Holiday Decor on a Budget

I.Love.Pine cones.

And I don't want to spend money on them at the store, I find it a bit ridiculous.

So, the baby girl and I went for a walk earlier this fall the park and there it was. The perfect pine cone..accompanied by all its perfect pine cone friends. So we gathered up a (whole) lotta them and brought them home to use as fall decor.

Then it came time to get out the Christmas decor and an idea hit me - why not make some of our (many, many) pine cones WINTER pine cones??

Here's what you need:

pine cones

white craft paint

clear (or white) glitter

glue

paint brush(es)

Just dot each petal with the white paint and let dry completely. Then, paint each with glue and roll in glitter (I poured mine out on a plate) and let them dry again. Thats it! Make ornaments by adding ribbon or fill a hurricane or bowl or..let your imagination run wild!

Wander on over to The Shabby Nest for some more great Frugal Holiday Ideas!

What I Thanksgive..

God, for saving me from certain death!
For my husband, being the incredible loving, providing, awesome man he is!
For my son, being the smart, loving, sweet boy he is!
For my daughter, being the floofy, caring, lovely little princess she is!
For my family, for still loving me through all the junk I put them through!
For my friends, for loving me and being so encouraging and amazing!

My son told me this morning:

"We have to thanks give Candy Land, and Pom (thats what he calls my dad) and cards and food and thanks give Jesus for all the parts that I just said. And the chairs game. Because its Thanksgiving and it makes our hearts happy!"

I am thankful for a Savior that even my not-yet-five year old can love and accept and understand!

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Walk to Beautiful

I just finished watching "A Walk to Beautiful" (aired by PBS.) I'm nearly beyond words. It is about women who develop fistulas (a hole in the birth canal either to the bladder or rectum caused from extremely long hard labors [they said up to 10 days of hard labor] causing incontinence) These women are shunned by their communities, families, abandoned by their husbands. They cannot even live in their family's homes, they have to live in a hut out back.

There are hospitals (the one they focused on in particular is in Adis Ababa, Ethiopia) that specialize in this issue but they said there are something like 70,000 women with this problem and only 146 obgyns. (Don't quote me on those figures..)

My heart broke hearing the stories of these women. Many, after days of labor, lost their babies and then were cut off from society.

I always think of ways to serve as a missionary like teaching people about Jesus, teaching them to read, write, farm. Even being a doctor or nurse and treating them for disease or malnourishment. But what an incredible honor would it be to be able to basically give these women their very life!? There are so many practical ways to serve God's people, His children, but this is one way that by helping cure one person, you'd be affecting so many; their families, their children.

So many of the women in the hospital said that if this surgery didn't work, their only other option would be suicide. They cannot go back to their villages for fear of being shunned. One girl was 17 years old and had been married off at 9 or 10 years old and kept running away and her father would beat her and send her off with another husband and with the fourth husband she ended up getting pregnant and was in labor for 5 days, causing the fistula and I think she was one who ended up losing her child. Her mother had died I think when this girl was a child so she didn't want to go back because her father would just beat her and marry her off again (or try, no man would probably consider taking her.)

I think part of the reason it touched me so much is that our compassion child, Biruk, lives in (or near) Adis Ababa and to think that his family could very well be affected by this issue (he is an orphan, so maybe his mother died in child birth or from some sort of complication) and to be able to go there and make a difference, such an incredible, life changing difference, and that in the name of the Lord..

It just gives you (me) a new perspective on the petty 'problems' in my life!

Recent Projects

I haven't posted in quite awhile so I thought I'd share some projects I've done since my last post.



My sister and I made some pumpkin & gourd candle holders. You just cut a hole big enough for a tea light and then scoop out all the guts. The candles sat a little low so we put those glass beads (like flattened marbles) in the bottom. We used some of the funky shaped gourds and they looked so great!



This is on a bookshelf at our church. It was antique white which looked good, but just didn't quite fit with the season so I grabbed a bottle of golden something-or-other acrylic paint and used my crackle and chocolate brown acrylic paints to make this beautiful thing!



Again, my sister and I did this one. Friends of ours recently bought their first house and don't have much for it as far as decor so we decided to help them out! We just used a board our dad had laying around (part of a 2x4), sanded it smooth and rounded the edges/corners (with the sander)and painted it with acrylics (the kind in the little bottles in the craft section) We started with a coat of chocolate brown, then used a wispy brush and did a coat of white (leaving some brown showing through) and then a coat of crackle medium, then a coat of antique white (with the wispy brush) then painted the words with black and once it dried, outlined the words with a black permanent marker to make the edges smooth. We scuffed the edges a bit with sand paper for the antique-y look. SO easy (and fun!!) and really cheap!

I just love making cards! I used some scraps of scrapbook paper and the flower and black portion I painted with acrylics on Bristol board. The 'Home' card was for my friends who bought the house.

And there you have it, this is what my life consists of when I'm bored! I love making things and doing little home-y projects and I LOVE not spending money on decor and cards and such..it's a beautiful thing!

There's No Place Like Home - Part 2: It's Finished! (for now..)

Just thought I'd share a few finished projects from the last post!
















The bell pepper and squash are finally growing!!



















Here's the little night stand; I was able to take the old handle apart and use part of it and since contact paper doesn't come in very interesting patterns, I taped in a piece of scrapbook paper and put clear contact paper over the top!
















Mom-in-law was going to throw this old trunk out so we said we'd take it off her hands; splashed some color on it and voila!






























The garden under the tree makes a HUGE difference! It looks like we actually care about our yard! I'm so proud of Daniel for building it! (Now if we could only get the grass to grow..)

There's No Place Like Home..

Four and a half years ago we moved into this home. Since then, we haven't really made it our own. It has a very eclectic feel to it (so we've been told) but it's eclecticity is quickly approaching cluttered-ness and it is making us both crazy! We moved in only 5 months after getting married, so we've accumulated a lot of stuff since then, considering we didn't have much to start with. Other than a few personal touches (the lime green bedroom, for example) it's really..how to put this..very blah. I think we've felt that since it's a rental, we didn't need or want to put much effort into it because we knew we'd be moving 'soon'..fast forward to 4 1/2 years later..

I've been doing little projects the past few weeks in hopes that the simple effort would produce great results. I think I'm on the right track! It's gotten depressing, because it's an old house, things just don't clean up as well as we'd like so even with our best efforts, it never really looks good. Here are some of the projects we've done, or are planning to do:


This is the nightstand I painted a couple of months ago, with the tree design on the side. Here I'm showing off my 25 cent candle holder! It needs different candles, but we get the idea, right?


AMAZING FIND!! A friend and I made a quick trip to the farmer's market while and it was love at first sight! This adorable little spice rack was -brace yourselves- $6.50!! How could I pass that up!? I also got a $2 zucchini .. no really, its huge.

Let's zoom in for a moment.

My good friend Whit got me this amazing-beyond-all-words plate set at a thrift store a couple years ago. It has 8 mugs, 8 each of salad and dessert plates and a pedestal/platter ..all for $13!!





I'm also working on a bed-side table that came with a dresser my mom got for Toby. She cleaned and refinished it but there was a big black stain on top, like a messy paint can was set on top of it. So I decided to paint it and I love it more than I thought I ever would! I was afraid painting it would ruin the antique-y-ness but I really think it brings out the design really well! It's not finished yet but again, you get the idea.

My mother-in-law gave us this great little hutch and I finally decided too put something in it. I love old books and Daniel has some great ones -King Arthur, and the Lord of the Rings set.. and Toby's special rocks from some of our trips.

Daniel wants to build raised garden beds to fancy up the outside of the house and the first one he wants to build will be around the base of this not-so-lovely pine. You can see the string marking the outline. I'm very excited about this!



There are more projects we hope to do (like painting our dining room that is currently wears hunting-dogs-and-geese-wallpaper) but I'll post those when we get to them. God has blessed us with an incredible deal on our rent and we're just realizing that no matter where we live, we need to make it feel like home.

My wall-art projects last week: (scrapbook paper=cheap art!!)

Hide it Under a Bushel, NO!!

"Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:15-16

I say this out of my own guilt; Christians need to stop hiding in their comfortable homes, their comfortable social circles, their comfortable worlds. I, WE, know that we are called to share God's Word with everyone. Romans 10:14-15 says, "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

Sure, God is just and will only hold us accountable to what we have learned (read: if a tribe somewhere never has the gospel shown to them, God will judge them according to their hearts. "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." Romans 1:20)but this doesn't mean we can just sit back, relax and hope 'those people' happen to recognize God somehow. There is a specific call for the church to send out believers into the world to share the gospel.

In 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 we read that, in Christ, we are reconciled to God and therefore "Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us." Ambassadors go into other nations to represent their country/cause to people who don't necessarily know anything about that country/cause and they do the business on behalf of their nation or beliefs. Because Christ died for us, we are new creations in Him and we are to go into all nations and do the business of the Lord, working as the voice and hand of Christ!

"He gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." Ephesians 4:11-13 We are to work as one body to share the love of Christ through His resurrection for one purpose -to build up the body of Christ! Good works aren't what get you into heaven. They are a result of your love and devotion to God. There is nothing you could possibly do to make you good enough to earn God's love. HE LOVES YOU ALREADY and is just waiting for you to accept that! It isn't He who has turned away from us; we have turned away from Him.

We are called to do the work of the Lord while here on earth and with that comes suffering. Yes, that means life will not be perfect. Becoming a disciple is not a magical way to become rich, healthy and have a perfectly comfortable life. God might use you in some way that you don't really have to go through many trials. But he might use you in a way that causes suffering in every way imaginable, as a test of faithfulness to Him. "I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble.." Here's the beauty in the suffering.. "..But take heart! I have overcome the world." What an incredible promise! Christ calls us ALL to live for Him, to share God's Word, and though He tells us very clearly that we will endure trials and suffering because of this calling, we don't have to worry because He is risen and waiting for the right moment to draw us all into His arms, into God's glory!

The Wife of Noble Character

A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more that rubies.
Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
She gets up while it is still dark;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her servant girls.
She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for the tasks.
She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.
She is clothed with strength and dignity;
She can laugh at the days to come.
She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the break of idleness.
Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
"Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all."
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Give her the reward she has earned,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Concerning the downfall of the world..

There is so much unrest and fear these days concerning our government and world politics. No doubt, a lot of it is just skepticism and conspiracy theory but I think a lot is simply due to the fact that our government is made up of humans, many of whom are not God-fearing men and women. I believe we need to be cautious, but I do not believe we need to be fearful of what is happening now or of what is to come.

"Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." Romans 13:1

Every single leader that has ever been in power in the history of the world has been placed in their position by God. Good or bad, the leader was put in a place of authority because God had (has) a plan. He is outside of time, therefore, He can see the past, present and future that we experience. Its hard for us to grasp because, well, we're human and our brains cannot understand things of God unless He reveals them to us and some thing we just do not need to know. However, I've been able to 'understand' (in whatever capacity I am capable) this: Say you watch a movie. Later you watch the same movie with a friend who hasn't seen it yet. The character walks down the dark hallway to the creaky doorway.. 'Don't go in there!' your friend quietly exclaims. They fear what is behind that doorway because they haven't seen it yet. But you, having seen the whole movie, know that it is just a fluffy little kitten playing with a ball of string - nothing to fear, but the fact that it is unknown, makes it a little scary to someone who can't see it. Even though you KNOW the outcome, you couldn't change the outcome. (for analogy's sake: God COULD change the outcome, but he WON'T, because he does not take away our free will)

We don't know what is going to happen, other than the world is going to end as we know it. Even though we trust God, it can be quite scary to think about. But God has seen the future, he knows what is behind the creaky doorway of government, politics and the unknown future. Maybe its just a cute little kitten, maybe it's a hungry beast..either way, God will protect us and whatever the outcome, God will be glorified according to his good and perfect plan.

"...'it is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars - their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur..;" Revelation 21:6-8

There is nothing we can do to prevent -or escape- what is to come. We can try running. It might 'work' for awhile. Our government may be full of liars, cheaters, idolaters, unbelieving and immoral people, but can you name one corporation, school, church, family that isn't? This government is going to fall. The market will crash. We will lose everything. Everything this world has to offer, that is. We may be able to escape this country's downfall by fleeing somewhere else that seems to have it together, but sooner or later, that country will fall. Instead of trying to avoid the inevitable, we should stand strong where we are, stand up for our beliefs and stop trying to run away from what God has already seen accomplished. Everyone that sins, everyone that wrongs another -whether in government or business or family or otherwise- which happens to be every person, will answer to the just and sovereign God who promises to save us from eternal death and suffering if only we trust in his name, his Son as the savior and redeemer of our lost and broken souls.

"I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed! Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in our family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law." Luke 12:49-53

Why are we surprised that marriages end, that children are disowned, or disown their parents? Jesus said it himself; families will be torn apart. The enemy does not want families to stick together, especially God fearing families, because if they stick together, that keeps them strong and if they are strong, he will be defeated. We need to stand strong (by praying and asking God to intervene with HIS strength) against the enemy and not let him take our families away from us!

"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep you head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry." 2 Timothy 4:3-4

If we don't stand up against the enemy, we will fall into false doctrine, we will lose our families; we won't be witness to the life that is in Christ. The only way to have hope and confidence in our future, in government, in marriage, in family, in every single aspect of this life, is to be always in the Word, always in communion with God the Father. If we lose sight of what God's word says, the only thing we have to look forward to is destruction, defeat and certain death.

We can run away -from family, from work, from responsibility, from hardship, from home (from a deteriorating country)- but in the end, we will only hurt ourselves, and everyone in our lives. As families, as husband and wife, we make a commitment before God to love and serve each other and God -no matter what- and we are to raise up our children according to God's word and his will. Nowhere in the Bible does it say life will be easy. God never said that accepting him and loving him and serving him would make your life easy. In fact, it says that disciples of Christ will suffer and that through suffering, you will develop perseverance, character and hope. When we don't persevere in (and out) of trial, we lose hope; the hope in Christ that we will be with him in eternity. Without that hope, we have nothing.

Lord, help us to always come to you with our fears, concerns and desires. Be with us in our homes, with our families; in marriage and with our children; and give us the strength to endure the trials that go along with living for you. Give us discernment when making decisions, especially concerning our leaders. We know that you appoint them, and ask that you give us insight and comfort in knowing that you have a plan and you will protect us and use us to glorify your name. Thank you for your promises, for you unconditional love; the perfect example of how we are to love others. In Jesus' name, amen.

How Great Thou Art

O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder

Consider all the works Thy hands have made.

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,

Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee;

How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee:

How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

When through the woods and forest glades I wander

And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;

When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur

And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze.

And when I think that God, His Son not sparing,

Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;

That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,

He bled and died to take away my sin.

When Christ shall come with shouts of acclamation

And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!

Then I shall bow in humble adoration,

And there proclaim, my God, how great Thou art!

Because I know you want to know :)

As spring [slowly] arrives, I am trying to do little projects around the house to update decor and become more organized. It seems we will be living in this house for at least another year [or 12] so by making inexpensive little changes, I feel like it is more 'home' and not just the house we live in for now. It gets a little depressing having no money to buy all new furniture & decor and since we are renting, we can't really do a lot. Our landlords are great, and if we want to paint, they don't mind as long as we paint over it when we move out, but thats a lot of work and money to spend on something that won't last!

Here is a little peak at some of the projects I've been doing so far :)






As much as I LOVE wood paneling, trying to hide it has been a top priority! We have a ridiculous amount of books and movies and figured this tall shelf would serve the purpose of housing stuff and [sort of] hiding the paneling! [Daniel's spider plant needed a home, too. He's had it since before we started dating which was 7 years ago..and I haven't killed it yet!!]



My jewelry has been taking over our dresser for the past 4 1/2 years, always getting tangled and falling behind the dresser. We had some hooks for a different project and I found this wooden dowel in a box of old stuff and it was the perfect fit! Now I can display my 'pretties' [as Bella calls them] and have easy access without worrying about breaking them!



I love our sea shell toilet seat! [notice: the organized bin of bath time supplies that used to be thrown on the floor under the sink..]



I needed something to go above the toilet and had in mind what I wanted. Two years ago at our ladies gift exchange at church, my friend Whitney brought this 'Dance like no one is watching..' framed quote and I ended up with it - not even planned - and it's perfect! My collection of shells from childhood beach vacations, a bottle of sand from a friend's trip to Hawaii, coral from Florida from my grandparents and the knot, 'In every home where I am found, love and happiness will abound,' from Daniel's aunt, bring good memories and complete our ocean theme.



I wanted gray [like the ocean sky] and Daniel loves bright colors, so we got a great compromise in this curtain! :)



Our bathroom was a lovely shade of very questionable lemon meringue pie with pepto bismol pink showing through the chipped edges. As pretty as that sounds, it was getting rather..nauseating. So I sprung for a can of a soothing powdery blueish-gray to match our towels & ocean theme. We got a new shower curtain and Rachael helped with the art work for the wall. Some craft paint, sponge brushes and $6 for 3 canvases really brightened up the empty wall space!



This nightstand has been redwhiteandblue probably since I was in 4th grade. I decided it was finally time to 'grow it up' a little and found this great design in a magazine! I borrowed the brown base coat from Sarah and used craft paints I already had from previous projects to paint the design!


My next projects will be:

getting our garden in 'growing' order [yay for no Fatty Fatty Kitty to poop on our flowers!]
re-oganizing the kitchen
re-organizing our closets
re-organizing Tobias & BellaBabe's closets [started, need to finish]
paint Tobias' dresser to match his room
build 'wrap around' shelf in Tobias' closet
make slip cover[s] for couch[es] & throw pillows
hang photos in hallway [again - I moved them and am moving them back]
paint over hunting dog/pheasant wall paper in dining room [must get landlords approval..]

Picture This:

1. Go to the 4th folder in your computer where you store your pictures.
2. Pick the 4th picture in that folder.
3. Explain the picture.
4. Tag 4 people to do the same.



Uncle Brice and Tobias (probably 6 months ish). I think this was the first time Brice met Toby. We were at the Kleins'. That's all I have to say about that. :)

TAG!! It's your turn:
Momma Dowd
Tessa
Jenni
Rachael

GOD TV

I'm watching this woman yelling, 'crying out' to God. She's getting the audience all worked up, asking who has a deeper hunger for God. They're all jumping around yelling like teenagers at a Jonas Brothers concert. "There needs to be something in you for the wildness of God." "Do you see how the glory is starting to move, right over there? We're talking about the realm of visitation, do you want a visitation?" People are jumping, shaking, falling all over each other, 'angelic movement' as she puts it. "You're at about a level 5, there needs to be more of a burden."

I don't know all the Biblical 'rules' on these sorts of things so maybe I'm being too skeptical, but honestly, THIS is the stuff that makes people laugh at Christians. "Do you have the fire of God? I can't hear you.." as the crowd gets collectively louder. "You guys are being too polite.. There needs to be something in you that has a holy riot.."

"For God is not a God of disorder but of peace." 1 Corinthians 14:33

Oh, now she is blowing on them and yelling. "This is wild, this is fun..who's more wild? Those of you under 30? (not much response) What about the over 50s? (huge response)" Everyone is crowding the stage and reaching out to this woman so she will blow on them as she's yells "FIRE! Whoa!"

"..All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church." 1 Corinthians 14:26

There is no explanation of what they are supposed to want more of. There has been no prayer. The only mention of God has been her telling people they need to release his 'wildness' and she's saying there are realms or pools of his glory around certain people or groups. She is telling people to ask God to make them deliverers so they can break open new territories..but there's no scripture, no prayer, no instruction. Just yelling, seizure-like shaking and blowing. "Whoa, you carry a lot of glory on you. FIRE! FIRE! More fire God, let your glory come.." as this woman screams in laughter. Can we have God's glory on us? I know we can bring glory to God but is the glory on us? It seems like it would be on God. Maybe I don't understand completely, it just seems..not right.

Lord, I ask you to use these people for your glory. Heal these people of the things in their lives that may be keeping them bound. But God, show them your truth. I don't know if whatever is happening is of you or not but you know. You can use anything to further your kingdom so I ask that you do an incredible work in the lives of anyone involved with this.

Psalm 103

Praise the Lord, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits -
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.

He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel;
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
But from everlasting to everlasting
the Lord's love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children's children -
with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.

The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.

Praise the Lord, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.
Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.
Praise the Lord, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, O my soul.

Tobias Allan Lee

In just 4 hours, Tobias will officially be four years old.

I keep thinking back to those 3 nights (that felt more like 3 weeks..) in the hospital before he was born. For sure, I would keep track of every little thing that happened to this little baby, first tooth, every centimeter of growth; and I would scrapbook each precious picture. I did great..for the first month! I think I was pretty well prepared in a lot of ways, but no one can prepare you for how fast the time goes by! Everyone always tells you, "Keep them close, before you know it they'll be in school," and you think to yourself, yeah, it'll go quick but I'm sure I'll have plenty of time..then *bam* your little bundle is four years old and you cant remember what his first word was! (Ok, so maybe I remember the first word - but those of you with little ones know what I mean!) I looked through pictures the other day of Toby's first days. I honestly forgot what he looked like back then! I'm getting so used to him as a wee person, not just a little chubby blob on my couch.

God gave us a blessing we never could've imagined (why am I surprised?) and He continues to bless us. Just today, Toby was playing with Molly and Landon (the 3 yr old twins I watch) and they were playing drums and tambourine when Toby stopped them and said, "guys wait, we need to pray first...(they all stopped and folded their little hands and bowed their heads)...'Dear Lord, thanks for its my birthday and for that my family feels great and my birthday cake coming up soon amen!' now lets make a song!" *eyes welling up* It was the first time I've heard him pray all by himself! How incredible..preschool children praying to the Almighty God, without prompting, without even knowing anyone was watching them.

Ahh, Happy Birthday Tobias!! You are the most special little man God could ever have blessed us with!!