Kind of random...and a review

I've tried to avoid admitting this, but it's true...I have a drooler. My first three children were NOT bad droolers. Blake, however, is a bird of a different feather. Around 2 months, he started drooling. Bad. An early teether? Nope. He is now just over 5 months and still drooling away. Still no teeth. I love that boy, but not his drool, it's disgusting. Anyway, others have told me I need to keep a bib on him. I don't. He gets his clothes wet and nasty and I just change his clothes. But, I decided that was silly and started searching for bibs that weren't huge or tiny, that were soft yet absorbent. I found some I LOVE, reasonably priced and fabulous colors. They are by Green Sprouts. I got them from Amazon.com. I'm hoping they make other sizes and styles, too...for later. I haven't yet tried the other ones in the picture, the printed ones,by Bumkins.


Also, I had to throw in a picture of my scrumptious little Blake, who is over 5 months now!

And a picture of Isabel's doll, simply because I walked in her room and thought it was so cute that Is had her all tucked in...she LOVES dolls. If she didn't have any other toys but dolls,she would be A-OK.


That's all folks!

A few things...

I wanted to share a few things I either learned, or was refreshed in during the past day or so...
Let me say, I am saved. I have accepted Christ as my Savior long ago. We "belong" to a church (that we love). But, lately, I have let stress take over my life. I have only been to church when it's convenient for me. I have only been in the Word, occasionally. Right now, I won't get into all the specifics of what is going on, what happened, and what led me to this point. But, I was at a point, THIS WEEK, where something had to give. I called on someone, who I believe to be an awesome woman of God, and I feel her words came straight from God. I also spent some time on my own...looking up some answers in the Bible to things I had been thinking about. These are just a few of those important things I feel God calls us on...

Should we be in church regularly?
Hebrew 10:25 says "Let us not give up on meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another- and all the more as you see the Day approaching"
Yes, we should be in church regularly.

Should we be in the word?
I know, the answer should be obvious...again, just some things I was struggling in that brought me to this...
The Bible is a LIVING BOOK "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth" Jeremiah 1:9

Someone wise shared this with me...
If you get married and take vows, then go out and live as if you aren't married...what good were those vows? What was the reason for them? What did it mean?
Therefore, If we confess we believe Jesus was sent to Earth, died on the cross, and rose again for our sins. If we accept Him as our Savior...then go on living a regular life, just like we always have, making choices that are not concurrent with what God has planned for us...what good was that commitment? If we are in church, and in the Word...we are more accountable...we are learning, growing, we are refreshed to walk with Him. In other words, you HAVE to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

I also wondered about being around those that cause you (me) to stumble.
Or, what if WE are the ones causing someone to stumble?
Matthew 18 talks about how "woe" will come to those who aid in stumbling others.
By this you don't serve God, but your own instincts.

Turning away from those that cause you to stumble does not mean hatred or judgement-but cautionary stances-and when they are ready to repent, we must be ready to forgive.
To me, this says that if someone causing you to stumble, call them on it. Then, if they are ready to change, be there to help them. If not, let them know you need to step away, but will be ready to forgive and help them when they get ready. This also applies to fellow Christians who are trapped in sin. Call them on it. As Christians, they know better and need to be held accountable. Don't let them bring you down. But, when they are ready to repent, be there for them.

James 5:16 "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for each other so that you may be healed-the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective".

It's kind of all over the place I know, but, that's where I was..."all over the place".
I feel refreshed and refocused. I feel recommitted to living the life HE wants for me. I feel awesome.

Birthday girl...

John 16:21
A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.




I am finally getting around to doing my sweet Isabel Grace's birthday post! I cannot believe my precious baby girl just turned 6 years old. Wow.
Before getting pregnant with her, I had been on the patch for birth control. I am used to getting migraines, but they got very bad while on the patch. My doctor told me I should take the patch off and see if my headaches got better. I was afraid to be off birth control, so I said no to his suggestion. That night, my patch fell off in the shower, I took it as a sign since it had never fallen off before. I decided since it fell off on it's own, I would wait before putting another one on and see how my headaches were. They improved, so almost a month later I went to get on another form of birth control. Not only did I think the patch was still in my system, but I also though my hubby and I were being extra safe (without too many details). So, I decided on the shot, but had to take a p.t. test first. I wasn't' even concerned about it being positive, until the nurse said, "You're pregnant". I seriously felt immediately dizzy. I was 25 and we already had two boys. I did NOT want to be pregnant. I remember them asking me, "Mam? Mam? Are you ok?" They said I turned completely white. It took a bit for the shock to wear off, but it did, and I got excited about our new little one to be. I had never wanted a baby girl...when I got pregnant with Andrew I wanted a boy, that's what I got. When I got pregnant with Joseph, I wanted a boy and got my wish again. I was going to get my tubes tied after Joseph, but David talked me out of it somehow. Though I never wanted a girl previously, when I got pregnant this time, I almost immediately had the desire in my heart for a girl. I'm ashamed to say that I had never prayed about anything else so fervently, "God, The most important thing is this baby's health. I pray it is completely healthy. I know the sex of this baby is not important, but Please, PLEASE let it be a girl, Please, Lord. Unless you know a reason that this HAS to be a boy, Please give me a baby girl." I prayed THAT prayer every single day, sometimes more, until we found out the sex. I remember the day our doctor said, "I'm 93 percent sure it's a girl". I told him I was going to pretend he didn't say that, that I didn't want to hear it until he said it was 100 percent. So, on our next sono appt, he said he was 99 percent sure, I decided I would take it. I was so amazed that God cared about not only what I needed, but about what I desired. I know it could only be a boy or girl, my chances were 50/50, either way, but I have NO doubt God gave me the desires of my heart with Isabel. Psalm 37:4 says "Take delight in the Lord,and he will give you your heart’s desires." So, on February 9th I went in for an induction. My labor was so short with baby girl, that I ALMOST didn't get my epidural. She arrived with a head full of silky black hair, that never fell out, and has continued to grow at the speed of light to this day! She had the most beautiful complexion...she looked like a tiny angel. I will say, her ears and forehead were covered in hair, which kind of freaked me out, but thankfully, that hair DID fall out. And, I can't lie, I definitely see eyebrow waxing in her future. But, she is the most beautiful, sweet spirit. She is very shy. She adores her brothers. She is my lone ally in a house FULL of boys. I pray her father and I raise her, along with her brothers, according to God's will. I can't wait to see the future He has planned for her, well...I can wait a little while.


















Ok, Ok...a tad bit of picture overload...it's ok, It's her birthday! :)

pray for Kate

Today is my sweet Isabel's 6th birthday. I had planned to blog about her today, but to be honest, my heart is (kind of) somewhere else today. It doesn't help that I had a migraine for a big part of today (thankfully it's gone now!). See, I got an update notice on little Kate McRae's Caring Bridge site today, and so I went to read it. Heart wrenching. I didn't want to click on the link, I didn't want to be made to feel sad when I was finally feeling better after my migraine had left. But, the fact is I have followed this little girl, and I feel like my heart is invested. I want to know what's going on with her, and what to specifically pray for. I will never understand why innocent children have to endure such horrible things, but I am thankful for the promise of Heaven. So, I will save Isabel's post for tomorrow or the next day, but for today I'm just going to love on Isabel and praise God for her health and my other children's health as well. Please lift this sweet family up, I cannot even begin to fathom the hurt in their hearts, their torment, the helplessness that her sweet parents feel...Jesus, I beg you to come quickly...I long for the sweet day when everyone is in Heaven, worshiping our Holy God together, never to have to deal another day with sickness, pain, or hurt....
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mcraekate

Candy from Jesus...

Isabel went with her Grandpa the other day, and when she came home, she had a Pez dispenser she was eating candy from. I looked to see what character the Pez was, and all I could tell was that it was a man. I asked Isabel who it was (since she opened it before she got home I never saw the packaging), and she said, "Jesus". "Honey, are you sure it isn't someone else, I don't think they make Jesus Pezs". "It's Jesus, Mom". I still have no clue who it is, or if they even make a Jesus Pez dispenser, which I can't decide if I like or don't like. Odd. So, I watched her eat candy from Jesus' head until it was empty.
Here's what it looks like, what do you think?

Prayer request...

This post isn't very "fun", but I feel a tug in my heart to post about it. Even if only one person reads and prays for this little girl, it's worth it. I've been following this CaringBridge site since they found out their little girl was sick, the link was originally shared from another blog I read. The truth is, sometimes I read it and sometimes I don't...sometimes it's just too hard to read...it's too easy to imagine my own child in this little girl's spot, and it's simply heart wrenching. I usually do read and pray for little Kate and her family though, because if it was one of my loved ones suffering through this, I would want as much prayer as possible on their behalf. Every time I read their journal updates, or someone else's who is going through a similar situation, I am reminded to praise GOD for my healthy children. Sure, it's annoying to deal with strep, a virus, a cold, especially as much as sickness has gone through our house this season, but that is NOTHING compared to what this family has/is enduring. Please take a moment to pray for this little girl and her family, even if you aren't able to read her journal. Then, take a moment to thank Jesus for the healthy children in your life!
All things are possible with God, including complete healing for this sweet child.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mcraekate

Stir crazy

So, in NE Texas we got a wee bit of ice. Seriously, a wee bit. School has been cancelled for three days because of it. It's freeeeeezing here. To be fair, it wasn't cancelled each day because of the ice, but also because of the power outages. Still, the weather is horrible. It's cold. We can't play outside. We can't really get out even for fresh air. The kids and I have been stuck in the house together for days, and to be honest, I'm about to go INSANE! I have been trying really hard to parent with love...it's been a heavy conviction for me lately. Even when I discipline I want to do it out of love...before, I have done it out of impatience, frustration, or anger. I've been doing a decent job. But today was my breaking point. I'm about ready to LOOSE it. I didn't "yell", but did raise my voice a couple times today out of total frustration. Days like today make me wonder why I would ever even CONSIDER homeschooling. I love being with my kids, I love my kids..period...but, I just need to work on my patience and loving skills. I feel guilty because I rarely feel like this, and these feelings make me feel like a terrible parent. But it's just how I feel right now...like a trapped rat. Tomorrow school is supposed to be in session. We are also supposed to get some snow. I think Mother Nature is just trying to see how far she can push me. Either way, come hell or high water, I Am getting out of this house tomorrow. So, stay tuned to find out if I loose my mind, or am able to keep it in tact...