Grace for the Tests!

It is true that God's people are tested, but it is also true that God's grace is equal to their trials. It is true that through many tribulations we enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). We wade through waters of woe, but the billows will not overflow us (Is 43:2). Listen to Jeremiah, "Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness" (Lam. 3:22-23). Compassions, what a blessed word!

The thought that God's mercy is always new is pleasing, that it is new every morning is wonderful - new every morning, not just some mornings but every morning, from the first of January to the last of December.

Every morning brings new mercy. Every morning ushers in another day. Every morning brings a reason to praise God, because we have no right to an hour or even a minute, much less to a day. We have another day to walk with God as Enoch did. We have another day to trust God as Abraham did. We have another day to reap the golden harvest. We have another day to be ripened for glory. We have another day to fellowship with the Lord.

God gives us our days. May He teach us their value, for they are pearls of great price. Then, as each new morning breaks, we may say to Him, "This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness."

-C.H. Spurgeon

Praise the LORD for new mercies this morning! =)

He's Always Been Faithful! (And Always Will Be!)

This has been a challenging day...week...month...year with our littlest one. She truly is a gift to us. I love when she sucks her thumb and rests her head on me. I love when she laughs when she sees herself in the mirror in the car. I love when we ask her for her kiss and she tilts her forehead towards us to give her kisses! She is beautiful. She has this wonderful big brown eyes and cute wispy blonde hair and big feet and you cutest baby chub. She also has an incredibly loud angry scream - which she uses consistently from the time she wakes up until she goes to bed. I pray over her, hold her, put her down, discipline her, play with her, talk to her...nothing seems to help right now.

Thankfully, and only by the grace of God, I find myself loving her more every day. And that is truly God's grace. It doesn't mean that I don't get angry, tired and feel like I have lost a ton of brain cells the last few months in particular, but it does mean that the Lord is drawing me nearer to Him. Nearer to the Cross. I wake up praying for the Lord to give me strength and wisdom and I'm looking for ways to be more compassionate (not a gifting of mine). I'm speaking more Truth to myself and trying to cultivate more of a heart of gratefulness - which can definitely be difficult when I'm wanting peace and quiet and time to do what I want to do. I'm repenting regularly of my selfishness and lack of patience.

I am grateful for God's faithfulness to me. I am so grateful that I can look back time after time, season after season - times of joy and times of trial - and see that not once has He been unfaithful. He is always faithful! And although many times I at a loss of what to do with this precious baby, God isn't and He isn't surprised at what is going on in my heart. He is in control and He is good! This is another season in our lives and I hope and pray that we are found being faithful to the Lord and faithful to what He's entrusted to our care!

This is one of my favorite songs which lifts my eyes to the Lord!

Morning by morning I wake up to find
The power and comfort of God’s hand in mine
Season by season I watch Him, amazed
In awe of the mystery of His perfect ways
All I have need of, His hand will provide
He’s always been faithful to me.

I can’t remember a trial or a pain
He did not recycle to bring me gain
I can’t remember one single regret
In serving God only, and trusting His hand
All I have need of, His hand will provide
He’s always been faithful to me.

This is my anthem, this is my song
The theme of the stories I’ve heard for so long
God has been faithful, He will be again
His loving compassion, it knows no end
All I have need of, His hand will provide
He’s always been faithful, He’s always been faithful
He’s always been faithful to me.

Reagan's Prayer for Jordyn This Morning...

Dear Lord,

Please help Jordyn to not cry. Please help Jordyn to have a happy heart and self-control. Thank you for my baby sister. Amen.

No doubt HE heard this prayer. =)

Some Random Catching Up!

Last week came and went so quickly - as do many weeks! It seems like I blink and the day is over. (Even if in the midst of it it has seemed like a long day.)

The first three days last week included two hours of swim lessons and some play time in the pool. Sydney was moved up to be in a class where I wasn't needed! It was so strange to see my little monkey hanging on for life in the deep end of the pool, learning to "dive" and attempting to jump off the diving board! I say "attempting" because the first couple of times she just jumped straight up and down almost busting her bottom on the board - so the teacher had me give her a little shove to make sure she didn't end up with a sore bottom! Reagan did incredible. She was swimming like a fish - by the end of the week she was racing and swimming from one end of the pool to the other. Every time she raced as soon as she popped out of the water she wanted to know if she won or not! (Hmmm...who could she get that from?!?! Maybe she has a wee-bit competitiveness in her after all!) On my drive to swim lessons on Tuesday I turned up the wrong driveway. I say up because it's like going up a mountain. I was trying to back out and let's say I had plenty of room on one side of the van. The other side ended up in a ditch and I hit the people's mailbox. I was so bummed. I called Steve and he came right to my rescue (very patiently, too). Thankfully another dad had come to watch his little girl at swim lessons that day and helped Steve out. I'm glad to say their mailbox was fine, but I do have a ding on my van. It could have been much worse, though. We even made it in time for swim lessons!

Jordyn has cut several more teeth and we enjoyed a couple of weeks with her being more cheerful. Last week was not one of those weeks, though! Poor baby is back to screaming. Today she made herself pass out again. I'm grateful that the Lord loves this precious little girl. I'm grateful that my hope is in Him and that He gives us wisdom and grace when we call out to Him! I did take her for a long walk the other day - just her and me - and she seemed to really enjoy that! Oh, and she finally pulled herself up! She pulled up on the fireplace and as soon as she saw me looking at her she threw herself on the wood floor and started crying! But ah-ha! Now I know she can do it!! I love watching Reagan love on her. Even if it's been a day when Jordyn has screamed the majority of the time she's been up, Reagan just tells her how much she loves her and loves having a baby sister and how sweet she is...and then she makes her laugh! All R has to do is say "boo" and she'll have Jordyn laughing away!

Yesterday we went to the park in our neighborhood and Reagan was on the hunt for bugs for her bug box. Unfortunately we only found one dead beetle. When she put him in the box his head fell off, but she still kept him! She wanted to bring him home to see what kind of beetle it was. She's putting her new bug book to good use!

Last night we went over to some friends house for a campfire cookout! The weather has been beautiful here and last night was perfect for cooking hot dogs and making s'mores! I love watching the girls run around and play. Sydney even did really good around their dogs! Usually she clings to me when there are big dogs but she's getting used to them now! I wish I had a picture of her sitting by herself enjoying every bite of her s'more. She ate it for about 20 minutes! It was so cool to be sitting outside by a camp fire with little kids running around laughing and playing and watching fireflies dance around in the night sky!

I'm looking forward to a NEW week. I'm looking forward to NEW mercies. I'm looking forward to planning for a NEW school year with Reagan. I'm looking forward to going to the library with the girls and letting them pick out NEW books for us to explore this week (right now we are finishing up the Boxcar Children - #1, Amelia Bedelia, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, and The Book of Virtues for Children). I'm looking forward to seeing what NEW silly, sweet and funny things come out of my girls' mouths. I'm looking forward to NEW conversations with my man. I'm looking forward to game night with our now not-so-NEW good friends (it's been 6 months now!)! I'm looking forward to making a NEW recipe this week - Spicy Buffalo Chicken Salad. I'm looking forward to seeing what NEW tricks the girls can do in the pool. All in this one week, too! =)

Oh, and I'm looking forward to seeing Mama and Sissy on Friday!!! And then JJ the next Thursday! Whew...I just thought the last few weeks flew by! =)

Dress (your kids) Like Cows!

Today was Chick-Fil-A's dress like a cow and get free food day! The girls got dressed all up after we went to the pool today and we picked up enough free food for our entire family to eat lunch! Then, when they got up from their naps I asked them if they wanted to dress up again and go back for dinner with their Daddy! Hmmm...can you guess their responses?!?! They were so excited that they were going to get French fries and chicken nuggets twice in one day! Tonight we got 3 meals and an extra chicken nuggets for free! Jordyn actually really seems to like going out for dinner and she liked the big cow, too, which really surprised me! I love when we get to do things like this that really take so little effort but make some fun memories with our girlies!

Swim Lessons - Week 1

This week Reagan and Sydney went to swim lessons. They did so great! Sydney cried the first day for a while, but calmed down a lot sooner than I thought she would. By the end of the first day the teacher even had her jumping off the diving board (well, I really had to throw her off =)!), but she did it - and swam to the side. I was so excited! Reagan swam like a fish! By day 3 she was diving (trying to!) off the board and swimming across the pool, racing, and swimming down and touching the bottom of the pool (in the shallow end). I'm looking forward to going back next week and they are too!

13 months and some change!

Jordyn is 13 months old and some change...and she has been changing some, too! This morning I went into her room and she was sitting up by herself. Yep, over thirteen months old and this is the first time I have caught her after she has gone from laying down to sitting up all by herself. I bet she's done it before...I just haven't seen her do it. And she's had a lot more cheerful days recently. July 4th was a huge change - she was happy all day long! It was so pleasant and so much fun! She's made it through worship and announcements (with only having to be taken out once last Sunday) the last 3 Sundays and is doing really well in Sunday school! She loves laughing at Reagan and playing chase around the couch. She still won't pull herself up or say anything, but I'm sure it won't be long!

Unfortunately she has discovered how to make herself pass out. She passed out when she got her shots a couple of weeks ago which I could totally understand. But since then she has been holding her breath when she gets angry and makes herself pass out. It's quite freaky. Last night at dinner she did a semi-pass out. It's the first time Steve's seen her do it. She turns super pale and there she goes. It happens quite quickly, but I don't like it one bit. I'm praying that the Lord will give her a little heart that is self-controlled and that she will not be so angry! Thankfully the Lord is giving me much love for this child, because she is definitely very challenging (this morning being one of those times!). And I love that the girls still love her and want to play with her after she's screamed for an hour and a half straight!

Hopefully next week I'll start taking her to the pool more and getting her used to it before our August vacation to the beach. I'm really hoping she'll start to enjoy the water and decide to have some fun!!

Lord, thank you for this child who stretches me and shows me how dependent I am on You on a daily basis. Thank You for choosing Jordyn to be our little girl and for those moments when she gives us her goofy smile and silly little laugh or when she snuggles with me! Thank You that You promise to give us wisdom when we ask for it and seek You! Amen.

Fabulous Fun on the Fourth!

We had so much fun celebrating on the 4th! Saturday morning we met up with some of our friends at the Woodstock Parade! It was so cute and the kids had a great time. Reagan was the candy swiper and Sydney was eating Popsicles (yes, they handed out Popsicles!) left and right! Jordyn was very entertained by everything going around her. The weather was perfect and it was so fun just to hang out and visit and watch the girls. After the parade we headed to the mall to do some quick shopping and ended up eating at Chick-fil-a. The girls (and I) always enjoy that treat! Then we headed home for naps, Steve went to the gym and I worked out at home. Then we had a yummy summer time kind of dinner and then headed up to Steve's bosses other business - My Corner Office (a cool coffee shop) to watch the Canton fireworks. We didn't leave our house until it was the girls normal bedtime, so I was holding loosely to the fact that we would be able to stay for the actual fireworks, but they all had a blast and enjoyed the fireworks. I loved listening to the girls laughing in the backseat at 11 o'clock at night!

Happy 4th of July!

OK, so I'm posting a day early...if I don't it probably won't make it on here!! =)

Freedom

Gratefulness

I talked to the girls about these two words quite a bit today.

I'm reading Flags of our Fathers right now and have been freshly aware of what the 4th of July represents. We here in America are among some of the most blessed, rich people. I am so grateful for the men and women who serve our country so that we can go about our daily lives as we do. The girls and I talked about some of the things we love to do and how in some other countries we could be put in prison for those things. Then I took them to the GA National Cemetery which is just down the street from us. It's beautiful. We walked around and they wanted to go and see the flowers and flags. I was more interested in the names and dates. I watched as proud Veterans drove past and meandered through the markers. I couldn't help but wonder what the man walking up and down the rows did to protect my freedom.

And then I was overwhelmed by another freedom I have been given!! Freedom through the Cross of my Savior! Freedom from sin and death! Freedom from fear and worry! Freedom from anger and bitterness! Freedom to serve! I am so grateful that the Lord rescued me! That "He picked me up, turned me around, and set my feet on solid ground".

Here are some of the pictures from today. As you can tell, Jordyn was not interested in being photographed at all. She just wanted to be back in her stroller with her tray of Cherrios!

Scare of the Day!

So, I had this idea to go and take some pictures of the girls at the National Cemetery today. I wanted to pick up an outfit idea for Reagan and I was sure they would have what I needed at Target. So after lunch, I packed up the girls and off for a quick run to the store we went. It was supposed to be one of those in-and-out uneventful kind of trips. But nope, that's not what was in store for our afternoon. Reagan was getting out of one side of the van while I was getting Jordyn from the other side - while I was talking on the phone. I had already pressed the "lock" button and dropped the keys down in my purse. All of a sudden I hear this child screaming. A few seconds later I realize it was my child. I shutter as I think of it even now. I ran to the other side and saw her hand - 4 fingers outside the door, her thumb completely caught. I braced myself for what it was going to look like once I got the door open. Amazingly, she had just a small cut on her hand. By this time, Sydney, Reagan and I are all crying! I'm sure we were a sight to behold!! A man ran in to get her ice and I held her and we prayed that God would just heal her little hand. She was so brave I couldn't believe it. (It usually takes her days to recover from a skinned knee!) She could wiggle her fingers and there was barely any blood. I told her we could leave right then and go call Mrs. Renee (a wonderful lady in our church who has a nursing background). She told me she wanted to go on ahead in and do our shopping. What a girl! So, of course the girls got ICEEs and cookies for being so brave (Reagan) and being so sweet (Sydney). Then I dropped the little girls off at home and took Reagan to see Renee. Thankfully, she is fine (she even played Play-doh at the McKenzie's and had another cookie!). I'm sure it will be black and blue tomorrow, but she was a trooper today! It sure does hurt to see your babies hurting. I would much rather it be me!!!