Feeling crafty???

I've been very crafty lately. I guess I kind of go in spurts with what type of project I like to do. Sometimes I like to sew, other times I scrapbook, and then other times I just like to read or bake. There are so many things I enjoy doing. I know lots of people who sew or others who enjoy scrapbooking. My problem is that I enjoy many different things and don't have time to do all of them.

I've always wanted to try my hand at making hair bows for my girls. They look so easy, yet they'll cost you about $3 or more a piece. Last week, a friend and I were discussing the idea and decided we'd try making them. I went to the craft store yesterday and got lots of clips and ribbon. To my surprise all the clips and ribbon were 50% off retail. Wow! This is right up my alley! I paid less than $8 for 70 hair clips and 45 feet of ribbon. What a deal! My girls are gonna be wearing bows to bed! Ha!!!

It was fairly simple especially after I figured out a few tricks. I had a lot of fun and need to go buy some more glue sticks so I can make some more :)

The Story of the Three Servants

This morning during our Bible study time, the children and I were studying the story of the three servants from Matthew 25:14-30. I was trying to explain to them that God has given us all gifts/talents and they belong to Him. I was thinking about the meaning of these passages and was reminded that I need to be faithful to Him in all things. It is amazing to me how much God teaches me through teaching these dear children of mine. Thank you, Lord, for the reminder to be faithful to You in all things. I pray that I will be found faithful to You! "But be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." James 1:22

Fun times

We decided to take our break from school last week and spend a few days with my parents. I loaded up the kids and we went a few hours south. Michael had to work so it was just the kids and me. It had rained so much that my parents' yard was soaked. Their yard takes forever to dry up. The weather was great after the rain, but if the kids wanted to play outside we had to go somewhere else. So we spent a lot of our time going places. The local museum had a free activity with crafts, animals, and snacks one afternoon. That was a lot of fun! We went to two different parks, the zoo, bowling, and McD's. We all had a great time and enjoyed having a break from the routine. Plus, it's always fun to visit Nana and Papa.

Something to Ponder on a Friday afternoon

As I was checking my mailbox this afternoon I noticed pollen on the inside of my mailbox. Anybody have a clue how pollen gets in a mailbox?

My Treasure Hunt

I am a treasure hunter. I grew up in a family that was always having to scrimp for what we had so I don't mind a bargain. I used to be ashamed of it, but now I am thankful for it. One of my favorite things to do is find a good yard sale. With four small children, it's not practical to run all over town checking out each house and not finding anything. My favorites are the church/school yard sales and neighborhood sales. Those are usually the best places to grab a great deal anyway because they're trying to raise money or basically get rid of it. Last weekend, I went to a school sale and actually didn't get to go until about 10:30 and it was to be over at 11:00. Sometimes that can be a good thing and that was definitely the case that day. When I walked in they announced that you could buy a grocery sack for $5 and fill it up with anything you could fit in. I was excited and began to find all kinds of treasures to fill up my bag. It didn't take long to fill it up and then I continued to find more stuff. I found books and clothes for the kids and a few things for me. I wondered how much the extra stuff would be since it looked like it could fill up another bag. When I got to the front, the guy said that all the other stuff would be $2. I was so excited! All together I'd found: 2 pairs of overalls (Gap), 6 children's books, 1 sweater, 1 pair of khaki's, 2 nice dressy tops for me for church, 1 skirt, 1 cute little bag, 1 Christmas pillow, 2 casual shirts for me, 1 pair of shorts for hubby, 1 coloring book for my son, 1 nice pair of jeans, and several other odds and ends. All that for $7.

Rainy Day

It's a rainy day here today. I'm actually excited about it! I have so much to do in the house before we leave to go to my parent's house next week. It seems like when the weather is nice I don't get that stuff inside done. I've actually been hoping for a rainy day all week. I also hope the rain washes all that yucky pollen away. It is covering everything here. Hopefully, we'll do a few fun things that we've not done much since the weather's been so nice. It's always fun to read, play some games, put together a puzzle, and watch a movie on a rainy day. We'll see how much we can accomplish in one day.

I posted last week about Modesty Week over at http://www.sahmissionary.blogspot.com/ This week she is having a giveaway and it looks like lots of fun. Go over and check it out!

Spring

Spring is my favorite season of the year! I love it when it begins to warm up, flowers bloom, birds sing, grass grows, and much more. Those moments are such a reminder of how God is in each moment. I don't usually get much done inside the house during this time of the year because I want to go outside and let the children play and just enjoy walking and looking at creation. I take that back. I do get a lot done, but it's just when the children are napping or sleeping. I tend to get most of my housework done at night so that I can enjoy the outside. "And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it ws good." Genesis 1: 11-12

Modesty Fashion Week

Joy over at http://www.sahmissionary.blogspot.com is hosting Modesty Fashion week and I look forward to reading her thoughts. Go check it out!

Kayla's 7th Birthday

I'm late posting this due to the flu. Kayla turned 7 two weeks ago. She is such a delight to be around. I used to call her my little sunshine because every day she woke up smiling and happy. I am not a morning person so for me that is usually hard to do although I'm trying to change that. Going to bed earlier usually makes it better, but I just can't seem to get in that habit. Seven years ago in North Africa I gave birth to a beautiful blue eyed, brown haired little baby. A little while after she was born my husband came and told me that she had apparently gotten the Strep. B virus from me through birth. That moment was probably the worst moment of my life. To give life and then almost immediately have it taken away is heartbreaking. I (we) did the only thing we could do- we fell on our knees to God and cried out to Him. The doctors said the next 3 days were critical. They immediately began 3 doses of antibiotics and the most important thing was that people all around the world (literally) began praying for Kayla. As a new mom all I wanted to do was hold her. I was not allowed to hold her due to the incubator and all the wires. I wonder if I'd been somewhere else if it would have been different, but that's not something that I even question because that is where we were. The longing of a mother to hold her child is something that you can't imagine if you've never been denied it. It wasn't until she was 12 days old that I was able to hold her. What a wonderful moment that I will never forget. It was sometime in the second day that we prayed and gave her to the Lord. We asked God to heal her, but knew that healing might not be the way we wanted or desired. Our will became His. Peace came over us as could not be explained. Yes, we were still hoping for physical healing, but God continued to work in her and us. We saw small improvements, but she was still not eating. Fluid continued to show up on her lungs. After two weeks there, the doctors recommended that we air-evac her to Paris where they could put a scope down her to find out what this fluid was. This was a frightening time for me. I felt peace, but there were other fears now that we were going to a place I'd only visited and never lived. But hopefully, we'd find more doctors that could speak to us in English. (That is a testimony of faith because when you can't understand very much of what's going on your faith grows that the Lord will take care of you.) When we finally arrived after a long and eventful flight we were met at the hospital by some of our dear friends who we had been through training with and spoke fluent French. What a relief and blessing from God to see them! Immediately after we arrived she was placed in an open bed where we could touch her as much as we wanted. What a blessing! I was already seeing that this was what she needed. The first thing they wanted was to see her gain weight. She had almost lost 2 pounds since birth! It seemed like things got better and better. There were so many good days! They had to put her to sleep for the scope, but it was for her good so we were okay with it. They didn't find any fluid on her lungs. What a blessing! All she had to do now was gain weight and breathe better without the oxygen. After almost 3 weeks we were released and okayed to fly back to the states. I know the story was long, but for me it is such a joy to see how God healed my sweet baby girl. I know He did! I will never deny His healing on her life. As often as I can I tell her this story of my miracle baby. That was actually a short version of the story, but just wanted to tell her story of healing. By the way, as you can tell in the picture she was completely healed. She's not had any problems since.