Date Night

Over the past year, Darrell and I have gone on a weekly date night. We have had lots of fun and delight in knowing the kids are home safe with our sitter , Ruthie !

We've gone on hikes, fancy dinners, red-neck places to eat, walked at the mall during the winter, shopped, met with friends, met with family, taken Michaela or Jess our to dinner...even went gun shopping! Lately, we have been investing in our horses and have gone to our horse instructors place for some training and riding lessons.  We have enjoyed encouraging each other as we build our confidence.

Last night we rode on Hercules! The other horse we were scheduled for coliced and had to be trailered to help it ...which was successful! A good ending to that story!

Here are some pictures :)

Cape Cod

Our boys had been at the Cape for 3 days of rain, work and play when we got to join them. Jess, Kiara, and the 3 littles rode down with the Winslow family and Martha. They told many funny stories of their trip, did drill downs for us and gave out awards. It was so much fun to meet the other families, walk in the beautiful beach and look for crabs, snails and mussels. After a hearty lunch the boys all headed out to clean while we played on the porch and then went into the music room and listen to Maddie Winslow and 2 other girls play violin, mandolin and piano. They were eventually joined by singers as Miss Genie gave out books to sing along with the music. We later headed home with a traditional stop at Cracker Barrell where they saw the Alert shirts and asked if we know the Duggars! Apparently they had just aired a segment on their show about one of the boys going to Alert.

It was a long beautiful day!

Hope

There are many things that seem like it is crazy 'out there' in our world but we can never lose HOPE!  God's word is clear and we just need to trust him and when we acknowledge him in ALL things he promises to make our paths straight!  Trusting in Him today!! Hold onto Hope!

Jeremiah 17:7-8 NIV
But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."

Jeremiah 29:11-12 (New International Version)
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

Zephaniah 3:17 (New International Version)
The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing."

Psalm 71:14 (New International Version)
But as for me, I will always have hope;
I will praise you more and more 



"I Will Trust You"-Steven Curtis Chapman
I don't even wanna breathe right now
All I wanna do is close my eyes
But I don't wanna open them again
Until I'm standing on the other side

I don't even wanna be right now
I don't wanna think another thought
And I don't wanna feel this pain I feel
And right now, pain is all I've got

It feels like it's all I've got, but I know it's not
No, I know You're all I've got
And I will trust You, I'll trust You
Trust You, God, I will
Even when I don't understand, even then I will say again
You are my God, and I will trust You

God, I'm longing for the day to come
When this cloudy glass I'm looking through
Is shattered in a million pieces
And finally I can just see You

God, You know I believe it's true
I know I will see You
But until the day I do

I will trust You, trust You
Trust You, God, I will
Even when I don't understand
Even then I will say again

You are my God, and I'll trust You
And with every breath I take
And for every day that breaks
I will trust You
I will trust You
And when nothing is making sense
Even then I will say again

God, I trust You
I will trust You
I know Your heart is good
I know Your love is strong
And I know Your plans for me
Are much better than my own

So I will trust You, trust You
I trust You, God, I do
Even when I can't see the end
And I will trust You
I will trust You, I will
Even when I don't understand
Even then I will say again

I will trust You, I will trust You, I will
I know Your heart is good,
Your love is strong,
Your plans for me are better than my own
Yeah, Your heart is good
Your love is strong
Your plans for me are better than my own
And I trust You
You are my God
And I will trust You

ALERT Cadet

The uniforms were pressed and starched, the labor intensive work had been completed. Their heads were filled with many verses of scripture, the bodies improved with exercise and their relationships with dads and sons and other like minded dads and sons were strengthened! They stood proud of what they accomplished and how far they have come. They stood humbled by the path the lays before them knowing it can not be completed with their strength alone!

Fathers and sons pinned in their awards on their uniforms! 

Mr Dan Otis from Maine first Alpha is promoted to Captain to work under Major Doug Darigin.

Mr. Kevin Edwards is promoted to Lt. Colonel ...and is now over all units in the US.

An exciting day for cadets, dads and I am sure The Lord  himself!

Stop Circling the Mountain and Head North!

In so many areas of our lives we do the same thing over and over and some how expect a change...lots of us have been around the mountain again and again and have come away disappointed, frustrated and not knowing what to do next.  I have been in a Bible Study with my dear friend Mary.  The study, Made to Crave, by Lysa Terkeurst,  addressed this very thing with a quote from Ruth Graham.....

"Either we can be victimized and become victims, or we can be victimized and rise above it.  Often it is easier to play the victim than take off our masks and ask for help.  We get comfortable with our victim status.  It becomes our idenity and is hard to give up.  The Israelites often played the victim card, and I love what God finally tells them, "You have circled this mountain long enough.  Now turn north. (Deutermonomy 2:3)

Turn North?  It is time to move on!  Self-pity, fear, pride and negativity paralyze us.  Taking off our masks takes courage, but if we don't do it, we will remain in our victim status and end up stunted."

This visual of going around the mountain really helped me get a handle on some of the struggles I was having reaching my goal in weight loss.  But as I thought about this...I was able to apply it to so many other things where I felt I was circling the mountain.  I now look for the opportunity to turn north and God is showing the way!  It is so good to be under his lead rather than worrying what other people are thinking or judging or what ever.  He has promised if we acknowledge Him in all we do, He will make our paths straight!  That is a beautiful promise in the Word of God.

But, back to the reason I am writing about this mind picture...it helped me look for another way to get to my goal and I turned north and found a new path.  This past week after yo-yoing for months, I finally met my goal for Weight Watchers.  It was a good feeling to accomplish this and so many times I was frustrated and going no where fast on 'the plan'.  I actually stumbled on a different plan that a dear friend suggested and it has worked in helping me cross the finish line!  What an exciting thing and the best part of the whole deal??

My hubby is now on board with the new plan-THM (Trim Healthy Mama).  He keeps asking, am I suppose to eat this much...it is really good too! By planning his meals and eating together, we have kept each other accountable and enjoyed the great desserts on the new plan!  He has lost 14 pounds in a month and 1/2.  At a recent doctor's appointment, his blood pressure was doing so well on the new plan that his doctor cut his medicine in1/2 and is monitoring it to cut more if need be--very soon!  He is so excited about what he eats and the great results!  The doctor was so excited that his numbers for blood pressure and cholesterol were where they were suppose to be he took the name and authors of the book to share with his patients!

So God had me on a journey...a weight loss one where I lost 55 pounds!  After circling the mountain and turning North...I found a new healthier path and am finished at this goal BUT he has challenged me to not stop here.  I have a new goal and I can't wait to see where he has me going next!  The best part...I am not doing it alone.

Our Mother's Day

We headed off to church early this morning after an simple breakfast with our children. We had a great service and lots of fellowship and one huge miracle to be grateful for today...God showers so many blessings on us! It is even better to be given a front row seat! There are a few pictures of the boys having fun too.

We returned home and helped the boys prepare for their Alert backyard camp out. Joseph is so excited to be included with the big boys too! The girls joined them for franks, beans and s'mores! Yum! The boys were left to their camp out while I took the girls in for a bath and put Devon down for the night while they played in the tub. Thy are camping out in the living room...they are so excited...I excited for my own bed tonight.

Training

Jess, Kiara and I headed out to the barn today right after lunch...it was such a treat! We brushed the horses and Jess helped me work on some techniques with lunging...we had a few laughs when Spirit decided to challenge us and headed my way! I went running and told Jess she was my body guard...it was very funny and I learned to work through my mistakes...it was a great learning day for mom! Our horses are really lots of fun!