Grace

Grace is being given a gift that you don’t deserve.  Forgiveness is a great example of grace.  God’s grace was shown when He sent his son to die on the cross to cover our sins.  We didn’t deserve it, and nothing we can do will ever make us worthy.

There have been situations in my life, a lot lately it seems, that require me to question, “What did I do to deserve this?”  But that is pretty selfish.  If I truly got what I deserve, I would be destined to an eternity in the pits of Hell.  The fact that Jesus died on the cross for a dirty wretch like me, is a love we can never understand because nothing compares to it.   I certainly do not deserve such a sacrifice.  But I can understand forgiveness.

God has reminded me of His promise of grace through forgiveness.  There are so many times we are wronged by other people, and we are so willing to hold a grudge.  But what we must remember is that God has freely extended His gift of forgiveness, and if we are willing to accept His gift, we must extend it ourselves.  He isn’t asking us to do anything He hasn’t done for us.

Is there someone who has wronged you or hurt you?  Have you extended the gift of grace through forgiveness? 

Virginia Vacation and My New Blog

We left for Virginia two Thursdays ago, and spent 6 days with our dear friends, the Volpes.  Rob drove through the night, so we arrived in Kerrs Creek around 7:00 Friday morning.

Our first order of business was to get some sleep, but then the fun was on like Donkey Kong.  During the week, we went to Chuck E. Cheese, we got some ice cream, drank about 15 pots of coffee, and consumed nearly 2 gallons of this..

I have never been a fan of coffee creamer other than evaporated milk, until these folks got me hooked on this deliciousness.  I’m pretty sure this stuff attributed nearly 4 pounds to the 5 pounds I gained on vacation.

We made a trip to the children’s museum.  Everyone had a blast.

We rode tractors,

 

milked a cow,

 

tried on a bug’s armor,

 

got stuck in a spider web,

 

heard our heart beating on a drum,

 

laughed at Bryan and Christina as they battled it out on the bikes,

 

checked out the human body,

 

raced tiny wooden canoes,

 

went zip lining through the tunnels,

 

caught a fish with an Indian net,

built stuff with blocks,

 

attempted to start a fight with Daddy with said blocks,

 

lost the block fight,

 

and our favorite part (especially for my Scooter and her art skills) was painting on the walls of a room.

 

Cade even got to be a part of a rock band!

 

But the highlight of my trip was doing Zumba at the Moose Lodge.  I have recently found a LOVE for Zumba, but I have to say, you have never really done it unless you’ve done it at the Moose Lodge.

I mean, just look at these facilities!

 

The aroma was so THICK we nicknamed the class EMPHY-ZUMBA because we were so afraid we were going to leave with a slight case of emphysema from the cigarette smoke.

Regardless of how winded we felt, we had a blast.  I will never forget it.  How could you forget with a picture like this?

 

Now, about my new blog layout.  I contacted Tenille and she was a doll!  I sent her the pictures I wanted to use, and she had me up and running the next day.  I have no idea how she does this, as I spent an entire day trying to do it myself.  I am so proud of it and I hope you like it too!!!  If you are interested in a new blog design, I would HIGHLY recommend her. 

Yay!!!!

I have a fresh new look, and I love it!!! I'll tell you all about it tomorrow. I will sleep a lot better tonight:)

HELP!!!

***Updated: This is a temporary fix. I am working on it, I promise....

Is there anyone out there who can help me re-design my blog? I have attempted to do it myself, which explains why it looks the way it does:(

If you know someone, please send me their info ASAP. I'm counting on you!

School Days

I can’t wait to share all about our vacation last week, but it’s gonna have to wait one more day.  We have something more important to share….Back to School.

 

These 2 little rascals started back to school today.

SG was so proud of her new shoes.  She said in the car this morning, “I can run really faster in my new shoes.”

Cade was not so interested in me taking a picture of him in his class.  But he was so glad to see all of his friends.

Scooter wasted no time finding the toys.  I think this learning thing may prove to be a bit an adjustment for my social butterfly:)

Here they are just one year ago.  My, oh my, how one year can change things:)

I hope everyone has a wonderful first day of school!!!

Faith and Blessings

We're back! We just got back from visiting with the Volpes in Virginia. We had a wonderful time and I have so much to share, but today is all about Faith. She would have been 3 months old today. Time has just flown by. Truthfully, I don't have many words of wisdom today. If I'm being honest, I would have to say that I feel a little lost. I'm stuck between what God has done in my life and what He's going to do next. I have been convicted to spend more time reading my Bible and in prayer, seeking what His will is for my life.

While we were in Virginia, I sang "Blessings" at Kerrs Creek Baptist Church, and we shared some pictures of our girl. That church has been so faithful to pray for our family and we couldn't wait to show them how beautiful she was. Christina made this precious video that played behind me as I sang. She then added the song sung by Laura Story. She worked on this really late one night while I napped on the couch. She added little snippets from my blog posts in between the pictures. As I watched and read these thoughts, it brought tears to my eyes, but joy to my heart. What a blessing Faith has been in our lives! I miss her soooo much, but will hold onto the blessing of being her mother for the rest of my life.

So in honor of Faith's 3 month birthday, I am sharing the video with you.

Much love to all of you!

Chuck E. Cheese with the Volpeese

We got to spend some time with our dear friends, the Volpes. Today we decided to take all of the kids to Chuck E. Cheese for some time of sanity! Our kids love each other so much, but lawsy mercy they fight like cats and dogs. All of the children (both big and small) had a blast visiting the lesser mouse.

We had bribed the kids all day with this trip to get them to behave. Cade was so excited to finally get there.

Skee ball is one of our favorites. The boys take it very seriously.

SaraGrace found some games she liked, too. Here she is driving the pirate ship.

Her and Cheyenne took part in a friendly alien race, and they walked away with a whopping 2 tickets.

Cade did some serious pedaling on this machine. Look at that concentration!!!


SG had no problem whacking the mole. She is pretty good with that hammer:)

The big boys got some tokens too. They are so competitive!!! Here they are playing a little basketball...



Rob was working hard to out-race this little boy.

SG's favorite ride of the day was the Ken-Chuck-E Derby. I'm sure we spent nearly 30 tokens riding this horsey. She was really gettin' on it....

We had such a great time with great friends! After 2 hours and nearly $80, this was the loot we brought home....




Lucky for us, we had some gift cards and coupons, so we didn't suffer too bad! Extreme couponing, extreme gaming and extreme friends at it's best!

When God Moves

It’s football time again, and our not-as-little-as-he-used-to-be guy is having a big time. But this year, things are a little different.  Right before the season started, something happened.  God moved us in a different direction, and I wasn’t so sure why.  We have certainly had a hard year, and I really felt like Cade needed some familiarity. 

But the Lord thought otherwise. 

After much prayer, we decided to let Cade play football in the county in which we live.  We have never done anything there because we don’t ever go to that side of town.  But I’m so glad the God is smarter than we are.

Change is hard.  No matter the circumstances, it’s just plain hard.  You don’t know anyone, you don’t know how things are ran, you don’t know how well your child will adjust, but God does.

(I stole this picture off of the internet.  This isn’t our team.  But I promise I will have one soon!)

As tough as this decision was, it has been such a blessing to our family.  After the first week of practice, the boys (Rob and Cade) came home telling me that they said a prayer as a team each and every time they were together.  We also had VBS the same week that football started.  Cade had to miss a day of practice, and when Rob talked to the coach to tell him about it, his reply was “Well, that’s certainly more important than football.”  And he meant it!

Tuesday, Cade got hurt.   At the end of practice, one of the little boys said a prayer thanking God “that Cade didn’t get hurt so bad,” and asking God to “help Cade get better so he can practice again soon!” 

Is that not the sweetest thing ever?  Cade only knows one kid on the team – his cousin.  Everyone else he has only known for a week, and they care this much about one another?

I’m so thankful that God moves us out of our comfort zone.  You never know the blessing He has in store!

Bibbidy Bobbidy Birthday

(***Warning: Long post with tons of pictures. There are some funny parts, and some moving parts, and I want to remember them all, so please bear with me.)

SaraGrace wanted to go back to the Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique this year for her birthday. So Saturday was her day. We left with a car full of women (the boys call this a hen party) at 7:30 am and headed for the “House of the Mouse.”

Here is our princess “before” while she is telling the Fairy Godmother exactly how she wants to look.

The transformation has begun.

All the pretty ladies…my grandmothers got to spend the day with us and we made some wonderful memories.

Brinley was in on the action too.

Let me explain a little about SG’s hairdo. Last year, she got the sweet princess bun with the crown. But that would not do this year. She asked for the “Disney Diva.” Hey, it’s her day, she can be a diva if she wants to:)

Here is the final look.

Is it me, or is this the Ariel version of Amy Winehouse? I don’t know what it is, but it is wild. And it fit her to a tee!!!

Nanny, Granny, and the princesses.

After getting all dolled up, we took the grandmas to the Rainforest Cafe. It is always so much fun.

Brinley wasn’t too sure about all of those elephants and gorillas being so loud.

Cousin Love…

Aunt Kiss and her girls…

SG got a sundae since we were celebrating her birthday.

After lunch, we did some shopping. Aunt Kiss made this momma a hypocrite when she bought princess an autograph book and pen . Have I told you how much I hate character autographs?

Needless to say, our little Disney Diva got herself in trouble with her pen before we made it to see Cinderella, and she knew it.

Look what she was hiding under those hands.

And it was on both sides. Thank God for baby wipes:)

We finally made it to the Grand Floridian (Cinderella’s Kitchen). The first person we saw was “Princess Charming.”

Then Cinderella came out and made our girl’s day.

The Bad Mommy….

And Bad Sister # 1…

Bad Sister # 2…

And here is where it gets mushy. We kept calling this our girl’s day. And while we had a blast, I couldn’t help but feel like we were missing one special little girl. Oh, how much fun would it be to bring Faith to see the princesses. As SG talked to the bad sisters, she was telling them just what she thought of them. Then they both asked her if she had a sister. She told them “Yes.” My heart sunk as I waited for her to tell the rest of the story. But she didn’t. They asked her if she fought with her, but SG told them that her sister was a baby, so they didn’t fight. She handled it like a champ, and went on her merry way.

Cinderella came back by and asked her if she wanted to dance. I would have to say this was probably the highlight of SaraGrace’s day. Look how excited she looks! And look at that CRAZY hair!!!

My eyes filled with tears as I watched my girl twirl around the floor in the middle of her very own fairy tale. I was so sad that I would never see such joy in Faith’s eyes as she got to experience her very own “Once Upon a Dream.” But then, God used this to make a point. While I was all sad that Faith was missing out on so much, God pointed it out to me that WE were the ones missing out. She doesn’t need her princess. She’s with THE KING of KINGS. She may never dance with a princess, but she is dancing with angels. My sadness disappeared as I realized how blessed Faith really is. How God had mercy on her and took her to the most perfect place to spend eternity. What an AWESOME love He has for us!

Our dinner ended with the birthday celebration. SG got one heck of a cupcake!

The next few pictures are pictures of pictures (Sorry, I don’t have a scanner). These are some of the memories we bought from the day.

How awesome it will be to look back on this and remember SG’s Birthday and our very first Girl’s Day!