Bible Update

For those of you keeping track..I'm on Job. In the middle of Job. And wow, people really are different once you get to know them. I mean we've all heard the stories of Job...God allows Satan to strip him of just about everything and he still praises God. And we all want to be as perfect as Job.

But then you actually read the whole book and it's a bit of a different story. I mean, yes, that is an accurate account of what happens. But you don't usually hear about his friends that come along and tell him that it must be his fault because these things only happen to people who sin. He should just confess the big sin and be on with it. Wow...don't we all wish we had friends like that?? Not! Well, Job tells them that he didn't sin and also that they are horrible comforters...which I would happen to agree with it!

But Job doesn't just lie around thinking "Praise God!" He gets impatient. He asks God why He left him. He says that he would rather have not been born. He would rather die than to live life as it is. I was like..what? Job talking like that to God? So I referred myself to the book that I have called Who's Who and Where's Where In The Bible because I thought I surely had to be reading it wrong. But no, it's true, Job was really angry and very impatient. It does go on to say that the book of Job ends well and I look forward to finishing the story

I just found it very interesting that just like in real life, some characters in the bible are different on the inside than they are on the surface. And just like real life, we have to get to know the person instead of just listening to here say. (And by the way, when I say character I am in no way implying that the people in the bible are fictional!)

Anyways, the journey is continuing. And some days are harder than others to keep reading but I'm almost halfway done now. I am still on track with the daily readings that are in the back of my bible and should be done by the end of the year. I think this is one of my biggest accomplishments!

It's A Monster Birthday!

Jagger had his party this weekend. And it was soooo fun! Our friend, Javin, brought over his monster truck and had that parked in the driveway while Jagger's friends drove up. It was so exciting for Jagger when he saw it. He actually took his hand and walked around the whole vehicle touching it! So cute. We also had a moonwalk with a monster truck on it and then we had some kiddie pools so we could cool off..it was very hot. Oh, and Dena was so nice and bought Jagger a CARS sprinkler bop-it bag..the kids loved that!

The kids had a lot of fun. Javin was so sweet and took them all for drives around the block. Jagger was very nervous about that but once the first block was over and we were coming home he said no no no, I want to go again! Very cute. I made a monster truck cupcake cake for the kids. It was an idea that I found on the internet and it turned out great.

The day was very hot. It was nice to have the pool to cool off in. What a fun fun birthday. Happy Birthday little man!

Big Hurdles

My boys are gone. And I miss them...well, not really, but I'm sure I will soon. Right now I'm just enjoying the quiet and the clean house, including the finger-print free glass on the coffee table! But I know the missing them will come when it gets dark...doesn't everything look bleak in the dark?!! They have just gone to the country for their annual summer trip. This is the first year that Jagger has been old enough to join in on the fun. Kaylee still has another week of school and her time will come closer to July. I know Mamaw and Papaw are going to love on them like crazy. And I will miss them enough to love them even more when they come home! Have fun boys! Mommy is going to sleep!

This has been a crazy week. I am one of those people that has been lucky enough to avoid major tragedy in my life. My first funeral that I went to was my dad's and that was when I was 19. My family is healthy and I really have been very blessed. Then this week it just felt like I was hit from every corner. One friend has colon cancer, the other has cervical cancer. One friend is unexpectedly pregnant and very unsure of her future. One friend and her husband are separated and on their way to divorce. The other's husband told her he was leaving and would be gone in a week. It's just been a week of major revelations and I feel overwhelmed by it all. And I can't imagine how the people that are going through these things are feeling. I've been praying a lot!

Speaking of prayer. I heard about the book This Present Darkness and borrowed it from the library for Jim to read. He said it was great and I should read it. Now, I am prone to nightmares and Jim knows that so I made sure to ask him if it was okay for ME to read it. He said sure. And the book is phenomenal. It's about how during real life there are angels and demons all around us duking it out for us. One father was having an arguement with his daughter and she ran off and the demon of complacency grabbed a hold of his legs and just slowed him down so much that he felt tired and didn't run after her. Now on the flip side, if he had prayed then the demon would have been rebuked and an angel would have watched over him and put the proper thoughts in his head to run after his daughter. Pretty cool.

Okay, so stay with me. There is a major demon that takes over the town. And the two that the Lord feels will fight the right battle need to be tested. So, the angels are given orders to guard them and make sure they are not killed but are told to let the demons have at them for one night (sort of a Job thing). So, they go to bed and then the demons pop into their heads with nightmares. Then they wake up and are covered with sheer terror. And there are noises in the house because the demons are trying to freak them out. It all turns out okay and they pass the test. But HELLOOOO JIMMMYYY!! Did you not think this would be nightmare quality material??!! I was so freaked out lastnight. Jim was out doing a ride-along with the cops and I was home alone until 3am. I read that part of the book and then read the whole chapter of Esther in the bible (I'm moving onto Job now for those of you keeping up!). Then I heard noises. I was a serious holy roller lastnight. I was rebuking demons in the name of the Lord. I was binding my children's spirit up in the name of Jesus Christ. I was praying like I've never prayed in my life!! Funny thing though...I had the best sleep ever after that! Maybe I won some kind of battle too?!

Well, I'm praying for a lot of people right now. And mostly I'm praying that this week will be a week of healing and learning and happy endings. I know it's a big order...but I serve a big God! May peace be with you and may you have angels all around you!

My Big Man Graduates!!

What a wonderful evening! James was so handsome in his little outfit and his gorgeous blond hair. I thought I would be fine because one has already graduated and one is still going to be at home. But nope..I had a few tears!

Well, enjoy the pics. There are ones of him getting ready, getting his diploma and a few with friends. I love the one with all three of my kids...could anyone put their eyes on the camera please??? And the one with Mrs. Harmon...well she will have Jagger next year and will be the first one to have all three of my kids in her class. Lucky her!

Mother's Day Family Camp

Wow! I am so blessed. I have such wonderful friends with absolutely fabulous children. We just got back today from our second anual weekend away with just moms and our kiddos. Back to Crier Creek. It was another perfect weekend. My kids and I have so much fun going every year, I can't imagine not doing it now. Here are some great pics I wanted to share.

Spring Break

What a great time we've been having this Spring Break! On Monday it was kind of yuck so Kaylee went to play at Hillary's while the boys, Coby and I all went to see Horton Hears a Who.

On Tuesday we just hung out because it was another yucky day.

Wednesday daddy was off and we went to the rodeo. What a great time. We had fun looking at and petting all the animals inside. Then we went outside to ride some rides. I was so excited about the boat ride. Kaylee and I were so looking forward to it. James felt the excitement and really wanted to ride it with us. I decided he should be in front so I could hold him in between my legs and Kaylee wanted to be in back. Then we started to move and I felt the clicks and looked up...we were being brought up a huge hill. This is the point I remembered the ENTIRE ride..we get brought up this huge hill and then go flying down with water spraying all over us! I was thinking cute little boat ride and I was obviously not watching the people that went on before us or I would have talked my kids out of it! Needless to say, it was scary but sooo fun. Kaylee and I felt such a rush! James was so mad that he got wet that he couldn't see how fun the ride really was??!! hahaha...my poor OCD boy! He talks about it now like it was great fun though..I guess hindsight really is 20/20.

Thursday we went to the Battleship and San Jacinto Monument.

What a great time. Jimmy mentioned going that morning and I said yes. He looked at me like yes, really?? I said sure, let's make this a yes day. Well, he ran with it. I have to say that I did enjoy it much more than I thought I would. I loved the living quarters on the ship. It was really neat to see all of the old stuff and imagining the men living on these ships for months at a time. The kids had a good time exploring too.

On the way home Jimmy decided we should take the ferry. Now I have a fear of driving into a tight space on the ferry. But it was a yes day so I went. And I did fine. 31 years old and I drove onto a ferry for my first time! Go me! Anyways, the funny part...we get on the ferry and realize our kids have probably not been on one before (maybe Kaylee but she would have been a baby). Jimmy gets out and opens the door to see if Kaylee wants to get out with him. She just stares at him awestruck. I wasn't sure what was going on. Until I realized that Jim got out exactly when the ferry started moving. I had to explain to Kaylee that our car was not moving, it was the ferry moving. That was some amazing feat she thought her daddy was performing! The boys got out first and once Kaylee saw that they were surviving, she got out for the last 30 seconds. Now that's something I should have gotten a picture of!

Today is Friday and we just went to the park to have a picnic. Jimmy is gone back on nights tonight and I needed to keep the kids quiet so he could sleep...and we all know that isn't happening so I took them out instead. We had a lovely time at the park and the kiddos got lots of energy out.

Tomorrow we are having a garage sale to raise money for our church's new building. Sunday is Easter so we will go to church and then to our friend's, Joy and Kent, for a BBQ lunch. Then school starts back on Monday.

And all the moms say AMEN!!

Lots to Say

The first thing I have to do after my last post is tell you about the new book I'm reading. Without a doubt, my most favorite book in the world. It's called The Year of Living Biblically written by A.J. Jacobs. A.J. is an agnostic who decides to live as close to bible laws as possible for one year. Now this is a guy who has read through the Britannica and then for research read through 27 bibles and countless other books. He spends the first 9 months living in the Old Testament and the last three in the New Testament. He consults rabbis, priests, creationists and others on the wide spectrum of religious scholars. Throughout the book A.J. explores all of the questions I have, including the one about wearing clothes made of two different fabrics! It's great and I recommend it to everyone!!

Okay, that said. Big news since the last post. My sister Jennifer and I are right back on track. We had fallen off for a while and I missed her terribly. Well, not at first, because we were both angry at each other. But then I missed her a whole lot and I sent her funny jokes and stories and made a list of five reasons she should love me...basically I hounded her and she finally wrote back. And I cried. And apologized. And now she loves me again!! God is sooo good!

Oh, and I got braces. Yeah, that first week was awful. It was like I had a mouth full of marbles. I couldn't even eat. I would have to do some chewing with my tongue, my mouth wouldn't close and I was dropping food all over the place. Quite gross. I have gotten used to them now though and no longer need to wear a bib or hold my hand in front of my face to shield others from the onslaught of food! I will wear them for 12-15 months..so they should be off by Mother's Day next year.

AAANNNDD...Jimmy and I have been married for 10 years! As of last Friday. Double digits! I can't even tell you how exciting that was. We just hung out with friends and played guitar hero all night (our new favorite game). It was a perfect night. It hasn't all been roses this whole marriage thing, but for the most part, it's been fabulous. And there is no one else in this entire world that I would have wanted by my side to go through it all with. Jimmy is my everything!

So cute..the other day Danielle Williams stayed overnight with us because she had a golf tournament in Mont Belvieu. Well, after she left Kaylee asked me how old she is. I told her 17. She was like "yeahhh, she only has one more year until she finds out if the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus are real." (I told her once that when she turns 18 that mommy and daddy will tell her all of the mommy and daddy secrets!!) So funny, I'll have to make it a point to do that when she is 18. If for nothing else, the eye roll that I'll get will probably be the most dramatic one ever! hahaha

Jimmy got me a new car last night. Mine was in the shop all the time and the warranty was about to go out on it. So, I got a Mazda M5 which is a crossover and soooo cute. It's a car, it gets 28 mpg on the highway and the best part is that the back doors slide back like a minivan. So cute! It is "galaxy grey" and in honor of the name of the color, I have named the car Orb (short for Orbit). And yes, we will travel to infinity and beyond......

That's all for now. And yes, I'm still reading my bible everyday. I'm up to Judges now. It's been a great experience. Especially now with my questions being answered....