My Trip Home

Cody and Briannah having fun at Mema and Papa's House.

So, we are back from our trip home. Whew! It was so worth it though. Everything worked out with my daycare lady for those of you who were privileged to hear that story. There are lots of pictures, so there are many blogs after this one explaining them. We went to Adam's alot, and to the Zoo with Lisa, Josh,Katy, and lauren, to my dad's, and to Ohio to visit one of my very best friends Tiffany. I had a great time, and I can't wait to move home. These pictures are of my brother Adam with Cody, Adam and his soon to be wife Teri, Adam and Addison, my sister Lisa and cody at the zoo, and of course, my first time seeing Addison, literally, I walked in taking pictures. We had lots of fun at the zoo till a tornado hit the surronding area! My father in law said"that will teach you to come home in the spring huh?" Anyways, it was a fantastic time, as you will see in the upcoming blogs. Amy

Addison Nicole

I am a aunt, finally! Oh, my heart is breaking! I want to be there more than anything in the world. I hate being so far away. I think i'm crying more now than when I had my own kids. She is so beautiful. I will write more later.

"We love the truth as it is in Jesus; and nothing but that will satisfy us."
Charles Spurgeon

Thoughts

So, I'm sitting back tonight, just thinking about life, mine in particular, and trying to look at it from a bigger aspect. How frustrated God must get with me! I know he really does'nt, that he loves me no matter how long I take to do his will, or come back to him, or remeber to thank him for the numerous blessings in my life. But I would be frustrated with me. I'd be ready to give up!
Lord, I thank you for all the blessings you give me each and everyday, right down to waking up each morning with another breath in my chest. For my family, for my friends, for getting my attention and showing me what a life with you can be like. Which I would'nt even have if it was'nt for your awesome grace and love. What a wonderful love it is, just thinking about all the mistakes I've made, the people I've wronged, all the times I turned my back on you, and you are always there with open arms, ready to fill me up again.
We have been studying the fruits of the spirit (love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfullness gentleness and selfcontrol) and last week was faithfullness. What an amazing week it was. So often I struggle with my faith, especially when so many around me don't share it. Who can blame them? It is so hard to trust something that you can't see, how do you know it's real? Everything in the world revolves around instant gratification, having it all, right now.
I know that I struggle with the believing part of it. SO many times I wonder if what I think is going on is really God working in my life or Satan. Is that something that God wants me to change, or is it Satan getting me to stumble again?
That's when the word of God comes in. EVERYTHING is in there! Oh and God will speak so clearly to you when you let him! He is just waiting there, patiently, for you to come and find out WHO he is. He wants you to know. I am really trying to spend time in the word everyday, consistently, and it can be really hard. But then when I spend time with Him, learning about WHO He is, the peace and joy that comes is more than worth it. Talk about your INSTANT GRATIFICATION! WOW! So many people search their whole lives for something this amazing. They spend so much time and energy, and money, and here it is: it is instant, and free!
Father God, I praise you! I pray that you would continue to reveal yourself to me, WHO you are, not what you do in my life. Please help me to see your will for my life and to accept it with an open heart and mind. Help me to have faith and beleive you at your word. In Jesus Name, Amen

Briannah's New Look

On friday we went to walmart, and there was a little boy there getting his ears pierced. Briannah decided that she wanted it done too. I was'nt sure about it at first, but she was really sure that she wanted to do it, and I had always said that it was a decision she needed to make, and she was ready! She didn't even cry! I have more pictures, but I will have to wait until tonight to put them on-So long for now!
Love Amy

Wow, I'm tired

Whew..........so who knew? (definitely my aunt deb-) Taking care of twins is hard! But they are so cute, and it definitely makes the days pass. Right now I am catching up on some much needed house work, and I have a show tonight, who is also a possible recruit. Keep your fingers crossed.

I am really having a great time in the bible study that I'm doing. It's amazing what the Lord is doing............I'm really learning alot.

So.....it's been a good week, tiring, but good. I'm gonna go spend some time with the kiddos. Luv you all, Amy

Valentines Day

Briannah and Sally

Thursday afternoon we all got cards from Grandma and Grandpa Thompson, and when Cody opened his card-wow!-he saw the money and ran around talking about how he was going to get some treats! It was so funny. I thought I would take some pictures of him, being so possesive of his money. He would'nt let anyone touch it. It was really funny. Usually I just have them open the cards with me and and they give it to me so I can hold it-but not this time. You should have seen their faces when they saw stickers too! (Briannah said " This is the best Balentines day ever!That's not a mis-print, that's how she sounds when she says it!) Then later on in the afternoon we also got a package from Grandma Tish-and that was just the icing on the cake. On monday she got a card from Grandpa and Grandma Tish-with feathers in it from her chicken "Sally". I'll have to put some pictures of "Sally" and Briannah on here so everyone can see. She is so proud of the chicken that Pa Pa Tish gave her. IT WAS A WONDERFUL VALENTINE'S DAY, thank you all for the cards and gifts. Love Amy

Twins

So the daycare is officially running. My first call was for 9 week old twins! Then I got a call for a 3 yr old boy. It turns out that I will probably take the twins and then just take my name off the list till I know that I can handle the pressure! We got to meet them on Tuesday, and they are SO cute. I really pray that God will do amazing things through this daycare. Even if the only thing he does is provide a way for us to get out of the military and move home.
We got our first snowfall of the year here, but it's back to the 50-60 degree weather, and the snow is gone. But the kids loved it while it lasted.
I'll keep everyone posted on the updates, and will post more pictures when dad comes home to stay on the 23rd.

Daycare Update

My daycare is complete! I had my last inspection today, and I'm seeing God really work in some amazing ways! I've been really nervous about these inspections-I've been praying that if this is really what God wants that he would make the path smooth-that everything would happen without any setbacks from these inspections. And for both inspections, it could'nt have gone better! So now I am ready to go forward with this process, and I can't wait to see what God is going to do next!

The will of God

The Will of God

The will of God will never take you………
Where the grace of God cannot keep you,
Where the arms of God cannot support you,
Where the riches of God cannot supply your needs,
And Where the power of God cannot endow you.

The will of God will never take you……….
Where the Spirit of God cannot work through you,
Where the wisdom of God cannot teach you,
Where the army of God cannot protect you,
Where the hands of God cannot mold you.

The will of God will never take you………..
Where the love of God cannot enfold you,
Where the mercies of God cannot sustain you,
Where the peace of God cannot calm your fears,
And Where the authority of God cannot overrule you.

The will of God will never take you………..
Where the comfort of God cannot dry your tears,
Where the Word of God cannot be done for you,
Where the miracles of God cannot be done for you,
And Where the omnipresence of God cannot find you.

Everything happens for a reason. We may not be able to see it now, but trust Him. If we love God and are called according to His plan, He will make everything that happens to us fit into a pattern for good.

Clubhouse

Yesterday we spent the day at home getting ready for Daddy to come home for the weekend. I built the kids a "clubhouse" - you know, the kind where you throw a bunch of blankets over chairs. Anyways, it was really cute. And with Tyson being home I'm sure we will have more pictures soon. Amy

Happy Groundhog Day!

I don't know how we can wish for six more weeks of winter/six weeks of spring if there has not been any winter yet! But whatever!

Leave comments!

My son the smurf

So we were fingerpainting tonight and I was letting the kids do their own thing while I cleaned up dinner-and apparently Cody's ambition in life is to be a smurf! Too funny! Here are some pictures of what happens when you let your kids paint without close supervison.

The Aloha Dress

This is Briannah in her "Aloha" Dress. She got this from my mom, and loves it. I almost could'nt get her out of it to put on her pajama's!

Up and Running..........

So my daycare is almost up and running-I had my pre-inspection today, and it went well. I'm really excited about the change this is going to bring in my life. I was so hesitant to start this daycare, and really got the ball rolling just out of sheer obedience to my husband - but since then God has shown me so many ways to further his kingdom through this. I will be forced to stick to a schedule-something I strongly dislike and is totally against my nature. But will do wonders for my children, they will learn that the world does'nt revolve around them, and so many other life skills will be taught to them through this experience.

I'm doing a bible study called "Living Beyond Yourself" by Beth Moore-it's a study on the fruit of the spirit- but I did'nt even think of learning about the Holy Spirit before learning about the fruit of them. Oh how naive I have been. I've been closely walking with the Lord now for 5 years, and I was close to the point where I felt like I was getting to know everything, that I was really getting it, and before I knew it that good old pride comes in. Oh how our loving father so wisely corrected me! Sometimes when you won't listen any other way, you have to hit rock bottom and let Him restore you to where he wants you. And if you have ever been there-(rock bottom)- then you understand where I have been for the past year or so.

But so amazing is His love for us, and how gently is He showing me all the things I've been
missing. How selfish and self-centered I have been! But Praise Him, he knows that all, he knows me better than I know myself. He know every wicked way in me, and he loves me anyways. Better yet, he works on conforming me to the image of His Son. How very blessed indeed.

I am sometimes questioned why I believe, or why I am a Christian. Better yet why do I do the things I do or live by the standards that I live? "It feels so good to serve yourself! " the world calls. But oh the peace that reigns in my soul when I spend time with Him. I could never get tired of it. "He restores my soul"(pslam 23:3) No drink, or drug, person, relationship, NOTHING can do for me what God does. Period.

Cody's Birthday

So we had Cody's birthday! My boy is getting so big! Tyson was able to come for an extra long weekend, and we had a really good time. On Cody's birthday, we all went to Applebees, and had lunch. The kids are used to going to the Applebee's in Maine, where our good friend Ms. Katy works, so we had to pre-activity them that she would'nt be there! We had a great lunch, and that night we had the Compton's over for a Barbque, and Cake and Icecream. He loved his presents, and blew out all his candles on the first try! Now he is happy to tell anyone who will listen that he is "1,2,1,2,3!" Yeah!

Mom's Translation

This is part of a devotional I do(Our Daily Bread). This really touched my heart, being a mom, and I pray that everyday I can live like God wants me to live, so that I can touch others with Christ's Love. Especially my children and family. ~Amy

Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel. —Ezra 7:10

Four pastors were discussing the merits of the various translations of the Bible. One liked a particular version best because of its simple, beautiful English. Another preferred a more scholarly edition because it was closer to the original Hebrew and Greek. Still another liked a contemporary version because of its up-to-date vocabulary.

The fourth minister was silent for a moment, then said, "I like my mother's translation best." Surprised, the other three men said they didn't know his mother had translated the Bible. "Yes," he replied. "She translated it into life, and it was the most convincing translation I ever saw."

Instead of discussing translation preferences, this pastor reminded them that the most important focus should be learning God's Word and doing it. That was the top priority of Ezra's life. As a scribe, he studied the Law, obeyed it, and taught it to the Israelites (Ezra 7:10). For example, God commanded His people not to intermarry with neighboring nations who served pagan gods (9:1-2). Ezra confessed the nation's sin to God (9:10-12) and corrected the people, who then repented (10:10-12).

Let's follow Ezra's example by seeking the Word of God and translating it into life. —Anne Cetas


When we take time to read God's Word,
Our heart is filled with pleasure;
So let's relate the truth we've heard—
With others share the treasure. —Hess

The best commentary on the Bible is a person who puts it into practice.

Christmas.........just joking

So now that I'm done with the Christmas pictures, here are some new ones, not of christmas. These are the kids before church on Sunday, and Briannah is in the new dress that her Grandma Welles got her. We really had a great time at Christmas, and really appreciate all the gifts everyone sent. The kids really loved them. It looks like Tyson will be able to come home for a long weekend over Cody's birthday. He will be three on the 13th. I just can't believe it. But then again, we have grandparents and parents reading, so I guess they know better than even I do about how fast it goes. Boy does it make your heart ache.
Cody has a new haircut too-actually it's the same, just shorter. Aren't they the cutest? Yeah I'm kinda partial, but they do tend to take my breath away. What precious gifts from God! ~Amy

Christmas Again (and again and again...........)

So here are some of the last of the Christmas pictures. These are the gifts from my mom and dad (Gma and Gpa Tish) Briannah just loved the sewing machine. I'm always on mine and now she can join in! Love, Amy