* Tiny Seeds *

I was feeling a bit discouraged today due to the outcome of our E-waste Fundraising.  I received the call that we had raised a total of $79.00 for our Women's Ministry.

My initial thought was "What? that's it?" I felt really sad and discouraged because I was hoping to accomplish a lot more with hopefully more than $79 dollars raised.  I felt bad for the hard work we all put in to make the event happen and for all the people who took time out to drop things off on that day.

It was the hottest day of the week last week the day we had our E-waste Fundraiser and all the days after have been breezy, beautiful and even rainy.  I mean it was tough to be out there in that heat!

I know that God already knew what the amount we raised was going to be.  I know that God has everything under control and that we should praise Him in everything.

I was kindly reminded by a friend that the "tiny seed" of this
E-waste fundraiser may not be completely visible yet but that out of it many other great things can happen.  She mentioned to me that the Church will be starting to recycle more often now and that the building materials being taken out of our new building will also be recycled and that the profit from that will be put back into the construction of our Church.

My husband also encouraged me today by reminding me that we did help a lot of people get rid of clutter and get organized and that we were all servants.  That's a job that never gets to be a waste of time and I know and believe God sees our hearts in that.

Do I still feel sad about not earning what I had hoped? yes.  Do I feel like I did the best and have to trust that God knows what the rest of the outcome will be? Yes.

The Bible says that even if we have faith the size of a mustard seed (now that's tiny) God can accomplish great things in our lives.  So I am praying and believing in this "tiny $79 dollar seed" and believing for it to be more than just that.

Some of us volunteers got to talk to a young man by the name of Beto on Friday.  This young man was amazing and so incredibly helpful, he was able to walk away with a book about God and an invitation to Church.  My friend Heather mentioned that even if this entire event was just for him, that it would all be worth it.  I pray for Beto now may he find Jesus and may he have an opportunity to get plugged into Church, ours or any for that matter.  In Jesus name I pray Amen!

* Praying *

It seems as if lately I am inundated with personal prayer requests. I usually do have things I need to ask the Lord direction for and I am praying about but recently it feels like "major" things are occurring and I really need more guidance than ever.

There has been some unnecessary drama with my husbands side of the family, I have some concerns regarding Samara and x-rays, Samuel has an infection, and I'm praying for wisdom and direction in regards to new friendships. It can all be so overwhelming but I am so thankful I can pray and believe in Jesus who hears me first of all AND responds to my prayers.

I am reminded of this: "If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast." God's right hand! I have to hold on to that and know that he is in control and be reminded that he is taking care of us. In the midst of my worry God's hand is always with us and our Children are covered in his blood.

I'm thankful to know Jesus and to be able to walk boldly and not feel defeated even in these times where I could easily fall apart. Thank you Jesus that I don't walk alone and thank you for the restoration that is taking place within my own family as well as my husbands.

I have to now share some of the sweet things the kids have said this week:

Samara keeps saying "Thank you mommy, every time she sees me doing laundry or putting her clothes away." It's really sweet of her to thank me when I keep her stuff clean.

Samuel told me that when someone is lying they are "Sid" ha ha I think he means "It is Sin" he is too cute. Right now as I work he is sharpening all his pencils because he is getting ready for school. (4 months away).

God is good and I'm drawing near to him through everything and I know that he has something BIG Planned for us. AMEN!

* Cute Stuff *

I haven't been blogging as much as I'd like to lately. It could be because I was sick for a good chunck of time and then my kids (how dare they) decided to get sick also.

All is well in the western front now though! We are back to normal (as normal can be) and ready for our adventures.

Some of which include; a fun Easter egg hunt at Harveston park, a visit to a local Strawberry Farm, visiting parks and digging in the sand, doing art, learning about bugs (this is the fascination lately with both of my kids) and reading ofcourse.

I still haven't heard from the Innovation Center in regards to Samuel attending Kindergarten there. I think that sometime next week is when we find out. It's in God's hands and I completely trust Him.

I am planning an E-waste event along side another person from Church. I am excited because it's the day before "EARTH DAY" and it will be a combination of a recycle take care of the earth type event AND an outreach because we will be telling people about our Church and Jesus. How cool is that? I read somewhere that EARTH without ART is just EH. I love it!

On another note, I wanted to write about some of the cute stuff the kids have been saying and I don't want to forget.

Samuel today made a sign that is supposed to mean "No spiders allowed" he drew a spider then a red circle with a line through it on top of it. This is so spiders do not come into our house of course.

After watching the Prince of Egypt for the first time Samuel told me that he had been chosen by Jesus. He was very excited and then he told me that Samara and I were chosen too. He was very serious about this and it filled my heart with joy.

He always gets excited when he get's to eat "Macawallie" (AKA Guacamole)

The other day when Carlos got home Samuel was working on a puzzle, without looking up he causally said "Hi Handsom" as his daddy walked into the living room. Too cute!

Samara told me that I could throw away all her toys, (this one wasn't so cute at all) I then had to grab a "clean" trash bag and pretend to throw them out. It did NOT face her at all. TWO HOURS Later I asked "would you like to get a chance to get your toys back and not get thrown in the trash" to that she replied "yes". Oh man do I have my hands full with that one.

Samara is my little artist, she takes art very seriously and does not want any help especially when it comes to painting. I love that curly haired, stubborn and beautiful girl.

Below is a picture of Samuel holding up his "No spiders allowed sign" He melts my heart.

I need to make a sign that reads "No dust bunnies allowed" it's worth a shot.

* Transformation *

The theme for our Women's Ministry this year is "Transformation". Of course we are using Butterflies to illustrate and draw home the point. My favorite part however is that one of our verses is Romans 12:2 my ultimate favorite. It says "Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." I absolutely love it! It reminds me to be a true original, to be the person GOD has intended for me to be.

The three steps to a butterfly transformation are; caterpillar stage, chrysalis stage and then finally the butterfly stage.

The caterpillar stage is when they chomp and eat on everything they get FAT! I think spiritually I'm in the caterpillar stage. Thankfully I'm only getting spiritually fat! I feel as if I am soaking up all the knowledge I can possibly gain from the Bible, books, church, seminars, conferences, other women in leadership, retreats and trainings. I feel like I am loading up on everything that God has to say about who I am and what he has intended for me to do for Him. It's an exciting place to be for me. I am a book nerd naturally and reading and researching is exciting to me but I am making a specific choice to fill my mind up with those things I want to learn more about all to grow in Christ daily and to be a better woman for everyone in my life.

The Chrysalis stage reminds me of someone who is being told to stay put. You are wrapped up and are beginning the real transformation. It can be dark and scary but I believe spiritually that it's also holy ground. God is there with you, whispering in the dark and creating this beautiful masterpiece (butterfly).

The butterfly stage is when the transformation has been complete. You spread your wings and show all the beauty from all the things God has made in you. It leads me to think about butterflies and how they flutter and flap but sometimes they also SOAR.

A while back God gave me the word SOARING, he then broke it down to this: Serving Others And Rising In New Gifts. How cool is that? just because we have been transformed and are now soaring for Jesus we can still develop and rise new gifts in us from HIM! It's exciting.

This is a year of Transformation. I boldly declare that for all the miracles I am waiting for and all the transformation that is yet to happen in my family and in myself. I anxiously wait each day for the things God can show me and how His grace continues to abound in me.

* Lists *

I am a list girl. I need lists, I love lists and I make lists for EVERYTHING! Sometimes I even like to ADD things to my list just so I can cross it off. It's a weird satisfaction that I get looking at a list and crossing off what I have completed.

Anyway, because I make a list for everything I finally made myself a list for cleaning. It's more of a cleaning schedule than a list and I had been thinking about making one for quite sometime I just FINALLY did it though.

I made something up on Publisher and printed it just now. It's a basic list/schedule of what needs to be cleaned and when it needs to be done.

Before I had kids I would just spend one Saturday morning cleaning the whole place and I was done for the week, with touch up's on the kitchen and such but nothing major. Now that I have little one's it's almost impossible to keep anything in my home clean for a long period of time if I'm not constantly cleaning. I don't want to be constantly cleaning because I want to have the time to enjoy my two precious treasures as well.

I decided with this list that instead of frustrating myself and not getting everything I want done in one day I will instead break everything up in to smaller tasks through out the week.

I am going to start this new plan next week and see how it works out for me. I should start meal planning next I have a binder and everything I just have not felt inspired to do that yet. Cooking is a bit stressful to me and I guess this would be helpful but for now I'm happy I have my cleaning schedule made up.

Let's see how this next week goes. Looking forward to a tidy house (most of the time)!

* Diaper Free *

It's official! we are now a diaper FREE home! (sort of) we still have Pull-ups for naps and night time and for those super long car rides BUT pretty much we are diaper free.

Samara is doing great and she loves wearing her big girl panties. We started the "official" training this weekend since I was cooped up at home from being sick anyway. She had already been telling me when she had to poop and already had a potty but we hadn't ventured out into the world of panties yet.

I was a bit leery with her at first thinking that she has been difficult with everything THIS may be a big challenge BUT she surprised me at how well she is doing. I am very proud of her and so happy for my wallet.

To celebrate her daddy brought her home a mint from work. (Trust me that is a big deal to her) Her grandmother from Idaho is going to be sending a special gift to her in the mail so she will have another fun treat to look forward to.

On another note, I have 3 baby showers this month and so although I am done buying diapers for MY Kids I am not quite done buying them for the little one's on the way.

BUT it's a joyful day in our home! No more diapers!!

* ill *

Getting sick is such an interruption to life. I think that mom's should be exempt from being sick first of all. There is no way you can tend to your children, home and husbands when you are feeling miserable, looking miserable and only function with about half your brain. (The other half is either clogged or asleep due to the cold medicine).

I try to go all natural and fight it out drink lot's of water and take vitamin c, usually it kicks it but this is TWICE in 6 months that I've gotten sick pretty bad. Last time this happened in September I was slayed in bed for about 2 days until I actually got better.

This weekend I missed the women's retreat from Church. Something I had been looking forward to for a long time, why did I get sick all of a sudden? of all weekends to be sick it had to happen when I actually had something important going on.

Oh no I have payed my dues, I will NOT Be sick again this year if I can help it. I'm usually not one to get sick that often either. I am good as long as my kids don't get sick or my husband doesn't get sick.

I'm off to drink more water and take more vitamin C.

I shall be well soon!