Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Well I know it's been forever since I wrote on here!!! But finally decided I wanted to join in on the fun going on in blog world witht the "Not me MOndays!!" started my MckMama! So here it goes my first ever Not me Monday!!!

When at the church on saturday night playing games with the married couples group I certainly did not take Jesse's clothes off and allow him to run around the church in only his diaper! Because he spilled juice all over himself. Not in church!! That would be totally inappropiate and so Not Me!!!!

I did not let the kids eat cake for breakfast. That is completly non nutritous and would never do that because I had forgotten to get milk yesterday I am always organized and on top of things I would never let that happen! Nope Not me!!

I never tell my kids in the heat of anger the age old "Because I said so and I'm your mother!" I would never do that I am much more articulate than that nope not me!!!!!

And last but not least! I have certainly not been closing the door to my bedroom because I haven't cleaned it yet and simply don't want to see it. Nope not me!!!

Enjoy your monday!!!!

The Most wonderful Time of the Year.....

Walking in a WInter wonderland!!!!! Ok so it's not really snowing outside my window and I don't have snow on the ground here but I just love this time of year! Getting my decorations out, listening to christmas music and watching christmas movies EVERY NIGHT! Yes I do really do that. Much to my delight ABC Family channel and the Hallmark channel are showing christmas movies every night!!! I am in heaven. This is the best time of year. I think i'm going to go wednesday night or thursday morning and get the christmas tree!!! Man I just can't wait to do that. It brings a great thrill to my hear to see my husband and dad fighting the tree (usually getting mad in the process) It just wouldn't be christmas without that. :) Time to get the stockings out, the fake winter village, the christmas light, bake the sugar cookies, drink the hot chocolate.
This is a time of year filled with joy, with hope, with giving, with family and friends. I hope you all out there in cyberspace have a great holiday season and truly enjoy each day for what it is!

Christmas is literally just around the corner. In fact I have been watching Christmas movies all day and I even starting going through decorations and finding my stockings (thanks Esther!) I love this time of year. It is truly my FAVORITE time of year. I love the music, the movies, the cookies and cakes, the parties, the presents, the sweaters and boots, but most of all I just love the feeling of christmas. It has such a feeling of hope intertwined into it. THe feeling like you know something amazing is about to happen. The feeling that even though times are hard it's ok because it's CHRISTMAS!!! I wonder at times that even though the world so long ago had no idea that Christ was about to be born if they had that same feeling? THe feeling that something truly amazing is about to happen? Do you think it's possible, did the world feel that the savior was on His way?

This christmas is going to be a little different for us. Ramon and I have decided that we are not buying toys for our kids this year. We will buy them other things but not toys. WHy? Because I get so tired of them wanting and wanting something and then as soon as they have it they are done with it and want the next best thing. We have been talking to them and explaining to them what Christmas is truly about and why we really celbrate. And see this is actually hard for me. I want them to have the toys they so desperatly want. I want to buy them the next best thing and yet deep inside I know that it's best for them if I don't give in. I don't want kids that grow up EXPECTING to always get what they want. I want my kids to realize that there are other things in life than getting what you want. So we will have a wonderful christmas with eachother and have a wonderful holiday season but it will be toy free....

THe 3 of them!

Jesse

Talk about a little boy that keeps you on your feet! This little man is always on the move. The fact that Holly was able to get any pictures of him at all is amazing to me! And she actually got some great ones!

Jhocy

The look on Jhocy's face in the first one is priceless to me. Gosh she is gorgeous. I prayed and prayed for a little girl she brings so much joy into my life.

Logan

I absolutly love these pictures of Logan from that day. Even though the one in the middle is far away it's my favorite. It just feels so rustic like Logan has become. I am so in love with this little boy!

My 3 Favorite Shots of our Photo Shoot!

Have we already forgotten???

Last night my husband and I were flipping through channels and we came across the history channel and they were doing a show about 9/11. And my oh my I was so overcome with so many different emotions. I remember that day, where I was when I found out, the anger and the fear that swept through me, the way that the entire nation flew flags from every place possible for months after. I remember feeling completly terrified and not truly safe. That day the world changed for me. That day I saw human nature at it's worst. I saw satan in all his glory and cheering for what the world had become. And I also saw my Heavenly Father hugging and taking care of all of us in that time.
I don't want people to forget. We shouldn't forget how we felt, we should not forget the firemen who were some of the bravest people who I have ever seen. We should not forget the day that changed America forever!
So here is to our soldiers who are over there defending us, who are over there living bravery every single day so that me and my kids don't have to live in terror! So that my kids already have a safer America than what we had that day!
THis is to us never forgetting!!!

My husbands blog!

Well Ramon finally did it! He finally decided to open his own blog! Maybe now through his writings we will be able to figure out what goes in in his mind! So go on over and check it out. It is www.elgagoylospanas.blogspot.com Enjoy!

Big Day in the Acosta Household!!!

Today I woke up much earlier than I usually do. At 6:30! I wanted to make sure I made a favorite household breakfast and have everything nice and ready to avoid as much stress as much as possible. All for a very special boy in my life. Today was Logan's first day of kindergarten!!!! I can't believe it. 5 yrs have gone by so fast. As he got dressed in his uniform I was full of pride for this independent little boy. He is such a joy in our lives and he brings so much laughter to our house. And then as I was holding his hand in mine as I walked him in to his classroom and I looked down at his face and could see his eyes all puffy and red and trying his hardest not to cry and his hand held on a little tighter to mine I was full of love, sympathy, fear, protectiveness. I wanted so badly to hold him in my arms and take him back home with me. But I didn't, I squeezed his hand and told him he was going to be awesome and I would see him soon. And then as I walked out the door and turned around for one more look and saw him truly struggling I to was brought to tears for my little man! (Now for those of you who know Logan you know this is not a normal way for him to act and this is why it affected me so deeply) But he stayed and I left and he did GREAT! He even got a little award. He did tell me that he didn't really talk to anyone as he was to shy. But he is excited for his next day of school and is already practicing his Bible verse to say on friday. Way to go Logan!

Sadness Once Again....

Today at around 4:00 Ramon's cousin died. We had been expecting this for awhile now. He actually lived longer than the doctor's expected him to. His name was Oscar and he been doing drugs for many many years. Him and his mother had lived with Ramon and his family for a very long time. So he was someone that Ramon was close to. As far as we know he was not saved. He had heard the Bible many times. We will always hold out hope that maybe someway somehow Christ got ahold of his heart in the last days. Even though we don't see how that could have been possible God does work in His own ways. So please please pray once again for the other part of our lives and our hearts. Because even though we haven't been with our family in venezuela for a very long time they are part of who we are. We have heard that Ramon's Aunt Glady's is not taking this well and is having a very difficult time. Glady's is also a Jehovah's witness so please pray that this will someway show her the true way to heaven.

The above picture is of Ramon's Aunt Glady's the day of our wedding. She is a woman who cares deeply for her family. Please, please pray for her as she is burying her son tomorrow. ANd pray most importantly for her soul.

New Favorite Picture

Picture of the day

THis is my new favorite picture. Logan's face just cracks me up. And Jesse just looks like he is having so much fun. And Jhocy is right in the middle her favorite place to be.

Haircuts

All of the kids needed haircuts. SO any of you who know Ramon and I well enough should be able to figure out what we did. Any takers???? Yep you guessed it........
We did it ourselves!!! I have to admit I think they turned out super cute. Jesse looks the most different. As you can tell if you look at the post below this one. Anyways enjoy!

My cutie pie!

The love of Jhocy's life!

Us with the Clodgo's!

Humbleness and Tears

This week has been an emotional one for me so far. THere are some circumstances going on in our lives right now that are difficult. I was sharing some of them with one of my aunt's and she sent me something that she found on the internet that was encouraging to her. It humbled me and brought me to tears. I thought I would share it here with you all.


Circumstances created fear in my heart. The anxiety began to grow until, one day after my evening prayer walk, the Lord said, "How long do you want to keep your eyes on the circumstances instead of Me? Do you think I have brought you this far to throw you into the water?" The truth was that I was halfway in already because my eyes were looking at the "big waves" surrounding my boat. One night, in a support group the leader asked each of us to keep our eyes on two men who were going to walk from the room. One man represented Jesus, the other, our circumstances. "Now, I want you to keep your eyes on both people," he said. The men stood up and began walking across the room in opposite directions. It was impossible to keep looking at each of them at the same time. So we had to choose which we would focus on. The lesson was clear. We could not keep our eyes on Jesus and our circumstance at the same time.It was written by Os Hillman... Found it on the internet.

Struggles

Every day, every hour there seems to be something new.
Another loved one gone, another job lost, another child starving.
Struggles, Struggles they never seem to stop.
You want to help someone else but you can't....
You to are struggling.
You want to feed that starving child, give money to the widow's fund,
But how with what money,
The electric payment,
The grocery money,
Are we simply to give it all?
To give and let GOd?
Struggles will never stop.
WHy?
Simple....
We have more to learn, more to understand..
Hope.... That's how we survive
God's faithfulness will never stop...
Here and in eternity
God's Beautifulness will always shine through

Good Friends, Good Times

Last weekend we had the joy of spending the weekend with our very good friends Tami and Glenn Clodgo. Tami was an answer to prayer for me our first semester of Bible School. I'll never forget the day that I had just walked out of my apartment with my son who was only 7mths old at the time after a time of serious prayer asking the Lord to provide a friend for me. I walked down to the laundry mat when a car pulled up beside me and said "what a beautiful little girl!" of course my first response was "it's not a girl, it's a boy!" but from then on she became one of my best friends that semester. We spent just about every weekend at their house playing games, Glenn was the one who gave Logan his first piece of chocolate cake, Tami made me an awesome birthday dinner. They were wonderful friends of ours and it was wonderful to see them again. They are now missionaries in spain and their 2 kids have grown so much. We have 2 more kids than that first semester. So much had changed and yet it seemed like just yesterday that we had seen them. We have no idea when we will see them again so it was wonderful to visit with them. So thank you Lord, for that wonderful blessing. Please pray for them as they work in the country of Spain. As they try to break through the barriers there.

Tami and Glenn we love you guys and it was beyond wonderful to see you guys

Dog

My mom's dog is lost. THis dog is very very special to her. She waited and longed and searched for a dog that she could afford and that was just perfect for her when she moved back to the states. She bought this dog about 2 yrs ago. One of the ideas of this dog was to be able to breed her so that they could make some money from puppies. SO last sunday she was taken to a place about 45 minutes from here for a week. My mom went to pick her up on friday and the lady informed her that she had LOST her dog. She just ran away. This lady has not been very helpful. SHe has put up a couple of signs and helped a little bit looking for her but no like someone who has lost a dog. The whole thing just does not sit right with me. THe dog (Pepper) is a very obedient dog she never runs away, she always comes when called, something just is not right here. My mom and dad have spent the last 3 days looking for her. Me and my sisters and husbands and kids all went last night looking for her. We saw her and she took off! We don't know what to do. SOmething has her spooked and there is nothing we can do! They can't catch her. Personally I don't trust the lady that had her. Pepper is not herself and I really think something happened to her. Please, Please pray that they catch her soon.

5 THings that I Long For:

1)To return to Venezuela and spend time with my Acosta Family

2)To stop having to struggle so much financially

3)To get on the mission field

4)A completly organized home

5)A pool (I LOVE to swim!!!)


5 THings that I Am Striving For....

1)To show GOd's love to those around me

2)To be more diligent about doing daily devotions

3)To stop bieng so nagging

4)To be a better mother and wife

5)TO start running in the mornings

Prayer for my sister Tami...

My oldest sister Tami is going in for a heart procedure tomorrow morning. It's a 6hr procedure so please keep her in your prayers.

Gago....

Last night as we were driving home from my sisters house we were listening to the radio and a song came on. The song made me tear up because it reminded me so much of Ramon.

Ramon is THE love of my life. We have gone through so much together and for eachother. No one really understood it when we first started dating. But the moment I met him I knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was the man I was going to marry. I never had any doubts I never had any fears. Ramon came into my life at a time when I was really struggling. He taught me that I was worth loving, he showed me the way that God loves me, he helped me laugh and have fun. We faught to stay together. We went through alot in the years we were dating. And we went through it all simply because we knew we were the ones that God had chosen for eachother. There is nothing like being married to the one that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that is the one God wanted you to be with!

So baby this is for you, it's not our anniversary, or your birthday I simply wanted to declare the the world that even after all these years "your still the one I love"

Why I'm irritated?????

Here it is the night AFTER July 4th and my neighbors all around me are shooting off firworks! It's almost 10:30 at night to. I don't know if it just comes from growing up in the jungle where we didn't deal with this stuff. Or maybe it's because I have 3 kids sleeping and I REALLY don't want them to be woken up. Or maybe because it's just plain rude! Seriously why is it that people don't consider the others around them? I mean the houses are built so close together anymore and yet people still don't care if what they do around them affects those living next to them?
Am I overreacting here? Is it really not that big of a deal or do I have a right to be upset? Who knows I just know that right now I am HIGHLY IRRITATED!

New member of the Acosta clan....

And no this time it's not me adding the member!!! Ramon's brother and his wife had there baby son last friday. Here are 2 pictures that they sent to us. He's a big boy!!

Felictaciones Jose y Marleny! Josias Reisab Acosta! June 27th 2008

Just for the record there has been a new baby added to the Acosta family every year since 2005. I wonder who will be next??

Worth Waiting FOr...

As I've been working in my garden this summer, God has been using those moments of quiet to talk to me. I've been thinking so much about where we are in our life right now and the fact that we are not doing alot ministry wise. This has been especially difficult for me right now as I feel like "Ok Lord, you sent us to Bible school for 4 yrs and now here we are! Why aren't we doing anyting?" He has been using the flowers, trees and seeds to show me signficant things. Like one, we have a tree in our back yard that is in desperate need of pruning. It can't really bloom to all it's glory until all the useless branches are cut off from it. God has been using that to show me, that I still have things I need to work on before He can allow me to bloom. I can't be expected to go out and help other quite yet. I just need to focus on GOd and allow Him to prune me in the way I need it. Also when we were planting our flowers we bought some that were already flowers just needed to be planted but the majority of what we bought were seeds. So the kids and I went out and dug holes for our little seeds and planted them. We have been watching them with much anxiety. But it has seemed to take forever for them to produce any flowers! ANd then last night after the kids were in bed and I was out weeding my little garden I looked down and there was a purple flower! From our seeds! I was so excited. I ran inside and grabbed Ramon and forced him to come outside and look. You see, the last couple of months as i've been working out there and not seeing any flowers and was enviously looking around at the nieghbors garden who didn't buy seeds and went ahead and bought the more expensive flowers. I kept thinking "Man I wish we hadn't needed to buy the cheap seeds." God just kept whispering to my heart "The good things are worth waiting for" I felt like He wasn't just talking about the flowers but also about Panama. So you see God can and does use the little things to teach us things and as my little purple flower can attest to there are some things that are just WORTH WAITING FOR!