Everyday Blessings...

The Clown. Wes. :) Peter Pan. This child was obsessed with Peter Pan. For about 5 or 6 years in a row, he pretended to fly and fight and crow.  Micky Mouse...or Will at about age 4.  Will the robot.  Yes, this took some time to accomplish. He loved it. We are not really into Halloween, especially now that these sweet boys are grown but those times were lots of fun for all of us.  We always tried to have fun and non-scary costumes. There is enough scary out there without acting it out.  My two cents worth. I have way too big of an opinion on this frightening day, so I will just keep it to myself and wish you a blessed and safe Halloween night. John 12:46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. Amy

Our youngest giant came over a few days ago and drug out all of our old photos to look at. He spent alot of time laughing at all of my old hair styles. Thank you very much. Yes, they are funny. What was I thinking? Why was there not a hair intervention for me? Did people not care? :) Anyway, the photo below the bad hair photo had us all smiling. My Grandparents- DaddyHollis and Mamamia. Wes does not remember her very well. Makes my heart hurt. She was such a gentle, precious person. Miss her.  She had so much fun with all of these rowdy boys.  We went to a lovely wedding on Saturday. It was so sweet it made me cry. Aren't these streamers fun? It was enchanting.  Wedding Cake in the sunshine. Case has been playing backup for the Texas Longhorns all season. This is him giving a short interview after the game on Sat. By the way- he came in and from behind helped the team score 2 touchdowns in about 3 or 4 minutes b...

Please take time to watch this video. It will bless you. Ann Voskamp and her idea of being thankful in every circumstance big and small no matter what seems elementary but it is so profound. Her blog has enriched and changed my life. It might yours too. With every word she points to God. http://www.aholyexperience.com/

Some days this is how I feel. Droopy and tired. This little plant is so incredibly sensitive. It is not really the kind I like to take care of. Touchy, touchy. I am like this little plant is lots of way though, so it is a good reminder. It I don't feed on the Word of God this is how I look spiritually, and how my attitude and even body language looks.  We need to feed on the Word daily to keep the droop away and to feel the joy surge through our hearts and bodies. I saw the lines written below somewhere last week and wrote them down. Sorry, I don't remember where it came from but I think it was from Ann Voskamp or Mary DeMuth. I have really been devouring the thoughts of both of these women. They are God searchers. I have never read such beautifully crafted words as these women write. On one hand I feel completely incompetent to type one more letter after reading how they weave thoughts and words together. Satan works on me that...

Isaiah 6:1-3 6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

 Not in the garden, but lovely. Some kind of sage I think.  Rogue squash plant. At least 20 feet from the garden area. Who knows.  Zinnias are taking over the veggies. Pretty.  Cabbage  Little bitty tomatoes. Grow little things, grow! There you have it. Blessings. Amy

Because look at what I would struggle to be thankful for if I could not see. Fall colors are glorious, and God's sunrises are ever changing and awesome. Blessings! Amy

You are the beloved of God. Created His child. Chosen His servant. May the Lord guard your heart. May He guide your steps. And may you find satisfaction in Him. Our ministry is God’s Mission. He who brings order out of chaos, calls us to be a peacemakers. (Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.) God is with the Peacemakers! He calls us to heal and encourage and call people into His character (merciful, gracious, slow to become angry, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness). And this is our character, too, right? That is what it means to be a Godly person. That is the work of our lives. That is what we are to be doing here on earth! Philippians 2:5-8 5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, 8 he humbled himself...

Isn't this lovely? The red checked curtains I particularly love. Of course- Red is just so yummy. I really wanted our dining room to look like the photo. I think the paint is close but I have to save my pennies to afford the curtains. I will post whenever that happens. These are just some old curtains put up to pass the penny pinching time. I do love it. The table is not a wonderful yellow but it is a warm honey-looking wood.  Happiness is something you decide ahead of time. So very true. Thought you might like to see these salvaged bar stools I bought at a resale store. I covered them in red. I am sure you are not shocked.  We will be ahead of the game come Christmas time. :) Just a thought for the day: The most important things in life are not things. I remind myself of this fact nearly everyday. Blessings. Amy

My title makes it sound like I am excited about this change. I actually really am. It is exciting to just strive to get healthy. After a blood test a few weeks ago it has been confirmed that I have Celiac disease. I pretty much knew this was going to be the case because of the stomach problems and severe itching on my legs and arms the past month or so. I am really writing this blog post first to share with you a wonderful, incredible person that has helped me so much health wise. Then, number two to share things we are doing differently because of the gluten problem and increasing our over all good health. This is my friend Kathy Stevens. Two summers ago I was really sick with stomach problems and with Epstein Barr Virus. If you have had mono, it felt alot like that. I had been taking anti-viral meds for months and they were not helping. When you have mono they say you never get rid of the EBarr virus in your body. We heard from a friend about Kathy and the things ...

I bet you thought I was going to talk about football? Nope, not this time. A town not too far away from where we live has what they call First Friday in their downtown area.  We had heard about it for months and last night went to see what all the fuss was about. We had a ball. Most all of the shops stayed open until late and on every other corner there where bands and guitar players and you name it.  Lots of music going on. It was so very cool. I loved that two of the bigger bands playing were playing Christian music.  There were a few horse drawn carriages clip clopping around all lit up.  There was a way cool old theater right downtown. This First Friday downtown event has a little bit of a 6th street (in Austin) feel with all of the music going on. 6th street done the clean, family way. Very, very cool. They show a kids type movie on the grass in a certain spot at the end of downtown. It was kind of like going back in ti...