Pray for your man.

This last week I went to a life group and it was on marriage. Very fitting for February. Being close to Valentines day and just being aware of your love. Valentines day is not a huge deal for me. I love being with Josh but if our schedule doesn't work out to where we can go on a date on Valentines it is no crushing matter. We love each other. I know it. The end.
Anyway. At life group the speaker gave us a handout of a prayer to pray over your husband and as I was reading it and declaring it over Josh this morning I thought I should share this amazing prayer. It is long so just bare with me.

Dear Father,

I pray for my husband today, that You may surround him with favor as a shield.(Ps. 5:12) May you open his ears to hear Your voice, may You open his eyes to see Your guidance; and may You open his heart to receive Your wisdom. May You give him a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of You, and may the eyes of his heart be enlightened, so that he may know what is the hope of Your calling, what are the riches of the glory of Your inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of Your power toward us who believe.(Eph. 1:17-19) I bind the spirits of rebellion, stubbornness, and double mindedness far from him in the name of Jesus, that he may be free to walk in Your ways, and that he may be stable in all his ways.(Jas. 1:8) I pray that You will give him fresh insight and inspiration to do his work, and that You will renew his strength as the eagle's.

(Isa. 40:31) May You surround him with angelic protection in every place he goes, (Ps. 91:11) and may You bring victory to him in every place the sole of his foot treads. (Josh. 1:3) May You prosper him in every task that he puts his hand to, and may he be fruitful in all he undertakes, as he seeks the counsel of wise men and delights and meditates in Your word. (Ps. 1:1-3) As he delights in You, may You give him the desires of his heart. (Ps. 37:3) I bind the spirits of pride, spiritual blindness, self-sufficiency and self-righteousness far from him in the name of Jesus, in order that he may be quick to give You all the glory for what You are doing in his life. I bind the spirits of philosophy, deception, and religious tradition far from him in the name of Jesus, so that he will not be deluded or pulled off the path that You have chosen for him, (Col. 2:8) and so that he may attain to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Col. 2:2-3) May wisdom enter his heart, and knowledge be pleasant to his soul; may discretion guard him, and understanding watch over him, to deliver him from the way of evil. (Prov. 2:10-12) May he trust in You with all his heart, and not lean on his own understanding; may he acknowledge You in all his ways, and may You make his paths straight. (Prov. 3:5-6) In the name of Jesus, I also bind the spirits of procrastination, laziness, complacency, and foolishness far from him so that he will not be delayed or diverted from moving ahead with You in the works that You have already created for him to accomplish. (Eph. 2:10) May he not be carnally minded, which is death, but may he be spiritually minded, which is life and peace. (Rom. 8:6) May he be filled with the knowledge of Your will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that he may walk in  a manner worthy of You, to please You in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of You; strengthened with all power according to Your glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to You, who have qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. (Col.1:9-12) May You give him a deep thirst for Your word, and may You give him a strong hunger to move in the power of the Holy Spirit. Father, I know that You will lead him into all truth by Your Spirit, (John 16:13) so I can thank You and praise You and have confidence that since You have begun a good work in him, You will complete it. (Phil. 1:6) You will cause him to excel in all that he puts his hand to, as I trust You to guide him, since it is not by might, nor by power, but by Your Spirit. (Zech. 4:6) Help him to sharpen his awareness of spiritual things, so that he will be effective in his role as the spiritual head of our household. (Eph. 5:23) And help me to submit to his leadership in a way that is pleasing to You. (Col. 3:18) May our love abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, and may we be filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Phil. 1:9-11) May the words of his mouth and the meditations of his heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord. (Ps. 19:14) May he be slow to anger, and not be quick-tempered, (Prov. 14:29) and may he have a soothing tongue. (Prov. 15:4) May You give him his heart's desire, and not withhold the request of his lips. (Ps. 21:2) May You make him to know Your ways, O Lord, may You teach him Your paths, and may You lead him in Your truth. (Ps. 25:4-5) May You reveal Your secrets to him, and may You make him to know Your covenant. (Ps. 25:14) May You hide him in the secret place of Your presence from the conspiracies of man, and may You keep him secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues. (Ps. 31:20) When he is tempted, I thank You that You will always provide the way of escape, that he may be able to endure it. (1 Cor. 10:13) In the name of Jesus,

Amen.

My angel doesn't feel well...

Well we have gone a long time without being sick around here until yesterday. And I think we made up for all that absent time rather quickly. Kate woke up sounding like a seal. As a momma you know right away when you hear that horrible seal barking cough come out of something so small that it can't be good and that it also probably means Croup has paid us a visit. We started breathing treatments right away because everyone around the windy/dry/cold/warm weather of the Texas panhandle should have a breathing machine on hand. If you do not... invest in one. Our whole family uses it. Our machine is suppose to look like a little yellow and orange monkey because I guess cuteness is a priority when you can't breathe.
As a momma your heart aches for your child when they are sick. They are helpless and are relying on you to make them feel better. And in return us as mommas are relying on God to heal them because we know that they are His. I remember being a child and thinking that I wanted no one but my momma when I was sick. She knew how to make me the most comfortable, she made my tea just right, my soup was never too hot or too cold, she could just look at me and know that my fever was high... I thought she was the answer. I want my momma still to this day when I am sick even though I know it's really just for my own comfort.
Kate is doing better today. She sounds worse actually but she feels better if that makes any sense. Yesterday I hardly heard her voice because it hurt to talk, which had to be very hard for her to be quiet, she is a talker.
I took a couple of pictures of her...

I love her. She is so easy to get along with and is always so joyful. Even when she isn't feeling well she is sweet and thinking of others. We consider ourselves blessed to have her in our lives.

City Girl got herself a farm!

Our big news for this last year is that we bought a farm! We have been searching for some years now for the "perfect" place. Josh came across this old farm and knew in his heart that it was to be ours. We also knew that God would be the only way that we could have a place like this to call our own. He knew the desires of our hearts and made them come true. We definitely call ourselves blessed.
Our farm is going to take years and years of work to get it to where we want it and then just keep it managed after that. This has been a perfect opportunity for our family to get away and be away from everything and just be together. Here, we all work hard and play hard too! It is a place for our kids imagination to go wild. To have nothing but the land, creek and trees to entertain you forces them to be kids on an adventure. Where sticks turn into guns, swords, crutches, a bridge, and forts. This will be a place that builds many memories.
Here a few pictures of our time at the farm:

and some more... You can never have too many pictures!

awake from blogging dead

Lets just say alot of life has happened since the last time I blogged. Birthdays have come and gone, baseball season, holidays, and summer have all passed without a single post. And for that I am ashamed. Oh well... I'm back.
We just got back from a 9 day family vacation with my mom and dad that was absolutely amazing. I don't think we have been able to be with Josh for 9 days straight since... well I can't remember the last time. We journeyed down to south Texas to my Uncle Geary's ranch and relaxed and ate for days. It is so nice to get yourself in the middle of nowhere and just be. They call it Gods country down there and I would have to agree.

We drove into San Antonio next and took the kids to Sea World. I never know who has more fun there, the kids or us. We got there the second before it opened and planned on staying til closing but we were all toast by 6 and our hotel with free food and drinks was calling our names.

We were off to Arlington! Had a minor set back with our car breaking down and having to get a rental but all was ok cause we were on Vacation! Sad but true, this part of our trip was scheduled around our meals and when we could fit in the restaurants that Josh and I can't leave the Dallas area without eating at. We like food. But between meals the kids were able to hit the Lego store where Will had written out a list of sets that he wanted and how much they cost and how much money he was willing to spend. He is so cute and tight with his money. It's like pulling teeth to get him to spend his own money.
One night we went to the Medieval Times. I was very hesitant about this thinking it wouldn't be worth our time or the money but the kids and even us adults loved it. Very entertaining and yummy food.
Our last night on vacation was the main attraction! The Rangers game! Our family loves baseball! This was Wills first major league experience and it was priceless seeing his face walking in and seeing the field for the first time. We went early in hopes of getting a ball signed and seeing some batting practice. It was a success! David Murphy made Wills night by signing a ball for him. Then our sweet little usher had caught a ball during the Rangers batting practice from Michael Young and gave it to Will. It was such a fun night. Kate had a great time thanks to the peanuts, popcorn, hot dog, ice cream, strawberry freeze and cotton candy.
All in all it was a great vacation filled with lots of smiles and laughs. We were so happy to be home and sleep in our own beds and get back to normal life... less sugar, less food, going to bed before a.m.
We are blessed!

A recap......

We are all healthy and happy so what more could you ask for..... We are blessed to have each other. We had such a busy year it feels like,.. moving twice in two months.... traveling, camps, baseball, running, and holidays. Here is just a little recap..... more so for me to enjoy but you can look too.

started 2010 with a big snow that gave us days of fun!

Then Will turned 6! Had his party at the bowling alley, .... and hopefully I will remember to not do that again...

My baby girl is growing up..... took these a little before Easter.

Easter at my parents house.... Will, Caleb and Kate

Kate Mercy turns 4!

Will graduated from Kindergarten

Kate had her first ballet and tap recital. She is precious.

Will went to Camp of Champions in Sayre, Oklahoma

We had a big 4th of July picnic at the park with good friends

Spent lots of time at the pool and took a family vacation to the Great Wolf Lodge!

The kiddos started school. Will in first grade and Kate in pre-k 4.

Family Dove hunting!

Will played lots of baseball!

Trick or treating and off to Lord of the Harvest!

Kate got glasses!

had some family pics taken.......

Ran my first half marathon

with Dancee!    

  

Went to Austin for Uncle Geary's 70th birthday party!

Took a trip to Nonnie's house and played at the beach.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Had a Christmas progressive dinner with great friends and somehow this is the only picture I have..... not sure how that happened.

Merry Christmas!

Good bye 2010. bring on 2011...............



Christmas Extravaganza!

We had such a great Christmas! We started out with Christmas Eve for Josh's side at our house on Christmas eve, then we always have Christmas morning to ourselves followed by a family breakfast then off to my parents house for Christmas night. Here is our Christmas extravaganza!....

Christmas Eve...

then... I always take a Christmas eve picture of my kids... I love them, they are so sweet.

and.... they begged to open a present .... I thought Ok... I will let them open one I didn't think was all that great but... they loved it.

and now... dun, dun dunnnnn..... Christmas morning..

and the presents of the year... Will with his Kingdom's lego set and Kate got her first Pink .22!

and on to the last of the Christmas celebrations......

We are so blessed...... I love Christmas and most of all... I love love my family!

Kate's first annual Ornament exchange party!!!!!!

My mom's best friend Kay always had and ornament exchange party for her daughters and I thought it was such a fun idea so I decided to copy. So this year was Kate's first party! We started out by baking some cookies to decorate...















icing in jars>>>>>>>>>






We were missing a few of our dearest little friends but all the girls (and Will) had a great time. Will wasn't suppose to be here but Josh had to work out of town so he ended up being my helper.

after everyone was finished having as much fun as they could stand decorating.... we moved on to the ornament exchange! In years to come we will play some games along with it but I thought the girls might get their feelings hurt if someone kept stealing their ornament. So this year they each drew a number and got to pick out in order.

And here they are as a sweet group........