God's Presence

As I sat in my quiet house today, Izzy napping and kids at school, I was able to spend my quiet time...Quiet :)  Normally my quiet time consists of lots of interruptions and noise, but today was different...

As I opened God's word and let him speak to me I heard:

 "There's JOY in my presence, I am your PROTECTOR and GIVER OF LIFE, I CARE about even the smallest details, I ENJOY blessing you, I NEVER change, I am CONSTANT, I never let go, I speak PEACE and CALM, I steady your heart, I am your SECURITY and no one can take Me from you."

I began conversation with my Father about my life, my passions, my desires, thanking Him for things He's done exceedingly beyond my expectations (cause that's what He does...He exceeds our expectations...goes above and beyond what we ask!).  As I got it all off my chest I took a deep breath and in that instant tears started to well up...HAPPY TEARS.  I couldn't control them, they just flowed.  The feeling of sitting in the presence of my heavenly father and feeling loved, secure, accepted, and at peace is a feeling I've missed!  And it wasn't until that moment, I can't explain what it was or how it was different, but it was in that moment that I realized, I haven't had this closeness to Him in a long while!  And it felt SO good to be there in that moment.


For a couple years now I have felt so empty like something was missing.  I would get so frustrated because I would spend time drawing near to Him but seemed like I'd always fall short of closeness.  The most frustrating part is knowing what if feels like to be close to Him, living in his presence and for some reason not being able to feel that connection in the same way like you did before!  You want something and search for it but never find it.  The connection was there, that never went away, it's just...it would seem fuzzy at times (like my tv antenae was never in just the right spot).  Something was always in the way, but I could never put a finger on it to clear a path!  He never changed, it was my heart that needed time I guess.

Today I feel like my Joy was restored.  I searched and I found and I rested in my Fathers arms and it felt SO good!  Blessed to be His daughter and humbled to feel His presence in my life!

This song says it all....

Grab Your Boots...It's A Beautiful Day!

Another beautiful day in Lexington means exploring!  We grabbed our old clothes and boots and headed to Raven Run.  I love that there are places minutes from our house that we can get out and enjoy the great outdoors and like we are in the middle of nowhere :)
Here are some pics of the fun we had on our day out in the sun!  Can't wait till we have more days like this, if Spring would just decide to stick around and quit playing peek-a-boo!

Beautiful creek...

 Boys path walkin'.  Looking for treasures...

Girls being....girls ;)

Found a spot to stop for a break...

 Well...what have we found here...a cool hollowed out tree!!  (It's the little things)

 View from the inside...

 Based on his eyes, this is about the time Matt said, you know bugs live in that tree stump! haha

My little adventurous peanut!

Nothing better than finding the perfect rocks to skip on the water!

This kid looks cool no matter what he's doing!

 Creek walking...

She didn't think twice...

Marie on the other hand....she's my princess

The wet clothes dried, the mud was washed off, but the memories will last forever!  Love exploring with them!

What's That Smell???.....SPRING!!!

Seeing signs of spring.  We are eager to get out and enjoy the outdoors again!  The first chance we got we took advantage of.  Sunday was the most beautiful day we've had in awhile, and the crowd at the park  was proof of that!

Amidst the chaos that Sundays bring to our family we found time to take a little picnic for lunch and play together OUTSIDE in the SUN!!!  It was perfect, can't wait to be able to do it more often!

Perfect spot for a picnic!  

 Yummy food...

 Great company...

 Happy faces...

Time to PLAY...

We had to end our adventurous day with creek jumping!  

Hair Day

It's not often that I get a day that I can spend on hair, but when I do, we take full advantage.  Marie loves to have her hair long, but it literally takes ALL day.  Here's the happy girl with her finished product!

So beautiful, but she looks so grown up with her hair styled like this!

 Izzy wanted her hair done too!  I think she likes what I came up with ;)

Wish Granted

I have said it before but Colten absolutely LOVES snow!  Last year on his 7th birthday it snowed and he had a snow day...no school!  Happy Birthday, right?!
Well, this year, there was snow on his birthday in the evening, and the snow day came the next day!  I'm starting to think the boy is wishing for snow when he blows out those candles!

 Enjoying the snow

 Snow angels...well, sort of...

 Who doesn't love a good snack of snow?

 Handsome

Oh yeah, he's mine!!! :) LOVELY

Colten's How Old????

Colten celebrated his 8th birthday! It's crazy how fast time goes by!  I always heard my own parents say to treasure every moment cause it goes by so quickly, and you never realize till it's your own baby growing up before your eyes!

Handsome little fella!!!!  Just wanna kiss those cheeks!!!

One of my favorite pictures of us, 4 years ago!

Seems like yesterday!

Here are some pictures of the celebration.  (He had a nerf war party!)  The best part I didn't even get on camera...they played capture the flag in two teams with their nerf guns.  And the final game was a 'glow in the dark' capture the flag!  So much fun!!!!

 Commence target practice...

 So serious!

 Went looking for my parents...this is where I found them!...Mom won!  Guess I know where I get my talents!

 Self-Portrait

 Balen was so brave being the only girl!

 Cousins!

 Practicing on a moving target

 He requested a bulls-eye cake...We did our best :)

 Lots of shooting things...from shooting airplanes, to marshmallow shooter, to a sling-shot, to his own bb gun for the farm!

Even little Myah took some steps at the party!!!  Sure she was bribed with some cake and ice cream :)  Gets 'em every time!

I absolutely love watching him grow into a young man.  I love seeing him take care of his little sisters, wrestling and laughing with his little brother, studying God's word together, sorting out trials that arise in his young little life, and watching his talents grow wondering how God is going to use them.

I love the fact that he never leaves the house without kissing his momma goodbye, I hope he never gets too old for that!  Can't wait to see what another year brings and the moments we will get to cherish!  Love this young man!