His strength is perfect

His strength is perfect when our strength is gone.

He'll carry us when we can't carry on,

Raised in His power, the weak become strong...His strength is perfect, His strength is perfect.

I hear you Lord. Help me to trust in Your strength and to let You carry me.

The lesson to be learned

I am feeling a bit blah right now.  Yes, the rainy North Carolina weather is probably a factor, but my real blah is coming from our house.  

Several things actually...first off, we've had a mouse problem off & on over the last 9 months and it's "on" again.  2nite, our dog, Jack-Jack chased one under the fish tank.  Now, we put bait out a couple weeks ago and I thought we finally got rid of them (yes, THEM...we had a whole bunch of them in the garage eating our bird feed!).  So, imagine my frustration when I go to our pantry and find a rice bag with a hole in it yesterday.  Then, Jack chasing one...I've had enough!!!!!  

Second, this morning we woke up and found a leak in our ceiling.  One of the windows from the 2nd story is leaking.  It's pretty bad too.  The water is running inside the rafters, down the wood, underneath the popcorn ceiling, and under the paint on the wall so that it's bubbling up and peeling.  Now, I know that Claude could fix this with caulking the window.  However, the rain and wind are pretty bad and it's suppose to be this way for the next 2-3 days.  So, he can't get outside and fix the problem.  We've tried laying towels inside the rafter, under the window, on the loveseat to catch the water dripping down the wall (so that it doesn't get on the wood floor and ruin it too).   It's so frustrating.  

Now, I know that we can't control everything that happens.  And, I'm learning to let go of the little things.  God has been faithful in taking care of us and I know He will continue to do so.  I just feel a bit helpless right now.  Claude is stressed about it and a bit nervous over how much damage it's gonna cause/how much it will cost to repair.  I try not to worry about that, but it's something to deal with.  This morning, after Claude left to work and I was sitting in the living room, I started getting teary eyed about the situation.  Then, a small voice inside me told me to look around and be grateful for the roof OVER my head and for the warm cozy house that I was sitting in!  Be grateful for the truck in our front yard that, although needs a bit of work done, runs and is completely paid for.  Be grateful for a healthy loving husband who adores me.  Be grateful for a happy marriage that some people only dream of ever having.  Be grateful for my family and friends and for their prayers and love that happen even when I don't ask for it or realize I need it!  So, my lesson learned is that I have an abundance of things to be grateful for.  

We may not be able to go out and buy new things.  We may not be able to take vacations and little getaways.  We may not have expensive furniture or a even complete dining room set!  But, we are still blessed and I will thank God for the things He has done for us that we've asked for (and even some things we didn't!).

Please be praying for these things if you are reading this!  "The effectual fervant prayer of a righteous man avails much"!

  

On a happy note, my puppy is so funny!  As I type, she is playing "follow the light" with Claude!  It always makes me smile!  Other than the surprise visit from my family 2 summers ago, she is the best birthday present I've ever received!  She is the gift that keeps on giving!!!

WOW it's been a LONG time!

So, does anyone even read my blogs anyway!?!  

I checked my last few blogs and no comments, so I'm not so sure there's much need for me to blog.  I think most folks are using facebook as their way to keep updated on the goings on, so I don't really know if I need to spend much time doing this.

If you like reading my blog and would like for me to continue, just let me know.  If I don't here much on the responses, I'll just figure there's not much need for this and kinda drop it.

thank you to those that have followed my ramblings of the past.  I do like to talk and blog!

Youth!

Had a great time at youth lunch today! I didn't get back til 2:30! It was so much fun just sitting and hanging out with the youth! We had 2 ex-youth (2 graduates from last year!) come to lunch with us! I miss them not being a part of youth. I know that's what's suppose to happen. They grow up and find their own path. It's hard to be left behind. I miss them! I'm still praying for them. I totally get what my mom means by you never stop being a mom. I worry over them even when they're gone.

Well, I'm looking forward to tonight's youth! We have a really "Cool" game we will be playing!!!

I will try to take pics and post them!

Later!

How quickly they grow up!

Do you remember this little bundle of energy?!?

All 2lbs of her?!?!?

The only time she was still was when she was sleeping!

WELL...She's gotten bigger!

She's still a bundle of energy! She loves to chase Jack-Jack!

Actually, the only reason she chases Jack-Jack is to take the toy away from him!

He tolerates her trying to get it away from him!

She's almost always successful!

When Dipstick wants the toy, she gives in!

Dipstick is still "safe" against Jack-Jack's attempts to take the toy back!

"Fine, I didn't want to play with that toy anyway!"

Their ALL TIME FAVORITE game to play is "Where's Daddy?!?"

Who will find Claude first?

She's so much fun! Jack-Jack is starting to show some signs of jealousy (or male domination, not sure which!)

We're hoping it will pass!

another reason I love my husband!

Last Christmas, we rented a car, drove to Florida and surprised my parents! It was awesome! I had such a great time! The only bad thing that came out of it was I lost my green iPod nano that Claude had bought me earlier that year. He had since bought me another one, a purple 4th generation nano. I like this one too, but my green one was sentimental! It was the color I chose and Claude went and got it for me as a surprise gift! Needless to say, I was bummed. I figured I left it in the rental car and some lucky person got a bonus when they rented it!

Well, Claude was cleaning out the backpack to take it to Catalyst & guess what he found!?!?

You guessed it...my GREEN iPod Nano!!!

I LOVE THAT MAN!

Welcome home my sweet!

Some cool things going on!

It's been a little while so I have several things to share!

First, we went to our local high school where most of our youth attend. It was Spirit Week!!

Do you remember how much fun Spirit Week was?!? I do! We went on Twin Day! All of our youth wore Discovery shirts! It WAS AWESOME! I loved seeing all the blue shirts! check it out!

This is 3/4 of our Sr High! Aren't they AWESOME!?!

I just love them to pieces!

We had to jump in and get a picture with them! These are "our kids"! Memories made!

They just love hanging out together! Beautiful memories and friendships to last a lifetime!

So after we hung out with them at lunch, we came back and took some more pictures! It was alot of fun! People were walking by joking about how many "twins" there were!!! (This all took place on Tuesday.)

Friday night, the ladies of our church had our monthly LNO (Ladies Nite Out)!

The theme for October was Murder Mystery! We got to dress up and play roles in a murder mystery game! It was so much fun!!!

Our "Miss America", Lindsay, was commenting on "Miss California's" boob job!

"Miss California", Sasha, used bags of pudding to make her more "voluptuous"!

We couldn't stop laughing over it! What an ingenious way to add to your...!

There was only one problem though! She leaked!

"Miss New Mexico", Laci, and "Miss Kentucky", Cessie, looked so pretty! They could really pass off as Miss America contestants!!!

"Miss Mississippi", "Miss Florida", and "Miss New Mexico"!

The bad thing about taking pictures is that I am almost always BEHIND the camera. I'm waiting on some pictures from some of the other ladies so maybe I can get some more of myself!

We had a blast!

Oh, and by the way, "Miss Arizona" killed "Miss Texas"!