It's a spiritual battle...

When I first became a christian I wanted to be close to God so I went to church, read my Bible and prayed every day. I wanted to know Him, to draw close to Him, to feel His presence.

But I still went to school and had to deal with some who didn't understand my new life. Some who wanted to make fun and pick on me. It wasn't easy and I would get mad or get my feelings hurt a lot. Finding a boyfriend who wasn't looking for "more" was hard and learning to trust God became a daily lesson. I was learning that the devil was using those boys to try and take my purity. The devil was using those other kids to make fun of me or tempt me with things and discourage me as a christian.

When we (as Christians) learn to see this as a spiritual battle it becomes easier to see the bigger picture. When we can realize that God needs us to spread the gospel but the devil wants to destroy our testimony, then we will learn how to forgive the person who hurts us. The devil uses people to do his work the same way God uses people to do His work.  The Bible tells us in Matthew 5:44 "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you"

After being dumped by a few guys because I wanted to stay pure, I gave up on looking and chose to let God find my future husband. I started praying for God to send me who He wanted me to marry. At the age of 16 (June 1997) my friend from church brought a guy from her old High school to church and introduced us. We hung out together with the whole youth group a few times and I soon learned he would be going to Basic Training in the Army and so we exchanged addresses. We wrote letters back and forth the whole time he was gone. When he got home in Sept 97 we spent a lot of time together in church and going out to eat getting to know each other more. Then he told me he had to leave for Korea in October 97! My heart said "oh no!!! when will we get married?" but my brain was saying  "why am I so upset? I barely know this guy".

So one night in a restaurant after we had already started eating he got down on one knee in front of a table full of college students and proposed to me and I said "YES!" but he had to stay in Korea ONE YEAR so after a tearful goodbye and a trip to the airport we wrote letters and I finished out my senior year in high school. He had a mid tour leave coming but wasn't able to come home for my senior prom (but really a christian has no business at prom anyway so I didn't miss much). He came home for mid tour leave and made it to my graduation but had to go back until October 1998. Then I married my husband Chris in December 1998. Looking back I feel like God sent him into my life and seeing where we are now in His will I just want to personally say...

TAKE THAT DEVIL!!!

~Talk about living by faith!~

Last year this time we got new brakes and rotors on our van. And they have been making a noise for a while now so we thought we should get them checked before our warranty runs out at the end of this month. Well I went to the brake shop today thinking whatever it is will be covered and free. WRONG!
It was something different not covered under the warranty, the brake lines! It is a bulging brake line and is very dangerous to drive around that way. It could rupture anytime and lock down the brakes. Bottom line it's not safe and we've been driving it for a few months with that noise. We really trust God to take care of us in every sense of the word.

So after much talking and debating I drove home because we didn't have the money to fix it and they didn't have the part. Go figure! I went very slow and all 8 lights were green so I didn't really have to use the brakes much. Thank God! And Justus rode happily in the back eating cheetos without a care in the world.

Now we just have to figure out how we're gonna pay for this!?!?!?

Dear God send a miracle to our house tomorrow please.....Amen.

Terri Cote

Who knows?

I feel like I am allergic to outside. I mean every time I step outside I get itchy eyes and the longer I stay out the more symptoms I get. Tonight I am currently a mouth breather because my nose doesn't work. My throat is very scratchy but I don't want to cough because it will jar my head too much and it might explode! I have no desire to eat and for me that is a big deal. Because if you know me, you know that I love to eat! Every time I look down my nose drips....gross I know but just being honest. Why did God make pollen anyway? I mean do we really need pollen? I'm sure it has a real purpose and I'm sure if I ate more vegetables I might not feel so yucky! I just wanted to give you a look into my world today. Last weekend Chris was sick and now me. All the boys have stuff noses and I do wonder if it's a cold or do we all just have allergies. Who knows? But whatever it is I wish it would leave our house!

The nyquil I just took should be kicking in soon so I better post this before I start misspelling everything.

Goodnight. (I hope)

Baseball Hits!!!

Last week at the baseball park Jaron's team was short several players so they asked if Jonah wanted to "help the team" and he did pretty good for someone who has never played before. Check out this HILARIOUS video! So cute!

 Jacob hit the ball all the way into outfeild (almost over the fence)

It's been fun watching them play and tomorrow is their last game. I won't miss sitting out in the heat but I'll miss seeing the looks on their faces when they accomplish something big. I think they want to try basketball this winter. We'll see...

It's all about Balance

When we got married we realized very quickly that we had to put the others needs before our own. It wasn't just about me anymore. Being married is a constant effort by both people to make the other one happy. So that was a big challenge that took time for both of us to learn. After 3 years we decided we wanted to try for a baby and God gave us Jacob.
My world changed then and I was balancing my role as a wife and mother now. A newborn baby requires a lot of attention but so does a marraige. I always felt like I was forgetting about Chris because my world revolved around the baby and feeding times. Not to mention I was always exhausted. I wanted to be a good mother but I couldn't forget my role as a wife. After 2 years I felt like I had figured things out so we asked God for another baby and He gave us Jaron.
Jaron was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate which means he couldn't drink a bottle normally. So that meant more attention than my first baby. And once again my strings are pulled in different directions. I want to be a good wife and mother to Jacob but I needed to do so much for Jaron it wasn't easy. After 3 surgeries and lots of therapy I felt like I was ready for another baby so God gave us Jonah.
Having 3 children to me wasn't much different than having 2. I mean by now I was so used to running around doing for everyone else I just took turns with each one. It wasn't easy but I knew with God's help I could do it (cause I'm supermom). My boys took most of my time but we always had a set bedtime so Chris and I could have our time to talk and relax together as a couple. It all seemed to become normal and I was comfortable in my role as a mother and wife. I thought I didn't want anymore children. And one day God changed my heart and said "This is who you are....a mother. You are doing your best and of course you could handle one more as long as you keep Me first in your life."
So we tried for one more and we got Justus. Our precious little baby who hardly ever cried. He has been more sick than any of the other boys at this age but I guess it's to be expected with 3 big brothers who pass around all their germs. Now having 4 children is definately a challenge and it's non stop laundry but I love it!

I love my role as a mother and a wife. I am right where I always wanted to be~at home with my children. We have settled into a routine and we love it. We have our good days and our bad days but it's so worth it. I cannot imagine my life without my boys.

And my husband....well I love him more today than I did the day we married~seriously! I know him more and I am closer to him than I was then. We can read each others minds. We still make time for ourselves everyday to sit and talk and reconnect. I think that is what's kept us together.
Terri Cote

Old Fashioned Tent Revival

Our church and 3 others were in a tent revival last week and Friday night they had "old fashioned day" so I went to the thrift stores and got overalls for everyone! After I washed them they boys were so excited to try them on the day before...

Of course I had to get an old fashioned dress for me too....

 Jonah was absolutely beside himself in his overalls....he loved them!

Glow in the dark paint-Art

 Well just because we homeschool doesn't mean we don't have art. So in this first picture the boys used water colors to create something unique.

 The next time we did art we used our "Glow in the Dark" paint. It was awesome. We turned off all the lights and without my camera flash this is all you could see.

 Then with the flash you can see they are painting the pictures that came with the paint.

And we got a little carried away with the paint since we had so much left over and it glows up to 4 hours! We painted their faces can you see it? It was fun! Our garbage can was glowing for hours.

Jonah turned 4!!!

It was actually a month ago and I forgot to post pictures. I got so excited about all the Easter crafts I forgot to post about Jonah turning FOUR years old.

 Our biggest baby...So handsome and could melt anyones heart with his beautiful eyes.

 He got preschool books to start homeschooling like his brothers.

 He also got some baseball stuff to practice his swing like the big boys.

 He was being shy when we sung to him.

But you better believe he ate some of that cake. Jonah loves to eat!

(like his mommy)

He is 40 lbs and getting taller all the time. He is no longer wearing a pullup to bed at night either. Jonah loves to ride his scooter outside and he also loves to sing.

Lets just say God blessed Jonah with a strong will in all areas and sometimes that can be a good thing and other times it can be a bad thing. But we love Jonah more and more as we see his personality develope and watching him learn new things.