Praise to God

I am currently reading the book of Isaiah during my morning time with God. Today I read chapter 25 and was inspired by verse one.

"O Lord, You are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, For you have done wonderful things; Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth." --Isaiah 25:1

God has done many wonderful things for me as well as you. He has blessed me with a wonderful husband, great kids, a home, food, clothes, family, friends, and much more. The blessings He has bestowed on me are more than I can truly count. He is faithful in all He says and does. His truth sets you free. A few of the wonderful things He has done include creating this earth and everything on it, creating all we need to live (we just need to follow His plan), showing His grace and mercy on us even though we don't deserve it, and sending His only Son to die on the cross for our sins which allows us to be joint heirs with Christ and experience eternal life with God. I exalt His name higher than any other because He is my God, my Salvation, my Jehovah Jireh (my provider). I praise His name continually because of His greatness.

3-Month update--Jaina & Martha

It is hard to believe that Martha and Jaina are already 3 months old (as of Sunday). They are just growing way too fast. I used my Mom's digital scale and weighed myself and then myself holding each girl. According to that scale, Martha is around 11 pounds and Jaina is around 13 pounds! Jaina also looks to be around 2 inches longer than Martha. Although there is the size difference, most people think they are starting to look more and more like each other the older they get. I can kind of see where they are coming from, but I can definitely see differences as well. Maybe it is because I am their mom and study their faces so much.

It also amazes me the bond the two of them share. Sunday was a perfect example of their special bond. Jaina fell asleep while I was holding her in the nursery. Martha was almost asleep in my friend Connie's arms. I figured we could lay them down and join the worship time in the sanctuary. When I laid Jaina down, she didn't wake up, but started fussing a little bit. I then laid Martha next to her. She pushed herself up and looked at Jaina for a few seconds. She then rolled over on her side so her head was touching Jaina's. Jaina immediately stopped fussing and went back to sleep! I was so touched not only by Martha's concern for her sister, but also by Jaina being so comforted by her sister's touch.

Eva Update

The swelling is going down, but it is turning more black and blue. This picture was taken this morning before she left for school. When she got home yesterday after school, it had already started turning black and blue, but it wasn't quite this back yet. She said no one made fun of her at school which is a blessing. She also says it only hurts when she touches it or blows her nose. She sneezed this morning but said that didn't make it hurt at all. We are continually praying for a fast healing.

All Smiles!

I just had to share these pictures of Martha and Jaina smiling. Of course they had bigger smiles, but I couldn't catch them on camera. It was great to get them both smiling at the same time. They are such happy little girls. I am constantly amazed at God's blessings!

Mother's Day

For Mother's Day I had asked for Chad to take the girls out of the house for a few hours so I could actually get a good nap in (because I don't get much sleep at night!). Our neighbors were getting together with a bunch of family and offered to take the girls with them so all the kids could play together. They were playing baseball and one of the cousins of our neighbors tends to throw the bat after swinging and one of those times it caught Eva right on the nose!

Her nose isn't broken, but she will have the battle bruise for a while. Here is a picture from Monday morning (which looks worse than it did on Sunday). I am sure it will continue to look even worse once the swelling goes down and it turns black and blue.

Happy Birthday, Cousins!

Lil' Charity, Cole, and Claydon had a Mickey Mouse/Disney birthday party on Saturday afternoon. Charity celebrated her 8th birthday, Cole his 5th and Claydon his 2nd.

Charity and Doug had Minnie and Mickey Mouse cut-outs there for picture opportunities. Chad and I even got in on the fun!

We gave Lil' Charity a jean skirt I had made with a matching purse and a kite. Cole got a tractor and haybine to use outside from us and Grandpa and Grandma Carmichael and a kite, and we gave Claydon a box of building blocks and a bubble gun. We also gave all three of them a collection of old classic cartoons. We hope they all like their presents. As you can see, Cole started playing with his right away! We all had a lot of fun at the party.

LifeWalk 2008

The girls and I walked the LifeWalk for Care Net of Cadillac this past Saturday. I had Martha and Jaina in the back of the double stroller and Cora in the front of it. Sabra and Allyn were in the wagon. My friend Lynn joined us as I thought I would need help having all seven girls with me. Dara ended up pulling the stroller most of the way, but it was good thing Lynn was there as she helped during the last 1/2 mile. We had an enjoyable time together as we were supporting the great ministry of Care Net of Cadillac. We raised $320 this year which is more than last year, but less than my goal of $500. I am sure we will do better next year!

Praise the Lord!

Allyn accepted Christ as her Savior on May 4, 2008! She has been asking questions for a while now, but after reading our "Keys for Kids" in the van on the way to a four-wheeling event, Dara talked to her about accepting Christ and lead her to the Lord! A couple of days later I talked to her and asked her to explain to me what she had done to make sure she understood, and she did. Then on Wednesday night, she told one of her Cubbies leaders at Awana about. We are so thankful that now three of our kids know the Lord. The amazing thing is that Dara is the one who lead both Eva and Allyn to Him. Praise be to God!

Martha & Jaina update 4

Martha and Jaina are really growing! Not only are they growing bigger physically, but their personalities continue to grow as well. Martha loves to observe, especially faces. She smiles a lot. Jaina is also starting to smile quite a lot and she has this great big smile that just makes me laugh. We are truly blessed to have such beautiful, healthy, little girls.

At 2 1/2 months old, they are growing well. Martha is 9 1/2 pounds and 21" long. Jaina is 10 lbs. 13 oz and 22" long. Jaina is already starting to wear 3-6 month clothes!

I am constantly amazed at how amazing God is to have created us. The girls and I were just talking the other day about how God knitted each of them in my womb. They were quite surprised that God knew how to knit!

God Answers Prayers!

When we found out we were having twins, I figured we could make due with the one swing we had. One could be in the swing and the other could be in the bouncy chair. Well, Martha and Jaina decided they didn't like that idea! Neither one of them really care for the bouncy chair, so I set out in search of someone who might have one we could borrow. I didn't see the sense in buying another swing to only use for a few months (Jaina is growing so fast she will soon be too big for the swing!) so I thought I would see if someone had one sitting in their garage or attic.

I started out asking family, but no one had one they were willing to share so then I started asking friends. Even those who didn't have one or knew of anyone off the top of their head were at least praying for us to find one. Well, God truly does answer prayers! A friend of a friend had one sitting in their garage collecting dust. When I met with my friend to get the swing, she notified me that they had said that we could either keep the swing or share it with someone else since they were done with it. Since we really don't have the space to store two swings (and I don't think we will need two at the same time again) I will either find someone who needs it or donate it to Care Net of Cadillac when we are done with it. It is truly amazing how God works in our lives.