Women of Faith 2011

Women of Faith was incredible, not because of the talented speakers or amazing singers, but because God moved. He didn't just move in my life, but he moved in the group as a whole. This will all make more sense later.

I can honestly say I wasn't going into the weekend expecting a whole lot. I had gone before a few years back, and Friday night was incredible, but Saturday just wasn't. Going into Friday night, I was mostly excited to stay with some sweet friends at a hotel in Dallas. God had other plans.

I think the speaker that struck me the most was Lisa Whelchel, (Blaire from the Facts of Life.) She talked a lot about friendships. One thing that she said that made so much sense is that you don't want to be friends with the people that seem to have everything together. They're like Teflon...everything just slips right off. In my experience with people like this, it's impossible to confide in someone who never admits to faults. How could I ever be 'real' with someone who is so put together? Mostly because I am not. I am flawed and imperfect. I guess you could say I am perfectly flawed. =0) 

After the speakers had all spoke, we took a break and then started to discuss when we should leave.I had never heard Mandisa, so I figured we could stay for a couple of songs and then leave a little early to beat the crowd of people. Mandisa took the stage and started out with some fun girls songs, but then BAM!! She started singing a song called "Stronger" and I just began to cry. I wept through every single song she sang. "Broken Hallelujah" was another that just pierced my heart. The crazy thing about it is I wasn't necessary broken over anything that had to do with me, but mostly God had put one of my dearest friends on my heart. I wanted so badly for her to be there with me, but I think mostly, I just wanted her to hear the words I was hearing.  We ended up leaving about 10 minutes early, and then went back to our hotel.

God just continued to work. We sat on the 3rd floor deck of our hotel and just laughed and cried. We talked about so much, pretty much everything you could imagine. Happy things, sad things and all things in between. We sat up there talking until about 2:30-3 in the morning. It was amazing, and while we knew we had to get up early, we were looking forward to Saturday and what it would hold for us.

6AM came early. We got ready, had breakfast. Then we just began to talk. The conversations turned into tears and the tears became prayers. It was truly the most wonderful time. We didn't make it to Day 2 of Women of Faith, but God did a work in us that we didn't expect. 

I think this quote I found yesterday sums up the experience,‎"Jesus came not to call people who think they are righteous, but people who know they are sinful." AW Tozer. My friends and I are far from righteous, SO far from where we should be. The incredible thing is we KNOW this, we ADMIT this, and we are all 

striving to be more like Christ.

God knew exactly what He had in store for all of us. He gave my friends and I an experience we will never forget. We are each others velcro...we're all a little cooky, so we stick together. ;-)  No Teflon here! =0)

"Stronger" and "Broken Hallelujah"

So Friday evening I went to Women of Faith, and I heard Mandisa sing for the first time ever. I was bawling the whole time. I just wanted to share these two songs. Listen, truly listen...touched my heart so very much and made me think of one of my dearest friends. So I share these songs with you and pray that you listen and read the words. Let them pierce your heart as they did mine.
"Broken Hallelujah:''

"Stronger:"

Alright friends! I love you and pray that these songs will be an encouragement wherever you are. I promise to write all about the weekend once I've taken care of this sleep deprivation. =0)

1st day of School and other Shenanigans...

So let's see..Monday was Brett's first day of middle school, and I was beyond nervous for him. His grades have always been wonderful but his behavior has always been an issue. Monday started all kinds of new routines. 

1. Catch the bus to and from school 

2. Lock the door

3. Don't sneak toys, video games, etc in backpack since me and Aaron weren't here to check

4. Remember lunch

I put a list on the refrigerator on Sunday night, and Monday before I left I reminded him about a million times of all the things he needed to do and what time to be out of the house. On the way to work on Monday I heard "Butterfly Kisses," (aka The Cheesiest Song in the World.) Don't get me wrong, it has sentimental meaning to me because of my dad, but obviously I do not have a daughter. Why was it that it took everything in me not to cry while this song was playing!?!? Something is WAY different about having a middle schooler compared to elementary. Middle school is where it really starts to matter who Brett picks as friends. Middle school is where he can choose to be the Light or he can choose to follow the path of the 'in' crowd. I think that's what brought the tears mostly..hoping and praying that Aaron and I have done everything in our power to help him to be strong and a leader, not a follower. I'm proud to say that Brett has handled his new responsibilities perfectly. He hasn't forgot to lock the door or missed the bus. I was positive that when I got home for lunch today, he would be in the living room watching TV. Thanks for proving me wrong, kiddo! =) So far the year is off to a great start. He said EVERYONE in his classes like him, and he LOVES riding the bus. Here's a pic of him ready for school and Dex ready for daycare. Dex is saying "cool" in this pic! =0)

Speaking of Dex, his vocabulary seems to grow everyday. He has a Grover book and it says "Oh Dear" so now he says that..SUPER CUTE by the way. He also has a bunny that sings "Jesus Loves Me," and I discovered he knows some of the words and signs. We're still not 100% devoted to the potty training, but he still goes every night, and asks to go every once and a while too! 

Well besides the kiddos, I am super stoked for Women of Faith conference this weekend. Me and some sweet friends will be staying in a hotel on Friday night, and I'm SO looking forward to girl time AND what God has in store for all of us.

Last thing, and I promise I'll stop! ;-) Tonight I got some new curtains for the living room and Aaron and my bedroom along with a new comforter set! Our old one was literally falling apart since I'm smart and I washed it in the washer. It was really faded too..7 years old, so it was time to trade it in. Please disregard the clutter,but here is a pic. I'm super stoked that I was able to change up a few things and look forward to updating/changing many more. Sssshhh..don't tell Aaron.

Alright friends! I think I've reached 'blog capacity.' Can't wait to tell you all about Women of Faith!! 

Brilliant Thought of a Child....

8 yr old:"Who cares if our prayers are answered or not. We still get to talk to God."

When I read this...I knew I had to write about it. What an amazing truth this child spoke, and all of us would be in a much better place if we truly lived with this mindset. We so easily forget what an amazing gift we have in prayer or as this child sees it "just talking to God."

How amazing is it that we serve a God who loves us enough to listen to us, truly wanting to know everything about us. He cares that we're hurting, He understands our uncontrollable sobs, He loves to see us happy, and He never abandons us in our time of need. We have a Heavenly Father who longs to spend time with us. He desperately wants us to confide in Him. It's quite mind boggling when I try to wrap my mind around it, especially when you take into consideration that He already knows everything about you.  He loves me in spite of my faults and failures. I read this quite a while back, but I love this quote so very much: "God loves us just as we are, but too much to leave us that way." 

I often get caught up in thinking of all the many mistakes I've made in my life. I forget what it says in Psalms 103:12: " As far as the East is from the West, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us." Most of the time I have such a hard time forgiving myself, I lose sight of the fact that He is faithful to forgive.

Basically I guess the whole point of this is to remind you to talk to your Daddy upstairs. =0) Let Him know your frustrations, pains, and all about the joy you have in your life. Tell Him what you need, what you want, but always remember He may not answer the way you want, or at all. You just have to have faith and know that He knows exactly what He's doing and what's best for you. Don't ever forget that HE loves you more than you could ever imagine. When life is hard and you don't understand, He's catching every tear that you cry and giving you that peace and strength to carry on. He'll never leave you, and He's always there walking right beside you. 

Remember,like this child does, how truly awesome it is to talk to God!! =0)

Finish College..Retire in a Job I'm NOT Passionate about....

Most of you that know me well, (and I'm sure you're the only ones reading this blog,) know that I have always wanted to be a school teacher. Don't get me wrong, I have no complaints about my current job, and I LOVE many of the people I work with and have amazing bosses. Well, maybe that was a tiny lie. I do have some complaints, but they're not big ones. ;-) I even have the potential or may already be making more than I would as  a teacher. That's the thing with me though, I've never been money or career driven. My main goal has really always been just to be happy and comfortable in my job....OR BE A STAY AT HOME mom...the PTA mom, always at school functions and baking goodies for the class. =0)
Before I became pregnant with Dex, I was trucking right along, knocking out classes 9 weeks at a time. After I had him (and a couple of months before,) I lost interest in school all together. I didn't see a way to fit it in while giving quality time to my family. I also didn't want to be up until one or two in the morning finishing up assignments. It just didn't seem worth it.
Well, as Dex has gotten a little older, I've been getting the itch to go back. Then the layoffs of teachers started happening, and this my friends, is my new excuse not to go back. It's not that I don't still want it. I guess I just want to enjoy my time without stressing about school. Plus, I probably wouldn't be able to find a job once I graduated any way.
Believe me, I know it would be in my best interest to go ahead and go back. I would have the degree, and just continue working at my current job until I found a teaching position. I think at this point there's also that fear of jumping back in. I figure that since I've been out for 2 1/2 years, my smarts may have dwindled down to nothing. =0)
Deep down I know my heart is with the kiddos. Kids are my passions, not the mortgage industry I'm currently in. Brett, my oldest, has had so many terrible teachers. The ones you can tell hate kids and have no compassion and could care less whether they succeed or not. It makes me sick that there are more bad teachers than good ones. Teaching in my opinion is a calling, not a fall back plan when your original job/degree plan didn't pan out.  There are several teachers I had elementary-high school, that I still remember to this day. Sadly, at this point Brett may be lucky with one maybe two that he really thought cared about him. I know it's a challenging job, and I've always believed I have what it takes to help my kiddos succeed...even the REALLY difficult ones.
After writing this, it seems silly that I'm not signing up for school right away! I really need to start striving for that goal..doing it a little at a time at least. We shall see. I may not start right away, but it's definitely something to start thinking about...especially since my work even offers tuition reimbursement.
Here's a fun pic from today!! I leave you with Dex kisses.:-)

Toddler Topics...

My little Dex turned 2 in April, so we are anxious to have the little booger potty trained. I decided when he turned two it was time for Elmo underwear and a couple of small packages of pull ups. (I've never wanted to use pull-ups, by the way.)  However I didn't want to go cold turkey to underwear and have to leave work everyday to deliver more clothes to the daycare. I tried over a weekend, and quickly discovered that he wasn't ready, and I wasn't ready to stress myself out with cleaning poo and pee off my floors. I guess no one ever is. :-) We put it on hold for a couple of months, and now we are at it again. I think we may be closer to success since he has now started asking to go tee tee. Even though a lot of the time we just read books and wait for 'nothing' to happen, I still see this as progress. He does go pretty regularly when he sits there,so hopefully within the next couple of months I will get to STOP BUYING DIAPERS!!! HIP HIP HOORAY!! Either way, I'm not stressing about it, and at this point, I've made the decision to follow his lead, and encourage going as often as possible.

One worry I've had since Dex turned two is that he wasn't using small phrases a whole lot. He says a ton of words, but hadn't really shown much interest in putting them together to form short sentences. Don't get me wrong, he's always 'talked' a lot, but most of it was just cute gibberish. I've noticed over the past month that his vocabulary has really grown. He's starting to put words together, and there's less gibberish and more actual conversation. Talk about relieving a worried momma. I never  thought anything was wrong with him, but I just wanted to make sure that he was where he needed to be with his vocabulary. I started reading to him a lot more, and encouraged him to say "up please, more juice, juice please, no more..slowly we're getting there, and I'm glad I haven't let the worry consume me too much. I have let it get to me here and there, but I know he's fine, and once he REALLY starts talking, I may wish he'd waited a little bit longer.;-)

I think as moms we are always comparing our kiddos to others. In my case it's a fueled the fire of my worry, but I've come to the conclusion that each child is unique. They develop at their own pace. As a mom,we just have to be proactive in their development and make sure that we're not enabling their fit throwing, giving in to their every whim just to keep them quiet, letting them point instead of ask for something...It's the little things that we do that makes all the difference.

The most important thing we can do is pray for our children and pray for ourselves to be the best moms we can be. It's a huge responsibility and it's a little overwhelming sometimes, but the blessings our kiddos bring are truly amazing. They steal your heart from the moment you lay eyes on them.