My loves

My loves

Thursday, March 20, 2014

I purify my home

I am a little excited about this week's study in our women's class at church! We are now on week 7 of Becoming The Woman God Wants Me To Be. Shame on me, I've let it slip my mind who has written this book. We have a guideline for the week printed out on a sheet of paper each week instead of actually following along in a book this time. However, This week really touched the spot!

I know I sound like a broken record when I talk about how I strive to be a good mom, but I also strive to be a good wife as well. Our outline this week touches on both topics. 

Our word of affirmation for today is: I purify my home.

So what does that mean exactly? 
Not your normal, I need to clean it out and so on. It means in a Godly way. I can't remember how she read it to us last night out of her book, But she said something like, Taking out everything in your home that is or may be offensive to God that allows the Evil one to slip in. 

That being said, I opened up last night at church about how, Our daughter Calleigh, had been taking on this role of Sassyiness.... 

NOTE: (I cannot STAND when little girls act this way!!!! Mine included) I think it's an open door pretty much for selfish behavior, being disrespectful towards anyone and especially the parent. I can't count how many times I have been in public and seen a little girl get her way on something JUST because she pulls out this sassy attitude, For example: (Girrrrrrlllllll, I know you are going to get this for me right,) and What do you know, all b/c the parent thinks, "Ha ha that was cute." they then decide it's okay to get it for them...)

Hold up... UMMMM NO!!! Ill be the first to say my daughter has pulled this out on me before... Did she get what she was asking for? NO! I got in her face quickly and get this.. (IN PUBLIC IN FRONT OF PEOPLE) and let her know real quick Who was in charge, who was paying for the things and that NO She would not be getting anything Especially with an attitude like that... I also let her know, It's not a Godly attitude, I do not approve of it and I better NEVER see it again. So in today's slang, I guess you could Say... Woooooahhh! Mom Just put her kid in place... Well I did. and I fully intend to keep it that way until I see that My kids have grown to understand that you do not get things in life by showing out or being so called 'SASSY' b/c they think its Cute...

Okay! So that's my rant for today. Not that I have those often or anything. So To purify the home. After I noticed our little lady taking this on, I started paying close attention to her friends, the shows she watches, and so on.... rest assure. I love her friends. My daughter has great friends and I'm very proud of the girls that she hangs out with. I did notice how the attitudes in these shows she was watching were just Not Acceptable... The way these teens talked to their parents, friends, elders and so on... Not something this momma was fine by. Ill name a few to just put them out there.. Austin & Ally, Good Luck Charlie, Jessie, and so on. I sure didn't hear anything from a parent saying that the child was not allowed to take the tone of voice with them that they had and that they needed to respect them. Certainly not how we are in our home. So why would I be surprised that our 8 year old who we work hard on Not to be this was was starting to take on the mouth of a Teen and act disrespectfully... 

After talking to my husband, We decided it was time to cut all these shows out plus a few more Cold Turkey! That's right. Not, "Okay, Calleigh you can watch it one last time and then after 4 days from now, you will have to stop." for fear of her being upset at us. NO.. We walked in her room while the TV was on and she was in the middle of a show and said "These will not be allowed to be watched anymore. It's not because we are upset at you. It's b/c we have noticed a change in your behavior and it's partly our fault for letting these be seen in this house. So you are no longer allowed to watch the following shows and If it's caught on in your room, you will be in trouble. You need to learn the correct way to talk to us and those around you without waving your finger in the air, shaking your hips and moving your head just to state something.

She wasn't the happiest, But she said okay and went on with her day. So what has that done in the past weeks???

We have noticed a BIG change in her behavior at home...
- She has offered to clean her room on her own daily
- She has told me Please and Thank you more then I can count
-She has began to ask us for permission on things and if told no, She just says okay, instead of the normal sassy finger in the air when saying "Excuuuuuseeee ME!" (My most disliked one that she pulled)
-She wakes up at a better time each morning and some days she went ahead and gotten her self ready for school, brushed her teeth and patiently waited for us to get up and get her brother around.
- She has told me several times of the prayers that she says

I could actually say a few more, But those are just some.

So... After our class last night, They talked about walking through your home and Praying and asking God to Show you what is in your home that He disapproves of... Movies, Books, Toys, and dare I say it.. Video Games. Once doing this, Be open to the Holy Spirit showing you what he does not like. Listen for things when your kids are watching them, saying or acting out. If it hits your heart and you feel like the holy spirit is telling you that is not to be tolerated. Don't wait... Go right then and get it lined out. We have already cut out so many shows in our house. Next I think I'll be sorting through my kids movies and seeing what really needs to be in there or not... Does Calleigh really need 15 Barbie movies that let these Barbies talk disrespectfully to each other or be jealous that one has something and they don't... Or my personal favorite, sings a song saying "I wish I had her life, Then I would be so Free." UM NO!!!! That song has been taken out of my child's vocabulary. Well at least around me anyways. I pray she doesn't sing it else where. All that does is teach a kid to be ungrateful for what they have and envy what someone else has. Clearly what the Bible tells us Not To Do!!! Does Camp really need all the crazed action hero movies? Not saying they are all bad. I mainly think those are just a little old for him at this time. Thankfully he has not really hit the stage yet to watch older boy stuff that I'm just not okay with. He's young enough that we still keep a close eye on him as well and I pray it will pay off later.

These verses are part of our daily study: Ephesians 6:12-18 & Hebrews 4:12
The first one talks about putting on the Body Armor of God... In doing so daily, He will show us what needs to be dealt with in our homes. Don't be upset when He shows you something that even you may need to be lined out on. After all, you are his child. All he is doing is keeping you on a good path as we are trying to do with our own children. He will also protect you against the Enemy and keep you safe.

The second one Speaks on Calling out the name of Jesus out loud. He is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.. (So instead of telling your self in your head, "Oh I don't like that, God please stop what is going on right now.") Speak it out loudly and a firm voice and Call out to Jesus to STOP what ever the Enemy is trying to do and get it out of MY home.. Purify my home Lord and let all that come in to our home feel your peace, comfort and spirit. Let it be calm and a joyful place to be. Let your light shine bright to all those that enter here including our family who lives here.

A side note on our outline says:
I rid my house of anything that might be offensive to God or anything that might serve as a foothold for the Enemy.

After saying all of this on my heart. I will be the first to say that OUR home his by no means in Perfect Godly Shape. That would be why I'm still walking through listening to my kids behavior, their shows, their music and so on. And often, I'll walk in and pull out the Mom card and be the Bad guy... There is nothing wrong with that. If We don't set limits for them to follow who will? I just pray that God directs my words and actions so that they see I'm doing it b/c God says to, Not because I just feel like it. 

I hope this has made some sense today. I LOVE my children and yes they are as normal as you will come by. They keep me laughing, wondering, worrying and so on every day. I Just pray that they pick up on the rules and right way to behave in this world from what their daddy and I are trying to demonstrate to them and teach them. It's hard and a daily job to do it, But They are our pride and joy and Nothing will stop me from trying to do what is best for them.  :) 

More then anything I want to get across to PRAY for God's Spirit to lead you in these steps. Be it at Home, In Public and anywhere else. Don't let your guard down. Satan is waiting for that moment to make you feel like a failure. Keep a hold on God's word in your heart and know that He will lead you down every path way of goodness if you do so! :))))

So this week. Let's all try this out and try to purify our homes making them a more Godly home. :) 

Much Love to each of you! 
Have an AWESOME Thursday... just a few more days and It's SpRiNg BrEaK!!!!! Woop Woop!

Candace

PS.. Ill just throw this out there. I am the worst at punctuation and grammar. LOL!!! I got an inbox on facebook the other day from a girl and she apologized for her spelling b/c of her new phone! I just giggled and told her no worries. I am awful at it... I'm no English major that's for sure and personally, I don't take the time to make sure everything is Exactly as it should be I guess. I'm more into typing it how I would say it.. haha!! So if you see mess ups. Yeah! just skim past those and don't hold it against me. :))))

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

God Gave it to You! :) Happy Tuesday peeps!

So in today's reading, I have noticed one thing.... 

I'm still reading in Psalms and I'll admit, I'm human and have gotten a little side tract the past couple of weeks! I like fitting my daily reading in and all and I feel guilty when I don't. I've been on Moderate Bed Rest for the past 2 1/2 - 3 weeks with this baby to keep her put a little longer, So Corey has been taking the kids to school each morning and doing most of the house work. You would think with all of this time I have to SIT, I would have no distractions and could read read read! Wrong. Seems like each day, The Enemy put something in front of me... GRRR. not what I like! So now that I have reached my 32 Week Goal that my Doctor had me shooting for, I can ease up a bit and get around. This morning I took the kids to school and you will laugh, I noticed my husband from the time the alarm went off started saying 

"Oh, My neck hurts. I must have slept wrong..." 

 HA! By the 3rd attempt of telling me this, I said,

 "Okay, I get it, your sleeping in and I'm taking the kids to school" 

As if, I sleep like a baby all night lately and have NO back pain what so ever from this growing child inside of me. LOL!!! Seriously though, I was not mad. We have our ways of getting something across to each other. I love him for it. 

So I slowly roll out of bed which takes me now like 10 minutes it seems to roll over, Sit up, let the baby settle where she wants to be then make myself climb down out of our tall bed. FYI... If you go to buy a new bed. It's smart to get a low bed 'For Pregnant Reasons'. Lol! I seriously laugh at myself trying to climb up in that thing each night and then mosey my way out of it in the mornings. Not to mention the countless times in the middle of the night to make a bathroom stop. I go to get the kids ready, Calleigh, Shes a breeze, Does everything on her own and is up the second I turn on her light. YES!!!! Camp, Yeah! not so much. He requires, lamp on, fan off, rub his back, sweet talk him in his ear, kiss his little face (Which I do eat it up while I can. doesn't last long.) Sweet talked and so on, Then after about 10 minutes, Hes good to go. So Camp... Hes my sleeper. He could honestly care less about going to school each day and practically tells me He's fine with staying home if I want him too. Haha! Smart move buddy! 

So after our morning routine, I go to change myself to take them to school and yes Corey is back in bed. And for some weird reason, I have this inside thought of "Seriously.... Why am I taking the kids to school when, Yes, I can get around a little more at this point, But I'm still supposed to be taking it easy and he is just snoozing it up in the bed over there with no care in the world???" 

I put the kids in the Car, and we headed out. As soon as I said our daily prayers in the car, I realized something... WHAT AM I COMPLAINING ABOUT??? I have never had a thought like that towards my hubby. He is always so helpful with anything and for sure makes sure I'm taken care of. If, He wasn't in the bed sleeping still, I would have been. I would not have been there to Pray with my babies and over them before they start their day, give Calleigh a kiss and hug as she jumps out of the car to walk into school, listen to Camp tell me one of his MANY stories on the way to his school, then sit out side of the car while little man takes his precious time to stretch before he decides "okay, now I'm ready for the day.", Get those hugs and kisses from him as I leave him there, and have a good conversations and some laughs with the teachers before I head home. I had time to stop and get a Coffee, that I was so much craving. Note: Ive had 2 in like the last 3 or 4 weeks to help my heart stop racing. So yes it was nice to sip on one this morning. I made it home, grabbed my Bible and managed to Fit in my reading.....YES YES YES!!! 

When I sat down to open it up, I even prayed that God would Please keep this on the Front of my mind every morning. I need His word in my life. Not just once a week, or every two weeks, but EVERY DAY! And truth be told, I was going to dedicate this post to what I read this morning, But for some reason, I feel like He is leading me in a different direction right now. So I'll just roll with it!

My husband is still sleeping, from a late night shift (B/C he is Awesome and works hard to provide for us, I'm in here where it is quiet and have read my bible for the day and have a good feeling God is going to make this day BEAUTIFUL!!!! Now that I'm at this point, I'm reflecting back on what a blessing this day has already been since about 2 1/2 hours ago when my feet took FOREVER  it seemed, to hit the floor and get going. 

I love my husband, my kids, my time alone with Jesus, my coffee (yes I love my coffee) and I love how when we 'THINK' "Oh I do not want to get out of this warm cozy bed", If we just do and follow what is on our hearts that morning, God has a much bigger plan for us! I'll be honest, I would rather have his plan then mine. Sleeping in bed all day or wishing I was when I could be doing all that he has in store for me, doesn't seem like so much fun. I know I would have ended my day feeling un-accomplished, nothing done, no love in my heart from Him and the list could go on. But now, I'm REFRESHED.... Ready to see what the day unfolds and later this afternoon, pick up those 2 little turkeys and Do it ALL OVER AGAIN tomorrow! :))) 

After all, I want my time with them why I can. We are about to add another one to the mix and at that point, I know this momma will be worn out and pooped for lack of better words. (I seriously just said that, But hey, its me.... I'm an open book) 

So... No matter what your day started out like, Tell yourself this, You are where you are b/c of the choices you made this morning... Be it happy or sad, joyful or upset, a blessing to others or rude and show no care and so on. Choose to make each day count. After all, your here today b/c God gave it to you! :)))))

Happy Tuesday Everyone! 

Saturday, March 1, 2014

A Glance back at February 2014

I have got to get back in the habit of a weekly post. I may just be able to now that I am on moderate bed rest with our Sweet girl! Yes, a quick update. We are expecting our 3rd sweet baby Come may. I am now 30 weeks along and we are very excited to meet our little lady. Miss Caroline is well on her way. I have had a normal pregnancy I guess. All has went well so far, up until the last couple of weeks. I have already started making progress which is a big no no at this time of my pregnancy. Right about this far along with Calleigh & Camp is when all things happened as well. Calleigh was born at 29 weeks, Camp tried coming at 30 Weeks and now Caroline is trying her best to come meet the family just as soon as well. However, with lots of prayer, So far we have beat the odds. We are trying to make it to at least 32 weeks and then of course each week after that is a big plus! 

So the beginning of the month was so nice outside I decided to let the kids spend it at the part for a bit! We grabbed some snacks at the store and headed that way. We are way past all the winter weather that we have been having. And we had more on the way the day after our Park outing. When it's in the upper 60's in Feb. you make the best of it. :) 


I hit my 3rd Trimester mark and could not be happier. Ready to finish this pregnancy up and get our little lady here.
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Calleigh Jo turned 8!!!! Wow, it's a little hard for me to believe that 8 years have already went by as fast as they have. Corey & I took her Subway at school and had lunch with her!

Camper man had his very first Valentines Party at Pre-K, When I arrived he was still snoozing soundly! After he woke up he was more then ready to do Valentine cards and snacks! 


Once the kiddos came home we had their Valentines waiting on them! 


Corey & I went to our Church's annual Valentines Banquet. I usually get pics of all the cute decorations and food set up but this year I wore heels b/c my little guy said I would look pretty in them. So needless to say, I headed strait for a chair and sat the whole time. Haha!


This is blurry b/c Calleigh didn't take time to be still, But oh well. All dolled up for The Valentines Banquet.

Corey & I planned a Weekend get away to Fayetteville to watch the Razorback's play. Lucky me, I turned 28 weeks the day that we left! :) Completing a full 7 months! 
 We left the kids with Poppie & Lulu for the weekend and headed out of town. We had a yummy lunch at the famous Catfish Hole, Checked into our room and then headed to the stadium. I seriously spent almost the entire game sitting and watching the screen above a guys head in front of me. LOL! It was a lot walking so much and at this point to even a few steps, I start to get out of breath. But we had a great time! We ended the night with dinner at Olive Garden and then headed in for the night. I crashed with in a matter of minutes once I laid down. Thankfully Corey understands. We had a little trip to Cabelas the next morning and then headed back home. We had a great weekend, But man, I was worn out. I don't think I have ever been as ready to come home as I was that day! :)



 Corey & I got there pretty early for so we passed time making Calleigh & Camp faces just as they do when we try to get a picture of them! haha!

On our way home, Corey bought the kids a BB gun! You could say they were more then excited once we gave it to them at home! We took a long nap after that and then just chilled out for a bit!






We had a fun American Girl Birthday Party for Calleigh Jo! I had to head over to Pinterest to find some good ideas b/c Apparently there isn't' much to choose from when it comes to American Girl Party theme's. I think it turned out pretty cute though! :) 




 






The next day Calleigh wanted to wear one of her new dresses that she got from her Grannah to church! & Later that evening the kids & I headed to Cabot for a little Family bowling to celebrate my Sister & 
Sister-in-law's birthdays! Corey had to work and had shift change so he wasn't able to make it. I sat all night b/c obviously I did not need to be bowling, but the kids had a blast! It was so much fun watching them play and have fun with their Cousin's Lainey & Brayden.


Camp said he needed  his Batman Shirt on just in case we needed him to protect us all he had to do was take off his top shirt! LOL!!
 
 
 


We had a great month and I finished it up with a 2nd 3 hour glucose test at my doctor b/c we had a mess up on my 1st & 2nd try! But all is good! Test came back great! other then that, We are ready to move onto March!