Make Us Courageous

"The only way we will ever stand is on our knees with lifted hands."

These words are from the Casting Crowns song "Courageous." This is also an inspirational movie that I have not yet had to time to see, but maybe when it comes out on DVD, I will get the chance.

I have spent alot of time praying for my husband over these last few months. He has some important decisions to make in the coming months. The path he choses will affect all of us.

Seth has never been outwardly....well, outwardly anything...he is a very private person, so I don't wish to aire his business here, but just ask for prayers for our family, as change is inevietable.

"Seek justice, love mercy, walk humbly with your God."

Give it Up!

Did you give up anything for Lent?

I promised to give up carbonated beverages, but have already slipped up! In my defense, it wasn't really my fault! My mother-in-law was kind enough to bring me lunch yesterday at school and with it she brought me a Coke Zero. I mean, it would have been impolite not to drink it! And it was a Coke ZERO! No calories! ;)

One of my friends from high school gave up Facebook. I have done this before and hated losing touch with people.

Technology is great for keeping in touch with people, but it can also tear us apart.

I have to admit, I am guilty of wanting to finish a text message to a friend or my update on facebook, while one of my children is trying to get my attention. I have been on my cell phone when I could be talking to my husband. Yes, I am in touch with others, but I may be losing touch to those closest to me.

I love my Blackberry. I receive my emails from both my personal and work accounts. I have apps to news, Bible readings, movies, facebook (of course!) and all sorts of things I don't even hardly use.

I tried to convince Seth that he needed a Blackberry or some type of smartphone, but he had no interest in upgrading. As long as he can text and make phone calls, he is happy.

I have to admit I feel a little guilty paying more for my cell phone service because I like the convinience of having a Blackberry.

I have considered downgrading, but there are things that do keep in me in touch with others that I would miss! I love being able to take a picture of my babies on my phone and sent it to facebook for all of my friends and family to see with a push of a few buttons. I am much more likely to do my Bible reading on my phone than in my actual Bible because of its portability. I can read it while I am waiting to get my oil change or during my conference at school.

So am I going to give up my Blackberry? Not likely. But do I need to learn to put it down and put my family first? Definitely!

Now, back to those carbonated beverages. I am reaffirming my ban on them until Easter, and hopefully I can eventually completely kick the habit!

My Hats

I wear all sorts of hats. Really, I am not a hat person, but I wear three main hats.

Wife, mother, teacher.

I tend to keep my mommy hat on most of the time. It's hard not to, with three little ones, someone is always needing something from mommy. And, of course, at school the teacher hat stays on most of the day.

But when do I put on my wife hat? I have to admit, it's getting pretty dusty from not being worn much. When we are busy, it's hard to make time for each other. And privacy is not something that exists at our house because it is a concept that is still being grasped by our little ones. I definitely need to work on dusting off my wife hat everyday to give my husband some more attention. I know he deserves it!

But what if I wanted to change hats completely? It's also easy to want to wear the same hats all of the time. I get into the routine of life and am comfortable with the hats I wear.

But I have felt pulled to try on a totally different hat. One that is not comfortable. One that is unfamiliar.

I guess it would be easier to keep my same hat on. After all, it's broken in and I know how it fits.

But for some reason this other hat keeps nagging me. "You know you have always wanted to wear me. What's stopping you? You'll never know how right I can feel until you try me on!"

Are you as confused as I am? Good! Now you know how I feel! :)

The End of an Era...

If you haven't caught on yet, Seth and I have three darling children. And there definitely are NOT plans being made for any more to come. Being out-numbered by three has proved to be plenty, especially since they are so close in age.

Over the last several weeks we have been battling all sorts of illnesses, from pink eye to the flu and I have missed more work this year than ever before. (Luckily, I have a wonderful boss and coworkers who all seem to understand the joys of motherhood.) And the last few weeks have reminded me why I would like to stop at the magic number 3!

This morning, as I was getting the boys' breakfast on the table, I heard Emma Jo begin to cry from her crib. I quickly finished putting jelly on the toast and made the boys' drinks so they could get started eating and then went to get Emma out of bed.

Well, I guess Emma wasn't in a patient mood this morning. This isn't Emma, but what I saw looked similar:

Oh dear! This isn't good! I know I should not have been surprised. Both of our boys started climbing out of their cribs at an early age. (Daniel around 18 months, Mann at 15 months....yeah, 15 months....ridiculous!) But I had hoped Emma Jo would stay in her crib for AT LEAST another 6 months or so.

Now, yes, I know you can make that happen. The crib is already on its lowest setting, but you can buy these things to lengthen the crib life in your home:

But to me, it's too much like putting your child in jail. Emma Jo is 20 months old. In another couple months we are going to start potty-training. I know it is about time, BUT it just made me sad. It's the end of the crib era in our house. No longer will there be a baby crib in our home. We have had one here for almost 5 years! Yes, Daniel is turning 5 this year and will be headed off to Kindergarten in the fall.

Time sure does fly! I am loving my babies while they are little!

Baby, it's cold outside!

Been out of touch for awhile and I don't have lots of time now, but wanted to share a few pictures of the winter weather we have been experiencing in East Texas! It got bitterly cold for a few days, but we received no snow. School delayed until 10am last Wednesday and Thursday....and then Thursday night, we finally got what Daniel had been waiting for:SNOW!!!!!

Daniel is my little snow bunny. He LOVES the stuff. So, I am very thankful that unlike his younger brother and sister, he had not yet come down with the flu so he could enjoy himself.

And he definitely enjoyed himself!

Emma Jo and Mommy got outside long enough for a quick picture. Of course she refused to keep her hood on and her hat was left at daycare, so we were quick to get back to the warm fire after this photo!



For something special for my sick little bunnies, we made some snow ice cream. Of course, Emma Jo wanted to take more of an active role than Mann would allow.

Thankful for an unexpected day off. Grateful for good times with my precious family!

But....I Don't Have a Hairbrush!

I would like to share with you today one of my favorite stories told by Beth Moore. I absolutely love listening to it and it reminds me of how important it is to listen to what God is telling you to do....no matter how crazy it sounds! Enjoy!!!

My Long Beautiful Trek

I live about 8 miles from work, but it takes me at least 40 minutes to get there every morning. Bad traffic? Traveling at a snail pace? Nope, I have three little ones to drop at two separate daycares in two opposite directions.

I have found myself complaining about this quite a bit (mostly because my husband rarely helps out with these drop-off and pick-up duties!)

When I graduated from college, I moved to Houston. Being from Dallas, I figured Houston was not too far of a leap for me to adjust to. Wow! I literally lived 10 miles from work but it could easily take me an hour to get home if I waited until 5pm to leave. I changed my hours and came into work early, so that I could leave early and make it in half the time (That's 10 miles in 30 minutes...still pretty crazy!) I only kept that job and that apartment in Houston for about 6 months. I was miserable.

I moved to The Woodlands, a suburb of Houston. While it was a far nicer place to live and I loved my job as a social worker at a nearby hospice, I still did not enjoy the congested traffic and large masses of people.

Fast forward to now, I am still driving a long time to get to work, but my drive is such a pleasant experience. I start out on our small county road, then hop on the local hwy for 8 miles to Brownsboro, where I work. From there, I drive on a farm to market road for about 3 miles in one direction to drop off Mann and Emma Jo. Then I turn around and go back the other direction, back through Brownsboro, across some railroad tracks and then turn onto a small, winding county road. I travel down this bumpy blacktop road for 5 miles to Daniel's daycare and then turn around and come back to Brownsboro! I have yet to make the whole trip, including time to drop them off and say our goodbyes, in less than 40 minutes.

But instead of brake lights, I see beautiful scenery. And it's not uncommon for us to see some deer leaping across the road infront of us. (And the ones we see are REAL, as opposed to those statues pictured above at the entrance to The Woodlands!;) And, of course, you can't beat the company I have chatting my ear off until we get there!