A Life of Gratitude

I have been really struggling with morning sickness this week. For those of you who experienced a little nausea with your pregnancies, my type of morning sickness is a whole different ballgame. Seriously, everything I eat or drink comes back up, even water. This sickness lasts morning, noon, and night and even when my medications keep me from throwing up, I still feel incredibly nauseous and have absolutely no energy. Because of being so sick, I am having a hard time being the mommy and wife I want to be. I don't have the strength to cook the meals I normally cook or even do the laundry. On top of feeling so bad, I feel horrible for not being able to do everything I need and want to do for my family. I've been praying for days, begging God to give me the strength and energy I need. Today, He has made it clear to me that He isn't just going to dish out the exact amount of strength I need. Instead, He IS my strength. As I read this morning's devotion from Jesus C

The boys have been hoping for snow all winter and today they finally got the chance to play in some! Dylan got outside first and absolutely loved sledding. We really thought that Evan might be scared to try it but he just jumped right on our make-shift sled and had a blast! As soon as he got to the bottom of the hill, he said, "Do it again!" The boys had a fantastic time sledding and running around in the snow. I am always amazed by how long they can play and never feel cold. I was freezing!  As I was watching the snow fall last night and playing outside in it today, I just kept thinking of Chris Tomlin's song "Indescribable." Do you remember the lyrics?  "Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow. Who imagined the sun and gives source to it's light, yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night. None can fathom. Indescribable. Uncontainable. You placed the star

Do you see that little white dot on the right side of that larger black tear shaped dot? Believe it or not, that is a tiny human! Yep, that's our little blueberry! We had our first doctor's appointment today. We got our first peak at this little guy or gal too. The sonogram showed the baby's heart beating at 123 beats per minute. He or she is measuring just right and the doctor said everything looks perfect.  That is music to this Mommy's ears! Our littlest one is the size of a blueberry this week! It's hands and feet are starting to emerge, both hemispheres of it's brain are developing, and it's eyelids are even forming. There is some amazing stuff going on in there!  Today I am thankful for the first glimpse at my 3rd child. We've know that another little Shaw is on the way for a few weeks now but there is nothing like seeing it to help it feel more "real." I am also grateful for a terrific appointment and the assurance that

We spent the afternoon at my Grandma and Pawpaw Davis' house. They both passed away in the past 18 months so we needed to start cleaning the house out. It was really odd walking around with my cousins, picking out things we'd like to have to remember our grandparents by. I was blessed to get some Princess House crystal and my Grandma's mixer along with several others things I look forward to using soon in our new house. My mom was able to get the bunk beds that have been in my grandparent's house for over 40 years. Their children and their grandchildren have all slept in these bunk beds. Tonight, a couple of their great grandsons are sleeping in these bunk beds too! It took some work but Bryan was able to get the bunk beds moved from Grandma and Pawpaw's to my mom's house this evening. We rearranged the furniture in the boy's room just in time for them to go to bed. They couldn't have been more excited about their new beds!  Pure joy! Snugg

Last night I went to a Women's event at church. It was a wonderful time with my sisters in Christ hearing from 5 lovely ladies from 5 different countries. Each woman shared about their culture, their salvation, the persecution in their countries, and what its like to be a woman in their country. I knew we had it good here in America but after listening to these ladies share, I am ashamed by how much we take for granted. I can't stop thinking about several of the stories that were shared last night. Honestly, women are all more similar than we are different but their cultures are very different from mine. The Pakistani woman shared that the women in Pakistan have to bring a dowry when they are married which includes all the furniture for the home, TVs, dishes, etc. If the woman isn't able to bring everything required, the mother-in-law kills her. She also shared that if the Pakistani husband isn't pleased with his wife's cooking he will shave her eyebrows or cut

The heating unit at my mom's house went kaput a few days ago so we have been staying warm with little heaters and layered clothing. This morning we decided to hang out by the fireplace. We brought all of our schoolwork downstairs and laid on the floor. It was actually a nice break from the "norm" and Dylan enjoyed laying on the floor to do his work. Dylan completing his writing activities. Adding some things to our Biblical Timeline. Even this little guy enjoyed doing our schoolwork downstairs! Thankfully, the heating unit was fixed by this afternoon so we were able to shed our coats and move away from the fireplace. Tomorrow's schoolwork will most likely be done at the dining room table again but it was fun while it lasted. Today I am thankful for the flexibility that homeschool offers. We can learn anywhere, anytime. I am also thankful for house with working heat. The past couple of days have been really cold! I can't even imagine living

“Before I formed you in the womb  I knew you,  before you were born  I set you apart" Jeremiah 1:5 Tonight, after dinner, Bryan asked Dylan to recall some of the verses he has memorized. When he asked him to say Jeremiah 1:5 my heart just smiled. He recited the verse and then we talked about it some. I asked him how that verse applies to the baby I'm currently carrying. I listened to him talk about how God knows this baby already. He told me that God knows the baby's name, when he/she will be born and even when the baby will get married (which he thinks will be at 16 but that will not happen if I have anything to do with it!) It brought me so much joy to consider this truth. God knows my baby, even now, when its only the size of a sweet pea. To think that our great and mighty God knows the intimate details of this little life before it was even conceived just blows my mind. This week my baby's eyes and ears will be formed. But God already knows every breath-ta

Life has seemed a little crazy and chaotic lately. Being pregnant and trying to constantly keep up with a two year old and homeschooling a 5 year old, all while living at my mom's house because we're waiting on other people to do their jobs correctly makes life feel pretty unorganized. If you know me, you'd probably agree that unorganized is NOT my middle name. I am a planner. I like things in the right place, at the right time. The chaotic pace our life has been on lately hasn't been easy for me. While I totally trust God, I find myself wondering from time to time, what in the world He has planned! I keep trying to figure it out but, I guess that just isn't going to happen! One of the good things about this unorganized path we're on is that I have been incredibly aware of God's constant involvement. It seems like a day doesn't pass without Him reassuring me in some way. Today, while doing our schoolwork, Dylan read a portion of his Bible Reader cal

Today was a pretty rough day. I haven't been feeling well since morning sickness has started to invade my life and the boys just weren't themselves today either. It was just "one of those days." When the rain finally stopped, I put shoes and coats on my little ones and ran desperately for the door. They needed to run and play to get rid of some of that energy! At first they were riding bikes and running around but a few minutes later, when I turned around, I saw them using rakes to splash in a big mud puddle. Normally, I would have probably made them stop immediately but not today. They needed that time of messy fun and I needed to watch them being the adorable little boys they are. Its funny that without anyone even pointing out the mud puddle, they just knew what to do with it. Boys will be boys, I guess! Today I am thankful for mud puddles and rakes. Who knew my boys could have so much fun with a rake in a mud puddle! They were absolutely cov

Every night after dinner my family does devotions. I'm not sure we technically do it "right" but we try! After reading a Bible story or an illustration and then discussing it, we pray for a family that is close to us. We pick a different family each night from a book I made with all the Christmas card pictures we received this past Christmas, along with a few other photos. Tonight, we picked some of our cousins. We suggested that the boys pray that their cousins would come to know Jesus as their Savior. Dylan promptly said, "Um, I'm pretty sure they already know Jesus." One of the cousins is a baby so we told Dylan that most likely the baby hasn't asked Jesus into her heart yet so we should pray that one day she would. So, Dylan prayed that his little cousins would one day accept  Jesus as Lord and Savior. Our little prayer book (made up of the Christmas cards we received and some other photos) As we continued talking, Dylan asked Evan if knew

We had dinner at my mother-in-love and father-in-love's house this evening. We enjoyed pizza and some yummy chocolate cake. This was a real treat for our boys because we haven't allowed them much sugar at all for the past couple of weeks. If you know our boys, you can probably guess why. They have enormous amounts of energy. We decided to try cutting back on sugar to see if it would help calm them down. Believe it or not, it has helped tremendously! So, tonight when they got a taste of that sugary cake, their energy levels sky-rocketed. It only took about 15 minutes and they were climbing all over Bryan like he was a human playground. The laughter and the squealing was almost ear piercing! Quiet and still for a few moments.... Today I am thankful for fun times with family. Dylan and Evan were having so much sugar fueled fun. Honestly, we all had fun watching them. Its fun to laugh together, even if it is because of wild children running arou

The thought of having another baby is slowly starting to settle in my mind. I'm actually becoming more excited by the minute and my family is thrilled! We hadn't planned on another baby quite yet but we welcome this blessing. I'll be honest though, as I've been pondering the next 9 months I have had quite a bit of anxiety. Right now we're living with my parents. We're staying here while we wait to buy our next home but that is contingent on my almost 5 year long worker's comp case settling. So, I honestly have no idea when that might be. Just when I think its about to settle, something else happens. That was stressful enough before the due date of a little one came into the picture. Now, I am so ready to be in our new house, organizing things and getting everything put away. Having absolutely no control over any of this is a little difficult for me (the planner, the organizer.) Ok, its more than a little difficult. In the past few days I've felt mys

Today we celebrated my sweet husband's 33rd birthday. We had a very fun morning playing laser tag and arcade games. The best part of the day, however, came when Bryan opened his gifts. No one knew what was in the bag but me and I had only wrapped it earlier in the afternoon. I couldn't wait to see Bryan's face.  What did you get Daddy? Look at Bryan's face! Laughing....but it isn't a joke! My little Evan was too busy playing drums to care.  Yes, it says what you think it says! Believe it or not, we are expecting our third bundle of joy! This comes as a very big surprise for all of us but we will welcome him or her with open arms! I can't believe that God orchestrated everything so that we would find out on Bryan's birthday! It was the perfect gift for my amazing husband...although it was a pretty shocking gift! It isn't Dylan's birthday but this is the perfect gift for him as well! He has been wanting another baby f

Just as school teachers and their students dread starting back to school after Christmas Break, so does a homeschooling mommy and her students. I lovingly refer to it as the "starting back blues." Its not that I don't want to get back into the swing of things, its just hard to get going. So, this morning, I thought we'd start back with some fun writing activities, reading and writing about our weekly Bible story and a service project. One extra special thing about this morning....we had a third little boy in tow. Levi, my nephew, enjoyed being a part of homeschool today! For our service project we used all the Christmas cards we received this year to be a part of St. Jude's Recycled Card Program. The program recycles used greeting cards and creates new holiday and greeting cards for any occasion. Recycled cards are sold to support St, Jude's Ranch for Children's programs and services for abused, neglected and homeless children, young adults and f