Huck's

No, this post will not be dedicated to complaining about the ever increasing Gas Prices... Pictured above is one of God's gifts to me. How is a Gas Station a gift? I will tell you...

Two years ago, God called our family to move from Florida to Illinois... We moved because God asked us to.. We moved with no job, no family, no house (we did have a rental house available to us though) ... The whole story about our move is a miracle.... actually, it is one miracle after another. The Lord showed up so Mighty in our move, that we are still talking about it today. I pray that we never forget it...I don't want to try to blast through the story of our move in this post... It is so wonderful, I need to write a post dedicated to "the move" one day (Maybe my husband can help me with that one).

OK, back to the Gas station. I had never moved in my life... That is huge, because one of my biggest struggles is with Fear. But, before I had moved I came to a place in my life where I wanted to do what God wanted me to, even if it meant facing one of my biggest fears.. Leaving behind everything I knew... I thought I was leaving everything that was safe and secure, and what I found is that everything that was safe and secure was coming with me.. and HE was not a everything, HE is the "I AM" and HE would make me feel safe and secure no matter where I was. OK, I am talking about the move again... Refocus... Gas Station story..

Huck's was one of the first sites I saw in my new city. I loved "Huck Finn's" picture on the sign... Also, I am a big Diet Soda drinker, and Huck's sells a 32 ounce fountain soda for seventy-three cents. That's a good deal! Plus, I could add a shot of Cherry Flavor to my Diet Soda (which then kind of negates the diet part :)

I visited Huck's so much the first year we were here... A drink here, some snacks there. Oh, and a whole lot of gas fill-ups. Plus, at the beginning I didn't know how to get to many places, and Huck's was only a mile away from my house, so I didn't get lost... Going to Huck's brought me joy :)

I found out recently, that Huck's was being bought out by another company... I got a little sad. I had to make sure to get a picture of one of my "little"earthly blessings from God.

In closing, God's blessings are all around us everyday... Take the time to find them, and thank Him for them.

My Olympic Athlete

My little "Moose" (this will be my oldest son's nickname.. he was called "little moose" when he was a tiny baby-it actually came from one of his Grandpa's.. the name stuck for a long while) won a Gold Medal in Soccer Skills today. Moose took part in the Special Olympics... My Moose qualifies for the Special Olympics because he is Autistic.

I love the Special Olympics for so many reasons, but mostly because of the acceptance of everyone around. Everyone is cheering for every athlete. I also love exposing Moose to all the different kinds of special needs out there... As he gets older the "world" may not always accept him for who he is, but I want to make sure he will always accept others.. no matter what their differences are..

The picture at top says is all!!! Moose is a winner, even if he never wins another medal... He gave it is all, and that is why he is a winner in my book...

My Three Sons (2)

Today our city had a day where they gave away free bike helmets to the first 1500 kids to come to the event. The littlest ( I still have not figured out my cute nicknames for my boys) did not go... I figured he was OK because he still rides a "Big Wheel" type trike. Actually, his legs are a little short for his trike.

When my middle child came home.. he called for me to come and see him. I think he asked me to take his picture, although, after seeing him I headed straight for my camera. He is tilting his head now for many of the pictures I take of him. I think this is because when he has had pictures taken at school... the photography studio really made him pose. Hey, I think it is cute.

Yes, my oldest is drinking a Diet Coke... My kids love to sneak drinks of my diet sodas ...I think my oldest was promised one by his Dad. I am sure it was an incentive to not get lost in the crowd at the event.

My little one saw me taking pictures of the other two, and he had to have his picture taken. He borrowed his brother's helmet for his pose. He is missing his way to cute glasses though.

Anyways, I don't have anything else to share like I normally do, but I wanted to post the pictures of the boys...aka "My Three Sons".

Halfway Completed

Well the Swing set is coming along... My husband is just so proud of himself, and so am I... Remember, I didn't think he could do this all by himself, and he is happy he is proving me wrong :) Sorry, the one picture above is sideways.. I forgot to change it before I posted.

Take a look at my boys... They were very anxious to pose for my camera.. Especially, my middle.. He is my model. If you look closely at the one picture of my boys.. My littlest looks like he is in pain.. His head is kind of getting squished.

Look at the picture of my husband and the 3 boys.. He is fake smiling, because the boys are driving him crazy while he is trying to work on the swing set.. More to come later... Kim

Hey Readers....

I think I just have a handful of people who regularly check my blog out... But if you do, please feel free to leave a comment. I would love to see who is out there in the blogosphere (I think that is what they call it). I like calling it bloggityville :) God Bless... Kim

PS. OK, I revealed my first name.. I am feeling a little more comfortable now. Most of the people that view this blog already know my name anyway. I think am going to come up with nicknames for my 3 boys.. it is hard to write about them without naming them. That will be my goal.. by the next post I will give my kids nicknames.

My Man's Project...

My husband is tackling the job of putting one monster swing set together... He has built a swing set in the past, but it was much smaller than this one. However, he has full confidence in his abilities... (Even though the directions suggest more than one person while building the swing set).

I started out kind of telling him that he needs to find someone to help him... that he could not do it alone.. Somewhere in the process of telling him that, I wounded his Soul.. So it was not to long after that, the Lord prompted me to support him..no matter what I think. That is what a wife is called to do..

I have been reading a book about speaking words of life into the hearts of my boys...We as moms do have a strong influence on who are boys will become. I also see that I need to speak words of life into my husband's heart. He thrives when I do that..

Today, he has been smiling from ear to ear at all the progress he is making. The completion of this project will bring him much JOY!!! So, I need to make sure not to kill that JOY... You know what I mean.

Posted above are pictures of my middle child... He was helping Dad, until he saw me with the camera, and then he wanted to pose for me. Oh, this child of mine is a lot like me :)

Template Confusion...

Sorry blog readers... I keep changing my templates. I think very soon, I will have a new blog design. I just can't find one that fits me in the freebie zone. I liked my first one with the dots, but I thought the background was a bit to dark.

I need something fun, yet serious... Is there such a thing? I have this "sanguine" type personality, but a have a very passionate desire (in all seriousness) to know my Jesus. In some of my posts, my humor comes out.. In other posts, I want to be serious and real. I love to have fun (a little on the drama queen side), but also there are times I just am so struck with the fact I am a sinful woman in need of God's grace and forgiveness...

So stick with me, and soon I will find a design that fits the "To Know Him" blog...

What does an Eclipse breath mint and a nose have in common?

Well, the answer is nothing really... But our youngest (3 1/2 years old) son thought it would be a good idea to stick an Eclipse mint in his nose today. I am sure he had his reasons...

I was in the kitchen, and I heard the scream of death... Little one comes running in screaming in a panicked state. "My nose"... then I heard some unintelligible words, but finally figured out that he stuck a mint in his nose. Unfortunately for him, it was one of those strong breath mints, and it was burning his nasal cavity... Saliva was pouring out of his mouth.

I looked into his nose, and saw the mint. This mint was no "Tic Tac", it was kind of big. I tried to reason with him as he was screaming to just blow it out.. you know what I mean. Sadly, he has not mastered the skill of blowing his nose.

I yelled for my husband to come into the kitchen. We quickly decided that he had to take our son to the doctor's office. I panic in situations like this, so my husband was the one that took our boy in... I know, I am the mother.. I should be the strong one.. but I am a wimp sometimes. I just didn't want to hear him scream if they had to stick something in his nose.

So off to the doctor's office they went, but they were told to go to the ER. The doctor did not have the right tools at his office. My husband calls me from the hospital to tell me that the mint seems to have dissolved. Little one had to have an instrument stuck up his nasal passages to make sure the mint was gone. My husband tells me that he laid there silently while the doctor probed. That was a miracle!!!

So at present our boy is doing great, but I don't think he will be sticking anything else in any bodily openings again.. Or at least not for a few months :)

Dancing in the Minivan

I wonder what people think when they see me "dancing in my minivan" (I like to call it worship too)... I was on my way home from working out, and I was playing my new "WOW 2007" worship CD. I don't really know the lady that was singing. Her name is Aeiysha Woods. I am sure I spelled her first name wrong.

The title of the song was "Happy". She sings.. you make me haaa..py (she carries out the note).. the you she is referring to is "Jesus"!! In the song, she talks about all the earthly things that people think can bring them happiness... but we know as Christians that the true source of happiness is Jesus Christ.

I just had to start groovin, and lifting my hands when I listened to that song... I am new to the lifting up my hands in worship to Jesus. I just wasn't raised in a Church that raised their hands, but I sure do love it!! And as I grow in my relationship with Jesus, the hands kind of go up in the air before I realize it.. I love that!!!

I live in a small town, so I am sure people will be talking about the 30 something mom dancing in her white minivan... That's perfectly ok with me...

A challenge.. I bet you can't listen to this song, and not dance. Try it, and let me know the results... No prior dancing skills required :) To Know Him

My Three Sons (1)

I am going to start posting regularly about the joys of having all boys. So, in the future you can expect to see the title, "My Three Sons", and then in ( ) I will put what number post it is... I think in the future if I keep up with this blogging thing... I may create a blog with that very title (My 3 Sons).

Well, to start out I would have told you that I would have been the perfect girl mom. I didn't really think I would know what to do with a boy child... I am especially close with my mom, or mommy (see I still call her mommy in my 30's :), and I was looking forward to having a girl that I could have a close mother/daughter relationship with too. I just always heard how boys grow up and leave, but girls kind of hang around... But, time and the sweet Lord Jesus has taught me that children are suppose to leave and be independent... My job is to equip my boys so they can leave the nest one day, and start their own little nests...

OK, the fact that I even thought I could be a "perfect" mom is so laughable to me now. Call me, CLUELESS!!! A "Great" mom is out of my reach at present.. I would just be happy to be called a "Good" mom :) Wow, motherhood is not for wimps!!!

OK, what I have learned is that I am a "boy" mom, or let me say I have become a "boy" mom through a lot of life experience. I am very thankful for my boys!!! I think what blows me away sometimes is that God has entrusted these boys to our (hubby included) care... He choose these children for us. We are exactly what they need, but better yet, they are exactly what we need. What I need...

Jesus has used my children to teach me so many lessons.. HE has used my "babies" to break me of my sin. HE has used them to show me my weakness. HE has used them to draw me closer to HIM. PRAISE HIM!!!

The world is in great need of Godly men to stand up and lead... The fact that God has seen fit to let my husband and I train three of them does not sit lightly with me. If I raised them according to my own ways, I would be frightened to see what kind of men they would be... But, thank the Lord, I know I don't have to do this on my own. First of all, HE will guide me, and then He gave me a partner (hubby) that would take on this challenge with me. Thank you, Jesus!!!

So stay tuned for the regular "My Three Sons" postings... Learn how one woman survives in a house with 4 men (3 little ones and 1 big one).

Behind Closed Doors (part 2)

Well, I just want you to know that the pictures in the first post (Behind Closed Doors) were not "before and after" pictures. The pictures are of my nightstand/side of the closet, and of my husband's nightstand/side of the closet.

You probably figured out by looking at the pictures that I am the less organized one in the marriage, and my hubby is military style organized (Wait until you see his dresser drawer-which I will show on this post)...

You would think that I would be the more organized.. you know being a woman, but in this marriage, on many things we have the roles reversed. I also am the one that hogs the remote control (not so much anymore though-read earlier post to find out why).

Thank goodness, my house does not look like my room. It is pretty clean, really... ask my friends :) It also helps that my husband and I, host a Small Group on Wed. nights in our home. That helps to hold me accountable to clean my house :)

I always like to find a way to connect my posts to Jesus.. so I will say that He is so awesome because He picks out just the right spouse to balance you out. I am so thankful for my husband's differences.. if he was just like me I think I might go over the edge :)

Hope this post made you smile... To Know Him

Behind Closed Doors (part 1-the pictures)

Read Part Two for explanation of pictures...

My Newest Nephew

This is the baby that the post "A Promise Fulfilled" refers to...

Thank you Jesus for the gift of this baby to our family. May he always walk in Your Ways...

A Former Movie Addict Speaks Out

Hey all, I thought that title might grab your attention... Anyone who knows me, knows that I am talking about myself. I am the gal that you can call anytime of day, and I would probably give you the correct answer to any "Movie/TV" trivia you might have. Yep, that's me.. I have a mind full of useless entertainment trivia, but hey, I am fun at parties :)

Why did I title my post with the word "former" addict? Well, the answer to that question is much to detailed to account for in a post. Jesus and I, have been on this journey for a very long time... He never gives up on me, because He wants me to be free.

The main reason for the change is that Jesus showed me that my "entertainment" (movies, tv, magazines, gossip shows, etc) was an idol to me. Sadly, a huge idol that I put in front of my relationship with God. "Entertainment" was my escape, so that I did not have to deal with reality. Anyway, I feel like I am going to start going on about all the details, so I must stop myself... However, if anyone reads this post and wants to talk more about my journey on this subject, I would be happy to talk about it.

Here is my reason for the post.. my journey has really taken me away from seeing a lot of movies.. so the few times I do watch movies, I make sure they are going to be worth my money. I mostly try to watch faith based movies, but there maybe a few other movies here and there that I will watch (Plugged In Online, really helps me decide whether to go or not).

Well, today I want to recommend the movie, "Though None Go With Me" starring Cheryl Ladd (Remember Charlie's Angel?). Ok, I watched it again last night, and cried more this time than I did the first time I saw it. I love to cry at movies... I know weird, but I love it...

This movie chronicles the life of one woman that has had many tragic things happen in her life, but her Faith in God ultimately gets her through everything. That is all I will say.. I don't want to give to much away.

So try to see it, and then drop me a comment about how you liked it.. I know you will like it...

From time to time, I will give you my movie/TV suggestions.. I am no professional, but I do have 30 plus years of entertainment viewing :)

To Know Him

Easter Morning At Our Church

He Lives!!!

Happy Easter to All!!!

Definition of Hope

I wrote this saying about hope on a piece of paper that I found going through my junk drawer. I heard one of the "Women of Faith" speakers say this on "Life Today" (by the way Life Today is an awesome Christian TV talk show)...

"Hope is hearing the melody of the future, but dancing to it now." I just thought that was cool...

Life's Little Messes (Literally)

Hopefully, this story will get you to smile...

A few days ago, our youngest (age 3) had a "bug in his tummy"... Let's just say this "bug" had the little one sitting on the potty, and not standing up heaving into it... Well, this was his first bout with the "runs". He did not quite get the idea that when you gotta go, you gotta get to that potty fast. So needless, to say my husband and I, were on clean-up/bathe/fumigate the bathroom duty. I cleaned up the first mess, and my husband cleaned up the second mess (what a Man!!!).

My hubby and I, were hoping that two messes were all that our little one had in him. We were wrong :( I was on the phone, and my husband was in another part of the house, when we heard the scream of death. We hoped against all hope that the scream was motivated by something other than the third mess, but we knew in our hearts what our little one was screaming about. So, I get off the phone, and my hubby walks with trepidation to the bathroom. Together, we see that our little one has saved the best for last.

Boy, was this one messy!! So messy, it ended up on his shirt. As I started filling the bathtub with water, and grabbing the wipes, my husband took off our boy's shirt. (IMPORTANT INFO- On the shirt were the words, "Future President") As my husband surveys the mess on the shirt, I hear him say something like, "A future president can't be pooping in his pants.." OK, not the funniest saying in the world, but it made us both laugh out loud.

I love that in the midst of life's messes, there is humor to be found. I also thank God because when I first became a parent, I could have never laughed in a moment like this. God has changed me so that I can handle life's messes with patience (not all the time), and yes, a sense of humor.

From the Mom of a Future President....

In Sunny Florida

I love this picture of my Family. This is real life!!! My kids are being kids. I gave up on the perfect family picture a long time ago. The invention of digital cameras has helped a bit, but the odds of getting three kids to smile at the same exact moment are very slim. Plus, mommy has a problem with the fake smile thing, and my top lip seems to stick to my teeth (I hate that..it is not very cute in a picture).

Thank you God for my family!!!

Armor of God

Hey all,

I have started studying the scriptures in Ephesians that have to do with the Armor of God. Those scriptures start at Eph. 6:10. My husband and I, lead a Small Group in our homes, and in a few weeks we are going to delve into these scriptures and see what we can learn.

I am trying to memorize these scriptures too. I know having these scriptures in my mind and heart will help save me. Especially, when it comes to spiritual warfare.

If you would like (there are only a few readers of this blog at present) please read and study these scriptures. Then feel free to comment on this blog what you have learned. I also, challenge you to memorize these scriptures as well. When we hide God's word in our heart, it changes us from the inside out.

To Know Him

A Promise Fulfilled

Today the world welcomed a 9'3 ounce bouncing baby. My sister and her husband (and their 8 year old daughter) had their second child. A little, or not so little baby boy.


This little baby is an answer to prayer. My sister has waited for this child for about 6 years (maybe longer). My sister's journey to have a second baby was filled with many obstacles, disappointments, and deep hurts.

My sister's faith in God carried her through these trying years. She felt that the Lord told her in her heart that she would have another child. She always believed that she would have another child, even when times got tough.

OUR GOD IS FAITHFUL!!! Thank you Lord for this addition to our family!!!

Help me not to lose heart even when times are tough. Thank you for allowing me to see my sister's faith lived out.

To Know Him

Hopefully, I will soon have a picture of this cute little baby on my site...