Unmoved. Unchanged. Undefeated.

They just played this at our church recently and I thought since a lot of yall don't go to my church I'd post it here. POWERFUL. Thank you Jesus for setting fire in my heart this morning through this little boy. I praise you for who you are: yesterday, today, and forever. You never change.

(p.s. ignore those links at the beginning I don't know what they are)

If life is a garden: mine is afloat.

I am really excited for summer this year. I can't wait to get out and go fishing with my boys! :) Joel and I love to fish and K is a pretty good little fisherman as well. I also think this year we will have a garden. A SMALL one of course, as I don't really have a green thumb. OK let's be honest here I killed off hosta last year that my mother and mother in-law gave me, which they said was almost impossible. That's right I did it. :( . Not sure what went wrong. Joel says that I drowned them. I thought if you didn't water things they die, so I watered them every chance I got. Guess they die if you DROWN them as well. Who knew?

I am really looking forward to being able to eat fresh tomatoes and zucchini. Yum. I will also be looking into planting sweet potatoes because little D can eat his weight in sweet potatoes. Any helpful hints? Tips, Tricks. Secrets you can pass along? 

And since the sun and I have a love hate relationship. I will be dawning that hat at the top from http://www.shopruche.com/ one of my new favorites! Don't hate. I love the vintage feel and the big bow. What? Big Bows? Yep! I am a southern girl by birth and at heart the bigger the bow the better. :)

Swimmies: If they only knew.

Since we recently visited the creation museum we have been doing a lot of things in school that go along with what we learned. Well, yesterday I decided to make Noah's Ark come to life. I used mini animal crackers and a bowl mixed with K's imagination and my narrative = Noah's Ark. We sorted all of the animals into their kinds (this really helped him recognize things that were the same and things that were different). Sadly in our pack of animal crackers there were only about 3-4 kinds.  So we counted two of each kind and trotted them up into the ark. I know I know the bible says two of each clean animal and two of the unclean, but we just went with two. We are playing and I get to the part about the rest of the animals and how the water washed them away and they drowned, lucky for us we get to now eat them, and K has a look on his face. You know the look, the one were you can literally see the gears turning. And he says to me, "Momma I wouldn't have had to get on Noah's Ark." Which, really of took me by surprise so I said, "Hmmm...really K why not?" To which he replied one of the funniest things I have heard all week, "I have my swimmies. I'd float." lol. If only the people of Noah's time new about swimmies. :) What were they thinking drowning like that? lol On a more serious note this opened up a door to be able to explain that God told Noah to build the ark and preach to the people. If they would have listened to God they would have been safe. When we don't listen to God we are putting ourselves outside of His will, which usually leads to disaster. What a great reminder. Here is a picture of the scene described:

Swimming in the deep blue sea

I just love the way they are looking at each other in this next one. SWOON!

 

On the count of three make your best fishy-face....1, 2, 3!

  I tried making bath-time fun today by adding those Crayola Color Fizzes to my boys bath. We went swimming in the deep blue sea. K had such a fun time pretending. He said there were beautiful fish, crabs, and even some sharks we had to watch out for! Yikes. I love playing pretend with him. He has such a wonderful imagination. He told me, "Mommy you better not take any more pictures cause a shark will bite you camera!" lol. Let's hope not! Hope your Wednesday turned out to be just as fun.

Our 6th Wedding Anniversary

Last year about the time we were driving through the mountains in Colorado Springs, Colorado on our anniversary. There was something so special about seeing God's glory towering above us. I thought to myself surely nothing will ever be able to top this. Although, nothing will be able to take from the experiences and adventures we had in Colorado this year was an experience of a new kind. We went to the Creation Museum in Kentucky. It was such a fun trip. As we walked through the exhibits we saw the bible come to life. We saw Adam and Eve in Eden, Satan's lies and deceit through the serpent, the fall of man, Cain and Able, Noah's Ark and much more. It was such a sweet time for our family experiencing this together. K had so many questions and it sparked a lot of good spiritual discussion.

Taking this trip confirmed to me that our plan for homeschooling our children is the right thing to do. Now, don't get me wrong I am not saying homeschooling is for everyone or that your a bad parent if you don't. This is just what God has called our family to do. We were shown ways  to cut the theory of evolution at the core, and how to defend intelligent design. We want the knowledge of creation to be one of the foundations of our children's education. To bring everything they learn in focus with God and His plan.  What an incredible experience.

I am forgetting one important detail, my Joel. He is the very reason why everyday is a special one. See us holding that snake at the top? Crazy right? If it were anyone else I would say so. But it's not anyone else; It is Joel and I. I feel so safe with this man that I would hold a huge snake and smile about it. That definately says something about his character. I thank God for this man and all he does for our family. I can't wait to spend 60 more anniversaries with him.

Here's to love, family, and huge snakes! :)

Babylon

I am currently doing a study on the book of Daniel by Beth Moore. I just love her bible studies and would recommend them to anyone who wants to follow a study that's more structured. I am a few weeks in but one of the firsts days of this study caught my attention.  She writes:

"Her name is Babylon. Through the paintbrush of Scripture, we'll see her rise from the dust, robe herself in riches, and paint her face like a woman of the night. Make no mistake: she aims to seduce. Posing as the beautiful life, she morphs into the current image of what every worldly man and woman wants to be ~ deserves to be. She is popular. She is desirable . She is intoxicating. And did I say that she is religious. Ah, yes. She believes in so much of everything that one would be hard-pressed to tell if she believes in anything. To worship self is to worship her." -Beth Moore

Replace Babylon with America and this paragraph still makes sense. Now don't get me wrong. I am very grateful to be an American. I love our country and what it used to stand for. What the founding fathers stood for. But modern day America is much different. This is not going to be an un-patriotic post, believe me. It's about what I have bought into.

I have bought into her lies, her beauty, her deceit. I have believed at times if I just had more, did more, played the part better my life would be grand. I have pursued the American Dream and lost my way more than a time our two. Jesus says, "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it." Matthew 13:45-46. Discovering God's kingdom is like stumbling across hidden treasure or finding the one pearl of great price.  When we discover the kingdom of God we receive the greatest possible treasure -- the Lord himself.  There are a lot of things that can try and outshine or steal our attention away from the Lord, we will call these "false pearls". Satan has rejoiced in the very fact that I have pursued these false pearls so to speak.  What false pearls have you bought into? Did you sell everything, give up everything? Did you give up who you are to get these "pearls"?  I have been fed the lies over and over again willingly. I have longed to be prettier, smarter, or skinnier and desired, at times, these above a longing for my heavenly Father. A lot of this life I have spent looking in the mirror ,when in fact, if I would have just looked to our Creator I would find joy. Layer by layer God has been transforming my mind about these things. This life is NOT about me. It is about God. It is about serving Him and His people. Loving Him and His people. About recognizing the poison the enemy has to offer and rebuking it. To love Christ is to die to self.

Lord, please help me learn how to take up my cross daily and follow you. Please let my mind be on the things of Your kingdom. To consume my thoughts with You and Your glory. In your son's name, Amen.

*image from weheartit.com



K's Lego Party Extravaganza

I made these cute lego heads using marshmellows and dipping them in warmed frosting. Let them cool and then piped the faces on with black frosting. Aren't these just darling?

I also made this lego head out of white chocolate. Yum!

One of Kaden's favorite treats at the party was his lego cake. This is the first year I made his cake myself. I had a lot of fun with this project.

These are just frosted waffer cookies with M&M's on top.

We had a Lego building contest as one of the activities. I also set up a Lego photobooth and took pictures of the party goers with their creations!

Here is one of the birthday boy with his.



Other party goers with their Lego masterpieces

And the winner of the Lego building contest: Aunt Sissy's movie set

Thank you to everyone who came and made K's fourth birthday party extra special. He didn't want his party to end. We had such a fun time with all of you. One last picture of our birthday boy at the end of the festivities. (blue tongue and all from the cupcakes).



K's 4th Birthday!

I can't believe I am going to be the momma of a four year old. This little boy is the sunshine of my life. He is so full of joy and has such a sweet spirit. Joel and I are so grateful for him. I am preparing today for his Lego Birthday Extravaganza. Lot's of little loose ends to tie up.

I'll leave yall with a quote from one of my favorite books to read to him.

"I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always. As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be."

Decorate. Inspire.

Joel and I painted our room recently. I don't mind painting at all, but I am sure that is because Joel does a lot of the detail work. :) Any who, I was looking for a cute picture to hang and came across this one on etsy. From this cute little shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/tankandtink?ref=seller_info Let me just say that I love, like, love ETSY! Not only do I love etsy but I love the little bunting and the fabrics used will match perfectly. Cuteness.  What things inspire you?

Laughter

There is something so wonderful about a good laugh. Maybe its the way your belly hurts afterward, or maybe it is just because you are sharing it with people you love. Either way, I think laughing with my boys is one of my very favorite things to do. I am a very serious person usually. I always need a plan, need structure, need stability. Where is the freedom in that? My husband and children are not like that at all. Praise the Lord! They are funny, spontaneous, and free. The picture above dipicts that perfectly. K our oldest son makes my heart smile. He is such a goofy little boy. God has given him such a sweet heart and the ability to make people laugh. He is a lot like Joel.

Thank you Lord, for my family. That I am able to stay home with my boys. I love the fact that you have given them such wonderful gifts. I praise you because you have intrusted me with them. They are such a blessing in my life. I can see your joy in their sweet faces. I can see just a glimpse of your glory in their smiles.