Do you know what happened in your child's life today?

Today was a busy day...I got home about an hour before Faith's bus got here so I jumped in bed turned the TV on for Will, set my alarm clock to meet Faith at the bus stop, and caught a short cat nap...

When I woke up I was still quiet tired, but I jumped out of bed and went out to greet Faith.  When she walked in the house she was very whiny and emotional...very snappy, so, unfortunately, I tend to react...I yelled, "Gosh, you are in a BAD mood! Did you have a bad day or what?!?!" She said, "Yes, actually I did!"

She has never really responded like that, so I said, "well, I'm very sorry to hear that, what happened?" She began her story at lunch time (keep in mind this is 10:45 for her) She said, after lunch we went outside to play and there was a little girl who couldn't get up.  In my mind I was just thinking someone fell...so I said, well, why not? She said, she was just laying there and no one could help her and the ambulance had to come...I was taken  aback...she was crying so I just hugged her and tried to comfort  her.

Then we went to the ENT because she has been having a hard time hearing, long story short...she has to have tubes again...so that was upsetting as well...

Fast forward to bed time.  I was laying in bed with her loving on her.  She was still upset.  I said honey, are you ok? She said, I'm just so sad.  I said well tell me everything you remember...she said, well she was on the balance beam and fell off and laid real still...then she started shaking and couldn't stop...she said the nurse came out but no one could help her so the ambulance came.

I said, well do you want to pray for her? She said, well I don't even know her name. I said you don't have to, God knows exactly who you are talking about.  So she said, "God please help that little girl be okay...God please help that little girl be okay.  God please help that little girl be okay...Mommy, I don't even know what else to say..." I said, "sweetie, that is enough!"

Clearly Faith had a traumatic day...I am so thankful she shared what went on today and how it made her feel.  I pray that as she gets older she would continue to share the bad days with me.  That she would trust me enough to love on her and that we can go to the only one who can change matters and ask for comfort and help.

Please keep this little girl in your prayers for complete healing.  Please pray for her parents and family to have peace...and for those precious little kids that witnessed this today to be able to be comforted and have  peace. 

wrapped again...

I spent most of yesterday re-wrapping the gifts Will opened last week.  I wrapped most of them in bags this time  in case he felt the need to unwrap them again I can just shove the paper back in the bag.  We did have a long talk about unwrapping them and he promised he wouldn't do it again...we'll see ;)

Merry Christmas!

I'm baaaack!

After a week at Disney World, a week in New Orleans, and then a week with chronic fatigue and a debilitating headache-FINALLY-I'm back!

I woke up this morning for the first time in over 6 days without a headache.  I felt alert and had energy.  I just completed an hour workout and I feel so good!

Thank you all for your prayers, God is an awesome God! Please continue to pray they stay away.

Be blessed!

Lesson learned? For now...

Have you ever noticed trying to discipline is like disciplining yourself? 

Will likes to try to urinate all different creative ways into the potty and more times than not it lands everywhere, BUT the potty...is sheer frustration I usually lose my temper, yell, and while he runs off I clean it up with fury...

Well, today, he was doing so weird stance on a stool and said with a grin, "Hey Mom, look!"  As I glanced over I saw him pissing all over the toilet seat and his underwear.  I began yelling, "What are you doing?? Do it the right way, pee in the potty!!"

Is quickly stood up to finish and his grin faded...Instead of my usual continued yelling, I shut the door, handed him toilet paper, and said, "We are not leaving here until you wipe it up." He said, "No, you do it, it's yucky."  I said, "This I know, but you did, you will clean it." This continued on going on for well over 15 minutes.  I calmly sat there and told him we would not leave the room until HE cleaned it.  Me being calm in this circumstance was a feat in itself...but I continued to sit there, hum, and prayed that God would give me the strength not to give in.  After his many tears, yelling, and fit, he wiped it up, washed his hands.  I asked him to look at me, and told him how much I loved him and that was yucky and from now on if  he didn't make it in the potty he would have to clean it up.  He said, "Yes Ma'am," and kissed me back.

A while later he said, "I'm going potty." I looked him and he said, "I wont make a mess." For now, lesson learned.  I know this is a silly, yet a daily example of how I'm stretched...

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.  And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confidence of hope of salvation.  And this hope will not lead to disappointment.  For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Romans 5:3-5

In all the disappointments in life, I am SO thankful to know that I have the peace that God will NOT disappoint.  There will always be life's disappointments, kids, spouse, family, friends...but we can be confident, God will not...

Protection

Daron's car has sounded like a bi-plane for the past few months.  Literally if you have talked to us lately when we have been in the car with, you totally know what I'm talk'n about.  Well, Daron thought it was just that the tires were worn.  Well, he was supposed to be taking a customer to lunch today, so, I offered to take it to get new tires yesterday.

I packed a bag of cars, tag book, and DS for Will and we set out on our mission.  We arrived at Discount Tire to begin our mission.  After waiting over an hour our car was ready.  I was SO excited to get in and hear silence...to my surprise as I pulled out of the parking lot I quickly realized the problem was not fixed...I was still in an airplane :( I u-turned it and went back. I went in and told Paul (our friendly Discount guy) that it was just as loud as when I brought it in.  Paul took it for a drive and when he came back he said he was no mechanic, but it sounded like the bearings were going out. 

So, I then headed over to our mechanic. While on my way there my brother called me and I told him what I was doing.  He informed me that if it was the bearings I better get somewhere quick because it was very dangerous...in my head I was thinking....We've been driving it like this for 3+ months, but I know my brother is very knowledgeable so I took him seriously. 

Once we got to the mechanics we waited for about an hour and 1/2 to find out that both front bearings were going out, front brakes were nearly non-existed, rotors were in really bad shape...so I immediately began praying that this would not be the biggest financial burden.  I have no idea how much this stuff costs, but it sounded like a lot! So, I set a price in my head and began asking God to PLEASE make it less then XXXX...Then I heard Ben say, "Mrs. Moulton, I'm ready for you..." I walked in there and he began running numbers with me, knowing that wanted the most for the least, I mean who doesn't...As I was listening to him, he came down on the price three times without me even saying a word--might I add several hundred dollars less that what I had prayed for.  He then put Will and me in a car and took us home. 

It had been a LONG day in waiting rooms with a 3 year-old, which I would like to add for the most part he was fabulous! By the time I got home I was exhausted, but I was just in time for Faith to get off the bus...so we did homework, dinner, baths, etc.  By the time I was ready to go to bed I was thinking to myself ugh, what a crappy day...My head was not in the right place, so I went to bed. 

This morning I woke up with a clearer conscious and realized how blessed we really are.  Daron drives this car 60+ miles a day everyday and there has been noise coming from the car for over 3 months.  We have been told if bearings get loud that the wheels could just come off.  I feel that we are incredibly blessed to have driven this car so long with bad bearings and have been safe. 

Praise Jesus for protecting us!

My God is my rock, in whom I find protection.  He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.  He is my refuge, my savior, the one who saves me from violence. 

2 Samuel 22:3

God's way is perfect.  All the Lord's promises prove true.  He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.

2 Samuel 22:31

One last tid-bit I feel I should mention...When Faith started school in August we made it a routine where I would pray for her, her teacher, Daron, Will, and me on the way to school.  It would pretty much consist of the same words each day and the part for Daron would go something like this: "God we ask that you would help daddy have a great day.  We pray that you will help him to have a safe trip to and from work.  We ask that would put a shield of protection around him while he is driving.  And please help him to get off on time..."

The importance of me adding this is that I guess this around the time we thought we needed new tires, but we kept putting it off.  This is proof that God does answer prayers and specifically answered mine.

Be blessed!

Hang'n by a limb...

Most of you who know Will know he is my little dare-devil...he's going to climb in and out and up on everything. Today we were at the park and I was talking with a friend when I turned around Will was hanging from these bars...going uh-uh...I said, "Honey, don't fall, I've got you." (as I was leaping over a slide trying to get to him before he fail). As soon as I said and did this, SOOOO clearly I heard God say that to me, "Shawna, be careful, don't fall, hold my hand...I HAVE YOU!"

Have you ever been in a place where life is going so well, everything is going your way? AND somehow, we begin to leave out the one that is making it so good? We get into the hustle and bustle of life and kind of set God on the night stand..?? I'll admit, I do this, but today I was reminded by nature and love for my child that no matter how many times we try to do things by ourself or back away from God, He is STILL there and ready to catch us.

I am so glad to know that I have someone so faithful to always be there to catch me when I fall!

Fresh start...new day

This morning I woke up feeling much more refreshed. Will was still asleep after I saw Faith off to school and Daron off to work so instead of crawling back in bed (like I wanted to) I decided to stay up and open the Bible. I'm sure glad I did. He promises us a fresh start each day-Praise God! I needed a new start and didn't want it to go in the same direction as yesterday.

Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people;

praise his holy name.

For his anger lasts only a moment,

but his favor lasts a lifetime;

weeping may stay for the night,

but rejoicing comes in the morning.

Psalm 30:4-5

When Will woke up, I greeted him with a smile, big hug, and a kiss. As though nothing had happened yesterday. After all, that's what God does to us. We snuggled up on the couch and watched Mickey Mouse. Then we got dressed to meet a friend for a walk in the park.

The weather is brisk and cool, with clear blue skies...absolutely beautiful! I strapped Will in his stroller and my friend and I walked over 2.5 miles just talking. It was so nice to fellowship with another believer and be encouraged--just what I needed!

After our walk we stopped at the park to let the kids play. With a big grin on his face, Will looked at me and said, "Let's play tag." I did-then bear hunt (like hide-n-seek), slid down the slides, climbed bars...I was playing with my son and letting my youth take hold--it felt great! Well, I must admit, I got a little winded with all this chasing so I plopped down on the lawn and laid down. When I looked up I saw beautiful fall foliage...it was as though the leaves were dancing in the air. I called for Will, "Honey, come here and lay by me for a minute." And for a brief moment he and I laid there. It is moments like these that make you forget all the gunk from the day before.

Our God is magnificent in his creations. Have you taken the time today to go outside, look around, look up...take a fresh breath of air...ahhhhhh!

Stretching...

When I workout I usually follow it up with a stretch, and when I don't I can tell. For instance some side-effects of not stretching are soreness, pain, lack of range of motion, etc...Stretching is similar to prayer and your walk with God. The days I wake up and talk to God, thank Him for what I have and ask for guidance for my future, desires, fears, etc. I feel a sense of peace, that extra dose of patience and compassion. However, when I go through a dry season and think I can do it all on my own and can handle it on my own with out consulting the Mighty King I find myself enduring a little "pain," a little extra fear, not as much peace, patience, and compassion...

Just like stretching, we need to stretch our relationship with our #1 Daddy! He's always there for us and ready to catch us. Speaking for myself, why do I "forget" to start my day with prayer and scripture when I KNOW it's going to make me have a better day?? I KNOW it will carry me through and help me be a better wife and mom...

The past few weeks in the hustle and bustle of "life" I have forgotten to include the ONE that makes it all happen. In turn I have had little peace about anything, lots of anxiety, headaches, and mass amounts of frustration. I am not saying you wont get headaches or anxious at times, but I know I would have been better off lifting my burdens rather than trying to carry them all on my own.

In Matthew 11:28, Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."

Exodus 18:18 You're going to wear yourself out--and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself.

See Jesus really does want to take our burdens and lighten our loads! Take a moment to thank God for what you have and take your deepest desires to Him. He's been waiting for you to talk to Him today!

Bad day...

To get to the point...it's been a bad (couple of) day(s)...

Daron and I got home from his business trip in NOLA on Saturday night, will woke up twice...so needless to say, yesterday morning I was super tired. Yesterday we decorated the house for Christmas and every time I looked or said something to Will, he began to cry. So, I made him take a nap, all for when he woke up to cry the rest of the evening. Then last night he woke us up four times. It was literally SO bad that the 4th time at 5 am, Faith came to our room saying please do something, I'm so tired--poor girl! 6:10 came far too quickly as I snoozed the alarm until 6:40 realizing I had 8 minutes to wake Faith up, get her dressed, teeth brushed, and at the bus stop. It was in the upper 30's as I had sweat pants and a sweat shirt I bolted out the door to go with Faith to the bus stop...not getting too far before I realized I had forgotten shoes--BURRRR!
Well, Faith was off to school, Daron had just left for work and my sweet, precious, baby boy was sleeping all snug in my bed...so I thought I'm just going to lay back down with him...about 15 minutes later he woke up, "It's norning time, it's norning time...wake up...come on mommy!" Groggy all over I said with my eyes closed, "Mommy is still tired because you kept me up all night, go play..." About 10 minutes later he walked into my room and said hey mommy, open this...he had opened one of Faith's Christmas presents and wanted me to take it out of the box. I said, WILL!!! Where did you open that? He said in my room...I hopped out of bed and walked to his room to find he not only opened that one, he had opened four presents....AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

Well, my day never really turned around from there...I had a throbbing headache and it seemed a domino affect continued all day long...we went to a play date, then Academy, Toys R Us, Gander Mountain, HEB...rushed home to see Faith get off the bus. As I was unloading groceries, I didn't see a bag had a hole in it and hot sauce shattered on the driveway....come on!!! So, I had to clean all that up...

Oh I forgot to tell you that HEB didn't have night-time pull-ups for Will, so before dinner I went to Randalls, they didn't have them, after dinner went to Kroger and Walgreens...yeah you hear me...4 places and NOOOOOO pull-ups...needless to say, I will now have to wash sheets tomorrow because I am sure he will have an accident tonight...

My release=1 glass of wine and blogging...I feel a lot better...tomorrow I will shake the rest off with a run with a great friend!

~Goodnight...

Huntsville State Park

I found a piece of paper on my desk a while back with some scribble on it...I read it and it was from when we went camping back in September at Huntsville State Park. I learned in school to write down things that I want to remember. As much as I wish I could say I do this all the time, I can't...however, I did on this trip and I am SO glad I did not throw away this piece of paper!

When we arrived at the park it was raining, so we decided to check in, go look at our campsite, then head to Huntsville for dinner. We knew that the rain would be dying down soon and this would be a good time to get a good meal in before camping. So, we headed to town and ate at Margaritas Mexican Restaurant. While we were looking at the menu you saw something and thought it was quiet funny: "Thank you for teaching your children how to enjoy eating in a restaurant without disturbing the other customers around you." Well, luckily our kids were well-behaved that night and we were in a corner :)

Once we were done with dinner we went back to the campgrounds to meet Stevie and Bella. The rain has stopped, so we went to our site and noticed the electricity was not working. So, Daron and Stevie decided to leave me with the 3 kids alone in the dark in what Will would call a "cage" He looked a couple campsites over where there were lights and said, "Mommy, I wanna stay in that cage!"

While Daron and Stevie went to tell someone our lights didn't work, Will asked, "How are they going to fix the lights?" I said, "Your daddy's just going to put a new light bulb in..." He said with a serious voice, "How? My daddy's not tall..." bahahahaha!!

Then the kids started talking about what they were going to do if a mean guy came in:

Will: I'm going to hit him with my flash light!

Faith: I'm going to kick him in the wiener!

Bella: I'm going t karate chop them!

Yep...this was all in the first 30 minutes at the campsite...gotta love little ones...We had such a wonderful time camping and would definitely go back to Huntsville State Park, it was gorgeous and the weather was awesome!

Faith's 6th Birthday

My beautiful princess, Faith, turned 6, Friday, November 26th! We went on a family vacation-Disney World. We spent our last day (Faith's birthday) at Epcot and Magic Kingdom. We went to Epcot for a lunch with the princess.

It began a little shaky as our reservations were pushed back almost 45 minutes and everyone was very hungry. When we went in the castle the kids were able to take pictures with Belle, then we were escorted to our table. Once we were seated Faith became very upset...we had no idea why, I said, "Honey, what is the problem??" She said, "I can't get my napkin to stay on my lap!" She was so distraught from trying to be so lady-like and her napkin not staying in place. My mom thought this was absolutely adorable and was able to capture it on camera...

Faith said on Thursday, all she wanted to do the last day was stay at Epcot and have the characters sign her book, so that's what we did...

I will never forget...Saturday we were loaded up in my Mom's car (we road home with her) and Faith said, "Mom, it's so weird..." I said, "What's that?" She said, "I don't feel 6..." Kids are so cute....I love you so much! You will always be mommy and daddy's little princess!

Disney World

This year over Thanksgiving our family went to Disney World, Orlando, Fl. All 14 of us (Huff's, Nana, Nannie, Mandy, Aunt Kay, and our family) hooked 'em out to Orlando and spent a week in the "happiest place on Earth." LOL....

This was Daron and Will's first time to go. I could hardly wait to see their reaction...they both loved it! We spent the week of Thanksgiving there, which was bitter/sweet considering all of the family was not there.

My family, Mom, Kay and most of Fallon's kids shared a joining room. It was wonderful to see the little cousins scurry from one room to the other, hopping up and down bunk bed, making plenty of noise...I love to see them play together, they are the best of friends!

The first two days we spent at Magic Kingdom, 3rd-Hollywood, 4th-Animal Kingdom and Hollywood, 5th-Epcot and Magic Kingdom

Each night I would ask the kids what their favorite part was about each day and this is what they had to say....Will-enjoyed the stunt show at Hollywood the most (I loved it too...I wanted to be in the car doing the stunts with them). Faith-LOVED The Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, and Thunder Mountain, those were Daron's favorite too. My favorite things were It's a Small World and Peter Pan because it reminded me of my childhood...Also, the first night we stayed for the parade and firework show...I teared up when the fireworks started because I realized how cool it was that I had 'my' family at Disney World. I was privileged as a child with my parents and grandparents taking me on such wonderful trips...but it was so wonderful to see my children able to enjoy what we always did as a child.

I noticed this trip that my equilibrium is not what it used to be...I LOVE roller coasters and anything fast, but it seemed this time each time I would get off I would feel a little light headed and nauseated...

Bentley, Faith, and I went on Splash Mountain, we were on the ride, going through the tunnel about to go off the drop, the ride stopped, we waited for 30 minutes for the ride to resume, of course I left my phone at the stroller, when staff members came and escorted us off the ride. :(

Daron joked with my mom one night that he thought it was comical how he had never seen so many children crying in strollers and parents yelling in his life and how it was the happiest place on earth...my mom laughed and said, I think you have been there a couple of times this week-we agreed :)

Overall, we had the most fabulous time and will has this memory for a lifetime!

Running

Well, I completed my first 1/2 marathon. 2 years ago my older sister, Fallon, asked me if I would like to run with her...I think my response was rather quick and went some like, "hell no...." with a little giggle...I have NEVER been much of a runner and never thought I would be.

It all began in January, I was upset one day and decided to go out for a walk, I was so upset that it turned into a jog...I thought to myself, "I can breath...how? I have never been able to breath and run at the same time." It was at that point that I knew I would start running, at least a little.

March came around and I had only ran a couple of times. I gave Daron a 30th birthday party where many friends and family came. One of my close girl-friends came and had lost a lot of weight. I immediately asked her what she was doing and her response was, "running!" I thought to myself, that's it, I'm going to go for it! She then asked me to run a race with her, so, I ran my first 5K with her in College Station in April. That pretty much kicked my butt, but I did it! Then we ran a relay in May in Corpus Christi. It was then my Mom and sisters decided we would all run the San Antonio Rock 'n Roll 1/2 Marathon. I became serious and started training.

In the following months I trained dedicated to my calendar, eating relatively healthy, yet-my original goal of losing weight was not happening. I became discouraged and talked to several seasoned athletes and was told time and time again, "do not run to lose weight!" That made no sense to me since I had another friends that had lost loads of weight "running." One expert told me that running was such a shock to the body that it would take at least 6 months for my body to make it through the shock, then I would lose some weight...low and behold, about 8 months after I began I started losing weight. I have now lost over 15 pounds with a combination of Weight Watchers, running, and strength training.

I ran another 5K-Buffalo Stampede in Bryan and a 10K in Houston to prepare for this race...

November 14, 2010 I accomplished something I told myself I would NEVER do....I RAN and 1/2 Marathon. So many emotions over-flowed as I crossed the 12 mile mark....then the finish line. I had done something that few ever do. God had enabled me to cross that line. He helped me endure the training, the pain, the challenge and complete a goal! I also had the emotions running that the first 1/2 I ever did was with my family by my side! My 50 year-old Mom finished her first the same day, my sisters, dad, and cousins were all there! It was such a wonderful feeling!

Don't ever sell yourself short...you can do and be anything you want to be with adequate amount of training and mindset. So, where do I go from here? Well, I sure need to set another goal that I have yet to set...