We keep seeing God's blessings!

In so many ways we keep seeing God's blessings in our life.

We're thankful my hubby has a job in the economy like it is.

Our children are healthy as are we.

It's below freezing here but we're managing not to run up the gas bill.  God has been pulling me deeper and deeper into His word.

We are continuing to have our Bible during school and led by Daddy at night which has been awesome!

We're just so blessed and so thankful!

How are you being blessed right now?

Smiles,
 

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God gave me Such a Blessing!!!!!!!

On Thursday, my hubby took us to El Chico to see...

MY DAUGHTER, HOPE!!!!!!!

She was here for UIL and they went to eat afterwards.

She invited us to come along!  It was so great to see her!

Here we are squished in for a picture!

I needed some updated pics of us together!

I even got one of Hope by herself... she didn't mind it!

Yayyyyyy!!!

...then I got the oldest and the youngest....

 Hope & Hannah - my 2 "H's"  :)

I took a couple more pics but they didn't turn out so well.

I praise GOD for this time of being together.

The blessing so sweet and so precious!

I am full of JOY,

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Thanksgiving 2010

I was sick on Thanksgiving so we didn't get to drive in and spend Thanksgiving with everyone... so we drove home Sunday instead and spent a time of Thanksgiving & Christmas with Kenny's Mom and Dad a.k.a. "Nonna & Popaw"!!!  :)

 Here is a pic of Nonna & Popaw with Madi, Sarah & Hannah. 

I love how it turned out.  Again, I wish Hope had been there.

We ate delicious Thanksgiving leftovers and visited!

 Here we have: (L to R)

Nonna, Hannah, Uncow, Sarah & Madi

Uncow is Kenny's brother, their uncle, and he is AWESOME!

Hannah ran for the toy closet and got to playing!  LoL!

Then, Nonna and Popaw have a TRADITION every year!

They get Christmas gowns or pajamas on Thanksgiving each year!

I love that tradition!  And it makes for great Christmas morning pictures as well... plus they wear them ALL winter!

 Here is Madi Grace about to open hers!

 Sarah waiting patiently, lol :)

 Hannah Joy with a strange smile while waiting!  ROFL!

Everyone tearing in!  :)

How adorable!  We love them Nonna & Popaw!

THANK YOU BOTH!

Uncow & Aunt Kali

The girls are crazy about the whole family, and of course that certainly includes Uncow and Aunt Kali.

Uncow has been a favorite since they were each born!

 Another tradition is that they give us a Christmas decoration each Thanksgiving!  Since Popaw has cancer this one was especially special as it was the one from M.D. Anderson!

We *LoVe* it!!!!

Hannah Joy kept running to her Uncow!

He is the greatest uncle ever!

He adores these girls and they sure adore him!

I love this picture!!!!

....then.... because Popaw will be getting another round of Chemo at M.D. Anderson at Christmas we won't get to see them then.

So the girls got to open their gifts from them while we were there!

Hannah Joy opening her 1st one!

..what did she get?..

an ADORABLE pink camo hoodie and some precious pink matching pants.  They will look so cute on her!

......Hannah Joy opening her other one!......

....wonder what she got?....

 Littlest Pet Shop with a house and THREE dogs!

She loves it!!

... then  Sarah Faith ...

 ....what did she get?...

OH! The pic didn't save!  She got a Princess scrapbook set!

 ........then her other one........

I wonder what she got??  ;)  lol

A beautiful pink and purple hoodie with the cutest matching pink pants!  So adorable.  Pink & Purple are her favorite color!

..Madi Grace's turn!..

I LOVE this pic of her with the red bow she tied in her hair!

.......what did she get?.......

A green & blue hoodie and blue pants to match!

Her favorite colors are green and blue!

Yayy!!!!!!  Thanks Nonna & Popaw for everything!

....then her other present....

...wonder what she got?...

A VERY COOL light up art desk!

She used it last night and she loves it.. I mean loves it!

We had a wonderful and blessed time there.

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What a Blessing!!!!

My precious friend, Tamara, sent me a box full of beautiful dresses for Hannah Joy!  (she also sent an ENORMOUS sized box of all kinds of incredible things for school.  We are studying Ancient Egypt and she sent the most amazing things for that and for teaching Hannah and gifts!  The girls have been wanting to make popcicles so badly and she had no idea of that but she even sent them popcicle makers from Disney!  Amazing!  Oh yes, and a skirt for me that I'm in love with!  Thank you, Tamara, for your friendship first and then for all of the incredible blessings you sent our way!!

Here is Hannah Joy wearing 2 of the dresses.  Tamara sent 7 or 8!

then ... UPCLOSE:

And then she has This One on Today!

Each one is gorgeous and beautiful and perfect for her!

Today is my birthday and I had a doctor appointment.

Doesn't she look completely adorable?!

Ohhhhhhhhh I am SO blessed!!!

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What I am Reading :) - Thankfulness

Right now, I am thankful for a certain book! 

Tonight, I started reading the book, "Passionate Housewives Desperate for God."

I had bought it a long while back with a couple other books and this one got put on the back burner then forgotten.

I can see where I had folded edges on some pages in the beginning and then stopped reading it.  I guess at the time I was not ready for the book or not interested in it.  Tonight, I was devouring the pages.

It has lifted me up so much about being at home with a joyful heart.  It helps me realize I am doing the work of God by being home, keeping my home, taking care of my husband and children and that all those things I do for them is unto God and He will supply all my needs.

I'm not a big fan of "me time."  I do like to go sometimes to the store by myself or things like that.  Well, I guess that I do get into "me time" then.  Anyway, it helped me to see I do not need any of that to be content.  There's been like this void in me that I'm always trying to fill... and I know ONLY GOD can fill it.. but I still try in vain.

I know for sure that ONLY GOD can fulfill it so I am handing that all over to Him and Him alone!  My temporary fixes never work!

I encourage you to read this book.  It has been sitting and waiting for me for too long.  I'm glad I had it to pick up tonight and start reading.  Renee, at The Growing Stam family has it on her side bar, and every time I see it - I think - "I  need to pull that book out and read it!"  Tonight, I did.  As with any book - it's not the Bible - but it is a wonderful book like speaking to a Godly friend and it is backed up all by scriptures.

I am thankful tonight, for that book, that is touching me!

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Thankfulness Post

I am thankful for blogs.

You can take your friends "in a box" with you wherever you go!

When you need someone, there's usually someone online that you can reach out to and ask for prayer or share a burden.

You may just need advice and there's someone there.

No matter where you move (we have traveled and moved so much) you still get to keep your friends with you.  Of course you make IRL friends and have to leave them and may stay in touch but often times you stay in touch online.

I am thankful for blogs because they give me ideas.

There are some transparent ladies out there and you can learn so very much from them.  Godly advice... laughing about things together.

You can write your own blog and share your thoughts, ideas, advice etc... AND make it your children's memory album for when they are grown.  It could be passed on for generations.

I think blogs make a difference in how we do many things!

Let's cheer each other on!!

Smiles!

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We Loved the new church!!!!! -- Thankfulness Post

I'm so thankful for church!!!! 

(there is a CHALLENGE at the bottom that is a side note in pink!)

Well, the first church we visited was really wonderful.  I went to every single service to check everything out.  The girls did too.  We even went to the Fall Festival!  :)

However, the church just didn't have enough children.

That's important to me because we homeschool and I want the girls to be able to make friends through church.  Tho, that is *not* the only reason we're looking for a church.  We want to find a church here that we can be fed from, participate in, get involved in the outreach and meet other like minded families.

This church is the second one we have visited.

It's called Wood Creek.

Today was our first visit there and we loved it.

We were REALLY fed during the sermon and I couldn't believe the time flew so fast.  It was about investing in heavenly treasures, helping others - the things that help us invest in heavenly things.  It was about not investing the majority of your money into earthly things as they will turn to dust.  As many of you know I have learned that hard lesson this year with what happened to our home.

They are having a coat drive right now and I have two coats to offer and it feels great.  They have a church pantry for those in need at church.  I want to donate there.  They have where you can get help if you do not have the money for a good christmas.  I want to donate there.  They're right now having a "lunch box" drive.

You donate nonperishable things to be put into a lunch box.  I want to participate there - the girls are VERY excited about this!

You take things like Easy Mac, ravioli and etc..

The girls came home from their classes excited about that, which they will help pick things out for AND they enjoyed their classes which were really neat as they told us about what they did.

As we were leaving, one little girl from Sarah Faith's class kept saying goodbye to her and waving.  She had sat by Sarah Faith when she came in.  I think she really made Sarah Faith feel welcome.

When I picked up Madi Grace she was smiling and in a room of all girls!  There's so many children that, for example, 2nd graders are divided among FOUR ROOMS.  There are many homeschool families that go there.  It just really felt amazing.  I also was blessed so much by the praise music there.  We felt at home there.

I would love to finish visiting all the services and find that this is where we belong.  Kenny feels the same way.  It's much like our church back in Florida... which we adored and went to the time that we were in Florida.  We went to the same one the whole time because we found it "home" there.

I am so thankful for today and for the church.

Please pray that we will know God's will in His home for us in a church here.  I would be so grateful!

***Let me encourage you with this - it's completely just a side note..

but I challenge you this week to take care of your home, the cooking and your family better than you have *EVER* done even at your best!  Just put forth the extra effort, love and servanthood to go the extra mile.  Please join me!  Let me know if you are!!!***

So thankful and full of praise!

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Thankfulness Post - Aprons!

I love aprons!  I am thankful for aprons.

I think I have loved aprons for sooooo long, many years, I know.

To me, it's a sign that you are ready to do what your family needs and that you are prepared for the day.

Lately, I have gotten out of the use of wearing my aprons and I plan to get right back into it.  They make me feel energized.  I'm thankful for that.  We all need to feel energized in our homes.

When our little ones look at us wearing an apron, I think they see already that Mommy is ready for the day and it's going to be a good one!  I think they see the warmth of an apron as a good thing.

I am thankful that aprons also protect my clothes.  I can do all I need to and not mess up my clothing.  That saves me money and helps me not to ruin a nice outfit or blouse.

Another blessing is that when I have an apron on and my little one needs to wipe her hands to dry them or whatever, they can.  My girls love aprons.  They have aprons but I think they got ruined back home so I need to make them new ones.

Are aprons a blessing to you?

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Thankfulness Post ! :)

Yesterday, Hannah Joy woke up so sick and she was throwing up.  It was aweful and she felt worse than aweful!

Here she is after many times throwing up and having a bath and washing hair....  poor baby.

After a bit she fell asleep... so peacefully.

I had gotten 1/2 of a dose of pepto down her..

...lots of prayers later...

She woke up feeling like herself again!

...and she had a new chair Mommy got across the street that a lady was selling for $5.  She was thrilled! ...

I was SOOOOOOOOOOOO thankful she felt better and that God had so quickly answered my prayers and others praying for her.  It was amazing!  She was only sick for about 2 hours!

I'm so thankful we have a loving Father to go to, that hears us, and answers us... and sometimes the answer is, "YES!"  I kept asking Him to heal her- and He did - quickly!

Nothing is worse than when your baby is sick or hurt and mine was both and God just stepped right through for us.  (thank you Jesus!)

This chair was also a blessing because she needed one her size to sit in.  And, it is easy for her to get in and out of with a broken arm.  God saw fit to provide that for her!  Another PRAISE!

..........then I think Daddy is a little nuts.........

Here we are in November and he set the pool to 90 degrees.

Madi Grace described it as luke warm with a "pinch" of warm added in on top and that it felt great!  Yes, it's November and my girls went swimming tonight!

I'm thankful for a Daddy for my girls who loves them almost as much as I do.  He'd argue he loves them more!  God blessed us SO much with these amazing children!  I am SO THANKFUL!

Craziness... lol

Even Hannah Joy and Daddy put their feet in!

I'm so glad it wasn't windy.  It was nice out.

..and one more thing I am thankful for..

The Change of the Season.

Can you see the leaves changing on my shrubs behind the spa?

I even found some orange leaves today and they were beautiful.

We are ALL blessed and I PRAISE GOD for these BLESSINGS!

Smiles!

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