Elise!!!!

My precious friend Melanie had her baby, Elise Brielle. Does her name sound familiar to any of you?!?!? Anyway, she is a healthy 7 lbs, 13 oz., 20 inches long. Major miracle baby! She was scheduled for a c-section this morning and she went into labor last night, walked off the elevator and onto the 3rd floor and there was her doctor. God is so good! You can see pics of her here.

They cannot reedem themselves

Wal-mart is unreal. They make me nuts. I ordered this but I got this which is a quilt. The first says it is a comforter but I got the quilt but it calls itself the comforter. It is soooo confusing I even made Adrienne nuts. I think I got on preggo girl's nerves but the drama is crazy!

I emailed them, their response should be interesting. I am afraid to re-order online b/c I will most likely get the wrong thing. The pics are deceiving, I guess or someone (besides me ) is off-their-rocker. Thank goodness they had peanut butter and grapes that have yet to disappoint me.

And I will do a new thing

Thanks to Ike, we have had a few "new" things going on around here. Roof, floors, puppies, doors, beds, etc. (Buster was born during the hurricane, most likely from the rash of dog evacuating or fear!) Anyway, I never really "do" resolutions but I do like to make changes, mostly in decorating or new shutters. That is always fun.


However, I need the change in me. I do not really dislike change, I have learned to adjust to it, especially with Craig in the ministry. But, my head does not always agree with my heart.

I constantly find myself in the struggle of managing everything and it is very frustrating. In fact, I have renamed myself - Hilary Elise Frustration Pearson Larson. With a name like that, anyone would be stressed.

Since I was pregnant with Will (not trying to blame the 3rd child), frustration seeps out of me each day. I know the only way to control it is to let things go, see the big picture and ask God for empowerment. My head knows and so does my heart. I earnestly desire it. I want my children to see me imitate Christ more than anything. But, I fail at it constantly.


I am not making excuses, I just see my weakness. So, I am truly going to strive to access God's power (that is in me, the same power that rose Jesus from the grave) to serve God and meet Craig & my family's daily needs. (and the ministry, church, etc.!) In my obedience, I saw God meet me each moment of my day on Thursday. Friday? it was a little different!


In Mwise this semester, we are studying Charles Stanley's Leaving a Godly Legacy. The first week reminded us to imitate Christ for our children and this week teaches on using our words so they know they are accepted by us and feel a great sense of belonging. These are things I know but applying them are not always as easy.


Just typing this post, I gave Claire some cold meds, she spilled it all over the floor and on herself. I do not care about the floor but it still frustrated me. I stopped and thought about why?

B/c I am tired of cleaning up spills?
Tired of snotty noses?
Tired of reminding her not to spit it out? I wouldn't want to take it either!

None of it matters except what was my reaction? Did I react or did I just act accordingly? Kind and reassuring or frustrated and annoyed?

What matters is now I must go b/c Claire & I are reading books to Freddy the Frog, the class animal or amphibian, or whatever he is.

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. Isa 43:19

Speaking of new things, if you have not read Kelly's posts about the miracles in the life of her not-even-day-old-baby, you need to catch up. God is sooo good and faithful! :)

New bunks



New bedding for Claire. Faith's is exactly the same but still on order.
Buster's new cut and how about those new vet bills?! He got shots and a trim, they kept him all day, I wondered if he could go 3x a week? No, I did not drug him in this pic, he is asleep...at the foot of my computer. Whose dog is this anyway?

You are my sunshine

Claire was the sun in her chapel program about God's creation.

At first, she was really pleased to represent light.

Then, she decided maybe not.

Then, for sure she thought she might just rather be the ocean like Hannah or the fish like Bekah or just maybe she hated her tights.

I am pretty sure she hated her tights. She only had to wear them until 9:45 a.m. but she detests tights. It was 32 degrees when we went to school and she wanted to wear her flip flops. Did I mention she hates socks too? Tomorrow is Silly Socks day for letter S. I wonder how long those socks with the funny fringe & balls will last? I hope long enough to remember letter S. :)

I must eat crow . .

I went back to Wal-Mart. After much distress over the bedding for the girl's bedding, where did I cave? Wally-----!

I found adorable quilts on sale from Pottery Barn but I was a day late and not to mention a dollar short! I would have like a lavender stripe for one bed and a pink stripe for the other but they either did not coordinate or they were out of the right size and then the shams were not available at all. The new lines are precious but last time I checked, my checking account did not take debits for $492.29 for 2 twin quilts, shams & sheets. :)

Sadly, it did not work out. So, I bought my 2nd choice (or maybe 4th). For $42.76 each, it is cute and they will want something else in a few years. (However, the PBK could have lasted much longer - it never goes out of style!)

Anyway, more crow. You know that precious puppy we are so proud of? Well, he is in the doghouse!! He has done really well but I found out yesterday, he has a problem. He is a secret pee-er. He sneaks off from me & pees on one of my rugs, really fast! Because, I do not let much slip by me, I know he is slick. I. cannot. stand. it.

I have no carpeting, (thank you Lord) but I still value my rugs, even if they are just from Lowe's. Between him & the kids, it is has been a crazy week. At BSF today, I worked with the children, which is such a blessing. I was so mad at the dog that I was late and on my way there, I told the Lord that if they did not need me in the children's area, I was going home. I had much better things I could be doing, like smelling the rugs for puppy urine.

Well, the Lord knew and they needed me. The lesson was on the glory of God & Moses. It was so heart penetrating, I could barely keep from crying. And I was with preschoolers! In fact, I need to go read it again so neither I nor Buster is headed to the nuthouse.

Happy B-day Claire!

I am so proud of you my sweet girl! I pray God's blessings on you as you turn another year older. May you grow in wisdom & stature as Jesus, may you know Him dearly, lean on Him as an everlasting rock and let your light shine so others may see Him. May you walk as He plans for you and may His power work in me so You will know Him more. Mommy & Daddy love you so much, forgive us as we are so not perfect but know we adore every part of you. I have learned to love your stubbornness and strong will and I know God will use it for His glory. You can do anything you want, my precious little girl!

And as I type this, you just got up! I am about to got get you Dunkin' Donuts to surprise you but
you can just ride with me!

Wal-mart Woes

I detest Wal-Mart but I ventured there today because I enjoyed the Wal-Mart in Jasper over New Year's. (We had an exciting one I am sure you can tell. My husband thinks New Year's is about fireworks, food & fishing! But, I enjoy it as well.)

Beaumont's Wal-Mart is dirty but I decided to get groceries and 2 baby gates, for the puppy.

I got great deals on the groceries and had coupons but the checker forget to scan them and told me she could not now use them. As I was leaving, I realized she never gave me my cash but my receipt recorded I received it. I went back and she looked at me like I was a nut. I had to wait with a 2 year old screaming "Lightning McQueen!!! " while a lady bought tacky humongous Christmas balls 1/2 off until the checker could open the cash drawer.

Finally, she did and she was not happy. I told myself I was never going back, not to mention I fought Dowlen traffic after that.

I get home, put up my baby gates and one broke immediately. Then,as I was unloading groceries, I noticed the lunch meat had mold on it but was dated late January! Yuck! So, now I had to go back. I fixed dinner, the kids went to my in-laws (Alleluia!) and I decided to head back to the junk place.

But, lo & behold, Craig offered to deal with the slimy meat & the baby gate. So, I went and got a pedicure. Wonderful hubby. End of story. Aren't you so thrilled I blogged?

On a sweeter note, my friend Michelle had her baby, you can read about her little darling who came a bit early here. We are thankful for a healthy baby but please keep them in your prayers during their adjustments.