Trying to have a Godly Perspective

I haven't been doing very much blogging lately...life is busy...my head is constantly spinning with things I want to write about but never do but I just can't sit back on this one.

Last Saturday night I ran to Wegman's after the kids were in bed to grab a few necessities. When I got to the register, my total came to around $22....no biggie...and then, my debit card got declined. Yes. Declined. I was mortified and stood there, shocked and completely embarrassed trying to explain to the cashier that something must be wrong because this was our bank account and surely we could afford $22 in groceries. Because my purchase included baby formula that I needed the next morning to feed my child, I started searching my wallet and came upon a Wegmans gift card that I forgot that I had (God is good, all the time). We don't use credit cards anymore so I am not sure what I would have done otherwise. When I got to my car, I pulled out my iphone and quickly looked up our bank account information...it was overdrawn. WHAT!

After looking through a few transactions, my first thought was disbelief that my husband who never spends a penny would go on such a shopping rampage. Especially since we had already decided not to buy each other gifts for Christmas this year since money is already a little tight. Well, I quickly realized that someone had been using our debit card in New Jersey and it was not Tom. (I did apologize for having mean thoughts about him for 30 seconds...I'm forgiven)

So, I quickly called the number on the back of my card and cancelled our cards and then started laughing. My gas light was on. So was Tom's. Apparently we were both being lazy and waiting until we were running on fumes to fill up! Well...it is hard to fill up without money!

So, I was bummed...not only did I feel violated and used, but now I wasn't sure how we would even make it to church the next morning and I could not finish my Christmas shopping.

On Monday the bank reversed the shopping spree fees that we did not authorize immediately (Thank you again Lord!) however, it had caused 5 things to "bounce". One of them was literally a check that I wrote for $2.25. Yes...it bounced! So now we find ourselves in this little mess of straightening out fees and trying to get refunds. The bank is great on their end but it is still a really big pain and is making the week before Christmas a not very fun week.

On top of all of this, Janessa has her 3rd ear infection in 2 months and Keira has bronchitis. I'm tired.

So, that has been what I would normally consider a horrible week. But not this week. Any other week and I think I would have lost it completely by now (and don't get me wrong...I am on the verge but am holding it together)

This week I am grateful. I am thankful. I am blessed.
I am hurting for the families who lost their children and family members last week.

My family won't go hungry this week. We have a roof over our heads. We have the birth of Jesus to celebrate together.
I cannot imagine the pain and sorrow that these fathers and mothers are feeling right now. My Christmas might be missing a few gifts but I will have my children near me.

We can all have a bad week here and there....we can even feel like the world is crumbling in on us and we can't do anything about it. Let's try to keep things in perspective though. Here in America, we do not usually understand true suffering but there are people around us that really are suffering. We need to pray. We need to love them. We need to appreciate the time we have with the people around us.

As we go into the week of Christmas, I urge you to enjoy your family. Don't worry about the stressful parts. If making a pie is going to keep you from your family, go and buy one. Let's appreciate the true gifts that God has given us this year In our family and friends and most importantly in his Son.

She's on the move folks

My life has just changed dramatically. Janessa learned to crawl for real today! Although she has been scootching  and rolling for a while and had a reach you wouldn't believe...she is moving a LOT further a LOT faster. I caught a video of her second attempt this morning and just love how excited her big sisters are for her.

Little do they know how quickly she will be getting into their things! ha!

One of my favorite things about parenting is seeing each little thing they learn....now onto protecting the Christmas tree from 2 tiny hands!

5 Minutes on Wonder

Today I am linking up with 5 minute Fridays. Today's topic is Wonder and this is my first time doing something like this. I will write for 5 minutes and stop...no editing. Here goes!

Wonder. When I stop and try to think about Wonder, the words amazement, admiration and awe come to mind. When I stop to think about those words, I automatically think about my beautiful family. I am in complete wonder that God would give this to me.

No matter how little money we have or how many times we aren't sure how the bills will get paid, I still have everything I ever dreamed of. It's truly amazing. On top of that...the bills always somehow get paid. Amazing!

Multiple times a day I am completely frustrated with my children for being little sinners. ha! But more times than that I realizing that I am completely admiring who they are and what they are becoming. Even the baby amazes me with her sweet personality. Wonder.

So, yes, I am in complete wonder that God would give me an amazing husband and three beautiful little girls. Just to throw out another definition of this little word, I also wonder where we will be in a few years and who my kids will choose to be as they grow. I pray for the decisions that they make and situations they will face. But I know that I will still be in Awe of where God takes our family. Blessed and in Wonder.

Dining Room Table done!

I finished my dining room table project! Thank you Purple Painted Lady for the awesome Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and Wax....so easy to use and it looks great!

I am so happy with the results and would HIGHLY recommend trying this paint out...not only was it super easy to use, but it cost so much less than if I had done this with regular paint...and took so much less time than sanding it all down first! Great product!

So check out the Purple Painted Lady  for more information on this amazing chalk paint!

and now for the chairs...