Hard Times Lead to Jesus

I have been reading Isaiah lately and I was reminded today of a teaching I heard a long time ago on Isaiah 6. Basically you see that when the king died, Isaiah saw the Lord. What a pastor had encouraged us to realize is that sometimes when people are taken from us, it brings us to a place where we really can see the Lord. In Isaiah's case, the king was evil and him being gone allowed Isaiah to see the Lord because that evil influence was gone. In some cases, maybe we lose a loved one or have a miscarriage and losing them causes us to seek comfort in the Lord. Either way- death and hard times are seasons that we need to learn from Isaiah and seek the Lord with all of our heart in the midst of our distress. I was also made aware of this when learning about Enoch in Hebrews 11 and Genesis 5. The Word says that after Enoch had his son, he sought the Lord. Becoming a parent is probably the hardest thing I have done. It taught me so much about my weakness and how much I needed Jesus if I was going to be a good mother. I think there is just such a strong connection between hard times and growing in our relationships with Jesus. My hope is that we can be like Isaiah and Enoch when we face hard times. I pray that we will not give into the temptation to seek peace in anything other than the Lord. I pray that hard times will bring us to a place where we really see the Lord and gain wisdom as to what He wants to do with our lives...

"Then Enoch walked with God 300 years after he became the father of Methusaleh..."

~Genesis 5:22

"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up."

~Isaiah 6:1

We love fall!!

With all of this nice weather, we have been going outside every single day. We will walk to the mall and play there or just hang out in the front or back yard. It has been so much fun. It provides Zoee and Ash with a little more adventure and I think the fresh air makes us all a little bit more joyful. The weather has been so nice that we cannot resist it! Fall in Texas can be great when we have these small "cold fronts" come through!

Dear Zoee...

Little crazy Zoe-bear...

Zoee at her 1st birthday party. She was a little overwhelmed with all of the people so we did not manage to get any great pics of her with her giant smile... oh well- I have plenty already =)

Her outfit for her 1st birthday party. My mom made it all- so stinking cute!! Thank you Mimi!!

Dear Zoee,

My little Zoe-bear! Where has our little spit up baby gone??!! While you still spit up every once in a while, it is certainly not like it was before!! You are just growing up so fast and developing quite a spicy personality. I have said that before, but that's the best words to describe you are "sugar and spice." You are so sweet sometimes and passionate at other times- it's so funny to see how different you and Asher are. You both like to make people laugh but that's about the only similarity that exists between you (besides the fact that you could be twins if you were the same age!!). Actually, you and Ash do have some other things in common. You both love to dance and sing and you both are full of adventure. Asher is more cautiously adventurous (if that is possible) like Mommy and Zoee, you are just plain adventurous like your Daddy! Here are some other things going on with you...

1. You like to climb. You will attempt to climb on anything- sometimes I am amazed at the things you attempt to climb!

2. You were given some more books at your birthday and you love to read them. You like books about animals and books with things you can feel.

3. You and Asher have loved dancing to Mariah Carey's "Oh Santa!" It's a crazy song and it cracks me up to see yall dance to it.

4. I think you are allergic to yogurt?? You always seem to spit up more when you have it so I have been trying to keep it out of your diet (though you really like it!)

5. You love to hug your new baby that Mimi and Papa got you (we named her Baby Sue-sue after Mimi). You get so excited when we show her to you- you start doing your "Zoee dance" and come grab her and hug her. It's so cute and funny.

6. You love to hug your stuffed animals and blankets- you can just be such a cuddle-bug sometimes- I LOVE that!!

7. You like when Ash and I sing. In the bath, you love to join in on the song "If you're happy and you know it" because you enjoy clapping. It's neat to see that you are understanding more and participating in the craziness that Ash and I create. I look forward to you singing with us soon!

Zoee, like always, you are a joy. You have been teething more and not sleeping as well because of the time change but you are still very joyful. The neighbors always comment on how smiley you are. I think you are starting to get frustrated because it seems like you want so badly to talk but you just can't get the words out. I hope that you are able to talk soon because it seems like you have so much that you want to tell the world. We love you so much baby girl. You brighten our lives everyday!

Love,

Mommy

Dear Asher...

Ash playing at the park at the mall ....

Ash sitting on the potty. He likes to play cars while he waits for "stuff" to happen =).

This is what he did when I asked him to smile... crazy boy!!

The first cupcake that Daddy bought Ash for going potty...

Dear Asher,

Wow- how fast you are growing!! I cannot believe how much you have grown and how much of a "kid" you are becoming. You have such a fun personality. You love to make others laugh and you are a little joke-ster when you know it can get a smile. You are also sensitive- which can be heart-melting and sometimes frustrating because we never know how you will respond to some things. Sometimes you are so tough and brave and other times someone will pick you up when you aren't ready and you will have a melt-down. With all your quirks- we love you so so much. Here are some new things going on with you...

1. You have gone potty on the potty chair 2 times!! You were rewarded the first time with a cupcake which you thoroughly enjoyed and today we are taking you to get a fish because you went potty this morning like a big-boy! We are so proud of you!!

2. You have a knick-name for me and Daddy: "Mommy-doe" and "Daddy-doe." I have no idea where it came from but it makes me smile that you thought of a name for us all by yourself.

3. You are growing into an little adventurous boy. You like building tents in the backyard and last night I found that you were sleeping under your bed between 2 baskets!

4. You tried calamari for the first time last Thursday and you liked it!! I was really surprised that you were so willing to try it!!

5. You still love dancing and now you enjoy singing- it's fun to see you try to remember the words to the Christmas songs (especially Jingle Bells). You're favorite bath time songs are "Itsy bitsy spider," "Old MacDonald had a farm," and "If you're happy and you know it." I like to make the hand movements very dramatic to make it more fun and you are excited to join in and be crazy with me.

I guess that's all right now. Ash, you are a precious boy! You are a delight to your mom and dad. You are getting more kind to Sissy which is so sweet to see. We are so thankful for you, son!

Love,

Mommy

Zoee's 1st Birthday Pics...

Zoee's 1st birthday was an event full of picture taking! I just got a new camera so we have been snapping away ever since!! Here are some fun pics from her birthday... She and Ash got matching stuffed animals in the morning. Later that day we walked to the mall and played on the slide and "rode" the mall toys. It was a wonderful day celebrating our little girl =).

Trusting in your ways...

I feel like this season has been a little weird and I have lately been tempted to start "planning" my own life and not trust in the Lord. I just feel myself sometimes getting nervous and then I will start to think of as many "back up" plans as I can, in case things don't go the way I am currently planning. Needless to say, I often fall into bed exhausted from trying to control my life.

I have been reading Hosea and the Psalms and have been convicted that I cannot keep going this way. I cannot trust in my plans or in anyone other than the Lord. This can be so difficult sometimes- to really give ourselves fully to Him, to seek His will diligently through prayer, meditation on His word, and through wise counsel. Its just not always easy to find out what He wants but it is the best way- the only peaceful way to live. I am excited that the Lord has convicted me about this. I feel much more at peace already. Today I have already spent time just releasing my desires and burdens to Him and asking for His continued leading in Sonny and me. We sure want to follow Him and we both know that being obedient to Him is the only place we want to be. Here are some encouraging/ convicting verses that have been working on me...

~Hosea 10: 12-13

"Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallowed ground, For it is time to seek the Lord, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you. You have plowed wickedness; You have have reaped iniquity. You have eaten the fruit of lies, Because you trusted in your own ways, In the multitude of your mighty me."

~Psalm 118: 8-9

"It is better to trust in the Lord Than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes."

Zoee's 1st Birthday Pics...

Here are some more pictures from Friday, Zoee's 1st birthday! We got her and Asher Simba and Nala stuffed animals and we got Zoee a step puzzle to match Ashers. We had a restful day celebrating our little baby girl.

Happy 1st Birthday Zoee!

Our little Princess!!

Being silly already...

Playing peak-a-boo!

Sweet little Princess Zoee,

You are ONE year old. I seriously cannot believe that my baby girl is already having her 1st birthday. Yes, it does feel like we have had you forever but I still have trouble realizing that you are not a baby anymore. This morning we celebrated your birthday as a family. When you woke up, Ash and I went to get you and I took some pics of you. You are so joyful when you wake up and you even try to make us laugh. We spent the day doing things I know you enjoy- we went to the mall to let you and Asher play and you got to eat applesauce muffins. We played in the garage and ran around the house and let you open some presents. We look forward to more celebrating tomorrow of our sweet baby girl!! Happy 1st birthday Zoee Scout!

Spiced Applesauce Bread

Here is my little munchkin enjoying the muffins...

Here is the picture that came from the original recipe. It would be great with some tea!!

Now that the kids are getting older, I have been trying to bake more, especially when I know some fruit is about to go bad and I want to use it right away. We had some apples that I needed to use so I looked up a recipe for applesauce spice bread. I made the applesauce myself, steaming the apples and then blending them. I changed the ingredients from a recipe I found to make applesauce bread here to make it more healthy =). I used organice white/wheat flour, peanut oil, organic sugar cane, and organic apple sauce. Asher loved them and has eaten 8 of them in 2 days!! They are not even that sweet because I did not have enough sugar but he still loved them!! He wanted them to be called cupcakes instead of muffins so I guess that's a good sign =). I love winter and the wonderful bread that we get to eat during this cold season... keep that cold weather coming!

Trick-or-treat 2011

I know that Halloween can be one of those taboo topics- do we "celebrate" it or not? For us, we simply enjoy dressing the kids up and letting them play with all of their friends in fun costumes. It is a great way to get to know your neighbors more and enjoy fellowship with friends. This year, Asher was a football player and Zoee was a princess/ fairy. Our little friend Kinley came over and she was a dragon. It was crazy and fun to let them dress up and go trick-or-treating down our street. They looked so cute and seemed to have fun. There were so many kids in our neighborhood out-and-about- it was crazy!!

More Pumpkin Patch...

Ash loved the pumpkin patch. He loved running around the pumpkins, playing in the hay, going on a hay-ride, riding huge john deer tricycles, climbing in the tree-house... it was perfect for him (especially since his best friend, Aeva, and his Papa were both there!)

Zoee and Kinley and their matching hats =)

Here are a few more pics from the pumpkin patch... More are coming- We are just taking more pics than I have time to edit and post!!