after party excitement

As you know I have a cute little mini schnauzer female, Breeze. We also had a male, Captain, who has since found a new home with a man who had lost his schnauzer of 16 years, last year. Breeze and Captain were expecting puppies earlier this month. She was actually due Dec 18. I had been taking her temp and hovering over her for a week. I was pretty sure she would pick the worst day to have them. lol. So I wasn't surprised when the morning of the Christmas party, her temp had dropped to 97 degrees, and we knew we would have puppies that day. December 16. I spent all day getting ready for the party, while hovering over Breeze. I told her not to have them until after the party so I could be there. The last person left a little after 9 pm. I went and let Breeze out of her whelping area, to potty. I went to the kitchen to clean up. She came in the house, came in the kitchen, and sat there looking at me and panting. I said, "Breezo, is it time?" she smiled, and headed back to her area, looking ove rher shoulder all the way, to make sure I was coming. She wenI t right into the big closet and started into active labor.
  
She labored for a while, then started to push out the first pup. But just like last time, the puppy got stuck! It was a very scary 50 minutes as I waited and then started to pray silently. Then I started praying aloud as only two back feet had been visable for quite some time, and she was getting tired. I grabbed the paws. nothing was moving. Thankfully I had been reading up on such things.
  I ended up turning poor Breeze upside down and jiggling the puppy back inside, and she rotated just enough that Breeze ws able to push her out a little more. I grabbed the pups haunches and had to pull amazingly hard!!! But out came a gorgeous, healthy black and silver female, Noel.

The next female was a salt and pepper, Gingerbread.

The third had to be pulled a little bit, but was a healthy black and silver female, Prancer. d

Thank goodness all is well. The puppies are growing so fast. They are two weeks old now. Eyes are open and they eat constantly. Breeze is  a very good mama.
So now we have three AKC miniature schnauzer puppies that are for sale and will need a new home the week before Valentines day.

Christmas party time

Ẃ decided to have our annual Christmas party again this year. Its what we do for the church as a gift. I spent several days 'baking and planning. pinterest  is a life saver! My favorite thing was the hot chocolate buffet. It was a big hit too.  I made lots of goodies. Nathan helped make his famous Oreo balls. Even Caleb stepped up to the plate and helped dip my famous peanut butter balls. It is lots of fun to do this with the kids. And Intl want to forget my wonderful hubby, who's babysitting qualities made all this possible! Thank you, hun.

Don't these look nearly professional? Go Nate!

 

 

Drum roll please...........

This was the awesome cocoa buffet. All ideas were from pinterest  thanks!!

I dipped spoons in chocolate, and some in white chocolate. Some in caramel, too. Have you ever noticed how a little drizzle really dresses things up? You just pour your cocoa in a cup, add marshmallows, and grab a spoon and stir! It was lots auf fun and I had lots of compliments on it.

For real food I grabbed French bread from walk mart and topped it with lunchmeat and provolone. Popped it in the oven until cheese was bubbly. Top with a little mustard.

Yum! No party is complete without sausage balls and dip. It was a fun evening, too. And after a tiring day and a fun party, you wont even guess what happened as soon as the last guest left.... stayed tuned for that story.

merry christmas!!

It's finally Christmas day. So sorry I haven't been here all month. Its been so busy. I will definitely catch you up on everything. Gracelyn-Joys birthday, our schnauzer puppies my Christmas party, our really nice candlelight service at church, and of course, ,todays excitement. Have a wonderful Christmas!

Born to die

Christmas. The most wonderful time of the year.  It really is, in my humble opinion. But the thought this year on my,  heart keeps coming back. One day, hundreds of years ago, god made the world. He fashioned the rocks that made a borrowed tomb. He spoke golgathas hill into exhistence. Years later he formed future roman soldiers, cruel and heartless, in their mothers wombs. They were born, tiny and sweet. God created the tree, watered it and made sure it had sun. He watched it grow big and strong knowing one day it would be made into a wretched cross. And then, one night, a woman who had never been with a man, gave birth in a smelly stable, full of His creation.  Heavens choir came out to sing hallelujah! Angels left God's side, to announce the birth of a   King. Even a brand new star was created, like a lighthouse beacon, to show people the way to the newborn Jesus. Have you ever just thought of the magnitude of this? It changed the world forever.
    As i sat listening to a song this morning in church, I gazed down atmy own beautiful son, sleeping peacefully in my arms tears welled up in my eyes. He is so precious and sweet. I couldnt fathom Marys thoughts as she looked down at Jesus that night. Did she know that her Son was born that day, just to die? For her?  For us??? My head cant wrap around it.
  Ponder this thought this year. He did it all.....just for you!

Birthday snacks

Well, I just HAVE  to share this awesome, easy, festive treat. We got a popcorn popper. We use it all the time. So, I put it to good use for Andrew and Jack's birthday. I used in for the goody bag. It was a huge hit at the party, at church, and it will be made a good bit.
I found the recipie here.  It is so good, easy, and so not healthy. But your birthday comes buy once a year. So, I splurged.
It's called Birthday Cake popcorn. oh, yumm. You will definately want to make some today. And I am sure microwave popcorn would be a close second, and totally yummy also.
I have done it with a sugar free chocolate cake mix, and sugar free chocoalte chips. It was good. but not this good. lol.

And while we are one popcorn, the zebra popcorn and caramel recipies are OUT OF THIS WORLD! Try one tonight! Thanks you Mrs. Schwartz!!!

Happy Birthday Princess!

Today, my little girl is 3 years old. Where did the time go? It's kind of sad. Her growing so fast. But I know it has to be this way. So, I'm trying to enjoy the moments. I have been playing kitchen, baby dolls, and even army men. I guess you could say she is well rounded. With growing up with 6 brothers, she doesn't have much choice. She makes poor Jack play the Daddy game. I think that is a manly way to say play house. And she forces the others at different times, to play what she wants. But then there are the times she compromises, and plays with men. They set up a foot ball game. I hear her talking about touchdowns and bad calls. So, I think she will probably be like me. A girly tom boy. At least she loves all things girly. I mean, the child hasn't worn pants yet. Except for pjs. She loves jewelry, dresses, shoes, and tights! Anything pink she thinks belongs to her.
Happy birthday, Baby Girl. I love you, and I am so grateful to the Lord, that He heard our prayers for a healthy baby girl. You care exactly what we all prayed for. You love life, you bring smiles, and I know you will grow up to love the Lord.

Christmas preperations

Well, finally it is ok to celebrate my favorite time of year! I can't believe it is already December 2! Today is our Princess' 3rd birthday. wow! the time flies. I stayed up til 10:30 last night appliqueing her a strawberry shortcake shirt to wear today. So we let her open a couple of gifts, and we took her to our favorite mexican restaraunt. IT was a good day. SHe loved her baby doll stroller and high chair.
      Christmas is a great day. But getting there is the most fum. Black friday we always get our tree and decorate it. We always get each child a new ornament. SOmething that marks an important event in their life. One day, as they slowly leave home, my tree will become bare. I will give them their own ornaments to remind them of their childhood, and hopefully their wives will enjoy them as much as we do.
      We have lots of birthdays, so that is always in the mix.
      Christmas programs at church, annual Christmas open house here at our home, for the church members to come by and eat. Christmas carols, lots of gingerbread, parades, looking at lights, shopping, and cheer.
      It's such a fun time. Although I am aware that for many, its a very sad time. And I hate that.
This year we have so much to be grateful for. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas season. And the theme that is on my heart for this year, "He was born to die." And I am so glad Jesus did!

Latest projects

So I have been very busy lately. Mostly with birthday parties! But, I found time to squeek out a few projects. The first one was for our dog, Breeze. Breeze is a four year old mini shcnuazer, who is expecting her last litter of puppies in about 10 days! They will be ready to go to new homes around Valentines day! Any way, after I clipped her, she needed a nice new coat. She hates the itchy sweaters from wal mart. She just tries to rub them off. SO I made her a quick doggy coat out of nice soft, warm fleece. I found a free tutorial online, and after a few glitches, here is the end result!

 

Breeze loves it! Haven't seen her try to rub it off but a few times. HA!
Then I found a really cool "in-the-hoop" project from one of my favorite applique websites. It was a lot of fun. I figured out a few things along the way. So the second pair, (the first way too small), went along easier. I think they are so adorable. And Brennen really likes to look at the shoes. They definitely don't look home made!

To this list I have made a nightgown, appliqued several shirts, and made Breeze a Christmas coat out of my moms scrap fleece. Yeah! Reduce, reuse, recycle.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

It's that time again. Turkey, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, pecan pie, pumpkin rolls, and lots of smiles. Don't forget the sweet tea!
   Our family had Thanksgiving lunch. We have spent the day together. The boys have played football in the freezing cold. There has been plenty of football. I have been cooking and eating. I even snuck in a nap. Getting reenergized for a night of shopping! I hate that Thanksgiving has been interupted with black friday. But we have celebrated. WEnt around and spoke of things we are so grateful for. Food. Family. Salvation. This country. Even as bad as it is getting.
    So try to be grateful. Thank the Lord for all He has done for us. And don't eat too  much!

Boys to men.

I'm going through my days, very aware of what is happening. The days, and weeks, and months, and years are whizzing by me in a blind flurry! Thirteen and a half years ago, my dream started coming true, when the Lord sent my oldest son, Caleb, into our arms. What a joyous day! So soft and tiny. A perfect little gift. Little did I know 13 years later, I would have 7 healthy, beautiful gifts in my life.
      But just the other day, Caleb, always being older than his years, is turning into a man. First he didn't want to play toys. Then his play time changed. His wants started looking different. Then his body started changing. HE HAS MUSCLES PEOPLE! He and his dad workout together. And then, last Friday he became a deer slayer. Much to his dad's pride, and my chagrin, he killed a nice little 6 point buck. OH, the people at church were all into that! Pictures passed around. slaps on the back. You go boy!( I don't know how any of us made it without smart phones. How did we? I mean, who ever thought about a camera in your phone was a genius).
        But when I got the excited call, right from the deer stand just as the gunshot sound echoed through the field and faded, I was sad. I realized my baby had just crossed over. I was proud of him. But the letting him go has begun. And it brings tears. But, I know he loves the Lord. He has a huge desire to please our God. And I know he will be such a blessing to God's kingdom. Just as I know all his siblings will.
       So, today, a few pics of my Caleb. A picture of his deer, his very first deer, downed with one lethal shot. He weighed 108 pounds. YOU GO BOY!

And then my oldest and my youngest, how sweet is that?????

On the prowl.

The other day I was rocking Brennen when something caught my eye out the window. It was Uggla, the cat, with a mouth full of something. I hollared to Nathan that his cat had something. Nate went out, and came back in with this!

The cutest little chipmunk ever!
He was scared to death and shaking from his close incounter with the cat. His tail was sooo soft. We safely put him back outside, free and in the wild. Hopefully Uggla won't find him again.

Just a thought...

At the Bible conference yesterday, the preacher introduced a thought hat never ocurred to me. That Samson may and probably was a shrimp of a man! Now just think about it. Why else would the Philistines and delilah have been trying to figure out where his strength came from? If he was ripped and buff, there wouldn't be a question. But if he was just average orbelow, now that would have everyone wondering how he could kill a lion with his hands! 

Very intersting. 

Go Rebels

Well, after a spotty night of sleep, we picked up my friend, Sidra, and we headed to Oxford. It was an uneventful drive, thankfully, besides getting stuck behind a huge combine for what seemed like a millenium. Of all the nerve. I mean, really. How dare the farmer drive that slow goliath of a machine on the only road to Oxford, especially with a line of Rebel fans at least three long, patiently, err, impatiently, waiting behind him!!
    So anyways, we made it there, found a parking spot nearly in the woods, and began the long walk to the stadium. Since this even was on Sidra and my's bucket list, we decided to do it right. We went through the Grove, and looked around at the tailgaters. Boy, that was very enjoyable. People really get into that, let me tell you! Sport coats, decorations, big screens!!
We got to our seats, and sat down. It wasn't long until it was game time. The atmosphere there was awesome. You felt like you were a part of something great. Like you belonged. Every one was wearing red. The families had their kids dressed to root on our team.
The weather was nice.  A little chilly, but otherwise good.
     I am putting in some of the pics. It was a great game, and it was a lot of fun. So, we learned a few things this first trip. Next year we will not be newbies. So we will have a better grip on the dos and don'ts.

 Heres the gang. Don't we look like awesome fans?? Only Brennen, me and jack are missing. Jack, being the busy type, didn't want to go. So we took him to a friends, and took their daughter in his place.

Ok. Here is our seats. They were actually closer than this pic shows. We could really see good!!

 

 Here's the happy Princess. She really got into cheering the team on.

 

 Heres a pic of me and my oldest, Caleb.

 Reece, and Andrew, and some strangers.

And my favorite pic of the day, Cubbie. He was so sweet and good and had a blast in his mom's pack. He is a little ole miss fan, too!! We love you Brennen,.

Ole Miss fans

Well, excitement is looming in the home! We suddenly got cheap Rebel tickets for the football game tomorrow. Talk about bouncing off the walls! And the kids are even worse! I will try to post pics of the excitement later! Oxford, get ready the Dillards are coming to town!

Thankful heart!

In this month of Thankfulness, thought I would share a grateful moment! I got a wooden dresser a week or so ago. Another awesome Craigslist find just waiting to be reinvented.  When my son and I were cleaning it up, there was a big bullet in it. Well, I picked it up and looked at it. I thought, maybe I should give it to lee. But I just tossed it into the wal mart sack and forgot about it. Fast forward a week. Lee gathered up trash to burn. The kids went inside to watch Wild Kratts. Lee and I were outside talking when we heard a gunshot!!! A moment of shock, then my heart STOPPED! That bullet! it discharged right next to the empty swingset. Oh, how grateful I am, that when I can't see to take care of myself, God can!!!!! I shudder at what could have been. I ran inside, when I started breathing again, and hugged them. Thank you Lord Jesus!

Reminicsing.....

     Its not near time. We have more than a month. It's not time to look through a few small pictures. Time to look at tiny dresses never worn. Time to reread a journal. Time to cry. It's not quite time to think about what could have been.  Not quite time to visit a small, cold, lonely place where a small, pink granite, heart-shaped stone stands as an altar to a journey with the Lord. It's not December 15. But today I found myself, quite unexpectedly, looking in this little box of treasures that remind me of a bitter sweet time in my life. Eight years ago now. A dark time in my lifes' journey that somehow was lit with the Light of the Lord. Somehow in those heart wrenching days, I grew with the Lord. I learned new things. As my tiny, precious, baby girl grew in my womb, I knew she was destined to be with the Lord. Doctors told us that she couldn't breathe a breath of life here. That her tiny body hadn't developed correctly. There was nothing they could do. He called it anencephaly. A new word to me, then. A word that stands for death. Silence. Hopelessness. But, somehow in those 9 weeks following that awful diagnosis, His Light shown right down in front of me. Lighting enough path for me to make a step. A step into the abyss of grief, anguish, anger, and depression. Or a step of faith toward Him. So, I chose to grab His hand. And then as days passed, I grabbed His neck for a comforting hug. Some days I was so weak I could just grab His ankle as He continued walking. There were so many days that I just couldn't walk anymore. Then He cradled me in His powerful, gentle, Abba Father, Daddy arms. Carried me through the days I just couldn't take it. Couldn't handle the thoughts. Couldn't have anymore faith. He waltzed over and picked me up before I fell down in despair. And that is Our God. That was how I could see light in those dark days.
    I had nine weeks after that dreadful day, to have my baby girl I had wanted and prayed for  for so long. I had three beautiful boys. But I wanted a baby girl. Alaina Joy, her name means joyous light, would only be with us as long as my body carried her. On Dec 15, she was suddenly born, 13 weeks early. A tiny, beautiful, soft, still baby girl. There was no crying. There were no cheers to welcome her. There were no balloons, door wreaths, or cigars. Only her family, and some nurses. Only hot sad tears. Only sniffles and disbelief.
    They handed me the tiniest blanketed baby I have ever seen. Only 1.7 lbs. I tried to memorize everything I could about her. Her soft cheeks. Her tinier than life hand, that couldn't even wrap around my finger tip! I measured her slender foot against my pinkie, so in the future it would help me remember just how tiny she really was. Then the boys came in. They held their tiny sister and said their good byes. It was a sweet precious time.
     How, do you say, could this be a sweet time? How could any good come out of such immense grief? Well, my friend, it would take too many posts to tell you everything God has done. But I do know, I grew in my walk more than ever. I learned our God is faithful. He will take care of you. He will be there in the hard times. He will.
      It wasn't easy. It still hurts. The hole in my heart is forever, until I walk into Heaven one day. OH, then I will step through the gate. And I will see her.  A beautiful woman, who never tasted the cares of this world. Never tasted sin. Who was welcomed into the Fathers open arms the day her tiny heart beat it's last in my womb.  And I know that it won't even compare to seeing Jesus' face!
     Today I thought about the past. and it still hurts us. There was no exciting baby shower, gifts, or balloons, to announce her birth here on earth. But I know all of Heavens angels rejoiced when she arrived safely into that City. And how can it get any better than that??
     Today, we have a gorgeous baby girl. She will be 3 soon. In Alaina Joy's box was a little baby doll. Gracelyn-Joy saw it today, while I was going through the box. She just had to have it. I explained to her that it was her siters' baby. Faith. She has held her gingerly all day. And has been so proud to have it. So I leave you with a picture. Of past and present. And the lesson learned that He never leaves us or forsakes us, even when it is so dark, you can't see anywhere. Just hold His hand.

Birthday Party Time!!!

Well, we had another birthday party. Nathan turned 12 years old on Oct. 25th. I can't believe my second son is already 12. Time has flown so quickly. Just the other day I gave birth to a shocking 9 lb baby boy!!! He is a blessing. He loves to be crazy, he is very compassionate, and loves all animals. Even the spider I want to smash before it crawls on me. He loves to help me cook, and has so many fun hobbies. He is a blessing, and we are thankful for him. I pray he will always have a tender heart, especially toward God.
So what did the birthday boy want to eat for supper, and what kind of cake did he want? He ordered up cheeseburger soup, garlic bread, and of all things....a TOILET CAKE! So, being the wonderful mom that I am, I served it up!

He wanted cookie dough. So I molded the toilet with dough, then  covered it with yummy marshmallow fondant.  A very easy to make good tasting fondant.

 

Heres the crew. Didn't have to call them twice!!
After the party he got a few gifts, then we popped pop corn and listened to our team, the Ole Miss Rebels, get beat by LSU. It was crushing! there went our undefeated season. Oh, well.

Happy Birthday, Nate!!!!!

Furniture makeover

Its finally done. My biggest furniture redo to date. I picked up this wardrobe off craigslist. I thought it was all real wood, but it wasn't. And on further inspection at home, it wasn't in that great of shape. But with some TLC, it has come to life. Let me tell you what I did.

Here is the old piece of junk. Bless its heart. It just needs some love. I had in mind a cute wardrobe for the baby. My little Princess' clothes took up the whole closet and most of the 5-drawer chest. ummm....you know little girls have to have  alot of stuff! Socks, panties, bloomers, tights, shirts, slips, etc. There has to be a shirt and sock to match everything, right? Especially since she is the only girl with all these boys!! Anyways, back to the wardrobe.
It would give him storage and his own little closet.

So I decided, even though I was going to use chalk paint, I wanted to go ahead and prime it. So I did.

 

While that was drying, it was time to come up with a color scheme that would be fun, cute, and work for a boy/girl room. So when I went to the craft store, this is the color pack that hit me!! I knew I wanted to try the mod podge craze, so I bought this paper pack. While I was perusing the aisles, I came across a faux canvas painting with this same motif and colors That says Jesus Loves Me! (half off, too!)
Now its time to mod podge. I looked up a DIY recipe. But with mixed reviews, I went ahead and got the real deal for this project.

I painted the drawers with DIY chalk paint after I primed them. The color is "snow shadow".

I put on a thin coat of podge and placed my roughly-cut-to-size paper onto the front of drawer. I worked the bubbles out with my library card (is that legal???) and kept a watch for it trying to bubble up. That stuff sets up fast, and I mean FAST! There is not much repositioning it.

Then I used a method I read from another blog to get the edges cut to size. I took a sanding block, the kind that is on a kind of spongy brick, and sanded the paper all around the edges. You can see the white line on this pic where I sanded it down. Then I carefully tore the paper downward. Left a nice clean edge, and sort of distressed it for me. After that I put a thin layer of podge all over the top to seal it, and around the edges.  It was an awesome idea! and those sanding blocks are mega awesome! After I did all the drawers, I went on to the hideous mirrored doors.

What on earth do you do with that kind of huge mirror? Well, if you are me, you PAINT IT. So that's what I did. Then I put podge on the mirrored part, and put down some cute coordinating paper onto it.
Putting the hinges back on was a major pain. Had a few probs getting doors to shut. Had to do a little sanding. But, hey, that's chocolates for you. A surprise in every bite! The old drawer pulls with a new coat of paint, and poof! Looks fab. Drum roll............................

Ta da! The finished product.. What an adorably cute wardrobe for an even cuter little boy! I think it turned out pretty well, considering what I started with. It wasn't very hard, either. So go find some old out dated piece of furniture and get to making a new piece to be proud of!! I'm already on the hunt for another project!!

Best gift for your children.....

I love the AboveRubies magazine. I'vebeen reading it since i was a teen. Yes, that is a little longer than I'd like to think. Anyway, I always look forward to the newest issue. It is all about Godly family life, children, homeschooling, eatinghealthier, etc. i can' t rememberwhen, but I read these words that ch aged the way I thought about a big family a woman said, "The best gift you can give your child is new baby."
Well, I'm here to tell you I have found that to be true.
Eachtime we find thatmy womb has been blessed with new life, and tell our other children, it has always been received with smiles, yippees, and excited voices with questions like when? Boy or girl?? Not a single time has anyof the children been sad or disappointed on the exciting news.
Our newest cherubis five months old. My oldest son said several weeks ago that it would be very sad if we didn't have anymore!
So today, i took this picture. It was so sweet. It happens all the time and it is a reminder to me, and a good visual for you.... The best gift I've ever given any of my children is a new baby.  And I love it!!

Fall is in the air....

Fall is here. At last. The summer heat and humidity are in our memories. Now the mornings and evenings are cooler, and the breeze is nippy. Truthfully, my mind is going straight to my favorite season...Christmas! But, I am trying to enjoy each day. So I will spare you all my Christmas musings, and share our first fall celebration.
Some friends in our church invited us to their little sort of annual hayride. We met up at their house, all the kids and one dog in tow, and headed out to their catfish pond. Jack, the 4 year old curly top, had been waniting to fish for a long while now. So, he loaded his hook with hot dog and got help casting the line. It wasn't long before he proudly hauled in a catfish. His blueberry eyes lit up with joy only a child can posess. he was very proud. He eventually hauled in 7 more!!

Here  is Jack with the pond owner, Stevie. So sweet!

 Here is Reece, Andrew, and hubby, Lee helping get the big ones in!

This is my oldest son, Caleb, reeling in his first. Not exactly a whopper, but it was fun!

Here is the Princess. She caught the biggest fish. She was happy. Bless her heart, she was the only little girl. But she is used to that, right??


After fishing, we loaded up in the hay and rode up to their little cabin for a weeny roast. It was lots of fun. All the boys there played football, went on a narure walk(they found a snake!) It was so nice out. We ate til we were stuffed. About sunset we started back to the house. It was  a very fun, pleasant way to spend a fall evening! Thanks Patsy, Stevie, and Sidra!

 awww, there's me with our newest little one, Brennen.

Sitting around the camp eating and visiting.
We gotta do this AGAIN!!!

baby gifts

Here's a fun little project I worked on for a baby gift. They are sweet little burpclothes.  It's amazing what you can come up with in a moment, using things you already have. Such a great thing in times like these, when extra money goes to gasoline and groceries!

are you a squeezer?

A few years ago, a good preacher friend of ours, Bro. Dana Williams, from Alabama, was at a Bible conference. We went to it one of the days. He preached a sermon I will never forget. I hope he won't mind me sharing the jest of it here. I have had it on my mind, so I will share my thoughts.
       He preached on what kind of hands we have. There are lots of hands we can have in  our life. But the one that has been on my heart since that time two years ago is the squeezing hands. Do we have squeezing hands? Jacob, in the Bible, was born a squeezer. He was squeezing his brothers heel as they were born from the womb! As he grew, he tried to control the family birthright by taking advantage of his brothers hunger. Jacob and his mother grabbed onto the family blessing and forced himself into that role by tricking his dying father. And then one day, an angel came and wrestled with Jacob. They wrestled all night long in fact. Jacobs squeezing hands couldn't let go of the Lords angel. Finally the angel said to let him go. Jacobs squeezing hands held a little longer. Then at that moment Jacobs life changed. The Lord charged him to become a different man. To leave his squeezing hands behind and let God lead for once. God even changed his name to Israel because the moment was monumental. No more do you read of a trickster and schemer. The squeezing hands were relaxed into faithful hands. Israel no longer lived for self. He gave His life to the all powerful hands.
So my thoughts go to this every now and then. Am I a squeezer? Do I push for my way no matter what? When I want something, do I push for it no matter how many obstacles are in my way? Ignoring that still small voice,  and blindly bashing forward into things, without ever consulting the Lord? Do I decide in my heart the way something will go and squeeze until I get it right, just to see it crumble?
I pray that I won't have squeezing hands. May the Lord help me to have open hands, waiting for His Word. Waiting on Him to guide and work things out. Waiting to hear when I should proceed, and when I should wait. May God teach us to wait on Him. May He teach us not to try to control all situations.
Recently, with our women's conference at church, God taught me a great lesson. Not to be a squeezer. But to listen to Him, and realize that when I obey Him, it isn't for me to control everything. I am just to do what He told me to do, and then let Him work. It was so freeing to relax my hands and allow God to control the conference. He worked mightily. When disruption or disappointment came, there was no need for me to get upset. Because it was His thing, and He could have it however He wanted it. It wasn't for me to control. And guess what! The Lord was honored mightily. Praise the Lord! Heis so good to us.
So the next time something comes up that you want to "squeeze", relax and let God show you a better way. Let me know how it works out!!!

Meeting

Hello! Thanks for stopping by. Honestly I have no idea what I am doing. I've never had a blog. But with my interenet surfing I am always seeing these awesome blogs by moms just like me. They are often full of great ideas in areas of interest to me. SO, I thought with my life, why not blog the happenings?
Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know from day to day, year to year, moment to moment what will be in the chocolate. Happenings in our lives are covered. Only God knows what is on the inside. But He desires us to be willing to "take a bite" and see. To always follow His leading. So, with this in mind, I want to share part of our lives with you. The funny things kids say, the crazy stunts animals pull, my newest sewing project, or salvaged piece of furniture. My hopes are that as you read, you may laugh, cry, get inspried, and above all get encouraged. Because being a mom is the hardest job in the world. We all need support and encouragement. So, here's to my very first post! and to all my new friends.