What do you do on a Rainy Day in So. Cal???

You update your long forgotten blog!! Life has been non-stop for so many months and honestly I just don't see it slowing down anytime soon. I really need to take a step back and ask the Lord for strength, endurance, and peace otherwise I just might go crazy! So where did I last leave off? Let's see, ahh yes Noelle my 16 year old daughter was heading to Malawi, Africa on her very first Mission trip. Which looking back, it came and went just like that. Now, I have to say the time she was gone was very difficult, in all she was gone for 7 1/2 weeks. She left on June 23 for Merritt Island, Florida the home base of Teen Missions International and returned home on August 11. She was in Malawi for 3 1/2 weeks and the rest of the time was in Florida. I was very fortunate that through Facebook I had contact with other parents from Noelle's team and it eased my anxiety. I was able to see that just like me there were other parents going through all the same emotions. Noelle came back having made some pretty amazing life long friends and I am thankful that in this day and age she is able to maintain a certain amount of contact with this new family she made. I am so incredibly thankful to God for his protection and watch over my child. She came back safe and sound and having had an experience of a lifetime. I am going to post the video she made and shared at her school, it says it all plus she came back home with ove 600 pictures, yikes! I had planned on writing more but alas my laundry is calling.. FYI Dishes, laundry, and the two little ones take priority, even on these rainy days!!!

Okay so the video doesn't seem to want to upload, I will keep working on that and in the mean time I posted a picture.

Where is the time going?

I just keep sitting here in disbelief that we are already a third of the way into May 2010. Life seems to be going 100 miles an hour and each time I blink it feels like another day has past. There have been some pretty difficult times in my life where I would have given anything for time to disappear but instead I was tortured in a slow moving hell. Melodramatic I know and of course as I look back at that time, even then life got away from me. Now I want to just breath and enjoy this beautiful and blessed life that God has given to me and yet it just keeps moving at unspeakable speed.

So what has brought me to the blog today, well lots of things...... I know I don't write on my blog often. It isn't so much a time issue (it is part of it) as it is having something to say. When I actually do sit down to write, I end up having too much to say and run out of time. The last several months have been pretty busy and filled with activity after activity. I am happy to say my family and I have found a wonderful home church. This is something that we have struggled with since John and I married almost 5 years ago. We couldn't seem to find "our" church and ended up church hopping. This wasn't a good thing because we never really committed full hearted as a family to going to church every Sunday. I was involved in bible studies for most of that time, with exception to taking time to have my babies but we didn't have the much needed fellowship that I believe our hearts and souls so desperately need. Our new church is amazing, the people are so kind, welcoming, and loving. Honestly it felt like home the first day. It is small, so you get to really know people. The greatest thing is Noelle has even expressed a great liking for this church. God really answered our prayers and I feel him calling to me in so many ways.

Well, this is probably the biggest thing going on with regards to my family... Noelle is going with Teen Missions International to Malawi, Africa on a Footwashing Mission Trip. I am really stepping out in faith with regards to allowing her to go. It almost seems surreal. I have filled out all the paperwork, gotten her passport, made calls to arrange necessary shots and yet have felt a peace about the whole thing. This is quite unusual for me, I worry and fret about everything. My family teases me and well often gets annoyed at my stress of bad things happening. Oh, I know this is not how God wants me to live and I must give these fears over to him. I pray daily for Noelle and her trip and I have commissioned others to pray daily for her. Our pastor comes up to me each time he sees me to reaffirm his commitment to pray for Noelle. He carries her prayer bookmark in his bible and prays aloud for her everyday, thank you Lord! Her trip is fast approaching, it was only a few months ago that it was 6 months away and now it is only 7 weeks away. In 7 weeks my baby is going to be getting on a plane to Florida where she will spend 2 1/2 weeks training, and then she will hop on another plane to go overseas. She will be in Malawi, Africa for 3 1/2 weeks doing various work project but mostly ministering to orphan children. She will wash their feet and give them new socks and shoes. God is sovereign over Noelle's life and I know there is power in doing the work that God has set before her. As the trip approaches, I see myself calling more fervently upon God. If you read this I ask for you to also lift my precious Noelle up in prayer. Pray for her health, travel safety, her spiritual walk and also for her fellow team members. I also think that as the trip gets closer that Satan will be out in full force against her, and I pray for him to be bound in the name of Jesus Christ. Noelle can do all things through Christ who strengthens her, and I know He will do just that!

Well there is more I can write but I am tired and should go to bed.. next time I will let you know about my ballroom dancing.. Yes, I am a ballroom dancer ( since September!) I love it, and will be participating in a Pro/Am Dancesport competition in July... so excited!

Well goodnight, and remember if you feel inclined to pray for my daughter please do so, thank you!

She can write her name...WOW!

While I was washing dishes today, Abigail went into my purse got a pen, went over to the printer got a piece of paper, sat down at the table and started to write. She loves to scribble on paper and recently what she has been scribbling has started to look like something. The other day she drew a balloon with a face and hair that look like her daddy, haha!!

So today while I was distracted doing dishes I was able to hear her spelling her name out, A...b...i...g...a...i...l, then she lifted up her paper and this is what I saw. Now I don't know what the normal age is to be able to spell out your name let alone write it and it be legible, but this totally wowed me. Abigail is 3 1/2, she loves letters. When ever we go somewhere and there is a letter she will either ask me what it is or she will tell me. I have sat with her before and written out her name for her but not in the last couple of days. She did this from her own memory. What a smart girl, Abigail is!!!

And just as a side note, I will admit that it helps knowing that her name is Abigail when you look at this paper, but still it is pretty darn neat!

A Little Bit of Easter!

I have not blogged in so long, the BPS are watching..haha! If you want a little laugh check my blog post out here , it explains BPS to you. This is just a quick update with a couple of pictures from Easter. I hope you all had a great Easter and I will be back soon to update you on what I have been up to the last few months..

Choo-Choo!! My little boy's 2!!

What can I tell you about Mason, he is such a joy in my life. He is loving, silly, sensitive, full of life, loves the outdoors, outspoken (as much as a 2 year old can be). He is the one who took to breastfeeding, sleeping, not making much of a fuss and just being a great baby. I thought for sure this meant he was going to be my sweet, little boy who is going to love books, music, sitting on mommies lap, quite, screech... ummm.. seriously what was I thinking!! Mason is 100% all boy, he loves vroom-vroom cars, choo-choo trains, throwing his food on the floor, chasing his sister with dirt, eating dirt, eating sand, and on and on, did I mention he likes to eat dirt? He absolutely loves being outside playing and as soon as he was mobile he would crawl to the doors so he could go outside.

Underneath that all American boy, there is also my little prince who loves giving hugs, kisses, and cuddling. He gets his feelings hurt and is pretty sensitive to be disciplined. He for the most part responds to us telling him no (within limits, I mean they all test us) but when we do have to give time out, my heart just breaks at his cry. He says sorry in the most endearing way. My little man turned 2 on December 31, and this past weekend we celebrated his birthday with our friends and family. It was a fun time! We had a train themed party and he got a train table from us, along with some wonderful gifts from out guests. I am a very blessed wife and mother and I know each and every moment is a gift from God.. how thankful I am!