9 Years Ago

This day 9 years ago, my world changed forever!  It changed in ways that I could have never imagined.  

This day 9 years ago I married my best friend!

With both George and I coming from previous marriage that were not happy or heathy, the odds were definitely stacked against us to not last.  I would say though, that with both of our experiences we both knew how hard it would be and how much work it would take. We have had God in the center of our marriage, and I believe it's key to what has made us last!

When I was going through my divorce I remember a friend telling me that God would bless me for my faithfulness!  All these years later, I have seen blessing after blessing poured out on my life.  Michael and these little ones are one of the greatest blessings by far! ( I don't have a recent photo of Michael)

God could not have picked a more perfect person for me to spend the rest of my life with.

Thank you God for giving me exactly the person that I needed! Thank you for showing me that you had someone out there that was just right for me!

George, I thank you for the man that you are and are becoming!  God continually sparks my faith in Him, by watching you and your relationship with Him!  You are and amazing leader and father to our children and I will always love you for that!

To many more years to ahead!  I love you!

Most Recent Family Photos

It's been awhile since I have posted something.  I have just been busy with the kids and it has not been a top priority, but by blogging it helps keep me accountable to not forget the little moments that I have with the kids that I do not want to forget.

We just had the last of our 6 session family photo shoot with our wonderful photographer Kati.  We have enjoyed each session as well as the photos that we get to keep as a memory of the early stages of the kids growth.  Now that they are getting older we will most likely have our pictures done once a year.

I planned the outfits out a couple months in advance so that I did not leave things to the last minute scrambing for something to wear.  I love Polyvore.  I love checking out the different outfit that other people have come up with and it gives you so many ideas on how to put clothes together.  I decided to make my own for the family pictures and this is what I cam up with.

Family Pictures by gahuertas featuring a ruffle dress

I decided to do a different outfit at my sisters request! 

Here is how the pictures turned out.

Gabriel 3 1/2 Years old

Selah 3 1/2 years old

Eva 18 Months

Daddy's Little Girl

My man and his serious pose

The twins always have to have something in their hands!

Had to have her get a better photo of me since I finished my diet.

He's so handsome!

His realtor pose!  Looking for a great realtor?  He gets the job done! 

Thanks again Kati for all your hard work taking this special memories for me and my family.  We look forward to getting our pictures done next year!  If your looking for a wonderful Photographer Kati is a must!  We have always been satisfied with her work!

Saturday Morning (St.Patricks Day)

I love Saturday mornings!  George does not have to go to work and we can all be home together as a family.

Here is the extent of us celebrating St. Patricks Day.

I went and got the kids some Lucky Charms.  They ate all of the marshmallows and then did not want to eat the rest of the cereal. Go figure!

I've just started getting into having a cup of coffee every day.  I love coffee, but just did not drink it all the time.  We got a Keurig coffee maker last year for Christmas and I have just started use it.  There is nothing like a cup of coffee.

Now with a great cup of coffee  you need a good book.  Here are the books currently on my nightstand.

The bottom book is a a journal book to journal our love story for our kids and stories along the way to save for our kids so they can read it one day.

The next book is called  My Name Is Hope by John Mark Comer.  I just started reading it, but what I have read so far is great!

The book that is on top has been on my Pinterest list to buy for awhile and I finally got it.  It's called One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.  It is a must read! It talks about living fully right where you are at in life.  I can't wait to read more!

So, there you have it.  That's what is going on here this morning at our house!

Have a wonderful weekend!

My Vocation

For the past few weeks our church, has been doing a “Work Series”. It has been so good for me to hear and really have been enjoying it. If you are wondering what kind of work or vocation that God has called you to do, I would encourage you to listen to the series.

Per Wikipedia - A vocation (from Latin vocare, meaning "to call"[1]), is a term for an occupation to which a person is specially drawn or for which he or she is suited, trained, or qualified. Though now often used in non-religious contexts, the meaning of the term originated in Christianity.

When I was young I thought about being a teacher or a nurse and even a flight attendant. It was not until I was in high school that I really had a desire to be a stay at home mom.

I was married a year after high school and was so excited about being a mom and a wife. Three years later though “my dream” fell apart. My husband decided to walk away from the marriage and there was nothing I could do. I thought, "What am I going to do now? Who is going to want to be with someone that is divorced? I was only 22 years old!

A couple years later I met George and my world changed completely. The way we met and came together is another story entirely. God definitely had His plan in all of it.

George has a son from a previous marriage and at first was thinking “This was not what I had planned for being a mom”. God definitely used that time to teach me, as well as mold us together as a family. It took us many years to get pregnant and I was still wondering what God's plan was for me.

I continued to work in jobs that I was really unhappy doing, especially since I felt my calling was to be a stay at home mom.

John Mark spoke a couple of Sundays ago about how Jesus was twelve when he felt a calling to be with His Father at the temple, but it was not until He was thirty that He knew what He was called to do. John Mark talked about how it will take time for God to show us what it is that He would have us do.

He also spoke about how waiting for God to show you where you are suppose to be, and that we are to take every job that we are given and do it “well”! Oh, how I wish that I could have heard that along time ago. I think it would have really changed my perspective on things.

Now, I am a mother of three in the throws of Diapers, breaking up fights, runny noses and up all hours of the night. There are times that I think, "Am I really making a difference?"

There are many Sundays that I go to church and listen to John Mark speak and think to myself...."God has called him and blessed him in amazing ways in his speaking." He is incredibly talented and does his job WELL! The thought also came to my mind is, how proud Diane Comer (his mother) must feel to see him up there doing what God has called him to do. She has done her job WELL and now she can see the fruits of her labor!

I am not sure where my kids will be twenty years from now, but I look forward to seeing what God is going to have them do. It gives me a new excitement to enjoy each season and each day that I have with my kids and not to hurry it along.


I love my vocation!

How could I not love what I do when looking at this pictures! What's God teaching you right now?

Seasons

It seems like there are so many seasons of life.  When your young, you can’t wait to be older and in high school.  When your in high school, you can’t wait to be in college.  When your in college, you can’t wait to be done and start a career or get married.  When you are married, you can’t wait to have a house and kids.  When you have kids, you can’t wait for them to get to the next stage of growth. 

Now looking back on my life, I wish that I would have enjoyed each stage a little more. The list above describes me to a tee. Always so impatient and wanting the next thing or stage in life.

Now, that I am in the stage of life with three young kids, I believe that God has really been speaking to me and telling me to slow down and be content with where I am at in life.  For the first time, I can now say that I want to soak up all this time that I can.  I want to be able to breath in every moment of the day that I have with my kids and  don’t want them to get older and don’t want this stage to pass.  Yes, this has been a very hard season for me in the past three years, but it has taught me so much.

I am overwhelmed and in awe of what it means to be a parent.  To have the chance to help develop and train these children that have been entrusted to me is incredible.

I was reading my cousins blog this morning and she has 4 kids of various ages and I enjoy reading her blog to glean some wisdom from her since she has been a mother a little longer and has been recently through some of the stages that I am going through right now and for the fact that God is always speaking to each one of us differently.  (Thanks Ginger for sharing how God is speaking to you)  If you want to hear about how she is making her home a haven check her out here!

I’m stealing this song that she had posted on her blog because I love it and it is really what I want my life to be like.

Staycation Part 3 (The Beach)

Well, this is another trip that has to be planned spur of the moment as well.  We defiantly did not want to go to the beach when it was rainy or windy with three little ones.

It was a Monday night and I checked to see what the weather was going to be like at the beach.  Tuesday was the only day that was going to be decent with no rain. We decided that night while we were in bed that we were going to go in the morning. 

George manages a office down in Netarts.  For those of you who do not know where that is, is just outside of Tillamook.  George had to drop off a computer and so we had to go to that beach.  Usually I prefer Cannon beach  but he had to make a trip there anyways and we did not want to make two trips.

When we got to the beach, the weather was amazing and the beach was empty.  It was one of the best weather days that I have experience at the beach.  It was also nice to have the beach to ourselves and let the kids run all over.

Here are some pics of the day!

 

Staycation–Part 2 (Zoo)

One of the things that we had on the list of things to do was the Zoo.  We really did not want to go when it was raining so it was going to have to be planned spur of the moment. 

We met my parents and nephew up at he Zoo as soon as they opened.  We got parking right up front and were able to walk right in.  For most of you who have been to the Zoo this is not a normal occurrence, especially on a nice day!

This was the first time to see the kids excited about going.  The last time they were either scared or could not see the animals!  Over all, it went well! I love experiencing things through kids eyes as they are seeing things for the first time.  I do not have a picture of this, but Gabriel was at the window of the Black Bear section and they bear came right up to Gabriel.  He was so scared but interested.

Here are a few pics of our outing.

 

Gabriel was not excited about being on the pretend horse!

I think the Elephants are one of my favorites at the ZOO. Such amazing animals!

The kids loved the train ride!  They are always talking about trains. (I wish I would have asked the man sitting in front of me to take a picture of all of us. I love this picture!)