Spring Waters Winery

Today I had the pleasure of spending time with a dear friend. Her name is Wanda. She and her husband, Arnold, attend our Bible study. We have gotten close over the last couple of years. She invited me to go with her on a field trip with several other neighbors in her community. I was looking forward to our day together. I didn't remember where we were going so I was definately in for a treat!

We met up with the other folks going and got on the bus. I asked her where we were going and she said a winery!! Wow! When I texted Aaron he was jealous. It was really neat. We had a beautiful drive out to the hill country. The lunch was great, probably the best chicken salad I have ever had. We got to relax as everyone took their turn trying out the wine. I did not partake but enjoyed being there with my friends. I needed that quite little get away. :) Here are some pictures of our day at Spring Waters Winery.

What and Who is My Faith In?

We have experinced an overwhelming amount of struggles. I know that there are many that are struggling with worse. We have an ivy plant that we have placed in the window sill of our shower. I am terrible with plants but thankfully they are hard to kill:). Every now and then it begins to look droopy so I give it some water and it perks up. When it seems to be dying there is nothing it can do but wait for someone to water it. Our life lately has been the same. The circumstances we experince have really been out of our control. We have to wait on doctors, insurance benefits and approvals, and many more. There was nothing we could do but wait it out. We waited mostly on God. I sat one day and began to count our blessings. An amazing doctor, new flooring, a marriage that is being strengthed with every need there is to be met, the flexablity of homeschooling so we can do school anywhere, lots of insurance and so on. In the midst of our trials we have so many to be thankful for. I'm sure the average person would think of the insurance companies and contractors with amazing discounts and for a moment I could see the possiblitly of placing the "heroic" acts first. However, there was no way that I could rule out God. None of that would have really worked in our favor without the amazing power of God. Hands down, He gets all the credit.

Ephesians 6:12 says, For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the forces of the evil in the heavenly realms.- God is fighting this battle way more than we can understand. These struggles are not just because of our behavior or choices we made.(except the knee injury Aaron has:/) We are just going through a tough time, but God has a plan. We have complete trust in him and all he can do and provide for us.

Who do you put your trust in? Your neighbors, friends, and family. They are all a tremdendous help however only God can truely pull you through with peace, confidence, hope, and perservarance.

Tonight Aaron is recovering at the surgical center. He had his knee surgery this morning and they are keeping him overnight for observation and to get him going on physical therapy right away. He is doing ok and they are giving him medication to relieve the pain. They immediately placed his leg in this machine that moves his leg back and forth. They also have a neat electronic ice pack that keeps the cool pad cold constantly.

It has been and still will be a juggle to make sure the kids are taken care of but God has really worked those details out. I was slow to make those arrangements because I really didn't want to impose. But the night before the surgery my dear friend Michelle called to check on whether I had made arrangements for the kids because she knew Aaron's surgery was scheduled for today. God bless her!! She offered to have them and I agreed. I also was able to make arrangements with another good friend Nia to take care of them while he was at his physical therapy appointment tomorrow. God has really answered prayers even before I asked. What a load taken off my shoulders. Both families are homeschoolers so that is perfect for my home schooled children. They were able to do school work today!

In the end I made the decision to come home, get the kids, do a little house work, make dinner, and then go back to see Aaron. He didn't really need me much in the hospital, he needed to sleep. I loved seeing him tonight, miss him already...But I had to get home and put the kids to bed and do the dishes and so on. Wow! I'm a grown up making rational decisions. Not too long ago I would have insisted on staying with him all day and making a fuss over him and truly getting on his nerves...lol. I love him and can't wait to have him home and I can fuss over him here:)

Thank you God for always taking care of us and seeing the big picture before I do.
me

Light at the end of the Tunnel

Well, we knew God had blessings in store and all would be put back together again. But, I have to admit I had lots of pity parties. This weekend we discovered our brakes were messed up (putting it mildly) and needed to go to the shop. So, we got up at 6:00 am and headed out to the shop so we could be first in line.

While waiting on the repair Aaron spoke with our friend from church to schedule to start the flooring. That is when the good news began!!! He said they could be at our house in an hour or so. We had already picked out the materials so he had it ready. Yipee!!! The shop had our van ready by noon!

It took two days to complete. They moved all the big furniture, including the piano and put it all back. Now we just have to put all the little stuff back. Lots of cleaning and reorganizing but sooo worth it. Thanks to Rob Nichols and his flooring company for taking good care of us with great service and hard work.

I'm posting some pictures but unless you have been to our house you may not really understand the excitement we feel. It's like we have a new house!! Our insurance has taken care of us. We may pay a little more for our coverage with State Farm but it is worth it when a disaster happens. I don't want to have it cheaper monthly to find out later when we need it the coverage and service sucks. I'm soo thankful.

Well, it's late and we have to get up sooo early. But, that is the story of my life. Not enough hours in the day. But that is okay. My hands, as well as the kids' hands are covered in dye and all the plastic eggs are stuffed and ready. Easter Bunny came with goodies...;).

Even though our house is still a crazy mess because our flooring is still pending. But we found a little space for egg dying and made a work bench for Georgia's spot. Georgia was able to jazz her eggs up with glitter and tattoos. JD was excited to do
3D decorations! We had quite a selection this year. Check out the pics:)

The night is over, kids are showered and tucked in. We are all expecting tomorrow to be the most exciting day. Our excitement does not come from our Easter baskets and the Easter Bunny. The most important focus is on our Lord Jesus Christ! His victory over death! Because of the suffering and his death we are forgiven!!! He is ALIVE!! No greater gift could ever be given. Thank you to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit 3 in one. Amen!

Umm, Excuse Me But Temper Tantrums are for Toddlers

Quite a long title but I had no other way to put it. I have been just all stirred up over these recent bumps in the road. I have spent the last two weeks trying to hang in there and going along with every change in plans. But this weekend I lost it. I made up my mind to be angry and frustrated. I kept staring at every flaw in the house. If you have been through remodeling or getting ready to sell, you know what I mean. It feels like the whole house is falling apart. But it isn't, not even close. I had such a crying spell that I really didn't want to be around anyone. To be honest, I am sure I wouldn't have been pleasant company. Aaron and the kids have tried to steer clear of my tantrums but enough is enough. This is for babies!

Aaron lovingly reminded me of the many blessings we have. And, my hope should be in God to provide not ourselves. I was convinced that repairs should be moving faster. I was overwhelmed yet God's word tells me not to worry, He will take care of everything. I really should be thankful, I was not acting thankful even though I knew I should be thankful.

We are blessed:

To have God on our side to fight our battles for us.
That Aaron only injured his knee and not his back or anything else.
That Derek was not injured as well in this moment of fun.
That we new a personal friend to arrange an immediate appointment with a specialist
Thankful that I am a homemaker and have the flexibility to drive Aaron everywhere.
Thankful that the kids have been sooo good through all of this.
Thankful that only our bedroom and bathroom and only a tiny bit of living room flooded.
Thankful for no damage to furniture.
Thankful for home insurance. (and the blessing of new flooring)
Thankful for a personal friend who can give us a great deal on our flooring.
Thankful for Aflac to help with expenses for the medical costs.
Thankful that Aaron is up and moving well enough to be off crutches.
Thankful we can all participate in all the Easter festivities.
Thankful that I have a wonderful husband who had the courage to approach me in my tantrum.

Counting our blessings is really good therapy for my heart and emotions. We have been through way worse. We will get through this stressful time and God will be with us every step of the way.

Extreme Couponing

Well, Extreme Coupon Ladies are very popular. If you have seen the shows on the new series on TLC, I'm sure you are blown away! I can't help but ask how do you do that?!! I was introduced to this idea while I was in Tennessee by Madison. She seemed to have it down to a science. That is exactly it. Super organized and money smart women are saving alot and even making money sometimes. Some of them appear to go too far. They buy things they don't need. For instance,diapers when they do not have children, or 77 bottles of mustard ( I mean, really?) But I give them credit for saving and being prepared.

So, I'm gonna give it a shot. I've done alot of reading and watched videos on how to do it. I clipped 3 newspapers in coupons (which is only a small start from what I understand). I'm printing coupons from online, Read and circled all the sales and created a list based on what is on sale. I gotta test it myself. It's not costing more if I'm getting cereal and plenty of other things free just for shopping smart. I will keep you updated on how I do.:)