Sunday, December 10, 2017

Its Been a Long Time...

Howdy from snowy Alabama! Its been a very long time since I have posted here. I have many, many updates to share. This may take a while, so I'm sure this post will just be the first in a series of  update post. I will go ahead and try to give you a quick overview of our lives the last couple of years!

Since I have last posted so much has changed. We have had many, many trying times and challenges in our lives. Our older children are nearly grown and one is even out on her own and expecting our first grandchild, due to arrive in Feb.2018. My husband lost his job in January of 2016, and was able to train to get his CDL and now works as a driver merchandiser for Coca-Cola. We are still here in our same home, still homeschooling, and I am still caring for my 82 almost 83 year old mother, who has Alzheimer's, and is progressively getting worse. We have added a new member to our family, a sweet little girl, Sarah, who is now 2 1/2 years old! What a joy she is to our family and a real blessing and light over these last few dark years. I struggled deeply with severe post partum depression after having her and still struggle some days, but praise the Lord, it is nothing like it was. We recently found out we were expecting again, only to be faced with the loss of our little one, a son, Jacob Levi, on November 10th of this year. So the hurt is still fresh on my mind, and in my heart. The Lord has been so gracious and merciful to me during these last few weeks and we have been blessed with lots of love (and good food)  from our dear friends from church.  The Lord has put such precious people in our lives, while removing some others, who were toxic to say the least. I have learned so much about the character of folks in the last couple of years, even the so-called professing Christians.

I have so much to share, and plan to do some more detailed post about the last couple of years in the near future. I also plan to blog regularly on my homeschooling blog, which I'll link here when my first post is ready. Stay tuned for lots of special post on different topics, plus helpful links to some other things that are a huge part of my life right now, as well as  lots of help to me and I hope that you can be blessed with them as well. We also have a YouTube channel in the making, which should be ready after the first of the year, and I plan to post links to that as well. I've got lots of exciting things coming and I pray that you stick around and are blessed!


In Christ Love,

Maudie <3 em="">

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

2014 in Review

   I decided that a great place to start here on my blog since I haven't really blogged in so long is to recap our year. I would love to put lots of pictures in this post to be quite honest with you, I am posting from my new macbook air and I haven't the slightest clue how to post pictures  from here yet. So I'll probably come back with just a photo post :-) 

   In January of 2014, we re-listed our home after abruptly removing it from the market in early December 2013, with a new realtor. I honestly  had high hopes that our home would sell quickly. Again, God had other plans. Its still for sale as I type this and we are once again planning on moving to a different company after our contract ends, later this month. Im  sure some of you maybe thinking that perhaps this is a sign that it isn't God's will for us to move. And that may be the case. Time will only tell, but we certainly still feel that God wants us in the country and that he is preparing the perfect buyer for our home and the perfect property for us. Thats the beauty in going with God's timing. Had we jumped on what we thought was the perfect property back in late 2013, we would  have been homeless for many months because the deeds were all messed up on that property. Praise the Lord for an all knowing God!

  In May our oldest daughter turned 16. I was very excited for her and wanted her birthday to be extra rememberable. With that said, we went all out and rented a community center, decorated, had a beautiful 3 tiered cake and lovely food, to celebrate her special day. It was a day she will never forget. Although I normally don't go all out on birthdays, it was worth every penny and the only regret I have is that I didn't have it fully catered. We have another sweet 16 this year and next year, so time will tell how those go. About that time, my husband had mentioned wanting to try to buy a car, so we could be a 2 car family again. Something Ive wanted for a long time. At last after some searching on the internet, I found my husband's dream car and in our price range! I couldn't believe it. I called the dealership and by that afternoon, we were the proud owners of a black, 2006 Nissan 350 Z. Yes, some have said it is impractical because its a 2 seater. But hey, there are just myself and my husband and that equals 2! It was his car, for him and for me. We love it and have enjoyed it every day since we bought it. Of course we still have our 15 passenger van, so we all can still travel as a family. But this has been a real treat for me and my hardworking husband. A well deserved treat at that!!!!

  The summer came and went.  In June, we lost our beloved boxer, Silas, to cancer at the age of 11. Although I had zero desire to have another pet, my husband did. So I was able to pick the puppy out. He wanted another boxer and so I chose a little brindle puppy, we named Ava. She's a mess and a very active member of our family.  A little too active at times.  

  Nothing major happened in the fall until mid November when we discovered that we were expecting another little one! Thrilled and shocked, were my two emotions. I am now 11 weeks along and anxiously awaiting our gender scan in February around the 16th to see what we will be blessed with this time!

  Well there you have it. Thats a recap of my year in 2014. And just for random, I thought I would share a few fun facts about myself:

  I LOVE Ball canning jars!!! I collect the special edition collections that they put out every year in colors. The year before last was, blue, last years was green, and this years is.... PURPLE!!! My oldest daughter and my 3rd daughter, share my love of these things! We are waiting to order as soon as they are released.
  I LOVE Apple products! I have an Ipad, an Iphone 6 ( my beloved has the 6 Plus), and I have an Apple Mac Book Air <3 i="">
 I LOVE flip flops and would live in them year round if I could.
 I LOVE all things, Amish, and classic.
I LOVE the country and can't wait until the day I can call the country my home!
HEARTS are one of my favorite things. I collect wooden items with hearts carved in them.
My hair is below my waist and hasn't been this long since I can remember. 
I don't wear makeup or jewelry and I dress pretty simple and modest.

Well thats about it! I hope you all have a blessed day and hopefully I'll be back to posting at least weekly and hopefully I can figure out how to add some pictures. 


Blessings~
Maudie





Thursday, December 25, 2014

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! I have some exciting news to share and if your on facebook with me then please help me keep this a secret until February. We found out in November we are expecting another sweet baby! We are thrilled as I was beginning to wonder if  sweet Jonas was our last. Please join us in prayer for a healthy pregnancy and safe delivery of a healthy baby in late July 2015. I plan on coming back to blogging after the 1st of the year but I just had to share our news! Praying you all are well and have had a very blessed Christmas. 

Blessings~
Maudie

Saturday, August 9, 2014

Howdy!

I hope this finds you all well. This is just a drive by post to say, stay tuned :-) We have had lots going on and lots of exciting news to share. No, I'm not expecting, but I still have lots to share in where God has brought us over the past few months. I've missed blogging in a way. I want to blog once a week and at least chronicle our lives for myself and the girls to look back on at some point. God bless you all and see you soon!

Blessings~
Maudie


                                       

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Sick Days ~ Cherishing the Moments ~ Enjoying the Snuggles

  The littles at our house are sick. Very sick. Fevers, coughs, runny noses, and at least 1 incident of vomiting. We are trying to clean and prepare for our realtor to come Friday, which is 2 days later than expected. I emailed her yesterday and postponed our re-listing. But if the sickness continues we may have to wait a few more days.

  It's in these times that we can choose to enjoy the "down time", even if we don't feel like its a good time. I love my littles. Of course I love all my children but my littles hold a special place in my heart since they are reversal babies. They are the children that had we not trusted The Lord with our fertility we wouldn't have. Our 1st son and 4th child is actually our first reversal baby. We thought we were done for sure, but praise The Lord He had other plans. When we are down and not able to move around as much, I tend to have more time to think. So as I was cleaning my kitchen cabinets with my little Jonas in his ergo this morning, I was thinking how precious he is. And how I'm so fortunate he is here. And last night when Emily was throwing up and Jackson was screaming for me not to leave him for a shower, it makes me feel happy. Thankful, loved and needed. 

  So enjoy these times if your little ones are sick. Be thankful it's just a temporary sickness. Some parents are not as fortunate and have children with terminal illnesses. So rest, let go of what you can let go.God gives you little moments to rest. Enjoy! I'm going to snuggle my little ones and pace my day. Praying your week is blessed!

Blessings~
Maudie



                                  

Sunday, January 5, 2014

One of those Days~ Wandering Thoughts~

  I pray this post finds you all doing well. We are once again sick. Our 4 youngest woke up sick and so we are dealing with that. We missed church today but were able to ride out and look at a couple of pieces of land. Nothing quite strikes us as the previous place did, but God is faithful and He will provide us with that perfect place in His time. We are learning more and more every day about God's timing. It is such an easy thing to trust Him when things are going our way, but once the table turns and things go a different direction other than OUR perfect plan, our true intentions on following The Lord is revealed.  

  I often struggle with the "what ifs" in every situation. The Bible tells us that we are to depend solely on Christ and Christ alone. I can not depend on man or myself. I have to relinquish all if MY selfish desires and let The Lord's desires become my desires. Friends, that is the only way we are going to be happy in this life. 

  This past year I have become a person that I never knew I would become. I went from being a very "modern" Christian to a very simple Christian. I have went from makeup and jewelry to head coverings and plain clothes. Throughout all these  changes I have became happier than I ever thought possible. That is NOT to say that this past year hasn't been full of trials as well. The last 4 months of 2013 were EXTREMELY difficult on our family for very personal reasons. My church family was there for us even when our blood family were not. Praise God for them. I look back on the situation and I wonder what we would have done without them during that time. 

  I enter this new year with many hopes and aspirations for 2014. I pray we're blessed with a little sister for Emily, a new homestead with my husband being home with us and us working together. I hope to grow closer to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I plan on becoming less and less dependent on society and more dependent on our own skills given through our Lord. We plan on beginning a new school schedule which will start next Monday in full swing, even though technically we are starting school tomorrow. I don't want to waste any more time in trivial matters, the only thing in this world that matters is my Lords calling for my life. I have to seek him daily or else everything will crumble. I've loved and lost many things this past year. But I am grateful to be here to see this new year. 

  As I told my beloved the other day, as long as there is breath in my lungs there is always hope for whatever The Lord calls us to do. I'm planning on using this blog as an outreach to anyone who is seeking The Lord. I want to document our families life on here for a sweet memory. Oh how fast these days go by. Precious, precious moments with our children, our spouses, our Lord. How are we using the time that The Lord is blessing us with? Friends, I pray that each one of you are blessed in every way that The Lord sees fit! I covet your prayers for my family as we recover from illness and as we prepare to put our home back on the market Wednesday. Please pray all this will come together according to the Lords will. My mother who will be 79 Thursday lives with us. She has Alzheimer's and Dementia so this has taken a toll on her as well. She has become very irritated with me and the children. We are trying gracefully to care for her but it is becoming ever more difficult the more her attitude changes towards us. I would appreciate prayer for her and us in that situation as well. And last but not least, SCHOOL:-) 

   I would be honored to pray for you all as well. Please share your prayer needs below or feel free to email me at ~ seekingthelorddaily@gmail.com

Until next time may God bless you and keep you!

Blessings~
Maudie

Friday, January 3, 2014

Head coverings~ A Salvation Issue?

   I write this post this morning praying that your new year is off to a wonderful start and that your not freezing cold! We are. We are having record lows here, so much so they are delaying school start times. Of course that's not an issue for us homeschoolers, but I'm sure the  public school mom and dads are glad for the delay. As promised, I'm going to do several post on topics that are near and dear to my heart. I have NO desire to debate with anyone and I'm NOT trying to offend anyone. As I have said before, if what I say offends you or pricks your heart, perhaps it's the Holy Spirit convicting you of something. I've read so many post on Facebook and blogs about women who are in " bondage" to this and that and they must live more like the world to be free. If that's the case with you, sister, Satan has you deceived. He is the king of lies. He comes to steal and destroy. If he thinks your going the right way, he will do EVERYTHING  in his power to get you to believe  his lie and turn from God's path for you. I am NOT perfect, believe me. Ask my children and my husband. They will gladly tell you otherwise. I have an issue with anger and discontentment. I'm working on those issues daily and pray that The Lord delivers me from those sins. 

Today's post is taken from another blog. Joanne says things so much more gracefully than I can, so I ask her permission to post this. So without anymore delay here is a post on Head covering. I pray you find it helpful and inspiring. Feel free to politely comment below :-) :

http://fewtherebethatfindit.blogspot.com/2013/12/headcovering-salvation-issue.

Blessings~
Maudie