From a Thanful Heart...

It really is a blessing to be homeschooled. Well, as part of our school, Mama requires that we take piano. Well, sometimes I really don't like to take piano and just think of it as a pain! The other day we were in town and I had my recital book with me, it needed to be bound. As we stood in line waiting to get my book back this sweet little lady came up and wanted some pictures of her granddaughter copied. As she got the pictures out I looked at her hand. On her right hand, she had only a thumb. That really made me think. I was like, "You are standing here, getting your piano book fixed and you are complaining about it! And here is a lady with only one finger on her right hand." That made me really thankful, not only that I can play the piano, but that I have all my fingers, that I am healthy and have the opportunity to take piano. When the sales associate handed me my book back, the little lady's husband asked me what kind of music it was. I told him it was piano and that we were homeschooled. He then told me that when he was little he had the opportunity to take piano but he didn't want to and now he wishes that he could play and his wife said that I better be thankful that I know how to play. I am now trying to be ever so thankful for the opportunity to learn and play the piano.

Thank you Lord,
For my mother who has taken the time to stay at home with me and teach me,
and for my daddy who makes the sacrifice so that I can take piano lessons.
Amen.

Jeremiah 29 10b-13

10But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and bring you home again.
11For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.
They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
12In those days when you pray, I will listen.
13You will find me when you seek me, if you look for me in earnest.

Dear Lord,
Please bring Sweet Pea and J Man home soon!
Thank you for bringing us through all that you have!
Thank you for all that you have done for us!
Amen.

Hey Everybody...

I just got a new blog going! I would love it if you would stop by!

Blessedcooking.blogspot.com

God Bless,
Joy.

Life is Precious

Life is precious, priceless, a gift and so much more. This is what was the minds of many Thursday, January, 22nd. In that many was me, Grace*, Hope, two dear friends and two pasters, as we stood on the lawn outside the courthouse in our town and prayed. You may ask why we did this, Thursday, January 22nd, 1973 the case of Roe vs. Wade was settled. Abortion was made legule on this day. Now, thirtysix years later, this slaughter of innocent lives has killed 43 million children. This is why we gathered and prayed. We prayed that this act of abortion would be aborted, that the ones who have done this would be forgiven, that those considering to do this would be set on the right path, that we, as Christians, in a free nation would have the courage to take a stand against this act of murder. We prayed for the hearts of the leaders of our nation, that they would be softened, that they ask for forgiveness and that they would have the wisdom to do what it will take to lead our country in this crisis. And that our country must be brought to its knees and if bringing us to our knees with our economy and finances, then, let it be! Please join me in praying for President Obama, Vice President Biden, Sec. of State, Mrs. Clinton and all the many others. What all they believe we know is not right, but, who changed his heart right before he died and was still forgiven? The theif on the cross. If that theif, who commited crimes and was condemned to death because of them and still asked for forgiveness, humbled himself and was forgiven, then anyone can! Please, if you feel so led, please join me in praying for our nation, abortion, the leaders of our nation and the new genaration that is rising up, that we would have the courage to stand during this time of crumbling and hold our standards high for the Lord!

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I am humbled at the fact that Christ forgave me and loves me and is preparing a place for me. He has forgiven me and He will forgive anyone!

God Bless,
Joy.
"There are two things that I am sure of. That I am a great sinner. And Christ is a great Savior!"
Amazing Grace.

Our Quick Visit to the Cousin's

Hello to all! This past weekend we had to make quick trip to the Cousin's! The Lord has blessed Noel with a device called a VNS, it has helped her epilepsy oh so very much! It is a lot like a Pacemaker, but for your brain instead of your heart. Well, the battery in it is dieing and the surgery needs to be done up here so, at 7:00 on Friday night we left out! I don't think I have ever gotten that much stuff packed into two days ever! It was great! God kept us safe, blessed our time together, and we had many laughs, smiles, hugs and kisses from little ones! OK, lets see if I can be concise about what all we did,

• Friday: Went to a funeral from 2:00-4:30, then left out at 7:00pm, arrived at destination at 3:00am
• Saturday morning and afternoon: This time was spent with the Cousin's outside, playing the Wii, and games on the computer (for those of us talented enough!)
• Saturday Afternoon: At this time we went to Darell's parent's house. His mom fixed us a wonderful super and we had a great time! Then we went to Darell's house (I haven't even known him long and that sounds weird). There we watched Pride and Prejudice.
• Sunday Morning and Afternoon: God blessed us with an AWESOME church service! I always love going to the Cousin's church! Evangelist Rick Coram preached. Then after church Darell came to the Cousin's and had lunch with us! Aunt Renee is such a good cook! And she has eleven amazing helpers!
  
• Sunday Evening: Darell took us to a place that he and Noel like to go to. THE BEACH!!! We didn't get to stay long because it started to rain. :( Then Daniel, his brother met us for pizza and ice cream! Thanks Darell! We had a blast!!!
• Monday: This was the sad, last day. But Daddy was gracious and let us leave in the afternoon instead of the morning. WoW! I didn't realize how much we had done!
  
• OH!!! And when we got home Monday night do you know what was in our mailbox?!?!?!? We are approved by C.I.S. to bring two orphans into the U.S.A.!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you Lord and thanks everyone for all of your prayers!!!

Well, so much for being concise.

Here are some pics of our blessed weekend!!

Eben, Smiley and Aunt Renee!
We love you guys!

Our little twinkies,
do you notice anything?

My sister has her "own" kitchen!
It is so weird to think that in August my sister will be living here!

Keeping the little ones occupied before we leave for church.

Twp peas in a pod! Haha!
Hope helping fix lunch Sunday after church.

Smiley makin' 'em run for it!

Daddy's little girl!

He is going to be such a good daddy!

The love birds took us to the beach!
Even though we didn't get to stay long we had a lot of fun!!
We had enough time for some pictures, a race and even some tears.

It was amazing being able to take off our shoes and walk on the beach in JANUARY!
God is so awesome!
You may be wondering why above I said "even some tears." As I stood on the beach looking East I just wished that I could run across the Atlantic, and hug Sweet Pea and J Man and bring them home! Oh how I want them to be home! Up until that moment, I believed that we were adopting, but it was like RIGHT then that I realized, that two of a my siblings are thousands of miles away from me and my family where they belong! How I long for them to be home. Thank you for all your prayers and please continue to pray as you are lead.

Well, on a lighter note, there is a funny story (at least for me) about this restaurant. A lot of times Noel and Darell will go to the beach, meet his family here, eat pizza together then go get ice cream. Well, since they do that a lot they wanted to show it to us. Well, when Noel would tell us about doing this, she just said they would go to "the loop." Well, I thought that they just made a loop when they went to these three places. When I told them that it was really funny! So, if you ever have wondered, "The Loop" is a restaurant.

Then we went to ice cream!
Thanks for such a fun evening Darell and thanks for joining us Daniel!

Who do you think is going to be an AWESOME mother and happy to have her hands full one day?
I know!

This Little Lady Bug walked all the way up the stairs with these shoes on!
Do you think she like shoes? Maybe, she just sleeps with them!

WE WILL BE BACK!!!!

WE ALREADY MISS Y'ALL!!
LOVE AND HOPE TO SEE YOU GUYS SOON!

God Bless,
Joy.
"There are two things I am sure of. That I am a great sinner. And Christ is a great Savior."

Last Night...

Last night as many were at church or at home, Mama was at a very dear cousin's house. This dear lady has been such a blessing to our family. Every year at family reunion she always brought so much food, smiles hugs and so much more! She never failed to tell everyone hello and make you feel welcome. Not much after our reunion on the Fourth of July, this dear one was diagnosed with cancer. She was told that she about a year and a half left. She had the best spirit of anyone you could think of. Tuesday we got a call saying that her liver was completely covered with cancer she then taken off her meds. Last night, when Mama was there visiting her, she not visited with her, she witnessed a faithful servant walk into the presence of the Lord. Mama said she had experienced the peace that went over her. Please keep this dear family in your prayers. Thank you very much!

God Bless,
Joy.
"I know two things. That I am a great sinner. And Christ is a great Savior."

Picture Perfect

The Lord blessed us with a lot of food, fellowship, laughs, joy and much more this CHRISTmas!
There was some sadness because of the two missing. Please keep them in your prayers and thank you for all the prayers that you already have said for them!

Mama cooked an awesome meal on CHRISTmas day! Thank you for always cooking for us and never expecting anything in return! Well, one thing and what you always say sums it up,

"You eat you clean!"

Thanks Mama for teaching us how to cook with such patience and helping us learn to clean as a team!

God Bless,
Jot.
"There are two things I know. That I am great sinner. And Christ is a great Savior."

Our Blessed CHRISTmas!

Here are a few pictures from a very blessed CHRISTmas!

Buddy was very thankful for the new flash that he could use when going to the barn!
It is awesome see what he was content with!Little Man got his Tractor Supply toys! He was so EXCITED!
It was a wagon holdup (what we found funny about this was that there was an Army in the middle of it!).

Baby Girl is growing up SO FAST!
Isn't she GORGEOUS?!

Noel and her Florida winter clothes!
She is so happy!

Hope got a J.Crew sweater!
Our little fashion bug!

Mama has been needing a coat, but, as you all know, she would NEVER buy one for herself!
So, Daddy asked Hope to find one online and she did!
I think in this picture she is saying,
"YOU DIDN'T?!?!?"

The Lord blessed us with a lot of sister time!
Baby Girl and Noel are very close!
Their relationship is so sweet!

The Friday after CHRISTmas, Noel and Darell had super with our AWESOME aunt and uncle!
They are such a blessing!

I don't know what I would do without Hope!

CHRISTmas dinner!
Thank you Mama for always cooking so selflessly for us all!
You are the most wonderful mother that anyone could EVER ask for!

And next year we will have two beautiful faces around the table!
Little Jesse is so cute!It seems as though Jubilee is going to fulfill the meaning of her name!

I hope that you all had a very blessed CHRISTmas and that the celebration of our Savior's birth will not end when what we American's call, "The CHRISTmas Season" ends. May we keep this season in our hearts all year and never forget nor take for granted what our Lord has done for us!

Thank you,
Lord for all that you have blessed us with!
One blessing is immeasurable and you have given us countless blessings!
Thank you again and again!
Amen.

God Bless,
Joy.

“There are two things I know. That I am a great sinner, and Christ is a great Savior”. Amazing Grace