OK, Just something we noticed

SO the one side of the Mason glass says "perfection"

And the other side says 1913-1915, 100 years of American heritage.  Just had to share.  All 6 of our green Mason jars or cups, as that is what we use them for, say that

Sean and I previewed the Star Wars movie last week to see if it would be OK for Ryan and Hunter to go see.  It was, so Sean took them on Tuesday, while I took Andrew and Hailey to the park, the OB, and Walgreens.  :) And yes, even not being a Star Wars fan, it was a good movie!

Andrew climbed this rock wall!  I was impressed.

Christmas 2015

Before the chaos!

The aftermath!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!  We did!  Personally, I felt like this was really my first year to concentrate on the miraculous birth of our Savior and to rejoice in that. As a family, we started the morning finishing up our Advent calendar, reading Luke 2, making and eating monkey muffins, opening gifts, and then playing all day long.  We ended with beef tenderloin, creamy herbed potatoes, green bean casserole, and peppermint ice cream.  It was just our little family, but it was nice.  We did miss our other family, but enjoyed phone calls and Face Time.  :)

Luke 2:7-14 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.⁸ And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
⁹ And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
¹⁰ And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
¹² And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Bass Pro for Christmas Adam

carousel

Free pix with Santa

Bug was not too thrilled!

Since I have to work today, Christmas Eve, and btw way Merry Christmas Eve.  Any way, we decided to make Christmas Adam our special day.  We delivered baked goodies to some people and then we headed up to Kodak to Bass Pro.  They have free pix with Santa and then a bunch of other free activities for kids like the carousel, crafts, shooting, bow and arrow, race cars, race trucks, and trains.  The kids enjoyed it and so did Sean and I!  And free is always nice!

Sean's Graduation

CHEESE

Graduation 12/11/15 Thompson Boling arena

Selfie Time

New Grad!

Victor Ashe Park

Last week was such a blessed time!  We had Sean's parents and my Dad arrive on Wednesday for Sean's graduation.  We ate lots of good food, went shopping, had ice cream and Starbucks, went to a park, went to graduation of course, went to church, ate some more good food, watched some movies, played, played, played with the kiddos, and by yesterday everyone had left.  I also hit my Dad's car and we lost Andrew at the graduation, but those subjects aren't worth mentioning.  :(  Congrats to my hubby!  I'm proud of you, babe!

Pappy Time :)

Our visit to the Bluebird Christmas Tree Farm over Thanksgiving with Dad. 

If you're saved and you know it

For a while now, hailey will belt this song out multiple times throughout the day.  We'll even hear her in her room singing it.  Sean mentioned that we needed to capture it so we can watch it years down the road.  So here it is!  I guess it's more for us!  Lol
 https://youtu.be/Dko96lhi6bg

Tree Time

Before Dad left on Saturday, we were able to visit the Bluebird Christmas Tree Farm to get our tree.  This was the first year most of our little ones showed more of an understanding and excitement.  They also were thrilled to help decorate.....and break a couple of ornaments.  They ask if we can sit and just look at the tree with all the lights off.  We decided not to do much in the way of decorating this year since we don't know how long we will be in this house, but simple is just fine for me this time! 

MVP!

Sean had received an email a couple of weeks ago informing us of a free game for military and their families for the military appreciation game - UT men's basketball versus Army.  We were going to take the kids and go, however, the Lord had other plans!  On that email Sean had received, there was a place to nominate your service member, which I secretly did! And he was one of 3 to be selected out of many amazing other stories!!!!!  Soooo, he got a parking pass, which was right next to Thompson Boling Arena.  He got two tickets to the Ray Mears Courtside Grill- they had a full Thanksgiving buffet and then hotdogs, nachos, popcorn, desserts, sodas, water - all for free.  We ate there before the game and then we were also allowed to come back during halftime.  it was like our own FREE concession stand!  He also got 2 courtside tickets.  And finally, he had his name up on the JumboTron and they announced him and the other two veterans over the PA and had them stand and they showed us all on the JumboTron.  Looking silly no doubt!  lol It was an amazing night!  One of the other vets that won had his service dog with him at the game.  He is a double amputee.  I am proud of my husband and thought he deserved it, but I didn't think we would actually win.  I know there are a gazillion other military men and women deserving of it, as well! 

Our seats - one row behind the players!

And look no glasses!  Sean got contacts last week.....just for me!  :)

..

Kiddos back at home with Courtney Green and Josie Bates.  The girls were such a blessing to us to watch our blessings.

Gratefulness and His Will

As I laid in bed last night and this morning, feeling grieved in my spirit and emotionally drained, two things came to me.  One, is gratefulness, which is perfect for this holiday season any way.  God has blessed us with so many little things and so many big things, as well.  God is good - ALL THE TIME.  In the BAD.  And in the GOOD.  And I really do have so much to be grateful for:  Jesus, salvation, His word, Heaven, prayer, His guidance and protection, health, my family, friends, USA, church, TN, new baby, my job, food, clothing, shelter, freedom, safety, and on and on I could go. 

The second thing that came to my mind is God's timing.  His will.  His guidance.  His ways.  All above mine.  All higher than mine.  My mind has been consumed with the who's, what's, when's, why's, and how's.  And when I'm not thinking about it all, then I'm researching and looking.  On the Internet.  In the paper.  On street signs.  You name it.  You see, it is NOT my timing or my ways or what I think is best or MY plans.  And I CANNOT do it without Him.  I'm not smart enough to figure this out on my own.

And my thoughts were confirmed because as I meditated and prayed, I thought about how while we would be cleaning the house today, I would be listening to Dr. Charles Stanley, as I do every week while cleaning.  And I was thinking about how I really hoped his two messages would be made just for me.  And do you know what?  One was on God's will and the other one was on gratefulness!!  Don't you LOVE how God does these sorts of things.  Oh how He LOVES us so. 

Sean has not gotten any job offers, only rejections.  He finally heard about the last two yesterday, which were both no's.  We aren't waiting for any more answers right now.  How discouraging right?!  It's been months and months of waiting for answers.  Hopefully YES answers. 

The house we rent is back on the market.  I can see the FOR SALE sign glaring at me through our window.  So, we will be showing the home and waiting to see what happens, as we did for all of 2014.  I WANT to find a new place and move out of here NOW so we don't have to do that again.  But the LORD whispers wait.  Ever so softly.  Besides, where would we find the money to move? 

Which brings me to THAT topic.  MONEY.  I can look at it as we don't have hardly any OR I can remember how truly BLESSED we are and that he will take care of us and that it's OK to rely on Him.

We had, had OUR GREAT BIG plan.  Come December, Sean is graduating, he will be starting a new job, we will be moving, and we will be having a new baby.  And we thought we prepared ourselves for what could be some real major stressors otherwise.  And yes, Sean is graduating and yes we are having a baby, but the rest of it has become known as PLAN B. 

And in PLAN B there really are no plans.  Yes, I did ask my job if I could switch from 16 hours a week to 32 hours a week once I get back from maternity leave, which most likely I can.  That's if Sean doesn't have a job by then.  And yes, Sean still will be looking.  And in the meantime, he probably will try to find a little something to bring in more money, like delivering newspapers or something.  And I did email my supervisor to see if I could possibly start looking towards doing my job at home after baby arrives.  But we know the above is TENTATIVE at best.  We know priority #1 is making sure our family is cared for.........through Jesus! We will focus on making sure we have our bills paid, our tummies are full, and we are warm and safe. 

And in PLAN B we stay here in this house and we remember to be grateful for the shelter the Lord has provided.  In plan B, we hope this house sells for the owners and we cross that bridge when we come to it.  We may be here until then or we may not.  AND in plan B, I stay off Craig's List searching for our next home (which is fun for me!).

Sean and I do not know what is going to happen or when it's going to happen or why it hasn't happened.  But we do know God loves us.  We do know we fervently pray for his will to be done.  And we do know we need to be grateful.  Patient.  Grateful.  Patient.  Living in the moment and soaking up all of God's mercy and grace. 

Gatlinburg Westgate

This is not part of the vacay; just my little girl!

Thursday we went up to Gatlinburg and stayed at Westgate Resort overnight as a gift from a family member to Sean.  We had a 2 bedroom villa.  The kids loved it! We all really loved it.  The resort had putt putt, heated outdoor pools, an indoor waterpark, restaurants, arcades, shopping, a spa, and on and on.  This was me and the hubby's bedroom. 

Had wanted to use this, but we ran out of hot water after bathing all the kids!

The 3 boys had their own room, which they were very excited about. 

And their own kitchen.

And their own bathroom.

Smoky Mountains :)

Putt Putt

Infinity pool or is it affinity pool?  I'm not sure.  I just woke up and hadn't had coffee. 

Soon to be my new BF

We just purchased a 3 in 1 exercise machine off Craigs List as an early Christmas present to ourselves.  It's brand new.  See, still in the box.  It's an elliptical, stationary bike, and I think recumbent bike.  We got a pretty good deal.  I'm excited to start using it if all goes well at my 6 week postpartum checkup! :)  I've wanted an exercise machine for a long time!

Rest of Vet's Day

Eating some free pizza at a little park

We attended a Vet's Appreciation Dinner at UT's stadium and got to tour the locker room and meet Smokey!  The kids were scared of him and hiding!

Fancy locker room, eh?!  I envisioned a high school locker room or something from the movies!