Blessings.....

So....today we are buying a new vehicle, well not new, but new to us. And we are paying Cash. Thanks to a gift from George and JO, as well as a great price from our friends who we are buying it from.

And we sold our Van and bought a cheaper van to replace it. which is an answer to prayer and it took a long time but God is faithful

We also are moving in less than 2 months now. And the place we are in was definitely a blessing from God, butour time was ending soon anyways and so God is so good that we didn't even to have to look at anything. WE were really hoping to be in a position to buy or build right now but though we are making progress on paying off our debt it wasn't as quick as we wanted. And so God has provided this house, it's beautiful house, it's not downgrading at all, but 'up-grading'. It will still be renting but it is the right move right now, it will allow us to live in great place and yet still be able to work towards paying off our debt and keep our focus on our business and what God has for our lives.

I feel right now that we are in the right place, we are standing in the river and we are moving towards the vision that God has given us for our lives, we have great hope for right now and for the future. God's favor is with us right now and I am so grateful for all the blessings so far and know that this is just the beginning. I am trusting Him to meet the other needs we have right now as well.

I leave for my Doula workshop on Thursday.
And Andy and Jenn are due in about 6 weeks now!! i am so excited to meet my nephew and I'm so excited to see what God has up His sleeve next....

life ventures.....

K, so here i am again. not too bad...less than a week. So, i thought i'd just let you know what is actually going on in my life currently. Owen is 2. He just turned 2 about a week ago, he's very little for his age but very social, funny, smart, is talking alot and makes me laugh all the time. Kael is 4, and i still can't believe he is already 4. He is also smart ( who doesn't think their kid is smart) He's particular..He's a little shy if he doesn't know you at first. He's sneaky and right now both kids are really into pretending with food and i love it. Mike found them a great little play kitchen and so grandma has been sending up packages of 'food' and they just think it's great. Owen pretends to actually eat the food..

so that's being a mom. and i'm still soo grateful to be a stay at home mom. Sometimes i feel guilty that my life consists of play dates and hanging out with my kids, but i wouldn't want to give up that time to anyone else.

But I am getting to do more now that doesn't involve my kids and i'm really excited. There two things in particular that i've been more involved in.
1. is a ministry called Restoring the foundations
I was actually trained to do what is called Issue Focused Ministry with people, and I completed my training last summer and have been doing some ministry here and there. Well now my friend Colleen has also finished her training for the issue focused, so now i have a consistent partner and so we have been doing more ministry together and it has been so exciting.
What you do is you meet with someone for a session and you pray through 4 different areas. And it's amazing How God knows exactly where they need healing, where to go and How he brings that truth and healing into their lives, it's a privilege to get to see that first hand, and it isn't 'us' bringing the healing. It is God but it is very cool to be used by Him to facilitate that healing.

2. and the one other is new. I am in the process of getting my Doula Certification. I've just started I'm reading the books now and I will be attending my Doula workshop in November and i even have been asked by my sister in law to be her doula!! So i am sooo excited and honored that they asked me. I get to be there when my nephew will be born.

so...that is kind of a little more of what's going on in my life.
Mike and I are doing well and we just had our 6 year anniversary and we are growing and still getting to know each other and learning how to be more loving and to work as a team. I'm so grateful that He is not content to keep life as it is but we both strive to really see what God is up to and to go where He directs.

So.....it's been awhile. I even started a blog post about a month ago, got most of it done even though it took me a long time and then somehow it disappeared. So i'm going to start again. Mike is away right now it's been 6 days and he comes home in another 3 or 4 days. I think it's the longest we've been apart in our 6 married years together. And even tho i cried alot yesterday ( which i really believe was lack of sleep...it's alot taking care of 2 boys on your own ) and i wasn't getting much sleep cause of good things, like visiting with friends and family...but anyways....grandma's are God sent and my mom took the boys overnight. So today is a new day. I got to watch old Grey's re-runs last night til late and then still got to sleep in this morning. Woke up played guitar, started writing some songs...which i haven't really done in a long time. But God has been stirring me up to write songs again but today finally i started some. and it was fun and relaxing and they came easily. they aren't finished but i like them so far.
and i even got to run this morning, was a little hard but felt so good to run again. it's been a week....too long.
it's amazing what sleep can do for you! ( and the help of mom's)
so....i really don't have anything profound to say, just wanted to say something. Not even sure who i am writing this too......my little boy, my baby just turned 2 yesterday. I can't believe it. and kael is 4 now, he's talking so much and getting so smart. I have been married 6 years, and i live in tomahawk. it's such a good fit for us, for our family and for me. I can't believe that i actually ran away from it, that we didn't trust God to know us better than we think we know ourselves. that's all i'm going to say for now....

beauty....

so, when i was in high school i couldn't wait to get out of Tomahawk. seriously, i was just so ready to get out of here, sure i would never come back. i even thought when i visited why do people stay here, why do people want to live in tomahawk? it's so small and in the middle of nowhere, and to be honest, i judged people, i thought if they stayed here it meant that in their lives they were doing nothing and going nowhere......
and then i lived all over, well not all over, but i lived in vancouver for years and i LOVED living in the city, walking down commercial drive, getting a coffee, picking up fresh fruits and veggies for dinner and it costs me barely anything. i loved the music, the people, all the little shops.....all the coffee shops....that was probably my favorite part, you could see the mountains, take a short bus ride or sky train down to the ocean..lovely, it was lovely....
but we left canada and moved back to the states to madison, and i never loved madison, not at all. i made a great friend and so did kael and mike in our friends Katie, George and Georgie, and they were really the best thing that came out of madison, but nothing about the city itself left me satisfied..
and now we live in tomahawk again. And today i was just struck by the beauty of this place. the trees all around you, in our backyard we have birch trees, maple, lilac bushes, crab apple trees, apple trees and many plants plants....it's gorgeous. i sat in my back yard this morning and breastfed owen and no one could see me, the air was fresh and crisp and it was relaxing. now that i have kids and i'm in this place n my life this is the spot for us. ( i'm not saying we won't ever move) but I could make my mom dinner tonight to celebrate her birthday....kael could play outside today while i made dinner, the breeze is wonderful and i feel refreshed. and i feel also like i am a part of what is doing, that there is a place for me here. a spot to fill, where i am needed and where God will use me to reach people. i am sorry to anyone i judged for living in their small town, i love both city and country and right now , this is the place for me and my family and it's beautiful. the nature around me awakens something in me, let's me breathe deeper....feel closer to God. i love it here. and i never thought i'd say those words.

feeling good

i know i haven't blogged in awhile. But lately...
I have lost 10lbs We are eating healthy and feeling great.
I also am moving forward with our Restoring the Foundations, was able to pray with one person and another one interested.
I ate asparagus tonight for dinner from my own garden....soo yummy!!!! it is my favorite veggie.
Me and the boys play outside all the time and i love it.
last weekend i went garage sale-ing and got a great picnic table with benches or $5 and got a free table and chairs among other treasures. i love summer and spring. my backyard is turning green, things are beginning to bud, we have a blossom tree, and lots of other beautiful trees.
i love my kids and husband.
i have connected with an old friend and it's so awesome, we hang out every week now and she has a little girl that is afraid of my son...boy vs. girl
And our business is still going really well and i am so excited about it, we are making money and helping other people make money. that's me lately.......

today

Most of us look at our days in the wrong way: We overexaggerate yesterday. We overestimate tomorrow. We underestimate today. The truth is that the most important day you will ever experience is today.
Make today your masterpiece.

Grandma and Grandpa Bailey

My Mother-in-law and her husband were here last week visiting ( from louisiana) So i thought i'd post some pics of their time.
we had a great time with them and so did the boys....oh and there is a pic of the house we are renting right now. the outdoor pics are in the backyard as well, (except the barn door, that's at my parents)
We also had a dinner here and a fire one night cause my brother and his wife were in town, so it was all the family hanging out at our house and we loved it!!! especially being the only with kids we were able to put them to sleep and enjoy the fire until late at night.

contest

so, me and mike are doing two competitions at once right now.I'm pretty excited about them because i feel like change is coming and this is what i need to kick start my life in these areas. I feel as if God has been speaking to me alot lately, it seems like when i read something in a book, i hear it later that day on a cd, on tv or thru a friend. So i feel as if God has been doing some work in me and it's not always easy but God's blessings are showing up in my life because of it. One thing was that i was praying for a crib for owen, and my mother in law and her husband took us to Target to pick out a crib and mattress for him. I was very very blessed. Especially since the week before i felt as if God was saying, that i had this attitude that i deserved things and really i don't deserve anything, anything and everything we have is a gift.

So the two contests' we are doing...one is related to our business. Motivating us to do daily things to grow personally and to see our business grow.
the other is one my mom started with some ppl at church and it's '40 Days to Prosperous Living'
and the goal of that one is to be healthier in our life, physically, spiritually and emotionally. With both of them you get points for doing things ( or not doing things) Like the healthy living you get a point if you don't watch tv, if you don't drink pop or alcohol, etc..You get points for eating so many servings of fruit and veg, glasses of water etc. Spending time with God, exercising.
So Today is the first day of the healthy living one and i feel great already. Me and mike are also counting calories so hopefully i can lose some of this baby fat and he wants to get lean and work out to get muscle. I've already done lots of the things today and that feels great. The hardest one might be the getting 7-8 hrs sleep....:)
wish me perseverance.

the boys

warmer weather

this weekend was gorgeous weather. warm enough for kael to be able to play outside for hours. which was great for me since i was sick over the weekend, mike was able to take kael out of the house for hours and so i could get some downtime. i'm feeling a bit better today but not 100%. i'm excited because this weekend we have our business Conference and John Maxwell is speaking, my favorite speaker. If you haven't heard him or read his books He is fantastic. Also i get to see one of my best friends ever! Jamie is flying in to babysit my boys...which is such an answer to prayer. i'm so grateful she could do it and also soo excited to see her. I don't anticipate i'll be getting much sleep this weekend but i'm looking forward to it!!!

christmas

i know i haven't really posted lately and i didn't really post any pics from christmas..and i found a few that were pretty cute that i thought i'd post anyways.

vision

so.....i have been feeling great lately.I feel like my old self. and it's funny cause i feel like i am coming out of a coma or something, although obviously not as extreme, i'm feeling renewed energy for life. I completed the second half of the training for Restoring the Foundations issue focused Ministry. So, now i (with a partner) would be able to take people through a 3 hr session ministering to them regarding one particular issue in their life. Under the mentoring/teaching of my mom and Diane who have been doing this ministry for awhile now. So i'm excited about that but this is where i feel like the old me. I'm ready to go for it, to jump right in and in my mind i want to jump ahead and see the potential of all of this, what we could do here in the city. I'm also excited because i've been asked to join the worship team at church and it would working with one of my oldest friends again. I am excited about singing again, i even had my guitar out a few times this week.....i feel as if i'm ready for life again. i think because we had kael, left ywam and moving to Scotland at the same time it was really hard for me. i was a new mother, i just left a ministry i had been with for 7 yrs and was kind of burnt out anyways.....now i feel like i've had time to rest, even though i have two kids, it's soo much easier this time, i'm enjoying it more. owen is such an easy baby, he's so undemanding and soooo happy. and i have a community around me and i'm pursuing things i feel passionate about I feel soo much more alive. So of course i'm wanting to be off and running, I feel as if i need to have a balanced life, of being a wife, a mum, being myself, having hobbies, and also pursuing ministry in certain capacities right now....so that's where i'm at. if anyone has any advice on anything i'm all open to hearing it....i feel as if i need to realy talk it all out with someone and maybe think it all through myself what it is i want..what is important etc....how to go after the things in my heart.

New pics below

time is moving fast

So...it's been awhile. i'm not sure if i have any readers anymore and i'm not even sure i want to keep blogging. it's fading......but i thought maybe i'd do another post and see if anyone is reading..
this is what i've been up to....hhmmm....two boys keep you busy. owen is a very easy baby though, easy and smiley, so fun. i'm loving having a baby again, sometimes i just hold him and smell him and just love being his mum.
kael is into everything and so funny, he loves to brush his teeth, although i'm pretty sure it's the toothpaste he loves more than the brushing. ( don't worry i don't let him eat it) and his new thing is using little chairs..he hauls them all over the house to help him get onto the counter of his choice to get whatever it is he's wanting...vitamins, cookies, toast....toothpaste, and the hand soap is now kept in the cupboard as well as he likes to 'wash' his hands.

i've been sewing, i've finished two baby quilts, one for a friend and one for kael. Thomas and then a girl one. also some smaller projects, like a curtain, pillow, small baby blanket, i even hemmed a pair of pants,

i'm still unpacking my house,

connecting with old friends, and making new ones. i'm going a small group on the book Captivating and my two dear friends Shelley and Mary are in my small group as well as other friends in the big group

i am taking a small course that my mom is leading with her friend Diane. they are both trained in a ministry called Restoring the Foundations, which incorporates a few different counseling/ministry/prayer things and i'm attending training so that i can do short ministry sessions with people on specific issues. and so i've attended one seminar and plan on finishing the next seminar next week. it's lots of reading and then three days of teaching and training.

Also some of you know me and mike have our own business and things are really going well and taking off. We are excited about it

So, that's what i've been up to. the baby is now awake so i should go get him

moved

ok. so it's really weird but we've moved to tomahawk and the weirdest thing is that it feels like home.
i'll post more later, still very busy unpacking ..just got home from vacation. our new house is great and i have sooo much to do...we have lots of room so anyone can come and visit me!!!!

We MOVED!!!!

i can't believe it and it's really weird to say it. But we moved back to Tomahawk. it's really weird for me to say it and i think i've been in a little bit of denial about it cause it feels really weird moving back to my hometown but we did and here we are. We are staying with my parents for two weeks, then we go to England for Christmas ( we are meeting up with mike's dad , his wife, her two daughters, mike's sister and her new husband) in Cornwall, England for a week, another city in southern England for another week, then we end up back here and move into our new rental house in January. the place we are going to be renting looks great!!! i'll keep ya'll updated.

here's just the pics we took at the hotel before the wedding..
andy and jen's wedding was beautiful!!!!

off to the wedding

We are leaving early tomorrow morning for my brother's wedding!!! Hope the boys travel well and do well in the wedding. kael will be walking down the aisle with a 5 yr old girl ( hopefully she'll take his hand and lead him down the aisle)
I'm looking forward to it once we get there . I get to see lots of my family and see my baby brother get married!!! how great!

look what i did.

This is what i did!!! i made a baby blanket. My friend Katie is teaching me to sew. So she helped me figure out the sewing machine i have right now ( my mom's ) and we picked out fabric the other day and this was my first project. This little owl baby blanket. I'm very proud of myself. and she's going to help me make a little baby quilt. So i'll let you know how that is coming later ( this week i'm not doing much sewing because there are things to do to get ready for andy's wedding this weekend) So just wanted to share what i did. i'm very happy about it.
actually i have lots to share but will wait for the next post..i'll just do a few more pics of the boys. can't believe owen is already over a month old. it goes soooo fast. even faster the second time.

the simple things.....

today i enjoyed a nap, (actually the whole family napped) and i got up a little earlier than everyone and snuck downstairs made myself a yummy grilled cheese sandwhich (brie and aged cheddar) and a delicious brownie. and enjoyed the moment to myself....and then they all woke up.