Sleeping In, Eating Ice Cream, Swimming in the Lake, It Must Be.....

....vacation. : )

We arrived at Mom and Dad's house on Friday for a week of rest and relaxation. The princesses are being spoiled, I'm getting waited on, and King Charming is vegging in front of movies. I'm sure there will be a pinochle game some time soon.

With my pregnancy history, we weren't sure if we should try to travel at all this summer. My OB gave me the green light and we decided we wanted a break from the routine. So here we are! : ) I told you I was impulsive!

It isn't a flashy vacation, but it is just what I needed....a chance to get out of town, spend time with the people I love, and do nothing but swim, eat, watch movies, and sleep. Ahhh....

One of the things I've been enjoying the most is quality time with God. Usually vacations are so packed with activity, I end up taking a vacation from my spiritual life as well. This time, I've been surprised by the amount of free time I keep finding each day. I've enjoyed my quiet times with the Lord so much!

I've also had opportunities to work on the book I'm writing. It is a project that is close to my heart, and I dream of the day it is a book instead of files on my hard drive. I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel! I can't wait to share it with you all some day.

I better go help Mom make dinner instead of expecting her to wait on me hand and foot.

Happy Summer Everyone!

Love,

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What's On Your Fridge?

It is about time to clean off my fridge. Every once in awhile I need to clean off old artwork and make room for the new. I'm sentimental about what's on there right now. Everything has a story behind it, so before I make any changes, I needed to document what's there. : )

Want a little tour of my refrigerator? : )

Chuck E. Cheese sketched our family portrait above. We don't make it there often...King Charming and I are not fans of the pizza...but our new tradition for birthdays is to let the girls choose two friends to go out to dinner with us on their special day. Princess K chose Chuck E. Cheese for her birthday restaurant. It was fun trying to squeeze us all into the booth.

Below our fancy family portrait are photos of my brother's kids. I don't get to see them often enough and they grow faster than I can keep up with photos on the fridge, but I love seeing their smiling faces every day.

These ultrasound pictures document our little miracle. The first was taken at 8 weeks, the next at 16 weeks, and the final one at 21 weeks. Can you see him sucking his thumb? By the way- Did you know that Monster Truck has a real name now? Hmmm....guess you'll have to keep coming back so you don't miss the big announcement. : ) (Blog Bribery)

Gallery of Fridge Art by the Princesses:

You've seen this before:

Princess Amy shows she's ready for Kindergarten: She's got the colors down for the rainbow. She sings a song Karissa taught her while she paints. "Red orange yellow green blue purple, red orange yellow green blue purple, red orange yellow green blue purple. These are the colors of the rain-bow!" It has such a catchy tune, I end up singing it all day afterwards. King Charming insists it isn't PURPLE, it's indigo and violet, but that just doesn't fit in the song! : )

More painting from Amy

I love this little butterfly- I have been reading Beverly Clearly novels out loud to the girls before bed and in Beezus and Ramona, Beezus paints a dragon with lollipops for scales up his back. The next morning, Karissa had a butterfly with lollipop antennae for me to put up on the fridge.

Well....there it is!

What about you? Want to post a fridge tour on your blog and invite us all over to take a peek. If you do let me know in the comments below. I think every fridge has a story to tell. : )

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Such a Pregnant Thing to Do!

Last Thursday I had had it with my hair. Actually, I had had it with how I look all over but there isn't much I can change in my current round state. (I'm not complaining! I'm still counting my blessings but I definitely don't feel pretty)

So instead of driving straight like I was supposed to, I turned left at a stop light, and walked into a salon and said, "Please cut all my hair off."

The hairdresser asked me, "How would you like it cut today?"

I told her, "I don't know. Just cut it please." So she did.

I told her I'd pay extra if she could get rid of the puffy prego face, too, but she just looked at me funny and kept cutting my hair. My attempt at humor didn't work. I think she thought I really believed she could do something about my puffy prego face.

I walked in with hair a little past my shoulders and walked out with a chin length bob. I'm so impulsive! My ultra-organized, plan-ahead, engineer friend, Daiquiri, has an appointment to cut her hair tomorrow, but she is taking the very sensible, research based approach to her new do. You should check out the fun she is having on her blog with hairstyles. Oh to be that organized and self-controlled! : )

Sorry...I don't have any pictures of it yet. I'm hiding from the camera these days. Some people know how to do pregnancy cute....I'm not one of them. : )

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Works for Me Wednesday: Praying for Our Kids

I'll get back to sharing my story soon, but as I was typing it, I remembered how faithful my mom was (and still is) to pray for me. I know the blessed life I am living right now was directly influenced by Mom's prayers.

She prayed for the immediate things going on in my life, but she also prayed for my future- my future husband, my future children, etc. My dad, brother, and I often talk about how we have been so covered by Mom's gift of prayer. I always know I can call Mom up on the phone and ask, "Will you pray for me?" And she will.

Wanting to be a praying mom like mine, I saw the value in prayer, but I didn't necessarily know what to pray about for my kids. Then I found this list online. There is one spiritual virtue or character trait to pray for each day of the month. It has been so helpful in showing me how to pray about their spiritual development.

I saved the list as a Word file I can refer to do during my morning prayer time, and I also printed a hard copy I leave on my nightstand so I can check it before bed. On the first day of each month, I start over again at number one. Today, being the 24th, I prayed for my kids to all have servants hearts. In my prayers, I include Monster Truck (see sidebar for explanation) and Whombie (our future adopted son "whomever he may be").

There are many things I pray for my kids that aren't on the list, but I'm thankful to have this reference and know that God will be shaping their hearts as they grow up.

An unexpected result of going through this list has been realizing how much I need to grow in each of these areas. This list could be used to pray for anyone you care about and also as a list for praying for yourself. None of these things come naturally. Only God can make these reality in a person.

You can use this link to find the list online, or I've included it in this post below my name for you to copy and paste and save for your own use. Works for me! : )

You can read my past WFMW posts here.
You can read other WFMW tips here.

I hope you will come back and visit again.

Love,

31 Ways to Pray for Your Children:

1 salvation "Lord, let salvation spring up within my children, that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory" (Isaiah 45:8, 2 Timothy 2:10).

2 growth in grace "I pray that they may 'grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ'" (2 Peter 3:18).

3. love "Grant, Lord, that my children may learn to 'live a life of love,' through the Spirit who dwells in them" (Ephesians 5:2, Galatians 5:22).

4 honesty and integrity " May integrity and honesty be their virtue and their protection" (Psalm 25:21, NLT).

5 self-control " Father, help my children not to be like many others around them, but let them be 'alert and self-controlled' in all they do" (1 Thessalonians 5:6)

6 a love for God's Word " May my children grow to find your Word 'more precious than gold, than much pure gold; [and] sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb'" (Psalm 19:10).

7 justice " God, help my children to love justice as you do and to 'act justly' in all they do" (Psalm 11:7, Micah 6:8).

8 mercy " May my children always 'be merciful, as [their] Father is merciful'" (Luke 6:36).

9 respect (for self, others, authority) " Father, grant that my children may 'show proper respect to everyone,' as your Word commands" (1 Peter 2:17a).

10 strong, Biblical self-esteem " Help my children develop a strong self-esteem that is rooted in the realization that they are 'God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus'" (Ephesians 2:10).

11 faithfulness "' Let love and faithfulness never leave [my children],' but bind these twin virtues around their necks and write them on the tablet of their hearts" (Proverbs 3:3).

12 courage "May my children always 'Be strong and courageous' in their character and in their actions" (Deuteronomy 31:6).

13 purity "'Create in [them] a pure heart, O God,' and let their purity of heart be shown in their actions" (Psalm 51:10).

14 kindness "Lord, may my children 'always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else'" (1 Thessalonians 5:15).

15 generosity "Grant that my children may 'be generous and willing to share [and so] lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age'" (1 Timothy 6:18-19).

16 peace, peaceability "Father, let my children 'make every effort to do what leads to peace'" (Romans 14:19).

17 joy " May my children be filled 'with the joy given by the Holy Spirit'" (1 Thessalonians 1:6).

18 perseverance " Lord, teach my children perseverance in all they do, and help them especially to 'run with perseverance the race marked out for [them]'" (Hebrews 12:1).

19 humility " God, please cultivate in my children the ability to 'show true humility toward all'" (Titus 3:2).

20 compassion " Lord, please clothe my children with the virtue of compassion" (Colossians 3:12).

21 responsibility " Grant that my children may learn responsibility, 'for each one should carry his own load'" (Galatians 6:5).

22 contentment " Father, teach my children 'the secret of being content in any and every situation. . . . through him who gives [them] strength'" (Philippians 4:12-13).

23 faith " I pray that faith will find root and grow in my children's hearts, that by faith they may gain what has been promised to them" (Luke 17:5-6, Hebrews 11:1-40).

24 a servant heart " God, please help my children develop servant hearts, that they may serve wholeheartedly, 'as to the Lord, and not to men'" (Ephesians 6:7, KJV).

25 hope " May the God of hope grant that my children may overflow with hope and hopefulness by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13).

26 the willingness and ability to work hard " Teach my children, Lord, to value work and to work hard at everything they do, 'as working for the Lord, not for men'" (Colossians 3:23).

27 a passion for God " Lord, please instill in my children a soul that "followeth hard after thee," a heart that clings passionately to you (Psalm 63:8, KJV).

28 self-discipline " Father, I pray that my children may develop self-discipline, that they may acquire 'a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair'" (Proverbs 1:3).

29 prayerfulness " Grant, Lord, that my children's lives may be marked by prayerfulness, that they may learn to 'pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests" (Ephesians 6:18).

30 gratitude " Help my children to live lives that are always 'overflowing with thankfulness,' 'always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ'" (Colossians 2:7, Ephesians 5:20).

31 a heart for missions " Lord, please help my children to develop a heart for missions, a desire to see your glory declared among the nations, your marvelous deeds among all peoples" (Psalm 96:3).

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I'm Connected Again! : )

Ugh...I had to survive a whole day yesterday without Internet until my IT Department (a.k.a. King Charming) came home from work and fixed it for me. I'm so thankful he is gifted in this department. My addiction depends on him. : )

The hardest part of being disconnected was being disconnected from Blogosphere. I missed you all! It was so nice to wake up this morning to blessed connectedness's. Ahhhh....

The girls and I are off to our free movie this morning. I'll be back later to catch up on posting and reading through my blogroll.

Happy Tuesday!

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My Story

I don't remember when I gave my life to Jesus. I was too little to know the moment, I just believed.

After late Saturday night parties, Mom and Dad wanted to sleep in on Sunday morning. My dad claimed to be an atheist, but my mom had been raised religious, so it was important to her that my brother and I had religion. She would wake us up, go back to bed, and my little brother, Ben, and I walked to the neighborhood church a few blocks away for Sunday School. That must be the place I first heard the Bible stories.

I remember how my little girl discussions went with Dad about God. They always ended something like this, "Becky, some people need God. I'm really glad you have him, but Daddy doesn't need God."

One day I walked down the stairs to our basement and saw Dad sitting on the couch reading "The Way" Bible, taking notes, and highlighting portions of it. I was so excited, but I didn't know he was reading the Bible to disprove it, not because he wanted to accept it.

Somewhere around second grade, my family life took a drastic turn. Three doctors in our small town became friends with Dad and invited him to weekly breakfasts with them. They were Christians, but my dad respected them as intellectuals. Eventually Dad said, "They put skin on Christ for me. They could never have argued me into believing, they couldn't have done that. Instead they loved me into the Kingdom. I saw Jesus in them so clearly, I couldn't deny the truth any longer."

My mom became friends with the doctor's wives and other Christian women in town, and she realized that the religion she had grown up with was meaningless without a relationship with God. Her life was empty and her marriage was falling apart. One night as they were about to fall asleep, Mom said, "Roy, I need to become a Christian."

His response was, "Me, too." They prayed together that night and we were all never the same.

I witnessed such a change in Mom and Dad and their marriage, it strengthened my faith in ways I'll never be able to describe.

At that time, we became your typical American Christian family. We went to church together, Mom and Dad got involved with Bible studies, and made great friendships with other Christian families. They were hungry for the Bible.

Ben and I went to Sunday School, summer camps, and as we got older, youth groups.

When people would ask me to share my testimony, I'd always clam up because I didn't think I had a story to tell. It was really my parents' story, I thought. My testimony is their testimony. I didn't have some dramatic life of being addicted to drugs and then healed. I didn't have a huge period of teenage rebellion that led to my life falling apart. There are amazing stories of God's healing in people's lives and how He transformed those lives. The church I go to now is full of stories of God's amazing rescues, but I always just saw myself as the goody goody girl who always believed in God, went to church and youth group, and really had nothing exciting to share. I often joked about making up a more exciting story.

One thing I can do is encourage parents. If you want to be a good parent, you need Jesus. I can personally attest to what a gift it is to children when their parents give their lives to Jesus and raise them to know Him. All of my life I have had the joy of knowing Jesus. I didn't have to ever go through a time without Him. It's a gift to grow up in a Christian home even if you don't end up with a very exciting testimony. : )

When people ask my parents what they did to raise Ben and I so successfully, they laugh and say, "Jesus did it."

My mom would often pray, "Lord, I don't know what I'm doing here. You raise them!"

So, yes, my childhood testimony is my parents' story, but as time has gone on, I've seen how God has been faithful to give me my own story, a story that isn't my mom and dad's story, but Becky's story, but because this post is already so long, I'll have to tell Part 2 tomorrow. : )

Seek the Lord Sunday is a weekly blog carnival hosted my good friend Daiquiri. Stop by and see what other bloggers are talking about this morning and join in. The more the merrier!

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This Moved Me

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