I Will Give Myself to You...

I have asked God for many things or blessings, better health for people, to mend strained relationships and broken hearts, to help me to honor Him, be a light, and so very much more but occasionally, I feel like something is missing or doesn't click right...like I ask a question and then insert earplugs...or ask him to show me something and then close my eyes. This week I found an old notebook of mine that Hunter had scribbled and colored in while we were out and about. Flipping through I was brought to tears by what I found. Between his pages of "I LOVE YOU MOM" and drawings of cars, Army men and American Flags, I found this:

Feb. 22, 2005 (Hunter was 8 1/2 yrs old)

Dear God, Help me learn more about you. Help me talk with you often and do what's right so I can be close to you.

Hunter

Feb. 23, 2005

Dear Father God, I will sing to you. I will bow down to worship you. But most of all I will give myself to you.

Hunter

Wow, all this time I have been searching for just the right balance of give and take and there it was hidden in the heart of a child. I showed Hunter his young prayers and even he was amazed at what he had written years ago. I even noticed his morning prayer seemed a little more personal on the way to school today. If only we could sincerely offer those sweet words in prayer everyday.

Oct. 21, 2009 (Mom 33~ Hunter 13)

Dear Hunter,

I love you Hunter and I am so very proud of the young man you are becoming. I hope you never forget how to pray from your heart as you did when you were small.

XOXOXOXO,

Mom

Happy 70th Birthday Daddy...

For years my Dad's health was...well...crummy. Recently he has been blessed and been able to turn things around. He didn't think it was possible that he would "make it" to his 70th Birthday and yet he did. Living proof that it is never too late to teach an old dog new tricks. Happy Birthday Daddy. I am so glad we were able to celebrate your Birthday with you and our family. We all love you bunches!

"Dance as if no one's watching, sing as if no one's listening, and live every day as if it were your last."

Scott Family Updates...

Since so many of you are praying for us, I thought I would give some updates. First, thank you for your prayers and encouragement. Please keep it coming and please know that we are praying for you too.
As you know, Wes has been looking for steady work since late April, when he completed the power plant in Colorado. Until now, nothing promising has been offered. Bless his heart, he has applied for well over 300-400 jobs in the past few months. As a wife, this has been one of the hardest things to watch. He prides himself in providing for our family. Those of you, who know us well, know that he has climbed unimaginable obstacles to get where he is. God obviously has big plans for him and I couldn’t be more proud of him. We heard promising news that the Boilermaker Union that Wes works for is hoping to have more work by September…that is wonderful, but we will starve and be homeless by then! We are so grateful for the odd jobs my Mom, Dad, and friends have had for us to help us get by. More than anything we are holding tight to our faith that God will provide for us. He always has. Wes has taken a job welding in Tyler, TX. The pay is horrible, but is more than we would earn on unemployment so it is a blessing. They do pay for his hotel and his food allowance will help with fuel. Also, Tyler is a whole lot closer than Colorado so that is a HUGE plus for me.
I cooked all day yesterday so that he would have a weeks worth of food without it costing us anything more. I sent him with a cooler full of my meatloaf meatballs, crock pot chicken, rice, summer squash casserole, buttermilk chicken, watermelon, cantaloupe, oranges, yogurt, sandwich fixings and baked him some butter crunch cookies. So now that I have finally gotten used to having him home for meals as a family, he is gone again...but with good food. I hope that when he is having his home cooked dinner, he can see a little of how much I love him.

After many years of long commutes and being mentally and emotionally consumed with work, I have been incredibly blessed this past year in being able to be home with my children. I love taking Hunter to and from school and getting him off to practice on time. I know that it isn’t enough to make up for all the years he spent in after school care, but he knows that I was working hard to take care of him. Being home with Morgan has been equally enjoyable. Being here to watch her learn and grown is so awesome. The two of them make me feel as if I have done something wonderful everyday. With that said, I couldn’t let Wes work so hard to find a job and not try to help more, so I updated my resume and applied for work too. Who knew that taking just a year off would cause me to feel so out of touch with the rest of the working world? This was a practical, but difficult decision for me. I truly believe that I serve my family better being home, but I have to try. Just the cost of childcare and fuel alone makes the job search a daunting task. So far no bites, but as we all know, God is good. After the 4th of July holiday, I will be taking care of two adorable little girls, ages 6 & 10, every other week. I also have a house lined up to clean every other week where I can take Morgan with me! My Mom has a list of things I can do for her to help her get caught up and organized too. This isn’t what I was looking for at all and will need to find a few more houses to clean or drop in’s to make it profitable, but what a blessing!!! I am so excited!!! They are so well behaved I don't worry about bringing them with me to MTM play dates!!! I miss you girls!!! Maybe I can offer a Mother’s Day Out to my friends a few days a week and see how that goes. I am just happy to be able to help Wes and still be here for my children.

As for the kids, Hunter is having a blast with his Dad and Charity in Houston. They took a long weekend and went to the river. He is like me, happy anywhere there is water and family. Morgan is learning and changing every day. She grabs on to our legs and coos oooohs and ahhhhs. It is adorable and melts your heart. Of course, it is usually after she has touched a million no no’s, pulled the outlet covers out, turned off my computer, drooled on my phone, and pulled my clothes out of my drawers and thrown them all over the house. She is going through a stage of separation anxiety. Even people that she normally goes right too are causing her to grab on to us tight and cry. She too, loves the water.

I need to end this here. Nap time is almost over and as you know, I could go on and on all day about my children…can’t we all? Again, please keep praying. I hate that we have been so out of touch. We have been trying to save money and stay focused on the job search. We would love to hear updates from you too!

Happy 1st Birthday Sweet Morgan!!!

Our beautiful lil' Princess turned one this week. It amazes me that we have shared our world with her for a whole year already. We all love her so much more than our hearts could imagine. Everyday my children amaze me in different ways. We are so blessed with the two of them.

Between Hunter's school events and baseball games, it has been a crazy couple of weeks leading up to her Birthday. We weren't even sure if we were going to be able to have a party as our schedule was so tight. At the very last minute we were able to pull a great party with wonderful friends and Grammy too! Friends came from near and far to celebrate with us. I made dips, Wesley grilled and the kids ran around playing and trying to act like the big boys. Morgan relished in the glow of all the attention and even put one a show for us when opening her presents. She loved her cake and had to have a bath after the mess she made with the icing. At some point during the party I looked down and Hunter was fallen asleep with her sitting on his back playing with new toys and kids crawling all over him. He is such a great big brother! I guess she does share...only with her Hunna!

I think she is thinking, "Seriously Mom! Pictures while I am eating...again?"

I am always telling myself to write things down as the kids do them so I don't forget when a milestone happens. I know I am forgetting to list a few things but this is a good start to a list of where she is at. Morgan started walking pretty well about a week before she turned one. She was cruising with her toys and the furniture for about four months before she went more than ten steps alone. She is saying, Dada, Momma, Bubba, Hunna (Hunter), Dog, Yes, No, That, Banana, Nana, Good, Love, and I am sure I am forgetting some. While she can wear 18 month clothes and is healthy looking, she can still wear 6-9 months clothes. She loves to splash and swim in the garden tub and even likes the shower. She is still nursing in the early morning and at bed time and sleeps throughout he night most nights. She will eat so many things that we eat but her favorites are cheese, bananas, bread, pasta, Nilla wafers, cheerios, green beans, apple sauce, flour tortillas, guacamole and beans. She has a HUGE appetite. I have never seen a baby eat as much as she does.

Happy Birthday Baby!!!!

Happy Birthday Wesley!
I am just so glad for the day you were born. I am so blessed to be your wife and have you in my life as my very best friend and so much more. Sometimes I wonder if we would have turned left somewhere when we turned right, would we have found each other sooner. It seems that God had been trying to help us find each other for a long time. I love you and I am so blessed by your big heart and soft eyes. I am so blessed that you are such a loving Daddy. I am so blessed that you love me so wonderfully. Again, Happy Birthday Baby...You rock!

I LOVE YOU MORE THAN WORDS CAN SAY!!!