This Day

On this day 39 years ago, I was born.  I had been a dream for my parents for 9 months.  They wandered about me, imagined who I would be and what I would be like.  They may have been a little surprised that I was a girl.

But I was no surprise to God.

The Lord says in  Jeremiah 1:5, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you."

Yes, God knew all about me.  He formed each and every part of my being.  He knew my strengths and weaknesses before I cried my first cry.

As I celebrate the gift of another year, I pause and thank God for loving me, providing for me, and blessing me.  I look back and see how He has held my hand or carried me the last 39 years.

And as I am pushing 40, almost over the hill, or whatever else we want to call it as we get older,  I have nothing to fear.  I have nothing to dread.  No matter what God has in store for me, I know everything will work out to His plan.

God has proved himself faithful.  Not that He had to, but He proved himself to me through His Word and His creation.  In each of my struggles, I can see where His hand of provision was.  In each celebration, I can see where He provided for me.

As kids, we put a lot of thought into what gifts we wanted for our birthdays.  But now....

As an adult, I see gifts a little differently.  It isn't the store bought stuff I want.  God has blessed me and given me gifts each and every day. Although I will certainly treasure whatever gifts my children get for me, they are one of my greatest gifts.  My husband is an amazing gift.  God has provided me with other gifts as well.....a family, a job, a home, health, a talent, a wonderful church, salvation through His son Jesus Christ.

No matter where I am on this journey God has planned for me, I will know that I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

And today, I celebrate being 39 years old.  I celebrate another day being a Child of God.

If you are struggling with getting older, if you are struggling with who you are on this life journey, I pray that you will seek God's good and perfect will for your life.  Being His is the greatest gift of all.

I Turned Around and Someone Turned Eight

Last week, we spent a beautiful Sunday afternoon celebrating Carson's eighth birthday.  What a blessing it was to have Jeff home this year for Carson's special day.

We celebrated with a Minecraft Cake,

friends and family, 

trampoline, 

baseball, 

 and gifts.

Carson, you are an amazing little guy, and we love you!  Happy birthday, Iley C!

Wait! What? It's August already?

Yes, my friend, August is here. She brought with her some fog this morning, while July left me with two big kids that didn't want to sleep last night.  They haven't yet figured out that their mama must go back to work because the boxes piled in Room 206 will not unpack themselves.  It is sad when a toddler is easier to get to sleep than the big boys.

Colin is NOT excited about today.....6th grade orientation.  Yes, my baby is a middle schooler now. I figure that is why he couldn't sleep.

Carson is excited about the Star Wars Death Star (?) being available on Club Penguin today.  I figure that is why he couldn't sleep.

Me, I just wanted to sleep. I seem to never get enough of it.

Speaking of why I haven't slept a lot lately....here is one reason....

Colin had a sleepover for his 11th birthday.  2 friends + birthday boy + 2 little brothers = one sleep deprived mama.  But it is all worth it. All the boys were really good and enjoyed themselves. I think we all finally got in bed a little after 3AM.

Colin isn't really big on eating cake, but he definitely knows what kind he wants.  This year he wanted a hockey puck cake.

We served this at our family gathering for his birthday after church on Sunday.  For his sleepover, however, he had a giant cookie from The Cookie Store.

We had to eat it for lunch the next day because we filled up on hot dogs and S'mores before we could get to it!

So, now that it is August, it is back to school time.  There will be school supply shopping, classroom organizing, and open house attending.  There will also be soccer coaching and soccer playing. And a Yellow Ribbon event to attend.

What does August have in store for you?

Look who turned 7 (almost a month ago)

So, I feel like a terrible mom. I just looked through all of my recent blog posts, which didn't take to long seeing as how I haven't had time for blogging. I realized I never posted Carson's birthday pictures!

We were able to celebrate Carson's birthday on April 6, the day is was born!  It was  fun day.  A few months ago, he watched How to Train Your Dragon for the first time and fell in love with it. So, Carson decided he wanted a dragon birthday.  And the quest for a dragon cake began.  I had so much fun making his cake.

Carson helped for a while until he felt I had it under control and then fell asleep in my bed. I just left him there since he was the birthday boy.

We had a great time celebrating with family and friends.  I think he was super excited with his Mine Craft gifts, his tadpole habitat, and Thor hammer!

I can't believe my baby is 7 years old and just days away from finishing first grade.  He is getting so big. I can't stand it.

Happy Birthday, Carson!

Look who's 3!

Friday night, Carter and I stayed up LATE working on his birthday cakes (yes, plural.) He wanted a "shark" party. However, he decided at the the last minute he wants a Mickey Mouse cake.  He got his Mickey cake and I created a shark cake because it became a quest!

 Carter finally crashed in the recliner about 1:30 AM!

Early Saturday, we had his party.

 

Tuesday was Carter's actual birthday. We had cake about 8:30 PM after Colin's academic team  and baseball practices.  

Happy Birthday, Cheeseburger!

Happy Birthday!

Today, my oldest (my baby) is 10 years old.

I am so proud to be his mama!  Happy 10th Birthday, Colin!

Happy Birthday!

Saturday was Jeffrey's 37th birthday.  We had a quick morning celebration: chocolate chip pancakes (mine were plain), coffee (milk for the boys), and gifts. 

Happy Birthday, Carter!

Last Sunday, we celebrated Carter's 2nd birthday with family and friends. Carter loved his Elmo birthday!

 Ahhh! There's nothing like sticking your finger in the frosting!

 Carter loved his gifts, especially the balls!

 I hope their expressions were caused by Kentucky losing the SEC tournament.

And a very special thank you to my BFF....

 You showed me how to put blocks together!

I didn't know you had to be a genius to figure it out.

Jeff's mom did a great job too. I felt so dumb because I couldn't figure them out!