HAPPY 200th and a GIVEAWAY!!!

I never thought when I started this little bloggy poo that I would actually have 200 posts. Besides my kiddos and hubby, what more could I share with you (and I know some of you get tired of my kiddos so get your own blog and then you won't have to worry about if you're gonna have to read about A#1, 2 or 3). I have enjoyed this adventure so much. If you know me, you know that I worry too much about what others think and I have had to let some of that go. When you put it all out there, you are opening yourself up to strangers and friends and family. Some things I have shared that might have been difficult for me to share face to face. I really started this blog as a way of our distant family being able to keep up with us and as a way to journal our lives. It's very cool to look back on past posts and reflect on what we've done this past year or so. I want to say thank you to all of you that are regular readers and especially to those that leave such awesome comments. To all of you lurkers, come out of hiding and let us know who you are. We would love to know who's there.

So since it's the big 200, I have a giveaway!!!!! I have been busy making some new little goodies that have brightened my day every time I have put one on. Leave a comment, you DO NOT have to have a blog to do so, and I will enter you in a drawing. If you do have a blog, mention this giveaway and you will be entered 2x. I will close the giveaway on Thursday at 7 pm. One of the 3 A's will be picking the winner. Wanna know what you will win? Here it is...

A sweet little flower pin to wear. You can pick from several colors. I have white, hot pink, baby pink, baby blue, turquoise blue, brown, red, lime green (my fave), purple and even Hokie burgundy and orange. You may pick any combo you like. For example, the one above is hot pink, bay pink and white. I made myself one to wear to LU that is red and white, adorable!! Go ahead, leave your comment and pass it along. Thanks for your love and support!!

How do you speak?

Cruising thru a new blog the other day I found this and man did I need to hear it. For myself and my own mouth and for things that others had recently said to me. I love this lady and her testimony is amazing. Check her out at http://www.especiallyheather.com/
This was her post on March 11th:




Do you ever think about what really comes out of your mouth? Do you think about the impact, whether good or bad,your words have on not only those around you, but you yourself? Do you think about the impact it has on the personal view someone else has of Christ, whether they know Him or not?
I am so very excited about SheSpeaks this summer that I can hardly stand it. Yet I am fearful at the same time that I will disappoint not only myself, but my father in some way. Let me explain:
I have never really been great at public speaking. Actually, it terrifies me to think about doing what Beth Moore does. I watch her videos every Tuesday and think “Lord, you want me to do that?!” She is so gifted and so eloquent (and hilarious!)… it just flows out of her like honey.
But last night, as I watched her… something in my heart changed. Not because of her words, but because of Gods words speaking through her:
“Perhaps more than anything else, Satan wants to hinder us from ever learning how to use our mouths.”
Our most powerful tool to defeat Satan and bring others to a relationship with Christ are our spoken words. For what we believe, we speak. (2 Cor. 4:13) As we inhale scripture, we exhale His words. They are like CPR for the soul, as Beth Moore so eloquently puts it.
Yet many times we use our words to hurt, gossip, lie, curse, or be rude or unkind. As Christians, we must guard our words like they are gold. For what comes out of our mouths is what lies in our hearts. I often need to be reminded of this, because so many times I fail to see, in my own daily life, the things that I say that unintentionally hurt both my witness, and also the witness of Christ.
Before a word is on my tongue, you know it completely, Lord. -Ps. 139:4
I don’t know about you, but that verse blows my mind. He knows. I know that He knows. Yet I choose to say ______. Fill in your own blank…
Wow.
I want to be fully used by Christ, in whatever way He chooses. I want His light to shine through out every aspect of my life.
I want to bless His heart while blessing others lives.
I dont want to live in defeat any longer, for that is not my destiny. I want to live a victorious life, not just a mediocre one.
I want to be “Armed and Dangerous” for Christ.
Amen.

Let's praise Him!!

Wanted to give you an update on our nephew Mason. He has made some progress but unfortunately will not be going home with his Mommy and Daddy just yet. He has come off of his Cpap and is down to a level 3 on his oxygen. They will be moving him down to a level 1 (the lowest but best) soon. He still has his feeding tube in which they will be trying to bring him off of also. Please pray for my SIL. She is struggling with not being able to take him home as I'm sure we all would be. She's a tough cookie but this is difficult. Mason is still on antibiotics and will be until at least Saturday. From there they will see when he can come home. I want to praise the Lord that He is watching over them and taking care of The Grimes family. I also want to praise Him for my SIL being such a good Mommy and having such a great hubby that loves her and supports her. Before she got married she was a single mom to our nephew, Caden, and she has had a tough go at it at times. The Lord sent her a great guy that loves her and Caden unconditionally and I know how excited he is to be a daddy to Mason too. We have not planned our trip to visit just yet because we have to wait and see when Mason comes home and if he can have aunts that want to slobber all over him, oh sorry I mean visitors. WE LOVE YOU MASON!!!

Remembering Ireland

I thought in honor of St Patty's Day we would take a trip down memory lane. These pictures are all from A#1's trip to Ireland this past summer. Watching all of the festivities has been exciting for me this year because I can recognize some of the places A#1 has been. The clover is from the Irish farm they visited.

On the ferry on their way to Ireland. What an adventure he had!!!

Blarney Castle. A#1 kissed the Blarney Stone and received the gift of gab. This was one of his favorite days because they got to explore the castle on their own.

For a young man that played percussion instruments for 7 years in school, playing the Irish drums was exciting.

Absolutely one of my most favorite pictures of the whole trip. On the farm they played in the mud bog. Talking to A#1 you will find out this was one of the best times he has ever had. The boy LOVES pants and shorts with LOTS of pockets because he has LOTS of "stuff". The first time we looked at this picture it hit me at just how much this is him. His pockets are always full of something, this time it was LOTS of mud!!

Look at that smile!!!

Repelling off of a castle in Ireland. A little scary for me, a lot of fun for him.

Somewhere in Ireland. I love that the Lord allowed him to travel here to learn so much and to even learn about his heritage.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day to you all. For now me and A#3 are going on a hunt for a leprechauns. I hear they are sneaky little guys.

Pray for Mason and the rest of my family!!

I didn't realize it had been over a week since my last post until I was getting ready to ask you for more prayers. We have a new nephew as of Friday!! He needs your prayers. Mason was 3 weeks early and has had a little bit of a struggle. He either has pneumonia or a partially collapsed lung so he is in the NICU in an incubator and on oxygen. Please lift him and his Mommy and Daddy up tonight. He weighed in at 7 lbs and 2 oz (which is small for this family!) but the fact that he was a c-section and 37 weeks has given him a little difficulty. We love you buddy and can't wait to give you lots of kisses!!! T & J, hang in there and keep praying. The Lord knows what you need.

Also since my last post I would like to ask you to pray for my sister and her husband. He lost his job a week ago. Losing the job was bad enough but my sister is pregnant and due in July so now they have lost their insurance as well. This has been a very stressful event for them and our family and our hearts are heavy. I know they are trusting in the Lord and great things will happen, but they really need a peace that only He can give them right now. We are praying hard and fervently for this situation and I ask you to join us. C & M we love you and WE KNOW things will work out for you all.

A couple more...

A#1 went back to school on Thursday only to get sick on Friday. He is still feeling yucky and has classes all day on Monday and is supposed to start his flight schedule on Tuesday. Please pray that he will get over this junk and feel better in the morning. Love you buddy!!

My sister D- is still recovering from her knee surgery. She goes back to the Dr this week for some tests results and a follow up. Please pray for her.

My Uncle Mike- goes this week for some results and he is very concerned about them. This man is the best uncle a girl could ask for and I am praying that things will go great for him. Love you Mikie!! Prayers will be answered!

Happy Birthday Grandma

This is my step-mom a.k.a. Grandma Today is her birthday and I want to tell her HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!!!!!! We love ya and thank God for you. Your faith is amazing and I know if I ever need anything, especially a prayer warrior, I can count on you. I hope you will have a blessed day and a fantastic time in Florida.

The power of prayer!

My sister went in for her surgery yesterday evening with a bit of concern. From all of the pain she was in her heart rate was incredibly high and it took a long time to get it regulated. She came thru surgery fine and when the doctor came in to see her and her husband he informed them that her knee was just fine! As in it was just fine before he did anything!! Her meniscus was torn and out of place but when he went in, the meniscus had went back into place and all that was left was a lot of fluid and a good healthy knee. She looked up at me when I went in the room and said I know it's the power of prayer Tinie!! You got that right sister!! God is good. Thank you Lord for taking care of both of my sisters and for hearing our prayers.

What the Heck!!

Your prayers are needed again! Well for goodness sakes now my sister is in bad health. She squatted down Sunday night at her closet and stood up only to tear her meniscus, severely!! So now she will be having surgery tomorrow!! She is going this evening to have a MRI to look and see just how bad it is but they think from the tests already run, it is very bad. What the heck is happening people? Please pray for Dee. She is in a lot of pain right now.

Prayers needed

*Edited- Tues 9 am- Thanks for all of your prayers. My MIL is still in the hospital and will be there another day or so. They have changed some of her meds and want to monitor her and are waiting for some test results. My SIL was sent home, they were able to get the contractions to stop, and is on bed rest for a few days until she has a follow up appointment at the end of this week. Please continue to pray for them both.

*Edited- Additional prayers needed- just found out that my sis-in-law who is due April 3 was admitted to the hospital at 3 am this morning with contractions. so far they have not been able to stop them so we are waiting to hear what is going to happen next. So now my MIL and SIL are in the same hospital!!!! Geeesh!


This is my wonderful mother in law. She was admitted to the hospital today and I would like to ask you all to pray for her. She has some heart issues and is on meds for that. This morning she was having a very rapid heart rate and it just never would slow down. They are running tests on Monday but so far we know her potassium is very low and her white blood count is very high. This was supposed to be such a special day for her and my sister in law. They were being baptized today. Please pray and I will keep you posted. Love you sooooo much Ceil and know that we are praying for you. XOXOXO