Monday, September 28

LETTER TO LITTLE BEAN

My Dearest Little Bean,
You are my child and I am your mommy! You have my heart forever.  We cannot wait to finally meet you and hold you, but mommy is so humbled as I get to hold you right now and get to keep you all to myself until the day that our Lord decides it is time for you to meet the world, and I feel blessed that I have been bestowed this privilege.  You are very little right now......that is why we call you "little Bean", so I cannot feel you moving inside of me yet, but I look forward to the days when I can feel you kicking, hiccuping, or just playing and moving.  It is such a special time that only a mommy gets to have and I feel so blessed to have that time with you.


I LOVE the chances to see you growing inside of me

For now I can only feel your presence through crazy symptoms that make me feel funny and sometimes a little sick.  I cannot stand the smell of certain foods and I get really hungry for certain foods at silly times!  These symptoms, though hard at times,  are my true delight, as they remind me of you and that you are truly MINE (at least for now until you return to Jesus)
I pray that you are warm and comfortable inside of my belly, growing fast and healthy.

You are such a blessing and an answer to fervent prayer!  Our family was missing something and we did not even know it!

God chose me to be your mommy and I choose you everyday to be my child!  I will continue to choose you today, tomorrow, and for the rest of my life.

You are a miracle for sure and we are humbled and undeserving of such a gift from our Creator.

Madison, Savannah, Nicholas and Isaac pray for you and will continue to lift you up in prayer.  They cannot wait to meet you either!
Daddy is already smitten by you.....so much so that if I feel any sort of craving....late at night, early in the morning, even if this special food is across town...he joyfully makes sure that I get to have it.  He loves you so much and he would do anything for you!  He is wrapped around your little finger, baby!

We just love you so much

Lord Jesus Christ, you have again blessed me and left me in awe, as You have created this little soul inside me and I want above all, for You to be glorified through this amazing gift.
Jesus, I am not always very courageous and I worry more than I should when I know that You are in total control.
Jesus, I totally surrender to your Most Holy and Perfect Will.  I surrender to You with my ENTIRE BEING, my fears, my impatience, my lack of Grace, my misunderstandings and everything that I am lacking....It is not much but it is all that you ask of me.  I surrender to You,  these human failings, as they are all that I have to give....Because everything "good" inside of me, is already You.  Please if it be Your Will, help me to stay strong, stay focused on Your Holy Face, and persevere through this time in total faith.  I am so hurt knowing that my lack of faith will greatly offend You.

I love you Jesus
I totally surrender myself, as I am fully Yours, today tomorrow and forever!! I choose You, God, above and beyond everything else!

Thank you for making me a mother of 5

Sunday, September 27

SAVANNAH IS A TEENAGER

DEAR SAVANNAH,
I am posting this 2 days before your actual birthday, but I cannot believe that you are going to be a teenager in 48 hours from how.....LESS than 48 hours from now!  I love you so much.  You are and have always been such a humble and obedient soul.  You care so much about your family and others because you Love our Lord so much that you would never want to hurt Him by being any other way.  You have always been the "peaceful middle child".....even though now you are not actually the middle child anymore.
Savannah you are meek and humble of heart, paired with a joy that is contagious!  You light up a room with your smile and you are SO FUNNY....just naturally!  Thank you for being our sweet little Savannah-Banana.  We are so grateful that you are our daughter.  You are a blessing indeed.
PICS FROM YOUR PARTY





Happy Birthday Savannah.....we love you so much!

THIS IS JUST SO TRUE


Tuesday, September 15

ISAAC JAMES LUSTIG

ISAAC JAMES LUSTIG



 He loves his brother, Nicholas so much.  I just know that it is because Nicholas literally prayed for a little brother for 9 years!!!  The prayers of Nicholas's innocent heart were heard by Jesus and it please Him so much that He gave Nicholas and our entire family this most special gift!

 Isaac is truly joyful all of the time!!  I learn so much from just watching him and how he sees the world.  He feels earthly sufferings, but never holds onto hurts.  After falling or not getting his way, he all of a sudden just looks up and smiles because he's over it.
I came into get him up from a nap (in this picture) and when I walked into his room it smelled horrible!  Poor Isaac had a poopie while he was napping....This was his attitude when I walked in....pure joy even though he was literally laying in his own poop! He doesn't have pride, hold grudges nor does he ever despair....he is not SO affected by his human physical comfort.  It shows me how sensitive I can be over silly things.  I always say that I am acting like a baby when I am oversensitive to something.....But actually I am not acting like a baby at all....I am acting exactly like a spoiled grown-up!
 When Isaac says "Mama" my heart absolutely melts!
My eyes fill with tears every time Isaac looks into my eyes and I see myself in his face! 

Really, God.....he looks like me!!  Why do You continue to leave me in awe of You......
You have blessed me so greatly, that I find myself completely  overwhelmed with Your Majesty!

Friday, September 11

HOMECOMING 2015

MADISON WAS ASKED TO HOMECOMING TONIGHT!
Madison was asked to homecoming just before the Faustina football game tonight. Her date surprised her with a bouquet of beautiful roses and a small sack filled with some of her favorite things. Of course when he asked her if she would go to homecoming with him, she immediately excepted with a huge smile on her face!! She and Joe are super great friends and will have an amazing time at homecoming!!
This is a picture of Madison and her two girlfriends right after she was asked to homecoming!! I was sitting in the car waiting for the football game to start (Madison had to be there an hour early to warm up)  when Madi ran over to tell me the big news...her friends were there to celebrate with her!!
Girlfriends are the best!
What's even better than being asked to homecoming… It's having your two girlfriends asked to homecoming all in the same day! What a reason for celebration!!  God is so good to make this incredible night even MORE incredible!
YAY...HOCO 2015

SOME FOOTBALL GAME PICS

FAUSTINA FOOTBALL GAME


PEP RALLY

 Nicholas's Class
Savannah's Class 
Madison Cheering
 Human "Hungry Hungry Hippos"

 GAME TIME




I JUST LOVE FOOTBALL SEASON
When God created football, He was so incredibly foresightful (of course He was...He's God) when he created a pastime that we come together as as community, supporting each other, befriending strangers (because since we are rooting for the same team, we are instant family) and just celebrating so joyfully together as in One Body of Christ......the only thing that would make football better for me, is if nobody had to lose.  I feel so much pain when the game clock runs out and one team hangs their heads in sorrow.  

You know, that mirrors the brokenness of our earthly life so much, though, due to original sin.  I long for Heaven where EVERYONE feels joy all of the time and happiness lasts an eternity, as we Adore Jesus SO intensely without even one single distraction.....without even stopping to take one breath
Thank you Jesus for mere glimmers of Heaven....I will obediently persevere through this life as an exile, growing in my love for You, but in my heart, I am so ready to be made new again

PAPPADEAUX

I LOVE PAPPADEAUX
It's my favorite restaurant!  The yummy-ness makes me so happy!!  
We had an away football game tonight (FAR away for us Roanoke people) so, at the advice of the coach, we did not go home, we drove out to the game right after school to beat the traffic. Before the game, I took the girls out for dinner. 
 Look at these pretty girls!  Nicholas is with me too, but refused a pic of himself.....I wanted a mommy/son selfie!
 They have the best Sea Scallops ever!!  If I EVER go to jail and am sentenced to death...this will be my last meal......I will just add some Orecchiette Pasta, topped with their yummy Alexander Sauce.
 Look at these three beautiful girlfriends! So fun and so virtuous too!
 Gemma and Madison
Claire and Madison

I wish that I could eat at Pappadeaux for every meal
But, like I always tell me children,  "If every meal was our favorite, then favorite would cease to exist"
There have to be meals that we don't like in order to enjoy meals that we do like.  Otherwise every meal would be the same and there would be no increase in joy at all.

I love food.  It makes me so happy to enjoy a yummy meal!  I know how much Jesus Christ prioritized "breaking bread together"  It is joyful and intimate.  Feeding our body with the delicious food that God blessed us with and feeding the soul with the loved ones you are sharing it with.

Thank you Lord for amazing foods and amazing people to share that joy with!
What is the first thing that we do after we take our first bite of a delicious food?  We offer a bite to the person that we are eating with exclaiming that "this is so good....you've got to try it!"

A meal is not truly  AS good until you can have your friend taste it and agree with you that it is the best! And if your friend likes your meal better than the one that she ordered......you kinda feel like you "won" : )
Happiness is not real, until shared

Monday, September 7

ONE OF THE SWEETEST FAUSTINA FALCONS EVER

SAVANNAH IS ON THE FAUSTINA JUNIOR HIGH VOLLEYBALL TEAM THIS YEAR
 At one of the Falcon's practices at the University of Dallas
My little Falcon girl, Savannah......her first game is tomorrow night!  Yay...can't wait to watch her play!