Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for:

I gave my last TAKS test this week!!

My son is finished with his TAKS tests!

My daughter has one more TAKS test and then finished! See the pattern: ENOUGH of the TAKS!!!!!

My daughter made the STARS (the dance team she tried out for)
I'm so thankful for all the support from family and friends through the "try out" process! (STRESS)

The weather has been gorgeous!

Great work team that supports each other through the stress of the TAKS test.

My students worked so hard!

The biggest thing I'm thankful for is this:


My little family!! Today is Keith's birthday and we are celebrating with dinner and his favorite cake!! This is a picture of us from last year at his 40th birthday. I love celebrating birthdays!! The kids have grown so much! Time is flying...I'm so thankful that God has shown me to slow down, enjoy the little moments!

I'm thankful God gave me the perfect man for me! Happy Birthday Keith!!!!



This is us in Colorado this past summer!




Any time I think of things I'm thankful for, these three are on top of the list!

What a HUGE blessing they are to me!!

Wordless Wednesday

Every time I see this, I smile...

Easter 2011

What a blessed day! It started out early with the kids looking at their Easter baskets...okay this year, it was actually bags: Bath and Body Works for Ashlyn and Abercrombie for Reece. It was filled with some of their favorite things! With the kids ages, this year was quite different than usual, but great!

We church hopped this morning to participate in several worship services and to see one of my friend's son get baptized. What a beautiful event on Easter.

One of the best reminders I heard today: What will I do with the "cross" tomorrow as I go about my regular day?

We spent Easter day at my nephew's house with lots of food, laughter, our annual egg hunt, egg toss, and relay race. It's always such a great day! I love watching all the kids race around for the eggs and hearing everyone scream when eggs bust open during the relay. It just makes me smile. The only down side...my sweet hubby had to work! I missed him! I missed my mom today too! She loved Easter too.

Here are a few pics from the day:




These two kids are such a blessing to me!! They keep our life so full and remind me how lucky I am to be their mom!



The trash bags to "protect" us during the egg toss was brilliant!! If only we would have stayed in the competition longer.






This one makes me laugh!! My sister got splattered when she caught the egg and it broke. I love the face she is making!

Marriage Monday

Here's a few things that are on my mind to share today:

I've been listening to my nephew teach the past Sundays on Ephesians and I love all God has been showing me. You know how you can hear or read the same scripture repeatedly and then one day God shows you something new or you finally "get it"? Well, that seems to be happening to me a lot over the past months. So, to do with marriage, this is what I've been focusing on and some points my nephew made:

1. We can show the world Christ and His church through our husband/wife relationship.

2. The Bible says: Wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is also the head of the church. (Eph. 5:22-23) and later in vs. 33 it also says the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.

Many wives hear the word submit and think something negative. It sounds like an ugly word to some. That is not what it should be. Submitting to your husband does not mean being his slave, but rather remembering his role and putting him first. Remember he is the spiritual leader of the house.

Some times this is hard for me because of our personalities. Keith is passive and I'm more of a take charge person. I've had to let go of some of that and give Keith the chance to lead. Although I struggle with this at times, I know it is God's plan and I know Keith is capable of leading our family well. So, I try to slow down and intentionally pay attention to my comments or actions and make sure I give Keith his chance to lead. After all, he is more than capable! It makes such a big difference when I do this!

The Bible also says that we are to respect our husbands. There is a lot that can be said about this subject, but I will share something that is very important to me and in our marriage. I do not put my husband down to other people or in front of him to other people. I encourage him and I compliment him. Who doesn't like to receive a sincere compliment? What a difference this can make in your marriage ladies!

Love plays itself out daily in many different choices that we make throughout the day. Will I pick up the socks without griping? Will I ignore a certain comment? Will I compliment him even when I don't "feel" like it? Let's remember love is not a feeling. Love is action.

I've read this statement and thought about it many times over the years: What is it like to live with me? Hmmm, I would hope that most times it is pleasant. I want my husband to be in a hurry to get home to see us. I don't want him to have the desire to be away from home, but to look forward to arriving at home each day. It's made me look at how I greet him, how I act, what I say. Even though some days I am exhausted, I bite my tongue and don't "list out all I've done for the day!!" He works and does a lot around the house as well! I encourage you to make your house a fun, relaxing, peaceful place to be. Notice how you respond to your husband when he arrives at the end of the day. Is there something you need to adjust?

This is a picture of us out to dinner with some of our friends! I love the smile he has on his face. I typically drive him crazy taking pictures, but he's a good sport. I am blessed!

Things I'm learning

God has taught me so much over the past few months, but especially over the past few weeks! As I prepared for the retreat and all through the weekend God spoke to me through music, His Word, and other Christian ladies.

One of my friends wrote about her experience at the retreat and it inspired me to get on my blog and share some things going on in my life. Check her out at The Four of Us.

I love worship music and we had some wonderful worship music at the retreat. Some of my favorites played were: Our God, Jesus Messiah, How Great is Our God, and How Great Thou Art. In Our God it says, And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us and if our God is with us, than what could stand against?? That is some good stuff!!

We always have great speakers that God uses to share exactly what we need to hear, but this year, He could have tapped me on the back and said, "Jackie, this one is for you!" Our opening speaker was wonderful (as they all were) and shared with us our the importance of self worth and who we are in Christ. Emphasis on IN CHRIST! As women, we are so busy, and have so many things going on and we think we have to be great at all of them. I know I do!! I expect a lot out of myself and I get discouraged when one area is not going as well as I would like! I feel like I'm letting some one down if all areas of my life aren't going well. I feel like I've got to be everything to everybody: the best wife, mom of the year, the best sister, the best friend, the best small group leader, etc. It is overwhelming! God reminded me that I don't have to do all this! Lean on Him. And as he reminded me through several family members throughout the week and again at the retreat: God is enough! It's not all up to me! He is ENOUGH!

So what does God is Enough look like to me in my life? It means, when I'm stressed out as a mom and feeling the pressure, slow down, pray, seek God's wisdom. When our schedule is crazy and I don't feel like I'm being the best wife, again, slow down, pray, and seek God's wisdom. When comments hurt, when people lose touch, when relationships change, I remember these things don't define me. God defines me. When work is stressful, remember my priorities. When I can't fit everything in, I remember it's ok. I don't have to be everything to everybody!

What a freeing truth! Of course I still struggle with pleasing people and pray often throughout the day. Most of the prayers are simple prayers for God to just help me through a situation or help me with an emotion I'm struggling with.

I'm so thankful for all that He is teaching me and how He is growing me!

I hope you will take the time to find your true self in Christ, not in what others define you as, but what God created you to be.

Disneyworld

We had such a great time at Disneyworld! It's one of those places that I know it will be fun, but when we get there, it is even better than I imagine. This is the first time I have been to Disney and not been completely worn out when we got home. We went to the parks first thing in the morning to beat the crowd and would stay until after lunch and then go take a nap before returning for the evening. Since it was spring break, it was really crowded midday so it worked out nicely to leave for a while. My family is definitely crazy Disney fans so we don't want to miss anything. We have to do everything as many times as possible! Although I am forty years old, I become a kid again when I get to Disneyworld. I love Main Street USA at the Magic Kingdom, Cinderella's Castle, and seeing all the characters. I can't help but smile when Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy walk by. I guess I have so many great memories at Disney that I can't help but smile!

Some of our family favorites are: Splash Mountain at Magic Kingdom, Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom, and Rockin' Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror, and Toy Story Mania at Hollywood Studios. We rode these rides as many times as we could while we were there. We walked around the World Showcase at Epcot and enjoyed it, but Keith and I would like to spend more time at each country some time. We didn't want to bore the kids, they were good sports!

Fantasmic is a great night show at Hollywood and Illuminations at Epcot is wonderful. The firework show at the castle can't be beat. They had a special show at the castle that goes with their "Memories" theme this year and it is indescribable. That show definitely is on my list of favorite things to see in this lifetime!!

We were there at the same time some of our friends were there too so we hung out with them at different times throughout the week. That was just an added bonus! We took tons of pics, but here are just a few.



Breakfast at Tusker House at the Animal Kingdom. It was a delicious buffet!


The Garden Festival was going on at Epcot and the flowers were gorgeous! Each character topiary was unbelievable!


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We love Chef Mickey!