Happy Fall...

Happy Fall from our home to yours...

(MaKayla's first piece of Pumpkin Pie...
An official sign that fall is here...)

A True Picture...

Today's been a pruning day for me in some profound and intense ways. As with any pruning, the process is painful yet exciting. Painful for it means/demands change.
Exciting because fruit is promised upon completion.
Not fruit to benefit me,
fruit to benefit my Saviour!

I've been in tears to the point of weeping more than once already in the past eight hours, so when the Lord drew my attention to this outside my kitchen window as I was doing dishes this afternoon,






my heart was abundantly blessed.

A true picture of love, adoration and friendship!

A true picture that brings me joy!

Love it...

Love it...
Love it...

For This Child We Prayed...

For this child we believed...

For this child we waited on God for...
For this child we prayed...


I would have to say that he is one of the most beautiful babies I have ever laid my eyes upon...
I'm not just saying that because he is my blood family or because I love him so deeply...
or because I love his daddy, momma and siblings...

He...is...beautiful!


My heart is humbly thankful to the Lord for safely bringing Baby Noah into our hearts and
into our lives.


His daddy and momma have endured much and have trusted much in order for his precious little life to be here with us this day.


They've laid aside fears...
Swallowed uncertainty...
Dug deep for knowledge...
Trusted without reserve...

(I don't just love him...
I love his momma in unspeakable ways as well!)

He is loved...
He is beautiful...
He has the fingerprints of God all over him...
(He smells so yummy sweet too...just like a baby should!)


For this child we prayed!

It's Official...

As of 9:30 this morning, it became official...


We've anticipated that this day would come since earlier this spring...


Our baby girl has outgrown her older sister...


A day of victory for one...


A reality to the other that her "genes" trail back to her momma's daddy...


We console/encourage her with, "God has great plans in store for those things that are held in small packages!"...


Both of our girls are confident that:

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful.
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together
in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:13~16


It's official...
The five-and-a-half year younger sister is now taller!

He Reminds Me...

I had the blessed privilege of gathering with a few dear sisters in Christ last night around our dining room table. As we sipped coffee and nibbled on muffins, we shared with one another where God has us in life, what He is desiring to teach us and the areas in which we are struggling the most. Getting together with these ladies is an opportunity for us to grow in our walk with the Lord and a time for us to sharpen each other in accordance with His Word.

As I sit this morning reading my Bible and working through the current study I am enveloped in, the Lord brings to remembrance the conversation that wafted through the ears and hearts of four women seeking, searching, desiring and pressing in for the perfection of Christ in our personal lives and in the lives of those we love. He reminds me of the urgency of His needed touch in various situations. He reminds me to encourage... He reminds me to pray... He reminds me to believe...

God is not a man,
that he should lie,
nor a son of man,
that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not fulfill?

Numbers 23:19

"You are my witnesses,"
declares the Lord,
"and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor will there be one after me.

Isaiah 43:10

Faces That I Love... Thoughts From MaKayla...

I love the people to whom these faces belong so very, very much!!!

Me and My Gorgeous Momma...

Fun summer memories... We're close "homies"... :0)

Grandpa G's 65th Birthday...

Never a dull moment with Bri...

Mal, and the two men in her life...

Sharing a special supper with best bud Becca...

Crazy Uncle Troy...

Inseparable...

Mr. TJ...

Soul Sisters from the beginning...

Oh how I love my Grandpa B...

Note: Danielle's belly has definitely grown since this picture... and I am SO glad...

The "Three Amigos"...

My Handsome "Mr. Darcy"...

My Uncle Mark...

We're not real sure that we are sane...

My AMAZING Momma and Daddy...


"I Praise you God, for these faces that make my life so very, very special! I pray that I never have to live without them!"

Fun Of The Season...

Fun...
Fun...
Fun...

First of the season...


As soon as Kyle gets home,
this one will be disassembled and another one will take its place.

Let the puzzle putting together season begin!!!

To every thing there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
Ecclesiastes 3:1

To Know You...

Thanks to Kyle, our home is very much musically focused. Kyle's greatest avenue of worship to the Lord is through nothing more than music and rightfully so since God has richly gifted him in voice and in instrument. We nearly always have some sort of music filtering through the air waves whether it be radio (KLOVE), CD, MaKayla and Mallary humming/singing or Kyle playing his guitar. Certain songs really speak to and nurture my heart and the YouTube of this particular Casting Crowns song is no exception. As I listen to the message and really allow the words to soak deep into my heart, I recognize this as a love song to the Lord... Above and beyond, there is nothing I long for more than to love Him more and to know Him more... I daily find myself falling deeper and more intimately in love with Jesus!

My Honey!!!

It's been so long since I've posted a comment on here that I've about forgotten how to run this thing! My post this day is amazing to me and why it's amazing is that it is "My Honey". We here in the O'Riley home have been going through some intense spiritual warfare and growth! As Mendi and I visit in the mornings before I leave for work and after I get home and yes, throughout the day, I stand so amazed how God has sustained "My Honey". I have seen a beauty and a desire from Mendi that I cannot explain...except that it's "God" and He is in control. I love "My Honey" with such a deep love that with every breath I feel the Father saying "she is a gift and you need to cherish her and love her with all that you are son". I have seen the dawn break forth in Mendi's life and seen the solid rock she has become in this home. Her desire is a deep hunger for the Father and we so long to worship and adore Him. She loves our girls with every ounce of strength she has and yet seems to give more, and more, and more. I praise the Father, my Lord and Saviour this night for "My Honey's" life and the way she is growing our girls to be images of the Father. Thank you "Baby" for your sacrifice of love and devotion to our family. I will and always be your "Strong Hands"! I Love You!!!

His...

Today I find myself grateful for the unexpected blessings that the Lord showers on my life...

Things I don't anticipate...

Things I'm not looking for...

Things that are just HIM...

*A quick visit with a friend...
*An opportunity to pray with someone I love...
*The privilege to embrace my child...
*A breath of fresh fall air...
*Warm breezes blowing curtains where I sit...
*The sight of beautiful flowers that Kyle surprised me with...
*A precious child with a willing heart...
*A text message that simply says, "You are close to my heart..."
*A checkbook that balances on the first try...
*A vibrant daisy in my silver pail...
*Two bluejays frolicking under a tree...
*The promise that God has a will and a plan for my life...

As I spent time with the Lord this morning, He reminded me that His will should always supersede my will...not just in the big things/decisions but ALWAYS! I should daily enter the Holy of Holies seeking what His desire is for every moment of my day ahead, being willing to lay aside my own agenda in order to receive what His plan is for me and those that I affect, touch and influence. Making His will a reality takes surrender and discipline...something I have to remind myself of constantly. My spirit is oh so willing, but the weakened state of my flesh all~too~often gets in the way. May I be more diligent and determined to incline my ear to the voice of the Lord as He instructs me according to His plan, His will, His desire and His purpose for my life. Not just sometimes, but ALWAYS!

God, I am forever thankful that I am Yours!