Christmas miracles

OK, so I am a few weeks behind, I formally apologize. I will try to do better. Yes, this blogging stuff takes FOREVER but I will perservere because I don't journal and this is so much more fun! Plus, I've started to recieve some comments which is fun so I'll keep it up!

This Christmas was filled with miracles:

The first lesson I learned was a renewed love for and strengthened testimony in my Savior, Jesus Christ.

This winter has proven to be very tight financially. When things are tight, I get down and depressed. I ended up saying "Screw it!" and whipped out my little credit card. (a HUGE no-no!!! since we've been debt free for 3 years!) Well, two weeks before Christmas, my van decided to quit working while I was driving it home from church. What a blessing this turned out to be! This caused my DH and I to sit down, talk about finances, talk about things we hadn't been saying (ummm, was it really the credit card I needed? I think not.) We were humbled by this threat of not having a van, not having any money to buy a new one, and the credit card debt we(I) had incurred. This scare brought us to our knees together. We prayed that our van would be ok and that it would not be anything major and that it would last us at least 6 more months. We put ourselves and our own pettyness aside and sought out the Lord's will and council. (Yes, I know this is what we should be doing all the time but sometimes, we don't) Jesus says; "Ask and ye shall recieve, knock and it shall be opened unto you". Why then do we not ask? or knock? Well, I was humbled-greatly! I had my van towed to this great repair shop in Waldorf after taking the advice of the tow guy. It was full of honest, nice, and competent people. They told me it was just the serpetine belt that slipped off and I got my van back for only $58! I could not believe it! "O ye of little faith" My van is a 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan with 180,000 miles on it. I thought it was toast but our prayers were answered and it is still going strong! We were able to drive up to Syracuse for the blessing of my new nephew, Wyatt, and hang out with my family in beautiful, snowy NY. Our van got us there and back and is trucking on and on!

Miracle number 2:

I won't go into much detail or disclose the identity of the individual, however, a person whom I have not seen or talked with in 15 years felt impressed by the Lord to send our family a monetary Christmas gift. It was not much money by today's standards. However, like with the van, I was humbled by the gesture. I was frankly shocked, in awe, and felt humbled and somewhat unworthy. You see, I had been very down. I tend to carry the weight of the world on my shoulders and not ask or allow anyone to help me. This time though, I actually got to the point where I did ask for help and didn't receive it the way I thought I should. I desperately needed to know that someone out there knew me, loved me, and was willing to serve me. This came in the form of a friend whom I have not communcated with in over 15 years. When this person contacted me and told me of his prayerful inquiry as to who he should serve this Christmas and when he told me of the revelation he and his wife got and my name was in it!-I felt the Spirit so strong! I knew that Jesus was aware of me. I knew He knew me, my struggles, and my thoughts and feelings. Better yet, my testimony of His love for me was tremendously strengthened. I am grateful for this servant who was willing to be an instrument in his hands to bless my family, my life, and my testimony.

Lesson learned?: I will pay it forward based off of this

Zechariah sledding

Snow storm

Today we had a massive snow storm! It has already dropped 2 feet of snow. The boys went out this morning and had a great time and came in after 45 mins. It was cold and it was coming down fast and hard! Here are some pics of my adorable kids all bundled up:
Here is a picture of our gorgeous backyard:
And here is a pic of Gary cleaning off the trampoline so that we could take it down so that it didn't break with the weight of the snow. Yes, it should have been done the day before but it wasn't.I had thought ahead and bought the kids waterproof hats and gloves, snowsuits, snow boots, and wool socks so they would be ready for the snow. I, on the other hand, do not own these items but will be purchasing them asap! It's ridiculous that I won't buy myself anything even if I need it! Thank goodness for Gary's military gear-he was completely covered when it came to snow and outdoor gear! Now we just need a snow shovel :)

Karma bites me in the butt

Have you all seen My name is Earl? I think that show is SO funny. I Love Jaime Pressly and Jason Lee but I also like the message about karma. Do a good deed and good things happen, do something bad and bad things happen.
OK, so karma has come back to bite me in the butt. Yes, it is true. I am not an innately bad person. I try very hard to be nice and kind. So, why the title?
I have friends who write blogs, facebook comments, and call me on the phone and discuss their children's many messes and destructive tendencies. I would listen to them and say things like, "that sucks", or "Oh my goodness", or "I am so sorry" but you know deep down I'm wondering "Where were you when your child was smearing poo all over the toy room wall?" "Why did you have a permanent marker out anywhere that a child could get to it?" and so on and so forth. Yes, my judgments may have been silent but they were there. And then I had Ammon...
This child is adorable and sweet and SUCH a MESS!!! He gets into everything! I am on him all the time. He has a room full of toys but would rather prowl around the house opening cabinets, pulling out cleaners, and spray them all over the place. Or he'll open cupboards and pull out 2 butter knives and use them as light sabers (he has toy light sabers on the floor of the toy room!) or as drum sticks, or as swords. And if he decides he is done eating or drinking he will just throw it all on the floor! Without warning and no matter how many times I make him clean up his mess! The other day I asked my husband "Whose demon spawn is this?" And then I went into the kitchen where my hubby had been fixing himself a glass of OJ. The cabinet door was opened from where he got his glass, the pitcher of OJ was left out on the counter, and the fridge door was opened. Seriously? Do you want to commit me to the insane asylym??? I am trying to mellow in my old age. The house is not nearly as clean with 4 boys as it was with 2 and that's OK! But I am also trying to teach my children responsibility and the value of work. Holy cow! If Ammon doesn't send me over the edge of a cliff, my husband will! Thank goodness for my OCD Zechariah who helps keep the place clean and in order and for my sensitive Gabriel who can't stand for me to be upset at him and therefore, won't make the mess in the first place. Ammon, on the other hand, could care less. He was put here on this earth to bring happiness to others and to be happy! He really does make me happy! And he sure is happy getting into my stuff! :)

Zechariah loses a tooth

Zechariah finally lost his very 1st tooth! He is almost 7! Two weeks ago Zechariah came home from school and we were talking about something when I noticed that his teeth looked weird. I asked him to open his mouth so I could get a better look. I saw purple around his bottom tooth. I asked him what was wrong. He said "nothing, it's just kinda wiggly" I said, "You have a loose tooth?!" All excitedly. He was like, "Yeah I push on it at school" I said, "Show me!" and then he popped it out. Just like that! No, forewarning, no drama, nothing! I was shocked and so was he! He couldn't believe it just came right out! My baby is growing up!

Playing catch up

Yep, it's been a while. I am playing catch up. There have been so many times that I have blogged in my head about numerous things but have not gotten to the computer to do it. Now, I don't even know when these things happened. Am I lame or what?

I'll start with trimming the Christmas tree. The Sunday and Monday after Thanksgiving I pulled out my Christmas tree and started trimming the tree. Here's a little of the goings-on.

Rebekah, the psychic

I am predicting right now that my husband will be deployed this summer. I hope I'm wrong-but let's face it: I rarely am! :) I didn't want to post this on Facebook but it is what I am thinking and since I don't journal-there you go. I've been telling him since we moved here and he took over the SAC (Special Agent in Charge) position for the previous one who went to Iraq, that he would come home and Gary would go. Gary said no, the other guy was due to PCS blah, blah, blah, but something inside me kept saying otherwise. So today he comes home talking about how his ASAC is leaving and his DET sergeant and now the previous SAC may be coming back and staying. "OK?" I say to my sweet husband, "So, you're going to Iraq." He says probably not and he doesn't know that yet and blah, blah, blah. Mark my words (I'll gladly eat them if I'm wrong) my psychic prediction is that my sweetheart will be overseas this time next year (sigh) Oh well, he's due. It's been over 3 years. I've done it before. People do it all the time. I'll put on my big girl panties and deal with it. But DANG! I sure will miss him while he's gone. He's my very best friend in the whole entire world.
My husband, my love, my friend