Paige

Precious.

A New Creation...

Tonight I hung out with the kids extra long because we just hadn’t spent good time together the last few days. We were all in Paige and Annalee’s bed. After I put Davis down (whose rockin the house potty training) I went back just to spend time with my girls. We talked about how they were growing up and how it was kinda sad for me. Then as it was time to go to bed. I held Annalee’s lamb and told hem about how Jesus was called the Lamb of God. I then told them about when a lamb goes to be slaughtered, he’s very still and quiet, and how Jesus was same in his death taking on not only the worst pain ever but also bearing our sins. The following is the rest of the story:

Paige looked at me and said, “Daddy, I don’t want to go to hell. I want to die and go straight to Heaven.”

Me: Well Paige how do you get to heaven.

Paige: By trusting Jesus to pay for my sins.

Me.: That’s right, but how do you do that.

Paige: By following him and obeying him.

Me. That’s part of it. The other part is when we know that God is drawing us to Him, our heart feels it and we want to trust Him. When we do, we ask God to give us faith to believe Him, and to save us from our Sin.

Paige: I want to do that right now! (with a little inflection in her voice)

Me: Well close your eyes and listen for a minute. If you know that Jesus is the only one who can save you from your sins, then we can ask Him to save you and give you faith to trust him and to follow him for the rest of your life and forever with him in heaven. Do you believe that?

Paige: Yes!

ME: What do you believe?

Paige: That Jesus died for my sins.

Me: Anything else?

Paige: That he can give me faith to believe him.

Me: That’s right baby! So lets pray and I will help you know what to say. But Paige, this prayer is only true if God is working in your heart right now. And if He is, then you can pray like this. (This memory is my special one for no one else but Annie and I)

After she and I prayed together:

Me: Now Paige one of the great joys of following Jesus is telling others about him and learning about him!

Paige: Daddy, can I have my own bible like Bo (a friend from church) has?

Me: Yes baby (doing everything not to fall out in tears in front of her.) You can have your own bible.

Paige: I think I want a pink one…no purple.

We called Mommy and she told her what she said and we both said it was the sweetest thing in the whole world.

Mat 11:25-26 At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.

Mat 18:3 and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Annalee

Beauty.

Life...

This is what we've been up to lately! I do hate potty training though. Once they get the hang of it and can do it by themselves, it's great! It's that in between time that is just not so fun. He's doing pretty well though. I'll have to capture a pic of him in his big boy underwear. It is WAYYYY cute!

A fave...

One of the sweet pics captured during the week of VBS. This is Annalee and her friend Darsen dancing the night away:) She goes to preschool with her as well, so they are good buddies!

Firsts!

Today was Davis' first time to go to a movie at the big screen! We all went to Toy Story 3 this afternoon and it was super fun! The girls absolutely loved it:) Davis did really great! He had a few bouts of restlessness but nothing bad! All in all it was a great family event and I loved it! There's just something exciting about actually going to the movies. I don't show excitement as well as some would like me to (aka Scott Parks:), but I had a really fun time. I love to watch my little ones be mesmerized by how big everything is. Also, I think movies have gotten louder. Or...maybe that means I have just gotten older. Either way, it took some adjusting on my part on the front end! Too bad it costs an arm and a leg to go to the flippin movies, or maybe we might go more;)

My hubby...

I LOVE my husband! Seriously. He is the best. He let me go to the pool today all by myself, while he stayed home with all 3 little munchkins (one of which had a fever:( )! He is the absolute best.

Last day

This is Davis' last day of one on one with mommy and daddy. He had his little fill of being an only child the last few days and has loved every minute of it! I took him to the pool today though, and I think he realized how much more fun the pool can be with his sisters there. So, I think he's ready to have them back now;) We will be heading back to Mississippi this evening to watch the girls perform their VBS songs and we will be heading back home as a family of 5 again. Yay! It'll make my heart feel better to have everyone back home:) We'll see what Davis thinks;)

Jimmy Buffett

Well, most of you have probably heard about the free Juimmy Buffet concert in Gulf Shores on July 1. Well, I had my ticketmaster page already to go, hitting the refresh button until it allowed them to be up for sale. Tickets went on sale at 10 am. Literally at 9:59, the tickets were not on sale yet. I hit the refesh button right after and they were on sale. So...click, click, click, and it said "you're waiting time will be 15 minutes or longer". So I'm thinking, "ok! Sounds promising! I think we might have a good chance!" WRONG! They were sold out beore 10:01! How does that even happen? I think we still may go and try to be on the outskirts, but still enjoy the entertainment! We will see:)

Missing them...

We are missing our girls this week! They are at my parent's house for the next several days and are getting to go to VBS at her church. They are having a blast I'm sure, but the house is eerily quiet without them. Davis has tried to make up for the noise loss by being the ultimate chatter box, and while he comes close, he still can't do it by himself:) I look forward to seeing them on Thursday and kissing their sweet faces!

P.S.

In the above pic, Davis' does not have a bloody, dirty, or boogy-infested nose. He had fallen a while back and scraped right under his nose, so it's the aftermath of hs confrontation with the concrete.

Insanity Update

We are starting week 4 of our Insanity workout today! It's still really tough. We are definitely seeing some progress though! Our fitness tests are improving, the warm-up is actually starting to feel like a warm-up (well, most days;), and our bodies are actually staring to show significant results!!! FYI...Scott Parks has lost 18 lbs over the last 3 weeks! He's doing fabulous! This workout is no flippin' joke, and he has kept up and hung in there every day!!! Even through VBS! And let me tell you first hand...that is NO easy task! So, we will continue this journey. We have a "rest" week next week where we'll do something called Core Cardio and Balance. Not sure what that is yet! Then we embark into 4 more weeks of a whole new level of Insanity where the workouts get longer and even more intense. Yeah. I'll let you know how that goes.

Back blogging...

Seeing as how I skipped the last two days, and I had to do some making up for lost time:) VBS is oer and it was a great week! We are worn out, but the Lord blessed our effoerts and His word will not return vod. I led a crew along with a friend of mine. The majority of our girls were 5th or 6th grade, so it was a slightly difficult age. They warmed up to us though and we were blessed by them! The gospel was presented and there were a 100+ kids to hear it! So exciting! When I find the pic of the whole gang, I'll post it!

The 19th

On the 19th, I was so tired, that I forgot to blog.

The 18th

On the 18th, Scott said he would guest blog for me. He did not.

Big Boy

See how big my baby boy is getting? It's so sad for me! He's supposed to stay little forever!!!! He's been going to bible school this week and is in the 2's and 3's class and all of a sudden he seems so grown up! I really can't stand it!! He is still my preciou boy, and is super funny! He's sweet and is still a momma's boy, so I guess I'll ride that train for as far as it takes me:)

TIRED!

Late nights at VBS is kicking my tail!! Off to bed:)

Quote of the day...

My favorite quote of the day was from Paige today! She said..."How do you spell "free"? F-R-E-E!" I fell out laughing:) She's a child after her mother's own couponing frugal heart!

Amazed...

This is the look of sheer amazement as my kiddos watched fireworks after the Jags game. The two little boys are in Paige's class and were at the game as well. You can't see Annalee really, but her face mimicked the others'. I really don't have a ton to say about it, other than I really love this pic, and am doing some backtracking now that I can upload pictures again:)

Late night...

We had a late night tonight staying at the church and decorating for vbs. Must...sleep...now...!

2 Days 20 hours 2 minutes and 2 seconds until VBS begins....just sayin!

Always a good host...

Scott Parks...he's always a good host. He really does treat others better than himself. Some friends, Parker and Molly, came over today for a few hours. Their mom is the one who lost her husband several months back, and she is in the process of moving. We, in turn, get to hang out with her kiddos which is always great entertainment:0) Scott made them homemade popcorn on the stove (which is the best might I add;) . He also let them have a little grape soda, which is always a treat. Fun times! I'm glad we've been able to squeeze a little more time in with them before they leave next weekend. Paige loves plating with Molly! I think Molly likes playing with Paige too, because she gets to just be a little girl and not be embarrassed by playing with dolls;) Parker, well Parker, is just walking entrtainment. There is never a dull moment with him around! We are gonna miss them dearly and the Lord has fused our hearts for eternity.

Sweet...

We went to a baseball game at USA a couple of weeks ago. South Alabama was playing Troy, where Scott and I went to school respectively. I got this little snapshot when Scott was explaining the rules of baseball to my Davis. He was really captivated by the game! This is one of the sweetest times that I'm thankful to have a pic of:)

Finally!

Our computer is functioning properly again, and letting me upload pics! Yay!!!! So in honor of the first pic in a very long time, I thought I'd show you how tan Davis is already this summer. He gets so dark! Even with 50 SPF, the little man was made to tan I guess:)

P.S.
Sorry the pic is sideways. I tried to turn it several times but it didn't work:(

On the other side...

So...I am coming to realize more and more, that life is not gonna slow down this side of heaven! I dream of the lazy days of summer, but that is just not reality for us! It is nice to be able to see Scott alot more, but our family evidently is just destined to be on the go most days. So, today I long for heaven. For the eternity that awaits us that offers uninterrupted time with our Saviour, pure joy, eternal rest. I am so very thankful for my husband and children, and I will gladly do/be whatever they need. Some days I'm just a little tired though ;) Happy Tuesday!

I love him...

Again I am posting about how much I truly love my husband. He takes such good care uf us! This morning I had to go to work for a few hours for a class, and when I got home, all the beds had been made with rooms picked up, all the laundry had been put away and the dishwasher had been run. He did all that with 3 very excited children running around, because as soon as he was done, he took them all to the pool! I REALLY love him:)

Saying Goodbye...

Tonight we had a prayer service for a few families that are leaving our church. One family is moving to go off to seminary, one family is changing jobs, and one family lost her husband/dad recently so she and her family are moving closer to home. It was a sad but sweet time. Full of tears and memories, we reminisced and prayed. It was certainly bittersweet. We know that the Lord calls us all to different places at different times and we are responsible to be obedient to that calling. Still, we miss our sweet friends:)

I don't feel like it...

Sometimes, I've had a really long day and I'm really tired and don't feel like blogging. Tonight is one of those times. Goodnight folks:)

Steak...

Steak. Everybody loves steak! Well, at least we do;) That was our dinner tonight and it was sooooo delicious! It's been a while I guess, but it gives us a greater appreciation for some red meat! Davis is also a big fan! We've been following our eating guide and doing well. The food is all yummy, but when we saw there was a steak night, it made our day! It did not disappoint either:)

Does this count?

Technically it's 12:05, so it's the next day, but I just got home from work and realized I forgot to blog! I have been working a few more days a week since Scott's been off, so it kind of throws our schedules off a bit. Today was just a whirlwind. I'm pretty sure I can't recall sitting down all day for more than 10 minutes total! So, right now, my bed is calling my name and I am going to answer:)

Insanity!

We started the workout series "Insanity" this week!
We finished day 3 today. It is no joke! It's super insane. The name is absolutely perfect! I am liking it though. It also comes with an elite nutrition guide which has you eating 5 small meals a day while doing this 60 day workout. Truthfully, it seems like alot of food. You eat regularly throughout the day so you really don't have time to be hungry and the food is very tasty. It puts a little wrench in my super duper publix trips though, because I don't need quite so much from there. However, I have discovered a great (and cheap) produce stand, so that is very helpful! So...here's to Insanity:)

Sick Mommy:(

Well, I woke up with a random fever last night! I never run fever. Last night, though, I woke up blazing! I have a sore throat, which I didn't think too much of, but as the night went on, my temp increased and my throat hurt worse! No fun at all. I am still trying to shake this mean sore throat, and hopefully my temperature is getting back to normal. But for now, I am signing out and going to bed in hopes that some goo rest will do me much good:)