Worry and Stress....

(This is how I felt inside most of the week...worried.  Future stuff always gets me in a tizzy!)

I'm reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan again.  (I love finding books that inspire you every time you pick them up).  

Well, this week has been a battle.  Battle of the mind.  Battle of the spirit.  Pretty much a battle in every way.  I (Jess) struggle with worry and stress.  If you know me at all this is no surprise.  By the grace of God, it's getting better.  Ben doesn't call me dooms day anymore, so that's definitely a good sign.  Anyway, as I was reading tonight, I came across two definitions that stood out to me and pretty much knocked me on my face.  Here they are:

"Worry implies that we don't quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what's happening in our lives.

 Stress says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace towards others, or our tight grip of control." (p.42)

Even now, I'm speechless.  WOW...the only word that comes to me to describe how small I view God when I worry and stress about things.  I look at my "problems" as these HUGE things, and make excuses for the way I behave towards those I love.  Sad!  

I also read Job 38 today.  I stood in awe of God!  Read it....it helps put many things in perspective, or at least it did for me today.

Papa's going to get you a diamond ring....

Apparently Emma has already made her decision about the size of her engagement ring.  On Wednesday nights, two high school students watch Emma while Jess is a leader at the Junior High ministry.  She's always really good for them, and seems to really enjoy her time playing with them.  PRAISE GOD!  

Last night, some how the topic of boys and rings came up.  (Funny how they go together)  Well, Emma said she'd like a 7 Karat ring and then she'd give a Karat to mommy.  Then she would have 6 karats....Yes!  Our daughter did subtraction!  Basically what I just wrote was what came out of a 2 1/2 year olds mouth.  Genius!  

Ben and I are constantly amazed at the little things she says...as well as the BIG things.  This is definitely one of the BIG things!)  

Not only is Jess excited that Emma did subtraction, but also that I'll get a 1 karat ring some day!  =)

Snowy end to March

Snow covered side walk chalk.  What a sight we beheld when waking up this morning.  We didn't believe the weather reports of all the snow; they've been wrong before.  However, to our dismay they were right.  Hopefully this is the last of it before April.  (We will obviously need to invest in more chalk!)

Newsboys show

We found out a week ago, the guys (the band Ben's in) are opening up for THE NEWSBOYS!  We are beyond excited about this for obvious reason.  God keeps opening doors for the guys to play and get their music out there.  What an honor to be a part of what God has planned!  The concert isn't until May 2nd, so if you'd like to come leave us a comment.  

You can check out the band's website at www.theleastofthese.com

Bye Bye Car and Hello New Computer

Praise the Lord!  Our Honda sold in less than 3 weeks (thanks dad for doing the hard work on our part).  We've been able to pay off the loan and buy a new computer.  We've tried to fix our old Dell for some time, but there's only so much you can do with a dying computer.  Restoring it every couple of days doesn't work!  We were able to get a MacBook (the picture above is from PhotoBooth), so now Ben can work on more music which is HUGE!  I'm so excited for him!  

Hopefully we'll be able to post some pictures soon.  (I know I've said this before, but with a new computer we can actually make this happen.)

Jess has a new boss starting April 1.  I'm excited and nervous; please be praying my schedule still works with his schedule.  I'm assuming the work load is going to increase, which is fine; I work best under pressure.  I guess I never got rid of that college mentality.  =)  

Bye Bye Nuk!

Well, after a VERY trying day with Emma, we decided it was time to get rid of the Nuk. It was getting to the point of causing Emma to be disobedient...she would climb in and out of her crib to get it, even when we said it was stictly for bed. Jess cut the tip off on Thursday, gave it back to her that night to show her it was "broken", she had it a little on Friday, and it has been cold turkey ever since. She's been pretty good with it being gone. She asks for it when shes upset, but otherwise doesn't really bring it up. If she does, it's more to say "Nuk..Nuk is broken.". We are thrilled at how well it's going.
We've been really busy lately, so her napping schedule is way off. She hasn't napped in 4 days...today was the first time we could get her to take one. Needless to say, she's thrown many tantrums due to being over tired. She gets in a state that's beyond snapping her out of...kind of like she's possessed...it's weird and we absolutely hate it. We're exhausted!

On a side note:
We took Emma to the Preschool interview and it looks like we are enrolling her for this year. The head of the school said she couldn't believe Emma turns 3 in September, she thought maybe March. What a great compliment to hear as a parent...she has the social maturity of a 3 year old and she's only 2 1/2. Love it!

We're putting our Honda on the market this upcoming week. Pray it gets sold quickly...things are going to get even tighter in March.

From Two to One....

Ben and I have been talking lately about selling both our cars and putting money down on another for a more affordable car payment. Right now we are paying for two cars and it's just not smart with working two opposite work schedules; basically we CAN survive with one car. After thinking about it and looking at how much is left on Ben's car, we are going to keep his car and sell mine, instead of selling both. I know it seems like that should have been our initial thought, but it wasn't because Ben's car is manual and I don't know how to drive manual cars. Time to suck it up and learn! Now, we're praying mine sells and we can put that money toward his and eventually not have a car payment...that would be AMAZING!

On a side note...
Ben and I have a meeting with Harvest Christian Academy this Thursday to see if Emma is "old enough" to start school this year. They offer a two day class called "Early Three's". We're hoping she'll be accepted, if not it'll be okay. It's all a little hard to imagine right now anyway.

Hopefully, we'll get some more pictures up soon. There's just so many pictures you can take in the winter...they would be the same....snow!