eleven things.

Thank you to one of my most favorite people on this earth, Megan, for tagging me in this fun little blog game...er, whatever it's called.

Alright, so here it goes...

There are five rules:
1. Post these rules.
2. Post a photo of yourself and 11 random things.
3. Answer the questions set for you in the original post.
4. Create 11 new questions.
5. Tag 5 friends and go to their blog/twitter and tell them that you've tagged them.

Picture of myself:

Eleven random things:

One: {this is harder than I thought!} I absolutely LOVE spring because it reminds be of an Alaskan summer...I really miss Alaska and two very special people that live there. (:

Two: I eat eggs, toast, and milk for breakfast nearly every morning and just recently added coffee, yum!

Three: I have not worn make-up for 10 days now and it sure has been super nice!  Since my post about wanting to majorly cut back on things that are unnecessary I have put on mascara twice.  I realize this may not be new for some of you, but it is very new for me.  I'd have a hard time, in the past, going anywhere without my face 'on.'

Four: The first time I saw my hubby, Alan, {in 2001},  I remember thinking to myself..."Is he a guy I could like?  Nah, he has a MNU {MidAmerica Nazarene University} t-shirt on and who would go to a school like that."  hahaha...sorry, that makes me laugh 

Five:  I have a really hard time not putting a (: after each on of these random things and I almost always have them through out every text I send.

Six:  I saw this blog game thing on a friend of a friends blog and I secretly hoped Megan would get tagged and then she would tag me and hooray!  I get to do it!  It is the simple things in life, people.

Seven: I am not a fan of Pinterest.  Does that make me crazy?

Eight: I currently have spit up lovingly placed on my right shoulder and down my back.  Can you blame me for not wanting to change my shirt for a fourth time today?

Nine: I really, really enjoy cleaning floors.  There is something about vacuuming and moping that I just love.  I like to see all the dirt cleaned up and how shiny the floors are.  Ok...this DOES make me crazy.

Ten: I hope someday that we can live in a house on a few acres, or more, just enough land to have a few animals...like chickens, horses, and cows.  

ELEVEN! I am a chap-stick-aholic and have been since 8th grade.

11 questions from Mrs. Megan Keith:

1. In one word, how would you describe your first kiss? Perfect (:

2. Do you like your passport/drivers license picture? Most certainly not!

3. If you had $100 to spend on yourself, how would you spend it? This is hard!  I don't spend money on myself very often.  Um, hair-cut, pedicure, and new shoes!

4. What is your go-to coffee order? Grande Pumpkin Spice Latte...oh, those little guys are my favorite, favorite!

5. What is your biggest insecurity? Oo...good question...that is someone really knew my past and the very poor choices I made, they my look down apon me.

6. Your hair looks best: straight or curly? I like it straight for sure

7: What is the most embarrassing thing in your fridge right now? Oh dear...lol! {had to go look} Because of our limited food budget, our fridge is usually on the empty side, so I'd say some shredded chicken from about 2.5 weeks ago.  Better take care of that!

8: What is one thing you would do different about your wedding day?  Hire different photographers, but really, it was perfect.  I enjoyed every minute!

9: What is one facebook-ism that gets on your nerves?  What is a facebook-ism anyway?  I don't like it when people are constantly complaining about their life...negativity is something I try to avoid.

10: What is your guilty obsession?  Facebook...lol!  I check that thing WAY to much!  Need to change that, too.

11: What is thing/rule you had as a child that you will be sure your children also follow/learn?  We try to be very careful of what our children watch.  When I was growing up, I didn't watch anything that my Mom had not already 'previewed' and nothing over PG-13 till I was 13.

Now 11 questions for the bloggers I tag:

1. Why do you blog?

2. What is your go to meal when in a time crunch?

3. What is your favorite color and why?

4. What is the last thing you watched on TV?

5. If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?

6. Who sent the last text message you received?

7. What is under your bed?

8. What is your favorite time of day?

9. If you are going to be home all day with no company, do you stay in your pjs or get dressed/ready for the day?

10. What did you dream about last night?

And finally, 11: What is the strangest thing you saw recently?

Goodness...that took longer than I though!  I tag...Alan, Tina, Amanda, Ashlie, and Kim!  Have fun friend! (:

overwhelmed.

Overwhelmed by the circumstances that currently surround me and those I love.  

Overwhelmed by the sickness that has taken over my baby girl.  

Overwhelmed by my long, never-ending, list of to-dos.

Overwhelmed by the anguish I feel for someone very dear to me.  

Overwhelmed by the craziness of this life and the choices that need to be made.

Overwhelmed by God's never-ending, never-changing love.  

Overwhelmed by the peace that He gives that passes any understanding I will ever have.  

Overwhelmed by the good that He continues to do. 

Overwhelmed by His grace that covers a multitude of sins.   

Overwhelmed by the way He is faithful to meet me right in my place of need.  

Overwhelmed with the knowledge that He is in complete control...always and forever.

"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ"

Galatians 6:2

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

Galatians 6:9-10

little bits.

It feels like summer outside with highs in the 80s!  Is that suppose to happen in March?  What happened to spring?  Oh yea, we had that in January and February.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared for summer.

My house is clean. (:  And that is a great feeling!  Also, I have managed to stay on top of the laundry for a whole 2 weeks!!  Can you tell I am a bit proud of myself? 

We are seriously going to cancel our cell phones and I am so very excited about it!  It will be so weird at first but such a blessing too!  Not only will we be more 'unplugged' but we will have more money a month to pay down debt!

Speaking of debt {such an ugly thing}, we paid off the ugliest credit card we had!!!!  That, my friends, is a GREAT feeling indeed!

I successfully made my own laundry soap and I LOVE it! {probably the reason I have stayed on top of the laundry...it is exciting to use new stuff!} And I found a very inexpensive way to get rid of stains. (:  Promise to share more about that in another post.

I am so proud of my hubby!!  He has been running for 2 weeks and not missed a day of his planned runs!  He amazes me!  Can you believe he gets up at 5:30am to run, comes home, gets ready for work, feeds the boys {and me sometimes}, gets his lunch made, and then heads off to work so he can provide for us.  Like I said, he is amazing!  You can read about his return to running here on his blog: Couch to 5K and beyond.

Here is my favorite girl and some of her new jabbers....

We finished the Beth Moore study of James last week and I am a bit sad about it.  James has been my favorite book of the Bible for some time now; it was so fun to dig deeper and be challenged even more by those scriptures.  Speaking of Beth Moore, in April myself and 7 other girlfriend are heading to Kansas City to one of her conferences!  I am so thrilled that I get to go and even more thrilled that my baby sister is going with me!!!  Oh how I have longed for a deeper relationship with her and these past few months have made my heart so full of joy as I get to know her better.  God is so good, isn't He?

We are enjoying our patio furniture we bought on clearance last year and I just have to say my favorite part is the umbrella.  I'm sure you would like it too if you got it 1/2 off and it was all your favorite colors together. (:  

Miss Girl is sleeping in her own room...for a little while anyway.  She started napping in there last Saturday, so that evening I decided to try to put her to sleep for the night in her room.  She did fine {at first}.  I however cried and cried as I rocked her before bed.  I didn't cry with either of the boys so that was weird for me.  But about 2 hours later, she began screaming and crying like I had never heard before...so of course I rushed in there and picked her up.  We both cried.  I probably cried more because she calmed down and went right to sleep.  Alan saw me and said, "Hun, you can bring her back in our room if you want."  He was probably confused by my crying.  Anyway, long story longer, she slept the next two nights in our room and per the advice of a good friend, she now starts out in her room but when she wakes around 2am or so, she comes back into ours.  This makes my momma heart happy for the moment. (:

Lastly, I think I am much better and a bunch of short bits of writing rather than a long post and that means you will probably see me do this more often.  

Happy Friday!

wordless wednesday.

breaking heart.

I'm a bit nervous to share this but I feel like God is asking me to so here it goes.  I have a very hard time talking to God 'in my head' without getting distracted so easily.  So, before, during, and after I read His word I journal as if I am writing/talking just to Him.  I don't share it with anyone and Alan doesn't even read it.  As I was writing today, I felt God nudging me to share it so here it is.  

This week I came across a blog that told about children in another country that were, basically, being starved to death.  Some of these babies & kids have downs syndrome and have been left to lay in a bed, not being held or touched, only given a glass beer bottle with a nipple attached and filled with a liquid with very little substance.  I cried and cried when I read the horrible stories.  Last night when I was talking to Alan I had to stop talking because I began to cry.  Lord, I want to do something but I do not know what.  I want to adopt one of those children, but do I have the means to care for them?  I need Your direction.

It's in situations such as theirs that I start to question why you don't destroy the world.  How can someone treat little ones like this?  I live in such a comfortable, safe bubble here in the US, in our safe, small town.  I almost feel guilt over it but I know that is not from You.

I am making changes in the way I live so we can get out of debt and better be able to serve Your people in a financial way.  So, until that day, I will pray and pray and change in ways You lay upon my heart.

One example is I want to stop being dependent on make up-that is money much better spent on others.  My self-worth should not come from my appearance.  Another thing you have brought to mind is Noah's schooling.  Should we send him to a private school?  Or is that a selfish act on our part?  I need direction for this decision.  I thought I would get a 'sign' at the open house the other night but I didn't.  It only felt more awkward.  I trust in You for guidance.  I {and I know Alan does too} want Your will for Noah, and all our kids, so we are willing to do what You would want us to.

Thank you for Your tremendous blessings You have placed on my life.  Sometimes I wonder why because I know nothing I have done merits such wealth. ♥Your Daughter

ministry.

I cannot nail down one thing to blog about.  My life is consumed by my kiddos and I often forget those thoughts of, "Oh! That'd be a great thing to write about!"  Am I the only one?  I'm much better at a bunch of random thoughts, expressed in a few sentences each.  Today's thoughts are some that I have had for a while now.  So here I go...


Most of my {short} adult life I have believed that ministry was doing something within the church, and by within the church, I mean within the building.  Examples: being a youth sponsor, helping in the nursery, singing on the praise team, helping to set up/tear down, you get the idea.  And while those are all ministries, and good ones, they are not the end all.  Since leaving the title of youth pastor's wife behind, I have struggled with feeling like I am not doing something to serve God.  I was not apart of something that had a title; I was not on a 'team'; I was not on a committee.  I guess I considered serving God was being busy within the church. 


Now do not misunderstand me, people are needed to serve within the church, give of their time, and share the talents/gifts God has blessed them with.  {this is all harder to put into words than I thought it would be}.  And being apart of ministry teams within the church is by no means a bad thing.  What I am getting at is this: God has been showing me that my family is my ministry.  Whoa...that thought makes me stop in my tracks.  How had I been treating my family in the past?  It was more like a job, a to-do list, a requirement, but a ministry?  That was a new thought to me.  


Some of you may not be able to relate to my eye opening experience because you are already doing this.  But this was, and is, a new way of thinking for me.  It has changed the way I view each hour, day, week.  It has cause me to check my thoughts and actions and line them up with a more Christ-centered attitude.  As I am typing this and thinking it through it seems like common sense.  The Bible does say to "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:31) and of course that should apply to my family.  


Is anyone following me here?  


To be continued...