Blogaversary, 200 posts, and much much more!!

One year ago today I published my first post!!! (check it out: Sweetest Moment of All) This is also my 200th post. I have been a busy girl this year!! More accurately, I am just addicted to blogging now. (thanks Gabe!!) This whole blogging thing started when Gabe kept bugging me to start my own. He was convinced I would love it. I didn't think so. You can see who was right on that one!! Other than using this blog to keep in touch with family far away, it has surprisingly been quite an outlet for me. So here's to you "Sweet Moments", thanks for helping to keep me sane!

So what to do to celebrate?! I could post a year in review of slide shows and pictures. Ummm, nope. I am sure you have had your fill of those! I could recap all our wonderful adventures from this past year. Don't think so. That would be boring. What to do?! What to do?!

Seeing that this blog started with my "Sweetest Moment of All", I thought it only appropriate to spend this time with you sharing how God has molded and shaped me this past year. A continuation of sorts of my first post.

A favorite verse of mine is Psalm 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God". (NIV) Here are some other translations of that scripture.....

"Cease striving and know that I am God" (NAS)
"Let go of your concerns and know that I am God." (GOD'S WORD)
"Be at peace in the knowledge that I am God." (Bible in Basic English)

I like to be in control of things. I know... go ahead and laugh. Believe me God has humbled my attempts at taking and holding onto the reigns. This past year God has challenged me to let go of my concerns, my wants, my needs and to simply rest in the peaceful knowledge that He is God.... He is in control. The being "still" part is especially difficult. For whatever reason, our family has been haunted by a continual, unrelenting busyness. We can't get away from it long enough to take a breath. This seriously clashes with my personality. I need a slower, more controlled state to my life. I honestly admit that I allow the urgent to shut to the door on the stillness. No matter what has been put on my "plate" to deal with, God still beckons me to "Be still". Sometimes I feel the strong desire to run off to a high mountain top to just sit in the quietness and soak in my Lord's glory. The thing is, as much as I want to escape to find that intimacy and stillness with God, He is here ready and willing to give that to me no matter how the world is swirling around me. I don't need to "get away" to see and experience His glory, I just need to clear my vision and stop focusing on the "to-do" lists and responsibilities. I just need to go before Him and simply be still. He will take care of the rest. He will bless me with a "mountain top" of peace and the beauty of rest in His embrace.

Thank you God for showing me how much I need You. You have created in me a thirst that is only quenched by You and a hunger that is only satisfied by You. You are the only true God and I humbly come before You and rejoice that You chose me. You love me. You are for me. God, continue to teach me what it truly means to worship You, to trust You, and rest in You. You are God and You are never changing. Your love is everlasting. I praise You.

"Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the Lord Himself is God; it is He who has made us, not we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness to all generations." Psalm 100

FUSION Lake Party

Gabe already posted about our fun day with the FUSION group at McQueeny Lake. I will spare you a bunch of mundane details. Isaac was so brave in trying new things, but while riding the jet ski with Gabe, Isaac said "Slow down Papa, that's not funny!" (not that Gabe was even going very fast with him - funny non the less) My few trips out with Gabe were "terrifying" in a good way. Those jet skis were FAST! Here are some more pictures from our day at the lake.

Pulled the Plug

Notice anything different in this picture? (not the dead grass) Look closely. You might want to sit down for this one...... we pulled the plug on selling the house. The sign came out of our yard this morning. Ok,hang in there with me....let me share my heart on this and sort out all the details. Those of you just joining us on this blog need to know we have had our house on the market since December, had a buyer whom backed out recently, and we have rode the emotional roller coaster for far too long.

After the deal fell through and the shock wore off, my heart started to change concerning the sale of our house. A few weeks later I started to pray that God would shut the door on the whole thing. I just recently told Gabe about my prayer. Seems strange that I would pray something like that after the ordeal we have been through. But staying put and being more financially sound started to be much more appealing than a bigger more roomier home. Also, we have been very debt pay off minded thinking of going into a new and higher mortgage. I am happy to say that we are very close to paying all our debt off!!!!!! YIPEE!!

The stress of all of this has taken its toll on our family and we finally said,"Enough"!! It was a huge burden lifted when Gabe and I made the decision to take our house off the market. We are content with what God has given us and we will just have to be creative in solving our space issues.

So my "To-Do" list this week includes these words...... unpack!! Which strangely, I am looking forward to.

What good has come from all of this?!
*Making much needed improvements on our house
*Paying off our debt (well - almost, we are almost there!!)
*Learning to be patient
*Learning to be content with what God has given us
*Learning to submit our will to His
*Trusting God in Everything
*Experiencing the joy and peace of following God

So as you read this, don't feel sorry for us. Rejoice with us as we continue to seek God's will for our family. Rejoice with us that God is good and provides for our every need. Rejoice that God has taken us through this journey for a reason, many reasons. All of which have brought us into a closer relationship with Him. Praise God!

Sweetie Peatie

Julia has had to endure a number of nicknames that range from Sweet Pea (now Sweetie Peatie!) to Ju Ju Bean (which started as Julie Bean and sometimes gets shortened to just Ju Ju). Julia happily answers to all her many names.

Julia is growing and changing faster than I can believe. My baby is growing up. In this picture she is trying to show me how old she is by holding up two fingers. Quite a difficult task to accomplish for a two year old!!

If you all thought Isaac was quick to use a large vocabulary at a young age, then Julia is following right along in his footsteps. She has no other choice than to develop a large and ever growing vocabulary with a brother that talks 90 to nothing, 90% of the time!!! She is talking in full sentences and says things like, "I don't know Mama, I have to think about that". She is now adding the word "so" to many of her phrases and sentences. She says stuff like, "you are so pretty" or today it was "I am so mad". Of course her favorite phrase is still, "Up Please." That girl LOVES to be held! What a cuddle bug!

A few weeks ago I took this picture of Julia while she was drawing. As a teacher, I have seen lots of young children learn to write and hold the pencils correctly. Never have I seen a 2 year old hold her pen with such accuracy, especially having never been taught. Julia is more inclined to do things that require fine motor skills like writing, puzzles, zipping, etc. So different from Isaac. He will do his handwriting but it is definitely not his favorite thing to do.


Julia lives the best of both worlds. She can be a girlie girl one minute playing dress up and taking care of her "babies", then the next minute she is playing trains and trucks and roughing it up with Isaac in the backyard. She is not afraid to try new things (I love that!!) Julia totally loves to go swimming. She is fearless in the water. Gonna have to keep a close eye on that one!!! Lately she has enjoyed playing basketball in the backyard. Maybe she will take after her Mama and play on a team when she gets older!! (hope she is better than I was)

And when she is in a girlie girl mood, Julia loves to twirl in her dresses and play ring around the rosy. I caught Julia and Isaac playing Ring Around the Rosy the other day. They play so well together now. (well - most of them time!) She has gotten to where she can engage in play with more imagination. So Isaac will start a play story and she will join right in. She adores Isaac and is very quick to apologize to him if need be. She loves to gives hugs. What a sweet sight it is to see Isaac and Julia hugging and loving on each other. I pray constantly that their sibling bond would start and stay strong for many years to come.

I cherish my baby girl. I guess I won't be able to say that much longer. She tells me all the time, "I am a big girl Mama" Oh, where does the time go?!

Happy Birthday Bear!

I am the kind of Mom that will take an entire morning to celebrate the birthday of my son's beloved stuffed Bear! Yesterday Isaac informed me that it was Bear's 41/2 birthday!!(which is quite accurate - Isaac got Bear from a friend of ours when he was born) So today we decided to celebrate!!! The kids started off our morning by making construction paper decorations and taping them all over the house. Then we made homemade chocolate chip cookies. While they baked, Isaac and Julia found as many gift bags as they could and went "shopping" around the house for gifts to give Bear. Isaac even found some straws and pretended they were party horns!! Our party was complete when we sang "Happy Birthday" to Bear and let him open his gifts!! What a fun way to spend our morning. I love my children so much and it was a delight to see them get creative with our little party for Bear. Now we are off to the pool. What a fun day!!

Best Papa Ever!

I may be a little late getting this posted, but it is done with much love for my sweet husband and father of my two little munchkins. Yesterday, Isaac broke out in an impromptu "Father's Day Song"! I can only imagine that Gabe was very touched to hear his son sing a song of adoration to him. So glad I had the camera handy!

Gabe is the best Papa ever! (no offense to all those other Dads and Papas!!) We, by far, were blessed with the best. Gabe does not hesitate to show his affection for Isaac and Julia. They know that they are very dearly loved by their Papa. They bombard him as soon as he walks in the door after work. The kids and Gabe then spend the next half hour wrestling and playing. He always tries to include the kids in what he is doing and welcomes their "help" when working on a project outside. What a partner I have in Gabe. He wisely knows how to gently but firmly parent our children and support and encourage me along the way. Gabe would do anything for our family. There is nothing that could drag him away from us! I love you Gabe! I couldn't ask for more in a husband, best friend, and father of our children. Happy Father's Day!

**The song on the video is Monk & Neagle; Drag Me Away**

My Dad

It is sad that we only focus our attention to honor and celebrate our parents once a year. They deserve our applause every day. They are worth it. But thankfully, we do have a day that encourages us to slow down and pay tribute to our wonderful parents that sacrificed for us and loved us through the years. So with that said, I would like to tell you a little bit about my Dad.

God brought me into my family at just the time when my Dad's job allowed him to be at home more often. So as a young child, I had the privilege of coming home from kindergarten to my Dad hiding behind the door waiting to shout "Boo"!! He took me fishing and would yell after me, 'I hope you catch one as big as your leg'!! (which I did one time - I have a picture to prove it!!) He tickled us to tears and surprised us with green biscuits!! (St. Patty's Day - Mom was gone!!) When I asked him the millionth question about the world around me, he would answer straight faced with some outlandish explanation. I took to every word he said as it was the absolute truth.

My Dad savors quality time with those closest to him. He is not one to take for granted the time we have together. He cherishes each and every moment and memory. When I am in my Dad's presence, I know I have his undivided attention. I feel special in his eyes, as every little girl should.

I have never known another to be as humble and hardworking as my Dad. He lives his life with such integrity and wisdom. He has endured some troubled roads in the past, and chose to walk those roads with his arms raised in praise to our Creator. What a beautiful example to follow.

I love you Dad and thank you for all the years of unending sacrifice and love for our family. I am blessed beyond measure to call you my Dad. Happy (late) Father's Day!!

Simply Fabulous

Nothing against Gabe's AWESOME blog design (which I will go back to one day), I just wanted to freshen things up with something a little more "summery"! I followed a link from Today's Creative Blog which led me to Simply Fabulous Blog Designs. She has a whole section of FREE blog designs! Simply Fabulous!! What do you think?

House Update

So I guess the for sale sign is going to stay in our yard a little longer! The lady couldn't pay what we were asking and we weren't willing to go down enough for her. Just not meant to be! Funny thing is her Realtor took her to the house for sale across the street, which is the same floor plan as ours. Our neighbor has her house priced 7k below ours. (our neighbor really needs out of her house for various reasons - that is why it is priced so low) I think this person is going to buy the house across the street instead. Welcome Neighbor!!!

God is really teaching us how to be patient, how to earnestly seek His wisdom, and how to trust Him with all the unknowns. For that, I am thankful for this situation we are in. The biggest struggle for me right now is just being stuck in the middle and not being able to set my sights on what to do next or where and how much to "settle" down. I am a natural planner, so the not knowing is a challenge for me. Keep praying that we will continue to be diligent in seeking God's wisdom and patient in waiting for Him to reveal the next step to take.

Blah!

We read the offer. One word..... Blah! It wasn't so great. So we countered, and will wait to see what happens. We want to move, but we are not desperate. We still need to be able to make a decent amount from this house to be able to move into the next. God is in control. We will patiently trust Him!

Guess What...........

This picture look familiar?! Well, hopefully we will be able to take that sign down soon!!! Yep, you read that right. We have an offer on our house AGAIN! We haven't seen the offer yet so don't get your hopes up too high just yet. We should know more by the end of the day. I will let you know as I know!!

Label Happy

Gabe is going to laugh heartily at me when he gets home. I got little carried away today with my labeler. I have enjoyed labeling all sorts of things and have dreams of one day organizing our new house from the start. Seeing that that dream is on hold, I needed to get some organizing out of my system. See Below!!

Yes, I put labels in my freezer and fridge. I am such a dork!! But dork or not, it needed to be done. I was beginning to fear a broken toe from the avalanche of frozen food that inevitably would come spilling out of the freezer every time it was opened. I better enjoy how neat and tidy things are today. It only lasts for a few days and then life happens and we are back to where we started.

Inflatable Wonderland

Isaac did it again!!! He filled up his 'Good Choices Jar' !! This time he chose to go to Inflatable Wonderland, so that is exactly where we went today. We all had so much fun that we all (including me) crashed when we got home. I am not usually a napper, but boy howdy I needed one today!! We had a great time until about 1 pm when all the elementary, 'schools out, summer is here, completely hyped up on adrenaline and sugar' kids arrived. I actually started to fear for my kids safety when that chaos began. Not due to the older kid chaos...... Isaac did walk away with a nice little knot over his eye. It was his own fault - well, sort of!!! He was sitting on this huge blow up flower inside an inflatable. Another kid jumped on the opposite end which sent Isaac sailing over the side and out onto the ground below. If it hadn't been my own kid flailing through the air, it might have been kind of funny. He handled it like any tough four year old boy, "Ahh Mom, I am fine. Just let me get back in there and play again!!" Julia surprised me - well, not completely. She is proving to be quite the dare devil lately. There is this one slide that is ridiculously high and a bit steep. My sweet, barely two year old little girl (after a few moments of hesitation) decided to go for it and climbed that thing only to go sailing down super fast on the slide. She came down with a look of fright but stood up with a beaming smile!! (see end of video) She attempted and accomplished things today that Isaac is just now getting up the nerve to do. I guess that comes from growing up with an adventurous older brother and wanting to keep up with him. Enjoy the pictures and the video!!