Easter 2013

So very sorry about the delay but here are finally some pictures from Easter.  

Luke at the Easter Egg Hunt at Shady Grove UM Church...

Luke did great on this hunt....he found a bucket full of eggs AND won a prize!  

He loved the cotton candy and playing in the bounce house.

But, his favorite part was the playground. He thought it was awesome that he got a chance to play on the "big kid" playground that he normally is not allowed on (during his school days).  He would climb to the top of the playground and tell me that he was the "king of the castle!"  :)

Look at that eager face!!

Luke also had a great time at his Easter celebration at his school with his classmates. I took some time off of work to attend the party. 

One of my favorite parts of visiting his classroom is watching the 3 year olds say the blessing, eat their snacks, and have their little table conversations.  

It was a cold day so the eggs were hidden in a large classroom. Luke LOVED that!  He had a blast looking under chairs and in window sills to find eggs.

I love this picture!  This is Luke being silly while he waited on the group games to begin.

Luke participated in three group activities at this party....the first one included a bunny hop race. Luke did fairly well.  He didn't win but he tried his best and, unlike the other kids, he hopped (not ran) the whole way.  My favorite part came when Ms. Lisa asked the kids to try the race by bunny hopping on one foot.  Luke gave it a whole hearted try and it was adorable to watch.  The next game included throwing eggs into a bucket (sort of like basketball). Luke did well for the first few tries and then after that, he decided to see how fast and how far he could throw the eggs with NO attempt at the bucket!  And, last, Luke did a craft where he glued decorative pieces on a cross.  I enjoyed watching and helping him do this.  Spending time in a room full of 3 year olds will certainly make you smile AND GO HOME TIRED!  :)

The prize that Luke won at the Easter egg hunt was sidewalk paint. The paint only lasted for a few days but we sure had fun using it.  The sprayer that came with the paint was very hard to use so we put the paint in a bowl and Luke used his brushes to paint the sidewalk.  He had a great time and, quite frankly, I enjoyed painting too.  I used this opportunity to take a few pictures of his sweet, tiny, hands - I love looking at his hands - I really want them to stay this small forever.  :) 

I have a few more pictures to post that include Easter festivities. I hope to get those up in the next few days.  :) 

Toddy 

May I Walk in the Word All the Day Long

I love it, love it, love it when God's Word comes alive to me in so many different ways throughout the week.  Each morning as I study and pray, I write down pieces of my conversation with God. I do this so that later I can look back and remember all that He has taught me.  I am amazed at what He shows me on a daily basis and so very thankful (beyond words) that I have a Father who is ready to spend time with me EVERY time I come to Him.

As I read and study God's Word, sometimes God speaks to me through revelation and lessons that He wants to teach me and sometimes the Scriptures bring forth thoughts of something or someone that I need to pray for.  Often times, these are private prayers that I begin calling out to God but sometimes God lays things on my heart that I feel others can benefit from.

I know that God teaches us about His ways and about His Word in order for us to help others - to reach out to them and to meet their needs.  Sometimes God shows me specific people that needs a specific Word and sometimes I find that God leads me to sharing His thoughts and our conversations through writing - which I do here on this blog or I write down the thoughts and share them at the Bible studies here at my house.

You know - my husband has a beautiful gift of playing a guitar and singing and He does this often - in our house, with friends, and at church.  Matter of fact, we all have a gift that was given to us from God that He desires that we use FOR Him. We can know our gift by thinking about what comes natural to us - our gifts our enjoyable to us and we thrive to use them for the Lord. Remember - everyone has a gift - if you don't think you know what yours is - talk to God about it - He will reveal the gift or gifts that He has given you.

For years, I wondered what my gift was - I know that I love to teach - so, yes, that is a gift from God but I also love to write - I always have.  Writing is a way that I relieve stress - it's a way for me to process my thoughts and my feelings.   Ever since I was a young child, I have kept an ongoing journal -  I may not have written in it everyday but when I needed to think through something, I grabbed my journal and begin writing. I have a ton of journals that I wrote in high school, college, and during the early years of my marriage. I haven't always used my writing for God - for years, it was a private way of dealing with life.  Then, years ago, I started this blog - again, not for the purpose of spreading God's Word but for my own selfish purposes of journaling the moments in my life and later - Luke's life.  But, amazingly, as I grew closer to God, he started showing me that I could use my ability to write and my ability to express my thoughts to help myself grow closer to Him and to bring others to Him.  This revelation was AWESOME to me and again, I appreciate God revealing His love and His desire for GOOD for me ALWAYS!  Knowing what God wanted me to do with my gift of writing, I have slacked off on journaling just about everyday routines and have focused more on what God wants me to write about.  Do I still post pics and updates about our family?  Yes, indeed! But...the time that I take to do that is significantly less than what I used to do.  Why?  Because I don't want to spend too much time focused on ME but instead spend as much time focused on my heavenly Father and my savior as I can.  And, oh, how my relationship with God and Jesus has grown in the process.

Now, I ask the Lord - what do YOU want me to share?  What does someone need to hear TODAY?  And, I follow His lead.  Am I perfect?  Do I always write exactly what God wants me to write?  No, I'm human - but God knows my heart and He knows my intentions so He will always use my good intentions for His good.  God WANTS the glory - He DESERVES the glory!

So....I say all of that to say this - first of all, my prayer for those of you reading this is that you find your gift that  God has given you and you use it for Him and second of all, I pray - God, help me to always lead others to Jesus through the words and testimonies that I share - I pray Isaiah 50:4, "The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know HOW to speak a word IN SEASON to him that is weary. He awakens me morning by morning, he awakens my ear to hear as the learned." - Lord, help me to hear your instruction so that I speak YOUR WORD in the right way, in the RIGHT TIMING, and to the RIGHT PERSON.  Awaken me in the morning with your instruction and help my ears to clearly hear.

With this being said, let me share some words from God that I received this week - a week that has been a tough one for our nation - a week that has been an example of how prevalent the enemy is - how evil he is and how much hurt and pain he wants to send.

Let me start with the bombings in Boston.  When I heard what happened on the news on Monday afternoon, I immediately began to pray for several things - (1) for protection over our Nation  - that the enemies plans and further damage would be STOPPED - that no more bombs would explode, that no more lives would be lost and (2) that Jesus would comfort, heal, and give peace to the families that were dealing with loss, injuries, and fear.  I have NO IDEA what those individuals and families are going through and it is difficult to put into words a specific prayer. I called out the above prayers to the Lord and then found myself praying in the Spirit - allowing the Holy Spirit to pray through me in His language.

With that being said, after watching the 2nd suspect get captured last night, I praise the Lord.  I don't mean that lightly - we will all see people say, "Praise the Lord" on Facebook and other social media but I when I say, "Thank you, Jesus" I mean it with all my heart. Yes, I am heart broken that in the man hunt another life was lost and another person injured and I pray for the family of the 26 year old police officer that lost his life. I continue to pray that the other police officer that was injured is healed. But, I also THANK God for His protection over the people of Watertown and the law enforcement involved in the gun fire and dangerous man hunt for these evil people. This tragedy was AWFUL, truly AWFUL but I am so thankful that more lives were not lost. Was it an accident that the bombs that the guys threw at the police officers from the stolen car didn't work correctly? NO! It was the protection of God.  Was it an accident that the suspects didn't go into someone's home and blow it up or kill more families?  NO! It was the protection of God.  I believe with all my heart that God heard the prayers for His children all across the country praying that this situation would come to an end QUICKLY and with no more lives lost. The enemy did damage - much damage - but God IS still in control and will get the ULTIMATE victory over this death and evil in the end.

So, this morning, I thank the Lord that the people of Boston and Watertown and Cambridge can rest and I continue to pray for the healing of the families whose lives have been changed forever. May the healing hand of Jesus touch each one of them.

Speaking of the healing hand of Jesus, I want to share a personal victory against the enemy that we have experienced this week in our house.  You see, last week, I thanked the Lord on this blog for healing Luke of his spring allergies.  Last year, he had to take medicine EVERYDAY because of his constant runny nose, rash, and itching due to the pollen.  I publicly thanked Jesus that this year, with pollen all over everything, Luke has no runny nose, no rash, no itching, and NO NEED for medicine. Jesus healed him of his allergies - it was a miracle!

Well, that aggravating enemy still exists in this world UNFORTUNATELY and often times when a Word is planted in our hearts, the Devil will attempt to steal it from us. By this I mean - God planted the truth of Jesus' healing in my heart a long time ago and I have full faith in Jesus' continued healing in THIS WORLD on this EARTH daily! But, the Devil would like for me to doubt that - he would like for me to question that and to get unbelief in my mind - so aggravating!  Well, two days after my blog post last week, Luke began to run a low grade fever - for no obvious reason - he woke up in the middle of the night with a fever and no other symptoms.  Other people immediately began telling me - "It's because it's allergy season and that sometimes causes a fever."  Oh no!  I KNEW I wasn't getting in agreement with that word because I KNEW that Jesus had healed Luke of those allergies. So...what do I do? I go to Jesus in prayer - I asked God to rebuke any thoughts of doubt that the Devil was planting. I asked the Lord for strength for me to hold tight to the Word He had planted in my soul and I asked Jesus to touch Luke and to heal Him of his fever. What do you think happened? Luke's fever disappeared!  Matter of fact, I know the morning he was healed of it - it was yesterday - the fever had hung around for almost a week and yesterday morning, on my way to work, the Spirit of the Lord came all over me reassuring me that Luke was now healed of this stubborn fever! And, you know what?  I checked with my mother in law later in the day to see if Luke had run a fever at all and she said, "NO!" - just as I expected.  AWESOME! Totally awesome!

Gang - I share this with you again because I want you to have confidence in the promises that God gives you.  If God plants a seed in your heart through the Holy Spirit - believe in that promise - accept it  and expect results - don't let the enemy steal your word through unbelief in your mind.  Stay strong - call out God's WORD to the enemy and watch Jesus take control! God is so good - gang - so good!

Speaking of God's goodness - let me share a few other quick thoughts God has planted in my heart this week. I believe that someone needs to be reminded of them....

First of all, please remember that when we don't hear God - it is US, not God, that is stopping the conversation and often times we have stopped the conversation because of distractions - being too busy, not studying God's Word, talking TOO MUCH and not listening enough, filling our time with things of this world and not things of God - when we allow these distractions, the enemy has more room to attack with doubts, fear, anxiety, depression - etc. Read the Bible, talk to God all day, get still and listen - I promise God has something to say - it's us and the enemy's distractions that keep us from hearing.

Second - a friend of mine said awhile back, "People are not our problems. People are our opportunities." It wasn't until last Sunday that these words came alive in my Spirit. A guest preacher at our church reminded us to view people like God views them - through the eyes of LOVE. He reminded us not to try to figure out what is going on with others (in other words-don't be nosy) but just reach out and be available to God to meet their needs.  We don't need to know everyone's business - we just need to know what GOD WANTS to do THROUGH US to help them. That's what Jesus did - he didn't ask them 100 questions before He met their needs or, even worse, He didn't go asking their friends and neighbors 100 questions before meeting their needs.  He listened to the Holy Spirit and did God's will for them - He reached out to them WITH LOVE and a genuine desire to HEAL, COMFORT, and help them.  Wow!  This is an awesome lesson!  A lesson that I need to continue to pray through and apply!

Well, today, I've been blessed already!  I was blessed as soon as I had the opportunity to open up the Word of God to see what He wanted me to see today and oh, how He reveals Himself so strong! God makes me DESIRE to get up each day to see what lesson and TRUTH He wants to show me - which, in turn, WE can show others.  Thank you, Jesus, for your sacrifice so that I can come boldly to my loving Father to receive these awesome revelations through such a powerful, holy Trinity - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit!

Thank you, gang, for reading!  Have a blessed weekend - full of hope - that God IS in control and Jesus is interceding for YOU today when you believe in Him!

Love,
Toddy


Before I go - I wanted to share these photos of last Easter - check out Luke's face - it's swollen, red, and itchy and his eyes are glassy and red - that's what pollen did last year.

This was pictures taken this Easter and in the last few weeks - awesome difference - thank you, Jesus! You can even tell by the smiles on his face in these pictures compared to the lack of smiles above that the allergies were taking his joy his last year BUT not this year! Can you tell how thankful I am? :) 

Morning of Praise

Yesterday morning, I went for my daily walk. It was perfect outside - sunny, a gentle breeze, quiet, there was such peace - as I soaked in God's beautiful creation, I began praying - talking to God about several things and very quickly, my prayer became PRAISE.  I found myself thanking God for a list of miracles that He has worked in my life.  I call these praise reports - "miracles" - some people might think - "These are not miracles. They are just examples of things working out for her good." Call them what you want, friends, but, in my life, when there is a touch of the power of Jesus - no matter how big or small it seems to someone else - it's a MIRACLE to me and I am so very thankful.

For journaling purposes and to, hopefully, show others that Jesus is still working miracles today, I decided to share them this morning....

First of all, I started thanking God for the peace that I have with this whole looking for a house to buy ordeal.  You know we sold our house several months ago but still haven't found the house that is right for us - we are being choosy - we don't want a huge house payment or a huge house - we just want a little more space and a reasonable house payment and most importantly, we want to find the house that God HAS PLANNED FOR US.  This make some time and, as a family, we have been very patient and have such peace with the whole situation.  You see, God worked out the selling part of our house perfectly - we never put a "for sale" sign in the yard, we never went through a home inspection, we never had to repaint - we were approached with someone who wanted to buy it for the EXACT price that we wanted to sell it AND is allowing us to rent it from them for as long as we need to.  So, in the process, we were able to use the money we made from our house to get COMPLETELY out of debt, which, of course, being debt free is a Godly principle.  God had it all figured out for us and led us right down the road of His plan.  If He did that for the first part of the process, why wouldn't He do that for the buying part of a house?  HE WILL - in His time and I am so thankful that I have a Father who wants what is best for my family - He doesn't want me to settle for just any house, He doesn't want me to get in a harmful, full of debt situation, He wants what is best for our family ALWAYS. We are trusting Him and look forward to seeing what the future holds.

Next, I started thanking God for being a Father that wants me to KNOW Him and for a Savior who desires to be my FRIEND. You see this flesh that I live in can send moments of doubt into my mind.  There are times when I think I feel distance between me and God - it's hard to explain and I know that it's not God pulling away from me, it's me planting distance for a reason I can't understand.  And, just when I begin to feel lonely or distant from God, God uses his gift of the Holy Spirit to give me a revelation of His love. Just the other day (after being sick for several days), I was frustrated, felt distant from God, had several questions going through my mind and, all of a sudden, as I was driving in my car, scriptures that I had read (encouraging scriptures) came alive inside of me.  I began to understand the scriptures in a deeper way than I had ever understood them before.  It was like I had a friend beside of me explaining God's love to me using God's own words (the Bible) to describe it. And, at that moment, I remembered, it WAS a friend beside of me - IN ME - showering me with His love and peace and comfort.  Oh friends, there's nothing like it!  My Father in Heaven loves me - not because of what I've done - but because of the sacrifice of my savior, Jesus. What joy that floods my soul!

Let me pause here and encourage anyone out there reading this that has felt distant from God or lonely. My hope is that my testimony that I just shared is an example to you of God's love and how He reaches out to us.  You see, God respects His Word (the Bible) and when you diligently put the Word in you (read it, study it, pray through it), the Holy Spirit will bring it to life inside of you when you need it the most.  It's never God leaving you alone - it's us that pulls away.  God always wants to hear from His children. Just remember that....

Third, I began thanking Jesus for healing Luke of his seasonal allergies.  Last year during the spring season, Luke's allergies acted up so badly that he kept a constant rash on his face.  His tongue itched, his face itched, and his nose ran constantly.  He had to take allergy medicine each day.  Well, Jesus healed him.  This year, Luke hasn't had one runny nose!  Some people will say - he outgrew it, allergies aren't as bad this year  - call it what you want, I call it a miracle and I am so thankful that Jesus heals.

Speaking of healing, I am also thankful that after I had the yucky stomach virus, no one else in my family got it.  As soon as I got sick, I began praying the blood of Jesus to protect Luke and Landis from the attack of the enemy through the sickness and God has been faithful.  Luke and Landis have been healthy as can be!  That's not by chance and not because of Germ-X - it's a miracle! Believe it or not, I did not disinfect my whole house like some people would - I just trusted the Lord.

I could go on and on about the miracles that God has worked in my life....I really could...but for today, I will stop here.  Through my thankfulness and the miracles that God has worked in our family, my prayer is that you see that Jesus still heals today. God still SPEAKS to His children today.  Yes, Jesus sits at the right hand of God in Heaven but He also lives in us (through the Holy Spirit) and He is wanting to change lives (through us) - EVERYDAY!

You know, I sometimes wonder - why don't some churches see healing anymore?  Matter of fact, why doesn't most churches see healing anymore? I have my thoughts - one part of that thought is this - people have quit believing that Jesus heals. I have even heard people say that healing stopped when Jesus died. Sad, sad, sad - this unbelief is keeping people in churches all over the US from receiving the healing power of God.  Gang, Jesus STILL heals - He heals physical bodies, He heals minds of fear, anxiety, and depression, He heals hearts of being bound by sin and regret - Jesus IS a healer.  If you aren't sure of this - read the Book of Acts.  Acts was written after Jesus ascended to Heaven and the growth of the Church and the healing that took place through Peter and the apostles was in abundance.

In Acts, you see the Holy Spirit at work - example after example of the power of the Holy Spirit using our fleshly bodies as a vessel to heal and restore others. You see, it's not us that heals, it's Jesus in us that heals but we have to believe in His power. Read Acts - Study Acts - pray through Acts, and watch the Holy Spirit come alive in YOU! It's awesome, gang, awesome!

So, I leave you today, with this...when the Devil attacks you with annoying thoughts of doubt, sickness, or loneliness, don't dwell on it - if you have received salvation through Jesus, let the Holy Spirit rise up inside of you and attack those thoughts with the presence of God. When the Devil tries to creep into my mind, body, or household, that is what I do - I call on the name of my loving Father, my trusted friend and Savior, Jesus, and the presence of God arises so strong that I immediately KNOW who is in control - I KNOW to whom I belong - I am a child of God - through Jesus' sinless life, death, burial, and resurrection, I am in the family of God and my brother, Jesus, has already defeated the Devil, death, and sickness so I can boldly walk on in comfort and peace KNOWING that my Father God loves me and is watching over me!

Gang, if there is anyone out there reading this post and you want to KNOW that you are a child of God and you want to KNOW how to receive eternal life through Jesus, the Holy Spirit and I would love to share the Gospel of Jesus with you.  It will change your life - SAVE your life. Just contact me at bumgarnernatasha@gmail.com.

Have a super Sunday! Thanks for reading!

Toddy

12 Week Ultrasound - Baby #2

I have been so negligent in journaling about this pregnancy. Everyone told me this would happen with the 2nd baby!  :) I wrote down everything with Luke but I have written down NOTHING with baby #2 so here's a few things (for journaling purposes)...

First of all, I had my 12 week ultrasound and check up today and everything is perfect! He/she was moving around like crazy in my belly during the entire exam.  We had a chance to see his/her 10 fingers, he/she stretched out his legs, put his tiny hands up to his face, and did a few flips. His heartbeat was 152 beats per minute - strong and right on track! His brain hemispheres have developed normally. All the measurements are right on schedule for a due date of October 23rd. We are so very thankful for this awesome news!  It is an absolute miracle how a life informs inside of a mommy - to me, it is one of the greatest examples of God's amazing power and perfection!

So far, this pregnancy has gone smoothly.  I've had quite a bit of nausea but it comes at night time - usually late night like 8 or 9 o'clock.  I seem to get sick on my stomach around the same time that I'm totally exhausted!  I started off the pregnancy wanting fried and salty foods - cheeseburgers, potato chips, chips and salsa but after a terrible 2 day stomach bug where I could eat NOTHING - I now crave fruit - strawberries, watermelon, grapes, tangerines, bananas - yogurt, and ice water with lemon. Thanks to the healthy cravings, I gained 3 pounds since my 6 week check up - that falls in the average range so I'm okay with that.

I am walking 3 miles about 4 times a week. I've been able to stick with that pretty consistently, even when I'm exhausted.  I walked throughout my pregnancy with Luke and was able to keep my weight to a minimum and got it off quickly so I'm hoping for a similar situation this time.

Boy or girl??? I have no preference.  Landis wants a boy (but he wanted a girl with Luke) - so maybe he's using reverse psychology on himself and he truly wants a girl this time.  We should find out at the first of June what we will be having. Super excited about that!

What does Luke think?  Right now, he says he's excited but we all know that those feelings will change when sweet baby #2 gets here.  His little world is going to be ROCKED and I'm already praying for him to adjust well and for me to have patience and to not stress too much WHEN things get harder than they did with only one baby around. In the meantime, we are building him up to the be the best big brother around!  :)  

How am I feeling about being BIG and PREGNANT during the summer?  Not going to love that!  I'm working hard to keep my lower body in shape so I don't look totally disgusting in maternity bathing suits - EWWW! Just the sound of that "maternity bathing suits" makes me cringe.  Oh well!  It's going to happen and it's all for a good cause, right?  :)

Anything else? Oh - yes, have we found a house yet to accommodate our growing family? NO! We are still patiently looking but are mentally preparing to make some changes in this house to make room for the new little one. God's not worried about our next house so neither are we.

So...I think that sums it up....I will try to be more diligent about posting updates (like when I feel the baby move, next appt information, etc.)  Until then, here are some pictures of the baby during the ultrasound...


Do you see his/her little hand up beside his head and his legs propped up? So very sweet!

 There's his tiny knees and legs!

 And, he's waving! :)

Our family is extremely blessed - beyond words!  What a joy to experience this miracle a second time! 

Thanks for checking in. 

Toddy 

Luke's Best Girl, Daddy's Birthday, & Tickles

We are still enjoying our time here in Kure Beach but while Luke rests, I thought I would catch up on posting some pictures that were taken back in March.  

Let's start with Luke's "best girl."  MANY stuffed animals have come into our house and, for a few days, will the favorite but NONE have taken the place of Minnie Mouse. Luke calls Minnie his "best girl."  Here he is watching some TV with Minnie and his other buddy, Mickey.  

 I love this picture!  Luke is giving me the "thumbs up."  :)

 Back on March 20th, we celebrated Landis' birthday with a potato soup dinner and then cake.  Luke helped Daddy blow out his candles and then helped Daddy eat with Oreo chocolate cake.  Matter of fact, Luke did the cutest thing while eating his cake - he ate a few bites and then, all of sudden, looked up at us and said, "Good gracious, this cake is good! Mmmm, Mmmm!" It was funny! Luke is like his Daddy - he LOVES sweets.  :)

One afternoon, Luke and I made some cookies and while they were baking, I let Luke hang out with me on the kitchen counter. I decided to give him a few tickles while we waited and I was able to catch the cutest laughs on camera.  Check them out...

I have a TON of pictures to post from lots of what we call "spring celebrations" and Easter Sunday on the Watts' farm. I hope to post those soon.  Have a great rainy day everyone. 

Toddy 

Birthday Party Fun

During the month of March, our family attended two very special birthday parties.  

The first one was the 1st birthday of sweet baby Haley.  My cousin Erin's first baby girl.  Luke and Haley are quite precious when they get together.  Haley is a super sweet girl and such a cutie.  Haley's birthday party was at Bounce U in Greensboro.  We loved this place! You get two different private jumping ropes and have a whole hour to jump.  Luke had a BLAST playing and sliding with his cousins and family. 

Check out the pictures....

 Funny story taking place in this picture....my uncle Jack was "boxing" Luke and Luke wasn't quite sure what to think. He tried his best to be tough for a little while but eventually ran looking for me.  Together, we took Jack down - around the legs.  Luke liked that part!  Thanks for being a great sport Uncle Jack! :)  We had some good laughs.

 See??? That part wasn't Luke's favorite.  But...you know?  Getting "roughed up" a little makes you tougher. :)

The next weekend, Luke, Landis, and I attended Avery Butcher's 2nd birthday party at the beautiful Butcher home.  Liz did an awesome job at this Sesame Street themed party - even the food plates were made to look like Elmo and Cookie Monster.  Luke loves to play at Avery's house because there is a huge room full of toys and a kitchen set and riding toys in the living room that Luke loves.  And...of course, Luke loves the slide and swings outside.

Luke's best buddy Silas was there and they enjoyed some time playing basketball with Landis. We loved watching them attempt to shoot baskets and then chase each other down for the ball.  It's amazing how good they both get along. Here are some pictures...

 Look at that determined face! :)

Luke and I are enjoying our spring break! Today's weather is gorgeous!  

Have a great Monday. 

Toddy