White as snow; Aleluia!

I am finishing up here at work; thankful that I have a job; thankful that i could get to my job; thankful i have a dear mother.in.law who loves my children; thankful i will be home in an hour to enjoy the beauty of the season we call Winter!

What a reminder once again that Jesus has washed us clean . . . he has covered the dirt in our lives with His righteousness and made us White as new fallen snow.  Virgin snow.  Clean snow.  Pure snow.  Unadulterated snow.  Righteous snow.

No matter the dirt, the mud, the potholes, the bumps, the imperfections and mishaps, the unattractive landscape or the beautiful groomed flower bed . . . all is covered with the goodness and perfectness of our Lord & Saviour.

No matter the hours spent cleaning the yard, or painting the fence or mowing the lawn . . . the snow falls on all and covers completely.  Beauty does not prevent it; stains do not hinder it; "nothing in all creation can seperate it".

This is the love of Jesus for me; for you; for the world should we choose to recieve it.

Dear Lord, help my girls and my family and my friends, and my enemies, and my community
lay still and feel the falling snow; the refreshing, cleansing, covering snow.

Sweet Jesus, help us to wonder anew at who You are and what You have done.  Let us never grow complacent with beauty of what You have done.

Thank You for this day; let us be glad (for the snow) and rejoice IN IT!  Amen.

Today is a gift; thank You Jesus!

It is a snow day; the girls are here with me. We are safe, warm, fed and loved!

Sweet Jesus thank You for this gift!

Oh, and I have coffee--fresh and hot!

Thank Goodness for Peanut Butter

Yes, as I was Mother Betty Crocker this morning, I pulled out the remaining loaf of bread and gave the necessary options of healthy & fast breakfast over the intercom:

Peanut butter, or
Cinnamon butter bread? 

And, please hurry up!

Then, as I ran out of bread (and, by the way, it was "wheat" at least), I pulled open the white flour tortillas and pb&j'd one for Ellen after school snack!

Um . . . you're right, I did get groceries 2 days ago (Sat. evening to be exact).  Yes, you're right, I did not buy another jug of milk OR another loaf of bread (although I did remember the peanut butter - yes I did have a coupon and it was on sale)!

Um . . . you're right, I could have made muffins, or rolled cinnamon rolls out from the dough in the fridge!

So, what's my pain jane?  Simply put, i chose to enjoy the moment with family that came over yesterday, a walk with my husband and tucking my girls in at night (to which i then went to bed).  Jesus, thank You for making up what I fail; for your mercies new every morning, for the wisdom You unabashedly give and the grace beyond understanding.  Thank You Jesus for life.  Help me to live the life You have given in a way that honors You and blesses others.  Amen.

Communal Bathroom

Okay, seriously, this is too funny.  However, to Ryan, this is a serious problem.

My dear sweet husband is very, really--VERY--modest; like if there is a little girl sleepover, he is wearing shorts to bed "in case there is an emergency in the middle of the night and he has to get up!"  So, to get in the shower, one needs to get "naked" to get in.
Alright, to the point, so this morning Ryan is wanting to get in the shower, standing by the shower door and this is the scene:

Ellen is searching through the dryer for some "sliders"; Erin is mulling around trying to decide what to do with her hair - A HA!  epiphany, she turns on the bathtub water so she can wet down her hair and go with the scrunch look (mind you the shower is RIGHT by the bathtub); Emily has her sweet heiny on the toilet taking her own sweet time with the stinky morning pee while I am at the mirror trying to get ready without gagging on the smell.

Ryan is in a dilemna.

Quick, he has to act fact, Erin walked out to get her towel; his backside is to Emily and Ellen is by the dryer.  So . . . he quickly takes off his briefs, flings them at Emily because she is a sitting duck and there is much loud resistance and gaggin on Emily's part (but she makes no move to hurry it up and wipe) and Ryan quick gets in and, Score!  Safe behind the shower door.

This is a typical weekday morning at our household.  Ryan should learn he really needs to get up and going earlier (because, no lie, sometimes the girls wake us up).  I know, that is really, really bad (but true).  And, i feel for him because he has NO idea what puberty will bring for these girls . . . I am bad enough I for him I think!

Oh, laugh out loud; thank You Sweet Jesus, Father God for this family!!!

1 to 1: my girls.

My sweet girls are so precious to me . . . I marvel at how Ican love them so immensely and then (like in a split second flat) want to deckthem because of their attitude, comments, behavior, etc…

Seriously, I wish they were more like their dad and lesslike me.  Anyway, the past 2 days I havebeen able to spend awesome 1 to 1 time with each of them; thank You Lord forworking that out!

So, yesterday, Emily stayed home from school with strep throat (bummer), but she got to stay at Grandma Shari's for the morning (super) and then her mommy who adores her spent the afternoon with a very well child and we made cupcakes (vanilla) with blue frosting (her choice) and brownies amidst a wonderful conversation of which i cannot recall . . . but i did love it, stuttering and all:)

Then, today . . . Miss Erin and i went to Wichita to get our nails done!  Erin has been begging for this, so at 12:15 we headed out (just her and me) and went to Towne East Mall, hit California nails for some french manicures.  Then we spent an hour looking around the stores at different things - bought 2 tanks at Aeropostle and didn't really find much else . . . oh, and an iced coffee for missy!
Drove home; picked up cousin Kourtney for grandma's Pink Pajama Party and then i was off to Dillons for 1.5 hours (ugh, but glad its done).

Side note - the $20.00 french manicure is SOOOO not worth it - no conversation, no hand massage, already chipping (less than 8 hours later) . . . but the time was well spent!  What's that mastercard commercial - its the memories, priceless . . .   (finger down throat now, but I had a great time with Erin).

Okay, then dear Ellen (after having been gone since yesterday morning) visited with me and told me all about the sleepover and Cody's wrestling and baby Libby for the next 30 - 45 minutes (before she got grouchy from lack of sleep). 

So, dear Jesus, thank You for ears to hear the ramblings of my little ones . . . all too soon, they will be rambling to someone else and I cherish these things; they are dear to my heart.  Bless the Lord Oh my soul, oh my soul . . . worship His Holy name . . . thank You.

Ants in the pants

How precious are Your thoughts of us oh Lord; how great is the sum of them!  I am sittin on bleachers once again, albeit this time not for basketball but for Miss Emily gymnastics!  I am patiently waiting for her as she bebops around like she has ants in her pants!  God thank you for the special way You have created each of my girls--for their unique talents and gifts.  May they work hard to honor You with them.  So I had a complete jabborbox on the way to Mac with me and I adored it!  Thx You Jesus!
Also, thank You for the gift of friends.  I cherish those girl relationships You have allowed to come into my life.  I am blessed with people that like me for me and care for my family!  Thx You.  I pray for Your safety in our activities and travels and claim victory in Jesus for these things.  Be with Ellen and Erin at WSU with Cara.

Let the words that I write and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing to You oh Lord; amen!

It hurts sometimes . . .

Okay, Lord, I know you are on Your throne . . . yet help my belief.  First, let me just lift praises high for the gift You have given of today; safety, worship, family, food, health, blessings galore . . . thank You for Your love & mercies to me.

Church was Family Sunday today and it was great!  I so needed a word and You gave me one; thank You, thank You.  Pastor Jay talked about Jonah and 4 things God is calling:
1) to believe
2) to be holy
3) to be light
4) to be mericful

Lord, I heard You when he talked about where I have put my hope at times . . . in things and people and they will always let me down . . . always let us down.  Only You, Jesus, are someone we can totally depend on.  So my prayer is to help me keep my eyes on You, You alone are worthy, You alone, Christ alone, thank You.

Help me to remember and be mindful of being set apart . . . You have sanctified me for a special purpose, help me to be mindful of the holy You have given me and choose to live in that holiness each day . . . to be mindful of the responsibilities.

Help me Jesus to be light in this dark world and to remember that when it is dark, darker, darkest, the light shines brighter . . . my warfare is not against people but against the powers of darkness . . . You Reign.  Alway, You reign.  Praise You God.

Lastly, help me to be merciful and to love people because it is Your way.  As Pastor Jay said:  "to shutup, stop complaining and start shining".  May I show mercy to those who have hurt me and show that life isn't fair - praise God, I don't get what I deserve, but I am blessed with grace from above.

Jesus, we love You.  We want to daily make choices for You.  Give us strength, give us wisdom, give us love unmerited so we can be all that You want for us to be.  In Your great name, amen.

Mom, dad, Shari and Grandma Nikkel came over for lunch today for mom's birthday; good visit.  Took food out to Miss Suzy Que (she had knee surgery).  Had girls basketball games all day yesterday, then went to WSU men's game agains SWMissour State (met up with Craig's & Helms').  Fun times.  Be with us this week; thank You Jesus!