The Most Blessed Mommies Day

This year I was blessed beyond measure! It was a good day spent enjoying my family and hanging out with my dear friend and her family. I will just go through the day real quick and so sorry there are no PHOTOS! I am sad I did not take any pictures! Too much fun to be had :)

• 8:30 wake up and think what yummy breakfast can I make? German Pancakes and Carmel sauce! Oh so indulgent and yet simple! After that get Kenzi and I ready for the Sunday Service. We looked pretty cute ;)
• 11 AM Church was amazing! Kenzi went down to the nursery with only a little fussing (My Big Girl! So proud!) Then 3 moms got up and spoke about the different stages of motherhood and it was a beautiful thing to hear! Then the kids sang the song "She has the Son in Her Eyes". Then the Pastor prayed a blessing over all the moms (Which I was SO blessed by!) and he spoke of what moms who know Jesus can do for their entire family and the future of that family. 
• 12:30 Arrived at home with friends to help eat the feast my husband prepared on the smoker and grill(yes he had both going!) The menu included 2 different kinds of beef brisket, one with a dry rub and one that was marinated overnight. SO yummy! Potatoes n onions done on the grill, asparagus and carrots(brought by the guests to share) and oh so yummy! We also had Italian bread and butter and ice cream cones for dessert. I got some pretty purple and white flowers, a sweet card and a cute balloon. More than what I asked for ;) 
• 3PM We decided that this day would be awesome to pack up and got to the lake for fishing, walking and playing. It was very sunny and warm but also windy! After a nap for our friends little one they joined us. I would not trade that day for anything! It was the BEST mother's day I have ever had! The kids played well, good food with friends and family and a great day outside. SO BLESSED!!!

Simply Put

Simply put God knows what he is doing by who He puts in our lives. Timing is everything too.

 I sometimes forget these things and ever so gently He reminds me through circumstance and events that take place in my life. He tells me to be thankful for my friends...&&& I am so THANKFUL for my friends.

 I had few friends and now He has blessed me with MANY friends.

 He tells me that my church family is SO IMPORTANT to me... they are more valuable than gold!!!

I value Christian Fellowship more and more as I see how my  friends support me with love. They are not judgmental but encourage me to grow in all areas of my walk with Jesus. I am brought to tears as I think of how they support and love me. 

The thing most amazing to me about God is He knows what we need before we do and the way He constantly works on us. As many times as He has shown me that, I will never be any less amazed.

A Response To How I Use Facebook :)

Hello friends! This blog is an answer to a blog about Facebook. How are people using this site? I do know many who are on alot(just like me) and many who aren't on that much. And that's okay. Sometimes it's hard to gauge how people are using this social networking thing! Some status posts I see are quite shocking and I must confess I feel like falling off my chair and on the way down dropping a friend or two...but I am too nice to do that. Instead I say a quick little prayer for them in hopes it gets deep down into their heart.
Back to the reason for the blog though...Ways I Use Facebook-
#1.Keep in touch with my family in Washington State...as many of you know the ONLY biological family I have with me here, in Iowa is my immedite family(hubby & kids)
and my dad. We are not exactly speaking though and he is estranged from me...meaning he is strange and controlling and I stay away from him! So FB is one way to stay in contact with my long distance family members that live 1900 miles away. Sad sometimes, but OUR CHOICE. Reason being...
#2. Floyd Lighthouse Academy...To stay in constant contact with al the wonderful people of the school where my kids go and the church we, as a family, attend. We knew we wanted better schooling for our kids and knew there was no way we could afford any private school on the west coast.
#3. To Meet up with friends from middle school and high school...THAT HAS BEEN AWSOME!
#4. Meeting up with NEW family members(who I hope to meet someday...soon) and family I haven't seen since I was a kid. That has also been WONDERFUL!!!
#5. and Finally to share pics and stuff with my friends. I love my normal, boring life because it's mine and it didn't used to be that way!

Raising Goldy People

When do kids go from being innocent and making friends with everyone to picking and choosing who they will or won't play with? When do they learn it? Where do they learn it? Some people wanna blame parents, some wanna say their friends and some will say they don't know. The Bible says that children are born selfish and it's our job as parents to raise these small people to be what God has designed them to be. Some times that can be hard! Recently one of our kids have had a "teenager" attitude. There have been several incidents in the last few months. Some have shocked us, my husband and I, some have made us embarrassed, some have left us angry. I go to the Lord in prayer with my concerns. God has a great way of "showing" us things. Thru friends, reading and radio He has shown me how deal with and discipline an older child. THANKFULLY!!!
The most recent thing has left me embarrassed because we did not raise a kid to be mean to others and to leave friends out. We have always told our kids to play with everyone the same and treat them like best friends. We have NEVER let our kids exclude others intentionally! So...that is what happened...they excluded friends and hurt feelings and these friends live far away. We only see them 1-2 times a year. And now we must reconcile feeling and friendships. I am so sad on one hand and seeing the need for a different kind of parenting. On the other hand I am glad it was caught RIGHT AWAY so we could deal with it! A new season of child rearing if you will. Don't worry! We have disciplined this child accordingly and explained that Jesus does not want us to treat others this way. We know that the Lord wants us to love our neighbor! Change is comin' 'round!!!