I never knew, until now, how much of a blessing it is to be able to sit. It just proves that God really did create every part of our bodies for a distinct and special reason! Since my surgery last Wednesday (8 days ago) I am still not able to sit down. It's so annoying!!!! I just want to be able to sit down to check my email, read my Bible, watch TV, etc. The only positions that are relatively comfortable are laying down or standing. Standing is actually the most comfortable, but my feet get really tired after a while. I think within the next week, I should at least be able to sit comfortably on a pillow...that ought to be interesting!! I'm sure when I walk into church with my little pillow everyone will be thinking, "Mmmm...that poor girl. Hemorrhoids already???" Great. Oh, well. All I know is that it'll be a very long time before I take sitting for granted again. I hope I don't take too much else for granted either, but, in truth, I know I do. I'm sure God will have to teach me a lesson about those things as well, but I hope not. I have to remember that God gives and takes away... in all things. May we remember to always count our blessings and be thankful for all of them. You never know when you may lose something, something you may not have even realized you ever had. I encourage you to write down a list of all the blessings in your life and not just general things like "family" or "church." Write down each and every person's name, write every detail. Thank God for all of them and keep your list to look at again at a later time. You'll see how God has maybe added things to your list or maybe even taken away a few and thank him for that as well. Thank you, Lord, that you are the Sovereign One. Thank you for knowing what is best for me in all situations and circumstances. Please help me to be more thankful for the blessings that you've given me, even though I may not even see it as a blessing at this time. May I always trust You.

I don't have much in the way of major spiritual breakthroughs today...just a huge pain in the butt, literally! On Wednesday, I had a pilonidal cyst removed from my tail bone. I'm glad that I did it. I believe in the long run the surgery is going to be well worth the current "uncomfortableness." The surgery itself went well, it's just giving my boo-boo the time to heal that's the hardest part. To be honest though, I was a little nervous about being put to sleep. Even though being put under is no more dangerous that driving a car, you just never know. As I was having my quiet time and praying the night before the surgery, I told God that if it was my time to go that that was okay. I just prayed for joy, peace and happiness for Chris and the kids. I believe that I've come a long way in my walk with the Lord to be able to say all of that with complete confidence. I'm in an accountability group with two other people and we've been reading 2 Corinthians. Somewhere around chapter 5 (I think), Paul talks about wanting to be at home with the Lord rather than being away from Him here on earth. I had to examine my heart closely to know if that's really the way I felt inside. Am I yearning to be at home with the Lord or am I content right here where I am? Am I just fine playing the game of life here on earth or am I wanting to be with my Maker in heaven? I know that I can't wait to get to heaven...that's for sure, but all too often I hold on to my physical life a little bit too tight here on earth. I love the Lord with all my heart and I want to serve only Him. I don't know what the Lord is trying to teach me, but all I know is that I woke up from the surgery Wednesday morning. So, I guess it wasn't my time to go. I guess my purpose here on earth is not fulfilled. That makes me feel good...to know that the best is yet to come...here on earth and in heaven.

So this is my mother-in-law, Sandy, and sister-in-law, Georgianna. Actually, I have another sister-in-law, Ginger, who isn't pictured. Georgianna's husband, Matt, and my husband, Chris, are brothers. This week in my quiet time I read through the book of Ruth. WOW! What a book! It's a short book and easy read, but very powerful. For those of you who don't know, I'll give you the absolutely shortest preface you'll ever hear. Naomi, her husband, Elimelech, her two sons, Mahlon and Kilion, and their wives, Ruth and Orpah, all lived together. Naomi's husband and the two sons died which left Naomi, Ruth and Orpah. Eventually, Naomi told the girls to go back to their homeland because Naomi had nothing to offer them. Orpah took her up on the offer and left, but Ruth stuck around. Actually, she clung to Naomi! She said, "Where you go, I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God..." That statement really made me think. Do I have that kind of love and respect for my mother-in-law? According to the word of God, I should. Now, I come from a great family and I'm very close with my own mother. But, to be honest, my mother-in-law is like a second mother to me. (I love you, Sandy!) I truly know that I can talk to her about anything (anything other than how her precious son messed up...you know how mamma's are about their boys!) Unfortuanately, I don't always show how much I love her and respect her and, for that, I apologize. The book of Ruth has much more to offer than just a picture of one girl's relationship with her mother-in-law. The whole book is covered with God's provision and guidance of Naomi and Ruth...I love it when God gets involved, don't you??? Anyway, I just thought I'd let everyone know how much I truly do love my mother-in-law and I encourage you to take time to let your mother-in-law know that she is truly appreciated too.

So, today, on the way to Morgan's soccer game I heard an advertisement for the Susan G. Komen 3-day walk. In the middle of the advertisement it said, "...Because everyone deserves a lifetime." For some reason, that phrase really struck me. Do we really deserve a lifetime? If so, what do we deserve a lifetime of? Happiness, bliss, sorrow, guilt...the list could go on and on. The truth is we really don't deserve anything. Because of the good Lord's grace, I breathe my next breath. For this fleeting moment my heart continues to beat. I really don't deserve a lifetime of anything whether it be good or bad. All I really deserve is eternity apart from the Lord because from the moment I entered this world nothing I could every do would match up to His holiness. Praise God that he loves me (and you) enough to want to be with us forever if we just put our faith and trust in Him. A few days ago, in my quest to read through the entire bible, I was reading Judges 10:15-16. "But the Israelites said to the Lord, 'We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now.' Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the Lord. And he could bear Israel's misery no longer." God loves us more than we could ever imagine. And, because of His love and sacrifice for us, we can have a lifetime of joy (2 Cor. 7:4, James 1:2-5). So, for however long we are given here on earth, we can have a lifetime of JOY, not because we deserve it, but because that's what He wants to give us!

Why is it that mothers of young children have such a hard time spending time with the Lord every day? Maybe it isn't all mothers, but it's definitely Me! The kids wake me up by 6:45 AM and it's off to the races from there! By nap time I'm exhausted and all I want to do is take a nap, too. Sometimes, if I think about it, I sit down to read my bible and spend some time with the Lord. But how come, some times, I don't think about it?? I guess I really do know why, I just don't want to admit it. It's not a priority. I really want to read my bible daily and grow in my relationship with the Lord, but sometimes I think to myself "He understands" or "If any body can just wait a little while, it's Him." Sometimes, I can just imagine the Lord sitting in one of my recliners, watching me race from one end of the house to the other, wondering "When is she going to just sit down and spend time with me?" Quite honestly, it makes me kind of sad. The laundry, the housekeeping, the its-got-to-be-just-right everything can just wait...I want to hear what my Savior wants to tell me today! I want to encourage you and myself to make spending time with God a priority. If you were to call me right now would I say "Wait just a little while," put the phone down and go on about my day. I might eventually return to the phone after the kids were in bed and I checked my email, or I might not. I might go to bed and just forget that you ever called. Is the Lord calling you right now? Is he calling me? I think so...I think I'll go visit with him for while.

Getting Started

Since this is my first blog, I just want to update everyone on our family. After this, the blogs will be more personal and specific. I hope you enjoy hearing about what's going on here...First of all, the picture to the left is the last picture that we have as a family from a year ago. Isn't is sad that we are always taking pictures of our kids, but not usually of the whole family? I'm definitely making an appointment soon! Anyway, the weather has been getting warmer which really lifts my spirits. I love the warmer weather, sunshine and being outside. Last weekend, Chris and I were able to get a lot of yard work done which was extremely therapeutic for me. Morgan has started soccer and loves it. He has such a natural athletic ability and I hope he sticks with playing sports for a long time. He is in 4th grade now and the school year is almost over. I can't believe that in one more year he'll be in middle school! WOW, how time flies! Ivey is potty-trained and being a normal two-year-old. Quite often I have to remind her, "Ivey, who's the mommy?" and she replies "You are!" She often thinks that it's her job to watch over Gavin, although sometimes it IS nice to have an extra pair of eyes on him. And, watching her brush the dirt off of his little tush makes me smile. She makes us laugh, she's such a nut! Tonight she was singing "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" at the top of her lungs in the bath tub... of course inserting everyone's name that we know of. She's really funny and quite entertaining. However, when we get to church or out in public somewhere she shys away from people. I think it's just a game she plays, but it kind of annoys me because I think it's rude. Anyways, trying to teach her how to be polite and socially acceptable is quite an experience. Gavin is growing too fast! He's 13 months old now, practically running around the house and beginning to say a few words. Mostly he just points to what he wants and says, "This!" He's a sweet boy and will definitely have the "baby" syndrome when he's older...not good! Chris is doing great and his business is thriving, praise God! Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful blessing! He works late on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and comes home at lunch time on Tuesday and Thursday so that I can go out and do things that I want to do. He's a great husband isn't he?? I think so. Because of this, I've begun taking guitar lessons. I really enjoy it but it's definitely not easy. Other than that my days are filled with working out (I've lost 12 pounds since September), Bible study, MOPS, church and, of course, my family. Like I said, the posts from here on out will be more specific, but I thought you at least needed a background. I hope you enjoy and please let us know how you're doing as well. Have a wonderful day!

Updated picture of Morgan, Ivey and Gavin