Wordless Wednesday: BitterSweet

I had to make this a wordless blog because I can never find the words (the song should be enough). One day I will have the words but right now I dont except I always wanted a little sister! I FINALLY got one and she was taken away from us less than two months after we were blessed. Luckily I have been blessed with a second little sister but Carly will ALWAYS have a special place in my heart. Happy birthday to my baby brother and sister Joseph and Carly! May you rest in peace Carly I hope you both have a wonderful birthday.

Wordless Wednesday: Soon to be Daddy!

Boon Cephus

Born: December 26th 2010

Named After Boondock Saints (Yes the movie) and "Bo"cephus (May he rest in peace)

Boon's Wifey (Due with his pups any day now)

Loves to take long quiet walks and play in the water!

Loves watching his human kids play!

Very Sad when daddy leaves!

Is a Bed Hog!

Crazy Thing Called Life!

Well as you all know I am sure that life has been crazy for me. Between my dad being in the hospital and then hubbys dad being in the hospital and time in Florida I can honestly say I am so glad to be home. I loved being there for Big Papas dad and spending time with my brother and his family but boy there is nothing like being home. Now that we are back home and getting settled back in we are onto our normal routine however there will be some changes. Hubbs and I are going to partner up and start eating right and exercising like we should and lose weight together. I did really good while he was gone but let me tell ya I have been super slack since he came home. Of course eating healthier is going to pose a challenge to our shopping and my cooking skills. I am not savvy on cooking healthy meals. I am from the south and we LOVE to FRY everything! So we will see. Lots of grilling and sauteing and roasting and baking are in store for us. If you have any suggestions please feel free to comment. Thanksgiving is coming up and I am so looking forward to being with my husband during the holidays. He is an amazing man and I am so glad we have the opportunity to be together this year. My bible study is over until July so I have taken up a study on the book of Revelation. It is very complex however plainly stated. Many people take and look too much into the "hypothetical" meanings behind it and what it may "symbolize" when in fact some of the things in there are plainly stated. I will post on some of the things I am learning. Right now I am at the beginning where it talks about the age of the church. So we will see. It can tend to be a bit scary as well it should be. The 7 year Tribulation are for those who are unsaved to endure the wrath of God. That phrase gives me the chills just typing it "Wrath of God". It really does not sound pleasing or appealing in any way. Of course many of the things I will type in my blog are opinions and personal thoughts on the subject nothing to take fact about unless of course it is written in the bible. The kids are doing great. Glad to be back home in their beds and going to school. Within a few days we will be blessed with grandpuppies which I am extremely excited about. Overall life is still amazing and God is still blessing my family with his graces. Can not wait to get back to church on Sunday and get back to studying Gods word. I hope everyone has had a blessed weekend and hope the rest of the day goes great as well.

Thank you Jesus....

That is pretty much how I can describe life right now. I know I have crazy kids and a crazy busy life but its been so amazing. On top of everything else God. He has blessed our little family with so much. Hubby is getting baptized how AWESOME is that!!! Sometimes I feel as though as I am undeserving for the things I have. As I go on through the last couple of weeks of my bible study I am saddened that its almost over but I have also learned so much about myself and hope that I have changed.. Sometimes I feel myself slipping back to the way I was being critical and judgmental and that is when I pull out my book and start reading and studying the word on the attitude I have at the time and it puts me back in my place. I also pray for me and whoever or whatever I may have an attitude about. Its hard to change your attitude.. Most of them are etched on our very being that it makes us who we are so when we start changing our attitude we are not who we were before.. If your working in the ways of the Lord and walking closer to him its for the better. Hubby and I have been having a hard time having a relationship with family members and friends because we feel as they do not respect our new life but of course we pray for us to have continued strength and for others to see the wonderful things God can bring. I feel as though we may lose some family members and friends as we continue on this journey and all I can hope is that they will make that decision to walk the way the word of God says. On the upside I have met so many wonderful people just like me. Struggling to live by his word and trust in God with EVERYTHING! In a book I have been reading that God made people unique.. made women strong and special in our own way and it said to ask my friends what they thought was unique about me. Pretty much all said the same thing, my personality, my ability to love a lot unconditionally and speaking what is on my mind. I had NO idea... I feel as though I do not love enough. Again its what other people see that is unique about you. My book says to use this "special ability" to further our families success and works in God... I am so confused. How do I know what God wants me to do? I have not really had a calling for anything yet. So how do I know? My brother is coming into town this week. I am so stoked to see him. He is in a friend of the families wedding. I am sure the wedding will be beautiful. Congrats and many years of love and happiness Cliff and Jeanna.. May God bring upon many blessings to the two of you, your beautiful family and your home. Anyways, I am just really looking forward to being with my brother, sister in law and nephew! Its going to be great. I know hubby is excited to have his best man in town too.  I will be blogging about our visit throughout the week and hopefully have photos to go with it. Have a wonderful week!!
With all my Love

Ps. Song playing is now my fav song EVER!!

Amateur Photographer..

"But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.'' For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." Mark 10: 6-9

So I do a little amateur photography on the side for a lil extra dough to play with. I love it too.. And I had the wonderful pleasure of taking pics for an amazing woman. Her husband was deployed with mine and when they asked me to take pics at their wedding I was THRILLED! Anyways I have not gotten her disk to her yet but ther are some GREAT pics and I had to do a lil sneak peek!

Hope I did the beautiful wedding justice with my photos! I had a wonderful time with this beautiful couple!! Many blessings on their wedding!

My Testimony!

As you can see I am a Christian. This is not my first meeting with Christ as I have been raised a "Christian" my whole life. I have not been saved recently so that does not explain my closer walk with the Lord these days. So what is it you as. Well I was saved back in June of 2003. Baptized on June 10th to be exact. Until recently I had forgotten the date or why I did it. Hubby and I were thrumming through our bibles on our bookshelf to see where we had gotten some of them and I ran across mine from when I got baptized. June 10th 2003. I kick myself for forgetting this important date but at that time in my life events were all just a fuzz. June 8th I lost a very near and dear love and friend. I can not tell you why I chose then to get baptized maybe it was in the moment kinda thing. Again I am not sure. As for this recent transformation of my life and my thoughts. I have to give some of the credit to my church. I survived this year long deployment with my husband gone to Afghanistan. Many IED incidents, many injuries and two deaths in just his unit. Sleepless and lonely (I look back now I know I was not alone) nights, a lot of crying and worrying, a a lot of putting on my happy face when I did not want to. It was no easy. Hubby came home on emergency leave for a death in the family. As we waited for him to go to demob and complete his training he was home with me 24/7. I loved it!! I was spoiled. Then all of a sudden he got a call to go to Demob in MISSISSIPPI!! He was only supposed to be gone for a few days but because of his back injuries they had to take all the precautions and make sure they had him set up correctly for treatment when they released him. 3 days turned into almost 4 weeks. I became severely depressed. I did not want to go anywhere or do anything. I did not even want to take care of my kids.. =( As a mother that is extremely hard for me to say because I love my children with my whole heart. Lets just say it was bad. My family and friends were extremely worried about me. So one Wednesday night I made a decision that would change my whole attitude and apparently my whole life. I grudgingly took my kids to AWANAS at our church and as I was dropping them off they asked if I wanted to leave Allison so I can attend the service.. I said sure whatever I had no where else to go. Admitting I did not attend the service in person rather sat outside the sanctuary and listened to the preacher preach. I was looking over a newsletter they had given me and seen their Women's Ministries about to start up and my mom called. One looked like it would be interesting and I figured I would drag her along with me. so I signed up for Tuesday morning bible study "Lord Change my Attitude". From Day 1 my attitude about life change dramatically. Hubby shortly returned home to see a changed person and he was so stressed and weary from worrying about himself and me the whole time he was gone. We had a few arguments but got past them. I continued my bible study and he continued to see a change. Maybe it was appealing to him and he wanted to continue to support this change so we began attending church. I love my church, my Sunday school teacher, the staff I just love them all. They opened up for parents to go watch the movie Courageous while the AWANAS staff fellowship with our children. I looked at it as a way James and I can have some "adult" time but it turned out more than that. We are now BOTH walking closer with the Lord. Hubby is becoming an amazing spiritual leader of our home and I am learning to be his "help meet" (see bible for definition =)) God is working in wonderous ways and I could not be more happy with my life.
With all my love,

Faith

So I posted a question on my Facebook yesterday and its clear that A LOT of peoples definition of faith is the same but there are a few people who are different. A friend quoted one of my new favorite bible scriptures when it comes to Faith and its Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen". Whatever you give will be received " Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap." Luke 6:38. In a book I read the amount in that verse she used flour as an example.. pour some flour in a cup and you have air bubbles.. shake it the flour settles and then you press it down and voila room for more and not just that.. not just pressed down to the top of the cup but running over or in some bibles over flowing into your lap. That is a lot. In the Bible we are constantly being told by God and Jesus that God will never forsake us. But there is a price to pay and that is FAITH. BELIEVING in him whole heartedly that he will come through on these promises. So you wonder how do I get these blessings and this amount given back? Contrary to what many think first and foremost you must accept God as your Lord and Savior. You must believe the price he and Jesus paid to forgive us all of ours sins. Pray and Read his word. Sounds easy? I am not gonna lie it really does SOUND easy but its not. As you pray and read his word you will have a desire to walk closer to him to live the life that he has set a path for us in the Bible. That means giving up things. At this point in time I am having a hard time giving up a few things.. For example tithing or as some of you may know when you sit in church and they pass that little plate around for you to put money in... Yeah we have close to nothing after bills are paid right now so how am I supposed to give to God?? In the Bible it says to give him your "first fruits". That means you give to God before you pay bills or anything else... UGH! How on earth am I supposed to do that and pay ALL my bills.. Bill collectors do not care if you are tithing like you should or if you are a Christian. As I am learning this week that is where faith comes in. I have to KNOW that whatever I give to the Lord whether it will be time, money, my thoughts that I will get it back in a "good measure". So am I struggling with faith in the Lord right now? Yes! What do I do.. keep diving into his word and praying so that I find the answer somewhere that God finally says "Sweet Pea its OK! Trust me, I will take care of you just as I have ALWAYS promised". I hope all of you find a place in your heart that says ok Im going to trust God and have faith in him and believe. If not for the little things in your life but for where your going to spend eternity. Its one of two places. Heaven or Hell.. “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 16:6. So when that trumpet sounds I know where I am going and I cannot wait until Jesus greets me with open arms at those wondrous gates of heaven!

So where are you going?

With All My Love