He heard our cry!

Well, our sweet Gracie made it through her surgery! It has been a very difficult week for her/us!

This was her second vascular surgery in 6 wks and a much more painful one too! Gracie has always been a little fighter....a very strong little girl...and as always she pulled through the pain and kept strong through it all! For those of you who don't already know...Gracie has Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site554/mainpageS554P0.html

Gracie is now 7 yrs old and is the most amazing little girl I have ever met!! She has waited 7 yrs to be able to wear "normal" shoes, suffered in constant pain, and not complained one bit, etc. etc.....I could go on and on with what she deals with everyday of her life!

Gracie received such a relief from her pain after her first surgery..that we decided to go ahead with the second one with hopes that she would receive even more relief from her pain!!

The second surgery about did her in.....she couldn't eat or walk for almost 2 wks!! Her swelling in her leg has been severe and the pain has been unbearable for her! She has had a severe reaction to the compression bandages they sent us to use from the hospital....and she has been so swollen that we couldn't even get her custom compression garment on at times! We decided to go out of town to my brother's farm for the Thanksgiving holiday despite everything going on with Gracie....and I am so glad we did! Gracie was determined to walk on her own....and when I woke up 2 days before Thanksgiving Gracie was no where to be found! Gracie had been sleeping with me since her surgery so when I woke up and didn't see her in my bed...I was concerned...

I ran out to the living room....and to my surprise I saw Gracie on the recliner with a HUGE smile on her face...as she shouted "Mommie, I walked out here on my own!" I smiled and before I could say a word...I heard my little one shout "praise the Lord!" Before long....I could hear my other little children's voices in the background shouting "praise the Lord!"

Talk about warming a mother's heart.....it meant so much to me to hear my children giving our Lord and Savior the credit He deserves!!!

So....after many hours of prayers....crying out to the Lord for His healing for our little Gracie....He decided to use 2 very painful surgeries to help relieve some of her pain...

I never thought I'd ever see the day when Gracie would be able to wear the "glitter" shoes that all of her little friends wear! She can now wear them.....and THAT is a HUGE thing to her and to me!!! Gracie now has her very own wheelchair, a few beautiful custom compression garments, adorable little shoes....and is enjoying physical therapy every week! She is in ballet and tap...and doing amazingly well with it!

The Lord heard my 7 yr cry from the bottom of my heart for my precious daughter! I waited and He heard my cry....He really did!!! I had an idea in my mind of how He would do it....but it was nothing like I had imagined! It was even better....it was perfect...He is perfect and the way He chooses to answer our prayers is ALWAYS so beautiful! I am so thankful to my Lord and Savior for His faithfulness to my daughter through all of the hard times.......He is Lord and will remain the one we rely on completely....man will always fall short...but our Father in Heaven will NEVER ever let us down!!

I waited.....and He heard my cry! I will forever praise Him!

When the rain finally comes

I am happy to be back to my blog.....after a year of off and on writing...I am hoping to be faithful in keeping up with my daily online journal!

I come to you today with unspeakable JOY in my heart!!! After years of thinking I was growing in the Lord....maturing as a Christian, I finally realized that I wasn't! I am no further in my walk than I was years ago!! I went to church....I worshiped the Lord...I prayed all of the time...but there was something missing! I was waiting for the Lord to drop a bomb in my face about something extremely important to our Christian walk!! I have prayed and prayed like crazy about this very thing.....I just felt lost and confused about which direction to go....I think I was also afraid to commit unless I knew for sure...100% it was what the Lord wanted me to do!!! I have always been afraid to step out and let God close the door....so I just wait and wait.......and wait until I hear that quiet voice...or a shout out from God to move!!!!

Well after some serious crying out to God...fasting....prayer....prayer....fasting!!! I finally heard Him say the one thing I have been waiting for!

I heard Him say "IT IS TIME"!!!!!!! I was thinking for real? But why now God? Why not 10 yrs ago? Why have I had to wait? I have been wanting this for so long, Lord but you wouldn't answer me!!!??!! He told me that He was talking but I just wasn't listening! He was trying to teach me things but I was partially deaf!! I wanted to hear Him .....but I wasn't really ready for what He had to say! I needed to learn some things that I wasn't really ready to learn. He had to take me back to a place of nothing......He took people out of my life....people I loved dearly....friends that I held close to my heart that were not mature Christians! He removed everyone out of my life...at least it felt like He did!! He made it to where it was just Him and I...me and my Lord.....He loves it that way, ya know!

The Lord will remove any distractions from our lives that come between our relationship with Him!

Well I have drawn this out long enough....

The thing the Lord needed me to do....is too step out....and just trust Him!! When I felt like I couldn't do it....I was so afraid......so scared! I finally did it!! I said YES LORD!!!!

Oh the doors that will be opened before me.....now that I said "Yes Lord...USE ME"!!!

What a day!

What a beautiful day today has been! It has been quite hectic...while I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off.....fixing breakfast, fixing lunch....getting ready to take the whole family(minus my hubby) to dance....whew! Busy, busy day....but during the crazy moments today I was reminded by a still small voice to remember that "This is the day that the Lord has made"! His mercies are new every morning.....I was feeling overwhelmed and stressed for a bit....but when He speaks to my heart....it all calms down instantly! I just love the way He loves me and cares about every little detail in my life! I prayed and pressed on through the crazy moments knowing that my Lord and savior really cared about the way I was feeling....

What was I thinking allowing myself to be human!!! Hahahaha.....I am so human...so normal...so not perfect...and the Lord allows days like these to just remind us how much we truly need Him in our lives each and every moment of the day! What in the world would I do without my Savior and best friend!!!

This is the day that the Lord has made and I rejoiced and was glad in it!!! Now it's time for dinner.......and I will joyfully enjoy my evening ritual of being a fulltime mommie to my six amazing children....and press on through the crazy moments....knowing that my Lord is holding my hand through it all!!

Have you stopped to spend time with Him this morning?

I jumped out of bed this morning......running...thinking about my day ahead. I didn't even tell Him goodmorning....no words of thanks or praise came out of my mouth. I walked into the kitchen to make a wonderful homemade breakfast for my family. My head had been pounding for almost a week but I noticed today it was much worse. I noticed my children were already at the table with their school books opened with pencils in hand.....warmed my heart....but my head was still pounding. I got out my cast iron pans and started to make a warm breakfast for my babies. I served them their food and while saying our blessings realized that I had not even thanked the one who allowed me to wake up to this beautiful day. I didn't spend the time with my Father in Heaven that I long for each moment.

Oh how grateful I have been for the blessings He has given me.....but how easy it is when things are going your way to get caught up in the blessings and not give as much attention to the one who made them all possible. What a blessing to have the God of Creation waiting each and every moment for us to just say "Hi" or "I love You Lord"!

I know I will still go to Heaven...even though I got caught up in my own schedule first thing this morning......but when you love someone with your whole heart and you ignore them...it doesn't make you feel good. Infact it makes you feel horrible inside!!!

This is just a little reminder for those that may have felt the same way...and as a Christian you should feel this way at some point in your walk....since we are human and not perfect.

The Lord just wants us to stop....if it's just for a moment...just to tell Him that we love Him! Thank Him today for the gifts He has given you....because He is a gentleman and He will wait for you to listen to His gentle voice and He will never push Himself upon you. I may not have spent the time with my Lord when I first opened my eyes this morning...but I am spending it now.....what a friend we have in Jesus!!!!

The Lord is Faithful

We need to remember.....no matter what we go through in life....the good, the bad, the ugly......we have a faithful Lord and Savior that will never let us down! The Lord has always been there for me no matter what circumstance I have found myself in...He is always there to comfort and give His peace and joy! I have gone through many trials over the past few years but through each and every one of them..my Lord has been my best friend...my help in time of need! If you are reading this...it's not by accident....you might be lonely or confused...or you might be feeling just fine and feeling the joy of the Lord in your life! The true joy of the Lord doesn't come when everything is going our way....or we are getting everything we want in life....

The true joy of the Lord comes even while we are going through circumstances that are beyond our control....it may be the most difficult time of your life.....The Lord Jesus Christ is a faithful God....a loving God....He is a gentleman....

If you ever need a friend...you can call on Jesus...and He will come and meet you where you are....He's just waiting to hear from all of us....not just when we need something...or things are challenging...but even when everything seems to be easy and going our way.....

"Oh taste and see that the Lord is good"!! There is nothing like Him!!!

Well it's been quite awhile since I've written in my blog. The Lord has done so many wonderful and amazingly beautiful new things in my life over the past few months!! I stand in awe of His awesome presence! Even though I have had to endure some personal trials in my life.....I have felt as though I have been on the mountain top for quite sometime. One may wonder how a person can be both in the valley and on the mountain top all at the same time? I never thought this possible until now! I have learned in my 20+ years of walking closely with Jesus Christ a whole lot of things.....

1 Peter 1:6-8

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory~

It is possible to be in both places at the exact time if we just turn our eyes toward Jesus and keep our minds filled with His word and our hearts filled with a song of worship unto Him!!! I notice in my life that when I get overwhelmed, etc...that I have briefly taken my eyes off of the lover of my soul...my Savior, my bestfriend! He is always there waiting....just waiting for us to come to Him.....in our busy world of confusion and chaos. Even though I have faced various trials.....I have learned and am reminded daily to keep my eyes turned to the one true giver of life.....my best friend, Jesus Christ.

It's been forever!

Wow! I have been so busy savoring each and every second with my beautiful family.....that I haven't taken the time to blog!! I have missed it though ;-) Homeschooling is going great......and the house is coming along just as planned. God has been so good to us.....so very faithful as always! My dear hubby and I started martial arts last night.....absolutely crazy.....nutso! We teamed up together and I have to say there was definately pain involved...LOL! I think the pain was accidental but it was a lot of fun for the whole family! Our four oldest are taking it also.....and are all in the same class...except our oldest daughter is in our adult class(she teamed up with a 14yr old boy, an orange belt). We had many, many laughs last night and I'm sure there will be many more to come! I am glad to be back to my blog! I am excited to share all of the exciting adventures our family has been going on and the adventures to come!