The last few weeks. . .

Gosh! I've been wanting to make a list of the things I've been working on . . . here it goes!!

Made 60 of these:

Watching this guy get bigger. He now has 1 tooth on the bottom. Jaxon was diagnosed with asthma and eczema last week. He is doing much better, but I'm believing God has healed him. When he went to the dr., we weighed 20 lbs. 14 oz and was 26 inches long . . one week shy of being 5 months old!

Packing Backpacks. . . we're up to 44 kids!!
Yes, I realize that is an old picture.

Loving this guy:

Watching Payton play baseball:

Made 2 of these for a wedding shower:
There are what seemed like a million flowers pinned on this topiary. I loved the final outcome!

This is something really cool about this wedding shower. The bridesmaids all talked about the shower, but not really about details like colors, etc. We all show up with our different parts and everything matched!! I also made her a recipe box that I didn't get a picture of somehow.

I helped fix this cake after it made the ride from Abilene to Dallas and didn't exactly look the same when we got there! Let me tell you, this cake has a story!! It was perfect for the shower, though.
That punch is the BEST punch I've EVER HAD -- EVER!!

Love ya, Niki!!

You too Natalee!!

Jaxon has his first taste of cereal. . . he wasn't impressed.


Hosted a 4th & 5th grade girls Princess Party
(INSERT PICTURE HERE)
Somehow I didn't get pictures with my camera, but I'll have some later thanks to Kelly N.

Hosted a Celebration Sunday LUAU for over 80 kids that was a BLAST!!
Say Hi to Eric!!

The kids loved this!!

Thank you to Trish and JoAnn and Alicia who came in and helped out!! It was a blast, but that was quite a clean up!!

So, I've been one busy girl!! I keep thinking that things will slow down next week, but next week never seems to get here!!

Watch Out Worship Band!

Yesterday afternoon, Evan had his "drums" set up in the living room. I asked him to take them outside to practice. He told me that when Payton got home, they were going to have church. I asked him what they were going to do and he said he was going to play the drums and Payton was going to play the guitar. Then he stopped and said, "But I need 2 pianos."

So, when Payton got home, here's their church.



Cherith, don't you think they can have a spot on your worship album? I'm sure this song that Evan wrote will convince you they're good enough!! This is the first song Evan wrote himself titled "We're Singing All Over the Place".



Come on, Cherith!! Don't you see how amazing they are?! ;)

FYI

Passing Out Backpacks

I cannot tell you how humbled I was this afternoon. I took all the backpacks up to the school -- all 27 (serving 31 kids) of them filled with food and ready to go to these kids. We had a short meeting just to go over the details and then they started bringing in the kids. They brought in the Pre-K kids and they all sat in a circle in the floor while Mrs. B went over the stuff. One little boy hugged his backpack and said, "This is all my food? For me?" Mrs. B was telling them to not share their food with their friends. They could share it with their brothers and sisters, but not their friends. Another little boy said, "Do I have to share with my parents?" Mrs. B told him that it was his food and he could decide if he wanted to do that or not. A smile came across his face. Another child said, "Are you doing this because we don't have any food in our house?" That's when I almost lost it. After that class left, Mrs. B looked at K (from the food bank) and asked her how she was doing. She was just smiling and said she was fine. Mrs. B looked at me and asked me how I was doing. She said, "Are you about to cry?" I had to be honest -- I was!! I told them that it made me sad, but made me very excited about being able to put food in their hands today.

I explained how we were using our stay-at-home-moms and mainly their kids to pack the backpacks. They thought it was genius (thank Joel for that one)! I cannot even begin to tell you how excited the school is about this program and our willingness to bless their kids. What an exciting adventure this is!! God is so awesome!!

Details on Backpack Packing

This week I wanted to get a system together and see what would work and what wouldn't before I invited moms with a bunch of kids up there! ;) Now I have a system and it's so easy, so I'll be calling people in the following weeks to help. Yes, we might do it sometime on a Thursday at lunch. That would be fun!

Putting those things together so fast yesterday gave me hope that we really can do 100 backpacks! I think God's increased my goal to 300 backpacks. How fun would that be?!?

Also be thinking. . . we're throwing around the idea of making sandwiches 2 to 3 times a week during the summer and delivering them to these kids. It's an idea for now. We will try to at least continue the backpacks through the summer. I have a meeting today with the Food Bank and the school, so I'm going to ask how far we can take this thing!!

So, be watching for my call over the next few weeks!!!

Backpacks for Kids -- Day 1

Today was the first day of packing backpacks!! You might not believe this, but we packed 25 backpacks in 20 minutes!! It was very organized and efficient. The kids LOVED it!! They were wanting to pack more!! It was Krissy, Emma, Avery, Blaise, Cherith (and Justus), Evan, Hannah, and me. I'm telling you, once those kids got the hang of it, they knocked those backpacks out!!

I got home from doing those backpacks and got an e-mail that they had 2 more! So, I went back and did 2 more. It didn't take but about 5 minutes. Got home and got another e-mail this afternoon that they are going to have probably 2 more by tomorrow!! Praise God!! I've said this all day, but I'm not excited that there are hungry kids in C-town. I'm excited that we're finding them and we're doing something about it.

Here are a few pictures from today. I have pictures with all the kids in them, but I didn't want to post their pictures on the internet before I had permission.

So, here's one of Evan packing his sack to put inside a backpack.

Here are the backpacks all ready to go. I went to the store this afternoon and bought luggage tags for all of them so we know whose backpack is whose. Those are now on and they are ready to go out tomorrow afternoon!! Please pray over these backpacks!!

Tonight, Evan went with me up to the CCRC to put the luggage tags on the backpacks and add some cereal to them. On the way up there, Evan asked me who the backpacks were for. I told him they were for kids in C who might not have enough food at home for them to eat. In his little voice he said, "Well, that's just silly." I had to agree.


Please pray that we find 4 cases of cereal. I know that sounds so silly, but that's been the only "kink" we've had. We're not sure where they are or what happened, but we need to find them. I'm not worried, but it's just crazy that 4 CASES of cereal can disappear!! But hey. If that's the only kink there is in this whole thing, we're doing really good!!

Backpack Update

This Friday, we are handing out 25 backpacks!! How exciting is that?!?! Last Friday the count was 8, today it's 25!! I am so excited about this whole thing! I feel like it's going so fast, but also so slow. Tomorrow we'll be packing the food and Friday we'll be delivering it. I can't wait!!

Some have asked me, so I'll post it here. If you wanted to sponsor a child, it would be $15 per month per child. I am not worried about the money -- God will take care of that part, but some have asked, so here it is.

Continue to pray for us!! The school is very excited and they are so on board with this!! Last Friday the school called me and said they had 8 kids they wanted to send food to. I didn't have enough time to go get the food and bag it up, etc. When I explained that to the lady, she said that was ok because they would just go buy some food and make up some backpacks for the kids to take home that day. That is some dedication!! Now it's all coming together like it's supposed to and I'm so excited!! Joel picked up the food and backpacks today and delivered it to the CCRC, so all we have to do is pack it all up tomorrow!! YAY!!

Correction

The book I'm reading right now is titled He Loves Me by Wayne Jacobson. I put the wrong title in my other post.

See This?

What do you see when you see this?

You might see my back patio. You might see the waterhose or the grill. I see my new scrapbook room. Don't you see it? Instead of those windows, french doors that lead into my new "bonus room" all for me. Walls and a roof that look like they were original to the house. Or maybe instead of the door that leads outside, that door leads to my very own creating space. Zebra painted walls. Hardwood floors. A couch for reading or relaxing. My creative juices flowing. Paper scraps all organized. Embellishments in their place. Of course there's a mess on the table. . that's how you can tell something creative is going on.

So, where am I going with all of this? On Wednesday night, Aaron asked me what I thought about having my own room built where our patio is now. I didn't really get excited about it because I know we don't have the money to do it right now. I've been working on a few projects lately that have taken over the living room. In the last month, I've made 48 wedding shower invitations, 50 recipe cards (covered front and back), and a bouquet of flowers. I think Aaron's tired of seeing my scraps and unfinished projects cluttering up the living room.

Anyway, Aaron had Randy come over on Thursday morning. I was so excited to even think this was a possibility! We were talking about all the different options that I have. Randy kept telling me that this wasn't a big deal. I know he was talking about the construction of it all, but I also took it that it wasn't a big deal for God. I started getting excited. I know that right now we don't have the money to add this room on to our house, but I know who does! My God has enough money to do this just for me. I only need $8,000 to $10,000. That used to be a large amount to me to believe God for, but not anymore! Remember, I'm his favorite! ;)

So, for the last few days when I go outside and stand on this patio I've been thanking God for my new creating space. I've even thought about doing a little scrapbooking/altering items and put the money towards my new space. I'm not sure that would really work, but it's an idea for sure! Now, look back at the picture. Don't you see my new creative space this time?

Food For Thought

I picked this book up in California titled He Loves Me by Wayne Jacobsen. It was sitting on a table in the bookstore and I was immediately drawn to it. I know God told me to buy it for someone in our church, but I decided to read it first. ;)

So, on page 17-18, these words jumped out at me:
For long after we've put away our daisies, many of us continue to play the game with God. This time we don't pluck flower petals, but probe through our circumstances trying to figure out exactly how God feels about us.

I got a raise. He loves me!
I didn't get the promotion I wanted; I lost my job altogether. He loves me not!
Something in the Bible inspired me today. He loves me!
My child is seriously ill. He loves me not!
I gave money to someone in need. He loves me!
I let my anger get the best of me. He loves me not!
Something for which I prayed actually happened. He loves me!
I stretched the truth to get out of a tight spot. He loves me not!
A friend called me to encourage me unexpectedly. He loves me!
My car needs a new transmission. He loves me not!


We were on the plane to Dallas when I read that and I stopped reading for a minute. This kind of slapped me in the face. How many times have I done that? I asked God to again show me a picture of how He sees me. I have learned to much in this book and I'm only on page 49. I just was picking it up this morning to read a few pages and I felt like I was to post this on my blog. Maybe just for me. . maybe for someone else. I commit right now to stop playing the daisy game of He loves me, He loves me not.

_______________________________________________________________
So, this afternoon, I was thinking about this book, thinking about this post and I realized that I do this with my husband, too.
He does things my way. He loves me.
He does things his way. He loves me not.
He gives me money. He loves me.
He tells me I've spent too much. He loves me not.

Gosh! I think I do this more than I realize! Thank you Lord for bringing this to my attention and allowing me to deal with it all.

Today we had some interesting connections made. We sat down at a table this morning at breakfast at the conference and sat among a group of people. As we started talking, we all realized we were from Texas. How weird is that? Out of hundreds of people at this conference, a table of about 8 of us sat down randomly and realized we were from Texas. One guy grew up in Texas and now lives in Kentucky. But, we had great conversation.

Tonight I'm writing after attending the most POWERFUL service I've ever attended, I think. The most right on. The most equipping. The most straight from heaven word. The most powerful downloads from heaven. The most powerful service for children's pastors. It's midnight here. . better get some sleep for tomorrow!!

Greetings from California

Here I am in the hotel room in Redding. Krissy and I are having a lot of fun here. The conference started this morning and it has been amazing so far! This morning during worship, I really felt set apart from everyone else at the conference. Not in an arrogant way, but just different. At one point, I closed my eyes and I saw myself speaking at a conference. Again, not in an arrogant way, just speaking. There are several women here and the Lord showed me that women are naturals when it comes to children's ministry. Kids need the nurturing that God has put inside of us. (I'm not saying that men can't be good children's pastors either.)

Krissy & I went to Olive Garden for lunch and she started sharing what God had shown her. It was the exact same things I had received!! Then, when she went to the session with Lenny LaGuardia, he was talking about how he wasn't surprised that there were so many women in children's ministry because it comes naturally to us because of what God had already put in us as women.

Anyway, I hope that all made sense. It's really late, but I just wanted to say that we are having a great time. Please pray for us. I saw on the news that American Airlines was cancelling a lot of flights and that is who we are supposed to fly with on the way home on Saturday. Hopefully that will all be over by then. I sure don't need anymore airplane/airport stories!!

We're back -- FINALLY!

OK, so I lied in my last post. We just THOUGHT we were headed home on Thursday! We got to the airport only to find out that our flight (along with several others) had been cancelled and we couldn't fly out until Friday at 2:45 pm. Great. We had to stand in a forever long line to get to the ticket counter to talk to someone about all of it. Everyone around us was on their cell phones telling the people on the other end what they were going to say when they got up there -- and it wasn't very nice. We got up there and the ticket people were all in good moods considering the circumstances. They were hilarious! We didn't yell and scream at them. The man was very helpful, but wasn't able to get us home that night. The airline did pay for our hotel room and food, but we were out by the airport in the middle of nowhere, so we really couldn't go do anything. Plus, the restaurant food was VERY expensive and wasn't completely covered by our vouchers, so we had to spend a little extra money. I wanted to throw a fit like a little kid -- this was NOT part of the plan!

Anyway, we stayed one more night and braved the airports on Friday (yesterday). We got there about noon and made it through security after standing in line forever. Then, my bag had to be searched. She pulled stuff out and rubbed it with this wipey thing, said OK, and handed my bag back to me. Interesting.

We got on our plane at 2:30 and we were the only flight to DFW that was saying "On Time". We sat in the plane for an hour and it took 30 minutes to taxi out to the runway. It took almost 4 hours to fly to DFW, which meant we were going to miss our next plane. Great. I sat next to a man who snored the whole way and on the other side was a cute Muslim girl, but she didn't speak any English.

We get to DFW after what seemed like a forever long flight (landed at 6:30 our time) and sure enough, we missed our flight. The next flight out is at 9:15 pm (boarding at 8:55). Great. We ate at Chili's and sat there waiting.

We boarded our airplane at 9:15 (late again). We landed in Abilene at 10 pm and go to the luggage claim. Our luggage isn't on the belts. We head up to customer service and find out our luggage is there. Thank goodness!!

We pull in our driveway at 11 pm and walk into the house to some extremely excited children. I'm glad to be home, but I'm really tired. We had Payton a birthday party today, which only 3 kids showed up to, but that was probably a blessing for me.

I'm getting ready to do it all again on Tuesday to head to Redding, CA. Hopefully our flights will go better.

Aaron came up with a new slogan for American Airlines. They should say, "Thank you for flying American Airlines. We're sorry for the inconvenience."

Here are a few pictures to share. I haven't had time to "fix them", but maybe I'll have a chance to do that on the flight to California and I'll upload them once I get there on Tuesday. Isn't any time between now and then to get them fixed.

Aaron with some big billboard behind him. . yes, we knew what it was!
Just thought it would be funny!

Rockefeller Center

Getting on The Subway

St. Patrick's Day @ the Today Show -- that's Lester Holtz
(I think that's how you spell it)

Can you see Al Roker?

See Meredith?

The World Trade Center

Monica, we didn't get down there to get the bull picture. We found a picture of it in the internet store, but we couldn't figure out how to get it home because it was in a frame and our carry-on bags were already full. I wanted to buy a CD that was a picture postcard CD, but we looked down the street and our taxi was there -- 15 minutes early and New Yorkers aren't the most patient people! ;)

The End of NYC

Today we're heading back, but we have had a blast!! My mom asked me last night if I could live here. . I think I could -- Aaron could not. ;)

I think we've seen everything in this town . . well, everything you can see in Manhattan. We went back to the World Trade Center this morning. WOW is all to say about that. When you see it, it makes things from that day make more sense. Like how many people would have been running up the streets. Like how many people were in that building. Sure, we've heard the numbers, but to be here and see it, it just means so much more.

Yesterday we went out the outlet malls. Had a blast there!! Spent money on the kids, of course. How is it that we do that? They got a LOT of clothes. Aaron and I got some new shoes. ;)

On Tuesday we went out to the Statue of Liberty. I laughed and told Aaron that Ira needs to come and power wash her!! We stayed on the ferry instead of getting off and walking around. It was REALLY COLD that day, especially around the water.

Monica, when we went to Wall Street my camera was dead. We were down by there this morning, but I didn't get your comment until we came back to our hotel. We're going to go see if we can find at least a postcard of it before we leave. Our taxi will be here in 40 minutes to take us back to the airport. But there are souvineer shops on every corner. . actually 5 or 6 a street block!!

So, I'll post pictures when we get back. Tomorrow is our 10th anniversary . . hard to belive it's been 10 years. This was quite a way to celebrate that!!

Tomorrow is also Payton's 7th birthday. . WOW! 7 years! I'll post more on that tomorrow. So, for now, good bye from New York City!!

NYC - part 1

We are in NYC and having a blast!! Our flights went good with only one mishap at DFW, but only delayed us about 30 minutes. This is all so surreal. It all looks fake. Today we saw Times Square, Broadway, the WOrld Trade Center, Wall Street, the NY Stock Exchange, Rockefeller Center, NBC STudios, Brooklyn Bridge, and the subway. Subway was an interesting experience. WHen we arrived in NYC, my camera battery was dead. We found a shop down from our hotel that sold those batteries and we bought one -- for $20!!

WE're waiting on the subway and as I'm taking off my gloves, my camera drops to the ground, and my battery fell down in the subway tracks! So, there went my camera. SO, I have no pictures of the WTC, Wall Street & NY Stock Exchange. . actually we did get some with Aaron's camera, but I was frustrated!!

We've had an walking filled day today and I'm exhausted! My feet are kind of throbbing. WE've found this internet cafe thing just up the street from our hotel, so I"ll be checking in again, I'm sure.

The COUNTDOWN

You see that little ticker over there?!?! It says 2 days until we go to NYC!! 2 DAYS!!

This has been the craziest week for me! I thought about listing everything here that I had to get done. . might do that later after I mark some more stuff off the list. I'm so excited!! When all of you are starting church on Sunday, I'll be landing in New York City!! We have a plan of when and where we're going each day. We found out there will be a St. Patrick's Day parade right by our hotel on Monday. EXCITING!!

Well, I have a million and one things to get done today. I go to NYC on Sunday, fly back on Thursday night, Payton's birthday is Friday, my parents are coming in on Friday, Easter is on Sunday, I leave for California on Tuesday, we do our first backpack hand out on Friday, I fly back on Saturday!!! This is a crazy life I live!

Now I must jump in the shower!

We're IN!!

Today's meeting with the school went WONDERFUL!!! I was glad that I had Joel there to break the ice a little bit for me. The principal there is great!! She reminds me of someone that I know, but I haven't figured out who yet.

Joel explained what we wanted to do and I was able to give them a little more information. I explained that they didn't have to do anything -- just identify the kids who need it and we'll do the rest. It was wonderful!!!

At the end, the principal said she thought it was something they should do as long as everyone agreed and of course, nobody disagreed! I met with the school counselor and we are going to work together on this project.

A pastor's wife, who is a teacher at the school, caught me afterwards and told me she was going to talk to her husband and she was confident that her church would help us. I explained that we needed to get a few more things ironed out on our end and the plan was to go to each church and let them know what we needed. She thought it was a great idea.

I'm so excited that I just can't hide it. I had to go to the church and let everyone know. I felt like I wanted to shout it from the highest point in Clyde that God is so good!! Let me tell you two things I've learned in the last few weeks:

1. Money is not really an issue.
2. When God has a plan, he just needs a person to carry it out. He likes to move at HIS pace, not always ours.

(Now picture me doing a silly dance!!)

New Endevors

Superbowl Sunday, we went to John & Kristy B's house to watch the big game. During the game, Kristy & I were talking about C-town and the dynamics of the town. She said there were kids at school that you knew lunch would be the only meal they got that day. That statement wouldn't let me sleep that night. I started praying for God to bring me those kids. I wasn't quite sure what I would do with them once I got them, but surely I could do something.

That Monday, Gary C. brought an article to our staff meeting about people in Haiti who are making cookies from mud. They are adding shortening to mud, baking them, and eating them because they are so hungry. The price of rice is so high that people can't afford it. I shared with the staff what had been on my heart and I just started crying. Again, I asked God to send me the hungry kids. I couldn't do anything about people in Haiti right now, but I wanted to do what I could for kids right here under my nose.

Fast forward a week. Pastor Bryan challenges each department to find a way for our departments to get outside the walls of our church. I have a team meeting and I asked my team what they thought we should do. Joel says, "Why don't we ask the kids?" Genius idea. . . next item on the agenda. This is where we got interrupted by the big fire in town!

But as we regrouped and kept talking, I was able to share the above story with my team and really share my heart about what I wanted to do. This is when things started to fall into place. Joel knew about a program at the Food Bank in A-town that gave backpacks to hungry kids on the weekends. It was their own stash of food so that when they got hungry, they had something they could eat. As we sat around that table, ideas started to flow. Money actually started to flow -- or ideas on where to get it. I got home and couldn't sleep because I was so excited about the thought of being able to see hungry kids with food in their stomachs.

The next morning I woke up totally overwhelmed. How in the world am I going to do this? How can I throw one more ball into the air among all of the other things I'm juggling? I have so many things going on. How am I going to go meet with the Food Bank and the other places I will have to go? I called Krissy and had a little "meltdown". She encouraged me and told me to just take a step back and look at it without the overwhelming feelings. I got off the phone feeling better and just asked God to make a way.

Wednesday morning, Joel calls me and tells me that he wants us to get on this. He said he would go meet with the Food Bank and at least get the information for me. I was again so thankful that God has put my team together for a reason!!

So, Joel met with the Food Bank yesterday (Monday) and got the information. He also got us a meeting at the elementary school tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon to introduce the idea and just let them know what we want to do. I am so thankful for him!! I'm so excited that this is happening!! God has been so faithful in this whole thing. I feel like it's a whirlwind and it's happening so fast. But, we have a plan.

It will take $1445 to feed 100 kids on the weekends for a month. We aren't going to start out with 100 kids, but that's our goal. It costs $3.61 per child per weekend to send them home with a backpack of food. $3.61. . . not much at all. Here's how good God is. The first person that we told about it said he would give me $1000!! Last Wednesday, I mentioned the idea to my life group and they were ready to jump on board asking what they needed to do to sponsor some kids. Just this past Sunday, someone told me they would give me the money every month to feed 100 kids!! I think I'm finally learning that money is no object.

I'm not going to totally depend on the adults though. We are ordering some banks for our kids to collect change for this project. This is going to be their project. They will have the opportunity to put the food bags together. They are going to help find the money to fund this. I know they will, too!!

Anyway, that's just part of the plan. There are a few more things to be worked out before I reveal it all, but please pray for us! Pray that we will have favor with the school system tomorrow afternoon. Pray that I wouldn't be nervous, but confident about what God has called us to do. I'm so excited that our kids are going to make such a difference in the lives of their peers!

Shopping Vent . . Being Content

Oh how I hate clothes shopping!! If I have said it once, I've said it a million times -- I HATE CLOTHES SHOPPING!! UGH! I drove to my parents' house this weekend so I could go shopping with my sister to buy clothes for NYC. It's been a good stay with them and that's been great.

I love shopping with my sister. Usually when we go in a store, I head straight to the dressing room and she starts bringing me stacks of clothes. Some clothes I would have picked out for myself, but most of the time there are things that I never would have pulled off of the rack. We laugh and have a good time. The good thing is that I don't get overwhelmed by racks and racks of clothes -- she takes care of that for me. I don't get overwhelmed trying to put an outfit together -- she does that for me.

So, I got up this morning excited about shopping with Sally. We headed to Amarillo. . . first stop -- the mall. OK, somehow we ended up in Baby Gap first. Yes, I know nothing in there was going to fit me, but I needed an outfit for Jaxon for pictures next week. BINGO!! Found one. . . and a few others, but I only bought the one. We're off to a good start!!!

JCPenneys, Bealls, Dillards (for 2 hours). . . I walked out with some shirts for Evan. At this point, we aren't doing very well. The weird thing is that Sally isn't doing very good either!! We aren't finding anything for us!! New York & Company -- 1 pair of jeans for $6!! We decide to ditch the mall.

OK it's 3 pm and we haven't eaten lunch so we head to Sharky's. . best thing of the day!!

We then went to Kohl's. . . one shirt for $7. Old Navy. . nothing. Avenue . . . nothing. By this time, I have given up on clothes shopping. I'm just thinking that nothing is going to fit unless I have some liposuction and a tummy tuck, so there's no point in shopping anymore. I'm so done!! Lane Bryant . . one shirt for $10. Kirklands. . . World Market. . . shhhh! But the fact is that I didn't buy anything in Kirkland's or World Market either!!

So, I had this revelation in New York and Company today. My sister and I were sharing a dressing room -- bad idea, by the way. Sure didn't help me with my body image!! She put on this sweater that looked great on her, but she was picking it apart. It made her hips look to wide and the sleeves weren't long enough and it made her look flat and the pants she was trying on made her butt look huge.

Now, if you've seen my sister, you would know that she is as skinny as they come. I was standing there thinking, "I would love to look like her!" I thought that if I looked like her, I would wear whatever I wanted and be able to fit into whatever I pulled off the rack! So, I told her that I didn't want to hear about how wide her hips were or how big her butt was because I would love to look like her. She said, "Oh no you wouldn't. It's not as easy as you think."

From that point on, God started talking to me about being content. I've been very discontent lately in several areas. Today it was in my size. I've bought 3 pairs of jeans in the last few weeks and they are the biggest size I've ever had to buy. I tried on shirts and they fit except around my stomach. Now, I know you're saying, "Rachel, you just had a baby." To that I say that it doesn't matter to me. I still had to buy those jeans in that size. I still had a hard time finding a shirt to fit. I still got disappointed at how many items of clothing I tried on today to walk away with 3 things!

Then, there are working moms. . . oh how I THINK I want to be one. I look at Trish who gets to do what she loves every day. I'm having to find a babysitter so I can go to meetings and maybe one day I'll get my new office pulled together and actually get to use it. Please don't hear me say that my kids are a nuisance to me. Not what I'm saying at all. I love them to pieces and I honestly wouldn't trade staying home with them. That's why I said I THINK I want to be one. . . God just revealed to me an area where I've been discontent. Then, Trish is looking back at me and wishing she could be home with her kids. (Trish, I'm just using you as an example).

GOSH! Why is being content sometimes so hard? Is it the "striving" that is so ingrained in us -- be more, do more, have more? Is it the perfection (or the imperfection)? Is there always someone who looks better? Will I ever be good enough for myself?

As I'm typing this, I keep hearing, "Be still and know that I am God. The joy of the Lord is my strength." As I go to bed tonight after a long day, I go to bed with a smile on my face and determined to be content in every area . . . even while wearing those size ______ jeans.

My Bedroom Makeover

So, some have asked to see pictures of my bedroom makeover and I finally got the final curtain rod hung up last night. So, here are the before:


Here's the AFTER:

It's a little cluttered still, but you get the idea. I need to find to side tables for the room. I want to use African drums or something like that. I also want to find some artwork for the walls. I've thought about putting pictures of the boys in there but I'm not sure yet.