God's Whisper

Have you ever just known when someone needs you? A tug on your heart, a feeling? Some say a mother's intuition.... I don't think so, rather, God's sweet whisper that you must stop what you are doing and listen.

Where does this come from, you wonder? Well, I was taking my nightly relaxing, "let no one bother me bath" and I just literally stopped reading to listen. And then I realized that I forgot to turn on the monitor in our bathroom. But I try to always keep a second monitor on in the other room, just in case and when I felt the need to stop and really listen I heard a funny sound. I didn't recognize it as crying but just different. Because I had this funny feeling, I got out of the bath and turned on the monitor in our bathroom and on came the sounds of Hunter screaming.

God whispered in my ear that I was needed and it was so amazing to FEEL it!

Mom

Today is my precious mom's birthday! I am so thankful to have her as a mom, she has been everything that I need and the perfect mom for me. From picking me up when I fell, to wiping away my tears, to knowing at the exact moment that I needed a hug, she has always been there for me, in the good and bad. How do you show someone just how very much they mean to you...I found a poem that fit her perfectly.


A Mother's Love

A Mother's love is something
that no on can explain,
It is made of deep devotion
and of sacrifice and pain,
It is endless and unselfish
and enduring come what may
For nothing can destroy it
or take that love away . . .
It is patient and forgiving
when all others are forsaking,
And it never fails or falters
even though the heart is breaking . . .
It believes beyond believing
when the world around condemns,
And it glows with all the beauty
of the rarest, brightest gems . . .
It is far beyond defining,
it defies all explanation,
And it still remains a secret
like the mysteries of creation . . .
A many splendoured miracle
man cannot understand
And another wondrous evidence
of God's tender guiding hand.

~Helen Steiner Rice

Mom, it is funny to think about being a teenager and wondering why I couldn't stay out as late as some of my friends or go to a certain concert or watch a certain movie or date a certain boy. I had a "It's so not fair" attitude....but I can see now all that you were doing, moving Heavan and Earth to protect me from a selfish and evil world. Even at the cost of your teenage daughter's diapproval. :) I know that I would do anything to protect my precious girls and you were doing the same for me. I didn't understand then, but I understand now.

Thank you for being my angel on earth, for loving and protecting, forgiving and sacrificing. There are no true words to explain all that you mean to me. You have given me so much....you have made me feel safe when I was scared, loved when I was heart broken, beautiful when I felt ugly and you showed me what it was like to be a Godly woman in an ungodly world. Thank you for you constant prayers and for your never-ending love. You are amazing and I love you more than you can imagine!
Happy Birthday, Mommy!

My Constants

I should have posted this long ago.

Ally has transitioned to Pre-k amazingly! She enters into the room everytime with her big girl attitude, a hug and a kiss and a wave goodbye. For those of you who remember, Ally never LOVED going to "school/MDO." There were tantrums and crying and only every now and then she was ok. It was hard to watch and to leave her crying for me to come back. But in the end, she has grown into herself and into her new world of Pre-K, of new friends, a new teacher, and a new room. To be honest, I didn't expect it to go so well but everyday it has been a blessing to see Ally's new attitude of "I can do this!"

In a world that pulls me up and down, this way and that, it is reassurring to have some CONSTANTS in my life. And writing about Ally's new attitude about school, I realize that it has amazingly become one of these constants. It is something that I can count on now to be OK. Here are some more of my constants~

1. The amazing grace of my Savior, Jesus Christ.
2. Answered prayers (Example: Ally's attitude toward school!)
3. My husband will always love me.
4. My children will always want to cuddle after bath and they will always ask for ice cream but not always get it! :)
5. My girls will always need me.
6. The sounds of Hunter's cries when I leave the room~ :)
7. The love of my family.
8. Good friends.
9. Laughter at the end of the day....as the girls run around to entertain Hunter as I put on her pj's.
10. Easy nights.
11. Sleepy mornings.
12. Shoes on the floor in every room, it seems.
13. I am ALWAYS out of SOMETHING.
14. Maddie and Ally's little voices singing in the house, in the car, in a Target near you!
15. Oh, and (drum roll....) LAUNDRY!
Just to name a few....

Thank you Lord for constants, each and everyone of them!

1st Grade and Pre-K, can you believe it?

Well, we survived Maddie's 1st day of 1st grade today...barely! Maddie didn't want to go. The night before, the school jitters got the best of her and she didn't want to go because she had to wake up early, her best friend wasn't in her class, she wasn't "sure" about her teacher, and the list goes on. I feared the morning but with lots of prayers on her part and mine (and I am sure others out there! :-)), she woke up ready to go! Yipee! I was nervous for her as Ally, Hunter and I walked away but she looked confident! Well, when we got home after school, all the stories told with a smile on her face for the most part and it was time to stop playing with friends and do HOMEWORK, yes, you heard me.....a test on Thursday AND Friday! YIKES! Well, let's just say that Maddie was less than enthused.....can you blame her? At that moment, her summer was officially over! "Why do I have to go to school?" "Why, why, why?!?!?!?!?" "You see, THIS is why I didn't want to go in the first place!"~ And this went on and on and on. ;-)

Again, I say we survived! And I say this again as a reminder because we still have Ally's first day to "tackle!" So look forward to another post that only my sweet Ally could inspire!

Which Way to Go...

It has taken me a week to get my thoughts together and even then I don't know that they are.... There is so much to feel and think and remember that is it almost overwhelming. And there are so many "shapes" that this story can take....which way to go, which way to go....

I will start at the end because that is where we all came together. Sunday night the 19th, one week after the incident we all came to watch Paul, Brian's father give his testimony of what had happened the week before. When I say "we all" I mean, Paul and Charlotte and all of the "kids", Brian and I, Josh and Amy and all the girls. It was in one word, amazing and the tears came; finally some release to all of this. As Paul recounted his memories, I was sitting besides my mother-in-love in her church and with my precious sleeping baby in my arms, crying these tears of, as Paul said in his testimony, "so many things"....tears of happiness that my dear "Baba" is still here in my life, tears of amazement at just hearing the story told by the one who holds Charlotte's heart, tears of joy that my Lord had made his presence known during all of this, tears of triumph that this was all for a reason, for His glory- Amen, tears of love for all of those that I adore and couldn't imagine losing....

On Sunday morning, July 12th, my sweet Charlotte, went in to cardiac arrest at her home in Tom Bean, Tx. My husband received the call from his dad that his mother was being taken to the hospital via the ambulance with chest pains. Oddly enough, there was no panic, no tears- just words and prayers... God was in control...we waited, can you believe it?!?!? Almost as though, we knew that it was OK, but even then we waited to hear some news. She was in surgery and that was when we headed up. The prayers were coming, the visitors were there to offer support as Charlotte battled her way "beautifully" through ICU. Paul took Charlotte home from the hospital on their 37th wedding anniversary, July 15th and she is doing great. Ultimately, Charlotte went through something that should have taken her life on so many levels. But the circumstances, the friends that were there to lend a hand, the timing of it all...EVERYTHING...the Lord our God had his hands on this family and I will continue to thank Him for that. There is a song by Casting Crowns that touches my heart every time I hear it and I wanted to share it. Read the word carefully, it will touch you- then buy the CD~ :-)

Praise you in this Storm

God you would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say “Amen”, and it’s still raining

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear Your whisper through the rain
“I’m with you”
And as You mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

I’ll praise You in this storm
And I will life my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
Every tear I’ve cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry
You raised me up again
My strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can’t find You

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
“I’m with you”
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The Maker of Heaven and Earth


God wants to raise us up, God is real, He is here, He never leaves, He wants all of us to believe and be with Him in heaven.....the way to go is.....UP!

Summertime?

Is it only me or is Summertime stressful for others too?

I keep seeing and reading how happy other mothers are that summer has arrived and I absolutely LOVE that I can spend the time with my girls and I don't want to take that for granted but I was not warned that they would want to be entertained EVERY second of EVERY day of Summertime!!!!

Maddie even asked me tonight..."Mommy, what are we doing tomorrow???" I went from being a full time working mom, who had no idea of all the summer camps there are out there to a summertime mom of an almost 1st grader. 4 yr old and a 4 mo. old, who STILL has no idea of all the summer camps there are out there and I find that it is hard to keep up with the expectations of summertime. Can anyone relate?!?!? There needs to be a summer magazine of summer crafts, activities and summer fun for reference.

I am trying to take a deep breath and I will get on the computer and find some activities for my girls to make their summer as special as it can be... but for future stay at home moms....beware of the "activities addiction", there needs to be a PLAN in place and now I know through experience! (There is only so much swimming you can do before it becomes old news!)

I love my girls and I love that I can stay home with them part time and experience a Summertime through their eyes. I want them to remember summer like I remember summer...an incredibly exciting and fairytale time. I hope that after a few "google searches" and brainstorms that I can find what will make their summer as magical and as memorable as I hope!

Happy Anniversary, Baby!

It is amazing how the years have flown by and even more amazing to see where we have been and how far we have come in THIRTEEN years! We have had our ups and downs, there have been tears and laughter, we have been frustrated and in awe of each other, there have been sacrifices and compromises, we have been angry and we have been ecstatic. But as all of these emotions have come and gone, the one thing that has been steady is that we have always and will always be IN LOVE!
Thank you for these thirteen years and counting! I love you!

Always!
Q

With God All Things are Possible

This story has been weighing on my heart and I feel that I need to share it....

I was recently watching a show called "Locked Up Abroad" on the National Geographic channel. It was about Martin and Gracia Burnham, Philippine missionaries and parents to three children. The story is incredible and inspiring and heartbreaking. I found myself holding my breath and trying not to cry as the wife, Gracia, told her story of being taken hostage with her husband, while on vacation. They were held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim terrorist group, for over a year. Unimaginable. As I watched the story on t.v., I was inspired~

Gracia described her incredible experience....the terror, the strength of her relationship with God and her husband to pull her through, the hunger, the desperation, the waiting, the death. I couldn't even begin to imagine what she went through. But my heart was touched as she spoke of her feelings while she was captive. She compared herself to her captors, because she had the sin of jealousy and hatred towards them. "How am I better then they when I have this hatred in my heart." And I kept thinking, "How could you not?!?!?" She looked beyond herself and saw a people who needed the Lord and ministered to them throughout the time that she and her husband were there. As her story continued, my heart ached...for the person that she was, and the person that I was not....Her husband died the day that she was rescued. A year and 11 days after they were taken captive.

At the end of her story, she wonders if she has become the person that God wants her to be from this experience. She HOPES that she is exactly what God wanted her to be, how incredible after all that she has been through. And I find myself hoping the same thing but knowing that there is more that I can do to be all that I can be in the Lord. I know that there is something in me that can be used to inspire but I also know that I am scared. My hope is the same as Gracia's~ I want to be all that I am called to be. I will be honest in saying that I know that there is more that I can do. I realize that I need to go beyond myself and my comfort zone. I hope that you will read her book and get inspired, In the Presence of My Enemies, Gracia Burnham

Her story reminds me of Ally's memory verse...."With God, all things are possible." Matthew 19:26 And how sweet to hear her sweet voice say these words....With GOD all things are possible. I pray that the lives of my girls, my husband and myself would be full of all things possible, because of God's will in our lives!

Already???

Seriously, do we ALREADY have a teenager??????? Maddie's door is closed and this "note" was posted...
Keep the prayers coming, please!!! :)


(Translation: Don't come in this rooom!)

P.S. I knocked before I went in.....

Thank you....

Today you turned 35! I kept thinking about you all day, about the man you have become before my eyes. We have grown up together and I smile thinking about it. And I want to say thank you, baby....

Thank you for....
being so in love with our Lord.
falling in love with me.
being my best friend.
being an amazing father to our little girls.
helping me to see the good in a bad situation.
praying for me and for our children.
working so hard.
surprising me with little and sometimes big things.
being silly with our children.
loving with all of your heart, all of the time.
overlooking my weaknesses and trying to make me stronger.
pushing me to my potential.
making me laugh.
your hugs and kisses.
making me some incredibly unique and creative dinners.
striving to be all that you can be.
being the best driver in the world. :-)
for calling me before you go to bed if you are out of town.
our always FUN date nights. (We need another one soon!)
keeping me up to date on politics, even when I am tired of hearing about it.
kissing me goodbye, every time you leave in the morning.
waking me up if I fall asleep in the chair in Hunter's room, in the middle of the night.
always being there when I need you.
giving me your heart!

I love you, Baby! Happy Birthday!

Love,
Q

In awe

Already, it seems that everything is moving at warp speed. Everyone is growing up and I watch in amazement and awe of it all.

Hunter is changing. She is such a smiley girl and it moves me to tears. She looks at me with such an adoration in her eyes as she "talks" and smiles. It makes me think of how much I would have missed if we had never had a third child, which was in "our plan." (Plans change, thank GOD!!)

Ally is incredible. She has become so silly and so thoughtful....She does these little thing that make me so in awe of the person she is becoming. The other day, she was taking a nap and I was doing "my thing" with Hunter. She comes out, awake, with an arm load of clothes that she is taking to the laundry room. "I have a surprise for you mommy, don't look!!!" She says. I wait as she goes back into our room, which is where she took her nap. After a while, I have to knock on the door. "Ally, it is almost time to go and get Maddie, can I see my surprise??" I yell through the door. She comes to the door with a HUGE smile on her face. She has made our bed, perfectly I might add, picked up the clothes on her Daddy's side of the bed (silly daddy!) picked up the towels in the bathroom AND organized ALL of the shoes in our closet, which was a lot of work. I couldn't believe that she had done it all on her OWN. She just wanted to do something nice and was so proud when she showed it to me. I couldn't believe all that she had done. She is amazing and she has come so far from those tantrum days, praise GOD!

Oh, and Maddie! Today she called a friend for the first time. And my heart ached. "Maddie, you are too young to be calling friends!" I say "But just this once, o.k?" I add. She was so excited that I just couldn't disappoint her. She made the call and talked to her friend's Dad, her friend was not there so she gave her phone number for a return call. She was so grown up as I listened to the conversation. My goodness, that can't be happening ALREADY, can it????? She handled herself well and her face told me how excited she was to have made the call.

Where has the time gone???? When did I miss my girls growing up so fast??? They are six and four and 2 mo. and I can't believe how big they are and how much they have changed. But what I do believe is knowing that they will all become these amazing women. And it will happen faster than I want.(Something I just need to accept!)

I am in awe and I LOVE you more than you know, Maddie, Ally and Hunter, my three beautiful girls!!

Hunter Elizabeth Cheek- The Story of Her Name

Hunter is here and the our world has changed again, for the better. The births of each of our girls has given me a chance to refocus myself on something more important than me. It helps me to realize how precious the life of another is and how amazing it is to have this gift of taking care of something that belongs to God. I find myself awestruck by the little things that are her....her breath is always sweet, you can get lost in her navy blue eyes, and those eyes...how she smiles with them already. She is patient (thank goodness!) and she studies you with a quiet contentment and she looks like both of her sisters depending on the day. She is amazing and unique. And I think her name fits her just right. I feel the need to tell the story of her name because it in itself is as unique as God made her.

It was graduation season and Brian had been gone all day working. I had just found out that morning that I was pregnant and was anxious to tell him and trying to think of just the right way to let him know. He came home late that night and in an exhausted heap fell asleep on the sofa. My chance to make this announcement memorable was gone. Off to bed we went and I continued to think about how I was going to tell him before he went to work another graduation the next morning. I tossed and turned all night. Morning couldn't come fast enough....but it arrived, the morning sun waking Brian. He saw that I was awake and said, "I just had the coolest dream that we were pregnant and had another girl and named her.....Hunter!" I turned over to him, stunned....."We are pregnant!" I announced. We both couldn't believe what the other had just said! It sent chills up my spine as Brian recounted his dream that morning. And yes, it did take me a while to warm up to the name but I couldn't have it any other way. It was like God had announced this pregnancy for me and I couldn't ignore that. It was truly an amazing God-moment.

The story of her name always gets to me. I still can't believe that it actually happened that way...it make me think of what incredible things that the Lord has in store for her, my sweet Hunter. Our family is complete and there is a peace in that. These three little girls will bring light, laughter and beauty into our world, as well as tears, drama and chaos. I know that God will be there as we raise them and I know that his hands will never let them go and THAT peace is what keeps me sane each day. He is in control, of their name, their arrival and their life. Amen!

Ready, Set.....GO!

Of course, I can't sleep....in just a few short hours we will welcome our third beautiful little girl into our family. The house is quiet and my brain is racing with random thoughts and unfocused feelings of what is to come.

I am excited and anxious to meet sweet baby Hunter and I can't wait to see Brian holding his tiny newborn daughter in his strong arms, for the third time. And I am even more excited to experience Maddie and Ally's reaction to her. They are already making plans for her, things to teach her and games to play with her. Ally has informed me that she will teach her to blow a bubble with her gum....but only when she turns two, she says. And Maddie is writing songs to sing to Hunter when she can't fall asleep and books to read to her. They are written on her notebook paper in her own words and silly spelling and tucked away in envelopes, that she has crammed into the baby bag that we are taking to the hospital. It is all so sweet and she isn't even born yet. I can't wait to see what more these two big sisters have up their sleeves.

The time is here and I am feeling SO blessed to be at this point in my life....to experience something soon that I never imagined, being the mom of THREE girls. And to be warmed by their hugs, smothered with their kisses, and being offered up in their sweet and innocent prayers is beyond anything that I could have ever hoped for in my life. I am beyond blessed and in the quiet of this house and in the quiet of my heart I thank God, who has given me the incredible gift of little girls.

It is 12:01 a.m. and I am getting up in three and a half hours to welcome Hunter into our lives......Ready, set......GO!