A Life of Gratitude

"Jesus was in the garden. He was praying. Then Judas came. Now we have no more sins because Jesus died on the cross." Dylan and I are finishing up all of our first grade school work this week. Today he read one of the final stories in his Bible reader and wrote his last entry in his Bible notebook. The story told of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, being betrayed, and finally dying on the cross. As he was working on his writing he asked for help with a sentence about Jesus dying on the cross. I gave a few examples and he said "no, I think it should say, and now we have no more sins because Jesus died on the cross." Hearing those words out of his mouth was like music to my ears. I love hearing those little signs that he truly understands what Jesus did for us when He gave his life on the cross.  Dylan's sentence also hit home for me because it reminded me that our sins are completely erased because of Jesus' sacrifice. It really is like we have n...

We took the boys to the zoo today with their Grandma, Aunt Darcie, and little cousin, Levi. It was a pretty warm day and the zoo was a popular place but I think everyone had a really good time. Believe it or not, 2 year old Evan walked around the entire zoo...its over 5 miles of walking! We kept asking him if he wanted to get in the stroller and he said no, he wanted to walk like a big boy! He is growing up so fast! The boys enjoyed seeing all the animals, watching a 4D movie, and riding the carousel.  Trying to get these monkeys to sit still is no easy task! They were best buddies today! Evan and Grandma riding the bee that stung Dylan...hahaha! Evan walked the entire time. He loved holding his big brother's hand! My favorite...the elephants! Dylan and Levi eating lunch together. Dylan loves his little cousin!! 6 months pregnant with our little girl! Such an amazing creature!  Today I am thankful for an exciting day at the zoo with our fam...

  Today Dylan and I went on our last field trip of his 1st grade year. We had a wonderful time at Old Salem's Homeschool Day. Not only did we get to tour Old Salem, just as anyone can do, but we also got to take part in some special "hands on" activities especially for homeschoolers. Dylan got to make quilt squares and bookmarks, use stamps, sponges, and paint. He also learned about the ways kids lived during the days when Salem was a thriving community. He observed needlework, bread making and baking, the work of the gunsmith and shoe smith, and several instruments being played. We enjoyed a full day of educational fun! When I asked Dylan what his favorite part of our field trip was, he responded, "I just can't pick. It was all awesome." For those of you who know Dylan, you know that this field trip was right up his alley! He loves history. I think that is why he couldn't pick a favorite! If I had to guess, I would say his favorite thing would be...

Bryan and I believe that it is important to hide God's world in our hearts, just as Psalm 119:11 says. So we've been helping Dylan to memorize scripture for some time now. He knows at least 25 verses already. Yesterday we thought it might be time to start helping Evan memorize a verse. He is only 2 1/2 so our expectations were low. Last night we abbreviated 1 John 4:8 and taught it to Evan. Tonight we asked him if he remembered his verse. He looked a little confused so I said, "God is...." and he finished my sentence with "Lovesssss." (Everything has sssss on the end these days!) Of course we squealed and said, "Yes, God is love!!!" Evan repeated it a few times and was so proud of himself! I couldn't have been more excited to hear my littlest guy saying his first memory verse!  Today I am thankful for the freedom to teach these little guys the importance of memorizing God's Word. It's such a blessing to hear them recalling scri...

I met Bryan when I was 13 years old. Since 13 and 15 year old kids don't really "date" we spent most of our time hanging out together in the triangle. The triangle is a patch of land in the middle of the neighborhood we grew up in. When we were teenagers all the kids met up in the triangle to ride our bikes, play games and chit chat. We spent a lot of hours in the triangle. There is a little tree (well it used to be little) that Bryan and I would sit under together. We would talk and laugh and dream of our future together under that tree. I even remember saying once, "Only 8 more years until we can get married!"  Time has flown by! We've been married now for almost 10 years, so yes, that means its been 18 years since we first sat under that tree together. Today we took our little guys up to the triangle to ride their bikes and play. It was so neat to be there again. God has brought us so far. I'm sure none of our families or friends really believed ...

I came across a post tonight on Facebook that adverstised a documentary on how women view themselves. As I watched it, I was shocked to hear that out of 100 random women interviewed, not one woman had something positive to say about her body. They were asked to use one word to describe their bodies and the responses included words like ugly, fat, disgusting, flabby, unattractive, pale, and gross. Wow, that sounds familiar. Those words swirl around in my head very often. I've always had a very poor self image. I was overweight as a child which is where the low self esteem began, I believe. But even in high school, when I was barely 100 pounds, I thought I was fat. These days, as my belly grows and grows, along with the rest of my body it seems, I have found myself avoiding mirrors and constantly putting myself down. I know this isn't how God wants me to see myself or treat myself, but for some reason I just continue to do it. Apparently, I'm not the only one. According ...

Today Dylan got to experience his first field day! As a homeschooling family, we've wondered if our children would get to partake in some of the fun aspects of being a part of a regular school. So, we joined High Point Home Educators this year and today, Dylan was able to enjoy field day! He had a great time with his friends. It was really a wonderful morning. Getting ready for the hula hoop game! The hula hoop game is underway.... Tug of war! The Sack Race! Dylan and his best buddy at HPHE, Maddie Today I am thankful for homeschooling organizations, like HPHE, that help homeschooled children enjoy the same opportunities that public or private school children have. Everyone is always so concerned about the lack of socialization with homeschool kids but I don't think its much of an issue at all these days. My children get to spend lots of quality time with kids of families that have made the same choices we have when it comes to education. I am als...

Today has been a wonderful day! I had a terrific time celebrating Mom's Day (as Dylan wrote in his card) with my 2 little guys. They gave me cards, new shoes, flowers, dinner out and the best gift of all... Evan told me he had to go poopoo in the potty and then he did! When you're the Mommy of a 2 year old with another baby on the way, poopoo INSIDE the potty is an amazing gift! We ended the day laying in the bed together. When I asked Dylan if he was wanted to play with his Leappad for a few minutes he responded by saying, "Laying with you is better than playing on my Leappad any day!" Oh how that warmed my heart. I love these sweet little boys and the fact that they love me so much constantly blows my mind.  When I was a little girl I played with baby dolls all the time. I've always wanted to be a Mommy. Even though its always been something I've wanted to experience, I didn't truly understand how wonderful motherhood could be until I became a Mommy...

If you are a Mommy you probably recognize all the stuff in the picture above. Believe it or not, I got all of that stuff for FREE! The picture shows a brand new Medela Advanced Breast Pump, at least 20 storage bottles, 5 or 6 nipples, a hand-held pump, brand new tubing and shields, Fenugreek herbal supplements, comfort gel pads, and cotton nursing pads. I don't have any idea how much all of this is worth but I do know its a lot! The pump alone cost $243.00. I used a similar pump with the boys but it's getting pretty old and been used a whole bunch. I was planning to get a new one to use with our little baby girl. I heard that insurance companies would cover breast pumps now but when I checked into it, of course, my insurance doesn't cover one. With all the expenses that come with buying a new home and moving and having a new baby, I just wasn't sure how we'd afford another breast pump. Have you heard me say before that God provides?? Well, He sure does! ...

This afternoon, after Dylan and I finished our school work, I sat outside all by myself while Evan took a nap. I ate a bowl of ice cream, rocked in the rocking chair, and spent some time in prayer. It didn't last long. In fact, it was a total of only 11 minutes before my alone time was interrupted. I must say though, it was 11 minutes of pure bliss. The weather was absolutely perfect. The deck is shaded so it wasn't too hot and the gentle breeze kept blowing in my hair. I could hear little birds singing in the trees and small animals rustling in the woods nearby. It was so peaceful. Today I am thankful for 11 minutes of bliss. It wasn't long but it was just what I needed. Our lives are somewhat crazy right now with our big move coming up, finishing up the end of Dylan's 1st grade homeschool year and preparing for our sweet baby girl.  Plus, this pregnancy is exhausting and causing so much back pain. I just needed some time to refocus and relax. My Heavenly Father i...

This morning we went to Lazy 5 Ranch with our good friends Melissa and Shane. It was the perfect day to be outside riding a wagon and feeding the animals. It was so much fun to watch the boy's reactions as the animals came up to the wagon. It was early in the morning and the animals hadn't been fed yet so they were hungry! These lamas, camels, pigs, emu, water buffalo, elk, deer, giraffes and goats were not shy either! They slobbered all over our hands as we fed them. It was so much fun for all of us!  There was also a really great petting zoo with birds, porcupines, donkeys, tortoises, kangaroos, and even a baby giraffe that we got to help bottle feed! The peacocks put on a show for us while we were walking around. They were gorgeous, a true testament to God's creativity! Riding on the horse drawn wagon... Feeding a camel This lama wasn't shy! Evan liked the giraffes! Dylan got to help drive the wagon! The ostrich was very aggressive! He ...