Learning to Pray

5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9"This, then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread.
12Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.[a]' 14For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Matthew 6: 5-13

I am constantly in awe of the things that the girls learn through observation, but even more so, I am astounded by the things that seem to be put in their hearts by God. Today the girls and I were sitting on my bed and Emma said, "Mommy, I want to pray." SO I said "Okay, let's pray." So we folded our hands and closed our eyes and she said: "Dear God, thank you for the flowers and the trees and everything. Amen." That simple statement was so powerful. What is that saying about Out of the mouth of babes? I thought about all the times I have prayed and how I search for the right words and try so hard to say everything just the right way. And when I heard her prayer, I thought, "I know that God is similing right now!" But when you really think about it he just wants the same with us. He just wants simple dialog(I know for me and some of my "big word" friends this isn't the easiest concept). Sometimes we focus so hard on trying to find the right words that we lose the real meaning of what we want to say. Simple phrases or breaths of prayer like bless them, help me, praise you, are sweet to our Lord; and require hardly no thought or time on our behalf. But that constant dialog keeps us closer to God, more available to hear him speak and less likely to fall into the traps satan has set for us everywhere.

Side note: Please be in prayer for Ran and I. The past few days have really been a struggle. We are so proud that God has given Abigail such a strong will and determination, but it sure makes parenting her difficult. Pray that God will inspire us with the right methods for parenting her without breaking her spirit; and that he will continue to give us glimmers of improvement so that we do not become discouraged or frustrated.

4th of July

Late this afternoon we took the girls to a new park in Florence and then to watch the fireworks display on the river. The park has a water fountain that people play in. So we let the girls run in it...or I should say we let Abigail(as you can see in the pics Emma is content to roam around checking out the sites or just hangin out by herself. She tickles me to death. Abigail was over there laughing and squealing as she ran around in the water. She can't stand to wear wet clothes so she eventually got down to just her cinderella panties--and she really wanted them to go too! At one point she looked at me and said, "Mommy, take your shirt off!" I said, "No, I don't think mommy needs to do that." Meanwhile, Emma Catherine was exploring and hanging out with Greengrad--I just love the way she calls him that. They both enjoyed the fireworks. But Emma didn't want to get too close. So she and Greengrad watched from about 50 yards away from the rest of us. And in true Emma style she talked about the fireworks the rest of the night! Abigail loved all the pink ones(I told her they were just for her) She and I clapped and screamed after each round. It is so great to have a reason to act like a little kid again! Hope you enjoy the pics.

Waiting for Dreams!

I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. I Corinthians 3:2

***I have felt God telling me to write this blog for about a week now, and today after speaking with dear friend I got the final confirmation
I am writing this today for a longtime friend of mine. I hope when he reads it God uses it to speak truth into his heart.

Dreams. We all have them. Some dreams are simple, easily accomplished. Others are more of a matter of the heart. Some dreams are such a part of who we are that we begin to take it personal when it feels as though God isn't fulfilling them. We feel like that perverbial carrot is being dangled right in front of our face. Do you know that God doesn't dangle carrots? If God shows us something, whether it be in our hearts or our dreams, he plans on giving it to us. How unjust of a God would he be if he had no intention of helping HIS children achieve their dreams. Instead we serve a very JUST God, who is ready and willing to give us all the desires of our heart if we delight in Him. And that is the catch...WE have to be ready to receive it. God knows us inside and out. Every thought, every care, every worry and he knows when we are ready to receive certain gifts from him. I like to think about it like this: Abigail--my little daredevil--would love for me to let her climb up to the top of the slide at the park all by herself. But as her mother, I know that she isn't ready yet. She is too young, she doesn't understand everything it takes to get to the top and back down safely. She has more growing to do(physically and mentally) before I can let her do that. And when the time is right, and she shows me that she has learned all of the necessary skills, (sadly) I will let her go; and she will have the time of her life--b/c she was READY!
Have you ever felt like God has left you hanging on the clothesline of life? Well, he hasn't. You just haven't fully dried =) Many times in life, I have wanted something so badly, but God just wouldn't grant it...I wasn't ready. And then after I had grown and surrendered other parts of my life to him, those desires either faded or were filled. Waiting on the Lord is so difficult; especially when it seems that everyone around you is living the "perfect" life.(That is another day--not using others for your yardstick--)
SO...what should we be doing?? Living in the now! Praising God Now! Loving God Now! Seeking God's will for us NOW! We have to stop looking for the next present with our name on it under the tree, and focus on what God has put in our hands in the present.
God, help me to be patient as I wait for my dreams to come true. Amen.

Stinky Nose!

I just had to take a moment to write this down for everyone. I will write more when the girls take a nap. We are upstairs jumping and playing in the tent. The girls just started calling each other stinky nose and giggling like crazy. It is the funniest thing. Abigial has the greatest laugh and she is so tickled that I am afraid she is going to pee on herself. What a blessing for them to have each other to laugh and play with--even though sometimes those laughs turn into tears over a favorite toy. Now they are lying in the jumpie singing rainbow and be-o-by-o to each other. So sweet....

And now they are sleeping...SO SWEET =)! I covet every moment I have with them, but naptime is also a much needed break for adult time and rest. An update on Abigail's potty time..today we did not make it to the potty with our poop. And believe me, this was the worst one yet.(I know I could spare you the details, but what is the fun in that?? I want you to feel like you are right here with us) And the bad part...it doesn't even phase her. I had just made her sit for about 10 mins and she said she couldn't didn't need to. Then 5 mins later went in her pants....WHAT DO I DO WITH HER???? I think tomorrow, I am going to put her on the potty at 10 am and make her sit until something comes out??? Emma started this new thing last night. Ran had her in the bathroom trying to get her to go, and she got up before he thought she should be finished; and he told her to sit back down. With that she said, "That's all I got Daddy. I don't have anymore to come out." She told me the same thing this morning when I was trying to get her to go...That girl can come up with more than I have ever seen. I am so blessed! Thank you God for giving these girls to me they have truly stolen my heart.

Aunt Rhonda's Visit

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

Today is Ran's 32nd birthday! He is such an old man =) The girls have been singing Happy Birthday to You all morning. It is just precious. We made him a birthday breakfast with eggs and fresh blueberry pancakes. The girls and I gave him a new pair of sunglasses.(since I sat on his other pair a few weeks ago--opps!) They each gave him a card they had picked out by themselves. Emma--Dora, Abigial--Elmo. Last night we had dinner at Donna's and tonight we have dinner at my mom's. Lots of eating going on the next couple of days! Since everyone else is fillin him up with cakes and puddings, I told him I would wait and make him some homemade fried pies this weekend. He loves having anniversary and birthday back to back. I remember when we were picking the date for the wedding, he actually wanted to get married on his birthday--but it wasn't on the weekend. So he wanted the closest date to it??? I always thought that was weird. IF it were me, I would want my presents spread out throughout the year.
Abigail decided to give daddy her own little present today. She pooped in the potty for the first time!!!! We were so excited...hopefully she will repeat her performance tomorrow. We danced and cheered and got stickers and skittles...you name it we did it...She was smiling from ear to ear. If we can get this down, we will have jumped our last hurdle in the potty training experience. Everything else is down. They have even started telling us when they need to go, and we aren't having to take them every 30 mins(which is SOOOOO much better).

They are both really enjoying the blog. The love to sit and look at all their pictures. We are still playing in the playhouse just about everyday. I am really kinda surprised at how much Emma loves to play with the tools. I am trying to find them more plastic tools to go with it but Wal-Mart didn't have any =(

Please be in prayer for me. The past few days I haven't been well(nothing of major concern)just pray that God will heal this afliction(whatever it is) and that it will not return. Just frustrating b/c I don't feel like playing with my angel babies and Ran has really been having to help during his work hours. Pray for him too!

The Good Stuff

Today Ran and I are celebrating 7 years of marriage. Kinda hard to believe, huh! The girls have gone to spend the day with Donna and her sister Rhonda(who is in from out of town) so I have been hangin out today--just chillin you might say. Later we will be going to the big H'ville for a SURPRISE(I hate surprises. One thing he refuses to learn about me). But just so it is in black and white. I am going to make a prediction: Dinner at Bridge Street, Movie and home. (I so hope these are the plans) I know you guys don' t care about any of this, but I want the girls to be able to read this some day. So please indulge me... Also, I changed the settings on the blog so that anyone can post a comment. It should be a lot easier now. Feel free to drop us a line.

Earlier I was outside on the porch writing in Ran's card and I started thinking about all that has happened in 7 years. It seems like just yesterday we were fixing up the "little house" and now here we are 7 years later fixing up the "big house"! I am so proud of all that we have accomplished(including the girls), but what I am most proud of is the fact that we have managed to stay together. Through it all-- good and bad(believe me there has been plenty of that) we have both stayed. These days it seems so easy just to give up and quit, start over, find someone else and try again. But everytime the going got tough God was always right there saying, "I never said this would be all sunshine and roses. But I did promise that I would always be here." and he has. Not that he has given us everything we have ever wanted, but he has always blessed our path, even when something we did made it a bumpy one. Isn't that AWESOME! No matter how badly we mess up, he always sees us through the other side.
Forgiveness is such an important part of life and marriage. I constantly remind myself of all the ways I need forgiveness on a daily basis and how freely God bestowes that on me; then I try to apply that to those around me: Ran, the girls, family, friends, co-workers, students. I must say it is easier some days than others. I just try so hard to focus on the good stuff. The happy times. Those special moments that only me, Ran and the girls share.

SO here is my Top 10 Memories for Ran. Happy Anniversary, Honey! Here's to 7 more!

1. The flood we drove through in Geo Metros on our Honeymoon. I was terrified.
2. The night he fell off of the bed. Sorry honey but it was HILARIOUS!
3. Nights in the Little House when he would chase alligators from under our bed.
4. The way he looked the day the girls were born.
5. The first time he used our battery powered drill to put up a towel rack. Took 2 hours and he stripped 3 screws. I am pretty sure they are still in the wall in that house.
6. The way he took care of me during my prenancy. Thanks for all the washcloths and for picking me up off the bathroom floor after I puked my brains out.
7. The day we bought our first house.
8. The day we found out we were having twins
9. The day he graduated from college
10. Nasty diarrhea diapers at 2 am in the dark so we wouldn't wake up Abigail.




P.S. I just wanted to add that we had a great evening. Dinner, a movie and actual conversations!!! Maybe he is actually beginning to get me??

Life Lessons From Emma

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives,so also through Christ our comfort overflows.
2 Corinthians 1:3-5 NIV

Today Emma did something that she has only done 1 or 2 other times in her short little life...she left Bandit at home. As most of you know, Bandit is the world to her and is never much more than an arms length from her, if anything he is usually under her arm. So for her to actually get into a car and go down the road without thinking of him is a HUGE deal. We were on our way to church this morning and about 5 mins from home I looked in the mirror and noticed he wasn't there. Hesitantly, I said "Emma, where is Bandit?" With a confused look on her face, she replied "I left him at home" No tears, no wailing...she simply left him at home. Needless to say, I was shocked. I totally expected her to be demanding that I go back and get him, but she didn't. As I continued to drive on to church I couldn't help but feel sad b/c I knew this was yet another milestone in her little life. She was growing up. The dog that had always meant security for her was no longer a necessity, she could make it on her own.
When I think back about how she has loved that little dog and carried him all over the state of Alabama and Southern TN and how we have had to go back to 2 different stores after getting home and realizing we had left him, I think about my relationship with God. God wants me to hold on to him and seek comfort in him just like Emma does Bandit. How great a life of worship that would be. If every time I left my house I made it a point to "bring" God with me. If everytime I felt insecure or threatened or just in plain need of a friend, I inhaled the sweet aroma of my Lord and Saviour. Or if I just kept him tucked right under my arm at all times, leaning on him and trusting him to get me through my day. But how many days and how many times have I chosen to "do it on my own"? You know, I can't count the number of times that that baby has cried and screamed when someone tried to steal her Bandit and how she was always willing to fight to defend him. Am I as passionate for Christ?
Why is it so hard sometimes to let God cuddle up next to us and comfort us through the pain, instead of trying to fix it ourselves? Also, why is it that we question our own pain when it can ultimately produce a powerful ministry for us to provide to others? Thank you God for my sufferings, for they draw me closer to you. Thank you God for being the Great Comforter, for it teaches me how to comfort others. Thank you God for my children and the impact they have on my spiritual walk each and every day. May my life and theirs bring glory and honor to you.

Alanna and Todd

The Park

Too Much Fun!

Yesterday turned out to be a pretty eventful day. Alanna and Todd came by for a few hours to visit and play with the girls. I think they were surprised by how much the girls have changed in just the few short weeks since they last saw them. I know when I stop and think about how much Abigail has gained in the past few weeks I am amazed myself. A month ago she could barely put a short phrase together and now she is practically talking in full sentences. Emma was asleep when they got here, so when she awoke from her nap, I took her to potty. I told her we needed to go put on her big girl panties(I let them sleep in pullups incase of accidents) and she said, "No, Todd will see my boodie crack." I thought that was just too cute, since not only a month ago he was changing her diaper. After their visit, we took them to the park in Florence. Emma was pretty reserved and wouldn't play on the playground too much. She spent most of her time picking things up off the ground. GROSS! (For those of you who know me best...you know how that worked on my germ nerves) Abigail on the other hand was my little explorer. No fear, I can do anything and everything by myself. She even went down the highest slide all by herself. I went up with her, with the intention of sliding down together, but Miss Independent--don't know where that comes from--had to do it all alone.(I am afraid my baby won't be a baby much longer)
The differences between them are so extreme. It will be so interesting to watch them grow up. I pray that Emma's fear will not hold her back too much in life and prevent her from experiencing everything God has planned for her, and that Abigail's ambition and curiosity won't get her into too much trouble. What a great day!