A New Year's Heart

Do you ever have so much going on in your head that you don't even know where to start talking?? That's the way I feel now. God is speaking to my heart.....and I am thinking about it ALL THE TIME! I have learned so much about God's heart, His very nature this year. I am more grateful than ever for the privilege of knowing Him, loving Him, and being loved BY Him!

In years past I have set detailed goals with attainable marks to reach and I still think goals are very necessary for success in any area. But this year my goals are much simpler. I want, no I NEED to know Him more! Without Him....I am nothing. Without Him I will not be the mother that my children need. Without Him I will not have the divine wisdom I need to make wise financial decisions. Without Him I will not know how to lead my family in a way that pleases Him. Without Him......I can do nothing. So I humble myself and seek His face this year in a way that I never have before. With more fervor and tenacity....as if my very life depended on it. Thank you Lord for wooing me, for loving me this much!! My expectation is in YOU!!

And for my friends and family that have asked what we did over the holidays....here are a few random pics and thoughts. We were blessed with a BUNCH of chicken thighs. The girls took all the skins off so we could make dinners for freezing. We made 8 chicken teriyaki dinners and 4 honey glazed chicken meals. Two of our favorites! Now Miracle would have you think this is a gross job..... But really she enjoys it. There is much laughter at the kitchen sink as she squishes the meat between her hands and rips/cuts off all the skin. She enjoys making meatloaf too. For being such a "girly girl", she doesn't mind getting her hands dirty in the kitchen at all! LOL And notice Pillar is wearing her new apron that she won!

Our New Years celebration went something like this. First we took down all our Christmas decorations and put them away. Then we made a most delicious dinner together. After that we watched a couple really cute Christmas movies together. (Christmas Angel and The Lost and Found Family) The girls like to have a slumber party upstairs in the living room, including me on the couch! Let me just tell you this is a labor of love because our couch IS NOT comfortable. About 10:30pm someone noticed I had taken up residence on the couch. Last year I fell asleep on them, so this year they were determined NOT to let that happen again! The next thing I knew, there was a diet coke in my face! lol I got up and we played games and had a lot of fun. Now can I just say that even at the ages of 12, 11 and 8.....I still love to watch them sleep. They're just so sweet! (It's actually dark in this pic but the flash lit up the room.)

We went to a birthday party on the first. We were supposed to go sledding but the negative temps kept us inside. My girls weren't too upset as our friends had received a Wii for Christmas! I'm not sure who had more fun though....all the girls or their dad who was "helping" them! lol Miracle and birthday girl number one who turned 11.

Rosebud and birthday girl number 2 who turned 7. So sweet! Check out all that chocolate!

I also got a paper route this week. Yeah!! I had actually looked for one before, but there were no openings. And then...all of a sudden....after more than 12 years....the man who delivers my very own neighborhood paper.....quit! It's just the local papers that are delivered once every Saturday. It's a perfect job for us because we can all do it together and it doesn't interfere with homeschooling! Yeah God!! I'm so thankful for His provision.

As for the last couple days....well, I have no pictures. The girls have been fighting symptoms in their bodies. Yuck!! One sounds like a seal barking, and another one can't keep anything down. It's been a long time since they felt like this. No fun at all. So there's been lots of cuddling and resting and laying low so to speak. But since it's been 20 below outside.....I don't mind staying inside where it's nice and warm! Tomorrow we resume our normal homeschool schedule and I can hardly wait! As much as we need breaks.....I love school!!

Happy New Year!!