MAVFEST: A True New Beginning

So I have to say, I am proud of myself and feel super triumphant tonight. For those of you who know me, you will understand, so here's why.....

Matt left for work at about 10am this morning and Jennie came by to hang out and to watch the kids later in the day because I had a doctor appointment.  Since the weather is FINALLY cooling off, we took all the kids to the park and then discovered the bees and quickly came back to my house (both Mommies are allergic to bees so we couldn't risk a sting). The kids still needed to play so we decided to stop by the Cupboard to get Matt's meal replacement bars for work and then go to the mall to let the kids play at the indoor playground where there are no bees.

The kids were having fun but we had to leave because we needed to get lunch and get home before 1pm because Noah has had early release all week.  So we grabbed some quick lunch and raced home. I threw Jennie out with the little ones and ran to get Noah and then we raced to my doctor's appointment that was across town at 1:15.  By some miracle we made it a 1:20. Aside from the usual kid impatience, Noah did great and had fun looking at the charts of the muscle system and was really interested in what all the bones were.

We decided to take some Mommy/Noah time and go to Barnes & Noble to get a few workbooks for the newly at home little brother and sister, and something cool for big brother to help him with reading.  We got home about 3pm and did some praise & worship time with Joshua, Hope, Miriam, and Jennie before it was time to take Jennie and Miriam home.  

After we dropped off Jennie and Miriam we returned home about 5ish to get ready for MAVFEST.  That is the annual festival/carnival they have at Hawk Elementary to raise some money and provide a great time for kids and their families.  So, when we got home we loaded Hope in the stroller and set off to walk to Hawk, which thankfully is not too far from the house. Long story short, I, Heather King, took all three of my children to an event with a TON of people by myself for 2 1/2 hours and didn't lose my mind, get frustrated, or yell at anyone!!! Thank you Jesus!! Praise God it IS a new day!!  I even got everyone bathed when we did get home, an hour past bedtime, and then calmed down and in bed.  By the time the Daddy got home, every one was sound asleep in their beds.

Please Note: I am not tooting my own horn, I am just so thankful and excited and grateful of the wonderful new journey the Lord has me and my family on and for the fact that it was only a few years ago that I couldn't fathom keeping my kids alone much less taking all three of them, on foot, to a huge public event and surviving, much less enjoying it as much as I did tonight!  It is truly an answer to prayer, a giant weight off my shoulders and a light bulb moment that not only did God create me to be a mom but He made me a good mom.  Some of you may think I sound prideful and thats ok, but those of you who know the guilt, shame, and other things I have suffered with and beat myself up about since becoming a mother will understand the triumph in this moment and rejoice with me.  To those who read this and have prayed for so many years, I can't thank you enough, we got our answer, and LOOK WHAT THE LORD HAS DONE!!! PRAISE GOD!!!

Friends: the short version

Isn't is great to have friends who love you for you!?  You call when you can and they don't complain, if you have to cancel a lunch because you've had a horrible morning and really just need to be home to pray, they don't mind, and if you call them crying your eyes out because nothing is necessarily wrong they calm you down and love on you.  I consider myself super blessed to have some friends like these.  Those of us who are moms are typically busier than others and rarely get to talk but even if its been 6 months we still have that bond and we know that the other one will be there for us no matter what.  Then there are those that we hold dear that have moved on in their lives and we were sort of left by the wayside because our season with them was over and that too is o.k., we still love them and pray for them even when our heart hurts a little to see them blossom and grow or cry and kneel and not be able to give them a high-five or a hug.  

My best friend is my husband, my other half, the only one who knows me better than him is God.  He is always there for me, to listen, to talk, to just sit in silence with me when the kids are finally asleep.  I couldn't have asked for a better friend than him.

 

New, New, and more New!

New Year: 5769

New Job: Heather- Interpreter at DHS

                 Matthew- Manager at Sonic

New Schedule: Does the word crazy mean anything to you?

New Goals: "Seek first the Kingdom of Heaven....." 

New Understanding: All things really do work to the good of those who love God, and we love God!!

(A little pick me up for anyone who might actually read this: "HIS mercies are new every morning" no matter what anyone thinks or says to you or about you.)

Ever have "one of those days" that lasts over a week...

• I am still out of work with my arm injury which causes severe pain all the time so signing is especially off limits
• Yes I am typing this with one hand
• My arm hurts which makes me cranky, I don't like that part
• Doctors are running tests but it takes time and I am not that patient
• Matt started his new job and has some crazy hours, for example, he left at 10am this morning and will get to his parents house to sleep about 1:30am, then wake up by 6am to be at work by 7am which will continue until 8-9 pm, 
• Long story short, we won't see Matt/Daddy until church Sunday and then he has to work Sunday 2-7pm
• Talk about a shift for me....I have one arm to use, 3 kids at home now (which is new), and Matt with a demanding job schedule

Request: please pray for our family right now as we go through all these changes and new beginnings, if/when I am allowed to go back to work, how to handle that, dealing with the kids being home and the lack of help around here because the Daddy is gone most of the time and that the bit of time we do see him that the kids would beable to get a good "Daddy fix."

Thats all for my little rant, and its hard to type with one handl

Work...an update with some holes

Disclaimer: This is going to be a super short update with lots of missing information and holes so if you want to know more, email me.


So inservice was great and we have a really good team. Besides the normal bureaucracy and politics things looked hopeful, although the new time clock system SUCKS! So we finally got our passwords for the phone, even though ours still doesn't work in our office, and for the computer so we can check our campus email. We also got our DHS faculty/staff ID cards which was super cool despite the awful driver license-esque picture. I even figured I could put up with all the rules about not getting personal, i.e. don't ask don't tell type stuff, and maintaining a strict professional aura about ourselves. All the other stuff we heard about during inservice was for teachers to worry about and care about, not us. Fine with me, I lifted it up to the Lord and will allow HIM to guide my words, hands, whatever.

Then the students came, they are awesome! I am both shocked and disgusted by a lot of the things I have seen and heard but that is for another blog. Anyway, today I was just DONE! I am sick, literally, tired, literally, and just DONE with all of it and on top of it I haven't seen my kids or husband all week it seems! Matt has tried to make this transition as painless as possible by doing the entire morning routine, the entire afternoon routine, cooking dinner, doing bath and the boy's bedtime and even brought me Starbucks on my 15 minutes of lunch break, TWICE! Wow, what an awesome husband I have, thank GOD! Even with all of this and the kids doing fine and first grade being great for Noah, I am just DONE with it all......and then this. (copied from an email I sent to the dear friend that sent the word to me)

I read the first part of this earlier at work very briefly and thought it was great but as the day got harder I forgot about it. The end of the day I have been ready to quit for a number of reasons. Sickness, stress on me and my family, etc have made me really doubt if I am doing the right thing and I was just about to throw my hands up in the air when I felt like I should check my email again. The Lord showed me your email so I thought I would read it again and (I don't say this often) "oh my GOD!" This word had to be just for me, both of them, and it had to be the Lord that showed you you to send it to me. I can't say thank you enough to you for sending it and to the Lord for once again making HIS way clear and known to me and my family. It was just the grace and faith boost I needed!! Blessings to you and lots of love!

So now that I've sparked your interest, here is the email....

Small Straws In A Soft Wind by Marsha Burns -- August 28, 2008:Arise in the Spirit and make your requests known. Bring your concernsto Me and then yield to My leading, for I will certainly show you theway, says the Lord. Refuse to allow yourself to stand still and shakein your boots due to doubt and fear that cause you to stumble infaith. Keep your heart in strong belief that I hear and answer yourprayers. Encourage yourself in the Word and stand on that truth.Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayerand supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made knownto God.

What the Lord Is Saying Today

August 28, 2008. You have My permission to go ahead. You and I knowthe risk you are taking. You can rest assured that if your heart doesnot condemn you in this regard, then you have My blessings to proceed. Why? Because you have a good heart. It has been shaped and seasonedas you have sought Me in so many difficult situations. You havetherefore come into a most trusted relationship with Me. In yourheart you know what is right and wrong have been tested and tried overand over again. So why worry now that you will miss My will? Let Mesay this plainly. You have My blessings. Now go do it.1 John 3:21-22 "Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we haveconfidence before God. " Ras Robinson*

August 28, 2008. You have been rolling over and over in your mind if you have made the right decision. What good does that do now? It iscausing you regret, and wondering about your next decision. You don'tneed procrastination as to your next move. You prayed and felt thatwas what you were to do. Don't rethink now. The move has been madeand now there is nothing to do but start from where you are. Don'tdwell on what has already happened; that you think may not work. Itis going to be better than you think it is. You heard Me right; itjust feels strange because it is new.James 1:7-8 " For truly, let not such a person imagine that he willreceive anything [he asks for] from the Lord, [For being as he is] aman of two minds (hesitating, dubious, irresolute), [he is] unstableand unreliable and uncertain about everything [he thinks, feels,decides]. Bev Robinson**

Isn't God good?!! All I can say is "wow." HE loves me that much....could it be any clearer? Let this be a reminder to us all....when we are all done and ready to throw in the towl, HE loves us so much that HE will light our path and clear the way. Be blessed!!

Happy Birthday Noah!

So the day is here, Noah is 6 years old!! Wow how time flies. So I know I already blogged about his but something too cute not to share happened last night. Daddy aka: Matt, was tucking Noah into bed and asked him if he knew what tomorrow was. We try not to play up birthdays too early in advance because the little ones get fussy about it. Noah said he didn't know so Matt informed him in that excited whisper, "its your BIRTHDAY!" Instead of getting excited and giddy like Noah normally would he got a VERY serious look on his face and said "is it gonna hurt?" At first Daddy, aka: Matt, thought he was kidding but quickly realized that not only was Noah serious but very much concerned. He asked Noah what he meant and Noah grabbed his skin and said when my bones grow and get big, is it gonna hurt my skin and stuff? Daddy assured him that no, it wasn't going to hurt and that we don't grow big overnight, we grow throughout the year and on our birthdays just the number changes and we are a year older. We grow however God programmed us to grow and a little everyday.

After this little chat Noah drifted off to sleep without a care in the world and I imagine a thought or two about what he would get for his birthday. I know the excitement is killing you so here it is......he got a walking, talking, moving WALL-E toy. COOL right! So as I am writing this blog I have been caught by none other than the Birthday Boy himself and he wants me to take his picture so here it is world, my big 6 year old!

Danger is my middle name

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