Bye-Bye FIVE

Hello SIX!!!!!!




Happy Birthday Princess!!!

As of 5:14 pm my little princess will never be able to go back to Five.

When asked "how does it feel to be six?" Her response was "it feels like five."

The tale of a girl and her gum

Once upon a time there was a precious little girl named Amy. Her mommy would always remind her not to play with her gum. Why you ask? Well because Amy has had a few incidents with gum.

One was the time that it slipped into her hair but thank goodness mommy was there before it got in bedded in her hair. Let's not forget the many times clothes have gone into the wash then dryer not being noticed by mom which lead to them never being worn again. Another is when I would ask "where is your gum" to get the response that she "accidentally swallowed it" and let us not forget the times she would play with it using her fingers to make long strings that would bust when they hit a certain length and get all over her chin, hands and cheeks.

Well today's tale maybe one that you have encountered or experienced before. This afternoon as Amy was chewing her gum she laid her head down and began to talk and it slipped out of her mouth and you guessed it into her lovely long brown hair. She immediately came to mom but since mommy is sick and not feeling well mommy sent her to her daddy.

Well this is what I walked in on in the bathroom.

And this is how it ended up.

Maybe mommy should have just taken care of it.

Then sings my soul Saturday

This is my first time participating. The song that I have been thinking about all week is by Amy Grant, "Thy Word."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O46l_7TZR8I


It takes me back years and years ago and the song has the same impact now as it did back then.

For more Then sings my soul Saturday songs see Amy at http://signsmiraclesandwonders.blogspot.com/

Growing up so fast

The other night as Emily was reading us a book I just watched her read as her sister would point things out in the pictures of each page. Emily was so patient with her not letting her pointing things out interrupt the flow of the story. It was a beautiful sight.

I can't believe that Emily will be 6 this weekend and that Amy is 4. Where has the time gone? I am so blessed to have them as my children and thank God everyday for them - even our not so fun days.

They truly are little blessings!

Emily's Little Birthday Celebration

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Friday Family Fun Night - Camp Rock

Ok, the girls have been counting down the Disney channels original movie premiere of "Camp Rock" with of course the "Jonas Brothers!" So to make it a fun filled family night I decided we would have a camp out in the living room.

The camp out started about an hour and a half before the premiere. David grilled so we had steak, potatoes and zucchini (using paper products of course) - dessert will come later.

After dinner we took out the girls Disney princess pop up tent and set it up. The girls pulled out their sleeping bags and we were ready to go.

Camp Rock began at 7:00 pm and in the middle of the movie we ran out to the grill to make our delicious dessert - smores! Emily loved them and of course Amy just wanted the plan untouched marshmallow.

Then we were back to the movie. But wait camping out wouldn't be complete with out its share of insects and bugs.

Over all it was a wonderful night of fun and family time!

More Murals

Let's see if the whale swallows the girls?

Emily is holding her nose under water.

Amy and the whale.

Beautiful Murals

These pictures were taken at Cornerstone Church.

They have the most beautiful and huge murals.

Emily with Jesus and the little children.

Amy with Jesus and the little children.

Emily and Amy with Moses as he presents the 10 Commandments.

Emily and Amy inside Noah's Ark.

" The spirit of the Lord is upon Me,

because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.

He has sent Me to heal the broken hearted.

To preach deliverance to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind.

To see at liberty those who are oppressed.

To preach the acceptable year of the Lord."

Being Confident in HIM

I am currently in a bible study titled: "Discerning the Voice of God" by Priscilla Shirer.

I am in my second week and it is amazing. I came across this scripture of the week that was sent out in February of 2006 which just reminded me how blessed I am to know Christ as my Savior.

Hi Sweet Moms,

I missed seeing everyone this past Thursday. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!
You know sometimes God will ask us to do or say things that we ourselves will not understand or even know why. We will even have loved ones and friends question us (which can open the door to doubt.) But we have to be confident and not be doubtful about what God asks of us. We may never know the out come of situations where God has asked us to do or say something (that we didn't understand why) but the most important things is that we listened and obeyed.

An example that comes to mind is one of my friends told me that recently she was speaking at a retreat and God told her to say "there is someone in the audience that God is wanting you to come up here and give your testimony." Well after a few minutes and no response she thought in her mind and told God I did what you said and no one came up. She could have let doubt enter right then and there and listened to the devils lie that she doesn't hear from God and that she made herself look foolish. If she did listen to the lie then God would not have been able to use her the way He would have wanted to for the rest of the retreat.

This where confidence comes in and if you know that you know that you know God is telling you to do something and you obey, great is your reward!

Later that afternoon my friend said a woman came up to her and said "I think I was the one that was suppose to go up and give my testimony." So that night the woman gave her testimony. We may never know what my friends obedience did for this woman but the most important thing is that she listened to God and obeyed Him.

"Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding." Proverbs 3:5

Dear Heavenly Father,
We humbly come before you and ask that you would teach us to trust in you and be confident in you. Amen!

I want to continue to hear the voice of God in my daily life and be obedient to what he is telling me to do. One thing that Priscilla shared on her video message last week is when a thought comes into your head and if you start worrying, trying to justify or playing scenarios then that is obviously not Gods voice. Shut it down and don't entertain them and begin to pray.

God is so good!

Amazing Grace

Every time I hear that hymn I am not only reminded of the grace God has given each and everyone of us but I am also reminded of my Grandma (Grandmother Oli short for Olivia). She passed away right before David and I married. This was her favorite song and I can remember her singing it and it sounding so beautiful as it came from her heart.

The other morning I woke Amy up and I always carry her to the bathroom. But this particular morning I picked her up and I love how Amy will nest her head in my chest and I always give her a kiss on her head. As I did so this time not knowing that I would smell a perfume my Grandmother always use to wear. It brought tears to my eyes as I miss her dearly.

The girls awoke this morning

with such excitement. See for the last two weeks we have been making Father's day stuff for dad.

They made him puzzles that were blank and they painted them beautifully. They also painted and decorated rockets and fans for him. They had so much fun doing all these projects.

Ok, here is a closer look of the fathers day cards the girls created yesterday at Lakeshore Learning.

I guess they see their dad as a "Rock Star!" Emily's is the blue background and Amy's is the pink. I didn't help with anything these are "Emily and Amy Originals."

Going Postal at the Post Office

Ok, yesterday before I dropped the girls off at camp I realized that I needed like a 100 one cent stamps, yeah you read right 100.

So we had some extra time so I decided to take a journey over to the Post Office with the girls. I should have listened to my motherly instinct when Amy woke up on the wrong side of the bed tired from getting up early this week going to camp, having fun and going to bed late all week but no, I thought we would be ok to go on one short and sweet little errand.

Well, we get there and the girls get out of the car and we go inside where there was only ONE worker and ONE lady holding up his time. A few minutes later about 3 men came in to get in line behind me.

Well Amy decides she is tired of standing and wants me to carry her. Well my back has been hurting and I had bills in one hand and my wallet in the other so I look down at her and in a nice and polite way told her "mommy's back is bothering her" and continued to tell her she is a big girl and we should be done shortly. Well, shortly wasn't happening so Amy starts pulling on me, begging and crying for me to pick her up. Well, I had finally had it and I gave her a stern look and grunted my teeth and said in a not loud voice "you will have to wait" well as soon as I look back up I see the camera staring right at me in the corner of the post office and all I could think about is great I am going to be on the 5 o'clock news "see a mom going postal at the post office on her child" I could imagine all the stations playing it over and over again showing my angry face for all to see.

At that moment I was finally called up and asked for my 100 one cent stamps. Amy is still pulling on me, crying and blowing stuff out of her nose with no tissue, stuff from her nose is going everywhere and all I could think about at that moment is great I have not one tissue in my purse. So as we finish our transaction, all while the the tantrum is continuing and are walking out we stopped right outside the building and I looked at her and told her how this behavior was totally unacceptable. We get in the car and I give her a tissue since I have a box in there and we drive off.

I left the post office with my mind on the camera filming my every move and thought to myself even if we think no one is watching our every move someone always is whether it be a person or God. It was just one of those moments that I found very frustrating because I didn't meet the demands of my child but once we started driving off to camp her attitude changed when we finished our talk about what had just happened and why I didn't do as she requested and you would have never know of the experience we had just encountered.

It ended up be a wonderful day!

All good things come to an end

This week the girls have participated in a Hermie Mini Music Camp. Tonight was there performance and boy did they have a wonderful time there. The are having a Fabulous Summer!!

Amazing Revelation

Today I wanted to share a story that was sent to me a few years ago some of you may have already read this before but what a wonderful reminder it is of God's love and grace.

There was a group of women in a Bible study on the book of Malachi. As they were studying chapter three, they came across verse three which says: He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver. This verse puzzled the women and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out about the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible study.

That week this woman called up a silver smith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest in silver beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silver smith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot - then she thought again about the verse, that he sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.

She asked the silver smith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left even a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silver smith, how do you know when the silver is fully refined? He smiled at her and answered, "Oh that’s easy--when I see my image in it."

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for holding us and keeping your eye on us as we are in the fire. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to become the image in which you see us. And most of all thank you for being patient with us, even when we don't make the right decisions and helping us get back up again. Amen!

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you. And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver... (Malachi 3:3).

Emily my toothless wonder....

Emily lost her 5th tooth the other night. Doesn't she look adorable!

You should hear her talk she sounds so cute.

Faith in Action

This is another MOPS scripture of the week that was sent out on April 17, 2006:

Hi Sweet Mom's,
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

I was at my daughters school picking her up when I just happened to look at the gas gage and noticed it was a little below the E.

So once I got my daughter in the truck I told her we need to say a prayer that God will help us make it to the gas station because we really need to get gas for the truck.
To my amazement and surprise my daughter looks at me and says "Mommy don't worry, God is pushing the truck."

Wow, I thought to myself how wonderful God is to us and that He is revealing Himself to my daughter at such an early age.

Then she tells me a few minutes later after looking into the passenger side mirror "Well God said He was pushing the truck but I don't see His hands." Too precious!!

You know allot times God ask us to do things but just because we are looking through our eyes doesn't mean that He is not in control and taking care of it. God is always at work even though we don't see Him. That is "Faith."

NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]. Hebrews 11:1 (Amplified Bible)

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you so much for always working in our behalf even when we don't see or feel you. Amen!

Grace, Grace and more Grace ~ How wonderful

I am just amazed with God's Grace. It is such a wonderful gift that we should use and show daily. I came across two scriptures of the week that I would send out to our MOPS moms and wanted to share these with you also.

This one was back on December 12, 2005:

Hi Sweet Mom's,

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed spending time with your families.
There were several scriptures that I came across and would like to share two regarding "grace."

The first one:
"who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time." 2 Timothy 1:9

The second one:
"But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." 2 Corinthians 12:9

A few of the definitions of "Grace" are:
1. A characteristic or quality pleasing for its charm or refinement.
2. a = disposition to be generous or helpful; goodwill.
b = Mercy; clemency.
3. A favor rendered by one who need not do so; indulgence.
4. a = Divine love and protection bestowed freely on people.
b = The state of being protected or sanctified by the favor of God.
c = An excellence or power granted by God.

Grace has always been around from before the beginning of time. Isn't it a wonderful gift that God has given to us all. It hit me that God gave us the gift of grace (from Him to us), so we should exercise the gift of grace on ourselves and others.
As you go through the next few weeks with the hustle and bustle of the holiday season remember a great gift you can give not only to yourself but others is "grace".

Dear Heavenly Father,
We are so thankful that in our weakness you are strong. We are so grateful that you have given to us all the gift of grace if we would like to have it. My prayer for this week would be that we would be able to walk in grace. We love you and praise your holy name! Amen.

This one was back on March 6, 2006:

Hi Sweet Moms,
I hope everyone had a blessed weekend!

I was in my bible study class last week when something became so clear to me. We were asked to explain "how we see 'grace' through salvation?"

I had thought about it but didn't really get it until one of our mom's explained it like this:
She said that one time her daughter did something very, very, bad that deserved a spanking. Her husband took her daughter to her room where she awaited her spanking but to her surprise her dad pulled up his pant leg and spanked himself several times. The daughter looked at him like he was crazy and finally asked "Dad what are you doing?" And he's reply was that sometimes we do things that do not please God and we deserve to be punished but God gives us grace, I am giving you grace today!

WOW, I thought to myself, what a wonderful explanation and also a wonderful way to teach our children what "grace" is and to also have them experience "grace."

I bet if we all sit back and think of all the bad things we have done that haven't been pleasing to God, we will see Gods "grace" all over our lives!

Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]. Hebrews 4:16 (Amplified Bible)

Dear Heavenly Father,
We can't thank you enough for the grace that you have given to us through Christ Jesus your son. Thank you for your continuous grace that you bestow upon us. Amen!

A writter I am not...

At least it was something that never came naturally, creatively or quickly to me in school where I could have used it. But I was looking in my folders where a few years ago I was a MOPS leader and would send out a scripture of the week. Looking at some of the entries that God gave me still move me today as they did a few years ago.

This was one that was sent out in Jan of 2006:

Hi Sweet Moms,
I hope everyone had a blessed week and weekend!
I had an eye doctor appointment yesterday. As I was sitting in the waiting room (the doctor was an hour and a half behind schedule and I had no kids, what a blessing that time was, LOL) a young mom walked in pushing a double stroller. In the front seat of the stroller was the most precious little boy who looked to be about 3 years of age. Each of his eyes were in different directions and he couldn't see all that well. He had the biggest smile and kept saying, Hello, Hello, waiting for someone to respond. I finally said Hello back and he then turned his head to my direction and then continued "what are you doing?" I then responded, I am sitting waiting to see the doctor. He then turned and started with his Hello's again and then an other person in the waiting room responded.

As I was sitting there in the doctors office, I was asking God what do you want our moms to have for this week, it hit me. God is the like the little boy saying to us, "Hello, are you there? What are doing?" Just like the little boy calling out, Hello, waiting patiently for someone to respond that is like how God is, He keeps calling us and waiting patiently for us to respond to Him. I thank God that He doesn't give up calling for me.

Can you hear His voice calling you? God is always talking to us throughout the day, we just need to stop and listen. My prayer for everyone is that we would all recognize His voice when He is speaking to us.

I just would like to share a story from 1 Samuel.
1 Samuel 3:1-10
1 NOW THE boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. The word of the Lord was rare and precious in those days; there was no frequent or widely spread vision.
2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had dimmed so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place.
3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was lying down
4 When the Lord called, Samuel! And he answered, Here I am.
5 He ran to Eli and said, Here I am, for you called me. Eli said, I did not call you; lie down again. So he went and lay down.
6 And the Lord called again, Samuel! And Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, Here am I; you did call me. Eli answered, I did not call, my son; lie down again.
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord was not yet revealed to him.
8 And the Lord called Samuel the third time. And he went to Eli and said, Here I am, for you did call me. Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy.
9 So Eli said to Samuel, Go, lie down. And if He calls you, you shall say, Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 And the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, Samuel! Samuel! Then Samuel answered, Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.

Dear Heavenly Father,
We come before you so grateful to know you! Thank you for loving us unconditionally. We pray God that you would show us all when you are speaking to us and that you would help us to recognize your voice. Amen!

Dad is having too much fun!

Well, today we had two creative activities planned for the family. First, David took the girls to Home Depot where they built a sail boat and they had so much fun. For those of you who are unaware the first Saturday of every month from 9 to 12 Home Depot has a free craft for the kids where they will not only get to build something but they give them a nice Home Depot apron to have and for every project they do they get a pin to pin on there apron with a picture of the project they have completed. It is really fun and cool!


Well from there we were off to Michael's where they had a free event today. The craft was making flowers and bugs from pipe cleaners. Well we were there for over an hour and you want to know why?



We couldn't get Daddy out of there!!!

Out of my comfort zone?

Wow, Emily and Amy have been out of school for two weeks now. I am not one to go lots of big places during the summer (me alone with the girls) and you would have never caught me taking them to the zoo, park, sea world, etc. Why you ask? Because of FEAR. I would get anxiety just thinking about it, I mean for instance lets take the zoo, there are some many different paths that my fear would be that I would turn my head for one second and one of the girls would be gone and I would go into extreme panic mode not knowing which path to take to find them. You catch my drift?

Well, I am happy to announce that I have over come my fear by the grace of God and have taken the girls to the zoo, park, swimming (in our back yard of course), etc. and now we will be starting a few different VBS's with more fun activities in the next coming weeks.

The girls are at such a fun age and I am so glad to have overcome my fear. We will have so many fun memories this summer!