Just cause I love her

A child of God

Mother

Beautiful

Energetic

Really good friend

~I'm so thankful for you my dear friend~

Wordless Wednesday (3 hours early)

He is enough...

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

~2 Corinthians 12:9

Flashback Friday

Wordless Wednesday

Tellin' the truth Tuesday

This week's motto:

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come."

~2 Corinthians 5:17

Let it Fade

By: Jeremy Camp

Have you been walking on a surface that's uncertain?

Have you helped yourself to everything that's empty?

yeah!You can't live this way too long.

There's more than this, more than this.

Have you been standing on your own feet too long?

Have you been looking for a place where you belong?

You can rest, you will find rest.

You can rest, you will find rest.

Let this old life crumble, let it fade.

Let this new life offered be your saving grace.

Let this old life crumble, let it fade, let it fade.

Have you been holding on to what this world has offered?

Have you been giving in to all these masquerades?

It will be gone, forever gone.

It will be gone, it will be gone.

Let this old life crumble, let it fade.

Let this new life offered be your saving grace.

Let this old life crumble, let it fade, let it fade.

Let it fade.

Are you carrying the weight too much?

Are you running from the call?

Let it fade, Oh yeah.

You can rest, you will find rest.

You can rest you will find rest.

Let this old life crumble, let it fade.

Let this new life offered be your saving grace.

Let this old life crumble, let it fade, let it fade.

Let this old life crumble, let it fade.

Have you been standing on your own feet too long?

Have you been looking for a place where you belong?

Birthday Weekend Review

Such a nice, relaxing weekend I had!
Although this year we didn't do anything super special or exciting it was a really nice weekend. Here are some highlights....

Getting to go to the grocery store by myself (may not seem like a treat..but believe me it is!)

Having Liliana sleep from 8:00-4:30 on Saturday night & 8:30-5:00 last night!

Flowers from my hubby
An early morning neighborhood walk....just me, my iPod & God
Homemade cards from Kyle & Tal
A "gift certificate" for a double jogging stroller
Birthday waffles with strawberries.....yummy
My girls dressed in matching outfits for church (see pic above)
Beautiful flowers from Amber (thanks Abbey for bringing them home to me)
BBQ at church (Tal thought it was my birthday party & kept wondering where my cake was & when everyone was going to sing to me)
Relaxing in the backyard~Liliana sleeping while Tal was splashin' her Daddy in the pool
El Paraiso's enchilidas with family
$$$ (Thanks Mom & Em)
Cards, phone calls, and emails from friends & family
Feeling blessed and loved

Bedtime last night

When I tell Talia that I love her I often will say..."Tal, I love you to the moon and back and more...more than I ever can tell you." Well, bed time last night proved that she really is listening to everything I say. As she was telling Liliana good night, she hugged and kissed her and then looked her in the eyes and said.."I love you to the moon and back and more...more than I ever can tell you." Can't get much better than that!

Flashback Friday~Birthdays

I love birthdays!

Actually any reason to celebrate but I especially love birthdays, including mine. I like to eat cake, open presents and spend time with those I love. So here is a walk down memory lane for a couple of birthdays of mine in my almost 31 years.

Not sure of how old I am here probably 3 or 4 from the outfit & the background. Fun to see that I still have the same cheesy smile.
Summer of 96'~The first birthday Kyle & I spent together...I was turning 19 and we spent the day in Sequim as I was the maid of honor at a wedding. Even though the wedding we attended was a bit of a disaster we still had a good day.

Shoulda named them both joy....

I love being a mommy to my two beautiful girls. Each day is an adventure...sometimes easy and predictable and sometimes it isn't but it is all still joy and I can't imagine my life any different right now. I knew that deciding to have another baby would be a challenge for me...to trust God even more. A new life, new personality, a new person to get to know, learning new things about myself...all of it trusting that God knows how much I can handle and that He has the ability to shape me into the mother He has called me to be. Little did I know how much joy would come with motherhood. Liliana is quite the Momma's girl and has been pretty much since she stopped incubating. I can see that she is very, very slowly coming out of her early separation anxiety but still really likes to know where I am at all times and can only take being in someone else's arms for a very limited amount of time. At times it can be a little much when she only wants me. With this neediness comes a great reward however as is illustrated in the above pictures. When Liliana sees me her entire body shakes with happiness...it is adorable! Pictures cannot capture the joy that she shows. I only hope that both of my girls know how much joy they both bring me and that I'm so thankful for both of them. Such a blessed life I live!

Sisterly love

Tal loves her sister and tries hard to play with her already so I wasn't surprised to find her swished in Liliana's baby gym trying to "play" with her a few days ago. Pretty sweet if you ask me.....

Wordless Wednesday~Bed Head

Note to self

Don't burn yourself on a curling iron.
It hurts and it doesn't look very pretty.

Only 5 days away....

Last night

Spontaneous dinner with old friends

Watching our kiddos play together

Talking to a dear friend & fellow mom

Giggling at our cute kids

Seeing Tal eating corn on the cob

Feeling a warm summer breeze

Cuddling with a sleepy baby

Making plans to get together again soon

Quilt give-a-way

Go here to win this beautiful quilt

Flashback Friday

What God declares is true about YOU through Christ

Found this today and thought I would pass it along...

1. I am accepted and worthy~Romans 15:7, Psalm 139
2. I am never alone~Hebrews 13:5b, Romans 8:38, 39
3. I am adequate~2 Cor. 3: 5-6, Phil. 4:13
4. I have boldness & confidence~Proverbs 3:26, 14:26, Heb. 10:19
5. God will be faithful to me~Philippians 1:6, 2:13, 2 Thess. 3:3
6. I have the mind of Christ~1 Cor. 2:16, 2 Tim. 1:17
7. I have hope~Romans 15:13, Psalm 16:11, 27:13
8. I am seen as perfect~Hebrews 10:14, Colossians 2:13
9. I have been chosen and set apart~1 Cor. 1:30, 6:11, Eph. 1:4
10. I lack nothing~Philippians 4:19
11. I am free from fear~Psalm 34:4, 2 Tim. 1:7
12. I have strength~Daniel 11:32, Psalm 37:39
13. I am victorious~Romans 8:37, 2 Cor. 2:14
14. I have wisdom ~Proverbs 2:6-7, 1 Cor. 1:30
15. I am free~Psalm 32:7, 2 Cor. 1:3-4
16. I have comfort~John 15:6, 16:7, 2 Cor. 1:3-4
17. I am protected~Psalm 32:7
18. I am perfectly loved~John 15:9, Rom. 8:38-39, Eph. 5:1
19. I am an adopted child of God~Rom. 8:16, Galatians 4:5, Eph. 1:5
20. I am totally forgiven~Psalm 103:12, Eph. 1:7, Heb. 10:7
21. I have been declared righteous~Romans 3:24, 1 Cor. 1:30, 6:11
22. I am indwelt by the Holy Spirit~Acts 1:8, Eph. 1:19, 3:16, 1 Cor. 12:13
23. I have direct access to God~Eph. 2:6, 1 Peter 2:5, 9
24. I am blameless~John 3:18, Romans 8:1
25. I have been created for good works~Eph. 2:10, Psalm 37:23
26. I am a new creation~2 Cor. 5:17
27. I have authority over Satan~Colossians 1:13, 1 John 4:4
28. I am dead to sin~Romans 6:11
29. I am dead to the law~Romans 6:14, 7:4,5,6
30. I am an eternal inheritance~Romans 8:16-17, Eph. 1:11, 14, 18
31. I have been raised with Christ~Romans 6:4-8, Gal. 2:20, Col. 2:12
32. I will be with Christ in heaven~Eph. 2:5, Col. 2:15
33. I have eternal security~1 John 5:11-13, John 10:27-30
34. I have spiritual gifts for HIS service~1 Corinthians 12

Pruning

~John 15:1-8~

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showering yourselves to be my disciples.”

I have never had a green thumb, it is probably a nice shade of lavender but not green so I was a bit surprised that God would use gardening as a way to get my attention. Good ol' Wikipedia defines pruning as the practice of removing diseased, non-productive, or otherwise unwanted portions from a plant. The purpose of pruning is to shape the plant by controlling or directing plant growth, to maintain the health of the plant, or to increase the yield or quality of flowers and fruits. Proper pruning is as much a skill as it is an art, since badly pruned plants can become diseased or grow in undesirable ways.

The word pruning has been whispered into my ear for the last few weeks…quietly, gently but consistent. You see there has been a sin that I have become friends with over the years. It has been my buddy, my comfort and God has been revealing to me that in order to bear fruit, to remain in Him I have to let my old buddy loose. I have known this to be true for sometime but I guess I haven't been taking God seriously about all this until now. His quiet whisper has gotten my attention. This process of pruning requires change, which isn’t always in my comfort zone, however I know from His Word that it is essential that I do so. While I have been feeding Liliana at night I have been hearing His whisper…Him telling me “Let’s hash this stuff out…child it’s time to get rid of your old buddy…I have so much more for you, it’s better and worth it”. This process of pruning requires change on my part...it calls for repentance to not simply acknowledge and apologize for this sin but to turn from it, to take action. There are many challenges I face with all of this pruning but most of all I think I have been even more challenged to trust and believe God. Trust and believe that He knows what is best for me. There is risk in trusting and my stubborn heart becomes hard at times resisting this love and the peace that comes with a trusting relationship with my King. However, He has been faithfully pursuing me, reminding me of His great love and I am so thankful.

It is time for me to be willing to sit in the shadow of the cross...to know His sacrifice was enough. It is time to accept His love despite my fears, confusion at times or wanting to sit in my comfort zone. It is time to say goodbye to my old friend and to be get rid of anything that hinders me from knowing Him more fully or deeply. It is time to hand the pruning shears over the Master Gardener so He can cut off what doesn't belong.

~Psalm 103:11-12~

"For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is his love for those who fear him;

as far as the east is from the west

so far has he removed our transgressions from us."

~Jude 24~

""To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy--to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen."

Our 4th of July

A little late but thought I would post anyway....We headed up to Anacortes for the 4th (our party neighbors always throw a HUGE party for the 4th so we decided to get out of town). It was a really nice relaxing day which included a parade which Tal loved.

Here are some highlights.....

Waiting for the parade to start

Liliana chillin' with K$
Tal and some yummy taffy
Lil fell asleep pretty quickly & slept through the entire parade
Gummy hotdog...probably the most candy she has ever had
Puffy firemen...Tal thought they were funny
Dancin' to the music
We came home with A LOT of beads The loot
Liliana stretching after the fun
(shortly after this picture was taken she had a blowout...)

Wordless Wednesday

*Note Liliana's purple mouth from Gentian Violet, still trying to get rid of thrush.

Two months in......

Liliana's stats at two months:

13 lbs. 6oz.

24"

5 Vaccines

Lots of cuddles & kisses for my baby girl

Meme About My Kids

Saw this on a blog today while I was blog hopping.
Here is how it goes...
1. Link your tagger and list the rules on the blog.
2. Share 7 facts about your kiddos on your blog…random, weird, funny…whatever you want!
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post

~All About My Kids~

Talia
1. She often is singing and usually makes up her own songs..."I do what I do because I do".
2. She loves strawberries and would eat them all day if we let her.
3. She likes to change her name (& clothes) several times a day depending on which character she is pretending to be. I sometimes have a hard time keeping up with who she is (i.e Belle, Strawberry Shortcake, Curious George, Fancy Nancy, Mary-as in Jesus' mother, Queen Esther, etc.).
4. She loves to hide in her room before bathtime and tries to "boo" Kyle.
5. She has started trying to spell words (& tries to figure out the words Kyle & I spell).
6. She is a multiple question asker (why, why, why???) & has been asking a lot lately about heaven and when is Jesus coming back.
7. She has Kyle's ears.

Liliana
1. She loves to play in her baby gym, it gets more smiles from her than us sometimes.
2. She likes to splash her Daddy at bathtime.
3. She loves to be cuddled, especially in the evenings.
4. She has two birthmarks.
5. She has started to suck her hand ALOT.
6. She likes to "talk" back to us by cooing...a lot of "ya" and "oh" sounds lately
7. She has my ears.

I tag Amber B., Heather, Amber M., Jos, Abbey, Rachel, & Amy~

Wordless Wednesday

This is for you Ky....