#2

Happy Friday to everyone!!! I know it's been awhile again since my last post, but my goal is to post more often! So, we shall see!

I wanted to give my husband props today! As you know he just started working for Sprint only 2 short months ago, and previously he was in the construction business since I've known him. He was so nervous about the change of career path because as always he wanted to succeed. Well, he sure has!!! He is #2 for top sales at his store! There are about 14 other people working there, so we were SO proud to hear that he's #2! Anyone who knows Ted, knows that this is the perfect job for him...he gets paid to talk to people! :) It was so great seeing him come home this morning after his meeting and seeing his beautiful smile...he is truly happy! I'm so proud of you, Teddy!!! I knew you would be awesome at your new job! We love you so much!

P.s. he has had 3 professional football players come in in the last 2 weeks...isn't that so cool! He got great feedback from all of them!

Have a great and profitable weekend!

Prove it!

Deut 13:3
"Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul."

I have been getting so much from the Lord in Deut. The Lord really convicted me yet again on my love for Him. This verse is talking about proving just how much we love the Lord. I can say ALL day long that I love the Lord to a million different people, but the words aren't enough. The Lord wants me to prove to Him just how much I love him. Since I've had three kids and since Ted's started a new job, it has become difficult to juggle everything. I'm with the kids 24/7 and without Ted a lot more than I used to be due to his new long hours. I'm having to be diligent about getting in the Word first thing in the morning before our day with a full schedule starts. The Lord keeps asking me, "Amy how much do you love me?" Of course I love the Lord, but do I love him with ALL my heart and soul? Meaning, am I willing to daily sacrifice sleep so that I can get up and be with Him first thing in the morning? If my flesh isn't willing to do that, then I don't love Him with all my heart and soul...see where I'm going? How much are you willing to sacrifice temporally in order to reap so much more eternally?

Saying you love someone isn't enough! Your actions speak louder than words. My father is a man of very few words, and he didn't say 'I love you' every day to us. Even now, I hear it a few times a year...maybe. But, the actions he did told me that he loved me. I never questioned if my dad loved me, I knew by all the things he was physically doing for me. Even as a grown woman he still is helping me physically. I say I love the Lord, and I really do, but what is my testimony projecting? People are always watching, even at times when we think otherwise...what do they see? Do they see that I have an awesome intimate relationship with the Lord or do they view me as just another worldly woman? I want to stand out, and I want to be different because I know what my eternity is going to look like. I don't care if people think I'm crazy, all I care about is pleasing the Lord!

I hope you too take the time to sit and think about how much you love the Lord. Is it will ALL your heart and soul, or only the parts that are convenient for you?

Phil 1:21 "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
This is my life verse because I love the Lord with ALL my heart and soul and to be with Him is better than anything this world can offer! I look forward to meeting with my Lord face to face. I encourage you to live a life that pleases the Lord. Love Him FIRST, your spouse second, then your children, and I guarantee everything else will fall into place!

Charge, Encourage, and Strengthen...

Deuteronomy 3:28 "But charge Joshua, and encourage him, strengthen him: for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see."



In my daily reading, the Lord showed this verse to me and it really convicted me. Three keywords are in this verse: charge, encourage, and strengthen. This really convicted me as a mom because this is what I am to do with all my children. Everyday, I am charging them to obey like Ephesians 6:1. I sound like a broken record sometimes because I'm always saying, "choose to obey" to the kids. Even as small as Bobby is, I quote Ephesians 6:1 to him because I want it to be hidden in his heart. But, the Lord showed me that charging them isn't enough! I must encourage my children daily...Paul talks about edification over and over in his epistles and that's what I'm to do too. As weary as I may get some days, I must continually encourage each of my children. They need to know that Ted and I are their biggest fans. They need to know that we believe in them to obey. The Lord showed me that by us encouraging them, then it will automatically strengthen them. It's a domino effect. Throughout the days now, those three words are being played again and again in my head to remind me of my responsibility as a Mommy.

I am so thankful for a Lord who can always show me through His Word areas that I need to shore up on. Thank you, Lord! I want to please Him and bring glory to Him in every area, even in being the best Mommy I can.

Family Pics!

I know it's been well...FOREVER since I've posted anything! It's been a crazy month...my husband having a bike accident, putting our dog to sleep, and getting a new puppy. But today I want to share with you our new family pictures.

My cousin and his wife are in town from Denver, CO this week. We've been having so much fun swimming and visiting of course. I asked Stephanie, who is a photographer, if she would take some family pics for us. I was expecting like maybe one good picture because I have 3 kids under the age of 4 and frankly one who doesn't like her picture taken. Let me tell you, I have come home in tears before after trying to get my daughter's picture taken. We always go for their milestone pics, and the Target photographer can never get her to smile. I have had the photographer smile and say, "oh we remember you! You won't smile for us!" Which after hearing this time after time I came home and shed a few tears out of frustration and having my feelings hurt.

Today it was a beautiful sunny day up until the time we were to take our pics. We hurried over to the park and it was thundering the whole time. Again, I was thinking oh boy, this isn't going to go well. Was I surprised!!!! Steph does amazing work! We got SO many awesome shots! I want to share just a few with you, and if you want to see more...check out my facebook page!




Party of 5!!



My sweet first born!!


I LOVE this of my little girl!!


Isn't he so sweet! I could kiss those cheeks ALL day!!!

I hope you enjoy looking at them. I also hope you all have a great weekend! I will post more often...really I will :)

Proud Mama moment!

I must share a wonderful moment I had yesterday with my sweet Scotty. We have school time everyday, and lately we've been working on writing his name. He has been having a hard time with the letter S, but once we get past that he does pretty well. At the end of our school time yesterday I wrote his name on a paper and asked him to write his name below it. HE DID IT!!!! All by himself, I was so proud of him! We took a pic and sent it to Daddy since he was at work. We know have it dated and posted on the fridge. You should see Scotty's face whenever he walks past it, he is so proud of himself. He even wrote it again today! We celebrated his accomplishment and today watched a movie together while the two little ones were napping. I can't believe how fast he's growing up! *tear* :)

First Day!

Today is a big day in the Duff household! Ted starts his new job today at Sprint. Let me tell you, we are both so thrilled that this day is finally here. Let me tell you why...
For the whole 7 years that I've known Ted he has always worked in construction. We have been very spoiled by his 7am-3:30pm hrs, rain days, and weekends off. When he joined the Carpenter's Union 5 years ago it was a different economy and work was booming! We had AWESOME benefits and had a very decent salary which along with much prayer allowed me to stay home full time and leave my job as a dental assistant. About 2 years ago work starting becoming very slow, and we experienced lay offs from time to time. They never lasted long, and we just looked at it as a mini vacation. As the economy has gone way down it has effected construction jobs...when there is no money to build, then no building will be done. Ted was on several jobs that started and now are still in the middle on the project because the money ran out. Last summer it hit us hard...he was laid off for 3 months in a row! That was a very long 3 months for us. Luckily, the Lord continued to provide side work and we were able to withstand it. When we went to do our taxes we were shocked to find out the he only worked a total of 6 months in 2009. WOW! We looked at each other in disbelief and then automatically started thanking the Lord that He took care of us during that time. Mind you that we were able to move, buy a house, and even have some wants purchased. It's all because of the Lord! Not to mention Ted's wisdom with our finances. I'm so thankful the Lord gave me a husband who is SO disciplined and a saver when it comes to money.
The Lord put several things on Ted's heart during this time. The first thing was to realize that the Lord would not give us more than we could handle (1 Corinthians 10:13). He also reminded us to put our trust in him and not in men (Proverbs 3:5-6). The last thing was a career change. With having 3 kids now we wanted something more stable. It was getting to the point where we didn't know from day to day if he'd have a job tomorrow. We also knew that me staying home full time was a must and we trusted in the Lord to make that happen. Me going back to work was never a thought that crossed our mind during this time because we know our kids are SO important! Yet again Ted got laid off at the end of March. This time was a little more intense because we received a letter saying we lost our insurance due to him not having enough hours. What a blow that was. That was the first time I broke down and cried. Yet again, the Lord provided a way for us to continue having our insurance month to month. We have to pay for it, but we have it! Praise the Lord. During this time, Ted called tons of contractors. We also put in his resume at lots of other places as well. An opportunity arose with Sprint...it was the ONLY door that kept opening time and time again. We were walking by faith and seeing where it would take us. It took us 2 months before he started...and a long process. There were times that the door closed and then out of the blue would open again. See, they have this online testing to even get an interview...well, Ted was 3 questions off from qualifying. Then after several weeks, they called him back for an interview based on his personality and determination. That led to a second interview, which led to the offering of the job. Anyone who meets my husband falls in love with him. He has the best personality I've ever seen! Anyway, we accepted the job on faith because we will be taking about a 60% hit on our salary. Most of this job will depend on commission as he will be a salesman. The Lord gave us confirmation that this is where we need to be, so again we are walking by faith.
Last night I spent several hours getting every thing ready for his first day. I know he's nervous and excited all at once. We were talking last night about this wild journey we've been on and how cool it has turned out. I can tell you that our faith has been stretched...a bunch! I'm thankful for all the prayers we've received and all the encouragement. It really did help carry us through some hard days. The Lord has been so good to us and have had an abundance of blessings! All I can tell you is put your trust in Him and you will be just fine. I can't even begin to tell you the amount of people who said we wouldn't find a job due to the economy, but we never let that have rule over us. We continued saying, "The Lord is in control! We choose to trust the Lord!"
Needless to say, I can't wait for Ted to come home and tell me all about his first day of work!!! I will be anxiously awaiting his arrival!

P.S. if anyone needs a Sprint phone or renewal come find Ted!!! :)

I LOVE being an Aunt!!!

Happy Friday to everyone!!! Well, as most of you know my sister is in town for a few weeks with my sweet niece, Bella. Last time I saw Bella she was only 4 weeks old, and I was 8 months pregnant!
I was so spoiled to have my sister here for a full 2.5 months and was able to spend a lot of time with her. Being pregnant together is something that I will never forget. We were always taking belly pictures and talking about the aches and pains we were both having. The night Bella was born, I didn't sleep hardly at all. Andy was spending the night with us and I was waiting by the phone all night long. I kept thinking, "I hope that mom doesn't forget to call me!" I wanted to be at the hospital with her so bad, but with me having all the kids and being pregnant, my job was to "abide by the stuff." I still remember getting the call that Miss Bella was finally here! My sister was able to do it without any pain meds (GO SARA!) I was so proud of my sister! Then after I got off the phone, I couldn't sleep! All I could think about is when is it going to be morning so that I can go meet my sweet Bella?Morning finally came, and I took Andy to the hospital first thing so that we could see her. I will never forget the moment that I held her for the first time, because it finally clicked that I was truly an Aunt (or Tia to her). My sweet husband would let me go see her at least every other day if not every day. Even if I only had 2 minutes with her I would hold her and rock her. Saying goodbye to her was so hard because I knew she would be so different when she came back. I still desire for her to know me well and of course for me to be her FAVORITE aunt! :) Good thing Edgar doesn't have sisters, because I'm the only Aunt! I love it!
I saw Bella last weekend for the first time in months! I was hovering over everyone holding her, because I couldn't wait to get my hands on her. I was also very excited for Sara to meet Bobby as it would be the first time. Bella came right to me and I could've stayed all night with her. Ted and I kept teasing each other on who she liked better. I must admit that he got her to laugh way more than I could. I have seen her almost everyday since and I'm enjoying every minute. My kids are having the best time with Tia and Bella, so I thought I'd share some photos from our last few days...

Olivia giving sweet kisses!

Holding my sweet girl for the first time in months!

The 2 babies! Only 10 weeks apart, Bella is older!

I love watching them play together!

P.S. It's my Mama's Birthday today!!!! Can't wait to celebrate all together later!