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.