Living Fully is My Goal

“He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God.” Psalm 50:23

“Thanksgiving – giving thanks in everything – prepares the way that God might show us His fullest salvation in Christ…Our salvation in Christ is real, yet the completeness of that salvation is not fully realized in a life until the life realizes the need to give thanks.” – Ann Voskamp

Jared gave me some books for my birthday, including “One Thousand Gifts” by Ann Voskamp, which was on my wish list.  I read her blog “A Holy Experience” and I think her book is just as fantastic!  I am challenged again to intentionally look for blessings in the little things and to give thanks throughout the day.  It is the secret to joy!  I must confess I forgot this as I discovered black crayon all over the walls in Haley’s room this morning and all over the kids' play table.  I thought Kiera + Blake were playing so nicely in Haley’s room while I was breastfeeding her.  Then when I came back to get a cloth, I discovered Kiera had colored all over the fridge, too.  After I spent half an hour scrubbing it all off, I realized I need to be thankful that I have a house and walls which to color on, even though they’re not supposed to be colored on.  I want to carry a little notepad with me in my purse so that I can count my blessings wherever I go.  Here are some more gifts:

846. That my labors got shorter by half the time with the 2nd and 3rd (Kiera’s was 24 hours, Blake’s was 11 hours and Haley’s was 5 hours)

847. Watching my kids swing together

848. Me, Kiera + Blake pretending we were in Riverdance while Jared laughed at us

849. The new shoes we got for Kiera + Blake that were both 50% off, so they ended up being $7.50 each

850. Funny birthday cards from friends

851. Gorgeous fall colors that surrounded our yard a few weeks ago

852. When Kiera sings “At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow…”

853. The strawberry ice cream, strawberries and chocolate sauce I got for my birthday

854. Ladybugs

855. Dancing in the kitchen with Kiera last week…just dancing more lately

856. Black raspberry vanilla soap

857. Leaves

858. Mint floss

859. Watching a friend do his Bollywood dance moves while singing and making us laugh hysterically

860. Being stopped and having time to relax while waiting in line at the grocery store

Our Little Trip

Last week, we went away on a little holiday that Jared surprised me with!  I had been telling him for quite a while that I would love to be surprised with a trip one day, so he booked it without telling me and then told me after. :)  He was off work all week and we were gone for 2 nights.  The kids had their blankets on them basically the whole time we were driving, which was a lifesaver!  They were quiet almost the whole 4 hours it took to get there!  Here is Blake sleeping…I love how his face gets chubbier when all of his muscles are relaxed!

As soon as they have their blankets, their fingers go in their mouth.

I only had to feed Haley once on the way there and that was when we stopped at DQ for lunch.  Close to our destination, we drove through a town and saw this building covered in bras!

I couldn’t believe I was actually seeing that and quickly asked Jared to turn around so that I could take a picture!  I have NO idea what was up with that.  We stayed in a 2-bedroom cabin.  Jared loved that Kiera was cuddling with him while watching Veggie Tales

I thought it was cool how the stripes on Blake’s shirt lit up with the camera flash

The first night I was up almost the whole night between Haley waking up, Blake falling out of bed, and then both him + Kiera keeping each other awake because they were sharing a room.  The strange thing was, we had our bed rail along for Blake, since he’s used to sleeping in a crib, but he fell off the end of the bed.  Now that we’re home, he’s back in his crib.  Thankfully, the 2nd night went much better, but we had to put Kiera in our room for a bit while Blake fell asleep because she was keeping him up.  We went to the mall and Jared let Kiera + Blake go on a whole bunch of rides while I looked for clothes with Haley.

I loved how there were so many trees and all the fall colors!

The outside of the cabin

The main room in the cabin

Haley turned 2 months old the day we got there

On the way home, we stopped in a city to do some shopping.  I had found a dressy shirt at a store the day before that I really liked, but I didn’t buy it.  I saw the same shirt in the same store in this other city and decided that if it fit, I would buy it.  It was buy one get one for $10 and I found another nice shirt and they both fit, so I bought them both and got a great deal!  It was cloudy almost our whole trip but as we got closer to home, blue sky started to appear, so I took a picture because I just loved the color!

It was nice to get away, but we found it very not relaxing with our 3 kids along, so we won’t be doing that again any time soon.  It was great to watch the kids having fun, but it was tiring and stressful at times.  I think vacations will be more enjoyable once they’re older!

Jared’s Day Off

When Jared surprised me with a day off 3 weeks, it was HOT outside, which was very abnormal for the end of September and we loved it!  We took the kids to a new park that got made not too long ago. 

Kiera sliding down

View from the top

They had really cool swings there

After the park, we tried a new restaurant which we ended up loving!  It is only open in the morning until mid-afternoon and basically just serves a wide variety of breakfast foods.  I had raspberry crepes…YUM!  A lady came up to us and gave us a coupon for a free kid’s meal with an order of an adult’s meal, so we thought one kid would be free and we would pay for the other.  When it came time to pay, both kids ended up being free because we had 2 adult meals!  That was a total blessing!  Haley slept in her car seat the whole time we were there, so that was great, too!  We went to the mall after that and did some shopping.  The kids got to play in the play area there for a while and then we went home.  We were home for about 20 min. and then we went to our friends’ house for supper and stayed the evening.  The kids were totally exhausted by the time we got home, but it was a super fun day!!  I’m so thankful we have a content baby who allows us to have days like that!

Battlefield

For a long time, I have struggled with being quick to anger, mostly toward my kids. I had prayed about it quite a bit and asked others to pray, too. I just couldn't seem to kick it. I wouldn't all out scream at them, but I would too often yell and discipline out of anger. I was talking to someone and something they said rung a bell. They talked about generational curses and they quoted Deuteronomy 5:9 "I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected - even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me." I thought to myself, "I think this is a generational curse that has been passed down to me and I definitely do NOT want to continue to be this way and to pass this on to my children." We have authority in Jesus to break these curses, so I just prayed and broke that curse and it's gone! That's not to say that I don't struggle with it because I will always struggle with sin, but I don't feel out of control like I used to.
As I've been dealing with something very difficult in my life right now, I am very aware that there is a battle going on. Ephesians 6:12 "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." I have been doing spiritual warfare and taking a stand against the enemy. He wants to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus came to give us abundant life! Ephesians 6:14-17 "Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." So, that's what I've been doing these days. God is bigger and He is in the business of moving mountains, so that is what I am praying and believing!

Learning Curve

Kiera has been in Preschool for 3 weeks now and I’m blown away with how much she has already learned.  She knows all of the months of the year and the days of the week.  They do the calendar every morning, so thanks to that, she also knows her numbers up to 30 now instead of just 20.  Then, when I was tucking her into bed last night, she suddenly counted BACKWARD from 30 to 20.  What?!  I don’t think she learned that at Preschool; I think she just figured that out on her own.  She is also learning to write the letters of the alphabet and learning what sound each letter makes.  I’m not in her class very often as I’m mostly with the babies and toddlers, but my friend gives me updates and said that Kiera just soaks everything in and just loves it.  She was made for school!  She learned a new song in Sunday School this past Sunday and came home singing the whole song after the first time hearing it.  I love seeing the gifts that God has put into each of my kids.  He is so good!

Blessed

“The more I count these blessings, the more I realize that they really are not the product of my own efforts. They are truly gifts of grace from God above. It’s incredible to open my eyes to them week after week. And humbling. That I should be graced with such wonders? Me… whose heart is weak and black, yet covered with much mercy. How great is Your unfailing love, Lord God of all!” ~Sharaya Crossan

I’m quickly trying to sneak in this blog post while I have 2 kids napping and the other is watching a show.  Haley’s naps are very unpredictable, so I never know how much time I have.  Sometimes she wakes up after 10 minutes, which is very frustrating, and sometimes she sleeps for a couple of hours.  I have hardly any time to do anything for myself these days, but I’m thankful for my kids who keep my hands full.  Here are some more things I’m thankful for:

831. The 18 roses I got from our friends when I was in the hospital with Haley

832. When Jared tells his daughters they’re beautiful

833. The 8 ft. by 8 ft. sandbox Jared’s Dad built for the kids in July

834. When Kiera came and cuddled in our bed on Saturday morning

835. Watching him play

836. Clothes given to us for Kiera which means that I don’t have to go buy any!

837. The way sunlight hits things (or people) and adds beauty

838. That Jared has been full of surprises lately: a surprise day off, a surprise week off, and a surprise holiday for our family!

839. Sister love

840. Encouragement

841. Seeing them all ready for Preschool (all of us go twice a week since it’s sort of like a Home school Preschool at our church)

842. The blue + white freezies…my favorite flavors

843. Sharing a blanket

844. That Jesus is there in the darkest most painful times (I’m dealing with something right now, but his grace is there and he is carrying my burden)

845. Brother-sister love

3 More Videos

I don't have a lot of time to blog these days, but I will do a proper blog post one of these days. For now, I'll just post a few short videos.
Kiera's first time going down a zipline and she went over and over again

Blake bustin' out some moves

Blake tries to say elephant, but it's not close at all :)