I'm getting really excited about this too!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Madi and Leslie's 4th birthday party
So I've been completely consumed with planning Madi's birthday party and preparing for our trip to AZ. My friend Vil and I, decided to combine Madi and Leslie's parties, Madi and Leslie are best friends and their birthday's are only a week and a half apart so it just made sense. It was a lot of fun but a lot of work. I grew closer in my friendship with Vil and her sister Leslie, also a very good friend, and have enjoyed every second I've spent with them. We did a candy themed party and I think it turned out pretty cute! Here's some pics, let me know what you think:)
The cupcake cake, so cute!
The Candy table, Vil and Leslie decorated the candy shaped cookies, they turned out so cute.
Yummy food, thanks Deng and Leslie!
Good friends/family:)
Me and Vil
Me and Mr. Boo Face
Vil and Walter
Bouncy House, too funny not to post.
Making their wishes
Oi!
Bubble gum blowing contest, the winner got a Candy Land game. There was lots of drooling.
Now that it's all over I can focus on getting ready for our trip, packing is definitely not as much fun as planning a party. But I'm looking forward to getting on the road, so Grandma's and Grandpa's get ready to spoil some pretty special kids that have missed you a bunch. I made the mistake of telling them too early about the trip so it's been a constant question everyday "When are we leaving?". Ugh! I've learned my lesson for next time:) Can't wait to see everyone as well as Sonic and Macayo's, it's been far too long.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Letting Go
Thank you for all your encouraging comments! And to let anyone know that if you're sick of my ramblings to stop reading now, because I have more:) God has definitely been revealing Himself to me a lot lately, and it's been simply mind blowing! And quite frankly, humbling because of how simple it all is, it just takes a while for me to get it. I have often prayed that the Lord would give me an answer as bold and bright as a neon sign or I am going to miss it completely:) And He has, not with bright lights but through His living Word.
Lately, I have been going crazy, not the bad crazy, the normal crazy if that makes any sense:) See what I told you, I'm kind of loony. As women we deal with so much hormonally, ugh! I hate that word, but honestly that's a lot of what I've been dealing with. Having babies so close together, nursing, and just not giving my body the time it needs to recover has taken a toll on me. And I am feeling it!
I have prayed this prayer off and on that the Lord would develop a higher level of discernment in me and help me to know the truth so well that I can quickly recognize the most finely crafted lie.
And ladies if you're like me when our hormones are out of whack our thoughts are not always rational. So today as I battled with all these thoughts going on in my head, and me trying to make sense of it all, while desperately trying not to act on every single emotion I am feeling, and trying to figure out which ones were reality and which ones were just me being overly sensitive. It came to me like a neon sign so to speak, He had answered my above prayer, I was discerning! Which of my thoughts were true and which were lies I had made up in my head. I can remember a time, sadly as early as last week, when I would have just buried these lies that I believed as truth down deep, and then would later surface and rear their ugly heads later on. Ahhhhhhhh, and just having this revelation of letting go of all my cares, frustrations, emotions and worries gave me this visual of myself carrying heavy buckets of water on my shoulders, and as I gave all my cares to God, I could feel the heaviness of their weight dropping to the ground. And instantly I felt relief and a lightness I have not felt for a really long time. So right then and there I thanked Him for constantly being so faithful to me when I am not always so faithful to Him. But He wasn't finished with me just yet. I opened my Bible to the Psalms where I have been reading lately and He showed me a verse I have probably read a hundred times but never had quite the same meaning as it did today.
"Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall." Psalms 55:22
Okay Lord I get it, He can be so pushy some times:) In my Bible I have on the side of the page extra comments on some of the verses and this is what it said..
Letting Go - Psalms 55:22
David brings his concerns and fears to God, asking Him to take over and take care of the problems he's facing. He knows he can trust God with the outcome. God has proven Himself before and will do so again.(Psalm 55:16-17)
Much of the time, what we care about is not entirely within our control. We can't dictate the results of our best efforts; we can't force our hopes to materialize; and we definitely can't make someone we love healthy and happy by the sheer force of our will. When we try to control outcomes, we carry a burden too heavy for human shoulders to bear. What a relief it is to finally let go, to heave our heavy burden onto the strong back of the Lord. He promises to sustain our hearts and MINDS with His peace (Php 4:6-7). And no matter what He chooses to do with what concerns us, we have the assurance that His decisions are guided by His love for us(1Pe 5:7).
So basically what I said but way less hormonal,ha ha. Again I thanked Him and as I was shutting my Bible a piece of paper fell out with a quote I had written down a while back.
"Even though I may forget the prayers I've prayed to God, He never forgets a single thing I ask. He treasures every little prayer I've ever prayed and is still weaving fulfillment's. It's a concept almost beyond comprehension; there must be answered prayers most days that I never even recognize as such."
"Red Moon Rising" by Pete Greig(I may need to check the spelling on his name again)
Gezie Pete! I get it, I get it! Note to self: Be careful what you pray for:) So I got the big neon sign I had asked for and I am truly thankful for it, so please pray for me, I need it I'm crazy remember:) And also because I need to go and apologize to my hubby for being a cranky wife. Pray for him to, he's gonna need it:) Now on a lighter note is she not the cutest thing EVER!
Lately, I have been going crazy, not the bad crazy, the normal crazy if that makes any sense:) See what I told you, I'm kind of loony. As women we deal with so much hormonally, ugh! I hate that word, but honestly that's a lot of what I've been dealing with. Having babies so close together, nursing, and just not giving my body the time it needs to recover has taken a toll on me. And I am feeling it!
I have prayed this prayer off and on that the Lord would develop a higher level of discernment in me and help me to know the truth so well that I can quickly recognize the most finely crafted lie.
And ladies if you're like me when our hormones are out of whack our thoughts are not always rational. So today as I battled with all these thoughts going on in my head, and me trying to make sense of it all, while desperately trying not to act on every single emotion I am feeling, and trying to figure out which ones were reality and which ones were just me being overly sensitive. It came to me like a neon sign so to speak, He had answered my above prayer, I was discerning! Which of my thoughts were true and which were lies I had made up in my head. I can remember a time, sadly as early as last week, when I would have just buried these lies that I believed as truth down deep, and then would later surface and rear their ugly heads later on. Ahhhhhhhh, and just having this revelation of letting go of all my cares, frustrations, emotions and worries gave me this visual of myself carrying heavy buckets of water on my shoulders, and as I gave all my cares to God, I could feel the heaviness of their weight dropping to the ground. And instantly I felt relief and a lightness I have not felt for a really long time. So right then and there I thanked Him for constantly being so faithful to me when I am not always so faithful to Him. But He wasn't finished with me just yet. I opened my Bible to the Psalms where I have been reading lately and He showed me a verse I have probably read a hundred times but never had quite the same meaning as it did today.
"Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall." Psalms 55:22
Okay Lord I get it, He can be so pushy some times:) In my Bible I have on the side of the page extra comments on some of the verses and this is what it said..
Letting Go - Psalms 55:22
David brings his concerns and fears to God, asking Him to take over and take care of the problems he's facing. He knows he can trust God with the outcome. God has proven Himself before and will do so again.(Psalm 55:16-17)
Much of the time, what we care about is not entirely within our control. We can't dictate the results of our best efforts; we can't force our hopes to materialize; and we definitely can't make someone we love healthy and happy by the sheer force of our will. When we try to control outcomes, we carry a burden too heavy for human shoulders to bear. What a relief it is to finally let go, to heave our heavy burden onto the strong back of the Lord. He promises to sustain our hearts and MINDS with His peace (Php 4:6-7). And no matter what He chooses to do with what concerns us, we have the assurance that His decisions are guided by His love for us(1Pe 5:7).
So basically what I said but way less hormonal,ha ha. Again I thanked Him and as I was shutting my Bible a piece of paper fell out with a quote I had written down a while back.
"Even though I may forget the prayers I've prayed to God, He never forgets a single thing I ask. He treasures every little prayer I've ever prayed and is still weaving fulfillment's. It's a concept almost beyond comprehension; there must be answered prayers most days that I never even recognize as such."
"Red Moon Rising" by Pete Greig(I may need to check the spelling on his name again)
Gezie Pete! I get it, I get it! Note to self: Be careful what you pray for:) So I got the big neon sign I had asked for and I am truly thankful for it, so please pray for me, I need it I'm crazy remember:) And also because I need to go and apologize to my hubby for being a cranky wife. Pray for him to, he's gonna need it:) Now on a lighter note is she not the cutest thing EVER!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Just Say Yes!
I have been trying to say "yes" to my children more, because so often my first response is "no". I don't even know why I do this, maybe it's just the easier response. And sometimes after saying "no" I'll wonder to myself why did I just say that? Sometimes I have no good reason for it at all. So in order to be the better mommy that I am always trying to strive to be but feel as though I fail miserably day after day I have decided to start saying "yes" or at least to stop and think before I just blurt out my usual answer. So the other day as we were getting ready for school I got my first chance to put my new experiment into practice. Madi was going through her drawers looking for something to wear and after much contemplation picked out her ensemble. Now it could have been the craziness of the morning, you have to imagine our house in the morning as we get ready for school. It's complete chaos, five bowls of cereal, each person wanting a different kind, an assembly line of sandwiches to be packed into lunches. Finding shoes, jackets, backpacks and socks, oh how I loathe to find matching socks. There are always missing socks, it is a constant battle in my life daily. Oh how I miss the days when we lived in AZ and we hardly ever wore socks, I am such a flip flop girl. So back to the story, like I said it could have been the craziness of the morning or the peace that God had given me that it's going to be okay Danielle just breathe, your kids don't need to look perfect in public. I think I have this insecurity that if my kids look well groomed then people won't give me dirty looks when I go out into public with all of them, I have my fair share of stories of pitied looks, shaking heads when we pass by, and the blank stares as they count silently in their heads as they move their gaze to each child and then back to me with a look of "she must be crazy". They assume that we are Mormon or Catholic and not that we simply wanted to have this many children. We've been told straight to our faces that we are retarded for having as many kids as we do. It just amazes me that people feel the need to share their opinion without being asked, I don't recall ever asking them! My children are a reward from the Lord (Psalms 127:3) and the fact that people are thinking of my children as burdens and not as blessings makes me so sad. If they just met one of my children they would see that this world is far better off having them in it than if they weren't here at all. But as I stood there looking at Madi I just smiled and then started laughing out loud, sure Madi you can wear that it's perfect. And the funny thing is it was, she was still beautiful, sweet Madi and even better she was so incredibly proud of herself. Now I don't write this to brag on myself that I am an amazing mother, believe me I'm not I have a lot to work on still. I am writing this because I have just won a huge victory for myself! I am doing an amazing Bible study at my church called "Called to Conquer" by Dorothy Davis. This past weeks lesson was called "Defenses against the Devil" and how we need to be aware of his tactics for bringing us down. It was an eye opener to me that I have been influenced by his tactic to use lies and half-truths to deceive me. That I have been brought down by guilt and other's words to shape who I believe I am. The truth is I am His beloved, His child and I am perfect in His eyes. What a freeing feeling that was to me, that yes I have and will fail as a mother, wife, friend, sister, grand daughter and daughter but that in spite of the things I have done and will do He still loves me.
"The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him".
Psalms 103:8-13
Beautiful
I know that was a lot but I needed to say it. She said it best... "Feelings can be a little like our laundry. Sometimes we can't sort them until we dump them out."
Beth Moore
"The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him".
Psalms 103:8-13
Beautiful
I know that was a lot but I needed to say it. She said it best... "Feelings can be a little like our laundry. Sometimes we can't sort them until we dump them out."
Beth Moore
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