Surrender

This week I have been able to enjoy a longer quiet time than I usually am allowed.  As a result of this, I have spent more time on my knees, with a quiet heart, and open ears.  My heart has been burdened for Stellan (whose little heart has been in SVT for days), for the flooding victims up here who are evacuating their homes and have no where to go, and other prayer requests that have been brought to me. As I have been on my knees praying for these things and more, Satan has tried to fill my body with anxiety.  The Lord is good, however, and quickly calms my nerves and fills me with an indescribable peace. I have also been praying fervently for desires of my own heart. Desires for more children.  

I have shared before how the Lord often uses things in my daily life to speak to me.  He has done so this week so loudly that it has knocked me flat on my face at His feet.  I have felt my control over everything being pulled away from me as I have slowly allowed the Lord to carry my hearts desires.  I have felt peace, as more is given.  

As I was doing a devotional from my wonderful book, 10-Minute Time Outs for Moms by Grace Fox, this week I was humbled.  I had just prayed for God to help me give Him the desires of my heart and praying for peace and understanding as I wait for His plan to unfold, rather than trying to take control. The devotion that day was titled the Script Writer. (On a side note, I do not always take time for this daily so some days I do more than one, there is no rhyme or reason to when I do one from this book).  Grace pointed out that God writes our life's script. Although we don't always agree and wonder if He has taken a break and picked up Starbucks and a good book and forgotten us. That is NOT the case.  I will just share what she wrote next, as I can not do it justice:

"Some days we feel like grabbing the pen from His almighty hand and editing out the parts we don't like. But as we relinquish control, we find peace and joy in Him rather than in circumstances.  We discover His wisdom, patience, love, faithfulness, and strength.  As we grow in our knowledge of God and obey His word, our faith blossoms. Our negative or critical thought patterns change to thanksgiving and praise.  We begin to see our life's script in light of eternity, from God's perspective."

Wow!  God is so sneaky!  He has been teaching me these things for some time now and right when I am at my breaking point, He gently reminds me of these tools and pushes me forward.  

If that wasn't enough, while I was reaching this point of enlightenment, the song Surrender by Barlow Girl came on.  I had changed/added music to my playlist on my blog (at the bottom) just a few days earlier.  I had never heard the song before and listened to only a few lines before adding it and reminding myself to really listen to it later.  It also came on while I was writing this post.  Coincidence? I think NOT!  The music is set to random so that each time my blog is opened it will start at a new song. If you aren't familiar with this song, scroll down to the bottom of the page and select it.  I truly listened to this beautiful song with tear stained cheeks and blurry vision. Here are the lyrics if you are interested. 

I have so much to learn and am trying, as hard as I can, to patiently wait on the Lord.  I know He is the great author of my life.  I know He has a plan for me that is greater than anything I can imagine.  Is it what I would have written for myself? Probably not. Is that ok. Yes!  Will my days of waiting be filled with days of tears and days of smiles. Probably. I feel so blessed to know the Lord and have Him by my side. I will Praise Him for my trials and Praise Him for this time, and wait as I surrender to Him. 

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...in March?

If I wasn't here I wouldn't believe it either!  Not that having snow in March is unusual for North Dakota, but that just 3 days ago the snow had completely melted and now we have feet of it again!  Our yard was completely visible, although it wasn't very pretty and was a mother's worst nightmare. Mud, slush, wet grass, puddles, and some magnetic force that drew my children to it.  We spent days splashing in the puddles, wearing only a fleece and hat, and enjoying the 40 degree + weather. It was beautiful!  

If you aren't aware the massive melting has caused a slight problem with the already swollen river. It is rising and there is fear of a flood like the one in 1997 that destroyed our city but not our souls and hearts.  On a side note, Iowa City/Cedar Rapids experienced the worst flood they had in years last June right before we moved away.  It was heart wrenching to watch and Richard and I both experienced Deja Vu as we sat helplessly watching homes, businesses, and the city be destroyed. 

Honestly, I am a little nervous. The city has prepared, but God is bigger than any flood wall and pile of sandbags. Only He knows what is in store for our community.  I do feel partly responsible for the massive amounts of snow that we have received over the past two days.  When everything had melted I was missing the beautiful white snow.  Don't get me wrong, Spring is great, but until the flowers and green grass, it isn't so fun to look at. Tuesday evening it began snowing so lightly and beautifully. When we went to bed the ground was barely covered and it stopped.  I thanked the Lord for the snow, since I had prayed for just one more snow. Was I surprised to wake up on Wednesday morning to schools cancelled and FEET of snow!  

Here are some fun pictures of our recent snow adventures.  I am sure those of you who live in warmer climates (Travis) are probably laughing.  Jonah, was in fact ecstatic to see the snow and get out his snow gear and play. Enjoy the pics and a good laugh on our behalf! 

Elijah sampling the fresh snow, Jonah relaxing a little. 

Richard almost done shoveling!  The boys trying to catch snowflakes on their tongue

Our front yard that was snowless a few days prior. This second one is hard to see due to the blizzardlike conditions!

More pics of the feet of snow in the front and back yard. 

Snow Day and Green Eggs and Ham

Today was a snow day for us. Well, the boys and I were home anyway, but we got to spend it with Richard because school was cancelled due to the snow!  We had a great day shoveling, relaxing, making cookies, and marveling at the snow. I will put up some fun snow pics later, but here are a few pics from our day together. 

Richard and Elijah watching Batman.  Elijah "reading" in the bathroom while he was supposed to be trying to go potty. 

**I made the boys green eggs for supper and they had some ham with it. We were originally going to do this for "Patrick's Day" but had chicken instead. Jonah read the story to Elijah while I cooked it up and it was adorable!  It looked pretty gross to me, but they gobbled it right up!***

Stellan Name Gallery Part II

Praying for God to "Drive" away the SVT! (From ND)

God is in control. God has a plan for Stellan. Millions are on their knees in prayer for little Stellan and MckMama. Last August when doctor's did not think this precious boy would survive, people from all over the world began sending pictures of his name in food, nature, and many other things. Stellan's Gallery was created and became a testimony of many who were praying for this little man. A fellow MckMama blog follower, Lauren, has created Stellan's Gallery: PART II. 

It is easy to do and a great way to encourage their family. Simply take a picture of his name, in your own creation, post it to your blog, link your blog back to hers, and there you have it. 

Pray for Stellan!

If you are reading this than please drop to you knees in prayer for Stellan.  If you are a frequent visitor of my blog, you know that usually I participate in Not Me Mondays created by MckMama. Her sweet baby boy had SVT (supraventricular tachycardia) in utero and wasn't expected to survive. God performed a miracle and "healed" him against medical odds!  However, Stellan has had one other run in with SVT since birth when he had RSV this winter. Now it is raging it's ugly head again and they are in the hospital trying to stop his racing heart. It is beating 300 bmp at times.  This condition is not safe for a baby and their could be grave consequences if this does not stop. 

She has not updated her blog for quite sometime so I am not sure of what is happening. I know they have tried numerous procedures and medications to try to stop it and they have not worked. 

Lord, we come to you now and fall to our knees for baby Stellan. We know that you are powerfull and ultimately in control. This is a part of your plan for Stellan and although we can not understand we trust you. Please wrap your arms around Stellan and slow his racing heart Lord. Give his family peace and hold them up as the unknown continues. We love you Lord and thank you for being a God we can come to anytime. In your precious name,

 Amen!

So Sweet

Jonah, Elijah and I were just eating a delicious lunch of mac & cheese and hot dogs when Jonah said something that made me tear up.  He was babbling about randomness and Elijah and I were just listening when all of the sudden he said he wished he was a grown up so he could get married to Elijah.  I explained that we aren't allowed to marry our immediate relatives and he thought about this for awhile and then with a huge smile on his face asked if I would help him do something when he was all grown up. I said sure, but what is it?

He said, "Mom, will you help me find a girl to marry who is just like you?" I was too choked up to speak and he continued with, "'cause I can't marry you, but I hope someday the girl I will marry will be just like you."  I told him I would be more than happy to do that, but God has already picked out someone special for him. He said it would be ok if I still helped him find his wife, 'cause maybe God doesn't know he wants one just like me.  (Isn't that sweet? I am sure he will feel differently when he gets older and is actually searching for a future spouse, but I will gently remind him of his desires as a 4 year old).

Just had to post this so I wouldn't forget later!

Making Cookies and Memories

Some of my favorite memories of my childhood revolve around making cookies with my mom.  She used to let us help from the beginning to the end.  We made all kinds of cookies, but my favorite was when we made sugar cookies and decorated them. We would do this almost every Christmas and some holidays in between.  My mom would make frosting and divide it up, color it, and let us go to town.  For Christmas a few years ago, I found a box of 100 cookie cutters for $10 and gave it to Jonah.  We have used the cookies cutters for play-doh and cookies.  There are letter, numbers, shapes, and all sorts of other cookie cutters.  

I have started making cookies with the boys for different holidays/occasions.  They love it!  It is such a fun time and extra special to me since it is one of my favorite memories of growing up. 

Yesterday we made some cookies for friends who watched the boys last week while Richard and I went to my sister Laura's choir concert.  Jonah helped me while Elijah was still napping and he woke up just in time to frost them.  Jonah and I had some fun conversations while it was just the two of us and he told me this was one of his favorite things to do with me! 

I took some pictures and Jonah and Elijah took turns wearing our little apron we found at the farmers market last summer. We'll have to keep our eyes peeled for another one!

The Chefs. (I think Elijah is "winking" in his picture)

The Thank You cookies for the Fetch's and a few of our beautiful Shamrock/flower/musical note cookies.