My Little Angel is Growing So Fast

Where is this time going? Natalee-Brooke is almost 11 weeks old. I can't believe it! She is such a good baby, too. She's already sleeping through the night, most nights, but at the most waking up once for a feeding. Madilyn-Grace was almost a year old before she was sleeping through the night. We are very blessed. Well, Thanksgiving is just around the corner. I love this time of year. It really makes me stop and think about all of the things I am thankful for. I also get to see family that we just don't get to see that often. On Thanksgiving night we put the Christmas trees up. We have so much fun decorating, listening to Christmas music, and drinking hot chocolate. Last year we bought MG a tree so I guess we need to buy NB one next year. That means we will have 3 trees to decorate. Yea! I feel so bad that I have just abandoned my blog like I have. I want to start blogging again, so maybe I can stick to it. Probably not every day, but I will not go almost a month again without posting something. Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and don't forget to be thankful for all you have.

Thank You

Jesus deserves all the praise and glory that we can give Him. He died for us, He set us free, and loves us unconditionally. Some of us really need to worship Him, bless Him, and give Him thanks for everything that He has done for us. He is the greatest friend I have ever had in my life. He has been my healer, my comforter, my everything. We all need to take time out to worship and seek Him.

Falling In Love With My 7 Day Old Daughter

Every minute that passes, I find myself falling more and more in love with my little angel. We could not have asked for a better baby. I'm probably just jinxing myself by saying this, but she doesn't cry/fuss very much at all, she eats every 3 1/2 to 4 hours, and she sleeps good, too. Madilyn Grace was just the opposite. Maybe Natalee Brooke is going to be more laid back, like her mommy. Anyway, I am counting my blessings each and every day. Big sister is in love with her, too. That is something that I worried about for months and so far my prayers have been answered. Thank you Lord for all of your blessings on my family.

Psalm 100:4  Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give 
thanks to Him and praise His name.

My Summer is Almost Over

Well, today is my last day of summer. School starts back tomorrow, which means no more spending all day with my little princes. Am I sad? Oh yes, just a little bit. This is my last summer with just her and I hope she's enjoyed it as much as I have. We've done a lot of things together, but I also wish I could have done a lot more. It's hard to do some things while you are pregnant, but I did what I could do.

Now we have to start back on our schedule where we get up and out the door by a certain time. That is going to be hard because Madilyn Grace and I both have a habit of sleeping in. Going to bed early is not a problem because I stay tired anyway, and she's ready for bed when I am, so bedtime hasn't changed much this summer at all.

I really am going to miss my little princess, but I know she is safe and happy at her babysitters house. She loves it there and I think she gets by with a little more over there than she does with me, so she won't be as sad as mommy. I will make it, I just have to keep my mind off of her by staying busy. I am sure that is NOT going to be a problem since I have to get ready for a 7 week maternity leave. So, summer was great, time with my family was wonderful, but now it's time to start back to the grind of things. I am thankful for the time off that I had this summer, the time I had with my family, and the fact that I have a job to go back to.

Thank you Jesus for all you have blessed me with. Thank you for always being there and listening to me through all of my prayers. Thank you for loving me and showing me your way.

Summer Tutoring is Over

I have been tutoring every Tuesday and Wednesday for 2 hours a day this summer. I am sad to say it is over with. I finished up my last session just today. The kids worked really hard. I am very proud of them. Hopefully they learned enough to get them ready for 6th grade. It will be a little different for them having 5 or 6 different teachers instead of just one all day long. At least they will be ready in math and writing.

Madilyn Grace did good while I was working with the kids. She would play or watch a movie while I was doing what I had to do. She did look forward to the breaks so she could play with some of the kids. But she did not bother us, not one bit. I am very thankful for that.

I am very excited that I had the opportunity to do this. It not only helped the kids, but it helped me to keep my mind fresh of material that I need to know to be a successful teacher.

My Classroom is Finished and Ready to Go

Friday was the first time that I even stepped foot in my classroom all summer. Bill had to come and move all of the big pieces of furniture for me because I definitely can't, or shouldn't. Over the weekend I called 4 of my "good workers" that I had last year to see if they could come this morning and help me. Thank goodness they were able to come. We worked hard all morning, unpacking, organizing, hanging up stuff, and cleaning. We got finished at 12:30. Now I don't have anything left to do and I can plan for my maternity leave when school starts on Monday. It should be a very productive day since that will be all I have to do. I am so thankful for there help. I could not have done it without them. Oh, thanks too, to my almost 3 year old, who played and even helped pull glue off of desks and walls. You are my princess and I love you so much!!

PSA 18:49 Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD; I will sing praises to your name.

What a Day

I haven't felt good all day. I usually clean house on Saturday's, but not this Saturday. I didn't feel good when I woke up, so I've just been sitting around watching TV, catching up with Facebook, and napping. I think I felt worse after a nap, but I had plans for this afternoon and I had to make myself get ready for it. It was very hard getting ready. I think I've been having Braxton Hicks on and off all day and just not feeling like normal. I don't like feeling like this, it makes for a wasted day.

Well, I did finally get ready and my little family packed up and went to my boss's subdivision where we had a pool party/barbecue. It was fun, but again I wasn't feeling my best. We ate and let MG play in the kiddy pool. She had fun until it started lightning and then we had to get her out. She didn't like that too well. Well, that's been my day, not very eventful, but thank God for another day.

EPH 5:20 Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thankful Thursday

A friend of mine posted what she was thankful for on her blog today and asked people to respond. So Tricia, I am responding to your post by adding what I am thankful for on my post for today. Thank you for giving me something to think about.

For the Christian, every day should be Thanksgiving Day. We should even be thankful in the midst of problems. The Apostle Paul said, "I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation" (2 Corinthians 7:4). He knew that God was working all things together for his good, even though he was going through trials (Romans 8:28).

Problems will come your way. God will see to it personally that you grow as a Christian. He will allow the storms, to send your roots deep into the soil of His Word. We pray more in the midst of problems, but it's been well said that you will see more from your knees, than you will on your tip toes.

If we watched a butterfly struggling to get out of its cocoon, some people might want to help it. Say for instance we did help it, we got a razor blade, and carefully slit the edge of the cocoon. The butterfly would escape from its problem ... and immediately die.

It is God's way to have the butterfly struggle. It is the struggle that causes its tiny heart to beat fast, and send the life's blood into its wings.

Trials have their purpose. They make us struggle—they bring us to our knees. They are the cocoon in which we often find ourselves. It is there that the life's blood of faith in God helps us spread our wings.

Faith and thanksgiving are close friends. If you have faith in God, you will be thankful because you know His loving hand is upon you, even though you are in a lion's den. That will give you a deep sense of joy, and joy is the measure of the depth of faith you have in God.

So that being said, I am thankful for the following things:

1. The world in which we live. God created a beautiful, magnificent place for us to dwell. In Genesis 1:31 the Bible states: "And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good."
2. Family. Christians ought to not only be thankful for our physical family, but also their spiritual family: the church, their brothers and sisters in Christ.
   
3. The love of God. I think that the following verse sums it up very nicely: John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
4. The sacrifice of Christ. As previously mentioned, the Lord sent His only son to die so that through obedience people can be saved from their sins. Ephesians 5:2 states: "And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Also Hebrews 10:12-14 states: "But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified."

I know that there are many, many other blessings for which I should be thankful, but this is all I could come up with for now. What things are you thankful for?

Still Growing in Christ,
Tanya

Thank You Mama!

Today I had to be at Brookwood Hospital to re-take my blood sugar test at 8:00. I have always taken Madilyn Grace with me and she has always been a good girl, she just needed a little more attention than I felt like giving and we had to make several trips to the bathroom every time we went. Mama happened to be off of work so she came down to ride with us to the doctor's office. She had to leave a little before 5:00 to get here in time for me to beat the traffic on 65. I was able to sit and just relax while there, Mama (Nana) did just about everything else. I am so thankful that she was there. I was more relaxed than usual. I passed the tests, by the way. I guess I just needed my Mama with me, too. Now I know how Madilyn Grace feels when she "just needs her Mama."

After my appointment, we went to lunch with Bill, and then came home. I was very tired after spending a few hours at the hopital. I'm sitting here watching TV with Madilyn Grace and my Mama is downstairs cleaning up. I feel bad that she is doing what I should be doing, but she insisted. I had mentioned how much of a hastle it is to clean house now, and we have a bathroom downstairs that Bill had to do some work on, so it was very dusty and needed a BIG cleaning up. Again, I am very thankful that she is doing that for me. What a Mama!!

I would like to share a quote from Washington Irving: A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts. Thanks Mama, not only for what you've done today, but what you've done all of my life. I love you with all of my heart!!

Still Growing in Christ,
Tanya

What a Wonderful Wednesday!

I got some much needed rest last night, which made for a wonderful Wednesday. I woke up this morning, fixed my daughter and myself some breakfast, and ate breakfast with her at her little wooden table that Santa brought her. The table is right in front of her window so I opened the blinds to let the sunshine in. Wow, what a beautiful day it was going to be! The sun was shining brightly and there was a black bird sitting on the top of our mailbox. Madilyn Grace pointed it out to me, I would have probably never noticed it sitting there. After we ate breakfast, we got a shower, she loves showers, and then we got ready to go to the babysitters house to swim. They haven't seen Madilyn Grace since May 22, so Mimi (that's what MG calls her) was badly wanting her some MG. We got over there and Madilyn Grace gave everyone a BIG hug. She missed them, too. We swam for a few hours, which by the way was relaxing to me, because MG played with the kids. They had a blast, and so did I. When we came back home I had to tutor for 2 hours and Madilyn Grace was just as good as she could be. She played by herself, until the kids had a break, and then she played with them. She loves it when we have company come over. It gives her someone new to play with besides mommy and daddy. Now, she is trying to nap, and hopefully mommy can get a quick one in, too. Tonight is church and Madilyn Grace loves going to church. Again, I hope she will always love it. I am thankful for this beautiful day and the wonderful time that I had with my daughter. Life is so good! Let's serve the Lord with gladness!!

Psalm 100:2 says to "Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs."

Still Growing in Christ,
Tanya