hallelujah, grace like rain falls down on me

this last week has been one of the worst i have ever endured. thank you for the friends that have prayed for us during this time. today it rained, it poured almost all day. it hasn't rained here in what feels like forever, and today it poured. the beauty is in the song lyric i used as my title. today all was made clear to us, and grace fell down like the rain.

I AM THANKFUL FOR:

1. prayer- the amazing power of this has been so evident this week.

2. rain- so cleansing and beautiful

3. my family- what a great lil group we are

4. friends- you ladies are amazing. to those who have shared this week with me, i can never thank you enough. seriously, i don't know if i would have made it without your kind words.

5. laughter- i have cherished each laugh i have had and heard this past week

6. praise music- it has been so uplifting to hear it this week

7. sleep- I've missed having a good rest

8. iced tea- mmmm, so good when it's so hot out

9. joy- it has helped sustain me this week

10. peace- that deep peace that keeps me sane

hope everyone has a great weekend.

and i will praise you in this storm

CASTING CROWNS - PRAISE YOU IN THIS STORM LYRICS: Praise You in This Storm
words by Mark Hall/music by Mark Hall and Bernie Herms

I was sure by now,God, that You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen
and it's still raining
as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away.

Chorus:
And I'll praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for You are who You are
no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to You
and raised me up again
my strength is almost gone how can I carry on
if I can't find You
and as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away

Chorus

I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

Chorus

say a prayer for me

I AM THANKFUL FOR:

PRAYER- and i ask for my family to be kept in your prayers. thank you

can you teach me how to dance real slow

so we are on to the letter C. to begin i updated my cooking blog, i know shocker. it was at the request of a friend for a recipe, this does tie into the letter c i promise. well, it's late and i am tired.

THINGS I LIKE THAT START WITH C

chuy's mexican restaurant- below is a pic of monkey at chuy's on Friday. coffee- the chuy's we went to was in college station, which is home to my favorite coffee house sweet eugene's. we skipped it this trip because it was too hot for my favorite drink, bummer.

cooking- told you it would all tie in together. below is the cooking of the caramelized apple topping we had on our pancakes this morning. want to know more....check out the other blog

cold- even when we aren't having the hottest and driest summer on record, i prefer the cold. funny because i now live somewhere that gets 2 weeks of cold they call winter.

caramel- love it in almost all of its forms. below is monkey's plate before she devoured the goodness and licked the plate.

candles- i love to make them at to burn them



cuddles- there is nothing in the world like a good cuddle with someone you love
cell phones- i love the fact that we can now instantly communicate when we need something. i am aware that some people let the phone rule their life, but just today i got a prayer request on my phone. i stopped what i was doing and said a prayer. that my friends is good stuff

chillin out- we do some serious chillin out in our house when it is time to relax. yeah that's a picture of the two men in my life, handsome devils.

this has been fun, but it's past my bedtime.

perfection is my enemy

another great day in the finch house. we went school shopping for the girls, my sweet princess will be in kindergarten and monkey will be in middle school. everything is labeled, sorted, and put in its proper backpack. I've gotten my craft goods unpacked and placed in the proper places. wow, i have a lot of yarn. i also found tons of wip, works in progress. I've put them all in a bag and will be trying to finish at least one a week. I've also decided not to start any new projects, excluding swaps, until the bag is empty. maybe this will give me something to put on the craft blog. I've discovered so much this week that i am soooo thankful for.

I AM THANKFUL FOR:

1. sun tea- i made sure to pack the sun tea jar this last round of move, only to discover that my mint has bugs and the jar spigot is broken. after a trip to the local heb i have a new jar and some delicious non-mint sun tea.

2. a/c- in case you didn't know 108+ add some humidity is not a good thing for this bird. the kids asked if they could play outside and i had to explain that we are not equipped to prevent boiling in this heat.

3. pictures- I've been going through all of the old pictures and they just make me smile. i need to get the scanner hooked up so i can get some of my middle school and high school pictures up.

4. the bird clock- i should have put this on my B list, but didn't. it was my grandpa's clock and it chimes/sings/calls a different bird song on each hour. it hangs in our living room and makes us all smile when it sings.

5. my recliner- yes again i find myself in it's loving arms daily.

6. garden ridge- we had some extra time before my doctor appointment, so finch surprised me with a quick trip

7. taking a break- we will be taking a small family trip to the beach next week and we are all very excited.

8. mail- i do love to get things in the mail.

9. good food- we had hummus and tabbouleh today for lunch and it was so good. not as good as the foccacia from yesterday, but close

10. bedtime- love the time of day when i get to sit and relax for a just a lil bit.

i hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

back in black

it's been quite a busy week already. Monday had an appointment and doctor says all is well, but maybe i should take it easy for a bit. apparently my "abdominal discomfort" sounds a bit too much like preterm labor for her. Tuesday we rode with daddy to San Antonio, and monkey was introduced to 1/2 priced books. she just stood in the entry way for several minutes just staring at all the books. the look on her face when i told her that was a small store was truly priceless. today was spent shopping, doing laundry and cleaning. now I'm reclining and taking it easy. i had a blast doing the A list, so i figured i would do the B list today. most of these pics are old ones, but they are great pics

THINGS I LIKE THAT START WITH "B"

baptism- every time i see one i cry. finch thinks it's cute. below is monkey's baptism.

being an adult- man i love this.

bread- I've been making lots of bread since we got here, and it goes quick.

better than ezra- if you aren't familiar with them, look em up

books- i love books, love to read and love to learn. q likes a good book before bed too.

babies- love the tiny toes, the giggles, and the love that they so freely give

bubbles- my kids love to blow bubbles and it warms my heart to see it

Bible- some may figure it goes under books, but to me it is so much more than just a book

bags- love me some bags. i did a cal, crochet a long, earlier this year and we made the green grocer bag.

that's all for now, i have some dishcloths to finish before bed tonight. hope everyone is having a great week so far, and I'm hoping to get a thankful list up tomorrow. maybe the kids will let me take pics.

you labeled me, i label you, so i dub thee unforgiven

ever get to the end of a week and wonder why it seemed to last a month? that's how last week was for me. we made 2 whirlwind trips to and from to get more stuff. i have a question for the few of you that read. how do you handle when your religion is attacked or better yet when it is questioned/thrown in your face. this has happened to me a few times and it usually involves somebody thinking they are somehow owed something because i am a christian. hmmm, not sure when in the bible it says "thou shalt be a doormat", but i could be wrong. anywho, i had this long tirade of a blog typed out about forgiveness, but decided to take the high road instead. trust me it was a very.... biting blog. instead i think that i would like to play the alphabet game. I've seen it in various forms here and here. i hope to upload pics tomorrow for the letter b, but we'll see what tomorrow brings.

some things that i like that start with A

amigurumis- they are cute, and i love to make them. couldn't find a pic of the ones I've made, so i will have to make more and take pics.

antics- you know the kinds kiddos have when they are having fun.

apples- i ordered a fruit and walnut salad at mc d's and the kids ate it all. princess and q ate the grapes then the apples, monkey devoured the walnuts and finch ate the yogurt. q kept asking for more apples please. the princess always asks for apples with her happy meals, i blame the caramel dip.

angels- my kiddos are truly the angels i see on earth every day. not that they always behave like angels mind you.

answers- i like to know why things are the way they are and why people do what they do. i don't always like the answers, but I'm always glad to know.

for those who know me in real life my oldest, known here as monkey, her name starts with A

agua- is it cheating to use a different language? oh well, loving me some ice cold agua during this unbearably hot summer.

my darling second daughter, known here as the princess, also sports a name that starts with A

this was fun, and so much happier than the other post that i had typed. thanks for the support.