A Life of Gratitude

Several of my most vivid childhood memories involve playing with a big wooden dollhouse. It was one of my favorite things to do for many years. I especially loved all the little pieces of furniture. I spent hours decorating and arranging furniture and pretending with my dolls. Yesterday I bought a hand-me-down dollhouse for Allison. I was contemplating where to buy some furniture for her to play with when a light bulb went off in my head--I remembered a box my mom had given me a couple of years ago. I dug through Allison's closet to find it and when I did, I was so excited to see that the box was full of the miniature furniture I played with as a child!  Allison was thrilled to see the furniture as well. She immediately reached into the box and pulled out assorted pieces, placing them throughout the house. We still need to get a couple items but for the most part, her house is fully furnished! I loved watching my sweet girl play with the furniture I always loved playing wi

A couple of months ago the boys and I learned a lot about Armor of God, found in Ephesians 6:10-18. We made "armor" so the kids could literally dress themselves in it and spent days discussing each specific item the scripture tells us about. We were even acting it all out each morning. Someone made fun of me for doing that with my kids and although I shouldn't have let that bother me, the habit slowly faded away.  Over the past few weeks, I've noticed more and more battles we are fighting, individually and as a family. Ephesians 6: 12 says, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers authorities, and powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." No matter what we're facing, Satan is behind it.  But we have all we need to stand against him. The boys and I did an experiment today during school that gave us a clear picture of what happens to believers who do not wear the arm

Today we celebrated Tyson's 5th birthday! Well actually, we've celebrating all week! We started with a family party last Sunday evening, then a fun party with friends at Safari Nation yesterday, and today we topped it all off with lunch at McDonald's! We allowed Tyson to choose anything he wanted to do today and he chose McDonald's!  He is so laid back and easy going, that trip to McDonald's made his day! While Tyson has been enjoying such a wonderful week celebrating his birthday, I've been trying to wrap my mind around the fact that he is 5!! It just doesn't seem possible that it's been five years since we received the biggest surprise of our lives!  We had been told Tyson was a girl throughout my pregnancy but he surprised us all! He has been one of the biggest blessings in my life and I wasn't one bit prepared for him! When we were told we were having a girl we sold all the boy baby items and bought girly things.

A few days ago Evan gave me this sweet card. On the envelope he drew one heart in the middle with 5 hearts surrounding it. When I saw it I said, "Is that me with you and your dad and your siblings surrounding me?" He said, "Nope. God told me that you needed to know that He has angels surrounding you all the time. This is the picture God told me to draw."  My heart nearly burst.  I'm not naive to the seriousness of the ministry I've begun or oblivious to the spiritual battle that is going on all around me. I'm aware of so many things the enemy is messing with on a daily basis. I pray often for protection over my family and for reassurance that God is watching over us. This precious drawing and the words God gave Evan to share with me were the reassurance I had been praying for.  "In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old m