.....i'm a little shy!!!

We went to this cool class that teaches you how to speak to
an audience, and how to be an audience. It was really good I took Mia just
so that she could see and I really didn't go into details with her what it was.
So when she was sitting there she realized that you have to go on stage and you
saw her little face start to get a little red and you could tell that her little
brain was thinking!! Her little friend was there to and so she wanted to
go up but with Mia with her.
So here they are her friend said a bible verse and then Mia got really
shy. Miss Nikki really did her best to make her comfortable but Mia was having
nothing to do with it. These two pictures tell you exactly how she must have
been feeling!! I love my Mia!! She is my little sweet pea and I just look into
her eyes and I just get so happy to think about all that God has for
her.
Tonight in the car she asked me if mommies and daddies die then
do the kids have to find somewhere else to live? So I talked to her about
it and then she says "mamma are you and daddy going to die? okay , Lord give me
words to speak. It was such an amazing moment to make the Lord more
real to her!!! even though the question caught me off guard.
Enjoy those car rides, that is when the conversation could be very
fruitful!

oh oh I'm in Trouble!

Daddy talking to
Evan about what he did. It is so hard to discipline him with a straight
face.. he can be so funny when he gets in trouble!

Tennis Anyone!

Mia had her first Tennis Class on Thursday I was so excited for her not only to play but to be motivated and encouraged in the Lord by her Coach. Of course she had to have the cute tennis outfit and we found the perfect one in her dresser it finally fits her for so long it was to big! Some piggy tails and she was ready.....

An hour and half later and she was still perky and totally excited! Oh thank you Jesus! We had already been playing tennis at the high school because Hello it's FREE!!! I think this really helped her feel comfortable. I think it also helped that her friend who she totally looks up to was there! When she got in the car she turned to me and said "mamma I really liked it and I actually listened!" I love it when she calls me mamma!

I can't wait to see how much she has learned at the end of the six weeks! Can I just share with you how Amazing homeschooling has been I have had to rely on the Lord every moment and it's so where I need to be!! I can't believe that homeschooling my kids is what has pulled me in to a deeper relationship with the Lord! I guess he will get your attention how ever he needs to. Love you ladies and may God bless you!

Finding Encouragement

I just spoke with a very dear friend of mine. This woman is so encouraging to me and I love when I get to chat with her because she sees things in me that I totally fail to see.
Everyone should have someone like that in their life. It never fails I will tell her what is going on and she just turns everything around for me I could be thinking that I did everything wrong for my kids and just like that she is showing me how God was speaking to me in that and how I did exactly what I was supposed to do!

I wish she could just be with me all the time, in my pocket but that is where the Lord comes in. He has been sooo good to me. We have been struggling so much but all I can say is Thank you Jesus! You have stolen my heart and all I want is to praise him and have my kids praise him!! Thank you dear friend for being such an awesome prayerful woman!

I wanted to write the word to this song by Leeland it's called "Yes, you have". I hope you get a chance to listen to it!! I can't ever make it through this song without crying.


Every tree and every stone
Every rushing wind that moans
They sing Your praise
My God, they sing Your praise

Every star and open sky
Tell of Your glory divine
They shout Your praise
They shout Your praise, yeah

You’ve stolen my heart
Yes, You have!
You’ve stolen my heart
Yes, You have!
You’ve wiped away the stains
And broke away the chains
Yes, You have!!

With Your love You set me free
Three nails gave me liberty
So I’ll sing Your praise My God,
I’ll sing Your praise

Oh, with Your love You forgave my sin
Forgot my past
And brought me back again
So I’ll sing Your praise I’ll sing Your praise, yeah

Tilden Park

We decided to take the day and go visit Tilden Park. It's located in Berkeley and it has a train, a little farm, merry go round, a little beach area oh and also a pony ride. But guess the only thing open the day we went was the beach. We were already prepared with food and drinks so when we got to the lake we decided to get out and go exploring around the lake. Well we left the stuff in the car because we were only going to go around the lake real quick. Well it was beautiful we found some really cool things and thank goodness daddy was there because he is all anbout picking that stuff up and showing the kids. Well we started to go on a hike and lets just say that two and a half hours later we could hardly wait to get to the car. We had forgotten the map, the drinks and food. But praise the lord the kids were so into it that not once did we hear anything about it. We saw soooo much poison oak that we said a little prayer. And guess what it's been a week and no one got a rash. Thank you Jesus! It was quite the adventure and I know we will be going back. Hopefully next time the the extras will be open. It was a beasutiful day and best of all it was free!! WOOHOOO!




Oh yeah did I also mention that we were definately not dressed for a hike!! We were very responsible parents that day!!! :)

One of those nights...

Last week after we were winding down the kids decided to grab my camera and take some pictures. Well lets just say one definately has an eye for photography and the other well.... not so much. Here's some of the pictures that they took......

And here is some more pictures of that night. Evan loves to play on his guitar he totally rocks out on it!! It's actually a eukalali(however you spell it).

Splash Park

We went to this cool new park that has a water feature and the kids loved it. I had to post this picture because they kept laying down in between where the water kept splashing out and their faces are hilarious!!! My kids are sooo funny seriously it is never a dull moment when you are aound them!!

Weight Loss Surgery

So I have researched weight loss surgery till I literally ran out of resources. The internet has been an amazing tool there are blogs with updates on their process from a recent surgery to one that was done five years ago. The information at first was completely overwhelming I didn't realize that that there were different types of surgery. You see, I have struggled with my weight my whole life but when I reached high school my life was so hectic that my weight just went up, up and up. So here I'm today still a struggle I have done every diet imaginable and I can succeed in the first three months I have even been successful in losing 60 pounds but talk to me a few months later and guess what happens. It always comes back it just likes me to much. I used to say "oh, I just really love food" well yeah I do but there was more to it than that. Food is my friend it's always there and unfortunately I used it as a comfort. So here I'm today completely not healthy. My doctors all of them, Podiatrist, GYN, physician all have given me a very hard time even told me that I was killing myself on purpose to keep this weight. So that's were the research started, I used to think that surgery is the easy way out. But after all that I have found that it is merely a tool. An extreme one to some but at this point in my life nothing else has done it for me so it has to be something that will change me completely , a new start. My insurance company requires a six month check up, nutritionist, psychologist, and a physician that deals with diabetes. I have prayed and prayed and asked the Lord for wisdom and he has provided me with so much. My husband has been amazing but of course what can you except it's Clint he is completely supportive and prays with me about it. Am I scared not anymore i'm at my highest weight and can hardly walk if this doesn't happen I will continue to yo-yo diet for the rest of my life which might not be very long. The biggest part of this I would have to say is the support of those around me and so far it's been pretty mixed. Some are on board and some just decided to not talk to me. What do you do when that happens? Pray! I felt that I needed to share this is a really big deal and I thought this would be a good way to post my journey throught it. God Bless.

Mia and Evan being Goofy!

Our Anniversay!!

Our anniversary was on July 19th and I know I'm barely posting but that's the way it goes when you have kids you tend to run a month behind!! So The H family and The F family decided to give a mexican dinner with no distraction from the kids. They took care of any request for them for the evening. They made a wonderful dinner, a delicious cake, a beautiful card, Movie , games and great company. Clint and I were celebrating 11 years of Marriage!!! I cannot believe it we have been together a total of 18 years!! My husband is amazing and I thank the Lord everyday for him and for all that he does for our family. It was a wonderful day!

Homeschooling!!

So a couple of years I decided to attend a homeschooling conference with a couple of girlfriends to get information and just check out all the cool activites and curriculum. Not realizing that this was going to be something that I was going to totally fall in love with. I was on cloud nine thinking all that I could teach my kids on my own, on my own time I was soooo excited. Well a few weeks later my high went away, my own reality set in and my thoughts changed to there is no way I can do this, I'm going to totally mess my kids up. I kept praying about it and just asking the Lord to give me wisdom and to make it clear, as black and white to homeschool or not to homeschool. So for the last year it's been a none stop struggle for me I want to.....I don't want to.... well guess what when you ask the Lord for something and he knows the desires of your heart he will make it happen whether you are ready or not and whether you believe in yourself or not. So here I am in my second week of homeschooling and I am looking forward to this week. He hasn't called me to be perfect he has called me to draw closer to him and he will lead. Thank you Jesus for allowing me to be the teacher to my precious kids.