Four States Couple's Retreat 2012

I was SO excited to get to go to this retreat this year. My in-laws have invited us the last two years to go, but something always came up and we couldn't. However, this year as we have joined a new Church, and they go to the retreat every year. We made our plans. It was only the Pastor & wife, our friends, and us that went and we had such a good time in the van on the way down fellowshipping. We stayed in the Hilton on the Landing in Branson and the retreat was in the convention center right next door. There was a lot of awesome preaching Friday afternoon and Saturday. Bro. Bill Rice III from the Bill Rice Ranch was the main speaker. He was so good! He has such a way of just making the Bible plain! His main point was that we live our lives without faith and that makes God a liar! It was very convicting! He spoke of the marriage relationship and parenting. It was the kind of stuff you may have a hard time swallowing but that you need to hear! We got to go out with friends for dinner that night and got to fellowship some more. It was all and all a fantastic weekend, one that I wish didn't have to end so soon. I'm hoping we get to go to the one next year. There might already be some scheduling conflicts, but if we can work it out...we will certainly be going! SO important to go to these kinds of things and be encouraged by the Word of God and by the fellowship of the saints. Also, it was great to spend some quality time with the Hubby! =)

An Adoption Poem

I tiptoed into your room one night.
I watched you sleeping there.
Your tiny body looked so snug
Wrapped in peaceful slumber's care.

I thought of how you came to be
The child we'd longed to know.
I wondered at the sight of you:
"How could she let you go?"

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I
Felt the pain she must have known.
For I will have to let you go
Some day when you are grown.

A mother I might never meet
Had given me her son.
Yet, surely as you've filled my heart,
A piece of hers you'd won.

"How could she let you go?"
The question kept returning.
And in the depths of my own heart.
A question kept on burning.

"How can I ever let you go
When years have come and gone?"
I stood there by your crib until
The nighttime turned to dawn.

And as the sun peeked through the shades,
The voice of God broke through.
"I trusted her to give him life
And now I'm trusting you.

"To show him what is right and wrong,
to love him and to be
The one who teaches him the way
To come back home to me.

"He wasn't hers to give, you know.
And he's not yours to own.
I've placed him in your life to love
But he is mine … on loan." ~Valerie Kay Gwin

Church Valentine Banquet

We had the greatest Church Valentines Banquet!!! It was SO MUCH fun! I was asked to do the centerpieces, and some other decorating also, to make two cheesecakes! I haven't ever made cheesecakes before. I was so excited!!!! I made lemon with oreo crust! Delish! Also, I made a 'death by Chocolate' cheesecake.

These are the centerpieces I made. I found this pattern on the internet, but she used them as strawberries. I thought they would look good as rosebuds and made them into rose bouquet's for the centerpieces. They turned out pretty good.

You can find the template for the strawberries/rosebuds here!

Decorating the Church again

I'm still getting some decorating done at Church little by little. Wanted to share these neat little roses I made. I found them on Pinterest and decided to make them! They turned out better than I thought! After I took these pictures, I used my colorbox chalk and distressed them a little and that made them look a little more real.

Season of Life

We joined a new Church in November & their was one other couple (other than the Pastor and his wife) that are our age there. We have since made fast friends. It's amazing to me how God puts people together as friends. We aren't really alike in many ways...but yet, we are. Do you know what I mean? I mean, we have similiar interests but then again we don't. No matter...we have the same love for God, and the same desire to serve Him with all our heart. We have the same struggles when it comes to our spiritual lives, and finding time to train ourselves to make Him number one in our lives. We have the same desire to please and complete our Husbands. I guess that is enough of 'alike-ness' that we can get.
We recently watched 'Courageous', as mentioned in a previous post, and really enjoyed it. My friend asked me if I would read though the book, "The Resolution for Women" with her. I agreed. I like these kinds of books. I have made sure that I read my daily devotions and 'read thru the Bible in a year' Scriptures before I pick up this book each day. I have only gotten a few pages into the book, and have already been convicted. It talks about being content in the season of life that you are in. As children, we say we can't wait to get to be a teenager, then an adult, and so on. The grass isn't always greener on the other side. How 'bout enjoying and being content in the season you are in now? The season I am in right now, is that of a young Mother. I am NOT young any longer, but God has chosen for us to start parenthood in our late thirties. This is a season that I have been wanting to be in since I was a young teen! I don't know why God didn't allow it until now, but I constantly remind myself that this is where I wanted to be. I think, in general, I am happy with this season. I get to be a stay at home Mom. I have an adorable toddler underfoot and into everything everyday. I have time to do work at my Church like I have not before. I have time to ask my Husband every day (although I do NOT everyday) if there is something special I can do for him that day. I am able to visit people when I want, send cards, make food, ect. I have such freedom in this season of life! I have the peace of knowing that I am doing what God created me to do, love & serve Him, love & serve my family, and love & serve my Church family! What a blessed season to be in!!!! I pray every day that God will make me content with my life. When we adopted Jacob I told my Husband, I don't want to think or say, "Oh, I can't wait until he does...(drinks from a cup, eats real food, is potty trained, can talk). I wanted to enjoy each stage that came along and just wallow in it!!!! I had to remind my Mom on several occasions that there will be plenty of time to give him sweet potatoes with butter and brown sugar, and ice cream, ect. She wanted to rush ahead and spoil him (which I understand, of course), but I wanted to stop and enjoy the moment he was in!!! I pray that God keeps my heart where I enjoy the season of life I'm in. Sure, there are things about my season/life that I want to change, but you can only change what you can change and some things you can't so don't worry about them! I LOVE this season of life that I'm in and I pray that He will continue to show me what I need to learn in this season. My friend and I are in different seasons (she has four teenage children at home and one is about to leave the nest), but we have the same desire. God has used them to be such a blessing to us and I need her encouragement in raising our little one as well. God is good to put people who don't always have the same things in common, together to encourage and strengthen!

Albino Rattlesnake Chili & Cheddar Garlic Biscuits

Tonight was cold & rainy. Hubby has had a rough week. Two good reasons to make his favorite (well, one of his favorite, anyhow) meals-Albino Rattlesnake Chili & Cheddar Garlic Biscuits. Don't let the name fool you, it's not rattlesnake, that's the clever award-winning name that Hubby came up with. It's really white chicken chili. It's a creamy and rich chili. If you've never had it before, give it a try! It's perfect for a cold winters night like this!

• Albino Rattlesnake Chili
• 
  
• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1" pieces
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 2 cans (15 oz. each) great northern beans, rinsed
• 1 can (14 oz.) chicken broth
• 2 cans (4 oz. each) chopped green chilies *see note
• 1 tsp. each salt, ground cumin, dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1 Cup (8 oz.) sour cream
• 1/2 Cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

In a large saucepan, saute chicken, onion, and garlic powder in oil until chicken is no longer

pink. Add beans, broth, chilies, and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from heat;
stir in sour cream and whipping cream. Serve immediately. (Serve with cheddar garlic biscuits for a great cold weather meal!)
*For milder chili use 2 cans of green chilies; for a spicer chili use one can green chilies and one can chopped jalapenos. 

This makes enough for Hubby and I with not much leftover. The garlic biscuits you can buy now from bisquick. 

But I also like to make it from the bisquick mix, sometimes. After they are done baking, I like to brush them with a melted butter/garlic power mix right before serving. 

Teaching Jake about Church

Jacob is a good boy...usually. He LOVES people & is very social. He walks into Church & starts shaking hands with everyone. Although he doesn't go to everyone, sometimes he puts his hand out & makes people come to him. We bring our the little New Testament & we bring our offering every Sunday & we put it in our little Church offering 'box'. Anyway, he's learning! He IS a good boy, but you keep him upstairs with you in 'big' church and after the song service the Devil gets him wiggling & he starts getting noisy and into everything. I know 16 months is a little young to be expecting him to sit through a Church service, but we are 'training' him. So I found this cute little toddler size pew at the local antique store for $10 & I bought it and brought it home & set it up in the living room. He loves to sit in it. I'll turn on his Sunday School Song DVD and he sits there & watches it, & dances some, & claps his hands. We will soon add some quick Bible stories to the mix and we'll work on sitting good. I have a picture of Jesus and a Bible that I printed off & put on the wall. Throughout the day, I say, "Where's Jesus?" He points to the picture. "Jesus loves you!" Jake smiles. He says, "BBBBB" when I say, "Where's the Bible?" & he likes to pat my Bible on the desk. I like what Michelle Duggar said about training your children. "If they won't listen to our voice, how will they ever listen to GOD when He speaks to them!" I want Jacob to have a blessed life, so I will train him to listen to my voice, but especially GOD's voice. I'm working on a 'quiet' book for church as well. We are blanket training & Jacob is very receptive to it. He loves sitting on a blanket & getting to play with some toys he doesn't usually get to play with. We make it fun! A friend just got the New Testament cricut cartridge & I'm borrowing the Noah cricut cartridge. I want to make some Bible stories to go over. We are also starting to go over the Bible verse, "God is love." It's so much fun to teach him about God, and Church. We pray every day (sometimes several times a day), that as soon as he understands about salvation that he will ask Jesus into his heart & always be sensitive to the Holy Spirit! We are trying to be an example of this as well. Thank you, LORD, for allowing us to live in a country where we can do this!