Daddy/Daughter Dance

A couple of weekends ago, the big girls had Daddy/Daughter dance at their school. They were so excited for weeks leading up to the night.
Don't they look so pretty (and handsome, of course)?!

It was extra fun because it was Aunt Jen's birthday and she came up to celebrate!

Yes, I am blessed.

I even snuck up to the school for a few minutes to get some dancing shots:

My sweet girls, may you be blessed with a husband one day who loves you as much as your daddy does, who can make your heart swirl with love as much as your dresses swirl when you dance, and who loves you second to only your Heavenly Father who loves you as with more passion than you'll ever be able to grasp.

Catch Up for Valentine's

I am in LOVE with these little girls...sometimes to the point where it feels like my heart might explode. Sometimes to the point it hurts. But these 3 have stolen my heart from the moment I've met them...actually even before that.

They woke up and opened up some little Valentine's gifts. The above picture is taken right before the big girls headed out the door for school. Later in the day I joined in the fun at their class parties.

To my precious girls, I love you more than words could ever say, more than you will ever know, and more than I ever thought it was possible to love.

The Not So Pretty

I don't use this blog to go into detail about when my children are disobedient or to vent when Jason does things that make me really mad. I figure I wouldn't want someone airing my dirty laundry for others to read, so I am not going to air theirs.

However, I genuinely hope that when others check in that they don't get the impression our family is perfect. We aren't. I am definitely not. So, I thought today that I'd let you read my journal entry from my quiet time with the Lord from this morning.

Feb 17, 2011
Lord God,
I am frustrated and finding myself angry. Even angry at You, to be honest. I don't get the prayer thing all too often. I know you aren't a genie in a bottle or Santa Clause, but I do wonder sometimes if prayer makes any difference. It's scary to write these words of my heart down-- almost like I am waiting for lightening to strike. But I know that you know my heart and thoughts anyways. And I know that the best thing to do is to come to You, even when it isn't pretty.

God, we need our house to sell or lease SOON. If you want me to move on and settle in, I need a place where I can do that.

I'm struggling to hear your voice, to expereince Your joy. Please listen to the cries of my heart.

My Bible reading- Matthew 1:1-17 A record of Jesus' ancestors which include:

• heroes of the faith
• but those heroes also included liars, a murderer, and those that showed partiality
• the ordinary
• a prostitute
• foreigners
• the evil

"God's work in history is not limited by human failures or sins, and he works through ordinary people. Just as God used all kinds of people to bring his Son into the world, he uses all kinds today to accomplish His will. And God wants to use you." (commentary from my Life Application Bible study)

"Abundant life is not something to work for, but rather is something to be worked from." (Michael Wells, Sidetracked in the Wilderness)

I had just stopped in the parking lot of a local church on my way home from taking Reese to MDO. As I looked out my window I saw a bunch of tall trees. It's winter and there isn't any type of life on them. I feel like what they look like: dead with no signs of life, ugly. Yet, as I thought about it. They were tall and the wind was blowing like crazy. Still, they didn't fall over which means they have deep roots. And while they don't have anything but dead leaves on them now, I know in another month or two they will be filled with beautiful green leaves. And while I can't see the oxygen they are giving off, I know they are.

So I wrapped up with this prayer:

Father, keep me rooted deep in You. Use me to breathe Your life into others. Please bring new life into my life, spiritually and emotionally (I added spiritually and emotionally bc I think Jase would wince thinking about me having a new life growing in me physically!) May your Spirit always move me. Please sell my house soon. Your child, Kimberly

Baby, It's Cold Outside

This is all I'm saying: 18 inches of snow, -12 degrees last night, and tomorrow will be the 9th day the girls have been off of school for snow since coming back from Christmas break.

Family Night

The move to Arkansas has been quite the transition. I still feel very much in limbo, which isn't the most comfortable of positions to be in. We still own our "vacation" home in TX; I don't know what I'll be doing up here job-wise, and we still live with the ever gracious in-laws.

However, one great addition to our family since moving up here has been family night. We have one night a week that everyone knows is set aside just for our family. Phones, computers, TVs are pushed aside. And we rotate who gets to plan it each week. I'll give you what we have done so far:

1.) bowling night (Laney)

2.) movie night at home....ordered pizza in and had an intermission filled with fun treats (Ashlyn)

3.) Movie night #2 which included breakfast for dinner in our pj's (Reese)

4.) Fun City- a pizza place with indoor putt-putt, arcades and play area (me)

5.) dinner out and then onto an art gallery (Papa D)

6.) roller-skating (Jason)

7.) game night...we even called neighbors who recently moved to the other side of town and asked if we could borrow their almost empty house for a couple of hours for a fantastic game of Nerf War! Then we came back home and played Cooties (as shown below) (MiMi)

This week we were back on Laney-bear. We had a Valentine's night. Our food was red and pink (lasagna and a pink fruit salad with pink lemonade). Laney then told us about the crafts and reminded us that Jesus is love.

Our first craft I found in one of my magazines. You'll see close-ups at the end of the post but here are my 3 loves showing off our pretty Valentine heart hanging:

Then we moved on to making bookmarks and Valentine's cards.

A few of the final products:

"Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God.... God showed how much he loves us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. This is real love-- not that we loved God, but that He loves us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins." I John 4:7, 9-10

Whispers from Heaven

I have never audibly heard the voice of God. No notes from above have been left under my pillow. There isn't a contact in my cell phone with the name Jesus attached to it.

But I have heard His voice. He still speaks as clearly today as He did thousands of years ago.

Over the years I have been asked several times, "How do I know God is speaking to me?" My usual response, "you just know that you know that you know." There are, of course, the basics that if God is telling you to do something, whatever it is will always match up to Scripture and will always match up to His character. But I am telling you, when God speaks, whether in a whisper or in a what seems like a shout, you will know in the very core of your being. It might take time to truly know that it is Him or have a few specifics revealed to you, but you will know that you know it is Him. He speaks with authority but it is always accompanied with His gentleness.

A couple of weeks ago I heard His voice again. I heard it in a way that breathes air into my lungs and fills my heart with joy. We were driving down to Texas for New Year's weekend, to spend time with friends and be in our own house (which Jase lovingly refers to as our "vacation home" since it still hasn't sold or leased). I was in the middle of Karen Kingsbury's new book entitled Unlocked. It centers around an autistic high school boy who keeps saying to himself "Jesus, I know you love me." Every time I read those words my heart resonated with the truth. No, this move hasn't been easy. We still haven't sold our home. We are still living with Jason's parents. We don't really know anyone. But even when things don't go as I desire, Jesus still loves me.

This prompted me to open my Bible and read Isaiah 43 again. We are told marvelously in this chapter of the Bible that even if the fires are all around us and we feel the heat, they won't consume us. As the waters rise and threaten to knock us over, we will not drown. We are summoned by God; He calls us by name! I am His! As I kept reading I came across verses 18 and 19 and it took my breath away.

These were the same verses I read in a book a friend sent me several weeks back. The book is on moving and gives wonderful hope and promises of God as you move to a new place and everything familiar is stripped away. I heard God's heart for me as I read these words. This was Him talking to me, whispers of Heaven to soothe my soul.

An hour later I went back to the Kingsbury book and you wouldn't believe it! In the story of the book these very verses were written out in the story line to the mom of the autistic boy. Except they were personalized in this way "My precious daughter, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up...do you not perceive it...I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. I love you, my daughter...you are not alone. Not now or ever."

Tears came to my eyes; my heart felt like it was up in my throat. No, I have no idea if God's voice is deep or if it is raspy. I have yet to receive a personalized text message from Him. But I know that I know, He speaks. And I love what He has to say.

Christmas 2010

Does this give you any idea how great Christmas was for us? Okay, actually we were just being silly as we played with my new camera. There are many crazy poses that I won't post, as to not be bribed later on with.
The highlight for me was that my best friend, Jen, came and spent Christmas in Arkansas with us. If you can't be at "home" then having "home" come to you is just perfection. Seriously, she is one of the greatest friends a girl could ask for!

Here is sweet Reesie-boo on Christmas Eve, after we got home from a lovely Christmas Eve service, celebrating the birth of our Savior!

And, of course, the famous matching pjs for everyone, including the dogs:

The girls with their plate of cookies for Santa:

Putting out reindeer food (which Laney Hope made at school with her classmates):

Mimi with Laney and Reese:

Me and my precious oldest:

We woke up and started with our stockings...

Our big present to Reese was a canopy for over her bed. Gampa and Diane got her the microphone. I found her singing under her canopy and snapped this shot right afterwards. Oh, what a CUTIE.PIE!

After the stockings we came to open our big presents. This is the big girls reaction to seeing...

these! Needless to say, the lockers I found at my favorite shop here in Arkansas were a huge hit! I got excited just thinking about them seeing these because I knew how much they'd love them! I asked Laney later in the day if she liked her locker. Her response, "I don't just like it. I LOVE it!"

Mimi and Papa D got the big girls scooters and Reesie got a riding scooter which she calls her motorcycle. She loves this thing. One day during lunch last week she looked at me and said, "Mommy, I'm a motorcycle girl."

Well friends, Merry CHRISTmas and Happy New Year from our family to yours!