Valentines Day Take 1

The great thing about teaching two different classes at preschool is that we get to spread out the celebrating a little.  Today we had a Valentine party for the four year olds.  Tomorrow we will get to party again with Hope's class of three year olds.

These two little girls were ready to party.  I am so blessed to work with such amazing co-workers, parents, and kids. 

This little lady was adamant about wearing her fancy party dress.  After their party the preschoolers were invited down to the fellowship hall to entertain the UMW ladies during their monthly meeting. At Christmas this little girl was too shy to sing, but today....SHE DID IT!!!!!  I even captured a little clip of her singing Awesome God. 



I love my job.  I love the ladies I teach with.  This job makes me laugh every single day.  Today I felt blessed to get to talk to a group of preschoolers about Jesus being our ultimate Valentine:) Today I am definitely feeling the love:)

Last Year

After a rough week last week this weekend has been perfect.  Lots of home family time, dinner out as a family, a quiet Friday night to myself (wow), church, and a sweet birthday party for a friend.  I am so thankful for times where I can be home and quiet.  The older I get the more I crave quiet time to listen to music, listen to a sermon podcast, or even enjoy Army  Wives on Netflix! 

 Valentine picture 2012

Today David had a friend over to play after his basketball game.  I was touched to see the boys in their uniforms playing xbox and having a blast.  This time last year, my baby was hospitalized for six days for a tough chemo regimen.  This year there is a bag of valentines for him to take to his friends at school and last year we had gift bags to hand out to his friends on the hall in the hospital because he was hospitalized for Vaentines Day last year.  

I was overcome that this time last year my baby was balding and hospitalized and this year he has a head full of hair and played hard in a basketball game. 

 

This picture is so pitiful to me because this is after he had chemo his counts were so low we had to homeschool him for two weeks or so until it was safe for him to return to school.  On one hand it makes me want to bawl when I look back over pictures of his chemo journey, but then the Momma in me is so proud of how much he went through and he kept singing praises to God and making us laugh when we wanted to cry.  I am so proud to be David's momma. 

 

Today a dear friend shared with me that she went back to November 2011 on this blog and started re-reading some of those earlier posts.  I too have done that and it is brutal.  I still cannot believe what this amazing rock star went through.  I am also not naiive to the fact that he has one kidney that is only working about 50% and that sometime down the road that fact may rear its ugly head. 

 

But for tonight I am enjoying the sense of renewal I have after a weekend of relaxation and home time.  I am enjoying the fact that David is about 12-14 pounds heavier now than he was this time last year.  I am relishing the Valentines we worked hard on for his school party because that means he is healthy enough to attend this year, and most importantly for God and His grace.  I am not worthy of it, but He continues to lavish it upon me when the days are tough and this Momma is weary. 

 

 

God's girl

This is the longest that I have gone without blogging in a long time.  It has been THAT kind of week.  Nothing major but just a few little annoyances that have added up to be a yucky week.  I have been enjoying the book Unglued by Lysa Teurkurst.  I guess God really felt that I needed work on this topic, because I have had several opportunities this week interacting with others where I felt the need to come unglued. 

We women are emotional and often hormonal creatures that lead with our hearts and fiercely love our babes. Sometimes as wives and mommies we feel the weight of the world on our shoulders as we try to juggle it all. This week I have not done a great job juggling and therefore came unglued a few times. 

I sadly have allowed myself to come unglued a lot lately which has not been a pretty thing.  Believe me.  This line from the book stopped me in my tracks when dealing with people that make me so angry that I have felt like coming unglued.

In this moment I am choosing to be self-controlled and alert.  You actions are begging me to yell and lose control.  But I realize that I have an enemy and that enemy is not you.  The devil is prowling and roaring and looking to devour me through my own lack of control right now, but I am GOD's girl.  That's right, I am.  I am going to humbly and quietly let God have his way in me. 

That phrase God's girl grabbed my attention.  Despite the fact that I often come unglued, judge others, throw around a little gossip from time to time, I am desperate to be God's girl.   Being known as God's girl will not only change me and how I interact with others, but will set an example for my Hope to one day be God's girl too. 

I pray that my children will remember the times we read together, prayed together, and served others together over the times that I came unglued when the apple juice was spilled (just happened this week), did not show grace to another when I needed to (happened yesterday) and not restraining my mouth.

If you are in need of a "how to" for controlling your raw emotions, I highly recommend Unglued.  It has helped me so much.  My husband might even think it would be a good idea for me to read it again:) 

Have a great weekend!