I Dare You...

To push play!

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This book is leading me to God's word and changing my heart and life...trust me...it is worth reading.

Major Stunt!

Growing up my family always called it "pulling a stunt" when you lost something or messed something up.

Well...
This week I have pulled possibly the most major stunt of my life,to date. Some how in the craziness of doing a graduation party last Sunday I managed to lose my wedding ring.

I am devastated and feel awful. My finger feels so naked. I know how hard Nathan worked for that ring back when we were in college and I remember how excited he was to give it to me. I have been looking for it like crazy and still it has not turned up. The problem is, I cannot even remember where I took it off or when I took it off on Sunday.

So as crazy as it might sound...would you whisper a little prayer that I will either have clarity of mind and remember where it is or that I would find it somewhere in this house. God says to lay our requests before Him and I am taking Him at his word!

Thanks!=)

Kolson is One!!

Today was our sweet Kolson's first birthday! It was an eventful day that started with him throwing my phone in the toilet! When I walked in the sprint store with all three boys and told them my story the manager gave me that look of pity and decided to give a refurbished phone for $20...what a blessing! Next, we headed to Wal-Mart to pick out a few birthday items and to get some groceries. When we got home the milk fell out of the car and busted! At that point I was ready to ask the Lord if we could just start over!:) But the day got much better with some nap time for the boys, a great night at church and Kolson's little celebration at home tonight was just so much fun! Kolson LOVED eating his cupcake... We love this little guy so much. There is just nothing like his little toothless grin and the way he snuggles up close when he is glad to see you. He loves to watch his brothers and can't wait to get in the mix with them. He is still our most spoiled baby at a year old since he still loves his bottle and still sleeps in our room! I guess since he is my third I have finally realized there is time for all of that and that more than likely the time will pass much quicker than I am really ready for.

Here is a video of the birthday boy in action...

Intentional

I have said before that I like to read other blogs because I am inspired by the way God is working in the lives of everyday, ordinary people who have said "Yes" to the radical call of Christ.

Last week I was inspired while reading my dear friend Kathryn's blog. She is a wife and a mom but more than that she is a woman who seeks the Lord and wants to do His will.

This is the quote she posted last week that just won't leave my head...

"The family should be a closely knit group. The home should be a self-contained shelter of security, a kind of school where lives basic lessons are taught: and a kind of church where God is honored; a place where wholesome recreation and simple pleasures are enjoyed."----Billy Graham

Kathryn went on to talk about how this involved being intentional.

Much like everything else in life, we will never just wake up and be the woman we have always wanted to be. We must choose to take the extra time to be intentional about how we spend our time and our resources. We must choose to be intentional about how we treat others and the tone of voice we choose to use. We must choose to be intentional about what we allow into our minds and hearts.

The list could go on and on.

I have been challenged and inspired. I want to be more intentional about how I spend my time and I want to be more intentional about building our family and home into a place where God is honored...a place where the Holy Spirit loves to dwell.

I am not sure exactly what that looks like, but I do know that if I seek Him and truly trust Him, He will make the path straight before me.

The Last...

Karen Kingsbury has written a wonderful children's book called "The Last".

As moms we tend to celebrate all the firsts...

The first smile

Kaden


Karter

Kolson


The first foods

Kaden

Karter

Kolson



The first steps

Kaden

Karter

Kolson



The first birthday

Kaden


Karter


(I can't believe Koslon's is coming up this Wednesday!)

The first day of school

Kaden


(The other two will start before I know it!!)

I have celebrated so many firsts with my three boys and I am looking forward to all that are to come.

But the book "The Last" takes time to celebrate and take in, cherish and savor the last moments...

The last bottle

The last time they wake for a midnight feeding

The last time they need me to tie their shoe

The last time they want to give me a hug and kiss in public

So many lasts that I am not really looking forward to!

But tonight I am taking a moment to savor one of Kolson's "lasts". For months he has had 6 teeth just waiting to pop through. Tonight when I was checking them out I realized that one has finally broken through the gum. So tonight I am celebrating some of the last toothless smiles I will be getting from our sweet little Koley!

Sweet Dreams...

Dear Karter,
You are at such a fun stage! You are slowly but surly getting past your tantrum stage and we are finding your big personality quite delightful! I love to hear you say things like...it's "belisious" or like tonight when asked daddy..."what's your fabrit anymal"? I love watching you and Kaden play and how much you want to be just like him. You also seem to have the most wonderful manners...I always hear you saying please and thank you and I love it when you say excuse me when you need me to move. I love how you come into the living room in the mornings and say..."ge mornin bubba".
Just this week you moved out of your crib and into a big boy bed. Wow, time flies!

Today we had so much fun playing at the park and going to chick-fi-la. This is how I found you this evening...



You are so full of energy until you sit still for a few moments!

We love you Karter and pray that you always have sweet, BIG dreams for God!

Product Review: The Wonder Hanger

For Christmas my mom thought she would help me out by getting me some of these...



You see we currently have 5 people using 2 closets! While I am so thankful that we have clothes to fill them up and even thankful for the fact that we have closets, there is no getting around the obvious...things are TIGHT!
So tight, in fact, there is no way I would even think of showing a picture...I am serious, it is that scary.
I was so excited when I opened these for Christmas and started thinking about how they could revolutionize my closet. These pictres had me envisioning my new clean well organized closets.






However, while I am sure that wonder hanger may work wonders in a normal closet, but for my already WAY over stuffed closet it just moved the massive amount of clothes down a little. In fact I think it made it worse...I sometimes fear I may get lost in my closet!:)

So any other suggestions on how to create more closet space would be really great! =)

Birthday Message!

Happy Birthday Nonnie and Papaw! We love you and we hope you have a wonderful birthday! Can't wait to see you soon! (double click on the video...I don't know how to make all of it show yet!:)

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Divine Appointments

One of my most favorite songs by Shane and Shane says "Holy Design, this place and time, that I might seek and find my God".  I believe in that.  I believe that we serve a God who is big enough to form the world and craft the mountains but I also believe we have a God that is small enough to take the time to design each and every moment of our lives.  Nothing is an accident.

As Nathan and I have searched and prayed and begged God to make His path straight before us I have been so amazed by how He has worked the littlest things together, as almost to whisper to us..."Yes, I am calling you...yes, I am calling you to rescue a precious child...yes, I am calling you to Africa.

I won't bore you with all of the ways He has whispered to our hearts but I wanted to share a few.  So that someday when our child is older he or she will be able to see how God worked in our lives to bring us together.

• one night while I was sitting on the couch I happened to look up at the TV that was muted at the time...across the TV was a big banner that said "Take Care of Orphans"
• Nathan turned on the TV for the boys this morning and on Nick Jr a family came on with their daughter who was adopted from Ethiopia. (God can even use a cartoon channel!)
• on one of the weeks when I was really struggling with whether or not God was calling us to adoption our Lifegroup lesson had a little blurb about adoption...and to be honest it didn't have much to do with the lesson so I knew God put it there just for me...another little whisper!
• on the same weekend that I needed to be in San Antonio for my sister's baby shower the adoption agency we are looking at was having a seminar in San Antonio.

These are just a few of the ways that our God has been so good to us by making His path known to us.  It has also reminded me what a personal God we serve.  He knows me...He knows that I tend to be like doubting Thomas so many times.  I am always questioning myself and trying to explain things away.  I am so blown away by His love for me that He would be kind enough continually send confirmation to me.  What a great God we serve!

I want to leave you with something my sweet friend Penny sent to me that God used to really speak to Nathan and I about our call to adopt.  Take a minute to watch it and be blessed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZgLf3rN9xg&feature=youtube_gdata

Quad Squad Update

Several months ago I told you about my cousin Howard and his wife Nicole.  At that point Howard and Nicole had two precious boys Haden and Keaton.  Howard and Nicole were stationed in London, England where Nicole was living with the two boys while Howard was serving our country in Iraq.  Literally days before he left for Iraq they learned that they were finally pregnant with their third child...or so they thought.
A few weeks later Nicole learned that she was carrying quadruplets!

Their God story is BIG!  God really showed up and showed off in their lives over the last several months.  Literally people everywhere started praying and God started moving mountains.  Despite the fact that Howard was supposed to be in Iraq for several more months the Air Force graciously sent him home to take care of his sweet wife.  Even better, the Air Force agreed to send them back to Texas where they would be just a couple hours from family and friends.  I don't know how many of you have ever dealt with the military but this is huge...this was God stepping in and moving those mountains!

They made it back to Texas, found a house and a vehicle that would fit 6 kiddos and then Nicole headed to the hospital for several weeks of bed rest!  Howard did a wonderful job holding down the fort while Nicole did an excellent job baking the sweet little quads.

Finally on March 23 Hensley Hope, Paisley Faith, Presley Grace, and Karson Kole were born!  They were exceptionally healthy for quads...tiny...but very healthy!
God sent tons of people to bless the new little ones...they received nearly 10,000 diapers, someone gave them the nursery furniture for all the babies,  not to mention strollers, car seats...the works...like I said, they have a big God story!

After only 5 weeks in the NICU all 4 babies are home and thriving!  Thank you so much for those of you who prayed for this sweet family!  They are a living testimony that we serve a God who can move mountains and work miracles!

And here is what you have been waiting for....

Mother's Day thoughts...

Today I am thankful...

Thankful for a mother who loved me so much that she shared the love of Christ with me and has prayed for me everyday of my life. She is one of very best friends!

Thankful for a Mother-in-law who taught me that there is more to life than just living.  I am thankful for her example and rejoicing with her as she enjoys this Mother's Day sitting with Jesus and her sweet little Hayley who was born sleeping so many years ago.

Thankful for a Mother-in-law that raised my husband to love the Lord and his family with all his heart.

Thankful for a husband who encourages me to be the best mom I can and who graciously allows me a chance to refuel with some girl time when things are getting crazy!

Thankful for the awesome opportunity to be a mother to my three sweet little boys who bring such joy and light to my life.

But today on this Mother's Day...

I can't help but to think about our 4th child...the one that God has called us to rescue from a distant land.

To be honest...we have no idea what we are doing...we just know the HE has called us and we are choosing to say YES!

Tagalongs...

NO this post is not about girl scout cookies...although tagalongs are my favorite.  I will also choose not to admit just exactly how many boxes of those sweet little cookies I consumed this girl scout season.  Let's just say there is a reason I have started running and they might have something to do with it!=)

No the kind of tagalongs I am talking about are me and the boys!  Nathan had a seminar to go to in Shreveport this week so we decided to load up and tag along!  We had fun visiting with Mamme and Big, Papa, Aunt Jengie, Ethan and Pierce last night!  It is always nice to see family especially when it has been a while.

This morning the boys and I decided we take a little adventure while Daddy went to class.  We started our day at Krispy Kreme!  If you know Karter very well you that he LOVES donuts!  In fact we make it through most of our shopping trips to Wal-Mart because I let the boys eat a donut as we go through the store...I know that shame!

Here they are enjoying a little Krispy Kreme action...

Kolson loved his first donut!

We got there in time to watch them making the donuts!

From there we headed to my most favorite place...Target!  What is even better is that they have a Super Target (go ahead Kathryn be jealous!).  It was a little crazy but we had fun picking out some baby gifts for our newest little cousin Addison who will be arriving late this summer!

Next we headed to the duck pond park! 

Koley enjoyed a little snooze at the park.

Two cute boys watching the ducks

Big Brother

Little Brother

Baby Brother

The boys loved playing at the park...but it didn't take long for me to realize that I was totally unprepared.  I forgot drinks and bread for the ducks!

We decided to meet up with Daddy for some lunch.  Kaden also decided that he needed a little more time with Mamme so he called and invited her to lunch (so sweet)!  We enjoyed a real Cajun lunch...mud bugs and all! Thanks again Mamme!

The boys weren't too excited about crawfish!

Finally we headed back to the duck pond with some bread to feed the little ducks! 

We couldn't believe how close they let us get!

What a cutie!

What a fun day...so glad we decided to be tagalongs!

Verse 10!

I can't believe I have made this far!  Like I said, I am a started and not a finisher...I am so thankful for friends like Kim and Allison who keep spurring me on to learn more verses!

This time I am choosing a verse that comes from The Message translation.  In our newest bible study "When Wallflowers Dance" Angela Thomas has encouraged us to restore order to our homes and bodies.  If you know me at all you know that order and my name don't even belong in the same sentence.  I am the more fly by the seat of my pants type!  But I am learning more and more that God blesses those who are careful with their planning and the way they manage what He has given them.  So this verse spoke loudly to me over the last few weeks.

"Didn't you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit?  Don't you see that you can't live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for?  The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you.  God owns the whole works.  So let people see God in and through your body."
1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Wow...I am thinking I will post that one on my frig and maybe in my car for every time I am tempted to stop by Sonic for a large Coke!

I thought that verse could also apply to my home.  God has given us this home (tiny closets and all) to make it a place where He is welcome.  A place where His holy spirit can dwell.  So many times I don't do the greatest job taking care of this home He has given us.  I want to be better about restoring order to our home and making it first and foremost a place where the Holy Spirit is welcome.  A place that is protected from the influences of the world, a place where my children can flourish in the knowledge of Him and His word.

So...speaking of order...the laundry is calling my name!

Time just keeps moving...

This is a post I have been avoiding for the last week or so.  My sweet little Kolson is 11 months old!  In less than a month we will celebrate his first birthday and I keep thinking to myself...where did the time go?

It doesn't seem like that long ago that we were bringing our third k-krew member home from the hospital to join our crazy life! 

I can't imagine our life without him.  His nickname could be smiley...he smiles more than any baby I have ever seen. 

He loves to be held and gives the sweetest hugs.  He still seems to be pretty laid back and goes with the flow for the most part (like he really has a choice:).  However, I will admit that he is pretty picky about certain things.  He likes his bottle room temperature...if it is too hot or too cold he will just push it away.  He HATES sippy cups....I have tried several different kinds to no avail.  Every once and a while he will take a sip of juice from one but most of the time he just pushes it away.  He really prefers for me to feed him his bottle before bed...I secretly love this!:)  Just recently little Koley figured out that our food is much better than his and he has been enjoying sampling our menus...although he is still completely toothless!

Here he is enjoying a cookie!

And just this week he is taking his first steps (sniff, sniff). 

Here are some picutres of our smiley little guy taking some of those precious first steps...

walking to bubba (aka Kaden)