Miracles............continued

Today, I am trying to convince myself, is just an ordinary day.  However, the fact is, we are meeting to sign a contract with, most possibly, the future owners of our house.  It feels weird. Although, I know this step is needed to fulfill "the plan", my stomach churns every time I think of it.  On the bright side- this might very well be a miracle.  Considering the slow economy and bad house market, it shouldn't  be anything short of a miracle that our house may sell after only being on the market for a month.  So, I will consider my options and I choose to thank the Lord for, again, showing me that we are moving in (His) the right direction.  
That brings me to the things I'll miss: #8-Living in the country . This encompasses a lot of small, yet significant treasures.  A few that come to mind are, having bonfires whenever we want.  The kids have had a ball, helping daddy light up a big fire.  It has become one of the highlights during this chilly season and being able to sit by a fire and listen to the crickets and wood crackle, under a blanket of stars is priceless.  Another great thing about living in the country is, I can drop the boys off, at two different schools, stop by the grocery, swing by CVS, and return the books to the library- all within a 1 mile radius.  I used to think Williston was boring and too backwoods, but there is something to be said about going to the grocery store in the same clothes you've had on all day, even if they are stained and a little dirty.  No one seems to notice (wink). It is also nice knowing everyone.  The other day, I picked David up from school and he was excited to see his teacher's husband driving his truck and trailer up in front of us.  "Look, there's Mr. Leo!".  I thought now how cute is that?  That will probably not happen in Surprise, Arizona.   Privacy is nice too, in the country.  One rainy day the boys had a blast running through the rain. Eventually, they were all naked and chasing each other in the puddles.  Now, that only happens in the country. (lol)  As, I drove home after getting the kids the other day, I was surprised at how much I enjoy watching the farmers out on their tractors baling hay.  Seems silly, I guess, but not seeing cows everyday grazing in a pasture is something I will really miss.  

This is the scripture I am focusing on today as I pack and prepare for my new adventure.  
"Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past.  Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it?  I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert"  Isaiah 43:18-19  

Miracles

Since we made our decision to move to Arizona, life has taken on new meaning. Devotion after devotion and scripture, repeatedly speaking to me personally, guiding my every thought and move.  It was not an easy decision.  I look back now, and in some ways, want to take it back. I find myself wondering, did I really hear correctly, did I fast the right way?, did I just want to prove to Brian that I could decisive? Well, regardless of how I feel now, we are in the thrones of moving. It seems every other day, someone is either coming to look at the house, or coming to buy something Brian has for sale. Honestly, I can see God's hand in everything. Once we all get out to our new home in the west, I will proclaim to everyone I meet, God has done a miracle.  Ok,so this sounds ridiculous but I have recently been reminded that little miracles happen too. It's all how you want to see it.  I say this because, the other day, Daniel was in the shower with David and I heard him exclaim.  "Look, David it's a miracle!".  I thought I heard him say what was so miraculous but then I wasn't sure so I asked him later. He replied, God took the dirt off my legs, "See?". "I rubbed my legs like this and now it's gone". "It's a miracle!"  Well, I'll be. I couldn't help from start laughing but I caught myself so I would't ruin his delight. 

Right now, God is doing a miracle in my heart. The daily ache as I count the things I'll miss seems to cloud that little part of me that can see the adventure that waits. A few of those things are: #10- Oak trees. North central Florida is covered with them and many of us take them for granted. But, when you're out, 'Look!, the moss hangs seductively and beautiful from every limb and the comfort that a huge,old oak brings is more than just shade. It just feels right.      

 #9 The Beach - this one is obvious to most of us.  Maybe not to Brian, but for me, even though I rarely go; I will miss the beach. Ahhhh,  the smell of the water, the breeze, the sand (only at the beach, not in my car) and watching the boys run from the waves.  West coast beaches are not the same!

Striving to Trust

I am amazed today, again that God is real.  In the ups and downs of life, I can honestly say I question His presence from time to time.  And, Satan manages to trip me up even trying to fool me and leave me in confusion. Likenow, everything is adding up and although I don't want to believe it or follow God's prompting,  I can't shake His presence.   Since Brian got wind of an job opportunity back in October, my heart has been guarded.  Could this really be God's leading?  Arizona?  This soon?  We specifically prayed in the past year and half for another job to open up for Brian somewhere and we prayed that we might find our way out closer to his family.  In our minds and hearts, we thought it'd be Oregon.  Maybe on his grandparents farm, or nearby; we liked the area and it had sentimental value.  However, we struggled with the idea because of the weather.  Florida has it's moments but mostly it is a pleasant place to be, at least you get used to it after all of these years.   And, if we moved closer to California, we knew we didn't want to be  in California and it'd probably be in the next five years or so.
We didn't see it coming........ARIZONA. What?  Of all places.  Don't get me wrong.  I like Arizona.  I lived there for awhile and visited many times but that was when I was single and free (sort of speak).  Not now.  With our kids?  How will they climb trees?  Are you kidding me?  My boys will be messed up for life. 
Well, here we are-the interview came and it's been two weeks, a decision needs to be made.  I can totally relate to Jonah.  'God, you want us to go here?'  Are you sure?  I think I have asked that a hundred times.  Everything leads this way as God's soveriegn hand has orchestrated a plan yet, I don't want to.  He has been so patient with me.  Each day I continue to search for confirmation and there it is.  Today was no different.  I opened my Bible and devotional and STRIVE TO TRUST ME  was bold across the page and it was as if Sarah Young was in my brain, although it was really God. 
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.Proverbs 3 :5-6.

It also can't be a coincidence that my online Bible study, which started the day after Brian came back from his interview, is titled Leaving Our Comforts- Walking by Faith.  To some, this may be a coincidence but as I try to run the other way, I continue to be presented with another "duh" moment. 
My heart continues to be heavy, even though this seems like the right thing.  The relationships I have made over the years are irreplaceable and there are dozens of "comforts" that I am already missing.  And, yet some of those things are just that, things.  God will provide another great house, and another great school for the kids.  He keeps whispering in my here,  ' I am the most important thing'.
To my wonderful friends reading this, please keep us prayer this week.  And, if we make a decision pray that doors will open and shut as God leads and peace will fill my heart.  It breaks every moment I think about leaving here and all of you so pray for my hearts mending.   May living in obedience bring God all of the glory. 

Random acts of kindness

As I ponder and pray during this last week of Advent, I continue to struggle with finding that peace.  As the scripture says...

"For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be onhis shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. " ~ Isaiah 9:6

I ask myself daily what does that look like?  As the author of my devotion urges me to focus my heart on Jesus, these last 4 weeks leading up to Christmas have been challenging for me to do so. 
Every year, I plan to have my shopping done early, enjoy the season, rest in the peace.  And, every year this never happens.  Today, I ventured out to exhange my jeans and hopefully look for something for myself at the mall.  I had Reagan, Jordan and Lily with me but I was pysched as I drove up to town at 9:00 figuring I was ahead of the game.  My excitement quickly dissipated as I wandered Jcpenney, finding a scarf for myself, which I ended up putting back after I received my text from our bank showing today's balance.  Ugh, how could it be so low and yet I wasn't finished with my shopping and still had grand ideas of sharing acts of kindness to strangers along the way- 'sharing the peace of Christmas'.  As, I started feeling sorry for myself and finally got through exchanging my jeans and spending 15 minutes at the register.  God, the Prince of Peace came down to meet me in my moment.  A man came up to the counter and gave the cashier $20 to pay my bill and kindly stated he wanted to share 'an act of random kindness'.   Wow! I was humbled.  I don't usually feel like I need to be given money, yet at this moment I felt that I could surely use it.  Thanks Lord!  However, my feeling of humility and gratitude would continue as I made our way to the playground with my rambunctious crew that grew weary, after only 30 minutes in the mall.   A young girl came by as I walked near the food court and presented me with $20, stating she had an excess of money from her work and wanted to buy us lunch.  Again, I just stood for a moment feeling God showering his love on me.    Yet, my story would continue.  After, a short while of playing we made our way back to the bathroom for the second time.  I began to grow frustrated, as I realized I wasn't going to make it to another store and would not be able to buy something for myself.  I got Jordan out of the stroller and placed him on the changing table, to find ANOTHER RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS.  I opened the envelope, which said on the outside '  I love your hair' and found a gas card for $10.  I couldn't believe it.  I had thought I would use my money to buy lunch and I toyed with the idea of continuing my shopping but my kids were saying 'no, take us home'.   I found peace.  Although my shopping for gifts is not done and I still don't have anything new, I discovered peace in having all that I need.   I pray that you too will find peace in the midst of the chaos this Christmas.

I wish I was an Octopus

Sounds funny to say, but today I wished I was an octopus.  Most days eight arms would be nice, reaching out to catch Jordan before he takes everything out of my makeup drawer, or make lunches and change a diaper,while feeding Lily.  How convienent this would be.  But, today I felt the need for a few extra arms for a completely different reason.  I had Lillian's 2month well check this morning and took Jordan and Reagan with me.  It is always a little crazy, they usually prepare for us by giving us the biggest room, and the staff knows how hectic it gets sometimes for me.  This morning wasn't any different in that regard.  By the time I had been there 10 minutes and barely had Lily's diaper off to get weighed, Jordan and Reagan had been in a fight to play with the school bus and Jordan had eaten a whole package of peanut butter crackers and a bag of fruit snacks.  Thankfully, I found a poptart in my bag and proceeded to stuff his face in between attempting to carry on a conversation with our nurse practitioner.  After Lily got assessed and we decided to give their flu shots and her immunizations, we realized Jordan had missed his 15mth check up and needed shots too.  So, we lined them up and started the process.  Needless to say, Reagan was very offended to have a flu mist up his nose and sat and cried while Lily cried because she kept getting taken off the boob.  And, then she got her shots and needed love.  To add to the chaos, it was Jordan's turn. Of course he cried his eyes out and so there I was.  Lily in my carrier nestled in my chest, holding Jordan with tears streaming down his face, resting his head on my shoulder and Reagan reaching up also wanting me to hold him.  My heart ached so badly and I wanted to wrap my arms around them all.  I just took a moment and prayed, thanking God for them and asking that he would help me comfort them so they would know how big mommy's heart was.  But most of all, I am thankful that God has enough arms to be with me in all of my moments while taking care of the many others that call on him.  And his arms are many and wide enough to comfort the worst of days and deepest sorrows.  Maybe I can't do it all but God gives me strength to get up and do what I can.  P.S.  Jordan only needed a lollipop to ease his pain, mommy even came second after that. ;)

Daniel gets his day

No, you aren't crazy. You haven't missed anything.  Yes, I am posting about my 2nd son's 4th birthday, which occured last Sepetember.  Even though I am so behind, I couldn't stand to let it go.  Four things that stand out about Daniel's personality are:
1. he has a quick temper
2. very independent
3. not fearful of a thing. will try just about anything ( and live to tell about it)
4. will always stop to cuddle
We celebrated his birthday with an impromptu house party at the new house.  It was a little pressed considering we had literally just moved our beds to the new place and everything else was in transit.  But, thankfully Daniel didn't seem to notice and everyone knows that cupcakes can make anything special. 
Four years has gone fast and being the second child, there are many things I find I don't remember and some things pass us by without much notice.  Daniel has picked up on things easily, from potty training to learning to ride a bike; which he did this year.  He is always coming up with a question or a thought he wants to share......like telling me recently that God is very very big and is stronger than daddy's tractor or telling me how he's going to fight off the rattlesnake I keep telling him he's going to find, running through the woods.  My heart melted the other day, when he told me 'mommy, no matter if I'm six, seven, or eight I will always be your snugglebug'.  He can hardly wait to be 5.  He talks about it all of the time, especially since David has started school and I can hardly imagine him having to wait a full year to be in kindergarten because he misses the cut off.  He really likes school and seems to thrive on doing his crafts, coloring and learning his words and letters, as well as writing his name.  He moves from one activity to the next and loves to climb on everything.......the kitchen table, magnolia tree, register belt in Publix, you name it he climbs on it.  I fear the day we lose his "little green blanket' because he loves it and his newest thing is, he likes me to scratch his back.   Four years of laughter, learning self control and snuggles. It is hard to see him grow up and I dread the day his soft chubby cheeks aren't there for me to kiss.  A few of my favorite photos of my snuggle bug.

Let's play catch up

The good thing about a blog, is you are able to write things down so you can remember them.  The bad thing is, I have to write things down, so I don't forget them!  The summer has come and gone- AMAZING! Jordan is 5 months, Daniel just had his 4th birthday and Reagan celebrates his second birthday next month.  David's first year of school is going well, and I feel so grateful that he is able to learn about God and worship while he works on his academics.  WCCA is really turning out to be a special place and we are making new friendships as the year goes on. 

July - We went out to Oregon for a family reunion.  Jordan's first plane ride at 3months, which he did great.  It was the other boys who made it crazy. ( I felt sorry for us- forget the people around us! ;)   This is outside the Riesterer farm, where Brian's mom Clare grew up.  The weather was a chilly 60 degrees somedays, I couldn't believe we were wearing jackets in July.  We actually had a fire going one day while we were up in Sunriver.  The week was so relaxing. We mostly hung out but the kids were all over the place, with their cousins riding bikes (David rode w/o training wheels the whole week) , watching movies, getting chased by the big girls- which David and Daniel still talk about.  They loved every minute of it!

Jordan learned to smile this trip.  Aunt Tammy had just given him a bath in the kitchen sink and he loved to listen to her sing.  I always come home, praying that I might sound as beautiful with my voice but she is much more talented.  One night she sang David and Daniel to sleep with a silly song about their day, that she had made up second by second and it sounded awesome.  If only!!  I always look forward to spending time with she and Stephanie (sister in law).  It is such a blessed time of girl talk and motherly advice.  A few jacuzzi nights with a glass of wine were perfect relaxation from the chaos of keeping up with all of the boys and visiting with family. 

Jordan was a charmer.  All I had to do was feed him and then pass him on to the girls and grammy, who were patiently waiting to snuggle. 

Reagan got a lot of snuggles too.  Here he is with Aunt Tammy.  Unfortunately, he was sick the first few days and then managed to spread it to me, Tammy, Schuyler, Reilly, and Satchel.  Poor Schuyler got the worst of it, I felt so bad for her.  Each night, each family "hosted" dinner.  It is always a great idea, ours was good ole' bar-b-q.  Yum! And then one night we had birthday cake to celebrate everyone's birthdays since we never get a party together.  That was a big hit too.

Reagan couldn't get enough of hanging out with his cousins.  They all were outside from dusk 'til dawn. 

 Reagan was smitten with his cousin River- he puts a little peck on her, but she's not quite sure about it ;0

The kids all rode down to the village shops and ran around. The weather wasn't so good but there was a bounce house and bumper cars, which the big kids were able to do.  Last stop was the candy shop!

Pappo taking a bite out of Reagan's sweet feet.

 David got up the nerve to try rock climbingas long as  Uncle Kevin would give him a lift.

 David rode around the culdesac at least a hundred times. I think even his big cousin Jarrett got wore out. (honestly, I dont' think David knew how to stop, so he just kept going)

Our trip was a blast!  I could go on and on.  I have a picture for every memory.......dad making beignets with the boys, taking the kids to the Desert Museum, all the kids playing baseball in the backyard, Daniel getting a haircut and crying the all time, Steph's great taco night and our visit on the farm.   Definitely a cherished time with family and I can hardly wait until next time.  Thanks mom and dad "B" for such a great vacation!