Giving Thanks, In Everything...

It's been a little while since my last life update. Things get busy and health struggles are hard and I honestly just don't always have the words to share what it's been like over the past couple years. Something that stays on my mind so often though is this verse in 1 Thessalonians, "In every thing give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

In EVERY thing give thanks? That's something I admittedly struggle with not just doing but at times even wrapping my mind around. When I'm only responding with my flesh and focusing on my circumstances anyway. But when I take a step back and look at it from a spiritual perspective and ask God to really help me see how blessed we are regardless of what we are going through, oh how things change. Or my attitude towards thing changes at least and that makes all the difference.

The past couple weeks have been rough(er). Moving again, health issues flared up severely, trying to find a new church, being consistent with schooling, financial struggles, and just every day life stuff. Let's just say that remembering to still give thanks in the middle of it all has been a challenge. One that some days seemed more of a duty than truly heart felt. And I fall into the attitude of thinking that of course it's not wrong to feel discontent with how things are! Who could be thankful for all this? And my focus is completely on the bad with no thought for any blessings, which obviously is not a good place to be.

Then at the same time we are seeking God's will for our lives and sometimes doubting and questioning if we know what that looks like or if we are truly "getting it right". But then I read an article like this and it convicts me and reminds me of that verse all over again. And I go back to read it one more time. Only to find that not only do I have so much I should be giving thanks to the Lord for, but that is exactly how I can be in His will right now!

I'm not belittling what us and many other families are going through, some with way worse trials than ours(like the article above). I truly believe it's okay to be real about struggles because that's needed too so that we don't all feel alone in hard times. But at the same time I don't want to get hung up there and completely neglect to still give thanks.
Because the truth is, God is good. And every day that we are alive is due to His mercy and grace. If He never gave another gift or blessing to me besides just the fact that He gave His own Son to die for my sins and saved me from hell, that's enough to give thanks for. In spite of the hardships in life.

And just like the woman in the Bible, who begged Jesus to help her daughter even though she was just a Gentile "dog", He gives way, way more to us than just the crumbs off the table. He never leaves us, never forsakes us, and always provides exceedingly, abundantly more than we can ask or even think. It doesn't mean there aren't trials, but only that He is with us through them. And that He's leaving handfuls of blessings on purpose if we take time to get close enough and look for them. And He wants us to take time to thank and praise Him for that!

I'm going to wrap this post up with those thoughts, but next time I plan to be more specific on things I've found to give thanks for during these hard times. I hope this was an encouragement to someone and that you'll join me....


                                             Tyra

No Complaining?

I saw this 10 day challenge on facebook yesterday and was very intrigued by the idea. Mostly because I recognized it as something I SO need to do! Health issues, extended family problems, and just every day circumstances sometimes pile up and I tend to find myself being negative over everything. Not exactly following the verse in the Bible about being thankful no matter what. Anyway, after reading about it and deciding to try it I promptly became involved in the stress of dealing with 3 out of 4 kiddos having a nasty viral bug and kind of forgot about the challenge. (oops!) So I can't honestly say that last night was totally complaint free. But I'm determined to do better (and today has been pretty good so far I think) and am praying that God will use this to help me see what a bad habit I've gotten into in this area. I'd love to have you join me! No matter what life may be throwing at us these days I KNOW that we all have so much to be grateful for. Here's a verse I found a few weeks ago that's really been sticking with me: "Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah." Psalm 68:19 The BIGGEST blessing in my life is that God saved me, not to mention that He has given me so many added benefits since then. So there is ALWAYS something for me to be grateful for. I'm hoping this challenge will help me stop complaining about the not so great things in life long enough to remember that!

So what do you say, can we do 10 days of no complaining? I think we can with God's help!

                                
                                Tyra 

                                     

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made ~words for my babies~

Having children is one of the most wonderful things imaginable. I'm so grateful for the 4 little blessings God has given us in our lives. This is just a little something I wrote after being pregnant with our first. Such an awesome experience and really one that is difficult to explain! Hope you enjoy.......

"I'd always known that God could do amazing things;He had shown me in so many different ways.But then He created you inside of me; and now I know I'll never ceased to be amazed!

You are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Oh, His thoughts are very precious unto me.
Marvelous are all His works, He should be praised.
And He gave me you so I could always see.

I remember the first time I felt you move; how all at
once it became real that you were there.
I stood in awe of how He'd blessed me with this gift.
I'm so honored He'd entrust you to my care!

You are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Oh, His thoughts are very precious unto me.
Marvelous are all His works, He should be praised.
And He gave me you so I could always see.

Marvelous are all His works and I'm amazed;
for you are fearfully and wonderfully made!"

(based on Psalm 139:14: I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.)

6 Month Old Update!

It is absolutely unbelievable that our little man is half a year old already!! The past 6 months have just flown by. We've had good days, bad days, crazy days, easy days, and I guess about every other kind in between. But they have all been absolutely positively blessed with him as a part of our family! It's amazing how looking back after adding another baby in our lives we can't even imagine not having them now. And we definitely feel that way about Daxton Judah! Here's a picture of this cutie pie who is growing up way too fast, then I'll share some of what he's been up to lately....

 

~ He loves to be talked to and is always ready with a big smile and laugh.

 

~ Every time he laughs hard he gets the hiccups. Every. time.

 

~He can roll over but hates being on his stomach so hardly ever does. If we put him on his stomach he ends up getting mad and crying so I don't very much. (all 4 of our kids have been like that so maybe it's a pain thing?) 

 

~ Manages to scoot on his back all over the place when I put him under his toy on the floor. It may be a little while before he tries crawling since he doesn't like tummy time but it doesn't look like that's going to stop him from getting around!

 

~ Pretty sure he's ready to eat solids but I'm putting off giving them to him because it is so challenging with allergies and stomach issues and I'm already overwhelmed with health stuff right now.

 

~ He takes a 5-6 oz bottle (of $10 per can Nutramigen formula with probiotics, fermented cod liver oil, olive oil, and occasional coconut oil added in) every 2&1/2 to 3 hours. It still bothers me that I can't breastfeed (for both emotional and health reasons) but he's worth every single dollar we spend on trying to give him what's best for him right now.

 

~ He tries to sit up but doesn't have great control yet and ends up falling over pretty quickly.

 

~ He's wearing 6-9 months clothes already, although I still squeeze him in a couple smaller things sometimes because I'm still in denial that he's getting this big! lol

 

~ He's the best sleeper of all 4 kids so far but still isn't very consistent with his naps or night time sleep yet. But we aren't really surprised by that fact and are grateful for how good he actually does compared to some of our other experiences. (you'd have to understand how extremely bad sleepers our babies/kids are to know what that means really) Let's just say if you have a baby who sleeps well it is not something to be taken for granted!

 

~ He already has obvious allergies to things and has reactions to various triggers pretty often. Once again, not totally surprising but definitely disappointing and more than a little discouraging.

 

~ Loves to bounce on the exercise ball and it's our go-to way of getting him to sleep or settle down from a crying spell. Could be worse things I guess.....I manage to get my daily work out in at the same time this way. Ha!

 

~ Is a total sweetheart who never fails to make me smile even on my worst days!  

 

Happy 6 month old day to our baby boy. We are more thankful than I can say for the gift he has been to us!

 

(linked up with My Joy-Filled Life)

Our First Baby Boy~Growing Up (late birthday post)

If you read my last post, then you were forewarned about me blogging some "old" news. And if you didn't then I guess here's your warning now. Ha! Things have been so crazy around here since August that the few posts I've written have been mostly baby related so I decided to do a little catch up. The first one being about Dathan's birthday since it fell right in the middle of the craziest days before birth. So here we go....

You probably remember the story about me crashing his party (that we tried to have early enough for that not to happen!) by going into labor due to a uti. Yeah, so let's just say we didn't get any good pictures or anything since I left in such a rush. Which I am still kicking myself over cause it was the neatest theme ever. He chose to do police stuff (inspired by the movie Courageous) and it turned out awesome! (if I do say so myself) Oh, well, at least we have the memories of what would have been a great party, right?! I did get a couple pics of him opening presents at the birthing house while we waited to see what was going on with me and the baby.

                      (opening gifts from grandparents and uncle)

                          (trying on the police costume)


Our present for him got left at home so he was able to open it the next day. Wearing his costume again of course. It was a main staple in his wardrobe for a while after first getting it. :-) 

                               (so excited about his gift!)

                            (yeah, he really is this cool in real life;)

A couple weeks later was his actual birthday so we celebrated as a family with him choosing his own food and dessert. This is the picture of him after blowing out his candle. Isn't he the cutest thing ever?! (or maybe I think that because I'm his mom)

 

There are still days when I can't believe we have a nine year old already. I think especially after having a new one again it's made me wonder where in the world the time has gone? And also realize that it flies by and they are grown before we know it. We've been blessed to have Dathan as our son and it's amazing watching him grow and change into the young man he's becoming.

He bravely deals with all his health issues like a trooper even though he has enough of them to frustrate the strongest of adults. We love his crazy, artistic, athletic, comedic, deep-thinking self more than words can say. Best of all he has a heart to know God, try to do what's right, and work out his relationship with Him. We are thankful of the honor to raise him and so proud to be his parents. I pray that he will have many more birthdays and we will get to see him grow up into a Godly, young man one day!

 

Things I Love {Thursday}

Well, obviously this isn't a baby arrival update since yes we are still waiting for him to get here! Until that unknown future date that may never actually arrive then I figured I might as well share some other things around here that I'm loving. You know, since I can't honestly say that about the waiting stuff. Or the contractions. Or not sleeping. Ahem, okay, I'll stop now. On to the real point of this post which seriously is going to be telling you about the things I do love..........

~ Baby girl arms wrapped around my neck and early morning snuggles with just the two of us.

~ Big boy hugs given just because without momma even needing to ask.

~ Little girl cuddles in bed while she's feeling yucky. Sleeping between momma and daddy makes everything better! :)

~ Answered prayers to not let fevers get too high during the night.

~ Finding a good deal on a new van before the baby got here. Such a relief to have that decision behind us!

~ Back rubs from the hubby when I'm sore and tired from all these contractions.

~ Celebrating 9 years of being blessed with our first little boy.

~ Hearing exciting news from a sweet friend that they've been blessed with another new life!

~ Parents who step in to help out and bring food when the whole family gets sick.

~ Friends who check in with me and give encouragement in this last stage of pregnancy.

~ Scriptures that speak to my heart and feeling God's sweet spirit in the middle of sleepless nights.

~ Singing around the piano with the family and hearing a sweet baby voice as she learns the words.

~ Delancey working hard to teach herself new songs on the piano. Independently of course. :-)

~ Watching Dathan use his imagination to build something neat. From a box.

~ Making memories with our 3 kiddos before welcoming a fourth.

Well, I'm sure I could go on and on but there's just a few of the things I'm loving around here these days. What kind of things are lovely around your house? I'd love for you to share them with us in the comments!

(On another note, before wrapping up this post that I started last night, let me just share that I am now having hard contractions that are about 10 minutes apart. Waiting to see if they turn into the real thing this time! Hoping my next update will be that this little boy has finally arrived!)

Things I Love {Thursday}

Haven't done one of these in a couple of weeks so I wanted to take time to share some things I'm loving around here. Yes, some days are discouraging right now, but no matter the hard times I've come to realize there's always lots to be thankful for. So here goes some of our loveliness.....

~ Spontaneous hugs from my (big) little boy who is growing up way too fast.

~ The whole family watching my stomach move into weird shapes and everyone taking turns trying to figure out what body part it is. :-)

~ Hearing Darcey's vocabulary multiply every day.... especially when she says things like "I love you" and "momma's baby".

~ Listening to funny, crazy music and "dancing" around the living room together. The kids love it even though none of us actually know how to dance! (which is just fine with me:)

~ Delancey helping clean up something, cook with me, or doing other things....without even being asked.

~ Buying the exact same father's day card as my brother did. Priceless. :-)

~ Snuggling on the couch with the kiddos.

~ Heart to heart talks with Blake about life stuff.

~ Love notes from my biggest girl, baby arms wrapped around my neck, and seeing how excited Dathan is to be having a little brother.

~ Riding in the van by myself singing about the Lord and feeling the Holy Spirit right there with me. Totally worth whatever the people I passed thought if they saw my raised hand or tears. So very thankful to serve such a wonderful Saviour.

~  Going through little baby boy clothes and getting them ready for a new one to wear. (can't believe it's been almost 9 years since we had our first!) Best part was seeing how excited Delancey was about them all. :-)

~ Hugs from my hubby, just because. Back and shoulder rubs when I'm hurting. And the special times with his hand on my stomach feeling our baby kick around.

~ More food and clothes than we need. A nice, cool house in the heat. More blessings than I can really count or could ever hope to deserve!

Well, there's my list for today. It's amazing how much stuff I end up taking for granted when I let myself get caught up in all the bad instead of looking at the good. Thankful that God is still faithful and merciful though and just keeps blessing even when I'm not grateful for it!   

What do you have that you're loving at the moment?! Please feel free to share! :-)

Mixed In Blessings

I'm not gonna lie, ya'll. The last few weeks around here have been tremendously, horrible more than a little rough. But I just wanted to take a minute and share some blessings we've had in the middle of all the other. 'Cause there's a reason why the Bible has verses like "in everything give thanks", right?! :-)

We went out for mexican food at Cantina Laredo last week and ended up getting a totally free meal! It was really due to a mix-up in seating and we had to wait for awhile before they realized no one had taken our order yet. At first the shift manager just gave us a free appetizer and dessert (which was great!), but then the general manager ended up writing off the whole check. Woo-hoo! This all happened after our van broke down and we found out how much it was going to cost to fix so that just made it a double blessing.

The naturopath allergy doctor we go to has hired a new receptionist who is super sweet. We've been going alot (due to all these crazy reactions we're having) so I've gotten to chat with her a little the past couple weeks. Today I was there for a treatment and as I was leaving she tells me that she does some photography on the side and wondered if I would let her shoot some pictures of the kids sometime? For free! I was like, um, yes that would be pretty great. She says she knows how expensive it can be to get family pictures sometimes and since we're having so much extra financial stuff right now anyway she wanted to help us out. I thought that was pretty amazing!

Those were a couple things that might seem kinda little in  some ways, but just helped me to realize that there usually is something good in our lives to encourage us, even in the midst of bad times, if we just let ourselves see it. And of course it made me more aware of all the other stuff I can look around and see every day too. All the good food we've eaten just this week, laughter and playing from the kids, prayers and talks about the Lord, some days even just sleep, and the list goes on. I'm very thankful for those mixed in blessings God chose to give us to show me that. Again. :-)

What kind of blessings have you found mixed into your life lately?!