Happy Birthday To Our Fearless Cy

Our Sweet Cy turned the big 8 today!

We celebrated with his favorites.. Pizza and Chocolate Chip Cookies. Yum! Then he opened his presents which included a special delivery from Grandma and Grandpa Castillo. 

 Here's the Birthday Boy with his cookie cake... My dad commented that it looks like the whole cake is on fire. Funny Dad, real funny. But really, it does distract from my sandwich bag, piped, Nutella frosting, don't ya think?

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy.. you are a breath of fresh air and you find 101 reasons to make me smile every day! Love you, my Cy.

Being Late To Church And It's Benefits

This past Sunday morning, we were running late for the first service at church because I was having a fat day and changed three times. We arrived just in time for the offering. I listened to the verse being read, but I really didn't listen to the words. After  the service ended, we were visiting with friends and before we knew it, the second service was starting.. so we stayed (since we'd missed part of the first). 

The same young man came back up to read the verse for the offering.. this time I heard the words. He read this passage:

Psalm 112

1 Praise the Lord.t
Blessed are those who fear the Lord,
who find great delight in his commands.

2 Their children will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.

3 Wealth and riches are in their houses,
and their righteousness endures forever.

4 Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,
for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.

5 Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely,
who conduct their affairs with justice.

6 Surely the righteous will never be shaken;
they will be remembered forever.

This next one really jumped out at me-

7 They will have no fear of bad news;
their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.

8 Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear;
in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.

9 They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor,
their righteousness endures forever;
their hornt will be lifted high in honor.

10 The wicked will see and be vexed,
they will gnash their teeth and waste away;
the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.

At this point, I was sobbing on the front row.... God knew that I needed  to hear this, right then. It was such a gracious reminder to my troubled, doubting heart of His guidance and protection. He knew that we would be facing challenges this week and He helped my heart to be settled and secure in His timing and His will. He understands our concerns and all that He asks is that we trust Him. How easy and pain free is that?? 

Lessons From A Road Trip

Today we took a short trip up to the high country (yes, even higher than where we live) to see the changing foliage. It was gorgeous!

On our way, we stopped to eat lunch at small town restaurant. It was delicious! As we got ready to pay for our meal, we realized that we had mis-communicated and that instead of putting our debit card in the purse that I had brought with me, it was left in the purse that was at home.. sitting on the bed. We had not one penny with us. Not good, not good at all. We went to the register and started to explain our situation and the waitress immediately told us that we could call when we got home with our credit card number. Woo Hoo! Thank God for small town businesses!!! 

In the midst of this little episode.. I thought, "Here we go again, why must our lives have a hiccup every day!! God do you even care about what happens in my daily life?" As we got to our bike, a gentleman from inside came out and said, "Here, we overheard your conversation and we want to make sure that you have at least a little cash on hand to get home." At first, we refused it, but he insisted and wanted to be sure that it was enough for us.  I was in AWE! I knew in my heart that God had sent this man to renew my hope and faith. 

The rest of our afternoon was blissful.. lots of gorgeous scenery. I'll share a few pictures:

Gorgeous Views

I'm so blessed to live in this 

If he loves it, I'll try it..

I'm so in Love with this man!

Yes, folks.. we were above 12,000ft

See this storm we were trying to outrun!! Yikes!!

Why Run When You Can Eat?

Darn this cold weather.. it makes me want to stay inside and eat yummy, comfort food.  I dare you to ask me when is the last time I've run.. let's just say, it's been a little bitty while (more than a month). Praise the Lord for stretchy leggings!! 

Back to comfort food... I did make a pot of homemade and very healthy chicken noodle soup tonight. BUT for dessert, I made something that I found over at my new obsession, Pinterest. It's these irresistible Reese's Stuffed Crescent Rolls. You will crave them.. I have for a week and today, with all of this cool weather, I gave in and made them. The boys are all drooling and begging for them now. Click on this link, Reese' s Stuffed Crescent Rolls, and you can find the step by step directions.  Happy Fall and Happy Eating.

Be Kind

I recently found this great quote...

I was reminded that I'm not the only one pushing through, doing all that I can to stand. It's hard to see outside of your circumstances when the trials seem to last and hope is a distant light. Seriously, I have been so weary in the journey that I don't really want to keep going. THERE.. I SAID IT. I've thought, "Lord, really, REALLY?? What are you doing? When will you intervene? Do you see my pain?" I feel like I'm trusting God and waiting for so many miracles to change things, but I have not experienced the reality of that hope. Then it dawned on me.. "Hello.. that's right where He wants me."

When I finally crawl out of my foxhole (that's how I refer to my mountain villa)... and begin to look beyond my needs and trials, I see the smoke around me, coming from other households. Almost everyone that we come in contact with is fighting a battle and I'm reminded that grace is a necessary character trait. A friend called last night and told me about a dream that she'd had that about my family. She said the resounding words that she kept hearing were, "stay the course..stay the course" She said that she say in the dream that we did not yet have the change that we've been praying for, but that we did have joy and peace. WOW.. so true, God tells us that He will never leave us or forsake us. NEVER. BUT we must rely on Him and find our peace in Him, no matter what. So if the battle is still raging, keep fighting, keep trusting, never give up.

Goodbye Summer

Mom and Dad came to visit and to celebrate my birthday. We went to a dinner and movie..two of my favorite things!

Our good friends, the Bennetts came up for a day.. and the menfolk did what some crazy menfolk do. They shot guns and went scouting for wildlife. 

We girls chose to stay at the house and relax.. with coffee and leftover birthday cheesecake.

Before they left, Donnie and Rhonda took time to pray for my sweet Momma... what a blessing.

I don't have many childhood memories that don't include these four adults... remember "Train up a child..." They did and we have not departed from it.

Mom and I enjoyed the warm temperatures on the deck... love her so much.

On the weekend, we headed  up to Denver for Rock the Range. Dad had to work, but we checked in periodically.

Finally.. it was back to country life. We just enjoyed every single minute together and I can't wait until they come back!

Come back soon... I miss you so much already!

Dear Mom

Dear Mom,

Not a minute goes by that I don't thank God that you are alive and celebrating another year of life. For as long as I can remember, you have been my best friend, the one that I have always been able to talk to and you always listen with an open heart. This is still true today.

Our ability to converse as we used to has faced some changes over the last year and half.. but it hasn't changed our relationship. Words may not come easy for us, but it's the touch of your hand, your understanding smile, the way that you cry with me when I cry, and the way that you look me in the eye and speak volumes when the words simply do not come. We both understand that this season that we are living in is just that.. a season. I have NO DOUBT that your speech will be restored...that your complete health will be restored. It's a promise from God and HIS word never returns void. He said in Jeremiah 30:17,that He will restore your health and heal your wounds. We know that God is able. I have heard you tell others that very thing when they were fighting a battle for their healing.  

You are such a blessing to all of us around you. There is a compassion that you have for anyone that you see hurting. I love to hear you pray, it's so powerful. But that is the way that you've always been!

I love you more than words can ever say.. you chose to be my mom and you forever changed my life. Happy Birthday Momma.. I can't wait to see what God has in store for your life this year.