Soccer Mom

I am officially a "Soccer Mom". I think since the day Jake could throw or kick a ball, he has been waiting for this day:) He definitely has his father's athletic abilities. He just started playing soccer and had his first game this past Saturday. It was so much fun for him and for us:) Although he is one of the littlest ones on his team and still a bit lost in the game, he is out there running back and forth the entire time with the biggest smile on his face. It was kind of weird for me to see him out there and know that he is big enough now to play sports...makes me kind of sad that he is growing up so fast! I know it sounds silly, but it's the truth:)He made sure to wave at us a couple times during the gameBenjamin wants to be out there playing so bad. This was at Jake's first practice and Ben had to put on Jake's new uniform during practice and playEthan our nephew is on Jake's team this year, so that makes it even more fun for them and us

Sharing My Heart

As I look at the date of my last post, it has been 4 months since I have blogged!! I guess I'm not a very good blogger:) Truth is so much has gone on in our lives these last 4 months, but a lot of things I just didn't feel led to share on my blog. My life just in this past year has gone through more difficult things than I think in all my 30 years of life. The Lord is continuing to show Himself faithful to us as He always does and is carrying us through, stretching us and in the end we will be made stronger than ever:) As He is the potter and I am the clay, I feel like He has spun me around and around and I am just waiting for this season in my life to finally stop spinning and become a beautiful vessel. The Lord has just reminded me this morning in Isaiah 45:22...

"Look to Me, and be saved,
All you ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other."

Oswald Chambers says on this verse, "Rouse yourself up and look unto God. Build your hope on Him, no matter if there are a hundred and one things that press, resolutely exclude them all and look to Him. 'Look unto Me,' and salvation is, the moment you look."

That is exactly what I have had to do everyday lately, even several times a day...look unto Him. That moment that I look to Him, my problems and trials are no longer in front of me, but I am saved!

God is so faithful! Today Matthew and I are celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary!! I am so thankful for Matthew and for the Lord blessing me with the perfect man for me. They say that going through difficult things in your life as you are married can either make you or break you. I couldn't imagine having those things break us as those difficulties in both our lives this year have only drawn us closer than ever and closer to the Lord through them. He is my best friend and I love him with all my heart! Thank you Lord for being so faithful to us these last 8 years!!

Our Prayer Jar

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18Our family started a new tradition...our prayer jar. We've been doing it for a couple months now and it has been such a blessing in our lives. I have done a couple prayer jars in the past, but this is the first that we have done as a family. We put the names of our family and friends on a small piece of paper and fold them up and put them in our prayer jar. Every week we have the boys each pick one name out of the jar and we pray for those two families everyday all week. The boys get so excited on the night that they get to pick out a new family. We then send those families a card letting them know that we have been praying for them that week. It has been so awesome to see the Lord work through this little prayer jar. We've had several of those people that we've sent the cards to come up to us and thank us and tell us how much it encouraged them and that it was the perfect week to pray for them because of what was happening that specific week in their lives. It has been so encouraging to us to hear those stories. It is a great opportunity to teach our boys the importance of praying for others and at the same time teach them how to pray. We pray for those families everytime we pray throughout the day. It melts my heart to hear my boys praying and growing in their prayer lives since we've started this. The Lord put it on my heart to share this on my blog last night as I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep:) Hopefully it will encourage you and possibly you can also start a prayer jar with your family and witness for yourselves the power of prayer in your family and the lives of your loved ones!

Easter

I hope everyone had a blessed Easter celebrating our risen Savior! We had a very blessed Easter besides the fact that the boys had colds and we couldn't go to church. Bummer! I love going to church on Easter, but oh, well. Thankfully their colds didn't stop the family from coming over though. We had Easter at our house with both sides of the family and some friends. As we were home waiting for everyone's arrival, it was pouring down rain all morning and then began to snow!!! It only snowed for a few minutes and didn't stick, but it doesn't usually snow at our house. So all I could think about was the egg hunt and how were we going to do that in my small home! Thankfully we had a break in the weather and were able to hurry and do the egg hunt in our front yard. The day turned out great and we had a blessed time with all our family. The morning started with the boys finding their Easter baskets on the table with their chocolate bunnies. All Jake wanted for Easter was a chocolate bunny. So I told them, as Dadda was sleeping in, that they had to wait to eat their chocolate bunnies until Dadda saw them with them and after they ate breakfast. But lo and behold look what I found as someone snuck down the hall by himself...Here are pictures of our day...
Dad & Mom above with Chuck & Linda below. Both Chuck and my Dad had just gotten back from Haiti 2 days before. They both said it was the most radical experience they have ever had...very humbling and stretching, but were extremely blessed!Matthew, Levi & AmyDavid & JennaChris, Kristen & baby FaithOur friends, Mike & Johnna, who came with their girlsMatthew & meMost of the kiddosPretty girls, Gracie & FaithKristen & beautiful FaithGrandpa & BenJake and Ben on their egg huntOh, I just love that baby girl! Isn't she the cutest!Me and all my boys