Praise You In This Storm

This song has been our motto for the past few weeks.  It just seems like we can not get ahead of anything.  satan is attacking, but we are retaliating with God.  We are part of His army and will not allow him to win.

It's been a struggle for sure.  First off, our fridge quit working.  The freezer was doing ok, but not the fridge.  We were waiting to figure out what it was, but Randall was working, so he had LITTLE time to work on it.  We finally figure out the problem.  They thought they had a used part, but nope.  We had to order it new, which meant we were going to have to wait 3 more days.  We were living out of the ice chest, but all our food was at our amazing Grandad's.  I was so thankful (and still am!)  for that man!  It was hard b/c first off- I HATE cooking.  Second off, I HATE planning what to cook, and third off- I had NO clue what food was at Grandad's.  Needless to say it was tough.  I found myself in tears at many times.  But, I remembered there are people all over the world who don't even have an ice chest, let alone a house to live in.  I praised Him for my blessings, but I also praised Him for my trials.  Sure, it wasn't easy, but when you have God on your side, you will WIN.

We have a family retreat coming up.  I am soooooo stinking excited about this.  It will be at the same place we have our women's retreat (more on that later!).  The best part- TRAVIS PLUMLEE is our guest speaker.  This man is awesome.  He is a bit hard to digest at times, but he speaks the truth, and if you listen you will be moved...no doubt about it.  The bad part- Randall has to work.  Yes, satan is attacking again. But, we are going to stand strong and try to understand why Randall can't go.  I can promise I will share every.single.detail to Randall.

Friday night is gonna be one of the best nights ever!!!  Ruthie, some from our church, my aunt, cousins, and I are attending a CHRIS TOMLIN concert!  WOOOO HOOO!  I can not wait!  I wish Randall could attend, but again, he has to work.  I am so thankful for a hard working man though.  Such an awesome man of God I have!

Please be praying for us during this time.  No, trials are never easy.  Yes, I fell short many, many times, but I always had the Holy Spirit working in me, helping me know it will all be ok.  When tough times hit- remember- PRAISE HIM.

I have BABY FEVER

and I have it BAD! This is one of my favorite pics of Ruthie when she was little. My camera was really crappy then, so it's not the best quality pic, but it is just precious. I miss her being so little.

The other night we went over to our friends' house and they have a little boy who is 3 months old. I didn't think I was ready to have a baby just yet b/c I didn't think I was ready for sleepless nights again. Holding that sweet little boy and hearing him drink his bottle and seeing him smile at me just b/c I was talking to him, made me ready. My heart is so ready to have another baby, but my body isn't. I want to lose weight before we conceive another child. Now I am not saying that if I conceive I won't be happy. I would be thrilled. My concern is, I had gestational diabetes while pregnant with Ruthie. It wasn't easy. I have read that if I lose weight, and exercise I *could* reduce the risk of having it with the next child. I would like to reduce my chance if all possible. So, Randall and I talked about when we would try to conceive and he said sometime around April. That gives me 4+ months to lose some weight. I need to lose about 30 pounds to make myself happy, but I don't think that is possible. I want to lose weight the healthy way. I hope that I am able to lose weight. I just need the extra push. So, this might be a weight loss journey blog for me as well!

Grandad is still in the hospital. We really won't know anything until Monday, so please continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers. THANKS!

Special thoughts and prayers needed!

Last night, Randall's Grandad went to the hospital complaining of stomach pains. They did an EKG on him and it turns out he has elevated heart enzymes and they were worried, so they sent him to a larger hospital. They know he has a lot of gallstones, but they are still worried about his heart. I am just asking for some extra thoughts and prayers for him please. This man means so much to me. I am not kin to him by blood, but he treats me as one of his own. He is such an amazing man. He has such a kind heart. He ADORES Ruthie and she ADORES him. He loves all his grandchildren so much. I wasn't really close to any of my grandfathers. I wish I could have been, but I wasn't. Grandad has shown me so much love and compassion. I know that I am the lucky one to have him in my life.

Wednesday night's sermon was about our spiritual gift of giving. Grandad has this gift. When Brother Troy talked about it, Grandad was the man who popped into my head. Grandad doesn't have much. What he has he worked HARD for. He knows the true meaning of living life. He would give us whatever we needed even if he had to search hard for it. He amazes me. I know that he will always be there for us no matter what.