I am sad today. My sweet, wonderful, amazing husband just left to go to work. Usually, he leaves at 4 a.m. but he has hurt from his kidney stones all weekend long and hurt very badly last night. So, it was late to work this morning. The thing is, he works about an hour and a half from where we live and there is no cell phone signal up there in the mountains. So, I can't tell whether he is hurting or what is going on with him. I have to stay here and wait and see. :(  Also, he took 2 pain pills and is driving and working with those in his system. NOT GOOD. So, I would ask that you pray for us today. Especially for my sweet husband.

Now, on to happier things: My wonderful husband took the kids to get doughnuts for us on Saturday morning while I slept/puttered around the house. Doughnuts are a good 20 minutes away and he also went to the hardware store and surprised me with hanging baskets for our front porch!!! So, quite a bit of time to myself, I didn't have to fix breakfast and beautiful flowers for Mother's Day....it was so nice!!! Then, on Sunday, we went to church (where we spent time with my Mom) and he fixed dinner for the kids & I (all while he was in pain) and cleaned it up, as well. Actually, I had to help cook a little bit but I didn't mind! Then, we just had a quiet day together and went to see Charlie's Mom last night. It was just a great day!!

I hope to post pictures soon. I have so many to post so will probably spend about a week posting pictures! lol

 I have to find my battery charger for my camera, first! :)

Hope you have a wonderful week!

I want you with me, said the little princess....

Tomorrow, I am putting ALL work, aside.....read here and find out why. Tomorrow, we are going to, as a family, just simply, BE. Be and play and talk and sing and strengthen our relationships instead of cleaning our house. Won't you join us? :)


 *Please pray  for Lily..she has poison ivy all over her face and hands. Her eye is almost swollen shut. We would appreciate your prayers! It is so hard to watch her be so uncomfortable and not be able to do much for it. :(

Reasons why I am not a perfect mother,but my chilren love me, anyway...

 *Disclaimer: I say this not to be proud but actually, because I have been extremely hard on myself, lately and my husband, being the encourager that he is, suggested I write a list of why I am not perfect but my children love me anyway...LOL...so, here it is!! Enjoy and I would love to read your list, as well!! :)

                                                             (Image from Allposters.com)
* I occasionally feed them chocolate cake for breakfast (oh, yes, I have...and many other "sugary" delights, at times!)

* We do NOT do "proper" sit down school every day of the week. We are lucky to get "sit down school" done 3 days a week. The rest of the time, we read. Yes, we read. Whatever the girls want to read and even now, Drew will climb in my lap with his book of choice for reading and cuddles on the couch. :)

* We get happy meals. :)

* I let my kids watch movies...(not PG-13 or R movies...children's movies and some classics) and we eat popcorn and have snacks...we do this at least twice a week :)

* We make huge messes!  We play LOUD music! We have music and art,almost every day!! This is one of my favorite times with my children! We put on some Christian music and we dance and/or create while listening to the music...you would NOT believe the wonderful discussions we have (especially as Claire gets older) and the beautiful artwork they do for "God and Jesus"..it's precious and so amazing to me!!

*  My kitchen is sometimes a huge disaster! My kids help me cook almost every single meal and snack! Claire will be 5 in just 3 weeks...sniff. She already knows how to make so many things! She has recipes almost completely memorized!!

*My house is not spotless. At all. I have various "collections" of rocks, flowers, anything my kids find that interest them and they want Mommy to have! I have watched many kid's faces fall when they bring a new found treasure to their mom and she says in a stern voice, "Put that down" or "Just what I need, more junk!" I have found that my children are much more likely to share with me their thoughts and dreams and we are just closer if I just take that little bit of time to recognize and acknowledge their gift to me. When they give you something they found or picked, they are giving you a part of themselves. They are giving you a glimpse into their soul. Take the time. Appreciate their thoughtfulness. You are the most important influence in their little lives. Be gentle and let them know they are worthy of your time. :)

* We have our moments. My kids are kids and they try me, at times.I am learning right along beside them. Sometimes, I yell. I am too harsh with my words or punishment.(Rachel has a post worth reading about this) At times, I have wondered why in the world God ever answered my prayers for children! But, in the end, my children love me. I apologize when I am wrong and I sincerely try to correct myself and do better. I try with all my being to be the mother they need me to be. And, if I were a betting woman, I would say that you do, too. You are a WONDERFUL mother. You are the mother your children need. BE that mother. Don't let the world tell you otherwise!!! You have all you need to do the job-you are a child of the ALMIGHTY GOD!!!! Nothing is impossible with HIM!! If you mess up (and we all do) HE is there with HIS amazing GRACE!!!  Now, go, ......be the Mama you were created to be!! =D

~Julie~

The garden of our children's hearts...

  From Today's Proverbs 31 ministries devotional:

What if we considered our children's hearts and lives as a garden? The principles of sowing and reaping apply as well. Every day we sow into those "gardens" through our words, behavior, and the disciplines we teach them. However, just like a vegetable garden, if we plant carrot seeds, we will reap carrots – not corn. Consequently, if we sow negative seeds of discouragement, we will reap despair. If we sow seeds of impatience, we will reap frustration. If we sow seeds of laziness, we will reap stress.

Conversely, if we sow healthy seeds of good choices, we will reap self-discipline. If we sow seeds of patience, we will reap peace. If we sow seeds of perseverance, we will reap success. Our children's hearts are rich soil prepared by God to receive good seed. As conscientious gardeners, we need to plant those that will reap a harvest in our children's lives and prepare them for service in the kingdom of God.

What if you don't see results right away? That's normal. After a few days, the farmer doesn't get frustrated with slow growth and rip the seeds out of the ground. No. The farmer continues to water the soil, shoo the birds away, and pull the weeds. The farmer protects the seed until it has a chance to grow in its own time.

God designed our children to grow and flouris h with love and care. However, failure can be the weeds in our children's lives. Weeds don't destroy the good seed, they just leech the nutrients out of the soil limiting the growth of the plant. Failure doesn't destroy our children's potential; it just removes the enthusiasm from their hearts.

In order to overcome the pain and heartache of failure, children need a parent who will step in with fresh water and bright sunlight, while replacing the weeds with healthy seed. With this tender care, perseverance and self-discipline will grow and develop. Then in time, our children will produce a harvest of confidence. May we be gardeners who don't give up until the harvest.

Dear Lord, I praise You for Your almighty power and wisdom. Thank You for making me with potential to grow and change. Help me to see that same potential in those I love and to become a gardener of healthy seed in their lives. Help me to see failure as something to overcome, not stop me for a live of obedience. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

*Now, I am off to sow some good seeds!!! Have a blessed day!!

~Julie~

Great questions for all Mom's....

I subscribe to this blog and find their posts to be very uplifting, encouraging and thought provoking. Today, I found this one that I somehow missed when it was posted (I don't read blogs every day so that's probably why)....check it out...it could also relate to how you spend your time as a wife if you do not have children for whatever reason.

Read it and be blessed. I think I will post my answers sometime this week..

Love,

Julie

Words of wisdom...

I've posted these before but I have been thinking on this so much lately and they are definitely words of wisdom that can be shared again and again....

"Cooking and cleaning can wait 'til tomorrow,
For babies grow up, we've learned to our sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep,
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep."


"My house may be a mess.....but my children are happy" -Monica from Homespun heart

MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY!!!!!

*Take some time this week and just "be" with your kids...just hang out, doing what THEY want to do...I promise, the laundry will still be there when you get through!! ;)

angels....

It is the National Day of Miscarriage and Infant Loss. Please remember to keep all of us who have lost children in your prayers. It means so much.

Today, I want to do something I have never done before (except with a couple of people who were going through the same thing). I want to share the names we gave our babies and how old(by estimate) they would be today. (I lost some babies extremely early and did not know it because of the PCOS....these are just the ones we were aware of and that I carried a bit longer)

Samuel Edward Fogg - 11 years
Thomas Alan Fogg- 11 years
Kelby Wade Fogg- 9 years
Aimee Elisabeth Rene Fogg- 7 years

We love you sweet angels and we think of you every.single. day.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Mommy

Oh, how I needed to read this!! ....

*The following was taken from an article I had clipped from something and placed in my housekeeping binder (more on that later, if you want the info, it's really easy & helpful). As I read this today, I became more convicted of my actions at times and how God restores me time and again! Thank God for His abundant GRACE that is anew every morning....(the highlighted ones are what I have struggled with recently).


~if Mom is sour, the children are cranky;

~if Mom is irritable, the children are antsy;

~if Mom is angry, the children live on eggshells;

~if Mom is distracted, the children run amuck;

~if Mom is undisciplined, the house becomes unkempt;

~if Mom is ungrateful, the children develop a sense of entitlement;

~if Mom is addicted to tv or internet, the house, the children, and her husband suffer;

~if Mom despises herself physically or any other way, her husband suffers for lack of intimacy;

~if Mom is petty or obsessed with material things, her children are shallow and her husband feels used;

~if Mom lives in a world without forgiveness, her children and her husband will never experience the deepest love she may have to offer

My mommy rewards...

*sweet sticky kisses from suckers that were rewards for going to the potty(L) and memorizing bible verses (C & L)

*listening to big sister instruct little sister in a sweet loving way to "let me help you, baby"

*listening to little sister say" I need kiss" to big sister

*listening to big sister then say to little sister, "Sissy, I love your loves!!" :)

*watching little brother sit in the floor with his sisters as they stroke his hair while watching a movie or playing blocks

*my oldest daughter saying to me, "Mama, you are the best place in the world"

*watching the love of my life have tickle wars with all 3 of our children at the same time

*a drowsy some baby, some little boy(sniff.sniff.) burrowing his face in my shoulder after his bath

*checking in on my babies and watching them sleep, their little chests rising and falling softly and their little thumbs tucked in their mouths (they are sleepy thumb suckers, all 3 of them)

*crawling under the covers and holding the one true love of my life....the wonderful amazing Daddy of the 3 precious miracles God has loaned us....

and I sleep. Peaceful and content and whole.

~Julie

Wonderful things to say to your children.....

*“I love being with you.”

*“You make my day better.”

*“You’re a gift.”

*“I’m so glad God gave you to us.”

*“God has a great plan for you…don’t stop serving Him.”

*“There’s no place I’d rather spend the day than with you.”

*“You make me laugh.”

*“What I want more than anything on earth is for you to “seek first the Kingdom of God”.


I found these somewhere sometime and had written them down in a notebook. I just found them last night. I thought I would share them with you. There's a lot of sweet wisdom in these....

~Love,
Julie

what my children need from me....

pg. 33 "The Ministry of Motherhood" by Sally Clarkson

"What matters to them is my loving presence............ And that's what my children need from me. If I want them to be open to my messages, I need to be willing to serve them-to voluntarily give up my rights and my time to meet their felt needs-just as Jesus was willing to give for his disciples."

This gave me something to think about for awhile... actually, from now on, may I never forget these words. Something I really needed to hear today.

In LOVE with this....

These adorable little dress patterns found here!! This one is called Miss Lily but it's not available until April? , I think? However, I am already planning on getting it and a couple of others: the Miss Madeline & the Miss Molly, which are available NOW!!! :)

Also, as a side note, because you know how much I LOVE baby names, I have to say that she has beautiful taste in names!! (Claire was almost Madeline at one time & Lily was almost Molly) ...........................

Anyway, just had to share these with ya'll; I know that some of you sew and are pretty good at it, too!! Thought you might enjoy these. :)

Have a great Wednesday!! It's icy & COLD here & in a few minutes I am off to get necessary supplies!! Stay warm, everyone!

Love,

Julie

my daybook today....

Julie's daybook...For Monday, January 26th, 2009

*Bible verse: (Titus 2:3-8)
3.
The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
4.
That they may teach the young women to be sober , to love their husbands, to love their children,
5.
To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed .
6.
Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded .
7.
In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,
8.
Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed , having no evil thing to say of you.


*recipe: Stuffed Cabbage Casserole, Julia Child's white bread, Texas Sheet Cake (supper last night; leftovers tonight) :)


*activity with kids: bundling up & taking a nature walk after naps; watching a movie and eating snacks

*today's target cleaning areas: organize & vaccum our bedroom closet, girls closet. * Clean ALL appliances * Do ALL laundry; fold & put away (this is ALL done already except the laundry; 1:45 pm)

*Something Charlie needs for me to do: take his phone to get fixed or get new one; make breakfast & lunch for him for entire week (put in freezer & refrigerator) (ALL done except the phone will have to do that tomorrow; 2:00 pm)

Something special for my husband: write love notes to put in his lunch ;)

Something special for my children: let the girls wear my high heels to play dress up; spend time just talking silly & cuddling all of them.

project: menu plan; Drew's baby book (my project for this week, lol)

In our schoolhouse: Slow & Steady Get Me Ready ( I will try and put these in a different post; maybe I will get it done today) :)

*For now, I am posting a picture that I love:

Claire, Lily, Drew & my sweet niece, Sarah, at church :)

Please join in if you wish! I have been doing this as often as I can (I just don't post it) but my little sister inspired me today! To read her wonderful daybook, go here! Have a wonderful and productive week, everyone!

Love,

Julie

I quit!

My devotional from Christianitytoday.com. I thought it was great and so very helpful! Hope you benefit from it, as well!

Knowing Where to StartRenee Swope

"You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me;
you stoop down to make me great." Psalm 18:35 (NIV)

Devotion:

I was talking with friends who recently read my devotion about helping my son become a can-do-kid. One said she wanted to raise can-do-kids, but she didn't know where to start. Another shared how she wished she enjoyed being a mom as much as I do.

The truth is, I haven't always enjoyed being a mom. I didn't start out as a can-do mom with can-do thoughts and can-do kids. In fact, my son's "I-give-up attitude" that inspired my devotion earlier this month was probably inherited from me. I had stood on the sidelines of motherhood and declared, "I CAN'T" many times.

I would get so discouraged.Once my kids became toddlers who would not listen to me and obey like little robots, I panicked. I looked at other moms who seemed to know what they were doing and wondered, "What is wrong with me?" Their children listened when they told them no. Why wouldn't my child keep his hands to himself in the grocery store or the toy isle? Why didn't someone tell me this would be so hard?I often felt like a failure.I compared how I felt on the inside to how other moms looked like they had it all together on the outside. My feelings of inadequacy and thoughts of insecurity were held up in comparison to moms who dressed their children in matching outfits and adorned themselves with attitudes of grace and wisdom. I wondered how in the world they pulled it off with a smile? I could barely get a shower, get my kids dressed, or get us out the door before lunch!I wanted to quit.One day I came home from running errands with two tired, fussy toddlers. I put them down for a nap and searched for pink construction paper so I could write "I QUIT" on it. I was going to hand my "pink slip" to my husband when he came home from work that day. It was just too hard, and I was tired of feeling like I would never measure up as a mom.And that's where I started. I didn't really start being a mom until the day I almost quit. Because that was the day I fell on my knees before God and choked out the words, "I can't do this."

And in that place of surrender, it felt like God bent down on His knees before me and spoke to my heart: "You are right, Renee. In your own strength and through your own perspective, you cannot do this. But I am here with you. With my grace, my promises, my mercy, my presence, and my power -- all things are possible. I will help you become a great mom."That day reminded me of Psalm 19:35, "You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great."It was a new starting place for me. When I acknowledged that on my own I was a mess, God came to my rescue. He showed me that with His gentleness, grace, wisdom and guidance, I could become the mom He was calling me to be, the mom my kids needed me to be, and the mom I wanted to be!

Dear Lord, I need Your shield of victory to protect me from discouragement. I pray that You would extend Your right hand to sustain me; Your grace to strengthen me; and Your wisdom to lead me. Thank You for Jesus, who stooped down to make me great because of Your great love for me. Today, I find a new starting place with You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.


Have a great Wednesday!

love,

Julie

last night, I...

*took a LONG bubble bath!

*got in my warm flannel jammies (it was COLD here last night!!)

*put on my fuzzy socks (thanks, Sissy)

*sat under my warm fleece blanket with my journal and the book of James. (will share some notes later). :)

*ate yummy soup

*drank hot chocolate with my hubby!! :)

*kids slept ALL night long with no one getting up to go to the bathroom or anything else, can I get a HALLELUJAH!!!

*making to do lists!!!!

*slept on fresh out of the dryer clean sheets!!

*watched Esther with Claire

*snuggled with all of my babies!!!

What do you & your family do on cold winter nights???

Love,
Julie

Happy Birthday, Mama (MeMe,Granny)!!! :)

This is a horrible picture of me & my mama but it's the only one blogger would let me load and it would only load sideways?! Anyway, just look sideways, I guess! :) Anyway, it actually is the best picture that I could have used because it is a great example of how it is with my Mom! She is always behind me, encouraging & pushing me and never letting me walk alone. :)

Happy Birthday to the woman who gave me life and so much more! I am incredibly blessed that you are my mom! I don't even know where to begin. First of all, you never complain about helping your kids out. Not only that, but you don't even let us ask. You just know even without us telling you that something is wrong and you start in trying to fix it! :) You also teach us that there are things that only God can fix. You only had your mom until you were 16 and she didn't know how to talk to you about things that daughters need to talk about. In spite of that, you have always been there for us and you did not let "not knowing how" stop you from knowing your daughters.

You always put Daddy and us before anything else and you worked hard both in the home and sometimes at an outside job so that we could have what we needed and what we wanted. Everyone at school wanted you to be their Mom because you were always there. You took me and my friends out to eat, you threw the BEST birthday parties ever, you were just always THERE in my life. Sometimes I thought it was smothering but now I know just how much you cared and that means SO much to me.

You taught me how to work, how to read, how to cook, tried to teach me how to sew(haha), how to never give up and how to believe in myself. You only finished the 8th grade but you were determined and did everything in your power to make sure we made the BEST grades we could and that we went to college. You went back and got your GED and went to college all while raising a family. You quit college early because it was too hard on your kids (among other things going on at the time) but you made sure that we knew we could do it. You did the late night helping us study, buying us whatever we needed to accomplish that goal, you did ALL of the paperwork and phone calls. You helped me have the most beautiful wedding and you have loved Charlie as your own son since the day you met him. :) You were there when all of our angels were lost and when our babies were born. You were there through the sleepless nights and even took some for your own so that Charlie & I could sleep. You help me with parenting when I don't know what to do. You calm me down. You go with me to take my kids to the doctor and you help me when they are sick. You buy things that I cannot afford at times. You have helped so much when hard times have hit.

I ,seriously, thank God for you and your unselfish ways every day, Mama. I know that if you go to be with Jesus before I do, I will never be the same. I honestly don't know WHAT I would do without one of my VERY best friends. My first best friend.

I hope you have a very special birthday. One that is just as special as you are to me! :)

Love,

your

Julie Irene

tomorrow, I will be....

Baking these with my daughters. And these. Oh, so yummy! :) Playing dolls, playing house (me really ironing clothes while Claire & Lily iron on their little ironing boards with irons that MeMe & Papaw bought them for Christmas), playing in the "castle" with Claire & Lily that Aunt Cheryl & Uncle Greg gave them, watching "Gideon-A lesson in trusting God" Claire's current fave movie, a present from Aunt Crystal& Uncle Paul and playing dress up (present from Aunt Tammy/Uncle Jeremy), playing my keyboard while Claire & Lily rock out on their keyboard (from Aunt Lynn/Uncle Billy), reading James and some in my chronological plan (still trying to follow it as much as I can; it's just been hard), doing the "love dare", making something light for supper (due to the sickness), getting lots of cuddles from Drew & listening to his precious little baby laugh! Listening to my sweet little girls carry on adorable conversations with each other and seeing their sweet relationship develop right before my very eyes. :),washing/drying/folding/putting away laundry, calling the dr.'s office,getting paperwork done for taxes,cleaning the bathroom,breaking up little arguments, kissing owies, (hopefully NOT cleaning up puke & poop)doing school with the girls, organizing mine & Charlie's bedroom, scrubbing floors, and whatever else comes up?!!!!

This is only the tip of the list of things I have to get done this week!!! Is it any wonder that we as stay home Mom's (and working mom's too) just never get ahead?! That we feel "overwhelmed" if we stop and think about all we have to do?! The best solution, I have found, is not to THINK, it is to just DO IT and GET IT DONE!!!! :)

I may have a lot to do tomorrow but I am SO looking forward to it!! I am really looking forward to the play time with my babies & a clean house after I get it all done this week! Nothing like those two feelings, well, that & a happy husband!!! :) So, please pray for me tomorrow so that I may be focused on my tasks! We all know how much the enemy loves to distract us!!!


Love you all & have a great day!! (I won't be on the computer tomorrow; taking a break!)

Julie

A sabbatical...

I am going to be taking a winter sabbath from blogging. I will hopefully be back sometime in the next few weeks. :) I am feeling some not so little "nudges" from God that I need to put blogging way farther down on my list this Christmas season. It's just consuming way too much of my time , time that I could be devoting to other areas of my life. I guess that "simplifying" would be the word. I just feel this deep need to be more "present" in the lives of these precious souls around me and I want nothing to distract me from that.Most of all, I feel like I have some problems and decisions that need an enormous amount of time in prayer and that doesn't leave much time for blogging. So, until I can become better at putting everything in my life into it's proper place, I must take a break.

I would appreciate your continued prayers throughout this winter as we are facing a lot of financial strain and just some very hard decisions as a family. I will not be able to post on the 1 Corinthians study because of my break. Please forgive me for such late notice for those who were planning to join me. I am grateful for your love and friendship. We will pick back up on that after I have worked through everything. :)

Much Love to everyone & I pray that you all have a Blessed Christmas & New Year,

Julie

*I will probably be back periodically to post pictures and I will be emailing, just not as much.

Oh, how time flies!!!

I have been looking & thinking about costumes for quite some time now and as Claire & I were discussing her "princess" costume (she wants to be a princess every year) I thought about these pictures from last year! So fun to look and see how much they have grown! =) I can't believe this time last year I had a 5 month old and this year I have a newborn!!! It's crazy and it's hard but it's also AWESOME!! =) Although, I don't plan on repeating that ever again. lol.

Well, I just felt like taking a trip down memory lane & taking you with me!! This year Claire & Lily will both be princesses (Claire insists & Lily doesn't really care; she just wants to be what Sissy is) and Drew will be a pumpkin, just because I think it is the cutest costume for babies!! And, I will take LOTS of pictures and post them for you; I promise!!

Have a wonderful week & A VERY HAPPY FALL!!!!

Love,

Julie