The Nagy Life

I've just been tagged...

2012-01-16T16:24:00.000-05:00

So it's Monday and even though I don't have the complaints as some people... Monday's are still kind of hard for me to get going. I wake up Monday Mornings to the aftermath of a crazy, chaotic tornado that seems to pass through my house extra hard on Saturday and Sunday's.   Not sure if the kids are full of extra energy or if it's the fact that the idea of a weekend allows me to have the excuse to let it all go...

This Monday was a little different. I woke up to no preschool, which would have normally led to a "what do we need to do today" kind of feeling. Instead I decided that the answer to that question would be nothing.  Let's do nothing.  The immediate feeling of urgency to do something left and it was like it was a Sunday afternoon all over again (without the nap and loud football of course.)

By 9am, I had both kids fed, dinner in the crock pot (Wade did this... But it was still a relief), kitchen cleaned and both girls content watching a little morning TV and to top it off... I looked half way decent. I had my hair pulled back in a pony tail and actually had suitable clothes on that if the door bell rang, I would probably answer the door instead of hiding behind the couch.   With all of this extra time and a peaceful spirit, I decided to sit down and read my Bible. I always read. I make it a priority. But sometimes I just read. Other times, the Word speaks to me. I hope you know what I am saying. There are those times when you read and you may comprehend or maybe you forget what you just read and then there are those other times that His Word provides revelation to your life and you find yourself sitting with Jesus. I had that moment this morning.  I had that moment in the midst of a loud TV with Oswald, two kids sometimes sitting, sometimes dancing and a cat that was constantly meowing for some food. I used to think that in order to be in His presence, I had to be in a quiet house with lots of free time... but today just proves that You can approach the Throne of Jesus in the midst of chaos. Some of you are in real chaos. I challenge you to get in His presence. Some of you may ask how to do this? First set your mind to hearing His voice. Once that is clear, get ready.  Read His word, listen to some great music or just start praying, allowing for those quiet moments for His still, small voice to speak. I promise the reward is great. My Monday, was my Sunday.

So back to the purpose of this post...

I was tagged in my first blog post by Constant in Chaos to participate in a fun Monday game! I know this may not be a big deal to some of you, but just knowing that my name is on someone else's blog makes me smile and want to do a better job with my own writing!  Her fun, happy post... you can read here. And be sure to visit her a while... she has some pretty awesome stuff going on!

The Fun Monday Game...

{the rules}

1. post the rules
2.post 11 fun facts about yourself
3. answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create 11 new questions for the people you tag
4. tag 11 people and link them in your post
5. let them know you’ve “tagged” them

{facts about me}

1. I have wonderful husband and 2 beautiful daughters and we are expecting #3 in July.
2. I dream of having a topless Ford Bronco (redone of course) so that Wade and I can go four-wheeling. Of course the dirt won't be on it long because I am OCD.
3. I secretly go in the girls room and rearrange the furniture in their Loving Family Dollhouse and I find full pleasure in doing so.
4. I could eat Buffalo Dip everyday for the rest of my life and I firmly believe that Heaven will have this waiting for me.
5. I want to travel. I want to travel to a different place every year and see the world with my family. And when they get married... I want to be able to afford to tag them along (if they want).
6.  Wade and I talk about getting re-married again, just so that we can enjoy the food. Seriously.
7. I am an only child so I didn't learn how to share until I lived in a dorm room at ASU.
8. I love watching Joyce Meyer during the girls nap time.
9. I am obsessed with my new iPhone and I consider daily tossing my PC to the Goodwill and just letting my sufficient phone do the rest. I am now a MAC lover even though they are way over our budget.
10. I have really short toes and Wade loves to laugh at them and joke that they got cut off at birth.
11.  You should know this, but just in case you are a new a reader... I am IN LOVE with Jesus. He is the reason for my being and the saving grace that allows me to wake up in the mornings with a renewed purpose. I am devoted to raising little Jesus Lovers... 5 if Wade will let me. :)

{questions from Cat, Constant in Chaos}

1. What part of the country do you live in? The South. All I have ever known.

2. How long have you been blogging? I started blogging when my youngest daughter turned 3 months old. I figured I needed more to do in my nursing, non-going out, stay at home mom life, so I decided to give it a try. It went from being photos and blurbs of what was going on, to a place where I could come and just be me.

3. What’s your favorite blog? Constant in Chaos. I discovered this blog when I googled "Vintage Kitchen Set" (funny, right?) and I found much more than the perfect kitchen. I found someone that sounded just like me with one major difference... she was bold enough to put it all out there. She inspired me to write about our toughest challenges while being in the Wilderness. I am forever grateful.

4. What’s your favorite book of all time? Believers Authority by Kenneth Hagin. Although it is a little charismatic... it was the turning point of my walk with Christ. It opened my eyes to the authority that I have because I am a child of God, which in turn made me desire to be with Him at all times.

5. What did you and your spouse do on your first date? We watched a Hickory Motor Speedway Race and played Super Mario Brothers on the Nintendo. Yes.. the original. We left that date knowing that we would get married.

6. Your favorite holiday and why? Christmas... because it is Jesus's birthday and that gives me the reason to eat Peanut Butter Balls.

7. What is the greatest parenting advice you ever received? ummm... That is a hard one. I have taken little pieces of advice along the way and when an issue or a "moment" arrives... it always seems to come back to me. My greatest advice is found in the Bible. It reminds me that my children are ultimately in His hands and that my job is to show them that. It relieves a lot of pressure knowing that.

8. Favorite vacation spot? For now... where we live. We just moved to the beach, so I am on a permanent vacation.

9. What is one thing you want to accomplish this year? Alignment. That was the word given to us. Not quite sure what it means, but anxiously waiting :)

10. Your favorite hobby? I love to paint. I never have the time and when I do I have an excuse. But I love to paint.

11. What is a secret talent you have? I am actually very good at Watercolor painting.

{questions for those I'm tagging}
1. Who is your favorite person in your life right now?
2. How would you describe as a good weekend?
3. Favorite dessert?
4. Favorite time of the year?
5. What is one quality you love about yourself?
6. What would you change about yourself?
7. What is the purpose of your blog?
8. Tell me something crazy that you have done, that no one knows about.
9. Your best "mommy moment" (good or bad)?
10. What do you do during your child's nap time?
11. What is the boldest thing you have done?

{bloggers I am tagging}

Megan, Team PFanny

Kara, The Road Home

Alysha, The Dertings

Emily, Runner for Cupcakes

Tori, Running Motherhood

Lynn, Life as a MeMaw

And through this post... I realized that I don't have many blogger friends. Need to work on that.

A tour of the Holidays...

2012-01-05T10:58:00.000-05:00

Here is just a few snapshots of how the Nagy's do Christmas...

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Our first Christmas party at our new house! It was so much fun entertaining and being with family!

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And this what the girls thought about Santa...

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Then we traveled to Statesville for Christmas with my family!

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Then it was back to the coast to enjoy some warm weather before the New Year.

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Then it was out to eat for a fancy, New Years dinner. The kiddos did so good! They loved getting dressed up and spending the evening together.

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And this is our little girl sleeping in her big girl bed for the first time. I decided to break her in while daddy was at home from work... but she did so well that we didn't have to wake up at all!

The List

2011-12-31T15:02:00.001-05:00

This year, I said that I wasn't going to make a long list of resolutions and just focus on "Our Daily Bread." Well, as I laid on the couch to take my daily pregnancy nap... I realized that I haven't even glanced at last year's resolutions to see how I did. Being the competitive person that I am, a nap no longer took priority and the need to see how many "check marks" I got seemed more important.

I have to say... I did pretty good. Most years, by the second month I have already forgotten my resolutions. I am not sure that this year was any different... after all, I don't recall even looking at this list of "goals" after the 1st part of the year. So what made this year more successful than others?

I recall praying about my 2011 resolutions and as I look back today on the list, the ones that I "completed" were not just goals that I set for myself. They were dreams and desires of my heart. Things that I was earnestly praying about. Things that were so meaningful to my heart, that it was more than just a resolution. It was a prayer request. So really I didn't complete the "checklist" at all. My mighty Savior did. He is the one that made this past year a success and took my requests farther than I could have ever imagined. So He gets the credit this year... I just made the list.

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Well, now that I am awake, I might as well go ahead and make a new list.

God... here you go. May you take the desires of our heart and multiply it as you see fit!

1. Achieve Perfection.

Not me, but my heart towards the Lord.

May He mold me and guide me as He has perfectly planned.

2. Buy a house.

Whether that means renting another year or venturing into home ownership, I pray that God will guide us.

3. Teach Ej how to ride a bike.

Yes Lord, I need help with this.

4. Debt Free.

This will come in due time, but I know God has a plan for this in our future.

And the result... blessing the socks off of people.

5. Clean less, Play more.

Especially at the beach.

6. Learn how to fish.

My husband loves it. So I want to love it with him.

7. Build enough courage to pray for strangers.

Like actually pray with them. Out loud.

8. Expand our family.

This should be easy since we are expecting baby #3. But I want to go deeper... I want to watch each other expand in our walk with Christ. Encouraging one another and watching each other grow.

9. Do a half marathon.

This one transferred from last year to this year. Keep trying right?

and finally...

10. Be healed and whole from Hoshimoto's disease.

I am firmly believing that God has me on a path of educating me physically and spiritually and that I am already a over comer.

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There you have it!

What are you seeking the Lord for this year?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Love,

The Nagy Family :)

Some NEW news!

2011-12-21T15:24:00.000-05:00

Writing is like exercising. You set your mind to something and you go strong for it. Your excitement surpasses all of the other business you have going on and you make every effort to succeed. But then... something comes in to your path and knocks you out of routine and before you know it a few days has turned into a few weeks, months even before you recognize that your once excited passion has been bombarded with other life moments. So what is this thing that has come into our life and suddenly rearranged my days...

Pregnancy.

Yes... we are expecting baby #3 around July 19th of next year. We are super excited and the girls are even more excited about the news. We are still very early, so prayers are always appreciated. This pregnancy has been very different from the others. I have been really sick and even more tired, but I honestly feel like the Lord is using this "trying time" to mold and shape me before the baby comes. I am going to have to learn how to slow down and breathe in life.

Life is all around us and it is not always found in the cleanliness of our home or the healthy food that we present to our children. Life is found upstairs in a play room that you cannot see the floor or in the moments that you see one child pray for another child to feel better. Life is found in the moments you get to spend with the people that you love or when you get to pray for someone unexpectedly. Life is found even in those moments when you are so nauseous you cannot get off of the couch. You feed your kids breakfast, lunch and sometimes dinner while laying on the couch cuddling with two precious love bugs that don't seem to notice your sickness because that are so enthralled with their time with mommy.

Besides the sickness and fatigue being different, the news of this baby was presented in a really cool way. I had never been able to take a home pregnancy test to show that I was prego. Never worked. A dear friend of mine prayed one day with me over the phone after I told her that I may be pregnant. Her words were simple. She prayed that Wade and I would get the simple joy of reading a home pregnancy test and that we would not have to go to the doctor for blood work. That very next day, we sat in the bathroom with jaws open looking at those two pink lines. We were so shocked that we did what only two parents would do. We went to the doctor to confirm. I wonder if God was laughing at us... thinking "there I just answered their prayer and they have got to go and get another confirmation." Thankfully the Lord made us with a sense of humor, so I know He has one.

We then had some issues with insurance, which caused us to have to postpone our first appointment until we could get things figured out. I found myself stressing about this and really in a not so good kind of place. Just before Thanksgiving, I decided that we had to simply give it to the Lord. He quickly revealed steps to take after the holiday and before we knew it we had our first appointment. Now waiting. The appointment was so far out, that I was having a hard time dealing with all the sickness and all I wanted to do was see that precious baby. I thought about Mary. How difficult it must have been to know that as a virgin, she was pregnant with a child. And not just any child, but the Son of God. I know for myself, I usually do not start showing until week 16-18 (except this time around), so can you imagine having to rely completely and whole-heartily on the voice of God and believe with confidence that you are indeed pregnant?? I mean she didn't even have a mirror to compare her belly from day to day... such faith.

Then came the ultrasound... It was funny how Wade and I did not need any direction in seeing what all of the "parts" were of the baby. I guess after 3 times, it begins to be natural. Let's just pray that the delivery works out the same.

So that is the NEW news in the life of the Nagy's. I am going to try and write more, but until some of the fatigue wears off, I am going to say that if I get the bed made, it's been a good day. Until then, I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. By the way... I plan to look over my last year resolutions. I may have to squeeze some in before the ball drops. How about you?

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By the way... I had promised a few of you readers that my lovely husband Wade, was going to share a really awesome story with you about the Miracles of God. Just one of the many miracles.

But getting my husband to sit down and write a blog is even more challenging than getting a pregnant wife to cook dinner.

So hopefully soon... you will hear this amazing story.

This is a birthday present to Jesus.

She cracks me up.

Our 2011 Christmas Card

2011-12-02T17:57:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone has a JOYOUS Christmas season and a very happy New Year!

Love,
The Nagy Family

Finally... A BLOG!

2011-11-10T06:43:00.001-05:00

So you may have noticed that I have been out of the "blogging world" for a few weeks... Maybe that's because my life in the "real world" has been moving pretty fast and very busy! I have lots to catch you up on, so this may be a long post. So bare with me. Then again, I have been distracted my "duty" diapers and the tugging of my shirt to come and play already, so it may just be a "coming soon" post...

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OUR ANNIVERSARY TRIP

Our anniversary trip was WONDERFUL. This was the first time that Wade and I was able to soak up some much needed quiet time together. But I have to be honest, we didn't just got to soak up some rest or even beach time (because the weather was gorgeous)... We also went to a real estate conference to learn how to "flip" houses. Before I tell you about the conference, let me say that this has always been a desire for Wade to do... I mean he is in construction and he loves to see old things turned to new. But the passion goes much deeper than that. His main desire is to help struggling "little man" companies and even homeless people looking for work to complete the construction on the "flip". He has such a huge heart and I know God is going to bless him for it... SO back to the conference. We signed up and even payed money to go to a Armando Montelongo Real Estate Seminar. Yes... you probably recognize the name from his "promising to make you a millionaire in just a few months" infomercial... the infomercial that we fell for. We got there and realized that it was a huge effort to pounce on the emotions of struggling citizens with desires to be successful. It was also a way to empty your pockets and put your trust in a man that made millions doing this profession. We decided that our money was going to stay in our pocket and our trust was going to be in the Lord. So we took advantage of the time together, learned some about flipping houses and even prayed with some couples that were eager to take this next plunge into real estate investment. They were excited and we loved having the opportunity to talk about Jesus to several different people!
One day... we will do this, God's way.

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FALLing in Love TOGETHER

This Fall season at the beach has welcomed us with such good times, wonderful memories and joyous laughs. We have had some really busy moments, but not the kind where you are running around stressed trying to fit everything possible in a short amount of time. The kind of busy that is full of family memories and sitting back watching life take place as a family.

You know the kind of moments where you feel like you are looking downward on a bubble of pure bliss...

I can NEVER get my Wade to take a normal picture!

Riverfest...

We ventured downtown Wilmington to partake in our first River Festival! The girls eventually fell asleep in their stroller and Wade and I enjoyed a leisure walk, had a cup of coffee and a gluten-free cupcake! Lela must have smelled the sugar, because she awoke in the cupcake bakery and demanded a bite!

Then we went to our special picnic place to

watch the boats...

Picture Day and Show and Tell...

Emma Jane actually was the one to remind mommy of her BIG day. She was so excited to share with all of her preschool buddies the good news... God's Word. She tucked her Bible in her little backpack with such enthusiasm and off she went. The teacher said that she stood up proudly and said,
"This is my Bible and I read about Jesus. He loves me very much and I love Him!"

My girls... they sure do LOVE each other...

I honestly can't believe I captured such a great picture...

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(Here is where I stopped writing due to the chaos surrounding my typing space and left this "draft" for another day, in another week, during a much more quieter nap time... I really don't know how people work from home?)

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PUMPKIN PATCH WITH FRIENDS!

We went on our first adventure away from the beach in efforts to see a real pumpkin patch. We drove an hour and half to realize that the only way to the patch was to take a haunted hayride, which was quickly out of the question. You don't spend years of trying to get your children to sleep all to mess them up with spooky stuff. So we did what anyone would do... we took advantage of the Family- Style restaurant and ate until the cows came home!

It took me back to my Daniel Boone days...

We had such a great time hanging out with friends and just being together... who needs a pumpkin when you have awesome friends to enjoy!

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But sense we didn't get a pumpkin, we decided to try again the following weekend

at a "beach style" pumpkin patch...

It was a fun, quick way to get a pumpkin!

FALL ACTIVITIES...

Mommy likes to make stuff and Daddy likes to carve stuff.

I would definitely say that Daddy did his best this year. He worked so hard that the girls got bored with the project long before he finished.

We made a purple, sparkly spider!

HALLOWEEN

We got together with great friends and had our first "trick or treat" party at the house!! We had tons of goodies and treats and the kiddos... well they were dancing around and hyped long before the first bite of chocolate!

My little cupcake...

My little Mermaid...

Running for the door! I mean candy!

Enjoying her friend "Minnie" and even met some new friends along the way!

I think the boys even enjoyed themselves!!

Cupcake, Mermaid and Minnie!

I could just squeeze them...

And after about a half of a mile, she was done.

We returned home just in time to pass out the last of the candy bags, recycle some candy (because we had wayyyy too much) and enjoy a nice quiet evening watching Scared Shrekless.

I have to note...

Not only did my master pumpkin carving husband get tons of compliments for his Mermaid Creation, but one guy even whipped out his cell phone and took a picture.

Although Wade didn't say anything, his face said enough...

Packing up for the Weekend!!

2011-10-13T13:44:00.000-04:00

Today I am busy packing suitcases and checking off to-do lists , but this exact date just 5 years ago, I was checking off a different to-do list so that I could say I-DO to the man of my dreams. Wow. It's really hard to believe. Not so much that we have been together for 5 years, but how much we have been through in 5 years, conquering life together and being teammates. Soul mates.

Last year, I wrote this post for my wonderful husband, but this year we are packing the bags for a much needed get-a-way. In just 17 hours we will head to Mrytle Beach for 3 whole days. This is the 1st time that we will have left the kids and the 1st vacation since our honeymoon. From Jamaica to Myrtle Beach... you do what ya can, right? :)

I also decided to reveal my lovely husband's anniversary gift to him on this very blog. Some of you may think this is not a BIG gift, but I promise that his face will show otherwise...

Dear Mr. Wade Nagy,

You are the one and only person for me. The only one that can put up with my crap, calm me when I am overreacting about some peas on the floor and most importantly, spiritually lead me in the way that a husband should lead his wife. You are such a strong Man of Godr, full of good- times kind of daddy and a best friend, which is why I am going to tell you...

Go PACK your Fishing Pole honey cause we we going to wet a line at good ole' Myrtle Beach this weekend!!!

Love,

Your Wife

Family Dinners and Ballet Slippers

2011-09-27T14:17:00.001-04:00

As many of you know, I have decided to go gluten-free with my diet, which you can read about here...

so as a result the whole family has joined in this diet challenge!

One being that they want to support me and Two being that they really had no choice. :)

I am on week two of my diet and I can honestly tell you that I am feeling more energized than ever. My tests results should come back sometime this week, so keep praying! Until then, we are embracing all the new recipes, the new energy that mom has and the fact that this has changed our perspective on "getting healthy!"

The first week, I eliminated almost everything besides fruits and veggies. I suffered from a 3 day headache, severe temptations and a bad mood. By day two, I realized that my children were crying a lot more than usual. I soon realized that they were starving. Along with myself and my husband.
So I have had to modify the diet plan some and remember that normal food is okay.
When I gave them a regular peanut butter sandwich for lunch, they both looked at me with such gratitude and said... "Ummmm, good." and they cleared their plates. Hilarious.

So family dinners have been fun! And interesting.

The girls got a night off from the diet... they enjoyed regular spaghetti, carrots and crackers.

I will admit... I was a little jealous.

I guess "enjoyed" would be an understatement...

Daddy prepared the salads and...

Mommy prepared the asparagus!

And before Mommy and Daddy even set down to have their 1st bite of dinner, the girls were ready for a piece of candy...

what she doesn't realize is that it's a prune.

Trying her best to get my camera!

These T-shirts are specifically for "spaghetti night." I have learned too many times...

Our new candy bowl!

Raisens, Cliff Bars and Prunes... I mean candy.

My breakfast this morning...

Eggs, Corn Grits (which were way yummier than regular grits!!), Gluten-free bread and a orange.

I hated the orange and Wade ate the bread.

So the diet thing is working. For now.

And family dinners are an absolute must.

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And then there is dance...

I think I look forward to Thursdays even more than she does!!
This was her very first class a few weeks ago.

No captions needed... the pictures say enough.
She LOVES dance, sparkles, and ballet slippers.

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I want my cake and eat it too.

2011-09-20T10:01:00.000-04:00

Lots to say this morning and lots to do (including fixing my kids breakfast), but there is only one thing on my mind this morning... chicken alfredo pasta with bread sticks.

If you know me well, you know that I have been struggling with my thyroid. Since being diagnosed with hypo-thyroidism, I have either been prego or nursing. So pretty much for the last 4 years, I have had an excuse on all of the abnormal hormonal ups and downs, the hair loss and the extreme fatigue. Now that I am neither prego, nor nursing, one would think that some of these symptoms would cease, especially given that my meds have been increased. Wrong. If anything I am worse. Some days I feel like I can't even lift my arm without taking a nap first. Oh and the nap scene. You may be thinking that a nap sounds pretty good right now and that I am crazy for not wanting to take one. And I will admit the occasional Sunday afternoon nap does sound enticing, but that is not what I am talking about. These naps are essential for me to even be able to make it through the rest of my day, leaving me still tired, but at least able to make it thru dinner and bathtime and return to bed early that evening. That is ridiculous and I hate it. I know that God is healer of all sickness and disease and that he took this disease, my disease, on the Cross. So I have prayed for healing and I have prayed for knowledge. After all, I am really uneducated when it comes to my thyroid and I have spent years taking the advice from medical professionals without asking any questions or seeking anything alternative. So I believe that knowledge may come before total healing. Even though I am declaring that I am healed.

So I ran into a girl at my small group and after much discussion, I have decided to take action in several ways. I am meeting with my doctor again this week, having more blood work drawn and seeking the advice of a holistic chiropractor (this may be next week) for some alternative healing. One of the 1st decisions that I made was to eliminate gluten from my diet this week. This wasn't a decision I just made without any thought. I actually had lots of thoughts. I don't want to do this. This is just crazy. I don't want to jump on the "gluten-free bad wagon" because God didn't create me to live in fear of food. I love bread. Real bread. I hate this idea.

Then, Joyce Meyer changed my perspective yesterday morning along with many others' opinions of people who have struggled with the very same thing...

Page 262 ~ New Day, New You 366 Devotions for Enjoying Everyday Life by Joyce Meyer

So I am on day 2 of gluten free and I am actually feeling energized... along with starving, my head hurts and my body is starting to ache. The Olive Garden commercials showing bread sticks and pasta have GOT to go and I have images of muffins and chocolate brownies dancing in my head. All I want to do is eat a granola bar and a piece of bread dipped in Olive Oil and Parmesan cheese.

Geez...

I have got stop thinking about Carbs.

So pray for me. Pray for answers. Pray for restraint.

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BTW...

I posted the other day on Facebook this post. I had no idea that so many people would jump on board with my excitement and want to know so badly what all the excitement was about. Then I quickly realized that everyone thought I was pregnant. No. Not yet anyways.

So if you are still interested in my exciting news, here ya go...

I got a JOB! Not just any job, but a job working at our church, LCC, where I will be assisting the leader of the Children's Ministry. I will oversee the second service and assist with curriculum, routines and procedures. So up my alley, it's crazy. Such a God-given opportunity and I am so grateful.

Plus the friend that I am working with is awesome!

I will keep you posted. Take Care. Be blessed.

AND Eat a piece of cake for me.

Our loss can be His Gain.

2011-09-13T15:42:00.000-04:00

I have had one of those weeks. One of those weeks where you can get lost in the problems of the day and lose sight of reality. Lose sight of what our purpose is and what His plan is for our life. Today I was put into perspective once again. My mom called this morning and said she had some bad news. A friend from high school was shot and killed last night in my hometown. I am sure that everyone that met Joey has their own special memories of Joey and who he was. I have mine. I have some really funny ones actually and my dad can attest to that. He was the class comedian, my side kick when I would skip yearbook, my neighbor that never failed to stop by when I was home from college.

I think when I heard the initial news I was just in a place of shock. It wasn't until I hung up the phone that the true reality of the situation hit me. Today, a life was ended. A life was stolen. Stolen by the enemy of this world that wants to kill, steal and destroy. Today, a family mourns the loss of their son, a sister says goodbye to her brother and friends and family ponder the memories and significant moments they shared with Joey. Today, so many emotions are being felt in my hometown. Today, Facebook is filled with many emotions, regrets, best wishes and even some anger. Today, many people are hurting. But the truth is... there are so many people hurting at this very moment.

People are experiencing death, sickness, job loss, family separation and many more tragic scenarios. This world is begging and calling out for a Savior. The Savior is Jesus and He is the only One that can take your wrecked situation and totally transform your wreckage into Beauty. My deepest thoughts and prayers are being poured out to Joey's family and I honestly don't know how you deal with such terrible news. I really don't. My flesh would not be able to deal with this type of loss, but my God can. That's why I know and trust that the only peace and comfort you can find when dealing with this type of loss is to look to the One that paid and lost everything when He died on the Cross. Jesus is the only one that can feel your pain at this very moment. He is the only one that can truly stand in your shoes and say I know what you are going through at this very moment. Jesus is the only one that can lift you up from the pits of sadness and anger and bring you to a place of victory and stability in your life. No matter the situation... God can and will redeem it if you call upon Him.

Life is short. The church MUST stand up. My prayer is that God would tangibly come down and bring a peace that no other can bring on this family. That Joey knew the Lord and that he is rejoicing with our heavenly Father. That the authorities and police departments would take charge and make the appropriate arrest to bring the family closure and relieve any feelings of retaliation or revenge. My prayer is that a revival would take place in Statesville and that God's goodness would rise up out of this tragedy and others would come to know Christ through all of this.

When my flesh is weak, His spirit is strong in me...

Take refuge in the One that surrendered it all for YOU so that you could have an eternal relationship with the God who created you to be victorious in Christ.

Our loss can be His gain if we surrender our pain, our sufferings, our own efforts completely and wholly to Him. He will turn our failures into His victories, which will enable us to live a much more efficient, glorious and fulfilled life.

A life that may be short, but one that doesn't go unnoticed.

1st Day of Preschool!

2011-09-07T15:09:00.002-04:00

Today was Ej's first day of preschool! Being a former teacher... I think I get more excited about this learning opportunity than she does, which is my excuse as to why I wasn't even slightly sad when this day came about! I was all smiles and so was Ej. We awoke this morning, had a delicious breakfast, told daddy goodbye and it was then I realized that we were late. Again.

Fyi... their room still looks like we just moved in. A work in progress :)

Ej was excited to wake up for her BIG day!

Lela was NOT.

A healthy breakfast made by their favorite daddy!

(btw... Lela is still confused at all of the excitement)

I sped things up and got them both dressed as quickly as possible. They must think this is a normal relay race, because I seem to always throw them in their clothes like a whirlwind and scurry them out the door.

She LOVES her new socks and shoes... and they MUST be pulled up to her knees.

Off to preschool we went, cheering and singing and loving every minute. I did a few of my encouraging speeches while driving... "Be nice even when kids are not nice to you..." "Remember that Jesus loves you and he is always with you..." " Be nice to the teacher and tell her if anything is bothering you..." and lastly... "We are going to walk in happily and play with our friends and we are NOT going to cry..."

Outside of her new school.

Lela still confused. lol.

The anxiousness began before we even entered the room.

We walked in and I immediately saw the nervousness come out of my once beaming little girl. I walked in with her and we washed our hands, hung her backpack in her cubbie and I saw the finger twitching begin. Then came the..." I don't want you to leave..."

So I took this opportunity to take pictures and get a feel for the classroom...

I sat down with her to color and all of a sudden she looked around and saw that I was the only mommy in the room. She looked at me and said, "You can leave now. Give me a kiss and a hug!"

Praise the Lord!! Progress. Much needed progress.

This was her immediately following my departure :) I stuck my arm out with my camera on zoom, just to be sure she wouldn't see me. The teacher thought I was probably nuts.

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End of Day Report:

She had an awesome time!

My Heart Today

2011-08-31T14:06:00.002-04:00

I have so many more "refreshing" posts that I should be sharing right now, but only one thing is on my mind today. Since most of you have been following this roller coaster of a journey, from all the health issues to the financial struggles to the drastic "rescue" from God Almighty to TODAY, I wanted to share my heart. My struggle for today.

Wade had his 6 month review this morning with Bill Clark Homes. The company that hired the man that came out of "no where", started two weeks later and uprooted his family from a different city just 2 months after selling a home that "couldn't be sold". God has been busy in just the Nagy family alone and I am forever grateful. So this is not a post that is a "pity party" nor am I trying to be unappreciative of what He has given us. But I do have a request...

Our financial struggle has been changed drastically and our dependence on the Lord has stayed constant throughout. He has taken us on a unimaginable journey that has been exciting, unexpectant and supernatural and my faith in His provision stands firm. So what is my prayer...

Although we have not hurt for anything that we need, because God has provided through other means of income, we have yet to make it work "on paper." Our budget is clearly over that of what we bring home and to be truthful, that's not even including food and gas. So are you questioning whether our God is good... ABSOLUTELY He is. He has provided us with a way of making it work every month. BUT my prayer is that this won't be a worry for us for a while. My prayer is that for the first time that our income, our budget, our way of life would work "on paper." That God would supply us with a consistant income that we can see each month. That He would relieve the questioning on our minds each month and allow us to just enjoy that monthly paycheck increase.

I know that this may not seem like I should be writing about this, but this is my heart today. It's my prayer that as we play the waiting game again today, that God would supernaturally invoke a need for his company to bless us beyond the normal range of "raises."

I know there are so many needs in the world... But I am asking you join me in prayer today for this one small thing. I am asking that you pray for me to have peace regardless and to not grow weary while we wait.

This song is always my encouragement to remind me that God always knows our desires....

Do you have any prayer requests that you would like me to pray for? Just email me! It is God's desire that we lift each other up... so let me hear it!

Thanks :)
Tiffany

FYI... We started our mom's group today and it was awesome!! Having a group of Christian ladies to support, love and lift you up is so crucial in your daily walk with the Lord. I encourage you to get involved and find that place where you can grow and experience all that Jesus has for you.

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OH... and Wade's review went well! I am so proud!

Wade Nagy never ceases to amaze me!

Facing the Storm... Literally!

2011-08-26T13:30:00.001-04:00

So far we have been in Wilmington for 4 months and we have endured

our first tornado...

An earthquake...

(this is what comes up when you google east coast earthquake)

AND now a hurricane... Irene.

Last night we thought it would be a great idea to be "storm chasers." Although the sky was still filled with sun and just a few clouds... the waves were crazy and the surfers were even crazier.

The waves look normal here, but I am standing on a 5 foot sand cliff where the water has rushed and washed away the sand dunes.

Lots of spectators, photographers, surfers and...

new families that were too excited to stay at home.

She was pretty excited herself! You could feel the ocean spray from the waves!

She was excited to eat, regardless of the weather.

Wade was excited to just be on the beach with a fishing pole!

Way past her bedtime. She was so upset because I wouldn't let her get in the water.

This was 2 seconds later when she was so easily distracted by a seashell.

Look how cool the sky was!!

Leaning over for a kiss.

On our ride home... hard to believe a hurricane was on the way.

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Which brings us to today... Getting ready for the Storm.

Hurricane Supplies.

This was what greeted me when I took down my outside decor. Last we looked, our little friend was still hanging out on the side of the house. Wonder if he will ride out the storm there??

Morning Bath. We can't have two stinky girls if the power chooses to go out!

Vacuuming is a necessity when dealing with torrential downpours and power outages.

The real hurricane took place upstairs.

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It is 12:06pm and the rain has just begun.

You know that part in Forrest Gump, were the rain comes down side ways.

Yup. That's what it looks like.

We have taken every precaution we know to do. Including glow necklaces for the girls!

I have to admit there is a certain part inside of me that is a little excited.

All kidding aside... My family is worried. So prayers appreciated.

Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

~Matthew 8:23-27

I made a deal with God

2011-08-24T15:42:00.000-04:00

I confess. I made a deal with God.

I use to do this all the time. "God if you do this... then I will do that..." or even better, "If you get me out of this mess, I will never do it again, promise!" I am sure we can all relate to that one! I have learned now that this is not always the best approach to prayer.

Last night, Wade and I went on an evening run. Before my feet even hit the pavement, I already had it in my head that I was going to do 8 miles. Well, 3 miles into the run, I looked over at Wade who was bouncing with insane energy and said, "I think I have set my goal too high." I was exhausted, discouraged and I felt just plain defeated. I mean how am I supposed to do a half marathon in October if I can't even run 3 miles. Seriously. At this very moment, I made a deal with God...

"God if you will help me run this 8 miles, I will give you all the glory."

I can't say that it was immediate, but I can say that somewhere around 4 miles, Wade looked over at me and said, "You got your second wind." That's when I knew that I was not going to give up until my feet literally fell out from underneath me. By mile 5, I had smoked Wade. This is how I knew that God was doing this. You see, I am not a solo runner. I have to run with a "talking buddy" if I expect to get any mileage in for the day. By mile 6, I realized I was in robotic form. Literally. I found myself repeating the lyrics from a song, that had the words, "God is able" over and over and my pace was as steady as a clock. So steady, that my body seemed to keep one position and that was a constant pace of running. Honestly, wiping the sweat from my forehead, seem to bring more pain that actually running. If I looked at the traffic beside me, my body would seem to stumble. I began to pay no attention to anything around me. My eyes were on the sidewalk, my mind was focused on God and my body was doing exactly what it needed to without very little effort.

I ran 9.35 miles in 2hr. 9min. 24sec.

CRAZY!!!

I stopped at the car and my body fell to the ground with thankfulness. Wade finally caught up with me and when I saw his face I knew that he was amazed. He honestly looked at me and said, "Who are you?!?!"

So here comes the Glory. I was replaying all of this in my mind today while I was soaking my still sore muscles. Why was God so insistent in helping me with something so insignificant. That's because He is a good God. He wants to get all of the Glory in everything we do, even running. I ran the farthest I have ever ran in my whole life last night and even exceeded my initial goal. My body took form of a runner, my muscles yielded to what they needed to do and I was focused. So how does this relate to my Christian walk. If I can set a steady pace, block out all of the outside noises around me and focus my mind on a God who is willing and able, then I will stay on the course He has set for me. Not only will I stay on the course, but I will finish the race beyond my own expectation and succeed at His.

So God... You get all of the Glory. You did this. Not I.

I do have to tell you... my praises were soon distracted when I got out of the car and felt the sharp pain in my legs. Reality of what my body had just done... was now settling in. After a hot bath, an Ibuprofen and a long night's sleep, I woke up this morning and I felt like I had been hit by a Mack truck.

The "race" may make you sore, but the reward is much greater!

The Good Stuff

2011-08-23T16:55:00.001-04:00

I am going to be truthful this morning... My intentions of writing this blog was to cheerfully write about the Joyce Meyer Conference that I went to this past weekend and about the amazing experience that I had last night at Vesta Village with LCC. But right now at this moment, my heart is heavy. I recieved an email from a dear friend this morning who is having a difficult time in their life. This person is struggling with their purpose in life and all of those famous questions that your mind begins to ask when you are faced with circumstances that you dont want to face. My heart hurts because I too, have been there and I know what it is like to be in a "dark" place where there seems to be no way out. I am sure that if we all think back in our life, we can all remember a time when we needed help, comfort, salvation.

What I want to say is that salvation is more than just giving your life to Christ. Yes, it is the the most important part of your faith walk, but there is so much more that Christ wants to save you from. Christ wants you fully, because that is what he did for YOU. He fully gave himself on the cross so that we could have a better life. A life full of complete salvation, complete healing, complete restoration and most of all, complete victory. You see God never intended for us to be seperated from Him. When Adam and Eve allowed sin and death to come into the world, the plan of redemption was already in the making. God sent Christ so that we would not be eternally seperated from Him. So what I want you to know is that Christ is with you and He is FOR you. And if He is for you, then NOTHING can stand against you. If you are a child of God and have fully accepted Him as your personal Savior, then you don't have to be alone in that dark place. Cry out to Jesus. Literally. Right now, speak HIS name, Jesus, and feel the peace come over your body. (John 16:33) Speak it. He was sent for YOU. He died for YOU. He paid the ultimate penalty so that YOU wouldnt have to. Focus your mind on Jesus. You dont have to be a bibical scholar or someone that knows every scripture in the Bible to be able to call upon Jesus. Maybe you are someone that barely lives the "walk" and you have never felt further from Christ. He is waiting with open arms for His lost son or daughter to come back. He is running to you. Call out His name. Seek Him. He is ready and waiting.

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Joyce Meyer Conference!!

Holy cow... it was amazING!!! I have to be honest, before the conference I had never really listened to Joyce Meyer. I had read a devotional book from her, but that was almost the extent of it. I knew who she was and I was excited, but I had no idea how much her message was going to relate to my everyday life. Hence... the title of her show is "Everyday Life" :)

The first day she spoke about judging. Ouch.

Here are my notes:

Don't have an opinion of where you don't have a responsibilty. The more knowledge you have from the Word, the more you will recongnize sin. But just because you recognize sin, doesnt mean you can judge the heart of the sinner. Only God can do that. You must confront the sin, not the sinner.

People act weird because they are hurting.

I could relate to this statement. When I look back at my life, the times that I acted "weird" or did things that I knew were wrong, was when I was in a difficult place in my life.

The meaning of JUDGE:

In Hebrew the word "judge" means "to be of God"

Therefore, when we judge, we are literally saying we are of "God stature"

And we all know that we are nothing compared to God. Wow. Enough said.

When God annoints something... Opinions don't matter.

We should even live by this when we are told to do something for the Lord and we are worried about what people may think.

1 Corinthians 4:5

John 8:1-11

John 5:30

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Day 2: Spiritual Warfare

James 4:7

Resist the devil and he will flee... but if you read before that part, it says that you must "be subject" (submit) to God. You must spend time with Him and we mustn't allow open doors for the enemy- bitterness, unforgiveness, jealousy, etc. into our lives. Don't just quote the truth, you want it to be the reality of your life.

We are not held accountable for the things we do not know, but we are for the things we do. We are in constant transformation and are being pressed to perfection.

Hebrews 10:36 -- Know the Promises!

Ecclesiastes 12:13

Galations 6:10

Find that inner peace and follow God's will of doing good -- YOU will then reap the benefits of

JOY, CONTENTMENT, and PURE HAPPINESS.

Day 2 Session 2: Facing Fear and finding Freedom

Satan's only way to make progress in your life is thru fear. Courage means to still move forward even when you feel fear. Fear will never go away, so you must confront it!!

God has equipped us-- we are annointed by the Holy Ghost for "the hard" stuff.

You cannot speak peace, unless you have peace inside of you. When you remain peaceful the devil doesn't know what to do with you. In the storm, we must remain the same as when we are out of the storm.

Stop fearing imperfection! Paul said that in his weakness, he was made strong!

God is ready to lift you when you are weak.

Out of the 12 deciples, only 1 of them tried to walk on water. You cannot allow fear to cripple you from doing what you need to do.

Stop fearing that we will be taken advantage of!

Meekness is not weakness: Meakness is strength under control.

1 Peter 5:6

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Day 3: Simplifying your Life!

John 10:10

Everytime you begin to do something that frustrates you, stop and figure out how to simplify it! God does not want you to live a life full of frustration.

James 4:2

Get rid of complication by being fully yourself-- stop worrying about impressing others.

Start looking at areas of your life--

How many things are you doing that are for the wrong reasons that frustrate you?

Get rid of them.

The things that you remember the most in life are the simple things. Laugh more.

God loves when you laugh.

Work your schedule around God.

Stop trying to work God into your schedule.

Seek HIM first.

Philippians 4:6

Philippians 4:11 ~ my favorite-- be content with where you are and what you have!

Proverbs 3:5-9

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That was not even half of all that she talked about!

I have had so many requests to share all the "good stuff" so there you go!

Hope you can relate it to your life! I sure have.

*All material was paraphrased from the 2011 Joyce Meyer Ministry Conference, Raliegh, NC.

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The Pink Hippo Project.

After attending the JM conference, it was absolutely clear that I had the need to help children less fortunate than my own. After all, I boo-hoo-ed like a baby everytime they played a video of helping a 3rd world country and I was frantically reaching for my wallet to throw out whatever dollar amount I could to make myself "feel" better.

Sitting in church Sunday watching the church video of one of the many projects they do for children, I was thinking to myself, I need to get involved. As the thought literally passed through my mind, a friend next to me tapped me on the leg and said, "You should get involved with the tutoring program."

I was at the sign up table immediantly following church and at my first meeting later that day at 2pm.

So what is it...

LCC has adopted a community of low-income housing called Vesta Village.

It is a part of the Pink Hippo Project at LCC, in efforts to love, reach, nurture and imitate Jesus by lending a hand to better the community.

So last night... I went to meet all of the kids that I am going to be teaching and I left KNOWING that they will be the ones to teach me.

I watched the kids laugh, eat pizza, play games and love us. I watched the fact that not one of them was caught up in their "need to survive" circumstances in their life and they were fully focused on the "right now." They were having so much fun!

My heart was so full.

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Fyi... I started this blog at 7am and as you can see... I am just now finishing.

I hope you read all of the scriptures...

My Kiddos

2011-08-11T16:31:00.000-04:00

These pics are from 2 weeks ago, when we went to visit my family in Statesville! We had a great time, loved seeing everyone, enjoyed the lake and ate way too much food! Thanks mom and dad!

Lela loved the boat, hated the life jacket!

She played hard and she also managed to convince her daddy to take the life-vest off.

As soon as he did... she was out like a light!

Wade LOVED this moment by the way. Daddy's girl.

Miss. Prissy... she loved every minute of it!

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Lela learned how to use a fork this week! Yay! It has taken a while. Not because she can't do it, but because she doesn't want to do it! She is such a little eater that she is not patient enough to feed herself. She wants to be spoon-fed and spoon-fed FAST!

Eating her 2 eggs, fruit, Yo-Baby and waffle.

Yes... That is her normal breakfast.

Her fave meal... Spaghetti!

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Playing later today after lunch... It was so hot that at one point I was picking weeds and I noticed I didn't hear them playing any more. I looked up and the girls were sitting on the porch and when I asked them what they were doing, they said, "It's too hot. We want a snack!"

Lela was the first one to finish her goldfish!

Sorry about the sideways pic... I loaded straight from my phone and was too lazy to change it :)

Although she couldn't tell me, I feel as though she would have said...

"Mom, can I please take a nap?!?!"

Surprise!

2011-08-11T10:16:00.002-04:00

I have spent the morning reading over past blogs... dating all the way back to when Wade got his 1st surprise interview that Valentine's weekend, here in Wilmington. I read all about the excitement, the selling of our house and that eventful day of moving all of our stuff to the coast. Reading over my words, that sense of excitement consumed me once again and I suddenly remembered all of the divine details that I had forgotten. It made me so grateful that I have recorded all of my thoughts and events over the last 2 years in this one blog. How great it is to be able to go back and recall all of the awesome things Christ has done for us. Our story, Our Journey and Our quest to know more about our King is what makes this blog so dear to me and hopefully you...

What started out as just a way to document the lives of our children and our crazy life as a "Nagy" has turned into so much more. This blog has become my way of expression, my outlet in life and my voice for the One who has changed me inside out. This blog is where I can freely ask for a mother's advice, brag about my beautiful children and hysterical husband, share my insights of how I have handled and sometimes failed at life's many challenges and most importantly, a place where I can share the love of Jesus.

I take this moment, not to brag, but to simply share with you some of the things that I have received from this blog. I usually write as my outlet, but what I get in return is so much more gratifying. I get emails from readers full of kind words and stories of their life. God has shown me that by writing my own accounts of how my life has changed, the good and the not so good, I am able to relate to people in their own situations and circumstances. The fact that I have provided hope and motivation for them, just by simply writing is remarkable to me. Your comments and your emails mean so much. If sharing my life so candidly helps just one person feel better, then I am all about it.

So all though I don't have many "followers" I do have many readers.

(which I hope you will follow me)

And it is because of YOU that I am ready to take this next step...

I have a new BLOG NAME!

And design of course! You all know how I love to change things up and I cannot wait to see what Cat designs for me!

I will soon share this exciting name, but before I do I have to prepare what is going to come with it. The name, thanks to the help of a friend, is based around my testimony, which I plan to share.

I hope you will be just as excited about these new changes as I am and that you will continue to read.

Either way I plan to keep writing :)

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Some MEMORABLE moments...

Lela is talking up a storm and said her 1st "I love you" to me just the other day. It was just after she was told "no, no" for not listening. After hearing those very harsh words from me, she always turns to me with open arms for my "I'm sorry hug" ...it was then that she said, "I love you."

Emma Jane was sitting at the dinner table and said, "Da-Da, what are my peas called?"

Wade simply replied, "Peas."

"Oh," said Emma Jane as she continued to eat her dinner.

Such an impressionable age isn't it...

Finding Rest

2011-08-05T16:08:00.001-04:00

Life has been busy. You know the weeks... where you seem like you have done everything and you have accomplished nothing. I have had one of those weeks. One would think that with Ej having gone to VBS this week, that I would have accomplished the world, but quite the opposite has happened. By Wednesday I felt like my head was spinning, our laundry was taking over the house and I couldn't find a free second to do the mounds of "orders" I had piling on my desk upstairs. My kids were crazy and I think I was possibly even crazier. I had numerous doctor appointments and although I am grateful that I can freely go, we all know how time consuming a check-up can be. Getting blood work with a kid on your lap... highly stressful. So by Wednesday, I was exhausted and by 5:00pm when the babysitters came over to watch the girls for church, all I wanted to do was go eat with my hubby and rest. But we didn't give into that temptation... at least not this time. We went to church, were 20 minutes late and stressed when arriving but frantically sat down anyways. Boy, am I glad we did.

Church was amazing, refreshing, energizing and full of hope... all of which I needed. We all need. It supplied restoration during the mid-week slump that we so often find ourselves. I have been feeling like the Lord has been telling me to "rest" for a while now, but Wednesday night it was confirmed. I must find rest. Not just physical rest, (which I will definitely take when I can get it ), but spiritual rest. Resting in His presence while I am still "working." This I do not do. There are days where I find myself at the end of the day emotionally exhausted, sometimes frustrated and even worse, full of tears and it is then that I call on the Lord for help. Don't we all do that at times? We wait until we can't handle our dilemma ourselves and then we finally turn it over to the Lord. It's God's dilemma too. So yesterday I practiced "resting in His presence."

This is what it looked like...
Praise Music playing in the background most of the day, reading my Bible or a good book while I sat with the girls to finish their lunch (they listened while I read out loud...amazing!) and listening to sermons while I sewed during nap time. Most importantly I prayed a lot more. I prayed for everything. I prayed for the clock to slow down so I wouldn't be late to pick up Ej at VBS (I was still late). I prayed for the slow person that didn't see the green light until in was yellow. I prayed that God would help me with my pillowcase dress... and for once I didn't screw it up! I prayed my Ej would get off of the floor and stop screaming in the middle of the mall. I even prayed for my husband as he walked out the door to head back to work. You get the point. The more I prayed, the easier and less thought it took.

I had the best day yesterday. Everything was chaotic and crazy as usual, but I had a inward peace. I rested in HIM, which in turn provided me with much needed rest.

for anyone that enters God's rest also enters rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.

~Hebrews 4:10

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So here is the Nagy's week in a snapshot...

Wade has been fishing a lot.

He absolutely loves it and I am so thankful we live in a place where he can enjoy his time.

Here he caught a fish... not a bird.

This is his catch. A good lookin' flounder.

This is another reason why we love to go fishing in the evening.

The views. Remarkable.

I was pretty proud of myself for this one.

I think it's professional, pretty like. Maybe?

This was when mommy and daddy needed some money to buy groceries.

Ej was so excited to share her treasures.

Come on... I know you have atleast thought about it, right?

This is our new favorite spot to picnic.

This is the view that we get while we eat our sandwich... ahhhhh.

This is our entertainment... besides the boats.

I have no idea where we are at, but I this is one of the 1st times that Ej took a picture with her sis.

Saw a sticker on a car today that said,

"Life is... God."

I just love that!

Free Bird

2011-07-29T09:36:00.001-04:00

Upon moving to the beach, our family has tried to make a tradition of going fishing once a week.
A:: My husband absolutely LOVES it.
B:: It gives me a nice break from the evening routine and lets the kids get out some extra energy.

So far, our fishing trips have been quite entertaining to say the least, but last night was the craziest of all crazy. Even more crazy than the time I caught a fish, began to reel it in all to hear the word, "SHARK!?!" come out of my husband's mouth! Needless to say, I dropped the rod and took cover with my kids like there was a hurricane breaking on the shore. Wade reminded me that the shark, that was now flipping and flopping on the beach was on a hook, with no intent to hurt. I cautiously reminded him, no thanks. Sharks can stay where they belong. In the water.

So back to the craziest of all crazy. Last night, Wade was fishing for fish. But he caught a bird. For those of you that may not know, I am terrified of birds. So much that when they come near me on the beach, I literally start to get that closed throat, sweaty and very tense kind of feeling. I don't like them. Period. So when I saw this bird slowly fly into Wade's fishing line and then proceed to swirl and then eventually flail in the water, all I could think was... REALLY?!?!.

Once Wade got the bird reeled in close, he was able to hold it down and retrieve his pocket knife for what would hopefully be a quick rescue. I will be honest here. When he asked for help, I quickly said "No." But after several minutes of realizing that this was not going to be as simple as thought I decided I would have to help. After all, this poor bird's death would be on my hands and even though I hate birds, I didn't want it to die. So I went over and asked Wade what to do. He said to grab the bird's beak.

SERIOUSLY?!?

I quickly grabbed the bird's beak and said some one sentence prayers along with some girly screams (you know the ones I am talking about). Wade was able to get all of the fishing line that had entangled around the bird's wings and a few minutes later, he was done. Here is the best part. I was the one to let the bird go! I was the last to let go and was the one to free the bird. Okay, so I know that Wade did most of the work here, but I got to give myself some credit. The bird stumbled, then walked, and eventually flew off! It was honestly the best feeling ever! I had overcome my fears, touched and freed a bird. I felt so good about myself and I think Wade was even more proud of his crazy wife with the bird phobia. We even got an applause from some spectators on the beach...

What was even more profound was when we got home and we were giving the girls a bath. Emma Jane looked at me and said, "Mommy, you held a bird on the nose and it went "squawk, squawk!" I realized how cool it was that my daughters were able to witness their mommy overcome a huge fear and do something that I did NOT want to do, but had to do!

It may not have been a fish, but it was definitely a perfect catch for the evening... :)

This was before I made the decision to help.

This is part of the beautiful drive to the beach :)

Walking over the dunes to get to the beach.

ahhhhhhh.

It's endless.

My sweet Lela.

Perfect.

She really does do this on her own. Promise.

I have to leave it on the bird again. Crazy.

Dreaming BIG

2011-07-27T15:53:00.001-04:00

THIS book is changing me! Wade recently joined a men's Bible study in which they are studying "Sun Stand Still" by Steven Furtick. I picked up the book just to read the back cover and was instantly intrigued. Before I knew I was sitting on the couch, nose in book.

Just a few of the life changing, motivating, get you off of your tush and do something kind of quotes...

When I talk about a miracle or a move of God, I'm not necessarily referring to a supernatural phenomenon from a scientific perspective. I'm more focused on the way God's power infuses the life of ordinary believers to produce results that glorify Jesus. Sometimes these miracles are tangible and remarkable. Other times they're hidden and more subtle.

When you strip the biblical miracles of their spectacular special effects, a common plot point emerges: extraordinary moves of God begin with ordinary acts of obedience. That singular fact gives your a starting place. It doesn't matter who you are or what you do for a living. If God lives in you, you have the potential for audacious faith.

And oh my goodness... I could literally type most of the book. It's that good.

So what is MY sun stand still prayer...

I know that I have been praying for a purpose and I do know that this book is all a part of His perfect plan. God may not come down, hit me on the head and audibly tell me what He wants me to do for Him. Then again He may... and I would be thrilled, but until then I may just have to consider the thought that He has placed this book in my hand to help me realize that I may be already doing it. I may be doing something pretty ordinary that He is looking to turn into extraordinary and all I have to do is have the audacious faith to do it. So here are some possibilities....

Blogging. I do love it. And I think that I am pretty good at writing. At least I hope you think so. But possibly I need to think bigger. So I am. I have wanted to change my "look" and "name" for a long time now so I could hopefully get more readers and hopefully shed some insight on How God has changed me, Redeemed me and Saved me. I write for several reasons, but my main purpose is so that I can tell you my LOVE for Jesus. It's may way of telling everyone how GOOD He is. Well it just so happens, I have a blogger friend, Cat, who is incredibly talented that has offered to use her creative skills to make my blog much, much prettier. Coincidence? I think not. Again, part of the ordinary events of life... so I am going to start dreaming big for Jesus and think that just maybe, this blog may be reaching others for Christ. I am just a regular person with a regular life, but I do have an extraordinary father and I feel the need to brag on Him some more...

Running. I will be quite honest... this week I would not call myself a runner. I swear every time I tell someone I am going to try and run the half in October, I get beat down and something either starts hurting or I just can't get motivated! This week, I have a sharp pain in my hip. I would love to tell you that it is a running injury from the treacherous 8 miles, mostly uphill run that I did just the other day in the steaming hot, humid, Wilmington area, while dodging waves on the shore line... BUT, its not. Actually none of those things I mentioned are true, except for the 8 miles that I did, but going at a pace of a turtle with enough sweat to fill another ocean. I think I actually hurt my hip, carrying my 3 year old up a step in the garage. Yes, I said a step.

So what is my point... I would not really dare to call myself a runner. I actually feel far from one. But the fact is that I am a runner. We all are. We were made to run the race, physically and spiritually and I honestly feel like if I can be a runner, then everyone can be. If God can take this person, who hates to exercise, who runs like a duck and spent most of her childhood years avoiding the activity all together, the one whose orthopedic doctor told them that they would be in a wheel chair by the time they were 65 due to severely bad, defective knees that can't be fixed and the person who huffed, puffed and hacked up more junk from past years of smoking and other not so good behaviors for an hour after their very first attempt to run... then God can turn you into a runner. He took an ordinary person who woke up one morning with the bright idea to better herself and he has expanded it into so much more! I want to run. I want to be good at it. I want to help others be good at it. I want others to experience Jesus while they run the way that I do. I want to teach them that their physical endurance can personally relate to their spiritual endurance.

That You can win the race.

How will all of this evolve? I haven't a clue, but 63 pages into the book I am convinced that the first step in dreaming BIG for God's purpose on your life is to get up and do something about it.

Is there something you're good at that God could transform into greatness if you energized your efforts and focused your ability for God's glory? Go for it. All the way.

~Sun Stand Still

Chapter 5: Ignite the Ordinary

A not so "icky" Bible Study...

2011-07-20T15:01:00.001-04:00

I have been struggling with my quiet time with the Lord the past few days. I have been trying to read the book of Leviticus and honestly, I have even skipped a few days of reading because I just couldn't pick up the Bible and read some of the "icky" words and descriptions told about the sacrifices given to the Lord. Believe me... I wanted to read it with an open heart, but I was having a REALLY hard time.
Finally... This morning I had a WONDERFUL quiet time. But before I can go there, I have to tell you what happened last night. Wade and I decided to join a prayer group ministry at church on Wednesday nights. Prayer has been such an eye opening experience in our walk with the Lord over the last few years and it has become my BIGest priority in my relationship with Christ. I have been praying to God for many things and I think that this is one of them... I feel like God is calling me to use my "prayers" for a bigger purpose than just when I am in the shower or on my morning run. As far as what He wants me to do... I haven't got that far.

With the decision to join the prayer ministry, we had to read a book called, "Glory" by Ruth Ward Heflin. I have never even heard of the book title, the author or anything close to it, but as always I am eager to learn something new...

I was busy painting a frame and Wade decided to read the assigned chapter aloud. :: side note :: We have never done anything like this together, but I highly recommend this. It was awesome to hear him read to me. Anyways... One of the main points of what the chapter was about was how to bring Glory to God through worship. Most of us "praise" the Lord when we go to church, but do we really "worship" Him. Meaning, do we really lay down all of the "to-do lists" that play over and over in our mind, are we worried about what we are going to cook for lunch after church service or even more commonly, are we still holding a grudge against our husband from the earlier fight we had just before church because you couldn't find the matching shoe for your kid and he chose to sit in the car and blow the horn and once again you were late for service...

Worship helps us to get rid of a lot of life’s spiritual and natural frustrations. Through worship God brings to us a wholeness of body, mind and spirit. God is refining our understanding of true worship. True worship comes from the heart, in love and adoration unto the Lord.You get the point. It is sometimes difficult to worship the Lord when are mind is filled with so many earthly things.

~ Glory

We live in a busy world...

we need to let these things go and truly worship Him.

We come to God with petitions and requests when we go to worship Him on Sundays. The Bible, His word says to do this. And believe me, I have my request before the Lord and thankfully he is a God that answers. We know Him as Healer, Comforter, Protector and my most recent is Provider and He promises all of these things. But this book pointed out that we should worship Him not simply for what He does, but more importantly for who He is!

He is a God of Love, He is Holy and He is our Glorious Father. So although He wants us to come before him with our deepest request and pour out to Him with what we need, He also wants us to see who he is and because of that He is able to fully save us! When we truly learn to worship God for WHO he is, then we open ourselves up to His Glory.

We forget Who He is. If we fell in love with Him, not knowing Him, shouldn’t knowing Him bring a greater relationship of love and worship? The angels in heaven worship and they have never been redeemed. They worship because of the person of the Lord. They worship because they know Him, not because they’ve been saved, healed, or filled with the Holy Ghost.

~Glory

Amazing book so far. So back to my quiet time this morning...

I opened to Leviticus prepared to read through one chapter and then quickly move on to the New Testament which has been the norm each morning. I opened my Bible to find the word "Glory" mentioned 3 times in the chapter that I had prepared to read. Suddenly reading about the gory sacrifices that were made by Aaron and the Israelites had a different meaning. My mind was less focused on the graphic depictions of the animal and turned to the actual sacrifice of these men and women. They worked daily to keep these animals healthy, they poured in their finances to keep buy, trade and feed these animals and I now see it was a huge sacrifice to give these animals to the Lord. And why did they do it... to see God's Glory. To see, hear and feel the PRESENCE of the Lord. What do we sacrifice each day to truly focus ourselves in true worship?

God's word, these sometimes "icky" words that I was reading in Leviticus came to life for me today. I was so excited that 9 chapters in, God revealed His purpose for me reading this book. I had been struggling and I kept pressing through (honestly just so I could check it off) and I am so thankful that He loves me so that He brings new meaning into His written word for each individual that truly seeks Him and wants to learn more about His goodness.

Then Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded you to do, so that the glory of the LORD may appear to you.”

~Leviticus 9:6

Leviticus 9 and Leviticus 10

Catching UP and Giving Back

2011-07-14T08:08:00.002-04:00

Giving Back...

This past Sunday evening I experienced something pretty awesome. Our church, LCC, hosted a "Stop Hunger Now" event at the church so that we as a congregation could send 20,000 meals over to Uganda and surrounding areas. Our church is located in the only mall in Wilmington, which made this event even more awesome. Seeing this was a great way to get people to "ask questions"

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Did you know...

That there are 6.5 Billion people in the world and we have enough food in the world to give EVERYONE a little over 4 lbs. of food per day. This is equivalent to 16 burgers per person.

But yet somehow...

25,000 people die each day from HUNGER?!?!

Hunger... Something that can be stopped.

Hearing these statistics read out loud while sitting comfortably in a air conditioned church building while wearing cute flip flops and laughing at how ridiculous we looked wearing hair nets... threw me into a severe state of empathy. With tears in my eyes... I was eager to get started.

Every time we hit a 1,000 meals, we celebrated! I wonder how much the starving people in the world celebrated over one meal?

Like the hair nets???

4 more meals to go...

time to celebrate!!!

Want to make a difference???

click here.

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July Pictures...

These were taken a few weeks ago from my friend Jill Galliher.

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Bible Reading...

I am still in Leviticus. I will admit I haven't been as motivated to finish this book and I seem to wake up each morning and dreadfully read a chapter and then quickly skip over to the new testament to read something a little more uplifting. I am sorry if this sounds bad. I know that it is all God's word and it is all important, so I will continue to push forward.

Any insights, encouragement or advice??

I did however read this verse this morning and thought about my post last week...

For some say, "His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing." Such people should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present.

~2 Corinthians 10:10

So I chose this for the scripture of the week. Hope it speaks to you.

My daughters have a Tattoo!

2011-07-07T14:51:00.000-04:00

Just kidding... but it is permanent. At least for now until it decides to fade. I left them upstairs to play while I managed to mop the floor downstairs and get the house ready for our guests this weekend, which was the 1st time that I had ever attempted this. It was working extremely well and I was THRILLED to say the least that they were playing so well by themselves...

Then I heard... "Mommy come here! I have color on my legs!" Here is the worst part... I knew that I had put all of the markers/ crayons up on a very high shelf, so in my mind there was no need to rush and ruin my chances of having a sparkling clean floor. So I simply replied, "Be there in a minute."

A minute turned into probably 10 or 15 and then upstairs I went. All to see the beautiful artwork on their legs. What's funny is that Lela has brown dots all over her legs. I figure Ej was the artist and Lela was on the move, so that resulted in less coloring and more "dotting."

Ej really went to town on her legs!

See the dots?

I could imagine her looking at Ej, thinking--oh you are going to pay for this one...

This was after several washing attempts...

I love, love, love this one.

Lela has learned how to say cheeeeeeese...

Emma Jane has not...

Although they may have dirty legs...

I however do have sparkling, clean floors. For now anyways.

Renewed...

2011-07-01T11:04:00.000-04:00

After yesterday's rant about my child and her not so good behavior I felt the need to sit down and write for 2 reasons... One, that I apologize for possibly "venting" to much, but on the other hand if someone else were to be at the end of the rope as a mother like I was yesterday, then I hope my blog post offered some "you are not alone" kind of comfort. Two, I wanted to tell you that after much prayer, advice and a good night's sleep I am renewed and refreshed.

Yesterday for hours after the doctors appointment, I was so distraught about what the doctor had said and the behavior from my child, that all I wanted to do was to crawl in hole and just ignore the incident all together because I felt so helpless. Last night, I took a much needed trip to the grocery store by myself and had some good prayer time in the car. It suddenly dawned on me that I have to show God's love through everything. I just kept hearing, LOVE. I thought about what the doctor said, how this was basically a "do or die" moment in my discipline tactics as a mother and how if I basically mess up now, it could determine their future. Well, let me first say, that this doctor was genuine and sincere is his advice and again, I take no offense to his suggestions. But he offered his advice from a worldly perspective. From a spiritual perspective, I know that God can redeem, transform and dismantle everything from our past and that through him we are a NEW CREATION. Pondering this truth, immediately took away all the shame, guilt and condemnation that I was feeling as a mother. My job is to seek His counsel in all things, including parenting, and by doing that, His grace will redeem my many mistakes that I will make.

I do admit, there are a lot of things that I need to work on as an effective parent. One of those things is when I say "no" to something, I stick to the answer. I don't change my answer in fear that it will cause one of those inappropriate outburst like yesterday. But with that said, I need to evaluate what I say "no" too. And here is where God's love comes into play... Am I saying "no" because it is what I want her to do or am I saying "no" because I have her best interest at heart?

That's what I believe God to be. He tells us no because he ultimately knows what is best for us as His children. He doesn't say no because it is inconvenient, or maybe because He just doesn't feel like getting up to do it or maybe because He just doesn't want to clean up the mess that He knows it will make. He says no because it is best for us. Is that what I am deliberately considering her best interest before I say "no" ??

After much conversation with God, Wade and friends, I realize that there are some things that I could have done to possibly prevent what happened to me yesterday. Possibly not. Part of me thinks that it was just out of my control. I do know that after writing my blog, hearing suggestions, and lots of prayer, that I at least do not feel alone. I do not feel like an incompetent mother. I am in this journey with a lot of hard working, passionate mothers who deal with this type of stuff daily and I am thankful that I have a heavenly Father who doesn't judge me, but kindly directs and counsels me in every step I make.

In need of a MOTHER's advice

2011-06-30T17:19:00.000-04:00

I have written this blog twice. Once when I was fuming mad and couldn't even get my thoughts together and twice when my husband walked in, listened to me vent for 10 minutes on what just happened, and then to finally sit down and rewrite this from a more positive, less upset kind of mood.

First let me say, this by no means, is a "bash your kid" kind of blog. I have the utmost respect for my children and as for that being said, I expect the same in return from them. Which is one of the reasons why I need some advice, some comfort or even a "I had this happen to me..." kind of comment.

Today the girls had their wellness check-up at their new doctor. This appointment had been long awaited and I was very excited about them being seen for their check-up. Upon moving to Wilmington, we had an extremely tough time finding a doctor. You know those BIG signs out front of a doctor's office that say, "Accepting New Patients"?? Well, those do not apply if your child is on Medicaid. Fair system huh? So the fact that we even found this doctor and that he graciously accepted my children after yet another "divine appointment" (which I will have to share later), was a miracle in itself.

We arrive to the office, mermaid and backpack of toys in tow and are happily greeted in the waiting room. Without much wait, we are escorted back to the room all to have their temperature and blood pressure measured by the nurse. Ej complained a little when the cuff got tight, but all in all, she was a very big girl and great example for her sister. Doing great so far.

Then... the Doctor came in and the whole "vibe" in the room changes. Ej became a different child, one that I have seen all to often here lately, but never so bad in a public place before.  As if the "NOs!" and the throwing toys at her sister and the "I don't want to's" weren't enough, then came the crazy crying and screaming.   At first it was a "show off" to the doctor and if you know her, then you know that she is a "jokester"... as is her daddy. But then a line was crossed and it became disrespectful. Especially when she threw the mermaid at the doctor's face.

The doctor even offered some parenting advice. I think he could sense the tension as a mother. I possibly could have taken this as an insult and I am sure that I probably would have if I hadn't known in the back of my mind that God had shown us this doctor and the fact that his face and tone was full of sincerity. He told me that at the age of 3, this was the "breaking moment." That at this age you could either earn their respect or lose it. That how I effectively discipline her could result in her behavior later and also in that of Lela. This is always tough because you know the drill as a mother when your child is acting crazy in a public place... you try to "correct" without causing a "scene." I soon found myself in a "battle" with a 3 year old standing right in front of the doctor. And all I wanted her to do was to sit on my lap. The doctor even intervened in our little battle and said, "this is where you have to win as the parent." So I picked her up and physically put her on my lap, while she is kicking and screaming.  He then wanted to examine her ears and that's when the battle turned into a war.  *** Side note: The doctor was very "kid friendly." So the fact that this was a problem or scary for her was not the case. She just did not want to do it because Ej did not want to do it. I had to physically HOLD her down, while she is screaming, crying and blood faced mad all to get her ears checked. Her ears checked!!!!!!!!   I am watching her as I am doing the holding and even though she is full of anger, my heart hurt for her. I hated to see her that way. She is such a good, loving child, but at this very moment, it was almost as if I was standing and observing a very different little girl...

We then spent the rest of the visit listening to her scream and cry in a corner while Lela got her vaccinations. Yes, Lela got shots and she managed to only cry for maybe 2 seconds.  Ej cried the whole way home, while I was blazing with anger, confusion and racking my brain as to what and how I should handle this.

So this is where I need some confort.  Ej has such a big heart. She is full of emotion and love for others and her family. She loves Jesus and she even told the doctor that He lived in her big heart.  She is so full of emotion and love that sometimes it over takes her... in a negative way. I know my child and this was not out of being afraid of the unknown. This was a disobedient moment... one of many that we have had in the last year.  I need some real advice here.  Is this normal? Am I doing something wrong?  As a former 1st grade teacher I am at a loss as to how to discipline my own child when it comes to these type moments. I am writing this to be real... in hopes that other moms can offer some gracious, loving advice, mother to mother.

I know that as mother's we are never perfect and we will always look back and see the changes that we could have made and that not all of the outcomes will be as we would have chosen. But I am a mother living under His divine grace and I know that He places other's words and advice in our paths to help us. So let me hear it...

Cake Runners

2011-06-30T09:47:00.000-04:00

My good friend has just started a new blog called CAKE RUNNERS and I am so excited for her and this new endeavor! She is a wonderful person and I just know that everything she puts her hand to will prosper for the Lord!

SO... If you like cake or if you like to run (I prefer BOTH) then this is the perfect blog for you to follow!! Be sure to check it out, order a cake and join her as she runs for God in all of her amazing running adventures!

Running with Courage

2011-06-29T08:15:00.001-04:00

Most of you know that I began running this past January. It has been an up hill and down hill battle (literally) and I am pleased to say that this is the first thing I have ever "stuck" with for this long in my dream to be physically fit!

This morning, on my morning run I was thinking about my journey as a runner and how far I have become. I have went from a meek, in confident and somewhat pitiful runner (which you can read about here) to someone who is finally confident and determined about my ultimate goal. I know longer halt to a walk when a car comes my way in fears that they will laugh at the way that I run, nor am I ashamed to tell other's that I AM a Runner. Let's be clear here... I am still very slow and my distance isn't that of a marathon or even a half, but I have made progress physically and definitely emotionally. I am now a confident, bold, courageous runner... which got me thinking??

If I can transform myself in the way that I run physically, can I then transform myself in the way that run for the Lord spiritually? Let's be real... I am pretty bold and confident when it comes to writing how much I love Jesus, but can I talk about him. Can I present the Truth, His love, and His Promises to a stranger, or even more challenging, a dear friend who needs the love of Christ?

I have always struggled with this. I have been praying for a purpose, a purpose that really matters and truly gratifies my Father. I have been praying for all of these things and this is one that lays deeply on my heart. I pray that the words that come so easily out of this blog, will begin to come out of my mouth in a dramatic way that will transform the lives of others, just as He has transformed me. I have come a long way... He has changed me in more ways that I can imagine. If you know my past, your know how so.

So that's what I want to do... I pray that I can run with courage, not just physically, but spiritually. That He would bring life to my words and people in my path that need to hear about His love. I pray that the opportunities will arise easily, which will prepare me for more difficult opportunities.

Will you join me in this prayer?

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Just a Preview...

2011-06-28T12:40:00.000-04:00

My friend Jill Galliher, took the best pictures of my girls. More to come...
I just had to go ahead and share this one -- It's one of my favs.

Sharing a friend's blog... Free Givaway.

2011-06-23T14:59:00.000-04:00

The Road Home-- This is one of my favorite blogs to read... encouraging, uplifting and entertaining. This stay at home mom includes her readers in on her daily experiences with 2 young children, her acts of service in her church, her walk with Christ, and better yet, she graciously shares life's many mistakes and how she is redeemed by His everlasting grace and love...
Preparing us for The Road Home.

Her most recent post is a FREE give-a-way that is a must have for any family trying to be smart about the money God has given us... Please take this opportunity to get included in the chance to WIN your copy of "Faith Based Family Finances" by Ron Blue and Jeremy White.

Weekend CLIPS...

2011-06-20T21:23:00.000-04:00

This past week if you read my last post... I was having some difficulties with the realization that I was getting older. The fact that purchasing wrinkle cream was on my "mental" list of to-do's says that I was dreading on it way too much. This all came to a halt once my parents and mamaw came through the door for the long weekend, Father's Day visit. It's funny how when we take the focus off of ourselves and divert it to others we can suddenly feel better. Kind of relates to last weeks scripture...

Anyways, the visit was wonderful!!! Here are a few of the highlights...

There was the cake. This was the result of Ej simply asking her Memaw and Pappy to bring her a cake. I think she was a little envious at the fact that mommy had got one for her birthday. So we celebrated again. Celebrated my birthday again, father's day, family... do you really need an excuse to have cake?!?!

Friday Morning we went to go get Emma Jane's haircut. This was a big deal, but for those of you who may not know why, here is a recap. Emma Jane was born with a beautiful head of dark brown hair. Her head was so delicately covered with hair when she was born, which soon made it's way into a long, flowing rat tail. Yes, I said rat tail.

Everyone, I mean everyone, tried to get me to cut it. I just couldn't. I knew that one day she was going to possibly hate me for allowing her to sport such a long rat tail for such a long time, but I just couldn't make myself snip it away. Finally, when Lela was born, Wade coached, counseled and coerced me into saying goodbye to the rat tail.

It was gone. Never to be seen again, except if you open to the last page in her baby book of course.

This was only the beginning... I let it get much, much longer. :)

This was the adorable pony tail it made!

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So back to the now...

Her hair was curly and cute, but very jagged to say the least and once again I knew it was time to finally make the plunge and get her hair cut. Officially. By a real stylist.

So I decided to do it with family in town. That way, if her curls were mistakenly cut off, her bangs wop sided or some how she came out with a mullet... I would be comforted by my family!

So all crazy dreams, nightmares and fears aside... her hair turned out BEAUTIFUL. She loved every minute of it and was so serious throughout the process. She didn't move an inch, crack a smile or say a word. Totally unordinary. I think she was taking it all in and finally relieved that I had taken her to get some much needed pampering. When it was all said and done, she danced around like a princess and enjoyed her new do.

Then came Father's day. My dad always has a hard time because of his father being gone, like many who have had to say goodbye to their father. This was the first father's day in a long time that I can remember that my dad was truly happy and not sad. Don't get me wrong, he doesn't walk around gloomy all day long, but you can always sense the sadness that he feels when it is time to celebrate our dads. This year was different.

I know for a fact that he thought about his dad. I thought about my papaw, who we loved so much. But there was a contentment there. A contentment that can only be filled by Christ. I think he had that this past Sunday. I was so proud of him.

The girls sure do love their pappy.

And to my husband. No greater man was created for me than you. You are a wonderful husband, father and I learn from you and your walk with the Lord daily.

I hope everyone had a great Father's day weekend. I hope you celebrated your earthly father, but I hope even more that you celebrated your heavenly father. For he is the creator of all good things... including YOU!

New Scripture.

2011-06-15T16:46:00.000-04:00

I know I have fallen behind on this, so if you are still keeping up with my scripture page (week 4) then here you go. I stumbled upon this verse while searching for a different one and it really spoke to me. I have been praying since our move to the beach for God to show me how I can be used. This scripture is my prayer. I want to be fulfilled by fulfilling others.

Bible reading update... I made the decision to let you all in on my BIG goal to read the Bible all the way through. Cover to cover. No time limits, no strategy, other than a simple Bible Reading Checklist. I love a checklist :) Well I wouldn't say that I have done that great of a job, but I am better than previous years...ha! I am almost finished with the book of Exodus and I have also read some of the gospels (Matt, Mark, Luke) which helped me get through all of the rules and requirements of the "temple setup" in Exodus. I really had to pray myself through some of that and from what Wade tells me, I may need even more encouragement as I enter Leviticus. Uh-oh.

How is your Bible reading going? Would love to hear.

The FAITH Bucket...

2011-06-15T16:25:00.000-04:00

Today was a beach day. Had a great time, played really hard, enjoyed some great fellowship with some other moms and then it was time to pack up and head home. We washed our feet, loaded the car, refilled sippy cups and put towels under our wet tushes and made our way to the house all to find out that after everything was unloaded, we had forgotten our buckets. Emma Jane's buckets. Along with a very cherished purple mermaid. I knew that a trip to CVS later in the week would replace all that was forgotten, but when I saw her worried face and her disappointment, what did we do? We did as any mother would... we loaded ourselves back in the car, wet bathing suits and all, and drove back towards the beach.

Immediately after getting in the car, I found myself giving Miss Emma Jane the "mom speech." You know how it goes...How you have to learn how to keep up with your stuff and how when you are a big girl and mommy ask you to carry something you have to not sit it down and how it was probably gone... Sometimes we mom's just need a good nudge to hush! I got one. I stopped talking when I saw the expression on her face. She was already disappointed at the fact that she had left her belongings and she didn't need me to remind her. I suddenly felt the need to pray. So I prayed...

"Dear Jesus, please take care of Emma Jane's buckets and keep them there at the beach. In Jesus Name we pray."

The second I finished praying I turned around in the seat to say the words "I hope your buckets are still there," but something stopped me. I literally thought to myself at that very moment... this is a FAITH builder. So instead of dampening her child like faith, I said... Your buckets will be there. Then I immediately turned back to the road and prayed... Please, Lord let her buckets be there! I think I prayed this the whole way back to the beach.

There at the end of the sidewalk... laid 3 buckets,1 purple mermaid and a very excited little girl in the backseat. I put the buckets in the back, got back in the car and heard the words, "Jesus got my buckets!!"

What FAITH she had?! It was simple really. We prayed the prayer and then she believed. I could have ruined that with countless reasons on why those buckets were probably not going to be there... for all I knew I had probably backed over them with my car! But that "nudge" that stopped me mid-sentence, the Holy Spirit, just jump started my child's faith and taught me a very valuable lesson.

To pray with buckets full of faith and wait in expectation for your answer. He WILL answer you.

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In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.

~ Psalms 5:3

29... Almost 30.

2011-06-14T20:59:00.001-04:00

29... seems like such a small number when looking at it on paper, but in the case of my birthday this year... it was huge. I celebrated my 29th birthday this past weekend. I celebrated all weekend. Maybe because I just love birthdays and my parents used to make such a BIG deal out of them when I was little or maybe this year it was to get my mind off of the reality of this milestone... that I am now only one year from being 30 :)

On Friday nights we LOVE going to listen to music at Mayfaire shopping center. Just music, beach chairs and a picnic is all that is needed to make this girl happy. This Friday night was extra special. Instead of our normal picnic we went to dinner, sat outside so we could still hear the music and then before heading on over to the grassy lawn, we made a quick stop to my favorite home decor store. That's where I picked out my birthday present. My new bedding.

This is what I ate for breakfast Saturday morning. Chocolate Chip Pancakes. Enough said.

The rest of Saturday was spent on the beach. I could sit on the beach all day. Everyday.

Went to our favorite mexican restuarant. So good.

Got a surprise in the mail from Tori. Love the saying, Love the wallet.

This was Sunday Morning before church. I know that when they get older they are going to find this extremely annoying, but I just love to dress them a like. These cutsie dresses are from Memaw.

Emma Jane is catching on to the idea of "posing" for a picture. Lela, however, is still clueless.

After church we went to lunch downtown at Dixie Grill where we had a delicious Fried Green Tomato BLT sandwich and a Treehugger Burger. Oh my goodness... it was heavenly. We then went home and I laid the girls and their daddy down for a nap. I, in the meantime, decided to either partake in some shopping or a solo beach trip. I couldn't resist. I packed a bag, a towel, a bottled water and a good book and off to the beach I went. There I was on the beach all by myself for the first time since probably college. It was nice, but I do have to admit I did get a little bored and even though beach trips with the girls are far from relaxing... I still cherish them. So after some good reading time and "people watching" I decided to pack up my few belongings and make the walk back to my car.

So here is the big surprise. I walked back to my car without my cover up. Okay, for all you ladies out there... you know how big of a deal this is. I figured what the heck... I am almost 30. Who cares anymore? I was surprised at how much fun and freeing it was! I probably wont do it again, but that's okay. I did it. All in honor of being older. Becoming more comfortable in my own skin.

When I got home I hurried and cleaned up all of the evidence of having been to the beach by myself BEFORE Emma Jane woke from her nap. I kinda felt like I was cheating on my daughter, but there was no way I could tell her that I went to her favorite place without her. :)

Sunday night...

It finally hit me. It was the last night as a 28 year old. Up until this moment, I had anxiously waited my birthday, but now I was suddenly saddened at how old I was. How time has flown by. How my kids are getting older. I went to bed, prayed and was fast asleep by 9pm. Just like an old woman.

My Birthday.

I woke up refreshed. Met some awesome ladies at a splash park that was totally awesome, enjoyed a great day with the kids and boycotted ALL housework for the day.

Had TONS of cheerful Facebook birthday wishes which absolutely made my day and then looked forward to Wade coming home so we could spend the evening at the beach.

With Chick Fil-A drive thru and beach gear in tow, we headed down to the scenic end of Wrightsville Beach. The sun was setting, the humidity was low and the ocean was high tide. The beaches were near empty, so it literally felt like paradise. That's when I realized. It is so not about the number. It's about how you embrace life. Here I am living in one of the most beautiful places that God could have ever placed me and I am worried about turning another year old?!?! I should be praising the Lord for every wrinkle, crinkle and dimple on my body and enjoying what really matters...

My God, My Family, My Purpose.

So here is to another great year. My prayer is that as I grow older, that I grow more into what Christ has made me to be. That I teach my kids through example that it is not what is on the outside that matters, it is who you are. To love yourself just how you are, no matter your age.

Then it was time for FunFetti Cake...

my favorite.

That was a trick candle!

So thanks again for all the cards, the calls, the texts and the FB messages.

I am thankful to be 29. Almost 30.

Confused and Content.

2011-06-03T13:10:00.000-04:00

I am confused about my "header" and I have no idea how to fix it. So if anyone would like to offer some advice I would greatly appreciate it...

Other than my "header" being a little "off centered" I am happy to say that my life isn't. Things have just been good. I say that not to brag about all of changes in the last few months, I say it to boast in the Lord for His goodness that He has shown us. (If you are new to reading, feel free to go back and read my past post to see this amazing journey that God has lifted us through.) So back to His goodness... I heard someone say a few weeks ago that they were in the "milk and honey" stage. How true is that?!?! For so long our family was in the "wilderness" with no sights of getting out. We awaited daily for an open door, a dramatic change or something to come through, but nothing. But even when we were at a loss of what was to come next, God was at work. He was working behind the scenes orchestrating His master plan for our lives. So because of his often "unanswered prayers" and for him taking our life into HIS own hands... we are here. Experiencing His goodness, the "milk and honey" and the exciting changes, here at the beach!

I just wanted to remind those out there that may be reading this, that your "wilderness" will come to pass and your "milk and honey" season is just over the horizon. You may not see it, but you can believe it. If you are like Wade and I were, then what do you have to lose? Just believe in His goodness and rest in the fact that if you are a child of God, then you have nothing to worry about. Your life is in HIS hands and I promise, it's a much better life than what you can give yourself...

Much Love,
Tiffany

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Memorial Day Weekend...

Every evening (almost) we eat our family dinner and finish up with an evening walk/ wagon ride. The best part about it is... Emma Jane pulls Lela in the wagon (we made her get in for this picture).

She LOVES it... so we just walk beside them and enjoy the stroll.

The Cookout...

We had hamburgers and hotdogs with all of the works, Kaye (my mother-in-law) made an American Flag cake out of blueberries and strawberries, water balloons, cornhole and lots of fun with family and friends!

I think we could get used to the idea of throwing parties.

We had our 1st cookout/ party at our new house. It was awesome! The backyard was perfect!

Lela playing "peek-a-boo" in her little red wagon. She is such a cutie isn't she?!?!

In deep thought and bare foot... seems to be the theme of her little life these days :)

Cornhole... wondering what they are looking at???

Not the best picture, but definitely the best moment... Wade just drenched his big brother with a bucket of water!

That's my Wade for you... you hit him with a little water balloon and in turn he will drench you with a 5 gallon bucket. He is an "all or nothing" kind of guy. That's why I love him.

Full Speed Ahead

2011-05-18T17:04:00.000-04:00

I just finished popping a big Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookie in my mouth, trying to enjoy the last few minutes of nap time... I feel like I haven't written much in the last few weeks, at least not anything too interesting or maybe it's just because I still feel like my life is on fast forward right now and with each quiet moment that I have... well... I just want quiet. So my "writing brain" has been a little foggy and my free time has been spare. With what is looking like a somewhat "normal" week ahead (meaning next week) I have really been pondering what I should do with this blog...

Do I keep writing about my family and what God is doing in our own life? Or does God have a different plan for my need to express myself through writing?? I am praying and asking for guidance as to what He wants from me. Any thoughts??

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So a few family updates...

:: Weekly Bible Study -- I have attended two women's Bible studies where I have already met some really awesome women. I am looking forward to stepping in, getting involved and the fellowship with some fellow believers. My life here in Wilmington has been great thus far, but I do miss the friendships that I had back home and I am praying that God will provide me with new friendships, while continuing to make ways to keep my friends from back home in my life.

:: LELA -- She is on the MOVE and there is nothing in her way to stop her. I am starting to think that she has known how to walk all along. I swear... It's like those feet just stood up for the first time 2 weeks ago and now all of a sudden it is as if she has a motor behind her tush. She is FAST! It still freaks me out to see her round a corner standing on two feet...

:: Emma Jane -- She is talking more, has had only one peepee accident since she starting potty training and she is constantly on the go. She was in a beautiful wedding on Mother's Day weekend and although the traveling was not anything to brag about (which you can read about here), the wedding was! Everything was perfectly planned and of course the flower girl was quite impressive as well! She had the most fun dancing at the reception and so did mommy.

The bride was "enticing" EJ with "Mermaid"

Back to Emma Jane...

Her Pappy baught her a real bike this weekend and she was soooo excited! This came about when they discovered a "wishing well" in our neighborhood and Ej made her one wish for a new bike. I wonder if my dad was just secretly waiting for an excuse to buy her a bike?!?! It is no other than mermaid of course and although she is excited to ride... I think she is more excited about the streamers and the bell as she is to actually pedal the wheels.

This was the initial reaction!

Her helmet... way too big!

Lela got a new bike too. But for some reason all she wants is her sisters... hummmmm.

:: Visitors -- My mom and dad came for the first time since our big move to our new house. They loved everything about the house and I think they had a really good time. Wade and I loved having the company and I loved being able to "cater" to my family for the 1st time. My mom and I did lots (I mean LOTS) of shopping and my dad, well he got cought up on his sleep to say the least. It was very hard to see them leave, but I am excited about their next visit for father's day. :)

:: Running -- well I need some motivation. That's all I got to say about that one.

:: Wade and I -- We have finally started to enjoy our life here... Now that all of the "settling in" is coming to an end, we have finally begun to have some real fun!! We are trying new restuarants, going to the beach after work, he is playing softball with the church and I have ventured out to some news shops and parks with the girls. We are hoping that this weekend, we can spend the whole day playing with NO work.

Needless to say... Life has been full speed ahead and we are enjoying every second.

BUT...

we are looking forward to embracing the slow moving, easy going, beach life very soon.

Blessed to call you Momma

2011-05-08T20:00:00.001-04:00

My Mother's Day weekend was not spent with cards, or flowers or even a shed of piece and quiet for that matter. My Mother's Day, was well, quite the opposite. With a weekend of endless travel, two sick kids and lots of holding my precious daughter's hair back (and of course the clean-up), I guess you could say that I got a "full dose" of what it means to be a mother. Although some facebook statuses may have voiced some of my frustration, especially on hour 9 of being in the car, I have to say that as I sit here in the quietness of the evening, my heart is full. There is no other joy than knowing that you play such a role in your child's life. With puke all over my jeans and puddles of it in my car, that little voice that said "Mommy, I feel better." makes every yucky minute worth while.

I remember when I was in college my freshman year. I was already homesick, being an only child, but being the determined, stubburn person that I am, I was out to prove that I could do it on my own. I will never forget the first time I lay in my dorm bunk bed with a horrible cold. I missed my mom. I knew that every pill, every cough medicine, every bowl of chicken noodle soup was much more appreciated when given by my mom She happened to call me while I was in the bed feeling miserable and when she asked if I was okay, I quickly responded with a yes and after a few minutes of conversation I went back to my sickness.

It wasn't 2 hours later than I was still lying in bed that I heard a beating on my dorm room door. I sluggishly went to the door thinking it was my roomate, when to my surprise, it was my mom and dad. My mom had heard in my voice that I wasn't "myself" and took it upon herself to make it better. They took my out to eat and I don't even remember if I felt bad during or after dinner. The feeling that I do remember is that I was so relieved and blessed to be able to call them my parents. I know that my dad was on board, but I know that it was my mom with the idea. I was so grateful for my mom that day. I don't even know if I told her my appreciation of that moment or even if I recognized the true sacrifice that she made for me that day. But the fact that almost 10 years later I can sit here and recall almost every detail of that moment she knocked on my door, reveals to me that I indeed appreciated it.

So although my girls may not always tell me that I made them feel better or even that they appreciate me, I know from my own LOVE for my mother, that they always will.

So if you are reading this and you are a mother... you are such a blessing and a vital role in your child's life. Whether they are young or old, say it or not, they need you.

I am so thankful for all the pukey, whiney, loving and BLISSFUL moments that I have with my girls and I am just so thankful that God has chosen me to be a mother of His children.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

National Prayer Day

2011-05-05T11:52:00.000-04:00

Today is National Prayer Day. I was reminded on Facebook of this day from fellow friends and family and thought as part of my devotion today I would remind myself and others the importance of prayer!

Join me today as I pray for the following...

:: Our world. Our country as well as many other countries in the world have experienced devastating natural disasters, raging wars, famine and severe poverty. Although we cannot physically stop these things from happening, nor can we possibly understand why some of these things take place... I do find rest in knowing that our God is a God of goodness, self control and all-knowing. So although I pray against natural disasters, war and other worldly afflictions, my main prayer is that people will turn to HIM before, during and after these things occur and that God's reign would be allowed to be seen publicly in the media.

My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory (sacred or set apart) that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one. I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

~John 17:20-23

Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord.

~ Lamentations 2:19

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

~John 17:33

:: Our country, it's leaders and the people. It's hard to watch the news these days without seeing all the negative things that are taking place. I pray for goodness to prevail among this country's leaders and people and that God would come back into the picture.

You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.

~ Psalm 18:28

:: Each other. Lift your brothers and sisters up in prayer. I have found that sometimes amidst my own "darkness" there is nothing better to lift your own spirit than to pray for someone else in need. Jesus asked that we pray for our brothers and sisters. We should pray for those not out of obligation but out of love.

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

~ John 15:12

:: Yourself. I know sometimes I feel like it is selfish to pray for myself when there are so many other things taking place in the world that are so much worse. But that's why God is so awesome. His concern is the same for us no matter the situation. So whether you are praying for a life threatening health concern, praying for your baby to sleep through the night or you are praying for that task to be completed at work... HE hears your cry! It is our job to wait in expectation in knowing that God WILL answer according to His will and that our salvation and His death on the cross was to redeem us from all things... great and small.

In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my request before you and wait in expectation.

~Psalm 5:3

Blackberry Pics!

2011-05-04T16:40:00.001-04:00

With all of the moving, unpacking and getting settled, many things have happened that I want to share, but more often than not, my camera was either packed in a box or just not in tow to capture some of these exciting things! Thank goodness for camera phones...

(I just now figured out how to get them off of my phone to my computer)

This was my last 5K before we packed and up and moved... Tori had to practically drag my arm to get me to the finish line, which obviously paid off. I placed 3rd in my age division with a time of 33 minutes and something seconds.

This was at our "soon to be house" the day before we went back to Statesville to officially move. We took the girls there to see the house completely empty and try our best to explain what was about to take place. You can see from this pic... It was us that was worried about the transition, not them. :)

Friday before moving day... Just picked up the moving truck!

Matt and Wade... we had some really good friends who stayed until 2am to help us pack. It's a good thing that we started early... who knew we had so much junk?!?!

(Jill I didn't post the picture of you and I... purposely. Who looks good at 2am right?)

Pulling out in the moving truck, snacks in tow and saying goodbye for the last time.

Like two kids at Christmas!

Yay! Our new home!

Emma Jane... her first nap in her first BIG girl bed. I was so proud!

Day 3... I just loved this sight.

This was our closing day on our old house. I made Wade dig up a small dogwood tree that we had planted on the day we brought Ej home from the hospital. You can see from this pic that Wade was super excited to do so...

My 1st run as a Wilmington resident... Yes I am running. Even though it looks as if I am barely moving.

Some of my favorite sights along the run. I don't want to ever become unappreciative of the beautiful scenery that God has placed in my daily path.

Visitors! We have had the Moore family and the Cearlock family come and visit and we are hoping for many, many more!

This picture alone says enough... haha!

This was taken after our 1st 10K for Wrightsville Beach Farmers Market. Let me just say... when you jump from a 5K to a 10K, you are no longer competing with beginners. I would have been last, had Wade not allowed me to go in front of him. But I finished and that was my goal. I ran 6 miles, walked .2 and ate a banana, a bagel and a ChickfilA meal, drank two waters and possibly wanted more.

She was made for the beach life...

And she was made for Gerber baby commercials... :)

Lela is finally warming up to the sand. This was one of our first trips to the beach as a family. It was great!

And this was the first trip to the beach by myself with both kids. You can see from the fact that I am sitting down, that it went fairly well. My fear of Ej running off into the deep blue sea never to be seen again, quickly subsided with much prayer, a few pep talks from my husband and a little sunshine.

This will be a weekly thing... possibly daily.

And last but not least...

LELA WALKED!!!

She took about 5 steps toward her daddy after he stood her, helped her balance and waved a toy in her face... but she walked.

For those of you that may not personally know our family, this is such a huge milestone because she is going on 18 months and has shown absolutely NO interest in walking until a few weeks ago.

This was her immediately following the big moment. She was exhausted so decided to sit and suck her two favorite fingers which again reminds me of her easy going, go with flow kind of attitude. I tried to get her to do it again so I could capture the moment on camera. No luck. Maybe next time.

Hope you enjoyed our candid blackberry moments..

New Scripture

2011-04-29T12:05:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I have posted a scripture, but that is primarily because I have been holding on to this one for the last month...

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

~ Psalms 27: 13-14

I hope this verse will help you hold on to the promises that you have been waiting for...

Much LOVE and be blessed.

Tiffany

Our New Adventure!

2011-04-29T11:53:00.000-04:00

After sorting through piles of stuff, unpacking the last box and hanging a few more pictures, I am finally sitting down at my computer. I have spent the last 2 days catching up on all of the kind facebook messages and emails from all of you readers and I cannot tell you how much your words, your prayers and your smiles have meant to me through this new transition in our lives...

Today marks the 13th day of being in our new city of Wilmington. So much has happened in the last 2 weeks that I can't even begin to write it all in one blog. But realizing yesterday that we have had so many people cheering for us in this process, I cannot let it go without filling you in on some of the highlights of our new journey.

Moving day could be a blog in itself... Wade and I were flabbergasted at the out pour of love shown on this day. Two weeks prior, I had friends coming over to help me pack up the house (this was a challenge since I had to do it by myself) so I cannot tell you how thankful I am for those ladies. Moving day consisted of many emotions, lots of cleaning and some very sweaty, hard working husbands!! We packed up our lives in a Budget Moving Truck, a van, a pick-up truck and a trailer and off to the beach we went... I have no idea where all of that stuff came from and where we had it stashed in our small bungalow. I was soon told that I was going to be nominated for the Hoarders Show on TLC :: Really?

I didn't think it was that bad...

The trip down... Wade and I were on Cloud 9. We were excited and talked the whole way about all of the amazing events that God had so perfectly orchestrated to make this day possible. However, in the minds of the cities and towns that we were passing through, there was thoughts of terror and fear. Raleigh and surrounding areas were experiencing many tornadoes and many families were losing their homes while we were traveling to our new one. I am thankful for HIS protective hand over our travels and my prayers are with those that experienced loss. We didn't even realize the devastation and the fact that we had merely passed through just minutes before the distruction took place until Monday morning when we had our TV connected.

Thankfulness and Empathy covered us that morning.

When we arrived at our new home I began to cry... We were trying to beat the storms so we were in a rush to start unloading. We slowly unlatched the backdoor to the moving truck (because we were afraid of what was going to fall out) and my friend Ashley pulled out the 1st thing :: A Doormat that said Welcome.

I found this very appropriate :)

Within just a few hours our mighty men had the truck unpacked and even though our garage looked like Sanford and Sons, us ladies had the house starting to look like a home. My friend Jill tackled the closets, while Ashley pretty much did the whole house (she LOVES this stuff) and I was just trying to take in every moment. The girls came over for a few hours and even though I am pretty sure they had no clue what was going on at the moment, they enjoyed running around in all of the extra space.

The next few days and evenings were filled with unpacking and even though we have accomplished a lot, we still have some things to do. It's coming along and we are trying to get settled, while still enjoying the reasons of why God has moved us here.

We celebrated His Resurrection with a Son Rise service on the beach. Remarkable. It was absolutely breath taking to see the sunrise over the coast, while watching my little girls turn ballerina circles in the sand with soft guitar music playing in the background. We then went to my in-laws house for lunch and did our family tradition of hiding Easter eggs. My father-in-law, Richard, loves this activity just as much as the kids and it never fails that we can never find that last egg.

We have had our 1st set of visitors already and are expecting some more lovely people to come later today. In which we will all be participating in our 1st Wilmington event... a 10K for Wrightsville Beach Farmers Market. I am super excited, but extremely nervous about the run. I plan to walk half.

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So to sum it up... Our New Life in Wilmington... Here are the highlights.

:: I love the fact that I can watch GMA while cleaning up from breakfast.

:: Emma Jane has her very own BIG girl bed and has been sleeping through the night since day one!

:: The beach... LOVE IT! Enough said.

:: Our Garage. I can pull in out of the rain and unload groceries without being soaked!

:: We miss our family, but are very excited that we already have a weekend planned soon that they will be coming to visit!

:: Our purpose. Not sure of what it is, but we know that God has a plan for us in this new city. We are so excited about this part.

So THANK YOU. Thank you for experiencing this journey with us and for all of the generosity and out pour of love you have shown us. I would love to write each of you a Thank You card, but I am afraid you would not receive it until Christmas. I appreciate all of you and I pray the blessings you have given us will be returned 1,000 times to you and your families.

We love each of you.

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Also, a fellow blogger friend wrote a heart-tugging piece on the devastation in her hometown in Alabama due to the massive storms and tornadoes. Please read here and join her in prayer for all of those affected. Each prayer makes a difference and matters. You can change this world with YOUR prayer!

This was only the beginning of many boxes at our old house...

Our last play date in our hometown before the move. Going to miss this.

This wasn't taken the day of moving... that's because my camera was packed up. Oops!

But this is our new home. We LOVE it!

This is Lela and Emma Jane's new "heaven" ...they spend hours playing each day. I love having the toys in one location where it looks and feels like a preschool!

This is the entry way from the front door. I am so grateful that God has blessed us with such an awesome rental. That's right... it's a rental.

Notice, all the pictures still left to hang.

One of the two places to sit and have a family dinner. Wade is building the other table... one of many of his new projects :)

I have kept my father-in-law pretty busy too. I will show off his many talents in another blog!

This is where the table will go :)

Coffee, My Bible and the screened in porch...

Our lovely backyard... and our soon to be swingset. Like I said, one of many projects.

Easter Eggs!

My other angel was sleeping from all of the fun!

And this is what the Easter Bunny brought Wade...

It has been a blessing to me too. I have had dinner cooked for me the last few nights!

Looking forward to sharing many more blessed moments.

Reality has set in.

2011-04-13T16:30:00.001-04:00

I am sitting in a living room surrounded by boxes, while 2 little girls who are supposed to be napping are in their empty rooms giggling away. My friend Ashley just left a few minutes ago in which we just finished packing the last box of stuff and set aside just the bare necessities needed for the next 2 days.

Reality of this move has just set in. I am filled with emotions. My house no longer looks like my house with its bare walls, dusty floors and the overwhelming smell of cardboard. This house which belonged to my great grandmother and grandfather, has so much sentimental value. The memories that I have as a child running next door from Mamaw's house to get my apple from Great-Grandma and my quarter from Great-Grandpa. The quilts that hung from the wall and the rich wooden french doors that I used to shut and pretend that I was in a room fit for a queen.

Then, there are the more recent memories. Unpacking all of our wedding stuff, bringing home both of our daughters from the hospital, the endless renovations and yard work, the good moments and the not so good moments, like our first fight the day after our honeymoon. Every dent, every aged spot or hole in the wall has a story.

Now it is time to pass this story along to someone else.... So with that said, my prayer is that the same blessings, the same happiness that we have experienced in this home will be passed along to the next buyer. That she will feel the presence of God with her at all times and the she will cherish this wonderful house the same as many generations in the past... with love.

It is time for the next chapter in our lives... but before we do, I wanted to share some photos of my favorite things about the house that has blessed us beyond words.

The kitchen renovation that was completed at 2:30am, the night before our 2nd daughter's baby dedication. Mommy was determined that since we were having guest over... it had to be complete :)

I used to close these french doors as a kid and sit on my great-grandma's red velor sofa with it's wooden peg legs and pretend I was a queen in a castle.

This was the bathroom renovation that was completed just a few days before our first born... another project that had to be finished. My sweet husband... bless him!

This was the first thing we did to the house upon moving in... don't ask me why. Maybe we had some extra numbers lying around. Who knows... but I remember the excitement! We stood in the front yard and was so proud of what was to come!

I had always wanted a front porch with red rockers. For my 25th birthday, my mammaw surprised me with just that... of course Wade had to paint them (that same day).

The Wash House...

My Great Grandpa just couldn't get comfortable with the idea of indoor plumbing, so this was his headquarters. Wade and I decided to turn it into a "Grilling Room." This lasted until we ran out of room and then it soon became a "Storage Room."

My mammaw and pappaw Carpenter laid the sidewalk that leads to the backdoor. It was one of his last projects before he passed away. I think about him each time I walk up and down it. Especially when unloading groceries.

We have charished and lost two dogs while living here. They were like family.

We will have another one soon.

This house, the memories, the family who surround it... those things will never be forgotten.

We are excited about the next step. In 2 short days... I will be hopping up in a 24' moving truck with all of our belongings. Traveling 4.5 hours to our new home, our new city and our new Godly purpose.

The girls are excited and of course the best part is, that Wade and I get to be together again.

I am ready!

5K's and Mermaids!

2011-04-04T00:07:00.000-04:00

What an exciting weekend!!!

Saturday, I ran my 2nd 5K with Wade, Tori and her family and Krissy. The nerves were less this go round and the excitement was even more profound. I was so proud of Wade and Krissy because this was their first 5K. I could relate to the emotions they had when crossing the finish line for the 1st time and their sudden need for a banana and a water after it was over. Wade of course, finished well ahead of me, but soon joined me in the later part of the race to run with me to the finish line. I also had the privilege to run the last part with Krissy and see her heart feel with emotion and gratitude of what she had just accomplished! I was so proud of her!!! The coolest part... Krissy's husband was texting her the whole time during the race with Scripture, which she said seemed to come at just the right time... the HILLS!

It was a tough course.

Then there was lots of Mermaid celebration this weekend... The Little Mermaid that is! Emma Jane celebrated her 3rd birthday "Under the Sea" style. Although, her actual birthday isn't until April 12th, we wanted to celebrate with family and friends before the big move to Wilmington.

She had an absolute blast... Enchanting Music from Ariel herself, an Under the Sea masterpiece of a cake, a treasure hunt full of a girl's favorite things ("bling" and chocolate) and of course presents. She had so much fun playing with her friends and being the center of attention. She was blessed with all sorts of awesome gifts (some of which we are going to "re-open" tomorrow so that she can actually pay attention to what she got). Watching her go from a very shy girl, to a bright, fun energetic star was amazing. I know people always say this.. but it's really like she seemed to grow older overnight. She is 3 (in 1 week), wearing big girl panties, and talking up a storm!

Being a mother is the absolute best... especially of 2 darling little girls.

After about 4 hours of food, fun and friends... the celebration was over, the girls were napping and Wade was packed and ready to go back to the beach. I stood in the empty yard, took one look around at the empty swing set and began to sob. All of the emotion of the day, came pouring down on me at once and before I knew it Wade's arms were wrapped tightly around me. I had soon realized that we had just celebrated her last birthday at the house that we had 1st brought her home to. Not only did 3 years come fast, but our time in the only home that she has ever known was soon coming to an end. With all of the excitement of the party planning, I guess I had done a pretty good job ignoring the inevitable that we are moving. The next time she runs around in bubbles, prances with her umbrella and dances with her friends... she will be in a different yard, house, city.

The day was blessed. The day was glorious. The sun was shining and I couldn't have asked for a better day. I felt that this was God's present to our daughter. I am so thankful (a little emotional), but thankful. I know that this move is going to be harder than expected, but I am excited. Great things are in store.

More birthdays, more celebrations and more 5K's! :)

The Under the Sea table decor'

Thank you to all of Ej's friends and family for all of her wonderful things!

The Unbelievable Cake!!

It was as yummy as was it was B-E-A-U-tiful!

The red wagon as been a fav since her 1st birthday. Thanks Mamaw Carpenter!

Autumn and Emma Jane

My momma and daddy... love you!

Emma Jane and the cake's creator... Tori! It truly was incredible.

Lela thought so too!

So many presents! I couldn't even keep up.

Lela enjoyed being a PRINCESS too!

WEEEeeeeee!

I could just eat her... sweeeeet cheeks!

Ok...so this just proves that my husband waits until I am ready to take the absolute worst picture possible. It's so incredibly funny, I just had to post.

This was the beginning of the mermaid treasure hunt... they had a blast!

and so did I!

She had such a good time. True joy comes when watching your children enjoy life!

UPdate

2011-03-28T09:50:00.002-04:00

Wow! I have been pretty silent in the blogging world...

Don't worry, I have still been keeping up with all of the blogs that I follow. Speaking of... If you are not a "follower"of this blog, be sure to become one :)

Back to the reasoning behind my silence. So much has happened over the last 3 weeks. Some good, some bad and some really ugly moments that I ~~think~~ know was just trying to steal my joy of all the great things that God is doing in our lives.

Today marks the official 1 month date of my husband's new job (can't believe this).

Since February 28th, our family has been through so many changes.

The longgggggg, dreadful weeks of being apart has shown me that God didn't put Wade and I together with the purpose of having a cell phone in between us. We stink, to say the least, at phone conversations.

As hard as our time apart has been, I can see God working through it all.

Don't get me wrong. I have had my moments... Like when Ej was trapped in the dryer and a Yo-Yo was wrapped around Lela's neck because Ej wanted to "walk the dog." Then there was the extreme fatigue that came with being a single mom (I dont know how you out there do it!) and the need for Chick Fil-A because it was the easy solution to a quick dinner. But all in all, I had an extreme peace that would overcome me in my moments of sadness or stress or just the plain feeling of defeat. When the spetic tank exploded... God had to literally lift me up from my tears. Or when the hot water heater broke, He helped me to quickly pack my bags and join Wade at the beach (even though I mistakenly left all of the girls shirts at home).

But WE made it.

Then there is the magical boxes... Everywhere I turn, walking through the hallways at school, the Dollar General, no matter the place, BOXES just show up in my path! Some may say this is just luck... I know different. Call it what you want, but these boxes are special.

I love it when God shows me His Creative side!

The most remarkable update is that our house is

under contract!!!

That's right! God is an on time God with a purpose and a plan... that doesn't rely on the not so good economy to get the job done! All though we have lots to get through (inspections, appraisals, etc.) I know that God has got this... Which leads me to our next big MoVe... Our New House!!! We are officially ready to sign our new rental lease to our new home TONIGHT!

And it is just B-E-A-U-tiful .

God is so good.

Then it's time to start packing. This has been the toughy. I guess my emotions of all that has taken place in the last month, have been on the back burner due to all of the other excitement. In just 2 days, I will head back to our little bungalow that I LOVE to get ready for the best 3 year old celebration ever. Then, it will be time to start packing. I know that when I pass by those red rockers on our front porch and pack that last box I may just lose it. Need lots of prayer.

My First 5K

2011-03-13T21:06:00.001-04:00

March 12th, Saturday morning, 6:00am, my morning began.

The sun was shining and I knew what lied ahead, but I woke up peaceful, not nervous, watched the news and had my usual cup of coffee. Somewhere between sipping coffee and getting lost in the news, I looked up to check the clock and the reality of the day had just set in. It was 6:55 and it dawned on me that I would be running in ONE hour. That last gulp of coffee went down with a burn. Through all of the nerves, I managed to scarf down 2 pieces of toast, had multiple trips to the bathroom, and fumbled my way out the door.

Running late, as always, the plan was to get there at 7:40, just 20 minutes early to say a prayer with some other runners and then begin the race. The stress of the race, running late and 2 hungry little girls, had my stomach doing flips. We turned on the road to the YMCA and to my dismay, there were only a few cars in the parking lot. Were we the only people running the race? No. We were just an HOUR early for a race that was supposed to begin at 9am, not 8. So for those that we asked to come and join us for prayer... I love to pray and believe me I did my share before the race, but I would never ask you to pray an hour and a half before a race! I bet you thought I was crazy or either REALLY nervous.

Possibly both.

This turned into a blessing. The extra time allowed for my nerves to calm, one more trip to the bathroom and for me to see all the pros and amateurs arrive.

It was time to line up.

I found myself standing in a large group of what looked like all professionals. My only strategy... line up on the left side of the road so that I can wave at my husband and the girls. I am absolutely sure that Tori who was standing next to me could hear my heartbeat pounding a mile a minute.

Distracted with all of the nerves and my pounding heart, I didn't hear the horn...

just felt the flow of movement. The RACE had begun.

Here we GO!

I waved a quick wave to Wade and the girls, saw the flash of the camera and then looked forward. Where did all the people go? Wow. They were gone! Mile 1... off to a pretty confident start and feeling good. Tori and I were talking, loosening up and going a fast pace (for me), then we were faced with our first hill.

(Little did I know that there would be 3 more)

I was trying to take in every moment of it all. I noticed when I was being passed, but also when I was able to do the passing. The reality of what I was actually doing hadn't quite set in.

Mile 2 is when the struggles began. Thoughts of... "Can I do this?" ..."Do I really want to do this?" were just a few. It was really a mind over battle kind of thing. It was like my heart had to literally keep convincing my mind that I could do this and that my body was MADE to do this.

Then came a CRAMP in my side! Tori instructed me with what to do, but nothing was helping. The cramp was getting worse. It wasn't until running almost a mile with a painful cramp that it dawned on me... Here I do all of this "preaching" about prayer in a time of difficulty and here I was struggling to finish and I haven't even prayed. I started to pray for my cramp. I didn't realize it at the time, but my cramp pretty much went away as soon as I prayed.

I guess I was distracted when I saw the Mile 2 marker up ahead.

Finishing mile 2 gave me an extra dose of energy in knowing that I had just completed most of the race. Then came Mount Everest. The hill in front of the Iredell County Hospital. Okay, so for those of you that live in Statesville, don't judge... it was tough. I looked up to the top and was almost defeated. As I pushed myself forward, I thought of Jesus carrying the cross for me. This thought alone was what carried me to the top. Tori quoted Bible Verses and just hearing God's Words radiated HIS power through every muscle in my body.

I made it to the top of the hill, legs a little wobbly and my heart rate was shooting through the roof, but I made it! A few curves and some very vague moments that I can't remember (possibly about to pass out) I heard the all so pleasant words...

"The Finish line is just around the corner!" With a few more pushes up yet another slight hill, I turned the curve and saw my hubby and my beautiful girls! They were standing along side the road cheering and clapping for me as I turned the corner.

I could see the long awaited "FINISH" line, but my eyes were on Wade and the girls the whole time. Tori and I began to sprint. Seeing Wade and the girls standing on the other side of the finish line, I began to cry. Still running as hard as I could, filled with so much excitement and so much accomplishment, I crossed the finish line!! I knew at that very moment I was NOT finished... I had just BEGUN!

With a huge embrace from Tori and my family, the tears remained constant and I was overcome with

JOY and THANKFULNESS.

I can't describe the feeling that I felt at that very moment. Anyone out there who has ever ran a race for the first time knows this exact feeling. I wanted to soak in every moment. I could see the proudness in my husbands eyes. I was so proud of myself! I was proud of all the others that I saw cross the finish line. Some having done it a 100 times, others experiencing their first or maybe their last. No matter the reason, I have decided that God was in all of this... He made our bodies to experience such things as this.

To run the race of life and feel VICTORY!

I also have to use this time to thank some people that made this possible.

So here is my VICTORY speech...

God... for motivating me and giving me the desire, the ability and the passion to do this!

Wade... Thank you for being my husband, my support, my encourager, my massage therapist and my babysitter. Without you this would not have been possible. I was so glad to see you at the finish line.

Tori... You are incredible. I know you think I could have done this on my own, but I could not have. Christ used you to encourage me, to get me going and to push me. You have hooked me for life and I will be forever grateful. You are the best!!

I did it!

Before the race... an hour early!

Walking our way over to hear the instructions... I was so nervous I heard nothing.

The girls hangin in the back of the Tahoe.

I am somewhere in this crowd, towards the back.

Here WE go!

This is the crazy guy who finished when I was on MILE ONE...

needless to say, he was the 1st!

When is mommy coming?!?!

There she is!!! Can you see the tears?!?!

VICTORY!

Victory hug... more like a bear hug! Love ya Tori!

Finally calmed down a little...

Pointing to our Creator...

It was an exciting ride home!

Me and my favorite girls.

This number... I think I may keep forever!

I wanted so badly to write this post yesterday. But let's be honest... I was tooooo tired.

So TODAY...

I am pretty sore, but still amazed that I ran a 5K yesterday. The feeling of victory definitely outweighs the soreness by far! Excited about April 2nd... my 2nd 5K.

Focus on the gOOd!

2011-03-08T16:21:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to let everyone out there know that I am hangin' in there... It was a much harder goodbye on Sunday than the weekend before, but now that I have made it to Friday,
(What it's only Tuesday?!?!) ...I am feeling pretty good.

My husband could sense that I was a little down so he has been sending me encouraging words all week. Last night he sent me a verse that really helped... It was like a boost of energy, extra pump of motivation that "I can do this" ... just focus on the prize and what God has in store.

So that's why the verse that Wade sent me last night is this week's SCRIPTURE. Learn it, study it, give me your thoughts or let me know how it encourages you?

I know that this verse is just a foreshadow of what is to come and a constant reminder of what has already been given.

Thanks so much for all the kind emails and Facebook post...

Your encouraging words mean so much!

Oh... and 1 more thing.
I have registered for my first 5K this Saturday! It amazes me that I had to google "5K" just a few weeks ago because I wasn't even sure of the distance ...now I am attempting one.
Crazy. Prayers Please.

Achieving Perfection

2011-03-04T15:43:00.001-05:00

With social media, blogs and modern television shows about parenting, housewives and modern families... it is pretty hard not to compare ourselves to one another and look at the "perfection" of other peoples' lives. Sure, anyone can look perfect on Facebook...

I am not perfect. Here are just a few of my perfect Imperfections....

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:: I have ignored a dirty diaper so that my husband could change it when he gets home. (sorry honey!)

:: I am the reason behind Ej learning to put her dish in the sink: but not for her learning her ABC's.

:: Sometimes I lock myself and my phone in the closet so I can have a moment to myself.

:: I flick dirt behind the couch when I am too lazy to throw it in the trash.

:: I am OCD about cleaning my house (except behind the couch), but I do it for my family. I do it because that is just the way God created me to be. Not to impress.

:: I have an applesauce wet spot on my jeans RIGHT now and I haven't washed my hair in 2 days.

:: I once popped my child in the Walmart parking lot.

:: My husband's #1 fear about leaving us was that we would starve. (He does most of the cooking).

:: I used to be a 1st grade teacher, but I hate to do puzzles.

:: My husband would say that I pick my nose and drool in my sleep... I won't publicly admit to either.

:: I do however strive EVERYDAY to read my Bible, dedicate myself to Christ and be the Proverbs 31 woman that He has called me to be and it is because of HIM that I can even come close to achieving PERFECTION.

I love Jesus but without Him, I am one big mess.

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The Nagy Life... I started this blog to showcase my wonderful family to those that live far away. It started as a place to put my family memories and favorite pics, but has turned into so much more. God has used it through our life's trials, experiences and successes to give HIM the Glory....

My goal of this blog, is not to be someone I am not. My goal is to communicate all the things that Christ has given me... so yes... its is a perfect life. A perfect life for ME.

ONE week down!

2011-03-04T08:08:00.001-05:00

I made it... one week without my husband. Extremely difficult, but now that today is the day he comes home, I thought I would reflect...

Here is MY week as a family of three... missing our fourth.

::   Had some late night reading... much overdue.
::   Watched all of my favorite TV shows without interruptions to check scores on ESPN. Nice!
::   Ate ENTIRELY too much Nutella... almost the whole jar.
::   Managed to brew one whole pot of HOT WATER.
::   Got a very hesitant little girl to finally peepee in the potty (once... but improvement!)
::   Made 1 box of Mac & Cheese last us FOUR days... it usually lasts us one meal!
::   Ran my cell phone battery in the ground from all the Facebook time.
::   Got to enjoy all of the bath time moments with my girls... this is usually "daddy time"

And my absolutely, positively favorite thing about my husband being away for one week is...

:: The way that I feel right now... all excited like a highschooler in love, knowing that my favorite person in the whole WIDE world will be home in just 9 hours... The feeling of I have missed you so much and can't wait to wrap my arms around you when I get home kind of moment!

enJOY your weekend!

P.S. Wade absolutely, without a doubt LOVES his new job!

Weekly Devotion

2011-03-03T06:55:00.002-05:00

If you are taking this Spiritual Journey with me that I have spoken about here... then I am thrilled. I decided for one of my New Year, New ME resolutions that I was going to read the Bible, from cover to cover. No deadlines, no time limits, just using a simple guideline found in my Bible and being held accountable from my readers to post what I am reading. So here goes...

Exodus Chapters 1-6

Chapter 6 spoke to me the most this morning...

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”

Sometimes we need rescuing. God's promise here to Moses, still applies to us today. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He never changes. His MIGHTY hand will save you from whatever you are going through right now. We can't rescue ourselves. We try. But it won't bring you the success that God will bring you.

9 Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.

God was speaking to Moses. God was MOVING! He was answering the cries and desperation of the Israelites... but the Israelites still did not believe. They were caught up in the moment... the moment of pain, discouragement and fatigue. Are you in that moment right now? God is still moving. Choose to BELIEVE that God is working behind the scenes. He is ANSWERING prayers and your salvation is coming.

12 But Moses said to the LORD, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips?”

Moses saw a burning bush, heard God's audible voice, but yet he still doubted that God could use him. No matter your past, your challenges, or your failures, God can and will USE you. You just have to wake up each morning and ask God... What would YOU like me to do for your kingdom TODAY?

26 It was this Aaron and Moses to whom the LORD said, “Bring the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions.” 27 They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing the Israelites out of Egypt—this same Moses and Aaron.

Why does it say the "same" Moses and Aaron? When I was reading this passage this morning, this part really spoke to me. It was the SAME Moses and Aaron who doubted. It was the SAME Moses and Aaron who said that Pharaoh would not believe them. It was the SAME Moses and Aaron that said they couldn't do it. It was the SAME Moses and Aaron who carried out God's plan. God turned their disbelief, their lack of confidence and their doubt into an ACTION plan for His people and His purpose.

God can and will do the same for us. For me. For YOU.

Be Blessed TODAY. This is YOUR day.

In two different places...

2011-03-01T16:54:00.000-05:00

Day 2... of Wade's new job! Exciting right? I can't tell you the JOY that still overcomes me when I think about the fact that after almost 2 very long years that my husband finally has a job! Not just a job, but a great one at that! If you are a new reader, you can read about this exciting quest and gift of the Lord here; and if you are an Up to Date Reader, then you probably already know that not only is this Day 2 of Wade's new job, but it is also Day 2 of me being a single mom. That's right... Wade's job is in Wilmington, NC (the beach), while we are 4.5 hours away in Statesville.

We had such a great day prior to him leaving... we stocked our cabinets full of groceries (possibly a little too much since the main eater of our household was now leaving), enjoyed each other and the nice weather, watched our little girl stand and dance all by herself for the 1st time and went to my grandmother's birthday party.

EJ says Cheeeeeeese for the camera while Lela sure is proud of her new trick!

Wade... pulling off the "Wade Nagy Construction, LLC" logo from his truck... bittersweet for sure.

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After my grandmother's 85th birthday celebration, Wade pulled out of the driveway at 4:30pm on Sunday afternoon. I held on to him as long as I possibly could, but soon realized the drive that lied ahead, so I needed to say my goodbyes and carry on. He packed his bags, pulled out and then the tears flowed freely.

Notice the Life is Good hat with a fish... hummmm.

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Well, it is Tuesday and it has been the longest week ever!!! After a night of the worst stomach bug ever, frequent trips taking out the garbage (which I never do), cleaning up after a massive thunderstorm all by myself and over 48 hours of handling 2 children alone, I have come to realize how much of a HELP my husband really is! The tasks of holding my hair back when I am sick, taking out the horrible smelling diaper genie bags, cleaning up the yard and of course the extra set of hands each evening, are just a few of the things that I have taken for granted.

To top in all off... I miss my better half. I want so badly to share this journey with him. Bless his heart, he has sent so many pictures of his job site and the surrounding area to hopefully shed a little light on what his new life is like... so much that I told him to get back to work! Ha!

He even sent some pics of his morning run out on the beach... jealous would be an understatement! But here is the reality... I know that this has it's purpose. Do I think God wants us to be apart? No. But I do think that this is just another learning experience. I know that God is going to work out all of the small details according to His plan and that His PLAN does include us being together as a family of 4 in ONE place... not two. We miss our Wade Nagy. House please sell soon.

So until then, I am taking the time to make mental notes of all the extra work that I am having to do around here so that when the day comes that all I want to say is... "I do everything around here!" ... I will think twice. God sure did give me the best fish in the beach... I mean sea.

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On a side note...

I saw this on GMA one morning and it really sparked an interest to help. I often feel that I am not doing enough and that God created me for more, so when I saw this about Hope Phones, I thought I CAN do that! So I am collecting as many cell phones that I possibly can. My goal?

100 cell phones!

Hope Phones...

Every cell phone given to community health workers connects distant patients to a medical clinic. A $10 cell phone will give 50 families access to emergency medical care, health information, transport services, and clinic resources.

When your old phone is received by the recycling center, it is given a value. We’ll use this value to purchase appropriate, usable cell phones for community health workers at the medical clinics. The average donated phone in the US will allow us to purchase 2-3 cell phones for clinics.

So Please HELP! I have collected a few already. Found 4 in my house alone. Please email me if you are interested in helping! I just think this is a simple, creative way for us to give back and of course show Christ through our actions. Be the change!

To Eat or not to Eat...

2011-02-24T16:29:00.001-05:00

Today... made the 1st day that I finally noticed that all of this hard work that I have been doing with exercising and eating right is finally starting to pay off. Woke up, had a cup of coffee, enjoyed some quite time with God, took a shower, and then it happened...

I put on the jeans. You know the ones. The ones that sit on the very bottom of the rack in hopes that one day you will be able to squeeze yourself back into them (aka. skinny jeans). Ok... so truth be said they weren't my skinny jeans, but they were the jeans that I when I put them on fresh out of the dryer that I would have to do a few squats to make them look more appealing... I will work on the skinny jeans later.

So... New Year's Resolution #1... no more doing knee bends in order to get my jeans to fit... check!

Finally, my goals, my long awaited effort to make a change... a change that will stick, has become a reality. Why now? Why after so many attempts to making myself healthy is it just now sinking in?

Because... We are made for more. The words that have stuck in my mind over and over again... We have a Physical and Spiritual RESPONSIBILITY to take care of the body that God has so graciously given to us. We belong to Him... it's time to take care of the all to common, most often neglected blessing that we all have... our body!

So have you made this commitment time after time all to see yourself "give in" to the pressures of food and "too busy to workout" mood? Or maybe you have never started? Either way... TODAY is your day. Go for a walk, eat an apple and most importantly truly identify the beautiful body, soul and creation that God has given you!

For you self-improver's that need a good read to help you get started...

The Bible
Made to Crave by Lysa Terkeurst
Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman
Disease Proof your Child by Dr. Joel Fuhrman (WOW... changing my life as a parent!)

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I have registered for 2 upcoming 5K races. I am so excited and nervous at the same time. My friend, Tori, who has been my key motivator through it all has been so awesome! My hubby too... for he has ran with me and watched the girls without a single complaint. As for the food... well that has been a challenge. I hate fruit. I absolutely hate it. I can do the veggie/ salad thing, but fruit... yuck. Every morning my husband has made me breakfast. Sounds perfect doesn't it? Wrong... it consist of a cup of yogurt and a banana. The first few days I acted like a child, turning up my nose and trying to convince my hubby why I shouldn't, couldn't and wouldn't eat the fruit. But after a few days of being forced... I woke up this morning and actually enjoyed my banana. So this is going to be work...but this time I will not give in. This time I am doing it with a whole new motivation in mind.

Life as a Nagy...

2011-02-21T16:32:00.000-05:00

So I have some catching up... I promise that our life hasn't just been about Wade's new job for the last few weeks-- ha!

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Emma Jane's Valentine Dance... EJ loved gettin her groove on and paid special attention to a certain someone, who name I won't disclose. But I will say, her daddy was a little unsure about the new "interest" and already thinking about the many stressing moments that come along with having two daughters...

yummy, delicious cupcakes... to bad they weren't gluten free for Lela

If you know my child, then you know that she was more excited about the food than the party!

Full belly, means ready to "shake a leg!"

and this is what Lela thought about the party....

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Then there was the Valentine's Weekend Beach trip...

Where we attended the Thrive Marriage Conference and Wade got a JOB... quite the eventful weekend!

On our way to the beach and a pit-stop at our fav fast food...

EJ was thanking Jesus for "chic chic fries"

Her favorite thing to do at the beach-- ride dada's back!

a little chilly for miss lela...

writing in the sand.

just before we ran 3 miles.... wade barely broke a sweat!

fun, fun!

Great trip... full of life's surprises!