Our Family, Our Lives — Page 8 — raisingthreeknightsandaprincess.com

31 Days of Reality (Day 4) GRATITUDE

What is more real that Jesus?

The author, the perfecter……

I wanted to share a recent God moment with you.

When we moved to Florida the first year and a half was hard. Difficult. Exhausting. Sometimes Miserable.

It’s because of that year and a half that my heart is filled with such gratitude now that we are in our own house. All our furniture has been moved in. And we’ve found wonderful people to help with the struggles my kids were having. These are the people at LearningRx. I blogged about them earlier.

Here are my two masterminds hard at work. They work for 1 hour and 15 minutes 4 times a day and the results are AMAZING. Their cognitive thinking skills are going thru the roof. Yippee!

Part of my gratitude comes from the journey to LearningRx. We began with counseling, then the psychologist, psychological testing, ADHD diagnosis, recommendation for me to send my oldest to school. Then a friend told me about LearningRx and the leaps and bounds her son was making there. For $49 testing I was all in. I learned more from that $49 test than the $800 psychological evaluation! Yea, I beat myself up about spending that money but I rested in “it was part of the journey” and heaped it into my gratitude pile instead.

Each time I drive up to our home that I fully believe God has given us my heart feels with gratitude. We have a beautiful home, hand-picked by the Maker himself.

Gratitude.

It changes a life.

31 Days of Openness (Day 3)

Coaching is hard. Parenting is hard.

We try to teach our kids in the best way we know how to love Jesus, serve Him and be overall wonderful citizens. But it’s a tough job we can not do alone. God leads us through the valleys and mountaintops of parenting as if we were the children. And in fact, we are. Older children leading younger children.

I am so thankful for his guidance and covering over our family and our lives. KLOVE, our local Christian radio station, had an entire day of praise today. People from all over called in with stories of deliverance, healing, thankfulness, and gratitude for what my Jesus has done in their lives. It’s been a wonderful day just listening to all He does for those who love him.

1 Comment

Posted: October 4, 2011 by Julie |Category: Other Happenings | Our Family, Our Lives | Tags:

Art for $0?

I ran into this wonderful idea today after roaming around Scooper’s blog.

A Soft Place To Land has the greatest blog!

She had this idea for cork board art.

Being the great copy cat I am I remembered saving paintings the kids did this year because I love the colors in them. Buying a frame for each one seemed totally unreasonable so this was an idea that hit me square between the eyes.

Here’s one of the kids paintings…

Great color, huh?

I had the this tall cork board and started putting two and two together and came out with this.

Now I liked this okay but realized I loved the white frame at A Soft Place to Land. So…..

It still needs another coat and isn’t as fancy as the frame I copied but I just love it. Cost? $0.00. Had the board and the paint!!! I’m happy

Of Mice and Men…

What does this title have to do with my post today?

Nothing.

It’s just what has been on my heart this morning. I’m not sure what it means. It is Sunday. We had a busy weekend and chose to stay home this am. But my heart follows after my Maker nonetheless. I feel so thankful lately. It’s been a hard year and a half and God has brought us out of the valley towards the mountain top. I breathe a little easier. I remember the biggest lesson I’ve learned. That lesson has been TODAY. That is all we have. When I live in the now I feel Him so close…inside and out. Our new house even with the boxes still awaiting my touch I feel peaceful, not frazzled. This morning the wind is blowing and I type on my screened in back porch. Laura Story is playing on my Ipod. GRACE. I love that song. It reminds me of how tiny I am and how huge my God is. I think of my journey this past year and a half.

I would have never thought I’d live where I do…in this community, it’s beautiful. I imagined myself out of town somewhere on a couple acres with some chickens and farm fresh eggs, but I live in a country club. That blows my mind. I’m not a county club girl in any way. I’m a rule breaker. The one who goes against the grain. The green egg in a dozen brown eggs. The one that raises her hands in worship when no one else will. That’s just me. God made me that way. And it’s beautiful when it’s under the control of the Holy Spirit.

I am also in awe of where he has lead our family where school and learning is concerned. Learning RX is an amazing tool he is using in our lives to change the way my children learn. My sweet oldest child took a 24 problem math test on Friday and made a 100 on it. Six months ago that test would have taken him half the day. Friday he did it in about 15 minutes.

(Break)

Now it is Wednesday and I can not believe I started this post Sunday and haven’t finished it yet.

This morning I sit at my desktop eating the yummy, buttery muffin and a huge mug of coffee you see above. My 12 year old woke me up this morning saying, “Mommy, I’m making muffins. Do you want some coffee?”

I think I’ve died and gone to heaven!

Now he wants my computer so he can do his math. Guess I’ll be finishing my thoughts here in my next post. I’m going to try to tell you the story of meeting my birthmom as well as the story of how God led us to the house we now live in.

Ta Ta for now…

1 Comment

Posted: September 21, 2011 by Julie |Category: God Breathed | Homeschooling | Our Family, Our Lives | Tags:

Saturday in Green Bay – WI

I sit here in Green Bay, WI with my birth mom. She has been battling cancer for something like 20 years. I met her 8 years ago. Our story is a wonderful one I’ve yet to write. The cancer is gaining ground and she just had several operations. I went with her to chemotherapy yesterday. The whole thing was quite an experience and made all she is going through even more real. Since we live so far apart I’m not a part of the day by day challenges of battling cancer.

She has been such a blessing in my life. She gave me life. I look like her. A nurse yesterday told me I have her laugh.

It’s a quiet day. We are still in our pajamas. The Auburn football game is on TV. WAR EAGLE!!

My sweet friend is at my house cleaning up from the movers packing my house in SC yesterday and moving it to our new house in FLA. The day after I get home from WI the truck arrives. My sweet mother-in-law is staying to help with the unpacking, unloading and decorating. I sit here in awe of how God gives us rest, provides, and takes care of things the more we (I) let go of my life.

If there is anything I have learned in this last year it is to live life one day at a time. There Jesus resides. The Holy Spirit leads and God smiles. God always works out the next day. It is not for us to solve, worry or think on.

My mom has lost most of her hair and she still looks beautiful to me. She has fought such a valiant fight. Her strength is amazing. Her attitude is quirky…sometimes sarcastic, sometimes loving, sometimes accepting, always trusting in the One who is in charge.

The last few weeks has been a whirlwind as they have moved our furniture from one house in FLA to the other. When I get home the furniture from SC is being delivered.

And in this crazy life place God has provided the needed time with my birth mom, a break from life as we move into our home He has given us, rest, and help when I return. Not to mention my mother-in-law taking care of my kids while I’m in WI and a husband who’s allowed me to come visit my sweet birth mom.

What is life like when we really let go and trust Him to handle it all?

I want to live in that place.

It’s the best.

2 Comments

Posted: September 3, 2011 by Julie |Category: God Breathed | My Adoption Story | Our Family, Our Lives | Tags: adoption, cancer, family

Vacation and Family

Here’s our newest toy…

It’s really marvelous. You’ll have to visit and come for a ride with us.

After we left the beach after our family vacation my sister had the nerve to take pictures without me. Here are a few of my favorites…

My mom snapped this one of my sister and her girls…

And here is one my sister snapped of my mom with her girls…

I really was jealous to have missed out on some girly pictures, but at least she sent me a disk.

Hope you have a great weekend.

Oh, and I was just kidding about that YACHT!!

1 Comment

Posted: July 30, 2011 by Julie |Category: Our Family, Our Lives | Photography and Tips | Tags: Atlantic Beach NC, family, vacation

Two totally unrelated subjects….

There are two things burning in my mind tonight.

1. God is so good! And He takes care of me in such magnificent ways.

The story behind this statment is a recent one. Rocketman is in Omaha and has been for a week. So my real estate agent and I took off to see just a couple houses on Sunday. The kids were at home with a babysitter so I was on my own. The first house we looked at was brick and a very nice space. It was dated on the inside and would require updating over the course of time. We’re not huge “fixer uppers”. Rocketman is in the throws of a new job and I’m homeschooling 4 kids. Plus it does not float either of our boats!!

On to the second house. Stucco…not my fav but a pretty house and a nice setting nonetheless. I was taken the minute I stepped in the front door. There were beautiful blues in the house, pretty shades of yellow, walls (a must with 4 kids), and 5 bedrooms. The kitchen was stunning….black marble counter tops, a space for a large kitchen table (which I’ve always wanted), and maple cabinets (my favorite). The homeowners were also leaving a fabulous washer and dryer and the refrigerator which I liked quite well!! The icing on the cake was a jetted bathtub….my getaway when I can’t get away. Everything that was in my heart was in the house. I felt so peaceful as I looked around and decided to call my hubbie to see if we could make an offer. We did. Then the counter offer came in and we countered. They came back with a price they were stuck on, but willing to leave something I wanted in the house. I called my husband in Omaha and could not get him on the phone to save my life. Usually after three phone calls in a row he thinks there is an emergency at home, but this time I received no return phone call. The house had 4 showings the day we were doing all this countering back and forth. So I felt pressed to make a quick decision. We were not far off on money so I agreed. Two more phone calls to my hubbie and no return call. For almost 5 hours I had no contact with him. I was about to bust!

But during that time God allowed me to soak in the warmth of His love and the fact that this house was His gift to me and my family. The soak time, the inability to talk to my husband…God used it all to cement in my heart the fact that the house was from Him. We’ve offered on other houses, had contracts going only to have them fall apart and each time I freaked out for at least two days. This time? No freaking out. Only peace. God’s peace. God knew this was the only way I would be ok and trust Him with the jump from tiny town in SC to big city FL living. He knows me so well. And I am so thankful He does!!! I feel loved and taken care of.

Subject #2

No matter what anyone says. No matter the claims made on TV. Cat boxes and cat litter STINKS. There is nothing, absolutely nothing anyone has come up with to take away the funk of a litter box!

Of this I am totally convinced as I am with my new home…I know it’s from the Lord.

Concerning cat litter… IT STINKS.

(Told you they were unrelated.) Goodnight!

3 Comments

Posted: July 14, 2011 by Julie |Category: God Breathed | Our Family, Our Lives | Tags:

Atlantic Beach – Part 2

Usually I come home from our family vacation having taken millions of pictures. This year the wind was so strong each day that my sunglasses were unusable after 10 minutes, I couldn’t imagine taking my camera out. There were a few days my sister and I got to snap pictures so here’s a sampling.

My beautiful “almost graduated” niece…

Another processing action (thanks Pioneer Woman!)

One of my favs…

Insert older sister…..such a ham…..

Unprocessed photos ( I got tired )…..

Oldest niece and boyfriend (we think he’s a keeper)

Funny fishing photo…

Insert master fisherman (Rocketman)…..

We caught a flounder in the surf one day when it was calm…

My gorgeous sister….

It’s a bird….

It’s a plane…..

It’s big sister!!!

Our family’s favorite traditions…”The Sunset Cruise”

Me and baby girl…

Another favorite from our photo shoot….

One of HER favorites…

The love birds…

My all time favorite from the photo shoot….

Another beauty…

She gets her groove on when someone else enters the photography….

“Hello big sister…..I’m wet!!!”

And the last one for tonight…..enter baby girl into the shoot….”ew…you are wet!”

2 Comments

Posted: July 1, 2011 by Julie |Category: Our Family, Our Lives | Photography and Tips | Tags:

Atlantic Beach, NC

Vacation.

What a wonderful break from life. Here’s just a small sample of silly photos to come.

This is baby girl with her cousins. Just a hoot aren’t they???

Just Yesterday!

It really was just yesterday she was born and I couldn’t figure out why she never wet her diaper! After three boys I was accustomed to having diapers wet in the front, not the back. It only took me three days to figure out that one.