Family Portrait Time!!

Well, its that time of year again!! I love taking pictures of the kids, and I love the fact that I have been doing this with them since they were infants, so they are very patient with me and they put up with my hairbrained ideas :)

The only annoying thing for this years portraits-- I got home to download the pix on my computer and *BAM* half the pix were gone!!!! I was SOOOO mad! Oh well, I guess we will have to head to the beach one more time this week so we can get some retakes done. Oh- and I really wasn't pleased with any of Joseph's pix, so I plan on retaking all of his :P Can't you hear him jump for joy?!?!

It was a great day- I cannot believe we took pictures in the middle of November at the beach!!! I love Florida!!!

10 Things I am Thankful For:

1. family, thousands of miles seperating us makes me appreciate them even more.

2. the kids are doing good in school, and that they are able to complete projects independently.

3. my coffee pot and flavored coffee :)

4. that Snowball came home- silly how one gets so attached to those little furballs :)

5. lower gas prices!!! you never know where we will end up!

6. being a child of God- it is amazing how you can walk into a church 2000 miles from home and feel like you just walked into a family reunion!

7. God's provision- amazing how He can work when we are in His Will!

8. my kids- I know, "of course she's going to say that", but I really am thankful for my kids, I am glad we stuck to our guns and stayed consistant with discipline, even when we wanted to give up. I really enjoy my children, I love seeing them grow to be the people God wants them to be!

9. my mistakes, and the lessons I have learned from them. I pray they make me a better wife and mother

10. the sunshine!!!

yum yum

okay- I haven't been good about blogging and here I am, going to blog about food :)

I made a yummy cake today- used a box mix, but instead of using all water, I split half water and half freshly squeezed ket lime juice :) I didn't know how it would turn out, but it turned out delicious! Then I used a lemon glaze recipe and subbed more key lime juice and zest for the lemon- put a dallop of cool whip on top and a cup of coffee on the side. Makes for a great dessert, and people won't even know you used a box mix, cuz you added all the yummy to it :)

Whenever I say "hotdish" people have no clue what I'm talking about, its a Minnesota thing I have found. They call them cassaroles, and they don't make them down here, everyone eats out :P I make yummy desserts and salads and hotdishes for activites, people are amazed that I cook!! I think its rather humorous :D Oh, and don't ask for a "pop", its "soda". I plan on making rice krispie bars for an activity Saturday afternoon, and chex mix for the girls' night out on Saturday night.

We drove to the Atlantic Ocean last week- it was beautiful, warm, sunny and they have awesome waves over there! You'd think I would learn when it comes to packing a beach bag to bring with everywhere! Yep, no beach bag, once again! And we had 5 kids that got soaked playing in the waves, and we had 5 kids who rode all the way home in tshirts and underwear :) Oh, except for Belle, she wears her swimsuit EVERYWHERE :)
It was a great day though.

Still waiting on Dennis' job. Still in constant prayer over it. we still have an amazingly awesome God who is in control over it all!! Even with a slumping economy, if God wants this for us, it will happen :) wow, what an amazing Father we have!!

I'm posting some pix of our trip to the east coast of FL- enjoy the sand, surf, and sun!!!

Its been too long....

Okay- I have been totally slacking on this blog. Its not like I can say I have been too busy or anything, just too lazy? or maybe its the fact that I really don't have much to update on.

Dennis' job still hasn't started and my life has been spent in constant prayer over this. I am leaning on God's provision thru all of this and have grown so much in Him! I cannot complain about where He has put us, He has to take us out of our comfort zone, away from those who love us most, so we can be totally dependent on Him and His goodness. I have come to accept this and I thrive on His daily blessings for me and my family.

We have had an amazing week of revival at church this week! I have been encouraged, broken down, and convicted on so many levels! I am amazed at His goodness to me!! I am "there" in my life!! I am at the point in my life where I am willing to give all to Him! I used to hide from messeges that I knew I would be convicted thru :P I used to try to be busy with something else so the Holy Spirit could not prick my heart. Why do you think I was in charge of so many things and working in so many areas? So God could not get to my selfish heart, so I would not have to give everything to Him. To be there, to be at that place, where I am totally His. It is a great and wonderful and hard and challenging place to be. I pray that I will always be there! And if I do falter, I pray that I will still have a tender heart that is thirsty for HIS working, that I will never harden my heart to Him and His convicting in my life.

Last night and today have been hard for me. I could not see God's working in our country. I was discouraged, disappointed, and down in the dumps about the whole thing! But I was reminded tonight of what a great man once said, " we have done our duty, the results are God's." I know I have done my duty. I know that I voted according to how I felt God's leading. Now the results are God's! He is in control!!!

WOW!! My God is big enough! He knows what is ahead for us, He will work His perfect will for us. I do know that America is being prepared for the great deceiver that is to come. I really do think that Jesus will be coming for His church soon! I know I am "there", because I am excited for this! I know I still have so many friends and loved ones that are lost, my heart is burdened for them and their families. I know God has given us so many things in prophecy to show us His working, and to warn us that our time is limited, we must take this seriously and tell others of God's love and the Gift that He has given to us. It is our duty to tell others how they can be saved, how they can know that they will go to heaven for eternity.

I went to church feeling very discouraged and left feeling very encouraged! It is wonderful to be in God's house with other believers, and to be in His Word. He is truely an awesome God! And I am looking forward to His working in our country! I am so happy that I am a child of God and that my Father is bigger than anything this world can throw at me! I will praise Him, like Job, I will praise Him thru everything. Thru trials, thru tribulation, Job lost everything, and yet he still praised Him. I want to be like Job.