Christmas/Snow 2010

Kaley had a wonderful Christmas this year! She was sooooo into santa that it made me get excited for her. After opening her presents Christmas morning, she came to me and said, "I want to hug Santa." She couldn't believe he came through the chimney with all her presents and ate all her cookies! I think I was on the verge of tears ALL day for seeing how excited and how grateful she was!

Halloween brought many fun events this year and my face painting skills were surely tested! On halloween night, we went on a hayride through a local neighborhood and had a blast! Our sweet friends invited us along and we absolutely LOVED it! It's so fun to watch our children grow up and enjoy life together. I think us parents got more enjoyment watching them have fun than anything else. I was going to share the hayride pictures, but I am having difficulty uploading them!!! I need my friend Dez to help a sista out!!!!

"God created mankind to live in a love relationship with Him and to reflect His character. People weren't created to live independent from God. The law was written that man might recognize his sinfulness and turn away from wickedness to the Lord. How will you ever learn who and what you are without learning who God is."

How Long? How Long?

"Through waiting, God wants to open your nearsighted eyes to the vivid depths of His immense character. He invites you to nestle in the assurance that He is loving, faithful, all-powerful and trustworthy. He wants us to consider Him punctual and not a latecomer. Even if you never see God show up in the way you hoped, are you going to refuse to buckle or bend to defeat and despair? How do we keep holding out hope in God when we feel certain He's detained in some celestial gridlock? In waiting, we may not see the final outcome of our prayers and persistence, but deep within the caverns of our soul, God is gently tapping. While we pace and sweat it out, nervous and impatient for God to intervene, He longs for you to rest in His love, His compassion and peace. BUT you can rest easy as you wait. God will always weave together good from your dangling shreds of disappointment and weariness-even if, you can't see the lustrous beauty of the tapestry." (Proverbs 31 magazine)

See what is Coming..

"Don't look at what you see, See what is coming"

"And what is coming is truly glorious! We shall live as we were meant to live before sin rocked our world. We shall see clearly. We shall see Him for who He really is and we shall be known for who we really are. "

"So for now I will walk this path and run this race as best I can with this earthly vision but I'll be ever on the look out for a glimpse of what is to come."

**Kaley turned 3 a few weeks ago and here are some pictures from her birthday party.

Trying out the new skates...

Pinatta fun!!!

Kaley decided to "test" the cake to see if it was edible...

Fun with her cousins..

Opening presents....Of all her presents, LIPGLOSS was her fave!!! Oh my, she IS MY CHILD!

This picture was taken a few weeks ago, Kaley discovered a butterfly on papa's hand and thought that WAS THE GRANDEST THING EVER. So we spent 1/2 hour playing with the butterfly. How nice it must be to have such a child's mind and enjoy such a thing as a butterfly!

Things I am Learning...

First I will share some recent beach pictures!

I've had many months to think about my life and the direction it is going. I am learning to trust God and WHO he really is. God is beautifully revealing to me that:

* God did not give you a heart of fear.

* God will prevail. He will use everything to his good purpose IF you love him and trust him.

* I am learning to take my sufferings to him because he knows/understands suffering so much more than I.

* I no longer wish for life to be easier. If it was, I wouldn't have given my heart fully to him.

* Each day is a day he made and I will rejoice in it.

*JOY=being content, not happy. To be content with the blessings he has given you and nothing more. To run and not grow weary. To walk and not faint.

* Being a mother means lots and lots of sacrifices.

* My identity does NOT come from money, material possessions, longing for a perfect child or husband or even myself, medications, appearances...My identity is found in Christ.

* When in sorrow, it is only a season. God loves you and will not waste your tears.

* Experiencing God's discipline, I am able to gain a life-changing understanding of redeemption and restoration.

* To fear dishonoring God and being disobedient MORE than fearing your own unhappiness.

* We control very little in this world. All we can change is the way we think and the way we live.

* To take things ONE DAY AT A TIME.

Mexican, Italian, Gravy biscuits....

Since the show last night, I've ate my weight in FOOD! I had mexican last night at 11pm! This morning I had an omelet with a sauage gravy biscuit! I am headed out the door now to go eat Italian!!! Oh well, back to training Tuesday!!!!! The show was fun, just exhausting as usual. I never realized how much my back aches while wearing those shoes ALL day!!!
I truly enjoy training with my partners! They are so much fun and dedicated!!!!

The BEST part is all the make-up (although mine didn't look so hot this time...), big jewelry, heels, and girl time!!!!

4 MORE DAYS....

4 more days until the competition Saturday!!! I am excited but a nervous wreck. These shows drive me crazy with all the preparation....

List:
-shoes
-suit
-cover up
-make-up
-extra eye lashes/glue
-extra bottle of tan
-costume jewelry
-towles
-clothes for after the show
-muscle sheen
-camera
-registration papers
-drug test
-manicure/pedicure
-LOTS of food for after the show...chocolate, cookies, pizza, etc.
-water
-Lots of chicken, chicken and more chicken for before the show and during the day

I know I'm probably leaving something off the list. The BEST part is getting all dressed up and getting to be girlie!!! I love it!

I will keep ya posted...

Its been a while since I've blogged....I wanted to share some cute pics. This is the Mother's Day card Kaley made last week at church. Of course...I teared up...LOVED IT! She has such sweet teachers who are so thoughtful and loving with the kiddos!!!

Hanging out at memaws house...Kaley loves her some memaw!!!

This is my FAVORITE...Kaley washing her car. She looks so SERIOUS!!

Not sure what she's doing...just being sassy I'm sure!!!!

I am hopefully doing a competition in 3 weeks...if I can just get focused!!! lol!!! I have a new suit (well, I borrowed it from a friend. I LOVE it!) I will post some pics soon.

I love this quote form Beth Moore....

Deliverance:

Deliverance does not mean ease. It may be simple and painless, or it may be one of the most excruciating things you ever experience. Difficulty does not mean disaster. Heavy winds and raging seas may mean your right on target. Celebrate the fact that you can sometimes "run aground" on the island of God's will for your life. (Like Paul being shipwrecked) Perhaps He couldn't get you to your destination any other way.

God always has a destination in mind when He delivers. (Malta) A place where once you have been faithful to who He is, He will show you what He can do. The waters may be rough and we may have to toss a few things overboard to keep from sinking but if we believe, God provides deliverance even in the midst of plan B.

Random thoughts/pictures

We had a really nice Easter. We took Kaley to see Curious George at the Fox Saturday. That was a lot of fun. Here are some random pictures.

Easter: Kaley enjoying her enormouse chocolate bunny!

Loving on daddy.

Making Easter eggs and eating cake. Where does she get this LOVE for sweets from???

Enjoying a ride in the mustang.

Chillin before church...she said she had a 'headache'...

Helping me mop the laundry room.

Cooking dinner.

The pearls on your strand..

I was going through pictures and came across these. Kaley was almost a year old........Oh I miss this!!! We were playing dress up!!!!

I read this the other day and loved it...

If you desire a good life, focus on having one good day, one quality day-today. Afterall, as someone has observed, "everyday is a little life, and our whole life is but a single day repeated." Keep that focus on having a good day today and, at day's end, slip that single pearl onto your strand. The pearls on your strand will add up to a good life!

His miracle will come, when I obey God and choose to surrender, in an act of obedience. Trust Him. His blessings, provision, and miracles follow obedience. Stop telling God how big your mountain is and start telling your mountain how big your God is. (Woman after Gods Own Heart)

I get measured today and I don't think its going to be good. I ate horrible this past week. I will post my results this afternoon. I'm getting excited about my upcoming show. I think I have already picked out my themewear and music!!! I'll share that with you next time.