Confessions and Praise

So those of you who know me probably can attest that I have a natural, home-grown and carefully honed ability to whine.  Oh my gosh it's awful!  I've grown out of a lot of things in my life, but whining is a skill I've savored.  I do better when my eyes are on Jesus and not on myself, but with my life suddenly thrown upside-down, my routine changed for a kid-friendly routine, exhaustion that lingers even if I can catch a 30 minute nap during the other's naptime -- well, I should simply say that my eyes have NOT been on Jesus.  

In the Bible when the Israelites complained to God as they wandered through the desert, even after multiple times and was of providing for them, he finally got fed up and fire surrounded the camp.  It took Moses' praying to get the fires to cease. 

All I have to say, is that THANK GOD there are no singe marks around our lawn!!!!!!!

So I thought I would begin a process of remedy and repentance by telling you all the ways God has provided for us over and over in the past 18 months.

1.  God provided us with two healthy boys.

2.  God kept all of us safe and whole while we waited until we could be together.

3.  God did bring them home.

4.  Though His timing was confusing to me, I can now see how he is providing for us financially with the boys' homecoming coinciding with the sell of Ray's father's home.

5.  God continues to provide for us financially as I am not working, we have two additional mouths to feed, medical bills, family medical plans to pay for, and preschool.

6.  God has provided us with multiple families who love us, care about our boys, and with whom we can have play dates and share in fellowship.

7.  The boys are making progress every day.  Biting has nearly ceased.  Time outs are much smoother.  Last night the boys had a super-easy bath time and went to bed relatively willingly.

8.  The boys are making crazy fast progress with their English -- understanding LOTS of what we say, and picking up English words all the time.

9.  My dearest friend and spouse has been AMAZING at loving on the boys while I make meals, and occasionally running them out to the park for an hour or two so I can clean, shower, and have a break.

10. I'm losing weight with all the running and becoming much more active a person.

11.  The boys have a deeply endearing heart-felt love for Ray and I that seems to prevail no matter how mad they are, which is something that shouldn't be taken for granted since they've only been home two weeks.

12.  The boys love to talk with God.  AMEN!!

13.  My family has been super-supportive, loving on the boys every chance they get and building memories with them that mean the world to the boys.

14.  God has provided us with people who have adopted "older" children, who provide a lot of insight into our little guys.

15.  Mocha has been super-patient with the boys -- even though they are still learning what "gentle" means.

16.  We have a great neighborhood that is patient with the boys when they run between the houses.

17.  We have a great church that is just completely bonding with the boys.

18.  We have a great town with tons of playgrounds and kids festivals throughout the year.

19.  We have Jesus in our lives.

20.  We have each other.

What more does a girl need; I ask you??