God Gave Victory!

"We look for visions from heaven, for earthquakes and thunders of God's power... and we never dream that all the time God is in the commonplace things and people around us. If we will do the duty that lies nearest, we shall see Him. When the Spirit of God comes, He does not give us visions, He tells us to do the most ordinary things conceivable... whenever God comes, the inspiration is to do the most natural, simple things-- the things we would never have imagined God was in, and as we do them we find He is there." ~Oswald Chambers

And even in the commonplace of the bathroom....God is there. Gabe conquered the throne

this morning and FINALLY-- actually went potty 2 times this morning. We had some

wet undies a couple times, but I didn't even care.....I was dancing the happy dance

in the bathroom because God gave us victory!!!

Right before lunch the kids and I were dancing to Michael W. Smith and Gabe

was jumping around too, praising God. When all of a sudden, there was a

fountain of pee shooting across the kitchen floor!! He refused to put

pants on this morning after putting on big boys undies....so I thought, why not?

This way if he wets, I will see it sooner than later. So he got a little too

excited and forgot he had big boys pants on I think. You should have seen

the look of surprise on his face!! It was great....

Pictures-This n That

Ellie's latest: "Where'd it go?"

I've seriously got to get to work on teaching her how to be a lady ;)

We headed to the petting zoo today at the high school.....Gabe was so excited he was a blur the whole time going from one animal to the next. He made sure he told everyone around what sound each animal made with ALOT of expression.

There were goats, donkies, horses, puppies,peacock.....

We made sure to go at the time Uncle Isaac was in class there.

Ellie had fun, but was soooooooooooo tired....so not sure she enjoyed it as much as Gabe.

It's hard to see against Isaac's black shirt, but this is the cutest baby goats ever!!!

They had fainting goats which are pretty cool.....they just fall over randomly when scared.

And of course, we can't forget the baby pigs.....

Jason had a patriotic spring concert the other night at one of his grade schools (he teaches

at 5 schools total) I cannot even begin to tell you how proud I was of him....getting this many

little ones (Kdg-4thgraders) to sing, do motions and actually stay in one place at one time is pretty stinkin' amazing. Way to go honey!!!

Pray for Gavin

I happened upon this precious little boy's blog about a week ago and have been following his
story and progress. I do not know them....but they are a part of the family of God.

We know from experience how powerful prayer is when we need it most.
If you hava minute, check out his blog and say a prayer for that precious family.

I simply cannot imagine watching our children go thru undescribable pain and discomfort.
I feel like what we went thru with Gabe was nothing compared to this.

Heavenly Father, I just pray right now You would hold little Gavin closer still in Your mighty arms. I pray Your peace upon his family. I pray that Your healing hand would continue to touch and bring his little body back around to working order. I pray that You would make the pain bearable....for Gavin's body and for his parents hearts. We believe You Father, that You sent Jesus to die for our sins, and that by His stripes, we are healed of EVERYTHING! Thank You, Father. IN Jesus' Name...Amen.

http://gavinowens.blogspot.com/

Happy Monday

Back when I used to work full time before I had kids....I had my favorite pair of yellow clogs I would wear to work with my scrubs. I wore the soles off of them.

I never thought I'd find another pair of happy yellow shoes like I had before.

But I did....thanks to Walmart.....I found some happy shoes again. And as I walked the halls of work today, I prayed that the happiness would spread and God's peace would reside in that clinic. Because there are so many hurting hearts out there....that are just aching for happiness
that only Jesus can give.

As I tucked Gabe in tonite, we prayed for his Sunday School teacher: Ms. Cindy. She had surgery this morning and we prayed God would heal her completely. Gabe looked at me after I got done and said, "Mommy? Cindy have happy band-aid?"

Yes, Jesus gives us happy band-aids when we are hurt. But He gives so much more than that.
Jesus gives us life eternal, joy everlasting, and hope forever. The right kinda Happy.

Happy Monday from my happy feet to yours!

Pictures-Weekend Recap

Well, we had another great weekend.....busy but fun! Friday we enjoyed my cousin Marci
coming and spending the day with her girls.....they loved every minute of it!

Friday night our guys had their last "Away Game" we lost...but they played hard...was a fun game to watch. Isaac was NOT feeling good so I was surprised how much coach played him.

Guess he needs those big giant arms out there in the court, eh?

I seriously think his shaved head makes him look even more "giantish"....

Him and 2 others of Blake's close friends shaved their heads on Feb. 14th in remembrance.

Saturday night Jason was with the band/chorus and the kids and I opted to stay home for once. So Isaac and Chelsey came to hang out.......and really, I don't usually let my kids play with dirty diapers!!!!

Snugglebugs......

Pretending like they were sleeping.....

Gabe still pretending to be sleeping......what a nut.....

We enjoyed a great day at church and our last marriage class at our house today.

Tonite my parents took us all out to Alexander's for our Christmas present....wow....was it

better than ever!!!!!

Our giants took up one whole side of the grill.....I seriously watched guys walk up and take a look

at them and kinda step away.....I think they were intimidated by the heads reaching the grill roof ;) Jacob as you can see on the far left is the only normal sized kid ;)

We had some fungus among us tonite.....seriously.....WHY would you eat this????

I decided to give it another whirl....can I just say....RUBBER???????

Thanks Dad n Mom for a great night!!!! You guys are the best of the best!!!

Friends

I just have to say tonite I am feeling super blessed.

I do believe I have the greatest husband in the world.
And I'm not just saying that.
I don't like to be one of those wives that is ALWAYS bragging about
how wonderful her hubby is....to the point that makes the rest of us
want to throw up and say:

Seriously, we know how great your
husband is, but he is human too and he is NOT perfect...so quit bragging
ALL THE TIME about how wonderful he is.
I don't mind hearing it even 2 or 3 times, but if it has to come up
in every conversation then it's just kinda annoying. Whatever....that's just me.

Soooooo, now that I'm done with that soap box topic.....let me continue about
how great my husband is. ;)
I haven't been doing so well with him being gone alot. He is a busy man that works
hard....and he works hard to do his job well teaching music. And when you work
hard to do your job well, it usually requires alot of time put into it.

I have the tendancy to let him know pretty much exactly how my heart is feeling.
And lately, he has been hearing that I'm worried the kids don't get enough quality time
with him. I have also been very hormonal lately....*sigh* Are you feeling sorry for the
poor guy yet?

So for the record......I'm painting a big sign for the whole world to read as they drive
down highway 47:
"JASON STROUGH: WORLD'S GREATEST HUBBY/DADDY/FRIEND EVER!!!"

Because he always listens to my heart.
He always does his best to be my best friend even when I'm grouchy.
He always covers me in prayer even when I don't deserve it.
He always works hard for our family.
And not only did he bring me roses for Valentine's Day (after weeks of letting him know
how much we never see him) but he had taken Gabe with him and had Gabe bring me
home a rose too......

And today, he watched the kids all day so I could enjoy a hair appointment and coffee.
And lunch and afternoon with my dear friend Angie. And he had quality time with the kids.

So thank you honey for today and for loving me even when I'm unlovable....
you bless my socks off.
And thank you Angie for your friendship....you are such a jewel!!! I thank God
for the gift of your friendship and His perfect timing when He placed you and
Sheldon in our lives 1.5 years ago!!!

FRIENDS ARE ANGELS WHO LIFT US UP WHEN OUR WINGS HAVE
TROUBLE REMEMBERING HOW TO FLY.

What would....

Pictures-I Love Our Kids

I never thought I'd allow anyone to watch our kids except for the Grammas.....but God has blessed us with some mighty fine young ladies that do the job well.

Kamryn is one of the favorites.....and they do have alot of fun....

Since going back to work part-time, I've found myself falling deeper in love with the kids.

I feel like a better mom......I don't find myself losing my patience as quickly because I actually

am not with them 24/7 anymore. I have nothing against stay-at-home mamas that do it full time.....I actually take a huge bow to them. But after praying almost a year about going back part time, it has been good because God is good to provide in all areas. Maybe someday I'll be back

at home 24/7 but for right now......I'm having fun at work AND at home!

Suddenly it's not such a big deal to stop and play.....why I always thought there was something more important to do I have no idea. There is much to do.....the laundry, baking, cleaning, none of it ever stops. But eventually, kids do stop being little people.....so for now, I will linger in these precious moments.

Gabe has become more defiant the closer he gets to 3.......he thinks he owns the world and everything in it. He thinks he does NOT own the royal throne of the john. He has absolutley no interest in the potty throne. Sad sad day........I am praying he wants to be the King of the royal throne soonly.....seriously....it will happen one day, right?

More superly fantastic babysitters....Savannah and Sadie

Little Miss Ellie has gotten more of a mind of her own lately too....She seems to enjoy following her brother's footsteps very, very, very closely.......wow do we have our hands full with these lil monkies....BUT.....Like I said...God is good and what He has created and given to us is good ;)

And really.....life was so boring before them!!!

Here she is attempting to wake him up from his nap and he was liking it not one bit.

I know.....you see the purple pillowcase??? Yes, well purple is a royal color ;) And sometimes the royal queen of this castle doesn't always get laundry done in speedy manner, so the men of the house have found out that most colors can become manly!!!

A sight that stopped me in my tracks....reading together....what a pair ;)

Baby Blue Eyes.....such a joy......

She loves the camera....and loves to look at the pictures after they are taken.

I just realized I probably take more pictures of her right now than Gabe, but I have so many

more pictures of him in frames around the house.....how crazy is that???

There is always an adventure of some sort with these two and Ellie is sure to follow whatever Gabe invents and creates for them to do.

And then sometimes, she just gets bossy and shows him that she is creative too ;)

Have I told you yet how much I love these 2 little pipsqueeks? Love, Love, Love them......

And so thankful that we have had healthiness lately!! Praise God!

Gabe brought Mommy/Ellie a rose for Valentine's Day (along with a bouquet from Daddy!)
and it was super cute when Gabe came running in the house and threw it at my feet.

Wow....what a guy ;) I couldn't help but laugh!

And it's moments like this that just make every squabble, every temper tantrum, every disobedient moment, every poopy diaper, every runny nose, EVERYTHING worth it!!

PS. To My Hubby....Thank you for an awesome Valentine's Day....you are the best of the best!

And this now is Ellie telling me it's time to go to bed......Good Night Friendys!!!

The Face of God

Take my love

For love is everlasting.

And remember

The truth that once was spoken...

To love another person

Is to see the face of God.

~Les Miserables

Pictures-This and That

This if fun for 1 month....NOW bring on the summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lil Miss is making a new fashion statement....

She loves the green stuff just like her big brother....they fight like all get out to ride this!!

So we work real hard at sharing and taking turns.....

Thankfully there are 2 dump trucks, so it's all good because she would rather play with that than her 5 dolls she has......*sigh* she truly is a girl after my own heart ;)

Daddy thought it would be cute taking a picture of her temper tantrum....

All kinds of monkey business happening here at our house in the winter time....

Suckers are the latest greatest treat when there is good behavior...if only this would work with potty training........grrrrrrrr

And so the monkey tales continue......