Happy Birthday to Me!!!!

37 years - WOW! I remember thinking when I was in my teens, how far away the late 30's were. Now, I am here in the midst of it.

I have to admit I was kinda bummed about my birthday this year which I never am -- I love birthdays!! I think they are so special and worth being celebrated. This year was different because I would be missing a very special person here with me on that day. *Dave*

But....

God has blessed me with the 2 most amazing children anyone could ask for (yes, I know all mom's believe that about their children and rightfully so!!) - Andrew and Kira -

They had asked to take off school (for those of you that may not know, they homeschool). I told them "no" because we had something planned the next day that they needed to take off for. They were disappointed but said "ok". Well, unbeknownst to me, they set it upon themselves and woke up at 3am without me knowing about it, did school, decorated the house, and planned some wonderful surprises for me (I'll get to them in a minute). Yes, I was in shock and completely cried!

At 8:00am, I was awakened by 2 very happy and excited children exclaiming "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" and told me they had been up, finished school, and made some special things for my birthday. I was told to close my eyes and they led me down the hall to the playroom and I found this (there is a black "M" in the connect 4 game for mom - lol :))....

After that, they took me downstairs and I found this :)

I was then given some beautiful homemade cards with some very special things written in them :). After reading (and crying) the beautiful cards, I was told to go upstairs and take a nice hot bath and come down in my robe (they did tell me to make sure I had clothes underneath it - LOL). I came downstairs and was told once again to close my eyes. I was led into the living room where a "SPA" was all set up for me. They sat me down in a chair and Kira had a large bowl set up where she washed my feet, put lotion on them, and then painted my toenails (the most beautiful electric blue color that they both chose together). -- Ummm, wow!! As I sat in the chair, I was brought a glass of mango green tea by Andrew and given a shoulder rub as well by him. Kira then led me upstairs where she proceeded to have me kneel by the tub and wash my hair for me. I could not believe all of this. It was so incredibly sweet.

I came downstairs to a very yummy breakfast of eggs, sausage, and apples made wonderfully by Chef Andrew :).

After finishing the yummy breakfast, we sat down to watch a movie. As we were watching the movie, the doorbell rang and I opened to find a box from a flower company. It was filled with 2 dozen of the most gorgeous red roses ever and had the sweetest note from the most amazing husband anyone could ask for! WOW, all this and it was only 10:30am.

We went to sit back down and relax but got a call that someone wanted to see our house today. About 5 minutes later, we got another call that someone else wanted to see the house the next day. So needless to say, we did not relax and kicked into high gear to make this house perfect to show a few hours later.

After the showing, we came back to the house and got ready for a wonderful dinner at Wasabi. It was the kids first time at a hibachi restaurant and they loved it. We had such a great time!

After dinner, we were all so stuffed that we did not even do cake - we just had a true relaxing time together enjoying the last part of one of the best birthday's I had ever had.

The only way for it to have been truly the BEST birthday ever was to have Dave here. We finished the night by skyping together and praying together. Yes, just about the most perfect birthday!

Disappointment and Encouragement

I have really been struggling this week in a lot of things. I am really missing Dave and feeling as if I am just not functioning right without him here. I have felt as if I am failing as the only parent. The kids seem to be arguing all the time and I just get so frustrated. I certainly have not shown the fruits of the spirit at all. I am bummed that our house has not sold yet and that we still have to live separately from Dave.

In our family, Dave is the head and I believe God has designed it that way (1 Corinthians 11:3 - But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God and Ephesians 5:25 - Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.) When we follow God's design for marriage, it results in a beautiful relationship but I digress...

Anyway, this week has been tough and I just was feeling really bummed. I received a call yesterday from our realtor that she was bringing a caravan of realtors to our home. A caravan of realtors means that a large group of realtors come to your home and give you tips that you can use to help sell your home. They also let you know what you can do to sell it easier. Of course after feeling bummed all week, this was not what I wanted to do - prepare the house for all these people so they could tell me all the bad things about our home. Even my sweet husband was praying for me that I would not be discouraged at all that they said about our home.

Well it seems that God knows what we need when we need it (funny how I know that but always seem to forget :P). Well, within a matter of about 30 minutes, there was about 20 realtors that came through our home and you know what...

We got rave reviews!! They loved our home, said it was very neat and clean, and that they couldn't believe the price we have it listed for. But that was not the most amazing part...

One of the gentleman saw Andrew's Bible Scholar award that we have hanging on his wall and encouraged Andrew to continue reading it for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7). Another gentleman saw Kira's list of things to do which right after brushing her teeth and getting dressed was reading her Bible - he actually took a picture of it to show to his kids because he was just sharing with them the importance of time with God and making lists for remembering things you need to do. This was such an encouragement to the kids and I but what even blessed me more is that another gentleman as we were all standing around the table heard about what God had called us to and we all held hands and he prayed for our family and that this home would sell quickly. WOW - I was blessed beyond words and was so grateful for these gentleman who took a stand and shared Christ with us!!

Yes, God knew that I needed to be encouraged today and He did it in the most wonderful way!

2012!!

I love the start of a new year. It is exciting to think that each new year can bring a fresh start, a new focus, and an exciting anticipation of what lies ahead. I don't make New Year's resolutions. Probably the most significant reason is that I never can keep them. I may have wonderful intentions of keeping them but don't.

My only desire for this year is to grow closer to my Savior --

• To know Him and love Him more deeply (You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your might - Deuteronomy 6:5)
• To memorize scripture more (For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. - Hebrews 4:12)
• To have a character that displays the fruits of the spirit ( But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23),
• To strive to be more of a Proverbs 31 woman (Proverbs 31:10-31), and
• To remember my body is a temple of God (Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? For you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

This is my desire for this year - for I know that without the grace and love of Jesus Christ, I am nothing!!