Scrappers, Bloggers, Listen Up!!

I know that some of you ladies out there are scrappers, bloggers, or both! I found the neatest idea, its called Project 365. I have added Becky Higgins' blog to my link list (left hand side of the blog) and although I have just found her this morning, this sounds like a neat little project. I plan to try Project 365 on my blog...I can't give up actual scrapbooking, so this way I can do both.

I plan to try to take a picture a day, of just anything, and share on my blog.

Also something else I found on Becky's website, its called bloggled. Its free and backs up your blog for you. That way, if you accidentally delete something, there it is. Also, coming soon, blog to book. You can publish a book from your blog. So think of it, you blog all year long, maybe try the Project 365 thing, then, at the end of the year you publish it...Voila!! Instant scrapbook! BONUS!!

So anyway, I plan to start Project 365 on my blog on January 1st!

I pray you all had a WONDERFUL Christmas!

Freedom from the Past

Holidays have been painful for me for the last several years. Painful because I get a few precious days with my children and then have to send them back to their father. I think that one of the hardest parts of the time spent with them is the last few days when my daughter starts saying, “Mommy, I don’t want to go back to Daddy’s, I want to stay here with you.” Those words crush my heart and my soul because there is really nothing I can do about it.

All this pain goes back to my childhood visits with my mother and the trek back to Daddy’s house. Am I angry at my father for not allowing me to live with my mother? Am I angry at my mother for the circumstances that landed me and my sister in his custody? Honestly, I didn’t know really who I was angry with until a few nights ago when my daughter uttered those famous words and my sweet husband spoke some truth to her that I think set us both free.

First, I must apologize to my beloved, I tried to stop him from speaking, thinking that I knew what he was going to say and not wanting him to cause my daughter – and probably more myself – some pain. When he spoke it was so much what I needed to hear all those years ago, and so freeing that it left my baby crying tears of relief.

He told her that where she stays is not her choice, and not a judge’s choice but her father’s and there is nothing she can do to control what her father thinks is best for her and her brother. He told her that her only responsibility is to let her feelings be known, and what happens from there is up to the person she tells. If she wants to live with us, all she can do is tell her daddy that she wants to live with us, and allow him to choose what to do from there. If she wants to live with him, all she can do is say that she’s happy where she is and pray that I am accepting of her feelings.

She said that her biggest fear is that she would hurt her father’s feelings. She has such a kind and loving heart, she would rather see her daddy happy than to hurt him and tell him that she wants to be with me. So he told her that that’s okay too, but that she has to understand that that is her choice to make. If she can live with things the way they are and not hurt her father than that is okay. He explained to her that all we (Vaughn, me, her father and her stepmother) all want is for her and her brother to be happy. And that sometimes adults do what they think is right and we don’t know the children want something else unless they tell us.

He told her that where she lives is not her choice, but telling us what will make her happy is up to her if she’s not happy. This helped me to realize that I never told my father that I was unhappy with the way things were and I never told my mother that I was angry at her for leaving. For so many years I carried around so much anger and guilt and shame, believing that things were they way they were because I didn’t change them.

I now know that I had no control over anything except for speaking my heart. My daughter now knows that she doesn’t have to tell anyone anything that will hurt them, but that she doesn’t have to remain silent and go on hurting. She can speak her mind and allow others to be accountable for their reactions.

I thank God for speaking to my heart through my husband. I thank Vaughn for allowing God to speak through him and for teaching me that I am not, nor do I have to be in control.

I pray that you will gain something from my painful experience. I pray that my children no longer carry any guilt, anger or shame for the choices their father and I make “in their best interest.” I pray that you will listen to your children when they speak their hearts. And mostly, I pray that you will speak yours.

If I can pray for you today, please let me know.

Our House

Well the house is coming along. It is kinda stopped for the moment because we've been working on a house for a lady in our town who had a fire. But I wanted to share some of the before pictures:

We don't know when we will be able to move in, as you can see it will take some work. The hardwood is in good shape, Praise God, so it will only have to be sanded.

The first picture is Vaughn taking out a wall between the front room and what was a bedroom and will be a living room. The second and third pictures are the front room, from different views. That last picture is the gutted bathroom. Vaughn took out everything except for the tub.

The second row, first three pictures are the kitchen (and my friend Judy in the third one, thank you so much Judy & JR for helping us), it's honkin huge!!! The last picture in that row is the bedroom that will be the living room.

The first two pictures on the last row show the way the house was when we got it. Stuff was just everywhere!! Vaughn and JR took over 3000 pounds of trash to the dump...craziness! We've been cleaning.The first picture is the bedroom that will become the master bedroom. The second picture is the basement that will become a utility room/craft room, a rec room and two bedrooms. That third picture in the last row is the basement bathroom, that place will take alot of work, but I'm excited to make it pretty. And, as you can see, the last picture is the basement steps.

Most of all, I just want to thank God for this wonderful gift He has given us. As Joel Osteen says, "its just raining!" And I praise Him for it, His wonderful blessings are just raining down in our lives. We are so thankful!!

What do you have to be thankful for today??

My first project!

I'm calling this my first Cricut project. I actually made name tags for the Christmas presents too, but that's not a big thing. But here is a picture of my very first project with my Cricut. (The paper behind it is only there so you could see it better in the picture.)

I used self-adhesive vinyl from printonit.com and it worked really well. I now understand why transfer tape is important. It makes it so much easier to line things up. I'm really excited to get to know this machine better and be able to do more things with it. I hope to be able to do decorations for the new house with it.

Thanks for stopping by, Have a wonderful day and a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas from Grandma

Most of the time I don't expect Christmas from Grandma, the only one I have left. There are so many of us now that she just can't be fair and buy gifts for everyone, so she sends the most beautiful cards.

Yesterday, I got home from picking up my children and there, on my porch, was a box from my grandmother. I ran in the house like a kid, in a hurry to see what my sweet grandma had sent to me. And there it was. My grandmother's nativity set. I sat on the weight bench with my husband and cried. It was one of the most special gifts I have ever received.

You see, a few weeks ago I filled out one of those silly email survey things. This one was about Christmas. One of the questions it asked was "Do you have a nativity set?" My answer was that I used to have one that my grandmother a bought for me, but it had been lost in one of my most recent moves (along with my entire Christmas box). Somehow that survey ended up in my grandmother's email box and she sent me hers.

She had purchased these 2 nativity sets several years ago (one for me, one for herself). Understand, this is not just your run-of-the-mill nativity set, not by a long shot. This thing is beautiful, it plays music and tells the Christmas story, all the while, different parts of the set light up to go with the story. Its my most favorite Christmas decoration, and it just wasn't Christmas without it. When the box came up missing last Christmas, I sat on Vaughn's mother's driveway and cried. Here I am crying again, but this time tears of joy, thakfulness, and love.

Grandma, I know you read everything I write, so, thank you. I know it wasn't easy for you, I pray that you know how much it means to me. Thank you, thank you for all the countless prayers you have said for me over the years. Thank you for your love, for your wisdom, for your friendship. I love you. I pray you feel well today. I love you!

I Got Tagged!!

I have alot to talk about today, but my new wonderful friend Elizabeth tagged me so here I go:

Rules:
1. Post rules on your blog.
2. Answer the six "4" items.
3. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving them a comment.

4 Things I Did Yesterday:
1. Had my very first anniversary
2. Had breakfast with my hubby
3. Went to Dumas for a Christmas Party
4. Got a cricut for my anniversary (Yay, been wanting one!!)

4 Things On My Wish List:
1. To help people in need
2. To show the love of Jesus in the way I live my life
3. To spend more time with my kids
4. To lose weight

4 Things I Look Forward to:
1. Picking up my kids tomorrow
2. Christmas with my family
3. Standing at the feet of Jesus
4. Seeing my grandmothers again

4 Favorite TV Shows:
1. Eli Stone
2. Grey's Anatomy
3. LOST
4. Fringe

4 Restaurants I like:
1. King & I
2. La Fiesta
3. Rudy's
4. Montana Mike's

4 People I Tag (You're it):
1. Beanhead, you're it - Go Joce!!
2. Ember, doesn't look like you've been tagged, have fun!
3. Becky, can't beleive you've not been tagged yet...
4. ???

New House

For those of you who don't know yet - not like you really couldn't, I might as well have been shouting it from the rooftops - we closed on our house yesterday! That picture right there on the right of my house, that is proof that I have the sweetest husband in the whole world. Yesterday, before we went to closing, he said he had to go feed the dogs. That sweet man, went to the house and wrapped a big red ribbon around the front of the house, (see it, in the picture?) and when we got done with closing, he took me there and gave me his knife to cut the ribbon. Such a sweetie, my guy.

This house isn't great now, but just you wait, I've got big plans for this little house. Here are a few pictures of what it looks like now:
In an earlier post, I uploaded my floor plan idea. Who knows when we will get to the basement, but we hope to have the first floor done in a month or two so that we can move in. It's just exciting, buying your first house. Getting to decide how you want to decorate the inside, how to make it a place where family and friends will want to come and share this blessing and so many others. A place to pray and to praise, a place to worship and give thanks. A place to call home.

I am not yet sure on alot but I do know the colors I want for my kitchen. I will be decorating with birdhouses, too. I got this idea from a birdhouse that my children made for me. It reminds me of Matthew 6, when God is telling us just to stop worrying, especially verse 26 when He says, "Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" I just love that thought, knowing that the Father is going to take care of me, that He loves me and wants a living relationship with me. God has blessed us with this home, and I can't wait to see how He touches people as they gather in His name inside of it. I am excited to cook meals in my kitchen and gather around the table to seek His face with loved ones. The Bible says in Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

Also, I have picked out colors for the bathroom, though I'm not sure how exactly I am going to arrange these colors yet, I know they're what I would like to have. I know this is going to take some work on Vaughn's part and my part, but I am excited and ready for it. The Word tells us in Proverbs 31 that the virtuous woman "strengthens her arms" and that she works hard and "looketh well to the ways of her household."

So, as we roll up our sleeves and start to work on our home, please feel free to stop by, to visit us and visit with us. Know that our door is always open to you and to yours, through this Holiday Season and through the rest of the year. Thank you for joining us in praising the Father for this blessing and the many others we have received this year. If we can pray for you, please let us know.

Isn't God Amazing!!!

Wow! I am constantly being amazed by the workings of God. Mostly, I am amazed that He allows us to be a part of it all. In October, many of you know, we got to go to Colorado to work with Pastor Lee and God in the ministry there. I just love it that God is still using that experience.

Yesterday I was reacquainted with a friend from junior high school. God has brought the two of us back into each other's paths several times throughout the years, and I just love sharing time with her. I found out that she lives just a few minutes from where we were in Colorado, in fact, her husband works there in the same town.

The awesome part about it all is that she has been searching for the place where she and her family can get back into church. She has not felt comfortable in any of the places where she has visited. So this morning I call Pastor Lee because I know he has house churches in that area and maybe they have one that my friend and her family would enjoy. God is so cool...there is a house church just getting started right in her little town!! Lee is going to give her a call and have the house church family give them a call as well.

Please join me in prayer for my friend and her husband and two little girls? Please pray that God will touch their hearts and heal their family through this. Have a blessed day and please let me know if I can pray for you.