well that's a punch in the gut.

well that was a punch in the gut.

went to sunday school today. it was great. let me just give you the statement that gave me the punch in the gut, then i'll give you a little backstory.

"What if God designed marriage to make us holy instead of happy?"

that quote is from sacred marriage by gary thomas.

this past week was a hard week for the officer and i.

we had some.... differences.

we had some.... discussions.

okay..... we had some fights.

i know every couple has them. no couple is that perfect married couple. we certainly are not. far from it. if you could be a fly on the wall....

i will say that those of you who think i was a little harsh on myself when i said i was "judgmental, stubborn, and could hold a grudge" would have been surprised if you could have peeked into our household this week. really, these characteristics are in me. they are my weaknesses, constant areas of improvement. i need to throw in prideful too. oh so prideful sometimes.

Galatians 6:3-4
"For if any person things himself to be somebody when he is nobody, he deceives and deludes and cheats himself. But let every person carefully scrutinize and examine and test his own conduct and his own work. He can then have the personal satisfaction and joy of doing something commendable without boastful comparison to his neighbor."

Ephesians 4:31-32
"Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."

Proverbs 3:7
"Be not wise in your own eyes; reverently fear and worship the Lord and turn away from evil."

I Peter 5:6
"Therefore humble yourself under the might hand of God...."

Proverbs 21:24
"The proud and haunty man -- scoffer is his name - deals and act with overbearing pride."

Matthew 7:1-5
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye"

Luke 6:37
“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven"

yep,i know what God has thought of some of my thoughts, words, and actions this past week.

so today i went to sunday school. i was able to sit still and listen to God speak to me though the sunday school lesson.

"What if God designed marriage to make us holy instead of happy?"

there were a couple more things that stuck out to me. gary thomas mentioned that all our joy and fulfillment should not come from our spouse. it should come from God. if we are looking to our spouse to fulfill all that, we will be disappointed. it's not that i haven't heard that before, but i needed to hear it right at this time. also, in all things God is trying to shape us more into the character of Him. marriage is a tool to do that.

i need to put in a little disclaimer before people worry about my marriage. my marriage is good. i am happy in my marriage. i love the officer. however, everyone knows that being married over a decade takes work. i always admire those cute couples that have their 50 year anniversary, like ma & pa. amazing. that didn't happen without work. it's not a criticism, but i am not sure how couples who do not believe in God and have a personal relationship with Him do it. what do they hold on to? what is their hope in? where do they get the strength they need to hang in there when times are really tough? of course this could be said of christians too, can't it?

so next sunday we will continue on the marriage videos. i am looking forward to it and i am readying myself for what else God will tell me. i'm sure it will be convicting and encouraging. convicting because i always fall short. encouraging because:

Hebrews 4:15-16
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

this week on the island

hello all. how are you bloggy friends? enjoying this great weather?? well, at least in little ol' oklahoma the weather has been glorious these past couple of days and we have taken advantage of it!

this past week we've also been hit with allergies. fun stuff! i'll take the allergies (as long as it's not too crazy) if it mean some nice days between the cold, miserable days. of course, i'm not sure if the officer feels that way when he sees me with two kleenexes stuck up each nostril to stop the dripping. was that too much information? sorry.

carrying on...

i wanted to comment about my last post. i just wanted you to know that i didn't write that post so you would say nice things about me. although, thank you for the sweet comments! :) when i said that i was "loud, judgemental, stubborn, and can be unforgiving, open my mouth too much, and hold a grudge", believe me i am all those things. just ask the officer. he experienced some of those thing just this past week. i know i am also caring, loving, and blah, blah, blah, but i am also those other things too. we all have areas we have to work on and those are just some of mine. if we were all perfect..... well we're not so no use in finishing that sentence. thank goodness for the graciousness, mercy, and love of God.

my son had a playdate this week with his best friend, j. they had a great time. the weather was great too so they played outside a lot. my daughter loved that her brother had a playdate because i got to hang out with her while brother played with his friend. of course, she didn't get out of school. i don't think she minded since she had me to herself though.

today we had swim lessons and then a birthday party for two cute friends. we stopped by academy on our way home to get my daughter some soccer gear. she is going to start in march. she is so excited. she loves to run. she hardly walks anywhere. so we thought soccer would be a great sport for her to try. her two older cousins have played it and now my daughter is excited to be doing something they have done. we were able to get her cleats, shorts, socks, and shin guards for about $23 at academy. as soon as we got home she tried it all one. every single day she has asked me, "how many days until soccer starts mommy?" i should have waited to tell her. now i think as long as she remembers which goal is hers, she will have a great time.

the officer called me at the birthday party and said he wanted to cook out. he had dinner going before we got home. the kids played outside while the officer grilled. have i said that it was beautiful outside? i am finally getting use to my fancy (and by that i mean it's not our 5 megamixel kodak camera) camera. the pictures are turned out better. now i just need to learn all the other things my camera can do.

here's a couple shots of the kids and our dog.


she seriously loves this dog... and he loves her.

she wanted me to take a picture of her jumping out of the swing so she could see what her face looked like when she was up high.

that's about all that has gone on this week. i hope you have had a great weekend!

the value of touch by kathryn spurgeon

my mom has a blog. she has for a while. i get her blog posts via email. my mom has a great blog, so peruse over it while you are there. papa bill (her husband) says she has the ability to love the unlovable. and she does. she loves those people who are very gruff on the edges and hard to be around. she shows them God's love in a way i know i will never be able to. it's a good thing too. i am pretty sure my quiet, meek mother didn't know what she God was giving her when she got me. i am loud, judgemental, stubborn, and can be unforgiving, open my mouth too much, and hold a grudge. these things are not my mom, so i am pretty sure i was unlovable at many times. yet she loved me. yet she loves me. such a reflection of God that woman.

i am not a very touchy feely person. those of you who know me please refrain from laughing and falling out of your chairs. :) i knew this would have to change somewhat when i had kids. and it has. i think i do pretty good with my own children. i hug them. i kiss them (even though my son has started to wipe the kisses off). i scratch their backs as night and rub their heads. i know the value of touch. probably from deep down inside it has been ingrained in me from my mom.

you can read her blog post here.

give you kids a hug tonight and tell them that you love them. a little touch, a little affection brought me all the way from korea to little ol' oklahoma.

i love you mom.

need to know about this God that will love you even when you are unlovable? just ask. i will let you know how He has loved me.

cupcakes & pedicures

today my daughter had a "first" experience. a friend of hers, miss b, invited her for a small birthday celebration. it was miss b's 7th birthday.

the girls had their first pedicures. when we arrived the people showed our daughters to their chairs. they also let us moms sit in a massage chair while we watched the girls.

even though i do not think i could ever get a pedicure (someone else i don't know touching my feet!!!!!), i thoroughly enjoyed watching the girls get theirs. they clipped their toenails, scrubbed their feet, massaged their legs with a sugar scrub, and painted their toenails. there was a point where they wrapped hot (very warm) towels on their feet and it make my daughter a little nervous because the towels were putting off steam. she made it through that though.


miss b chose pink as her color. my daughter had originally chosen glitter gold (out of the 100 colors available), but we persuaded her to choose a solid color so the little flower they painted on her big toe would stand out. she chose neon green. the lady painted white flowers with a little diamond in the middle on their big toe.

i think both girls enjoyed themselves a lot, but they also enjoyed the the little dvds they had for the girls to watch. honestly, it was pretty fun watching them get the pedicures too.

after the pedicures, we headed to gigi's cupcakes to have a little (actually big) treat. they had so many delicious cupcakes. the frosting was piled high and was almost as big as the cupcake itself.

it wasn't hard for the girls to choose though. miss b picked out the "miss princess" cupcake and my daughter picked out "strawberry shortcake".

it didn't take long for either of the girls to finish their cupcakes. my daughter did tell me she debated whether to leave the "goodness" (aka - icing) for the last or to eat it first. she saved it for the last and ate every bite but the very last one. miss b had no trouble eating most of her cupcake either. my friend got the chocolate one. that's a lot of chocolate goodness there.

the girls had a great time. thanks for inviting us miss b. i hope you have a great birthday!

new uniform, time passing by

tonight my son came home with a new tae kwon do uniform. his old one was a little on the short side. it was right above his ankles and wrists. he wanted a new one. even though he will test for a black belt in april or so and get a new black belt uniform then, we purchased a new one tonight because his old one is too small.

i was aware we were getting a new one for him tonight. however, when the officer came home with it, i got all emotional about it. he tried his new uniform on. it is slightly too big for him. he has to roll down his pants at the waist, roll up the pant legs once, and roll up the sleeves. it'slike when he got his very first tae kwon do uniform.

seriously... how cute was he? he had just turned 5. see how his pants and sleeves are rolled up? he was so happy to have that white belt.

i got all emotional because it's just another sign that my little, first born boy is growing up. there's nothing i can do about it.

his old tae kwon do uniform is in perfect condition. he's had it for three years. not. one. single. stain. there's no holes or rips. he took great care of it. i don't have many keepsakes from when he was younger. his coming home from the hospital outfit. a pair of pajamas he used to sleep with. that's about it. i will keep the uniform.

he's growing up fast. nothing i can do about it, but enjoy the time God is giving us to spend with him. teaching him to love and serve God the best way we know how. praying for him constantly to be a man of character, a good husband, and a good father. praying for God to guide him and protect him as he grows into the little man i see him turning into every day.

okay now i'm emotional.

stopping writing now.

never stop praying for your children. God will hear all those fervent prayers.

artwork

so one of the kids and the officer's favorite things to do is write back on forth on the mirror. we use the dry erase markers. they are awesome. they are kept in the bathroom drawers. the officer will randomly draw pictures on the kid's bathroom mirror. so when they get up, it's one of the first things they see. it always brings a smile to their faces.

of course, the kids like to draw on our mirrors too. yesterday there was a picture of "daddy" with a huge head, big ears, one big eye, one small eye, and the tiniest body possible. the officer drew more pictures this morning and of course the kids couldn't let that be the last word.

in case you are wondering, she drew a picture of her daddy with a small body, small head, and huge spikey hair with the words "ha ha" written above it.

the dry erase markers are cheap. i would highly suggest getting some. you can write notes to your spouse. sometimes they are "please don't forget" notes, but sometimes they are "hey, thanks for all you do! love you!" notes. who doesn't love getting a note like that?

this week on the island

it's only tuesday, right?

i have no rhyme or reason as to when i write these "this week on the island" posts. it seems like the weekend because the officer has been home a couple of days. thursday through sunday night the officer was helping his dad with his cabin at the lake. that was long four days.

saturday was the kids first swim lessons for the year. we haven't done them in quite a while and i wasn't sure if they would remember everything. they did. they loved it! i was telling the officer that it looks like my son, who swims pretty well, looks like he's swimming to save his life. my daughter, who also swims well also, looks like she just messing around. it's just weird how their personality plays into every little thing. interesting. we still have the issue with the locker rooms (trying to figure out how to dress an 8 year old boy in the women's locker room.)

monday, we did school - which is hard to do sometimes when the officer is home. the officer made some of his wonderful chocolate chip cookies. i can't even remember what else we did.

today, the officer and i took the kids to their annual well-child check up. this is always fun. i had thought it was a dentist appointment we had to go to today until i checked the calendar. my son was excited about going to the dentist. however, when i told him we actually had to go to the doctor, the fretting about getting shots immediately started. he does NOT like getting shots. not that much different than any other kids i guess.

anywho, everything went great with the doctor's visit. i really love our pediatrician. even when she moved her practice, we moved with her. she's great. she always tells my son to eat his fruits and vegetables. she always eases our worries without making us feel silly. when she plotted our children on the growth chart, my son was in the 6 % (yeah, you read that right) for weight and 7% for height and my daughter was in the 50% for weight and 70% for height. the dr. was very sweet though and told my son, "you sister will probably grow taller than you, but only for a short bit. you will hit a growth spurt and be bigger than her."

tomorrow, grandma & papa will be coming down to hang out with the kids while the officer and i get a day to ourselves. everyone is looking forward to that. grandparents excited to see grandkids, grandkids excited to see grandparents, and parents excited to hangout together.

the officer goes back to work on thursday and we will be back on our regularly scheduled program. :)

i hope you have a great week!

love it

i L-O-V-E, love it when find her asleep like this.

yes, i did take a picture of her with the flash, while she was asleep. no, it didn't wake her up, much.

when she has her hands tucked behind her head or behind her back, you know she is really trying to get to sleep.

this week on the island

is it saturday already? crazy. seems like we just finished with christmas. i guess we just did. we have gotten back into our full schedule again. have you? probably why i haven't blogged this year. oh wait i did blog this year about my new big bertha bag, but i don't really consider that blogging. that was just me sharing one of the little things in life that make me smile.

last sunday we spent the day at my grandma's. it was a holiday get together. we used to get together all the time; however, all my aunts and uncles are grandmas now too so it gets harder to do. i love getting together with everyone and seeing how all the little kids have grown.

we started back with gymnastic lessons, boy scouts, and swim lessons. today was our first swim lessons since last june. i thought the kids would forget all they had learned, but they picked it up very quickly again. they had ended in the intermediate class, but i put them back into the beginners 2 class. however, the instructor said they could move right back up to the intermediate class. they love it. of course i think it wore them out because my daughter hardly spoke a word on the way back home.

we have started back to school too. i need to start incorporating some home ec. into our schedule. as i have said many time before, i am not a great cook, so i may have to outsource cooking lessons. however, i need to teach the kids how to properly mop a floor, wash clothes, hang clothes up in their closet (instead of just pulling them down off the hanger and then putting them in the dirty clothes for me to wash because they can't hang them back up), and other miscellaneous things. i am not sure if it like this with other families, but sometimes it doesn't occur me to teach my kids to do something unless i find out they can't do something or unless someone else points it out.

i am very excited because some sweet friends of ours are back from the mission field. they actually got back last night at 1 a.m. it was a long flight back home, but they arrived safe and sound. for a little bit they will be living close by me. hopefully we will get to hang out a little bit while they are close by, that is after they get acclimated to the 8 hour difference. :)

my family has not been going through any tribulations at this time, but we have known several families who are. one of the family's prayers have been answer this past week. it has been so great to see their journey and to see how God has provided for them every step of the way. they give all the glory to God. another family is going through probably one of the toughest, trying times possible right now. i know of nothing i can do for them (they live out of town), except be constantly on my knees in prayer for them. they are strong christians and their marriage is strong. i know they have a good support group of people who love them. i know you don't know the circumstances of the situation, but if you could just pray for this family i would appreciate it. they need strength, patience, encouragement, and peace as they go through this time. my sister-in-law and her family are in the process of moving back to oklahoma. this is exciting, but it is also a time of being unsure what they should do. they have to sell their house back where they lived and get settled here. there are a lot of unknowns at this point and it's been like that for a while. they know God is in control, but you know sometimes it is difficult dealing with "not knowing" what the next step is.

the last family we know of that are going through difficult times are not christians. they are a sweet family but do not know any of the peace that God can bring. we are in contact with them frequently, so please pray for us to know how to help them, to take the opportunities God gives us to minister to them, and even have an opportunity to tell them about God's love for them.

i guess that's about it for now. we have fun things like annual doctor and dentist appointments coming up for the kids. they actually love going to the dentist. they like the doctor too, but not the "shot" part at the end of the appointment. of course, the doctor has nothing to do with that.

well my friends are almost here so i need to go. i hope you have a great week blog friends!

oh yeah!

look what my sweet friend and fellow couponer just gave me. a super cute, thirty-one, tote bag for big bertha! love it! thanks, mrs. c!

i was wondering if this super cute coupon tote is going to outweigh the fact that i am carrying around a 2 inch binder with over 600 coupons in it and make me cool, but i think not! at least i'll look cute even if i'm not cool!

did you notice that the tote even says "big bertha?"