Blessings

I had a pretty good day...until i saw my husband tonight. Then i got real cranky and aaarrrrggghh!! His choices make me soooo angry at times. So, anyway, you can't control another human being, right? right, so when i got home, I helped the kids get ready for bed and then I called my sister and had a good crying. (Thanks sis!!) I felt better afterwards and wanted to do my daily devotion. Guess what the key verse for today was? Matthew 28:20 "i am with you always, even to the end of the age." Wow!! That was just what I wanted to hear. And it's true....He is with me. I may not be able to change or control the decisions my husband makes, but I do know that I am not alone. That has been proved time and time again. And that, my dear friends and loved ones, is very comforting.

Aaaahhhh, peace and serenity return once again. =)

smile, know that you are loved, and that you are not alone.

a few new things on my blog..

I added inspirational quotes --I've always been a fan of them. I also added daily bible verses...what can I say...I find so much comfort from my bible....and at the bottow I added a Woot watch. I love woot!! you can get some REALLy great deals!!

aahhh, the things kids say...

Kids can sometimes say things that just leave you laughing...my kids are no different. =) I am a stickler about not wasting water or electricity. Joshua has been known to leave his closet light on all day or turn the shower on in the bathroom and walk away. Then he gets distracted playing while the water runs down the drain (and drains my pocketbook!) There has been more than one occasion where I thought he was in the shower upstairs while I was cleaning Rebekah downstairs in the shower---only to finish Rebekah and have her dressed and discover that my son is still naked playing with toys in the bathroom floor and not even in the shower yet!!!! Anyways, the other day I told him to take a shower downstairs in my bathroom (for some reason they love to take a shower in mommy's bathroom) and I reminded him not to waste water. I gave him the same lecture, he gave me the same response, "I know, mommy." I was upstairs and was headed downstairs to check on him when I met a half naked 6 year old in the hallway. Just as I was about to get onto him about leaving the shower on when he was no where near it, he said, "For Pete's sake! I forgot my underwear!" I stopped mid breath, and couldn't help but laugh!! Where did he learn that---"for Pete's sake!" I can only guess from me. needless to say, I couldn't do anything but say...hurry up. Gotta love it!!

On another note, Rebekah is a sweetie. Every night when we say prayers together, she always wants to pray for her daddy. Her prayers are very sweet and very real and very innocent. I am thankful for their innocence....

We seem to be doing okay. Some days are better than others. Some moments are better than others. Over all, I notice that the days tend to get better. I am thankful for that. I am learning to be content where I am at. As it is said....accepting life on life's terms. =) I like this verse from Isaiah 54:5-6 "'For your Creator will be your husband; the Lord of Heaven's Armies is His name! He is your Redeemer, the Holy one of Israel, the God of all the earth. For the Lord has called you back from your grief--as though your were a young wife abandoned by her husband,' says your God." Whether Fidel and I reconcile or not....I have a husband who never fails.... =) That's encouraging!!

Well, that's all for now. I have been working a little more now at the school in Lewisville. Which is nice for the bills, but keeps me even more busier!

God bless,

Nana Puddin!!

Today, i let Josh play hooky from school and took him to work with me. At the school I work at, they were having an assembly where Dennis Lee, a well-known ventriloquist, was presenting a character counts presentation. Well, my kids and I are big fans of Dennis Lee ---thanks to Great Grandma Sally who has sent us 2 of his DVDs ("Stay on Target" and "Army of One"). Well, when I found out he was going to be at my work....i had to take the kids. =) It was a great show and the kids and i both enjoyed it. We took our DVDs and had him sign them (Bekah is holding them in the picture) and we also got a poster from him as well. An unexpected bonus for the morning was I ended being called up to the stage to help him (I was embarrassed...since I'm not one to enjoy the spotlight.) I tried to hide my embarrassment but I am pretty sure my face was red. I saw Bekah and Josh in the audience and Rebekah was waving and saying "hi, mommy". lol Afterwards, he gave me an audio CD of his new music DVD.

That was our day!

I really can do it by myself...=)

There is something freeing and almost liberating in discovering that I really can take care of myself. I changed 2 light bulbs (that required the use of a ladder) today. I've mowed, edged and weed-eated my yard (last week) (thanks for the mower, dad!), paid bills, balanced checkbooks, and all the stuff it takes to be on your own. I spend time with my kids, feed them, love on them, and all that goes with kids. Now don't get me wrong....I have lots (I mean LOTS) of prayers, love, support, and encouragement. So the truth is...I'm not on my own. =)

I feel really content right now. Aaahhh, breathe it in, enjoy the view, and say, "thank you, Jesus" for another day.

I found out today that it looks like I have a position teaching summer school! yay! I found out today that my last day for tutoring is May 14th. I initially began to panic cause in doing my budget and finances, I was reeeeaaaallly hoping to tutor till the end of May. In fact, I worked my budget around this! But today, like I said, my last day for tutoring is the 14th. Well, that would leave me 2 weeks short of my hopeful goal. But then I remembered, God is in control. He has a plan.....I trust HIm. It wasn't 30 min. later that the assistant principal and my friend called me and said she found me a postion for Summer school. Woo hoo God is good!! And the summer school pays more than what I was estimating (my friend Yanet told me about how much pay it would be) for my summer months....which means......even though the tutoring ends 2 weeks earlier than I had hoped, the Summer school job will make up for it. Is God good or what???!!!

So, once again, breathe it in, smile, and say, "thank you, Jesus".

Riding bikes and Small Group and some thoughts....

On Thursday, the weather was nice so I took the kids outside to ride their bikes after we picked up Josh from school. I thought they looked cute in their helmets and pads...so I took some pics. =) Bekah got tired of the bike and traded it in for the spiderman scooter. But she soon grew tired of that too as you can tell since she was dragging it!

On Friday, some of our small group got together to have some food and fellowship. Mike and Teresa had us over for some yummy Mexican food. We laughed A LOT!! Laughter is good medicine for the soul.....

Some thoughts I've had. I think a lot about life and where I'm at and where I am headed. (Who doesn't?) I've spent a lot of time seeking God and what His plan is for me. I know He's been teaching me. I can only say thank God He's not done with me. One of the scriptures I have clung to lately is from Proverbs 19:21. "You can make many plans, but the Lord's purpose will prevail." I like that because in life I try to do the best I can. I mess up, I seek forgiveness and get back on track. All this is done by God's grace. But sometimes I find myself wondering, "What if I make this decision and it's wrong?" But ultimately I know God has a purpose for my life....and He will direct my path. That gives me comfort. As long as I continue to be willing to have Him work in me and through me, He will.

God is faithful. Nothing in this life is constant...but God is. And when there are so many changes in life and in this world....I really need that consistency.

Life doesn't always work out or happen the way we had hoped or planned. But I will trust in Him....I will trust in Him. Proverbs 3:4,5 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take." I say....Lead me, Father. Lead me.

God bless and goodnight.

I must apologize...

I'm still trying to figure out how to put the pics next to the paragraph it goes with.....That way the blog looks neater. I'll figure it out..bear with me. =)

lots of things...

Today was a better day. Just like I said, some days are better than others. =)

I have a few stories that are interesting. To me anyway, you can read if you want. ha ha

It seems my age is coming up quite often recently. I've always tended to look younger than I am. A blessing in disguise. But after I had kids, well I heard that comment less and less. Something about having children ages you.......lol. Anyways, here is one story from yesterday...

some of you know that I tutor at a school part-time. I was in between tutoring sessions when one of the teachers I tutor for was in the hall way. The conversation went something like this....

He says, "Hi. How are you?" "I'm good, thanks. How are you?" (you know---the ever polite greetings). He says, "Im good thanks. How are you kids?" (I think he vaguely remembered I was a mother.) "They're good thanks." (once again, the same polite response.) And he says, "How old are they again?" I responded, "I have a 1st grader and a 4 year old." It was at this point that his jaw dropped in disbelief. but he recovered and said, "Oh I see, you got started early in life." LOL! what?? It was then that I got confused, looked at him and said, "What?" He said, "yeah, you must have got started early in life." I laughed and told him, "I'm 31." "What? You're 31? I thought you were fresh out of college!" Nope....definitely not. lol

I was in the school office today and was talking to the secretary. I commented to her that I was looking forward to having Dennis Lee come to the school next week for a presentation and that my kids were fans of his. She said, "So how old are your kids?" "Oh I have a 1st grader and a 4 year old." "What!! You have a 1st grader?" Then she proceeds to make that 'oh you must have had them early in life...' look. When I saw the look I just said, "I'm 31." "What? You're 31!! I thought you just got out of high school...." LOL. hhhmmmm, maybe my youth is returning to me..... LOL!!

On some other notes...Shannon, Jay and I took the kids to take pictures in the bluebonnets the other day. I've been wanting to post them but I couldn't get the pics off my camera onto my PC. I have been trying for 3 days now to transfer them. Well, I figured it out....if they won't transfer to the PC, maybe they will transfer to the laptop....sure enough! Even as I type this I am transferring them from the laptop to the PC. Sometimes, not often, I can outsmart technology....sometimes. =) So I will post some of those pics on here as well.

Easter was a good day. We had egg hunts, went to church, spent time with family. I have pics of that too. The one of the kids on the couch is my kids with their cousins from Del's side...Noah and Leyena. I thought Noah was so cute in his little suit. =) And then there was of course Jadyn my niece from Shannon and Jay. I will try to put the video on here of her riding the little Barbie 4-wheeler.

On that note, I think I am through. I almost have all the pics transferred....but now it's acting up again. Oh well....tomorrow it will still be here. Good night and God bless!!

Here's a verse that I really like. Proverbs 19:21 "You can make many plans, but the Lord's purpose will prevail." I like that...God is in control.

life...

Life is full of valleys and mountains. Right? Why does it seem that when you are in the valley, trying to hold on to faith, trust in God, why is it then that life starts to kick you even more!? Ugh. What's happened?

Anyway, my day was full of some ups and downs. And it's only 2:40pm!! My car started making this HORRIBLY loud sound yesterday when I was driving home from work. I started to worry cause my budget is TIGHT these days (whose isnt). I tried to drive to work today but the noise got louder so I pulled over to an NTB. Anyways, I praise God cause I was praying for a miracle with my car...and He gave me one. That's good....it ended up they just tightened a bolt in my axle that wasn't tightened and poof! the noise was gone.Whew! That was a relief. I also think it might have been on purpose....cause while there I was talking to the receptionist guy and he had made a comment that life was hard for him as well. LOng story short...he is separated from his wife as well and they are having troubles. I told him God was bigger than our problems and asked if I could pray for him before I left. He agreed and I did. Then he offered to pray for me. I could tell by his prayer that he knew God and had a relationship with him. When he finished, I asked if he was plugged into a church somewhere and he said he used to be but had moved so it was too far. I told him about the various locations for my church and left him with the website so he could check it out. Anyway, that was encouraging. It was also the first time I've really prayed with a stranger....I hope he was encouraged cause I was!

I went on to work (late) and finished up there.

Anyway, I dont feel like describing my whole day. After that I had to go back to Christian Bros. Automotive and complain about some work they had done for me. NTB said I needed a new part that they (CBA) had replaced in NOv. While at CBA they looked at it and told me that it was functioning properly. Ugh!! Who to believe??? It was at that moment that I just got overwhelmed with my life and began to cry. What else could I do? This is where life seems to just overwhelm you. Taking care of the kids, my house, my yard, the groceries, bills, etc. In that moment, I felt alone and tired. But here's the thing.....I know I am not alone. God is very present with me in this time. I have the prayers and support of SO MANY people. I am so blessed by the outpouring of love. It just hit me at that point that I felt overwhelmed.

I know life is full of things. Some good some bad. I have to admit, I am ready for this time in my life to be behind me. It's been a long long journey and battle. Some moments have felt victorious, others not so much. As Fidel and I are separated this time, I pray that God restores our family. That He heals the wounds and broken hearts and renews the love we once had. I know that only He can fix this...I pray for wisdom to hear His voice and follow His leading so that I may do my part in this relationship. but ultimately, I have to leave it in His hands. And that can be a battle in itself at times! =)

During these moments or times when I feel low, I cry it out, pick myself up and say "I will trust in you God."

For those of you who have been praying, offering your help, encouraging, talking to me, keeping me company, and all the many things you have done.......thank you. I thank God you are in my life.......

Random ramblings....

These are my babies. Joshua is 6 going on 7 and Rebekah is 4 going on 5. It's hard to believe that I have a 1st grader let alone that my baby will be in Kindergarten next year. Yes, that's right, kindergarten. I know...I can't believe it either. And that means that Josh will be starting 2nd grade as well. Ugh!! Time flies too fast. He has lost his bottom 2 teeth...he is sooo cute!! =)

At the top is my husband and me. There is a LOT of prayers being said for us. We're separated right now. Again. Bleh!! That's all I have to say about that.

So, these are my first pics...I took some bluebonnet pics with Shannon the other day...but I can't get the pics off of my dumb camera.....maybe later....

Anyway...the kids are in bed. I think Iwill go watch House.

Good night. God bless.

I think I will join the crowd....

I've decided to start blogging. I don't know how faithful i will be with it...but we will see. =) I am envious that Shannon is so good with it. Maybe I will be able to follow her example.



So anyway. I hope you like it. This will give me a chance to share with you what's going on in my life and keep you updated.