"Get Down From There!"

I have been thinking a lot about what it means to have someone up on a pedestal. For example, I always had my Mom up on a pedestal. I truly thought that if anyone could be without sin, it had to be her! But, come to find out: even moms sin! You would think that by my having been a mom for almost 20 years now, that I'd have figured this out much sooner. Seems I am a bit of a slow learner.

Idolize.

That is what the dictionary says that 'put on a pedestal' means.

Idolize?

I have been blessed with many wonderful remarks, comments, words of encouragement when it comes to my children throughout my 2 decades as a mother. They have been needed and often times, they would be given to me when I was feeling as if my role as mother was too difficult to bear. The timing would always be sweet. However, I know that they aren't perfect. Every bright eyed, cute, and smiley one of them are sinners. Sinners. So, when one of them fell off the pedestal, it hurt. Bad. Sure, they have all fallen off before, but the pedestal wasn't as high. I suppose with each passing year and each growing accomplishment, the bricks on those pedestals kept getting stacked on and they were bound to fall.

"Watch out!
You don't belong up there!
You are going to get HURT!
Get down from there this very instant!"

Why did I wait so long to notice how dangerous the pedestal was? Why hadn't I had my eyes open to how high it had grown?

I'll tell you why. Because I liked the pretty pedestal. It set my child high up top! Everyone could look up to him/her. They could esteem to be like him/her, or have a child like him/her, and it was of course a reflection of what a wonderful and godly mother I was/am, right? Wrong. So wrong.

It was a reflection of my foolishness.

Idolize.

Yep. I see it now. I was allowing others, including myself, to idolize the image my child was portraying through his/her good grades, good manners, good everything. Except their heart. The heart is the true reclection of who they are.

Jeremiah 17:9 reminds us that: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick."


I could see that my child's heart was sick. As a mother you have a certain intuition. The Holy Spirit. And, as my child continued to have sinful setbacks, I was heartsick myself. My friend reminded me that part of the reason it was so hard for me to deal with this was that my child had been put up on a pedestal and when he/she fell, no one could believe it. "What? No, not sweet little so-and-so! He/she is soooo great! I want my son/daughter to be just like him/her when they grow up!"

So, I write this blog post to remind myself and in hopes it can help one of you from making the same mistake... don't let anyone put your child up on that pedestal. It is really dangerous! They can get really, really hurt! Tell them to 'get down from there'! Being on that pedestal can have them start to see themselves as little idols to other moms and dads and then see themselves as more than they are. Oh, that I would have taken the time to cautiously help my child down from that pedestal that he/she had been stuck on for so long. That I would have had eyes open to remind my child that the only one deserving of praise and worship is God himself.

We need to constantly and consistently be pointing our children back to their need for a savior. Why? Because they are sinners in need of redemption! Yes, even the sweetest, smartest, most well mannered child is in need of a savior, WE ALL ARE.

So, next time someone tries to put one of my children on a pedestal, I would swiftly take my child's hand and keep them right next to me. Feet firmly planted on solid foundation. The foundation that is Christ and God's Word . I will take that moment as an opportunity to remind them that they are NOT righteous, not even one of them...

"What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;
there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.
All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”
Romans 3:9-12

I will take a humble child that recognizes his/her place in the kingdom of God over a child that is seemingly perfect in the world's eyes.

"The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom; and before honor comes humility."
Proverbs 15:33

I have shared this verse over and over with my child this year. I pray it pierces his/her heart to its very core and that my child also remembers that it doesn't need to end there. There is hope for all of us! If you continue to read on through chapter 3 of Romans it says:

"But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,i through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law."


I will continue to be encouraged by the kind words that others will share with me about my children when they do something worth praising, but I will also be more aware of when the praising is taking away from what should be glory given to our King of Kings! I will be sure to point them and my child to the reason I even have reason to boast! Jesus!

Then There Were 8

It's been over 3 years since our 7th arrow was born.

3 fun, busy, beautiful, and full of joy, years.

Our little girl.  My heart's desire.  Tim's answer to prayer.  Karizma's long awaited dream come true.  And, of course, the twinkle in all of her big brothers eyes.

We were able to enjoy a 28 month nursing relationship.  It was something that was so important to me and I loved having the privilege to be my daughter's main source of nourishment for her first year of life.  I believe it helped to build a solid foundation for our relationship as mother and daughter.  She is my little shadow and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Well, maybe one other way.  To see her as a big sister.  That would be the icing on this scrumptious cake I call my life.  Which leads me to the reason for the title of my post.  Our 8th arrow.

To make a short story longer(Hey, I haven't blogged in 1/2 a year, I figure I can stretch it a little.) it all started when Bella was still a newborn.  Tim and I discussed how we truly, truly were going to trust God with my womb this time around.  We weren't going to fall into the traps of fear and the what ifs and fully commit to His plan for our family.  I love surprises, so it was exciting to realize that only He can open or close my womb and that His timing is perfect.  However, I discovered that I was still  struggling with fear and trust.  This time the fear had become, "Will I ever conceive again?  Am I too old?"   My trust issues now revolved around, "Lord, you do realize that time is ticking and Tim really wants another, baby, right?  You do know that children are a gift right, and that we would totally welcome one again, right?"  But, then I would have those days in which I would feel so overwhelming as a mother to 6(1 already with the Lord) that I would mentally agree with Him... now would just not be a good time to have another baby.  I had fear and my sense of trust so mixed up with His sweet, loving will over our lives.

I had been busy during the summer months preparing a study that I was going to share at our churches women's retreat, which got me to thinking and learning.  It put so much into perspective for me and I was able to just start to enjoy the ride.  The ride consisted of sweet, abandoned trust.  Surrender.  A heart seeking and longing to glorify Him in my words, actions, prayers.  (Just thinking about it as I type gives me warm fuzzies.  It is so apparent that He loves me so.)  As I soaked up what the Bible says about Titus 2 and I looked deeper into my role as wife, mother, and daughter of the most high King, He was growing life within me.  My womb was once again filled with LIFE.

I had become preoccupied with an issue with extended family, that I didn't even realize that I may be pregnant.  So, one Sunday afternoon, after looking at my calendar, I realized a pregnancy test might just be in order.  So, after dinner Tim and I went to Walmart to pick one out.  I went and grabbed one of the more expensive ones... you know the ones that read either 'pregnant' or 'not pregnant', so that there is no question.  In the meantime, Tim went to a new aisle that he coined the '88 cent aisle'.  He was so excited that he had found a pregnancy test for $.88 and insisted that I take that one.  I had been knee deep in my Titus 2 study and learning about loving my husband and submitting to him, that as much as I wanted to say, "Are you kidding me with your 88 cent test, when this may be a pivotal moment in our life?!", I chose to say, "OK, Babe."  When we got in line he ran back to grab my test and made only one request, that I take the 88 cent test first, to prove that it worked just as well as the $9.00 test.

I took the 88 cent test when we got home and it was... positive.  Sort of.  I mean at first there was no line, when Tim read it.  But, then he pulled it out of the trash to check it again and there was a faint line.  So, we decided to wait  until all our 6 children were gathered around and I took the $9.00 test(In my defense, this box contained 2 test, and another free one, so they were actually $3.00 a pop.  Not bad, in my book).  Tim then held it so he could be the one to announce the results to all of us... he had always wanted to be the first to know.  It was so sweet to be able to look into Tim's eyes as they lit up.  It was heart warming to watch the kids get so excited as their Daddy informed them that we would be having another baby!  The test was positive!

We rejoiced as a family and cried many 'happy tears' as Zack put it and shared the news with family and our church family within the week.  Our hearts were overjoyed and I made a paper chain that I proudly displayed in our living room, to count down the days for Bella's baby to arrive.  Yes, Bella's baby.  (I must tell you that she had asked me just 2 days before I found out I was pregnant why she wasn't a 'big sister' and I said that it was because it was up to God and that Karizma had prayed for a baby sister for 12 years before she got one.  Well, Bella prayed that one time and got her heart's desire, so she assured us it was her baby and she was now officially a BIG SISTER.)

Just under 2 weeks after finding out that we were expecting our 8th arrow, I showed signs of miscarriage during week 6 of pregnancy.  We went to the hospital and it was confirmed.  As I got dressed and faced the loss of our baby, I was overcome with such peace and joy in the beauty of trusting Him.  My dear husband held me as I wept and prayed for me and I knew that He was in this very moment and knew exactly what was best for our family.

I imagined it would be difficult to tell the kids.  Their reaction to the miscarriage was touching.  They were sad, but also very sweet and tender towards me as I faced a painful (mostly physically) weekend.  Belle had the most godly perspective.  She reminded us that she was STILL a big sister.  She recognized that this baby had been alive and growing in my womb and nothing was ever going to change that.  What beautiful assurance her response reminded me of... that because I have trusted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I would be spending all eternity with Him and one day meet our baby from the first miscarriage, Elijah, and now looked forward to meeting another baby when I get to go HOME... HOME to be with my Heavenly Daddy someday.

I learned so much about myself during those 2 beautiful weeks with our 8th child.  I learned that God has not given me the spirit of fear, but of power and love and self control(2 Timothy 1:7).  I learned that the righteous are bold as a lion and God had used this baby to have me become bolder than I had ever imagined I would become during that month(Proverbs 28:1)!  But, what really was echoing in my ear was peace.  Abundant peace. Peace that surpasses all understanding.  Even through a loss such as this.  Peace that when sown in righteousness harvests peace by those who have sown it(James 3:18)!  Which made naming our baby simple.

Our 8th arrow is named Shalom.  The meaning of Shalom is not just that of peace in Hebrew, but so much more.  The meaning of Shalom truly enveloped what this baby had come to mean to me in this very short time, and what my life was experiencing through some difficult trials at the time.  I loved this definition of the meaning:
Most know that the Hebrew word shalom is understood around the world to mean "peace." However, "peace" is only one small part of the meaning. "Shalom" is used to both greet people and to bid them farewell, and it means much more than "peace, hello or goodbye"....

Hebrew words go beyond their spoken pronunciation. Each Hebrew word conveys feeling, intent and emotion. Shalom is more then just simply peace; it is a complete peace. It is a feeling of contentment, completeness, wholeness, well being and harmony.

According to Strong's Concordance 7965 Shalom means completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord. Shalom comes from the root verb shalom meaning to be complete, perfect and full. In modern Hebrew the obviously related word Shelem means to pay for, and Shulam means to be fully paid.

 So, we are happy to announce that our quiver now holds 8 arrows.  We look forward to one day being in the presence of our Savior and meeting Elijah and Shalom.

From Snow White To Cinderella

I have 2 daughters.  Each of them absolutely beautiful in their own way.  I love how God created them with their very own personalities and gifts.  I have been truly blessed.  But, I must admit, having daughters, DOES NOT...in any way...guarantee GIRLY GIRLS.  I found this out pretty quickly 15 years ago, as Karizma (my 2nd born, but 1st daughter) started to grow into her own person.  She is 17, but I didn't really see the lack of 'girliness' until she was just over 2.  Call it denial?  Why not.

I grew up a girly girl, through and through.  My younger sister, Amanda (younger by 17 months) was the exact opposite of girly girl.  I would suggest lounging in the sun on a blanket, on a lazy Saturday, reading TeenBop and Tiger Beat and she wanted to watch Shogun with my Dad.  I talked about make up and hairstyles, she was banging her head to Def Leppard.  I would spend hours looking at all the different colored pairs of Bongo Jeans for sale at Contempo Casuals and she was bugging me about going to the arcade.  But, I wouldn't trade it for a thing.  She brought so much perspective into my life, on things I wouldn't have otherwise thought about it.  God made us the perfect pair.  I so wanted that for Karizma.  And, as Karizma grew and started to mirror my sister with her heart for others, her heart of compassion and selflessness and love of God, I knew that although she wasn't a 'girly girl', she was still one of a kind, that in a very sweet way, was a loving reminder of the kind of girl my sister Amanda was.  So, once I met Tim and God started blessing us with arrows, I would pray for Karizma's Amanda...or would that be her Veronica? heehee  She was praying, too.  She always wanted a little sister and had been praying since she could pray...probably around 2.

God's timing is perfect.  Always perfect.  Karizma got her little sister almost 15 years after she was born.  And, now Karizma is a sweet mixture of femininity, strength, and beauty.  (Amanda also started to grow into her girly side around 15)  But, don't get me wrong, she is also fearless, fearless, fearless.  She is one tough cookie and I love seeing her Tia Amanda in her.  

While on the other hand, our little Bella is a GIRLY GIRL, through and through, like her mama.  She adds such a sweet touch to our home full of boys.  One of the things we love watching her do is prance and dance around the house playing princess day in and day out.  Here are a few pictures of our princess from a year ago, at a princess tea party with her friend Sophia (for their 2nd birthdays):

These are the 2011 pictures....

 This is Sophia and Isabella listening to tea party instructions.  They look pained!

 I love that she sat as still at 2 as she did at almost 3.  She loves to get her hair done.

 Our Princess and her crooked crown.  When pretzels mattered much more than manners.

 She absolutely loved Snow White.

Isabella and Sophia, 5/2011

Look at how much the girls have grown in just under a year!!!  

Isabella and Sophia 4/2012 

 Can you tell how happy Bella is to see Cinderella show up at their tea party??

She loved chatting with Cinderella.  It was cute to see her acting so grown up.

 Bella LOVES to do the primping and pampering thing...and she isn't even 3 yet!

 I love these princesses and their sweet and funny personalities.  l-r:  Sophia, Brookie, Isabella

 The girls learned how to curtsy.  Bella was a pro!

 She makes some of the silliest faces!

We had a ball, Cinderella!!

I can't wait to post  pictures of the girls in another year.

I wouldn't trade Karizma for ANYTHING in this world...she is the perfect daughter for me.  And, I wouldn't trade my Bella for ANYTHING in the world, because she is also the perfect daughter for me.  God knew not only the desires of my heart, but knew what I needed, and when I needed it, and His timing for when he brought each of my girls into my life was perfection.  Thank you, Lord, for these beauties!

 Here is my other princess...not in frilly dresses or playing princess, but doing her thing in the outdoors.  She loves nature.  I will be sure to blog soon about what God is doing in my little girl's life, and the mission trips she will be taking within the next few weeks.  God has big plans for her!  Please, keep her in prayer.  I love you, Karizma.

Chapter Sixteen

I am currently reading chapter 16 of the Excellent Wife book by Martha Peace.  Chapter 16 is on 'Communication'.  I had been looking forward to this chapter, in particular, because I knew I could use some serious help here.  I read it the other night and answered some follow up questions that come with the workbook.  I learned some important things.  Now to put them to work in my life as a wife.

God gives us opportunities everyday to either make the right choices or to make the wrong ones.  I am sure I make more of the wrong ones, some days, but yesterday was a real growing day and I am thankful for chapter 16!  Mrs. Peace shares a few principles in this chapter about communication and I had a few jump out at me when I needed to respond to an email from Tim yesterday....

Now, for you to understand, I need to share what the email from Tim said:

Baby,
The flight itinerary for the annual partners' Labor Day retreat (to Wisconsin, Brian's alma mater, this time) is below. Is this okay? Love you, babe.

Nice and sweet, right?  WRONG.  At least that wasn't my first sentiment.  You DO see what I see, right??  It's on LABOR DAY WEEKEND!!!  That's MY weekend with Tim.  The partners get to see Timmy ALL WEEK LONG!

So, I proceeded to type this:

Seriously????!!!  Not cool.  Why would they plan this on Labor Day weekend?  I am not happy about this.  Don't they get to see you all the time, now they want to take a holiday weekend from us and spend it with you, too?

As I typed, I stewed.  It wasn't some yummy smelling stew, either.  It was one of resentment (towards the partners) and anger (towards Tim for even considering this would be OK)  Can you imagine the stench of that combination?  Putrid, right?  It wouldn't be unusual for me to hit send as this point...   HOWEVER, one of my best friends, the Holy Spirit, impressed on my heart and brought some of those principles to mind:

Here are just a few of the principles:

1.  A WIFE'S WRONG WORDS BEGIN WITH WRONG THOUGHTS AND WRONG MOTIVES

(Matthew 15:19-20)

2.  A WIFE IS ACCOUNTABLE TO GOD FOR EVERY WORD SHE SPEAKS.

(Matthew 12:36-37)

3.  A WIFE IS MORE LIKELY TO SIN IF HER WORDS ARE RASH.

(Proverbs 12:18)

Thank God for the Holy Spirit!  Thank God that He loves me and would allow the Holy Spirit to move me to do the right thing.   Remembering that my rash words could lead me to sin was convicting.  Remembering that God holds me accountable for every word I speak...or type, for that matter.  And, especially the point about how wrong words begin with wrong thoughts and motives...that is sooo me in this case!

So, I hit delete and erased that little, but not very excellent wifey, paragraph.  Ahhhh...that felt better already.  Then, I prayed that God would guide my fingers as I typed.  I will admit that my response could have totally been sweeter, and in retrospect, I should have stepped away from the computer, continued to pray and came back later, but I still saw progress. Here is my response:

Oh.  I see it's on Labor Day Weekend.  Not my first choice, but I'm glad you can go  have fun. 

Tim responded, "Thanks, Babe."  I was still trying to get past the thought that he would be gone that weekend, but life starts to distract me sweetly.  There is homeschooling to continue, and princesses that expect me to drink their tea, and laundry to be folded.  God used my beautiful life to have me stop thinking about how I would be missing my Timmy on that weekend.

Then it started to happen.  I started to see reward for having held my tongue.  I started to see God rewarding my obedience all over the place!  Check out this verse:

 "If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land."
Isaiah 1:19

Don't you love seeing God's Word come to life in yours? I DO!!  So, here is how my day started to unfold.  It was such a GOOOOOD day!  God used this day, after my growth spurt, to have some prayer's that had been on my heart (And Tim's for the last few months) become answered.  His timing is so perfect!  I didn't understand why He was taking so long to answer our prayers, these past few months, but now I see why.  He wanted me to recognize that obedience brings reward.  Being willing to obey, brings the best of the land.  AND, IT DID!

It was bill paying day, which I actually consider a good day because it means we are blessed enough to have the means to pay those bills.  As, I sat down to pay the ones on my list,  I recognized the kids health insurance.  I usually pay that earlier in the month, however, we hadn't heard back about the application we had sent in, which allows for us to pay next to nothing for their health insurance.  We have to reapply for this plan of insurance every 2 years and this is the year that Miguel was too old to be on it, so we thought it might throw us off the bracket to receive it.  We had been praying so earnestly over this matter.  I decided I should call and find out if they were going to be covered or not.  I held my breath a little, but remembered that I had told Tim that if they were no longer covered, God had a plan for us in that area, anyway.  That sweet operator made my day.  Every single one of our 5 youngest children was covered for the next 2 years.  2 Y E A R S!  So awesome to hear her say "Until 2014."  

PRAISE GOD!  Such answered prayer.  

I couldn't wait to call Tim and share with him.

Our conversation was so cute, so I must share with you:

ME:  "Babe, what is the best news I could give you right now?"

TIM:  "Ummm....that you are pregnant?"

ME:  "Really?  That would be the best news?"

TIM:  "Yeah.  That would be great.  So, are you pregnant?"

At this point I am so in love with my Timmy for being the kind of guy that would think that my being pregnant for the umpteeth time would be the BEST NEWS I could give him right now, that I almost forgot the reason I called him.

ME:  "That's so sweet, Babe, but that's not the news I have.  Remember the kids health insurance application?  It was approved!!"

We both rejoiced and thanked God over the phone. 

Then, the next big answer to prayer.  It has been my prayer for months.  

My prayer being that my handsome first born and I could have a sweet sit down-talk, without my having to pull it out of him.  I wanted him to share his heart with me, without my having to ask him to share.  I have been learning that it wasn't Miguel that needed to do something different, it was me.  I needed to make myself accessible and make myself the kind of mom that he would want to share his heart with.  (I am constantly growing in the area of wife and mother, and I praise God for his constant pruning in my life.)  It was a rainy day yesterday as just Miguel and I drove to Costco and when we found a parking spot it got us to talking about how God had answered prayer about the insurance and talking about his upcoming missions trip to Thailand and then it happened.  After about 20 minutes of my sharing my heart, he shared his.  I loved how he introduced his conversation to me:  

MIGUEL:  "OK.  I'm just going to say it.  OK?  I'm just going to tell you and that's it."

I was surprised at my response to my eldest son and how he then responded to me.  I saw God interwoven in our entire conversation and I can't tell you what a sweet way it was to end my day of applying Chapter 16 to my life.  Two MAJOR prayers, ANSWERED.  THANK YOU, JESUS.

It was so worth the wait.  And, it was so worth the pruning process of growing.

I am no excellent wife.  VERY far from it.  However, each day God gives me an opportunity to do the right thing or the wrong thing.  The God thing or the sin thing.  God help me to do your will today!  Help me to be willing to obey you so that I can eat the good of the land!

The Countdown Begins...6 Weeks Until The BIG 4-0!

I don't know that most people look forward to turning 40, but I really, really am.  I so loved my 30's and expect my 40's to be even more fabulous than my last decade.  I do recall how much dread I felt the last day of my 20's.  I thought it was the end of my youth and the  beginning of becoming 'old'.   However, once I became 30, and started to see all that God had before me, I quickly changed my tune.  I noticed that each passing year as a Christian meant growth and maturity and even some wisdom. ;0)  So, why wouldn't I look forward to the 40's with zeal and excitement and anticipation as to what God has before me?  

I anticipate many wonderful things like possibly becoming a mother in law, then a GRANDMA!  How cool would that be?!!  I look forward to growing in the Word and growing in the knowledge of my Savior, Jesus Christ.  I pray that God would help me continue to strive to be an excellent wife and loving mother.  That I keep taking steps towards becoming more like the Proverbs 31 woman.  I pray that this decade would mean more children...either from my womb or from adoption, or however God may bring them into our lives...possibly as grandparents?!!  OK.  OK.  You can see that I have been longing for that position for quite awhile....probably since Miguel was born, ha ha.

I just long to face this new decade of life seeking to be obedient to my loving God and seeking to please Him in all I do so that He is given glory in all things that are my life.  A wise and sweet friend, we will call her 'J', wrote to me recently something that has stayed with me and has spoken so much life into me:  "I just long to be obedient.  It is my desire."  I want that to be my desire!  To long to just be obedient to God and that it be my burning and yearning desire!  

Will you pray that over me?  That God would use my 40's to strive to be obedient to Him, His Will, His plan over my life and that of my children?  I'd be so grateful for your prayers.

As for how I plan to start off my 40's...well, I read about a woman that decided to start off her 30th birthday doing 30 random acts of kindness.  I LOOOOOVED that idea and it is what I plan to do, too.  40 random acts of kindness, along with my family, praying that God would direct us in a way that we know is not random at all.  

I have been making a list for many months of ideas of random acts of kindness.  Do you have any ideas you would like to shoot my way so I can add it to my list?

P.S.  I know I have said it before, but another thing I would like to add to my list for my 40's, is being more intentional about blogging.  I have always found it to be so therapeutic and want to make room in my day to get back into it.  Plus, my hubby enjoys it.  I like to make my Timmy smile. :0)

LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN.........

So, I haven't jotted down thoughts in quite awhile.  I often remind myself how cathartic blogging is, but getting a moment to sit and actually do it, is another story.  However, I thought, why not, as I look out my window and it is GLORIOUSLY beautiful  outside and all my littles are jumping on their trampoline outside.   Yes, why not?  Why not take a moment to jot down how abundantly blessed I am in the area of wife.  It has been awhile since I have blogged about my truly amazing husband, Timmy.

Tim had a long year, medically, in 2011.  Having the stimulator removed, recovering from that surgery, trying to establish what  medications he was going to wean off of and which ones he was going to start.  It has been a lot of trial and error in that area, but Tim is definitely the most courageous and content and non-complaining person I know when it comes to his pain.  He honestly, NEVER complains.  NEVER.  I have to remind him to slow down sometimes, but he refuses to miss a moment.  He took 2011 and owned it.  Well, I should say, he gave up ownership and gave it to the Lord.

Watching how much Tim has grown in every area of his walk with the Lord and father and husband has been such an encouragement to me.  He has always been great at them all, but 2011 I saw a real commitment from him and God has rewarded him and us greatly through it.

Allow me to sing my Timmy's praises...

Husband-
I honestly can't say enough about the kind of husband Tim is to me.  I can see how much he loves me in the way he looks at me, talks to me, takes care of me.  He is so romantic and thoughtful.  So protective and selfless.  He never thinks of himself, but is always thinking of me.  I am blessed beyond measure and praise God for His perfect timing in bringing Tim into my life.  I honestly could never have dreamed up  a better husband.  God truly is the giver of all good things.

Sweetheart,
You mean more to me than any number of words could ever express.
This past year has been such a blessing to me.
You have shown me such support, kindness, and encouragement, even through your own struggles.  Your love helps me to persevere, to continue hoping.  I love you, with all my heart, Carino.  Te adoro.

Father-
I have never seen a relationship between a father and his teenagers, like I have with Tim and Miguel and Karizma.  He has formed bonds with them that I just am in awe  of.  I don't even think he realizes the affect it has on me!  I prayed over 13 years ago that God would bring a man into their lives that would love them as if they were his own. But, Tim is even better than I could have imagined.  God has used him in ways to train up this children, that I can't quite begin to describe.  God is using him to sow seeds that will one day be sown into our grandchildren.  That blows my mind and I look forward to that.  I remember thinking when I prayed for the man God might bring into my life, and thinking that no one might love them the way they deserved to be loved.  God is so much bigger than my doubt.  He has proven, time and time again, that He really does want the best for us.  I see it everyday as Tim loves, disciplines, and laughs with Miguel and Karizma.

Daddy-
Tim rocks at being a Daddy.  ROCKS!  I had many a pity party thinking about all the things Tim would not be able to do with our children, due to the accident, almost 6 years ago.  But, again, God is so much bigger!  He still carries Isabella around, and she is NOT light.  He may not be able to do a lot of physical activities with the boys, but he reads to them EVERY NIGHT.  Even when I say it is late, and they need to go to bed, he will not let that slide, and spends time with them every night.  He also spends time with just the boys in the morning.  They have their own routine and he gives them their breakfast.  I know my boys love that alone time with Daddy.  And, his time with Bella is the sweetest.  I waited a long time to see Tim as a daddy to a little girl.  Let me say it was SO. WORTH. THE. WAIT.  Soooo worth it.  She loves her Daddy and definitely has him wrapped around her finger.

Child of God-
He inspires me to seek God.  He inspires me to be the helpmeet God has created me to be. He inspires me to  be a Proverbs 31 woman.   He inspires me to train up children in the way that they should go so when they are old they will not depart from it.  He inspires me to go about God's work.  He inspires me to be selfless.  I may not achieve all the things that Tim has, and I know it is not a competition, but God has given me a wonderful example of His love through my Timmy, and I will continue to use this time on earth to glorify God and thank him for the wonderful gift my husband has been to me.

Timmy thank you for taking on so many roles here in our home.  You are a selfless example of Christ's love here on earth with the way you provide, comfort, encourage, respect, make me laugh, discipline the children, build up, persevere, hope, strive, cook :D, and just genuinely love each of us here.  You make me feel so special and there is no one, absolutely no one that compares to you in these areas and in the area of handsomeness.  XOXOXO

Christmas All Year Long

There are many reasons why it will be Christmas all year in the White house... one being: we always remember the reason for Christmas to begin with. That our perfect, powerful, all knowing and loving God came to earth-took on flesh- so that we could then have a savior in Jesus when he died on the cross for our sins, and 3 days later rose again.  Now, that is a ROCK SOLID sentence!  I am so humbled by God's love, grace, and mercy towards us.  It always make me take a deep breath when I think of it.

Another being that we get to enjoy the several gifts our family was blessed with this year.  Many of them that are the gifts that keep on giving, like the zoo passes from Grandmom and Grandad for the whole family.  YAY!!

Another is the amazing camera that my husband gave me.  A camera that I had been desiring, but never imagined would be mine. That story is kind of cool, but not the subject of today's post.

Let's not forget the gift I gave Tim, which is a TV he had been wanting for quite awhile for our room, but we knew we just weren't going to go into our account to buy something we didn't need.  This is another cool story, but again, not the subject of the post.  I do want to say that God is in the business of loving on His children.  We saw evidence of that this Christmas.  We didn't have to use a single penny from our own checking or savings account, and this was definitely one of our most giftastic Christmas'.  We are abundantly blessed.  It is apparent that God is in the details and knows the desires of our hearts and wants to not just provide and bless us with what we need, but also, sometimes, with what we want.  The key is that we see that it was His favor and His doing that it happened, and that we bring Him glory through it.

The reason I want to blog about today, that keeps Christmas going all year long is one of our family traditions.   I have blogged about it before... the Christmas card prayer over dinner.  We put all the Christmas cards we receive in a basket, and randomly choose a card before dinner, so we can pray over the family that sent it.  We have been doing it for a few years, and I really enjoy it.  This year, I have been thinking a lot about my word of the year for 2012, another past blog post.  2011 was 'hope-filled'.  It was the perfect year for that.  And, since I have been implementing it in my life all year, it is now engraved on my heart and something that I am not going to stop come 2012!  I will press on!  For 2012, the word I was just sharing with my mother in law the other day, I believe is 'prayer'.  God wants me to be prayer filled!  I have already started quite a list of people that I am praying for daily and I even have set alarms on my phone to remind me (Thanks for the idea, Jackie.).  So, this year, I am adding a little twist to the Christmas card prayer over dinner idea.

This year, if your Christmas card made it into our home, onto our wall, and now into our basket, we will be praying for you ALL WEEK!  Not, just over dinner a few times a year, but ALL WEEK!!  What's that?  You didn't send out Christmas cards this year?  You forgot us?  You never got around to it?  Well, just comment on here that you want to be added to our basket, and I will add your family to the basket.  :0)

Here is the plan:
Each Monday, as we start our week of school, we will take a card out of the basket, and that will be our family for the week.  We will pray for this family ALL WEEK!  During our school devotions, family devotions, quiet times, dinner, etc.  I also plan to email or call the family that was chosen, so we can see if they have any specific requests for us that week.  I am so excited!  My kids are going to LOVE this!

I think we have enough cards for each week of the year, so there might be a few 'doubled-up' weeks.  Please, don't hesitate to ask to be added to our basket.  It truly is an honor for our family to pray for you.

Since we are on the subject of prayer, will you pray for me?  That I make my prayer filled year, one that is pleasing to the Lord and really honors Him all year long.

May my prayer be set before you like incense; 

may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.

Psalm 141:2