Wow! It's been over a year since my last post.

A lot has happened in a year. My Uncle Mike lost his battle with cancer. Luckily for us, he was a Christian, which gives us assurance we will see him again someday.

My husband finished all his hours for licensing and has now opened his private practice. We are still in the process of getting referrals. However, we know God is faithful, this is the path He has put us on, and He will provide!

In March my twins turned 10 and had a birthday party with some of their friends.

They had a blast and stayed up WAY too late playing video games. They were so tired they fell asleep right after breakfast.

Louie also celebrated his 7Th birthday. We offered to throw him a party but he didn't want one. Such a strange child.

So, we all went bowling and to pizza instead. This is where I learned that my brother-in-law really likes red pepper flakes! ;)

I have a feeling that he will check to make sure the lid is screwed on next time.

Joey discovered his own fashion sense this year. His new nickname is mismatch man. Notice the socks with the sandals. Yeah, we're real fashion forward in this house.

He also learned to fly!

His dad would toss him on to the bed. He literally kept his arms out the whole time and would face plant on the bed. All the while he was giggling and singing "I believe I can fly.'

We went camping with friends and my two oldest boys learned to ride dirt bikes. I still can't figure out how on earth they learned to use a clutch so easy. I still can't do it!

Us girls even learned to ride. Although, most of us started out in 2ND gear and never had to actually use the clutch.

I'm sure there is a lot more pictures and events that I could post....but, I'm really getting annoyed that every time I go to add a picture it goes directly to the top of my post and I can't cut and paste it down....I literally have to drag and drop it. Any solutions anyone? I've tried everything I can think of.

Blessings!

Dad

This week has been a rather difficult week. My Uncle Mike, my Dad's younger brother has been given a very short (1-2 weeks) amount of time left to live.

He has cancer that has been unresponsive to chemo and has spread rapidly over his body causing one of his lungs to collapse.

We all know God is the God of the impossible...but, I also know that God's plan generally doesn't make sense to us and our logical mindset.

We have to trust his plan and know that only He can determine when we will be born and when we will die.

I find myself feeling rather selfish. Thanking God that it wasn't my Dad.

My heart weeps with my aunt and cousins because even though I don't understand their loss, I do. I can't imagine my life without my Dad. He's such an awesome man of God, husband, father, and grandfather. He would do anything for any of us in a heartbeat, no questions asked. Only now that I have become a parent do I understand the sacrifices my parents made for us. I have no idea what his dreams and aspirations were when he was a kid, I don't know what he considers his biggest accomplishments or failures, what he wishes he could change about his life, or how he wants people to remember him when he's gone.

I have so much left to learn!

Thank You, God for giving me another day! I pray for many, many more!

February Winner!

I'm posting this a day late due to the fact I've had a little puker at home! It seems like this year has been particularly bad for colds and flu's in our house!

OK, so onto the lucky winner! Our winner for the February drawing is.....

Christie Cottage!

Congratulations, Christie! Please contact me at Karebear218@yahoo.com to claim your prize!

Have you ever had one of those days when your children test your patience in every possible way? Well, that was my day today!
I was supposed to be at pre-service prayer today at 10:00 am but didn't make it because I had to deal with a "situation" that ended up taking about an hour over pants...PANTS! Then, as I was getting ready (finally) for church, I hear one of my other son's throwing a fit over a coat...since when did I become a coat hanger...I don't see a hook on me anywhere, do you? Finally, I make it to church. No sooner do I start to engage in worship do I see Joey's little number pop up on the screen...at this point, I'm not going to lie, I just about cried!
I felt defeated, exhausted, and on the verge of tears. I didn't feel like I could handle one more thing...then I had a thought, OK, more like a prayer: "God, is this how you see me? Do I complain and throw fits over stupid things? Am I running behind on the things you have for my life? Lord, help me be grateful and appreciative of every breath, every second I have with my beautiful family on this earth. Teach me the patience to grow these boys into men that will serve you faithfully all of their days, because, I know that this is the most important job I will ever have...I don't want to fail at being a mother."
For those of you who feel like you've been drug through the mud...let me tell you, I understand and so does He! His mercies are new every morning...so, tomorrow, I am going to wake up, hug my kids and tell them that I love them, apologize for my mistakes, and keep on keeping on!

February Giveaway!

Enter to win these beautiful handmade Valentines Day earrings!
Here's how:
Leave me a comment and tell me what you love most about Valentines Day!
Get additional entries by becoming a follower of my blog or hearting me at KLSreflections.etsy.com!
Good Luck!

Reflections

I was reflecting this morning on past Christmases...why is it the funny things always stick out in my mind?
I saw a picture of someone trying to tie their tree to their car and it reminded me of my husband and my first Christmas together...we were so stupid! We had this little Honda Accord and decided we were going to go get our first tree. We drove up to the lot all excited, pick out this fabulous tree...really tall cause we had vaulted celings. The guys at the lot told us that it would be a liability for them to tie the tree to our car for us...so we had to do it...dumb and dumber! Let's just say that the rope he gave us didn't work (it's all about the rope) and we were lucky we had a sunroof cause that was the only way the tree was staying on top of our car! We drove all the way home with me unbuckled holding the tree with two hands through the sunroof going about 25 MPH...it was quite a sight!
Anyway, that's my embarrassing moment of the day! Enjoy the New Year everyone!

We have a winner!

So, after reading all of your stories to my panel of judges (my family) we have come up with a winner!
Although all of your stories were funny, I chose this person based on the fact that I can actually see this play out with my own kids (and my husband's uncontrollable laughter).
And the winner is...........................Janna!
Congratulations, Janna! Convo me so we can work out the details of your prize!
And to the rest of you...stay tuned cause I plan to have more contests in the near future!

Merry Christmas everyone!!!