Let's try this again ~

Hello everyone!

I had hoped to get a blog facelift before beginning again... it's just not in the budget. Time or money. So, for now I will just give a short and sweet update of sorts.

When I was last blogging, we were jobless and living with the in-laws. Yep... for real. One of those challenges God allows you to go through to grow you. You know? Well, I wouldn't say that we grew as much as He would've liked us to, but I choose to believe that there was some growth. I just can't actually put my finger on it.

After 13 L.O.N.G. months, hubby took a job in Utah. A world away from the south. We may have lived in 5 states since our girlies were born but it was always in a southern state. However, we were so happy for him to have a job that we really didn't care anymore.

My blessings

The climate would be different and the culture would be different. We knew that. Lots of prayers went up about both of those! We moved a mere 2 weeks before school started last year. Our oldest was going to be a Sr. (I couldn't imagine much worse than starting a new school as a Sr.) and the youngest a Jr. It was rough for a bit but God was faithful. He got us into a brand new house in a great area of the Salt Lake Valley and gave us a mild winter.

          Wasatch Mountains                                                                 

  

             So excited to have lots of Canada geese up here!                                        

                                          

We have now lived here 13 months, hubby LOVES his job, our big girl is in college (3 1/2 hrs. away!) and our baby is a Sr. I am still a stay-at-home mom but desperately needing a job. That is the new focus. Ugh.

For now, here are some pics of where we are now in our lives...

The girls had to represent. ;-)

The family at Provo Falls

Our pretty boy ~ Zippy

Our weird but wonderful cat ~ Baby

One of my favorite of her Sr. pics

The first visit home from college...

(Forgive me for the funky spacing... got to get back in the swing of things.)

Until next time...

Enjoy your blessings!

Sorting and Packing

Today is the day we begin sorting through our stuff. Our things. Our belongings. A daunting task that I can't say I am actually looking forward to. Normally I like to "go through" things. I suppose this time it is different because of the impending move and uncertainty.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.  ~1 Peter 5:6-10


So this is where God led me this morning. Hmmm. Certainly seems appropriate, don't you think? These are not new verses to me. However, I decided to read further into the footnotes where I found this:

God is able and willing to bless us according to his timing. Humbly obey God regardless of present circumstances, and in his good time he will lift you up.

On the previous page, I had written these words from a sermon somewhere in my past:

When humbled:
   1) Accept responsibility.
   2) Submit to the promises of God - claim the scriptures.
   3) Rest in the knowledge that God's timing is always right.

These are the verses and words I will be dwelling on today~

Woe's and Armor

It's been almost a week since I stared at this screen waiting for just the right words to come. I try not to read back over any old posts, but at the end of last week, I was looking for something in particular. That is when it hit me. It seems like all I have posted other than tips are "woe is me" words. Yikes! Apologies to the masses. Well, all 16 of you. :-)

Indulge me for a moment if you will. If you are a regular reader, you know that my family is going through a season of change. Better yet... a season of uncertainty. Today marks the 4 week countdown to having to be out of our home. Hubby's job and the closing on the sale of our home are 4 weeks from tomorrow. We DO NOT believe in coincidences and know that it has all been orchestrated by God. We know without a doubt what a HUGE blessing it is to be able to sell a home right now. And, to close on the last day of a job? NO COINCIDENCE.

So, where do we go from here? That is something that God has not yet revealed. We would appreciate your prayers as we begin to pack up our belongings. Prayers that we will never waiver in our faith that God will provide. Prayers that we as a family will allow His peace and comfort to be felt at every turn. And that His plan will be revealed very soon. Thank you so much to those of you who will join us in these prayers!!!!

Before closing, I decided that I would share with you the ways that satan has been on the attack. We were making a quick trip to Dallas to celebrate a niece that graduated from high school the night before. Only one hour away from our destination, our truck broke down on the interstate. Not a comfy place to be when the Texas temps are soaring for this time of year. Fortunately there were huge shade trees across the feeder road where we waited for almost an hour to be towed.

We piled into the rescue truck with the lovely scent of old dirty sweat (of one) and newly acquired sweat of four. Not pleasant to say the least. After about a 15 minute ride, we rounded the corner to feast our eyes on something out of "Deliverance". No, I am not kidding one iota. It was a sea of broken down vehicles. The "shop" as you might call it, had employees crawling out of the woodwork like cockroaches looking for food. The food they spied were my 2 beautiful teens. It was CREEPY AND DISTURBING. If I were a betting woman, I would almost bet there were more teeth in my 2 girls' mouthes than in the sum of all of theirs.

The good news was that hubby's truck could easily be fixed and that it shouldn't take more than an hour and a half. "Bubba" had to go get a burger first. Seriously. So, the girls and I looked for shade to stand under and to get out of the line of sight. The only shade to be found (other than under the trees with the 5 "Deliverance" dogs in a pen) was across the street. We retreated to the shade and soon realized it was like being on stage. The girls were easily ogled from there and even began to get honks and waves from passersby. If it wasn't so comical, I would have been vomiting. VIOLENTLY.

Fortunately, Hubby had called the father-in-law and he had driven the hour to retrieve us. We left with him in the comfort of the air-conditioned car in search of food. Upon returning, Hubby's truck was fixed and we were on the road to civilization. And none too soon.

The night went well and we enjoyed celebrating the niece's accomplishment and being with extended family. The next day, we experienced downtown Dallas through the eyes of our girls. Hubby and I used to work there but many things have changed. I will post on our findings and pics tomorrow. We had a good time.

The next attack came upon returning home. My debit card was denied when I went to pick up our beloved fur babies. After being embarrassed and VERY UNHAPPY at the vet, Hubby found out that someone had stolen my card # and put almost $700 dollars on it! In Virginia at Waly world. They didn't just use my #, they actually made a fake card that was able to be swiped. GRRRRR. Hubby is at the bank this a.m. getting it taken care of. At least the company was suspicious and deactivated the card so that these hoodlums (I am restraining myself...) couldn't do any more damage to us.

Needless to say, satan sees that we are vulnerable right now and is doing his best to break us. But he is mistaken. We are strapping on the armor of God and WILL NOT let him win!

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.   ~Ephesians 6:10-11

Summertime Saturday

Well, it's almost here. S U M M E R. I have mixed emotions. I am certainly looking forward to sleeping past 5:00 a.m. but I'm definitely not anticipating 100 degree temps.

The girls have half of their finals under their belts. By Monday afternoon, I will officially be a mom to a Sophomore and Jr. in high school. Excuse me a moment...

I am feeling a bit dizzy... and nauseous.

It just can't be true! Why just last week I was pulling their hair up in pigtails. I know I was. It is all such a blur. There are so many things that I still need to teach them. So many things I still need to say.

We can't go back now though, so being inspired by Kelle's post at Enjoying the Small Things, I will cherish the time we have and look forward to summer.

She has also inspired me to make a "to do" list for the upcoming months of heat. I'm not quite ready to write it all down, but one thing is for sure... a move will definitely occupy the #1 spot. Not because it is what I want the most but because it is inevitable.

This is now in my front yard. That is why there are mixed emotions as we head into summer. An incredible blessing from God that it sold so quickly. So for now, I think that much of my list will be centered around telling this town "goodbye" and savoring my time with family.

This is how we started...