Happy Birthday my Sweet Eden!

Tomorrow is Eden's 4th Birthday and her second time spending it without Daddy. The first time he missed Eden's birthday was when Eden turned 1, and Kevin was in the hospital for a week with Renal Failure from Rabdomiolisis, caused by taking too much of the wrong medication. My friends Michele and Karen had watched the girls the night before so I could visit Kevin and when I got home at 9:00pm there was a beautiful home made cake, flowers and presents set out on the table for Eden and Lily ready for the next day. I was so blown Away. God is so good to surround me with such amazing friends.
Thankfully when we went home to Maine for a visit about a week or so ago, we celebrated all the girls birthdays one day with Mommy Daddy Gamma, Pappa and Auntie Karrie. And she is still young and doesn't care too much about birthdays, besides the cake, but I am reminded of how as the girls get older, there may be many more things that Daddy will miss and has missed for the girls and for me, like anniversaries and holiday spent in the hospital etc and it makes me sad.  But I have to be thankful for the good days we have together and that's what helps me get through, That, and knowing that God has a Plan and a Purpose for everyone.

Isn't it Ironic

Feeling a bit like Alanis Morrissette! Just after I finally posted that Kevin was feeling better and life was beginning to return to normal.

Who would've thought... it figures

Kevin spent all of friday evening and all day saturday in bed with abdominal pain. Only to finally go in to the ER at around 10pm and then they ran some blood work and gave him some Barium to drink for a CT Scan at 2:30 am. He told the tech about his Renal failure and The docs decided to do the CT scan without the contrast injection. It was much too uncomfortable for him to have me sit on the bed with him, but after they gave him some dilaudid for the pain, he asked me to come up on the hospital bed to snuggle. We joked with the tech, that it was "Date Night" since we rarely get out without the girls. When they got the results from th ct scan, they decided to admit him at 5:00 am, I finally left the hospital to go home and take care of the girls. We had left them at our house in the care of my friend Michele and her mom Eileen, who have been my adoptive family out here in NY and have helped tremendously throughout Kevin's illness. When I got home the girls were still asleep with their friend Livy in the middle, my house was absolutely spotless and there were donut holes on my table. They are so good to us. They told me to go and rest and I was so exausted that I took them up on it. Then I woke up about an hour later and Grampa Gary, who comes over every sunday for church, was here, talking with Eileen and Michele. After he left they called my amazing neighbor and friend Karen over to help out. She shaved the dog for me on the back porch in this terrible heat and watched the girls so I could take a quick shower. There are definitely days I wish we lived closer to my family in Maine, but I am so incredbly blessed and thankful to have friends that treat us like family out here in NY. I would be lost with out them.

Thanks so much to all who have been praying also. We are so grateful and we know that God is listening.

A Mom After God's Own Heart

Revisiting an old book I read @ the end of my pregnancy with Lily. It's amazing how much more of an impact it is having on me, the second time around. After all, I have two little ones now. The Author Elizabeth George shares the importance of filling the hearts of our children as well as ourselves with the Word of God throughout the day. Not only in reading, but in talking with them and sharing his love in our actions and incorporating it into our everyday tasks, just as the Hebrews did. It has been an encouragement as well as a challenge. I truly want to be the Mom my children need, the Mom God made me to be. But I can't do it alone, or in my own strength. It is only by the Grace of God, that I shall succeed.

Make a Joyful Noise

Tuesdays and Thursdays are worship nights @ Star Cottage. It's our special time to worship the Lord as a family. How great to serve a God who loves to hear us sing, however good or bad we may sound to eachother. The Lord delights in it!

Psalm 100

An Exortation of Thanksgiving

A Psalm of praise

1 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.

2 Serve the Lord with gladness:

come before his presence with singing.

3 Know ye that the Lord he is God:

it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves;

we are His people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

and into his courts with praise:

be thankful unto Him and bless His name.

5 For the Lord is good;

His mercy is everlasting;

and His truth endureth to all generations.

My new Years resolution is...

... to read these every morning, before the Girls wake up. I really enjoy this time with the Lord, and I hope I can stick with it. So far it has been 12 days and I am doing great. I tried this last year and was very inconsistent with my morning devotions. I would do well for a while and then I would "get busy" . Which is a totally lame excuse of course. I will be sure to post my progress throughout the year and share what I have learned, as to keep myself accountable. I really want to do more reading in general this year. I mean grown up books. I used to read a lot before the Girls came along. I do plenty of reading with my girls, but not much for myself lately. I really miss it.

Come and join me for some Humble Pie...

I've sure got plenty of it, and it really is quite Delicious once you get past the bitter taste of lost pride.

Where is this going I have no Idea, but I just had to write it all down.

We have been remodelling our house since we moved in, and it will be 4 yrs this August. I really can't wait to be done. In the mean time we have also had 2 lovely little children. We had both been Volunteering @ church weekly and Kevin works overtime off and on. He always works of course. I meant the overtime was off and on throughout the years. I tried out doing childcare, So needless to say we've been busy. And lately things have just been coming to a head and I have learned that we can't do everything and we both need to learn to say no. And need to ask for help myself sometimes. I never ask for help, and this week I got myself in over my head, and I just had to. I was very humbled and I was forced to have my friends see my house @ it's worst and me @ my wits end. And I don't like crying in front of people.

This week has been insane, my house looked like a tornado hit. So I decided it was a dip your candy bar in peanut butter kinda day. I was losing my mind. My house is not typically this chaotic. I am a pretty organized person, and have a routine that works for our family. But I decided to undertake a crazy project of clearing out our bedroom and closet and painting it all. And I thought I could do it all myself and still take care of my munchkins and house and everything would be fine. Just like me to bite off more than I can chew. I was so very wrong. I felt @ first that I shouldn't ask for help, after all, I got myself into this mess, I should be able to get myself out of it.

Like I said, I was trying to mud and paint the closet too. So Alllll and I mean allll of our clean clothes were in the dinning room, along with some furniture. Waiting to be put back in the closet. And of course I think this is the perfect time to sort them and donate what doesn't fit anymore. What a mess. Now they are on my bed.

And on top of all that the Dishes were piled up,

The computer broke and therefore no phone.

The dryer broke and it was -my fault, ugggg! I forgot to put the filter back in after I cleaned it out and it sucked up some socks. I tried to turn it on last night and it revved like an engine and just burned out.

So needless to say the dirty clothes were piling up fast, I was trying to hang what I could but the pollen has been insane and my allergies are so bad my eyes are all swollen and I haven't been able to wear mascara for a month and I was told I look like a reptile or a turtle by more than one person. So I really don't want my clothes pollinated right now. And it's bad enough that I have the windows open so that the paint will dry.

And then my husband calls today and says "I invited my friend from work over and I completely forgot about it, is it OK if he still comes over for dinner tonight."

I said "Sure, just tell him the house is a mess and it might be a leftover smorgasbord tonight."

I am not upset with my hubby @ all I am just overwhelmed with my situation.

It has been crazy. The last time I had taken a Bloggy break, only a few weeks ago, our hot water heater broke and flooded the basement and our plumbing went @ the same time and there was raw sewage all over the laundyroom/bathroom and all over the clothes and the raw sewage was backed up into the shower. So for a week no one could take a shower cause there was no hot water and in the middle of all that it smelled like poopy in our house and then Hailey ran away remember. And every night Kevin was downstairs working on trying to fix everything. I helped with the nasty parts and did all the sanitizing, as I was worried about germs, being that he has a Heart transplant and a lowered immune system. What a nightmare. But we didn't ask for help and a friend told me stuff like this would happen until we learned to humble ourselves and just ask for help. And I didn't even tell church, when they called to ask if I could make a meal for a family in need, I pretended everything was ok and made the meal and "just kept on truckin'." I should have said no. But I have this horrible feeling that I always have to rise to the occasion and "just deal with it" and "do what I've gotta do" "I can handle it" and "be the strong one" and "serve serve serve" "I am the helper" I love being the one to help and come to the rescue. But, I need to learn to receive. I have such a hard time with that. I am prideful and I never thought I was. I really don't think I am better than anyone else. I love helping people and have a heart for the sick and the hurting and the poor. Gosh we have been there for sure. But we never let on. I never thought it was pride, I never wanted anyone to feel bad for us, and never wanted to be a burden. But I realized I don't see people as a burden when I help them, I am truly blessed to help. So why would they see me as a burden when they help me.

So I am ever so thankful for great friends who have come to the rescue this week, I have truly learned God is ever so faithful. And again just because you need help doesn't mean you are a failure or a burden. Thank you Bethany for helping me prime on Tuesday and for the leftover paint. Thank you Michelle for helping me paint on Tuesday & Wednesday and providing direction to my scattered brain. Thank you Jen for helping me tidy up the place today, bringing dinner and snacks and taking my laundry. I don't desrve it.

And God bless you all for listening to me yap and helping me regain my sanity, or whats left of it.

I will post pictures of the finished room very soon.

Not So Daily Devos

So I know this is terrible, but I am going to share it with you anyway. For the past few weeks I haven't been in the word very much. Our routine has been completely shot. I have been awful with keeping up with my devotionals and not reading my Bible. Shame Shame I know. And my excuse has been oh I have so much to do. How can I possibly fit reading into my hectic and crazy life. So in a sense I am saying I have no time for God, My Savior, My Creator. Yet I will stay up blogging. Wow do I have to get my priorities right. And every time I thought I had so much to do and so little time, I would have this scripture running through my brain.

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Matthew 6:33-34

So on Monday night I decided to get to bed early so that I could get back into my routine of reading my bible and a devotional in the morning before the rest of the family wakes up. Tuesday morning comes and I wake up early, though not as early as I would like. And I think to myself, "Boy have I got a lot to do. Maybe I will skip my bible reading and squeeze in a short Devotional. " I know I know, I'm really bad, but I am being honest! So I go to the bookcase and grab the Christian's Daily Challenge by E. F. & L. Harvey. I read the Chapter for the day, and here is what it said.

April 7th

The Bible our Inheritance

"Seek ye the book of the Lord, and read." (Isa. 34:16)

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." (Matt. 24:35)

I wonder if some of us realize what a legacy and inheritance the Bible really is--God's Word to us.

It is yellow with age, and travel stained. It has come through many ages, many lands. It has come out of the world of Noah and his Ark, of Abraham and his flock, into a world their shepherd races could not dream of; but it has come inspired with such power as our world can hardly understand. It comes to us, in the stress and strain of our life to-day, like music from a far country. It is like cooling waters in a hot and thirsty land. It is like a still small voice that speaks to a troubled soul in the night and says, "be strong and of good courage."

E.F. & L. Harvey

There was more along with another poem. But I just didn't want to copy it all.

So what did you get out of that. lol

Wow. I definitely heard the voice of God telling me to READ.

After that you better believe I grabbed my Bible put aside all worries of house work etc. and started reading.

Thanks for listening :)

New Job

When is life not busy? At least we aren't bored. Kev started his new job this month. He seems to like it so far, and is doing very well. The company christmas party was postponed till after The new year, so we got to attend. It was neat for me to be able to meet his new coworkers. They all seemed really cool. We even bumped into some people that attended Elim, and had prayed for Kevin back when he was going through the transplant. They had come to the party late and there were two seats available next to us so they sat down and we got to talking and they realized who Kevin was and they were flabergasted. They were so thrilled and amazed @ all that God had done. Considering noone thought he would make it through the night let alone get married and have children, years down the road. So that part was really awesome. It was also nice to have a night out. Although, I have to admit, by the end of the night we really just wanted to get home and see the kids.