Writing Again

I have been thinking a lot about my blogging journey. I wanted to start writing again. I wanted to start sharing again. Life, well life just kept getting in the way. We are very busy around here. Kids, homeschooling, a husband working for someone else and himself, and church activities just keep us all super busy!

I thought a lot about what this blog was, the direction I wanted it to go, it's purpose. So here it is:

1. I started the blog so you could follow us on Life's Journey, while we were dealing with the devastating news that our sweet baby girl would live a life with vision impairments. You were able to walk with us when we thought that she would be completely blind. You were able to be there when we got an official diagnosis, that while still stings, is better than being blind all together. An update? Kinsely is thriving! Her vision still impaired, she sees about 60% of her waking hours. She still has moments where she sees nothing. We are very thankful for the vision she does have. Her glasses are still at a +6 in both eyes for her farsightedness. She is in a stage that taking them off and hiding them is the best thing in the world and by far the most fun game ever! Her speech is still behind, she is catching up rapidly and surprises us when she says each new word! She is so funny, so sweet, and the most snugly of all our children.

2. The purpose of this blog was/is to give you an inside peek at our life. Our crazy, busy, sometimes super full, life. We wouldn't change our family for the world. We enjoy every minute that we get to spend together as a family. The purpose was also to let others who were struggling with something hard that they were not alone. I was in the pit of despair right along with them. It was a dark time. I also shared my faith in God and I hoped that others would feel that faith and believe the same thing. I want to keep that purpose the same. I want others to know what it is like with a busy family. I want others to know what it is like raising young kids, what its like to have a child with disability, what it is like to home school. I want people to know that they are not alone. I want to be able to share the experiences of our family with you. I want to share my faith with you.

3. The direction in which I will be heading is more day to day life. Lots of homeschooling. Sharing different ideas I have for helping my children learn, some of my own lesson plans for different things, and so much more! I want to be able to just share openly about what happens in our day. I think you will like the new set up. I hope that we will gain some more followers also. I'm excited to start a new chapter.

Be Blessed,
Dany

Easter Weekend

The Lord has risen! He has risen indeed!

This weekend with my family was such a blessing, as is any time I get to spend with them really. I got to start the weekend with my grandparents, uncle, cousins, brother, and mom, spending Friday night at a restaurant, celebrating my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary. What an amazing example they have set for us. They show that no matter what, with God, love, and patience you can go can work through anything and stay married. I hope I can only continue to live up to what they have shown through the years.

Saturday, I got to spend most of the day with my mother in law. We had a craft show that we sat at. It was a lot of fun! I love just being able to sit and talk with her. She is a pretty amazing women. Then I spent most of the afternoon with my kiddos. We went chicken and turkey shopping. We have raised chickens in the past. Last year we took a year off. That meant this year we needed to fill the yard with chicks again! We also added a few turkeys. It was lots of fun picking which chickens we wanted to get, along with the turkey's. There was visible difference in size between the turkey's which helps us tell them apart and remember their names: Myla, Fishing Pole, and Shiny. Yes, folks, that right. A turkey named Fishing Pole. That is my son for you! Oh the smiles he makes me smile. I then got to spend the evening helping my husband build the final coop. (the chicks are in the brooder right now).

Sunday was full on Easter. We did Easter baskets in the morning. Followed by wearing our pretty new outfits to church. Church was amazing. I love singing that Jesus has risen! The message fantastic. Then we did more egg hunting at my brothers house with all the siblings and cousins. Then off to the in-laws. No egg hunting there, but plenty of food and Easter presents for the kids. It was such a blessing to be with family all day. It was nice to be able to relax and just enjoy.

This week Butterfly Girl has another appointment at the specialist. We will see if they can tell us any more about what is going on with her delayed speech and some other behaviors we have seen. Be in prayer for this please.

Be Blessed,

Dany

Allergic Reaction

Yesterday started wonderful. I was back on my old routine that made me feel like I was getting stuff accomplished. I was feeling refreshed after a really hard weekend. All the kids had seemed to wake up in great moods. This was how I wished every Monday morning would go!

I had fed the kids cinnamon pop tarts for breakfast. No big deal right? Well I was so wrong. Poor Butterfly girl had an allergic reaction to it. The doctor at the Prime care is guessing since we have given pop tarts before, of a different flavor, that it was probably the cinnamon that caused the reaction.

My poor baby was red from head to toe. She had hives on her ears, on her toes, on her belly. They were every wear. She didn't seem to try to itch them, but boy did she ever scream. She was miserable. She wanted nothing, but to be held. She just cried and cried. I am guessing that if I was in her shoes that is all I would want to do also.

The Prime Care doctor gave her some Benadryl and a steroid to help open her lungs. He also noticed that she had an ear infection. Poor baby, sore ear and an allergic reaction. So we started an antibiotic. Once we got home she slept for 3 hours. She was so tired from how hard her body had worked and from the Benadryl.

Today is a new day! Hopefully we can stay away from all things cinnamon and have an uneventful day as far as surprises go. We do have a busy day planned! Fabric shopping, groceries, school work, and mommy has to go to work for a few hours this afternoon.

Be Blessed,

Dany

Life Happens

Life happens. No matter what we do to try to stop it or to wish certain things didn't happen, they do.

I wished for a lot of things the past few weeks. I wished I had gotten more sleep, that I didn't have sick kids, that my baby's eyes were perfect. I wished that I never yelled at my kids and that I never fought with my husband. I wished I'd be better at managing my time, at saying no, and at saying yes. I wished I was a better mother, wife, daughter, and friend. I wished I was a better worker, better believer, a better sharer of Jesus.

The past few weeks I have fallen short, as we often do in this life. Fallen short of the things my kids have needed me to be. Fallen short as a believer in Christ. Fallen short in who my husband needs me to be.

This morning I was reminded that God sent his disciples to spread the gospel with nothing. They were to take no food, money, or changes of clothes. They needed to trust that there were going to be people out there to take care of them. That if the cities in which they were heading to were open to receiving His word then their needs would be met. Over the past two weeks I have try shoving my traveler's bag with everything that I can. Discipline, work, school, and more. I have tried to do everything on my own. Not trusting in God, that once we arrive at our destination, be it a bad behavior that needs correcting, or a friend in need, he will have everything there waiting for us to use.

At first when this thought struck me I wanted to yell at myself. Get upset that I was going about the past few weeks all wrong. I wanted to wallow in self pity. I had messed up my relationship with God, with my husband, and with my kids. Ahh, how frustrating. Then I remembered. I could change it! I couldn't change everything, but I could change how I depended on the Lord!! There was a different way to go about life. I knew that. I just got caught up in the devils lie that I needed to do it on my own.

So this morning, I come to you saying today is a fresh start. Today is a new day! How exciting!! We can make a choice this morning to follow God. To trust in his ability to meet our needs. We can make the choice to travel light. To bring no more then ourselves to the table.

It's been a trying few weeks at our house. We will push through. The Lord will hold our family tight. I am excited for this week!

Long Time, No Balance

I struggle with balance. When I am on something and running full steam ahead I forget that I made commitments to other things.

Right now I am running full steam ahead on the business partnership I just entered with my mother-in-law. We are working on products for craft shows, a blog, and more! We are so excited to be working with her. She has taught me so much when it comes to sewing and she is an amazing writer. I know that I will learn a lot from her as we continue to grow this business of ours. That said I have slacked when it comes to filling my husbands paper work for his business, keep you all up to date on my sweet Butterfly girl, and other general things that need getting done. I have had complete tunnel vision lately.

I was recently slowed down by an injury to my hand. I slipped and fell on a patch of ice in our driveway. When I fell I attempted to catch myself with my hand. It didn't go over so well and my hand swelled pretty big and I couldn't move it very well. I went in to have it looked at and Praise the Lord it was only sprained. I need to wear this very itchy, uncomfortable brace on it for 7-10 days. Today we are at day four. Thankfully my hand is feeling about 90 percent better. The only thing the brace is really doing is protecting the spot on my hand that is near my thumb that was hit the hardest. That spot is still very tender.

So today I took some time to find balance. I revamped our schedule to include time for this momma to work, clean, teach, be an office lady for my husband, be the therapist for butterfly girl, be a mommy, BLOG, and enjoy this life I have been given!

I truly do enjoy everything about this life we are living. My husband and I are just your ordinary family. Raising some pretty EXTRA ordinary kids. Loving the Lord, Loving each other, and loving life. Balance comes from trusting in our God, each other, and that we are on the right path on this journey.

Thank you faithful followers.

Be Blessed,

Dany

Pictures

I am not one who is great at taking pictures. There are days that I take a lot of pictures and then I can go spans of time without taking any. Today I took pictures. It was such a snowy day. We just stayed in where it was warm and relaxed. We did some school work and just enjoyed each other.

Today was another really peaceful day.They kids did pretty fantastic. My mood stayed pretty level. Once again this morning I prayed for my children. I prayed for my husband. I prayed for my own spirit. I also prayed that the Holy Spirit have his presence in this house. I asked for a shield of protection over our house. Oh how much prayer can help. Oh how much more peaceful things have been.

We painted. We painted hands. We painted squares. We just had fun. It was exciting. We enjoyed the conversation. We enjoyed the giggling. Oh what a glorious day! Praise to the Lord, King of Heaven and earth. Butterfly Girl also painted. She painted with pudding.

I hope you enjoyed your day. I know that I was blessed. I hope you were also.

Be Blessed.

Dany

Two steps forward, 5 steps back

I feel as two steps forward, five steps back describes my life. For many reasons. I feel as though we get on a good routine and someone gets sick. We get control of the behavior issues in our house and then it's on to the next set of behaviors that need correcting. I feel like I make progress in a relationship with one of the kids or my husband and fight breaks out over something silly and backwards we go. It is so frustrating. How I wish life would go perfectly all the time. I understand my examples may seem small to some. I know people that work hard, but loss their jobs or worse their houses. I know people that love their spouse and yet divorce happens. I know my examples are mere inconveniences in every day life. Some people struggle with more then I do. I am not trying to undermine those who suffer in a greater way.

Today I am just simply saying I am tired. I am tired of feeling like I am constantly falling backwards after having experienced the greatness of what moving forward feels like. I am coming out of a time where I though I could do it all on my own. I am once again coming out of another pit of self pity, of bad behaviors from my kids, of a rough patch within my marriage. I am currently coming out of a pit where I wasn't reading my bible or praying because I was trying to do life on my own strength. Silly Me!!! I lost sight of why we home school, of why we do our devotions every morning. I lost sight of Jesus. Silly Me!!

Once again I was reminded that I can not raise my children, cannot be a loving wife, cannot be a good friend all on my own strength. I NEED Jesus!! He alone can do all things. I was also reminded that it isn't just about reading my bible. It is about LIVING my bible. Praying for my husband and my kids. Praying for their hearts, praying for their needs. I need to be in prayer for them.

Today we are back on the path of taking steps forward. We have had the most peaceful morning we have had in two weeks. As I type the kids are all playing Lego's while the oldest makes lunch. I hear laughter instead of fighting.

What changed? I spent the morning in devotions. I spent the morning praying for my heart, for the heart of my husband, and for the heart of my children. I spent time actually letting God's word sink in my heart instead of making it just another one of those things I could cross off my list. That is what changed. I gave the burdens of my heart to the Lord. I feel lighter, happier, more patient. Today is a great day. It came from the Lord and I am going to rejoice in it.

Be Blessed

Dany

Resting in God

So, Its been a while since I have posted again. Its been hard finding time to blog with Kinsley being sick. Not more then a week after getting out of the hospital she was back to feeling crummy. It started Tuesday with a runny nose and she was pulling at her ear. I knew something was wrong. She wanted to be held constantly and was just plan crabby. Took her into the doctor and my mommy instinct was right. We were put on another antibiotic.

By Wednesday her eyes were all green and drippy. She had pink eye. I called the doctor and they said that because she was already on the antibiotic it would be okay.

Friday morning we were set to go in to the doctors for a Well Child visit. That morning she had woken up no breathing very well. I decided to give her a pulmicort and an abuterol. I didn't worry so much since I knew we would be seeing the doctor. Her nose was still runny and she was still crabby. Once the doctor checked her out it was confirmed that she had an upper respiratory infection. We were to continue the abuterol treatments every 4 hours and to start the pulmicort twice a day instead of once. Then we changed from one antibiotic to another and started orapred. Not exactly what I was expecting. I just want my sweet baby to be healthy. She's been through so much. We were also advised by the doctor to keep away from germs if at all possible. These means we pretty much feel like we need to live in a bubble. It is so hard.

So while getting up every 4 hours leaves me tired. While holding, snuggling, and listening to a crying, miserable baby leaves me exhausted I am finding comfort. I am finding peace. I am resting in God. Resting in his word. Resting in the fact that I can share this burden with fellow believers. I am resting in that peace. I am so grateful for that.

Please pray. Pray for healing, Pray for sleep, Pray for us to finish the winter healthy.

God Bless,

Dany

Bah Humbug, turned Joy

Yes, I know it is not Christmas, but that phrase pretty much sums up my week. It was a rough one. Partially my fault and therefore I am going to kick this week out of the water!

I was reminded this morning through Pslams 100:1-2 that I need to praise the Lord with JOY even though personal struggles. Even though a rough day with the kids. Even through a rough nights sleep.

 

{Worship the Lord with GLADNESS. Come before him, singing with JOY.}

Pslams 100:1-2

 

 

My week was rough because I was still catching up from the week of being in the hospital. I was still trying to lesson plan, do laundry, and much more. I also broke my routine of going to bed on time and getting enough sleep. I was grumpy from lack of sleep, the kids were wild without structure, and there was a lot of attitude going on in my house. It was a rough week. Instead of changing my attitude and worshiping the Lord for the good things, I decided I would wallow in my furstrations and be grumpy. Not a smart choice. I had to apologize to my kids more then once, my husband more then once, and ask for a whole lot of forgiveness.

 

I guess those things all make me human. Not any one of us is perfect. I am, however, choosing this week to get back to what I know works well for our family. I am going to stick to our routine, I am going to be on time and getting enough rest, most importantly I am going to choose JOY and GLADNESS over being grumpy. I am going to worship this morning with my children and do it with joy and passion.

 

Happy Monday! Be blessed!

 

Dany

What a Week

Happy Tuesday to you all! It has surely been quite the week since last I posted. Sunday night I could tell that our sweet little Butterfly Girl was feeling off. She was pulling at her ears and very clingy. I knew in the morning that she would probably have a cold of some sort. I was not expecting what I had gotten.

Monday morning when she awoke, she was struggling to breath. She was very wheezy and tight in her chest. I could see her retracting at the ribs. She wanted to do nothing but sleep. It wasn't looking very well. So into the hospital we went. At the Emergency room we were seen quickly. They got us right back and started an asthma treatment. Then we were ordered chest x-rays and a steroid. Once those were done we were given another asthma treatment. After both of the treatments were given her pulse oxygen numbers plummeted. She wasn't responding well to the medicine in the treatment. We were told we needed to get admitted.

We ended up spending until Thursday afternoon in the hospital. Pneumonia. Nasty, Nasty, Pneumonia. It wasn't fun. We did however miss some of the worst snow of the season while we were there which was nice. Because of the pneumonia we weren't allowed to have the door to the room open and the doctors and nurses had to suit up in order to give her care. It was not a fun experience, but we made. We were released and were so excited to be home.

Friday night was ended up heading back to the ER. Poor Butterfly Girl was throwing up, had loose stools more then I can count, and was just really shaky. The doctor came to the conclusion that she had gotten a bacterial infection from the antibiotics. The antibiotics were not only killing the infection, but the good things in her body. So we made a plan!

All the while, everyone else had come down with the 24 hours flu bug one by one. All 7 of us ended up having it. It was miserable.

Yesterday we went for a follow up at the doctors office and it was determined that Butterfly Girl has what is called Reactive Airway Disease. From my understanding is that if she gets the common cold she will probably get it for weeks instead of days. It will put us at a bigger risk of getting things like bronchitis and pneumonia. We were given a daily medicine to help combat this and hopefully help us not spend so much time in the hospital and getting sick.

As of today I can say everyone is healthy! Everyone is feeling better! We praise the Lord for that! He is the great healer! He is mighty to provide. Prayers that we all continue to stay this way would be greatly appreciated.

Thoughtful Thursday: Be A Blessing

This morning I woke up and had on my heart how I could be a blessing to someone today. I spent time talking and eating breakfast with my husband. I snuggled a two year old on a crazy sleep schedule. I was still thinking. I was still searching how to be a blessing. As I read my devotions, God started speaking to my heart.

I was being a blessing already. When you pour your life into someone else. When you show love and kindness you are being a blessing. By spending time eating breakfast and chatting with my husband I was showing him he was important. That I value the time we get to spend together even if it's early in the morning. I was blessing him and he was blessing me. I was blessing my daughter by snuggling. I was showing her she is important. She is worth the time. I was blessing her and she was blessing me.

You see, there is no need to do go around the world being a blessing. Yes, that is for some people. Some people spend their whole lives in other countries blessing the people of this world. It is not for everyone. How are you being a blessing. Are you blessing your spouse and your marriage? Are you blessing your children? What about the people you work with or strangers you pass? Are you being a blessing?

I know that yesterday I was far from a blessing. I let the negative start to my day run my house. I was short on patience and every one knew it. I am human and at the end of the day I had to ask forgiveness. I needed to look my children in the eye and say I am sorry for being crabby. I'm sorry that I was quick to anger and to punish. It was not one of my better days.

You can be a blessing in small ways, you can be a blessing in BIG ways. I encourage you to start at home today. Start in your marriage. How can you bless your spouse? Can you write a sweet note? Can you send an encouraging text? Can you buy flowers, candy, or a card? What about spending some time today just talking to your spouse without interruption? If we can start in our home, blessing those we are close to, we can be much better prepared to bless those we do not know. Those that may need us more then we know.

Be a blessing. Tell me what you did today to bless your marriage. I would love to hear from you! Let's make this world a better. Let's be a blessing.

Be blessed.

Dany

Being Equipped

Isaiah 45:5-6 says this: I am the Lord; there is no other God. I have equipped you for battle, though you don't even know me, so all the world from the east to west will know there is no other God. I am the Lord, and there is no other.

 

There are many moments throughout daily life where I sometimes do not feel equipped for certain situations. Those are little things. Then there are those times in life where I certainly do not think I am equipped to handle certain situations. There are so many questions. So many ways to parent. So many ways to be a wife. There are so many ways to go about life. Homeschooling, running businesses, raising up children, and being a woman of faith. Am I equipped?

My two year old has exhausted all of my "go-to" discipline techniques. She truly is a child of her own accord and I was certainly not ready for everything she has thrown my way. She is very strong willed. I no longer had the tools to deal with her behavior and endless curiosity. This is somethings small. Every day.

Butterfly Girl's CVI was something that I was not equipped to handle. I was not ready to raise a child that had special needs. I was not ready to raise a sweet girl that had limited to no vision. I just wasn't ready. This is a big event.

I can not be equipped by my own power and make it through the day. However, I am equipped by my Lord. He has equipped me with everything that I need for this battle of life and let's face it. Life can be a battle. Sometimes we struggle to get a meal on the table. Sometimes we struggle to discipline our children with love. Life can get ugly. Life can get brutal. There are times where we we feel like the tools for battle are missing.

I tell you this. Turn to the Lord. He has equipped you with everything you need for the moment. He has given you peace, patience and love to discipline your children. He has given you the the gift of grace so you can forgive yourself and others. The Lord is your most powerful tool. He has given you his word in which we can find strength in all things. Read it. Pray it. Hold onto the Lord. You have the tools to face every day battle. You have the tools to face even the toughest adversities in life. I have been through some of the roughest times in my life in the past year. If it were not for my faith I would have never been able to survive. God gave me the tools.

Know that you are equipped. Stand strong in faith.

Be Blessed.

Dany

Hard Work

As I sat last night at our kitchen table having a conversation I learned something about myself. About everything possible. I can not even say this something is newly learned. It is more of something I am now seeing in a different light.

Growing is hard is work. Not in the sense that getting an inch taller is hard. No, I'm speaking at more of an emotional, spiritual level. It is hard work.

It is easy to spend my day going through the same old routine, being mad at the same people I have been mad at forever, dwelling in the past and having no hope for the future. It would be much easier to say hey, things aren't going to change so I might as well keep on going.

It is when we decide to work on those things that the work because hard. It is not easy to change our way of thought. It is not easy to break old habits. It becomes unbearable sometimes. Changing brings on tough conversation. Changing brings out what is truly on the heart. Changing means that you have to deal with the past and work towards the future. Sometimes change is messy, some times it is hurtful.

In the end change is good. In the end it is worth it. God will carry us through. Relationships will be healed. Our own self confidence and acceptance will be better then ever before! The work to emotional and spiritual change is difficult. We tend to lean on our own understandings. We are creatures of habit. We are sinful by nature. We can, however, put in the effort it takes to change. We can call upon our heavenly father, we can gather friends and family, and we can make a commitment.

I know that I am working daily to try to change habits that I have relied on more then my God. I am trying to heal wounds that I thought were healed, but they were only healed on the surface. I am working hard at making my faith more prominent and trying not to lean on my own understandings.

Take the journey with me. I will be there for you. We can be there for each other. Take on the hard work of changing emotionally and spiritually. God wants a relationship with you. If you have one with Him, take it a step further. Make that relationship even more intimate.

Be blessed.

Dany

1 week!

I think that in life it is important to set realistic goals. Any one that knows me personally knows that sometimes the goals I set for myself are a bit on the crazy side. The amount of help I want to give my children, other family, and my husband was making things a bit crazy. I have a hard time saying no. I hate hurting people's feelings. I don't want to disappoint people. I never really thought about how this was affecting my life, my health, or my family.

I have spent a lot of time in the past six months sick. It seems the minute I get over something, I catch something else. I have also spent the past six months wanting to do nothing but sleep. Ever day I woke up feeling as though I could sleep another ten days. I was constantly crabby. I was wearing myself thin every day. I stayed up until 2am working, I would get up at 6am to get things done before the children got up and we started school. I wasn't giving my body adequate rest. I wasn't allowing my immune system time to fight anything off.

I am a slave to my lists. I am a slave to my schedule. It is my type A personality and the OCD that I suffer from daily. Having multiple lists is not out of the normal range for me. Having things scheduled to the minute is not out of normal for me. Something needed to change.

I vowed that this year was going to be the year I work on getting more sleep, being content when things don't get done. Over the past two hearts the strings on my heart have been being tugged. Quietly as I sat in prayer I was told it was time to let go, just a little. I really needed a change. This is hard for me. I still have a schedule that we stick to. The difference is that when we get off schedule I try to just breath, pray, and become okay instead of freaking out. I still have a list. I have a daily list of things I need to do. I have a list of extra things that I would like done if there is time. I have a list of business things that need to get done. Each of these lists have their purpose and importance in the way I get things done. I did, however, have four children and my memory sometimes lacks me. I am trying to feel comfortable with myself if not everything gets done. Even if one thing gets done it is a good day.

The Lord was laying on my heart that my health, marriage, and children were more important then any schedule or to do list. First things first. My health. If I didn't start trying to get more sleep and be healthier my marriage and my children would continue to suffer from a sick and crabby mommy and wife. I know an adult needs the average of 6-8 hours a night. I was getting 4. My first step was getting to bed at a decent time so that I could still get up before the kids. The problem here was I would sit on my iPad or phone until I became tired. So I vowed to shut them down so they would no longer be a distraction. I can proudly say that I have done this for a week! I feel so much more rested. I feel happy. I feel more accomplished. Now it's to early to tell if I will get sick less often, but hopefully with proper sleep that will be the case.

The accomplishment of this goal is huge! I have been set in my ways for so long. My schedules and lists give me control. Give me a sense of order. Give me a sense of belonging because I have things that people are counting on me to get done. I needed that reminder that I do not belong to schedules or lists. They do not give me love. They do not give me encouragement. The people in my life do! My husband and my children! They matter. They count on me to be healthy and happy. They count on me to be the best me. My husband was surprised the first night I came to bed early and he could actually talk to me before we feel asleep. I forgot it mattered. I forgot it was important.

It's only been a week. I know new habits are hard to form. I know that I will slip and fall and go back to my old ways. I will need gentle reminders to go back to this place. I am human.

Be Blessed.

Dany

Words from a 6 year old

Our family has been studying Deuteronomy 30:19-20 which says

"Today you have been given the choice between life and death,

between blessings and curses. No I have called on heaven and earth

to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life,

so that you and your descendants might live!

You can make this choice by loving the Lord you God, obeying him,

and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. "

 

As we were studying this verse yesterday morning, I asked each of the children what this verse meant to them. My oldest at 6 gave this insight to the verse.

 

"God gives us his good Key. He gives us the Key to do nice things, to love others, to help others, to obey mommy and daddy. Every morning before we get out of bed we have to make a choice. Do we want to keep God's key or trade it for the devil's key. If we trade it for the devil's key we will make bad choices."

 

Wow, I just kind of stared in amazement at her answer. Then just as I was about to speak again she continued.

 

"If we choose to trade our God key for the bad devil key then bad things will happen in our day. We will get sent to our room, we won't get candy, and we might not get a special toy we wanted. We will have people who are mad at us and things will be not happy. We can trade keys at any time. If we don't like the devil key because we got in trouble we can ask God to forgive us, change what we were doing, and he will give us his key back."

 

Again I just stared in amazement. Her little heart has always been a place spiritually that I could never seem to understand. We have raised her in the church her whole life, but this type of knowledge to me seems just naturally given. I almost feel like she has a better understanding of a relationship with God then I do.

 

She understands. Every single day we have a choice. We can choose to follow God, Obey his commands for our life, and be firmly standing in his plan. As adults I think we forget that it is a choice. We wake up and just go about life. Do we stop to think about our faith every morning? Do we say to God, today with your grace and love I will walk with you, I will obey you? God gave you the key to life! God gave you the key to do good. Are you going to trade it?

 

The words of a 6 year old. Sometimes children have a better insight because they are not bogged down with legalistic thinking and adult problems. You may even say "Yeah easy for a 6 year old to say", but I think it is easy for any of us to say if we want! We can make the choice. We have to make the choice. The future of our children, our household, communities, and the world are counting on it.

 

Be blessed

 

Dany

Going back

This morning I spent some time going back to what started this blog in the first place. I went back those days and weeks where we were not quite sure what was wrong with our baby, buy we knew something was wasn't right. I produced tears of heartache reading through all the emotion that was felt in those days. I also cried tears of joy.

CVI has changed our lives. It will forever be a part of us. It will affect our daughter. It will always have two sides. It will have it's blessings and it's curses. It will never go away.

We are reminded every day. Some days worse then others, that her vision isn't perfect. Her vision even when present is poor. Last night, while at a skating party for church, I let Butterfly Girl down to walk.  Her spirit is strong. She doesn't want to let her vision hold her back. She is a normal toddler wanting to explore. She doesn't know her that she can't do things like other kids. By her side I followed her every where she wanted to go. Stopping her as she walked into people she couldn't see, Stopping her from running into walls that she didn't know where there. Then all of a sudden, a light went on in her head and she could see. She dashed straight for the rink floor with so much as bumping into anything. She wanted out there. She wanted to skate like daddy and her siblings. This balance of letting her be a toddler and trying to protect her are tough. We don't want to hold her back from learning about this amazing world, but we also do not want her hurt.

CVI has changed us, but we will not let it bring us down. We will stand firm in the promises God has made for us! We will stand firm in knowing that God has control. He sent us down this path because he knows we can do it.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." Proverbs 3:5-6

This is a verse that I have leaned on a lot in the past year. I do not need to understand why this happened. I just need to trust in the Lord with everything I have. I need to seek him. I need to just keep asking him what next step it to take. I need to keep pouring my heart to him and he will see me through. What an encouragement I have in the Lord. CVI may have changed our life, but it certainly wont change who we are.

Be blessed

Dany

Lessons being Learned

My heart is being transformed. My heart is changing. I was not content with my spiritual life nor the spiritual life of my children. I have always been a Christian. I would always read my bible and pray. My heart longed for more. My heart wanted to go deeper than I have ever gone before. I want my children to go deeper then just the bible stories and memorizing verses. I want them to live the words of the Lord.

Saturday I was unhappy, I wasn't content. I found myself wanting, lusting after the things of this world that I couldn't have. I found myself trying to figure out on my own how to get the things I didn't have. I wasn't using my faith. I wasn't leaning on Christ. I started praying. I felt God's peace. He was telling me it was okay. We have everything that we need in this moment. He said that he will provide when we need it. We don't need anything more right now. He has a plan a for us. I need to trust. Sunday the sermon reaffirmed this. It was amazing to keep that lesson going.

Monday was a very rough day. We had some behavior issues that we rearing their ugly head. There was a lot of back talking. There was a lot of anger. From the children and then myself. As I laid in bed Monday night I cried. I had been quick to anger instead of quick to listen. I had let my children see that if they pushed hard enough I would crack. I opened my bible and started to look for a lesson, a verse, something that would make me feel better. This is what I found.

"Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourselves firmly to him. This is the key to your life. If you love and obey the Lord, you will live long." Deuteronomy 30:19-20 NLT

Each day we have a choice. Each day we can choose life or death. Not just in the physical aspect, but  spiritually. Our spiritual life needs to have life. God wants us to choose him. God wants us to choose Life, the blessings and life he can provide us. As much as this was a verse for me, it was also was for my children. Everyone in my house needed to hear that we have a choice. Every day we can choose to OBEY the Lord are days that will be blessed. My children needed to see that every day they choose to obey the Lord, including obeying Mommy and being kind to each other, means they will receive blessings. For them blessings may come in getting candy, getting a movie, or just something that makes them happy. I needed to hear that if I obey the Lord by being slow to anger then our house will have blessings also.

We will be studying this verse of the next few weeks. Talking about it as a family. Working through what it really means. Figuring out how to apply it to our everyday lives. I am so excited to dig in deeper with the kids, for myself. This verse was the strength I needed. It was the message that needed to be heard. God gave it to me at just the right time. Hopefully, just maybe, you will find comfort, wisdom, or hope in this verse also.

Be blesses

Dany

Weekend Posts

My weekend got away from me! I want to post more blog posts. I want to keep things updated. I felt like every time I sat down this weekend to start one, someone needed something. I need to keep trying. I will get there.

This weekend was a weekend of revelation for myself.

Friday was busy. Things needed to be done around the house and then I needed to work. I got what needed to be done, done and then I headed over to my mother in laws to work. Her and I are working together and it is a ton of fun. She teaches me so much in those times we spend together. Our conversations are always fun and it is nice to get to know her more and more.

Saturday brought more craziness. We rearranged the girls' room so that the bunk bed we just purchased would fit. I was also sick of the overwhelming amount of clothes that my daughter's had so I decided that I would go through those while I was at it. I got rid of anything stained. I am going to donate the stuff that doesn't fit either of them. I can't hold onto, we simply do not have enough space. After finding closet space for 3 girls, dresser space for the youngest, and pajama space for everyone we finally have the room done. All 4 girls are sharing a room and loving it. I can see the lifetime of bonds they will share and I am so excited for them. I also went fabric shopping. Saturday also brought emotion. It brought feelings I wasn't expecting to feel. As a homeschooling family we forgo a second income, we choose to live life with less income. Never before have I ever regretted this decision and I still don't. We are following God's call for our family. We are on the path he has set for us and our children. We feel we are making the right choice. However, for the first time, I longed for that second income. I wanted them to be able to have more space, better clothes, cable even, but I knew it wasn't an option. I then remembered what I always tell my kids. The Lord will provide. He will give us what we need when we need it. He will allow us to fix the things that need fixing in his timing. He will give us more space when we need it. He will give us EVERYTHING. We need to stay faithful to the call. We need to stay on his path. We need to TRUST. So once again my heart was content. We have all that we need. We have a savior that laid down his life for us. We have amazing children. We have a roof, heat, food, and more luxuries some in our own country don't. I was content. I had faith in my Lord.

Sunday was a funny day. Our sermon was about Idols. I had thought to the day before and how I was idolizing money, big houses, and even cable! I had put those in my heart before my Lord. Human, by nature, that is what we do. We live in a world of sin. It is okay to dream, to wish even, as long as we keep our heart centered on the Lord. We need to make the Lord center of those dreams and wishes. Then maybe in his timing they will become a reality. I am living some of my dreams with God at the center, but some of my dreams I am trying to pursue on my own. I need to stop trying to take the place of God, thinking I can make my own dreams happen. Only he can. Only he will. I need to stop fighting him. I need to follow his plan in its entirety.

Be Blessed.
Dany

One Year

I can not believe we are coming up on one year of starting this blog. Those first days were truly the blackest days of my whole life! I didn't know what I had done, why we had to go through this, I didn't even know if my baby would be okay.

I still have hard days. Yesterday, for instance, I had reached to give Butterfly Girl a chicken nugget. Even with her glasses on she couldn't see it and she wouldn't open her hand until I touched the nugget to her hand. Once it was in her hand she looked around blankly and didn't try to eat it. I had to talk to her. Say "Come on, eat it. Its okay, it's yummy". She finally decided that she could try to eat it. Of course then she wanted more! Moments like this is still make me sad. It throws back in my face that there are times my baby can't see. There are times my baby is to afraid to eat because she can't see what I want her to put in her mouth. Isn't that sad?

The sadness is usually quickly surpassed. I am far to busy around this house to sit and wallow. I would like to some days, but then again what good would that do?

Last night as I gave Butterfly Girl her asthma treatment (she has pneumonia) my older ones gathered round. The patted her head, talked to her in sweet voices, rubbed her legs, and PRAYED for her. It was then, with tears in my eyes I once again realized that Butterfly Girl would never suffer. She has so many people watching over her, caring for her, loving her! And I would like to brag that I think I have pretty fantastic kids! They love and care about each other so much. They fight like siblings do, but they know when its time to put disagreements behind them and LOVE! I'm proud of them!

We had the morning off from school and instead we had a campsite, a Hawaiian vacation, and a Princess Play all in the same living room. They were playing so well together, not interrupting each others spaces. It was fun to have the conversations they were having with themselves about each of the things they were doing. I loved every minute. I even visited each place and was able to PLAY with each of them.

Be blessed,

Dany

New Year, New Me, New Blog!

Happy New Year everyone. It's the time of year that everyone reflects on the past. It is the time of year in which people make new resolutions. It is the time of year for NEW! It is that time of year for me again also.

2012 was the hardest year my family has quite possibly ever gone through. We had found out our perfect new baby was blind. We found out that her life would always be stunted by this lack of vision. She also seemed endlessly sick that winter. Doctors after doctors, appointment followed by appointments, we sat afraid and alone. My husband and I didn't know what exactly we were going to do. We didn't know exactly how we were going to hang on. We hit some bumpy roads, we had our fights, we had our times of sorrow, we cried, we held on, and we prayed!

Along with that we had amounting medical bills from all the tests that sent us into financial crisis for a few months. It was stressful trying to figure out how to pay medical bills, how to pay our mortgage, and keep food on the table. It was hard! We kept the faith we were both founded in when we were children. We kept praying.

In 2012 the Lord also called us to take in a fourteen year old girl who needed some extra guidance. Although sometimes things were rough we could not have been more blessed! She is growing and so are we.

Kelly also started getting really busy with his own business. He does recycling and trash removal. He has been getting 1-2 jobs a week if not more. On top of working full time this gets busy. Makes him out of the house more then he is in it. When he is home he usually spends a little time with the kids and I and then heads to bed so he can start of the next day.

Throughout everything we held fast the words of the Lord. He would never leave or forsake us. That doesn't mean we wont be going through trails. That doesn't mean that life won't be hard. We hung on. We hung on to that very truth. God was going to carry us through this year, he was going to make sure we came out better on the other side. Every time we called on him and listened for his response we have been blessed greatly!

I have hopes and dreams for 2013. First and Foremost I am hoping the Lord blesses this year for us. I hope that we will be able to do great things for him as a family, but also as individuals. Here are a few of my personal goals.

1. Get to know Jesus better. I have been a Christian for a long time. This year I want to go deeper. I want to be more intimate with my God.

2. Take more pictures! Of the kids, of my husband, of myself, and of our experiences. I am bad at taking pictures and I want to change that.

3. Make the blog more vibrant and colorful. I also want to update more often. I also am going to work on making some tabs at the top for tips, tutorials, and more! Excited to share more of my work with all of you.

4. Get our home school routine more organized. We are doing well with our home school routine, but it could use some adjusting.

5. Turn of the screens in the house before at bedtime so their is no temptation to sit and play games or surf the web till all hours of the night.

I am excited for a new year. I am excited for a new me. I am excited for a new blog look. We are doing so many things this year that I can not wait to share with you.