Monday, February 21, 2011

Preparing

  "Be still, and know that I am God" - Psalm 46:10
“The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”  Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.  - Exodus 14:14-15 
God just put the SMACK D-OWN.

This has really been on my mind lately.  I think because too often we all just simply STOP
We take being still as the same thing as STOP.  Do Nothing.

"Being still and doing nothing are two very different things." - Jackie Chan in The New Karate Kid

For more on the verses in Exodus check out THIS.   It really got me thinking about how many times I have truly been like, "ok, Lord...I'll be still (do nothing) and let You do Your thing."  But, being still isn't doing nothing.   Being still is Praising God, Worshiping Him, Believing Him, and Moving with HIM.  

We have to move.  God will fight our battles as we walk with Him in His direction.

You may have read my previous post Prayin' 'bout a house... Chris and I have got the Spiritual battle in full pursuit....we are praying, believing, declaring, proclaiming.  And now many of you are also standing, agreeing in prayer with us.   I was thinking today about our message at Church yesterday.  I was at 2nd service and Brock was talking about facing and fighting our battles in both the spiritual and natural.  Which also got me really thinking about this whole house situation....What if all we did was pray, but did nothing to prepare in the natural, we didn't move with God....example, not fix our cabinets that have been falling apart recently, replace our stained carpet, paint, etc...You get the point.  If we aren't preparing for the blessing, that's the same as not believing for them. 

"faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."  - James 2:17


So, we can have all the faith in the world, but if it doesn't produce action.....nothing.  Maybe it sounds weird to apply this to our house we are praying for, but I believe that the Word is always applicable.  In all we do.  Every aspect of our lives. 


So, we will be doing some house improvements.  We are currently shopping around.  Trying to find crazy insane God math prices :) on carpet or wood flooring, cabinetry, paint, etc....We even went as a family to Lowe's on Saturday to start actively acting, lol  And we found these two colors that we like....
I know this is not the greatest picture, so I will take another one once we have paint brushes (lol, forgot those) and paint part of our wall!  The creme color is called "Bungalow Gold".  How perfect is that?  I've always wanted to go to Tahiti and stay in one of those Bungalow's on the Sea and now my living room and halls may be Bungalow Gold.  BAAHAAA  I'll take what I can get at this point.  

 So thank you to all of you who are standing, agreeing with us in prayer!  

Being still isn't doing nothing.  Pray. Stand. Believe. Proclaim. Declare.  MOVE 
...whatever your situation!

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Prayin' 'bout a house, eatin' ice cream, and Spring Feva

Yesterday we went out as a family for literally the first time in 3wks...besides church.  We left the house at about 1230pm and didn't get home till after 7pm.  It was fun.  And it was tiring.  wow.  It's amazing how worn out we all were by the time we were headed home.  We were like zombies.  lol

Our 1st stop was to look at a house we have been praying about for the past several months.  Kinda cool story so far.....Found the house as I was dropping some of our friends kids off at their house after spending a couple days with us.  They said we needed to go the back way b/c there are pretty trees that way.  As we turned onto their street I noticed this house for sale. And really fell in love instantly.  I called Chris after dropping them off and had him Google it.  It was ...just a bit out of our price range ;)  We started praying that if that was the house that God has for us to raise our kids in and  grow old in that He would supernaturally provide....lead the way.  We went by the house that next weekend to grab a flier and so Chris could see it in person. He loved it. And it had dropped $10K from the original price.  Still praying.  Checked it last week....it had dropped an additional $30K.....that's $40k total people!!!  Went to go take a look at it yesterday with realtor to see the inside and backyard area.  It has apparently been on the market for a year.  It is a custom job, with a different style floor plan....which is why the Realtor said it has had trouble selling.  It's not the norm. And we just happen to think its close to perfect.  But who knows.  We will see if this is what God has in store.  Still praying and would love for any of you who read this to stand with us!  ....oh and it's in Bella Vista. and for those that don't know me that well....I've never been a "let's live in the woods" kinda girl....I'm a let's be as close to the mall kinda girl....so, this has to be a God thing.  'cuz I just fell in love with the lot!  It's so beautiful.  And the birds singing...  ah, peaceful!
And I have to say.  We love the house that we are in.  It's our home.  And we are thankful for it.  We may not be crazy about Centerton, but the house is fine.  We are totally content with it.  We had not even been looking at other homes.  At all.  This just happened.  So either way. But it would be really cool if....SO pray with us! lol

After the house we went to Red Lobster, for the 1st time in over a year.  It was lovely!  I really heart Red Lobster.  And I love that our kids are still young enough that they can just eat part of whatever we get, 'cuz there's no way I could have finished mine on my own.  Between the cheddar-bay biscuits, salad, and food we were all happily full!

We then went on to Old Navy and scored Trinity some $2.50 "flops" as our kids like to call them :)  aka flip flops.  I had scored the boys each a pair at WM a couple days prior....and it's funny, I got them this Nerf brand that was on sale for $3 at one WM, then the next day went to a different WM and they were $10...WHA????  I don't know what's crazier...the dif in price or the fact that someone would pay $10 for these flip flops.  in.sane.  Very excited about those deals!  Also went to Children's place and got the hook up on some $3 kids sun glasses! yay!  I think it's funny that Trinity had to get the one's that were "mommy glasses" ...the same style as mine....just her size and blue with flowers.  She's too cute! ha!

We then decided to treat the kids to some ice cream and one was free b/c our card was full! yay Cold Stone!  Asher got cake batter with sprinkles, Trinity got Strawberry, and Gabriel got coffee.  These kids love them some Cold Stone.....and so do we parents :-p

We have tried to wash our truck like 4 times.  Lines at the carwash have been CA-RA-ZYYYY.  We finally got Burby washed last night.  It felt so weird going through the carwash after dark.  lol...1st time for everything.  It was the only time there wasn't a 30min or more wait.  We got right in! yay!

....and did I mention NO potty accidents the WHOLE DAY OUT!!! YES! Thank you LORD. amen

And here are some random fun in the sun in Feb....spring-ish pics :)

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Valentine's Day!

I was helping Asher in the bathroom when Gabriel and Trinity kept saying "heart!" " heart, mommy" lol, I finally was like "what are you talking about?"  and they pointed....haha  My man is so sweet! 
 Valentine's the kiddos made for Daddy!...well, they colored them at least
 And what Chris came home with.....
 Such a sweetie....Tulips, card, husband certificates, and a Starbucks card.  So thankful that God made him specially for me!  I am a blessed woman, indeed!

and for some reason my boys....Asher and Gabriel spent a good majority of the day kissing and hugging on me. Apparently feeling the Valentine spirit.  I got butterfly kisses, kisses on the cheek and arms, hugs, cuddles, and at one point they each had a hold of one of my legs and would not let go.....so I even squeezed in a little workout. lol  They are pretty affectionate kiddos, but just a little over the top yesterday and it was SUPER sweet!

Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

On another note....
this is our verse I am currently teaching the kids
 this is on our fridge so every time we go into the kitchen...which is all the time, we can repeat it!

If you have never read this book....GO, GO NOW and buy it.  It is a precious jewel. 
 
 I got it from half.com for $.75 + shipping.  You can't say no to that! lol

More great spiritual nuggets....

I have been listening to these 3 pastors for a while and LOVE them.  I share their msgs/blogs on Twitter and FB sometimes so figured I would also share with you all. 

And if you missed Sunday at KPC....here is our latest sermon series!
New Series @ KPC
 Our fist week "The Game" we gave away 4 Lane Leather Recliners...one in each service
This Sunday "The Girl" we gave away 4 Coach purses...one in each service
And this next Sunday "The Goal" we will be giving away 4 Brickman Gas Grills....one in each service
So if you live in Northwest Arkansas, get yourself to Keypoint Church!  We have a North and South Campus.  Both with service times of 9am and 1045am.

Friday, February 11, 2011

More fun stuff

Some random cool things our kids have been doing lately....

Gabriel likes to brush his teeth every time he uses the bathroom. So he goes potty, washes his hands, then brushes his teeth.  It's pretty funny.

Trinity has started coming up with her own food combination's.  The other day she wanted "fench fies, stawberries, and chicken"  lol...usually she just asks for pancakes every meal

Asher is obsessed with eating the snow outside.  He also says "thomas no wet" or "james no wet" or "percy no wet"....so on....everytime he finishes on the potty....as his reminder :) lol  He has also made a morning ritual of as soon as he gets up...like anywhere from 6-7am he immediately comes in to cuddle with me.  It's sweet.  Although sometimes he scares me and wakes me up ;p haha....but we get our cuddles in!

They also like to make things like this...(Asher's idea)...
According to Asher these are drinks...and if you ask him what is in it..."grape juice!"  haha  guess that would be right since these are grapes with crunchy chow mein noodles for straws.  :)

They're pillow "choo choo".....so creative

Eating snow icecream with Frito Scoops :)  oh my.  I apparently didn't get them their spoons quick enough....

I have really enjoyed watching our kids manners just get better and better!  Something we have worked on from the start.  Trinity now say's "bank you very much". They are also getting really good at asking for things.   They now say "may.have.pease.more" lol  "bank you"  It's really the cutest thing. 

A great movie...Despicable Me.  Since watching it I have said "It's SO FLUFFY" like a zillion times.  I can't stop.  lol, if you haven't seen it here is a quick little clip of that scene....
knocked over.  
MUST.BUY.MOVIE!  Definite birthday present "for the kids"  :)

Some other funny (non-kid) movies we've seen recently...
Date Night
Dinner for Schmucks
Grown-ups
RED
Couple's Retreat

SALT is also good, just not a comedy

This year we are getting our taxes done by a Dave Ramsey ELP tax pro.  I'm kinda excited!  But I am also impatient.  I have already done a mock tax return just to get an idea :) lol....with our return we are doing some fun stuff.and I can't wait!!!

Also,
please check out these great blogs.  Both are about healthy living!  One more focused on recipe's and food and low carb eating This is a Short Life and the other just all around health....Our Journey to a Healthier Life

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Lately...

This year has just been amazing.  The first of the year we went on a 21 day Fast that was wonderful.  Really helped me focus and also helped me see eating habits that were just unhealthy that I had got in the habit of doing.  Thus I made a claim to just continue to eat better.  This lasted until we started getting ALL this crazy snow!  It's amazing how continuous snow can really put a dampener on eating healthy if you are not careful...and I was not.  And pretty much NO working out as when schools close, so do the classes at the Fitness Center. booo.  SO happy I didn't take Spin and pay $30 for a class I wouldn't be able to attend b/c of weather. 
But this snow has been CRAZY FUN!!!!  I have to say.  I L.O.V.E. snow.  And this year was a record year in NWA...literally more snow than the past 5 combined.  Like I said, crazy.  We had 3 storms almost back to back, each one stronger than the last.  The one we just got yesterday gave us over 20'' of awesome, beautiful snow!  this measurement was taken while it was still snowing!
I went out yesterday and made several Snow Angels.  I really just liked the exhilarating feeling of being able to just fall back into the snow.  There is just something so freeing about that. Chris even took a video of me doing one.  And I had to just lay there in the snow for a minute to enjoy it b4 getting back up.  Who knows when we will be able to experience snow like this again....
And today the kiddos were able to get out and play in it!  these are actually pics of this snow and the snow from the previous week....The DEEP stuff is from today.....snowman stuff from a couple days ago.
 Above pic....snow was SO FLUFFY today.  But we made a good start to our sledding track for tomorrow!
 My man is a STUD at making snowmen!!!  Teaching our kiddos right! lol
Several of my FB friends posted this wonderful verse yesterday and I am posting it here! yay!
“He directs the snow to fall on the earth and tells the rain to pour down. Then everyone stops working so they can watch his power." Job 37:6-7  ah, love it!

And this is HUGE.....
The kiddos decided they wanted to Potty Train....for real this time!  wooop wooop! 
 And I have to say it couldn't have come at a better time!  We had to use our diaper money envelope to help with groceries this check.  It's amazing how much more money you spend when you can't just go and do all shopping at once, at one store.  When Chris got paid we weren't able to make it to WalMart, so went to Harp's which is literally about a mile away....and also mucho more expensivo.  But, we are crazy blessed, because we had the means to pay for it.  Thank you Jesus for providing for us, yet again....as always! 

Gabriel was the first to make this potty training decision.  Then Trinity decided to as well.  Then we bought some Thomas the Train underwear and Asher was on board too!  They have really been doing great!  Hardly any accidents.  Asher has had a few more recently, but still doing great.  Gabriel is in underwear for nap time and night time.  Trinity and Asher are in underwear for nap time.  They have done night time once or twice, but really still need some form of diaper for night time.  Needless to say we are SO PROUD OF THEM!!! 

Some suggestions for those thinking about starting to potty train multiples....
1. wait till they are ready....we tried this a year ago b/c they sparked an interest.  After a seriously stressful week and a half I decided to just wait till they took it much more serious.  So glad I did.  We've never been those parents who are in a race or trying to keep up with "the Jones'" so to speak so not a big deal to us.  wich leads me to #2...
2.  Don't worry about other people's kids or their opinion of yours....if you have multiples you should know this by now surely, but sometimes we can all forget that things really are different for us who have multiples.  Our kids are almost 3 and just now seriously potty training and I am ok with that.  I think it's not only less stressful for you as the parent but also for your little ones.  And I'm all about less stress.
3.  When having trouble, resort to characters.  We abhor character things....shirts, backpacks, shoes...all that kind of stuff is just crazy ugly in our book and we don't buy it.  BUT, we resorted to this for underwear to get Asher on board...and it worked.  And now he will even keep his GAP underwear clean!
4.  I have to say...if you have slender children, primarily speaking for boys.... GAP underwear really is worth it.  A friend scored us some while on sale AND on their discount and we are forever grateful.  While the cheap WM hanes and fruit of the loom boy underwear did it's purpose it doesn't fit well at all.  But at $4 I wasn't going to complain especially when it got results. Gap also has super cute, non cheez designs...they are thick soft cotton and pretty much fit our boys perfect. 
5.  Be patient, encouraging, patient, encouraging......and remember...they are 2...or however old yours are :)  don't expect them to be pro like ASAP and
6. Remind, remind, remind.....take the time to ask them and even if they say no, but it's been quite a while take them anyway.  We started doing that with Asher and it helped tremendously.  Even though he said "no" to having to go he would go everytime we took him.

Super Bowl party.....of course, Cheeseheads :)  couldn't get Gabriel to keep it on, but Trinity and Asher loved it!
And some yummy snow ice cream w/caramel sauce!
 
Also....be on the lookout in future blog postings for more Bible Verse videos....Our last verse for Jan was Galatians 6:9a "So let’s not get tired of doing what is good." which I shortened to "never get tired of doing good"  We just didn't video it yet.  Going to do one per month.  I actually sat down and made a list...yay me! and yay for iphone list apps!  Our kiddos have done so good at actually memorizing the way we put them to song, then we sing that throughout the day and it really helps!  I just love hearing them speak God's Word!