Please no more snow this winter.

The best thing I heard this weekend...  Carson said, Mommy I love your heart.  You make me feel so special.  Can we go skating?  Haha

It was a long night.  

500,000.00 people are without power tonight due to the ice storm.  Yes it could be worse but....

I love hearing Carson sharing stories about Jesus.      I. Love. It.  

I am praying for the sun.  It's been a cold gloomy winter.  Ugh!  Carson asked tonight " mommy will I ever wear shorts again." 

Do not look back
Do not turn left or right
Do not ask others for directions

Keep looking straight
Keep focused
And ask our Heavenly Father for his direction only
You might need a map called the bible
Fasten your seat belt and hold on tight as you might hit some bumps.

Second mark period grades... St and O's.  Woohoo!

Irma arrived from Guatemala two weeks ago.  Everyone is doing rather well with her transition. She fits into our family so nicely.  Carson loves her living with us.  He keeps saying "there are two Guatemalans in the house."  She starts community college next week which is very exciting for her.
Carson has been off of school for the last two days due to the weather.  It's been very cold and we had a few inches of snow. He is doing well with his school work but still struggles at times with his behavior. Carson can turn on a dime when he does not want to do something. The other night I took a video of him during one of his crazy rages.  I showed him the video a few hours later and he was in shock.  He kept saying " I do not remember that."
Anyway, we keep pressing forward.

Phew, what is with the seven year old I think I know everything attitude?  

The best part of my day....hugging and kissing my kids. 

Every day God thinks of you.
Psalm 68:14

Every hour God looks after you.
2 thessaalonians 3:3

Every minute God cares for you.
1 peter 5:7

Because every second he loves you.
Jeremiah 31:3

Christmas

We had a beautiful Christmas season.  We spent a lot of time with family and friends.  The kids stayed up past their bed times however each day they woke up with a smile as they were excited for Santa to arrive.  Carson just plays along with the whole Santa Claus thing but for the most part he figured out there was no way Santa could get everything done in one night no matter how many helpers he had.  Christmas morning was a great success the kids got what they wanted and there was little to no complaining about anything or anyone.  Christmas mid morning was at my parents home where the kids receive way more than they needed but again I am thankful.  Christmas afternoon into the evening was back at our house for dinner and more gifts to open from extended family.  Overall it was a beautiful day.  Noah flew in from NM the little ones were very excited to spend quality time with him.  Shauna is on Christmas break from college.  She too is spending quality time with the little ones.  As I have written before my kids love spending one on one time with family members.  It does not have to be anything fancy...a walk down the street or a trip to the zoo would do.  I am a firm believer that quality time with family is the best gift of all.
As the year is coming to a close we were blessed with good health and no negative life changing events.  I am sure I could write pages of all the things I wanted to happen and did not however I am  not going to focus on them.  I have learned over the past year that there are some things and some people that are not going to change.  So, I could either go with the flow or remove myself from the event or person.  I had to forego a few friendships as they became toxic and were unhealthy.  Those decisions were not easy but in the end it was the best decision.  I also learned that there are many people out there who are ungrateful know matter what I have done for them.  God taught me a very hard lesson about ungrateful people, employees, etc. in the end he taught me that as long as my motives are pure, my heart is clean and I am not boasting about what I have done for them I will have done my job well.  They will have to answer for their attitude.   So with all that being said, I would sum up the year as I learned a lot of life lessons, grown in my faith, did some soul searching and fell more in love with being a Mommy.  I am excited to see what 2014 will bring.  Thanks for reading my blog.  I hope you have been blessed with some of my posts.  I wish you a very happy New Year. May you be blessed with good health.  Remember life is not a dress rehearsal as we only go around once so make the best of it.  

A free gift.

As we rush around trying to finish our Christmas shopping, wrapping, baking, cooking and cleaning please remember the best gift you can give,  is giving your life to Christ.  He is waiting for you to unwrap the best gift of all.  Once the gift is unwrapped you will not exchange it for another color or size, you will not place it back in the box nor will  you think why did they get me this.  You will want to share your gift with others.  This gift is like no other and guess what it's FREE. 

The little ones are so excited for Christmas.   When a Christmas song comes on the radio or t.v Greta Rebecca says,  "Santa is coming."  It's a very exciting time of year.  I need to stay in the moment.

Grapes to wine.

Today during my study I was reading how sometimes we go through situations in are life where our grapes are being crushed.  Maybe it's trying to have a baby, work problems, marriage issues, empty bank account, problem children, etc.  during these dark times it feels as if God is stomping on our grapes (life) and we do not understand why.  But once the stomping is complete we are drinking a glass of wine.  However, during the midst of the situation we can can not see what he is doing but we are feeling it.  I am challenged to start leaning on him more than I normally do during hard situations.   I need to continue to have daily conversation with him about my thoughts.  But most of all, I need to praise him for all things.  Yes, even the things that I can not control. Sure,  it's very easy to write about but harder to do.  I have decided instead of unnessary chatter with others I will be giving God praise.  Furthermore, I will share my own stories how God took my grapes and made them into a perfect glass of wine.  I am..wait I am going through another grape crushing currently trust I am waiting to drink another fine glass of wine (I am hoping it will be this week).  

Rod baby...

We are going to see Rod Stewart tomorrow night.  I think Rod and I will reconnect in a matter of seconds.  Trust me...he will sing a few songs just for me.  Haha.  Yes, I am a huge fan. 

It's looking a little bit like Christmas at our home.  Phew, now Carson can relax...he was worried we were going to miss the holiday if we did not get "the Christmas stuff" up.

I am so in love with my kids.  

Carson's Christmas list

Hockey skates
Bike
Chestnut uggs
Hockey stick
Bayblades
Rainbow loom bands


Cinderella's list

Baby doll
Ice cream

In the moment

We had a very busy Thanksgiving weekend.  We had endless family time coupled with seeing the movie Frozen, card games, shopping and great food prepared by my mom.  The kids had a wonderful time with Uncle Joey and Shauna being home.  The little ones love hanging out with them.          Carson had a riding lesson on Saturday.  My boy could not stop smiling while he was jogging (yes he rides western).  He said "mommy, she is like riding a fancy horse in heaven."  I am trying very hard to stay in the moment with my kids, however my mind drifts to work as there is so much going on.  Decisions are being made that are out of my control but in times like these I need to continue to give thanks to The Lord.   I heard a great message during Thanksgiving.... my take away was during dark times give thanks and praise and God will pave your way.  amen!                                                           Our house is still on the market.  We had a potential buyer, however they wanted a bonus room. We do not have a bonus room. So we continue to pray for the right buyer.  We are still working with the builder on the new house.  We made more changes to the plans.  We really do not want to start building until this home sells.  Again, I am trying to stay positive.  My positive tank is getting rather low so I am in daily prayer seeking direction and wisdom.  Well, I hear my sweet boy singing in the bath tub right now so I am going to get in the moment with him.  

Just another day in paradise.

Thanks for the private emails about Carson's behavior at times.  He is gluten free, no color dye and very little sugar in his diet. Please do not get me wrong he is a very nice boy but has a little bite to him at times.   Today he had a horse back riding lesson (which he loves).  When he was done riding he told the  horse  " I am sure Santa will bring you presents because you were good to me today."  As we walked back to the car I replied, 'Santa, hmmm.'  Carson quickly answered, " yes I will buy him two bags of apples."

Mean streak

Carson can be a sweet, loving, kind little boy.  But he has a mean streak in him which we are trying to get a handle on.  He will push, hit, grab and be rough with other kids for no reason. Carson also struggles with people's space.  When we ask him why he just did blank he can not answer the question. If we ask him what he should have done he will give the right answer every time. So it's fair to say he knows right from wrong.  But why the negative behavior?  He gets plenty of positive attention.  He gets a ton of love and affection from us.  We give him praise when he does well. So what the heck?  We pray about this unwanted behavior.  I asked the principal
 if he thought Carson was a bully and he said no as it's not all the time and all the kids love him.  So what is it?

While I was giving Carson a bath tonight he said, mommy, I know you play Santa at Christmas.  I just looked at him.  He replied,  there is no way Santa can pass out all those presents in a short amount of time.  Do the math mommy.  

This why I continue to be nice to certain people...

God says in Luke 6:27.  But to you who are listening I say: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.

Carson told me today that we will never see the date 11/12/13 again.  Then he said, wait we will never see yesterday again either.  He takes a long pause....and replies, I need to think about this.

woohoo!   Carson is in a 11 1/2 shoe, 5 slim pants and size 6 shirt.  He has grown!

It's that time of year again

Dark by 5pm.   Ugh!

Have you ever heard the saying....everything is for sale if the price is right?    Well, I have some big decisions to make.  Praying for God's direction.