he's wiggling his head funny. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Blessings!

By the way make sure you pause the music on my playlist at the bottom, so you can hear the video.

Nathan's award

Well we just got back from the second award assembly for today. I feel like I've been going back and forth from home to the school all morning, but it's worth it. Anyway, Nathan got an award for perfect attendance and he was beaming. So that was awesome. When they were lining up to go back to class Jeremiah saw him and ran and gave him a hug, it was cute. Jonathan also got recognized for being student of the month, he already got an award for that so he didn't get one today. I'm also looking forward to seeing the kids report cards when they get home from school. I'll fill you all in on that too. Blessings! <><

Hannah's award assembly

Hey everyone! Today was the awards assembly at the kids school. Hannah received an award for perfect attendance! She was very proud to go up there! She's starting to get used to going up there now, she used to be very shy. Her teacher Mr. Trudel is so funny too, he knows how shy she is and he's always messing with her, saying "Hannah has a dance she'd like to do for the class" or something like that. I think it's awesome that she loves her teacher so much, it plays a big role in the classroom too. Anyways, it's always fun to go to these and Jeremiah and David were very good in there too. Hopefully they'll be as good when we go back in a while for Nathan's.....Have a great day! :-)

God-Sized Faith

Church today wow! Gotta love Sundays. My heart was very tender toward the Lord today, like it always should be I guess, but today was one of those services that from the first note of the first song I was struggling to hold it together. That's how the Lord prepares your heart though, He softens it and makes it tender toward Him so that what He has to say really penetrates. How loving and caring He is to his kids.

Anywhoo~today's message really stuck a chord with me. It focused on faith. The faith Abraham had, that God-sized faith, that one should expect from a God as big as ours. Pastor Kurt made some really good points today and one being that we tend to have "value" sized faith from God instead of "super-sized combo" faith, that Abraham showed. I think we underestimate faith because it really is too easy. We feel there has to be more required, that can't be enough. So the teaching today took us back to how the Jews felt Abraham was justified and made righteous because he was circumcised, and because He obeyed God then God called him righteous. But God called him righteous over a decade before He was circumcised because of his faith and nothing more. A very good reminder that were not scoring brownie points with God by reading extra today, or praying for 2 hours straight, it's our heart He's after and the true condition of our heart is shown in our response to obstacles. And that if we can respond with hope in spite of those obstacles that's true faith and that's what God is looking for in us. It was such a good reminder for me, especially with all the things going on in my life, the new baby coming, the house search, Chris' job loss and trying to make our current financial situation work with the money he's currently making. That got me thinking how in the message today we learned that God's promises almost always come with an obstacle and that I believe is how God refines our faith. If we got everything we were promised immediately with no obstacles it wouldn't take faith to believe anymore it would be an obligation that God would required to fulfill.

But today really made me understand what God-sized faith really is. Like when Abraham took Isaac to be a burnt offering because God asked him, knowing that God promised Abraham's legacy would come from Isaac, he didn't question it, he actually went assuming that God would raise Isaac from the dead, because God would never not fulfill a promise He has given. Wow! Talk about having hope in the midst of HUGE obstacles! That's awesome beyond belief!

My prayer today is that I will see my God and the star-breathing, galaxy-placing, earth-creating, dead-raising Creator and God that He really is. A God that is big enough to set the cosmos in place with the span of His hand and loving enough to come to us in a small humbling manger and compassionate enough to be in the dirt with a prostitute and save her. That's who my God is, that's who our God is! And He sure is an awesome God!!!

Blessings!

Saturday

Hey everyone, well yesterday was a pretty quiet day around here. Didn't do much and the kids played outside until we had to leave for church. But while they were outside Hannah and Jeremiah were riding bikes and Jeremiah almost crashed. I got a picture of it and it's pretty funny. Anyway hope all is well with everyone.

Beauty for Ashes

Hey all, I have something on my heart today. It's amazing how the Lord speaks through things you would never imagine. I was watching a video on Ashley Smith's blog earlier, and for those of you who don't know her story you should check it out, on my page there's a box that says "bring the rain", click that and it'll take you to her page and story. Anyway, I was watching a video on her blog and she went in for an ultrasound and found that her baby girl had numerous abnormalities that were fatal. She knew she would carry this baby who was dying inside of her. And the video showed right after her birth and she died within a half hour. But what was so amazing was seeing Ashley (the mom) and her husband holding, kissing and adoring this baby, and their reaction when she died is a true testimony of God's peace. And I got to thinking how that touches me on such a personal level because I can imagine holding my newborn, but giving her back would be unimaginable. But that's the cusp. She not mine. It's not about me. It's always about Him. And I thought how broken the heart of the Father must have been to create in Mary His own son knowing He would die. Knowing he would suffer and be rejected. How poignant this is for me. I seem so think God doesn't understand how we hurt and how life is so hard sometimes. Yet He knows and can sympathize more than we can imagine. He's lost a child. He's had to create and knit His child in the womb knowing He was being created to suffer and die. But His love for us surpassed the pain, the insurmountable pain that must have withheld. And that's the true beauty of His love story to us. That in the darkest, ugliest, most lonely and painful hours of our lives, He can make beautiful if we reflect Him. He makes beauty from ashes!

"To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified" Isaiah 61:3

~Blessings in His name~

Emily

Please pray for my cousin Emily. She is 4 years old and battling cancer. She was diagnosed in December of 2008 with a malignant tumor on her kidney. She has had the tumor and her right kidney removed a couple weeks ago and now must undergo high doses of chemo and radiation. Pray for a speedy and miraculous recovery, pray for peace and comfort for her parents as well. Our God is an awesome God who can do miracles beyond what we could ever imagine. Lets continue to expect no less from our God!

Blessings, in His love!

Intro to the Goodmans

Now I think it's about time that I introduce my family! As my profile says, I'm married to a wonderful Godly man named Chris who I am truly blessed to have. We have a pretty awesome testimony that I will delve into another time. Anyway, he loves me so much second only to the Lord and deals with all of my quirks with a smile...most of the time . We've been married for a little over 10 years now and have 5 awesome kids with one on the way. Yes, we are a borderline "mega family" now, and our quiver must hold a lot. :-) But God is good, and has always provided for our needs in every way and I couldn't imagine my life any different. I would be lost without any one of my kids, they are a part of me and I thank God everyday for the honor of being their mother. He must have a great deal of trust in me to let me do this again! For the kids, here it goes:

Jonathan, my first born and my leader. He'll be 10 in a week, that's hard to believe. Sometimes I think he's taught me more than I've taught him. But he made me a mother for the first time and changed my life for the better in so many ways. He loves music and the Lord very much. I am amazed at his heart for God already and very excited to see what God will do with his life.

Nathan, my second born and my loving clown with a huge heart for Jesus. He'll be 9 in about a month and is a joy. He is always there with a hug if I need it and very loving. He wears his emotions on his sleeve and as wonderful as that is, I worry about that when he's older and falls in love. I pray to God for his future wife, that she loves him as he'll love her. He is the most accepting and non-judgemental little man ever and God has something magical in store for him!

Hannah, my third and only daughter (so far). She is 71/2 going on 15. Very smart and very mature for her age and beautiful beyond belief. It's hard to believe Chris and I made such a pretty thing. She's been talking since she was 1 and it's hard to remember her not being a little lady. She is a mommy's girl to the end and I love it. She will be my best friend after the teen years I'm sure. God is preparing her to be a daughter He will be so proud of and I hope I play a part in the beautiful woman of God she will be someday.

David, my fourth born and 3rd son. He is 5 1/2 and still my baby. He's probably been spoiled more then the first three, probably because we were a little older when we had him and more mature. He is my serious one and always thinking. He's very mature and a wonderful big brother and example to Jeremiah. He is excited to start kinder this year and loves going to church and learning about Jesus. He amazes me everyday at how he is growing. I pray daily that he takes after his namesake and is a man after God's own heart!

And Jeremiah, my baby, for now. He is 3 1/2 and still called "the baby". He is a character and Chris and I have so much fun just watching him. He is soooo entertaining and has endless personality. Where he gets it I don't know, Chris and I seem so dull compared to this little ball of fire. I am so excited to see where God will lead him, he will do awesome things for Him I'm sure. He loves life and has taught me to slow down and enjoy the little things. I kiss him a million times daily and he's always there for a cuddle.

I am blessed beyond belief daily and I pray that a day never goes by that I don't appreciate to the fullest extent what I have!

Here I am again...

Well I think I've got the hang of this thing now. Melissa and I have had fun learning how to put all this together, although most of my housework for today has been sacrificed because of it. Oh well, we all need a day like that dont we? My poor kids are actually begging me for a turn on the computer, that's a switch! :-)

My first blog!

Hi everyone!

Wecome to my blog! This is for family and friends to keep in touch and stay updated with all many things that go on with the Goodman family. Now I need to figure this whole thing out. Come back and see whats to come in the near future!