One Of My Most Favorite People!

 One of my most favorite memories was my Granny Ruth.  I didn't really know any of my other grandparents so I was very close to my Granny.  I can remember taking trips to her house in Jones, Oklahoma like it was yesterday.  I always loved going to her house and I always knew we were close when we would pass the cemetery not too far from where she lived.  Us kids would always scramble to find our shoes once we saw the cemetery.  We would always kick our shoes off before we left our driveway because we knew it was a pretty long trip and we wanted to be comfortable.  I can remember one summer I went by myself to spend time with her.  She had this big washtub that we would put well water in and I would swim in it.  The washtub wasn't really big enough for me to swim, but I had a blast anyway.  I use to help her hang laundry on the clothes lines (you know, the old fashion way)  I never understood why she had a dryer when she very rarely used it.  It seemed she rather hang them outside to dry.  Granny was always in the kitchen cooking.  She started early in the morning, usually before the sun was up.  She would spend hours cooking breakfast, we would set the table, and it only took a few minutes to devour the yummy food.  We would help clean up after breakfast then she would start right in to preparing for lunch.  Then we would set the table, eat, and clean up.  Then again she would go right in to preparing for dinner.  We would repeat the process with dinner.  After clean up it was ICE CREAM time!!  My Granny's favorite food was ice cream.  You could always count on her having some and she would always have magic shell to go on the top of it.  After ice cream we would usually play games.  Card games or pass the pig, were the games we mostly played.  I loved playing pass the pig.  It was easy for me to play since I was pretty little and didn't really understand the card games.  When I wasn't playing that I was usually playing hungry hungry hippo, another of my favorite games.  After we were done playing games it was bed time.  I always slept with my Granny. We always said our goodnight prayers, she would kiss me on the forehead, and she would always tell me how much she loved me, then we would go fast asleep.  My time with her was always special to me.  Around Christmas time, I could always count on new socks and underwear from her!  I have to admit, as a child, that wasn't too exciting, but I never let her know it was disappointing that I never got any toys.  Now that I am an adult with kids of my own, I sure wish Granny was around buying me new socks and underwear!  I can remember going to the post office every day while I was visiting.  Everyone knew my name and thought I was just the cutest little girl ever. I loved riding along with her running errands with her.  We would go to the hair salon too.  We always went to Church too.  I can close my eyes and still picture running around with her and her house, the smell and everything in it is still a memory fresh in my mind.  She had this huge tree in her front yard that we would always climb, we also had a tire swing we loved to play on.  Life was so much simpler back then.  All we needed was a few board games, a tree to climb, a tire to swing on, and a washtub to swim in.  We were never bored, yet that's all we had to do!  I was very sad the day they had to cut that old tree down.  Granny's house just wasn't the same with out it.  As I got older, so did she.  I can remember one of the last times I went to her house after Chris and I started dating.  We stayed with her and then we went to Frontier City the next day. After we got married and had our first child my Granny started having mini strokes and it got to where she couldn't take care of herself.  So my mom and dad moved her to Enid to live with them so they could care for her properly.  Granny was still able to do allot herself, she just needed supervision.  She was always a very strong woman.  She raised 2 rambunctious boys all by herself!  Her having to depend on someone else to help care for her sometimes didn't set well with her, until she just couldn't do it any longer.  While I worked, she would rock my babies all day long!  I left them in her arms when I went to work and when I picked them up they were in her arms.  I blame her for them being so spoiled.  Ahhh, how she loved babies!  I never had to teach my older two kids their ABCs and 123s, or how to tie their shoes,  because Granny already did it!  She read to them constantly (and fed them ice cream)!  When I got pregnant with my 3rd baby, Granny was so excited.  It had been a good 5 years since we had a baby around the house, so her arms were hurting, she needed to hold and rock another baby.  During my months of pregnancy Granny went down hill fast.  I would go to my parent's house and get her and take her to my house to play with the kids and visit with me because I wasn't working at that time.  Pretty soon, she was so bad I couldn't do that anymore.  She had to stay in bed most of the time.  All she talked about was being able to hold my sweet baby boy.  I would smile and say you will get to hold him soon.  She would smile and say "I can't wait to rock him"  In the back of my mind I knew she wouldn't make it that long, but I was prayerfully hoping she would be here long enough to see him once he was born.  One evening I went over to my mom and dad's house to sit with her.  My mom told me she wasn't eating and that my niece got her to eat a strawberry shake (her favorite), but that was about it.  I went over there and just listened to her talk to me.  She told me how she needed to plant flowers in the garden on wall, she told me how proud of me she is, she also told me that I had a beautiful dark haired, blue eyed, sweet baby boy!  That one sort of shocked me a little because I was still pregnant.  It was a month before he was born.  She described exactly how he looked.  She said she got to rock him and kiss him on his forehead.  I just agreed with her, but inside I was questioning how in the world did she know what he looked like.  She asked me if I was going to be okay because she wanted to go on home (to heaven).  I told her I would be just fine, because I would see her again someday, and I told her it was okay for her to go now.  The next morning she passed peacefully in her sleep.  I can remember that day like it was yesterday.  I miss her so much.  I can still every now and then smell her cooking.  A month later my sweet, dark headed, blue eyed boy was born.  When I first laid eyes on him I thought of the last conversation I had with her.  I believe God showed my granny my baby boy and somehow she was able to hold him for a moment before he was even born.  I believe God has the power to do that.  Now my baby boy is 8 years old.  He knows his Granny even though he never actually got to meet her.  He knows how special he was to her.  I think he gets a little sad when his brother and sister talk about her because he don't have any memories with her, but he says "It's okay mom, I know I will meet her someday"  I know she will be one of the first people we meet with her arms wide open when we get to Heaven.  I think about her often and wished that she was still here, but I know she is in good hands waiting for all of us.  I think she is probably on kitchen duty in Heaven because she loved to cook and clean up so much.

 

Time To Make Changes AND Stick With It!

                                                                      18 Years Ago!

Allot has changed over the last 18 years.  I married my high school sweetheart, I have had 3 beautiful children all born by c-sections, I moved away from the town I spent my whole entire life in, I used to be a work a holic, I became a stay at home mom, now I work part time as an assistant children's director at my church (which I absolutely love by the way), etc.  All my life I have lived it for someone else, whether it be my parents, my teachers, my husband, my children, and everyone else in between.  I am not saying I don't like to be a crowd pleaser, I am saying I have never just went out and did something for myself without guilt or regret.  I chose this life and I wouldn't change it for anything.  I just want to make it better and do something for me.  When I was in Jr. High I was considerably over weight for my age.  I felt horrible, insecure about myself, and ugly.  Boys didn't like me, I didn't like boys (guess that wasn't a bad thing, but every girl wants to feel pretty), I just never felt pretty, just fat.  I thought I was okay with the way I looked until one summer when I decided to make some changes.  Well, those changes really wasn't for the better, but they worked.  Between my 9th and 10th grade year I decided to loose weight.  That I did, but I did it the wrong way.  I chose not to eat anything at all pretty much throughout the day.  I was busy enough with working and school that it was okay, I didn't miss eating because I was just too busy.  I began to loose weight and by the time school started again, I was happy with the way I looked and allot more secure about myself.  I even met this really nice guy and we started dating (yes, he's my husband now).  I loved the way he loved me for who I was and what I looked like.  He didn't think I was fat and he would tell me how pretty I was (you could only imagine how that made me feel), although he doesn't always tell me so much now after 18 years, but I know he still loves me!  After getting married, I found out I was pregnant and I gained allot of weight.  I had to have an emergency c-section to deliver my baby girl.  After having a c-section, I found it really hard to loose weight.  I couldn't do it.  I definitely didn't have the time to try.  I was a new wife, a new mom, and I worked.  I no longer had time for "me". Which I am not complaining, because this is what it's all about, putting others first.  Then a few years later came my first born son.  Again, I gained allot of weight and had another c-section.  Now I was doomed for ever loosing weight.  It was next to impossible.  5 years after my son was born, I found out we were having child number 3!  Another pregnancy, more weight, absolutely no time ever to myself, another c-section.  Now I have 3 c-sections behind me and no more babies to give birth to.  However, I have 3 very active and busy children.  So any time for myself has been thrown out the window.  I have tried diets, I have tried eating better, I have tried exercise, I have tried praying, etc.  The only thing I feel ever worked was the praying for motivation and exercising.  I did loose about 30 pounds doing that, but then I let life get in the way again.  I got out of the habit and started putting on a little bit of that weight I worked hard at loosing.  I see these small fit people that eat tons of junk or eat out constantly and never put on a pound, and I am jealous of them ( I know I shouldn't be, but it's hard not to be and I am only human), I don't understand why they don't have to worry about their weight and health and I do.  It's just not fair.  Allot of my family is over weight so I don't have much of a chance to be like those other people.  I have tried going to a gym before, but I just wasn't in to it like I should have been, maybe my attitude wasn't right at the time, I don't know.  All I know is that it wasn't working for me.  So now our family has joined a gym we can all go workout at together, or girls and boys, what ever we feel like doing, as often and , when ever we like.  The gym is a 24/7 workout facility, so there isn't really an excuse why we can't go.  Plus I think it will give us quality time with our children or one on one time with each of them.  M is too little right now to workout, but he can go and hang with us.  Maybe it will be good for him to see us trying to make better life changes and encourage him to do the same when he is older.  The older kids are pumped about the membership to the gym.  This is something they have been begging to do for quite sometime now.  We just never got around to checking it out or really wanting to spend the money each month for a membership.  I am not going to get hopes up just yet, but I am praying that with God's help we can do this!  We need to make changes, healthy changes, all of us.  We can't do this alone.  It is so easy to quit!  I wish it weren't so.  I am hoping that with a support group and God of course, we can stick with this.  I alone need to loose several pounds, and I am praying for the will power and strength to keep it up.  This was only day 1 of the rest of my life. I am doing this for ME ME ME ME ME!  This is something new for me, so I am hoping it works out in my favor.  I would love to look in the mirror and love what I see, I would love to step on the scale and be happy with the numbers, I would love to buy me some new clothes and not feel guilty or ashamed because of the size I have to buy.  Please, Lord help ME, help US! WE CAN DO IT!!!  I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me!!! Philippians 4:13

             About 2 Years Ago

35 Years Of Blessings!

So here I was when I was just a wee little one several years ago.  I would love to say I can remember when the days these photos were taken, but I have done a lot of sleeping since then.  35 years ago I was a blessing to my parents, now they are nothing but blessings to me!  I am sure it feels like yesterday when my mom brought me home from the hospital.  As a child the days, weeks, months, and years couldn't go by fast enough.  Now that I am a parent myself it seems like I miss something everyday and my children are growing up so fast and sometimes it literally feels like they grow a foot over night.  My son, soon to be 13, literally did grow 2, yes I said TWO shoes sizes overnight!  I so understand the sadness, but happiness in watching children grow up.  It's happy and sad all at the same time.  I can only imagine how my parents feel since their baby is 5 years from turning the BIG 40!  I'm sure it makes them feel a tad bit older today :)  I love my parents and I am so thankful God chose them to love and raise me.  I couldn't ask for better parents.  Life goes way too fast and children grow up in a blink of an eye.  It's amazing how a day can seem like an eternity, but a year seems to speed by like the speed of light! 

One Of My Greatest Moments!

             

One of my greatest moments as a mother was watching my children show the whole world that they love Jesus and want to live like Him and walk in His ways through baptism.  This is a feeling that I just can't explain, you have to experience it yourself.  When God gives you a child, your job is to raise that child in His ways and teach them about Jesus.  Then one day that child has to make the decision to accept Jesus or not.  It's such a happy and glorious day if you get to witness them making that choice.  The older two kids were baptized together and the youngest was baptized along with his daddy!  You could only imagine how that made me feel as a mother and a wife.  I hope that I am raising my children the way God wants me to.  I know sometimes I let Him down, but I hope and pray that He is pleased with me.  God has trusted me with 3 of His most precious creations, and I am so blessed by His trust. 

I do have a story about my youngest.  When M was about 3 years old he would always tell me that Jesus is SO BIG that it is impossible for Him to fit inside of his heart.  I always talked about what that meant during our bedtime prayers and he never could grasp the thought.  One night during our prayers, the last night of our Church's VBS, M said "Mommy, I get it now!  Jesus is so powerful, so big, and can do anything He wants to.  He has the power to be in every one's heart who asks Him!  Having Jesus in your heart means you love Him, trust Him, want to be like Him, and you believe that He is God's Son."  That night he asked Jesus to live in His heart forever.  About a year later he was baptized!  Stories like this make me confident that I am doing a great job!  God continues to bless me and my family everyday.  I have so much peace knowing my family will be in Heaven with me someday and we will live with Jesus forever and ever and ever!

My Soccer Star!

Ahhhh! I'm a soccer mom!  I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would ever be a "soccer mom".  I have now been one for 6 years and I am loving every minute of it!  C tried finding his sport for quite some time.  He played t-ball, baseball, football and finally found "his" sport when he started soccer.  He has always been the type of child that was always on the go!  He hasn't really ever been very patient either, even from birth.  He couldn't wait to enter the world, so he decided it was time to show his sweet face a few days before surgery was scheduled.  When we got him home, he always wanted to eat before his scheduled feedings, and he never ever wanted to go to bed when it was time for bed.  He also was ALWAYS awake before the sun was even out!  As he got older and more mobile, he couldn't just stay in one place with one toy, he had to have many!  So you could only imagine how much fun he had when he started school.  In pre-k and Kindergarten they got to go to stations, so that kept him pretty busy.  Then he started 1st grade and it was no longer any fun. Sitting in one place with one teacher wasn't his favorite thing to do.  Now that he is a 7th grader and going to several classes throughout the day, he's all good! Back to sports!  Soccer is the kind of sport that keeps you on your toes the WHOLE time!  So yep, that's his favorite sport to play!  I love watching him play!  He is really good!  Baseball was too boring for him and football is way to complicated. 

Miracles Do Happen!

This sweet little face is my great-nephew.  God really wanted him to make it.  He was 9 1/2 weeks early and we weren't sure if he would make it or if he did if he would be "normal" or not.  He weighed a little over 2 pounds when he was born.  He is now a healthy, ornery, sweet, active 2 1/2 year old sweet boy! I don't get to see him much as we don't live very close to each other. As I look into those sweet little blue eyes, I am reminded of God's miracles.  Some people don't believe in miracles, but what they don't realize is they are a breathing miracle themselves.  We take life for granted way too much.  We are way too quick to blame God for all of our problems or "unanswered" prayers.  We should focus on what we have and the fact that we are breathing, walking, talking, and for the most part, healthy.  Be thankful for what you have and the life that you have.  It is our fault if we are not living our lives the way we should, NOT God's!  I am very thankful for all my friends, family, and life.

See no Evil, Speak no Evil, Hear no Evil

Part of being the best parent as you can possibly be is keeping your children as pure as possible as long as possible.  With the world the way it is today, that's next to impossible!  Psalm 119:9-11 says "How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.  I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."  Do you realize what this verse means?  We as parents, have to live right before we can teach our children to live right. I have said it before and I will say it again, I MESS UP, but God is the all gracious God and He forgives, thank you Jesus!  I am not perfect and God doesn't expect me to be perfect, that's what Jesus is for!  However, He has trusted me with His most precious beings, His children!  I must do everything possible to keep these children safe and pure at heart.  It's not an easy job!  I constantly feel like the world is saying "yes" and I am saying "NO", then I have to deal with the arguments and the whining of children that don't yet understand 100% that I am only trying to protect them.  As I sit here and talk about how awful the world is and how it's not a good influence on God's growing children, I have to say my kids are trying so hard to understand and are constantly learning how to be mighty warriors in God's army.  So as I close this entry, I reflect of Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!

Where do I start??

Well, I am new at this whole blogging thing.  I know lots of people that do it and I have always told myself that since I love to write, I should do it to.  I like to express myself on paper rather than in person.  Who knows, maybe you will learn something from me or I will learn something from you. 

I have titled my blog "Being a parent requires Amazing Grace" because those of you that are parents know exactly what I mean.  Those of you that aren't parents, well it takes Amazing Grace just to get out of bed every morning!  So everyone on this earth has experienced some sort of Grace in their lifetime.  Amazing grace just so happens to be one of my favorite songs too!  Imagine that!

Let me tell you a little bit about me, now that you know sort of why I created this blog and named it what I named it.  I am a sister, daughter, granddaughter, friend, wife, and mother of 3 children and 1 dog.  I have experienced what it's like to be a teacher, preacher, doctor, nurse, taxi cab driver, social worker, counselor, referee, veternarian, crying shoulder, and lots more!  I know I have probably left something out, but you get the point!  I am a busy mom and wife who loves her job, but I will be honest with you, at times it is very stressful and I make mistakes!  This is where my "amazing grace" comes from.  I couldn't do it without my Father Above!  There is noone on this earth that would be willing to grant me as much grace as He has in my lifetime.  We ALL mess up, but there is only one that will stand by us and love us anyway.  Thank you Jesus!  SO, back to telling you a little about me.  My husband and I go way back, about 18 years to be exact.  We were highschool sweethearts.  Almost 16 years ago, we said our "I Do's" and tied the knot with a kiss and shortly after, a child.  Our first child and only daughter was born 15 years ago.  People say your life changes when you get married, but it REALLY changes when you have a baby!  It changes so much from sleepless nights, sleepless days, to stealing your breath away everytime you look into those sweet little eyes and hold that sweet little hand.  It's amazing!  I think God "giftwraps" the gift of Grace and hands it to you as soon as you become a wife and mother!  I believe He "regifts" to us everyday!  After being a mom for a couple years, we decided it was time to do this again and sure enough our second child and first born son joined our family.  I needed lots of Grace by this time. As sweet as that bundle of baby boy was, he sure cried allot.  He had colic really bad.  The first 4 months of his life, God had to triple my dose of grace.  We made it though, he is almost 13 years old now!  I think my grace is getting bigger by the minute!  Oh and my oldest, well she will be driving soon!  From the time my son was born and till about the time he was 5 years old, I prayed everyday to be a stay at home mom.  See I worked so much, I came home just in time to kiss the kids goodnight.  That broke my heart more than anyone knows.  Having children, being a mom and a wife was a hard job, and I didn't feel like I was doing it to the fullest.  I made a promise to God (if you ever make Him a promise, be ready He delivers!) that if I could only be a stay at mom, our family would get back involved in Church again.  Well, when my daughter was about 7 and my son about 5, I had a really bad argument with God because I found out I was pregnant again! WHAT!  I said I wanted to be a stay at home mom, not be a mom again!!!  I really thought that God was hard of hearing, maybe He was busy listening to someone else and heard the last of my conversation with Him rather than the whole thing!  Well, a long story made not so long, God knew exactly what He was doing!  Things happened, I became a stay at home mom through my pregnancy and through the first several years of our third child's life!  Our third baby is a boy!  Gotta love those boys!  Right before he turned 3 we were moved to another part of Oklahoma!  We grew up in Enid, my husband and I lived there all our young lives, and suddenly picked up our family and moved them from the only place they had ever known. Ahhhh the move, that was hard and another story for another day.  After the move, we immediately got involved in our church of 6 years now and loving every minute of it.  God makes things happen for His purposes and He never forgets a promise!  So until next time, remember Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, " Plans prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Our family, now complete with three of God's most beautiful and precious gifts!