Reese Turned Six

I cannot believe that Reese is six years old! He had a birhtday party at Chuck E Cheese which he LOVED!! However, for me it was so crazy - there were 5 parties happening at the same time and lots of little kids whose parents just decided to let them run wild without supervision. I think all the kids had a blast!! I will say it was a very easy party because the hostess did EVERYTHING for us: set the table, decorated, served, cleaned, and help load up the goods.

I couldn't get many pictures because my camera was out of memory...of course! It is my fault for still having Christmas pictures on it...anyway you can also check out Katie's blog for some great shots of the party!

http://theskinner-family.blogspot.com/2011/03/reese-is-6.html

On his actual Birthday he woke up to a "huge dinosaur" in the living room. I was in the bathroom and I heard, "now that's big" it was so cute! Gammy came and had lunch with him at school and brought Army cupcakes and juice for his class to celebrate at recess. I had a doctor's appointment so couldn't make it. Then after school we took him to Sonic for dinner and went to Alba to watch Maddie play Little Dribblers. We got home about 10:30 and had a little cake. Yes, that is really late for a child to load up on sugar, but it was his birthday! We had so much fun as a family that day, Reese we love you so much more!!



It was a great birthday and birthday weekend! 

Acknowledge Him

"Trust in the Lord with all you heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all you ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

I have heard these verses all my life. However, I am beginning to see them in an entire new light. Maybe it's because my life seems to be full of uncertainty, or maybe it because the lives of so many people I love and care about seem to be uncertain. So many people I am connected to are seeking God's Plan, not their own. Let's face it, that is really hard to do. It is so easy to just say, I'm trusting...but actually practicing that is hard. At least for me anyway.

We have to trust that God's ways are always right and not try to figure things out on our own. The key to doing this is to acknowledge God in every part of our lives. Every part.

We must first be sure we acknowledge Him as our Savior, our Father, as the Spirit, and our Comforter. Most of the people I know are believers and we do acknowledge those things, that seems to be easy for us. Or easy for me to say and believe however, then we must acknowledge that He is the one, the only one, who meets our needs - not just physical but emotional too. We must look only to Him. I struggle with the emotional the most, I tend to keep everything inside and put on a fake smile like everything is wonderful, or I want to look to my husband, my mom, my sister, my family to help me. I'm not talking about big things, but little things like - I feel so fat and swollen what could be beautiful about me or it really makes me angry that I'm sitting at home alone all the time away from my friends; I want Chris or my family to give me a boost of confidence, when I should be seeking my Father for the extra love I am desiring. Man, that is so hard, but in order to TRUST and acknowledge Him in all my ways, I must allow Him to meet my needs. I must be honest with my feelings and allow my God to give me what my heart is needing. Sometimes that is done through my wonderful husband and family and sometimes it is done by just being in the presence of a Mighty God.

Once we acknowledge that He will meet our needs we must acknowledge that He is Lord of our lives meaning our relationships, jobs, finances, children, and our marriages. We have to put Him before all of those things, and seek Him in all we do with them. We have to allow Him in all of those areas if we truly desire Him to direct our paths.

All this to say,  in times like these where I find myself trusting and praying for those around me to trust I have to ask, have I/you allowed the Lord to be in all areas of our lives. If you haven't ask today, acknowledge the fact that you are not relying on Him in whatever area and change it. This is a daily occurrence for me, but I know that daily I'm forgiven and daily when I acknowledge Him in all areas, He is faithful to direct my paths.

I pray that we all can keep trusting with all our heart and acknowledging our Savior in all our ways. His paths do not fail, and I am so thankful for that truth.

He will never leave

Our Savior will never leave us nor forsake us, His word promises us this truth.

Why is it so hard for me to trust this truth? Why do I want to do things on my own? Do you ever feel like you want to run away and go back to things that you know, things that are easy, comfortable, safe? I know God knows these feelings that I am having, He knows everything about me. I just find me asking the question - why can't I trust His plan?

If I'm being honest I will admit I hate being so disconnected from everyday life. Moving to a new place and only being "involved" for 6 weeks is so hard. I hate that I'm not at my job, getting to know my co-workers. What I hate most is moving Reese from a place where he was content, he was so happy, he didn't worry.  I'm angry that I'm not at school to get to know other parents and families to find friends. I get angry every time I get sick, angry every time I stick myself or a sore forms (I can't deliver with an infection).  I pray that I can lead my family to seek the one who is always with them and promises to never leave. I know God has a plan for my family and I know that it was in His plan for us to move and I trust Him 100%. We are so blessed with Rozlynn and I know that moving was a part of what it took to bring her here to us. The staff we work with now are so kind and I enjoyed being with them for 6 weeks. I am so thankful for the support that has been given to Chris from his co-workers this year. I know God is in control and I trust Him. I also know that it's okay to get angry, becuase He already knows what we are feeling. I have found that when I am honest with my feelings and thoughts to my Savior, He comforts me. If you are keeping feelings inside I encourage you to be honest with your Father, He already knows and the honesty will only bring you closer to Him.

For now I am clinging to His promise to never leave us and clinging to the comfort that provides.

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you...The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31: 6 & 8

"No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you." Joshua 1:5

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'" Hebrews 13:5

Thank you to a friend who sent this verses my way, she is a true blessing to me!

Proud Momma

Have I mentioned how proud I am of Reese? =) I'm pretty sure I have, but I just wanted to brag a little once again on how proud he makes me.

He just got the Principal's Pride Award for February. He even gets a sign to put in the yard. I had no idea he has gotten this award until last night and he told me that he took his picture today and got a pencil and certificate "it's all in my backpack, Mom." So proud of how hard Reese works at all he does, he takes his time on his work...that Math is a killer...and has to lose some play time at recess here and there but he finishes and does it correctly. I just hope that stays with him forever, the teacher in me loves that he is not afraid to take his time and do it correctly.

Reese, I love you so very much. You make me so proud to be your Mom everyday; not just because of how good you are in school, but because of your heart and desire to give everything your very best. You are such an awesome boy. Keep striving to do your best in everything and you will do great things. I'm so blessed God shared you with me!! Always remember He loves you more than me and is much prouder than me for the effort and heart you give to all that you do. I love you to infinite Reese Austin!!!

A Sweet Woman

"Carry each other's burdens and this way you fulfil the law of Christ" Galatians 6:2

I have shared this verse before but this week I saw it in a new light. With four consecutive trips either to Austin or back home from Austin and the end of the pay period God gave us a blessing.

I fellow teacher, who I have NEVER met in person. (We have talked over the phone, but she came in January and I have been out since October, so we have just never met face to face.) Anyway, I got a call from her on Thursday when driving home from Austin. I was completely exhausted and trying to think about what I could scramble together for dinner. Rhonda told me that she had a home cooked dinner in the middle school refrigerator waiting for me to take home! She said it came with lots of love and lots of prayer for me and my family. Wow, what an incredible blessing - she has never met me, but felt compelled to bless me and my family - to carry our burden. (I wish I was that way, it is really easy for me to help carry the burdens of those I know, love, and have a relationship with - but someone I have never met, would I do the same?) I must say the roast, potatoes, and carrots were much better than french fries I had at home.

So many people have blessed us during probably one of the hardest 6 months of my life - all of these people I am eternally grateful for and pray that they will be blessed for what they have done it has been their love and support that have got us through some dark days. However, Rhonda just blew me away - the Godly impact that gave me was overwhelming. I truly felt it was God giving me that dinner, letting me know that He would provide for us. It was just at the right time, this week has been hard - I admit that I have felt like I was not going to be able to do this anymore, that I would not make it to the end of the pregnancy. The simple meal from a very sweet women was just what I needed to be reminded that I don't have to do this alone - God is with me and with Him I will make it until April 21, 2011.

Yes, Dr. Willens let me know Friday that he is planning to deliver Rozlynn Faith on April 21 - unless something happens between now and then. I can survive the next six weeks if I keep my focus and continue to let God speak to me through the love of others. =)

My greatest desire is to repay these blessings to others one day, to share God's love through my actions like so many have done for my family.

Getting Closer

Yesterday Mom and Dad came over to help start getting Rozlynn's room put together and do a little cleaning around my crazy dirty house! Reese has been asking almost every day when Rozylnn's room and bed was going to get set up. I think today made him feel a lot better, I don't know why he is so worried that she won't have things. Now once we get her stroller and carseat he will be a happy brother.

Reese worked hard all day long, he was right beside the action the entire afternoon.

working hard with Dad and PawPaw

Finally put together!

He checked to see if it was level on all sides, top and bottom and the bottom was not so he had to fix it.

Helping Gammy with the frame we painted.

Last week this closet attacked me, literally I was looking for Reese's birth certificate and things began falling from the shelves. It was a mess after I was done searching through everything! Reese and Gammy worked hard getting it in order and making room for Rozylnn's things.

Some of our projects

She had to have this verse in  her room!

Mom and I had so much fun painting letters, painting the frame, and thank you to Tamara so much for donating that picture to our cause. If you saw the frame in its orginal state you would not believe the change.

The room is not done yet, but I feel so much better knowing that several things are finished. I have the best Mom she has helped me with many projects. We have taken apart and painted a framed piece of art-work, a mirror, painted letters, painted a chair, made a bow hanger, repainted and framed a verse, cut out of vinyl for the mirror. We still have to paint some lamps, sand and paint an end table, had coushins made for chair, Mom made a quilt, and go pick up a dresser that we had painted...I think our list of projects reached it's limit.

Now we just needed little Rozlynn Faith to get here so we can snuggle her close!

Thank you Mom so much for all you are doing for me during this time. Not only by cleaning and helping me get things ready but keeping me sane by taking me to lunch and letting me get out of the house and enjoy some company. I would really be going crazy if I didn't have you helping me so much. I would  not have survived this pregnancy, mentally if you were not there for me. I love you so much and hope to be the same Mom to Rozlynn that you are to me.

You Are More

Love this song by Tenth Avenue North! Love this video too, especially the ending. We can all identify with something written on that board, we have all made choices that we regret, but "[we] are more than the choices that [we] make, [we] are more than the sum of our past mistakes, [we] are more than the problems [we] create, [we]'ve been remade!"

Thank you Father for remaking me, I am unworthy of your saving grace.