A Moment

A moment is all it takes. One moment, and your world can completely be turned upside down. A sunny, crisp, early morning one week ago today, I was out watering our front yard. As I was watering and keeping an eye on Judah, to be sure he didn't rip out one of my newly planted flowers, or dart off to where he knows he's not supposed to go, I mindlessly gave our thirsty lantana a drink. Sirens abruptly cut through the still morning air. I quickly prayed for whoever it was that they were going to help, then went back to mindlessly watering. Then there were more sirens...and more sirens... then more. I realized this was not a normal Green Valley call, but one where something more serious had happened and someone really needed help. I prayed more, yet went about my day as normal. Only later did I come to find out that a 15 year old boy had been hit by a car not far behind our house, and later passed away. Knowing of this sad event, that happened oh so close to home, has made me reflect on the abruptness of life. Before I heard those sirens, many lives were going about their daily lives, thinking of nothing other than what the days events might hold. Among other flitting thoughts I was thinking about the dirty dishes in my sink, the trim that needs painting, and the library books that needed to be returned. That young boy on the bicycle, was no doubt thinking about all the things he still wanted to do before school starts again; his mother waiting for him to return so she could stop worrying about him being on his bike. And the woman driving, thinking about her grocery list that she had forgotten at home. No one was concerned with monumental thoughts. No one was thinking about life or death. No one was thinking about eternity.  Everything changed in that moment. I can only cry thinking about the call his poor parents received, the worst nightmare becoming reality. The woman who'd been driving, crying on the side of the road. Lives forever altered... all while I was out watering my plants. I feel guilty that I was so able to continue about my daily life so quickly after hearing those sirens last week. So, I'm determined to make a change. A change in me. To make moments MATTER. To realize that we don't know when those sirens will sounds. That moments can matter in the day to day. That while waiting for my hubby's car to pull up in the driveway in the evening IS a wonderful moment, that there can be MANY wonderful moments in between. Not just here at home with my babies (they make it easy to see that time is passing too quickly and needs to be appreciated😢 ). But with others outside of my home as well. I am determined to not be the mom looking at her phone at the park, but the one engaged in conversation while pushing the swing. Not the one too stressed at the store to stop and let someone pass, but the one to share a smile. Not the one rushing to get dinner on the table, but the one saying THANK YOU to the Dairy Queen drive-thru person as we splurge and do backwards dinner day(ice cream before "real" food). I want to be the one to make others realize that EVERY MOMENT counts. Those sirens could be coming for me or a loved one at any moment. And RATHER than be consumed by fear, like I usually am, I have decided that enough is enough. I WILL rely on God to protect me. As I read in my devotions this morning, Proverbs 3:25-26, "Do not be afraid of sudden terror, when it comes, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught."   When it comes. That spoke to me. Things will happen. Yet, through it all HE will be there and be my CONFIDENCE and HELP me! So, in the mean time, I DO NOT HAVE TO WORRY! I will no longer be the worrier, or the one mindlessly scrolling through social media to keep me from worrying about what is going on right in front of me. Nope. I will be the mom out there, the one smiling more, worshiping louder, playing harder, writing more, making more memories... because I do not know what tomorrows moments hold.

Our Arrows and Greatest Blessings

 Introducing Judah Miles Derton! Wow. I cannot say enough how BLESSED we are! Praise God for these miracles! 

So Proud of My Hubby

Brandon deserves his own post for me to brag on him! He graduated with his bachelors degree in criminal justice a couple weeks ago! Woohoo! He dedicated himself to finishing this task and after years of sacrifice, HE DID IT! SO proud of him. He is such a good daddy and husband. Throughout his years of working on this degree he always did his best to not let it take away time from our family and instead would do his hours of homework and paper writing AFTER he would read stories to Zion and help me put the kiddos to bed..... what a guy! He is all about putting the needs and wants of his family before his own needs and wants. And I'm so thankful! We've been married almost 8 years and every day I love him more. So proud to be married to thus awesome man of God who leads our precious family so well. BleSSeD!!!

It's a Boy!

So very pleased to officially announce the upcoming arrival of our new little boy! Zion and Joelle get a brother!  Woohoo! We feel so blessed! He is healthy and very active. Praise God! I am 21.5 weeks along and feeling really good! Yay! Another blessing for sure. Joelle is SO active, I need all my energy just to attempt to keep up with her. :) We have lots of fun. Zion is doing fabulous in Kindergarten! We're loving every minute of it and feel so privileged to have the opportunity to educate him at home. I pray you are doing great today! Thanks for reading! :)

Beach for my Birthday!

My amazing hubby took me to the beach to celebrate my 28th Birthday! Woohoo! At the beach with my 2 amazing kiddos and my awesome husband = perfection. :) We had such a wonderful time. He even booked our last night at a hotel I'd loved with my family over 15 years ago.... RIGHT on the beach! (And since it'd been remodeled, it was even better than I remembered!)  It was Joey's first time at the beach, and while at first she HATED when her feet touched the sand, she warmed up to it and took off running full speed! And Zion LOVED jumping in the waves with his daddy. We even saw dolphins (Zion is sure they were sharks) on our last morning to top it all off. So blessed to have had the opportunity to go on such a wonderful trip with our family. Seeing the delight and joy on their faces was so fun. We can't wait to do it again! As Zion said when we were walking barefoot back to Pacific Shores Inn fit the last time, "bye beach! See you in a couple weeks!" :)

LEGOLAND

Woohoo! We conquered Legoland! It was SO fun! To see Zion's delight and amazement at the whole experience was awesome and worth every penny.

What a Nut

Joey is such a nut! :) Full of JOY. This is her new thing when you pull out the camera. She says, "CHEESE". So fun to watch her little personality developing into such a hysterical, joyful, spunky, laughter filled person. She already strives make others laugh. Love it.

Pre-Programmed

Zion: Why are there holes in the wheels of Ellie's toy?

Daddy: (purposely not giving the right answer) That's where you put the air in...

Zion: Dad, those are not inflatable tires!

Haha. Another recent conversation with Zion...

Mommy: See that big mushroom? You can just look at it.  Make sure you don't touch it.

Zion: Why? Can't we eat them? Like we ate them with dinner last night?

Mommy: No. Some mushrooms can make you very sick. Only the ones from the store are ok to eat. 

Zion: Oh, you mean they're poisonous....

LOL. This kid and his vocabulary. It's awesome.

I hate gum....

A very, very kind, giving, well-meaning lady at church gave Zion a pack of gum on Sunday. Thanking her I tucked it into the front pocket of his shirt(one of my favorite shirts, of course). Thinking to myself as I put it there.... "that's a bad idea. You're gonna forget it's there." Well, yup, I ignored that very wise thought. Ug. What a mess. And of course, mainly with Brandon's clothes. Oye.  I think I got it all off though, hopefully! Took me forever.  Vinegar is such good stuff! Took it off the inside of the washer immediately with hardly any elbow grease! Joey was VERY unhappy with the amount of time it took me to clean it up!

I love my view....

God is good and we are so blessed! I was just thinking how pretty my back view is... I managed to grow sunflowers and the big one is blooming, we got a new playground set(used for $80 bucks!-it's a $400 thing!), it's cloudy and I have a mountain view. BUT, as I took the picture, I realized my favorite view was in the foreground of the window... :). These 2 kiddos are awesome! Joelle just turned one, and as Zi's about to turn 5, I am SO thankful for the time I've had with them as the best view in the house! And I look forward to many many many more years with them as the main subjects in my picture window ! :)

Sahuarita House of Worship

About a year ago God clearly called Brandon and I, and my parents to be a part of a brand new thing here in Sahuarita-AZ. It was clearly His voice guiding and directing our steps. We had been a part of a bible study with our former youth Pastor, Henry Ayala, and when he asked what we thought about starting a church, we were all in! Every single step of opening the Sahuarita House of Worship has been God-led and it has been so awesome to just watch HIM work and see His plans fall into place! God is so good! Brandon's vision from almost 3 years ago, of the local BOWLING ALLEY being used for HIS glory, is now being lived out! The former bowling alley is now the Sahuarita House of Worship!! We officially had 80 people at our Easter Sunday service! Praise God! If you don't have a place to worship Jesus and fellowship with other Jesus-loving people, come see us! Sundays at 10am or Wednesdays, for an informal Bible study, at 7pm, come see what God has in store for YOU at the Sahuarita House of Worship! Also, if you know of any YOUTH, 6th -12th grade, send them our way! PULSE Youth has officially started on Wednesday nights at 7 with Brandon and I. God has AMAZING plans for southern AZ! As 1 Corinthians 2:9 states so awesomely: "No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him."

Check out our website here: www.sahuaritahouseofworship.org

It's far from done or perfect, but it's up and running!

Pima County Fair

Fun stuff! Zion entered 3 projects into the Pima County Fair! 2 Lego projects and a painted rock lion! We are so proud of him! Last night the fair opened and we got to go see his projects on display. His joy and excitement to find his stuff was SO memorable and fun! Plus, to find 3 BLUE ribbons on his projects that he worked so hard on was just icing on the cake! :) Fun fun! It also brought back so many fun memories of my brothers and I searching for our various projects. Good stuff! Zion LOVED the while experience. And he got a true fair experience. :) complete with Piggly wiggly fries, being the Orange team cheerleader for animal races and cheering on a turkey, and fair rides! His favorite part was riding in a ORANGE monster truck ride! :) While he was nervous about it at first, he LOVED IT, and begged to take me riding in it after his ride with daddy. :) In his own words, "IT WAS AWESOME!!" It was a bit chilly, but Ellie loved everything and didn't want to miss a thing. :) She especially enjoyed watching her brother jump around and dance in excitement as we walked around. :) Fun stuff!