He might let you bend, but He'll never let you break

Psalm 92:12 The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree.

Can I just tell you how great our God is?! A while back I wrote about reading Joel Osteen's book "Its your Time". Thriving not just surviving Well I have to admit I stopped reading it for whatever reason... but recently with our night-time routine dedicated to God, and NOT tv... I found myself picking it back up! I read an awesome chapter that really hit home with me.

Chapter 13 - Be A Bounce-Back Person

Did you know that palm trees are very resilient? They can withstand hurricane winds and bend for hours on end during a storm and not break?! Crazy right? But get this.... biologists say that during a hurricane when the palm tree is under all the stress from being bent and pushed over, its root system is actually strengthened. They are strengthened so much that it can grow even more! HOW COOL IS THAT?! No wonder they are mentioned in the Bible.... Psalm 92:12 The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree.

I kid you not I have this window cling/decal in my kitchen right now. It came with the boys' fish tank and they just kept taking it off and throwing it on the ground. I vaguely remember picking it up after the 100th time and being like "I'm going to put this up high where the boys can't reach it!" At first I had it in the bathroom... and then for some reason I moved it into the kitchen. Why did I put it in the kitchen? At my sink where I spend A LOT of time throughout the day..... I didn't even think about it until I read that chapter. Coincidence? I think not. How cool is God to plant that palm tree where I would see it every day as a reminder that the righteous will flourish like that palm tree. No matter what stress I'm going through in my life... its all happening for me in order to strengthen myself... in order for me to come out stronger and better than I was before.

I want to plaster palm trees all over my house right now! I want a palm tree tattoo! I might just have to redecorate my bedroom to be a tropical island! I want to flourish... especially when times are tough.

I have to admit I have not been through the toughest storms... I am very blessed. But I do get stressed... most people do. But each time I'm going through something I'm going to try and remember to lean on God and trust His timing. I want to come out stronger in my faith!

Quench your thirst!

So I hadn't been on Pinterest in a while... probably not a bad thing! But I've been browsing it lately and came across a recipe for Cherry Limeade! MMMM I love me some Sonic Cherry Limeade. Problem is they closed down the only Sonic in Cedar Rapids! Not cool... So its been a while since I've had one; and I have been dying of thirst lately. I'm going to blame this nasty cold that has zapped me of my energy and voice (yep... I had/have laryngitis!). Four easy ingredients!

Fill cup with ice, 12 oz Sprite, 3 lime wedges (squeezed) and 1/4 cup of Cherry Juice.

Now the original recipe called for Libby's Cherry Juice... but I think the Hy-Vee brand was just fine. I also didn't measure out 12 oz and 1/4 cup... I just kinda estimated. But its yummy! As you can see I have been enjoying at least 1 and sometimes 2 glasses a day! I think I might have to restock my supplies here soon.

In other news........

Nothing to report on Mango really.... she's just such a pretty kitty! (And silly too...)

Ceej is turning 3!!

I have been slowly preparing for Ceej's upcoming 3rd birthday party! I am a little crazy too... Seeing as how I'm 8 months preggo... this baby's due April 10th and Ceej's party is the 20th... Let's just hope this baby comes a little early..... I think March 27th sounds like a fabulous date myself :) That would be super helpful God... if you could make that happen!? Or I could do an April Fool's baby too... I would love to call up the gparents in the middle of the night and be like "I'm not fooling I swear!!!" I do think I might have to have Cherry Limeade as the drink of choice that day.

Can you tell what the theme is going to be?!

Bubba is quite upset I have not made any red ones yet (seeing as that is his favorite color). I'm working on it though...  Those little buggers are time-consuming?! But so far they are holding up well with 2 boys throwing them around like crazy.

I have to admit I am being a little lax on all the party craziness. Party City has some great decor that I ended up just buying instead of trying to make my own.... I'm just tired y'all! Like I said hopefully this baby comes early on NOT late though.... cross your fingers for me! I have been measuring a week ahead each visit!