Thank you Lord!

Thank you Lord, Thank you Lord are the words on my lips today!  It's been a while since I've written and honestly it's because I haven't had anything good to say.  I always remember what my Mom use to say " if you don't have something nice to say don't say it at all".  Well that has been me, lots of negativeness going on about the season I am, I've been quite complainy (is that a word?).  But today I was reminded to be thankful, not just because Thanksgiving is coming up but because this is the way God has asked us to live every day!
Today I'm thankful for:
God saving my soul and turning my life around
My Husband who is snuggling with baby Jude so I can have a little break.
My almost 5 year old boy who is making me a house out of legos right now.
My 3 year old girl who just told me she can fold her clothes all by herself.
My 2 year old girl who just tapped me on the shoulder and said can I have juice please.
My 4 month old boy who loves sticking his tongue out these days.
That we have family only 4 hours away that we get to see in 2 days.
That I have a good friend to walk with every morning
For all our friends that come over once a week to fellowship together
For my family in Seattle
For our lovely home and it's fresh painted walls
For the community that we live in

That's just a start and my heart feels so much better after thanking the Lord for everything He's done!  Here's my cuties jumping off their picnic table into the leaves!  I even jumped in the leaves with them it was so much fun to be like a child!  Have a blessed day in Him today!

My heart is overflowing with a good theme!

My heart is overflowing with a good theme!  This is how I feel today!  I'm very thankful and overflowing with joy. This has been a hard season to be quite honest.  The whole transition from 3 kids to 4 kids was harder for me than 2 to 3 but I'm slowly starting to get the hang of it.  Though it has been hard I've been focusing on counting my blessings, being thankful, focusing on Him rather than the lack of sleep etc.  Don't get me wrong I have had some pity parties, but I'm learning to repent quickly, get back up, and gaze on Him once again!  The Lord has been giving me little reminders to be thankful and to choose joy in the midst of chaos. It says in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 to give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. As I took all my kids to the doctor the other day alone I was complaining walking in and a little anxious hoping there would be no melt downs etc. then I look up and their fall decoration at the desk said "Be thankful".  It changed my whole mood.  So I sat there with all my sweeties and chose to be thankful for their little lives, thankful that I can have children, thankful that God chose me to raise them, thankful that they are all healthy, my heart started to overflow with a good theme.  My heart feels so much more alive when I choose to be thankful and choose joy!

Here's what I'm thankful for today!  Jude Daniel Lacy!

Have a blessed day!

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!

It's a new day with new mercies!  I was able to get up before all the kiddos and enjoy some coffee and prayer time with the Lord.  Oh how I miss starting the day out like this.  My verse these days has been Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!" And the phrase I've been singing around the house is "Jesus help us!"  


I'm still learning how to do this mothering thing, wife thing and homemaker thing...I had some rough days this last week but I've been trying to do things out of my own strength and not turning to God.  I just started working out again and sometimes it is so hard to go downstairs and get on that treadmill but once I do it I feel so much better, as I'm working out I keep saying that scripture I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!  


The other day I took all the kids to the store, we really needed groceries and we all needed to get out of the house.  It is such a task to go the the store with all four alone but it needs to be done.  I usually dread the looks and comments from people and of course the melt downs from the kids.  I had Jude strapped on me in a sling, Samuel and Esther were in the cart and Trinity walked with me.  As I drove I kept saying the verse over and over again and as I walked through the store I kept saying the verse and Jesus help us.  This time I was able to smile at the people that made comments instead of letting it irritate me and there was only one melt down in line and it really wasn't that bad.  I'm realizing that God really is my strength!  


As I wake up in the morning from a long night of waking and nursing Jude, I give praise to Him for my little blessings and ask for more of His strength and His help.  I read a blog from a friend recently and they said that " if my day is crappy, I have only myself to blame."  That has stuck with me, I can choose joy and thankfulness or I can choose to be a grump and in a bad mood, it really is a choice.  So today I'm choosing joy and I'm choosing to lean into God and ask for His strength and grace!

There's some thoughts for you, now time to make the little ones some breakfast.  Here's a pic. of my sweeties enjoying Popsicle's in the hammock, I will post more of baby Jude soon!  Bless you all!

Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord Jude is healed!  We are all home and Jude is recovering well!  Thank you all for your prayers this last week!  I thought I would share what happened with Jude.  It all started last Tuesday out of nowhere. He couldn't keep anything down and was projectile vomiting. I took him to his pediatrician on Thursday and he said it was reflux. By Sunday he was visibly dehydrated so we took him to ER.  He had lost 2 lbs, he was 10.5lbs on Thursday and was below his birth weight by Sunday.  We went to Childrens' Mercy where they did blood tests and a ultrasound on his belly.  They diagnosed him with pyloric stenosis, it is a narrowing of the pylorus, the opening from the stomach to the small intestine.  In pyloric stenosis the muscles in the pylorus are thickened, the thickening prevents the stomach from entering into the small intestine. Pyloric stenosis is more common in boys than girls and runs in families.  My brother actually had this when he was Jude's age.  We are so thankful to finally know what was going on with our boy.  They hooked up to IVs and was getting everything he needed without vomiting for a change.  Yesterday Jude had a small low risk operation called a pyloromyotomy to split the over developed muscles.   He was monitored for 24hrs and released last night!  He is doing really well at home and is back to normal feedings with out vomiting.  We are overwhelmed by all who have stood up and pitched in. And so thankful for your prayers, we definitely felt them lifting us up. So thankful for you all who came over and stayed with the kids and for the ones that brought over food and for the ones that came to visit us in the hospital.  We really felt the love!  So thankful for the Body of Christ and God is good to the Lacys!  Love you all!

He gently leads those with young!

I'm enjoying this newborn season!  Some of the things I'm enjoying right now is Jude's squeaks and grunts, how his forehead wrinkles up when he's trying to open his eyes, that he still likes to snuggle, how he falls asleep on my chest.  The other morning it was 6am and he woke to be nursed again and as I was thinking "oh I'm so tired" he gave me this sweet smile.  It made my day!  Instead of starting off with complaining Jude reminded me to start of with thanksgiving!  I love it because every time the Lord gives us a baby He draws us closer to him.  As I rock my baby to get him back to sleep I am reminded to pray, to thank God for this little blessing's He's given us.  Every time I nurse I am able to actually sit and rest and it reminds me to pray!  


I happened upon this verse today:
Isaiah 40:11
He will feed His flock like a shepherd; 
He will gather the lambs with His arm, 
And carry them in His bosom, 
And gently lead those who are with young


I love that God is gently leading me as I'm raising these young ones.  He's not condemning me but He is patient with me and He is being a good shepherd, holding me close and leading me gently.  I love His word it is so encouraging!


Be blessed today!


~Hilary

Jude Daniel Lacy is here!

On July 13th at 9:10am Jude Daniel Lacy was born!  Jude means praise, Daniel means God is my judge and Lacy means cheerful!  So as you know we were waiting and I had a feeling that he was going to come early but of course wasn't sure.  He came 9 days early which was a blessing to us!  Here's the short story:

I had been having contractions for about a week but nothing too consistent.  Then at 3am the contractions woke me up and were 10 minutes apart and pretty painful.  So I timed them for an hour and decided to wake up Tom and tell him.  He was up and ready to go, we finished getting things ready at the house in between contractions and called our friend that stayed with the kids.  Then headed to the hospital around 6am.  When we got there my contractions had slowed down and I felt too peaceful I thought maybe it wasn't real labor but it was and it was the Lord bringing me peace.  So I was 4cm when I got there which was discouraging but things sped up fast.  I was able to walk around and sit on the birthing ball to speed things up.  We had the prayer room playing on our computer and it was so peaceful in the room.  Everything lined up perfectly, we had the midwife that I prayed for and had amazing nurses too.  Tom was super joyful the whole time and encouraging me that I could do it!  Then my water broke I think around 8am and the contractions were more painful.  Then at 9am they said I was completely dilated and effaced, I pushed 4 pushes about 10 minutes and he was out.  It was beautiful I was able to hold him for a long time and nurse and he was just perfect!  While I was in labor our friend that was staying with the kids had a dream and in the dream there was an angel in the room with us at the hospital telling me when to push and when we came back from the hospital we were saying there was so much peace.  That is just how it was, there was so much peace in the room and we could feel the Lord's presence!

Jude has such a sweet spirit, he is nursing well and sleeping well, he is such joy!  It was so great to have Tom home to help out so I can rest and so we can enjoy being a family.  Also thank you to all who made us a meal that was a huge blessing!  It has been a sweet time enjoying our new home and our new baby.  I feel like my heart is coming more alive and I am experiencing more of God and more joy in my life.

Our camera is broken and I can't seem to figure out how to download the ones from the Iphone so more pic.'s to come soon but here's the one I could figure out how to post.    This is right after I had him, so happy to finally hold my precious gift!

Thanks again to all who have helped and to everyone that has prayed for our family!  The kids are adjusting well and there is so much grace right now and I know it is because our dear friends and family are praying!  May the Lord bless you all!

~Hilary

Family update!

We are all moved into our new house and loving it!  All the boxes are unpacked, now I just need to decorate, paint, hang curtains etc.  Some friends came and deep cleaned for me which was a huge blessing!  I'm so thankful for our new home, it is so peaceful and so spacious!  It is nice to have enough room to where there's a place to put everything.  It is great to see the kids so happy too, they are loving their new rooms and their play room.  We have a pool set up in the back yard and are enjoying summer.  We also have good friends that live next door that have kids the same age which is another plus.  It's so nice to have community again!

My Dad, Aunt and Uncle recently came to visit for 3 days and we had a blast.  The kids just loved them all it was so nice to have family here!  We went to the zoo, went swimming in the pool at their hotel, went out to eat, had fun shopping together, and then had them over for 4th of July.  My Dad blessed us and made lots of yummy food for us and our friends that night,  it was great time!  Makes me appreciate my family and miss them so much more,  I'm thankful they were able to come visit!

In other news, we are waiting for our little baby Jude Daniel to make his appearance!  The girls have been dressing up their baby dolls with his clothes and pretending it is Jude and almost every morning they ask is the baby here?  Which I then say nope and point to my rather large belly : )  Samuel is really excited too and can't wait to hold him.  We are praying he will come in perfect timing and that everything will line up just right.  I packed my bag the other night.  His little area in our room is all set up and now we are just waiting....I heard once that the baby can come anywhere from two weeks before your due date or two weeks after so I'm trying to posture my heart in that way.  He is due July 22nd, But of course earlier would be nicer!

So here's some pic.'s for ya!

 I'm loving the kitchen in our new home, so much space for me to do what I need to do and the kids can help too!

 Here's Samuel and my Dad riding a camel at the zoo, making memories!  He was so happy!

 All the yummy food my Dad made for July 4th!  He is amazing!

 My lovely family!  Esther just adored my Aunt it was so sweet!

And the belly shot at 38 weeks!

Would appreciate prayers for our family as we transition from a family of 5 to a family of 6!  Thank you all and bless you!

~Hilary

My heart these days...

Sipping on my coffee this morning contending for peace in my heart and home today!  We are one week away from our move and even though it is just down the street this move seems harder than it did from SC to MO.  Could be the fact that I am 34weeks pregnant I don't know.  So I'm reflecting on this pregnancy, this new season we are about to go into and realizing the Lord is doing so much in my heart.  All of this "transition" as people say around here is super humbling.  I've cried out and cried out for a new house and He heard my cry and is answering my prayer for sure.  The funny thing is it happens not on my timing but His and not my way but His.  I remember thinking we will move before I get too pregnant and when we have all the money saved up.  No and no, God is funny that way.  So I've been learning I have to step out and ask in my weakness and that has been super hard.  Asking God for help and asking others for help.  I've always been one to do everything on my own, try to be the strong one and just get it all done.  I'm learning that He loves the weak ones, the ones that don't have anything, need help and cry out.  He has been super faithful through all this, he's bringing in the finances for the house and bringing in the help that I need to pack it all up and clean.  Which is amazing but all my junk in my heart is coming up in the process : )  When I say it has been humbling is that I've had a lot of pride in my heart, thinking I can do it all on my own etc.  I've felt like this pregnancy has been one of the hardest physically, not sure if it's cause I'm a little older or because I'm chasing after toddlers or what but my body is sore!  So due to that I have to ask Tom for a lot of help around the house, I have to sit and rest more and during this move I've had to ask friends to come and help me pack while I sit and hold my babies and watch them do the work....  Well there's a little bit of my heart unveiled, gotta run the kiddos are arising!

Here's some pic.'s for ya!

 The kids making a fort while I pack

 We made a bed on the floor and let them have popcorn and watch a veggie tale while we pack up.

Here's my wonderful family enjoying the summer!

Also if you still want to give towards our move you can!   Click on the donate button on our blog, give to us in person or make a check out to Tom and Hilary Lacy and send to 4603 E. 114th terrace Kansas City, MO 64137, or if you would like to give a tax deductible gift you can make it out to IHOP and send it to the above address with a sticky note that says for Tom and Hilary Lacy, our names can not be anywhere on the check if written to IHOP.  Thanks so much!  Bless you all!

Counting down!

The count down begins, we are moving in two weeks and baby Jude Daniel is due to arrive in 6 weeks!  So we are excited and busy that is for sure.  So just wanted to write a quick update and thank you to all you have given towards this move, we are pretty close to our goal.  We still need $1000 more but the Lord has been so faithful to provide!  

If you still would like to give towards the move you can click on the donate button on our blog, give to us in person or make a check out to Tom and Hilary Lacy and send to 4603 E. 114th terrace Kansas City, MO 64137, or if you would like to give a tax deductible gift you can make it out to IHOP and send it to the above address with a sticky note that says for Tom and Hilary Lacy, our names can not be anywhere on the check if written to IHOP.  Thanks so much!  Bless you all!

We are moving!

So only 10 minutes away from where we live now but yay we are moving into a bigger house!  When we moved from SC to MO I felt like the Lord said just one year in this house Hilary.  So it has been longer than a year and we've been seeking and asking the Lord to open a door to a new place and He did!  There were some things about this house that made a little bit hard, no dishwasher, unable to paint the walls, non working closets, carpet in the kitchen and bathroom, only one bathroom(kind a hard with all 5 of us not to mention potty training one and me being prego!).  But the Lord really was asking me to be thankful for what I have, so He dealt with my heart for many months on choosing thankfulness.  Really the only thing I really prayed for when moving to MO was a big yard with a fence and this house had that for sure!

So this time around I prayed more specifically!  I asked for a 4 bedroom 2 bathroom, more space for the kids to play, dishwasher, working closets, option to paint, linoleum or hardwood floors in kitchen and bathrooms, nice fenced in yard.  So the Lord gave me all that and more!  We are moving into a 4 bedroom 3 bathroom, with a  nice sized playroom downstairs for the kids plus all the things I mentioned I had asked for!  Also I've been wanting to start a garden and the people living there before us already put down soil I just have to plant what I would like!  As you can tell I'm very excited!  The other good thing about this house it is only $50 more a month which is a huge blessing!  With 2 months left of this pregnancy I am ready to get settled and it is time to nest!

As you know it costs to make a move, I'm thankful this move won't cost as much as last time.  But we are in need of about $3000 in order to make this move by June 21st.  Please prayerfully consider giving to us specifically for this move!  You can click on the pay pal button on our blog, give to us in person or make a check out to Tom and Hilary Lacy and send to 4603 E. 114th terrace Kansas City, MO 64137, or if you would like to give a tax deductible gift you can make it out to IHOP and send it to the above address with a sticky note that says for Tom and Hilary Lacy, our names can not be anywhere on the check if written to IHOP.  Thanks so much and we will post pic.'s soon!

Esther turns 2!

Esther Gloria Lacy is 2!  Esther was my Mother's day gift two years ago.  She has brought so much joy and laughter to our family.  She carries so much peace and has such a sweet spirit.  I'm so excited to see her grow in God!

We had a small birthday party for her to celebrate!  I love going all out but last time we tried to do that it didn't quite work out with our size of house and was rather overwhelming.  So this time we kept it small and simple.  We did a flower/picnic theme.  It was suppose to be outside and we were going to have blankets to sit on and have sack lunches etc.  The weather was rather cold so we brought it inside set up blankets and let the kids eat their sack lunches on the floor.  They were all super cute!  We were able to have a time of prayer where all of Esther's little friends gathered and prayed for her!  I feel so blessed to live in this community and have such sweet friends that love the Lord with all their heart and know how to love us so well in return!  Enjoy the pic.'s!

 Such a joyful girl!

 Flower cupcakes and sack lunches!

 Time to pray!

We made crowns for all the little ones, this was our 7th attempt to take the picture!

Happy Mother's Day!

As I celebrate Mother's Day today, I'm reflecting on my Mom, on all the Mom's who have been there for me spiritually, on all my Mommy friends, and all my friends waiting and praying their day will come soon to be a Mom.

My Mom was here last week visiting and we had a blast!  She flew in on Tuesday and I was in need of a break...  She always seems to come to visit right when I need some Mommy time!  So on Wednesday Tom spent the day with the kids while my Mom and I went out for coffee, shopping and lunch.  It was so good to have some time catching up and some quality time(my love language!).  It was great to see her play with the kids and see them get all excited to be with her.  We went to the zoo, went to a farm, got to swim in the pool at her hotel and lots of other fun things.  Every day was jammed packed and I am so thankful she came, I feel so refreshed!  

Today the kids and I went to church while Tom worked his morning shift at the prayer room.  They honored Mom's today, each child made a flower made out of tissue paper, so cute!  At Trinity's class they were asked what they like most about their Mom and she said I like when she takes me to the park, colors with me and makes me yummy food.  I thought that was so cute!  Tom had the kids each pick a card and gift out for me and he asked them to think of one word that describes me.  Samuel said sweet, Trinity said beautiful and Esther said table.  I thought that was so funny, I guess they like me making them meals!  Tom got me some hanging plants for outside and one indoor plant, the kids got me a candle, earrings and a new water bottle.  I'm not usually huge on gifts but it was really nice to receive the gifts and all the kids words.  My love tank is full!

This scripture describes my day!  Proverbs 31:28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her!

Here's a pic. of us with my Momma.  Bless all you Momma's and Momma's to be!

Learning to sew & quick update!

So I've been attempting to sew lately and I'm enjoying it so much!  Here's some pic.'s of my practice projects!  I made these aprons for the little ones since they love to help me when I'm baking or cooking.  They each have there first intial of there name on it.  Then I made this nursing cover(not the best pic.) for my dear friend Kathrine who will be having her first baby real soon!  Also made this little onesie for him, well didn't make it just sewed the whale applique on it.  I'm really excited for my next projects like curtains and some pillow covers once I get some fabric.   This has a been a great way for me to be creative and to pray at the same time.  I think this will be my new thing to do during nap time!

Other news, baby boy on the inside is doing good and moving a lot these days.  He feels huge already and I still have 3 months to go : )  My Mom will be here tomorrow, which I am so excited to see her and spend some quality time with her!  Then Tom's Dad and family will be here on Saturday, which will be great to see them as well!  Tom will be going on a ministry trip soon, prayers are appreciated! If anyone would like to come help this prego Mama of 3 under 4yrs. old, that would be a blessing!  

Some more good news is I just found out my Dad and Aunt and Uncle will be visiting the beginning of July, I haven't seen them all in a long time so it will be really good for my heart as well!  We also have some dear friends visiting in July and they might be here when I have the baby.  So I have a lot to look forward to!  I love having visitors and family here with us, makes my heart happy and my kids happy : )

Have a blessed day!

Trip to St. Louis

I'm really enjoying my family and resting more!  Been super thankful for all the life in our home lately.  My kids bring so much joy to Tom and I.  We recently took a trip to St. Louis, MO to visit our dear friends that live there and to rest.  It was such a wonderful time.  The drive was great for the most part, towards the end Esther kept saying "outch, outch, outch"  while squirming in her seat, which means out, out, out.  The drive is only 4 hours but we stopped half way at a Burger King to eat and let the kiddos run around.  The play area was huge and meant for a little bit older kids but Esther was determined to do what her brother and sister were doing and then she wouldn't come down.  So Tom had to climb all the way to the top to get her.  It was quite hilarious, glad we were the only people in there.  In St. Louis we spent lots of time with our friends just living life together.  They have a son that is Samuel's age and a daughter that is Esther's age and then a baby boy about 5 mths old, all so cute!  It was great to see how they live and what I love most about them is they live simple.  They love the Lord with all there heart, soul and strength, they teach there kids how to and others how to also.  True servants and lovers of God!  Can't say enough good things about them!  We spent a day at the park with them, went to there house of prayer one evening, went to a family fun/pizza place all together, spent a girls day out with my friend(that was amazing!), had a date night out with Tom(another amazing time!) and spent time out in there beautiful yard letting the kids play and run.  The last evening we spent praying all together, great way to end the week!

Before we left on vacation I was super tired, stressed, and just needed a break from the mundane.  Coming back we have a new outlook on life!  We are thankful for what we have and hopeful for the future!  We've been praying more as a couple and as a family which is changing the atmosphere in our home!

Here's some pic.'s from the trip!

Samuel and his buddy Micah at the park

Driving in the van!

Samuel and Selah at the family fun place

The girls having a tea party!

On the way home, every one fell asleep!

Winter pic.'s

Hello again, I thought I would do a blog with pic.'s since it has been a while.  I had to get creative this winter since it has been a LONG one!  So here's some pic.'s of the things I've been doing with the kiddo's.  I can't seem to figure out how to do these pic.'s and captions on here so we will see how this turns out.  Enjoy!

Of course we've been dressing up!  Here's Samuel as Mater from the cars movie, Trinity as a flower, and Esther had to jump in between them for the pic.

Here's the girls bowling

We put tape down and mad a road for the cars, that kept them busy for a couple days.

Here's some artwork

They had a blast using glue, pasta, beans and scrap paper.

This is one of the kids favorite things to do.  We took beans and put them in muffin tins.  We did this for about an hour one day.  

Of course there is the times where we had to snuggle and watch a movie.

I made this diaper cake the other day for my dear friend's baby shower!  It was so much fun to get creative and to be able to bless her with this pretty gift!

Had to post some of them posing!  My friend made these hats for them.  It says LIFE on them, to pray for the unborn!

What can I say, I am blessed!  3 cuties and one more on the way!  BTW in case you didn't hear the news we are going to be having a baby boy in July!  So excited!

Happy Salvation day to me!

Happy Valentine's day to you all! I'm blessing the Lord for this day, I was saved on this day 10  years ago. I remember it very clearly searching and searching for love and was not finding it anywhere. Was very hurt and very unhappy. I grew up in a non Christian home didn't go to church, parents were divorced at a young age. Then fast forward I was about 21 I wasn't into drugs or alcohol was pretty much a "good girl" trying to please everyone but had been seeking for love, just really wounded and hurt and ended up in a bad relationship with a guy. He was a gambler and into drinking and drugs. I was a waitress and worked and worked to give him money. Took out loans for him etc. He would say he was going to pay me back and then didn't. Each time I believed that he would, I thought he was going to change. I really believed I was going to get love in return for doing this for him. I was super deceived at the time, not knowing who I was or what I deserved or that I was even loved. I just was super hurt by people and it was getting to the point where I couldn't trust anyone. It was getting pretty bad and I was really depressed. Then I thought most of my Christian friends are always happy oh I should go to church then. Searched for churches then found this church and went to it for a while. Just went by myself and sat in the back then left real fast because I was so afraid to talk to people and that I would get hurt. One day I filled out this connection card and I checked the box that said I have questions and would like someone to call me. So the pastor called me and we started meeting weekly and I had my list of questions for him about what was being taught and about the bible. Finally one day(Valentine's Day) when I met with my pastor I gave my heart to the Lord!(Bless you Pastor Chris!) At that time I was still in this bad relationship I would have weekly meetings with one of our pastors(Love ya Terre) and he would coach me through how to leave this guy. Finally left him and from there started a process of healing with the Lord. About a year later I started getting hungry for the Lord and for His word, the word was coming alive. I would stay up late at night and read the bible. They started having prayer meetings at our church where we were learning prophecy and learning about the Holy Spirit. During this same time is when I met Tom, he was the leader of my small group. Tom and I started meeting and going out for coffee and just reading the bible and going after John 15:1-5 all about abiding. Then I found out about IHOP and the One thing conference and raised money to go. I had never been around so many young people loving the Lord and had never experienced this kind of worship. At the conference I decided I needed to do an internship and I felt like if I didn't go right then, then I probably never would. So raised money and with in a week went to do the internship, moved and Tom and I were together at that time and did a long distance relationship for 8 months. There I grew so much, living in community, learned how to pray, first time learning about end times and stuff but the big thing was I learned that God really loves me actually He likes me. That it's not about petitions it's about a friendship a relationship. Found out who I am in Him, that I am beautiful in His sight, that I am lovely and His delight. All this was new to me, I always longed for an identity and finally found one in Him. My prayers were being answered one after another with provision and heart issues. He did all this because He loves me and that's it He love us guys! I mean it's not just some saying He really does. I finally came to that place of being able to receive His love and once I received His love I was able to pour out my love whole heartedly. And now this is the kind of life I am called to live is be a radical lover of God, my husband is and we are raising are kids to be radical lovers of God. 

Today I am thanking the Lord for His kindness towards me! What a journey it has been.  The Lord healed my heart in so many areas and continues to.  My dream was to be able to pray all day, I didn't think it ever would be possible. As all you know it is! The Lord is so good to me, he saved me and set me free, he's healed me in so many ways and even on my bad days He still loves me. Another dream of mine was to be married with kids. It is all I ever wanted. I was praying for "the one" and I would always say I wanted 10 children. Looks like God is answering prayer! I definitely met the love of my life, we are going on 5 yrs married this Friday, so exciting. Looks like God is giving me those children I asked for and He's doing it fast. So all this to say....He is good and I am blessed.  I pray He will show you He is love today just He did for me!
~Hilary

The wind of the Spirit, the breath of God will sustain you!

My prayer has been sustain me and refresh me oh God.  Honestly it has been a rough season for me lately.  It's freezing here and we've had snow for forever now.  Our car isn't always starting only some days depending on how cold it is.  We all got sick and then I just ran out of strength to keep it together.  I've been seeing my weaknesses, my heart struggles, and realizing I really can't live this life on my own, I can't do it without God.  I can't control everything and that life isn't always going to look the way I want it to look like.  So this week has been a real turning point for me as I have had to be honest with myself, with Tom and with the Lord that I've been trying  to do things my own way and not His way.  Yikes that is a scary reality. I realized I've pulled a little bit away from God.  I've been doing my normal bible reading each morning, praying through out the day and with the kids and Tom but still in my heart I just wasn't being honest with the Lord.  So yesterday as I was making breakfast I had the webstream on in the kitchen, which is my favorite thing to do in the mornings.  So I'm stirring the oatmeal and the worship leader starts singing " There's someone in here that has pulled back from the Lord just a little bit, something has caused you to doubt, to question His goodness.  There's a pain inside that He wants to touch this morning."  That is when I lost it and just wept and wept in the kitchen.  He was speaking right to me!  I had pulled back I had doubted His goodness and I had pain.  Then the worship leader sang "Do not loose heart, do not grow weary of doing good, don't pull back, don't abandon your goals you set before me to be a woman filled with the word of God.  Keep going, keep pressing, keep believing.  The wind of the Spirit, the breath of God will sustain you!"  Just what I wanted to hear, and I felt Him, I felt Him in my kitchen ministering to my heart.  I felt Him refreshing me and sustaining me!  I just love those God moments, I needed that refreshing!  Just felt like someone else needed to hear this and to be reminded that He sees you, He hears your cry and He will sustain you, He will come to you and He is good!  He loves you!
~Be blessed today, Hilary!

Catching ya up to speed!

So, yep is has been forever since I blogged.  Don't really have any excuses...so thought I'd catch ya up to speed!

December


-Enjoyed baking with the kids and doing lots of Christmas crafts
-Our friends blessed us with a Christmas tree, they brought it to our doorstep and everything!
-Read the story of baby Jesus to the kids and watched some Christmas movies with them, had fun making memories!
-The kids enjoyed acting out the story, Samuel would say that he was Joseph and Trinity was Mary and that they were going to Bethlehem to have baby Jesus.  Then he would say that we have to go to Bethlehem to have our baby and that there's not going to be any room for us. : )
-Our car had broken down right before Christmas.  Again our friends blessed us with their car to borrow for the weekend that turned into a week!
-We attended the Christmas Eve service at IHOP.  Christmas Eve services have always been my favorite!  It was a little hard to stay focused with our little ones squirming all over the place, but it was fun to be out and celebrate as a family and hear the word!
-We were really blessed this year by our family with money and gift cards and were able to get a lot off gifts for the kids.  It was so much fun to see there excitement and joy as they opened the gifts!
-Christmas day we had a big breakfast together, opened presents, talked about Jesus, the kids played with all there new stuff and we just enjoyed resting.  After nap time we went to our friends house for dinner.  They have a son around Esther's age and they have a lot of space for the kids to run around, we had an amazing time together!
-Missed my family lots this Christmas and hoping to make a visit to Seattle this year!
-We were able to get our car fixed!  Some friends and funders helped us out financially plus we had some saved up for the car.  We had to get a new water pump, timing belt and a new alternator.  A lot of work (Tom did most of it!) but super thankful we have our car back!
-The Onething conference was after Christmas and it went on into the New Year.  It was amazing and I'm thankful we were able to attend, watch online and have my Hubby work at the conference.  We are blessed!  We also had some dear friends visiting for the conference so they stayed with us and we had some sweet times together!  It was like have a bed and breakfast here, which I would love to have someday!

January
-Getting organized and planning to move soon (so there's no confusion, we are staying in KC just moving into a larger home) so the house hunting has started and boxing things up has started!
-Getting focused in the word again.  Enjoying my mornings reading the bible and spending quiet time with the Lord.  I notice if I don't start the day off this way it changes my whole mood and the atmosphere of my home.
-Feeling more pregnant!  Starting to show already but it is the awkward stage, hopefully soon it will be the cute stage!  I'm due July 22nd!
-Have lots more to say but the children are waking up!  Hoping to write again soon!  Be blessed today!