I Remember When....

If you would like to join other bloggers on this Wednesday walk, visit Lynnette's site for all the details.

Can we play a game today??? Well, I suppose since it is my blog you really don't get a say in that, now do you!!!
Yes, I'm feeling a bit snarky....thanks for noticing!!!

Somewhat still on the subject of letting go, what are some of your favorite memories from your babies...ya know, when they were still babies??? And because it is my blog, that means I get to go first! Yippee!!!

I remember when....

...She would not go to sleep when it was bedtime!!! The first approx. 6 wks of CD's life and about 8 wks of Bunny's, they simply REFUSED to go to sleep before 2 AM!!! They would do so well during the day, not always taking really long naps and waking around 7 pm to nurse, get a diaper change and hopefully interact with us! By the time 11 pm rolled around, I was getting tired but my girls were just getting going good!!! At around midnight, they would begin to get fussy - didn't want to nurse, had clean diaper, nothing was poking them, they would just get fussy! Closer to 1 AM, they were no longer fussy...they were all out crying!!! For up to two hours!!! Screaming at the top of their little bitty lungs!!! They refused to nurse, did not want a pacifier, just wanted a little lung work out apparently!!!

Finally, at close to two months, both of them learned to go to sleep somewhere between 9 and 10 pm. Other Moms would tell me this was normal behaviour but I was really never sure about that!!! Man, am I ever thankful they finally started sleeping at a decent hour!!!

I remember when...

...I woke up one morning, shortly after having Bunny, listening to a baby cry and wondering why in the world my Mom did not get the baby!!! I even went so far as to look out the front window to see if there was a car out front before I came to the full realization that this was my home, my baby and my job to go get her!!! I must have been really tired...ya know, that whole staying up half the night thing!

I remember when....

...CD would play with her sippy cup by shaking it violently up and down and having fun watching all the liquid splash out!!! Yes, this was long before the no-drip sippy cups!!! It didn't take long, though, for her to realize that the only sippy cup she could truly play with was one filled with water. So, in order to get 10 min. of peace to clean the kitchen, I would put water in a sippy, snap on the lid, put her in the middle of the kitchen floor with the cup and say, 'Play'! I do believe between the ages of 12 and 18 months, that was her favorite thing to do!

I remember when...

...Bunny would go outside, just inside the gate to the backyard and scoop up dirt by her fingernail and put it in her mouth!!! She loved to eat dirt!!!

I remember when....

...Bunny was just figuring out how to go downstairs and the girls wanted to go out and play, having to go down two stairs to get out the door. Hubs had recently changed the oil in the vehicle and left it standing in the large round container right by the stairs! By now, I'm sure you have guessed that Bunny made it from the first to the second step but when trying to maneuver down to the ground, she fell head first into the oil!!! Poor baby, we laughed so hard and she was screaming!!!

I remember when....

...It was 114 degrees on CD's 4th birthday!!! El Paso can get hot, y'all!!!
...They loved to sit on the patio and finger paint!
...They would want to play in the water but drink more from the sprinkler than went on the lawn!
...They wanted to sleep together in the same bed...and it only lasted about an hour!

I remember when....

...Barney was the first thing we watched on TV. But their favorite show was Lambchop!
...Life seemed simpler! I knew where my babies were...right under my feet no matter what I was doing! It was hard, I do remember that, but I knew where they were!

Okay, now it is your turn!!!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....like my beautiful daughters

God's girl, Pamela

I'm a Very Proud Momma!

Let me begin by saying, I love our DD1's public high school!!!!!! Love it!!!!

As most of you know, we are wrapping up her senior year! She has attended the same school all four years and is the president of NGSTRONG this year. In so many ways, we have been blessed all of these years by teachers, coaches and other students. Many of my Facebook friends came from previous classes at her high school!

We knew she would get two graduation awards: Texas Scholar and Honor graduate. She has worked hard for good grades and is ending her high school career with a 3.5gpa. That is all any of us were expecting...oh, and the top student in their class is graduating with a 4.75gpa!!! INSANE!

We were totally BLOWN AWAY by the goodness and grace of God, though, at last night's award presentation!

BLOWN AWAY!!! BY GOD!!!

When we were walking in, they gave us a sheet of paper that listed all of the various organizations that would be presenting either cash awards or scholarships to students. It was a long list, y'all! Dear Hubs looked at me at one point and asked, "Do you think she will get one of these?"

WE HAD NO CLUE!!!!


Before they began giving out those special recognition awards, they introduced the special people that were there representing families or companies that offered the recognition. The Craig Bennett family was asked to stand, his Mom, Dad and sister. We were told their son had been a football student at the high school in the early 90's and was tragically killed in a car accident the summer of '93.

Within a few minutes of beginning the awards presentation, one of the school counselors called our daughter's name. She was sitting near us and we all looked at her as she walked down, in disbelief. What was she getting? No one even told us about this being a possibility!!!

As she walked on stage, the counselor said our DD1 was receiving the Craig Bennett award. He explained further that Craig had been a strong Christian man, with deep morals and values that he was not afraid to share at school. Our DD1 was chosen for this small award because of her unwavering faith! He mentioned to all those in attendance last night that our daughter, God's precious daughter, was this years president of NGSTRONG and had lived out a life similar to Craig's!!!!

SHE WAS AWARDED, IN FRONT OF HUNDREDS, FOR HER FAITH!!!!

She is definitely more humble than me....I could have never been given such an award for the fact that pride would have taken over!!!! God knows the heart of my firstborn and has seen fit to lavish her with this very precious gift!

Can you say TEARS!!!! We were all tearing up! We have watched her walk with God through so many struggles during high school. We have prayed over teachers, students and coaches over the years. WE HAVE BEEN BEYOND BLESSED!!!!

If you want to stop reading right now, please do. I am about to crawl way up on my soapbox and share!

Dear Hubs and I are graduates of a Christian high school in our area. We could never have been used in the public school arena because of our attitudes....we really know very little about what it means to be in public school. When we moved into our home 12 yrs ago, we knew the high school was close and were a bit concerned about living so close to the school. We enrolled DD1 in our old school, partly because that was what we knew....that is where we were comfortable!

Then God moved!
DD1 did not do well in first grade at our alma mater...first grade, y'all. So, what is a Momma to do? Well, I prayed! And God began to pull me out of my boat of comfort. I felt a tremendous stirring to enroll DD1 in the elementary school in our neighborhood, the one right behind the high school. I thought, surely, this was my own small way of thinking. God could provide a Christian school for her, including the finances....if that was His will!

Can I just say that we never have known exactly why this is God's calling on our children's lives. NEVER! There have been a lot of tears and sleepless nights over things going on in their lives and most of those start at school. Many times, I have said if they could only be in a private school, things would be better. Many times, I have been wrong!!!

His will, the God of the universe, y'all, desires for my children to go through the local public school system.

The beginning of DD1's sophomore year, God stirred deep in her heart to pray for her basketball team. I mean really pray, not just throw them up before the Lord and go on her merry way. She really put hours into praying for each one of them, and the coaches.

It would have been really nice for all of us, if those prayers had just been answered during the course of that year. But, as most of you know, God does not work on our time....He has His own time table. That year, she became co-captain of the JV basketball team...at the behest of the coach, not the team. Many of her teammates were angry that the position went to her, and they were not silent about how they felt. While we were so proud of her for following through with what the coach asked of her, we could feel a portion of her pain as we watched her cry over games, players, everything!

Then, the end of her jr. year, she came in one day and said she was feeling God was asking her to not play basketball her senior year. Can you say broken hearted??? She had started on the team her freshman year...three years straight. She had invested so much time in this area of her life, while upholding a great gpa and being part of the honor choir two of those years!

God spoke! And my precious daughter listened.

This year has been a roller coaster all it's own! NGSTRONG has taxed her limits of leadership...those under her are high school students - can you imagine??? For the second time in high school, she has taken an advanced class, but not taken the final exam for college credit. We changed churches in the middle of the school year. She has matured. In her spiritual walk, she has greatly matured.

She knows she wants to work with young people in her career. Right this moment, she is not sure what that looks like. She had a plan, but now feels God calling her down a different path. Out of her comfortable boat.

Many of her coaches, teacher and counselor's have been unwavering Christians. I know they hold their students up in prayer. You can feel it when you walk in their classrooms or office!!! They love their students because they love God more.

We need Christians in our public schools! My daughters have seen much more of life than I had at their age. Some of it, I will be honest, I would have preferred they waited to see. However, through all of it, God has held the hearts of my precious children. God has a plan for their life, and it started in public school!!!

My soapbox is that if you feel God calling you to put your child/ren in the area's school system, don't be afraid of it! Do what God is calling you to do. I personally know it is not easy but this moment, I would not trade these years for anything!!!

My heart is full. I am a very proud Momma. I am a very grateful daughter of our King.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.....

God's girl, Pamela

The Ripple Effect

Just in case you were wondering...I am feeling much better!!! Almost fully like myself again!!! Now, though, my poor Sissy is fighting it!!! I did not pass it on, the dr. is telling her it is viral and she will just have to let it run it's course! That is apparently why it has just been so hard to shake! Thank you, Lord, for your grace during this time of illness!!! I ask that you, my bloggy friends, please pray for my Sissy and my FIL - he is fighting off something similar! This illness NEEDS to stop! Thank you so much!!!

Well, I could have written my post about the ripple effect about our being ill and watching those around us deal with our being ill. However, God has a very special way of showing Himself in the details of life...and I'm not really a detail person!

As many of you may remember, DD1 is president of the Christian organization at her high school. Each organization must have a sponsor and she has been blessed with two wonderful teachers to sponsor hers! Today, I want to encourage myself (and you) in watching how God works over the years of our lives...day by precious day...to further His kingdom - even using school sponsors!

We met Coach Wilson last year when DD1 began dating the then president of the organization. There was a youth gathering that DD1 had been invited to by her boyfriend and when we pulled into the parking lot, there was a truck full of teenage boys in the back....and I do mean full!!! And I swear, just as many teenage boys piled out of the front of that truck, too!!! DD1 spied her boyfriend (they are no longer together, by the way) just as I realized the driver of the truck was headed my way. I rolled down my window and he kindly introduced himself. Very humble, nondescript, did not even identify himself as a sponsor of the club, only as a coach!

I did not think much of it.

When DD1 began her senior year, she was asked to lead this same organization. As parents, we have been so proud of her as she truly seeks to lead her peers through the halls of a public school with Christ as their true guide! Through her leading the club, we have also gotten to know just a little bit more about Coach Wilson.

Fast forward just a little bit as we began our search for a new home church. I had passed a church last year when Bunny was going through her worst time that I got very excited about. I could not explain to you why but I felt really drawn to this particular church. When we finally made the decision to make the move, hubs and I drove by one evening on the way home from somewhere, passing right by the church. We saw several vehicles out front and he pulled into the parking lot. This was a Monday night, I believe. Both girls had fallen asleep in the back of the van and were not interested in visiting a new church at this point!

The church doors were open, and my fearless hubs began walking down hallways...me following closely behind! We found the youth area and began looking at all the pictures and activities listed on the bulletin board!!! They were a busy youth group! The pictures were of so many different people, not the same one or two in each shot....I was impressed by that!

Hubs and I began to talk and walk toward the front of the church, and when we came around the corner we saw a lady apparently locking the doors we had recently entered. Poor thing, we scared her so badly when my hubs simply says, "How are you doing tonight?" The foyer is large and she had not seen or heard us come around the corner! She quickly recovered, though, and began to answer our questions about the church and ask questions about our family and situation.

Well, wouldn't you know it!!! God had a plan! The lady we met was Natalie...the admin for the youth pastor and leader of the freshman girls small group!!! Bunny is a freshman this year! When she asked if the girls were with us, we told her they were resting in the van outside and she asked if she could come meet them. Natalie was so full of energy and was very passionate about her work. When she met the girls outside, she asked them where they went to school. Come to find out, she is an alumni of DD1's high school!!! Very exciting stuff for me to watch God work!!!

We made the decision within a couple of months for the girls to visit their youth service when our former church was not meeting. We were making the move more for the girls (so we thought then!) so this seemed a fairly logical decision.

When our girls came home that night, they were so excited about the youth group! It was larger, the youth pastor showed a passion for the students and the small groups were a hit with my girls....being split into grade and gender when our previous youth group only had 3 girls in the whole high school....and two of them were mine! It became clear within a few weeks that we needed to fully make the move as a family.

Shortly after the move, we realized our new church home was part of a movement called I Am Second. We had seen ads and heard radio spots for it but had never really looked into the movement. So, I sat down at the computer one night and began to click on people's pictures on the site to hear their testimony. One of those people was Natalie!

As I listened to her testimony, I heard a very familiar name...Craig Wilson from high school!!! We soon learned that Coach Wilson and Natalie's Craig Wilson were one in the same! Craig had shared Christ with Natalie in high school, then they went their separate ways but both ended up right back here in our town...serving God in their own unique way! Both working with teenagers!!!

I have watched Coach Wilson have a very positive affect on DD1 as she has hit some pretty rough patches this year. (yes, part of life!) I have watched Bunny grow in Christ under the loving care of Natalie. And when I look back just 15 yrs ago, these two people walked the same halls and served the same Lord!

Can you imagine the people that will be lined up in heaven to welcome these two precious people home??? I know that Natalie is not the only life that Coach Wilson has touched, but even if she were....his crowns to throw at Jesus feet would still be so many just because he invited Natalie to touch the hem of Jesus garment! And Natalie's life....she touches teens each and every day for the cause of Christ!

God set a plan for my family in motion many years ago...when I was home with two little girls in El Paso! He raised up a teenage boy to courageously share his faith at his high school and He raised up a teenage girl to hear the word of the Lord from this same young man! And look at all of them now...serving our risen Savior and furthering His kingdom!

THANK YOU, LORD!!! Ps. 145: 3,4 Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.

As far as I know, Coach Wilson will still be reaching teens at the high school next year. Natalie has changed positions, she still leads the freshman girls small group but is planning on serving the Lord in Ethiopia one day in the near future. These two precious people will continue touching lives for the glory of God. I know because of their position in my girls lives, that my girls will also be a light to shine to all men and 'tell of Your mighty acts'.

I am looking forward to watching the continuing ripple effect!!!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!!!

God's girl, Pamela

PS...I'm sorry this is so long! I really am working on not being quite so wordy! Thank you for visiting and please feel free to leave a comment if you are moved by this post. Thanks!

Oh, please forgive me!!!

I do need to apologize because I have taken my eyes off of the Provider, a bit! I forgot to read the verse at the top...yes, Lord, my hope is in YOU!!!

Unfortunately, I have spoken out of the frustration that simply comes with life and I pray that you can forgive me! I know we all walk through these valleys...I am not alone because God is right beside me, above me, below me, surrounding me with HIS love and grace!

As DD1 and I have been able to spend time together, I am learning so much from her. We are watching lots of Olympics while Bunny is at summer band and doing lots of talking while DH is 'at work' in his upstairs office. It is kind of nice because not having Miss PD, I can give her my almost full attention!
Anyway, DD1 is truly a Christ follower...she has watched the lessons we have learned and found a way to learn them herself, even at an early age. Last night, we talked about surrender, being fully surrendered to our Lord. She knows this has been hard for us at times and last night she said watching us even falter, that when God asked her to surrender she knew from our example how to do it, but she also knew she did not want to go back to her old way of living!!!
WOW! Why could I not have been that type of 'child'? Um, because God knows our every need, even the future ones! I know that HIS hand is upon our child and that HE loves her so much more than I do! I know that the year ahead does not appear to be 'easy', what in life is?, but that God already has a path picked out just for her. I know that HE has an answer to the job question...not sure what the waiting is for but I know the answer is there!

I also know that Bunny really desires to follow Christ, but friendships that are 'skin on' make the supernatural so hard to see sometimes!(especially as a young teen!!!) I know that HE has a path for her to follow in the year ahead as well. It will not look like anything we have ever done, it will be uniquely for her and HE will be right beside her as she walks in HIS way! I know that HIS thoughts toward her are precious and unending...HE loves her even more than I do!

My precious Lord, I know my family, including the people, finances, job, hobbies, is in YOUR hands! I know you watch over us with an insanely intense love that I simply cannot fully know here on earth. I know that you have good things for us when we follow your commandments. That your promises are perfect, that YOU are holy and I praise you. Thank you for the life YOU have given us to live...the ability to raise two precious daughters in your nurture and admonition, the ability to minister to others by sharing YOUR light. Thank you for the very special love you have nurtured between hubs and I for these nearly twenty years! Thank you, Lord for YOUR daily provision!

PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW....

God's girl, Pamlea