Dear Lord...

..another day has come to a close. The children have all made it safely to bed, thank you. Thank you so much for the grace you allotted for today. Thank you for your mercy and my salvation. As I sit here watching my words on this screen, I can't help but feel I have failed you yet again. How impatient I get sometimes...the tone I use with my husband in front of my children when I am upset...Lord how many times have I failed you?! And yet, you forgive me over and over, pick me up and love me as your very own. I look back on my day and wonder if I encouraged enough. Did that friend in need see me glance her way as I said a prayer for her. Ease the pain of the suffering of those you know I am talking about if it be your will...help them to seek you. Does my family know how much I miss and love them Lord? I am worried about some of my family Lord, do they know you? Oh Lord, my emotions deceive me sometimes into believing all my motives are right...try and test them Lord lest it all be in vain. Help me to be a blessing to my husband, my children, my church...it hurts Lord, to be misunderstood. It hurts to be mistreated Lord....I know you understand. Speak to me Lord in the midst of my thoughts and confusion. Help me to focus on YOU. I love you Lord so much....and am embarrassed at the pitiful prayer I offer up in my tiredness Lord. I know you understand what my heart is saying Lord even if I don't. You are so good to me, and I am horribly undeserving. I hate the pride I find in my heart at times dear Lord, to think I can do anything by myself...how foolish. Please forgive me. In Jesus Name Amen.

Random Captured Moments

Happy Little HITs (at least for the picture right ;) )

There are some moments that I wish I could hold onto for just a little longer...especially during this brief period of time where my girls are such willing and cheerful helpers. Usually anything involving them being allowed to "spray" something is a favorite of course lol :) I love my happy little HITs (homemakers in training). Brianna was so proud of the range she cleaned lol she would call me after each burner completed so I could admire it :) It is the Lord allowing moments like this that help get me through the tough ones. I didn't know a mom's heart could hold so much love...or hurt for that matter, but in these young years I am relishing the moments where they just want to soak up everything they can about being a mom and loving the Lord. I will tuck these priceless times away, and pull them out in the tough times ahead...God is so good.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing:) We love you Dad...wish we could be there to celebrate with you!! In Honor of my Dad's Birthday...10 things we love about him...
1. He'd give you the shirt off his back if he thought it would help
2. He once took a flight from Georgia to Maryland to be there for me when I was getting my tonsils removed so I would not be by myself...I was 20 :) He could only stay for a few hours, but it means the world to me that he did it.
3. He took me to church
4. He trained me up and corrected me
5. Loves to play jokes (sometimes on my sister's boyfriends LOL)
6. Adores my children and smothers them with love
7. Knows how to truly "be there" for someone
8. He is longsuffering, loving, patient, kind, meek, compassionate, humble, charitable but bold when he needs to be
9. He has been married to my mom for 35 years (as of this September)
10. He NEVER NEVER NEVER gives up on his kids and loves God and his family with all his heart. I love you Dad, so much. Have a wonderful celebrated birthday!

BLOGITIS CURE!!

LOl, I could tell I was a little too attracted to my computer today, but the Lord found a way to discourage my tendency LOL I went to sit down for the 3rd time this morning at the computer to find that Lily had dumped her water all over the padded chair I sit in at the desk (I'm standing at the moment to quickly blog this)..THAT SOLVES THAT ;) You can borrow her if you want...she is amazing. I have lost all but 5 pounds of my baby weight chasing her. I have organized and re-organized my cabinets, dvds, the drawers etc. I race to fold laundry...mop the floors constantly, vaccuum at least twice a day...yes the Lilymonster is revolutionary when it comes to home improvement! Get yours today! (or like I said, you can borrow mine..for shipping purposes she is 22 pounds COD accepted) Just feed her and change her vaccuum bag (diaper)and give her a rest now and then...she will be getting you "up-n-attem" in no time! She even has a built in alarm clock so you won't over sleep!! You can be up at 6 am every day!! Imagine that! This is a limited time offer folks as some of the priceless qualities degrade a bit over the next year. Call now and you can recieve the NEW 5 mo old Ayden monster FREE!!...he makes a good starter kit as you learn that quick reflexes avoid a little spray in the face, sleep is over-rated and his vaccum bag fills quickly, so you learn to multi-task (one side note, this one has a quirk that causes him to spit-up any excess, but this helps with patience and tests your laundry skills!) but give him a year and he will have you running and vaccuming too!! ;)...ok my back hurts lol

MRI

I had my first MRI experience yesterday. It feels as if you are trapped in a casket or something and sounds like there is someone bulldozing in the area around you- either that or there is some techno dance party in the room ;) I can see why one would prefer to be sedated (Tobi you were so right!). When I went, I still had wet hair that I had just twisted up and clipped. Noone said anything, but I was like...ummm is this ok? (I was supposed to have a CT scan and they changed it to MRI when I got there...I have no clue..do they?) So this Japanese Dr runs and gets me a hair dryer. I wish I had a picture of me standing in a hospital gown in front of the MRI tube with a big fish oil tablet medical taped to my collarbone (for a marker) and blow drying my hair..pretty silly :) The MRI took about 45min, but other than feeling claustrophobic, a quick injection of contrast..it was not too bad. Everyone was very nice. I have a new Dr about my lump...it is a mess, I really truly wonder about some of these Drs, and I should probably not rant about it, so I won't. There is nothing new and interesting about the cyst (we are pretty sure that is what it is), but since my Dr. Transferred out...it's like I have to start all over. She does not seem to believe in pulling my lab results or reading my record book...oops...be careful little hands what you type lol :)

PTL!!

This was a wonderful devotion... very strengthening for today! Hope everyone is well. I have browsed through some blogs, but have not had alot of time to post. We are going to be starting school on Sept 11...please pray for us! I have joined two homeschools groups- one here on base is a Christian Homeschooler's Coop. We meet every Monday from 8:15 til 1:30 and we all help teach the different grades in areas like art, PE, math etc. even Anjolie is in a class. I will be working in the nursery with 2 other ladies so I can be with my two babies. God is so good to allow me to get into this group. I was on a wait list to get in and was practically jumping up and down when I got the call that there were spaces for my children PTL!!! There is even a Japanese tutor to teach the children Japanese this year...isn't that wonderful?! Well, there is alot more, but I must go...these days are so busy- in a good way :) I want to update on my HIT (homemakers in training) too. I try to incorporate it into everything I am doing...in other words, it does not feel like training to them- they are just helping mommy. It does test my patience lol because I have to take extra time to do things but, it is worth it. Have a great day!!

Please Pray..

for Ms Karen's Mom... You can read the updates on her blog. Their family would sure appreciate it.

Lily's Sling

Blogger would not publish my pictures when I did my post about Lily's nursmaid's elbow...so here is my little baby with her Kid's meal treat for being such a little trooper. I feel bad all over again. If you click on the picture to zoom the pic...you can see her little tears and runny nose :( I put a sparkly earring on her sling to convince her to wear it. *sigh* my poor little baby.

Pee-Wee Club

My little Anjolie...it is hard to believe that she is only 3. I feel as if she has always been around :)


Video Hosting - Upload Video - Video Sharing
Video Hosting - Upload Video - Video Sharing

I need a Virtual Shoulder

...for a moment :) Ok, can you tolerate a little "venting"? If not, feel free to skip this ;) I just need some virtual shoulders to cry on for a moment.

Deep breath..ok, this end of this week has been really really tough on my nerves. Our weeks are usually jam packed anyway, but 2 TRIPS TO THE ER...yep 2...for 2 separate girls...within 3 days about frazzled me to a crisp. Tuesday night Brianna was playing with her daddy and jumping over his legs as he sat on the floor...he raised his knees up as she jumped and her ankles caught on his knees and her face plunged down into the coffee table with the table catching UNDER her nose....OOOOUUUUCH!! YES.....it was awful...blood everywhere, screaming...you know, the perfect ending to a loooong day. Brian ran her over to the ER which is on a different base while I stayed home with the kids. She was fine...no fractures in her jaw or nose PTL..

Thursday morning, I was pretty tired after a late Wed night at church, but I was thankful that I had no real demands during the day, just visitation that night. THEN it was my turn to injure one of children *sigh*. Lily was wanting to get in the kitchen and standing at the baby gate with her arms up to be lifted...yep I picked her up (slowly even!) by those little lifted arms and heard a "pop" ...I could have just kicked myself!!! How ignorant!!!! Soooo Lily's little elbow was dislocated (very very common by the way so be careful). She is such a little trooper...she was mostly just whimpering about it and refusing to use it. I called Brian to meet me at the ER while I confessed my bad mom incident to the Dr. They were very kind and assured me it happens all the time PTL..it did help me feel better. BUT, the Dr could not get Lily's elbow popped back..he ordered x-rays (ha ha that was a story in itself..I had to LAY ON HER practically to get her to lay still)...no fractures...no clue as to what the problem was. So, he called the Orthopedic Surgeon...heh heh...forgive me, but I wanted to wring his neck...he walked in the room in his shorts and t-shirt (the ER Dr informed me that he had been on his way to lunch...*ahem*) but did not do anything..he thought she was just "pretending" it still hurt. He told me to take her home and see if she forgets about it then bring her back first thing in the morning to the fracture clinic as a walk in at 7:30 am.....GRRRR. Yeah, I am so sure my 19 mo old is "faking" that she can't move her arm.... uhhhh duh !! (sorry I'm a little addicted to the italic/bold feature lol). I asked what to do about the pain she was in...he assured me that they would give her pain medication...uhhhh TYLENOL LOL. He obviously has no clue about kids. Stupid me signed the discharge paperwork, let them put some ridiculous sling on her made out of some type of cheese cloth material...and took her and her useless painful arm home. I am so dumb sometimes. My friend told me to take her back, but my husband was afraid they would just mess with it some more and put her in more pain...blah blah blah. I called the church to ask for prayer for Lily in her pain which I know helped...God is sooo good. SO, after a restless night (it was not tooo bad PTL), I loaded the kids BACK UP to truck them over to the hospital again...Brian met me there to take Brianna and Anjolie to work with him as he could not get out of his schedule today (did I mention we had to be there at 7:30 AM? ;) not fun). We did not have to wait too long which was such a blessing because there were at least 6 other walk-ins there. But, I could not believe that the Orthopedic surgeon whom I had seen the day before stood there and basically lied to the pediatric Orthopedic surgeon...right in front of me!! See, even HE thinks I'm an idiot. He stood there and told the other Doc that she had full mobility yesterday before she left! I stood there flabbergasted, but the other Dr knew right away there was something wrong if she was refusing to use it. Hallelujah! he had a functioning brain...sorry gettin' a little carried away. He picked up her arm and said he could feel the bones slipping around! He was the one to give "Mr DR Lt. I have a lunch date man and can't help your kid" a dirty look. He then, just popped it right in, and Lily immediately started to use it like normal!! Praise the Lord! I was so happy that in that moment allll the weeks struggles faded when I saw Lily's happy little face because her little arm was fixed...she only whimpered when he popped it back in....she did not even cry. Poor little thing must have been in so much pain last night :( phew...actually I feel better now :) so, I know I know there was some attitude there...ohhh is that an understatement ...sorry ;) But thanks for reading...I do feel better!

INTRODUCING...

... the new blog

Seasons Of Life

No pressure or anything Ms. Mishel ;) but I am really looking forward to reading about her daily adventures of life. This Godly homeschooling wife and mother of 2 is an inspiration...I won't spoil the fun of learning about her (though it is so tempting to blab of her successes)...you can find out yourself! ;) I am excited about the people she has and will inspire to walk in the blessing of being a Godly wife and mother. She is one busy lady who has been such a blessing to many. (hope I didn't embarrass her too much :) )

On the REAL *snicker*

Do you ever have an unpleasant memory pop up out of nowhere... it just pings right on in without permission...Well, that happened to me today, but now, it is actually kind of funny to me. What prompted it was emailing one of my dear dear friends A. who is uhh...11 years younger than me lol..ok, that is unpleasant. She is so wise beyond her years..I love her mom; I just admire their family so much...ok getting off the subject. ANYWAY ;) she is now married and has a precious little boy a couple of weeks younger than Ayden. The unpleasant memory was from way back (a whole two years?) before she had any children, and was just married. I had Brianna and Anjolie and we were talking together at the exchange...I think I was trying to give advice (a bad habit of mine... yikes) lol like I knew what I was talking about and like she really needed it...you get the idea...chicky chit-chat. Anyway, as I was standing there in my "mature" (where you pronounce the "t" and not the "ch") stance with the concerned and furrowed brow- head nodding slowly in understanding-the "mmmm and hmmm" applied delicately lol... then Brianna, who was 3 and in the shopping cart with Anjolie decides she can't hold "it" any longer. She peed aaaaallllll over everything in my cart, and underneath. I frantically picked her up, but had no place to put her...my poor friend stood there probably wanting to die or burst out laughing I don't know which. I tried to find a janitor while poor A. stood by the puddle and the cart ....LOL. Ohhhhh wasn't that something. Yeah...they need to put THAT situation in some parenting handbook and explain how to get through THAT gracefully. Ah yes, lets just say she knows the REAL Heather. What a trooper to stand there at the risk of the situation looking to be HERs ;) yes, I bought everything in the cart you guys c'mon!! :D
Just had to share that moment with you all...thanks

The Children

Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.


Proverbs 3:1-4 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.
Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.


Psalm 127:3-5
Lo, children [are] an heritage of the LORD: [and] the fruit of the womb [is his] reward.
As arrows [are] in the hand of a mighty man; so [are] children of the youth. Happy [is] the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

Tagged on LJ

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, and find line 4. Secrets of a Happy Heart "The woman who cares for her home and family and desires to live a godly life of faith is called happy"
2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you canright side: the baby swingleft: the air :)
3. What is the last thing you watched on TV? Fox News Channel
4. Without looking, guess what time it is. 2:20pm
5. Now look at the clock. 2:17pm (nap time for the girls ;) )
6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear? Old time Christan Radio...Ayden having some belly time
7. When did you last step outside? at about 2:00pm to call Brianna in for a rest time (5 year old big girls don't "nap" anymore ;) )
8. Before you started this survey, what did you look at? Ayden playing on the floor
9. What are you wearing? A jean skirt, a light blue old navy oxford style shirt a girlfriend gave me, brown sandals, diamond stud earrinngs Brian bought me for our anniversary, and my wedding ring
10. Did you dream last night? I always dream :).
11. When did you last laugh? this morning, when Anjolie, who was trying to be sneaky...asked me why don't I go make something in the kitchen LOL
12. What is on the walls of the room you are in? A Thomas Kinkade print my parents gave me for my first year anniversary, 2 other prints, one from our in-loves and the other from the exchange
13. Seen anything weird lately? My husband trying to mow the lawn in the dark LOL
15. What is the last film you saw? Wow...it has been a looong time..Hoodwinked I think?
16. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy? Hmmmm Pay off all our debt, pay off our Church's debt, pay off our parents' debts and houses and send them on a beautiful all expenses paid vacation. Hire a full time maid so we could spend as much time as we wanted with our children and be able to be in full time ministry without requiring an income. Buy an island and build a retirement resort for missionaries to live on when they can no longer be in the "field". LOL...I don't know :)
17. Tell me something about you that I don't know. Hmmmm you pretty much know everything how boring am I :) I wanted to be an actress/ fashion designer when I was little...God was soo good to see THAT never happened phew!
18. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do? Find a way to convince everyone to choose Christ
19. Do you like to dance? Yes, with my children and my husband
20. George W Bush: He has my utmost respect and prayers. I am so thankful for a president who is not afraid to be "un-popular" when it comes to doing what he believes is right. Praise the Lord for allowing him to be president during these scary times.
21. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her? Well...it is Brianna Lanae...no changing that :)
22. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him? Ayden Josiah..done deal
23. Would you ever consider living abroad? Uhhhh I am here sort of ;)
24. What do you want God to say to you when you reach the pearly gate? Amen Ashleigh "Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter into your rest."
25. Four or Five people you want to do this quiz on their blog: Hmmm Karen, Melissa, Kim, Kristi, and Dawn

Update...

...on my friend's husband who was in the hospital a couple of weeks ago. He had a rare disorder which enabled air to gather around his lungs...and then moved into his face. He is home and doing much better, but his lungs will never be 100% again. Please pray that this does not happen to him again...he is currently on a duty that does not require him to be deployed to Iraq, but if this disorder would persist...he could be moved back to an infantry unit and deployed again. Please pray for his continued well being...I know this means alot to my dear friend.

Strength Renewed

I fail when I am confident in walking in my own strength...instead of the Lord's. This was encouraging to me as I am concentrating on leaning on Him for my strength and guidance for every day. :)

A comment on Isaiah 40:31 "God does in a special manner increase strength; for, when we are weak in ourselves, then are we strong in the Lord. (2.) He will help the willing, will help those who, in a humble dependence upon him, help themselves, and will do well for those who do their best, v. 30, 31. Those who trust to their own sufficiency, and are so confident of it that they neither exert themselves to the utmost nor seek unto God for his grace, are the youth and the young men, who are strong, but are apt to think themselves stronger than they are. And they shall faint and be weary, yea, they shall utterly fail in their services, in their conflicts, and under their burdens; they shall soon be made to see the folly of trusting to themselves. But those that wait on the Lord, who make conscience of their duty to him, and by faith rely upon him and commit themselves to his guidance, shall find that God will not fail them. [1.] They shall have grace sufficient for them: They shall renew their strength as their work is renewed, as there is new occasion; they shall be anointed, and their lamps supplied, with fresh oil. God will be their arm every morning"


Henry, Matthew. "Commentary on Isaiah 40." Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible. Blue Letter Bible. 01 Mar 1996. 11 Aug 2006.
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Urgent Prayer

needed please for my Aunt. Please keep her in your prayers. She is fighting cancer, and has already been through one bout with chemo etc and on her check up it was found that the cancer had come back...it is now affecting her liver. Her family is devastated of course so they need prayer as well. She had already started to grow her hair back and everything...she starts on chemo again on Thursday. Please pray about her salvation too- as I am not sure. Thank you so much

Lemonade Stand

We did a lemonade stand for the girls which was so much fun...even though a storm came so we could only stay out for 45 min :) THEY MADE $7.00 IN 45 MIN!!. People thought they were so cute in their little aprons - shaking their pom-poms and Brianna yellin' "Right here LLLEMONADE- I got LEMONADE RIGHT HERE!!" It was hilarious...I could not stop laughing. I have no idea where she learned that :) The wind got so bad it blew the umbrella inside out!! You would not guess by the pictures that the storm was rolling in...weather in Okinawa can change within minutes. I wish I would have gotten better pics :( but you get the idea :)

Time With Daddy

Grilling out with Daddy :)

:) Fun Times

Brianna and Anjolie had a fun making pizza and cookies with one of her neighbor friends...:)

While you wait :)

Who Should Paint You: Pablo Picasso

Your an expressive soul who shows many emotions, with many subtleties Only a master painter could represent your glorious contradictions

What Artist Should Paint Your Portrait?

ooooookay.

Catch Up...

...with you soon!! :) We were hogging some time with Brian since he graduated...WITH HONORS I might add :)...I will post soon