Count your Blessings

You know the song..."Count your blessings name them one by one. Count your blessings see what God has done..." To be honest, that song kind of gets on my nerves. I don't know why. It just does. But it happened last week. I picked Ty & Brett up from pre-school and asked Ty what he did that day. I knew they were talking about turkeys, so when he said he didn't remember (which means, "MOM, I don't want to talk about it now!!"), I asked him if they talked about turkeys. When he said yes, I began telling him about Thanksgiving, and that this is a special time that we get to tell God "Thank You" for all He does. So I gave him an example..."Thank you God for Ty & Brett". He took a turn..."Thank you God for mommy & daddy." On and on and on we went, all the way home. For 15 minutes we didn't stop listing "thank yous" to God. I thought for sure we would be running out of things soon, but we kept going. We didn't repeat anything, and nothing silly was listed. We realized how MUCH we have to be thankful TO GOD for. We counted our blessings, named them one by one, and saw what God has done!! Have you counted today?

Videos of Leaf Jumping

Playing in the Leaves!!!

We have so many leaves in our back yard. We raked and blew them all in a pile. It took almost 2 hours! It was so fun. We invited Jaime (my sister in law) and her kids over to have a "jump in the leaves" party! Our doggie, Sadie joined us too! Fun times!!

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Biblical Worldview

I heard an awesome sermon today from Johnny Hunt. It was a challenge to live my life with my mind focused on the end. Things I do today, things I say, ways I treat people, places I go, things I watch and listen to...are these all things I would be proud of if I die today? With a Heavenly mindset and a biblical worldview, the things I do and say each day SHOULD show that my mind is focused on Jesus Christ and the Judgement Seat of Christ (which is for believers). Will I have anything to be ashamed of on that day? Or will I just have a very short list that I'll have to give an account for? I've got to be aware each moment, each attitude, each everything...am I pleasing the Lord in this moment? Am I living with my judgement in mind?? MMM...that's tough!

Go Tell

This is my friend, Brandy, her husband Gray, and son Sam. They have a daughter, Sarala, and another son Jackson. Right now until Nov. 8 (I believe), Brandy, Gray, and Sam are in India for a vision trip. This is to meet with team members who are living there as missionaries already and visiting villages and cities, and while there, they are really searching to see if this is the place God will have them move. They have lived in Slovokia for two years and been back home now for maybe a little over a year. (Time flies, so give or take a little bit). But I just wanted to put these pictures up here so you'd know who to pray for. I think the picture of Brandy talking with the Indian pastor's wife is awesome. She shows such love and concern for this lady and for their culture. Thank God for those who are willing and passionate about going out of their comfort zones for very long periods of time to share Jesus Christ. To see people turn from their gods, their idols, to the One True God is worth everything! Please be praying for their family and the decisions ahead of them.

Video & Maggie's Tree

When our daughter, Maggie Leigh died in June 2003, a friend of my dad's gave him this tree to plant out at the barn. It was very tiny then. It's been 5 years now and it's so pretty when it blooms in the springtime. It reminds us that she is definately living in Heaven and our faith in Jesus Christ still grows and flourishes. He has proven He is faithful and good.

More hayride pictures

I Love The Country Life

Friday evening instead of going trick-or-treating, my daddy took us on a hayride around his house and around the barn (my papa's land down the road where all the hunters stay when they come to "town"). I love the barn and all the land there. Daddy made a pond down there, he plants gardens there like my papa used to, and it's such a peaceful place to be. It's so pretty. So we enjoyed our hayride out there. Ty was right in front of the trailor, as close to pop as he could get. Brett didn't feel too well, but he sat really still and loved the ride. Matt did Sudoku puzzles (he's a yankee at heart still). And I just loved watching my daddy. I think he's the biggest hero I have.

Ty the coon hunter

My daddy & Matt took Ty coon hunting Thursday night. (Please don't send hate mail)! Ty absolutely loved it. He got back at around 10pm that night and was acting so big. He thought he was all grown up b/c he had been with pop, his dad, and lots of other coon hunters in the woods. What fun to let a dog go chase a coon up a tree and bark, then you take a flashlight, go find your dog (and the coon), and everyone is so happy!! What a sport!

Strike licking his lips, ready for the kill...

Where'd my popcorn seed go??

When we moved into our house a year and a half ago, we re-did the floors. They were hardwood, but covered in old carpet. They are beautiful now. But in the living room, there was a very small...you couldn't even see it then...tiny crack in the floor. Now with scooters, little trucks, toys, 2 small boys...the crack is a little bigger...big enough that Ty got a popcorn seed stuck in it this week. He was down there forever trying to figure out how to get his seed out. He finally got a spoon, then pliars and squeezed it out. It took a lot of thought for him. Very cute.

Harvest Day at Pre-School

Ty & Brett were in the Harvest program at pre-school today. They sang probably 10 songs, Ty's class said a poem, and they sang the blessing at the end. Brett's class was so cute. Remember, he's only been there for one week!! He was precious. He acted like he knew all of the songs. Ty did awesome too. He gets shy sometimes, but he did really good today. They dressed like farmers, so I'm sure they felt very comfortable...although Ty's farmer hat was gigantic!!

I love this next one. Who knows what Ty was doing??

Brett's sweet smile...

One of God's small, but huge blessings

Before I do my next post, so you'll know why Brett is in the picture...you need to know that my aunt is the pre-school director at Ty's pre-school. Two weeks ago, she stopped Matt and me in the hall and said "someone" has said they would pay for Brett to go to their 2 year old pre-school class on Tues. and Thurs....the same days that Ty goes to school. My first thought was this is a blessing from God. I would have loved to have sent Brett to the 2 yr. old class this year, but we can hardly send Ty (financially). So this was an awesome gift from the Lord.

Ty's First Field Trip

Ty & I went with his school to Skytop Apple Orchard in Hendersonville a few weeks ago. We rode a hayride, picked apples, and Ty played on the playground with his friends. We had such a good time. I like my "alone time" that I get with the kids...meaning I like my alone time with Ty, and I like alone time with Brett. So this was a good morning for Ty and me.

The first few pictures are of the Apple Lady showing us neat things to do with apples and fun ways to peel them. The big board pictures are of each season and how apples get on the trees. She said bears come in at night and eat apples from the trees, but that they wouldn't come there in the daytime. Who says???

Encouraging Words....

I've been so out of commission. Sorry I haven't blogged. Nothing different in my life really. It just takes me a long time. On another note...I wish you could have been me in the last 3 or 4 weeks. God has really been awesome in my life! Matt has been preaching without notes lately. He gets fired up, walks around the pulpit, and it just seems more passionate and more clear to me. Yesterday I wanted to jump out of my pew! I was reminded of the awesomeness of Jesus. Matt preached about Jesus as the GREAT high priest. The parallels of Jesus as the Great high priest going through the 3 parts of the heavens (where airplanes fly, where the stars are, and where God is)...and how the (regular) high priests had to go through three parts of the tabernacle to get to the Holy of Holies (where God was). Just the greatness and awesomeness of Him has blown me away. I've been refreshed (again)! It's good to be renewed over and over, reminded of Jesus. When all the world seems so hellish...Jesus is here. He's running the show...it's all just leading up to HIM COMING BACK. Presidents, wars, disasters...things have an order, things have a place, a time to happen. Things are purposed by God to happen the way they do to get us to the end of time and Jesus will return! No matter who we try to pursuade people to vote for in November, it's already ordained by God to get his plan rolling. It has happened that way all through the Bible. Kind of takes away the burden and worries. He's got it in control. Family problems, work problems, personal problems, worries, fears, sickness...it's okay. If we obey the Lord...His plan will unravel. You're a part of the plan. I am. Obey and watch Him work.
I'll post pictures a little later. I just had encouraging words (I hope) to tell for now. I hope this finds you doing well, ready to obey, and be a part of His plan.

My Favorite Word

My mama said it's time for me to blog again. So sorry I've been slack. But real quick I wanted to let you know that Brett said my favorite word today!

Wal-Mart!! After we dropped Ty off at school, Brett & I went to Wal-Mart to get groceries. Brett said," Eh Ty?" I said, "He's at school and we're going to WAL-MART!" Then he said it!! It was so cute and funny! That's my boy!! Nothing better than Wal-Mart!!

MORE pre-school pictures

This is the second part of pre-school pictures. He was happy he remembered where to hang his pack-pack! Looks like he had fun on the way to school too!!

Ty's 1st Day of Pre-School

Today was Ty's 1st day of pre-school. He goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays to Hendersonville Presbyterian Creative Beginnings pre-school. He did better than I thought this morning. He didn't want to eat breakfast and didn't want to brush his teeth (but eventually he did both)...but once we got in the car he was good to go. He loves his Diego backpack. He picked out his snack. When he got out of the car, he walked ahead of us skipping all the way. It was very impressing...until...he went into his classroom. He went into shy mode and ran to the corner that Matt and I were standing in. I hoped to get a couple of good pictures, but that didn't happen. Miss Tali just picked him up and we left. He wasn't crying...just whined a little bit. It didn't bother me. He used to do that in Sunday School, but now he goes on in without me. So I know he'll be fine. He loves kids and playing with kids. He likes learning new things, so he'll be fine. Here are a few pictures of this morning. He's at school right now as I'm blogging, so I don't know yet what to tell you about how his day went. Hopefully I can get a few good pictures after school.

Hail To The Redskins!!

Aunt Midgie & Uncle Ricky live in Maryland and are able to buy Redskins stuff anytime. They sent all the kids (Ty, Brett, our nieces and nephew) Redskins Jerseys. Ty couldn't wait to get his on. Brett's reaction was a little different. Grampy would not be happy!! Maybe he knows his mom is a Cowboy in her heart!!

Tim & Becky...be sure to click play...it's a video! hee hee

Sadie

My aunt Donna wanted to see our new dog, Sadie, so I'm posting it on here. The boys love her. She is 2 years old. Part Cocker Spaniel, part ??? I think she looks similar to a beagle. But she is fat like a Bassett Hound. So who knows? She's sweet and cute though!!

Playground at the Mall...Great for a Rainy Day!

Matt, Jaime (my sister in law) and I took all of our kids to the Asheville Mall Tuesday. It has been raining here for a couple of days, and I know my kids are going crazy not being outside. So they played for around an hour, then we ate at Chik-O-Lay (as Ty calls it).

Visiting Me-Ma & Pop

We went to my parent's house this past weekend. The kids love to go there because my daddy rides them on the 4-wheeler and the tractor, and me-ma lets them do lots of things and gives them lots of snacks!! Matt always gets them riled up, throwing them up in the air, and that drives my mama bananas! They get so loud and she's afraid one of them (or both) are going to break an arm or something. So here's Matt and the boys being rowdie and my dad's reaction. My daddy laid there like that for a long time. We thought he fell asleep like that, but he was just trying to muffle the noise.

Cardboard Testimony

This was posted on one of my friend's blogs, and she posted it from one of HER friends's blogs. I don't cry much, but this really got to me and reminded me of what God has done for me. Hope it does the same for you.

A Lesson Learned

"Do not quench the Spirit" ( 1 Thessalonians 5:19 ), and do not despise Him when He says to you, in effect, "Don’t be blind on this point anymore— you are not as far along spiritually as you thought you were. Until now I have not been able to reveal this to you, but I’m revealing it to you right now." When the Lord disciplines you like that, let Him have His way with you.

Allow Him to put you into a right-standing relationship before God.

This is a quote from a friend's blog. Seems I spend a lot of time thinking of God and just knowing what He expects from me. But I have a hard time sitting. I just can't seem to sit and spend time with Him as I should, and as I really desire to. When I put Him down on my priority list, I am quenching the Spirit. He has definitely told me a while back, and let me know clearly that I'm not as far along spiritually as I think I am. Not too long ago, God disciplined me for 2 days straight. I can't remember a time I felt so awful. I was under such conviction. This wasn't for outright sinning. I was just so far behind spiritually that I hadn't realized the hurt I had caused people and really didn't know what to do or how to handle things. I'm thankful for God disciplining me. I was drawn to God and I loved Him so much more afterwards. There was a freedom in the disciplining. Verses 23 & 24 say, "May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, and He will do it." Discipline brings peace, maturity, and freedom. Grab hold and learn from the discipline of the Lord. It's just one part to the process of becoming like Christ, which is our goal.

Can We Get A Pet Cow, Please?

Brett asks me several, SEVERAL times a day for milk or juice. If it is not near a mealtime, I will give him a little bit. Wednesday he brought 3 sippy cups to me and cried for milk!! I laughed at him so hard, grabbed the camera and made him cry worse by taking pictures. All he wanted was milk...but I thought that was classic that he brought me 3 cups! Here's his sweet pouty face!

And, no...I only gave him 1 cup of milk...not 3!!

Camping Trip

Camping was fun. Just Matt & I went. The boys stayed with Jaime, my sister-in-law.

Other than our air matress deflating twice, and it was really cold and moist at night...it was great!

I had so many hotdogs it wasn't even funny!!