The Santa Clause

Typically, you know The Santa Clause as a movie, but did you know there's a real Santa Clause?

Here it is. . .

If your child wants to see Santa at the mall, and if you want to take a personal picture. . .then you must pay at least $20 for the pictures they take of your child.

Enjoy and Merry Christmas!!!!

Longing for a Savior

I know it's been a while since I've written anything, but I wanted to wait and write something for Christmas.

This year at our church, Jason is preaching a sermon series called, "It's A Boy!" Last Sunday he talked on "Longing." People longed for a Savior, but when he came in the form of a little baby, everyone missed it. They missed the Savior of the World.

This year, Jacob has been longing, waiting for Christmas to be here. Every day he wakes up and asks, "Is it Christmas Day?" Last week he woke up one morning and asked me that and I told him "No, not yet," and he replied, "Well, let's just go check," meaning: if there were presents in the living room, then it was Christmas Day! This is the first year he has really understood Christmas. The other day we made a paper chain for him to count down the days until Christmas because he cannot wait.

We should feel the same about our Savior. We shouldn't be able to wait to meet with him every day, not just celebrate him because it's Christmas, but celebrate him every single, grace-given day He gives us. Please don't miss the Savior this season. He longs to be with you as well!!

May you experience all the fullness of God this Season!

Merry Christmas!!
Holly, Jason & Jacob

HE FINALLY DID IT!!!

JACOB IS POTTY TRAINED!!!!!!!!!

It is a very exciting time. I can't believe it took 4 years, but I should of expected it. He usually does things a little late. He likes to take his time and really get it right I guess. We celebrated with CARS the movie and McDonald's. I'm very proud of him. He doesn't even tell us anymore. He just goes. YEA!!!!!

GOOD JOB BUD! Mommy is so proud of you!!!

He doesn't need me

In the recent weeks, God has been telling me something very odd. What makes it more odd, is that he told my husband on the exact same day. He has told both of us "He doesn't need us." I'm not sure what it means exactly, but I might have received a little clarification about it after Jason's message Sunday night. He said that the paradox of God is that Jesus was fully God, yet he humbled himself to the point of a servant. He emptied himself. He also emptied himself on the cross the day he died. HE WAS GOD!!! Yet, gave up his life for all of us. Again, emtpying himself. In order for us to have the fullness of God, we have to empty ourselves. Maybe the statment God made to us, "I don't need you," was one of humility. He doesn't need us to necessarily be doing, but he does need us to be serving. Serving each other, serving people, serving our church, and serving HIM. He doesn't need us!!! We are mere humans and can't comprehend the thoughts of God. The thoughts of God "are foolishness to man". We have to be humble servants, and let our Master lead us.

I'm still not exactly sure why God told Jason and I at the same time, and continues to tell us. He could be preparing us for something new, or it could have simply been what we needed to hear that day. Whatever it is, I will give it to him, because he doesn't need me, but I certainly need Him.

My Neighbor, the Witch!

This past week has been crazy busy and super stressful for me. I barely got any sleep. . .I was so stressed. Between last Monday and last Thursday I got 14 hours of sleep. That's almost what I need a night!!! Seriously!!! Well, today about 7am it began pouring in San Marcos. It didn't let up until about 5:00 this afternoon. After I woke up, I decided to try and do some work before meeting Jason at his office. When it got time to leave, everything in the world happened to me (not really. . .I'm just still stressed so it seemed like it). The shirt I wanted to wear was wrinkled so I had to de-wrinkle it in the dryer. It was muggy so my hair wasn't fixing quite right. I couldn't find my new raincoat. When it came time to leave I discovered that Jason had taken my car and left me the beat up old, two-seater truck, with no carseat. I had some stuff I needed to take to the church, but it wouldn't fit in the truck. Jake and I barely fit. So. . .I called Jason. . .broke down a little, and decided to just go ahead and go. By this time it was almost 4:00 and neither of us had eaten lunch. . .so I was also really hungry!!! I was having the worst day or so I thought, until I backed out of my driveway. I backed out and backed up to see the front of my neighbor's house. He had decorated his entire yard, in the rain no less, with tacky Halloween decorations. (I think decorating for Halloween is tacky by the way) He was standing in the driveway wearing a wife beater and shorts with a witch's hat on that had orange hair attached to it, and he was waving at us. It was so stinking funny, it just made my day. Jacob also pointed out that since he was misisng a few teeth, he kind of looked like a real witch, which also made my day.

10th High School Reunion

I know I said I would write about my London Trip, and I will. Jason and I are working on a Travel Log so everyone can read our thoughts. Until then. . .

Last weekend I went to my 10th High School Reunion. It took me forever to decide if I was even going to go or not. The tickets cost $70 per person. Too expensive if you ask me. My friends and I decided that we would go, but go solo. We couldn't afford to go ourselves, let alone take our husbands with us. So we all went as a group.

Now I grew up in Burleson, very close to Fort Worth, so where was the reunion you ask, in the Fort Worth Stockyards. Yes, not even a nice place. We walked in and got our nametags. Then we began mingling and talking with old friends. Then we kept mingling, minlging, and did more mingling. THAT'S ALL THAT WAS PLANNED. . .MINGLING. There was no agenda. There was a slideshow. . .in the back corner. . .and if you wanted one. . .it was an extra $10. The food was a horribly set up display of cold fajitas, that included runny refried beans. I thought the whole point of refried beans was that they "stuck to the spoon". Well, these didn't. . .gross!!! Then to top it all off, they had packaged pecan pralines for dessert that they probably bought at a convenience store on the way there. They just threw them on the drink table where they had plastic cups filled with tea, water, and barely any ice. If you wanted an alcoholic beverage you paid $5 per drink.

So basically, we paid $70 to mingle all night. The food was horrible. . .no free alcohol. . .nothing. . .nada. . .zip!!! I was so disappointed, not to mention that there was nobody there.

It was fun to hang out and see old friends, and get caught up, but it wasn't worth $70, and a trip to Burleson and back. I did have fun with my friends, and it was great to see them and talk about old times. We should have just done that!!!! Maybe our 25th Reunion will be better. . .if I go?

London Calling. . .

Jason and I are off to London. We leave tomorrow (Monday night) and get back September 12th. I did NOT want to fly back on September 11th. Anyway, pray for us as we cross the ocean, fly there for 9 hours, stay in a place we have never been, be gone from our boy for 8 days, and fly home for 10 hours. Pray for our safety and for Jacob's. I'm not doing well with leaving Jake. Please pray for me for that as well.

I'll fill you in on all the details when I get back. . .

Well, He Did It!!!

He turned 4, and the birthday party was a smashing success. There were cars and pictures of cars everywhere you looked. Jacob had a lot of fun. He told me his favorite part was when he threw the water balloons in the tires. I still can't believe he's 4, but I learned that turning 4 brought out a new side of Jacob. See picture below.




I guess this is what I have to look forward to this year. . .more pictures with this face.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY again buddy! I love you!!!!

Ode to Jacob

Tomorrow is my son's 4th Birthday!!! I can't believe he is already 4. I am so blessed to have him as a son. He is the most wonderful, beautiful person in the world. God has truly blessed our lives with this little boy. He is so excited about having a CARS birthday party. He can't wait. It will be so much fun.

As I was getting things ready for the party, I thought that it would be cool if I showed everyone what he looked like at each of his birthdays. What a joy he has been in our lives. Here are some things he has done these past 4 years that have made us laugh, cry, and everything in between. . .

Before he was 1. . .
- He loved watching Finding Nemo. He watched it almost every day.
-We called him "The Gimp" when he crawled. He would crawl with one leg correct and the other he would just drag across the floor!
- He was Yoda for his first Halloween













1st Birthday Picure!

1 Year Old. . .
- He raised his hands and worshipped during a David Crowder Concert. It was a very proud moment for Jason and I. I think he knew exactly what he was doing!
- He couldn't talk but he could say "Toot Toot!" because he loved Thomas the Train.
- He knew all of his colors before he was 2. He learned them by us saying Blue like Thomas, Red like James, Green like Percy.










2nd Birthday Picture!

2 Years Old. . .
- One day he just started talking in complete sentences. Smart kid!
- One night while we were praying, he asked to pray for his friend Will. I talked with Will's mom and she told me he was sick the day before but he was better that day. Jacob prayed for him, Will got better, and we didn't even know he was sick.
- When you asked him what worship was, he would say, “It’s my Daddy singing!"










3rd Birthday Picture

3 Years Old. . .

-He always wanted to watch America's Funniest Home Videos. We would watch them together a lot. He would laugh so hard. It was hilarious. He called it "The Funny Show."
- One night at church, his teacher asked him how he knew God existed and he said, "Because of Jesus Christ!!"
- HE LEARNED HOW TO PEE PEE IN THE POTTY!!!!!!!

God, thank you for this wonderful little blessing named Jacob. Thank you for 4 fun years. I pray that he would grow in wisdom and stature and favor with you God. Thank you for his life, and thank you for entrusting him to our care! Amen!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUDDY!!! MOMMY LOVES YOU!!!!!

P.S. - After his party I'll post his 4th Birthday picture!!

Just Like Jesus

A "Reading Through The Bible" Update. . .

Earlier this year, I decided to read through the entire Bible chronologically. (See February 12th Entry) I'm a little behind since I started in February, but still have 4 1/2 months to finish. I'm also doing it the hard way. It says to read the Old Testament and the New Testament simultaneously, but I didn't want to do that. I wanted to read it straight through, in order. This morning I finished Judges and started reading 1 Samuel.

I have felt quite convicted in the past few weeks. I haven't read any of it during that time and I feel like it's directly affecting my sleep. I keep waking up in the middle of the night and can't go back to sleep. Instead of reading my Bible like I should have been, I have been doing other things. God woke me up this morning around 4:15am and I immediately knew what I was supposed to do. So, I began to read.

Just in the past 2 hours I have learned so much. It's amazing isn't it? I'm actually learning something from the Old Testament. When I was little, I thought that the Old Testament didn't really apply to me, but it does. We can't have anything new without having something old. I can't have a "new" life in Christ, without hearing what our forefathers of faith struggled through. The Old Testament gives way to the New. It paints a beautiful picture and everything points to Christ. Just in the few chapters I have read this morning I can't tell you how many comparisons to Christ I came across.

My Thoughts For Today. . .

One comparison that really stuck out to me was in the story of Samuel. His mother, Hannah, was barren and unable to have children. She prayed and God gave her a son. She then sent him to live with a priest in order that he would do God's work. In 1 Samuel 2:26 it says that Samuel "continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with men." I immediately thought, "just like Jesus". (Luke 2:52)

There are certain people that just exude the character of Christ from every part of their being. Those people are wise, they are knowledgeable about scripture, they think, act, and talk like Jesus. They also have people flocking to be around them, just like Jesus did. You can't help but want to be with people that are like that.

After I thought about this for a while, I began to question myself. Am I "just like Jesus?" Do I have people that want to be around me because they see something different in me? Do people see Jesus in me? Do I exude the character of Christ?

Jesus, help me to be more like you every day. Help me to grow in stature and favor with you and the people of this community and everyone I come in contact with. Thank you for showing me all of the wonderful things in scripture today. Help them to be reminders to be just like you Jesus. Amen!

They Opened My Door

Something really disturbed me this week and I have been fuming over it ever since. I am very mad at the Mormons, specifically the ones that came down my street a few days ago, not the whole group. Friday night Jason and I were going out with some friends of ours. Some of the girls planned a Parent/Kids Night Out, so I was about to get ready when I heard a knock at the door. I went to the front room since we don't have a peephole (which is another blog right there - it bothers me that we don't have a peephole). Anyway, I went to the window in the front room. I didn't see any cars or people so I figured they were still standing in front of the door. I kept watching so I could see them leave and to see who it was, then all of a sudden, I heard my front door open. YES!!! THEY OPENED MY DOOR and stuck a dumb "Looking for a church" flyer in it. I was livid. They opened my front door. I can't stress that point enough. After they left, I tore up the flyer because I was so mad, but then I decided that I might want to call the number on it and complain. No one should be allowed to open your door, no one!!! I'm still debating the issue in my head. A part of me thinks I might make a difference by calling and complaining, and another part of me thinks it would be a horrible waste of time and energy. Maybe all of you in blogland can help me decide what I should do. I still can't believe they actually opened my door. What if they were serial killers dressed up as Mormons and didn't just open the door, but came in and did something to me and my family. Uhhhh!!! I'm still so mad. Anyway, if you have any advice, shoot it my way. Have a good week, and lock your doors!!!!!

In Defense of the Bride

I'm not going to blog this week, but point you to my husband's blog. Please read it! It's an awesome rant in defense of the Bride of Christ - the Church!

Friendship on Fire

Today my husband and I have been married 8 wonderful years. In a movie I recently saw, a guy told his girlfriend that "love is friendship on fire". I feel that way about Jason. We were friends for a while before becoming boyfriend/girlfriend & then man and wife. At first we were timid and shy around each other, then we learned to have respect for one another, that grew to love, and then that grew to being in love. Once we were married it turned to fire. . .and I'll stop there! ;) (Wink, Wink)

Ever since I heard that phrase though, I can't help but thinking it's true! I looked up some words that descibe fire. Here are some "fire" words that I think also describe love:

"burning, scintillation, sparks, warmth, light, eagerness, energy, enthusiasm, excitement, exhilaration, fervency, heartiness, heat, intensity, life, light, liveliness, luster, passion, radiance, sparkle, spirit, splendor, virtuosity, vivacity, zeal, ignite, set ablaze, arouse, electrify, enliven, enthuse, exalt, inspire, intensify, intoxicate, irritate, provoke, thrill"

I have felt all of those things for Jason. Fire, sparks, excitement, passion; they all describe how I feel. We really do have a friendship that's on fire!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BABY!!! I love you a million Astros games!

Happy Dance!!!

That's exactly what I feel like doing, a happy dance. My son who earlier in the year had no desire to pee pee in the potty decided this week he wanted to be a big boy. He has done incredible!! I am so proud of him. He's going without even being told, and he keeps himself dry at night and goes first thing when he wakes up. I guess everyone was right when they said when he's ready, he'll do it on his own. Well. . .he finally did!!! Jason even went and got him some new big boy underwear (trains, and fire engines, and some other ones too). We are well on our way to having a big boy 4 year old. Now if we can just get him to go number 2 in the potty, my life will be much easier. :)

God Shut My Mouth

This past week God has shut my (complaining) mouth three times, but I'll only tell one story, for the sake of time!

Last Saturday was our first work day at the new facility. We worked hard from 9:oo until about 1:30. By the time I got home I was really tired. I only had a few hours to eat, rest and get ready. Jason and I were asked to lead worship for another church in the area that was doing a Revival weekend. River Stone leads worship for Real Life every Sunday and this was one of their special events. I had never been to Real Life yet, so I was excited about going, but also very tired.

While the guy was preaching one thing he said really resonated within me. He was preaching the story of God performing a miracle on Adam to create Eve, but in order for him to do so God had to put Adam to sleep. He had to get him out of the way. After God was finished taking the rib, he healed Adam with his own flesh. He then said that we sometimes go to other places, people, or things to get our healing, when it should come from ourselves. He meant instead of going to counseling or even rehab sometimes we just need to go to God, and be obedient and prayerful for our healing. I have been struggling with something for a long time (we'll call it my thorn). I have been fearful of things my whole life. I'm not sure why except Satan likes to frighten me and keep me scared because at times it cripples me. So my fear sometimes gets in the way of my relationship with God. I told God that I wanted to start being obedient to pray and to know scripture to use when Satan uses my fear against me in some way.

After the man had finished he started asking people to go to the front if they needed prayer or healing. Almost everyone went. I was a little skeptical. Sometimes I'm not really sure these times are real or not. I never got a clear "yes this is real," or "no this isn't." So I kept being skeptical, thinking it was a little fake. During the middle of him praying over people he asked Jason and I to come back up to sing. So as we were waiting he was praying for this little boy and saying that his spirit was telling him that the little boy was going to be great, that he could see greatness in his future. At that point I broke because my spirit was softening my heart, but I didn't know it was for what was to happen next. When he was finished praying for the little boy he turned to me. I thought he was going to ask us to start singing, but instead he looked straight at me and said, "What's your name?" I told him. Then he said, Can I pray for you?" I was shocked. Of course I said yes and so he asked me to come down to where everyone else was so he could pray over me. So I did! The first thing he said to me was, " Did you notice I kept looking at you while I was preaching?" I did notice and thought it was a little weird, but I also thought it was because I was yawning the whole time and he thought I was rude or not paying attention. It was just because I had worked that day at the church. That's what I thought as I was sitting, but he said it was because the Holy Spirit was telling him that I needed to hear something that night.

The second thing he said to me was, "You told God something while I was preaching." I did, I told him I was going to be obedient and mindful to pray when "my thorn" comes crawling around. He then said, "God wanted me to tell you he heard what you said." Whoa!! I wasn't skeptical any further. I knew this was quite real. God had showed up and shut my mouth. He then went on to say that, "You have the spirit of fear". It was exactly me. He then started praying and rebuking that fear in my life. Then another awesome thing happened. He began to pray in tounges. I didn't understand the words he said, but I understood the meaning behind it. Then he began to tell me other things about me, our church, Jason, etc. It was a very hunbling and quite an awesome experience.

After the worship time ended, Jason and I went with a friend of ours, who was also there that night, out to eat. We started talking about it a little bit. I told them I was being a skeptic and that was short-lived when God shut me up, and then I asked them if they heard him pray in tounges and they both said "No?". So I'm not sure if I was the only one who heard it or not, but that's just extra cool if I did.

I wasn't expecting God to speak to me that night, but Jason and I had been talking about my fear for a while. I was getting so tired of being afraid all the time. So, that was exactly what I needed to hear. I tell you all this because you never know when and how God will speak, but he will. Right when I needed it the most he came through for me in the form of a slightly overweight, hispanic preacher. God is so awesome and he is so faithful!!!

Surprise! Surprise!

Okay so our devious friends, the Guenther's (A.K.A. The Spillers) told us they were coming over Monday night for dinner. This was supposed to be the night we went out to eat with a family from River Stone, but we cancelled it because the Guenther's said they really needed to talk to us about something, so they were bringing dinner to our house Monday night. I called Christy that afternoon to make sure I didn't need to do anything and she said no so I told her we would talk more that night. About 6:00 the doorbell rang and Jacob was so happy his friend Caleb was coming over so we let him answer the door. He had a little trouble opening it so dad went to help. I was in the kitchen washing a bowl for salsa (yes, our dishwasher is broken). They opened the door and I heard "SURPRISE!!!!" We told the Guenther's that they could come over for dinner, not bring 40 other people from River Stone, but to our astonishment they were all there for a Surprise Housewarming. I was shocked and really have no words to describe how I felt when I saw 40 of the sweetest, most loving people bring me dinner, presents, and a special prayer session over our home. It was the best surprise ever. Thank you to everyone who helped plan it and present us with the nicest, most selfless, thoughtful surprise in the world. We love you all, even you Guenther's. :) (It was just a good thing I cleaned that day Brian & Christy!!!!!)

P.S. - Here's a picture of everyone in our backyard praying a blessing over us and our home---How amazing!!!!!

Movin' On Up

Well, were finally in our new house!!!! Tonight will be the first night we sleep here. :) YAY!!! My whole body hurts and I think I'm gonna pass out when it's time to go to bed, but I just wanted everyone to know we've moved. I'll tell you all about it very soon. . .

Wood Floor Sample

New Paint Color

Here is some pics of the new paint color. Last night we finished painting the trim and today we are painting the doors and starting the flooring. The house is all tile except for the bedrooms. The carpet was horrible so we are replacing that with wood floors. It was actually cheaper than carpet, go figure!!

The Paint Master at work (see all the paint in the air)









The painted walls around the fireplace









Best paint color shot (you can see the contrast really well)

More Before Pics

I don't know why but it wouldn't let me add more pics on my last post so here a few more before pics. . .

Here is our cute fireplace next to ugly gold walls!!









This is the guest room, it's actually an okay color (sage green), just really dirty!!









Here's my #1 Painter! We had fun choosing which paint color we liked best :)









More pics coming soon. . .

P.S. - Those tree air fresheners were already there. You know it's really bad when you would rather hang an air freshener (Thank you HUD) than clean!!!

Before Pics

Okay, so we actually painted last night. Luke (AKA: Our Awesome Painter) had some guys come over and help him. They were there until about 2:30 this morning. I haven't seen it yet, but when I do I'll take more pictures for you. In the mean time, I wanted to post a few before pics so the after pics will amaze you. These are a few pictures of the rooms, each donned with very bright colored walls. YIKES!!!!! Please remember this house isn't ready yet :)

This is the gold living room and red kitchen. This gold is so hideous!!









This is the master (yellow and green) Maybe they went to Baylor!!!









Here's Jacob's room. It's purple and pink!!! Sorry it's so dark :(

It's Official

We now have a mortgage and are the proud owners of a new home! We signed all the papers yesterday and put all new locks on the doors. Now the repair/clean-up phase commences. It's not going to be fun but seeing the house by the end of next week will be nice. We have to clean, paint, clean, re-carpet, clean, hang doors, clean, do a few minor repiars, clean, put up a wall in the garage, and did I mention clean!!! That house has been shut up for at least 6 months, and it has become very dirty. Putting in new carpet and cleaning should help though. I'll be posting our progress and let you know how it goes. I definitley need to get lots of rubber gloves :) Let the cleaning begin. . .

What the Hail?

A few weeks ago San Marcos experienced a very damagaing hail storm. I had just ordered a pizza from Dominos when I heard the loudest sound ever. It was barely sprinkling outside and all of a sudden it started hailing like mad for about 20-30 minutes!! I turned on the weather channel and heard rumors of 4 possible tornados in the area so I immediately put Jacob in the closet not just because of impending tornadoes but because the hail was so loud and hard and big that I actually thought it was going to break all of our windows. It was the loudest, longest hailstorm I have ever been in. . .until today, yes, again. Our friends from England were here spending the day with us and we had to take them back to San Antonio this afternoon and on our way there it started lightning and hailing and pouring down rain. We made it to the house where they were staying okay but as we were leaving it started hailing again, very heavily. So we found the nearest gas station that didn't already have tons of cars ducking out of the weather and so we ducked ourselves at the closest Valero. We waited it out for about 15 minutes or so and then we went on our way. We thought all of the bad weather had passed. We were almost back to the interstate when to our amazement. . .more hail!!! We tried to find another gas station but all we found was a big bridge to hide under with a ton of other cars trying to make sure they didn't need to call their insurance adjuster yet again. We waited it out for another 15 minutes then decided to brave it. It wasn't hailing anymore, but it was dropping big fat heavy rain. It was so loud that I couldn't hear Jacob talking to me from the backseat. Needless to say, if I don't see hail for a while. . .it will be a really good thing!!! Four times in two weeks is all anyone needs.

P.S. - I still got my pizza in less than an hour, during tornadic activity and a hailstorm--Go Dominos!!!

I'm Ready For Summer. . .

1. Yea for Vacation. . .I can't wait to go to the beach with my family. . .our beach apartment as Jake likes to call it.

2. I can get a tan. . .I really need a tan. . .really!

3. We will be in our new house!!!

4. Spending 4th of July with family and friends.

5. I absolutely love watermelon. . .well any melon. Canteloupe is good too!

6. Lots of pool time. . .especially when Jake starts his swimming lessons in June.

7. Being married for 8 years to my wonderful, incredible, very sexy hubby!!!

8. SNOW CONES. . .what's summer without a good, cold snow cone?

9. Sea World, The Zoo, The Park, The River, Schlitterbahn bahn. . .all the extra fun stuff that we can't seem to do when it isn't summer.

10. Last but not least. . .my beautiful, wonderful son turns 4--WOW!

I'm definitely ready for Summer. . .

My Birthday!!

I had so much fun last week on my birthday. My husband surprised me with an overnight stay in Austin. It was very relaxing and much needed. My parents came in and they kept Jake for us. He took me to the Hilton Hotel. We stayed on the 21st floor and it overlooked Lake Austin and Downtown. It was so beautiful. Our whole back wall of the room was a large window. We could see everything. We left it open all night. We couldn't bring ourselves to close it. We loved the life, the lights, and the city streets. It was fun watching all the activity, even on a Wednesday night. He also took me to The Cheesecake Factory, my favorite Restaurant. I had my favorite drink, a Peach Bellini. If you haven't tried one, they are wonderful, especially theirs. It's heavenly!!! I had a great night and a wonderful day the next day. Jason took me shopping and a few of our friends from church met us at a Restaurant for dinner. It was a lot of fun. Kudos to my hubby for making it a very memorable 28th Brithday!!!! I love you!!!

Easter was incredible too!!!! We had a great week and weekend. Now back to reality. . .

House Update

Well, it looks like everything is ready to go for the house except for handing out large sums of money to the appropriate people. That's gonna hurt--but it will be worth it.

Last Saturday, we had to go to San Antonio to take a mortgage class for the type of loan we're getting. It was pretty boring, but informative for the first-time home buyer. Since that wasn't us---we were bored. It was like being in school again. One older lady fell asleep and her husband kept poking her and shaking her to wake her up. Another young guy fell asleep, but his hat covered most of eyes anyway. Only Jason and I were close enough to know that he wasn't just pimpin' he was sleepin' :) One guy had serious ADD and kept breaking into song for no reason. Another guy always had a question, and the lady presenting kept spelling words wrong on the board. It was pretty funny!! The best part was that it was supposed to last until 1:00pm and she let us go at 11:00am.

Tuesday, we had to go back to have our one-on-one counseling with the loan officer. Ours actually became a two-on-two counseling session. The girl that we had our appointment with was new so she had an overseer helping her. It took her forever!! I'm glad the other girl was there or our loan might not have been done correctly!! What was supposed to be an hour long appointment lasted 2 hours. BUT, at least everything is done.

All we have to do now is a few odds and ends and then hopefully we will close on May 1st. YEA--God is good!!!!

God's Provision

A few weeks ago, we were beginning to wonder if I was ever going to find a way to make a little extra cash. Since all we have is "New House" on the brain, we have begun to be a little anxious about our money situation. I'm not sure why? We know God will provide, so we decided to start praying for me to find a job. It had to be a job where I would only be away from Jacob a little bit or not at all, so we continued to pray. One morning I woke up and found an e-mail in my inbox from a guy I didn't know. I read it to find out it was the husband of our realtor who owns 2 websites. His wife had told him I did graphic work so he contacted me about working for him part-time. Well, I jumped at the opportunity and my first assignment was a brochure for a church. Not exactly out of the realm of my expertise; graphics and church. He told me I would need to work from home. Wow--I think I can handle that.

That same week I e-mailed a friend of mine who is an Assistant Principal of a private school in town to see if they needed any subs so I could maybe sub one day a week. She immediately e-mailed me back and said that they had just had a meeting that morning and prayed for subs to apply because there were very few. I'm so glad I asked. Now I feel like I am helping them out more than helping myself.

Last year, we felt like God told us to give away some of our furniture to a family in San Marcos who had moved here because of Hurricane Katrina. They had nothing. So, we gave them our Washer/Dryer, our dining room table and chairs, and a few more items. Also, we have never owned another bed besides ours and Jacob's so we wanted to have a new bed for our guest room. Not long after we began praying for the furniture we would need for our house, God provided yet again. A friend of ours has a sister that's getting married and she his moving into her soon-to-be husband's home so she is giving us her Washer/Dryer and a Queen size bed with frame, mattress, box spring, etc. A friend of ours from church has a dining room table that won't fit into her apartment and she said that we could have it. The same friend with the sister that's getting married called me tonight and asked if we needed a chair, and of course we can use anything at this point. She said that she has a leather recliner in her garage that's in perfect condition and asked if we would like to have it. I told her I needed to ask Jason and he said "YES" very loudly. It's a recliner--need I say more :)

Isn't God awesome? I can't begin to describe to you the feeling of having a loving and giving God who provides for our every need. Thank you God!!!!

For another provision story, see my husband's blog.

What's Wrong With Me?

OMG (That means "Oh My Gosh" Brian)!!! I'm beginning to think that I am supposed to have something wrong with me all the time. I have been sick for the past 3 months, yes months, with drainage and yuckiness. Then all of a sudden last Monday night, I was slapped in the face, literally, with a really bad pain. I thought it was a toothache, but I wasn't sure. The next day I got in to see the dentist ASAP and he couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. He did some tests on my teeth and I left there thinking I had TMJ--crazy huh? So I came home with a mouthguard and a prescription for vicadin, which I was really happy about, until I found out that vicadin doesn't work on me. He called in another prescription for a muscle relaxer but it didn't work either. So yesterday (6 days and a lot of pain later) I went back to see the dentist and he said he is 99.9% sure it's my tooth. Isn't that what I said it was in the first place--a toothache? Shouldn't I be getting the $100 an hour (or whatever he gets) to answer my own question of WHAT"S WRONG WITH ME?

The answer is (according to him), I have to have a root canal and a crown done on the same tooth. He said it will be pretty pricey but that I need to do it or I could lose my tooth. Although the sound of losing a tooth was pretty bad, I was ultimately more concerned about the pricey part. I asked him how pricey it was and he responded, "About $1800!!" Well, then I fell out of the dental chair, not literally, but I wanted to. Who has $1800 for one tooth? Certainly not me!!! He still wants me to get a second opinion, but I have to wait another week to get that, with more pain.

So, please pray for me and my poor tooth, and for that matter, my poor checkbook that will be taking a serious hit.

P.S. My husband was wonderful all week. He took great care of me!!! Thanks Baby :)

Isn't It Ironic

Okay I guess this would qualify as another funny story, although my body isn't laughing too much.

Last night after Deeper, (our weekly Bible Study) we stopped by the grocery store to get a few items. My son kept whining in the car because he was thirsty and wanted a drink so like good parents we headed towards the 25 cent coke machines outside the grocery store (which is probably in itself--a whole other blog). None of those machines worked, so we headed to one of the coolers at the front of the store and swiped one for Jake. I realized in that moment that we were planning on paying for it--but other people could easily get away with that---especially with a kid. BUT don't get any ideas.

Anyway, we started our shopping venture. When we came to the back row of meat, Jake spilled a little bit of his Sprite. So I politely asked the meat manager (or whatever they are called) to come and clean it up before someone walked through it and fell. He did, and he was very glad I told him. I guess most people don't--weird. So that made me feel good that I stopped a potential accident.

We then headed for the Produce section and all of a sudden my feet were slipping all over the floor. I was trying my hardest not to fall, and thankfully my husband was there to catch me because if he wasn't, I would have certainly busted it right there on the floor of HEB. There was some sort of slippery, soapy, substance on the floor--like a foamy, yucky mess. I guess someone didn't show me the same courtesy. Afterwards, yet again, I went and found the Produce Manager (or whatever he's called) and told him. He was also very grateful that I told him so no one else would get hurt.

I'm glad I was the one though. What if it had been a little old lady? She would have been seriously hurt. I could have been too if it wasn't for my husband the hero. I did get hurt though, I twisted my knee and hurt my back and neck trying not to fall--but I'm okay. I'm just wondering how no one else fell. This was 9:30 at night. It had to have been sitting there for a while--foaming!!! My flesh wanted to sue--but I think I would have actually had to break something or get a concussion or something. But isn't ironic that after my thoughtful clean up on aisle "Meat" I almost bust it on aisle "Mango". Oh, well! I just thought I would share my irony with you all.

Funny Moments

Okay I usually write serious or pensive blogs but I thought I would add a funny one. Enjoy!!!

Okay three ladies all in their twenties and college graduates, just figured some things out in their adult lives. (I won't use names to protect their identities) BUT it's still funny!!!

1. A friend of mine was talking with her husband about maps and about where states were located. Her son has recently discovered maps and is very interested so it's a big topic around their house. So as they were talking he asked her where Alaska was and she said, "By Hawaii."

Details: She actually thought Alaska was by Hawaii because that's where they place it on the US map sometimes---funny huh!!!!

2. Another friend of mine was playing an old school NES (Nintendo) game called McKids (shown above). It's the old McDonald's game. She kept calling it M-C(pronounced Em Cee) Kids, and saying that she can't get past a certain level and I asked her which level on the McKids game it was and she stopped me and said, "Oh my gosh! I just figured out that I have been saying M-C Kids and it's McKids--like McDonalds."

Details: She can't believe the thought never crossed her mind that it was McKids like McDonalds or McNuggets. Silly girl!!!!

3. Last but not least, a girl I know was watching a kids show on TV with her son (set in Australia) and they were walking towards a BBQ grill and one of the kids said, "Let's put another shrimp on the barbie." At that moment she realized that the Australian usage for the word "barbie" actually meant BBQ Grill.

Details: That was about me!!!!! I can't believe I never put two and two together. It makes perfect since now but I just thought it was a phrase that only Australians used. At least I can admit it!!

Hope you had a good laugh :)

THANK YOU JESUS

This past week God dropped a house in our lap. It's a foreclosure in the area, with very little fixing up. It's only 5 years old and in very good condition. It's a steal basically!!! There has been much confirmation through friends and family that this is a great house for us. We found it on Tuesday and put a bid on it Friday. In case you didn't know, HUD houses have to bid on like an auction. You can only bid once, so you have to bid wisely. This house is already way cheap so we decided to bid the asking price. The bids ended at midnight last night, and this morning we just found out that our bid was chosen. We have been praying, believing, that God was going to give us this house and HE did!!! THANK YOU JESUS!!!! WE HAVE A NEW HOUSE!!!

Please continue to pray for us as we have a few repairs to do and a mortgage process to go through. Pray that everything will go smoothly. Thanks for your prayers!!!

P.S. - That's a picture of the house!

You Never Let Go

For those of you who weren't at River Stone tonight, I wanted to share with you another sweet story about my son. This week, Jason took Jacob to the store with him for a while to give me some well deserved alone time. On their way back home Jacob started singing one of the songs we sing at River Stone. He knew the whole song. I really don't know how, except hearing us rehearse on Sunday afternoons---crazy kid!!! The words of this song have been such a blessing to us over the course of the last few weeks. Satan has been attacking us more lately than ever before, but I consider it pure joy because I know that we have something worthy of attacking. But, the struggle is still hard. God chose to use once again, our beautiful boy, to bless us--so I hope the words of this song bless you as well (just imagine a precious 3 year old boy singing it).

You Never Let Go (Matt Redman)

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Your perfect love is casting out fear
And even when I'm caught in the middle of the storms of this life
I won't turn back, I know you are near

And I will fear no evil, for my God is with me
And if my God is with me,
Whom then shall I fear, whom then shall I fear?

O no, You never let go, through the calm and through the storm
O no, You never let go in every high and every low
O no, You never let go,
Lord, You never let go of me

And I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
A glorious light beyond all compare
And there will be an end to these troubles, but until that day comes
We’ll live to know You here on the earth

Yes, I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on,
And there will be an end to these troubles, but until that day comes
Still I will praise You, still I will praise You

Because of Jesus Christ

Last night at church, Jacob's teacher came up to Jason and told him that he had asked Jacob's class, "How do you know that God exists?" (I know pretty deep for 3 yr. olds). He told Jason that Jacob's response was, "Because of Jesus Christ." Tears of joy and tears of pride welled up in me as I heard my husband tell me that story. Wow! My little boy may be little but he sure knows who Jesus is. Don't you wish you still knew Jesus the way you did when you were a kid. So innocent. So sweet. So child-like. Jesus still wants us to know him that way. My son reminded me of that last night. What an awesome answer. . .BECAUSE OF JESUS CHRIST!!!!!

New Adventure

I woke up early this morning and I couldn't go back to sleep so I spent some time with the Lord. I was reading my devotional and it was about Jesus being the "Famous One". In short, how we as Christ-followers tend to worship celebrities more than we worship Jesus Christ. I was immediately convicted. Those of you who know me know that I love movies and I love to learn interesting facts and trivia about movies, actors, actresses, TV shows, etc. My favorite website is imdb.com (Internet Movie Database) for crying out loud. I of all people needed to hear that this morning. Until now I didn't think that I worshipped celebrities that much and I don't BUT I do spend more time on that website than I probably do in my Bible to be real honest. So, as I was praying and reading, Jesus put a thought/challenge into my heart. What if I knew as much about the Bible as I do some of the celebrities I like? I know a lot about the Bible, but there is so much more I could learn, we all could! So because of this, I embarked on a new adventure today. . .

I have always wanted to read through the Bible and I have mostly, but I am a huge history buff so I wanted to read through it in order, chronologically. So this morning I started. I read some of Genesis then it goes straight to Job and back to Genesis. Cool huh! The things I read and the questions and thoughts that this reading provoked in me made me feel very good about my decision. I am going to challenge myself to be as knowledgeable about the Bible as I can. I realized over the past year or so that the way I was taught some things about the Bible weren't exactly accurate. I was challenged to look at it through a spiritual yet historical standpoint. As I read through the chapters today I discovered a whole other realm about the Bible I was missing and it felt incredible to sit and think and ponder why God did what he did, and his greatness and his love for me. The feeling is like nothing I have ever felt. As I was going through I would write down thoughts, questions, and cool things God was telling me. After I read as much as I could I went back through my questions and I found a great website to help me try and answer some of those questions.

To sum up: If any of you want to embark on this journey with me I would love knowing that there were others learning and studying along side of me. If you would like to do this with me leave me a comment so I can be praying for you too, if not, please pray for me as I begin this New Adventure in my life. Thanks!!!

Websites:
www.christianbeliefs.org/brs/biblereadingsch-01.html
www.christiananswers.net

Special Valentine

Since it's Valentine's Day in a week or so I thought I would post this. A friend of mine sent this to me and I cried. I have never seen this before. I began thinking about how we usually celebrate Valentine's Day with our spouse or significant other, but do we ever stop to think about how much God loves us. This Valentine's Day, let's not only celebrate the love we have for our spouses or boyfriends/girlfriends, but let's thank God for his love for us! I think this is an awesome picture of how God should truly be our first love. Read it again and let the words of this Special Valentine penetrate your heart.

Training Day Is Over

Well, I already gave up. I have decided he is just not ready--even though I am, but I at least have to tell you all the drama I went through. . .

First thing Monday morning when he woke up we went in his room, took off his diaper, and put on his Nemo underpants. I went into the kitchen and set the timer for 15 minutes. When the timer went off I was going to take him to go potty. When it did finally go off, I went to him and said, "Okay Jake, time to go potty," and he said back to me, "but Mommy I'm wet." So we went to his room and put his Thomas underpants on. I went and set the timer again for another 15 minutes. When it went off, I went over to Jake and said, "okay it's time to go potty again," and he replied, "Mommy you need to change my diaper." I said, "Jake your not wearing a diaper. Did you pee in your pants again?" and he said ever so slightly, "Yes." He could feel my wrath.

So at this point it had been about 30 minutes and he had already peed on himself twice. I decided he needed to wash off, so I took off his clothes and walked him to the bathtub. As I was rinsing out the tub and getting ready to fill it I hear him yell from right behind me, "Mommy!!!" I quickly turned and he was peeing on the bathroom floor. I grabbed him and put him in front of the potty but by then he was already done. If he would have taken 2 steps backward he would have been standing right in front of the potty. I lost it!!!! He was right there. He could've peed in the potty but he decided to pee on the floor instead. Even though I was livid at this point I realized that he doesn't know the feeling of it coming so he can't make a quick enough decision to walk to the potty to go.

During his bath, we had a heart to heart and I told him we would go back to diapers for the day. He asked me if I was happy and I said yes because he had at least tried. After his bath, I took him to his room and he asked me again if I was happy. He obviously could sense my frustration. So I calmly said "Yes I'm happy, but I would be happier if you would learn how to pee in the potty, but I don't want to frustrate you anymore, I know its hard!" And what came next was the sweetest thing I have ever heard. God knew I needed to hear this. My beautiful, sweet, and loving 3 year old grabbed my neck to hug me, looked me in the eye and said, "Mommy I don't want to frustrate you either!" I melted. He was consoling his Mother.

I was reminded in that moment of when Jesus spoke to his mother while on the cross. He said, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." He was consoling her the best he knew how in that moment. What an amazing God we serve and what an amazing son I have. Even though it was the hardest 30 minutes I have had in a long time, it was also the sweetest.

Training Day

Nothing real spiritual or deep today. I just need your prayers for me as I begin Potty Training Camp today. I am about to pull all of my hair out and I'm going broke over buying diapers and wipes. Quite frankly, I am sick of changing nasty, poopy, soggy, wet, stinky diapers. I never realized how hard this really is. It takes commitment, time, and patience--all the things that are weak areas for me. How hard is it to stand there a pee in a potty--really? I guess girls get off easy since they just sit down. Boys are a little tougher.

Jacob knows how to pee in the potty, he's done it before, but he is so stinkin' stubborn that he won't do it. (I don't know where he gets that from) Right now he's sitting in his desk playing on the computer and I ask him every 5 minutes if he needs to pee or if he's already peed in his pants. I should start counting the number of times I say the word "potty" today. It will be well into the 100's I'm sure. I think I've already said it about 20.

Well, if you are in the "potty" today (21 times now) think about me and my endeavor to rid myself of diaper duty at least until the next one arrives. Pray that Jacob's stubbornness will subside and he will want to be a Big Boy finally!!!!

Any encouraging words are welcome!!!!

Listen To This Man

In John 7, the beginning of what was a series of traps to try and convict Jesus was taking place. The crowd was divided after Jesus loudly voiced his teachings to them. When they guards were asked why they didn't bring Jesus in, they said, "No one ever spoke the way this man does."

As we were studying this passage last night that verse spoke to me. Jesus has never spoken to me the way anyone else has. I was reminded that I tend to talk to Jesus more than I listen. I tend to ask for things more than listen. When I do rarely listen instead of groan and grumble for the things I think I need or deserve it is always profound and loving. This week (after we were robbed) I duked it out with God a little bit. I know that in this world we will have trouble but I told God, "Look, I know I signed up for this, but I didn't sign up for this." And with all patience and love he responded back to me that He knows and He's in control. Just to hear Him speak those words to my soul were comforting in the midst of fear and hurt. When we listen, He speaks like no man has ever spoken before. His eloquence, passion, love, grace, and much more, cannot be matched. What does it say about us when we don't notice Jesus' voice enough? The guards who weren't even his followers noticed that there was something different about this Jesus.

I challenge you today to do a little more listening to this man who speaks differently than others. Listen more than speak. Hear Him and dwell in His thoughts. Jesus will speak to your heart and you will be blessed.

You Truly Are My Joy

Well, when I mentioned that my joy had been robbed I didn't mean literally. Now, I mean literally.

Last night we had an event to go to at a church in Austin, which Jason was in charge of. He has been sick all week. He's had fever every day except for 1 and he has thrown up at least 16 times in the past day. He is sick!!!! After we had been there a little while, Jason started getting sick at the event and we decided to leave early.

When we got home someone had apparently been there. I think we scared them off when we opened the door. They only had time to take our Playstation and some DVD's (which is no real loss). We called the cops, they came, took fingerprints, the whole bit. The thieves apparently used gloves because they couldn't get a usable fingerprint. At 10:00 last night they left. Jason and I went to bed feeling very violated (I felt like they had seen me naked or something).

Well, me being the scaredy cat I am, I stayed up with most of our lights on, watched TV, and had a large stick next to our bed. I was in the middle of a late night showing of "Mickey Blue Eyes" when I heard 3 loud knocks on our door at about 3:30am. I jumped up, ready to rumble with these criminals, and answered the door. It was the cop and they had found the robbers.

Sorry this is so long but keep reading, the story becomes quite humorous.

The cop asked Jason if he could come with him to i.d. the stolen stuff. Jason followed the cop to the local Motel 6 where these so-called thieves had beat the crap out of each other. They got into a fight over the Playstation and had a rumble. One guy was hurt so badly he had to go to the hospital. They basically ratted themselves out by having a drunken brawl over a Playstation, our Playstation to be exact.

As if that wasn't dumb enough, one of the items they stole from our apartment was our video camera. I guess they thought they would document their genius heist, because they began filming their every step after they left our house. Dumb & Dumber!!! So, when Jason got there, at least 3 drunk guys were waiting to be arrested. Two were lying about what they did, and one was spilling the beans (remember one was at the hospital, and we don't know how many there were total). They put the two liars into one of the police cars. What they didn't know was that all cop cars have recorders in them. They were probably confessing everything but they were too drunk to care.

Jason got to watch the whole thing go down. He identified the stuff and left. As he was pulling away he saw the robbers getting cuffed and stuffed and slapped with felony theft charges. At 10:00pm the cops left our house and at 5:00am, the thieves were being taken to jail. Justice was served and my prayer for returned joy was answered. I was truly joyous that in the midst of this situation we kept thanking Jesus and he in return blessed us with closure, and graciousness. He didn't have to give us the satisfaction of these guys getting caught in order for us to praise him, but because he is so awesome, he did!

Last night Jason and I did go to sleep feeling very violated but also thanking Jesus that it was what it was. It could have been much worse. Stuff is just stuff. Thank you Jesus for reminding me that you are still in control. Even when we might not know why certain things happen, thank you for giving us enough strength, through your Spirit, to keep going and to continually praise You no matter the circumstance. Now I can say without hesitation, without restraint, without caution, and with full faith that you truly are MY JOY!!!!

You Are My Joy

I wanted to share my prayer for today with you so that you would know how to pray for me.

God, it's hard to know why things happen the way they do, why you bring us to certain places in our earthly life that rob us of our joy. People who say one thing and do another rob us. People who flaunt assets and financial gain rob us. People who have it better than we do help aid us in our robbing of joy. There are so many joyous things in my life and so many things I have to be thankful for but in some ways I have lost my joy. There are so many things that bring me joy that I want to do and can't because of a stipulation in my covenant with you. You have brought me to a state of contentment in my life, and I've never been more content, but I'm ready for my joy back. I'm ready for the excitement, the opportunity to minister freely without any hindrances. God I said yesterday that you are my Provider and my Provision. "Restore unto me the joy of who you are". I want to able to find joy in the little things and in the miracles. I want to enter into your presence with joy and thanksgiving. I can say "Thank you Jesus", but am I joyfully saying it? God, bring me to a place today where I can say without hesitancy, without restraint, without caution, and with all of my faith that YOU ARE MY JOY!!!

Miracle Stories

Sorry it's been so long! I will try to be better at blogging my heart and soul out. I do have some miracle stories I want to share. God is still in the miracle business by the way!!!

My husband and I have recently had to come to the place in our lives where we have had to utterly rely on God for everything, even the little things. For example: A bed. Jason and I needed a new bed. Starting a new church doesn't leave a lot of money left over after paying bills if any. We have had our bed since we were married and I slept in it about a year before that, so this bed is about 10 years old and we are feeling it in our backsides--trust me. We would wake up every day with a sore something. We began to discuss that we needed to start praying for a bed, specifically a mattress. Within a week our friends had an extra mattress in storage that we tried out and it has helped so much. Now God didn't lavish us with a brand new Sleep Number, but he did give us exactly what we needed.

Another specific prayer that we asked was answered. Now don't feel sorry for us when I tell you this because God has purposefully called us to be in this position and we have never been more content with our lives or more humbled. The reason is this: last month we almost weren't able to make our car payment. With all the extra expenses of Christmas and life, etc., we were struggling to make our payment. On Monday we sat down and talked about what we were going to do and we both decided to just pray specifically for the dollar amount. We couldn't have less and we didn't need more. We specifically prayed about it for a week. The following Monday we were going to have to make the payment. The day before (on Sunday) I was out of town that weekend with a friend and Jason called me and told me that Saturday when he went to go get the mail there was check from State Farm (of all places) giving us back some overpaid insurance money on our Mortgage. First of all, we sold our house in May and this was December - WOW!! Second of all, it was for the exact amount we needed to pay our car payment - DOUBLE WOW!!!!

I share this with you to remind you that miracles are happening because even though these might seem like tiny and insignificant things to some people, these are huge blessings and miracles to us. All I can say is "Thank you Jesus!!!!" He is my Provider and my Provision.