The Holidays (Halloween)

Last year after Halloween, I was making a trip to Walmart and noticed all their Halloween section was 75% off. I walked down the isle and scored several costumes that I thought would be great for my lil man. When I finally made it to the register the clerk informed me that all Halloween item had just been marked down to 90% off. How incredible was that. Now, fast forward to this Halloween, I pull out the saved bag of costumes and was tickled pink at all my treasures. We had a few scheduled events, so my lil fellar got to wear a different costume to each event.

I had no idea how much he would enjoy Halloween or get into the whole costume thing but he absolutely loved it and had so much fun picking his costume each time.

Our first event was trick-or-treating down the town square. It was such a first class job and decorated so cute. All the businesses passed out candy to the kids and they even had a special visitor for all the kids ( which you will see in just a bit) My Arlee bug picked the clown costume for his first outing, and may I just say he was the cutest little clown ever.

The surprise visitor was non other than Elsa! To be honest, Arlee was a little shy and smitten but he was frustrated she didn't have the "no-man" with her..lol

Our second outing, was a Fall Festival that one of the churches we have been visiting had. It was so much fun. They had games, booths, hayrides, storytime, prizes, food, cakewalks, pumpkin decorating, face-painting and trunk or treat. The fire department even came out and passed out candy and allowed the kids to sit in the truck. My little firecracker decided on Spider Man for this important event. He truly thought he was big stuff in this costume

. 

A successful night!

Lastly, Halloween night our little one decided he needed to be Thomas the train's driver. We had originally  made preparations for this but he kept going back and forth on what he wanted to be. Luckily, a few weeks back I had found the cutest Thomas the Train tick or treat bucket and when I surprised him with it, it sealed the deal. There was no going back after that...he was thrilled to be a train engineer. 

He was ready to go and did not want to wait one more minute. We walked our street and visited one of our neighbors that had a big candy bar waiting for him. We only went to a few houses then we loaded up and went to the local high school, they were also passing out candy.  He had a great time and ended up with way too much candy!

We had a wonderful week full of activities and family fun. 

Let the Holidays begin

Blessed

Reflecting back on 2016 and looking at my prayer journal at all the answered prayers and the blesseings that God bestowed upon me and my family; I'm humbled and reminded of the verse from Psalms 68:19 "Blessed be the name of the Lord who daily loadeth us with benefits". God is so good and so faithful to each of us, yet, it is easy in our busy stressful lives to neglect to see His goodness and His favour. But this precious verse reminds all of us of His daily love and His unmeasurable blessings.  Look at how He uses the words "daily loadeth us with benefits"...wow! This is so exciting and so encouraging.

A recent blessing was such an amazing wow moment for us that I would like to share it.

We were back home visiting family for Christmas when One of our fur babies, Bella got sick. (very sick) without going into the gruesome details, I was in the bathroom giving her a bath when my husband came busting in there all excited.

"Guess what I just found?" he asked, I was busy washing a nasty dog so I didnt even look up when I responded back with a "what?"...and to be honest, I didnt feel like playing the game. He started babbling and I was half listening to him as he was saying how he was going through his suitcase going through some pockets when he found money. (Over $600)....wait what!?

 It was at this point that my ears somehow made sense of what he was saying and those babbling words made their way into my brain and processed the details. My head automatically jerked up and looked at him. He was smiling and holding a bundle of money as if to prove what he had just said.

What...this never happens to us, but before we could celebrate or plan on what to do with the money, Bella became sick again. For the next hour all the focus was on her and we soon knew we would have to take her to the vet.

It was late at night and we found an after hours vet that would take her. We soon found out she had a stomach disease and would have died if we had not taken her when we did. We also found out that the extra money we had just discovered was the amount we needed to take care of our very sick fur baby.

 God provided the money just in time of a need. We would not have had the money to take her had God not blessed us at that exact moment.

Had we found the money before, we might have spent it on unnessasary things, had we found  it later, im not sure what would have happened to our little baby. God is neither too early nor is He too late. He is always on time.

My husband and I were completely amazed at Gods timing and provision. Our Bella is doing much better and back to her silly self!


Maybe 2016 was not a good year for you and it left you hurt and bitter, may I challenge you to dig deep and look for the blessings. Perhaps, things happened out of your control and you were left dissapointed, may I ask you to let it go and start fresh.

God is good all the time, even when we don't see it and when we don't understand. We must trust Him and His Word. He promised He would take care of us and our needs. He daily loadeth us with benefits but we must choose to see it.

If you do not have a prayer journal, please get one. It's amazing to look back and see the answered prayers and the extra unexpected blessings. It helps me to remember God's love and It does this girl good to be reminded that the same God who created the universe is the same Heavenly Father that knows me, my name, my needs and my prayer request.

May 2017 be a year filled with blessings and answered prayers. But just remember, if you want prayers answered, you have to pray. Make time for Him, He sure makes time for you.

As always,
Blessings and Love

Birthday with the Grandparents

One of the huge benifits to living in KC is that we are sooo much closer to my parents. We were used to seeing them a few times a year, but I have a feeling we will be seeing g them so much more!

They were not able to come in the weekend of Arlee's party but they came in the next weekend. It was great for Arlee cause it was like his birthday just kept going...lol.

When they came in Friday night , we ate a nice meal at the house and they had all kinds of presents for Arlee (mostly Trains). We stayed up forever and talked and talked.

Saturday, we enjoyed sleeping in. Then we went to KC and took Arlee out for a birthday treat. We took him back to the Choo-choo  restaurant and then out for a ride on the street car...which was just like a choo-choo to him!!!

 Checking out the Crayola store in Crown Center....

                     And then the Candy Store....

Keeping those greedy hands out of the candy was not easy!!!!!

          Enjoying all the trains and noise at Fritz!!!

Touring Kansas City on the Street Car

Another wonderful weekend in Kansas City 

Our Number One Engine is Three

Our move to Kansas City fell right in the middle of Arlee's birthday. We had originally planned to take him to Nashville and ride Thomas the Train. That broke my heart to have to cancel that. It had been planned months in advance. But that just goes to show, you can never predict the future.
We decided to have a a small cake on his actual birthday and wait to have his party  until the next weekend, when my sister and her husband could come in.  He love having his very own "D-Day cake" I let him pick it out and that all we heard about for the rest of the day. My "D-day"cake...lol

Preparing to blow out his candles...and we did it over and over and over!!! He loved blowing out the candle as much as eating the cake!!


That weekend when my sister came in, We had a cookout at the park. Since this was not my orginal plan, I had to rack my brain quickly to come up with the decorations and our themed shirts. I'm just a nerd when it comes to parties and holidays. This was thrown together but I was so pleased how it came together.

 I had bought his Thomas had weeks ago for his thomas train ride, so I worked around that. I kept it very simple (shocker, I know)

I decided The theme would be:
                  "Our Number One Engine is 3"

For the cake as deco, I just raided Arlee's room and grabbed all his little trains. I put one one the cake as well.

Hard to get a pic of this overly excited, active little man.

After singing "Happy birthday" and blowing out candles 10xs, he thought his cake needed more decorating!!!...haha

Of course, present time was the most fun and the  fastest. It was over in like 3 seconds!!!

The House that Wisdom Built- My Dream Home

Proverbs 14:1 says that "Every WISE woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands."

What is your idea of a Dream Home?

An old country Farmhouse with a white picked fence, nestled safley in the middle of big beautiful oak tress with an aging wooden swing hanging from one its branches.

Maybe a Cabin on the Lake with a big screened-in back porch. A spot where you can sit and here the sounds of nature all around you.

Perhaps you are more of a Tuscan Style girl and the idea of a pergilah with ivy heavily intwined all over it, with a chandler dangling gorgeously from the center of it  makes your heart skip a beat.

Today I want to ask you, What is your Dream home? However, when I ask you this, I am not talking about the style, color or even the neighborhood of the house you long for.  I am speaking of something much more deeper and of much more importance.

We have heard the childhood song,
"The Wise man built his house upon the Rock" In this song we see a wise man and a foolish man. The Wise man built his house upon a Rock and the Foolish man built his house in the sand. We also know that when the storm came the house on the Rock stood firm while the house in the sand came tumbling down.

So let me ask you, how are you building your dream house?

What tools are you using?

The Bible is our guidebook and all throughout the Scriptures it shows us how we can build a secure home with a firm foundation. The Word of God also shows us what tools are most needed in building a solid structure.

In a society where the average Christian marriage last 5-7 years ( at best) and couples now take the easy way out, I need advice on how  to stay in for the long haul, but there is simply no way I can do it on my own.

As a Mommy of a 3 yr old little boy, I yearn for instructions and guidance in training and raising him for the Lord. I'm so thankful that I do not have to do it in my own strength!!

But first things first... I need a blueprint. I need to know what I'm going after and the goals I desire for my dream home. Everyone's dreams are different and i would like to dhare mine:
1. I want my home to be a peaceful, relaxing Oasis. A safe refuge and a little piece of Heaven. I don't want it to be a war zone with strife and confict.
2. I want it to be a fun environment. A place where we laugh, play, and enjoy life.
3. I want God to Real and for Him to be the center of my home.

I know what the style of a home I long for, now let's think about the tools I will need in my toolbox. Why my toolbox and not husband's? I'm so glad you asked..in the verse above Proverbs 14:1 it said "Every wise woman buildeth her house..." So ladies, we see that it is our responsibility. We set the mood. We all know the saying if Momma ain't happy then ain't nobody happy. And God knows we are the keepers of the home. We are the Dream makers.

 So let's look in our cute little pink toolbag and pick a few of the important tools we will need. My tools might be different from yours, but the necessary fact to remember is to pick up your tools and start building. A happy home is on purpose not by accident

 Wisdom
Proverbs 24: 3a "Through wisdom is an house builded..."
I believe wisdom is the most important tool that each of us need. We need wisdom in our marriage, raising our children, running the house, staying organized, keeping a budget, multi-tasking, staying involved in church, taking care of ourselves, preparing healthy meals, carpooling kids, extra- curricular activities, encouraging others, helping our loved ones succeed and for many ladies working a part time or full time job. Yes, we need wisdom! We need it everyday and lots of it!!!..Amen????

Trust
Proverbs 31:11 "The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her..."
without trust it is hard to truly love and invest in one another. I do not feel safe with people I do not trust, nor do I let my guard down around them. The home should be the safest place for a family, not a place to feel guarded or on the defense. I want my husband to safely trust in me with our home, our son, our money and our future.

Kindness
Proverbs 31:26 " She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of Kindness."
We need to be just as kind to our family members as we are to our church families, co-workers, neighbors and the general public. And kindness starts with our mouth. Hard one, I know!!! But we can strive to achieve it.

Forgiveness
Ephesians 4:31-32 "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Unfortunately, holding on to hurt never stops there, if you do not forgive it becomes the breeding ground for all these other nasty, yucky sins to sneak in for the attack. No one sets out to be a bitter, wrathful, angry person; yet, when you hold on to unforgiveness and do not give forgiveness where it is due, then that is what you will became, BITTER!!!! That is not my prediction, that is God's promise. I do not want any of these traits in my home. So, to prevent any of these from sneaking into my home i must forgive. Forgiveness is a commandment from God. It is not an easy one, but it is a possible one with His strength!!! Do not let the little things become big things and don'ts let unforgiveness destroy your home.


A Sense of Humor
Proverbs 17:22a "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine..."
No amount of money can buy a happy home. You can have all the money in the world, the biggest house and the newest cars, but if you can not enjoy life and laugh,  it's all a waste. My husband has the corniest sense of humor and I love it. I'm very task oriented and he balances me out so well. My child loves to laugh and has the most contagious laugh. It makes me stop and remember that I need to slow down and laugh more. I have learned to laugh at myself and my mistakes as well as bloopers around the home. A home full of laughter is a happy home!!!

Hard work and time
Proverbs 31:25 "Strength and honor are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come"
All through Proverbs 31 We see how the virtuous woman was an amazingly hard worker. She was balanced and well skilled. She was selfless and disciplined. She took time to invest in every member of her household and with purpose made a house into a home. She did not see the fruits of her labors for many years, but when her children grew up and called her blessed, I'm sure it was worth it all!!!

A walk with God
We can not do this alone. If we were truly on the verge of building a home, we would hire a trained, skilled, professional contractor. One with a favorable reputation and lots of experience. Well, ladies, wives, mothers and friends, Use the Original Contractor. That's what He is here for. He wants us to come to Him, He wants to help. He has the Masterplan, He wrote it and knows it pretty well. He has been in the "Home Building" business for a very long time. Glean from His expertise and experience. He has a pretty good success rate!!!

Let's remember a well built, solid house is not built with sloppy carelessness by chance or accident but is built  with a well thought out plan with preparation and time. So with the Contractor, the Plan, the right tools and supplies we are well on our way to building our Dream Home. It will not happen over night..nope, daily We must plan, we must pray and we must build...because Failure to plan is planning to fail!

Change is in the Air Part 2

So the Gates have made the big decision to relocate to Kansas City. We have 2 weeks to pack up, say our goodbyes, make the 9-10 hour move, get settled in and then for Lee to start his new job. My brain is in a complete idle mode. I feel like my body is doing the motions but my brain has not allowed my heart to let it sink in.

I'm not good with goodbyes. I get very attached to people. My family, church and friends are everything to me. God has blessed us with a very close knit circle of friends and family that they are both. Our family is our closest friends and our close friends are like family. God has blessed us tremendously.

And then there is our little country cottage. It has been our Oasis for the last 7 years. Our fixer-upper. It's where we got engaged, made a home after we were married, where we brought our son to from the hospital, where he learned to crawl, walk and run.

While I do not want to attach myself to earthly possessions, I  know that this house will always have a special place, filled with the happiest of memories, in my heart.

However, I know that new  memories will be made and a wonderful journey lies ahead. So I will not say goodbye but rather until next time!!

Change is in the Air - part 1

During my husband's work trip in New Orleans he was offered several different  job opportunities. One of which was in Kansas City. His job graciously sent us there for several days to check out the city, look into housing and make a decision. With not a lot of time we were amazed how quickly God gave us peace that this was the direction He was leading us. We even found an older 1950's house on 2 acres in a quaint little neighborhood. This is a view of the back of the house with a huge screened-in back porch!!

 Once the pressure of finding a rental (in such record breaking speed) was off of our shoulders, we were able to relax a little and check out some of the attractions. We thoroughly enjoyed some family fun. We ventured out and found the neatest Train restaurant in Crown Center.

 As you can imagine..Arlee was in Choo-choo heaven

We had a wonderful time and fell in love with Kansas City, now the hard part is telling everyone and actually moving here!