Oh ya know...just hanging out...

You know when your Mom calls and asks if you have somehow blocked her off your blog list because it's been so long since you posted that maybe it's time for an update.

So here is my synopsis of the past 2 months. 

Life is busy....and often messy. 

 Around here, it's felt like both. 

 And honestly there's always something to do that takes priority over blogging. 

 Like playing with the kids, cooking meals, cleaning up meals, giving baths, vacuuming (again!!), maybe having a phone conversation with an adult, play dates, working, reading, finding time alone with Nick, finding time alone with the Lord. 
Somehow tons of little things find a way to take up my entire day.
  Just like every other Mom in the world :)

So here's a few things going on with us:

We're selling our house.  Well maybe I should say we're trying to sell our house.  Oh boy, I could give myself a stroke stressing over having a perfect home to show potential buyers.  In fact I had it all planned how smoothly this process would ensue because a potential buyer would walk into our home and be astounded at the sheer beauty of my domestic endeavors.
 The sparkling toilets and floors, the staged bedrooms, the lack of any personal photo in the entire place and automaticaly offer us full listing price for our home....
cause that's completely reasonable right? 

God is so funny. 
He knows I grasp at any control I can get. 

And he knows how to not -so- humbly remind me I'm not in control. 

 Like when our first showing was while I was starting a 12 hour shift at the hospital, my younger brother in law was at our house with 4 little girls and a dog and Nick had to go ino the office for an emergency.  Talk about me having no control.  I had to laugh. 

Or when we thought there was a solid offer on our home so we found a new one for ourselves only to have our buyer back out a week later. 

One of my favorite ways I was shown I'm not in control was the 2nd weekend our house was on the market.  My Mom and Grandma were coming for a weekend visit. 
My Granmda is such a healthy lady, she has overcome breast cancer but other than that is 100%.
  So when she walked into my living room ater a 6 hour car ride with a pained look on her face and  admitted with reluctance she was having chest pain I knew we couldn't ignore it. 

Praise the Lord I know a good hospital!  
We headed to my hospital thinking we would be home in a few hours feeling silly for making such an improtu visit to the ER.
  In fact, she almost had me talked into turning around and taking her home, so convicing she was that she felt better. 

But knowing that time is of the essence with cardiac matters we went on. 
Three nights and three cardiac stents later she was back to my house
then back home to Arkansas the next day. 
It was a whirlwind of a weekend, with 4 showings that Saturday while Grandma was in the hospital. 

So yes Lord, I'm getting it.  Not. In. Control.

So you need more proof?

Two weeks ago my neice was staying the night. 

 It's pretty common for her to spend a night a week with us. 

Sometimes Usually she and Blake find ways to get into things they aren't supposed to...
and I know this.

But when Kate walked out of their room bringing me some kids scissors, I was confused.

  I walked into the room to see TWO little girls with hair chopped in various degrees of

OH MY GOODNESS.

I was completely shocked. 
Me?
  The Mom who limits sugar and tv and processed food has TWO kids (one who is not mine!!)
in my house,
under my care
that have given and received horrendous hair cuts. 
God help us all. 
I frantically called her Mom.
  I  frantically called Nick. 
Then in shock I sat and cried. 
Then we rushed to a hairdresser that did the best she could to make our girls look fit to go in public without embarassment.  Then we came back home to lots of long talks (she loves those ;) about how she knew better and how she can't have curls or braids for a very long time. 
About how you do what you know is right no. matter. what. 
About punishments we need to execute so she remembers that we never ever ever cut hair. 
I'll still never understand how why they did it. 
My daughter loves her hair.
 She loves having it braided and curled and pairing it with a pretty bow and a ruffled dress.
  She is all girl. 

So now she is all girl with a short little chopped haircut.

In all seriousness the Lord has been working on my heart about HIS control over my life.
  He is faithful when I am overwhelmed.  Praise the Lord.

I have felt inadequate, over-burdened, beat down...then I found this verse.

Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said,
“My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”
 So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. http://bible.us/2Cor12.8.NLT

I still can't read it without tears filling my eyes.
When I am weak, Christ is working?? 
So easy to say, hard to let sink in. 
But believe me when I say it held me up this week.
My burdens are so light compared to others, but somehow they can still wear deeply on me. 
So I cling to this verse. 
I let his words and promises change my heart and I choose Joy.
  I choose renewal by His spirit. 


If you made it to the end, you deserve lots pictures...I promise I'll work on it!