Thankfulness Day 82:: Not so faultless Friday

Bribery.

I use it, I'm ashamed of it (sometimes), and it works (almost) everytime!

Sometimes going to the grocery store or Target seems so overwhelming!  Will I be able to get in and out of there without Nash throwing a tantrum, something breaking, what if all the car carts are gone, someone screaming, or fighting over who will sit in the 'big' part of the cart?! 

In my perfect world the boys would sit quietly still and ask me about the products I'm purchasing and give me good insight on the right ones.  And then there is my reality (insert above paragraph) where I just want to get it done without letting the inner angry parent come out.  So in my desperate times of need I turn to my stash of lollipops neatly hidden in my purse for times such as these.  Here are my tips on bribing (not like you do it of course, I'm just saying is all....)

**For a quick fix offer a dum dum lollipop which solves the problem without too much sugar ingested
**Is Target going to be a 20 minute adventure?  Offer Jolly Rancher lollipop which takes much longer to eat

**For anything longer then 20 minutes there is always the good ole' Tootsie Roll Pop which offers much longer chewing time once the center is reached and how many licks does it take to get there anyways?

WARNING:: Bribery is always a last resort and frowned upon by moms making polite conversation trying to out do each in parenting so please use this information discretely among your utmost closest friends.

Today I am thankful that I can admit my faults and know that it doesn't define me as a mom.

Thankfulness Day 81:: PRICELESS

Coffee Maker that is delivered to your house $200.

Box that gives your boys hours and hours of play = PRICELESS!

Today I am thankful for my $200 new toy "the box".

Thankfulness Day 80:: Wordless Wednesday

Anyone notice the amount of 'stuff' he has to sleep with?!??

Today I am thankful for the things that help us feel secure.

Thankfulness Day 79:: New Shoes

I can't believe it but my friends new beau is Superman on the side and hooked me up with a new pair of Jack Purcell's!  There has only been a hand full of things in my life that I have gotten for free, especially from a person I just met!  I'm sitting in pretty shoe heaven.

Today I am thankful for my new shoes that I've been waiting to buy for 2 years.

Thankfulness Day 78:: A Rockin Band

Devin got a call today about possibly joining a band with a jazzy blues style.  I believe he would be the singer?  I made sure he knew that any MORE time away from family is going to be frowned upon and I already don't see him enough with his full time temp job and part time worship jobs.  He assured me we will work something out so we shall see what happens!

----The Rockstar's Wife

Today I am thankful for new opportunities.

Thankfulness Day 77:: A Wedding!

Huzzy and I attended a wonderful wedding today!  The most Christ center spirit driven wedding I've ever gone to!  We were both helping out so this picture is the only moment we got together the whole time!

Today I am thankful for an amazing wedding!

Thankfulness Day 76:: Peace

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

John 14:27

During a trying an unstable time I call upon the Lord to give me peace.  I find that I can be afraid often and the peace leaves me.  I would say fear is my default.  It's nice to know that God promises to give us peace, we just need to let go of our control and accept that peace.

Today I am thankful that I do not have to fear.

Thankfulness Day 75:: Not so Faultless Friday

I'm dedicating one day a week to talk about my shortcomings or maybe it's more like a confessional to the blogging world.  Whatever the reason, it needs to be done because I'm keeping it real!

 So today I took the boys to their first trip to In N Out (aka Up & Down which Kai referred to it as).  I packed some apples in my purse to serve along with their cheeseburgers so I can be a healthy mom and not serve them french fries.  I did however order them a shake because that is in the dairy food group, french fries are not. 

I didn't expect a nice older woman, "Grandma" Nash called her, to sit next to us with a big plate of fries.  She was so friendly and offered my children some of her fries which they readily accepted and kept up the stare until more was offered.  Meanwhile I'm hungry because I didn't order food for myself since it isn't diet friendly and I start telling Nash to eat his cheeseburger while taking bites of it (to show him that it's edible of course) and sipping his shake even though I told him he couldn't have it until the meal was finished.  I then waited until Grandma exited so I could have some of her fries too...I mean so I could take them away from the boys and replace them with apples. 

So Nash and I finished his food and shake and then made our way home.  The lesson I learned is to order myself some greasy food because I know I'm going to find a way to eat it anyways (steal son's food) and to not take food from strangers.

Today I am thankful for Up & Down and their amazing food!

Thankfulness Day 74:: Encouragement

These were a blessing to me today. 

The first one seems so true!  It's only when we give up our control and surrender what WE think is best that God can finally work and have his way.  

The second is something I stand by a lot because it doesn't matter if you don't have a degree or aren't the best in your field, God didn't use the people who had it all together but the humble who knew they had nothing to offer but a willing heart.  Therefore God is the one who gets all the glory!  

Today I am thankful for these little reminders.

Thankfulness Day 73:: Blast from the Past

In honor of Wordless Wednesday

We all need a little downtime..

Today I am thankful for creative play.

Thankfulness Day 72: Mr. Kindness

When I came home the other night I asked my mom how the boys did while I was gone.  She did a recap for me and then told me that when she laid Kai down he said that he missed me and loves me more then anybody!  It just melts my heart to hear that and I'm so glad that my mom remembered to tell me!  There are definetely days when I don't feel of much importance in this world but I know that isn't true especially when my boys declare their love for me so often.  I'm blessed.

Today I am thankful for my son's wonderful heart.

Thankfulness Day 71::Laundry

Dear Stabile boys,

In order to reduce endless hours of laundry, I am asking that you refrain from the following:

~Wiping your peanut butter covered hands on your shirt, it isn't a napkin?

~Blowing bubbles in your milk and juice which gets on your clothes somehow

~Rolling around in the dirt

~Jumping in every puddle you see including the dirty gutter

~Eating ANY sort of chocolate or ice cream especially if it can't make it to your mouth

~Refusing to change diaper which results in wet pants

~Coloring of any kind because it's more fun to color on your clothes then the paper


I would appreciate cooperation as I'm highly considering keeping you in the same outfit each week so I can regroup and take a hiatus from all laundry.

**The above rules apply to husband as well

Sincerely,

Housekeeping

Thankfulness Day 70:: OC Marketplace

After hours and hours of tutus and bows I finally was ready to start the OC Swapmeet. (Yes that is a chandelier!)

Kara Noel picked me up at 5am this morning and off we went! After a few tries we managed to set up pretty quickly and get things going.


Now it's time to sell!


We shared a booth with Eli's Lids http://www.elislids.blogspot.com/(scroll down to meet Eli)





Set up was exhausting but we think it turned out nice, what do you think?



We had a lot of friends come and visit us, they even bought a thing or two...


Eli even wanted to sell his hats so he just wore his underwear so his new summer lid would stand out! (okay not true but who doesn't admire a boy brave enough to wear no pants?)




Time to rest our feet, this was a longgggg yet EXCITING day!

Hope to see you there next time!

Today I am thankful for the memory of my first OC Swapmeet trip!

Thankfulness Day 69:: Turning 30

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me!


I'm 30 today! More to come on that later.....

Today I am thankful for another year to be lived!

Thankfulness Day 68:: Macaroni Grill

MACARONI GRILL

We celebrated my birthday last night with dinner at Macaroni Grill. I know you are wondering what I ordered so I'm posting it for the world to see! I use to work there so I may love the food more then a normal person but seriously it's the best!!! I can EVEN still write my name upside down, backwards, and cursive because I had to go above and beyond ;)


Rosemary Bread, they give it to you free but did you know that you can buy it for like $2 a loaf and put it in your freezer? Yum!

Main Dish Penne Rustica and Chicken Scalloppine (I made huzzy split with me because I wanted them both! It's my day don't judge!)




Amazing Chocolate Cake

I could eat this all everyday!

Today I am thankful for a yummy dinner!

Thankfulness Day 67:: New Job

Answered prayer.

A few weeks ago I asked my friends for prayer regarding our job situation. My prayer was that my husband would find work before May 1st, the day my dad retires and will be home seeing my husband have NO job! I knew it wouldn't result in anything positive. So I sent out my prayer request and just waited.

A week or so later I started to think about my birthday. My husband has had many lay offs. I think since the 5 years we have been married, he has not had a job for my birthday almost every year. This year I turn 30 and I just wanted to celebrate with no worry and have some stability. So I started to pray that not only would he have a job by May 1st but ALSO a job by April 17th my birthday!

Today is the 15th and we got the call yesterday. He starts on Monday!!

Thank you Lord!

Today I am thankful that it is our faith that pleases the Lord and He will reward those who seek Him!

Thankfulness Day 66:: Women's Group

I have an amazing Women's Bible Study! Seriously amazing! There are about 10 of us and we have been going for 5 years. We are from different churches, different age groups, different stages in life, yet all have one big factor in come...Jesus.

Last night we thought about our group and it's purpose and came to the realization that our group is a group that takes broken women, mostly in broken relationships, and builds them up to be restored confident women of Christ. We have seen so many miracles in our group and I'm so blessed to be apart of this!

Today I am thankful for my group.

Thankfulness Day 65:: Recipe

After a long day I had to figure out what to bring to my moms group tomorrow morning since I'm in charge of bringing a potato dish. Well I ran off to the store at 8pm tonight and bought the ingredients for a fast dish and also the most delicious potato dish I've ever tasted!

Here's the recipe

Swiss Potato Casserole

1 large bag of shredded frozen potatoes (aka hash browns)
1 1/2 cups of sour cream
1 large swiss cheese, shredded
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup of milk
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt

Mix all in a large bowl until all potatoes are thoroughly coated. Put into large pan and bake covered for 30 minutes and uncovered for another 30 minutes (1 hr total)
Sometimes I like to sprinkle extra cheese on top before I put it in the oven. Delicious!

Today I am thankful for easy recipes that I can be proud of.

Thankfulness Day 64

Yesterday Kai got some horrible fever and chills! He was lethargic by the time bedtime came and I had to carry him upstairs to his bed.

When your child is sick you can feel so helpless and scared. I would do anything to take the pain from him and make him feel better. So I started to pray over him commanding all sickness to go and blessing him with the healing and restoration only Jesus can give.

I went in two hours later to give him more Tylenol and his fever was breaking and in the morning he woke up normal. Praise God!

Today I am thankful for Kai's healing.

Thankfulness Day 63

I spoke with a girl who lives with her parents and they aren't all that thrilled that her and her kids are there and it came across as such a burden. It made me think of my own situation, especially my parents, and how great they are. My parents love my kids so much! They enjoy spending time with them and taking them places. Sure they would like more time to themselves but they have been so understanding throughout this whole process and have never made me feel that we are inconveniencing them, which we are I'm sure!

I'm so very thankful for my parents and how kind and generous they have been with us during this very difficult time for everyone.

Thankfulness Day 62:: Birthday Party

Today we celebrated my friend Aimee and I's birthday! It was tons of fun to get together with our friends from all life stages and have all our kids there. Crazy to see how we all have kids now and also very blessed to see how far we all have come.

Today I am thankful for my friends.

Thankfulness Day 61:: New Tutu's Pics

Today I got to reconnect with an old friend and she let me take pictures of her adorable daughter Chloe! Seriously isn't she the cutest??? Now my website has a bit more pizazz to it! Check it out! www.sweetlilytutus.etsy.com

Thankfulness Day 60

My husband was offered a different job through Johnson & Johnson today. The other one he was offered 2 months ago fell through and this one looks good but I remain skeptical until I see him drive away off to the office for a work day. Yes I have lost that much hope in this process.

It's a temp to hire position so no benefits until he gets hired on permanently which brings us to a whole new set of prayers. Right now we would just like to have some income and a stable job. I'll let you know if it all works out.

Today I am thankful for this new job possibility.

Thankfulness Day 59

April 7th......

This day last year the kids and I were on a plane moving from Illinois back to California. I thought naturally my husband would be 'rewarded' a job very soon because we moved out there following what God was wanting us to do and left everything behind. We both gave our all to make it work there and then there was a lot of hurt in the process. Moving home we were both quite broken but I held out the faith that God would give Devin a job fast despite the recession.

1 year later and no job. Tons of great opportunities that fell through last minute. Lots of churches. More disappointments then I can record. It's safe to say that God knew better then us and giving us a job right away would get in the way of the growth that He needed us to go through. And growth we did!!!! I seriously feel like an old woman from the amount of patience, trust, wisdom, and dependence I've had to learn in this last year.

I'm glad we had to go through this because I know that God will bring us into a place with much more authority and trust us that much more coming out of this. We have been those trees that settled on the fake fruits and didn't want to let them go. Through this process the Lord has pruned us (John 15:2) and is giving us His fruit that lasts.

I'm not gonna lie, this year has been the toughest I've ever gone through and we are still in it! So I will cling to this verse:
Hebrews 12:2
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God

Leaving Illinois was like a death to a dream for my family. I miss things and people there so much but I must not look back. I'm encouraged to look ahead because I serve a faithful and good God who will not let me fall.

Thankfulness Day 58

Today I am thankful for this show for it has bought me many hours to shower and have 'me' time!

Thankfulness Day 57

It was a tough day with my Toddler and so I feel I must post this so we can all understand 'them' a little bit more.

THE Toddler Creed

If it is on, I must turn it off.
If it is off, I must turn it on.
If it is high, it must be reached.
If it is shelved, it must be unshelved.
If it has leaves, they must be picked.
If it is closed, it must be opened.
If it does not open, it must be screamed at.
If it is a pile of dirt, it must be laid on.
If it is a flat surface, it must be banged on.
If mommy's hands are full, I must be carried.
If mommy's in a hurry and wants to carry me, I must walk alone.
If it has buttons, they must be pressed.
If the volume is low, it must go high.
If it is a phone, I must talk to it.
If it is not food, it must be tasted.
If it is a carseat, it must be protested with an arched back.
If I had a toy five minutes ago, it is still mine.
If I have a toy that looks like it, it's mine.
If I want it, it's mine.

Today I am thankful that Nash is just following the toddler rules and isn't really this stubborn. ;)

Thankfulness Day 56

Today I am thankful that the earthquake wasn't strong here and it was a reminder that a natural disaster can happen anytime even to us Californians!

Thankfulness Day 55

Last night Devin and I led worship for a Resurrection Service at Coastline Church in Carlsbad. It was a simple acoustic set with just him and me! This picture above is from a different church but I thought it set the 'feel' of my post. Unlike other church services this one was very reflective and different. The lights were turned down low and the service bounced between speaking, a movie of Christ's death, a dramatic dance, and worship. At the end the pastor asked everyone to leave in silence as they reflect and remember what Jesus did for us on that cross.

I was very nervous to sing up there on stage with no band behind me to cancel out any mistake I could make. It was really such a privilege that I had the opportunity to do that though and to be a part of such a thing with my husband.

Today I am thankful for what Christ did for you and I up on that cross and I am also thankful for being able to be used in such a dramatic reflective service.

Thankfulness Day 54

Today I am thankful for this challenge:

Easter Words of Forgiveness

Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."

--Luke 23:34

As we all know, words are powerful…especially dying words. And as we near Easter Sunday, it's important that each of us remembers just exactly what Jesus had to say right before His earthly life ended.

One of the last things Jesus said while hanging from the cross were words of forgiveness.

Today I want to ask you, if Christ could pray a prayer of forgiveness for those who were putting Him to death, can you pray a prayer of forgiveness for those in your life who mistreat you?

Despite what you may be going through today, can you look past your own "junk" and extend forgiveness to others?

Jesus' dying words on the cross are a powerful example of how you and I ought to treat those who mistreat us. Are you willing to follow His perfect example in every area of your life today? Will you extend forgiveness to those who don't deserve it?

I challenge you to pick up your cross today… and live out the life of forgiveness Christ has given you!

Thankfulness Day 53

Today I am reflecting back on the last year and my growth with the Lord. I have been involved with my womens bible study for about 5 years now and we did a study this past year that really changed my life and my walk with God. My eyes have been opened up to a whole new way of thinking and the scriptures have really become alive to me. If you haven't heard Bill Johnson from Bethel church (www.ibethel.org) speak you need to! We recently finished the study "The Power of a Transformed Mind" and it was really life changing. Right now my group is thinking and praying about new people joining and what study we should do next or how to even apply all that we learned in our lives.

Today I am thankful for a year of growth and a group that supports me in prayer and encouragement.