Happily Ever After...

"Belle" from "Beauty and the Beast" drawn by Kayla.

I have always LOVED the Disney cartoons, the fairy tales of "happily ever afters." Even as an adult, I can find myself caught up in the story lines of "true love," "good versus evil" and "good always winning in the end." We all want a "prince" to save the day.



Some of us in this world have been blessed to find that special man, we like to call our "prince charming," however, you can have the best relationship, and still not have the "dream." The reality is that the fairy tales don't exist. They are just fun little stories that send us off into dreamland, an escape to the cruelty that this world often dishes out. There will always be sickness, bills and hurt feelings...



There will always be sin in this world...



Until of course the one true PRINCE of PEACE decides to return, one day. I may not believe in fairy tales, but I do believe in a very happy ending one day. There are some days I may want to question, days I doubt, days I am even angry at God, yet at the end of the day I have a choice. To believe or not believe.



I choose to believe.



I have to, for FAITH is the only thing that sees me through on the rough days. It is the only thing that helps me celebrate on the good ones.



I may type little posts that make it sound like I have the perfect life. I have a blessed life, but it is far from perfect. My kids are considered good kids, yet they still have moments when they fight, talk back and totally embarrass me to death. The hubby, is known to be a man of God, with a great big heart, yet he can be forgetful, lazy and even selfish at times. As for me? I am about as imperfect as you can get. I can worry more than anyone I know, be selfish with my time and hold a grudge for like forever. There is a stack of bills sitting on my table as I type. I have a job that can be stressful. I have allergies like you would not believe. The laundry is piled high, there are dishes in the sink and I can't remember the last time doggie had a bath. By the smell of her, it has been too long. Oh, and there was that little white lie I told the other day...



We are an imperfect family, living in an imperfect world, moving along one day at a time. We just have something that many people, sadly, don't have...



The knowledge of how to get a fairytale ending after all.



We choose to have HOPE.



I choose to believe that my prince charming is none other than Jesus Christ himself. And He might not save me from today's grief, but He did save my heart. And that, my friends, is the true love story. A true Valentine message.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall have eternal life."

John 3:16

So, I would like to wish all of you a very Happy Valentine's Day! May it be filled with blessings of LOVE and HOPE of a very "happily ever after."



Blessings!

Oh, and if you want to know more about my TRUE PRINCE, let me know. I would love to tell you about Him.

Ephesians 1:18-19

"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened

in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you,

the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

and his incomparably great power for us who believe."

At the end of the day...

Today, I held a baby at work, who melted my heart with his precious smiles.

Today, my son cleaned his room, which always makes my mommy heart smile, but his "I love you" meant more than a zillion clean rooms.

Today, the hubby ran some errands for me and called to check on me, showing me again and again how much he cares. I love how he always says "I love you" before he hangs up the phone.

Today, Kayla and I had girl's night. We ate carryout from the local Mexican restaurant, had a frosty from Wendy's (it was a calorie free night!!!) and watched an old movie called "Anna and the King" with Jodie Foster. It was a fun night and did my mommy heart some good. I love that she still loves to hang out with her momma!!!

I had a good day. I was blessed and constantly reminded how loved I am. But at the end of the day, it matters not how much I am loved, but rather how much I love and who...

"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."

Galatians 5:6

I am still plugging along through the Bible. I read and fell in love with this little treasure of a verse. I am humbled everyday, to know that I am graced with the Heavenly Father's love. I am challenged everyday to show my faith in Him, by sharing my love of Him with others. WE ARE CALLED TO LOVE.

Blessings!

Daddy/Daughter Time...

Isn't she cute decked out in daddy's camo?

I love both my kiddos dearly. For whatever reason, I was blessed with both a girl and a boy, in that order. When she was little, Kay was a daddy's girl. He was always the one of us doing something, and she always wanted to be going. Then along came Jordan, my baby boy.


Although he has stages of being a mama's boy, he loves to go and do, just like his dad. They love the great outdoors. In fact Jordan can't sit still, he always has to be doing something. And if there is something to be done outside, then all the better. Mix his active spirit, with Kayla growing up into a young woman and wanting her "space," and pretty soon, Jordan is the one hogging all of daddy's time.


Until yesterday.


Jordan got an invite to a friend's house for the day( and night), which left Kev and Kayla finding things to do together. They went riding around in the snow on the four-wheeler and watched movies together. I had gone to take a nap (bad headache crushing my snow day spirit) and I could hear them laughing and talking together in the next room. A sweet snow day memory for this mom.


So although I miss my little man something crazy (did I just admit that?!), I am thankful that Kay and her dad had some daddy/daughter time yesterday.

Happy Snow Day!
Blessings!

Toto, We are not in Arkansas anymore...

The booted feet belong to Kayla and me. She thought it looked like there was a heart on the ground in between our feet.

Somewhere in the past month, I guess I moved up north and didn't realize it. It is snowing AGAIN. In case you are wondering what the big deal is, let me explain...AGAIN.

We here in south ARKANSAS don't get snow. Maybe ONE snow day every three years (and that is usually for ice, rather than snow), BUT NOTHING LIKE THIS. We don't even have snow days planned in the school calendar. At this rate my kiddos will be going to school all summer long.

Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE THE SNOW.

I love the beauty of it.

I love wearing cute sweaters, jackets and boots.

I love a hot drink when it is cold outside.

I love a big comfy blanket to snuggle under.

I love all the fun my kids have playing outside.

I love all the picture opportunities.

Nothing is better than a bowl of yummy soup on a cold day.

YET,

I don't like standing in line at the grocery store because you need that gallon of milk and loaf of bread, just like 5 zillion other people.

I don't like driving on slippery roads and feeling trapped 'cause I can't just get up and go.

I don't like my son going stir crazy. (Thanking the Lord, today, for the friend that asked him over today!)

I don't like it that my hubby has control of the flicker 24/7.

I don't like it that I will spend most of the snow day/holiday CLEANING, because I haven't had time to all week.

I don't like the water all over the kitchen floor from wet boots...

So, if you watched the news/weather, than you know that my little 'ol state is pretty much COVERED in a white blanket today. Tomorrow the temps are not to even begin getting high enough to melt it all off, so they say. Who knows what tomorrow will bring. Maybe if I work a little today, I can spend the day playing tomorrow.

Snow days! Gotta love them. In the meantime I keep thinking I will wake up and realize that I was just dreaming and went to Montana...

Hope you are having a beautiful day!

Blessings!

Flowers in snow...

This morning I woke up, went through my normal weekday morning routine. A trip to the little girl's room, splashed my face with a little cold water to wake up and I put my contacts in so I could see the world around me...and then I looked out the window.

AND THEN I went to turn the television on so I could check for school closings.

There was snow on the ground.

Wow! Two waves of snow in south Arkansas in one winter, and they are calling for more?! Has that ever happened before? My brother-in-law and his family in Houston have snow? It hardly ever, never snows in south Texas. CRAZY!!!

Let the chaos begin...

I know all my friends in the Northern States are laughing us, because this is a seasonal process for you. You all have the equipment to get by and continue day to day life as you know it. US?!!

We don't know how to drive in the scary stuff, we don't know what to do after the first wave of fun snow days. Everything gets cancelled or closed, because we simply don't know what to do.

As for the hubby?

He is a nervous wreck right now, striving for peace. We had our biggest fundraiser for youth camp and mission trip this weekend, starting tonight. It is cancelled. We are trying to make it work for Saturday, but...who knows what tomorrow will hold. We will be lucky if we even break even. The worry sets in, the responsibility is heavy and I feel myself breaking out in hives...

And then on the way out hubby simply says "Maybe we should stop worrying and let God do is thing, instead of doing it our way."

Words I pray we lean on for the weekend and time to come. This shouldn't be our motto, just on the CRAZY days, but everyday.

"...God is not a God of disorder but of PEACE..." 1 Corinthians 14:33

Praying for peace during a hectic, crazy weekend. We are going to try our hardest to not get in the way and "LET GOD" handle this. HE WILL SHOW UP AND DO HIS THING!!!

That being said, I made me a cup of hot tea, in my new favorite cup, to celebrate the snow. "Morning by morning, new mercies I see."

Spring is just around the corner! God can grow blessings even in the deepest pile of snow.

Have a beautiful peaceful weekend, friends!

Blessings!