Daddy thinks you're beautiful.....

Weight has always been an uphill battle for me and since getting married and having children it's only gotten harder. Recently, I joined Weight Watchers and have had some success. I'm a about half way to my goal, which is great but, it presents a problem. None of my old clothes fit and I don't really want to go out and spend money on clothes for where I'm at now..... I know, know, "it's a good problem" but,it's still a problem!:) On Mother's Day this year, our church gave a free 8x10 picture to every mom. Which meant, I had to have my picture taken. That morning I must have tried on at least 5 different outfits which all ended up laying on the bed because they didn't work and I was in tears! (not a great way to start Mother's Day) At this point, I was standing in the hallway telling my husband "I'm so tired of this! I'm tired of feeling gross, and ugly, and fat all the time!" of course, he tried to comfort me but, sometimes (if you're anything like me) it really doesn't matter what he says because he "has to say that" :) My sweet little Hopie-girl was so into Mother's Day this year. She really wanted to make it a special day for me. When she looked up at me saw me crying, she wrapped her arms around me in a big hug and tenderly said, "Mommy, don't cry, Daddy thinks you're beautiful. Daddy loves you." It's amazing how just that simple phrase from her was enough to snap me out of it! Such a sweet, thoughtful girl! We went on to have a wonderful day :) This also made me think of our heavenly Father and how much He loves each and every one of us. He thinks we're beautiful. The Bible says, we are fearfully and wonderfully made. It took a lesson from my own sweet baby girl for me to remember that!

Jesus Loves Me...

As most of you probably already know, our sweet, little Hopie-girl asked Jesus into her heart nearly a week ago.  She's been asking a lot of questions about salvation for a while now so we had some idea that this would be coming.  This was one of the sweetest things I have experienced as a mother!
Those of you who know Hope, know that she has a tendency to be very shy.  When asked to say "Hi" to people she'll often try to hide and speak very quietly.  Today, while I was pushing her on the swing at the park, she fearlessly sang "Jesus Loves Me" at nearly the top of her lungs. (over and over again).  She was not shy at all just kept singing right along as if no one else was there.  The other ladies there with their children sweetly smiled at her but, inside I was worried that she might be offending them.
As we walked home, She turned to me and said, "Mommy, you know why I was singing 'Jesus Loves Me' to the people?"
I said, "No, baby why?"
She replied, "Because, I want them to believe in Jesus too...like me."
Conviction pierced my heart!  Here I was worrying about offending someone and she was trying to tell them about Jesus.  How sad my attitude was!  It took my 4 year old daughter's faith.  To show me what kind of witness I should be!

You Are My Sunshine...

When Hope was about 3 months old she had a bout of bronchitis.  As a new Mom, this completely terrified me!  I was so worried about the congestion in her chest that many nights I sat in the rocking chair and rocked her all night just to know that she was ok.  At that time, I adopted a song that became our lullaby, "You are my sunshine".
When Emma was born, it became the natural instinct to sing this to her as well.  The same thing with Liam.  This was a special song for me and my babies.  We even have a plaque with those words hanging on the wall in the kids room.
Whenever one of my kids are sick or hurt they want to go "Rock-Rock".  Emma came up with the term when she was tiny, meaning, she wanted me to rock her in the rocking chair.  And  yet again, the natural song that always seems to come is, "You are my sunshine."
About a month ago, Emma broke her thumb.  We were sitting in one of the doctors rooms at the urgent care waiting to go take one of the countless x-rays.  I was trying to distract her from the pain in her hand by being silly and playing with some stickers that the nurses had given her.
My precious, baby-girl leaned her head on my shoulder and ever so sweetly said to me, "Mama, you are my sunshine."  This simple statement brought joy to my heart and a tear to my eye.  I quickly began to sing the lullaby to her and stroke her hair and she fell asleep.
This will forever be a sweet memory in this Mama's heart!

Maybe you'll see him again...

Earlier today, I asked my precious 4year old for a big hug.  She sweetly ran right to me and gave me a hug.  While still in my arms, she leaned back just enough to look in my eyes.  Then she asked me a very thoughtful question.  She said, "Mommy, do you miss your daddy?"  (My dad passed away about 3 years ago) I silently nodded. Of course, because I was already beginning to tear up.  (If you know me you're not surprised) :)  She then responded with, "Well maybe you'll seen him again, soon".

I was blown away!  She has been asking us a lot of questions about salvation lately and I know she's close to being ready but, her thoughtfulness made me speechless.  The faith of a child....

Everything's all right...

Yes, I know, it's been ages since I've blogged.  It's not that the kids haven't said anything that's worth writing about it's that by the time it's quiet enough to sit and write, I've already forgotten what was so funny or sweet about what they said.

Having said all that, A few weeks ago I was having a very emotional day.  I was feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders.  We all have days like that, I know.  I was missing my family, feeling overwhelmed and just, honestly, being a "woman".

I sat down in the rocking chair and began to cry quietly.  My sweet, little Emma climbed up into my lap and began rocking with me.  She turned, looked at me and saw the tears.  She very gently, reached up and wiped one of the tears from my face and said, "Don't worry, Mommy, everything's all right..."

How precious is that!  In that moment, I knew she was right.  "Everything is all right",  no matter what the financial pressures  may be, or the family pressures, no matter if the house is clean or dirty or if the laundry is done... "Everything is all right."  I have my sweet, wonderful family,  God is on the throne and EVERYTHING is all right!

Jesus band-aids...

This morning over breakfast I was telling my little girls about a baby girl named Savannah, who has recently been diagnosed with Lukemia.  Since Savannah is only a little younger than our Liam this hit really close to home for me.  I began to cry when I was explaining what Lukemia is to the girls.  My heart is hurting for the family....I can't imagine what they're going through!
Hope and Emma were very concerned for this baby and they promised to pray for her.  I said, "We need to pray that Jesus will make baby Savannah all better."  Emma looked at me and said, "Mommy, can Jesus give her a band-aid to make it all better?  She needs a Jesus band-aid."
It took my breath away...I looked at Kyle and we both had tears running down our faces.  The Bible talks about a child-like faith.  This was faith in it's purest form.  How sweet, the innocent trust of a child!
We will all be praying for you baby, Savannah.  That you will get just what you need, a Jesus band-aid!

the innocence of a four year old..

Today, I was explaining to Hope about a young couple in our church getting engaged.  She's a very girly, girl and loves everything about weddings and etc.  I told her that Junior had asked Amanda to marry him and that they were going to get married.
I was expecting her to ask about the dress or the wedding itself but, instead she responded, "and then they're going to have kids??!!"  I quite literally Laughed Out Loud!
It was so precious and so innocent!  How sad that in today's society this is abnormal!  To wait until marriage, is laughed at.  I'm so glad that we've given our children that legacy.  I'm so glad that to them it's normal to have things in this order: Marriage first, Babies second.
Thank you Junior and Amanda for being an example to my girls of the way that things should be!