Mother's Day 2012

This year thanks to our favorite hang-out, Chick Fil A, the boys and I have had a great Mother's Day.  This year Chick Fil A offered a Mother-Son Date Knight!  We signed up, knowing Bobby would be at the fire station all weekend!  I told the boys they were taking me on a date and Rob informed me, I was taking him on a date since I could drive.  So I gave him some money, and we began our night.  As we walked up to CFA, there were plenty of decorations to make us feel like we were in a castle.  We were greated by some young ladies in fancy "Princess" clothes as Rob called them.  The young men were dressed as knights.  We were welcomed in took a picture with the knight cow and then escorted to our seats.
The tables were covered in white linens with flowers and complete with plastic shields and swords, which made for a very disrtacting meal!  The juggler got their attention real quick.  The waiter came and took our order and Rob was so proud he got to pay!  He had noticed when people left the moms got a rose and he was getting impatient about getting me a rose.   When we finally finished our meal, Rob asked me to close my eyes and he went and got me a rose!  Such a sweet boy!
So thankful for our CFA and our wonderful date-knight!!

I was never the type of girl who dreamed of having children, I just knew it was what was supposed to happen.  I adore my boys, but most of the time I feel unqualified to raise them.  I am always looking for advice on raising them!!  I by no means want to wish away their lives, but I look forward to watching them grow.  I love where we are, I love  that there is communication and some bit of self functioning!  I am so blessed and confused that God chose me for Rob and Ryan.  There are days I have to sit and ask God what he was thinking. I also am so thankful to Bobby for trusting me to raise his precious boys.  As much as I feel unprepared to raise Rob and Ryan, I also know that God gave them to me, because He knows we are perfect for each other.

Life changing day on April 17

  


   April 17, 2012 started as a normal beautiful cool April morning.  The boys and I were in the car headed to their MDO/Preschool.  It is a good 25 min drive for us so we have plenty of time to talk, and with my precious Rob, that is a good thing.  On this particular day, God had planned ahead and gave me a bit more patience than normal, knowing what was in store for me.  He knew in the midst of Rob's questions my life would change.  Typically I can handle 10 minutes of Rob's never ending questions and conversations.  If you happen to use a "big word" than, you have opened yourself up for more questions, demand for knowledge and understanding.  On this morning I messed up and used the word typically.  So there I was driving, trying to describe to a 5 year old what typically meant.  Now as most parents know, the moment they ask you to explain a word you go blank.  After I answered what I could, I thought maybe we are done for the day, but God had a different plan.
     Rob then wanted to know how Jesus could live in our hearts, when we just celebrated Jesus' return to heaven.  In the same breath asked if Jesus and God were the same or different people?  So I talked about Jesus being God's son, so He was part of God.  (I was really not prepared to begin a conversation on the Trinity.)  He was satisfied with that answered when we talked about God giving Mary baby Jesus and that God wanted His son to walk on the earth and live with people.  Then of course, He had to die for our sins so He could be raised from His dead body to live in Heaven with God again.  When we got to this point in the discussion, he asked again, "How does He live in our hearts?"  With that I being talking about salvation and the way we get to go to heaven, is by telling Jesus thank you for dying for our sins and asking Him to come and live in our hearts.  I said you just say those things to Jesus in a prayer and He will fill your heart and make a place for you in Heaven. 
    That is the moment my life changed.  He very mater-of-factly said "I am ready to do that, mommy.  I am ready to ask Jesus in my heart"   At this point I am in tears, trying to explain to Rob that I am so happy for him. Had we not been going to church I would have stopped and prayed right there with him, but in that moment I thought it would be something we could share with others.  I told him when we got to church we could go into Pastor Bill's office and pray together.  We walked into the church and I was fighting back tears the whole way knowing my little man, was making the best decision of his life.  Rob walked into the office and told Pastor Bill he was ready to ask Jesus into his heart.  Bill looked at me and realized I was a complete mess, but also a very proud momma.  So he talked with him for a minute and then we all held hands.  Rob closed his eyes and with an excited and steady voice asked Jesus to live in his heart.  I don't remember what Pastor Bill said after that, but I will never forget the look on Rob's face after he said Amen.  I saw the face of Christ in my little man.
    He was so proud to share his news with his music teacher, Miss Melissa.  The others who heard could not help but fight back tears to hear how this young man had just changed his life.  In the Methodist church, they do not come forward in front of the church to accept Christ.  We believe a simple prayer is all you need.  I know he will have other life changing spiritual moments, but I may never get to experience those in person. My mom and I actually had a conversation less than a week ago and she said Rob is ready to ask Christ in his heart.  This has been a great day.
   I feel so inadequate as a mom sometimes.  Rob challenges me on a daily basis.  He is smarter than me and has such a desire to learn.  I am so blessed that God is one of those things he craves to know more about.  I am confident in one thing, I will get to spend eternity in Heaven with my son!

Soldier pot men!

I love my  Soldier Pot Men.  My mom made some I think in 1991.  We found the pattern in Hobby Lobby and loved them.  I am so glad she has had them all these years.  I made myself some and they make me smile every time I see them!

Aggie Weekend

This past weekend we went to my parents.  Our weekend started off with a dinner and dance at Traditions country club.  The food was amazing and the Texas twisters were wonderful.  Bobby and I love to dance and we were tired by the end of the night.

Both of the boys are junior Aggies!  They have great programs for the children.  This Saturday was junior Aggie day at the game.  They have toys for the children to play on and a special Junior aggie Yell Practice.  Bobby and I took Rob to Kyle field in time to enjoy these activities.  Ryan needed his name.  This was a fun time for just the 3 of us. 

Rob loved having some time with mommy and daddy.  I think he really just enjoyed playing the games.
We have take a picture of Rob each year at this same location!

This was him at his first aggie game.

Ryanl loes the popcorn and just watching everything going on!

recent fires

As many of you know this past week and currently our little town of Magnolia has been hit by wildfires.  It started on Monday. By Tuesday it was out of control. Bobby decided on Tuesday he needed to go help.  I was confident in his knowledge of fire fighting and fire safety (17 years of experience), but I was still worried about him.  We did leave our home for 2 days, due to the smoke.  We were very blessed that is never threatened our  neighborhood.   Our neighborhood and surrounding ones were really being protected by the firemen and women.  We live in a heavy wooded area and everyone is on propane.  So the though of exploding propane tanks on each property did not sit well with me.  Bobby fought the fire all week and slept most of the day Saturday.  This was the first time he had fought fire since we have been together.  I had a special God moment that I wanted to share with everyone.

 

One of the nights, it was getting very late and I had not heard from Bobby in quite sometime.  I was letting my nerves get the best of me.  I saw a picture  on facebook and reposted it with the saying "I know he is with my husband right now. "

 

 

I prayed in that moment and felt better.  I trust my God and knew we were all in the right place at the moment.  A bit later I got a call from Bobby.  He was headed in for the night.  I have to admit I was relieved, it was after midnight.  He told me he had been working with some young EMS guys.  They were not real experienced with fighting fire.  At one point they were standing about 30 yards away from a fire trying to shoot the water on it.  He new this was not making progress so he told one of the guys "lets go put this one.  Fall in behind me."  So he took the hose, crossed embers and was waist deep in embers and some flames.  That is when he realized, the guys did not join him.  So he turned to the flames and begin putting them out.  Right then he felt a tap on his shoulder and heard a voice that said "I am with you. Let's put this out."  One the fire was out, and they were back at the truck, he took a minute to thank the guy.  This man had seen what happened and knew Bobby was doing the right thing and went to help him.  During their conversation they got to know some about each other.  What Bobby told me next about the "big ol boy" as he described him made me cry for the first time.  He said "He is the Chaplin for his division of the department."  I knew in that moment, God was there.  He put another believer beside Bobby, when I needed it the most.  Yes, I said when I needed it.  God is so good.  Bobby does not want to be a hero, or praised for his work, but knowing God is taking care of him blessed each of us.  This summer we had both missed the opportunity to serve in mission.  He looked at me on Saturday and said, I was needing to serve this summer, just didn't know it would be fighting fire again.  Needless to say he will be going to the firehouse on Tuesday to sign up to volunteer again!  So proud of him.

 

Again I just wanted to share this wonderful story of God showing His protection of us!

It's about time

It's about time!!  For several things.  For getting back to blogging, back to our diet, Bobby back to firefighting, Rob to start golf lessons and Ryan to start potty training!

It has been a long time since I have felt like I have the ability to blog.  We had a very busy summer, but very glad to be back to school time routines.   Both boys are going to the MDO at our church.  We LOVE this school! Rob is in the pre K program and doing great.  I have also missed writing devotionals so I hope to get back to that as well.

Time to get back to our diet.  May 9th was a big day for me.  I started the HcG diet.  Bobby started it on May 16th.  in three months I was down 50 pounds and he was down 65.  For the past 5 weeks we have been on and off it and just maintaining our current weight.  But its time to real our goals!  I have 45 more pounds to go and Bobby has 20!  I hope by Thanksgiving I am at that goal!!!

Bobby was a volunteer fire fighter for 17 years before we became a couple.  He has missed it, but didn't know for sure if he wanted to do it anymore.  On Labor day last week, a fire started near our town.  By Monday around midnight the fire was out of control.  Tuesday morning Bobby went to see if he could help and continued to do so till Friday night.  Some days he worked 10-13 hour shifts.  As much as I worried about his safety, I know he is smart when it comes to safety during firefighting.  I am so proud of him and his dedication to serve.  He now knows that he does want to volunteer again and tomorrow night he will go to his first meeting at his new fire house.   We lost our deer lease and what we had on it to the fire but no damage to our neighborhood!  More about the fire to come!

Rob is finally started golf lessons.  He played t-ball last spring and really did well and had a great time.  The problem with Rob is he wants to play every sport and so far excels in each.  The city of Bryan is having golf for 4-6 year olds this year so we are participating.  He is so excited. Will post more on how this goes.

Ryan, o my sweet Ryan.  He turned 2 on May 16th and this momma is ready for him to be potty trained.  He failed our first go at this, well his body failed him.  We tried in June and were not successful.  I think his bladder was just not ready.  But he will tell me he wants to go on the potty and will go so we are making progress.  Now I just need a  free weekend to complete the process.    I also think him being in MDO helps with potty training. 

This picture blows my mind.  This is a bit of what we delt with last week.  We live in a country town with lots of animals and people were having to just let their horses go to save them.  Be praying for the workers of the fire as well as those displaced.

My Rob

Rob just turned 4! Man how time flies.  He has grown up so much in the past year.  He wanted an Aggie Sports party this year and that is what he got!

Rob has really excelled in his vocabulary.  He is doing some basic math.  He is NOT fond of writing though, we will have to work on it.  He has started tball and is doing well.