Go Me!

I was going back and forth between 2 potential blogs. Potential blog #1: (wait for it)"Why do people who are not Christians quote Jesus?" I find it very interesting. You certainly don't see me going around quoting Joesph Smith (no offense, mormon friends). But people like to quote Jesus to tell us how us Christians how we have our Christianity all wrong. Hello?? You don't believe in Jesus, you don't believe in his word and you certainly don't live by it and yet you attempt to use to back up your non-biblical beliefs? Fascinating. haha, ok, I'll stop because Potential blog #2 is Getting Organized and that's the one I settled on (pause for everyone's collective sigh of relief)

I'm REALLY sad I did not take a picture of my desk pre-organization, albeit embarrassing. I was tempted to mess it all back up again, add about 30 lbs of useless papers from the last 2 years to give you an idea cuz that would totally be productive, right? Nah, it wasn't that bad, but it was definitely unkempt. I still hadn't found a home for things since we moved. When I feel overwhelmed and disorganized it's impossible hard for me to function. So today we got it alll straightened out.


My favorite part about getting organized is stuff that I utilize to get organized. First of all the 2 baskets that you see, those were clearanced at Target for $6.48. I don't know if you can really tell by the pics, but these are great sized baskets. I was more than thrilled to get them at such an awesome price. I used one basket for Josh's stuff (quotes, business cards, etc.) and the other to hold some of my desk necessities. They fit Perfectly in the slots in the desk FTW. See the little tin in the 3rd picture? That is a tin from Brighton, I used it to store cords. The rubbermaid storage container is holding some our Disney pins that were floating in the drawer waiting to stab the next unsuspecting fingers. and I just used a ziploc to hold batteries, where as before they were floating in the bottom of a big plastic storage container that was holding other garbage. That storage container went on to do great work and its only job now is to hold our video camera, charger and extra discs. Work with what you got, ladies! Now as far as papers go, I pretty much have a spot for all of them, but they weren't getting placed there. {refer to first picture for a better idea,but its still hard to see} The big black and white filing box is our business filings, the black folder is our house hunt filings and the purple one is for personal filings. You can't see them but there are a couple of loose folders which hold papers which are items that need immediate attention such as a bill, a receipt to be filed, etc. So everyyyy piece of paper has a place. HALLELUJAH!

The drawer before was being taken over by pins, stationary and cords. UGH. Most useless drawer on the planet! So I emptied it, stuck a basket in there. I filled the basket with the stationary, checkbooks and a pencil box. There are few other miscellaneous things, but they allll have a place and thats alllll that matters. Those stickers are stamps that got put on an envelopes that never ended up getting mailed out so I peeled them back off the envelopes and kept them. Heck no, techno, am I throwing away .44¢ x 4. That's just wasteful. They'll get used. Eventually. div>

I was inspired by someone else so I hope I've passed along the inspiration. Christmas is EXACTLY 2 months away. Make room for all the new goodies!

Do you have $40? Join in Operation Christmas Child

Because if you do, you could make a child's Christmas on of the Best Ever!!



Operation Christmas Child. Basically, you fill up a shoebox (your own or one you can pick up from a church or other institutions)




When you pick up a box, they give you instructions on what to pack and what not to pack. You get to choose the gender and age group of the child you would like your box to go to.

We chose a girl age 2-4. I chose this because Haylie and Madison are 3 and 4 and they got to pick out a majority of what went into the box. They really got into it which really made my heart smile. They totally understand that this is going to be some little girl's Christmas gift who isn't as fortunate as they are and they can be a small blessing to her. The joy of giving is one that can hardly be matched and I hope my kids will all grow up to feel the same. I have always wanted to do the box, but we've never followed through on it, sadly. I think next year we'll have all 3 kids do a box for a child of their same gender and age.

One year I remember my dad packing a box and he spent about $80 and that amount always intimidated me from attempting to pack one. That was before the $1 section at Target. Hello, Bargains! We got mittens, socks, a notepad, markers, stickers, coloring book, etc. And no I don't feel guilty shopping in the deal section because I buy my own little girls stuff from that section ALL the time. Then they have a section of mini toys (aka PERFECT shoebox size) for $2.49. Again, stuff my kids ALWAYS want i.e. harmonica, oversized bouncy ball that lights up, paddle ball, etc. Then we headed to the hygeine section, more specifically, the trial size section and picked up all of our hygeine items that were all good quality for an awesome price. I also grabbed a little dress off the clearance rack.


Altogether, I spent less than $40 and my box is packed to the gills!




After you get it all packed you can throw in a letter and/or a pic of your family. If you put your address they may write back. They also ask that you throw in $7 for shipping if you can.

This is such a great opportunity for your whole family to get in on. For $40 you can turn a child's world upside down and you are also opening the door for the gospel to be shared with them!

FOR MORE INFORMATION GO TO THE WEBSITE

Worship: Sing and Give, at the same time if you want...why not?

I've had a blog brewing the past few days and now that I have quiet time and chance to sit down and write I'm hitting a wall. Oh well, here we go...

Chapter 6 of 'Crazy Love' was all about falling in love with our Savior. It's so easy to see God as this enormous being with just a bunch of rules and regulations, but even the rules and regulations are made out of his abundant love for us and setup to protect us from some obvious consequences and even some that are unforeseeable. I love the way Jason Gray describes how an ideal relationship with the Lord can be, "More like falling in love than something to believe in, more like losing my heart than giving my allegiance." Are you in Love with Jesus? Have you lost your heart? One of the best parts of Chapter 6 was that even the days we aren't feelin' it, we can pray and ask God to put that passion and love in our hearts. How awesome is that? What if you told your spouse, "Eh, I'm not really feeling very in love with you today." Most spouses are not gonna say, "Oh, honey, thats alright, how can I help you be more in love with me today?" Haha. I know I would be uber-offended. LOL But not God. His love is that unconditional and unfailing he is even there to help us love him more. Matthew 7:7 says "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."

I love Music, especially worship music. It ministers to my heart so much. That is definitely a way I go to the Lord and spend time with him. I meditate on the words of the songs. So many songs are on my favorite list, but different songs minister to me at different times. Right now I am focused on just falling in love with the Lord and building that intimate relationship with him. Phil Wickham's song "Divine Romance" is the most beautiful love song. You can listen to it on my play list.

The fullness of Your grace is here with me

The richness of Your beauty’s all I see

The brightness of Your glory has arrived

In Your presence God, I’m completely satisfied

For You I sing I dance

Rejoice in this divine romance

Lift my heart and my hands

To show my love, to show my love

A deep deep flood, an Ocean flows from You

Of deep deep love, yeah it’s filling up the room

Your innocent blood, has washed my guilty life

The church is the bride of Christ and one day when it's all said and done and our "wedding day" comes, I hope this is the song of our "first dance" together. What a beautiful celebration, it will be. Think of all the amazing weddings money has bought on earth. Imagine what the Creator of all things has planned for us! The colors, the Angels, the saved souls, the WORSHIP! And most importantly, our Father on the throne. It's gonna be out of control! Can't wait!

God has been so incredibly faithful in recent weeks. In the Bible, God tells believers to test Him in one area and that is the area of giving. Malachi 3:10 says, '"Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do," says the LORD of Heaven's Armies, "I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won't have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!"' Have you tried it? Have you taken that leap of faith in your walk? I can tell you God has blessed us with so much and it's not always monetary. Sometimes it's an answer to prayer, sometimes it's in restoration of relationships. To be honest, we should just do it cheerfully because everything belongs to the Lord anyway and he commands us to do it, but how awesome is it that he will bless us for it?! I know for many, including us for a long time, it seems impossible to give 10% and you won't be able to afford it. Friends, you CAN'T afford not to. It's a system that makes no earthly sense, but has priceless heavenly rewards. I have seen so many friends struggling financially and we have BEEN there, bought the t-shirt. Had our gas turned off, maxed out every single credit card we had, had a night we didn't know how Josh was going to make it home at 3 am bc we didnt have a penny to our names. We were 92k in debt. Almost $100,000 in debt at 21 and 24 years old! When we decided to get on the Dave Ramsey program we decided we would start to give to God, too. How? We was BROKE with a capital 'B'. So the first month of our new plan, we gave $25 a week and we were freaked out about that. The next month we bumped it to $50 a week and eventually worked our way up to 10%. In 2 1/2 years we cut our debt in half and saved a small chunk of money. God opened doors right and left for us and we've even been able to start a small business in one of the worst economic times our country has seen. God also brought much peace to our marriage and restored our relationship where it had been damaged and brought us closer than we had ever been. I earned a trip to Hawaii during this time, also, so Josh and I got the honeymoon that we never had, ALL expenses paid. I give ALL the credit to the Lord. Some days it still doesn't make sense to me, but the Lord's plans are the Lord's plans and we're along for the ride. Trust me, your flesh can work as hard as it wants, if it's not in the Lord's plans it aint gonna happen and even if God does allow you to wander down your own path it's nothing compared to the plans God has for your life when you desire to be in his will.

Funny, when I started this blog I had no intentions of sharing our little journey. Most people who know us, know it, but I just felt led to share it. I hope it encourages at least one person who hasn't taken that step of faith or is maybe struggling with their finances. God WANTS to bless you. Do you have kids? It gives me ridiculous amounts of joy to take my little girls shopping. They love pretty clothes and new accessories for their kitchen or a new game or new book. They LOVE it. They definitely get the shopping bug from me. Shocker, I know. God is the same way, he LOVES to bless us. Step out in faith, friends. You won't regret it. You CANNOT outgive God.

oh and BTW Giving is a form of worshipping the Lord. So this blog totally makes complete sense and flows! Have a phenom weekend, Lovies!

30 Days of Truth: Day 2 - Something I love about myself

I love that I'm forgiving. I can't say I've always been this way, it's not natural to be this way. The more appropriate thing to say is "I love that I have let God work in my heart so I can be forgiving towards others.' I really cant take credit for God's work. The more I learn and see how much God loves us and how far his grace extends, it blows me away. I constantly let God down, I give in to my sinful nature and take matter's into my own hands and He still forgives me, all the time, washes me white as snow. When I think about what my Savior went through on that cross (even tho I cant begin to conceive the complete horrendousness of it) it has really made me think, "If God, the Creator of all things, can forgive me time and time again even tho I am a no one, who am I not to extend that same grace and forgiveness towards some one else?" And it's not always easy, but it sure does give me peace and it is also a way we can be Christ-like and set apart. I just want to reiterate, on my own, I am not a natually forgiving, let's-sing-kumbaya person. God has really grabbed my heart in this area the past couple years and worked on me being forgiving. When you get into the practice of it, you realize that forgiving others benefits you more than the other person. It frees you and allows you to grow so close to the Lord. Whenever you think 'I can't do it, I can't forgive them.' Think of God allowing his Only son to be mocked, spit on, beaten, tortured, humiliated and ultimately nailed to a cross just to OFFER you the gift of salvation and forgiveness. It's wayyy easier to forgive when you put it in that perspective. God's love for us is something I will never completely be able to wrap my head around, but I don't have to. All I know is he created me to love Him and for Him to love me and I just want to focus on falling more and more in love with him and I don't want my petty unforgiveness to get in the middle of that!

Matthew 5:43-48 says:
43"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Friday fun

Today (technically it was yesterday, but still feels like today because I have insomnia) was SO busy. I'm not used to crazyyy busy days like today. I was hustlin' and bustlin' from one place to the next. Bible Study was amazing! Words can't describe how much I love meeting with these ladies who are all so warm and welcoming. Today we talked about having an ear to hear when the Lord is speaking to us. So important that we're not just always blabbing, but we're listening and hearing what God is trying to communicate to us. It definitely ministered to my heart.

After, we had lunch with my dad then picked up Josh from work and then I came home to get crackin on dinner for Rae and Fam. I <3 that family. Continue to lift them up in prayer as decisions need to be made and comfort and peace need to flow abundantly.

When Josh came home at 3, we hopped in the mini (van, that is - mini sounds way cooler) and headed to Gma Rutherfords, dropped the kidlets off, then dropped the dinner off and headed to a Memorial for Kris Allen's Dad. Always puts things in perspective when some passes away so unexpectedly. I'm glad that we could go for the sole purpose that I got to give a huge hug to Gayla, Kris's mom. She is one of the sweetest ladies I've ever met. It was also a mini Crossroads reunion afterwards. Seems like we've been alternating weddings and funerals. So glad next up is a wedding.

We hurried back, grabbed the kids and headed home for baths and then we shortly took off again to go out tonight. Josh and I were skipping and high-fiving when we made Friday night plans and then we enjoyed a good laugh at how ridiculous and delirious we are! HA! I love that man! So we went to Chipotle, then to a mini-improv night at Crossroads. It was pretty fun, definitely not bad for free entertainment. We got to hang out with Jarrod, Kelly, Jonathan, Mark, Candice, Geoff, Brenda and Andrew. Most of us went to Denny's after and we had ourselves a fabulous little dessert and coffee! Got home a little after 12ish. Why I'm not dead on my feet, I have no idea. Today was a long time away from the pookies. I missed them, but they were in good hands =]

Feels great to get out and hang out with friends! Weekend is definitely off to a great start.

30 Days of Truth

I decided to participate in the 30 days of truth.

Day 01 → Something you hate about yourself.

Day 02 → Something you love about yourself.

Day 03 → Something you have to forgive yourself for.

Day 04 → Something you have to forgive someone for.

Day 05 → Something you hope to do in your life.

Day 06 → Something you hope you never have to do.

Day 07 → Someone who has made your life worth living for.

Day 08 → Someone who made your life miserable or treated you badly.

Day 09 → Someone you didn’t want to let go, but just drifted.

Day 10 → Someone you need to let go, or wish you didn’t know.

Day 11 → Something people seem to compliment you the most on.

Day 12 → Something you never get compliments on.

Day 13 → A band or artist that has gotten you through some tough days. (write a letter.)

Day 14 → A hero that has let you down. (letter)

Day 15 → Something or someone you couldn’t live without, because you’ve tried living without it.

Day 16 → Someone or something you definitely could live without.

Day 17 → A book you’ve read that changed your views on something.

Day 18 → Your views on gay marriage.

Day 19 → What do you think of religion? Or what do you think of politics?

Day 20 → Your views on drugs and alcohol.

Day 21 → (scenario) Your best friend is in a car accident and you two got into a fight an hour before. What do you do?

Day 22 → Something you wish you hadn’t done in your life.

Day 23 → Something you wish you had done in your life.

Day 24 → Make a playlist to someone, and explain why you chose all the songs. (Just post the titles and artists and letter)

Day 25 → The reason you believe you’re still alive today

Day 26 → Have you ever thought about giving up on life? If so, when and why?

Day 27 → What’s the best thing going for you right now?

Day 28 → What if you were pregnant or got someone pregnant, what would you do?

Day 29 → Something you hope to change about yourself. And why.

Day 30 → A letter to yourself, tell yourself EVERYTHING you love about yourself

Something I hate about myself? Hate is such a strong word. There are definitely things I don't like or care for like stretch marks, bills and chores, but even those have their up sides. I think one thing I hate is failure. Failure when it comes to letting God down, failure of not holding up my end in relationships, failure as a mom or as a wife or in endeavors. I know failure is a part of life and there is an opportunity to learn and grow in our failures if we allow ourselves to, but the feeling of missing the mark takes a toll on me. I don't even mean monumental failures, sometimes it's just little ones, like losing my patience or saying something I shouldn't. But my theme this week and always is 'I'm a work in progress'. And I know the Lord is going to grow me, especially in my failures. Ideally, I'd love for the Lord to bestow vasts amounts of wisdom, love, grace and all the other things the good Lord provides, upon me and I was perfect. Unfortunately, that's not gonna happen, but over time I'll be less of a 'failure' and molded more to what the Lord wants me to be.

To my audience of One

I dont think anyone reads my blog anymore after yesterday. Lost a few 'followers' and was taken off blog rolls. What can you do? I write just because I love to write. So even though I may encounter cyber silence, I'll press on with my thoughts :)

I was blown away by some of the responses yesterday and loved reading all of it. And I posted every single comment I received. To the person who thinks I'm not happy, clearly you don't know me. =] I really wish I knew who some of the anonymous responses were, some of them were awesome. Thanks to all who participated.

I couldn't sleep last night. It was a perfect storm of having chai tea late and having lots on my mind. at 12:30 I saw my nana was online on facebook, so I was like, "why not?" Gave her a ring-a-ding dong and talked to her for an hour in the middle of the night. Pretty sure she's the coolest Nana. She's wise. I love talking to her.

Read about Zacchaeus today..."Zacchaeus was a wee little man..." anyone remember that song? What a GREAT illustration of what it means to be Christ-like! A friend of mine posted THIS video (it's the 2nd one) and made me want to really dive into the story of Zacchaeus and when I did this is what I got out of it: (I'm reposting my response from his page so I don't have to re-write it all)

"This guy has such a great heart and more people definitely need to be more delicate and loving towards others, me included. After I watched this I went to Luke 19 to read the story of Zacchaeus and some commentary about it. I think it's im...portant to understand the entire story that played out. Jesus wasn't reaching out to some begrudged tax collector with a bah-humbug attitude. Zacchaeus went to great lengths just to catch a glimpse of Jesus. And when he called him out of the tree it says he came down IMMEDIATELY and welcomed him GLADLY. Jesus knew his heart.

Unfortunately, there are people out there that we turn a blind eye to because we don't agree with their lifestyle or because they don't look like the type to "join our country club" (when I say 'we' I mean christians) and some of those people have climbed the sycamore tree and are just waiting for an invitation. It's so important that we don't discount anyone.

However, I brought up the state of Zacchaeus' heart because that is also so important. So many try and cover up their sin under the banner of "God is a Loving God" and anything goes and that is simply not the case. Zacchaeus didn't pick and choose pieces of what Jesus taught to suit him. He was ready for the real deal. He signed himself up for giving back 4 times what he took from people, the highest price to pay in those times and Jesus never even asked him to do that. His outward action supported his inward faith. Not that we shouldn't also be loving to those people who are half-hearted, but were doing them a disservice by just kicking back and letting people slap, "God's cool with this" label on anything. As disciple's of Christ it's important that we share the WHOLE truth in a loving matter of fact way, even if it's not received well.

I could go on for days! The story of Zacchaeus is an awesome example of Christ's unconditional love that extends to us and He DOES see us when we are chillin' up in the sycamore tree. BUT we have to be able to leap in his arms and say GLADLY, "YES, Jesus, I'll leave my sinful ways behind along with the material things and follow you wholeheartedly anywhere and everywhere, Lord." - So much easier said than done. The story of Zacchaeus really made me examine my own heart, in making sure I always approach people with an attitude of love and not to just assume people are going to reject what God has to offer because of their lifestyle or whatever.

Something that never ceases to amaze me is when you take the time to really look at a piece of God's word is how much substance there can be to it. The story of Zacchaeus is a mere 10 verses long and yet you could write an entire book about the lessons to be learned there, the commentary, literal meanings and the history behind it. The other day I decided I would start really going through the book of James and doing one chapter at a time. WRONG, I think half a chapter a day is gooooood. So much in that small book.

Some awesome little financial blessings have happened in the last week. They aren't monumental, but they are in the sense that they are small reassurances that God has his hand on us and what we do doesn't go unnoticed by Him. Someone asked me what I do to reach out or help others in my last blog. Wish I could make a list for you, but I won't. God knows.

Were watching the mine rescue right now. Unbelievable. Praise the Lord for a good outcome! Amazing. Waiting for the 3rd guy who is making his way up right NOW!

some suggestions!

I am working on sight words, penmanship and reading a lot with Madison and some with Haylie. I am open to any and all advice, suggestions and ideas. I'd really like to head to CM school supply and look for some cool stuff, as well.

Also, we are considering buying bunk beds for the girls. A twin on top of a full. I have been looking at prices and websites and lots of furniture stores, but I'd like some feedback. Josh and I have been married 5 and a half years and the only piece of furniture we have ever bought is a couch. And I hated it. So, I want to buy the girls nice durable beds. Not pieces of garbage. There are many out there for like $199. Eh, I dont think so. And then you get the high end stuff is like $1500. DOUBLE "i dont think so"! Suggestions are very much wanted and appreciated!

ps. church was amazing yesterday. harvest.org I LOVE digging into God's word! And that's what I'm gonna do right now as you all fill my inbox with the best suggestions ya'll have to offer!

People are NOT born 'gay'

I believe this for a number of reasons and will back it up with facts as best as I can, many have referred to me and others as ignorant and have yet to produce any facts other than, 'I know a gay person.' Good for you. Trophy is in the mail. My points are mostly geared at those that refer to themselves as Christians and yet still condone homosexuality.

1. Homosexuality is a sin, according to the Bible. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 - "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." If you call yourself a Christian then you must also believe that the Bible is holy and completely true. EVERY word of it. “… from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:15-17). If you don't then just stop here and don't proceed to argue or comment. I believe according to what God has put in his word, if you don't then of course we're going to disagree. Also, there are plenty of men with more feminine qualities and women with more masculine qualities. Everyone is made different. Also, if people are "born gay" then why do some not act on that until they have a midlife crisis? Or how is it that there are recovered homosexuals that have come out of the lifestyle? People who are born black dont grow out of it. I use the "black" analogy because homosexuals rights are often compared to those of an African-American. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and most African-Americans would find this offensive.

2. If you are interested in what GOD'S WORD has to say about homosexuality check out THIS site or THIS site. OR you can just continue in your rejection of TRUTH.

3. When a discussion about homosexuality came up, someone brought up the term 'a loving God.' Isn't he tho? Isn't he just ridiculously amazing? So why would a God who loves us more than our brains can fathom create a human to already be wired to be a human that can never enter the kingdom of heaven? We all have free will. Creating someone who is 'gay' would be taking away their free will wouldn't it? Just a thought.

4. Just because someone is choosing to live the homosexual lifestyle does not mean they don't deserve love and respect. In fact, I think they deserve more of our love and prayers and thoughts, because if you look at the STATISTICS they are often very broken people who have been abused in one form or another or come from very broken homes. This bullying epidemic that is going on is so much deeper than someone jumpin off a bridge because they are gay. When I stand up and say what I believe about homosexuality, I will instantly be bombarded with 6-10 people who disagree and almost no one else will stand with me, even if they agree! Christians are being silenced, it's more popular and accepting to be gay than it is to be a Christian who lives according to the word.

I believe it's a deeper issues. Loneliness, emptiness, brokeness! This is an epidemic in our youth! DID YOU KNOW that suicide is the FOURTH leading cause of DEATH for ages 10-14?? HEARTWRENCHING! Unfortunately, I believe the media is manipulating (shocker!) these horrific tragedies for their political agenda. There are young people hurting EVERYWHERE and Killing themselves or using drugs or sleeping with everyone and their mother to find love. WAKE UP, AMERICA! WAKE UP, CHRISTIANS!! Don't just stand there and whine about intolerance. Crack open your Bibles and read about what is right and what is wrong and then go read about how to reach out and LOVE those broken lonely people, whether they are gay, addicts, promiscuous, etc. THEN go find out how you can dig into your community and your church and reach them with God's love and TRUTH. And by truth I dont mean bash them over the head with your Bible, I mean the message of the Gospel and how Jesus died for our sins and all we need to do is accept that gift of Salvation and TURN from our sin. (I think many people miss the "turn" part) And FOLLOW JESUS. Keep your eyes on Him.

Ok thats all, I'll limit myself. I really could go on for days ;)

***there are many links throughout my blog to take you to numerous sites with statistics and information. Feel free to use them :)

mini-update

So it's been awhile since I've done a run down of what we're up to so I thought I'd update you on all the madness we are partaking in!

Tonight is the 1st Christmas program practice. The girls are so excited! Cousin Rachel will be in the same class as Madison so she is extra excited. Haylie seems a little apprehensive about not being in sissy's class, but she'll be ok.

Mr. Handsome's vocabulary has expanded quite a bit. He now says the following: hi, bye-bye, doggy, daddy, blanky, binky, please, thank you and very seldom he'll say mama. He nods his head, too. He's almost 18 months. I LOVE this age! They are as adorable as it gets!

Madison and Haylie are starting piano lessons. Madison has a natural pull towards music and she is super excited. Haylie is along for the ride on this one. I think Haylie may be my little tomboy and lean towards sports later, we'll see. She is just enjoying being a princess who is as giggly as she is emotional.

We are paying off our van. Our goal is to have it paid off by the end of November. We have already been able to throw almost $2000 at it and we are eager to get rid of that car payment!

The book 'Crazy Love' is radically changing my life and my heart and my desires. I challenge anyone who calls themselves a Christian to read it. It will really make you ask yourself, 'Am I really a follower of Christ'? It has lit up such a desire in me to live so much more by faith and stop trying to have my perfect plan of how things need to go down. To make my life and the way we live it day to day focus so much more on my relationship God and what I am teaching my kids about a relationship with God. It's been awesome. Read it.

Next Friday will be our first day of trying out a MOPS group. If we like it, we'll sign up for the semester and that will be every other Friday.

I've been baking pumpkin pies like crazy and plan on baking some pumpkin bread for some special people in my life this week, too. Dont forget: I sell both, so let me know if you have a sweet tooth!

Welp, I think were semi-caught up. Hope everyone's Fall is off to a Fab start!