Leaving the Light On

I love the sky. My most favorite times are sunrise and sunset. Since I usually don't see the sunrise, I love to watch the sunset. It helps me remember the greatness of God and I feel so at peace.

As for a different subject...another book. I have just finished up with this one and I highly recommend it to anyone.
"What kind of home do you want your children to look back on years from now? Are you turning on lights of love and laughter and shared dreams in your children's memories..."

"Whenever I find myself in the darkness of disappointment or puzzling circumstances, I start looking for the sun rays of God's presence and purpose. God has always been faithful in providing that light. The clouds break and-of course!- He's been there all along. His sovereign love and tender concern shine out like sun through a patch of blue.

Every family will experience it's share of "cloudy day" hardship and pain. The Bible assures us of that. James writes:"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds" {James 1:2}. It's not a matter of IF, it's a matter of WHEN. Dark days and difficult times are unavoidable. Although we may work overtime trying to shield our children from hurt, we'll never be able to shelter them totally from bruises caused by their own or other's actions.

As caring parents, one of the finest legacies we can pass along to our children is a determination to discover positive gain in troubled times. We can teach them to wait for the sunlight." Gary Smalley

Every trial contains value!

I do still love my blog...

and for me, a month is a mighty long time without a post! I have been out of a computer for about 2 weeks, but thankfully other people know a LOT more than I do, and we are back in business:)

Some, most days I wonder if I will make it til' sundown. Apparently I do. At the end of the day I question whether I did anything right. Did I make any positive influence on my children? More often than not, it seems my answer is no! I just pray that God continues to be gracious and gives me lots more days to try~
Although there are many days of down right exhaustion, there are also those that make me smile. And thank GOD for those kind!

"She did it!"

This picture is nothing out of the ordinary, I just so happened to find it funny this particular day. I had gone to put some laundry in the wash and when I came back in the kitchen John Luke pointed at Allie Beth and screamed, "She did it!!!"

Grits

We l-o-v-e grits! If all else fails, my kiddos will eat grits! The other day we had Luke Jones visiting, and I made grits for breakfast. Knowing that Luke is a good eater, I dipped him out a big bowl and we all sat down. He took one bite and just sat there. I said "Luke, what's wrong?" He said, "These not very nice." I said "You don't like them?" He said, "NO! They not taste good!" What a yankee!!!! Sorry Luke. I'll try better next time!


One very good reason we have not purchased new furniture...


It seems we all like it...



It's the simple things...

like suckers and sitting in the front seat that put some of us on cloud 9!

And for others, it's date night with one really handsome little man...

For me, it was huge! When you have a sweet boy that loves to hang out with his DADDY, having a night that's ALL mine, is really, really big! And when he looked over at me as we rode to the movies and said, "Mama, you can be my date. And you can even sit by me, and I can sit by you! It'll be real fun!" I melted!!!

On our date, we went to the 'big screen' and watched Despicable Me. {A FANTASTIC movie}. First of course we stopped at the store and got an Alligator Ice, then he thought he might could eat some pizza so we got pizza. Then by all means, when we got there we ordered popcorn {and ofcourse mister, I want butter!} and a drink! We found the perfect seat, started chomping down on our popcorn, watched the previews, and then finally the movie started. John Luke climbed in my lap and after about 10 minutes, I heard snoring! Yes! He was out cold!!! I debated whether to go or stay. I decided I'd just stay and enjoy it myself. Then something hit me... I bet he's gonna wet his pants. Sure enough about an hour later I felt something warm and wet!!!! I stayed and finished the movie. Nothing I could do then! Even though we were both soaked, I cannot explain how precious that night was to me! I will cherish every minute of my date!

The next morning we were up bright and early and off for some hotcakes!

Then we hung out outside since it was cloudy and cooler...






Rain!
What a pleasant blessing!





Enjoy the rainy afternoon everybody!

Which did God hear?

WHICH DID GOD HEAR?
A man sat down to supper with his family, saying grace, thanking God
for the food, for the hands which prepared it, and for the source of
all life. But during the meal he complained about the freshness of
the bread, the bitterness of the coffee and the sharpness of the
cheese. His young daughter questioned him, "Dad, do you think God
heard the grace today?" He answered confidently, "Of course."

Then she asked, "And do you think God heard what you said about the
coffee, the cheese, and the bread?" Not so confidently, he answered,
"Why, yes, I believe so." The little girl concluded, "Then which do
you think God believed, Dad?"

The man was suddenly aware that his mealtime prayer had become a
rite, thoughtless habit rather than an attentive and honest
conversation with God. By not concentrating on that important
conversation, he had left the door open to let hypocrisy sneak in.

Like Father, like son

John was vacuuming his truck out, and John Luke told him he needed to vacuum his truck out too. So he pulled his Gator and monster truck over, and grabbed the shopvac and cleaned up his trucks!

One year later...

One year ago...

{Glad no one pointed out to me how BLUE she was! I was oblivious to it then, but I guess that was a good thing! Now looking back on the pictures it's crazy how blue she really was!}
One year later...

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Okay! Nevermind! {Memories---precious memories!}

Then we ate cupcakes. And boy did we love them!

Happy Birthday Sassy!

WoW! Allie Elizabeth W. Colvin was born this day 1 year ago! At 8:30 a.m. a precious little girl was added to our family! She weighed 7lbs. 8 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long.



Thankfully, she came here with absolutely no trouble and I actually enjoyed her birth! {If I could have them all like her, I might would have 10~} I can remember it like it was yesterday, and it literally feels like it was yesterday! What a blessing she has been! We love you sister girl!



















At 1 year:
*She is NOT walking!
*She is eating table food {no baby food}
*She squeals at the top of her lungs & points when she wants something
*She weighs ~18 lbs.
*She has four teeth on top and two on bottom
*She hates to ride in her carseat
*She is her brother's biggest fan
*She says Mama & Daddy {when she wants to!}
*She is full of spunk & sass!
This little girl is spoiled rotten! And she knows it!!! But we love her!




"The LORD has done great things for us; and we are filled with joy." Psalms 126:3