His Precious Peace and Promises

A few months ago, I was worrying so  much that it was making me sick. 

Literally sick. 

I was having horrible nightmares each night that I spent most of my day in tears as I thought of every possible scenario that could happen to my Twins when they left for college.

When I would pour my heart out on fb or to my friends, family, I was met with strange looks and people telling me to basically get over it.

Because I am not the first mom to send her children away to college.

But for me personally it was really giving me severe anxiety. I did not want to get back on my Anxiety meds, I wanted to push thru and feel normal again. I wanted to trust in God like I have been doing all this time.

But apparently I thought that his protection ends when my kids go off to college.! (umm no)

The ladies at my church were invited to this Women’s Conference. I was able to attend and I loved how they ministered to my heart and soul. On just the things that women struggle with daily. At the end of the meetings they held prayer. My precious pastor’s wife turned around and asked me if I needed to go up for prayer. Of course I wanted to, just did not want to go up there alone. So she literally took my hand and walked up there with me. While we waited for my turn, Karin put her arm around me and just started praying. She was being sensitive to the holy spirit and everything that came out of her mouth was what I was struggling with. 

From fear, to feeling alone, my failures, to what people thought of me, to my marriage and the friendships I had lost and wanted back so badly.

 After her sweet prayers I felt this big sense of peace come over me like I had never experience before. 

By the time it was my turn for prayer and I told the guest speaker what I was struggling with, I was already at peace. But when she told me that now more than ever my twins needed me, she caught my attention. She said there was no time to be in fear about them. That now more than ever I needed to stand in faith for them. 

That hit me hard right in the face. 

I went home that night with a lot to think and pray about.

 I have had many conversations with God, about the plans he has for them. I have prayed over my twins and the choices they will make once they leave the nest. I have prayed over the friendships that will be made and the professors they will have. I have thanked God already for putting this plan together for them, and how he will be there every step of the way. And of course for their protection over them wherever they go.

Ever since that day, the peace that I have over me concerning them leaving me has been precious.

Does not mean the tears have stopped though. My tears are for my sadness because I will miss them like crazy. I will miss having a house full of teens. Will miss the way they make me laugh. I will even miss hearing them fight with Jasmine.

And I am reminded how fast high school went for the twins and how even though my Jazzy is starting her freshman year it won’t be long till she is going away to college.

It makes me think of my own momma and how she must of struggled when we left her house. Although I felt she was thrilled to have peace and quiet after we all left.

My Twins will be 6 ½ hours away from me. With the freedom I now have on my wkends I plan to visit them on occasion. And Trav said I get to go to some of their cross country meets. I look forward to that new season in my life. I know that God is going to watch over them, and provide for us financially so that they can go to college there all 4 years.

Now I share this with yall, because I know several mommas out there that are struggling with their babies leaving. I know you are wondering what in the world you are going to do without them. I know your heart aches because you have spent the last 18 years chasing and supporting everything they have done. 

So I am praying for you. 

I am praying that peace overtakes you right now. 

That even though we will miss them like crazy, we will be ok. 

That our hearts are healed. 

That we can sleep each night with no worrying over them.

I pray that in the upcoming months you find friendships that have been neglected.

And that your marriages thrive more than ever. 

That we find this new season is the best one yet..

Now, I know a little special someone who leaves for AFRICA for a year this coming wkend. 

I am going to have a sad 18 year old fella as he says goodbye to his sweet girlfriend. I admire and look up to her momma, and so I ask that yall agree with us in prayer for this person and her precious momma and family. That she has safe travels, and has the time of her life. And that she comes back in a year with lots to share. 

We are super proud of you Sarah. You will be missed greatly!

Suck It Up Buttercup...

It seems the word “Changes, Changes, Changes” keeps coming up for me lately.. 

Come August I am going to be experiencing lots of new changes in my life. 

And I am planning on praying my way thru it.

They made the announcement on Sunday during church service about one of the things that is coming up. So now I can share with everyone!

 First of all, thank you to ones who text to check on me or the ones who stopped by the nursery on Sunday.. I appreciate you thinking of me, and the support I have gotten from each of you while I was doing the Nursery thing. Your kind words meant the world to me..

So those who know me well, know that for the last 7 years or so I have been in the nursery. The last almost 5 years I got to help run the Nursery with the Children’s’ Pastors.

At the beginning of June I was told that my position was going away and that the Youth Pastor’s wife was going to oversee the Nursery Dept and create a core group of ladies to do what I was doing.

So that it was not all on one person.

Now I wish I could say I jumped up with excitement when I was told the news.

I am telling on myself here, being brutally honest..

I cried,.. I cried for 2 days..

Poor Pastor who had to watch my melt down.

I went thru different emotions.. I was shocked as I never saw it coming. I felt like I was not appreciated.. Like my faithfulness and hard work was not noticed.. I was sad, because I loved what I got to do each Sunday..

Than I was just pissed..

Again not a proud moment, and I failed completely if this was a test..

BUT…. after much prayer and seeking council from my sweet and precious friend.. I asked God to help me see the big picture in all this. And to minister to my heart what he wanted me to do next.

 And he did just that!

First thing I had to realize it was nothing about ME!! It’s about the Little People.. 

So once I got my focus back and got over myself.. I am happy and excited about what is in store.

I have been asked a few times, so I will answer it on here.. 

 YES, I will still volunteer in the nursery on occasion. 

 YES, I still get to be part of helping with the nursery with a great group of ladies.

The little people are going to love the new curriculum that was finally purchased, and I think the parents will love it too. The core group of ladies have a great heart and love the little people just like I do. So yes, changes are coming, but they will all be great changes..

But I wanted to take the time to give a shout out to a few people..

First to my hubby and children. They were so happy when they heard the news.. lol apparently me being over the nurseries was not always glorious for them..

Thank you guys for helping me wash and fold the many t-shirts, and blankets and spit up rags. Thank you for going to church, sometimes 2 hours before service without complaining while you ate your breakfast in the nursery classes. Thank you for understanding that our wkends were cut short because we had to be up bright and early every single Sunday.. And thank you for being patient as I spent time texting all wkend to find replacements for the classes each wkend. I know you did it because you love me, and you knew that I loved serving the Little People..

Second to the many ladies and gentlemen who showed up each month to volunteer in the classes. To those who had to help me out twice a month. Or those who had to help me out on a moment’s notice. Thank you for your faithfulness and for serving and loving the Little People. It's because of people like each of you that I was able to do what I did successfully.

And to my blog readers who attend our church or a different one.
 If you have a little one in the nursery, or a grandbaby in that nursery. Please ask how you can help do your part. I feel the nursery area is the hardest one to fill. But if everyone did their part, than it would only have to be once every 2 or 3 months. And it keeps people who do it over and over each month from getting burnt out.

So there it is.. My heart on the matter.. The good the bad and the ugly.. 

These nursery changes take place August 1^st, We move my fellas into their dorms August 8^th, and My Jazzy girl starts her freshman year towards the end of August, and Travis goes a way for a bit for training in August also. ( I think he planned that on purpose) I am going to take a long and much needed break in August, so no worries if you don't see me much. 

When I think about all the changes coming I have a strong desire to just hide under a rock.. And since that is not an option for me, I am having to put my big girl panties on and take it all one day at a time.

So keep me and my familia in your prayers please. And let’s see what all is in store for us in this next season. 

Answered Prayers

Where I work, we have morning prayer before we start our day. Working with nothing but men, it is usually pretty simple. A morning devotion is read and then someone prays, and we go about our daily duties.

The other morning I really felt in my heart I was supposed to share and pray. And Since its been a while that I have blogged, I figured it was time to share on here too.

Raising kids is expensive. Our children know what it is like to see their parents live paycheck to paycheck. They have everything they need and some, and we give God all the glory for always providing for us. But our children also know what it is like to be told no, we can’t do some of those extras all the time. No fancy vacations, No fancy and name brand clothing. 

Oh how blessed we have been to have understanding, good hearted children. 

We always knew college was going to be expensive. Having twins going to college was going to be tough. So we have always told our kids that good grades are very important, and if you play sports be the best you can be. No half butt effort. Just in case you get noticed and you can play sports at collegiate level. 

Aaron 

We have been strict with grades, sometimes maybe a little too strict. We expected A’s, and so the boys made A’s. Which is why they will graduate in top 10 of their graduating class this June. And we did not allow any quitting in sports, you attend every practice and game, and you never gave bad attitudes to the coaches, even if the coaches were not so nice. When applying for college, filling out the fafsa and all that fun stuff, we were disappointed to be told we did not qualify for any help. According to them, we make enough  money to put both boys thru college. So imagine our frustration when we both work our butts off and live paycheck to paycheck and to find out we don’t qualify. Same thing with college courses at the school, it hurt our boys to where they cannot graduate with Distinguished Honors because we could not afford some extra college courses. I hate to admit that I have had moments where I felt like a failure as a parent. And I know so many other families who are considered middle class, where we make enough money to not be considered poor, but not enough to actually afford certain things. But we have kept the faith, and we just continued to pray for God to provide so our boys can go to college and be successful, and not struggle with money. We want them to experience and accomplish more than what Trav and I have, above and beyond what we could even imagine.  

Cameron

I am thrilled to let you know the guys applied at Oklahoma Panhandle State University, they were accepted and are being given an Academic Scholarship, and an Athletic Scholarship for running. We also found out that Aaron is being awarded a $5000 scholarship from an insurance company in Decatur, it is called the “Character Counts Scholarship”. We are being blown away with how the money is coming in, and we know more is coming their way. Our guys are really seeing the benefits of the their hard work, and seeing their own prayers being answered.

 It’s a great feeling when your own children tell you “See mom, we told you God would provide for us”..

 Proof that We must be doing something right.. 

My 2015 Catch Up Post

Here we are 2015!! Life has been extremely busy and so as you may have noticed I have neglected my blog followers.. So let me play catch up and give you the highlights since the last blog..

Aaron's Letter

Cameron's Letter
         My Handsome Twin Fellas have been Accepted at Texas Lutheran University. They were given the Presidential Academics Scholarship. And the Cross Country Coach has contacted them and wants them to join the team. We get to tour the place next week and talk with the admissions office and coach to see if this is where they for sure want to go. Yes, this momma is very excited and proud of my fellas, but 4 hours and 20 minutes away is breaking my heart. But I know this will be great for them, and I have accepted that. Almost.. Keep them in your prayers for guidance.

  
    My Ciera graduates from Cosmetology School this week. She has to go to school for a little bit longer and then take the big state test. SO prayers for her to pass with flying colors. We are proud of her, and look forward to what the future holds. So if you need to get your hair did, hit Ciera up. Of course I am loving being a Nana to Our Princess and believing that a proposal is in the very near future.. Hint Hint Vijay..

   My Baby girl turns 14 tomorrow.  I am still in denial that this is even possible. Some days I look at her and still see that precious little toddler following my every move, but lately I look at her and see this young beautiful woman who has  huge heart and is a go-getter.

 I pray daily for the relationships she has in her life. That God surrounds her with real friends, and that she always shows compassion and love in return. She has been in pain for so long with her knee, and has missed basketball season so far. She had also been sick with the crud, and our doctor gave her a stronger allergy med, and the crazy thing is this med has helped her knee pain. We don’t understand it, but sure is nice to see her without the darn knee brace.

      The hubby and I celebrated 18 Looooong Years of marriage in November. I bought him a nice fancy TV for the bedroom and he just decided staying with me longer was a big gift enough.. lol I am thankful for him. We are loving having him home every single night, and thrilled at how he has been able to attend all the kids activities. We are enjoying the alone time we seem to be getting a lot of lately too. But he is preparing for the big melt down when my fellas leave me in 6 months. He said something about getting a hotel and living alone. Not really sure why, since I will be leaving with the boys to Sequin Texas..

   We went to watch the Boyd football team play in the playoffs, and since it was half way to Lubbock I called up my real dad to meet us. I had not talked to him in almost 2 years. I was pissed at him for being so drunk at my Grandpa’s funeral. Of course He was thrilled and met us there at the game. I got to visit with him for about an hour while he was sober before he left and had a few thousand drinks. He came back to the game and almost fell on one of our friends in the bleachers. I was quickly reminded why I don’t get to see him very often, and why I despise the smell of beer. Needless to say we left the game early, and came home. But you know, God has been dealing with me about being bitter and holding grudges against people who have hurt me. And after that visit I drove home with a heavy heart. But I realized that him rejecting me most of my life, had nothing to with me, but his addiction to alcohol. We all deal differently with life. Unfortunately my real dad chooses alcohol to cope. I love him, and happy I got to see him. But thrilled he lives 4 hours away.

That about catches everyone up on Life with The Hammetts. Its basketball season so we spend a lot of time cheering on the Boys Varsity team, and really just enjoying family time and dinners with our friends.

I am excited about the opportunities that are coming up in 2015. I have never been a big New Year’s Resolution person. But this year I am trying to slow things down and enjoying the “Right Now” moments in life. My babies are all growing up and soon it will just be Trav and I at the casa. But my goal for the year is to make a better effort at being a good friend to the Women in my life. Take time to send “just because” cards and do more invites to dinner. SO ladies keep your phones handy, I am going to be calling on you. 

Standing Strong in Our Faith, Even When the Answer was No

Parent Appreciation Night for Seniors

Well, if you followed me on FB than you already know the outcome of Regional’s on Saturday.

Before Regional Meet

One of the toughest things of being a mom is watching your children not meet their goal. Or watching your child think he failed at something, that he thinks he was just not deserving. I watched my son beat his personal best time by 30 seconds. I watched him get 20^th place against the top runners in his region. And yet once he crossed the finish line he knew he did not make it. He broke down and found his dad at the finish line and just cried. He almost made his 46 year old father lose it too. That visual alone made this momma lose it. 

Cameron also beat his personal best, and was content with his effort. If anything he felt bad for his brother. He knew how much it meant to Aaron. Of course being the 20^th runner and knowing they took the top 17 runners did not help. We placed as a team for 5^th place, they took the top 4 teams to state. He was that close.

Aaron telling me they are in serious mode so no smiling

But what amazes me about my Twin Guys, is yes they were bummed and we were heartbroken. One more than the other.. But they quickly put their disappointed to the side and cheered on the two guys who did make it to State. We went to the awards ceremony, we cheered when their names were called, and they got to join them to Round rock for the State Meet.

Mr Nedrow and Mr West show support by attending

 The school held a send off where people lined the street and cheered them on as they headed to State. And Boyd School Board recognized them at the meeting. All this recognition and support was good for the team. Cross Country has always gone unnoticed. The dedication and hard work and the meets every Saturday was all heart for this group of guys. 

And the parents of the cross country team could not be more proud..

We were heartbroken...

Once the dust settled my son was really disappointed, he had prayed and prayed for his miracle. He stepped up for this team the last few years and prayed with them for every meet. He was a great team leader for them. He never wanted something so bad before. And when he did not get it, he of course was disappointed. He asked me why, why did his prayers not get answered. He said he gave it his all, he had faith and put his heart in it.

 Of course I am tears because the last thing I want to see is my son struggle in his faith walk. And I told him that sometimes the answer is “No”. But to really pray and think about the bigger picture here, for him to ask God to show him what it is he is missing thru this event in his life. 

Presley was sad too.. But she just wanted food and nap

A couple of days later, he came to me and told me that he knows what it was. He was able to be an example. Or as Pastor Robert and Holly would say “Be Jesus with skin on”.. 

Aaron leading his team in prayer

The guys that he prayed with at each meet never really had a relationship with Jesus. They never wanted to pray, and at the last regional meet two other guys wanted to pray. One of the guys even gave the glory for his running so well this season to Jesus. The team said they know they could not have done so well without Jesus.. Of course I have tears in my eyes when Aaron tells me this. He said it was not all about him winning, but about making Jesus Famous..Yep More tears and a big Wow! Another Proud momma moment and an answer to many prayers..

Ciera made it to a meet 

My teens miss Pastor Robert and Holly with all their hearts, and they are slowly stepping in and learning to love our new youth pastors. But I am so grateful for the season that God put some amazing Youth pastors in my Teens lives.It was them that helped my Guys grow strong in their faith walk with Jesus. It was them that encouraged them to talk with Jesus daily, and to be great examples.  I will never understand why things happen, and how much heartache it has caused. But I am going to keep praising God and know he has a greater plan for me and mine. Even when the answer is “No”!

Just a big Good Job to my Twin fellas! What a pleasure it has been to cheer you on since 7th grade. We are so proud of you, and thrilled to watch you play basketball, run track and run cross country in college next year. Your dad and I will always be your biggest fans, and want yall to hold your head up high because you have done some amazing things for Boyd Schools and the cross country program. Like Coach Hern said you were the Corner Stones for this team. 

Fat Girl Problems...

The other night I dreamt that I was running.. Of course normal people would say “Oh no what were you running from” but my first thought was “Oh my gosh you were able to run!”

If you know me I battle with my weight. A couple of years ago with weight watchers, the doctors help and great work out buddies, I lost quite a bit.

Than something “Devastating and Emotional” happened in my life and I turned back to food and gained it all back. ALL OF IT!

Besides the weight, I struggle with migraines and yes probably TMI, but I also struggled with IBS “Irritable Bowel Syndrome”.

Basically every day from about 12pm to 3pm I went thru sharp constant gas pains (which felt like labor pains) from being constipated to severe diarrhea.

Every… Single… Day..

On the wkends I had to plan around it, so if my friends or family wanted to shop, I would hope they did shopping first before we ate, so I could be home for my bout of IBS. My hubby and kids have had to wait on me at stores or stops at nasty convenient stores, because they knew I would be stuck in the bathroom for hours. It was controlling my life. I saw doctors and had test done, and would just be told, yep you have IBS.

So here I was at 35, taking medication for migraines, Struggling with  IBS and of course the obvious weight problems.

My sis in law Dana, started selling Plexus. She would post about it on FB, and would always share testimonies. Now I am not putting down other people’s products, because I know everyone is different, and what works for me may not work for others. I have tried many different things.  Even the product that rhymes with “Bark” but it never failed that it would trigger a migraine. I wanted to feel better, I wanted to lose weight. And most of all I wanted energy again so I could feel healthy again. And there are so many things out there to try. I even wanted to sport the patch, but I could not afford it.

I came across one of the testimonies on fb that Dana shared. The lady talked about not having IBS anymore.. SO it peaked my interest enough to ask about pricing.

Again, we have 3 kiddos so I did not think we could afford all the products.

Another testimony talked about being free from migraines.. Oh gosh I wanted to experience that feeling.. Migraine are just plain evil..

But it was one post by a lady, who talked about why she quit taking plexus. She was taking some of the products and was feeling great, and thought since she was feeling better, she could get off the products. She listed the way her body responded to getting off the Probio5 and Pink Slim drink. She talked about the stiffness and inflammation in her body that came back. How each morning she was walking like an elderly woman. And she was only in her 40’s. Of course she got back on the products, and will stay on them..

Personally I could relate to stiffness and inflammation she talked about. So I did the deed and ordered the Bio Cleanse and Probio5. First 2 wks I noticed that my tummy was being normal. Yes I could POOP normal..! My hands and ankles were not swollen anymore. And I had a bit of energy.

So than I joined as a member for my $34.95, which gave me a website and now I can get the products at a discounted rate.

So my first purchase under myself was the Pink Drink Slim. Hmm the best way to describe it is watered down cherry kool-aid. I drink it on the way to work each day. And for me it makes me not hungry till about lunch time, and it gives me energy to get thru my day. And I sleep really good, without night sweats!!

SO I take 3 products from Plexus.. And because of those 3 products, I don’t deal with IBS anymore. I have lost 4 pds. The biggest thing is I have not had a migraine in 3 wks! And I am also proud to say, I was able to run at my Boys Cross Country Meet. I mean full on sprint, which I have not been able to do in a couple of years. I feel like “me” again. And I am not one to try and advertise on fb, because I know how annoying that can be. But I have to share with people who may be experiencing issues like I did. That if it worked for me, than why not give it a try too! Get healthy from the inside out!

Visit my website at www.AmandaHammett.myplexusproducts.com

October This and That..

Aaron's Senior Picture

Aaron told me I should write a weekly blog. He said he enjoys reading them, and that I am a good writer. Of course it did wonders for my ego, but I told him I start many blogs and then whichever one sticks is the one I finish and post. Blogging has helped me to express my thoughts and feelings. Especially with this Senior stuff going on.  And I am sure he is loving all the attention he is getting with my blogs being about him and his brother lately. Of course I have to share this picture of him, so everyone can get a good laugh at the joke he played on me last wk. When he convinced me this was his Senior Picture for the annual.

 

Twins with one of their Best Friends Sequoia

This wk my emotions have been pretty level. The boys have been working hard during practice as they prepare for Regional's in Grand Prairie this Saturday. Tonight is Senior Night at the football game. After talking with their coach and the principal we have arranged it to where the cross country team Seniors will get to be acknowledged too. Of course now I have to walk down the field with them, and try not to do the ugly cry in front of Boyd America. This will be exciting!

We are coming on many important last for them, between Regional's, the Senior night, and now basketball has started. Both boys are on Varsity team and are enjoying playing already. And this makes me so happy. If you have some free time I invite you to come watch them play. Games will be on Tuesdays and Fridays.

They have also kind of set their minds and leaning towards Texas Lutheran University. We still have to go visit and look at everything. But this school has been in contact with them about being on the Cross country team. And with their academics they are able to get some kind of scholarship. Of course momma thinks 4 hours away is too far, I am hoping they come across another school that wants them to run and is like 2 hours away. But, I am just praying for peace. Because I know God already has it all planned out for them.

 

Jasmine 4th Place District Meet

Jazzy girl is on the injured list as of this morning. She was struggling with cross country and it kept her knees pretty tender, and of course cheerleading started up. And the jumps and dancing seemed to over-do it for her.

So she is on restrictions for a week or two. I am proud to say she got 4^th place at District this month. She is a little natural runner and we are super excited to see her run for high school next year! She is really enjoying 8^th grade so far. She is doing great and making straight A’s and made the UIL One Act Play this year. She plays the part of a King. This child of mine is growing up way too fast. And let’s just say hormones are flaring at my house, between her and her daddy I am not sure how much more I can take. Lol

 

Daddy's Girl

Wishing Everyone a happy and safe Halloween,. 

And Of course I will blog and let everyone know how Senior night goes and Regional's tomorrow.