A Butterfly For My Hair

Well we have really been going through a valley for a while now...and although I know that God is in control and he loves us and he has provided, I am still a doubting Thomas at times and I fear what lies ahead. Questions assault me like, "Is this as bad as it is going to get, or is God going to stretch me farther?" "Have I learned what he wants to teach me or have I just been fighting during this lesson?"
About a month ago, I was out and I saw this lady with a really pretty butterfly clip in her hair. I had this fleeting thought/prayer, that went something like, "I'd like some pretty things, but I know they aren't in our budget right now, so oh well..."
Then at the end of October, my mom and mother-in-law came for a visit. (It went very well by the way!) One day they decided to ride up to the store to just get out for a little while and I stayed home while the boys napped. When they came back, my mother-in-law handed me a small object and said something like, "I wondered if you would like this." Do you know it was a butterfly clip, just like I had seen a few weeks before! God had heard my prayer! Even though I feel like he isn't listening, he was and is, he gave me a pretty butterfly for my hair as an encouragement that there is still stuff he is going to ask us to go through, but he is there and he cares, he cares enough to answer a silly prayer like that.
I gave the following example to someone not long ago when we were talking about my faith in the Lord, that I view God as my Father, therefore I really do believe that he knows more than I do and he understands more of what is going on than I do and even though I still want my own way a lot of the time, I know that ultimately, his way is the best.
Just like with our children, we ask them to trust us and go through some hard things, for their betterment, immunizations, school (I hated school!!!) times of separations, etc. We see the whole picture, the why. We understand that they won't like it, but we do ask them to go through it without kicking or biting us! So too, I think God knows that what he asks us to go through is hard, but he does expect us to be thankful, even for the trials, because "we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28.
Plus, our choices, the freewill that He gave us, is what causes a lot of what happens!! I know that sometimes, like with Job, it truly is just a trial that God allows to refine us, but oh, all the other times when my troubles have been self inflicted! But I digress...
When I wear my pretty clip, David always says, "Mommy! I see a butterfly in your hair." What a great reminder, because although I can't see the clip, I know it is there because I can see the effect of the clip (my hair isn't in my eyes!), and I can feel it; just like God, I can't see him, but I know he is there because I see what he does in my life and I can feel him through the presence of the precious Holy Spirit...

Finally ANOTHER Post!

Okay so I am FINALLY posting again...Life has been crazy, plus our filter has had issues with blogspot, so this is the first time it let me back on where I could see what I was doing!
Here are some new pics...
I had to put this one on here, I told Joe we look like we are from the sixties, with our really cool faux paneling and Joe's really cool plaid PJ pants!!! I am still laughing about this photo, man. That is some good, clean fun right there!
Okay, here is a really good one of the boys...aren't they just toooooo cute!
I love this one too, cheesers! That is what we say when Mommy takes a picture...Daniel is getting big, but he is so good. Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving, don't forget to take out the turkey, mine is already in the fridge, yeah!

My Three Sons

First, our two adorable sons, Jonathan as the "Yupperman" and David with his ever present tractor shirt. It is amazing how much two years can make a difference in height. They keep growing at the same rate, so David never catches up, he just stays at J's shoulder! This picture was just taken last week, so it is our most recent!

Here is our newest guy... Daniel Layne
Isn't Daniel too cute! I have no idea who he looks like yet, except when he is frustrated, he looks just like Joe in the eyes. It is so funny how they both scowl. He is such a good baby too. I thank the Lord for all of our sons they are truly a blessing.

This is my first attempt at "blogging" so be gentle in your reviews! But with the addition of our third son, I felt like it would be fun to be able to have one place for family and friends to see pictures and read funny stories.
Also, thanks to Joe's Aunt Sandra, we have a digital camera that I can upload photos from, so I can actually post pictures! Hope you all enjoy and check back, hopefully I can get the hang of this and post often.

I really want to post Jonathan singing his songs and David saying his ABC's while they do it so cute, but I have no idea how to post a video...