Sing Your Heart Out

Treasure was out on the back deck this afternoon singing to the top of her lungs.  She did not know that her dad pulled out his blackberry and started to film the production .  We have it here.  Make sure you check the look through the spindles after she catches him filming her.  Not sure all of her theology was right but she was singing to God on the fly :)

Pictures

I sat down to blog about something and just feel like posting some of my favorite pictures from the past week instead.

~Joli~

Mornings

Mornings are a glorious time at our house. Not that we are all morning people or anything, but we make much of loving on each other. Well, at least the babies get showered with attention and love from everyone. When Josiah comes down the stairs, usually later than the other children, he is greeted with all kinds of sweet words and hugs! Every nick name he has is yelled and all flock to him to kiss his sweet chubby face:) When Eden awakes, she is greeted the same way. Their future spouses are going to need to be reminded why they require so much attention and love in the mornings:) Yep, we did it. We spoiled these babies of ours pretty good:)

I am starting to get really nauseous in the mornings, well just about all day really. I have had morning sickness with my last 4 pregnancies. I am trying really hard to eat healthy and stick to a whole foods diet but I am already failing at it. Last night all I could imagine eating was Honey Comb cereal. We never eat that around here and I have no idea why I wanted it. When Hunter heard me ask Sean if he would go to the store and get me some, he said, " Dad, they have a row of natural honey and some with the comb in it at the Pig." I wish it was that kind of honey comb I was craving:) So, this morning when little Josiah came down the stairs, in not so good of a mood, I shared some of my special cereal with him. He is now in a pleasant mood and I am ready to start my day off loving my kiddos!

  The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ~Lamentations 3:22-23

 Eden enjoying her morning bottle of milk on the couch. It's like her coffee, she can't start the day without it:)

Joli

Tea Plantation

 Last week we decided to take the kids on a field trip to the Charleston Tea Plantation. We have started drinking lots of green tea around here, so we thought it would be a neat experience. The children were served tea when we first arrived. They were walking around the gift shop with their little cups of English Breakfast tea:) They thought they were so special and so grown. It was a beautiful day to enjoy the tea gardens and to just pick little flowers. Now all of my children can tell you how tea is made and how to brew and serve some:)

 

Joli

My heart

 It is 5:30 in the morning and I can't sleep. Something is weighing heavy on my heart and I need to share with all of you who have read our news about being pregnant and may be coming back on here again. All my life I have struggled with fear of men and fear of people taking me the wrong way. God has set me free from this , well He has been working on my heart about this in the past 2 years. Fear has welled up it's ugly head once more the past few days and I need Jesus to set me free of it once again!

This blogger allows me to track how many people come on my blog and where and when they do. I have had 1000 tracks since we posted about our exciting news of being pregnant. We are really not out to get every one's approval or to get sweet comments, but I must say it does hurt to get mean ones or family just not responding at all. This is where I need to be on my face praying for my Heavenly Father to be ALL I need! He is the one who has given us this precious life and I should not care if everyone else does approve. But I do and I need His forgiveness and his love at this time. God Has saved me and He loves me and He has a plan for me:) I can rest in that even as I type these words I feel the tears welling up and the overwhelming Love that He has for me. A sinner, who has been saved, redeemed and set free!!!

 Sean and I never set out to have a "big" family at all. We had Hunter, our first born son, and then Sean Peyton, our first born daughter. We were so over joyed with just the two of them. God had another plan and blessed us with our second born son Noah after having a horrible miscarriage. 4 months later, I was pregnant with Isaac and we were just as excited with the news of having another child to love. My mom always said that I loved babies growing up and would probably have many myself:) Well after Isaac came Anna Grace, Treasure, Farah Beth, Josiah and Eden. Before we get pregnant, Sean and I are in prayer about it, seeking God's face about whether it is his will for us to have another child. The Bible says that children are a blessing and we 100% believe this but we also know that we are called to train each of these precious children up in the Lord. With each one, that is what we are seeking   the Lord about. Can we add another child into our family and train, love, nurture, and afford one more is always a thought before we ask the Lord to bless us. We are NOT perfect parents, and we fail daily in a lot of these areas but guess what? Our Father in Heaven does not fail us EVER!! He gives us grace every day. We can only make it by His strength.

Having children is not easy work. Having just one child is not easy work!! Each child is a unique soul that God has entrusted you with. Wow, we don't take that lightly at all. I don't want anyone to feel that we think every family should have lots of children. God has called us all to different things. My calling is first to love my husband and then to be a mommy and also to share with the world about Jesus! But, if you see a family who is larger than normal, please do not judge. Every family should have the right to be what they want to be and to raise their children how they want to. Love on your child today and thank God for him or her because they are a blessing and an inheritance from the Lord!!

God is always faithful! When we come to Him and lay our burdens down at his feet, He will take them and He will comfort you and strengthen you. I praise Him for that or otherwise I could not have made it with just Hunter. No, I could not have made it as just a wife to Sean. Jesus is my ALL and my EVERYTHING!!
So all of you moms wanting to know how we do it there it is. We can only be the parents God has called us to be by knowing Jesus and by communing with Him daily! So, if you think we are crazy for having another, that's ok. We have days where we think so too:) But then God reminds us that He has a plan for each of our children and He is in control. I can rest in that and in His love this early morning.

 Joli

Guess What?

Psalm 127:3-5

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth.
Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Our Time Alone

 Sean and I stayed at a bed and breakfast this past weekend while my parents kept the children. We had the most amazing time, just the two of us! We were way past time of needing some one on one time just to give 100%  devotion to each other:) We promised each other that we would do this more often. I forgot my tripod but we managed to set the camera up on the TV dresser and snapped a few of us together:)

 

 I really think it is so vital for married couples to get away, just the two of you, for a day or so when you can. We felt like we were dating again:) We also walked downtown, toured a historic house, ate at T-Bones and went to Whole foods ( our favorite grocery store ) and just read cookbooks and looked around:)

I pray that we will always make our marriage a top priority! Sean is an awesome husband and I am so grateful to God for him.

This was the beautiful fireplace in our room that Sean let me keep going even though he was burning up:)

The gorgeous view outside our window the evening we arrived.

We had our breakfast delivered to our room. Shrimp and grits for Sean and eggs and bacon for me:)

 

"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."   1 Corinthians 13, 4-7

Joli