The elf

His nickname is quickly becoming 'the elf' because he LOVES wearing this hat I made for him around the house. His little ears stick out and he reminds me of an elf...haha! No matter what, he's still a cutie!

I'm weak...be my strength

It was a miserable day. Rainy, dark, gray, cloudy......... Then the downpour! We were out driving with the wipers on high speed, not able to see but a few feet in front of you. Just a miserable day....... the storm had come.
then.....

We got the call today that hubby didn't get the job. His only prospect.....gone. What do we do now? We were talking about how easy it is for the words to come out of your mouth "Our God will provide".....but oh how much harder it is to actually feel it in your heart and soul. It's getting scary! Living on your last paycheck....
How weak I am. I can feel it and I know it. It's shameful really. I've seen God provide in the past. I've seen how He has taken care of us. I know He will....
I need God's strength. I need His peace. I need to look to the Word.......
but you know what happened by the time we got home...

the storm stopped. It was clear and sunny and beautiful outside. The storm was just for a short while, to serve its purpose for growth of the flowers, trees, grass.....
We covet your prayers while we go through our storm. Our storm for the purpose of growth.... growth that is obviously needed! God knows what He is doing.
I'm looking forward to after the storm...and how we will be able to share the goodness of our Lord! But please pray for us as we experience the not-so-nice 'growing' pains :)
It is all for His glory!

Almost got 'em!

Well, here is my attempt at getting another shot of this little guy. Came in a little clearer today :) They are such tiny birds!!

Hubby had his second phone interview. Hopefully we will hear something soon! He thought it went pretty good......so we wait.....

And, Happy Anniversary to my Mom and Dad. It's been 37 years!!!! Congratulations!

We have hummingbirds!!

We put the feeder up just a day or two ago and we have hummingbirds!!! If I thought it was hard taking pictures of birds sitting still on the other feeders, it's IMPOSSIBLE taking pictures of a tiny, moving hummingbird eating :)

I snapped this shot this morning but you can't really make out the bird in it....but it's there!

Our daughter was the first to spot one yesterday. She was so excited saying there was a little green hummingbird at the feeder. Since I don't think she has ever seen one before, I was a little sceptical yesterday (sorry sweetheart!) but hubby said this morning he saw one! So I grabbed my camera and watched as we ate breakfast this morning and sure enough.....there was the little green hummingbird. How exciting!!!! Hopefully I'll be able to get some better shots...but I doubt it!!!
(he is on the left of the feeder blending in with the leaves)

We've also been eating lunch on the deck for the past week. So far, the bluejays have become accustom to us and will come and feed. The feeders are set up right on the deck, and it's been interesting seeing them a little closer than through the window. The kids still get so excited when they come close, especially our youngest one!! He says 'bird' very clearly and jumps up and down when one flies by :)

Anniversary cake

I was happy the cake turned out well, but I wasn't totally happy with the final product. I guess that is more of my perfectionist side coming out. The swags on the bottom tier did not look the way I wanted it too but overall I was glad it turned out and people did say they liked it....
I actually got another cake order tonight!!!! That was exciting :) It will be for about 50 people. I thank the Lord that He is bringing orders through... I didn't know if it would really turn into anything!

Please continue to pray about the job situation. Hubby has not heard back about the second interview and so far there are no other leads at the moment. I can see the stress it is having on him, but we remind ourselves that God is in control!! :)

All-nighter

making cake......making icing......decorating....it will be all night!!!!
I'll post pictures tomorrow :)

Potty training???

Our 19 month old went and grabbed a new diaper, got up on the couch and laid down, all without saying a word. He did not want his wet diaper on anymore.......do I hear the potty calling????

Powerful video!

This is a powerful one hour video! Thanks for sharing Heather.

Watch Death is not Dying by Rachel Barkey.
A young mother of 2 dying from cancer sharing her love for the Lord.

Today

Hubby is glad the phone interview is over! *smile* He was nervous and thought it went O.K. We will hopefully hear by the end of the week if he will be moving on to the next interview....so here's praying and hoping!!!
And...Happy Birthday to my sister-in-law! Can't wait to have cake tonight :)

Interview

Hubby has a phone interview tomorrow morning. Please pray with us that all will go well. Since it is getting harder for hubby to breath, he is quite nervous about his labored breathing....Pray that God will give him wisdom and a calm spirit. If all goes well with the phone interview, I believe the next step is a face to face interview. This looks like a good company and one which he hopes will work out. A guy he used to work with at his current job has been working at this company for the past 2 years or so. It would be nice for hubby to see a familiar face :)
We will let you know how things go!

This and that

Well, the weekend has come and gone!
We were suppose to get together with family at the park but we had rain on Saturday, so it was cancelled.
We enjoyed our service at church today....we had a missionary from Haiti with us for the morning whom we've known for about 10 years. The kids were so excited to see him again. He is a native of Haiti and a very sweet man.
I'll also be doing a cake this weekend....a big one!! I'm excited and nervous. I think I'm going to try a new raspberry filling this time (I don't know if that is wise not having tested it before but we will pray all goes well!!!)
Still no news about a new job or even an interview. It seems to be slim pickin's here but I know God will provide something!
I'm anticipating my ultrasound coming up in 2 weeks. I'm nervous about that too.....
So other than that, I pray we have a great week ahead and you as well!

One answered prayer!

We went to hubby's appointment today for his throat. He can tell he is about 40% closed up and thinks he can last another 2 months before surgery. His surgery's are actually starting to get farther and farther apart! He was going every 3 months but this last surgery lasted him 8 months! Anyway...on to the good part of today!!
We sat in the room with the nurse as she asked us the normal prep questions before seeing the doctor. We explained to her that hubby has unfortunately been off his medicine since the beginning of the year because of financial reasons. His meds are $300 a month and we just weren't able to afford them but I told her to go and write up a prescription anyway for us (because hubby's health is just too important to be missing his medicine like that). She told us out of all the samples their office gets, they are flooded with this particular medicine he needs. She has so many samples of it she went and gave us a whole month's worth and told us to call each month and she would mail us some....FREE!!!!!!!! I almost started crying right there on the spot!! I keep reassuring myself the Lord will provide for us during this time of lay off and finding a new job, but WOW!
It doesn't stop there though....he went in for his check up with the doctor and although he is closing back up again, his throat looked really good! No inflammation or white spots that a usual active larynx shows. The doctor told us he has no explanation....hubby should be on the medicine but because everything looks really great, he can stay off it for now!
So, not only do we thank God for His provision of this medication for free when we need it, but we thank God that hubby doesn't even need to be on it right now!
It was just a really encouraging day for me.....now off to take a nap :)

Updates...

A few updates....
Hubby found out (through my brother...thank you!) that it is mandatory for the state to continue your health insurance for up to 6 months! This is a blessing with his surgery coming up and all my appointments over the next several months. One thing we need prayer about is for the actual delivery. Our insurance would run out the end of November and baby is due the middle of December, so hospital room etc will not be covered. If baby would like to come 2 weeks early or so...then that would work out great! *smile* From all the insurance plans we've looked at, if you sign up with a new insurance while ALREADY pregnant, maternity is NOT covered. We're looking at alot of medical finances this year so we could definitely use prayer that the Lord will meet these needs.
Hubby also has an appointment with his throat doctor tomorrow for a check up. We know he will be needing another surgery within the next month or 2. I know he would like prayer....he never enjoys the tubes being shoved through his nose and down his throat to check things out at these appointments :)
No real update on me as of yet. Still waiting for my scheduled ultrasound on June 1. I am currently in my 9th week. Still feeling gross....napping alot :) Please pray that we would hear wonderful news on June 1. It is always a scary time....wondering if all will be well. I think the 2 oldest are finally in agreeance that they want a baby sister. Have to wait and see???
Please continue to pray that hubby will find a job. He's been working with a recruiter getting his resume out, so we pray something will turn up quickly!!
....and.....Happy Anniversary (yesterday) to my brother and sister-in-law on 9 years!!

He reads!

Here is an excerpt of our reading lesson today. This was a new page for him. We've been reading about 5 pages a day. Here is the text he was reading in the video. (We are still working on 'the'...that's a tricky word :)
The Van
The van is big.
Men sit in the van.
Ten men will fill the van.

Not bad for an almost 4 year old huh !?!

A new lifestyle begins....

In all things give thanks.......

We expected it and it has happened....hubby has been laid off. Deep breath....
It was a small company which leads to more complicated issues as well. No severance pay, not able to add on COBRA for health insurance.....
We are basically floating down stream fast, with no paddles, hanging on for dear life!
BUT
God is steering our boat :)
God controls the winds and waves....
God whispers "Peace..be still" and there was a great calm.
My heart does not want to be calm, I struggle....
'Time to grow you Alissa' ......Not something I really want to hear.
But I am willing Lord, willing to accept this path and forge ahead knowing you are leading, knowing you will take care of us, knowing you love us!

So here we go.....

Happy Mother's Day

Oh what a privilege to be a mom! What an awesome responsibility to help mold and guide the lives of those little ones God has placed in our care for a short while. What a blessing to be hugged by so many little arms and kissed by those precious faces. Oh what a job...to be caregiver, teacher, nurse, disciplinarian....an example of Jesus Christ to them. What a joy to hear 'I love you' from their mouths!
I can't tell you how God has blessed me with my 3 children. He has answered the desires of my heart and continues to do so despite the fact that I am so undeserving! My biggest fear as a mother is failure. Failure that I will not be the Godly mother they need, that I am commanded to be. I so want to raise them to the best of my ability and my prayer is that with the Lord's help I will do just that. I have prayed to God that He might bless us with children if it would bring Him honor and glory. I want to raise warriors for Him....lights in this world of darkness....examples of Christ to show others God's love....
I love being a mom!! It's the most wonderful job in the world!.....tiring at times but amazing :)
Thank you to my mom who is such an encourager to me and continued support. Thank you for your love and sacrifice! I praise God for you!
Happy Mother's Day to all you Mom's!!!

Training Wheels

We got big sister's old bike out and popped the training wheels on, dressed in our new helmet, ready to tackle the art of bike riding. We do not have flat ground, so bike riding can be difficult to learn in the beginning! His first day had a few scrapes and a lot of frustration but it will come in time :) Then we finished the evening with some chalk drawing in the drive way (followed by baths!!!)

Too eager....jumped on without the training wheels yet and fell

wrote his numbers 1-20

Growth spurt

Seems as though our son is going through a growth spurt! Every article of clothing he puts on seems to have gotten shorter and he's always wanting to eat!! (maybe that's just boys in general :) He will be turning four in a couple months which is so hard to believe! He is already talking about his birthday and cake (I believe it is trains this year). We had a big accomplishment today in school. After months and months of working on our numbers, he finally counts to 20! He would always forget 13, then when he finally figured out where 13 went....15 seemed to disappear. Now I think he's finally got it and he's been counting all day long :)

Dancing Princess

Amidst the noise and chaos of boys with their pop guns, fighting enemy 'pillows'... stands a lonely princess dancing unnoticed to those around her....she twirls and spins....humming a song and dreaming of her prince charming....

teaching letters

Since our son has his little letters all learned now, our spelling tests are being written in small letters. You can see his little mind working as he tries to switch in his mind from capitals to small letters before he writes on paper. I actually just read an article that spoke against teaching kids their capital letters first.
It was saying....we teach our kids to write their names all in capital letters, then tell them forget that...it's not right....now do it in all small letters with only with first as a capital.....
It makes sense when you think about it. So now I have to rethink how I'm going to approach teaching letter writing to my youngest when it's time! I've also read that many like to teach cursive writing before printing. Yikes!! I don't think I'll take that approach but many believe it is the best way. I did start teaching cursive in first grade with our daughter, instead of waiting till 4th like the public schools do....she caught on very quickly and our lessons are half done in cursive and half in printing....
So here is our spelling test today. We are learning that you start writing on the farthest left hand side of the page (he is still working on that!) We are also learning about spacing between each word. We place our eraser on the page after we finish a word to know how much space to leave before starting the next word. He did excellent today sounding out each word and spelling them correctly, but there was ALOT of erasing as he would write capital letters instead of small....

and.....I want to wish my sister a very
happy 31st birthday today!!!!
(1984)

Dove

Thought I'd post a picture of a dove that was sitting out on the grill. They are such pretty birds!

Random things....

Just a few random thoughts....
I'm still feeling gross! That's a good thing but it sure makes things difficult around the house. Schooling is getting a little harder but we manage to put in a good amount of work. She can do alot on her own which helps so we are keeping steady. I don't have an appointment for at least 5 weeks so there won't be any update unless something goes wrong. For now we just continue to pray and wait.

Hubby's job situation is getting much worse. He feels like they are trying to hold on to him as long as possible before the inevitable happens. He is trying so hard to bring in work but nothing seems to be out there. We fear a layoff very soon which is scary.....we trust our God will meet our needs. We hold on to His promise!

Hubby was able to salvage our big bird feeder and put it back up again. Seems like no matter how we position that thing though, the squirrel finds a way to get to it. Our feed is usually gone by morning....I'm thinking we may need to bring the feeders in at night! I'm starting to notice some patterns with our birds and learn about them just by watching them. Our bluejay friends are the early risers. They are usually the first ones there in the morning and then we don't see much of them through the day. Our cardinals are so cute....there is a female and male who seem to stick together all the time. They visit the feeder together alot and where one is, you usually can spot the other not far away. The finches and titmouse are the friendliest. Usually when the kids open up the curtains to peek out the bird fly away for fear, but these ones seem to not be quite as fearful and stick around for the kids to watch. I haven't seen any new birds lately, but then again I haven't been up to birdwatching lately either :)

I thank everyone who is continuing to pray for us right now. I had a dear friend call me last night and pray with me on the phone which was such an encouragement to me. Thank you! Now off to find a nibble to eat cause I aint feeling so great... :)