Snow Day!

We got snow here...crazy snow all day long! OK, maybe not for some of y'all, but crazy for us. It snows so rarely here we had to make the most of it while we could. I can't even remember when we had snow like this. It was a blast! Here are a few pictures of our day...what made it the best was Daddy got to come home from work early!

Wesley actually took this picture, he was excited he caught the snowball on "film".

My beautiful little snow babies...

This was our little attempt at a snowman. Unfortunately, we didn't have many options for eyes, nose and mouth. Oh well....Caleb loved it!

Spring Cleaning...A Lot Harder Than I Thought

It's that time! Spring cleaning. Okay, maybe it's a little early, but my house really needs it. It's no secret that I will never win a "Little Miss Homemaker" award. Neatness is not one of my strengths. In fact, I am a serious pack-rat.

Yesterday a friend of mine and I were talking about our similar "hoarding tendencies" and how crazy we are. After we finished laughing at ourselves, she shared with me that the time she felt the most peace about how she was living was when she and her husband were living on the mission field. They lived in the mountains and had very little. She reminisced about her life there and in a nutshell she said, "I was living in such simplicity I knew I was truly living the way God intended me to."

These words have been resonating in me.

For a while now I have been telling myself I needed to clean out 2 closets in my house. The first one is the hall closet where we keep all of our blankets, extra sheets, board games, etc. It had become so full that I had to lean against it with all my body weight to shut the door.

The other one was the "miscellaneous" closet in our extra bedroom/playroom. I'm embarrassed to say this, but have you ever seen that Tupperware commercial where the lady opens the cabinet and thousands of pieces of Tupperware pour out on top of her? Well, that's this closest, except it wasn't Tupperware--it was full of wrapping paper, gift bags, random Christmas decorations, old clothes, some of my art paraphernalia.....you get the idea.

After having this conversation with Alyssa, I was determined to clean out the closets THAT day. It was hard work! Believe me when I say this, even though I had to honestly confess that I would probably never use a lot of the stuff, it about killed me to get rid of most of it.

In the end, I ended up switching the purpose of each closet. The hall closet became the new home for almost all my craft/art supplies and the playroom closest is now home to the extra linens. Here are some pictures of the after. (I didn't even think about taking before pictures. Thank goodness, or I would have felt obligated to show you!)

I think the clear shoe boxes are my favorite parts of this whole reorganization!

Here's the playroom closet (remember think "Tupperware" here). At least I'm not afraid to open it anymore. I'm hoping to put labels on the plastic drawers so we can know which are the twin sheets, and which are the queen sized sheets. There are also a few other things I'd like to do with this closet (i.e. shelves), but we'll see.

The last week God has really been hitting me hard with some really important Truth. What do you think He's trying to teach me?

1. The conversation with my friend yesterday.

2. Our ladies' Bible study at church this week touched on living lives of true contentment--meaning not based on our "stuff". In it Beth Moore asked a question, "On a scale of 1 to 10 how important is your stuff to you?" (Do I have to answer that honestly?) Ouch.

3. Our Life Group at church is reading Crazy Love by Frances Chan. (Wesley and I read this once already, but it's good to go through it again.) In the chapter entitled "Profile of the Obsessed" Chan said, "A person who is obsessed with Jesus is more concerned with his or her character than comfort. [They] know that true joy doesn't depend on circumstances or environment..."

4. Our Pastor's sermon last week...I can't even begin go there with you, but it was wonderful/painful. (I know that doesn't sound great, but think exercise: putting your muscle in distress makes it stronger and in the long run you look and feel better.)

I can laugh at my hoarder-like traits all day long, but when I was up to my armpits in stuff that I really didn't want anyway, I was reminded how the closets in my heart labeled "selfish" and "unfaithful" were in need of emptying.

Please, Lord, the closets in my heart need some serious Spring cleaning! And when you're done, please fill them back up with something wonderful that can be an encouragement to others!

Just Because They're So Darn Cute!

Sweet, sleepy boy

Jo with my anatomy book (Daddy supervising)

Please don't judge me. After a week of potty training and 3 days of no poop at all, this is what we resorted to. I was seriously afraid he'd explode! (Does this make me a bad mom?) Oh well, just keepin' it real, folks!

Maybe this will redeem a teeny bit of my motherhood in your eyes. Here is Caleb answering some questions. These are some facts that we've discussed after reading together.

Isn't he a doll? It never ceases to amaze me how much our kids brains can store. God is good!

Josie's Prayer Life: Part 3

Well, we have another installment in the ever developing prayer life of my four year old daughter. (Click here for Part 1 and Part 2.) It is so fun and so beautiful at the same time to see her fold her little hands whether it's over her meal or at a random moment in her car seat. God is doing a work in her heart even now and I love watching it develop.

Last Thanksgiving we saw on my husband's Twitter account that a pastor we really respect had a seizure and was taken to the hospital. Matt Chandler, pastor at The Village Church in Dallas, was later diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. I've quoted him before in my blog and we listen to his sermons regularly. Let's put it this way, when we get in the car to go somewhere Josie requests to listen to one of two things: Anne of Green Gables audio book or Matt Chandler. (Did I say she's four?)

Anyway, our family has been praying for him since we read the news on Thanksgiving. When I told Josie that we needed to pray for Matt Chandler she asked why. This is a natural response. I explained that he had a boo boo in his brain and that we need to ask God to heal his boo boo. She said, "Oh, OK.....What's a brain?" I thought, "Oh, wow. Yes, that's a good question." So, we went to the computer and googled pictures of brains. She was fascinated. Well, I've created a monster. She still asks if we can look at brains and she wants to look at human brains, dog brains, cat brains....I'm so sorry if this grosses you out. I also have anatomy books so she is always wanting to look at bones and muscles and all kinds of things.

So, a few weeks ago she was playing with her doctor kit and told me, "Mommy, I want to be a doctor so I can help people." My heart melted. That came without prompting. Okay, I know she's four, and we will not pressure her into keeping that dream. Our typical response is, "That's wonderful, Josie, but you need to be whatever God wants you to be." I just think it's sweet and love her precious little heart. She continues explaining that this is her plan.

Not long after this first exchange my grandfather went to have a spot removed from his ear. The biopsy came back malignant and after surgery the doctor told my mother and grandmother that the cancer had grown down into his neck. He wasn't able to remove it all.

With difficulty, I told Josie we needed to pray for J.R. (my g-pa) because he had cancer. "Like Matt Chandler?" "Yes, baby, sort of, but it's not in his brain. It's in his neck." "Can I still pray for Matt Chandler?" "Of course! Let's pray for both!" So, we've been praying for healing--and for my g-pa's salvation. We honestly do not know if he has received Christ as his savior. (Please join us in praying for this.)

Hearing her pray is one of the most beautiful things in the world. Caleb usually tries his best, but at this point he prays for things like "Lightning McQueen" and cookies--but it's a start, right? I praise God for the way he's moving in her life. I can't wait to see what He does with her. Whatever He does, I know He will receive glory and that is the best part of all.

Click here if you want to watch short video clips of Matt's journey with cancer. They are truly inspirational.

Here's a picture of my little anatomy student with her Valentine's Day present (a puzzle):

December in Review

December was a month that we were up to our arm-pits in wrapping paper. Instead of creating 80 new posts about each event we were apart of during the month, I'll spare you a few. Here are pictures from birthdays, Christmas, and a few every day moments around the house.

Josie's birthday date with Dad

Birthday presents...

silly boy!

future fashion diva? hmmm, maybe not (this sort of clothing combo is a daily occurrence for us).

Celebrating both of our sons' birthdays: 2 years and 22 years!

some of our favorite gifts...

Christmas eve service with Nana, Paw paw and cousins

one of the many casualties of tryptophan that collapsed in our house

Woody and Buzz? He couldn't take it any longer! He stripped and put this on immediately.

I hope your Christmas was blessed!

Christmas Cookies With Whitney

One day our dear friend Whitney came over to our house for the last time before she graduated and moved back home. So, in true Whitney fashion, she brought with her stuff to make COOKIES! She and our other friend Mary Margaret came over and decorated cookies with the kids last Christmas. We are going to miss Whitney so much, but we are so excited to see where God will take her and her soon-to-be husband, Eric.

Josie's Prayer Life: Part 2

Today we have a new installment in the prayer life of my (brand new) 4-year old (click here for Part 1). My babies have officially turned 2 and 4. I can't believe it. It has gone so fast, but I love these new stages (most of the time) because with them comes new and better forms of communication. Josie has always been a very clear communicator. She is very verbal and has no problems telling/showing you how she feels or what she thinks.

This morning was our well check appointment for both kiddos and (dun, dun, dunnnnn) shots. Historically, Josie seems to respond better when she is prepared for things; so all morning Josie and I talked about what to expect at the doctor's office. She knew he would check her heart, eyes, ears, nose, etc. and ask her questions. I wanted her to be prepared to answer him when he asked her questions and not retreat into my shoulder.

Then we talked about shots. We discussed how God gives us medicine to help us get well or to stay healthy. (I know there's debate about vaccines, so you don't have to tell me that.) I explained that sometimes to get stronger or stay healthy we have to do things that might hurt a little, but that it was OK and the pain wouldn't last forever. We also prayed and I told her she could pray when the nurse gave her the shot.

After the doctor finished the exam and wrapped up his conversation with Wesley about deer hunting, he left and the nurse returned caring 5 needles--1 for Caleb and 4 for Josie. Ugggh. Caleb went first and he was very distressed afterwards so I held him and sat in the chair. When it was Josie's turn she laid down on the exam table and Wesley held her arms while the nurse held her legs. Then Josie looked at me and said, "Mommy, will you pray for me?" My heart melted.

So, Caleb and I bowed our heads and prayed for Josie. Next thing we knew the nurse was done and Josie never made a sound. She popped right up and examined her band aids calmly. We were all in shock. I was about to cry and the nurse was amazed. She said she would call Josie "Amazing Grace" from then on and then the nurse started crying! We all said, "Praise God! Josie, He answered our prayers to make you brave and strong!"

This evening Wesley and I talked about it again--both of us in tears. He told me as he was holding her he looked at her face and could see the sincerity and faith in her eyes that God would help her if we prayed.

We pray that that her faith would continue to grow and be even stronger in the face of pain. Praise be to God for our little prayer warrior--may she always be brave and strong in the Lord!