Suddenly

I am reminded today of how God can be a God of suddenly type blessings. 


This came to my mind recently as I was busy with the children one afternoon a few weeks ago and my Husband called for me to come upstairs. I could only imagine. I just knew that one of the tiny people we live with had done something that was worthy of a "Honey, you are not going to believe this" type of moment.


We have lots of those around here.  But that wasn't it at all.


"Sit down and close your eyes!" He said with a grin from ear to ear.


I knew that look. He had a gift. 
And there isn't anyone who loves to give more than me, except for my husband.
He is an exceptional gift giver. It's not something that happens very often.
Rarely even for Christmas or birthdays. It's all about the kids here at our house. 
And I love that.


But suddenly and without warning. 
Without any knowledge. 
Completely and totally unexpectedly


A gift came.


Wrapped in my favorite colors and with a card attached was one of the sweetest things he's ever done. The tears poured forth as I unwrapped this beautiful package.
And at the same time I wondered where on earth my six foot five inches of 100 % Alpha male Husband had found pink polka dotted tissue paper and matching ribbon. 


And after years of waiting.....


Suddenly I was holding in my hands the very thing that helps me to communicate a love language all my own.


Inside that beautiful, thoughtful gift was a brand new camera.


Not just any camera.


But one that took me from shooting with 10 mega pixels to shooting with 18 megapixels.


I just went from good pictures to "You have got to be kidding me" pictures ~ overnight.


Most girls would not get excited over a new camera.


But this just so happens to be my thing.  


And this just about sent me over the edge and he new that it would.


I'm pretty sure I don't have any tears left after this little demonstration of love.


And isn't this just like God?


He knows what will make our hearts sing.


He knows what will just absolutely send us over the edge with gratitude and thanksgiving.


He knows what will bless us. Help us. Grow us. Teach us.


And suddenly He can give it.


Not because we deserve it. Not because we've earned it. But just because He decides to do so. Just because He loves us. 


We can go to sleep tonight praying and hoping for a baby of our own and then suddenly wake up one morning with two pink lines waiting for us on a bathroom counter.


Just like that.  Oh the joy.


We can go to sleep tonight staring at our left ring finger wondering to ourselves if there will ever be a band on that hand.....


Then suddenly and without warning it happens and before you know it~
you are buying your very own copy of Martha Stewart Weddings and talking about fondant and buttercream and other bride to be lingo. 


We can go to sleep tonight wondering what we are going to do ~


If the house doesn't sell.


If we don't get the job.


If the test doesn't come back positively.


If the agency doesn't call.


If they reject the proposal.


If they ignore your submission.


Then suddenly.....


You get the offer.


The house sells.


The test is good.


The baby is yours.


The check came.


The job opened up.


The blessing............ has your name on it this time.




Be encouraged during the season of waiting sweet friends. Whatever you are waiting for. 


God is a God of suddenly.


And He is about to take you from 10 to 18 megapixels right before your very eyes.


Click. Click. Get ready for your blessing.



Be still and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! ~ Psalm 47:10

Spring Forth

Photo Credit : Martha Stewart

She's here!

She finally made her arrival this weekend! Beautiful, glorious Spring! In celebration of this special occasion my wonderful friend Kellie of This Blessed Nest is hosting a Spring Fling Party today! You HAVE to stop by and take a peek into her craft room! Oh my happy spring goodness! It is one impressive makeover! Make sure you link up with your own spring post!

I wanted to create this beautiful egg shaped piece of spring heaven, complete with pearl pins for Kellie's party today and sit with a cup of my favorite tea and blog hop and look at all of your inspirational spring ideas!  

But when I thought about what I needed to do it was screaming for a makeover and I have just been putting it off for about as long as one can.

It's the place in our home where everyone just puts their stuff. There is so much stuff sitting in and on this space that it is hard to tell what this space is really meant to be! And to know me is to know that I do not like clutter. I like things clean and streamlined and very organized. I can't think when everything is a mess! 

So you can imagine how I must be feeling to look at this everyday................

As we say in the south when we are just not sure what to say.........Have you ever in your life?

Is that a lamp shade you ask?.....why yes it is. I'm sure your wondering what it is doing in the kitchen and the answer to that is that someone decided to wear it as a hat and dance around the kitchen while I was trying to cook dinner last week.  I love Motherhood. :)

Here is another shot with a wider view so that you can really grasp the full level of chaos!

I didn't bother opening the drawers for a picture, mainly because I could barely get them open!  But here is a picture of what was inside a few of the drawers.

Are you overwhelmed yet? Me too. 

That's why I decided to call in for reinforcements and asked Southern Butter to hightail it over to my house this weekend.  I sent Mr. P and G out for an entire day of birthday man stuff. Like a facial and a massage.

Here she is hard at work with the cutest baby in the world ~ Mr. Wiggles! I told her to put that baby down and help me sort, clean and organize! I was on mission Spring Fling and I did not have time to sit around and hold adorable babies!  Isn't he delicious though?

She did put him down for about two minutes. 

Long enough to pick up a hot cup of coffee and her cell phone. Ahem.

Meanwhile back at the ranch......one of us broke a sweat and brought some order in the house.  I am pleased to show you the results of our hard work.

Here it is! All I can say is that I can breathe. Finally. 

I took every single thing out of all of the cabinets and drawers and threw most of it away. 

I cleaned house! I kept only what I absolutely needed and loved. I did not buy anything new at all except for the fresh flowers!  

I wanted to use the left side of the cabinets for all of my cookbooks , recipes and cooking magazines and the right side for all of the kids craft stuff. 

I did not want anything on the desk top except white legal pads , pencils and my calendars.

Again. Clean and simple. Less is more for me.

I also love to drink hot tea and coffee and thought that this would inspire me to sit down during the day and gather my thoughts~ instead of writing my kids Doctors appointments down on the back of a gum wrapper.

Here is my file drawer. I filled each drawer with color coded files and folders and used one of my favorite inventions of all time to label each folder. I then took hundreds of pieces of paper and filed every single one in it's proper place. It was not easy, in fact it took me the entire weekend but now when the school needs a shot record, it will take me all of 5 seconds to locate it! This is a wonderful feeling!!

Here is a closer look at the desk and a few of my favorite things. 

Fresh flowers. My calendars. A teapot and my favorite tea. A black and white glossy of my babies. A candle, blank legal pads and a bouquet of pencils. 

The linen carry-all is what I take with me in the car to hold mail, bills, magazines, etc and I do my best to organize and sort while I am sitting in the car pool line every day. 

I also did a little floor move this weekend and created this spring reading nook for the children. I love to encourage reading and creating special places for them. You may remember the comfort closet post I wrote a year ago. I have yet to recreate that here in our new place but this will have to do for now! 

I would much rather them reach for a book about why we celebrate Easter than to sit in front of the television any day.  I put this little cabinet right behind the sofa in our family room hoping to encourage a lot more reading!

I bought some wheat grass to use to decorate with around the house and a little wheat grass seed so that the kiddies could also plant their own and watch it grow. They are learning about sowing good seeds, planting the love of Jesus and Springing Forth this Easter season! 

How are you spending the first week of Spring?

A Wee Bit

May there always be work for your hands to do.

May your purse always hold a coin or two.

May the sun always shine on your windowpane.

May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain.

May the hand of a friend always be near you.

May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

~ Irish Blessing~

Our day started out with a trail of gold chocolate coins and a wonderful hunt! Followed by a breakfast of Lucky Charms with green milk and green scrambled eggs! Then each of the children made their very own edible rainbows! They spent the rest of the day at an indoor playground and swimming at an indoor pool...... We are on spring break! I love days like this!


Hope you all have a beautiful and blessed week! Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The Color Of Hope

It has been said that green is the color of hope......

It is also the color of life, nature and growth.

It sings of spring and the season of Easter we hold so dear.

It is the color of health and vitality, energy and well being.

It marks the sign of the promise that He can and He will make all things new again.

all photos: Martha Stewart

It is most importantly the symbolic color for birth, life and renewal.

One would be hard pressed to mark this time of year without it.

It is the color of the first sprout in every flower bed or vegetable garden. 

It is the very color that He chose to paint the top of almost every tree and the 

stems of almost every flower. It is also the color he painted every blade of grass.

It truly is the color of hope.

Each and every spring as sprouts and bulbs perform their annual recital for us I am filled with a new sense of hope again. For every situation and circumstance. Each spring He reassures me that His promises are yes and Amen, and I breathe a deep sigh of relief and know that I know that I know that He is faithful and true to His word. 

Each spring as I fill my home with earthly reminders of new life and new beginnings I am reminded of His unending, unconditional, unmerited love for us. I am filled with a hope that is not from this world. I am reminded of a grave that could not hold Him and a peace and a love and hope that this glorious season represents.

So as you plant and sow and renew during this beautiful springtime may your homes be filled with all things green and your hearts be filled with the hope of glory.

Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be my son. "- Revelation 21:5-7

Morning Glory

Good Morning Sweet Readers!


Things have been a little overwhelming here for the last couple of weeks! The Mr. and I ended up with food poisoning after getting take out at a local restaurant. I have never had food poisoning before and I do not ever want it again. After barely recovering from that our entire family came down with "Stomach Bug 2010" which we have somehow survived the last two weeks. We then made a trip to the pediatrician only to find out that both of the babies had double ear infections and at the same time I came down with something that sounded like bronchitis but I never made it to the Dr. to find out exactly what it was.  


Pine -Sol has been my middle name for two weeks.


Deep breaths.


The laundry is piled high. And I do mean high.


I'm thinking about showing you a picture.
But you wouldn't believe it. 
I'm practically doing the splits to step across the piles in the laundry room 
just so I can get to the dryer. 
I can't remember what is in the dryer mind you. 
But there is a lot of praying going on that it is somebody's uniform for school.




The house is a mess and I'm not really sure what day it is today. Can you relate? :)


We are potty training.
We are teething times two.
We are losing teeth.
We are climbing out of cribs.
We have escaped out of one crib tent- the deluxe version. 
We have an escapee.
Which has been added to the mix. Older brother and sister are professionals.
The oldest two are in bed with me every night- and do not sleep through the night. Gasp.

Potty training has been successful. 

Miss Pearl gets to wear her fluffy shoes and we all stand in the bathroom and "cheer" for her afterwards.

And then in turn she now "cheers" for us. Every single time.

I have never been cheered for while using the potty.

It is hysterical.

And I want to write and blog about it all. 
And I want to read and comment and catch up with each one of you. 

But someone is usually sitting on my computer.

Or on my keyboard.

Or at my feet.

Or under my desk.

And it makes it very hard to concentrate. Or type. Or read.

In addition, 
Mr. Pearls and Grace is still commuting- from another state. 
He is only home on the weekends. Ahem. 


On good days it can make you feel like you are dating again. The phone calls. The airport pick ups and drop offs. The occasional card. The anticipation of getting to see each other every weekend.


On other days it can make you feel like you are a single Mother with five children. 
Completely and solely responsible for every single person, place and thing.
It is a heavy load and a sea of emotions and after nearly eight months of doing this solo - 
I think it's all beginning to catch up with me.
I do not have any help or any family who help in anyway.  
It's just me. 
Well me and Jesus. Thank goodness for Him. 


I have never been pressed like this before and so I press in as best as I can. And I am so thankful for His mercy and His grace. For His renewing love and kindness that He continues to pour out every morning. I know that it is the only reason I have been able to endure this season of trusting Him on a new level for as long as I have.

In other news the beautiful Shannon of Southern Beauty Magazine was kind enough to have me stop by and visit. Scratchy voice and all. You are welcome to listen if you don't mind the cold!  We talk about how I do not have a beauty routine - but wish I had one, the ministry of Motherhood and my love for the Lord and his precious daughters. They were so wonderful and I enjoyed every minute of it!

All Things Charming Show

                                             http://www.blogtalkradio.com/sobeautymag

And lastly.....
Thankfully we were able to retrieve and salvage my Blissdom/Harry Connick Jr. pictures!
I will be back with that Elle Woods part two post soon and you will get to see why on earth I carried my glue gun to Blissdom! Many Blessings!!