Ephiphany

I was just in the shower, praying...yes, I know...a bit strange. But, the house was quiet. Sadie was settled in watching the new Tinkerbell movie and eating lunch. The boys are hunting at the farm. So, I jumped in the shower before we were headed out to run some errands. I've been freezing all morning, so the hot shower felt so good! I never take the time to just be still and listen to God. I come up with all kinds of excuses to not take the time. I know that is awful, but it's true. I DO have my quiet time every morning, but it is usually in a jiffy!

So, I felt God telling me to just be still and listen. So, I did. I had no excuses. I was in the shower...what excuse could I come up with? I sat down (yes, in the shower...sorry if this is TMI) and just prayed to myself about some things that have been on my mind. Then, I heard God remind me of the verse that was Sadie's verse of the week at school...Phillipians 4:13 - "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". I have heard, said, studied, etc. this verse my whole entire life.

Rewind to this past week. I found myself several times throughout the week saying "I can't do it ALL"! I can't be a good mom, be a good wife, cook, clean, run errands, take and pick up the kids, be a good friend, AND work!!! I just can't do it. Something HAS to give!!" I said it several times out loud this week and even more times to myself.

Fast forward back to today...when God reminded me of that verse in the shower, it hit me. I CAN do ALL things through Christ who strengthens ME. I can do ALL things THROUGH Christ who strengthens me. I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME.

Do you know what this means? I really CAN do it ALL!!!! By myself? No! Through Christ? Yes! What an epiphany!!! Praise God that I really can do it all. He will give me the strength to do it all. I used to think that this verse just meant that you can do any ONE thing that you set your mind to at that particular time. I never thought about it meaning that I can do EVERY thing that I set my mind to at ALL times.

Thank YOU for YOUR word today, Lord Jesus. I sure needed it!!!!!

Grace

God has really showed me His Grace this week. I have been tired. Like, T-I-R-E-D. My whole entire body has been exhausted. Rachel and I cleaned the cabin on Sunday. We got it down to 5 hours, which is about as quick as I think we can do it and still feel good about the work we've done.

Monday, Rachel and I cleaned our first house for Dennis. It was great! It only took us a little over an hour, because we only had to clean a portion of the house.

Tuesday, we started mulching, hedge trimming, raking leaves, etc. at Memaw and Pepaw's house. Hilarious. We cracked up thinking about the people that were driving by and seeing 2 blonde chicks out there doing a "man's" job. We worked our rear ends off!!!! We stayed several hours on Tuesday, but we didn't get finished. I think we are both a bit of perfectionists. We move as quickly as possible, but we want to be proud of our work, so we always make sure we are doing the best we can. I'm pretty sure I've never done hard labor like that in my life! My whole body hurt! I think when I was trimming hedges, I quit breathing for a moment or two. LOL!!! The funny thing is, (and this is where HIS GRACE come in) I had a lot of fun doing it! Rach and I laughed a LOT! Sawyer had to come with me and he was a PERFECT angel! Thank you JESUS! I never thought I would say that doing all of that work was fun, but it really was. We were blessed with beautiful weather too!

Wednesday, I had to get up at the crack of dawn and get ready for Sadie's first field trip. I took her to school and then we headed to Smyrna for the Walden Farms Pumpkin Patch. It was so much fun! She has such a GREAT group of friends!! We are SO blessed!!! The moms are great. The teachers are great. The students are precious. I couldn't be happier! Sadie has a smile on her face at all times when she is with her friends at school. It blows me away. Her teachers and helpers tell me all of the time that she is the happiest kid they have ever seen. One of them said to me that they could tell her to run 20 laps around the school and she would say "AWESOME"! LOL (I doubt that, but you get the point)

Thursday, Rach and I (and Sawdawg) headed back to Memaws to finish our job. We had to kick it into high gear to make sure that we could finish! It was a little bit hotter outside, but still beautiful. Sawyer was wonderful again and he even helped us rake leaves!!! We had another great day together. I am so thankful that Rachel and I work so well together! We are the perfect team. I never thought I would say that! I honestly couldn't pick a better partner to work with. My muscles are hurting in places that I didn't think could hurt, and I am beyond exhausted, but I am thanking God for these opportunities!!

Today is Friday and we are headed to clean another one of Dennis' houses. I am actually looking forward to it, because I know we will have a good time. I am a lucky girl.

I can tell that God has totally been working on my heart and my attitude this past week. He has helped me change the way I look at things. I know that things are hard for us right now, but I am thankful that God has provided a way for me to help out. I will continue to work my rear off as long as I can!!! One day, maybe the money I earn can be used for "fun" stuff, instead of for paying bills, but for now, we will keep on keepin' on and continue to HOPE that God has something amazing for us right around the bend.

The R-E-A-L Housewives of Sumner County

Its hard to be transparent this day and age. It's hard to let the world know when you need help! When most people around you are doing perfectly fine; emotionally, financially, physically, spiritually, etc. It's just hard to admit that you're just not doing so well. But, people NEED transparency. They don't always need to think that everyone around them is doing SO much better than they are! Sometimes, there is freedom in just stating the TRUTH. So, I am here to state that we are not where we thought we would be at this time in our lives. A huge "thank you" to Obama and the economy. Gas is out of control. Healthcare is out of control. The economy is out of control. So, therefore, we are one of those families that have taken a huge hit and since we can't depend on the government to make changes to help us out, we are choosing to help ourselves as best we can. So, with that being said, we are starting a new venture this week! My sister and I are the new "cleaning ladies"! LOL We have been "hired" by my mom and Butch to clean their new 5 bedroom cabin each time guests check out. We have also been "hired" by Dennis to start cleaning some of his remodel jobs, insurance jobs, etc. when the contractors are finished working. We are excited about this new opportunity, mainly because it gives us the chance to help our families out financially. We have both been praying for a way to help our hubbies out and we feel that God has brought us this opportunity to not only contribute financially, but to also allow us to spend time together as sisters. My hope is that most of these jobs will be done while my kids are in school, so I can focus completely on them when they are at home. Pray for us as we begin our new journey as the modern day cleaning housewives! :) And, THAT RIGHT THERE is what it is like to be REAL housewives in todays economy!

A "First" for us - Parent/Teacher Conference

Okay, this blog comes with a WARNING! I am going to brag on my child. I never get on Facebook and brag all over my children. But, since this is my own personal blog that I use as my "journal", I am allowed to brag on my kids without feeling guilty! And, I want to document these things so that Sadie can look back on them one day!

We had our first Parent/Teacher conference yesterday with Sadie's Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Lankford. I will admit...I was a nervous wreck! I know that Sadie loves school, but since I've never had a conference with any of her teachers in the past, I had no clue what to expect! Was she going to tell me that Sadie is WAY behind in everything? Was she going to say that Sadie never follows directions? Sadie was never "tested" before she got accepted into Goodpasture because everything was so last minute, so I had no idea if she was even "prepared" for Kindergarten. Anyways, I said all of that to say, I was a little bit nervous! Okay, a LOT nervous!

As soon as Dennis and I sat down, her teacher said that it was going to be a very easy conference about Sadie. Whew! Immediate R-E-L-I-E-F!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
She began to show us all of Sadie's assessments; reading, writing, memory, math (I didn't even know she was doing math!), etc.

Mrs. Lankford said that Sadie's handwriting is perfect. Perfect. What parent doesn't want to hear that something their child is doing is "perfect". Smile. :)
She said that she got a 100 on her math test. Test? I didn't know that they took tests in Kindergarten! She's memorized and recited all but 1 of her Bible verses that they learn every week. And, Mrs. Lankford thinks that she just got shy during that one verse that she wouldn't recite. Who knows?
She's doing great on her reading. Praise the Lord! When Mrs. Lankford told us all at orientation that our kids would be reading by Christmas, I thought she was crazy! Sadie had never read anything in her life! I NEVER in a million years thought she would already be reading after just 2 months at school! Amazing!!! She is right where she needs to be and that is perfectly fine with me!
She follows instructions, behaves wonderfully, gets along with everyone, etc. That made me more proud than anything! I want to know for certain that Sadie is doing what she is supposed to be doing while in school! At least I know we have done something right as parents! :)
She said that she has no worries about her needing to go to Pre-First. She is confident that Sadie will be 100% ready for First Grade at the end of the year. She is right on track. I have always said that my children do NOT have to be the best in their class, or the smartest, etc. But, I DO want them to TRY their best! As long as they are "right on track", that's all I care about!
On a more personal note, she said that she is so happy to have Sadie in her class and that she is the sweetest thing. She said that she can't ever imagine having to get on to Sadie for anything.

From our perspective as her parents, we couldn't be more happy. Sadie has come busting out of her shell since she started Kindergarten. People who didn't know Sadie before she started going to school there cannot believe that she was ever "shy". Last night at church, Dennis took her to Kids Choir and he said that she went in doing the "Wobble Wobble" dance. What? Then, another friend went to drop her girl off in there and said that Sadie was up front dancing and had all kinds of friends all around her. Just goes to show how much confidence she has gained these past few months!! She loves school so much that she never wants to leave! She has made SO many friends that I can't keep up with them all. Her confidence has gotten much better! She doesn't seem as skeptical to try and do new things either! She still has her reservations, but she has done a 180 since starting school. As you can see from the picture I posted above, she is full of herself and loves, loves, loves being at Goodpasture. She is constantly singing, dancing, and laughing these days!!!!! We continue to be SO thankful that God has allowed her to go to school there!!!