Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas to you all!!! I hope everyone is having a great time with family and loved ones...we are in Ohio with Phil's family right now. Tomorrow we will go to my parents house, 45 minutes away. We will get to see a lot of family we haven't seen in a year or more...we are looking forward to it.

Praying that as we celebrate today we reflect on the love of the Lord Jesus Christ and what He did for us all...I would not be where I am today without Him!!! Praise God!!!

We have a "boy" toy in the house!!!

So I pick up the girls from AWANA today and I see Zaria coming out of the Sparks room with a big bag and a smile on her face...Tonight was store night for the Sparkies and that meant that Zaria got to spend her Awana bucks. She earns her Awana books by bringing her book and bible to club time, by knowing her verses, and by doing kind things for others. She had a lot of bucks to spend and when I looked into that bag I cracked a smile myself. She had chosen what some would call a "boy" toy...it was a matchbox ice mountain playset with a matchbox car, a motorized lift, and an avalanche!!! What was so great is that she didn't care what others thought, she was so excited about this and wanted it over all the other "girl" things that they had. I love the individuallity that she posesses so early in life...yet she is not arrogant or self-righteous about it.

I am praisin and thankin our Creator for the way He made each of my girls so different.

Much love to you my dear blog friend(s)...(I hope I have more than one....Kristen!!!)

Praisin Him!!!!

Baby girl loves to put on her shades and dance to praise music:





Hello blog friends,

So sorry it has been a while since I updated. The Christmas season is upon us and there is lots to do. I am again excited this year to share Christmas with the girls. It is so much fun to make things with them, to decorate and to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior. Joy and peace is what I am praying and hoping to experience in the coming weeks (and into the new year) and I hope to not become anxious or stressed out in anyway.

We have been doing the Jesse Tree nightly (almost nightly unless it is 10:30 pm and the kids are still up and I am ready for bed!!) but it is awesome to reflect on Christ even before he was born. These devotions that go along with the Jesse Tree ornament focus on Christ in the Old Testament and New Testament. He was there in Creation, during Abrahams life, and David's too, etc.... I hope and pray that I and the girls can really focus on His rich, abiding love this Christmas and to pour out His love to family and friends.

So what are some traditions or things that you are doing this year? Let me know....

God bless you all!!!!

An onion moment

Yesterday was a beautiful moment with my toddler that I just want to share so that I can always look back at this post and remember...

My daughter and I were "cooking" together. The older two were outside playing with a friend so it was just me and the toddler hangin out and making food for dinner. I was cutting an onion for a salad and my eyes started to water and then I looked at her and her eyes were watering. She didn't understand why her eyes were getting all teary-eyed and so she did what her 1 and 1/2 year old mind was telling her to do when she starts crying, she just started hugging me ...we were "crying" together and hugging each other and she kept looking at me with tears in her eyes, smiling... and I kept looking at her and smiling with tears in my eyes. I felt like I was on a Hallmark commercial...we weren't trully sad though so maybe it wouldn't have made a real commercial, but still, it was a moment that I don't want to forget.

I really thank God for that little memory with my little one because I don't get lovely moments with my toddler very often. I had forgotten what it is like to be around an independant, I want my way, stubborn (I wonder where she gets that from?) little girl...so this little moment with her was a refreshing reminder that she has a sweet little loving spirit given to her by a God who trully adores her....

much love to you!!!

Not me Monday!!!

Our closet has not looked like this for the past two weeks because of broken closet rod sockets:

And the kids did not think it was fun to go "swimming" in mommy and daddy's clothes and play hide and go seek in the closet...

I did not just today hit my head two times, hard enough for me to feel like I was going to pass out, in the same spot on the same chandelier in our dining room...

When my husband and I were moving furniture around last week, we did not see the dead mouse that we were trying to trap for several months right under the computer desk where I always put my feet...

And we did not have a lot of garbage bags full of garbage in the garage, in the house, in the garbage can, laying around the garbage, for several smelly days because we forgot to pay the trash fee...and we did not have more stray animals roaming around our house looking for food...and tearing the garbage bags open, which made more smelly garbage come out of the bags, lying around waiting for me to clean up...

Go to http://www.mycharmingkids.net for more not me's...I know I will be reading some because I need to laugh today after this loooooong not me Monday!!!

much to be thankful for...

I have much to be thankful for and it seems when each Thanksgiving comes around I have more and more to add to my thankful list. I am thankful for my salvation and thank God for my salvation everyday. Where would I be without knowing where I will be going in my future? I thank God for His mercy and His grace....I thank Him for showing me the truth...I thank Him for His love and for His Son who suffered and died for me and rose again for me to have new life. I thank God for family...that we have recovered from sickness...

Today was a not so typical thanksgiving for us. We went to a real southern type restaurant tonight to have turkey, steak, potatoes, greens, corn bread rolls, and sweet potato pie. I was too tired and weak to cook a big meal so I am thankful for a restaurant that was open. We had a great time eating some good food and the best part is I didn't have to clean up!!! I really do need to clean up at the house but I have been taking a break from that because of lack of energy....

but I must get these kids to bed. I just wanted to write a little something tonight because it has been a while since I wrote....we are thankful we are doing well. Thank you for your prayers.

Not me Monday

I am really late on these not me's and that should be a not me in itself...

I am not ever late for anything...I am not ever running behind or out the door late because I always schedule and plan for unexpected happenings...like a dirty diaper, or I can't find my car keys, or an unforgotten purse, or a child who does not understand that the car is outside in the driveway and not in her bedroom or in the backyard, and all the previous situation have not happened to me at all this past week...

I did not have my lil toddler take off her diaper and pajamas several times this past week and lay all night long in her convieniently converted toilet crib, and then she did not greet me in the morning completely unclothed with a smile on her face...

I did not hope, wish, and pray for my husband to take the kids all day Saturday so that I could recover from a stomach virus. I did not pack food, snacks, and drinks and make a list of activities for him to do with the kids in order to keep them busy and gone from the house as the bed and toilet were not continually calling for me...

And...

I did not look at all the exercise equipment we have in our house and think about getting back on the bike or lifting weights or doing some of my pilates dvds on Monday, and then get so busy on Monday that I didn't even think about working out....oh well, maybe not tomorrow I will try again...

Hope you all have a blessed not me Monday!!!

Hope

Hello Blog friends and family....

I am so thankful I can eat a salad today because... ,let me just say, yesterday any thought of food would not have been good. I spent all day in either the bathroom or the bed with an upset stomach and nauseousness and I couldn't seem to function very well or walk without feeling dizzy. I am grateful that today I can drink water and keep it down and eat mild things like salad, that I mentioned above, and a big mac, french fries, a chocolate milk shake, a donut, an apple, and some really good friendship bread with cream cheese frosting....(hey, I had to make up for the lack of food in my system yesterday).

So anyway I wanted to thank my friend Kristen for watching the kids on Friday. My man, P, and I were suppose to go to see Fiddler on the Roof but the performance was packed out so we couldn't get in. We went to a Mexican Restaurant and ate lots of chips and cheese dip and almost fell asleep in the booth. Today, I went again to try and see the play but the auditorium was packed and they wouldn't let anyone else in...

So I came home and cleaned the house while the kids and daddy were out. It gave me time to reflect on the message today at church. It was about Hope...

The pastor touched on a subject that is not preached about very often, but as believer's losing hope is common. It was something I needed to hear because in reality, I lose hope in my relationship with God, my family, and friends when things aren't going well for me. He said that hope can be a remedy to depression and I believe that to be true because when I am depressed I feel like there is no hope and I just focus on the situation that caused me to be depressed. He also said that hope is the rope of expectation that connects us to the future. It is the capacity to release the joy needed to carry us through and to keep us building. He focused on Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." There are times in our lives where we go through the same old situations that we are trying to fix and we keep going deeper and deeper into the same old pit and we don't see the light at the end of the tunnel. He said that God is working in you to try to bring up the root of the problem and to release it in order for you to advance to the next step. He said to stop looking at the problem or situation that your in and start looking for God in the mix of the problem, because He is in there working it out somehow.
Another thing that he spoke about was that hope is a multi-generational process. It is something that can be passed down to our young ones as we seek to go after the hope that the Lord is calling us to in our lives.
I hope to post the link to hear it online. It was alot better than what I am posting here.

I hope to post some not me's tomorrow. In the meantime, I will hope and prayer for the best in your lives and please continue to remember me in your prayers too!!

P.S. Z asked me tonight, "What is God's favorite verse?" And I said probably all of them and then she said it is probably John 3:16....I'd say that might just be on the top of His list!!!

monkey see, monkey do

Anaya loves doing whatever big sister does:

After this chair lifting escapade, the girls decided to go outside and play in our "swimming pool" turned to mud pit...complete with shovels, boots, and buckets. It kept 'em busy, so I was happy about that. I was not so happy about Anaya's white stockings and clothes getting all muddy....thank God for clorox...

Much is happenin here in our neck of the woods. Today we did school work and went to lots of stores. I am in a Jesse Tree ornament exchange and have to make 25 of the same ornament, a camel and a tent. Here is a link to a website on the Jesse Tree if you don't know what it is: http://www.crivoice.org/jesse.html So I was trying to find wooden camels to make the ornament but after going to three craft stores I couldn't find any. So...looks like I will have to go a different route on this ornament project...do I dare go to the Martha Stewart website? I am still feelin' the disappointment from those wings I made (see Oct. post for the pic) so Ms. Martha may not be able to help me out...

While the girls were in AWANA, I did something I haven't done since we moved here...I mopped the floors!!! Mama would have been so proud...the floors are sparklin' and I know by tomorrow they will be dirty again but hey, I can stare at them all night tonight remembering what they can look like with some Mr. Clean and a mop...

And another thing I did was unpack a box. I am trying to unpack one box a day. I kinda slowed down since we moved here in June til...well, until now...so I hope to have the garage cleared out enough for one car to fit in there by December.

I am also reading a really good book for the second time, called A Journey to Hell and Back by Charlotte Russell Johnson. Click here to review the book. I hope to talk about it on another post.

The lil' one is making a lot of noises from her bedroom and I must go check on her as she likes to take off her clothes and diaper and use her crib as a toilet...bye!

A birthday, climbing, and a to do list....

Today is my mother-in-laws birthday!!! Happy birthday Mary...we wish we were there to celebrate but we will see you for Christmas, Lord willing...
When I think about my mother-in-law I think about how blessed I am to have her in my life. She has been a second mother to me...she is helpful, encouraging, hard-working, and full of life, full of joy. She has been there after each baby, helping me to take care of myself and the older kid(s), and she was there when I had my surgery back in Oct. of 07. I miss you Mary and can't wait to see you again...

Well, we went rock climbing today...it was fun!! The girls (older 2) had a great time. I will try to post pics...I forgot my camera and so I used my camera phone. I am going to figure out how to put my camera phone pics on the computer and hopefully it won't take my half-way computer illiterate self too long to figure out.

P has tomorrow and Tuesday off for Veteran's Day so I will have to go and add to my long list of things for him to do....no, really he just likes to look at all he has to do and then somehow the list gets lost because it has been laying around without anything being scratched off!!! But I am going to make multiple copies of it and put one in each room of the house, on his bed pillow, taped on the bathroom mirror and on the refridgerator, in the refridgerator, etc....we'll see how that works!!!

Love ya!!

waiting

I know most people are watching the election results closely. I am as well....been praying, watching, waiting anxiously...I know God is in control though and He is still on His throne through it all. I know that whoever wins I will continue to pray...

Much love to you all....

P.S. Some motherhood quotes:

The joy of motherhood: What a woman experiences when all the children are finally in bed.
-Barbara Johnson

When your work is about love, every day is payday.

Motherhood: If was going to be easy, it never would have started with something called labor.
-Barbara Johnson

Before becoming a mother I had a hundred theories on how to bring up children. Now I have seven children and only one theory: Love them, especially when they least deserve to be loved. -Kate Samperi

Naps, lack of naps, and ready for bed!!!

Hello blogger friends out there.

This will be a quick post and I hope to write more soon...

This weekend flew by and it is already November...and the election is drawing near. I am not huge into politics and I still am trying to understand how this voting process works (I took naps in my History & Government class in middle school since it was right after lunch, so I missed out!!). But I know how important it is to vote and so I am filling out my absentee ballot as we speak...

I did not get to take advantage of that additional one hour of sleep time because the girls woke up early this morning...

So I must get to bed, but I hope that you all are doing well. Keep praying about this election, I know that God is in control and He knows who it will be....

Much love and prayers to you.

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do." Eph. 2:10

I've been tagged...

Really I haven't, but I saw it on another blog and so I thought it would be good to write down some things about me that you might not know...(that's what you do when you get tagged...um, I think!!)

1. I like doing things sporadically and not really in any kind of order. For example, I can never finish a one year bible plan. That is too much pressure for me to complete daily and I will stress out if I miss a day. So what I do is study out of one book in the old testament, one book in the new testament, a psalm, and a proverb. I may read it at night or in the morning.

2. I like chocolate with carmel and chocolate with peanut butter. I don't do just plain chocolate unless it is hershey's chocolate and even then I can only eat a couple pieces without putting peanut butter on it.

3. I am not a fancy girl...I prefer eating at McDonald's over some fancy restaurant that you can't even read or understand what they' re serving on the menu. I like plain decorations, plain(colored) walls, plain wallpaper, plain clothes, no fancy nothin...!!

4. I watch very little t.v. I don't know or care to know the new fall line-up on NBC, CBS, or other station. I prefer to read, scrapbook, and blog.

5. My favorite treat is a hot fudge sunday and it has to have the hot fudge (extra) at the bottom first, then 1 1/2 scoops of vanilla ice cream, more hot fudge on top, then peanut butter syrup (extra), and finally whip cream and NO cherry.

All this food talking is making me want something to eat...the chocolate is calling me...I will write more later...

Not ME Monday!!!

I did not take a pregnancy test on Friday because I was not curious and it was not positive, unless the test which is not 99% accurate is not right in which I would still not be pregnant...and that would not make baby #4 due not in the summer of 2009...!!!

I did not work for hours on my daughter's oh-so-simple Martha Stewart butterfly wings, only to have them look like this...



And I did not try to convince Zaria to be a dragonfly instead of a butterfly because of how the wings turned out. (Somehow Martha's looked so much more like a butterfly than mine!!)

I did not just eat the rest of the bag of Ghirardelli dark chocolate carmel-filled squares as I was typing this because as you know, I do not like chocolate, especially when I am not pregnant!!

Check out more not me's on MckMama's website (http://www.mycharmingkids.com/) and please prayer for her...she is having her fourth baby by c-section on Weds. and he has a serious heart condition...read more on her website...

Dr. Johnson and his medical assistant...

Finally a picture of my man...in scrubs. No, we are not
really dr.'s (although we make cute ones right?? at least I do!!)
We dressed up for a hail and farewell at the
LTC's house on Friday night. It was a great time and lots
and lots of food...



A couple things before I go to bed:

Please pray for our neighbor Kathy and her family. Her husband passed away this afternoon...he had cancer. I was very glad to have been able to visit him a few times and pray with him....

And check out my Not Me Monday tomorrow for some exciting not me news!!!!

Love ya....

Recent Pics

The girls and I stuffed bags for a Halloween
outreach for our church. Each bag has a book
and an invitation to the church. We will be passing
these out Halloween night.

Zaria is being her silly self:

The girls outside our home with our recently

carved pumpkins:

This very creative clay making was done by

none other than Zaria. She told me, "Mom,

can't you tell this is baby Jesus..." and can you

guess who the other two are?

A love relationship

Kamelah asked me, "Mommy, who started the first blog?"

Zaria said, "Of course it was George Washington..."

George Washington has been the answer to many questions lately....to Zaria George Washington is old and anything that happened in the past was started or somehow involves George Washington.

Well here is something I wrote down and don't know where it came from:

"Everything in your Christian life, everything about knowing him and experiencing Him, everything about knowing His will depends on the quality of your love relationship to God..."

This was a great reminder for me as Mondays tend to be hectic, and a distraction from continually establishing a love relationship with God...

more on that soon..

Not ME Monday!!!

I did not eat pumpkin seeds and mini oreo cookies for breakfast today and I did not finally get to eat breakfast at 11 o'clock am....

I did not hear our fire alarm upstairs beeping continually at 3 o'clock in the morning and I did not stay awake wondering how I was going to reach that high to turn it off...

I did not leave lots and lots of dirty dishes on my countertops and dirty clothes in the washer and clean clothes in the dryer all weekend long ...and I did not just type another not me about dirty dishes and laundry...

I did not eat chocolate chip cookies last night at 4 o'clock in the morning after being awake for an hour of hearing beeping loudly and constantly....and I did not think that cookies would in some way make my tired brain think of solving the noisy alarm issue...

I did not have to stop my whole morning and think of these not me's...and somehow the thought of spending my time more productively to get things done around here like laundry and dishes mentioned above never even crossed my mind...

For more not me's go to http://www.mycharmingkids.com/

Caught on camera

Crystal to me: "Girl I know you didn't have lunch today but
do you have to eat your hair??"
Anaya's thinking: "And my mama thinks I'm weird for eating dirt..."



P.S. If you think I have way too much time on my hands, well,...I am posting this while watching the presidential debate...God bless!!!

Not Me Monday

Today is another episode of Not ME Monday...these things I did not do and do not claim to ever think to do them in my life, ever... (if you don't know what I am talking about go to http://www.mycharmingkids.net blog to find out...and to read more hilarious Not Me's!!)

I did not have the urge to stop cooking meals for the family after my daughter happily stated just how much she loved eating toast, leftover microwaved rice, and yogurt for dinner on Sunday night, and continued to proclaim how this was the best dinner she ever had...and I did not feel happy serving this type of dinner...after all, I really wanted to add to the dirty dishes that were not in my sink for several days to cook an elaborate five-course meal for my children who eat everything I make for them without ever complaining...

I did not just see the mouse that has been running rampant in our house for several weeks come out of hiding while writing these Not Me's, only to scurry away quickly after I jumped...and I did not become alarmed after seeing this mouse, for I am so used to having this furry rodent in the home, that it has become a part of the family, as it so graciously helps itself to the food left on the floor and in the pantry, and deposits his waste in closets and corners where I would never step...and I would never ever think of doing anything to harm our little furry friend in order to dispose of him and his tracings for good...

I did not let the girls stay up two hours past bedtime watching football with daddy while I thought of these Not Me's and checked my favorite blogs... And I did not buy into their sudden interest in this sport when they realized that I was going to have them go to bed...

I did not call my husband on his cell phone, who was upstairs, on the phone downstairs, so that he could come down and help me...I am not that lazy and would never think about not walking up the 15 steps to talk to him...and he did not ignore my very important phone call because he was not "watchinging an exciting game" (his quotes) and of course he knows that watching grown men in tights running around after a ball and slappin each others behinds is not more important than helping his wonderful wife...!!!

more to come...

Super busy Saturday

Wow this was a busy day today. We had soccer games, and pumpkin muffins to make. Then Phil and I went to see Fireproof in the theatre. It was a great movie so you all need to go see it. Here is the website to get a sneak peek at http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/

Then we went go visit my neighbor in the hospital. Please pray for him and his family. Lew has cancer and he was not very coherent when we went go so him. They are a very sweet family and the girls play with their seven-year-old daughter....

And finally we got some Checkers food and picked up the kids at the baby-sitters and now I am so tired...must go to bed...

I will post pics soon...I have some good ones of the girls.

Love ya,
Mk

P.S. post a comment after you see the movie!!!

Wonderful Wednesday

Can you tell where we went to today???

Not ME Monday!!!

Today in Not Me Monday (and I so do Not want to write anything because I know I should not possibly have anything to contribute to Not Me Monday...) but anyway, here goes...


I did not just last night fold and put away the laundry that was mentioned last Monday in the Not Me Monday post...and I did not wait an extra couple of days after husband mentioned he was runnin low on under clothes to wash said laundry...you know I would never procrasinate on laundry because I am always so on top of that...


I did not gate my 19 month old daughter in her room for almost two hours today so that she would not have to cling on to me constantly while I tried to do something useful in the house like...laundry that is mentioned above, and...I would never use my daughter as an excuse as to why I can't get anything done around here....and of course I would never ignore her cries to get out of her room after being in there for a while because I was actually getting some things accomplished without the attached sidekick weighing me down...nope, not me!!

And, I did not have to give my perfect angel daughter two spankings today for biting both her sisters...after all, we have raised an obedient little darling who never does anything wrong.

And finally...I did not feel excited, even happy, that I was finally putting my kids to bed after a manic, um.. I mean, marvelous Monday...hearing complaining, whining arguing, and crying before it was even 9:00 in the morning makes for a not Me Monday to not ever be repeated again!!!

Have a blessed Not ME Monday day!!!

Photo of girls

Just wanted to post a cute pic of the girls I took tonight. If you haven't seen them in a while here they are being there silly s-elfs right before bedtime...

I hope to post a picture of my man, Phil, soon...he is not very camera friendly, but I hope to sneak a shot of him. It might just have to be a sleeping photo, but he looks cute and innocent when he's like that!!!

Love,

Mk

P.S. I wrote this down sometime back and I thought I would post it here. A quote from St. Francis of Assisi. "Preach the gospel at all times, if necessary use words." The way we live our lives speaks a lot about who we follow and about what we believe. I will remember this as I never know who is watching....

Hello family and friends,

What a great weekend we are having. The weather has been so awesome...in the 70's with a breeze, sunny, and "autumny"...

On Friday we had a busy day. I really like to do something fun with the girls on Friday, something that we normally don't do during the week. So this week we went to a park in Fayetteville and walked 2 mi. for a cause...something I never heard of until I met a woman named Kristen. She had a condition called vasa previa when her son was born and didn't know it. Anyway, he almost died while she was in labor with him, but God saved him...and so now she wants to inform other women about this condition that can be prevented and diagnosed by ultrasound. Here is the website if you are interested: http://www.ivpf.org

So we went to the park and walked with about 10 other moms and about 20 something kids and it was so nice and beautiful to be able to walk for this cause. Kristen is very passionate about telling others about this and she is so sweet to share her story with others. She knows that no medical personel, no doctor, no nurse, no one could of saved him but the Lord and she knows her son has a special purpose here...what an awesome story and testimony of a true miracle from God.

Then later on after the kids played and wore themselves out, we went to a children's home to visit and spend time with the kids there. These kids were removed from their homes for various reasons and they live in dorm style housing and seem to get a lot of love from the staff that work there. The only problem is there are about sixty kids and only about 5 or 6 full time staff. So I know a lot of the kids just crave attention. I was so glad the girls and I went there...I wanted to bring several of the kids home with me. The girls and I played with the kids and I got to talk with one of the girls who was 16 and had two kids living there with her. She was so smart and she said she wants to be a lawyer....
I could see the love of the Father there as I was playing with the kids. One of the ladies that works there has been there for 20 years. The children are taken care of and loved and of course the Lord is watching over all of them and you could just feel the love of God there...I can't wait to go back to talk with more of the kids and spend time with them. I just want to show them how much God trully loves them. They are beautiful kids...

And today, well being that it is a Saturday, it was soccer games day!! The kids did well in spite of the fact that they lost both games. Kamelah was named MVP of the game and she really worked hard playing defense...and she had fun playing too.

I am trying to figure out how to post videos...it is now working. I hope to figure that out soon....

Thanks for visiting...I will be back soon to share more...

Internet down

Just a quick hello to let you all know that our internet has been down for some time now but I hope to update soon.

Much love to you...

Not me Monday

Today is Not me Monday!!!! I am linking up with this blog:

http://mycharmingkids.net/2008/09/not-me-monday.html

Basically you just post things that you surely did "not" do and would never even consider doing....ha ha ha...very theraputic. Then I linked my post to this blog for others to post and view their Not Me Monday list...(yes, I know it sounds like I don't have anything to do with my life...but really, it's fun..)

Well here is my list of things that I did "not" do this past week:

I did not hurry out of the house on Sunday morning to church, wearing my gold house shoes...and wearing silver jewelry...and a purple shirt that did not match my olive green skirt...which did not make me look like had made a few fashion no no's...

I did not leave a garbage bag in front of our front door overnight knowing that the mice running rampant in our house would not ever want to go through a bag of dirty smelly garbage full of scraps of food...

I did not just leave a whole pile of laundry sitting in front of the laundry room for almost two weeks without being cleaned,folded and put away....and I did not run out of clean underwear and have to wear my maternity underwear even though I am not pregnant...

I did not put my car key in my console last Sunday and close and lock the door only to realize that I needed my car key on Tuesday and I couldn't get in....and this was not the second time in a month that it has happened...

And I did not have the kids set up a mouse contraption experiment for Science class on Friday involving a white bucket, peanut butter, and some "stairs"small enough for little rodents to climb...and I did not see a mouse just climb up the "stairs", take a lick of peanut butter and climb back down...

What did you "not" do this past week??

Soccer games and more...

Today Kamelah and Zaria had their first soccer games. Both their games were at the same time so Phil went to Kamelah's and I went to Zaria's with my tag-along (Anaya). Zaria scored a point and did very well. She is learning how to not be so polite with the ball and she took it away from the other team a lot!!! Above are some of the pics I took at the game. (I am still trying to figure out how to put pictures in differents places within the blog...does anyone know?) Zaria is in the green shirt with the #8 on her back. Zaria's team won 4-1 and Kamelah's team won 1-0. Hopefully next week I will have pics of Kamelah and more of Zaria showing her front this time with the ball...

Also, I wanted to put this little video of the girls acting silly. Anaya loves to dance and she is showin a little of her moves here with her favorite toy, the fly swatter...

Names

Thank you family and friends for all your comments...they were very encouraging...

Unfortunately, Mr. and Mrs. Mouse are still outsmarting me, as they were not fooled by the 10 traps I put around the house. I put cheese in them tonight so we will see what happens...

The girls and I went on a walk tonight...soccer practice was cancelled due to inclement weather. Inclement weather down here is different than what it is in Ohio (where I'm from). It was drizzling and windy here and its funny that I remember playing outside in that type of weather back in my younger years, feeling carefree and very much unafraid.

So instead of going to practice...we enjoyed our little walk in the autumn weather. We are blessed to have woods and ponds in our backyard...really not just in our backyard, but it is behind the houses on our street and very convenient to walk to.

I wanted to comment about Zaria's name in the picture above. Phil chose Zaria's name after much searching on many name sites on the internet. Zaria means helped by God. I liked the meaning and I liked that you could pronounce it and it was not very common (not that I knew of until later.) But anyway, I was helped by God a lot during her labor and delivery. It was my first natural birth and I really did not have a plan as to how I was going to go through this process. I was ignorant to the different techniques used to help during labor. Basically, I was stubborn and didn't want to go to classes or read about it on my own. I wanted to do it my way...anyone know what I'm talkin' about...or am I the only thick-headed being out here in cyber land???

...So do not fear, I am with you: do no be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you, I will uphold you with my rightous right hand...(Isa. 41:10)

I wasn't aware of the Lord's presence then, and thought it was my own strength getting me through those painful contractions. I found myself crying out to God only out of agony and desperation not knowing that He was by my side the whole time carrying me through each contraction. I thought about how I felt like I was going to die and I really was not aware that I could not do this without Him. His righteous right hand was there to guide me through every painful minute. And it has and will continue to be here every minute of my life. Even if I am not always aware of it...

Thank you to Rosa for suggesting "The Practice of the Presence of God." Great book of focusing on Him throughout your day...(thanks for the copy Lynette!!)

Anyway, I could go deeper here, but I just saw one of my friends running out from under the bookcase. Thank God they are so fearful of men...I'll write more later.

And since I mentioned something about names, here is a list of the names of God if you have time to check it out:

http://www.characterbuildingforfamilies.com/names.html

It is really interesting to read all of the names of who He is and the I AM's. Much to think about and to realize that my small problems are nothing compared to who the great I AM is....

Much love to you. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I am deeply humbled as I know I tend to ramble on a bit.

Love you.

P.S. Just some military humor that is a part of my life...maybe yours too??

You know you are married to a military man:
when you find yourself sorting out your laundry in four piles: whites, darks, brights, and camoflauge....and you can't remember the last time you saw your husband in a color that doesn't match the scenery in your backyard!!!...
And,
you know your married to a military man:
when you find yourself trying to master the art of taking off his combat boots with one hand, while holding your nose with the other...(lol!!)

I know I am desperate for friends, Lord, but I didn't know you'd send me some with four legs and a tail...

Hello hello family and friends.

Well another update from good ole' North Carolina, where last month, ants formed trails inside our home, where unidentified flying insects found their way to anything edible on countertops and floors...now mice (more than one!!) run rampant inside the Johnson house, coming out only when they think all is clear and no one is around...

Yes, we have a mouse family living here. Brother mouse was not so smart and was stuck by the glue traps (thank you Hanna!) but Mr. and Mrs. mouse were not so easily fooled. They are still running around here enjoying outsmarting me for now...but I will trap them soon...(I hope and pray really soon)....I'm thinking this patience ordeal I went through last month is going to be a lifelong process!!

Onto more important news. The girls are going to AWANA here and they are enjoying it. Kamelah is already in TNT and Zaria is in Sparks. Kamelah loves her class. They learn about God in a fun way. They are using a book called "Discovery Girls" filled with devotions geared toward her age group. Zaria is having fun memorizing her scriptures and earning her jewels. They both are excited about the Awana store where they can use the Awana bucks they have earned each semester toward buying prizes and candy....

And meanwhile me and my lil co-pilot (Anaya) go to Wednesday Night 20-Something Get Together at our church for praise and worship, fellowship, and Bible Study. Some of you already know that I am not 20-something, because the big 3-0 snuck up on me this year. But that is o.k., I can still hang with these youngins'...I'm showin' them how cool 30 can be!!!?

Anyway, if you have time, please comment and tell me what is the worst thing you found alive or dead in your home. I hope it is something bigger and better than a mouse, it will comfort me more than you know!! So please share...

I will be updating more frequently so please come back and visit soon...hopefully I will have a picture of mice in traps very soon.

God bless you all. I love you.

Zaria's special day

Well I am back again. I wanted to post some pictures of Zaria's birthday. It was fun...we went to Chuck E. Cheese's again for her birthday. Let me tell you briefly about Zaria's special day...

Zaria specified several things for her birthday, just like Kamelah. Breakfast, she wanted whole grain cinnamon pop tarts (the whole grain was a seller for me and they tasted surprisingly good too), then she also wanted eggs and bacon too but oops, we ran out of eggs and no bacon. So pop tarts was really all they had time for before heading out the door to Bible study on post. Zaria met a friend in her class at Bible study and invited her to Chuck E. Cheese. I asked the mom if she wanted to come since daughter and new friend were already making plans as to which games they were going to play...but her mom said maybe we could get together some other time.

So onto the rest of the fun-filled day. Zaria wanted to do no more school work. I happily obliged. Zaria wanted to watch PBS kids. I said yes, I was tired and worn out from the night before getting her birthday room ready that I thought that would be a nice break for momma. Anyway, Zaria did not want to go to soccer practice on her birthday and since it was raining we decided to just spend the time at CEC. Daddy met us there and it was a lot of fun.

I will write more about Zaria soon...

A New Design

Hello again blog friends...

Did you notice the new design??? I added a new template. It only took this half-way computer illiterate self two weeks to figure it out....but I think it looks nice. Better than the other one I had.

Anyway, I wanted to post pics of Zaria's birthday and of Anaya giving me a drink....but I will wait til tomorrow.

I will write more soon.

Love ya....

He Is...

Hello blog friends out there....hello...hello?? Anybody out there in cyberspace reading this?

Well I guess I will be posting this for myself....here is something interesting, self, that I saw on the Priscilla Shirer website. This is a list of each book of the Bible and it reveals the character of God. They are the words to a song called, "He Is".

In Genesis, He's the breath of life
In Exodus, He is the Passover Lamb
In Leviticus, He's our high priest
In Numbers, the fire by night
Deuteronomy, He's Israel’s Guide
Joshua, He’s salvation's choice
Judges, He’s Israel’s Guard
In Ruth, the kinsmen's redeemer
1st and 2nd Samuel, our trusted prophet
In Kings and Chronicles He is Sovereign
In Ezra, He’s the true and faithful scribe
In Nehemiah, the re-builder of broken walls and lives
In Esther, He’s Mordecai's courage
In Job, the timeless redeemer
In Psalms He is our morning song
In Proverbs, He is our wisdom
Ecclesiastes, He's the time and season
In Song of Solomon, He is the lover's dream
In Isaiah He is Prince of Peace
In Jeremiah, the weeping prophet
Lamentations, the cry for Israel
Ezekiel, the call from sin
Daniel, the stranger in the fire
Hosea, the forever faithful
Joel, the spirit’s power
Amos, the strong-arms that carry
Obadiah, the Lord our Savior
Jonah, the great missionary
Micah, the promise of peace
Nahum, our strength and shield
In Habakkuk and Zephaniah, He's brings revival
In Haggai He restores that which was lost
IN Zachariah, He’s our fountain
And in Malachi, He's the son of righteousness rising with healing in His wings
AND THAT’S JUST THE OLD TESTAMENT
In Matthew Mark Luke and John, He is God and Messiah
In the spirit filled book of Acts, He is the reigning fire from Heaven
In Romans, He is the grace of God
Corinthians, the power of love
Galatians, freedom from the curse of sin
Ephesians, our glorious treasure
Philippians, the servant's heart
Colossians, He’s God and the trinity Thessalonians, our calling King
In Timothy, Titus and Philemon, He's our mediator and our faithful pastor
In Hebrews, the everlasting courage
In James, the one who heals the sick
In 1st and 2nd Peter, our faithful shepherd
In John and Jude, He's the lover coming for His bride
AND in the Revelation, in the very end, when it’s all over, said and done, when time is NO MORE. He is and will always be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Prince of Peace, son of Man, Lamb of God, The Great I am, Alpha and Omega, God and Savior
He is Jesus Christ the Lord
HE IS EVERYTHING THAT YOU NEED!

Birthday Girl

Today is Kamelah's 8th Birthday. I am so thankful to God for her. The Lord has given us 2920 days of her so far as a gift and a blessing. I know I hear all the time that children are a gift and that I am blessed to have three healthy girls. And when they tell me that on a good day I smile and without hesitation say yes!!
But as I am thinking right now of Kamelah, I think of how she has brought me closer to the Lord.
I had no idea Kamelah was brought into the world for that special purpose, but as she grows and learns about Jesus, I am growing in my walk with Christ too. I am learning to trust Him with her, to really and trully in my heart give her completely to God. To not be so controlling in my mothering and to pray like never before in the areas I see that need the truth of Jesus touched on....I will right more later, but I want to say that my true desire for Kamelah and girls is to know Jesus and to see Him more clearly each day. To know of His great love for her, for them, for the whole world, and to serve others in a desire to show just how deep the Father's love is for each one that He has created....Much love goes to my big eight yearold. May she continue to draw closer and closer to Him, for He promises to draw close to her....

Below are some pics of the celebration:

Soccer season and more desparation...

Well soccer season is upon us. I will post pictures when I get some good ones of the girls in action. This season I have to drive two different places because the girls are on different teams and they split them up by age. I first drive to the local primary school (10-15 min. away depending on who you end up behind or who or what comes slowly crawling across the road ..) then drop Zaria off. Stay for a few minutes and then take Kamelah to a High School in Lillington (15 min. away on more country roads) drop her off. Stay for 10 min. and then, time to pick up Zaria, as practice is only an hour. Then after I pick up Zaria, its time to rush back to where I dropped off Kamelah...and then, hopefully, I will have a few spare minutes to snap a pic or two....

Meanwhile, my co-pilot is with me and enjoying herself. Anaya stays with me the whole time and enjoys the rides back and forth. I am pretty exhausted by the time we get home and then they want to practice more and stay up late and talk about soccer and run around the house and eat ice cream and play hide and seek and watch football with daddy and do whatever they can to stay up late. And lil one joins right in with whatever their doing. She has joined their don't-want-to-go-to-bed club by being her cutest at night. She runs (toddles) around the house smiling and laughing and gives me all kinds of short hugs because she knows if I hug her any longer I may just carry her straight to the bedroom...she blows kisses and plays peekabo and sings the sweetest little nonsense songs...so cute!!!

Anyway, onto something else...

I am excited about the weekend because I will be going to a Women's Conference and I am soooo looking forward to it. I really do not get much time away from kids and house so I really am going to treasure this time. I will tell you more about it later this weekend....



And, I just wanted to let you all know a verse that I have been memorizing and meditating on. It is from 1 Cor. 1:21-22, "He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." I was just thinking that He (God) did not have to do it but He did. He sealed me with the Spirit, He put Himself in my heart and it assures me a place in the heavenly realms. That is what I am living for and I need to constantly remind myself that because my focus tends to shift to the here and now. My emotions sometimes get the best of me, but I need this verse to remind me of what He did for me. I know the Word of God is full of reminders of what Jesus did for me and I want to just memorize all of them...I want to continue to seek the truth of His word while I am here on Earth. I want to know Him, I am desparate, blog friends. I really am...God moved me here for just that. For me to feel desparate for Him. I had friends in Columbus who I could call for anything. I don't have that here. I went to a house here in our neighborhood last week, to hopefully meet and talk to someone over 8 because a friend that I had known at Ft. Benning told me she and her family lived here. I didn't know her personally but I when I found out where she lived, I went in desparation and loneliness. I didn't get to talk with her right then so I continued to carry on with my day. But I know that this small event in life had really been a final clue as to the mission He has called me to be on here in NC. I have come to realize just how badly I need Him. I cried out to Him a few weeks ago after unforeseen circumstances forced me to reach a really low point. I needed Him and I needed to give Him those pieces in my heart that I could not submit to Him. It was hard to do and it hurt but I feel peace in those areas that I did not feel peace before. I am comforted in knowing that He cares for me and He wants all of me. He is an all consumming fire and I so desperately want Him to consume me with His love and fill all those empty areas in my heart.



Well now that I poured my heart out to you blog friends, I think I will go eat me some Hershey's chocolate dipped in some Simply Jif peanut butter...simply mmm mmm good!!!

P.S. Please leave a comment or two blog friends. Ummm, you are out there aren't you? Do I have anyone reading this besides myself??? Oh, I didn't thinks so. Bye...to myself.

Salvation is Enough

Well today the kids really surprised me and woke up early this morning. It was 7:21 a.m. (yes that is early for them esp. since they didn't get to bed til 10:30 last night) and I heard voices coming through the kitchen, down the hall, and to the right. Quiet time is not the same when kids are up talking loudly...(sigh)

I've been having a thought run through my mind today that has helped me focus my day on the Lord and not me. I was listening to a message and the pastor said and I can't quote it word for word but he basically said that Jesus already did enough for us by dying for us on the cross. That God doesn't even have to or need to do anything else for us. He has already so graciously blessing me so much and He continues to bless me daily but even if He stopped the blessings, salvation in and of itself is enough . So I think about that throughout my day as I can so easily complain about things and I just tell myself my salvation is enough for me. Even if my life suddenly takes a horrible turn, or tragedy or heartache comes my way. Small storms, big storms...my salvation is all I need. My life is but a vapor and I need not dwell on the now for something bigger and better is waiting for me. And thanks be to Jesus who paved the way for me to God. Arguing kids, flies buzzing around on dirty dishes, dirty floors, tiredness, health concerns etc...ect.. seem so minimal right now compared to what God has in store for me...

Just some thoughts that have been in my brain for the last day or so. Even if I didn't get a quiet time that I so wanted today I still can focus myself on Him throughout the day.

I am really trying to appreciate these days with the kids. Kamelah will be 8 this Sunday...where are the tissues....my baby is going to eight? That is halfway to 16 and then two more years after that she is legal and then the college thing or the husband thing and then babies and...who knows what God has in store for her...but it really does go by fast. I read somewhere a mother said the days may not seem to go by fast but the years sure do fly by.
When Phil and I found out we were having another girl I sent an e-mail out to friends and family letting them know we were taking donations for their future weddings. I didn't have any one take me up on it so I am tellin you, my blog friends now, I am really serious about the donation thing. Really, I am...we take credit cards too. (lol)

Love and prayers to you.

High Hopes

Hello, hello to all my blog friends out there. This is my 2nd post! I am doing good so far...its been two days since I started this blog and two posts...

Happy Labor Day to you all. It has been a laborious Labor Day for me.. I took the girls swimming today in high hopes of wearing them out by 3:00 pm...

Doesn't the above picture kinda remind you of watching Michael Phelps swimming for the gold? I did say kinda...

When we watched him win, Kamelah asked me, "Mommy, did you swim that good?" I had shared with her previously about being on the swim team in high school and how we had to practice a lot, mornings and after school. I think all that practice I did over 10 years ago really paid off by the looks of this pic, what do you think!?

So anyway, somehow I ended up being in the pool more than the kids. It was cold they said (it was 87 degrees outside), I need to eat lunch they said (animal crackers and pretzels are lunch...?), and "I'm so tired" came out of one of 'em (which is never true because they seem to have soooo much energy right before bedtime!!) If you, my blog friends, were only here to have listened to all the begging and pleading with mommy for days to take them to the pool you would have thought that it would have been so hard to get them outta the pool. Let's just say I didn't have to use any extreme measures to get them to walk home. When we did get home my hopes of wearing them down at the pool quickly dissipated as loud voices and little running bodies emerged as soon as we entered the house...

Well I must go for now...my man had the day off today so I must go enjoy our time together before he has to go back to work tomorrow...

I will write more soon...do not wait in anticipation dear audience, I know you can't wait to hear more...(lol)

Much love to you all.

Desperation or Dedication?

Well I am starting a blog. I wanted to for some time now but was nervous about starting something else and then having it fall by the wayside as I have done with previous long-term projects. But I am obsessed with blogs, blogging and have been reading my favorite blogs faithfully for some time now, so I think I am qualified to start my own!!

When the kids are in bed and all is quiet, my personal excitement begins. I get on the computer and read about other womens lives and take my mind off of mine. What makes it even more exciting is that I can eat/enjoy Gharidelli dark chocolate carmel squares while I am reading (the best of both worlds)...
I like reading about the joys, sorrows, triumphs, comments, scriptures, of other women/moms/homeschoolers lives...its like I am a part of their life. I don't know them pesonally, but I feel like I know them because they share tidbits of their life with me.

I would like this blog to be like that. A place where I can share my musings of a life hidden in Christ (Col 3:3) and write daily, weekly, or monthly what the Lord is doing in my life and in the lives of my wonderful husband and children that He has so graciously blessed me with (and who graciously live with my antics...more on that later).
Yes, it may sound like I am desperate for friends by sharing all this on the www, and maybe I am because I just moved and don't have many....but I also want to keep in touch with friends and family and this is a way to do it. So without further ado...I will post my 1st blog entry and hope it won't be my last.
This was a lot easier than I thought for my halfway computer illiterate self. I love this....
Now who is going to read this....hello...is anyone out there...would you please be my friend and read this??