Go Rays!

We once again this year had a chance to go see the IceRays! Corpus Christi's hockey team. Thank you Arnold and Amanda for letting us tag along :0) We had a wonderful time. Here are all my boys with "Stinger Ray" or "Mr. Ray" as William and Cade refered to him. Brennan, didn't take his eyes off of him all night. I'm not sure if he was scared or facinated. The boys loved the game. They sat for 2.5 periods and watched.

looking on from the box

What a fun night, and a great opportunity for our family. Thanks again, Arnold and Amanda!!

William's Broken Arm

William day after surgery

Warning: Pictures below are not for the faint...
Our sweet William has his first broken bone/bones. After church on Sunday the kids were playing at one end of the gym and somehow, William was kicking a ball and slipped and fell. Instantly Michael heard crying and ran over to find a definitely broken arm. We handed kids off and ran out the door to the ER. Xrays (below) showed two completely fractured bones, and they said they would have to put him under to set them, and since he had just eaten, they splinted it and sent us home to prepare for surgery the next morning. The night went really well, and the next morning we headed to Driscoll for surgery. They set the arm and then put a metal rod inside his arm that runs from the back of his elbow, to his wrist. He did great at the hospital and really just wanted to watch cartoons and work on his Star Wars doodle pad (Thank you to the Youngs!!). Today he hasn't complained of any pain and so far hasn't had any pain meds. He just wants to get going again. Thank you to everyone, who has helped us out with Cade and Brennan while we were at the hospital, and also to those of you who brought us dinner the last two nights!! We are so Thankful to also have a church family that I know have been on there knees in prayer on our behalf. We love you dearly.

At the ER on Sunday... poor guy.

The Xray and the arm! Yikes.


Still with a broken arm above, but splinted for the night.

Cleaning Tips

Well, I know many of you that read the blog are wives & mothers, which also means you are CLEANERS!
I will admit that I enjoy cleaning! It helps relieve stress, gives me a sense of accomplishment, and is besides taking care of our children, one of the biggest day to day things I do to show love to my husband.
Anyways, I have been trying to cut down on the amount of cleaning products I use and go to more organic, efficient, and/or multi use products. So for this blog I am listing some of the things I use and love and a few that I use because I don't having any other ideas. Please share some of your tips with me, and I hope to share a few with you also. Here we go...

For a nasty microwave, put 1/2 c. of lemon juice in a microwave safe bowl and cook on high for 1.5 minutes. Afterwards, remove bowl and wipe off. Stuck on stuff usually comes of really easily! And smells great!

I love my Shark!!! I can do a quick once over after meals. Goes from Rugs to floors easily, and even picks up soft stuff, like noodles, greenbeans, and mud. I use it at least 3 times a day! The kids think it is fun to use too.

I absolutely will not budge! My toilets are getting cleaned with bleach!!! My dishes are getting washed with dawn(also good for greasy stains in laundry) and my laundry is getting washed with Tide! Case closed.

I would like any suggestions on the following:
Dusting: I dust with Pledge multi surface, and like it, but would be open for options.
Glass cleaner? Any tips? I am currently using clorox green works glass cleaner.
Surface cleaner?
Floor cleaner? I have lanolium and ceramic tile.
Bathroom cleaner? Something that cuts hard water!

I know vinegar is a good multi purpose cleaner, but i really hate the smell of it!!!

Brennan's big cut!

Brennan Finally got his hair cut!!! It was really long and scraggly, but he is my baby and now he looks so big! Sweet boy, he did so good... as long as he had a lollipop in his mouth.

My Reversal of Destiny.

I have been broken. I have allowed worldly talk to take hold of my heart and pull at my every insecurity. I have allowed my past to cripple me, and make me feel unworthy. I have allowed Satan a foothold on my very soul, enough to paralyze my courage and my ability to be a diciple for my one and only Lord. It is stopping!! I am now aware! I am addressing my issues. I will no longer allow my need for perfectionism, my need for acceptance, and my need for worldly shelter to get in God's way. I am weak, I am weary, but I am growing in faith. This weekend, I experienced my reversal of destiny. More to come, God is doing great things!

Family Pictures 2009

We took family pictures yesterday. And got some pretty good ones.

Thought I would share. Eat your heart out grandparents!!! :)

We love you!

Struggles and Insecurities... uuhhhhggg.

For a while now, I have been missing bible study. I missed having the commonality with other moms(of all ages), I missed the commonality of having women around that were willing to be "real", willing to lay down their guards in order to lift one another up as sisters in Christ. I finally decided I would be brave and do something out of my safe house, find a bible study. It is always amazing to me to see how God lays out cards one by one, and it all comes out to his glory. It is amazing to me that through a minister, Michael and I had met once, 4 months ago while looking for a new church home, that I would find not only a Ladies Bible Class, that offered everything I was seeking relationally, but also a study that would open my heart to hear God speak to me to the very pit of my soul.
I have over the last several months, been discouraged by my family and my church family. Hurt by the leaders of the church. Confused with why God would put my family in such a hard situation. Questioning everything I believed as a christian... and finding no answers except that I was lost and confused and feeling very alone. I have found myself feeling lost, shutting down to those around me. Several of our dear friends also left the church and we are now worshipping together in a home. Which brought up a whole new issue for me, b/c now instead of trying to ignore the sin and trials that were happening in our past church I had to face them dead on. I had to open myself up to trust people from the same family I was running from. I found myself daily wondering... what is their purpose? What are they going to do to hurt me? Why are they doing this to my family? As this continued on, I went out of town to help take care of my mom post surgery... I always get myself worked up to deal with situations with my family... and found myself on edge. Questioning every word said, every action taken. Very much on the defensive, and allowing it to carry on to every other relationship in my life at the time, my husband, my children, my dearest friends, and my church family(you know the ones I was avoiding).

At the same time, I started through the Beth Moore Ester study, I began to realize.... Yes, there are some people that are out to make you feel weak, and unworthy. We live in a mean world, and it's not going to change until Christ comes back. But more that I have so many insecurities. I have tried to fill the void in so many ways, with blame on others, with strong church leadership, with a perfect husband, with dressing my children perfect and expecting perfectionism from them, with walls of safety, with deeds. And every time I found myself disappointed, lonely, and mad! I have taken any insecurity that starts to bubble up and allowed Satan to feed me with so many lies, that I had started to question EVERYTHING in my life. Even those with straight motives and pure hearts. I'm not going to continue into all the rest, but I am going to leave you with a list of epiphanies and verses, that I am working towards, through prayer and keeping my personal insecurities in check, through security in Christ.

1. Don't miss the will of God, Seek it through his word. Philippians 2:13, Ephesians 1:11

2. God does not want to be an anonymous coincidence in my life... where there is a blank, He will always fill it in.

3. I cannot amputate my history from my destiny.He has plans for me and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

4. God does not care what I look like, He seeks beauty within me, the beauty I will only find through the Love of the Lord. 1Peter 1:3-4, psalms 90:17

5. God appreciates my weaknesses, He does not see them as a fault but rather an opportunity. 1Corinthians 1:26-31

6. If I start to feel anxious and unworthy. I need to identify the threat, and look to God for the wise answer. 2 Cor 10:12

7. I can not fulfill my God ordained destiny while straddling the fence. I must die to myself and put on my Royal Robes as a child of God.

8. There is no denial in courage. I must face my faults. I must face my insecurities. Do not be afraid. Psalms 138:8 1 John 4:18

9. If I perish, I perish. I can not have conditional faith. Ester 4:16

10. Who Knows? I do! I will always know that you are my God! Ester 4:14