My sick little Ava & my fearful heart!

My little Ava is sick & my Mommy-heart is learning to trust God yet again. On Thursday she started not feeling well & has been running a high fever ranging from 103.7 to 104.3! Since she has no other symptoms (besides feeling yucky!) my Pediatrician thinks she has a virus that will go away in a few days. When I discovered her fever at 2 am on Friday morning I felt that old and, unfortunately, very familiar fear welling up inside of me! Even though I've been down this road many times with sick little ones, my heart sank. As I scooped her up & walked around holding her, the only thing (in my exhausted and fearful state) I kept praying was "Jesus, please heal my baby & help my heart to trust you, God please protect my Ava & help me to trust you!" God is faithful, He is kind, He cares about the fears in my heart & about my sweet little Ava! In those 2 am moments (& many more in between!) I can easily be discouraged with myself that even though I have witnessed God's goodness and faithfulness with my own two eyes, here I am again, doubting His goodness. A few years ago I was struggling with the same kind of fears and my sweet friend, Vivian, told me about a quote that I have remembered and think on still. She said, "although God is absolutely concerned about what is going on in your heart & life, "He is not sympathetic to your unbelief"! So, it's a daily conversation with myself, to trust God in everything. My hope is that God will give me His grace to glorify Him even in those unseen, quiet moments, rocking in my nursery with my sick baby in my arms. My sweet baby girl is doing a little better today and I am praising God for it!

GRAD COUNTDOWN

My Hubby is completing his degree through Liberty University online at night. He started in March of this year and should graduate in August of 2009. I am so proud of how hard he is working for our family. He is extremely diligent and a very good student! Great job Baby ~ all your girls love you!

My "Fuzzy" little Ava Grace!

I had to share this picture of our sweet little Ava after she woke up from her nap this afternoon! She has very soft and very FUZZY hair that likes to stick up all over! You have probably only seen Ava at church or in pictures when Mommy has "done" her hair. This is how our little ducky looks au natural and it is so precious! Ava's hair is very sweet and endearing ~ Daddy, sissies & Mommy love it!

My sweet Girlies!

We had a sleepy, relaxed day at home today. It was overcast and gray outside so we couldn't swim which is our favorite summer day activity! Our girls enjoyed watching the Olympics and snacking on green apples with peanut butter and slices of cheese ~ YUM!

We love Auntie Raigan!

Last time Auntie Raigan came to visit she and our girls adopted "I love you always forever" by Donna Lewis as their theme song. : ) Auntie had it on her iPod and she would sing it to our girls every night before bed. Oh my goodness ~ SO precious! Our girls learned it in just a day and would sing along with Auntie. Our girls have a very special relationship with their Auntie Raigan and they love her so very much! (She's easy to love : ) ! ) For weeks after she left our girls would ask me to play it on my laptop and they would cry for their Auntie! Now "their song" is on our blog in honor of her ~ we love you Auntie!

Love,
Your 4 sweet little nieces Amy, Ashley, Abby & Ava : )

God's Unmeasured Grace

We sang "Grace Unmeasured" which is one of my favorite songs this morning in our Sunday meeting. Amazingly enough I was able to sing and focus on God while holding my baby/toddler, with my 4-year-old wrapped around one leg and my 2 big girls holding onto my arms on either side (Daddy was ushering)! It was one of those moments where God brings to life the words and they seem to apply to every area of your life in that given season. I was just struck with the truth of God's amazing grace and love and that it truly is more than we could ever comprehend. Jesus "paid for my sins" on the cross and, literally, "brought me to life". Life that I never would have had in and of myself, life that is so precious and amazing. I GET to know God ~ how absolutely a~mazing is that!? God's grace really does abound, I am overwhelmed when I think about it. Why would God want to pour out His grace on me? Not only in small, measured amounts, but abounding and unmeasured! God's grace is the ONLY thing that can turn me from my selfish pride, from myself! I long to be like Him, that only happens by His doing! Again, amazing! I do love the cross on which Jesus died, but I want to love it, to love Him, to love what He loves, more and more everyday. Just wanted to share the musings of an everyday Mommy who is usually semi-distracted during worship. God captivated my attention today and showed me Himself ~ He is so good!



Grace unmeasured, vast and free
That knew me from eternity
That called me out before my birth
To bring you glory on this earth
Grace amazing, pure and deep
That saw me in my misery
That took my curse and owned my blame
So I could bear your matchless Name

Grace, grace, grace, paid for my sins
And brought me to life
Grace, grace, grace, clothes me with power
To do what is right
Grace, grace, grace will lead me to heav'n
Where I'll see your face
And never cease to thank you for your grace

Grace abounding, strong and true
That makes me long to be like you
That turns me from my selfish pride
To love the cross on which you died
Grace unending all my days
You give me strength to run this race
And when my years on earth are through
The praise will all belong to you