#2 of the Thankfulness journey.  I am thankful for my husband!!!  He is such a wonderful man!  God knew exactly what He was doing when he joined us together.  We have been through alot over the past 10 years but each year it has gotten better.

Here is a list of why I am thankful for Shawn
1, He is Godly
2.  Loving
3.Compassionate
4, Funny
5. Smart
6. Puts up with my moods!!!!!
7. A great father
8. He will cut my steak or chicken up for me!
9. He does the dishes.
10. He helps me with the laundry
I could keep going but there are 10 things that makes me thankful for my husband.

A Thankfulness Journey

I have decided to spend the next few months finding something hopefully every day that I can be thankful for. I have been reading a book by Ann Voskamp called A Thousand Gifts. So here goes for day 1.

Day One: I am thankful for my God. Psalm 28:7 says "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song." God has done so many things for me over the past 34 years of my life. He is always faithful. There every step of the way. Even when I stray He seems to be right there.

As I sit here saying that I am thankful for God, I am also convicted. How many times do we take God for granted? We just leave Him behind and then wonder where He is at when we need Him. We then begin to blame God for not being there for us when we need Him. I just want to say to myself sometimes, "Silly girl, He is where He has always been. You were the one to leave Him behind. God has not gone anywhere, you have!" Too often we only run to God when we need something from Him. How selfish can we be? We treat God as an item placed on a shelf that we can just pull out when we need something. We should be thanking God in the little things as well as the big things.

I hope that by writing down 1000 things that I am thankful for, it will help remind me of God's grace and mercy that He has shown on me.


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Changes

To those that know our family is about to make ONE BIG CHANGE!! We are separating from the military. This is one huge and scary step that we are about to make. We are not separating on our terms. The Air Force is pushing us out. So that in itself can be very scary. I have had my moments of tears, anxiety, excitement, anger, and relief. As I sit here typing this the tears are running down my face. The military has taken us to many places that otherwise we would never have gone to. We have made lifelong friends that have become family to us. It is hard to say those good byes and yet still look forward to what God has planned for us.

When the news came down that we were going to be separated I immediately panicked. My first reaction. I cried out to God and His arms were instantly wrapped around me. I cried and cried but in the back ground God kept saying "Everything is going to be all right. I know what I am doing, just trust" Trust, that is a big thing for me to do. For those of you who know me well I like to control things and right now everything is out of my hands except for the way I react to the situation.


So what happens now..... Well we are moving home. Home, wow I thought it would have been years since I would be able to say that. Texas is home! We are headed that way. Shawn is going to finish his nursing degree and after that get a job. We plan on finally being able to buy a house after his school is complete and he is gainfully employed. Our adoption plans for a third child are going to be placed on hold for now.

There is a song that fits us perfectly for where we are at right now. Here are the lyrics:

when you don't want to face another day
seems like your life's one big mistake
failures from your former self chase you
listen close so you know what to do

you may not see it
you may not feel it
but I'm holding you tightly
your spirit is near me
so hold on hold on
it will not be long till its all over
child hold on hold on
lay your weary head upon my shoulder

the pain is beating down so faithfully
but my love is more faithful you will see
and the winds will show no mercy for your face
but your heart is safe secure inside my grace

and you may not see it
and you may not feel it
but im holding you tightly and your
spirit is with me so
hold on hold on it will not be long
till its all over
child hold on hold on
lay your weary head upon my shoulder

and you may not see it
and you may not feel it
but im holding you tightly and
your spirit is near me so hold on

hold on hold on hold on
child hold on hold on no
it wont be too long oh hold on
hold on it will not be long till its all
over child hold on hold on lay your weary head upon my shoulder
hold on hold on it will not be long till its all over
hold on hold on lay your weary head upon my shoulder
if you don't want to face another day hold on child hold on

I'm Back

I know that I have left for awhile and haven't updated so here goes.

The boys are growing like weeds!!! Owen just turned 2 and Ian is 3 1/2 now. I can't believe how time has flown by! Ian is like an old soul, ever pleasing and always happy go lucky. Owen is a handful. He is energetic and very independent. The boys are night and day from each other but each unique and special in their own ways.

I sat down right after Owen turned 2 and took an account of our lives thus far. Boy have we come a long ways. God has richly blessed us and sometimes we just get caught up on everyday life and forgot to count those blessings. So I have made a packed with myself that from this day forward we are going to count our blessings everyday as well as making sure we are thankful for what we do have. A dear friend of mine showed me a website called A Holy Experience http://www.aholyexperience.com/ As I began to read through Ann Voskamp blog I realized that I am not teaching my children to always be thankful. Yeah sure I make them say thank you after I give them something or say thank you to someone who has just filled their cup or watched them in the nursery. I want to raise thankful children. So starting tonight at the dinner table we are all going to right down/draw something we are thankful for. Then we are going to start posting them on our back door so that we can see just how thankful we are.

I will update on our new little project periodically.

The book that I am now reading is called Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I am really loving this book. Here are some highlights from Chapter 1:

1. Stop Praying: Stop talking at God but too HIM. Take a long look at God before we speak. Romans 1:20 says "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse." So when Mr. Chan says stop praying he is just that we need to look at who God is before we start praying. We need to make sure that we are not just talking at God but too God (include Him in on the prayer) "The wise man comes to God without saying a word and stand in awe of Him." Francis Chan. Here are five things about God:
1. God is Holy-nothing and no one to compare to Him. "God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM'; and He said, Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you." Exodus 3:14

2. God is eternal-He always has been, is, and will be. WE have a beginning and an end. "But you, O Lord, abide forever, and Your name to all generations. But You are the same, and Your years will not come to an end." Psalm 102: 12, 27

3. God is All Knowing-He knows each of us deeply and specifically. He knows who we are and what we are about. "O Lord, You have searched me an known me." Psalm 139:1 "And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." Hebrews 4:13

4. God is All Powerful- He does not have to explain Himself to us. "But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases." Psalm 115:3 "All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, 'What have You done:'" Daniel 4:35 Could it be my ignorance that mes me think God owes me an explanation when He says no to something that I have asked for or when He shuts a door, or even when He disciplines me?

5.God is Fair and Just-God is the only being who is good, and the standards are set by Him. "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverted mouth, I hate." Proverbs 8:13

I want to encourage anyone who read this post to stop praying at God and start praying to God. Know who God is before you enter His throne room. You might be surprised by what you find. I know when I start to list the attributes of God I just stand amazed by His glory.

Potty Training / Owen

My how time has flown!!! Ian had his second birthday and we are transitioning into a big boy. We made his crib into a toddler bed, now he sits at the table with us and the biggest transition is we have started potty training. Yesterday was our first day and we had only 5 accidents. Not too bad for the first day. So I have hit this endeavor full force. No pull-ups!!! Ian is loving just running around the house in his big boy undies and a t-shirt. Today we have had only one major accident #2 but no potty accidents. He has gone pee pee 3 times this morning and he is so proud of himself. The one trick I learned was to set a timer and when it goes off we rush off to the potty. After the first day with the timer when he hears it goes off he stops playing and says go potty and runs off to the bathroom. It is so cute. I hope his enthusiasm stays as we continue potty training. So we are taking this task one step at a time and one day at a time. While sitting in my quiet time this morning God reminded me to not rush him. Sometimes it takes us as children of God time in learning something new the same goes with him. It will take time and just as God is patient with me I will be patient with Ian.

Here is an update on Owen. One week from tomorrow(Jan 20) he has a court date to sever his parental rights. As the time approaches the more anxious I become. I know that God all ready knows the outcome and I can have peace with that. No matter what happens next Wednesday God is still on the throne. Please pray for God's will to be done next Wednesday. I also want everyone to pray for Owen's biological mother. She has chosen a lifestyle that is not pleasing to God but if she does loose her rights it still has to be hard on her. I am constantly thinking about her and how I would feel if my children were taken away from but at the same time I can't stop my lifestyle. It is almost like you are being pulled in two different directions. Please pray that God will place the right people into her life so that she can see what God has to offer her. It is easy to be angry with her at the choices that she has made and believe me I have had my moments of anger with her. But as I started praying for her God has changed my heart to one of compassion. I was fortunate to be raised with loving and encouraging parents who helped lead me down a path that was pleasing to God. She was not as blessed. From the beginning she had a rough start. She made bad choices and those choices have now effected her children. I want her to know that both of her boys are going to be loved and taken care of. Rather she realizes it or not she has given us the best gift that anyone could have given us. Our hearts are full and blessed now that Ian and Owen are a part of our lives. They both have joined our family and an instant bond has been formed. It is like they have been a part of our family from birth. The joy they have brought into our life is so overwhelming that at times I feel as though I am dreaming. But this is my life and I am loving every minute of it. God knew exactly what children needed to be in our home and what kind of parents these two little guys needed.

Always remember that God does know what he is doing and that His ways are always better than ours. It has taken me a long time to figure this out but when you finally do the peace that follows is amazing!!!!

Update

Wow I sure have let time slip away from me. I can't believe that it is almost December. November 1, 2009 Owen finally moved in with us. We are still waiting for a court date to terminate parental rights but the paperwork has finally been filed!!!! We are hoping that his termination goes through before Christmas.

Our lives have changed so dramatically in the last 3 months. When God blesses you HE BLESSES you!!!!!!! I am loving being a mom and I know Shawn just loves being a dad. We were able to spend half of November with our families. The boys fell in love with both sets of grandparents!

We have all ready had a couple of firsts in this house. Ian had his second birthday and both boys celebrated Thanksgiving in our home for the first time. We also took them to the aquarium and then to Savannah. The aquarium was a hit, even Owen enjoyed it!! Our Savannah trip was great. Ian did not like the trolley ride. The loud noises scared him! We also took both boys to the beach at Tybee Island. Ian ran straight for the water and wanted to get in. So I think this summer we are going to have to take a family trip to the beach so that both boys can have a swim in the ocean!!

Now we are looking forward to Christmas! Our first Christmas together as a family!!!!! I can't wait to spend that time with family and friends.

I will try and update this more as time goes by!

God is so Good!!!!

Today is a very special day in our family. We official become a family of 3 today. Ian moves in to our home for good!!!! We are so excited and so blessed. We have waited for many years to be blessed with a child. God heard our cry and was waiting to place the perfect child into our home. It is amazing how your love can grow for a child that you did not carry. When I look at Ian I think of him as our own and that he has been a part of our family from the beginning.

Ian has been with his foster family since birth and they have done a wonderful job in raising him. He has been very loved for the past two years and I am so thankful for that. I know that this day is a very sad day for them and my heart goes out to them. When you think about it say a little prayer for them. The next few weeks are going to be difficult.

As for us our good news keeps growing! We are going to be able to foster Ian's brother. There is a 90% chance that we will be able to adopt him. Right now we are waiting for a date for his parental rights to terminated. We do not have the little guy just yet but as soon as the attorney can get on the ball and file paperwork then we can move the little guy in. Right now we are getting to do visitations with him at his foster parent's house. He is so precious and tiny. I am attaching a photo of Ian so everyone can see the cute little guy.

Thank you all for your prayers! This has been a long journey and we still have a ways to go but the light is at the end of the tunnel.

Ian Christopher Moore

Update

So it has been ages since I have updated our blog. Shawn made it through IDMT school!!!!!!! Yeah for that. It looks like we won't be getting orders until April or after. I am glad that he is back. As some of you know Shawn is always entertaining so I certainly did miss my constant entertainment. Do you realize how much help it is when the trash gets taken out and the big trash cans outside get taken to the curb? Well let me tell you the little things that my hubby does like taking out the trash is the biggest help. You don't really realize how much the small things add up until you have to do them on your own.

I know everyone keeps asking about our adoption status and well I am happy to say that it is about to change to happy parents. We are going to be adopting a 20 month old little boy. His birthday is November 28, 2007 and his legal name is Taydon but we are going to name him Ian Taydon. We get to meet the little fellow tomorrow afternoon!!!!! We are sooo excited that I can't stand it!!!!!! We will take pictures tomorrow and I will post them tomorrow night for everyone to see!!!!! Thank you for all your prayers during this process. We will keep everyone posted as we go through our next steps. We will have a series of visitations and then he will be moved into our home. This picture is of my neice and toby. She is getting so big. She is now 2 years old.

Shawn graduating from IDMT school!
Yes that is me with a loaded 22 and it has real bullets in it. So beware I have a good aim. I hit my target every time!!!!! :)This is my target. My first shot was the one on the bottom right.

Food for Thought

I had the pleasure last night of eating dinner with a very Godly family and some of their neighbors. What a refreshing night it was. We started talking about children and how they are being brought up with disrespect for their elders among many other things. The one thing that stood out was that the kids now days have not been brought up in Christian homes or homes that do the religious thing on major holidays but still claim that they are Christians. Parents have failed to teach their children that they need to seek the Lord at all times. We need to be servants and respect those around us. But how do these kids learn these things if we as parents are not teaching them. In fact we as parents and adults must not be seeking God, because if we are seeking God then wouldn't we instill these things into our children? As I was beginning to leave last night a little girl, age 9 who has an abundant amount of faith, stopped me and asked me if I knew what grade she was going into. I guessed that she was about to start the 3rd grade and I was right. I asked her if she was nervous about going into the 3rd grade and here is her answer. Way be afraid when God is with me. His grace is sufficient enough for me. I will do great because I have a God that will prepare the way before me. WOW!!!!!!! Why can't I have that faith. A child-like faith! I was truly blessed by Abigail last night. How did she know this? She has been taught by her parents, not only that but her parents walk out their faith in their daily lives.

One thing I know is to have a child-like faith we must seek the face of God. Amazing how God works.... As I was sitting here checking emails I started my song play list and this song came up by Kari Jobe called The More I seek Him


The more i seek you,
the more i find you
The more i find you, the more I love you

C:I wanna sit at your feet
drink from the cup in your hand.
Lay back against you and breath, here your heart beat
This love is so deep, it's more than I can stand.
I melt in your peace, it's overwhelming
(From Top)

So then I was compelled to look up a few verses
1 Chronicles 28:9 (towards the end) "If you seek him, he will be found by you; if you forsake him, he will reject you forever."
2 Chronicles 7:14 "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
Psalm 105:4 "Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always."
Jeremiah 29:13 "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

So as I sit hear thinking about these verses I wonder, if we are not seeking God then how do we know what He is telling us to do, or how do we know how we are suppose to raise our children? No wonder I world is self destructing. We are turning our faces from the one that has created us. How dare us spit in the face of the Lord our God. We should be ashamed and fall on our knees before him and ask him to hear our cries and heal our land. The world will not turn around until the people of this land start to cry out for God again! We must start seeking the face of God!

Adoption Update

So here is all of the updates....

On April 8th the two boys that we have had everyone praying for went to court for termination of parental rights. The judge denied the termination. There is a dad that has stepped up and wants the boys. We were worried about the grandmother and she did not show up to court. Now we have to worry about the dad. Our Caseworker said that they are going to go back to court in 2-3 months to try for termination again. There is enough evidence against the dad to have the tpr done. So we are in limbo.

That was as of April 8th. Today is May 5 almost one month later and no court date set. I received an email from our caseworker this after noon saying this

"I have an update regarding available children. We have an 18 month old male who just became free for adoption.

Please let me know if you are interested. Please be aware that this would be in lieu of the other two boys since we they are not legally free for adoption at this time."

So of course everyone knows what our answer was..... YES, YES, YES, YES!!!!!!!!!!!! The little boys name is Taydom (not for sure we are going to use that as his first name) He is healthy and happy!!!!! We are waiting on some minor paperwork to be completed and then we can start the process of getting him into our home. We are soooooooooooooooooooooooo excited!!!!!!!!

The other piece of news is that the little boys mother is expecting again in July. CPS is not for sure if they are going to allow her to keep the baby as of right now. If for some reason that do not let her keep the baby we will be first in line for the little one. So that could be exciting but first things first being getting Taydom into our home!!!!

So please keep praying for us. We are a little apprehensive because of what happened last time but still excited at the same time!!!!

The Importance of April 8, 2009

So what is so important about April 8, 2009. Well we are currently waiting on that day for a court date for 2 kiddos. We found out about a month ago that there were 2 boys that were coming up for adoption but we wouldn't know until after April 8. We are now 6 days out!!!!

Here is the background. The boys are Jordan and Payton ages 2 and 3. Their parental rights are going to be terminated on April 8. Right now we are waiting to see if their Grandmother is going to step up and take them. This is why we haven't really said too much. One reason is because we did not want to get our hopes up. Well we emailed our caseworker a few days ago and she finally responded last night. We just asked her what the status was so far. So far as of yesterday the grandmother still has not stepped up. She does not want them. Now she does have until the 8th to take them. After April 8 she cannot have them ever. So we have been praying, praying, praying that these 2 little boys will get to come and live with us. The reason that the boys are having their parental rights terminated is because the mother just can't take care of them. She can't keep a job, won't even get a job, she can't find housing and want try and even find housing. So she loves them but just doesn't know how to take care of them.

This past month has been a very slow month. Anxiety has filled our hearts. As many of you know we want children more than anything. But we are trying to wait on God. God knows what is best for us and best for the boys. So please keep praying for us. We are holding out for April 8. Hopefully we will know something on the 8, but it could be a few days afterwards before we know. We will keep you all posted. So please pray on Wednesday April, 8, 2009 I am not for sure the court time but pray throughout the day for these 2 precious little boys. Love to you all.

Esther-For Such a Time as This

Wow it has been over a month since I last wrote. Right now on Sunday nights I am doing a Beth Moore bible study on Esther. I am loving it. There is so much more to the book than Esther the Jew saving her people. I have learned so much over the past few weeks. One thing that has stuck with me is timing. The other thing is patience. Esther had to have the right timing to seek out the King and she also had to have patience to wait for the right timing. While we are waiting God is at work! Something Beth said was that "Our culture is training us in Impatience. (Basically teaching us that we don't have to wait. One of the most important spiritual disciplines is waiting upon the Lord.)" Everywhere we look or go we can have things right then. No Wait!! Drive-thrus, express lane, phones, Internet, ect. WE have now idea what it feels like to have to wait. So when we are in a situation and it requires us to wait, we don't know how to act or what we should be doing.

For example, if Esther did not wait on God she would have messed everything up. The events that happened right after Esther entered into King Xerxes presence without being summoned, are very important. Before she even went to see the King, every Jew was fasting and praying. Then after she saw the king and he extended his scepter she asked for him and Haman to join her for a feast or a banquet. When King Xerxes asked her what she wanted she did not immediately reply she simply asked King Xerxes and Haman to join her the next night for another feast. Now for some of you know what happened that night after the feast. Haman was finishing the gallows and the King had a restless night and God showed him some things in a dream. If Esther had not waited another night to give her request the King would not have been ready to hear what she was saying. Everyone had to be prepared at the same time. Sometimes while we are waiting we get tired and impatient. Another thing Beth said was "Our strength will be depleted when we wait up on the 'event or the thing.' We are commanded to wait upon the Lord!" Isaiah 40:31 says "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

In the meantime of our waiting we need to be praying for God to work and set things/events up that will lead us to where we need to be going at the end of our waiting season. I say all of this because right now Shawn and I are in a waiting season. When we get frustrated we cling to the verse in Isaiah. God is working behind the scenes and we need to be patient. Most times it is hard to wait because we are not used to waiting. This study of Esther could not have come at a better time. I have learned and gleaned so much from this study. I am going to close with a verse and then a song that Shawn and I have claimed for ourselves at this time. It talks about what we need to do while we are waiting.

Habakkuk 2:3 "For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."

While I'm Waiting by John Waller
I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

Our Journey to being Parents

As most of you all know that we are trying to become parents. I was hit this morning by reality that the phrase "We are trying to become parents" is taking God out of the picture. Now please don't get me wrong we pray about every possible child that we are considering. But our mindsets have not changed. I am still trying to control this situation. Some of what brought my realization on was that we had sent our home study off to South Carolina in hopes that 2 kids would be placed with us. So we received a call this morning telling us that they are on hold and that their case worker has a good lead on a forever home for them. Which one is great for the kids but needless to say I took it a little hard. The other situation was a 16 year that was 31 weeks pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. She was a dependent of an Active Duty member so her Dr. that worked in the clinic immediately thought of Shawn. So the Dr. talk with the parent and the child about their options. When they decided on adoption the doctor mentioned Shawn. They would not even consider us because we were not catholic. I am finding that this journey has more valleys than mountain tops.

As I poured out my heart to God this morning, He gently reminded me that I am not in control. He is in control. He knows the children that will be in our home. I just need to rest in Him and be patient. (Which most of you know is hard for me to do) So as I sat there I turned over our child issues again to God. It is a daily thing that I have to do. Sometimes I have to do this multiple times a day. Our biggest desire is to have a family and I think that at times we let this get in the way of God's plans for us.

Shawn is having surgery on February 9. This should help out some of our issues. Most of you know that I have issues. I have PCOS which is causing my infertility. But it can be corrected or helped along with medications. Which I have been on the medications and I was not getting pregnant. This is when my doctor turned to Shawn and wanted him to get checked out. So Shawn's doctor has discovered an issue that can be corrected with surgery. So he is taking one for the team and having surgery. The doctor said that this will increase our chances of conceiving. That is if my body decides to work right.

So please be in prayer for Shawn on February 9. This will be his first surgery and he is a little nervous. As for our family please pray that we can let God do His job and that we will get our hands out of the way.

Our Holiday Vacation

So it has been awhile since I have written anything. I let time get away from me. I hope that everyone had a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!

As most of you all know Shawn and I seem to like adventures. (not really) So we started our journey on a Friday afternoon. We were going to drive half way and spend the night in Little Rock, AR. I started out our little trip with a sinus infection, yuck. Poor Shawn had to drive the whole way. We arrived to our hotel at midnight to find out that we had to also pay for our dogs to sleep with us, in a cage mind you. Our babies don't get to sleep with us anymore. There is just no room :). So $23 later we made it to our room and crashed for the night.

On Saturday morning bright and early we headed out for Pampa, TX. We got to somewhere in Oklahoma, and as we were driving down the interstate going 70 there was a deer in the median. As Shawn spotted the deer he started slowing down . The deer headed out onto the interstate very slowly. He stood in the middle of the right hand lane that we were in. So Shawn moved into the left lane. Low and behold so did the deer. Shawn then went to the right lane and so did the deer. At this point we are very close and going about 55-60 mph. As we swerved to miss him we clipped the deer on our Right front bumper, finder, and headlight. Needless to say we were not very happy. As some of you know back in October I had a wreck and totaled our car that we had about 5 months. So in the middle of October we bought our Trail Blazer. On December 15 we made our 2ND payment on the car. In the new car we have OnStar. What a great feature. We had no idea where we were but OnStar new exactly. They called the local authorities and we got our call report. We have no idea what happened to the deer. I know it was hurt pretty badly but we could not find it. It was probably best that we did not find it because Shawn probably would have strangled the poor fella. At this point we are mad, tired, and I am still sick. So we finally make it to my parents house in one peace. Now don't get me wrong we are both thankful that we got the minor damage that we did. It could have been worse. As the weekend progressed I got sicker. I ended up having to go to the ER to be seen. Nothing is worse than being away from home and being sick. By Wednesday I was feeling better and back to my old self. Our time in Pampa was great! We had a wonderful Christmas and a great visit with my parents. I love going home because I get spoiled. (that is probably because I am an only Child, or at least that is what Shawn says!)

On Sunday we headed out for Dallas. The trip there was smooth and uneventful. Our time in Dallas was fun. We did lots of shopping. My father in law built us a hand made bed. It is absolutely gorgeous! I will have to take pictures after I finish putting our room back together again. He did a fabulous job. I love it! We rung in the New Year with the Moore's and had a great time. I even did some dance revolution. That was pretty entertaining. Shawn stayed sick the week that we were at his parent's house. ugh!

On Friday we headed back to Georgia. We wanted to leave by 6:30 but ended up not pulling out until 8am. We got a little ways down the road, like 3 exits and had to pull over. Our tarp on the trailer was coming off so we had to stop and fix it. As we were stopped a trucker that had spent the night in the parking lot came over to see if he could help. We ended up talking to him for an hour. We found out that he is a retired Navy Chaplin. It was great to meet another brother in Christ. So by 9am we finally got back on the road and headed home. As we got into Alabama it started raining. It rained on us the rest of the trip. It was about 1:30am before we made it in and we had to unload the trailer so the bed would not be ruined by morning. As I climb out of the car and unlock the house I realize that something is off. I tried turning on lights but nothing happened. Our electricity was turned off. Now I know what you are thinking we forgot to pay our bill. But we actually paid it early because we new it was due while were gone. Shawn actually went in physically and paid it. So that night I could not sleep because I was trying to figure out what had happened. Were we behind, was it there mistake, or what? As I was going through the mail I saw the flint energies disconnect bill. The amount due was the amount that we had paid and it was turned off on Dec. 30. We did not get back until Jan 2. Now I know they got the money because it went through our bank account and I had a receipt for it. So Saturday morning I got up first thing and called Flint energies. The only person I could get a hold of was the power outage operator. She felt sorry for us and had someone come over and turn the power back on. So first thing Monday morning I still had to call and get everything straightened out because they would come back out and turn it off again. So I called and sure enough Flint energies was in the wrong. We were up to date with our bill. The person that took our payment just did not check off all of the boxes or process it right. So now they have to pay for everything that was lost in our fridge. As some of my friends know our freezer stays stocked. So everything totalled to about $175.

So that was our holiday adventures in a nut shell. What fun! We did have great visits with our families. It is always good to be back home. Now we are recovering from our trip. I think I need a vacation from our vacation! :)

Thanksgiving

I want to make my list of all that I am thankful for

I am thankful for:

The Grace of God
For my right to own a bible and attend church
for Shawn
For my parents
For Shawn's parents
Chad, Rachel, and Megan
Susun
My extended family
Shawn's extended family
For my next breath
for a roof over my head
for the money to pay for my needs

We as Americans take so many things for granted. Such as food, a home, and running water. We have no idea what it is like to live without nothing. So I am taking note everyday for the little things and being thankful for those things. For example do you even think about being thankful for flipping the light switch and bam you have lights? I know I don't. What about when you turn the faucet on and water comes out? Are you thankful? How about this turning the key in your car and it automatically starts up? Are you thankful? I take all of these things for granted. You know the saying stop and smell the roses, well shouldn't we stop and smell the roses? Be thankful for what you have and do not take it for granted!!!!

Heading into the New Year!

So I don't make New Year's Resolutions because I know that I won't keep them. So every year I asked God what next. What is it that You want me to do with this year. One of the questions that our Pastor has asked us is: "What are you going to trust God for this year?" My answer to this is a two part answer. The first thing that I am going to trust God for is Shawn's job. We are wanting to move from here but we want to make sure that we are in God's will first. My second answer is that we are going to trust God for a child. I have wrestled with this issue for many many years. I trust God somewhat but still hold on and try to control parts of it. So for the year 2009 and I am not going to doubt that God will give us a child.

Our pastor is laying out over the next few services a Faith P.L.A.N. Here is what the first part says:

1. Prepare today for tomorrow's opprotunites- Ephesians 5:15-16.
1.) Prepare by Faith because there Are:
a.)Surprising interruptions in Life-Judges 6:11-16
"Champions don't become champions in the ring-merely
recongnized there." Dr. Jerry Falwell
b.)Unexpected opprotunities in life- 1 Samuel 17:33-40
"The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his time, when it
comes." Benjamin Disraeli

In the Judges verse Giddeon was a coward. He did not want to stand up to the Midianites. But if you notice God calls Giddeon a warrior. This is even before Giddeon is a warrior. God knows what lies ahead of us, what paths were are going to take. So God knew Giddeon was going to be a mighty warrior. Take confidence in what God has pre-planned for you.
In the Samuel verse David is going up against Goliath. No one believed in him. But David knew exactly what God can do. So he had the courage because the Lord was with him. I want to have the faith that David has. God took a little Sheppard boy and made him into a King. David did not know he would be king one day he trusted God at the moment to get him through this battle in life. He had FAITH!

2.)Practical Steps to Prepare for Tomorrow's Opprotunities:
1.)Never Allow those who "will not" tell you that "you cannot"
David did not let the king sway him to back down from the fight against
Goliath
2.)Study the battle plans before tomorrow's battle- read the Word
Psalm 8- David wrote this passage before the battle of Goliath- He knew
how great God was/is , David had faith in God
3.)Learn How to use the sword and shield- memorize the word
4.)Keep your life spiritually sharp-get in a Sunday school Class or bible study
5.)Do something radical in the faith- Get your passport. (basically saying be
prepared for where God can take you)
I hope that the above makes sense. Basically what I am trying to say in a nut shell. Wherever God palces us for a season of life we need to trust Him, have Faith God.

The Election

I am very disappointed in my generation. We have just allowed our country to take one step closer to a socialistic government. It is so sad. After listening to the news and hearing from voters that voted for Obama it broke my heart. They voted for him based on his skin color not his policies. I am not a racist and if Obama had good policies and was pro-life I would have voted for him. But our country is in a world of hurt. My husband's job could be at stake. The military is our life. We love it and now our future is uncertain. I have posted a link for a video from Howard Stern. I am not a Howard Stern fan but this video shows you just how ignorant the voters were.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyvqhdllXgU

Go and check this out you will be surprised.

I think now it is time for Christians to stop becoming complacent and stand up for our country. We need to bring God back into our churches and back into our nation. Our country was built on God's word. We have laughed in the face of God. We as Christians take for granted our freedom to be able to worship whenever we want to. Before too long we won't have that right. It makes my heart break for those that just want to set back and "be safe" . There is no doubt that Tuesday was a defining moment in US history. It was a historical election. I will agree with that. Our country has come a long way. But when did we stop voting based on the canidates policies and start voting on the color of their skin?

Bearing my Heart

Out of my devestation this week came an overwhelming amount of peace. Now it has taken awhile to get to this place but I have made it. This past weekend I had my time of yelling at God and asking Him WHY!!! I shed many tears and fought off depression but through the grace of God I have come out on the other side.

God all ready knew that this would happen and he placed a special lady in my life to help me through. Now don't get me wrong our friends have been the best during this time and without them as well we wouldn't have made it. But there was one special lady that spoke truth to me. She let me vent, be angry with God and then she put me in my place. Of course she did it out of love. But I needed her and God used her to speak to me. She asked me a few very tough questions and those were: "Have you given your desire to have children completely over to God? Have you laid your desire at the foot of the cross and walked away from it? And finally Are you able to tell God whatever the outcome I will still serve you?" My response to her was this: "You know Shawn asked me these very questions a few months ago and my reply to him was that I was not ready to give that up to God because I was afraid of what His answer to me would be." She then told me you know what you need to do Lay it down and walk away and out of that God will bless you.

She stressed to me that if I did not leave my burden at the cross then God could not truely bless me. The more that I hold onto my burden the more trials I am going to go through because is trying to teach me to just trust Him. She also encouraged me to be like Hannah. God belseed her bearaness and her faithfulness with Samuel and look what kind of man Samuel turned out to be.

So this week I have been prayering and seeking the face of God in this matter. I have finally laid down my desire to have children at His feet and I have walked away. I know that God's plans are better than I could even begin to imagine for me. He sees the whole picture and I see just a tiny puzzle piece. So I know I just need to trust him.

Some of the passages that I have clinged to our now my foundation for this new season of life that I am in. They are:
2 Peter 1:3 "His divine power has given us EVERYTHING we NEED for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness."

1 Peter 4:12-19 "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. (13) But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. (14) If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. (15) If you suffer, it should be not as a murderer or thief or an other kind of criminal or even as a meddler. (16) However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear the name. (19) So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good."

1 Peter 5:6 &10 (6) "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. (10) And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast."

So there is my heart laid out. I want to thank everyone for their prayers. I have felt them and needed them. I rest in the fact that I know God has great plans for Shawn and I. I can't wait to see His plan unfold.

Our New Addition!!

So some of ya'll know what happened to us yesterday. We got a phone call at o12:15pm wanting to know if we would like to take in a baby. Of course we said YES!!!!!!!!! She was born October 13, 2008 at 8:40 pm she was 6.5 pounds and 19 inches long! She is so precious. God has overwhelmed us with his goodness this week. A new car and a new baby to put into the car.

Now the journey is going to be a long one with lots of ups and downs. Right now she is considered a Foster child but this is how it works. Eventually her status will change but it may take awhile before it does. So please be in prayer for us as we start this journey.

So last night was definitely a long night. We were up about every hour and a half. Not much sleep but there are NO complaints here!!!!! I enjoyed every minute of it. Shawn took a couple of shifts and did fabulous with her. We are enjoying our time with her and can't wait for her to meet all of our friends and family!

What a way to end the Week!!!!

So today we found out that the insurance agency totaled our car out. Of course we wanted this just because if they fixed up the van we did not feel safe that it would run right. They say after a car is in a wreck it just never drives the same again. So of course as many of y'all know Shawn and I seem to like challenges. hahahaha Shawn also found out yesterday that he has a funeral Friday and then one on Saturday. So here is our delima that we were faced with. The insurance company was only extending out our rental car until Monday Oct. 13. So we had really only 2 days to search for a car. Shawn spent all afternoon yesterday looking at cars online.

The car search:
So we headed out last night after all my kids left for the search. We started at the ford place and we found an explorer that we fell in love with. It had the 3rd row seating and was leather. It was in our price and the milage was okay. So they talked us into taking it home for awhile to help us decide if this was the right vehicle. We told each other before we bought that unless the deal was so amazing that we could not pass up then we would go home for a night and think about it. We then ended up at the Chevy place. The salesman took us to the Trailblazers and we first started off with a new one. The price scared me because it was not in our price range. Well the salesman said lets fun the numbers and see what we can get it for. So he did and the monthly price was out of range. Now take into consideration that our down payment went on our van 5 months ago. So we were looking at no down payment. Well he was going to put us into a used trailblazer and when we still weren't satisfied we then told him we would go home tonight and think about it. We also told him we were leaning more towards the Explorer. He asked us to give him one more minute and so we did. He came back and with only $50 dollars more than what we were paying per month he could get us into the 2008 Trailblazer with only 96 miles on it. Plus we also go an extended warranty of 6 years 100,000 bumper to bumper. So it was the dealbreaker and we walked away with a brand new car!!!!!

God is so Amazing!!!!! We have been praying since Saturday that God would bless us with the right car. And we have been blessed. So God has been graceful towards us and blessed us even though we don't deserve it.

As far as my medical injuries go, I am still having some back and hip problems. When I am on the medicine that the doc gave me I feel fine but when they wear off it is a different story. I am suppose to start physical therapy here soon so hopefully that will help out. But those are minor problems I could be worse off. I am just happy that I walked away with minimum scratches and bruises. Again God protected me!!!! He placed a protection around the van and held me close.

Oh and on the upside of things as well. Shawn got accepted into IDMT school. So he goes April 24, 2009 to school and will be gone until June 24, 2009. After that we could come back here or they could move us somewhere else. So we shall see where God will take us.

So there is the update!