I'm tired!

I am tired ready to rest,
From busy life and all the stress.
No time for fun or family,
No time for my hubby to hold me.
I wonder if we will make it through,
This thing called nursing school.
Will my family know me at the end.
Or will they say "That used to be my friend."
It is scary, trying, tiring, hard.
Thank God this is a temporary sod.
This season is short not here to stay.
I thank God for that each and every day!

Reconciled

After the battle of the wills...we have reconciled our conflict and believe now that our marriage is stronger now because of it all. Thanks be to God that we can communicate to fight the issues and not each other. Thank you for your concern and prayers...

Much love from our family to yours...

Bryan and Michael

Quick Post before clinicals

I have to tell you my friends, I have the most wonderful husband in the entire world. I never have doubted his love for me and hope to never doubt. We have been tested recently and our faithfulness and love has proved strong. I thank you for your prayers and ask that you continue to lift us up.

Bryan you are wonderful, marvelous and highly treasured! May I never take you for granted and the blessing you are to me. I choose you over myself and want to love you forever. My whole heart and devotion belongs to you. You have blessed me more than words could ever say...and for that I am truly grateful.

With all my love,

Your Bride

Please Pray for me! URGENT

Please just keep me and my family in your prayers. No details just pray for us if we come to your mind!

what is your idol?

Tonight as I sat in the business meeting which was not nice or pretty at all. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. I was ready to vomit and so were many others I know. As I sat and thought tonight about what was going on and what was being said, something that someone once told me came to mind. They said if something consumes most of your thoughts or energy in a day and you focus on it more than anything else than that is your idol. So I ask you as far as our church is concerned what is your idol is it disapproval of the pastor? the building? the money? the worship style? the people you sit next to? the nursery? the fact you have to walk across bridges to get anywhere? withholding your tithe from God because you are dissatisfied with man? What is it that has become your idol? What has become our church body's idol? If this statement is true and I agree with it, our main focus should be on the Lord and serving Him faithfully. I feverishly teach my children to OBEY and I am sure the Lord stands from heaven wishing we would listen to His voice saying obey and trust me. I am the Lord your God and you will have NO other gods before me. Watch out for who your idols have become and reign them in and surrender them to the throne of grace and ask for forgiveness.

So you only think you didn't see me last semester!

Well the next time you see me memorize my face because you will not be seeing it at all this semester. I hate to say that but keep in mind that this is only temporary. Three months and it is over and I will be in my third semester of nursing. This semester has already been hairy scary loco crazy and it is day two of the stinkin' thing! If you catch yourself thinking about my children during random times in the day please lift them up because they aren't going to be seeing their momma either. This is going to be rough so please be lifting us up as we chug through this semester of nursing school. We are all in it as a family but we can't do it without the uplifting support of our friends and family! Thanks for listening to me gripe and fret!

Beat by a four year old!

Got schooled by a four year old in bowling! I love it! He almost beat his daddy to but his daddy pulled out a strike in the end!

Way to Bowl Grayson baby!

Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp

I am hoping from what I have read will transform my parenting focus and method. It has so many biblically rooted truths and I appreciate the boldness of the author to write this book. I have described it as frustratingly enlightening. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to parent their children in a way that is grounded in pointing them towards Christ.

This is not mandatory....

or anything but I would recommend any person who reads my blog, to listen to Mandisa's new CD. There are songs on their that promote spiritual and physical healing and it has ministered to me every time I have listened to it. (which has been ALOT daily for almost two months now) None the less if you need to know how much you are loved or how Christ has set you free or paid your debt of sin or to hear from the perspective of someone you loved that has passed away listen to this CD. I promise you will not be sorry or regret the fact that you did.


by chance if you do go and listen to the CD please leave me a comment and tell me which song touched you the most.

Happy Birthday Bryan!

Thank you for being an involved daddy who loves his children with a passion.

Thank you for having a sense of humor that makes me laugh all the time.



Thank you for being SEXY and easy on the eyes...sweet on the heart!

We your family love you dearly and are so very thankful for you.

We love you Bryan thank you for being my hubby!

Even though you are getting old I think I will keep you another year!

THE NEED TO CREATE....

HAS TAKEN OVER ME! I AM SO READY TO BE DONE WITH SCHOOL...I THINK MY BRAIN IS SAYING ENOUGH THINKING ABOUT ALL THIS ANALYTICAL STUFF AND BE CREATIVE. So instead of denying myself the brain break until summer school is over...I am doing it. My first sewing craft is this...I have this thing about making Fourth of July outfits for Sarah. I think they are so cute and fun...

Little Miss Firecracker!

Here are the pictures...

What can you make with...

One of my favorite tv characters growing up and even today was/is McGuiver. That man was incredible he could take a Swiss army knife, stick of gum, shoe string, AA battery and a bobby pin and make a stun gun out of it. I was always in awe of his inventiveness. Hoping to one day be that inventive myself so I took a shot at it last night... today is CRAZY DAY at VBS and I wanted to finally do something different for my kids so. I gathered up all the things to make Sarah a fairy princess and searched for something for Grayson to no avail...found nothing for him. So I got a wild hair to turn him into an airplane for today. But we have no AIRPLANE what is a mom to do....of course pull McGuiver and make one of course.


So I pose the question what can you make with..... a cardboard box, clear duck tape, tissue paper, cool whip bowl and lid, kinex blocks, Velcro cable ties, elastic, chalk, hot glue gun and needle and thread? Granted I had a few more tools than McG. but I have to say this turned out pretty awesome! Call me crazy...because I am...instead of studying for my exam that I have today...I was up at 10:00pm til Midnight creating such a cool costume for my awesome kid!

Summer Time

The pros and cons of summer!

Pros:
Swimming
watermelon
peaches
suntan
snow cones
fireworks (july 4th)
vacation
water parks
Bryan and Channing's Birthday
veggies are cheaper
VBS

Cons:
IT IS HOTTTTT!!!!!!!
Sweat
heat rash
chaffe (sp)
mosquitos
grass that has to be mowed weekly
snakes come out
Did I say it was hot?
One last thing it is hot!
summer school


Other than that great time of year!
What do you like about summer and what do you not like?

Transformation

This is the word that God is searing on my heart. I have some issues in my life that really need transforming. I am really praying that God will search me and reveal the root of my issues. As God shows me more about myself I pray that He would heal in the process. As my friends I ask that you would pray for me...in many ways I am struggling and hurting. Thanks for your ears :)

He is FOUR?

May 1st, 2005

We welcomed our son Grayson Andrew Paine into the world.

He spent a week in the NICU and then I got to bring him home on Mother's Day 2005.

May 1, 2006

Ducky birthday party at Aunt Monica's house.

One year old!

May 1, 2007

Second birthday poor thing he actually had the stomach virus on his second birthday.

Two years old!

May 1st, 2008

Three years old!

May 1, 2009

FOUR years old! How the time goes by...

Why I love Grayson...

Grayson is compassionate.

Grayson is fun.

Grayson is busy, always on the run.

Grayson my boy.

He is my joy.

Thank you God for the blessing of Grayson in my life.

Well the grades are in and...

I have successfully completed my first semester of nursing school! Hubby and I are still married and my babies survived without me there for the first time in their entire lives. That was a tough one many days, leaving them crying on the front porch as I backed out the drive. The only thing that kept me being able to do it was the relief of such a loving "Kay-Kay" there to take care of them. I am proud to announce that I pulled off three "A's" and one "B". Ironically I made an "a" in one of the harder classes and made a "b" in one of the easier classes LOL go figure. For the record the "b" was in a class that required me to recall facts about history and Michael does not "do" history. I can't tell you anything about WWI or WWII for that matter LOL and what does that have to do with the price of tea in China anyways? or does it? I just wanted to update you guys on my life at the moment. Keep checking back ever so often for the blog on Grayson's b-day party it was a great success with almost fifty peeps at our house! TTYL :)

Potty Training

Just to let you know I was hesitantly putting off potty training until I was ready... lol...ironic. You would think it would be when Sarah was ready but I was waiting for myself to be prepared. I didn't want the nine month battle we had with Grayson. So the day that she showed me it was not about "me" anymore was the day she tinkled in her Dora Easter bucket. I looked at Bryan and said "It's time." So I went and bought her a potty chair. If you have every potty trained a little boy with a child potty chair then you know that it is not salvageable for any other child to use after that. GROSS! Needless to say his potty found file thirteen after he was finished with it. So I was shopping at target and found that pottys ranged from 39.99 to 9.00. Who needs a fourty dollar potty chair? Anyways I grabbed one that was mid range 20.00. It made sounds for rewards when the child tinkled...cute I thought...no stickers or treats required automatic reward system. As I lapped the aisle one more time to confirm my decision I ran upon this potty for the low price of 12.99. I thought two piece assembly and cute and fun design. The best thing is she has taken to it like a pro and has had one accident since Tuesday. When you get ready to potty train, check out this potty chair it has been worth the investment so far. For mom's with boys, the child straddles the frog so there is no chance of out of control cannons :)!

If you were wondering....

I am still ALIVE!!! Now that you know that, everything is well with our family. My kids are growing up! WOW my precious son will be four in less than a month. Sarah is getting sassier every day... any remedy ideas?


School is GREAT... I really mean it. School is amazing I am learning so much about people, medicine, the body, and myself. God has shown me from the very first day of class that nursing is the field for me. I am being shown how much of a ministry nursing will be for me. I am honored to announce that my fellow class mates have elected me as BSN Class of 2011 President. Out of ninety other people I was the sole nominee for the position and am so very honored that they think that highly of me. I just hope that I can represent them with the best of my ability. So far my grades have been very good I have one "c" oops the majority of that exam was history, which I BOMBED! But my other exam grades are "A's" which I am happy about. I really feel in my heart I owe it to the people I will be caring for some day to make the best grades. They deserve my best because their lives will be in my hands one day.

I know this blog seems to be saturated with things about "me" but I wanted to catch you ladies up on the latest happenings of my life.


By the way I will be an official Aunt in about 9 days or so. My sister is going to have a baby boy named Jonah Levi. Yeah I am so excited she is going to be a fabulous mom because she is an awesome Aunt to my kids.

I just want you ladies to know that I do keep up with your blogs I just don't always have time to leave a comment or post my own blog but I really care about your lives and how God is working and moving in your lives. So please keep sharing.

The Heart of God

Trust the Heart of God....

Have you ever stopped and really thought about that statement? We hear all the time to never trust your heart because it is deceitful. The bible says the heart is wicked and who can know it. Our efforts to serve others unselfishly can still be tainted with wrong motives as pure as we try to keep it. We do have wicked hearts and they are tainted with humaness or sinfulness. Those of us that are believers are no longer bound by our sin but yet we still struggle with it daily. So my point is we are tainted, redeemed saints.

But God His heart...wow just His nature is pure and upright. Never could His motive be wrong or tainted with sinfully selfish desires. He always knows what He is doing, even though we might feel as though we are standing in the middle of a tornado watching the world swirl around us trying to keep up with the spinning and keep our eyes on the light above. There is never anything that happens to us that has not been sent straight from the heart of God. The heart of God...girls we can trust the heart of God and that He has every plan worked out for our growth and benefit.

Christmas...take two (clack)... : )

Let me set up our Christmas time frame...

We had Christmas early with our kids because we were traveling to my parents house in Tyler to spend Christmas day with them...so here we are...

Time Line...

Christmas Eve eve I wrapped the presents...
Christmas Eve morning the children opened presents...
Christmas Eve night we traveled to Tyler...
Christmas Day we spent with my family...

Christmas Eve eve...that night we told Sarah and Grayson "In the morning when you wake up you will get to open up your presents." At this point there were no gifts under their little 3 foot trees. So we sent them to bed and I proceeded to wrap each of their gifts with the greatest care. Sarah had princess paper for her gifts and Grayson had Mickey Mouse paper for his presents. I ran out of paper to wrap all their gifts so Bryan picked me up some generic red Christmas paper to finish wrapping the rest of the gifts which were like two more. After I finished wrapping the gifts I took pictures (those later). I wanted the before pictures.

12:00am Creak..our door opens and little Sarah walks in...immediately I thought oh no she has opened the presents...but she hadn't I got up and returned her to her room.

3:30am Creak...I said "come here..." To which the reply is " I got a dinosaur with a remote." (Grayson) At that moment we both flew out of the bed to find utter distruction in our living room.

Grayson had opened all of his presents plus the red wrapped ones. He knew the princess paper was not his so he didn't open Sarah's gifts. He only opened one of her gifts because it was wrapped in the red paper. But ladies you see, when I tell you that he opened his gifts he OPENED them...the paper was off and the boxes were ripped open. He got new games for Christmas and the game boxes were ripped open and the contents were spread out over the entire room. I was so upset...for two reasons one because I didn't get to see his face when he discovered that he got a dinosaur robot and two because he got up without coming to wake us up. I was so upset I cried...it broke my heart. We explained to Grayson that he had done wrong and hurt mommy and daddy's heart and sent him back to bed. My first instict was to take all his things away because I was mad that he had done that. But after considering and putting myself in his shoes. I am sure I wouldn't have been able to resist the temptation either. You see when Bryan and I went to bed that night all the recliners in the couch were down and the blankets were folded and when we discovered the distruction one recliner was out and a blanket was unfolded. So we speculate that Grayson got up and sat on the couch for a good while he probably sat and stared at the tree for a time before the utter temptation over took him and he couldn't resist not opening them anymore. So after he went back to bed, I calmed down, I decided that I was going to rewrap his presents so that we could see him open them in the morning. This time we told him that when he woke up he needed to come to Mommy and Daddy's bedroom before opening any presents. That was a small yet very important detail that we left out the first time he went to bed. Which could have solved the entire situation before it happened.

After they were rewrapped

Notice there is no Mickey Mouse paper!

4:30 am- I finally climb back into bed and hope and pray that the morning goes better.

One of the main dissapointments of the whole situation is that I took before pictures when I wrapped the presents the first time and after he destroyed the presents and then after I rewrapped them. In the middle of the night I thought I uploaded all the pictures to the computer but all of them didn't transfer before I reformatted the camera to be ready for the next morning. So I don't have before and after distruction pictures...after all I was half asleep when I was transfering them to the computer but I am still very upset that I lost them.

To be continued...