i got boots y'all

okay, I have NO idea where my love of shoes came from. Growing up I didn't really care if I had "fancy" shoes. But as I have grown, so has my crazy passion for a good lookin' pair of shoes. I do know where my crazy NEED for a good pair of brown boots came from. It all started with a brown dress I found at Ross. It's cute, it's stylish, it would go perfect with a good pair of brown boots. So began the hunt. I was okay taking my time, wanted to wait for sales. Then those durn little girls on the Gap commercial got me. Up sparked the hunt for boots! Still wanting a good sale I stayed away from the $75 "me precious" boots. Today was the day. :) I found some adorable boots at Wal Mart AND they were at a price that agreed with my passion. I'm so excited! I now have the full outfit and I can NOT wait to wear it :) Better still is that these pretties will go with jeans, crops, heck they'll go with just about anything :) I might even wear them with my pj's I love them so much :) Here's a pic of the darlings that are now resting on the middle shelf of my packed up closet. The look good there. As if they were made just for that shelf in my closet. :) I love them.

life takes it's toll

There are some days when I feel like the heaviness of life is sitting on my shoulders. I have felt that for the past several months. Carrying what we've carried, silently giving it up to God, waiting for His response, it's heavy. It's taken it's toll emotionally. We've dealth with things we never expected to. It's draining. I'm tired. There are days I think I could just spend the whole day napping. But, in all of that the way was made clear. We know what God wants us to do and it hurts. But when has God moved us without tugging our heartstrings? It happens. We've got spiritual "stretch marks". God is doing a new work, moving us in a new way, and pulling us from our comfort zone. It happens. We've no choice but to jump on and follow Him. Not to do so would put us outside of His will and that's a place we don't want to be. So yes, while I sit feeling the weight of life sitting heavily, I know that God is taking that weight little by little and moving it. How can I not be happy and excited when I know who is at the helm? We've news to share (possibly, when it's not too shocking to write), but for now we ask that you pray for us. I've dealt with more of the "stuff" because I'm home and can, but it weighs just as heavily on Scott as it does me. Possibly more because he's seeing it's effect on me. We will come out better on the other side. God will carry us through. I have no doubt. For now we hang onto that and ask you to pray for us. God has chosen this time in our lives to move, and while it's uncomfortable, it's also exciting. I may not write again before Christmas so for all that read this before then I want to wish you a Merry Christmas! I hope your holiday is filled with family, fun, and lots of love and smiles. I hope Santa leaves you something special under your tree!

getting ready for the move

And oh my how God is moving! Good grief He has us caught up in a whirl wind of MOVE. We are moving physically in about three weeks, emotionally all month long, and spiritually like crazy! God is teaching me so much. Not only through school but through life. Wowzers. While I can't share everything with you right now, I can share our thoughts on the physical move. I don't think we've found greater friends than we have in the LeBouf's and the Hernandez's. And both families are moving this month. :( I am more sad because of that than I have ever been. Tomorrow the LeBouf's pull out of town, after Christmas the Hernandez's. The blessing in this is that they are following God's will for their lives and because of this God has blessed them, and us. We are moving into the Hernandez's house. God used all of our situations to bless us all. Now how cool is that? I will not miss this apartment. We've had some really great times here. We've been here for three years now and it seems like it's flown by. David learned to ride his bike here. Dano learned to ride his scooter and make more noise to annoy our neighbors than I thought was humanly possible :) . Scott and I learned that we need storage space. Lots of storage space. At first I thought I might miss the memories we've had here. But they are just memories and we take them with us. We will not miss it here because #1 - we know it's time to move on to something bigger, #2 - our boys need a home with a yard, our halls can't take much more scooter riding, and #3 - we need a safe environment for our family. Crime has increasingly gone up over here, at one point the managers stopped running the background checks and people got in that shouldn't have. It's not a safe place for our kids to play outside, and well - boys just need a yard to run in. What I will miss are the kiddos we're moving away from. I've always loved living so close to kids from our church. We're here to play, listen, and pray with and for them whenever they need it. They know they can knock on our door any time. They also know they can yell from the lawn to our patio any time they just want to say hello. This is the method chosen by most because they like to see me stumble out onto the patio to see who's down there. They are so sweet. And so special to us. I love those kids. But as I said, it's time for us to move on. God's taking us in a new direction and using us to bless our friends. He's using them to bless our socks off! I cannot wait to move into our new home. It is beautiful. We have grand plans which include some paint, flooring, and such. But our biggest plan is to make it our home. Something that is ours. Something that our boys can grow up in. Something that, if we ever had to leave it, I would miss like crazy. God's timing in all of this has been incredible. I know I said it before but I'll say it again - God is just too cool for words. Why He's chosen a crazy girl like me to bless so incredibly, I cannot understand. I do not deserve to be blessed like this. I do find it odd that at this sad time while my two closest friends are preparing to leave I still have reason to smile. God is good to me. :) We have a much bigger bit of news that is just out of our reach right now so I can't share that, but wow. You wanna talk about God blessing you beyond anything you could possibly measure.... yeah, that's what He's doing. His ways are not our ways, and oh how I love that they are not. Had we gone on our own without His guidance we would be in deep loss. Praise God for His still small whisper that leads us each day! Not sure what more to say :)

thanksgiving

How much do you love Thanksgiving? Take that and multiply it by 20. That's me. I love love LOVE Thanksgiving. It is my favorite time of year. I love all the cooking, I love all the colors, and I love all the family time. When I was growing up we'd always have Thanksgiving at my Dad's Aunt Gerneva's. Oh wow it was fun. All of my cousins would come (I'm sure there were some adults there somewhere) and we had our own table and everything. Back when the "kids table" was cool. We always had the big spread of food - so big in fact that Aunt Gerneva would have to cover her kitchen sink with a giant board to make more room for the food. Moms potatoe salad was (and still is) a big hit, there were always at least 3 pumpkin pies, Beau always made a cherry cheesecake, the rolls always burnt :). It was Thanksgiving and I loved it. I'm trying to instill that same sense of family togetherness and love in my boys. We make sure to spend Thanksgiving together as a family and with our families. We spend lunch with my mom and dad and then it's off to Scott's brother Allen's house for dinner. Both meals are unique, but I love them both. Our families couldn't be more different, but I think that is what makes them so special. I couldn't imagine our Thanksgiving being any different. I get excited just thinking about it! I can't wait! We may have lots of turkey and dressing but it's all good :), we love lots of turkey and dressing. It may not be like it used to be but our Thanksgiving is still full of family, fun, and LOADS of good food. (we've even managed not to burn the rolls the last several years!)

So what about you? How do you celebrate Thanksgiving? What traditions have you added/changed over the years?

update

Well I've just realized it's been almost a month since I've updated y'all. Here's what's been going on in our lives lately:

*We are loving homeschooling. It's a blast. We have the freedom to do it our way and we're loving learning about all types of different things while keeping to a schedule that still allows me time to study. Love that :)

*Friday School is awesome. I've met some great women and the kids are so much fun! I've signed up to teach 3 classes next term, Scrapbooking, Spanish, and Reading Comprehension. I'm really excited about that!

*Sunday School is going great! Scott and I love those kids to pieces. I still can't believe the LET us have this much fun! :) I think we get the biggest blessing by getting to spend Sunday mornings with those awesome kids!

*Liberty is going well too. My A term classes really stressed me OUT. Everything suffered because of that, but my D term classes look to be less of a load so that's really good. God got me through History with, of all things, a B! I couldn't believe it. Totally knocked my socks off!

*Spent the weekend with Mom and Dad a few weeks ago and got all, yes ALL, of my Christmas cards done. Everyone will be getting handmade Christmas cards this year that are just fabulous, I must say. :)

Other than that, let's see.... David caught the flu this week which means no Friday School, no Fall Festivals, and possibly no Trick or Treating. Scott and I have almost decided to just buy candy and put it in their buckets when they're sleeping. Still waiting to see if the fever hangs around or not. Awana is about the funnest thing in the world right now. Again, can't believe I get to lead those crazy/awesome girls! I can't believe about 4 years ago I said I'd never work with kids, that's not where God wanted me... what a challenge to God's will! Now not only do I work with kids 24/7 I LOVE doing it! They never fail to amaze me. I swear I must know the world's smartest, funniest, most amazing kids. It's such a priveledge to work with them.

Our family life is better than ever. Homeschool has created the opportunity for the boys to get to spend more time with Scott and that has made ALL the difference. Scott's schedule is out of our control but we have the flexibility now to spend more family time. By following God's plan for our family, we're finding tremendous blessings! What more could a woman want? Now there are some amazing changes in our horizon and I just can't wait. Before I was afraid of God's will - not any more! Good gracious He's got us on a crazy ride! Friends, you get to a point in your faith where there's no time for fear or stalling. You just have to grab the rails and holler, "YEE-HAW!!!" cause He's going to get you there no matter what. You can either have faith and enjoy the ride, or fight Him tooth and nail. I'd rather jump in that front cart and go with God all the way! That's our current mood I think... Bring it on God, we can't wait!

here we go again...

Okie-dokie friends. I have held off blogging for a while because I've had news that wasn't mine to share. Blogging makes me feel share-ish and I don't want to spill beans. BUT I can now pass on some of the news and I'm ubber-excited to do so!

So here we go.... *drumroll please.....*

We are on the move. Again. Lol. Some awesome friends of ours are having to move. Hubby is going back to school and so they are leaving at the end of this year to persue God's dream for them. Scary stuff! I wish them all the best and we are going to M.I.S.S. them terribly! I hate losing friends :( . Here's where the move comes in.... we are going to rent their house! How cool is that??? We are both really excited about being able to help each other out. We need a good house with a nice yard for the boys and they will have honest good renters. It is really neat how God worked all of the details out for us! They will move in the last month of our lease! I think that is really neat. They are also open to us painting and all that so we're excited about that. It's bittersweet because for all of this to happen we have to say goodbye to our friends :( . But with God working so much of this out for us, we know it's His will that these moves take place. So there ya go. :) That's all the news I feel like I can share. In a few weeks I believe everyone will know who and where and the other details, but for now my lips are sealed :) We're letting the other couple tell their side of the news when they are ready.

So.... about the house... omg I'm SO excited :) It's a 3 bedroom house with two living room. One will be a sort of "formal" living room, the other a family/homeschool room. It's got a good sized kitchen, plenty of windows, and ... I may faint.... an actual LAUNDRY room!!! I can fit a folding table in there and all! Holy moley Jesus is good to me! :) To top it all off, the front and back yards are amazing! The backyard is big enough for the boys to go crazy in. Scott's planning on putting a little veggie garden in the back and we're going to have a gorgeous flower be in the front. :) So so excited here. :) Oh and, the oven in the kitchen is one of those "in the wall" type ovens, no more bending down and pulling hot heavy stuff out of the oven! Yay! :) It is really a nice house. I am so thankful that God put us on their hearts when they prayed about who would rent their house. We're hoping that within a year or so we'll be able to buy the house from them and make it our very own :) . I would more than love that. :)

So that's what's up with the no updates, lol. I didn't want to spill any beans until we knew this was all for sure and set. Pray for our friends. They are venturing out into the unknown world of God's calling. It is exciting and scary at the same time.

Anyone know of any good decorating ideas for not so much moolah?

no longer moving

For those of you who don't know yet, we are not moving anymore. Something came up that made it impossible for us to go ahead with our plans. We are dissapointed with how this has turned out, but know that God is in control. We already realize that He's saved us from making what could have a been a disasterous mistake. More to come when my heart is a bit lighter from all the guilt I am feeling. False guilt yes, but guilt none-the-less. I am feeling beat up. I am feeling emotionally "heavy". But I am also feeling a peace that can only come from God. We will move forward in our lives, and we will be better for it. God brought us this far, why question how much further He will take us now?

i need...

my brain back. It feels very much like mush these days. I'm trying to get ahead on my school work so that while we're moving I can focus mainly on that and getting our new house together. So between packing I'm reading about US History and Sociology. A combination I highly suggest you disuade yourself from. On Thursday of this week our internet and phone will be going down at the apartment and up at the new house. So for much of Thursday if you need to get in touch with us, please use our cell phone #'s. Will drop a note when we're back up.

Also, if you need our new address please e-mail me at dizzy4daizey@yahoo.com and I will be happy to send it to you. Please pray for us as we move. We have a lot of helpers this time around and I am deeply moved by their generosity. Please pray that the move is smooth and that nothing gets broken in the process. Particularly my kitchen stuff, I'm quite fond of it :)

See you on the other side blog land!

moving

Alrighty friends. While I am not thrilled at the prospect of packing up boxes, hauling them downstairs, and driving them across town - I am excited about the prospect of moving. We are moving into a house. Out of the apartment, and away from the crime. It's simply not safe to keep the boys here. This is not the environment we imagined them growing up in. So we've found a nice rental home and in two weeks we are headed there.

Change. It doesn't sit well with me.

But honestly, these boys need a yard to run in so they can get RID of some of the energy that's pent up and coming out in negative ways.

Here they cannot go outside and run and play whenever they want. There they will be able to.

Here they can't ride their bikes much for fear of being run over by people who refuse to SLOW DOWN for children. There they will be able to ride their bikes.

Here we can't walk the dog because even though we warn them not to, people still try to come up and pet her. Pug does NOT like strangers and tries to bite them. They then look at us like it's our fault, even though we warned them the entire time they keep walking up to her. Sigh. (here's your sign dummy!)

Here we get cussed at and called ugly names. There we won't.

So there is a much better place to be. Will someone just come and pack us up and move us there? Wake me up when you're done :) .

Will post pics of the new house when we get some.

new recipes

Okay, so we're tired of the same-old same-old at home. For years now I've been making the same stuff for dinner every month. It's old. And boring. And I think that's why I got so tired of cooking. But now I'm challenging myself to try one new recipe a week. So far it's going well. The first thing I made was chicken fettucini with squash and zucchini. It tasted fabulous! I also added Kara's red potatoes as a side and dinner was great! So tonight I'm endevouring to try another new recipe. Well, three new recipes actually. The whole meal will be something I've never tried to make. Yay! Tonight's menu is Honey Ginger Roasted Chicken, Honey Glazed Carrots, and homemade White Dinner Rolls. Fun! The prep was SUPER duper easy on these and this bread recipe only takes about an hour to rise. Very easy! So I'm praying it all tastes fantastic :) I'll post pics and the recipes once it's all cooked and sampled.

As an aside... tomorrow I'm making my homemade Strawberry Jam. It's my own recipe and it's amazing! If you'd like some let me know. If you live out of town, just pay shipping and I'll send you a jar. :)

the doggie quilt

After my last post I figure you all need a smile :) I made our dog Pug a quilt for her little bed. Not that she needed it, mind you. My need to create something crafty superceeded her needs :) I did make her pose for these pics (she's just too darned cute but doesn't like to stay still when happy!) but she then drug he quilt over to her bed, daddy (scott) fixed it for her, and she's been sleeping on it every night since :) Too cute. Anyway, happy Friday!

ps - yes her tongue normally hangs out like that. She is also blind in her left eye and has a tumor on her hind quarters. She is remarkably very healthy (minus a really bad spot two months ago when we thought we were going to lose her) and very happy! She's playful and has a blast with the boys. She's a "rescue" dog by way of my parents. My mom thought she might be allergic to Pug so we took her in. Best decision we've made! Pug completes our family. Her outward looks reflect our inward goofiness. She fits in perfectly with our goofy little family :)

i have to stop

I need a break. Not from you, not from blogland. Just a break. From a certain situation in my life. In this situation I can not bee who I am. I can not think how I do. Every move must be calculated. My heart must be saran wrapped. Many times shrink wrapped. In this situation I am not who I want to be. In this circumstance, I am not who God made me. I am fake. I say things I know I shouldn't. I let things be said to me that I would not accept otherwise. I ignore things that cut deep. I allow my shrinkwrapped heart to take a beating. I basically doormat myself and turn into someone I do not recognize. I like to think that who I am in that situation doesn't affect who I am outside of it. I trick myself into thinking that being two people works for me because that one area calls for it. It is a must in my life. Fakeness keeps me safe in that situation. Only God has opened my eyes and I see the black ink stains seeping into other areas of my life. It affects other areas I'd been blind to. God's shown me that because of my attitude and actions in that one area, others are going downhill quickly. So a few weeks ago I stopped. Stopped being who I could no longer be. It hurt. Me and others. It hurt deep. But not as deep as what I'd already been through. This is a necessary hurt. This hurt is a healing hurt. I have stopped being who I'm not and have not allowed myself to go back. It's been tempting to step back in that awful role I'd become so comfortable in. But the blessing has come in realizing what I was doing to myself and then in allowing God to heal me. Things will not be the same. I'm okay with that. I have realized that to not be me does an incredible diservice to God. He made me to be ME at all times, not just in the times it's safe. He made me to be ME and that's all I can do. So goodbye wrapped up, scared, nervous, girl. I have to stop so that I can begin. I am who I was created to be and that is amazingly healing to my heart.

i finished

And it is gorgeous!! I finished the quilt last month (took me about 6-7 months), but today I made the shams and pillow cases to match it. :) Scott loves it, I love it, the boys have been laying on it for over an hour now. So much fun! The only thing I need now is some sheets to match (bright green I'm thinking) and some curtains with matching material. I love the brightness and the summery feeling of the bold colors. I love to brighten things up, and this bedding set does just that. Plus, it's all handmade and that makes it SO much more special to me. Scott said he's not sure if he can lay on it all. :) He makes me smile. Here are the finished pictures. Tonight, we shall be sleeping very carefully on our new bedding. Yay!

Here's the whole set. The squares on the shams are the same size, the one on the left has an orange bar that blends in with the background :)

Here is one of the shams. I used the last few extra squares from my top to make the top of the shams. :)
And here are the pillow cases. I used the last little bits of fabric I had left to make the little bars. It helped the cases blend in with the quilt top and matched everything up. :)

I am beyond thrilled with this set! I love how it all turned out and I love that it's something I worked really hard on. And I, of course, love that Scott likes the set as much as I do. Somehow that makes it even more special. :)

The Lost Get Found- Britt Nicole

This is one of my favorite songs right now. I love it. I love the line "Don't be afraid to stand out". How far did Christ stand out for us? I can only hope to stand out as much for Him in return! Listen to the words, it's a call to witness. Love it. "Don't let the fire burn out! Somebody needs a reason to believe!"

paid in full

Oh yes. Those are becoming my new favorite words. I love to hear them. Or rather to see them. Pretty little letters in pretty little envelopes. :) They make my day. You see, like many MANY others, our credit is not so great. Early on in our marriage we made so not-too-smart choices and well, here we are. With debt. It stinks. And up until this point we've not been able to do very much at all about it. But, God blessed us with the ability to pay our van off and that started the ball rolling. Along with the van we've been able to pay off two more additional debts and are working toward paying off another. We're not done, won't be for a little while, but we're working on it and it feels good y'all! It feels great to get this "weight" off our backs. If we can stay on track we will have all our debt paid off in a year, aside from my student loans. I can't tell you how free-ing it feels to be done with a few and working on the rest. Feels like we can see light. Like there is a way out. Lol. I know it sounds funny, but oh well. :) I'm sure I'm not the only one to feel this way about debt. So tonight we're praising God. Not only for a great first week of homeschool, but also for a great few weeks of knocking out 3 debts and working toward another. It's a fantastic feeling :)


How's your week going?

homeschool day 1

Things are going very well today! Minus one thing - I gave David too much work. Didn't realize how much is in a lesson! He got a little overwhelmed with Math so I am planning on cutting back on how much work I give him. He's almost done with all his work for today though so that's good :) Dano READ his first small story in his Hooked On Phonics work book! Oh my stars that was really neat! He was very excited. I think he will do great at homeschool. He just needs constant positive reinforcement. It gets a bit wearing, but if it keeps him excited and moving forward I'm all about it. So today is a good day.

On another note Scott called and found out we've paid off our car! Yay!! We thought we had one more payment left but apparently we do not :) SO excited about that! Neither one of us has ever not had a car payment. It allready feels free-ing to not have to write that check! We should have the title within a week. :) Too cool! We're working on getting ready to buy our first home so this is definatly a step in the right direction! Go us! :)

So how about y'all? What are you up to today?

I think swimming is in our future... our very near future. :) Like... after naptime future. :)

can the blog world fire you?

Maybe they should write me a reprimand? Goodness friends I didn't realize it had been so long since I blogged. Alot's gone on. We went on a much needed vacation to San Antonio, SO much fun there! Then we had VBS and who has a solid mind to write after a few hours with all that screaming and fun. Then came the tiredness. I'm just tired y'all. All the stinkin time. No amount of naps or resting works. Hopefully it'll pass soon. :) I finished my New Testament class with an A and now it's onto English Lit. Not so excited about that one but hopefully it'll be okay. Loads of reading. We're planning another small mini-vaca for November. Scott's got 3 more days to take so we're taking the boys to the Nascar race in Dallas. I think they'll like that. David is really into racing right now. We put a t.v. and playstation 2 in his room and all he likes to do now is play his Movie Car racing game. He is all for going to see a real race. :) Scott is still working, but now that it's summer he's able to see the boys more. We've been able to do a LOT more as a family now that summer has started. We're going to adjust our home school schedule to allow for more family time as well. Speaking of which we will be starting soon on homeschool. We're going to take advantage of the 100 degree temps and do some school work during the afternoons when the boys can't go out because of heat. Daniel is ready to start learning to read and the fact that he gets to work on the computer makes it even better. :) He's starting on Hooked On Phonics and allready loves all the little books that come with it. Well I have to scoot but here are some photos from our vacation and from our 4th. I hope you all have a GREAT week and I will try to write more often:)

We went to the Rain Forest Cafe on the Riverwalk our first night there. Daniel did NOT like the thunder and lightening show and kept his hands over his ears almost the entire time.

We went to the Alamo and David was thrilled. We'd done a unit study on the Alamo during our last few weeks of homeschool so he was really excited to see it in person. He loved all the statues and artifacts. Especially the ones with Bowie's name on them. He was David's favorite in all the books and stories about the Alamo. It was fun seeing him light up and point out everything he'd read about. :) That's him in the red shirt by the doors.

We went on the Shamu Up Close tour and at lunch, Shamu got CLOSE! The boys were so excited. We were too! It was way cool :)

We spent quite a while trying to get this bird to stand on David and finally it did! Of course it started walking off of him right when I went to snap the picture. :)

The boys after playing in the sprinkler at Nana's house on the fourth. We bought loads of kid friendly fireworks and spent the afternoon out there playing in the water and popping some loud loud fireworks. The boys had a blast! This was their first year to pop their own.

i miss my hubs

Sigh. Yep, I'm missin' him. because of other stuff going on, I haven't seen him in three days. It stinks. But we should get some family time tonight at David's ball game. A couple of updates:

David's team is tied for first, if they win tonight they move on. Go Indians!

I have signed up to teach Sunday School, 2nd and 3rd grade, and will start on Sunday morning. I'm way excited. David's been helping me decorate the room for the last two days.

Scott is working crazy hours, but these days so am I, lol.

Dano is doing great. He's excited to be promoting to Adventure Bay this Sunday.

Other than that it's loads of blah. We are all READY for our vacation in about a week. Four days away from all the mess as a family. I couldn't ask for anything more! We're taking the boys to Sea World in San Antonio. We're also going to the Zoo, The Alamo, and the River Walk. If we have time (and energy!) we're going to try for Natural Bridge Caverns as well. At Sea World we're going to be having lunch with Shamu, I can not wait! I'm bringing the laptop with me so be watching for pics of our fun time :). Not many cause I fully plan on spending every minute enjoying my family! Hopefully these few more weeks of blah will pass quickly!

Mothers Day

Wow, I didn't realize it's been 3 weeks since I've posted something. Crazy. A quick update before I tell you about my mothers day...

Homeschool is still going well. We've had a few hiccups but have overcome them with God's grace. Everything is going well and David still loves homeschool. Glory to God! Daniel is also doing well. He is still in pre-school but I see him getting more and more ready for the transition to homeschool. I am very excited to have them both home next term!

College is also going well. With God's provision I was able to do homeschool and college and they are both working out well. My Old Testament class was phenominal. I absolutely loved it and now have a MUCH deeper and better understanding of the Old Testament. I start my summer New Testament class tomorrow. I can barely wait. I've allready read ahead. (nerd alert!)

Scott is doing well. He is working crazy hours and many times I wonder if he's really home or just a figment of my imagination. Much prayer is being said over his work hours. I know God has a plan and a reason for him being at work so much so I'm trusting His plan. It is always so much better than mine!

We are headed for vacation in a few weeks, glory hallelujah! We are going to San Antonio the second week of June and will go to Sea World, the SA Zoo, The Alamo, and of course the Riverwalk. We are super excited for the time away as a family.

I am feeling a sense of eagerness about something. I'm a little too freaked out about it to say exactly what, but it is under intense prayer. Would you pray about it too? God will know exactly what you mean if you simply pray over "Jen's freak-out". :)

Onto Mothers Day - This has been the most amazing Mothers Day ever. Not because of the things I got (potted flowers, hanging baskets, chocolates, and sweet cards) but because of the time I got to spend with Scott and the boys. Everytime I turn around one of the boys is hugging me telling me they love me, it is sweetness at it's best. Scott gave me a sweet card and wrote some very nice things inside (I'm keeping them to myself :) ) We spent this morning together, Scott was able to come to church, and we just had fun as a family. I have never felt more appreaciated and loved, and I've never felt more blessed beyond anything I could ever deserve. God had blessed me with some amazing men in my life, but the three I got to spend this morning with take the cake. My boys are amazing. I can't believe I'm lucky enough to have them in my life. God must really love me.

Here are some pics of my pretties :)

We got a Topsy Turvy. You put the tomatoe plant in upside down and then put in the dirt and hang it. I wanted one to see if it really works and Scott found one at WalMart. Yay!

Pentas. I just love them. They are tiny little flowers but they are so pretty!

Vincas. I think they might be a love language. :)

We get impatiens every year but I've never seen one like this! There are four different colors: lilac, peach, pink, and white, and they look like they've been colored with crayons. Very pretty!

Hibiscus. I love them! Scott got two plants, one red and one yellow. They are blooming like crazy today!

homeschool is going GREAT!

Much better than I'd anticipated. David is loving it and flourishing! We're working on second grade material and have been able to branch out and try new things. One of which I have now just fallen all kinds of in love with. Lapbooking. Such a cool idea! Whoever thought of it, I am so thankful for you! We are studying Easter after the holiday because we took some time off when my brother was in town. But David doesn't mind so I don't mind. Today we created his lapbook for his study on the book, "The Legend of The Easter Egg". He loves it! He cut and pasted all the pieces while I read him the instructions. This week we will go through the book and learn about it piece by piece so that by the end of the week he will have learned science, math, language arts, history, reading, spelling, and art from this one little book! So cool. Anyway, here are some pics from today.

OH! By the way, if you would like to get your hands on some free lapbook ideas and printouts click here and you will find everything you could imagine! This is where I got the templates and printables for the Easter lapbook.

Cutting out the pieces....

Gluing the pieces onto the book.

Putting it all together.

The front cover.

The folded sides of the finished piece.

The inside of the finished product. :)

the start of a new adventure

Oh I don't think I'll be sleeping tonight. I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve. There is so much going through my mind right now! I'm excited and scared at the same time. I think God is saying, "enough already with the scared! we can DO this thang Jennifer!" As most of you know we will be starting homeschool tomorrow with David. Daniel is finishing his year of pre-school and then will start in the fall. We thought it might be better to wait with him. He's not quite ready for the transition. But David was more than eager. Tomorrow we will head to the library for reading time to check out some books on our Texas History unit study, then we'll head to the store to get craft supplies (and alittle math lesson!) for his lap book creating, then we'll head back home and study his sea monkies under the microscope. The should be fully viewable tomorrow. Big day, but a fun day. I can't wait! I'll be up early making a special "first day of school" breakfast of scrambled eggs and pancakes. The boys will be thrilled!

Do me a favor and pray for us this week if you think about it. I am anticipating a great week, but am not underestimating the enemy. I know how much satan hates that we are following God's plan, and I know how much he'd love for us not to. Keep us in your prayers my friends.

And please pray for my brother and his family as they are traveling this coming weekend to Abilene!!! Whoohoo! Please pray for safe travels and a great visit!

One more... please pray for a special friend of ours. We have recently found out he and his family are serving the Lord in a restricted country. Please pray for their safety and for their strenth in service to the Lord. They are my heroes.

Love you all, and thank you to everyone who prayed for our sick kiddos this week. We are claiming health from now on and won't take any more of satan's jerky-ness. He needs to get to steppin' before he gets stepped on! Oh yeah, my Jesus already took care of that didn't he? :) Move on satan. Move on.

the last day

Last night I prayed that today would be easier on us than I was anticipating. I knew it was going to be hard pulling away from school for the last time and I was prepared for tears. From me, not David. I asked God for a (another) clear sign that homeschool was the right thing. Lo and behold, he came through in an unforseen way. David woke up with a 103 fever this morning. No going to school. I'm claiming this as my clear sign that the boy should be at home. We did go an formally withdraw him at the school office and went by a few special teachers and said our goodbye's. Then we ventured to his classroom to say goodbye to his fellow students and gather his belongings. In the end it was a sweet half hour of closure for us. We both needed to walk through and say goodbye and also to thank God for ending one season while beginning another. David did not cry the whole time, and to my surprise neither did I. We were able to spend some special time with David's kindergarten teacher as well as the librarian. Both have been instrumental in getting David to this point. David was also able to say goodbye to his friend Ryan, although we will for sure be seeing Ryan again in the future. :) It was the moment we needed. The closure we needed.

Now it's time to enter the crazy adventure of homeschooling and I could not be more excited. David either. Right now we've allready started his first science project. We're growing sea monkies for him to look at under his new microscope on Tuesday. Monday will be spent at the library checking out books on the Alamo, then we'll begin our unit on the Alamo and Texas History. We're going to San Antonio on vacatio in June and so David will be learning about all the places we're going to visit. I can't wait to hear him say, "hey, I read about that in my lesson" when we go. :)

So even though it's been a bittersweet day, I'm praising God for the sweet goodbye and for the clarity. It's exactly what my worrysome heart needed.

more of a y than a v

This has been a funky day for me. Sick kid, high emotions, sadness, second guessing... to much going on to write about. But something happened this morning and I'm just figuring out what God was trying to show me. I think he meant it to happen that way.

This morning I sat out on the patio watching the day wake up. There was a group of birds trying desperately to get across the blustering cloudy sky. What struck me as odd about this group, is that their "v" shaped flying pattern was all out of whack. Out front in a single line flew 4, sometimes 5, lone birds. The back of the "v" was in shambles. One side was straight and ready, the other was quite crooked and pretty much what that guy from Project Runway would call a "hot mess". (without the 'hot' perhaps). I tried my best to figure out what on earth was wrong with those birds. Then it hit me. They didn't know who to follow. The line of birds out front showed an uprising of those who wanted to lead the pack. The lines to the back showed an utter confusion of whom to follow. Their "v" was very much a "y". I wondered if some of them were actually wondering "y" they were following leaders who seemed to want to argue over who was going to be out front than keeping their flock together. And now tonight after the day I've had emotionally, God's giving me a clue as to what on earth I was witnessing this morning. Crazy pack of birds maybe, lesson from God for sure. You see, I've been arguing with God over who was going to lead my life. My pretty "v" is very much a "y" sometimes. And I get my sides all in a hot mess while I'm blinded by all the junk in front of me. In trying to steal the lead from God, I create quite a mess in my wake. Why am I not content to follow God's lead and let him keep the "v" going. I'm terrified of incredible leaps of faith. I'm so afraid I'll make the wrong choice that often times I make God push me before I'll leap. And too often I don't see the mess I've created until it's too late. But how awesome is God that he still comes and straightens my messes up for me? So Lord tonight with all that's on my heart and mind, even as the tears come down, I'm praying for a V in my life. I don't want a tail of fighting for leadership in my life. I want the courage to follow you wherever you take me. I want the courage to live in a V patterned life, rather than the fear of living in a Y life. Help me to step back and follow you more. And help me to stop second guessing my life. Because you are in the lead.

loving the lapbooks

Okay, I've found a new love. :) Well, new to me. I love the lapbook idea for homeschooling! And I've found a couple of great places to find some free lapbook lessons and ideas! Too cool not to share. Keep looking cause I'll be updating this post as I find more freebies!

Free Presidential Election LapBook - click here to get it!

LOADS of free LapBook ideas/unit studies - click here to get it! *this will take you to the level 3 studies, to find other age ranges click on Unit Studies.

I'll send you more when I find them! Happy Hunting!

yay!

We finally got in the last big of curriculum for Homeschool! We are still waiting on David's telescope and microscope set but we can start without them. I don't think we'll need to, but we can if shipping is delayed for whatever reason. :) Oh I am so excited! What we're going to do to start out is work on unit studies with David for the rest of the year, and then at some point in August/Sept begin both boys on their full curriculum. Daniel is not to keen on the whole process so we're going to let him finish out the year in Pre-K. David is over the mood excited about starting ASAP. So this is his last week in public school. I'm a bit sad, but more excited to see what God has in store for us. I have been planning out these next few weeks with David. We'll be studying about the Alamo, Zoo Animals, Whales, and Bats to prepare for our trip to San Antonio in June. We're also going to do a few studies on the missionaries that are visiting our church this month and the countries they are serving in. And then we'll do a study on Baseball since that is what he's into right now. I also have a unit study on US Currency because he wants to learn about money. I really think these next few weeks are going to help me learn how he learns. We're going to have a great time exploring and learning from God's world!

Just an aside - while Satan hasn't attacked us yet, I'm not naive enough to think it won't happen. Please keep us in your prayers! You have been so encouraging with your e-mails and letters! Thank you SO much for the support!

taking the plunge...

*drumroll please...*

We are taking the plunge friends. Into what you ask? Into the vastly scary, wildly exciting, fun filled world of Homeschooling! Yep, that's right, homeschool here we come! I'm so excited about this decision. We've been praying for years about it until a few weeks ago when I realized I was praying more to keep God's will at bay than I was to get a clear decision from him. I allready knew what he wanted me to do, but I was hiding from it. So after hours upon hours, and weeks upon weeks, of researching state laws and the billions of curricula out there, we finally settled on Alpha Omega LifePac for David, and AO Horizons for Daniel. I am in love with both of them and I think each worktext will be good for each child. Several things have happened that have confirmed in my mind that this is God's plan. It's been an interesting week of God proving to me that all I needed to do was listen to him and he would work it out. In our Bible study this morning of Esther, Beth Moore was talking about timing. It really hit me when she said many times we just know when it's time. We won't be led by our emtions, but we'll just know and then we'll go. Two weeks ago I just knew. It wasn't an emotional decision, or a decision out of fear or anything else. I just knew it was time to stop putting God off. And much of that day was spent researching, talking with others who are currently homeschooling, and praying that I would have the strength to carry out God's plan. Last night I was talking some friends of mine and one asked why I had decided to homeschool and the only answer I had was that it was just time. I laughed to myself this morning about how fitting our lesson was with what's happened in the last few weeks. God is always there. He's there, and he's on time. Now it's up to us to be! Are you sitting on the fence waiting for it to be time? What's holding you back? Take advice from a fellow fence sitter. Jump down. If it's just time to get up and go, get up and go. God has worked everything out to where I have not needed to stress out about any part of this decision. Everything has fallen into my lap, including the curriculum and supplements my heart craved for. God has taken every question, every need, and every desire of my heart and fulfilled it. So if it's time, Go. Don't put God off or wait around for a better answer from him. You'll find your watch showing half past some blessings if you do.

PS - if you'd like to find out more about Alpha Omega Homeschooling products you can click here and it will take you to their site. You can also sign up for daily devotions in your e-mail! Check it out. :)

I have been...

... on this durn computer all day. Literally ALL stinkin day. I have found some terrific deals on Ebay. Deals that if I win, I will have a HUGE jump start on a decision we've made. Not ready to tell that yet. Still letting God reconcile my head to my heart before we jump into telling anyone. It's a secret between God and us and I actually like it like that. For now anyway. (no, before you jump, we are NOT preggers. God's not mean like that, lol!) Anyway, so I've been on the computer all day and I need to get up and DO something but first I wanted to share with you a Kohl's sale. Yep, I love some Kohl's. I won't be shopping because of the above mentioned Ebay deals, BUT you can shop and save an additional 15%, even on clearance items! The sale is online only and begins at 7:00 pm EST tonight! (Sat March 13th) You'll need to enter the code MIDNIGHT 15 when you checkout to get the extra % off. Happy shopping friends!

I need to update you...

But I'm in a terrible mood. Lol, I know, that's not what you're looking for. I can't help it. I'm bogged down and feeling quite moody. The boys are on my last nerve and I need some peace and quiet. I need an escape. So yesterday Scott and I spent the afternoon working on an "escape place" that's really only 3 feet from the kids, but it's a spot I can relax and feel calm in. I hope. I need peace in my life. I'm stressed. I'm supposed to be on a short break between my courses, but today I made the mistake of looking at my next two classes early and I'm allready over whelmed with the amount of work I'll be doing. Ugh. So, while I was going to update you today, it's hard to be chipper. So I'll show you pics of what we're calling my "escape pod" (thank you Dano for that nickname). It's actually our patio but we've sort of made it into an "eden". We bought several (okay, like 40) pots and found some amazing plants and flowers that I love, and decked out the patio. Take a look...

This is the first half....

This is the second half, and there are more down the side of the patio...

I have always loved Daisies and now I have a giant pot of them!

and of course I had to have some Gerbera Daisies as well...

We have no idea how to say or spell what these are called but they were too gorgeous to pass up! We bought a lilac plant and a pink plant and they are beautiful!

We bought a Yellow rose bush which I believe David is in love with. He keeps saying that it makes the most beautiful flower he's ever seen.
I think he's right.

Hubs cut the first rose for me but couldn't find a vase to put it in. I adore his substitute vase.

The only downside to buying all the plants so soon is that we haven't gotten our last freeze yet. So for now, my "escape pod" is indoors, all over my living room. BUT once the weather perks up, we'll have the prettiest patio ever. :)

check out the little mister

He received the Star Student award again. Yep, again. :)

i.am.mush.

Well my brain is anyway. I am feeling VERY overwhelmed with school right now. The fifth week is always the hardest in these 8 week semesters. I'm not sure why, it just works out that way. I have been one busy lady these past few days. I've missed both my Bible studies and Faith last night just to try to stay caught up. I'm only in two classes right now y'all. The work load is stressful to say the least. Praise God for a much lighter 6th week! Not much is new. I just realized it's been a while since I've posted. I guess I've been "miss mushy brain" for a while now. My days feel monotonous. Nothing new, same old junk. I need something new to keep me going. Something fun. Even shopping has lost it's appeal these days. So what now? What will bring th pep back into my attitude? I feel down and smushed most of the time lately. I'm in a funky kind of funk. Lol, it's so bad I can't even explain it properly. Anyway, what do you do when you feel down in the dumps and drained? Any ideas on how to put the pep in my step? (sorry but by now it's a theme, go with it) :) Love me even though I'm nerdy. And pray for me friends. I need it. :)

blahness

Today I'm feeling rather blah. After having the flu for almost a week, and taking care of two fluish boys for the same week, we're now stuck in the house because we're on the second day of ice ice baby. Yeah, I know, lame. But like I said, I'm feeling blah. :) We will probably get out of the house this afternoon. We've been cooped up for a week and we've all got cabin fever. But I did manage to get my house cleaned today. School is going well. I'm regretting having chosen to take English and Philosophy at the same time. I should have tried a different combination, but hey, I'm making it. Glory to God, I'm making it. Today we did a little "home-school" work because the boys have missed so much school. Including these two weather days, Dano has missed 6 days and David has missed 4. So we sat down for an hour and did some spelling, reading, and math. David was all into it, Daniel kinda tried to wimp out on me after 45 minutes. But we plugged through. Made me feel like we could actually homeschool and it would be okay. I'm still nervous that I wouldn't be patient enough, or that I wouldn't be a good enough teacher. Homeschool is something we pray earnestly about. I feel like it's what God wants, but I have zero confidence in myself as a teacher. I don't want to mess up my children's education. I know several people who homeschool and it works great for them. What is the secret? How does it work so easy? Were you afraid when you took the plunge? What happens if it doesn't work out? How do you know your child will graduate High School? Will all the work you've done at home be negated if you don't use an accredited curriculum? Questions questions. Help me homeschool moms. Help me. Please. I beg of you. I think I'm driving myself crazy here.

So yes, today I'm feeling blah about much. What are you up to today?

stirring a heavy heart

I am full of joy today. But my heart is also heavy. It's an unexplainable feeling. I can't pinpoint why I feel this way, or when it started. I can't make heads or tails of what's happening in my heart. I feel weighed down today. But I'm also full of joy. How can I feel both at once? I feel a joy for the amazing church family I have and how happy I am to see their smiling faces. I'm weighed down with a love for children I've never met. Does that make any sense at all? There is no doubt in me that God wants me to be a children's minister. No reservations, no doubts. But there is an unyielding weight. I am deeply burdened for these kids. What kids? I have no idea. I see their faces in my mind. I picture them all the time. Their smiles. Their tears. I want to reach out to them. Tell them about Jesus and his love for them. I want to hug them and let them know that even though the world around them thinks they'll never have a chance, God will always believe in them and they can do anything through Him. It's not time yet. I get that. But the more deeply I understand what it is that God wants from me, the more deeply I am burdened with this need to bring Jesus to them. I want them to see themselves through His eyes. To know they ARE loved. To know the ARE worth something. To know they ARE deeply cared for. To know they ARE precious. And yes, to know they ARE princes and princesses. These kids get to me. Straight to my heart. When I meet them face to face... wow. What a day of praise that will be. Until then I wait. Wait for God. Wait for that still small voice to say, "go". The wait is difficult. The prize though, is worth whatever I have to endure to get there. Who are you? When I meet you I'll know. Until then, I pray that God watches over you and that even now he begins to stir your heart like He is stirring mine.

Anyone else out there being stirred up?

update

Well friend I'm having issues with my camera. :( But I did want to update everyone on my weight loss status. I have not had a soft drink in over two weeks! A few days were really hard to get through, but I haven't given in. And honestly it's so much easier now to just drink water or sprite. And, drumroll please..... I have lost 8 pounds in the last two weeks! Now mind you that's not all from abstaining from soda. I have been walking more and being more active. I've also replaced my snacks with healthier options. I think the main reason this has been fairly easy for me is because God is going along with me. I can't do anything without His strength and I'm overjoyed that He's walking right along with me. :) As soon as I can get my camera to download pics I'll be updating you with pics. For now let's just send some praise upward for the 8 pounds that are no longer weighing me down! And pray with me that more of those little suckers decide to jump ship! :)

confessions from an adict

This post has been in my head for several days. I meant to post it on the first, but honestly... I was a bit embarassed to post this. For years I've been okay with my weight. I've not really cared that I'm "large" in size. (okay, maybe extra large but whatever) But over several weeks God's been impressing health on me. I need to be healthy. And so, to be healthy I need to lose weight. I've tried several times to do so, but everytime I just give in. I guess because I've been happy where I was. I'm not happy where I am right now. I simply feel fat. Please know, this is not an attempt for people to say "oh, you're not fat" or to feel sorry for me. This is simply me stating the truth. Lol, my truth. I guess I'm feeling the weight of my heaviness and I'm ready to be free of it. So where to start right? I know, eat healthy and excersize. I think that's easier said than done. But, this time around I'm adding a monumental tool to the battle. Prayer. I have been praying about how to do this right, how to keep the weight off, how to maintain a healthy balance. God's first answer... give up sodas. Now, if you know me, you know this is difficult for me. I drink soda like I breathe. And there of course lies the problem. And the addiction. I've tried in the past to give up caffiene but the "de-tox" was aweful. I had constant headaches, my body shook, I couldn't focus, I felt like I was a total mess. After two weeks I gave in and vowed to never try that again. This time has been different. God has really freed me from most of the past effects. It's been 5 days since I've had a coke and I'm not feeling shaky and havne't gotten headaches. I did have a really rough third day, the cravings were relentless. But I didn't give in, and days 4 and 5 have been amazing. I'm praising God for the power I feel over this caffiene addiction. I feel like I can actually do this. Like whatever God gives me during this trial, I can manage. The hardest thing for me to give up in order to lose weight in my mind, was coke. Through prayer and submission, God has granted me a peaceful break from caffiene. This journey is going to be a difficult ride for me. But I'm so encouraged and empowered knowing that God will be there with me holding my hand and strengthening my resolve. And my addictions? Gone. With God's help, nothing will stand in my way! If you'd like to come on this journey with me, (this is where it gets scary!) I'll be posting about this every Monday. And... it will include scale photos. Yes, oh yes. I truly believe that accountability goes a long way when struggling to overcome, and so I will be using my blog as my accountability. Knowing you are all reading this each Monday will keep me focused on watching that scale go down, down, DOWN! So come along with me readers. Monday will be the first official post. Join me on the journey, friends!