Christmas Eve 2012

We are not wealthy  by monatary standards. However we are a family that loves with all our hearts! We have our beautiful daughters and we have a wonderful love that grows more and more every day!
As we celebrate this Christmas we do so with a love for our Savior Jesus Christ, and a knowledge that he was born to die, to set men free from their sin!

Yesterday at church NikiRhe asked me..."What is that? (pointing at a cross)
Me, "It's a cross sweetie"
Niki; "What's it for?"
Me; "Well, after Jesus grew up he took on all the bad things people had done and he died on the cross so that we could live in heaven with him after we die."

Niki; with tears in her eyes.... "but I don't want Jesus to die"
Me: "well, see that's not the whole story, after Jesus died they put him in a 'cave room' in a mountian and after three days he came back to life and then went to heaven to be with God and wait for us to come to live with him."
Niki: " Was Jesus waiting for all those little kids that died?"
Me: "yes he was sweetie."
Niki: " When do I get to go back to heaven mommy? I miss Jesus he's my friend."
Me: with tears in MY eyes."Lord willing not for a very long time, but you just remember that Jesus will always be your friend. He loves you!"
Hugging me with a smile...."I love him too but I love you too mommy. I want to stay with you for a long time."

I often wonder if I'm teaching my daughter the true meaning of Christmas and this conversation proved to me I am! :) She is so amazing and such a blessing!

Well today we did a lot! We finished up some gift wrapping, did some cleaning, baked cookies, read two Christmas stories and played games as a family. We even started tracking Santa on NORAD this morning about 11:30! We have watched his journey all across the world!
It has been a good day and we have enjoyed spending time with our beautiful daughters!

May God Bless you this Christmas!

From my family to yours,
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Morning Coffee...and OH MY Christmas is in a week!

On mornings that I have to get up early to run an errand or go to an appointment I try to always set the coffee pot timer and have it going when I get up. I am normally up before 5am because my hubby leaves for work about 4:30 and having coffee with him is not something I get to do every day. ***psssst, I'm not Mrs. Cleaver! I don't get up with him! ****
However I make his lunch the night before.  As for me I like to have a nice cup of coffee, my favorite being Starbucks, and have some quite time before my little one gets up. I can read my bible, or chat with friends online (if they are awake), and just enjoy being alone in a peaceful environment.

It is so nice being the mother of a 3 year-old to have some down time to recover from some of the insanity! :o)

So Christmas is in exactly ONE week! I am not prepared for it at all! We still have at least one gift to find for NikiRhe. She has asked for a robe and slipper for Christmas. I want to get that for her because she may never ask for clothes again! LOL I'm having trouble finding a store that carries robes for 3y/o. Sears or maybe Burlington would be a couple of options. I have a Sears close to home and wouldn't have to drive across the city to get to it like Burlington.

Well It's almost 7am so I guess I better start getting ready to conquer the day!

Life is Moving Too Fast!

My precious NikiRhe turned 3 on the 4th of this month. It has been very bittersweet as I enjoy every day with her yet miss those loving baby days she was so tiny and dependent. I know they have to grow up but it is so hard to watch sometimes.

Even when they are already grown and are headstrong and mean. :( I am heart broken that our oldest seems to be unable to be honest or forthcoming with us in any form. She has been caught in many lies and hides things from us. She kept the fact that she was seeing someone from us. She has even broken promises to us and has no real remorse for any of it. She says the words "I'm sorry" but there is sarcasm behind them and she never is truly repentant.

I have been praying and praying and I feel the only solution is to ask her to leave, and explain to her that we do love her but cannot continue to be lied to, or manipulated into, believing her lies any longer.

Well I've lost a lot of sleep over this and I've got a little one who needs a functioning mommy. So I guess I will have some coffee and begin my day in the word.

Living In the New House....

We have been in the new house for almost a month now and are finally getting things put in order! Yes it has taken me almost an entire month to get things unpacked and put in order! LOL We just got the dryer and hot water heater fixed yesterday and I'm so happy that I can wash, dry and put away the laundry and not have to hang clothes on the line outside.

The biggest problem now is getting to where I feel better. I've been getting migraines and It doesn't help that if for sure!

Well I've got school work to get finished and a headache to get rid of so I'm off for the day!

Top 5 Things I Admire Most About My Husband....

First let me say that I'm working on learning how to build up my spouse. I feel that this will make for a better marriage and a healthier one at that.
5. He is a hard worker who strives to provide for his family.

4. He takes the time to read to our daughter.

3. He is thoughtful and tries to help if I need it.

2. He is loving and kind.

1. He takes his family to church and prays over us.

We Got a House!!!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow! We are going to get to move this weekend! I'm so excited I can't sleep! I have a feeling I'm going to drop like a stone tomorrow though! I have so many things that need to be done this week and i'm going to have to keep the car all week to get it done.

I'm praying NikiRhe is cooperative and will play in one room while I paint in another. I don't have a small radio that I can take to help keep her entertained but I can take her dvd player so she can watch her favorite movie if she gets too bored. I'll take a blanket and make her a pallet in the living room she can lay down on to watch if she gets sleepy!
I've got list after list made in my head now I just have to get them on paper! LOL
I'm going to take pictures of each room before and after pictures. Our little house has so much potential!
We will be planting a raised garden making improvements to the small deck out back. Adding planters on the deck for Herbs. I want them close to the back door.
building a compost bin and some more storage options for the house!
There is so much to do!!! So excited I can't sleep! *****Wait!!! I think I already said that!!!****** LOL

Okay well I think my brain is finally getting tired and I am going to look at one more paint sample and go to bed!

May God's blessings and Favor be abundant in your life!
~G~

Favor

Galatians 6:9-10
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

I have been reading the book The Force of Favor by Dr. Dave Martin
This is a small excerpt...
" You have the ability to sow favor into the lives of others just as God has sown favor into your life, and you have the right to expect favor to come back into your life as the appropriate harvest for the favor you have sown.
Favor therefore, is reciprocal. It is part of the ongoing cycle of spiritual life. "

Do we make it a routine part of our lives to sow favor into to those around us? Are we kind? Do we show mercy? Are we giving to our church or ministries who need sown into?

Recently my husband and I took a 90 day challenge to tithe faithfully to secure God's favor. We know that the word of God says " I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you" Leviticus 26:9.
We know that obedience to God's commands will bring favor and blessing!

We know that through obedience and sowing the proper seed we can grow in favor and stature with God and Man as seen in 1 Samuel 2:26 " And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with men."
There are times when what we simply need to do is be humble. Take for example the story of Manasseh in 2Chronicles 33. He did not listen to the Lord and God destroyed him. However we see in verse 12  " In his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. 13 And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseah knew that the Lord is God."

Sometime things need to happen in our lives to show us that the "Lord is God". We often lose favor before we realize that we need it or desire it. Sometimes we are so stuck in our own disobedience that we can't see that if we will just trust in God's word and in His will we can walk in the favor and admonition of the Lord!
The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 90:17 " May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us- yes, establish the work of our hands."

So let us strive to sow favor so that we might reap what we sow. Good for good, blessing for blessing!

~The Rest of My Life, Will Be the BEST of My Life!~
                            ~*G*~

Are We Ever Really Sure?

Is anyone every really sure what they want in life? I mean for me I've always wanted to be a wife and mother. Now that I am exactly that I feel like I'm missing a close relationship in my life...I've got my salvation and my relationship with my Lord but I'm not really close with my sisters. I miss that. I know people who are so very close to their sister, they hang out, they talk on the phone, their kids play together on a regular basis. I'm 7 and 10 years older than my three sisters. I'm physically not close to 2 of them and the one who is close well we have nothing in common.

I know that God can give a "sister" relationship with a woman who is not related to me and I used to feel that I had that, but I no longer have two of those relationships because I choose to follow the calling of God in my life. So tonight my hearts prayer is that God will send some beautiful hearted women into my life to be my sisters. I'd like even just ONE to be the sister of my heart. That one who will come help with my kids, wash my dishes or fix dinner for my family if I'm sick. The one whom I can confide in and trust with my hearts desires, my prayers, and my husband.
I have two friends whom I do trust like that but unfortunately they can't be close physically in those times, but I love them just the same.

Maybe what I truly do desire is a sister wife. Someone to share the daily chores, the school lessons, the supper dishes and the family trips with. Someone who can be in my life everyday that fits into each moment of life like a glove.
Lord  you know my heart! Hear my prayer!
~G~

Living a Life my Girl's Can Emulate and be Proud Of...

It is challenging today in our society and in many cultures to live a life of purity. We are bombarded by the media at every turn with sex, violence, and a concept that beauty is superficial. 
How can we and mothers in (what the media and society has dubbed) Generation X live in such a way that our children can "rise up and call her blessed" (Proverbs 31:28)? 
How can we demonstrate to our small children that God's love is working in our daily lives? 
How can we encourage THEM to love Christ and desire a relationship with the Most High King? 


I'll tell you... we can MODEL what we desire from and for our children!
Bible study is paramount!
We need to look toward the BIBLE to train our children. 


Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

The key word here is TRAIN our children learn by example.. they watch what we do. They emulate us. They WANT to be like mommy and daddy. My 2 year old loves to pretend to be like her mommy. He likes to have her hair like mine and to wear the same color I wear.. and she also like to read her bible when I read mine! 


We as parents have a duty to our Children to SHOW them what God expects from us and them! We have to be good stewards of the blessings God gave us! 


Take some time today to decide what you want your children to grow up to be like. Do you want a child who is kind, obedient, respectful, loving and reflects Christ in their daily lives? Or would you rather have a child who rebellious, mean spirited, hateful, disrespectful and pushy? 


May God Bless you in all you do! 

Desires of My Heart.....

Paslm 37:4
Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

This is something I have been clinging to for 15 years.
One of the desires of MY heart was always to be a mommy.
Another is to be a Godly wife, and homemaker.
To have a place where everyone who enters feels like they are welcome, comfortable and blessed.

I love the vintage homemakers who looked pretty and ready to receive guests at anytime. That is why women in the 30's, 40's, and 50's got up and got dressed, did their hair and looked presentable at all times. It was rude to be indecent when people came to call. Remember they didn't all have phones back then so they had to look their best in case someone popped over.

As a Christian mother I should be following this example. These women were modestly dressed and presentable to the public at all times. I am still confounded by some of these young mothers who think it is okay to dress like a common "street walker"  with their young children in tow. Even in our churches we see women and girls with skirts so short they leave little to the imagination!

In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with decency and propriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; 1 Timothy 2:9

I want to encourage my daughters to feel like this is a Godly calling to serve their family, and later their husbands and families. My beautiful girls are created by our amazing father the King of all and it is with a humble heart that we should desire to serve him by serving our families! 

Rant of the moment....

when you are an adult you should KNOW better than to lie to your family or people who care for you and are trying to help you. Don't say you're going to call, and not call! Don't go back on your word! How can a person who has already broken trust expect to gain that trust back when they don't prove reliable?!?!?

I just don't understand the need to rebel at the age of 24 and up! You're an ADULT the only person you are hurting is YOU.. yes you may upset me and disappoint me but in the long run you are hurting yourself more than anything because you are burning your bridges. The people in your life that love you and try to help you don't want to keep being/feeling used, lied to or disrespected!
I pray and try and cry and pray and plead but for some reason I feel so frustrated. As a mother I know I am supposed to give my children back to God for him to guide and I've done my best to teach her and guide her but she continues to disrespect me and can't see past her own self. She is so selfish that she only sees what she WANTS to see. She didn't want to listen to me the girl she is staying with has lied to her family about her and she refused to stay away from her. So now she is going to have to remedy her situation and she is going to have to BEG her daddy to come back home and she is going to have to EARN every bit of trust and faith from us.

She has broken our trust too many times, and to want to come in our home and try to claim she want to live for God, yet go out and party and get drunk and not do what she KNOWS is Godly..... UGH!!!

Trust In The Lord

As Christians we often forget that we are supposed to be trusting in the Lord with all that we are. We let the enemy get in our thoughts and tear us down. We get weak.
The sad thing is... MOST of us are guilty. Not just a "chosen few" but the majority of Christians allow this to happen.

Today my oh so wonderful family made a commitment to get RIGHT with God. To TRUST in Him and do HIS will for our lives. I am so proud of my husband and daughter they both mean the world to me and I want to see them walk in the admonition of the Lord. I am excited to see what happens in our family in the coming months! 

Being Sick and a Stay at Home Mom

We don't get sick day's like parents who work outside the home do. We have little mouths to feed and dishes and laundry to wash. We can't just lay on the couch and not move or let the kids run free. We are stay at home mom's. That means we have what seems like a million things going on at the same time and we don't have time to be sick.

I was sick for the past couple of weeks and PRAISE God for my wonderful oldest daughter Holly. She recently moved back home and has been helping me with her little sister since she walked in the door. She allowed me to be sick in bed on the days I NEEDED to be in bed and I didn't have to worry about the house or the baby not being taken care of. Such a blessing she was to me and still is.

She has come home to learn to follow God's will for her life. She spent the last 5 years following her own path to destruction and has finally glimpsed that continuing on that path was leading to certain death. My prayers have been answered but she still has a long road to travel. She has guilt, and struggles with letting go of the past hurts and allowing the Holy Spirit to heal her. She will make it because she is strong and because I know she is going to find a way to fall in love with God all over again. I am so proud that she has chosen to start over again. She is giving life a second chance. She is choosing to live a life that is glorifying to God and not man. She is choosing to live with purpose and not randomness.

We as her parents of course are keeping her covered in prayer and asking that God will heal her hurts and show her, the path she is to travel and allow it to go more smoothly than expected. However we also know that His will is best for her.

So as a mom, I try to teach her and encourage her and show her that one day when she is older and a mother herself, she may not have the help she has given to me. so we must be strong in the Lord. We must press on toward the prize set before us and we must teach the next generation the Love of Christ and how to live according to His riches and glory!

Change is coming once again!

I have never really feared change. I welcome it most times. This is going to be a challenge for the three of us. Our oldest daughter Holly is coming home and she is pregnant with Twins. She needs her family now more than ever and with us having a two year old who has never met her sister I hope and pray that they will be close even though Holly will soon become a mother and have a focus other than her little sister.
                                                                                                                                                           
The twins are supposed to be a boy and a girl and that will be fun! :o) I never thought I'd be looking forward to having grandchildren but I kind of am! I can't wait to take them to my Grandmother and have pictures of the babies with her! I want to have a 5 generation picture! That will be so much fun! I've got a 4 generation picture of Me, my mom, NikiRhe and my Grandma so now we need Holly and the babies and it will feel complete!

I love my family and I will be so thankful and happy when we can get moved into our new place and start getting ready for the babies to come!

Day 4..Organizing

Today my mom came down and helped me get some things put away and more organized so that we have room. It really helped and we have room to have company as well as walk around and not have to squeeze past each other. :o)

I made Chicken burgers tonight with Avocado mayo. It was good! I did extra school work yesterday and so tonight I just cleaned up after dinner and chatted with some friends. Now hubby and baby girl are in bed so I should probably join them. I'm having trouble getting on a morning schedule. I think it is mostly because I have such a hard time sleeping at night.

Oh well, I'm not real worried about it because she is going down for a nap at one and asleep before 10pm so that helps!

Be Blessed
~G~

Day 3..Errands

We started off at 4am taking hubby to work. Niki and I came back home and changed clothes and got ready for our day, then met her Mamuu (mom moo aka grandma) and pawpaw for breakfast in the hotel lobby. Then we came back to our suite and while she played quietly I studied my lesson. We too my step dad to his dr. appointment around 9 and then got WIC and went to UPS to pick up our Watkins order! We LOVE getting our Watkins! Then it was a mad dash back to the suite to drop off our haul and out to Waste Management to pick up hubby and go over to my dad and step mom's to do some laundry and have dinner.

I did a lot today and got everything done that I needed to do including passing my first quiz in Medical Terminology! I was go excited because not only did I pass but I scored a 100%! :)

So now all is quiet in the suite aka house and I have had some time to myself online and just quiet in general...well if you don't include the snoring coming from the bed behind me! LOL

I think I'm going to spend some time talking to my Heavenly Father and thanking him for all the blessings he has given us because despite the fact that we are living in a hotel we are blessed to have what we have. It could be much worse!

Thank you Lord for your Blessings on me!

~G~

Day 2

Today we got the bathroom unpacked and we got two more boxes unpacked as well. Niki and I were a little late on getting up for a first day of our new schedule but we will get better with time. It will help that I've been trying to set the coffee pot to brew at 7am so we can have coffee first thing!
We made our beds and walked the dogs and walked around the hotel for exercise! I was nice.
The only thing I didn't manage to do was school work. I ended up taking a nap with NikiRhe today. When hubby got home we went to my dad's to visit with my brother and sister in law and had a good time! I sure miss them living here, and hope they move back from Ohio soon!

Well it's bed time and I need to turn in pretty quick.

Be Blessed
~G~

First official full day of Extended Stay living....

We began with the comforting and lovely realization that NikiRhe had asked to sleep in her bed last night and stayed there ALL NIGHT! :o)

I was able to read through part of my first assignment in Medical Transcription last night and tonight I'm going to skip it and just rest! I'm exhausted! I got a lot done today but I still have a lot more organizing to do before I can just do daily maintenance. I'm going to reschedule my Dr's appointment so that I can focus on getting this little space organized and livable.
Right now it is VERY cluttered because it's hard to put things away as fast as it is moved in!

Tomorrow also start's our new schedule! I've got the coffee pot set for 7:00 and I plan to be up and starting my day by 8am!

Well we are turning in a little early tonight so I'm going to go snuggle!

~G~

Temporary Home

Today we moved into our transition home. This means that we have moved out of the townhouse that was being neglected by the property managers and into an extended stay hotel for a month or two. This place is actually pretty nice. They have an option that allows people to move their own belongings into the large suites and pay a monthly rate and they get to have a housekeeper come in once a week or twice a month...I can't remember! LOL

My mom and step dad are actually just a few doors down from us and my sister and nephew are one floor up in the next building. So it's almost like we all live together but we have our own space and don't have to be in each other's hair. NikiRhe can visit her grandma almost anytime she wants and we are going to be able to use this time as a huge learning experience.

I have been lax in putting us on a schedule since she was born. I wanted us to just be on our body's natural time clocks and that doesn't always work! hee hee... So now we have plans to start getting up at 8am...getting dressed, walking the dogs, having breakfast, making our beds, doing the breakfast dishes, having a spanish lesson, NikiRhe taking a nap and mommy doing school work, lunch, Imaginative play time, then start supper and tidy up before daddy gets home. Family dinner, do the dishes, then settle in with daddy for some family time.

That's the gist of it anyway. I am praying that God will help me achieve this as we have a small space and this will almost force me to be more organized! I see this as a blessing!

Well it's 3:30 in the morning and I'm finally sleepy! So I'm going to go snuggle up to the hubby and get some sleep so we can get up in a little while to go finish moving our things!

Be Blessed!
~G~

Multi-Generational Living

So previously I've posted about living in a multi-generational home. Right now we currently live in a  town home in an apartment complex and my mother and step father live about a 45 second walk behind us. We share meals together, do chores together and my mom helps with our daughter when I am not feeling well or just need a few minutes to myself. Our daughter loves going to "Mamuu's" house.

 We are looking for house to move to but seem to have come to a standstill on the house hunt. The price range is not a high as it used to be for us and even though we are combining households we need to be able to save money not over extend by getting a house that is more expensive. We are learning more and more ways to save money and one of them is through making clothes for the little one. Something my mother and I were never taught was how to truly be frugal and we want to be good stewards of our money so that we are able to make our quality of living better for the future.

We do have disagreements! We don't necessarily disagree on how things should be done or where things go but we do disagree on animals and how many! LOL
My mom currently has 6 wiener dogs and the city only allows 3 per household. She and my step father are upset because they have to give up at least 3 hopefully 4 of their dogs as we already have 2. My dogs will be 12 and 5 year. So having too many dogs is a real issue since we live in the city.

Ultimately hubby would like to find a house in the country and be able to have a large garden and maybe a few chickens and a couple of goats and pigs. I think we would all like that in all honesty! I have no problem living with my mom.

The only real issue we have run into is actually from my father and step-mother. They don't seem to like sharing time spent with our daughter. I wish I could make them understand that she benefits from spending time with all of her grandparents and that they really need to accept that she is going to naturally be closer to my mom since we are living so close and going to be living together!

Lots of prayer I guess is the only way to truly work this out with them.
Well I've got some house work to take care of so I better get off here!

Have a blessed day!

Multi-Generational Family in the Making?

We have been praying for some time about becoming a multi-generational family. This means that my mother and step-father would move into a large home with us and we would share the expenses to make life easier on everyone. It is not always easy and I know that living with my step-father is going to test my very core. However I also KNOW that my GOD is greater than anything that stands in the way.

Throughout history families have been multi-generational. It has served a purpose to honor elderly parents and help new generations learn to respect previous generations and to benefit from their wisdom, knowledge, and life experiences.

So why is it that some can not see the benefit of living in harmony and trying to do what will benefit more than one generation? Why is it that some will do all they can to crush the spirit of cooperative living?  Why is it that I feel so passionately about this?! LOL! In all honesty I never realized that I had such a strong desire to be a truly Godly, feminine role model for my daughter until these past few months. I'm not the best house keeper in the world but I'm doing more and more to get better and better at it. I know I have a lot left to be desired but I would have my mother there to help me keep house and I would have a lot to do to keep me busy. I would feel less stressed about keeping things cleaned up because I'd have help and I would not worry so much about my child messing up as soon as I clean up because I won't be the only one cleaning up after everyone.

Family bible study could take on a new meaning and even though I am not the head of our household it is my responsibility to teach our child God's word.
                     

Plans For The Future.....

Well we are working on making some travel plans for our 15th wedding anniversary. We would like to find a cheap vacation spot for 7-10 people and in the fall. It's easy to travel in the fall for us because NikiRhe is still small and she will be home-schooled... but we have some other family members that we would like to join us that won't be able too if because their kids are in public school.

I'm checking out a number of options because I'd love to have some family there so that we can have a few private moments without the little one because her daddy won't let her stay in Tulsa while we are out of the country.. I totally understand though I'd never be able to enjoy myself knowing I was too far from my baby to get to her in an emergency. Besides I want her with us! :o)

So some of our options are a Disney cruise to the Caribbean or Bahamas, an all inclusive trip to a Mexico destination or a trip to one of the Disney's. I really want to go to Mexico and renew our vows on the beach on the evening of our anniversary with our family there to witness. It will be so special!

Now I just have to find the right place for the right price for a group of people to travel fairly cheap.

Caring for a Sick Child

As a mother we have many jobs. One of them is comforting our children when they are sick. Cuddling them, or feeding them or even cleaning them up. My daughter started feeling bad Friday night and on Saturday she was throwing up and running fever. My hubby called me to say that she had developed a rash on her chest about mid day. I was not home because I've started a small business and was at the flea market.

So I was feeling terrible that my baby girl was at home with her daddy feeling ill and I was not home to care for her.

We have spent the week thus far reading books watching PBS Kids and snuggling on the couch and in my bed every chance we get! LOL

When she feels out of sorts she wants to snuggle and it is such a wonderful bonding moment. I don't understand those people who think that a child should be forced into "self soothing" They are babies! They need love and they need to be held! It just breaks my heart to know that people are so cold, that they won't comfort a child when they are upset.