In 5 Months

Our little Jaylin is 5 Months! I can't believe how much she has changed in 5 months. We are so blessed by this little bundle.

Here are some of the things she is doing...

smiling

laughing

scooting

grabbing

crying

sleeping

playing

cuddling

Scrappin in the New Year

Okay so it's been way too long since I was able to scrap. With the holidays and being sick twice I never got to it. So I was excited to get these layouts completed. Here is our sweet boy at 3. Tre is so fun. He has a sweet personality along with some tough rough boy trouble too! We are blessed by his life and treasure him dearly! Thank you Jesus for every part of who Tre is. Blessings

Wonderful Wednesdays

Oh that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,

And for HIs wonderful works to the children of men!

Psalm 107:8

SO today I want to declare the goodness of the Lord and His wonderful WORKS!

I am so thankful to the Lord and praise Him for the amazing way He has provided for us to allow me to be able to stay home with the kids. While there have been times of tears, struggle, job loss, job change, and uncertainty along the way it has been amazing to watch the Lord draw us close to Him, to each other, and provide all we need in the nick of time! Tu says the Lord has a way of showing up (answering prayer/providing) in the 11th hour! How true that is! He has always come through.

Thank you Lord Jesus for such a gift to stay home with the kids. May I remember daily when things are tough, when kids are not obeying, when stress is high, when days are long and when nights are sleepless that I am blessed to be with my kids. So blessed to watch them take their first steps, to hold and love on them, to help them when they are hurt, and to cherish the times I have with them! Truly this is a wonderful work of the Lord! I am so thankful for His provision for me to be home with the kids and for Tu's willingness to make the sacrifices necessary to allow for me to be here.

I praise JESUS and declare HIS goodness!!!

Wonderful Wednesdays

Oh that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,

And for HIs wonderful works to the children of men!

Psalm 107:8

So this AM when I was spending time with the Lord I came across the above verse. As I began to meditate on it the Lord spoke in His still small voice and gently reminded me of the importance of giving Him thanks for His GOODNESS and HIS WONDERFUL Works. Throughout Psalm 107 this verse is repeated 4 times (vs 8,15,21,31). So as I began to focus on the works and goodness of the Lord I was overwhelmed by ALL the ways He has worked and His goodness. I began to write out a list! It was so amazing to sit and think of things in the far past as well as the present that the Lord has shown His goodness and His wonderful works!

Reflecting on the Lord's goodness and wonderful works gave me an attitude of thankfulness and a heart change! He again gently reminds me of the importance of perspective and praise! When I am focused on Him and His goodness and His wonderful works I am able to maintain His PEACE and HIS JOY! Oh how both are what I crave! Thank you LORD JESUS!

So with that I am going to start Wonderful Wednesdays as of tomorrow! My desire is to be consistent in posting each Wednesday (but if I miss a few please know I am not perfect, but that I will post again :) ) about the WONDERFUL WORKS of the Lord JESUS and about HIS goodness!

God is so good and I want to declare HIS goodness!!!!

Blessings to you all as you reflect on the God's goodness and wonderful works in your life!

~Jewels~

Bumbo Joy

This was a fun moment for us all! Our baby J hit the bumbo this week. She loved all the attention from her family as she sat in it for the first time! So fun! I remember Tre and Aaliyah sitting in it too and it always made us all smile! Something about that squishy seat that makes us laugh! Thank you Lord for sweet laughter!

May your week be full of the Joy of Jesus!

Blessings!

Sweet Sunday!

So this morning was a sweet sunday! We finally were well enough to go to church again which was a sweet blessing! This message and another one from our church in IL.

http://www.venturechristian.org/files/sermons2/c011611.mp3

http://www.harvestbible.org/10424/content/content_id/162816/This_Week_s_Message

are a blessing and challenged me in ways I praise the Lord for! I want to genuinely love Jesus, his people (all mankind), and desire to be in his presence with a pure heart! Not judging myself or others, not being critical or insecure, but completely Secure and in LOVE with my Lord! Not for me or my own good, but for the simplicity of knowing my loving FATHER and basking in HIS presence! WOW! I am so humbled! I pray that I can just know and enjoy The LORD and all HE is! THank you JESUS that it's all about YOU!

May your day be blessed in JESUS!

Sisters!

So I have not taken the time to get pictures of the girls together. So snapped a few the other day! They are just so cute together! I am so thankful the Lord has given me two girls! I never had a sister and I pray that they are close and that the Lord blesses their friendship. I pray they will sharpen each other in Jesus, love and respect each other, protect each other, and keep each other accountable as they grow in Christ. Oh, the blessing of a sister! Thank you JESUS for these sweet girls! May you hear my prayers for them!

Sneaky Chef is a Yummy chef

Sorry it has been a while. We have been sick and would love your prayers!

Here are the first couple of recipes that I have tried from Missy's Sneaky Chef recipe book. What I love about it is she gives more then just recipes she also gives tips and tricks and alternatives. I can honestly say that these were yummy! And the kids ate it up!

Here are the pictures to prove it and the sneaky part that adds a health benefit.

Brownies: made with blueberries, wheat germ, and spinach

Tu (my hubby) didn't notice either

Mac n Cheese

cauliflower, zucchini, wheat germ, organic wheat flakes

Chicken Nuggets: Blueberry, spinach, wheat germ, and organic corn flakes

(my family loved these)

Many blessings!

Exposed Heart!

Trust in HIM at all times, you people;

Pour out your heart before HIM;

GOD is a REFUGE for US!

psalm 62:8

It is amazing the way the Lord will speak to you through His word when you take the time to stop, pray for Him to speak, read His WORD, and then listen to His voice! Before I start reading the Bible I always take some time to pray that the Lord would speak to me. Often I pray, "Lord please speak to me give me that gold nugget that I can dwell on and pray through and work to apply to my life!" So today His nugget for me I wanted to share with you all! It was truly so wonderful to hear the Lord say...

"Pour out your heart Jewels; expose all of it to me! All your cares, fears, worries, concerns, and joys." What a awesome reminder that I can pour out my heart and expose it completely to Him and all that weighs on it to HIM, and that HE is trust worthy and ABLE to handle every detail of every weight upon my heart! And not only that, but HE is a refuge a place of comfort, peace, and protection from all my storms or form life's storm! Oh how comforting that is!

Thank you Sweet JESUS! Praise you LORD that I can pour out my heart and expose all of it and you graciously and lovingly take care and address every detail! Thank you JESUS!

Child Like Faith

My Dear Aunt Michele sent me this great story of that Child Like Faith that God uses to bring about miracles ! God is so faithful! Check it out!

A little girl went

to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet.

She poured the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three

times, even.. The total had to be exactly perfect.. No chance here for mistakes.

Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she

slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall's Drug Store with

the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.

She waited patiently for

the pharmacist to give her some attention, but he was too busy at this moment.

Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat

with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good. Finally she took a

quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!

'And what do you want?' the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of

voice.. I'm talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven't seen in ages,' he

said without waiting for a reply to his question.

'Well, I want to talk

to you about my brother,' Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. 'He's

really, really sick....and I want to buy a miracle.'

'I beg your pardon?'

said the pharmacist.

'His name is Andrew and he has something bad

growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how

much does a miracle cost?'

'We don't sell miracles here, little girl.

I'm sorry but I can't help you,' the pharmacist said, softening a little.

'Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn't enough, I will get

the rest. Just tell me how much it costs.'

The pharmacist's brother was

a well dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, 'What kind of a

miracle does your brother need?'

' I don't know,' Tess replied with her

eyes welling up. I just know he's really sick and Mommy says he needs an

operation. But my Daddy can't pay for it, so I want to use my money..'

'How much do you have?' asked the man from Chicago .

'One dollar

and eleven cents,' Tess answered barely audible.

'And it's all the money

I have, but I can get some more if I need to.'

'Well, what a

coincidence,' smiled the man. 'A dollar and eleven cents---the exact price of a

miracle for little brothers.'

He took her money in one hand and with

the other hand he grasped her mitten and said 'Take me to where you live. I want

to see your brother and meet your parents. Let's see if I have the miracle you need.'

That well-dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon,

specializing in neuro-surgery. The operation was completed free of charge and it

wasn't long until Andrew was home again and doing well.

Mom and Dad were

happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place.

'That surgery,' her Mom whispered. 'was a real miracle. I wonder how

much it would have cost?'

Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a

miracle cost....one dollar and eleven cents...plus the faith of a little child.

In our lives, we never know how many miracles we will need.

Sneaky Chef is a Healthy Chef!

Here are my thoughts!

Okay so I have had this book for a few years and just decided after watching a informational video on Netflix called Food inc. (which I totally recommend watching!) that I wanted to try a recipe from Missy's book. Here's my thing...

I enjoy cooking for the most part! I desire that we eat healthy, and I really do love most veggies and fruits, but I want my kids and hubby to also! I try to buy organic when possible, and I try to introduce our kids to different foods including different health and ethnic foods, and for the most part they will try it. But this book to me is not about being sneaky to get my kids to eat; it's about being healthy! This book is full of great ways to add more health to the foods most people are currently making. So if I am going to make a mash potatoes, why not throw in so more veggies through puree if no one even knows the difference in taste so that it is healthier for us all! LOVE this idea! I did try this in a mac n cheese from the Pioneer Woman's site and it was fabulous!

So I opened the book and the first thing I read was about how most Ranch dressings have MSG! My jaw hit the floor! Surley my beloved Hidden Valley that my mom and I have been making for years couldn't contain MSG. I went to the cabinet, grabbed my dressing mix and searched the ingredients! Sure enough it was there! Devastated I wanted to read more.

So I am almost done reading this fabulous book and I am so blessed to have found it! Only wish I would have read it earlier! So check it out! I am going to try a few recipes (including a search for new Ranch) and I will be back to tell you about hoe good and healthy they were! :)

I would love any thoughts or comments on this or any ranch dressings you know of with NO MSG that are yummy! We love ranch!

May the Lord bless you all!

~Jewels~

HIS ARM

For they did not gain possession of the land by their own sward,

Nor did their own arm save them;

BUT it was YOUR (the LORD's) hand, YOUR ARM, and the light of YOUR

countenance because you favored them. Psalm 44:3

WOW! Thank you JESUS! When I read this verse I was so blessed to know that my Father in Heaven is fighting for me! I am His child and HE will give me victory, His hand and ARM will deliver me! WOW! Thank you LORD! God you are so good to deliver me from my enemy! It is not of me and my power, but it is CHRIST alone and the POWER of HIM that brings VICTORY and DELIVERANCE from the enemy!

THANK YOU LORD JESUS FOR VICTORY IN YOU!

New Things in the New year

So Many who know me know I love accessories! I just think their fun! So my so sweet friend Mrs. Kollene and her sweet girls blessed me with some new accessory toys for Christmas.

Okay so have you seen these so cute accessories headbands? SO fun! I love mine. Here are a few ways you can wear it. Thanks Hays ladies! Oh and Tu blessed me with being able to get my hair done. I went darker again. So that is new in 2011.

Blessings to you all!

Happy New YEAR!

He will never leave you or forsake you! Hebrews 13:5

WOW! Another year! Praise JESUS for another year! This year for us was filled with many challenges and changes, but with each came much joy and blessings as well! We saw the Lord be faithful to NEVER leave us or forsake us! He is so good! We have watched the Lord provide and protect us in ways, and we are so thankful for! God is so good, and cares for each of His children! We feel so grateful to Him for the way He always loves us! He is such a loving Father! We have so much to be thankful for! Another year filled with knowing Jesus more! We look forward to a new year to grow in Christ!

Here are a few pictures of our last pictures from 2010. We rang in the new year at home not feeling so great, but enjoying our time of relaxing, watching movies, talking about the year, eating snacks, and just enjoying being together! Thank you JESUS!