Sunshine!!!

These 3 are the hop in my step and the sunshine in my day... :)

Baking cupcakes...

With my new babysitting job, we are pretty much stuck at the house which means we have to get creative and find stuff to do at home. The kids love to help me cook and bake so this week we have made sugar cookies and cupcakes. And yes, I did eat just one. You know...because I would hate to hurt their feelings. Geez!

Lucy laughs for the first time....

...at her daddy. Why can't mommy get the firsts??? But it sure did make my heart smile!!!

Selah Testimony

If you saw my previous post about the Selah video, "I will carry you," you might be interested in watching their story or testimony in these videos. It truly sheds light on their song and what they have been through. If you have had tragedy in any form (or even if you haven't), you will find this helpful in how to trust the Lord. Make sure you have about 25 minutes and aren't around anyone, because if you are like me, you will CRY!

God truly is good in ALL circumstances!

"I will carry you" by Selah

I saw this video off of Kelly's Korner (one of the blogs I read) and she got it from Angie and Todd's blog (singers in one of my favorite groups called Selah). Angie and Todd wrote this song for the daughter they lost Audrey Caroline. It is such a tear jerker. God is good even in the midst of such tragic circumstances. I love this song!

God said no.

A friend sent this to me and it made me think....

I asked God to take away my habit.
God said, "No.
it is not for me to take away, but for you to give it up."


I asked God to make my handicapped child whole.
God said, "No. His spirit is whole, his body is only temporary."


I asked God to grant me patience.
God said, "No. Patience is a byproduct of tribulations; it isn't granted, it is learned."

I asked God to give me happiness.
God said, "No. I give you blessings; happiness is up to you."

I asked God to spare me pain.
God said, "No. Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to me."


I asked God to make my spirit grow.
God said, "No. You must grow on your own but I will prune you to make you fruitful."

I asked God for all things that I might enjoy life.
God said, "No. I will give you life, so that you may enjoy all things."


I asked God to help me LOVE others, as much as He loves me.
God said, "Ahhhh, finally you have the idea."

Kids' new rooms revealed....

As you know, Jay and I did not find out the sex of Lucy during my pregnancy. We wanted to be surprised but were more surprised than we thought we would be. You see, we secretly thought that she was a boy and were REALLY shocked when she was born and was a girl! Because we didn't know the sex prior to her birth, we did not prepare to move the baby (Lucy) in to share a room because we didn't know if she would be sharing with Karis or Brayden. Now that she is 3 months old and the change needs to happen, Lolli kept Karis and Brayden this week so that we could redecorate. Up until now, Lucy has been sleeping in her bassinet in my room or the den.

Last July, we redecorated their rooms to get Brayden in to a big boy bed. Obviously this was before we knew the Lord would bless us with Lucy :) Here we are a year later and making changes again. But it is all worth it!

Renovations last July:

We changed the paint color to pink and brown, added some home-made and cheap decorations, painted Brayden's old twin bed white and moved Lucy's baby bed in.

We hope Karis loves it! Lucy likes her new bed! :)

This is Brayden's room last July when he got his big boy bed (that is now Karis').

We changed the paint color to blue and he got Karis old full size bed. We hope he likes it too!

Oh and this fan on his bed still needs to be installed....

Whew! We are exhausted. I completed my first week in my new job and stayed up until almost midnight every night to complete these projects. I could NOT have done this without my brother Allen! He came and stayed a couple of days this week to help me out with everything. Thank you so much Allen!

Now...there are more projects to complete. This weekend...paint the living room and kitchen....pics to come.

Lucy is 3 months old!

Today my baby turns 3 months old! Where does the time go???

Lucy at 3 months you:

• eat 5 times a day (6 a.m, 10, 2, 5 and 9).
• sleep 9-10 hours a night
• NEVER fuss unless you are hungry...seriously you are the best baby I have ever had
• like your paci to go to sleep
• like to be held but want to be on your belly when it is time to go to sleep
• SMILES all the time
• have being "cooing" alot and even started to laugh a little bit
• while nursing you often come off just to stare at mommy...it melts my heart!
• like the swing
• sleep in the den in your bassinet still but this week will be moved to your crib sharing a room with Karis
• We love you so very much! We can't imagine our lives without you!

Stay-at-home job..a. must read

WARNING: THIS IS A LONG POST BUT PLEASE HEAR ME OUT.

In order to fill you in on my job, I must first tell you how we got here because the process has been one of those "aha" moments with the Lord. As most of you know, I am a former teacher. I taught for 6 years before the summer of 2007 brought about a change in the Lemonds family. I was driving an hour to work each way with 2 kids under 2 1/2, was still nursing Brayden, left at 6:00 a.m. only to return at 6:00 p.m. and was being stretched way thin. I wasn't a good teacher, mom or wife and felt as I was just getting by in every area of my life. The idea of staying home with my children was a dream to me. However resigning was scary to me and to be honest, financially impossible. However the Lord wouldn't let me quit "dreaming" about it. In June of 2007, about a week after school was out, I was doing some reading while the kids were napping and that day changed my life. I was reading in Genesis 12 where God told Abram,

"Get out of your country, from your family, and from your Father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

And that is exactly what Abram did.

When I read that, I knew God was telling me to leave my job and He was promising me that He would bless it. It was an overwhelming, and almost physical sensation, and I knew that was my confirmation that the Lord was telling me to resign and stay home with my children. I was hysterically crying (you know...that UGLY cry) and Jay came in from working outside. I think I scared him to death because he frantically said, "WHAT'S WRONG???" After I caught my breath, I explained to him what the Lord had showed me and that I KNEW I had to stay home and if I didn't, I would be disobedient. He just began grinning, because you see, if you know my husband, you know that he is the dreamer and I am the realist. He then told me that 2 years prior to that God had given him the same scripture while He was in Africa (twice...on 2 different trips) and he didn't really know what God was showing him through the scripture but God wouldn't let him forget it either. He explained to me that he didn't care if the numbers weren't adding up and that he was tired of TRULY not living on faith. He too knew we had to take a leap of faith, even though we had no idea it was going to happen or how bills were going to be paid. To make a long story short, we began praying for me a part time job and at the last minute of that summer (as He usually works) I got a TST job which is basically part time teaching. The Lord had provided and I was able to stay home the past two years while doing that job. (I will say that there were some scary months and ALOT of months, the numbers still didn't add up...but God provided every time...sometimes to the dollar amount. That is a whole different story in itself. God is good!)

Last September when we found out we were pregnant with Lucy, I had a feeling a new transition was coming. After all, my part time job was not going to pay for THREE kids in Mother's Day Out. This year is my only year to have all 3 at home before Karis goes to Kindergarten next Fall, so I wanted to be able to be home with them full time. I was scared to death because I do not tolerate change very well especially when I have no idea what the outcome will be. Early this summer, I sent out a flier to local schools around my area advertising myself to babysit teacher's kids. In my mind, I knew I had to get 2 kids to be able to pay the bills. But I told Jay that if I had at least ONE commit, then I would resign because I wanted to keep my word to that family. Again it was a leap of faith...scary! All summer I knew with only one child, the bills wouldn't get paid. But I did have ONLY ONE commit, but I resigned anyway. I was trusting in the Lord and being obedient and KNEW that he would take care of us. After all, we had seen it over and over again. Well we all know the Lord works last minute most of the time and 2 days prior to me starting my home day care, I got a call from another lady saying she had her son enrolled in a daycare but wanted to come meet me. And the Lord answered our prayer once again, and had provided for our family. I now have 2 teacher's children in my home (and another one coming in January) and get to stay home with all three of mine, all day. Man the Lord is good!

I love my new job and these two precious boys. But most of all, I love how the Lord keeps his promise that He will take care of His children. Because He does...every time.

Even if it is last minute.

This is Landon (6 months old) and is precious. He is a happy little baby and such a joy!

Check out those gorgeous blue eyes!

And this is Axton (4 months old). His smile is contagious and will melt your heart!

And if you made it to the end of this, thank you for hearing me out. I couldn't possibly forget to tell you of how the Lord is working in our lives.

Psalm 63:3 "Your love, oh Lord, is better than life. My lips will praise you."

Happy Birthday Lolli!

We celebrated Lolli's birthday with the family and it was great to have everyone together. Lolli is so special to all of us and we wanted to honor her on her special day.

Happy Birthday Lolli...we love you!

Two of my brothers...Allen and Jonathan

My other brother Matt and his wife Tiffany

Lolli opening her presents

Awwww.....

Lolli opened this purse we gave her (with Karis' help of course)...

Typical Brayden...

Jonathan and his girlfriend Jenna

Me and my man