A crazy few weeks

The last few weeks have been an absolute whirlwind. We finished up IGNITE at church and my life just went into crazy land. School begins on Monday!

This past Tuesday my princess turned 5. That is F I V E! I remember when I was having the ultrasound during her pregnancy where we found out she was a she. I had such a flood of emotions. I was scared to have a girl on so many levels. I had two boys and boys and boy things were all we had in our house. I knew how to parent boys. I knew what they liked and I knew what made them tick. Now, we were going to take my blue world and throw in a splash of pink ... threw me for a loop. I remember the next day after I dropped the boys off at pre-school, I walked through carters and actually cried. I know, crazy pregnancy hormones. I didn't even know how to SHOP for a girl. For the boys I could grab things and mix  and match them. Didn't need a different pair of shoes for each outfit. Didn't need accessories and I didn't have to do much when it came to HAIR! Now, I was having to re think my whole parenting world. :)

She had been so worth it! I wouldn't trade a day of the splash of pink in our lives. Kennedy is all girl but she can throw down with the boys while she is all made up in her princess attire. She loves to wear dresses and loves bows in her hair. I don't know what I did to deserve a daughter but man am I a blessed momma! So thankful for the past 5 years with this little lady. I pray that I can continue to be the momma she needs me to be!

Pace is about the same. The eating plan didn't change the way he was feeling or the abdominal distention so he was able to come off of it. The doctor is now looking to see if he has a motility issue. So yesterday we had two tests run. One was a gastric emptying study and one was a contrast enema. He is such a champ! He teaches me so much as I walk through this journey with him. Hopefully, we will know the results today of those tests and can move forward from here. I'm tired of going to GI dr's and tired of going to the hospital. I KNOW that he is too.

School begins on Monday and there is so much to do between now and then. Hope y'all have a great weekend!

IGNITE 2013

This week at our church we are having our kids camp week. We call it IGNITE - it's like VBS but so much more than any VBS I attended as a kid. This is like a youth camp but geared toward Kindergarten through 5th graders. It's AMAZING!

I love watching the kids worship. They are all in and hold nothing back. They are expressive and they have joy on their faces. They are alive and in the moment. So many times on Sunday morning, I look around and think, these adults need some kids to come in and show them how it's done! I really think that our kids could teach us how to worship. I know that during this time with Pace, I am learning a lot just by watching him as he walks through this time. His faith amazes me daily. I guess this is why scripture teaches us to come to Him with the faith of a child. It's totally pure and I love it!

This week I have also been blown away by our volunteers. They are coming out of their shells and having so much fun with these kids. We have over  80 volunteers from our church and 53 middle school students with Chaperones from VA here helping us pull this week off. It's amazing to watch as people come in straight from work, feeding their kids from a drive through, and sometimes not eating themselves - to serve for 5 nights. I love it!

Two more nights and we are going to blow the roof off! It's TIME TO SHINE!

8 Years

8 Years ago we said "I do" to each other. It's crazy to think that it's been 8 years. In some ways it seems like a blink of an eye and in other ways it seems so much more than 8 years.

In 8 years we have .... lived in 5 different houses in 3 different states. We had 3 children, experienced 2 miscarriages, and now have one on the way. We have experienced some high highs and low lows. We have traveled together and learned to make our marriage a priority. We have fought through some hard times in our marriage and we have come out on the other side and look forward to how God will use this story for His good. We have learned a lot and have a lot to be thankful for. 8 Years! I look forward to all that lies ahead of us.

Jeremy, I love you and I'm thankful for you in our lives. I'm proud of you and all that you have accomplished and the man you are today. I look forward to how God will continue to work in our lives and use our life together to further His kingdom. Thank you for being you and for loving us the way you do! Thank you for being the husband you are, the father you are and the friend to all of us that you are!

I love you!

A Beautiful Sunday

This past Sunday Pace was Baptized. It was such a special day. He had been excited for over a week about this. In fact, he is still excited about it :) He could hardly go to sleep on Saturday night because he was so excited. When he woke up Sunday morning it had been raining and was really dark outside still. He cried. We told him that the weather is always changing and prayed with him. He continued to pray and talk about the weather ALL DAY LONG. It was a beautiful afternoon and he was baptized. And he did not stop smiling for hours after .... he still smiles when he talks about it. I love his joy!

There just aren't words to describe how my heart feels. Seeing your children make a profession of faith and seeing them excited and telling everyone ... just melts my heart to mush. They have a lot of days ahead of them and I pray that they always have the excitement and zeal that they have now. I pray that when it is not celebrated to make a stand that they still will. I pray that when it is not cool or popular to stand that they still will. I also pray that Jeremy and I continue to lead and guide them to make good choices and to allow God to lead them down the paths he would have them take. I pray that they always make much of Jesus and that the lives they lead will draw others to Christ.

Such a beautiful afternoon!

Another Amazing Day!!!

Yesterday was a special day in our home. (Besides being Easter - which in and of itself is very special as we celebrated our RISEN Lord!) Pace decided that he wanted to take a huge step and allow Jesus to be the Lord of his life. He has been asking questions for a while and we answer them but he hasn't ever wanted to go further. We had two services at church yesterday and during the volunteer service Pace told us he wanted Jesus to be in his heart.

Our childrens pastor talked with him between the services and Pace asked Jesus to live in his heart. It was an Extra special day. I wish you all could have seen the joy and excitement on his face as he told everyone he came in contact with. It was truly an incredible day!

Two of my children have invited Christ into their hearts - something I have prayed for since they were in my womb. A very exciting day as mom when I get to hug my son who is now my brother in Christ. Words just do not do justice to the emotions going on in my heart right now - such a special day! I look forward to the day that Kennedy does the same!

3 Little Valentines

These guys make me smile each day! They are an absolute joy to parent and I am so blessed to have them as mine!!

For Valentines this year I got to go on two dates. One with my Big V Valentine, and one with my 2 little v valentines. Jeremy took me out first and then he helped the boys ask me out on a date the day after Valentines day. My two little men brought me a balloon and a few flowers. It was so cute as they asked me to go out on a date with them. Jeremy put money in Ryan's pocket and told both boys how to treat me on a date. We had such good conversation.

While we were out on our date, Jeremy asked a little 2 1/2 year old princess out on a date. He showed up after work with an orange rose and off they went. She was so excited to go out with her daddy. By the time this girl gets to the age of 20 or 30 and she is allowed to go on her first date, she will know how to be treated by a male because her daddy will have set the bar so high! Jeremy said she talked the entire time they were out, I don't doubt it at all because she has so much to say. She doesn't like a quiet moment, she talks ALL.THE.TIME!

I love that my children know my first love is with Jesus, my second love is for my husband and that they fall in line right after him. I love that they get to see their father date me and love me and that they get to go out on special dates with us! I love the look in their eyes when we are together ... they know they are special, they know they are loved and they know that will never change!

I love my family!

Happy 2011!

Merry Christmas and Happy new Year! I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and will have a wonderful 2011 as well! I'm not doing great at keeping up this blog lately. Life has just been so insanely busy! So much is going on and I feel like I have so much going on to write about ... just not enough time to do it all in!

We have had a wonderful Christmas break and I cannot believe that Monday my boys have to go back to school. It's been so fun having them home. Although, it has been exhausting as well. Those three have more energy than I know what to do with sometimes!! We are incredibly blessed to be able to parent these 3! I love every crazy minute of it!

I hope that you have had a wonderful time with your family and friends over the past few weeks as we took time to pause and celebrate the gift given to us so many years ago!!

Have a blessed 2011 peeps!

Lessons from a 6 year old

Today at 4:08 am my baby turned 6! The last 6 years have absolutely FLOWN by! In 6 years Ryan has lived in 3 different states, in 5 different houses, he has gone to 4 different schools, and 4 different churches (not counting all the ones we visited trying to find the one) He has the biggest heart and is ALWAYS striving to do his very best at everything he does.

This year in April Ryan decided to give his life to follow Jesus. His heart has been transformed so much over the last year .... I have seen such tremendous growth. We have had our periods of trial and error but he is learning and his heart is being softened. The best thing is that I see his mind working and I see his heart bending towards the things that matter to the heart of God.

Each year at Christmas, our children get 3 gifts, to represent the 3 gifts that the wise men brought to Jesus when they visited him. Its our way to teach them many lessons at Christmas. They also give away 3 of their toys at Christmas ... it makes room for what they will get but it also teaches them to give to others who do not have as much as us - they get to pick what 3 toys are given away. (we also buy new gifts to give away, so don't think we are scrooges)

This year as Christmas has gotten closer and closer we have talked about the various ways as a family we can help those around us who are in need. One of the things that we talked about was Ryan's birthday. We talked to Ryan about how much he has and how blessed he is compared to so many. (God had already been working on his heart) We asked him if he would mind asking others to bring a gift not for him, but a donation for others. He was more than excited about this idea.

Saturday, was his birthday and everyone who attended brought a donation for a local rescue shelter in our area. We had toiletries galore! Soap, razors, deodorant, toothpaste, tooth brushes, etc ... all for a 6 year olds birthday! He was so excited when we got home and looked at everything that had been brought. His brother even commented how he wanted to do the same thing for his birthday!!

Fast forward to today ... his birthday ... we picked him up from school and took him to deliver his donation to the rescue shelter. We had so much stuff that Ryan couldn't carry it in. We walk in and the staff greeted him with such a grateful heart .... the woman who runs the shelter came out and told us that the Lord told her to pray over Ryan and our family. She prayed the sweetest prayer over him. I cried. I was blown away with how she prayed for my son. I have prayed some of the same words but he is MY son, I should pray those prayers. This lady had no clue, zero, who this child was, she didn't know him before he walked in the door and she has no connection to him. But the prayer she prayed ... WOW! She spoke a word over my son and I cannot wait to see how God brings it to fruition! I've known God was doing something special in his life, but to hear a stranger also testify to that ... WOW is all I can say, WOW!

Today we were blessed so much more than we were a blessing! I love how God encouraged us today as parents through this womans prayer over my son! I loved seeing the JOY on my childs face as he received nothing but gave away instead. I loved seeing how it trickles down to the other two. I love how his heart is changing and growing!

life is whizing by!

Last night Ryan graduated from PRE-SCHOOL! Pre-School! I no longer have a pre-schooler. My little boy got all dressed up, mostly by himself with very little help from his momma and we left the house a pre-schooler and he came home itching to go to Kindergarten. How in the world???

I sat in the auditorium last night waiting to hear "Pomp & Circumstance" and see a line of marching little ones. My heart jumped forward about 13 years to all the emotions I will be experiencing as he graduates high School. Then the music plays and all these little humans come walking in so excited to sing to their parents and receive their diploma .... and the emotions just flooded me. I'm sitting there trying to get pictures to document this momentous occasion and I'm crying! Who turned on the waterworks? Where did that come from? I wasn't expecting them. Now, I'm prepared for them come dropping him off for kindergarten but I wasn't prepared for them last night. Oh my!

I made it back to my seat (I sat in the back to get pictures and video of him marching in) and composed myself and waited on my little ones class to sing. The Frogs were on the stage and they began their song ... my little man sang his little heart out ... he had the biggest grin and he sang out so loud and proud the entire time. Hands behind his back, standing up so tall. I was one proud momma.

I am realizing how little time I have left with my little man. I know he has 13 more years left in school but how many of those years will he willingly want to spend time with his momma and daddy? We are doing our best to make the most of this time and enjoy the moments we have while he will allow us to be his best buds.

They are only little for a moment! Don't blink!

Dear Ryan

Dear Ryan,

Today you began the most amazing journey in your life! Today you said "yes, I trust God." Today, you made one of the biggest commitments you will ever make. Today, a party was held in heaven in your honor. Today, the angels sang and rejoiced and God smiled at your decision to begin your walk with Him.

Your relationship with God is like a going on a long journey with Him. Many start off well but don't realize they need to keep going in order to reach their destination. You are only 5 but God has been working on your heart for a while. You have been asking questions and pondering the Cross for some time. Your child like faith really challenges me in my own walk with Christ.

Before I ever held you for the first time, I prayed that you would come to know Him at an early age. I prayed that you would love him and that your life would be one used to further his Kingdom and bring him Glory. Little did I know that you would give your little heart to him at the tender age of 5.

I pray that you will continue to walk with him. There will be many dips and bends in your road as you journey with Him. One thing I hope you always cling to is that HE is ALWAYS faithful to you. He will lead you if you allow him to take you by the hand and walk with you through life. At times you will face trials and you will wonder where he is. I want you to know that He will be by your side at every place you will find yourself in.

You will not be perfect in your new walk. You will fall, but you can rise knowing that there is a God who longs to forgive you, dust you off and set you back on the right path. Faith is an amazing thing, son. You are just at the beginning of a great journey.

I pray that as you grow that your knowledge and understanding of exactly what the cross means will resonate within your heart. I pray that you will remain tender to the things that grip the heart of God. I pray that you will use your life to glorify Him in ALL you say and ALL you do. I pray that you will love him even when it is not cool to do so. I pray that you will stand for him even when those around you sit down. I pray that you will be a champion for the weak and a warrior for the wounded. I pray that you will be sensitive to that still small voice inside that will guide you along life's journey.

There's so much more I'd like to say to you and I will. I look forward to walking with you on your new journey. I love you and I'm so proud of you!

Love,
Mommy

AMAZING DAY!!!!!!!!!!

Today was one of the most amazing days that I have had in a LONG time! Today Ryan asked Jesus into his heart. He has been asking questions since the summer of what it means to have Jesus in your life. Today our pastor sat down with him and talked to him and Ryan asked Jesus into his heart!!!

WOW is about all I can say! WOW! What a special day! Today my son's name was written in the Book of Life.

I just don't have words to describe the things going on in my heart! WOW!

Her First

Yesterday, we celebrated with our family, Kennedy's first birthday. It is CRAZY to think that one year has passed already. It seriously just doesn't seem like a year has come and gone.

We had a luau for her yesterday. The weather didn't quite cooperate so we moved everything inside but we still had a nice time.

She absolutely LOVED her cake ... she just wanted someone else to feed her. She picked at it very daintily and would look up at us and smile then back down at the cake. The boys LOVED putting their fingers in the cake and giving it to her ... every once in a while I would notice Pace putting his finger in his mouth instead of hers :). Don't let the picture below fool you ... she wouldn't get messy so I had to take her hand to her face myself. I had to have a messy first birthday photo ... but had I not done it the only thing that would have been messy would have been her hands.

I will say that I think I have a shopper on my hands! I took her on several errands last week and she would look at thinks and point and ooh and aah over them. I found a night gown for her that was silk and when she saw it, she fell in love with it. She oohed all through the store and HAD to hold it in her hands. She would show it to me often as we walked around the store with a huge proud smile on her face. It was too cute.

She also got her toes painted to match the pink in her dress yesterday. I took her to this place where I get my toes done and the guy painted them for her. She was less than thrilled to have to endure such torture but in the end she was looking at them and oohing over them. I think I just might have a girly girl on my hands who just so happens to like to play with her brothers cars.

Public Dedication

Tonight we publicly dedicated Kennedy to God. After each one of our children were born, Jeremy and I would pray over them before anyone else ever came in the room to meet our children. It was a sweet time that the two of us were able to spend together with our new baby and the Lord who gave each of them to us. Then we take the next step and dedicate them publicly ... tonight was Kennedy's night and it was a sweet time, a very intimate time that our church worked hard to make special for each family who dedicated a child. It was biter sweet for us as we missed having family there. Since the dedication was in the middle of the week our family was unable to make the trip. However, we had some great friends who joined us tonight and helped make this night special for us.

She is yours God ... thanks for giving us the opportunity to raise her. Give us wisdom and discernment as we train her up. We pray that she will come to know you at an early age and that she will live for you her whole life long. May she always know that we are here for her. As she grows may she know that her beauty is found in you and in who you have made her to be. May she see her worth in you and not seek for what the world will tell her is beautiful. May she know that you knit her together and that she was fearfully and wonderfully made.

Train us in our parenting as we raise all 3 of your children. Thank you for giving us the awesome privilege of being their parents. They are truly a blessing to us. You have trusted us with them and we give them back to you. Help us to lead them and teach them to trust in you. Help us to consistently model your grace and love to them. May the footsteps they follow be the ones that lead them to you. Give each of them patience, wisdom and discernment as they walk through this crazy world. Protect their hearts and may they hide your Word in their hearts. May they be so full of your love that it radiates and spills out to each person they come in contact with. May they run hard after you with every fiber of their being and never look back.

CONGRATS!

Congratulations to my brother Benjamin and his now fiance' Theresa! Benjamin and Theresa got engaged this weekend! I couldn't be more excited for my brother!

Congrats Benjamin and Theresa. We are so excited for you guys and look forward to celebrating with you on your special day. Enjoy this time of planning and preparing to become one!

Welcome to the family Theresa! We love you~!

If you are reading and married please leave a comment with a piece of advice to the newly engaged couple.