It's gone!

And yes, the other one is already getting ready to come out!!! Thinking she will be minus two teeth before her 6th birthday!

Stay Tuned....

A tooth is about to be lost.....

Be Still...

I was lying here in bed, working on some homework for a class and unable to slow my worrying thoughts about all that we moms tend to think on. Bart is at work and Reid was having a hard time going to sleep so he laid down next to me and just needed to hold my arm. I was trying to type out my homework assignment on the stages of alcoholism while trying not to get irritated at his insistance of holding onto my arm. I finally gave in and quit typing so that he could "hold" me. Lost in my thoughts for just a few minutes, I look over and he is already sound asleep! He just needed to be still for just a minute. I looked at him sleeping so peacefully. Finally resting after a busy day of playing and making cookies and trips to the fire station. After a minute, I thought...how amazing it is when God uses something so small to get His point across. I stay up late every night reading, writing or when all else fails and I can't sleep, watching the Golden Girls. My mind is always wondering, going 90 to nothing over things I need to do, things Bart needs to do and of course things we NEED. I have heard a friend of mine seek prayer requests that she may "be still" and listen to God. Don't we all need that in our busy lives? I was reminded tonight while watching my Reid sleep peacefully, that when we stop and sit quietly for a few moments, we will rest. That's all Reid needed....to feel my hand on him and a few minutes of stillness. Maybe tonight, I will put off my homework and thoughts of tomorrow long enough to rest, knowing His hand is on me and I can hold it and rest peacefully knowing that He is there, just as He always has been and always will be.

Peaceful Sunday drive

I got up this morning extra tired after a long day of soccer and baseball yesterday. We were all well over cooked needless to say. Bart worked yesterday and was on today as well, so while I was laying in bed, I told myself, "noone's gonna blame you if you don't go to church today." I laid there a while then got up knowing that not only would I blame myself, so would the kids! It is always so hectic when it is just me. Noone wants to cooperate or listen. Actually, I guess that's the way it goes in the Vest house regardless! I managed to get everyone dressed and fed and out the door. Only 10 minutes behind compared to the usual 20 or so! I marched them to the truck, handed out bibles, buckled seat belts and headed out. I was half way to McKinney when I realized it was unusually quiet for my bunch. Maybe they fell back asleep. They were so tired from yesterday. I turned around and this is what I got! (Don't worry, I was at a stop light!)





It's mornings like this when I know I'm doing something right. My cup runs over and my heart is smiling.

2 adults plus 15 teenage girls equals madness!

A couple of weeks ago, I agreed to help my sister chaperone my niece's 13th birthday slumber party. What was I thinking?? When she first asked me, I thought, oh this will be alot of fun! Just a few of Cheyenne's friends and some time with my sister...what could be more fun?

Am I cool or What???

Well, first of all, it was around the same time as finals, so I was already more tired than usual. I say this because I am ALWAYS tired. Some say chronic fatigue syndrome, I say mom of three, full time student and married to a fireman with two jobs! Anyways, I show up to help set up the food and get ready for the girls. Then I find out that there are going to be 15 girls! I don't even know if I knew 15 girls close enough to invite over to my house for the night when I was that age! I'm still positive in my thoughts, thinking after they eat we will all settle down to watch Twilight. My fourth or fifth time. Their 3oth or so. Yeah, by the time the movie was over, I couldn't hear. All of the high pitched screaming over Jacob and Edward sent me immediately to the internet in search for hearing aids. Am I getting that old? I also found out that 15 different girls have 15 separate "favorite" parts of the movie. And each time one came on the screen, more screaming.

Finally, at 2:30am, I decide I really have to lay down. The girls are still in full swing of course. Ann and I figure we will lay down, take turns checking on them and watch some TV in the meantime. I found that it was much more effective to text Cheyenne then to go tell her to turn the music and/or TV down. So finally, at 6:30am, all girls were asleep. I was exhausted! I think we figured up that we got 3 hours of sleep all together!




I was tired but I definitely wouldn't have traded it! Cheyenne is getting to the age of needing someone to talk to and I'm glad I can be there for her. I'm basking in the aunt/niece relationship and am glad I can be that role model. I know that one day, Reese will look to her for the same thing so its important to set the example.
Look at how tired I look!


Also, notice that Cheyenne is wearing her To Write Love on Her Arms shirt I bought her in the pictures! I was able to talk to some of the girls about it and was suprised that many of them had actually heard of it. Two of them had shirts as well. I'm so excited that Cheyenne is strong enough to say no to cutting and self injury and instead promote love and hope. So I have finally recooperated from such a long night and finals. Oh and in case you're wondering, I did switch my major back to Psychology and counseling! I'm right where I need to be and never felt better.

Free Treasures, Yet Not so Free by Tammy Wisdon-Virgin

This is something my cousin wrote and really touched me today so I wanted to share. I never knew there was someone else in the family that loved to write as much as me! Thanks for sharing Tammy!


Imagine unearthing a treasure so valuable that it takes your breath away or leaves you in awe wanting more. This is what I ran into today as I was clearing out one of the flower beds. I began to pull up weeds. I tugged on roots and found some black tarp that was used to combat weeds by the previous planter, however, underneath that tarp was good soil! I had to push my way thru layers of mulch, shingle pieces, and even a Capri Sun pouch to find the tarp but there it was. I thought, "well this is clever. I've done this before." Matter of fact, I was thinking about doing that again once I had prepped the beds but the treasure I was seeing before my eyes distracted me.As I sat right in the middle of the dirt, I noticed there were two kinds of roots that I was having to wrestle with. The first I'll call superficial, only grew as far down as the tarp. The other, deeply rooted and so hard to pull that I literally feel on my behind a few times. It wasn't going to win though; I was going to make sure of that. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a stubborn streak within me.Right in the middle of the bed I began to tackle the stubborn root that wouldn't budge. I dug away at the dirt and dug some more to get to the root. Now, this root was underneath this tarp. It didn't have a barrier so it was free to grow and seek out the necessary nutrients. In the middle of the flower bed, sitting on my backside, hands dirty, no filthy, with dirt and fertilizer and the true treasures began to be seen. It's not the treasure that you can sell or clean up and use a decorative ornament. These treasures are those you cherish and protect within your soul, within your heart. God began to speak to me through the dirt and work at hand. Remember, I had two kinds of roots I was dealing with but I also had the black tarp material.The black tarp. What's the purpose for it? Well, a practical use is to protect or create a barrier from unwanted elements. But it's also used to hide or cover up things we don't want exposed. Sometimes if you pull up a tarp you might see a cherished vintage car or you may see a rusted, decrepit piece of junk. Either way, that tarp is a cover up. For me, it was a cover up of good soil that flowers need. Instead of using it, whoever it was, covered that soil and created shallow beds that was barren, except for the weeds. Isn't that like each of us?We cover up our faces with masks and cover our lives with lies. We hide what we truly are. We're depressed but we say, "I'm fine." We appear happy and joyful but behind the scene we're falling apart at the seams. We build walls so that no one can penetrate the very depth of our souls. I'll decide who or what is allowed in my "turf" of life. We cover up the results of anger with make-up or long sleeves. We hide addictions by pretending there's nothing wrong. We overcompensate the bad within by doing works of "good" thinking no one will notice. God showed me that we cover up ourselves way too much that we've forgotten what it's like to be real, to be shown, and to be who He wants us to be. From the time of Adam and Eve, we've been covering ourselves from shame and guilt as if no one can see through the charade. He also showed me that those lil roots are our attempts to clean ourselves up. We make ourselves pretty because of the ugliness inside. Our attempts are feeble and won't take a good hard grasp because we don't have the foundation to grab hold too. For those of us that call ourselves Christians, we have a lot of growing to do but if we can't or won't take the time to pull out those "weeds" of life, they are going to choke out all that is good. We say we are free but live in chains. We say we love Christ and want to be like him but we don't want to read on how to do that. We want to know God more and more, we say, but yet we don't take time to talk to Him. It's time to be naked, figurately speaking, and say what we mean and mean what we say. Let's be real because it futile to hide. We usually end up exposed anyways!Those hard to pull roots, well those roots were deep in the soil. I worked on that for what seemed like an hour. I had to work my hands and fingers deep enough to reach underneath and pull. First, I had to break away all the lil bitty roots to get to the big ones. But once I did it came out and I won. Or did I?You see those deeply planted, growing roots represents the world. We've been engrained with worldly ways for so long that they've grown way deep into our minds and hearts. You can read in the Bible that the "bad" things in our lives needs to uprooted. You can't just cut the plant, tree, or weed at ground level. It will come back. We can cover them up hoping they won't sprout through but ya know what? They're still there underneath. The only way to truly get rid of something unwanted is by getting to the root of the problem and ridding yourself of it, just as I did with that one stubborn thing right in the middle of the bed.You see, even though I have the bulb and the main part of the root base, I didn't get it all. There was one left but I couldn't find it in the dirt. With my own hands it's impossible but if I had the right equipment I could probably do it. However, it would no longer be by my own power. I was reminded of Jesus' teaching of He being the Vine and we are merely the branch. Remove the branch from the vine and it can't produce fruit. Remove the plant from the root, well, it dies. So does every attempt we do in life to make ourselves better. We just simply can't do it on our own power. I say let's take off our masks, the phony perceptions we give and be real. Let's be real with ourselves and let His power be made in our weaknesses. It's futile to do so otherwise. I began to look at myself at that point of the day, the point of God's lesson/reminder as I was holding the root mass in my hands. What have I been covering up? Have I been deeply rooted or have been only allowing my roots to go so far?I'll be the first to say I've covered some things up. I've said I was fine when I really wasn't. I've tried to handle things on my own without going to the One who can do it for me, thru me. As I washed the dirt and grime off my hands and as it turned to clay-like substance I began to think of how God had fashioned me. I reflected on how each detail of my being was strategically and methodically thought out and prepared for me. Who am I to question and try to drive the car of my own life. I don't know the detours or the roads laid out before me but He does. I think I'll slide over into the passenger's seat and give him back the wheel. I may not understand the why's, how come's, and what for's that will/has come. But I do have a choice to trust in Him who has my best interests at heart. Just when I thought I had seen the good soil today I found another treasure. Underneath rocks, boards, and black tarps (oh how they liked those things) I found a small pond. Imagine covering up a water hole capable of sustaining life and even giving life as if it wasn't there. Hmm, don't we do that too? Turns out a simple task of clearing some flower beds turned into a treasure find. I didn't say a treasure hunt because, to be honest, I wasn't looking for any. It was simply a task. Jesus isn't a task but our source of life and in Him, well, he's the only covering I need and that's perfect. My little treasures just so happened wasn't free. Jesus paid for all my sins, shame, guilt, and even my inadequacies with his Blood. It cost Him everything but the good part is, He wouldn't have done it any other way.Take with it what you may but this was a good day. A good weekend. Not because of what I've done or how I've felt. It's because of my time with Him. There's no better feeling and there's no price that can be paid to ever buy it either. To me that's priceless.

This and that!

Baseball is in full swing for Ross and Reese is kicking with soccer!

Just wanted to post a few random pictures since I've been so neglectful of my blog!