An Aunt who is just like a Mother to me...

While I have an amazing Mother; I have to say I have an amazing second Mama-
my Aunt Heidi.
She was the Aunt that loved to do my hair, let me wear her wedding dress for fun, play with beautiful decorative hats, was never afraid to get messy with crafts.
I will always remember her interest, and I mean genuine interest in watching every single show, dance, song, and play that my cousins and I worked so hard to create, and she always knew how hard we worked- because she was always there watching.
I swear she never lost interest or ever had anything better to do; she gave every childs' deep wish "undivided attention". She always payed such special attention to my sister and I even before her very own children; (my sweet cousins) were born.
She loved everything I did- down to the way I danced, the way I sang, every single piece of me- and I knew that!
What an amazing gift to have an Aunt like her. She gave me the nickname Heather Feather; and still calls me that to this day; I could just hear her voice saying my nickname even though we are miles apart.

I didn't always see her this way- I hit the age of adolescents, and things changed; while she was still the Aunt (like a Mother) I all of a sudden pulled away from the Aunt who cared so deeply about me.
She never changed... however...I did- I changed my view of her to work around my lifestyle and make the things I was doing or thinking about seem okay; all of a sudden I just didn't go to her anymore the way I once did as a little girl.
Why Exactly?
Well lets just say God gave her a strong gift of discernment- and I knew whatever I did she would soooo find out.
Back then I thought that was a bad thing- I thought she was an enemy holding me back from the things I wanted to do -
so I just flat out didn't communicate with her anymore.
How sad... that entire time she just loved me while I pushed away and turned all her bold comments that she made to me into thinking she was just being mean.
Those bold comments were truth- and I see that now, I just didn't like what I heard because I knew I was wrong.
When I take a look back she cared so much for me and was never going to give up.
It is people like her, and my actual birth Mother that brought me to where I am today. With all their prayers- never ceasing
Not just her and my Mother, but my daughters life as well...
my daughter was Gods gift to me.
A beautiful instrument to place me back in the loving arms of my Savior.
I was faced with having a child out of wedlock, and becoming a single Mother. The first person I turned to was my first love- Jesus Christ.
After all those years wanting to do things my way I remembered Him and His love for me. I will never forget that night I cried out to Him, when he forgave me- showed me that "I should not fear, because He is with me & He will uphold me with His righteous right hand", & not just mine, but my daughters as well.
I will never forget it- I felt His hand- and I still feel it when I am afraid-
He will never let go- He made a promise and I believe His promise, because He has literally turned my life around-
I'm telling you- Night and Day!
Back to my Beautiful Aunt Heidi; I am so thankful for her, and her continuous prayers over my life- never ceasing.
The enemy was never her,
it was the real enemy who wanted to distort my thinking-
and now God has given me the wisdom to see My Aunt Heidi's discernment as a gift to be admired and taken to heart,
because my Aunt Heidi has a heart of Gold and I love her to pieces.

Be Still- Be Reminded...

Still... Be still in Him
He who knows what is to come,
He who has crafted us with such unique life stories,
these not just being our "stories", but something that one day
becomes our testimony.
Just the right testimony-hand crafted and designed for just the right person,
to remind us how to really-really-really be still in Him, and Him alone.
A still moment to really see His beauty unfold through us like a butterfly that spreads it's wings. To fly and flutter about with such contagious joy.
Be Still- and Be Reminded- He keeps his promises...and He knew best all along,
and always will.
Therefore I will be still- and know that He is God...
I am ever so grateful.

What in the world is a Minion?

"I like to think that we are like Gods Minions"! This statement coming straight out of the mouths of babes!!!

This coming from my youngest son; who is 7, after a disagreement with his big sister over respecting each others wishes.
Jimmy was asked to please stop drumming by his older sister- his human reaction was not to listen- her human reaction was to get upset & I mean really upset. And well you know where this went-
straight to both of them being in trouble!
Neither one of them wanted to let go.

God was showing me that this was one of those times to use what happened as an opportunity to teach a life lesson- one that would go deeper than the usual "because I said so"- and the "don't do that because it's just mean & not nice"!

Nope this was an opportunity to let God show me what they needed to hear, and not just hear- but learn and live out. We talked together about how important it is to be people who help one another- and sometimes that means letting go of our own desires-and respecting others wishes.

We talked about how there is a real enemy that wants to try his best using even the littlest things like banging a drum and annoying your big sister. How he uses these little things that turn into big things to cause division in a family.

Gods whole purpose of family is to be united- and to help each other so we can live out His plan & "good" will in the world. I did tell them that God doesn't expect us to be perfect by any means; only one person walked this earth in perfection- and His name is Jesus! Instead because He loves us sooooooo much he wants us to be aware of what the enemy tries to use to cause division from each other, and even in our relationship with our Father in heaven. We need to be aware- be on the same team; because that is Gods will in our life- and it is for our GOOD!

This is where Jimmy just sat so deep in thought on our top step; and said
"I like to think that we are like Gods Minions"!

"Gods Minions?- lol What are minions"? I ask.- "You know people who help people. We are Gods minions and we help Him to show goodness to others"- WOWZA!!! Did my son just preach to me? Did he just relate to what God was trying to show him? He sure did! So of course I had to look up the definition of a minion because I am by no means a Star Wars know it all like my son.

The Definition of a minion:
"A minion is a follower devoted to serving his master relentlessly."

That is completely what we are here on earth to do. I felt so blessed to have been taught something myself; in the process of teaching my children. "LIGHTBULB GOING OFF" -
And "THAT" is why a "because I said so" and "don't do that because it's just mean & not nice" would not have been nearly as rewarding; we did our job as Gods Minions that day and kicked that enemy right out of our home by speaking such beautiful truths.
Last month I focused on Faith- this month I have been focusing on Goodness. And God definitely is GOOD- so GOOD to me, and so GOOD to us! He wants us to keep our eyes open, and avoid the things that distract us from His loving care.

"Make every effort to live in peace with all men and be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many." Hebrews 12:14-15

By the way this is also a minion in cartoon form from the movie "Despicable Me"

I'd like to think that we are cuter minions than him. :) Although he is kinda cute!

"The Whippy Cake!!!" -( a name for an Up-do)

The funniest name I've ever heard to describe an up-do; but then again I'm not usually into up-dos because I can't ever get them right.
This one is super cute and super easy- perfect for long hair- usually it's so hard to get mine all the way up.
Yes it's called the "Whippy Cake" and here's the link to the how to video shared on Becky Higgins facebook page...

If you decide to try it- Have fun! I did! :)

No Words

I just love our last minute trips to the beach... No words...just pictures

The Valley Song by, Jars of Clay

This song is on my real player list; today is the 1st day I looked up the lyrics and took it all in. It is a beautiful song; and so true!
Happy 4th Everyone!!! Let us remember to celebrate our independence in having the freedom to worship; and continue to pray without ceasing for others in the world who sadly are not given that freedom. I am so grateful that our freedom has been fought for us; in more ways than one- let us fight for the freedom as well for others who have yet to see what that is.

"I will sing of Your mercy
That leads me through valleys of sorrow
To rivers of joy"
Artist: Jars of Clay- The Valley Song

Seven Years Ago

I will never forget it. The day I found out this precious little guy was destined to complete our family.

Early in my marriage with 2 children already; Our daughter at the time age 3 and our son almost a year old; my husband and I were still settling into our new marriage, family life- and even planning to wait about 5 years to decide if we would even try for a third.
The odds of us having a 3rd child were low; considering I had just had an ovary removed during my pregnancy with our youngest. That alone cut our chances in half; plus we had started the birth control patch. Isn't it funny how we try so hard to plan our own lives; just thinking we know whats best for us when He ultimately has something much grander in store?

Yes- That's 3!!! I just Love them to pieces!
God had a totally different plan in mind for us- and it was to bring us this additional piece of joy to our already new family. Not later...but at just the right time!

Obviously when I look at him I can't imagine our lives any other way. Gods plans are perfect!


We celebrated his birthday last Saturday June 25th!




Happy Birthday to our 7 year old Son- James Arthur Lapierre!