Too Many Reads...

I am not exactly sure when it happened, but I recently became a huge fun of reading! It's almost overwhelming, you will see when I tell you how many books I have recently started.

I am reading lots of books to help me be a better mom. A "Titus Woman" in my life, someone that shows me how to be a better mother & wife just recommended Going Public after our lengthily discussion about private vs. public schools. I am only on Chapter 2, but it is great so far.

I am also reading 2 books to help me incorporate scripture in our everyday lives. 

I just picked up Beth Moore's new book

 I am also doing a Beth Moore study with some girlfriends on Monday nights

And lastly, the book that I have read probably 50 times in the last year and continues to be the heartbeat of my home, A Woman After God's Own Heart.  I can not express enough how great this book is!!!!

Well, do you have any suggestions for me once I finish these reads?? 

A Praying Mom..

I recieved the best e-mail today. Just wanted to share.

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth" (3 John 1:4 NIV).

Proverbs 31 introduces us to the mother whose children rise up and call her blessed. She is a "wife of noble character" "an excellent wife"  and "a capable, intelligent, and virtuous woman." The mother whose children rise up and call her blessed is a warrior who battles in prayer for the hearts, minds, and souls of her children. She prays a hedge of protection around them and stands in the gap when they don't know how to pray for themselves. She meets the enemy head on, dressed in the armor of God with the sword of the spirit (the word of God) drawn and ready for action.
We may never know the many times that the enemy's schemes against our children were thwarted by the power of our prayers. Here is the living sword to use against the enemy's attack.

Lord I pray that Kaitlyn will.....

Know Christ as Savior early in life. (Psalm 63:1, 2 Timothy 3:15)
Have a hatred for sin. (Psalm 97:10)
Be caught when guilty. (Psalm 119:71)
Be protected from the evil one in each area of their lives: spiritual, emotional, and physical (John 17:15)
Have a responsible attitude in all their interpersonal relationships. (Daniel 6:3)
Respect those in authority over them. (Romans 13:1)
Desire the right kind of friends and be protected from the wrong friends. (Proverbs 1:10-11)
Be kept from the wrong mate and saved for the right one. (2 Corinthians 6:14-17)
Be kept pure until marriage (as well as the one they marry). (1 Corinthians 6:18-20)
Learn to totally submit to God and actively resist Satan in all things. (James 4:7)
Be single-hearted, willing to be sold out to Jesus Christ. (Romans 12:1-2)
Be hedged in so they cannot find their way to wrong people or wrong places and that the wrong people cannot find their way to them. (Hosea 2:6)

A mother wears many hats during the years of raising her children. And while we take off those hats one-by-one as they grow and mature, there is one that will always remain - the hat of a mother who prays.

Dear First Trimester...

Sigh. You make me soooo tired! I feel like I have missed so many moments of my life lately because I am cuddled up on the couch or in our bed asleep. It's funny how you just hit me all of the sudden and what used to be my normal routine has become exhausting to me. We are almost 3 months into this and I think you are creeping behind me.
Praying for a healthy baby at our dr appointment next week and news that "the old me" might soon return with renewed energy :) Now don't get me wrong, your presence in my life warms my heart as I know all of this is in preparation of a precious addition to our family. Just saying...you make me tired.

Anxiously awaiting mom,
Me

I look around and see my beautiful life...

Geez, God has been working on my heart lately. It seems every time I get in the car the radio is playing the Sanctus Real song that begins

" I look around and see my wonderful life almost perfect from the outside".

Yep, that's me. Oh I have gotten really good at dressing my life up to look darling. I mean just look around, smiling faces, posts about how great my life is, precious moments I spend with my sweet baby girl, my rock star hot husband. Could life get any better??
I just thought it was important that I tell you I AM NOT PERFECT! Shocker, I know 'cause boy can I make it look like I juggle all the balls of life so well.
Instead, today I am screaming at the top of my lungs, I am but a sinner saved by grace. I am insecure in my friendships with girlfriends, I often wonder how God thought I was capable to care for one of His precious children, I make excuses for why my husband and I do not connect, I find myself not thinking positive thoughts and judging others, I pat myself on the back for reading an online devotional everyday and calling it "my quiet time"....this list goes on and on of my shortcomings that I try  to hide because I think I need to look so put together on the outside. Why do we feel that way?
Well, today I am taking off the mask and letting it all hang out (not hard to do since my belly is getting bigger by the day!! ha!!!) My life is not perfect, He is still working on me, I often fail others, I may have failed you, tomorrow is a new day; not for me to strive again to achieve it all, but to just have a heart after His.

2 Corinthians 12:9

⁹But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

God made ME! And God made....Colors!

Didn't God make our world so vibrant!! 

This month we are learned 

and God made COLORS!

We read our Noah and The Ark book to learn about how God sent us a COLORFUL rainbow as a promise to us.

(Now K think she sees a rainbow every time we go outside..so cute!)

 

Learning about COLORS gave us lots of time to learn about the story of Noah and God's COLORFUL creation.

We matched fruit loops to colors of the rainbow . 

 

We printed out a color book to learn how COLORFUL God's creation is. 

 

We colored sugar with food coloring and made COLORFUL cookies

 

We had a fun COLORFUL rainbow snack. 

We learned about Joseph and coat of many COLORS!

 

We played lots of COLOR matching games

 

 

We drank COLORFUL milk (just added drops of food coloring) and used to the milk to paint our toast fun COLORS

Thank you Lord for making your CREATION so COLORFUL

This Little Princess...

Is Going To Be a BIG SISTER!!!!

We had so much fun telling all our family that Kailtyn is going to be a Big Sister and Baby Bledsoe will make his/her arrival in November!

Here we are telling Grammy & Grandad Bledsoe

And here is Kailtyn (it's early in the morning-sorry I have on no make-up) on her way to

Grandma & Papa Harper's House with the BIG news.

Keep us in your prayers for a healthy baby!

Friends!

Just a couple more pictures from our fun time in Vegas with the Stewarts!

What are the chances?? It's NCAA madness!!

So remember when I posted about Chris and Kaitlyn picking her bracket here. Well, what are the chances that she would pick the 2 final teams. Yep, that's right. Kaitlyn's bracket has Duke playing Butler.

Read Daddy's comments to all his friends about it below.

I think I’ve told most of you about Kaitlyn’s NCAA bracket, but for those who don’t know here’s a brief overview.

I wanted to have my 2-year old daughter fill out a bracket this year just to see how it would turn out.  So how did we do this?  I printed off the logos of all 64 teams and Kaitlyn picked her favorite in each matchup until the entire bracket was filled out 

The only assistance I gave was this:

·         All 1, 2, and 3 seeds automatically won the first round.  This turned out to be a mistake since Georgetown was upset by Ohio in round 1.

·         All 1 seeds automatically won the second round.  This again turned out to be a mistake since Kansas went down to N. Iowa in round 2.

·         Past that, the picks were all hers based on conversations like this: “Kaitlyn, do you like the Badger (Wisconsin) or the Wildcat (Kentucky)? Ok, Badger it is.”


Now that the tournament is nearing its end, I thought it would be fun to share her bracket with you guys—see attachment.  As you may guess, I wouldn’t be showing this off if there wasn’t something just absolutely amazing—like the fact that she picked a Butler/Duke matchup in the final game.  Although her other two final four teams (Houston and Wisconsin) didn’t play out as well, it’s still hilarious to show that a 2-year old has as good of a chance to pick this bracket as any of us sports junkies.

Unfortunately I did not enter her bracket in my office pool—otherwise she would be the winner of a $500 prize right now.  The winner was a good friend and co-worker of mine so I’m going to try and guilt him into splitting the winnings with Kaitlyn’s college fund.  Here’s to March Madness and all the exciting games.

Final notes:

·         You will notice some scribbles on the bracket below the championship game.  This is Kaitlyn’s signature validating this bracket.

·         She picked Texas to lose in the first round—she makes me so proud in moments like this.

·         Kaitlyn picked my beloved Aggies to go out in the second round to Purdue.  Even though this was a correct pick, it taught me a lesson—don’t use the word “choo-choo-train” to describe an opponent of the Aggies to a 2-year old.


Chris Bledsoe

Easter 2010

April Scripture

This month we are going to be learning the scripture Genesis 1:1

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth."

Here is a fun printable http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/Joyful_Heart_Tune_-_Genesis_1_1.PDF

Happy April!