Happy (late) birthday, my love!

How I love this man! and I'm so thankful for his love for the Lord, for me, and for our children. I love you, Joseph! Happy 36th :)

our son Joseph

Wow, I love this boy! He has become so affectionate and I'm lovin' it :) Thank you, Lord, for my son. What a joy, what a delight he is to my heart!

Time for a new post

SO much has happened since I've last posted. My precious husband turned one year older; we celebrated by enjoying a night in Abilene while my beautiful mother (and dad!) watched our young'ns. Boy, that was brave of them. On our way home from Abilene Christy called me to tell me she was in pain and needed to pick up Johnny at work, but she felt like she couldn't. So, Jody emptied us out at home, then went to pick up Johnny. The kiddos and I drove to help Christy out with a few things and they proceeded to the hospital while we brought their girls here.


Christy was right. She WAS in labor. How exciting!! At 1am the next morning, she had a most handsome baby BOY. Ethan Henry weighing in at 5 lbs. 12 oz. and was 19 inches long. What a shock that was to everyone! She REALLY wanted a boy and the dr had told her it was a girl. What a fun time that was. I was so thankful to be there!! My husband prefers me not to be out by myself when it's dark, but he made an exception and I'm so glad he did. I LOVE babies!


Our Mikayla is at a very trying time right now. She often displays major disobedience, disrespect, and a very ugly and rebellious attitude. I feel like we're in a wrestling match together and oftentimes I come out the loser. Today after an "episode" while she was supposed to be getting the hair ties, I walked into our bathroom and she'd cut off a good bit of her hair. She's one hard-headed little girl and I love her SO MUCH. She told me that it's hard to obey. To me it seems extremely easy, but then I think about when I disobey God. The whole thing makes me sad:( I just cried and cried while I ate my lunch (lunch meat/cheese/avocado roll ups). Then my mom called me and prayed with me and I cried some more. SO, that's where we're at right now. I really do love being a mommy, but it's no small task by any means! I'm thankful to be right where I'm at. The Lord gives strength and wisdom for each day and I need it.

Here's a question for you

Do you want to be the most beautiful woman in the world?


I asked Jody this evening if I could get a few minutes of "me" time. He agreed, so I hopped in the tub and listened to Dr. Dobson interviewing Carrie Prejean (the lady who got first runner up at the pageant who answered a judge's question that a marriage is between a man and a woman).

Anyway, Dr. Dobson said that she was one of the most beautiful women in the world and went on to say that (I wish I had that direct quote!) that's what every woman wants. to be the most beautiful woman in the world. Really???????? Um, not this woman.


Don't get me wrong. I do want to be attractive to my husband. without a doubt. But do I want millions of men to lust after my body while strutting around stage in a white string bikini???? Absolutely not. Is that honoring to God? I think (know) not.


I'm so fired up I can barely see straight. Every once in a while this happens. What kind of example does Carrie set for young girls? This would not bother me so much, but it's all in the name of Christ.


This verse comes to mind:

"Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised." ~ Proverbs 31:30

Modesty. Seems like a tough issue at times. I want to dress and act in a way that honors God. Whether I'm at church, at the park, or at the lake. How we ladies dress reflects our husbands and their names. Let's be aware of this. Let's not be deceived by the world's definition of "modest." If you're unsure, pray about it. I'm sure the Lord will lead you and give you wisdom.

I'm so thankful for a husband who strives to avoid immodesty. He will not vacation at the beach (at least not in the summer time). He does NOT want to be tempted in that area. I praise the Lord for him and his stand. I appreciate his loyalty and faithfulness to me. So, we miss a few swims together. oh well.

I want to be the most beautiful woman in the world TO MY HUSBAND ONLY. And that's what I have to say about that.

Fun with cousins

My sister Grace and family surprised us with a visit, and we are LOVIN' it! More collages to come. :)

She must know my love language...

Today my mom gave me a very cool gift. I had no idea getting something like this would make me so happy. But get this. She gave me a $10 gift certificate to Sonic. !!! Do you know what this means to me???

AT LEAST TEN HAPPY HOUR DRINKS!!!!

sigh. How does she just know??

Someday I'll laugh about this? I don't think so.

Friday afternoon while Mikayla was supposed to be sleeping, she got into a bit of mischief. I woke up to markers. She wanted to do art work and wanted to look like the guy at Wal-mart (I'm assuming the one who had tattoos all over his arms). She had marked all over herself, her clothes, her stool (the one used to GET the markers), and our comforter. The last thing I mentioned made me the saddest (read: MADDEST).

Boy was she ever in trouble. I thought about posting a picture of it, but I think you can only do that if you think it's kinda cute. And it wasn't. Not in the least.

"Poor" girl got her piggy bank emptied, her kitchen set retired for about a month, and many of her toys sold at the garage sale we had today to help pay for a new comforter for us. The comforter she ruined would've cost over 100 dollars to replace. So, we opted for a cheap(er) plain black one.

How I love that girl! But, she's starting to get destructive!! HELP!

Think I'll ever laugh about this one?? I don't know. I can't imagine.

Cisco15, Rising Star 11

Or this one...

This (obviously) could be turned to black/white as well. I just don't know. Should I just keep trying?? any input would be great. (Look how BIG Joseph is getting!)

looking at a bird

For my husband's birthday I want to make him an 11x14 of our children. I'll post some different options and you guys (girls) let me know which you think I should do for him, ok? thanks:) this is the first...

Our fourth 2nd Tuesday

We started out with a Bible study on Obedience. Everyone brought their Bibles!! I was so happy and impressed :) Then we delved into a craft that looked fun, but proved to be way too hard. Oh well. I'll try to do better next time. We then topped it off with some spaghetti, corn and garlic/cheese bread. Yum! Join us next time if you'd like. I think we're going to pick strawberries!!

So happy to be a mommy today!

To all you beautiful mommies, esp. mine!

some effects of last night

We had a bad storm last night. The top picture if the house right next to ours. The Lord was very merciful. We were spared and we are thankful. All to report with our house is a few missing shingles. Driving around the neighborhood shocked me. Downed power lines, uprooted trees, simply chaotic. It's amazing how powerful the wind can be!!

Never to be taken for granted

Psalms 73:28 But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.

This past Wednesday I had my first appt with my ob/gyn. At the first appt he always does a sonogram. As I lay there in that dark cool room, I waited calmly to see if our tiny baby had a heartbeat. Dr. N always looks at the monitor first and then turns it my direction. I saw the tiny baby with the even tinier heartbeat. sigh. What a truly beautiful sight. I'm so thankful!!

He kept my due date the same- December 8th. Tuesday I will be 10 weeks, already 25% finished with the pregnancy. yay!

I'm feeling surprisingly exhausted lately. I thought I was at least a semi-strong person. Now I feel like a big wimp, getting so tired from everything. Still nauseated quite a bit, but not constantly like before, thank the Lord!

Just enjoying my family and the joy they are to me. It's almost Mother's Day- oh boy:) Hope you all have a great weekend.

Welcome, Bethany!

I "stole" this pic from Misty's blog. Love it!

She's been born!!

Bethany Hope Risse. She weighs 8 lb 7 oz, is 20.5 inches long, has dark hair :) She was born at around 9:15 this morning, and Mike assured me he has given her kisses already. Praise the Lord for the good delivery of a healthy baby girl!! Hopefully I'll be seeing a pic soon...

A scare and a mercy

About 10 minutes ago, my brother Mike called me. About an hour ago, they had a big scare with the baby. Her heartrate had gone from 150 and lower and lower til it was 40. The Lord was merciful and thankfully, it climbed back up to the 150 range. Praise the Lord for that!!

Misty is at an 8, is enjoying her epidural:), and is just waiting to start pushing. I love being an aunt.

More updates as I hear them...

A baby today??

My brother Mike and his wife Misty left for the hospital this morning at 5:40 (their time). Lord willing, their baby girl Bethany Hope will be born sometime today. This will be their 4th child. I'm super excited and I wish (of course!) that I could be there. Thankfully my mom is there to watch the other children. I will keep you udpated:)

A cold/fun Saturday

We met the Hamiltons and my dad in Abilene today for a day of excitement. When we got to Abilene it turned super chilly on us. Our first stop was the Army Surplus Store, where we met up with our friends:), then China Star (YUM!), then the Air Show. We definitely enjoyed the day. We didn't see much plane action b/c of the lack of visibility for the pilots, which was totally understandable. A good time was had by all!

I used to believe...

that participation ribbons were silly, over-rated and cheesy. Until a few days ago. Mikayla participated in her first ever contest. A coloring contest having to do with the "magic of savings." She worked hard and colored to the very best of her 3 yr old ability. We turned it in and waited:)

Then Jody emailed me from work telling me that Mikayla got a ribbon and that he'd pick it up on the way home from work. How excited we all were! Mikayla won a RIBBON. Not a blue, red or even yellow ribbon, but a PURPLE ribbon!!! Oh, you could just feel the joy. She prizes her little ribbon, and now it's looking pretty rough since she takes it places.

So, I stand corrected. Participation ribbons are actually under-rated.

Wouldn't it be great...

... if this was the new way to get children? You'd know right where to be at just the right time and then you'd be prepared to catch them as they fall out of the sky. Just kidding, of course. If that were the case, you'd have to miss out on pregnancy, labor and delivery, etc., and what fun would that be?? :)

Never too early, never too late to start

One thing that I want to share with mommies is the importance of teaching our children from the Word of God at home. Your children are never too young to get started. And, if you feel like you're "so far behind" and your children are too old, start NOW.

What works for us is to have Bible time as one of the first things in the morning after breakfast. For us it's best to have it before play time or tv time. We start with reading from the Bible (we're going through Proverbs right now), then move to singing scripture songs/hymns, and then finish with memory verses. It's amazing to see the capacity of a child's mind to memorize. It really blesses our mornings and helps our day to be more structured.


"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:


And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.


And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:


And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."


Deuteronomy 6:4-7

In everything give thanks

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1 Thessalonians 5:18

The Lord has put this verse on my heart and I'm so thankful for it! What a blessing to read all your kind, uplifting comments from my previous post. Thank you, dear friends, for your love, prayers, and kind/understanding words. One way we know what the will of God is is to GIVE THANKS IN EVERY THING. I think that's so fitting/practical/timely.

How I love my ever-growing family:) Thought I'd post a few pics of the kiddos. Mikayla giving Joseph too-tight hugs. Joseph drinking his bottle resting on Mikayla's tummy and Mikayla feeding Joseph yogurt. The make me laugh!

Hope you had a good day; I sure did. My mom made it safely to South Dakota- thank the Lord!- and now they're waiting for the birth of a beautiful little girl. I so wish I could be there. I can't; so I'm thankful I can pray and see pictures eventually.

Have a great evening!

Still here, I promise

Hi, friends. Sorry for the lack of blogging. I've been EXTREMELY NAUSEOUS for the past few weeks. I figure I'm about 7 weeks pregnant, so I think this nausea thing is just getting started. Oh boy. It actually lasts almost all day long. Thankfully, I've got a terrific/understanding/helpful husband who is my HERO. And, my dear mom saved the day (the other day) and brought me lunch and helped with kids, told me to go to bed and while I was sleeping CLEANED MY REFRIGERATOR. How do YOU spell true love...? Yeah...

Just thought I'd do a quick post to let you know why I've been so "quiet" lately. So, I'm very sorry if I owe you an email, a snail mail, a comment or anything. I'm behind on quite a few things, but when I don't feel well, it's hard to make time for things like that.

Good night, dear friends!

After church photos

After church this morning, I asked two of my Sunday school boys if they would take our family picture for us. They both wanted to! How sweet, eh? So, here's what we look like today, if anyone was curious:) I know I'm posting lots of pics, but remember!- Mikayla and Joseph's grandparents read this blog and like updated photos:)

A lovely shower for a dear friend

These are a few of her favorite friends

Yesterday we were invited to join our friends at the park. Mikayla is quite the goofy girl, as you can see :) I took the opportunity to take a few photos of her with her "favorite friends" Megan and Katie. We love those girls!

My Josephs

This is a special picture for me. I love that little Joseph is SO relaxed on his daddy. You should see how Mikayla and Joseph greet their daddy when he comes home from work. It warms my heart greatly. Daddy coming home is definitely the highlight of our day!

On a perfect pancake quest

Do YOU have a terrific (homemade) pancake recipe?? I can't seem to find one, so I'm on a quest for a good one. I've sadly resorted to buying a pancake mix today:( Not that they're horrible b/c some of them are actually pretty good. I just want to make homemade pancakes for my family. So, can you help me?

The Lord always provides

Our Joseph was in desperate need of some new shoes. So, we went to Goodwill and found these shoes (navy blue and white) for 2 dollars and they are in excellent condition. To top it all off, my mom treated him :) Thanks, Mom!

Our third 2nd Tuesday

Just another taste of God's creation

It's bluebonnet time!

On our way home from church today I tried to get some family photos taken with a tripod. Alas, I couldn't get the timer to work. I have to figure that out. I'm borrowing my mom's nice camera which she is super generous with. Hopefully soon I can get some family photos taken. I love bluebonnets!

Christy's first baby shower

Jalapenos and orange juice

There are SO many pregnant women right now, it seems like. I'm in the mood for some jalapenos- I might run away tonight and get a bbq chicken jalapeno Schlotzsky's pizza- and orange juice. I remember when I was pregnant with Joseph, I just craved orange juice. I used to think cravings were made up. Um, no! ;) Any of you pregnant ladies have certain cravings??

My first appt is April 6th at 3:30. Lord willing, we'll be able to find a babysitter by then. From my calculations my due date will be around December 8th. Happy to see it's still in 2009!


Hope you all have a wonderful day! Let's meditate on this verse this week (only if you want, that is!)

Proverbs 31:26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
How I NEED this; I fail so often, but God is gracious!

The swingset that Grandpa and Daddy built

It's finally finished! The children had fun playing
on it this evening. Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa,
for your wonderful contributions :)

In the family way

Remember when they used to call it that? Yeah, me neither. That's what our pastor calls it though when a woman is expecting a baby. And that's what I'm doing!

We found out this morning. I didn't expect to be pregnant at all, but since I have a dentist appt. tomorrow and I KNOW they'll want to take x-rays, I decided to just rule out pregnancy b/c I knew they'd ask. I was shocked- still am! Very thankful, very excited. I guess the baby fever I had was for a reason :) The Lord is good!

Having had a miscarriage before, I am well aware that it's a possibility for it to happen with this child. We do have 2 live, healthy children for which I'm SO THANKFUL FOR. I don't want to live in fear, but just enjoy every single day the Lord gives us with each life he blesses us with. That's all I want. My aim is that all I do to be to the glory of God. He gives life. I'm thankful for this life He has begun.

Psalms 127:3-5 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

My bubble breaker

This picture is my little Joseph playing
(quite intently) bubble breaker on my
mom's cell phone. I just love his
intensity :)