Alaiyah Says...

Ok so we were watching blues clues and it was going off. They were singing the usual Blues Clues song "we can do anything that we wanna do." Here's what follows:

Is there no God on this show?

What?

Is there no God on this show? They said they can do anything they wannna do. Is there no God on the show?

I am rolling!!!!!!!!! Then (because she's starring at me waiting for an answer) I realize she's serious.

I try to gather myself and answer her deep theological question. I was not that successful.

Uh,I guess they really can't do anything they want to do.

As she turns back to the T.V. she casually says,

Whose gonna to tell them?

I loose it again. Two seconds later she says with a look of confusion on her face,

Why don't they ever go to the bathroom?

Ha!!!!!!!!

Bring the Rain

Bring me joy

Bring me peace

Bring the chance to be free

Bring me anything that brings you glory

And I know there'll be days

When this life brings me pain

But if that's what it takes to praise You

Jesus, bring the rain

(Mercy Me)

Alaiyah Says...

Looking back over my pictures I see that I have a lot to post about, but I only have a few minutes and I really want to share this it was sooo cute.

Alaiyah was in her roomtime and I went back there because she was making too much noise. This is of course very typical for her. I spend half of the time that she's in there in terror that she will wake up Zo or Ayden.

I walk in the room and she had books spread in all directions all over my bed. Obviously she noticed the look of confusion on my face because she opened her hands and looked at me as if to say duh!!

She said, "This is the library! There are books all over the place in the library, you know?!" She was so serious and it was hilarious!



When we were in Florida (pics soon) my friend Andrea and I were talking about parenting and she said it often helps to think of speaking to your children as if they were someone else's children.

I don't know about you but I'm usually nicer to other's children.

After I got home the Lord pointed out that these were someone else's children. They weren't just mine...they were His and He'd entrusted them to me for a time. He's reall used that to begin teaching me to learn to be the nice momma instead of the fussy irritated momma I can more often be!! It's not easy BUT the Lord is so kind to reward my efforts immediately and obviously. Alaiyah responds totally different when I'm being kind to her. She is very sweet and very eager to please!

Now I"m saying DUH!! I should be quicker to catch on!!

okay so 30 min. later I call her to come out of the room and she runs in as if the MOST EXCITING THING IN THE WORLD has just happened.

She says, "Come here, you HAVE TO see this."

Ok so the nice mommy (that would be me...just in case you missed it) jumped up and ran to see what was so EXCITING!!





She had made my bed and she was as excited about it as she could be!

"Mommy I did that because I wanted you to be SOOO proud of me!"

"Alaiyah that is so wonderful! I love you soo much! Thanks for making my bed!"

We hug and she says, "That's why I love you too Mommy!"

Ok I could't have created a better moment and it couldn't have happened on a day when I needed it more!

Thank you Lord for loving me through Alaiyah!!!

(p.s. excuse my bedroom I've been emotionally unstable lately which for me translates as absolutely unproductive)

The Lord's Wonderful Miracles!!

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion." says my soul, "therfore I will hope in him." The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Lam. 3:22-25

The Lord is so very faithful to meet us in our struggle! He is our help! He runs to the aide of those who seek Him!! He is our very good God! Let us put our trust in Him! Even in those struggles that seem to never never go away! It is a small thing in the eyes of the Lord to deliver you (2 Kings 3:18)! Trust Him to do immeasurably more than you can ask or imagine (Eph. 3:20)! He is able and He is faithful!

I praise the Lord with you my sweet friend in your victory over the evil one! I rejoice in Him who was able to accomplish it and Him who is able to keep you! Amen Sister!!!

Happy 4th of July!!!

The day started off pretty bad as you know, but after reading blogs for awhile I was really very encouraged. I'm so glad that most people are better at writing in their blogs than I am :)

My neice's mother Timika invited us to her house for bbQ and water fun for the kids. It was great and something to look forward to in Tuskegee.

The food was good. The hang time was good. The kids played on the water slide and ran screaming in terror from the puppy...it was a good time.

As we were getting ready to leave, Timika mentioned a fireworks show at the lake starting around 8:30p.m. She said it was just a little something for the kids. I didn't think much about it and of course I didn't expect much...(this is Tuskegee after all).

8:30 rolled around and I thought the kids would just like to get out of the house if nothing else so we jumped in the car to go to the lake.






Well this is what we found!! Okay this is not a pic of Tuskegee, but the traffic is really the point. There were cars and people everywhere!!! I kept whispering to Alonzo "where did all of these people come from"

I obviously had reached my limit of repeating that phrase because Alaiyah started saying (with a voice a lot louder than a whisper), "Why do you keep saying that?"

So, we finally found somewhere to park. (I'm serious yall the people were really out for this) We stood around and saw some backyard fireworks and I thought "Timika was right this is really just a little something for the kids"

Then all of a sudden



I could hardly believe my eyes. I'm talking REAL fireworks! This show was as good as the one in Winn Lakes (Montgomery's 90210 neighborhood). I just could not stop smiling! It was very impressive. I almost forgot where I was!!

When it was over, as we were walking to the car, I could not help but think that the Lord had done that for me. Timika mentioning the fireworks show was purely an after thought as we were walking out the door! Had she not said anything we would have missed a great fireworks show here in Tuskegee Alabama.

I felt as if the Lord wanted me to know that He could do BIG things in Tuskegee too!!

Thank you Lord for my fireworks and my time out with my family in our new hometown!

By the end of the night, my sweet husband was a bit tired of my low blows at Tuskegee. He said that it only encouraged me to be discontent. I actually thought it made me feel better. He's probably right so I'll do better in the future. And besides Tuskegee has shown me that they CAN do something worth writing about.

I intended that to be a compliment. I'm not sure it came out that way. Old habits are hard to break. :)

Honest Blogging?

i got a link in my e-mail about a mom/tooth fairy forgetting to leave money under her child's pillow (thanks Tay). It was hilarious and I've done it before to the tears of my little one. I hadn't read a blog in a long time so I read more of her blogs and I just loved it. (if someone would show me how to put a link to her blog I'd be able to send you there) She is so honest and real about her struggles and I had a revelation!! (stop laughing Nicole!)

I was really excited about blogging when I started the blog. That was before we moved to Tuskegee and when I had many pleasant things to blog about. Life has not been easy since we moved to Tuskegee so I didn't exactly want to post all of my struggles. That's why I created a private blog!!

The toothfairies blog really encouraged and challenged me. Am I really willing to bear all to the world? It's not a requirement I know but is my lack of sharing PRIDE! Am i not availing myself of an opportunity to be spurred on by those who read?...to be aided by their prayer?...to be encouraged by their advice and godly wisdom? Am I missing an opportunity to be helped because I only want to share happy, funny stories? Do I really want people to see only what I want them to see, but not get a real picture of me?

Once again, I know blogging is not a required spiritual discipline. I have shared my struggles with my friends, but what if the Lord would use this is my life...to help build some of the community that is so desperately missing in life. Who knows? Maybe we'll see! Here it goes...

Atlanta was great!!!! So great that it is hard returning to Tuskegee!!! I miss seeing my friends everyday. I miss having someone for the kids to play with everyday. I miss Publix, the mall, Target!!! I fill trapped here. I feel like I'm in this small box that I can't get out of. Not to mention on top of that I'm hormonal. I feel like I'm so often controlled by my feelings. I'm not sure I know how not to be. When I have a conviction about something I can push on even when I don't feel like it. When I don't have a conviction, that's so hard to do. One minute I think I should do one thing for well thought out biblical reasons. The next I believe I should do something totally different for different well thought out biblical reasons. I really do think these things out, but somehow something else will happen that will change my thought process. It's so very frustrating!!!

This morning I was crying out to the Lord for help! Asking Him for His wisdom and direction. I don't want to always waiver on decisions and constantly change my mind. After praying for awhile, I thought maybe a Psalm would help so I just opened the Bible to see where it would land. Guess where? The Lord loves me so!!!! Psalm 43

You are God my stronghold. Why have you rejected me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?

Yes yes yes!!! I never understood why the Psalmist would ever feel rejected by the Lord. Now I do!!! I know it's not true, but the feeling is real! Why am I mourning, oppressed by the enemy?

Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me;
Yes yes yes!!! That's what I need the Lord's light and truth to guide me!!

let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. Then will i go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God. Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

The Lord is soooo good!! I will continue to pray for the Lord's light and truth to guide me to the place where He dwells. That's where I want to be!! Will you pray with me?

This struggle and I'm sure many others that are not as clear at the present are often paralyzing. When I'm stressed I'm emotionally and thus physically drained. I get so tired that it's hard for me to manage my life. I'm frustrated with everybody around me because I'm frustrated with myself. I fight to focus on the truth. Sometimes I win and know the truth, but the emotional struggle is soooo energy draining! I can never really know what I will accomplish in a day because I get so tired and discouraged!!! I have a sweet friend who holds me accountable for making a schedule and that helps a lot, but the underlying issue that makes it so hard to accomplish tasks is this uncertainty about my life and decisions when things are hard.

Okay I do believe that's enough for today! I will go on in the strength that God provides. He is faithful and I know He will see me through this! PRAY!!!