Emily
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Emily
Numbers: 26-30:The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: “How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. So tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very thing I heard you say: In this wilderness your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

These are the people whom God just delivered from Egypt with amazing wonders, 10 horrible plagues and parting the Red Sea. But their inheritance was taking longer than they thought it should and while Moses was up on the mountain meeting with God, the people made idols and worshipped them just as they had in Egypt, like God had never shown up. Can you blame God for being mad?

Yikes...how many times has the Lord heard me grumble? Um...more than the hairs on my head I'm sure. Especially when the vision is taking too long. My grumbling, my complaining, my faithlessness is detrimental to my future and my promise. And what impacts me deeply is that other's inheritance is dependent on my actions. I am mistaken if I think that my disobedience only hurts me. I don't want to lose my inheritance because I lose my faith. And I most certainly don't want others to miss the blessing because I took my eyes off Him. God knows human nature and that is it normal to get down and question circumstances. But only stay there for a moment. Recognize those feelings and thoughts and stop them by taking them to the Throne. Stop and pray and ask God to give you strength and restore your faith. We absolutely can not sit down in those thoughts. Get up and walk toward Him. It's the only way to the Promised Land.
Emily
Mom, there are no words to describe what you mean to me. You are the most self-less person I know and I learned to love people by watching you all my life. Thank you for always standing by my side, even when I was wrong. Countless times you have stood in the shadows and watched me shine with that proud momma look I love so much. Thanks for cheering for me, at every volleyball match, at every pageant, at every milestone. Thank you for always standing on the Word of God. I know you wish you could quote it like Dad can, but you don't need to, you live it every day of your life and because of you I walk passionately with Him. Thank you for every kiss when I am hurt, every hug when I am down, and every prayer you ever breathed. You are so special to me.

Happy Mother's Day.
Cami
What an emotional roller coaster the past few days have been. I definitely am emotionally drained. I'm glad that it is the weekend and that the waters have calmed down. On Thursday I took Lacey to her first modeling open casting call. Of course she was her cute sweet self and they loved her and asked her to come back for a callback the next day. We left the casting call and got home when I received a phone call from my Momma. They were on their way to the doctors because my dad had hurt himself pretty badly. I met them at the doctors to pick up Gracie Bear from them. When I saw my daddy my heart sank. He was as pale as he could be, white as a ghost and was in a fog. Just not himself. Not my daddy. It scared me. I went in with them to the doctors for a few minutes and then left to take the girls home. Once we were home my Momma called me and said that the doctor was so concerned about him that they were going to have an ambulance come get him to transport him to the ER at Kennestone Hospital. I called Josh and he came home from work and we left to go meet my parents at the ER. Apparently what had happened is that my dad and another guy from the church were working around the church. My dad was mowing the yard. He decided to move the picnic tables with a dolly like he has done many times before. He moved the first one. Then went to move the second one and some how something happened (we're not sure cause my dad can't remember it) and it got unbalanced and knocked my dad over. He landed on his left side on the concrete and then the picnic table fell on top of him hitting him in the temple and right side of his face. We are so thankful that Roy was there. He didn't see it happen but heard the commotion and was able to go over and get the table off of my daddy. Once in the ER I was able to go back to the room with my parents. My daddy looked MUCH better and had more color in his face because they put an IV with fluids in him. The staff at Kennestone was absolutely amazing and took such great care of my daddy. They took him for a catscan and thankfully it came back all clear and they said that he could be discharged. My daddy has many bumps, bruises and scrapes as well as a really sore back and head. But, we are so thankful that there was serious injury. It really could've turned out much worse. The Lord definitely was protecting my daddy that day!

On Friday it was an emotional day as well at work. I was exhausted from being drained from the day before with my daddy. Then a job that I thought I was going to get at work fell through. Now mind you, I had been praying about this job for several months and had told the Lord that if it wasn't his will to shut the door. So when it didn't work out I was okay with that decision. However, there were other circumstances involved that made it so disappointing and broke my heart. I really wanted the job. I know I would've done a great job with the job. Oh well. Their loss. The Lord obviously has something even better in store for me. So now I stand and wait for Him to show me what that is. I know what my heart wants, but, just waiting to see if He'll open that door. Anyway, I took Lacey to her call back after work. They did a test photo shoot to see how she would do in front of the lights and camera. The little girl before her would not stop crying and wouldn't smile for the camera. They kept trying and trying but she just kept crying. Then they called Lacey and they wanted me to put her in the bouncy seat. She was smiling at them before I even got her in the seat. They didn't have to take very many pictures because she was just so happy and cute as could be. They said that she did an awesome job. Now we'll just wait to see if we hear something. :-)

Today, I'm hanging out with Lacey. We're about to head out and finish up some Mother's Day shopping for her grandma's. Josh and Echoing Angels are in Canton filming some acoustic tunes for a video. Then later on tonight we're going to have dinner with some friends of ours to celebrate our friend Stefanie's birthday. Should be a fun night.

Then tomorrow, looking forward to celebrating my first mother's day! :-) Very excited!
Nikki
I can't wait for the weekend to start! It officially begins for me at 4. Jon and his dad have been working so hard on our property clearing it out and planting us a garden. It is really starting to look good. I'm going to go home and help with what I can on this beautiful day. Jon asked me what I wanted to do for Mother's Day. I told him a few things I wanted to do tonight, so I think he is going to watch the boys while I do that.

Tomorrow afternoon we are going to Trey and Emily's for a cookout. I am really looking forward to this. The guys are shooting a video of them doing thier songs accoustically at this old, beautiful church that Megan and Neil got married in. Not sure if we are eating before or after- nonetheless we are getting to hangout! :-)

Sunday the guys are playing at a church in Hamilton, GA. I think I am just going to go to my church. Afterwards, Jon is going to meet up with me and the rest of his family at a restarurant that we are taking his mom to. I am so excited that God has allowed me to experience motherhood. As you mothers know, there aren't words to describe the love a mother has towards her children. It truly is indescribable.
Nikki
As I was thinking about what I wanted to do for my mom for Mother's day, I stopped reflected on the mom that the Lord blessed me with. She is such a woman of strength. She raised 5 girls all on my dad's income. She sure knew how to stretch a dollar as well as keep her sanity with so many girls in the house. She was the oldest girl in her family and also helped to raise her two younger sisters. I obviously didn't know my mom when she was growing up, but I could definitely see her being a leader in her family as well in school. She is also a woman of great independence. This is a trait she definitely passed on to her daughters. Dad worked a lot and she stayed at home with us. She didn't have anyone while she was raising us to help her out with baby-sitting, if they needed a little extra money to help pay a bill, or anything else that we sometimes depend on our parents for. Since she wasn't accustomed to leaning on others, she learned to take care of her family herself. My sisters and I learned at a young age that if you want something, you need to work for it. Most of us put ourselves through college all while working at the same time. Mom and Dad didn't have the money to put all of us through college, so if we wanted to go, then we would have to find a way to do it. She is a woman of small stature, but don't let her size fool you. She is quite feisty! :-) I see a lot of her in Journey. The other day he was pitching a fit and she said, "Boy he has a little temper, I wonder where this comes from?" I just looked at her and said, "Really??"


She has 11 grandchildren, all of which absolutely adore her. To be honest, everybody adores her. She is very real. There isn't anything fake about her. What you see, is what you get. She made our house a home and when I was growing up, our house was where everybody wanted to hang out. Even when I left home, some of the people I grew up with still came by to see my parents. They are very welcoming and accepting of people. My mom has such a warm spirit and is always willing to fix a home-cooked meal on the fly. When I was growing up, there were so many times I had friends over and she would just whip up something for us to eat. I believe this to be her love language- if there is one about cooking. This may have been another reason we always had people over- she was/is an awesome cook. To this day if anyone comes over, especially her family, she always wants to fix us some food. She truly has a servant's heart and has always put others before herself. She is one of the most humble, loving people I have ever met. I pray I grow into half the mom she was/is to me.

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I could go on and on about my mom because she truly has so many qualities that I admire. She is my best friend, my confidant, and has shown me unconditional love all the days of my life. I am so blessed to call her MOM.

I love you so much Mom!!
Emily
Sometimes life lessons you think you are teaching your kids are really for you. Our son, who is so easy and wonderful, has been trying our patience the last couple of weeks. He is five now and seems to have hit the paranoid stage. He keeps getting out of the bed to check and see what we are doing....at all hours of the night! He is still awake when we come to bed, comes in our room at 3am, is awake when I leave for work at 6am... does this kid sleep? Anyway, he has been disobeying us by continually getting up. The first week, we took privileges of tv and games away, the second week he got spanked by me, the third week, he got his first ever daddy spanking. We believe that is the last resort, however, it didn't work. He still got up. Sooooo I will tell you what has made him stay in bed the last 2 nights as long as nobody calls social services! He kept saying he was scared, that's why he was getting up. Clearly, he was not and it was an excuse. So I told him since he was scared inside the house, he could sleep outside where he wasn't scared. It worked! He is totally freaked that I will drag his pillow and blanket out there.

After the night Trey spanked James, Trey was analyzing the problem when God spoke to him. Maybe this lesson is for him....to quit being paranoid and just relax and wait for answers. Stay where He has put us and stop worrying God so much with our doubt. I have been doing this Old Testament study and today I was reading about when the Israelites got impatient, after being freed from Egypt, waiting for Moses to return from the mountain where he was meeting with God. How quickly they forgot all the amazing works God had done for them when they didn't enter the promised land immediately. So much so that they built a golden calf as an idol! And wanted to go back to Egypt where they were slaves! I read this and think to myself, "stupid!"...but how many times have I done this? Questioned God while waiting for an answer or a fulfillment to a promise? Waiting is the devil's playground. In times like these, we get frustrated and impatient and forget to look back on all the "God-stones" (my word for milestones) that lead us to this place....doors only He could have opened to get you on your purpose path. It's so difficult when you have been given the dream and the vision but you aren't there yet. Instead of questioning God, relax and know He remembers His promise and knows the right time. I don't want to go back to Egypt, maybe I knew what eveyday would look like, but I wasn't free because I wasn't in Him, doing my purpose. One thing is for sure, I know He is the same God today and He may prolong my entrance to the fulfilment if I doubt and forget His majesty. I have personally done a soul check and made sure there are no golden calfs in this heart.....I vow to continue to wait on Him, even if its in the wilderness that I don't understand.
Cami




Yay! So glad to have the blog back up and running! It's funny because it seems like since the blog was down I had sooo much to talk about and had no where to put it. Anyway, what a full couple of weeks it has been. I think the last time I posted was on Good Friday. So, what have the LeBlanc's been up to since then...well...let's see...

1. We took Lacey to see the Easter Bunny at the mall. We figured that since it was her first Easter that she needed to meet the Easter Bunny. The little girl in front of us got up there and freaked out and ran away. We took Lacey up there and she just sat and smiled. It was so precious! However, when we saw how much they charge you for a picture with the Easter Bunny we decided it will probably be the only time we do this. It might be cheaper for Josh to put on a Bunny suit and surprise Lacey. LOL

2. Easter. Josh ended up having to work on Easter Sunday morning with his production company. They had a load in for the opera at Kennesaw State University. So, Lacey and I went to my parents church to see their Easter production that they put on every year. And actually, Lacey made her acting debut in the play this year. The very first scene of the play talked about the birth of Jesus. And yes, she did play baby Jesus! She was so cute! They did such a great job. I was so proud of my momma for producing such a good play! After church my parents, Lacey Gracie Bear and I went over to my in-laws house where Josh met us. My mother-in-law Trisha made a wonderful lunch. She also made a precious bunny cake. Then of course we took a bunch of Easter pictures. That's tradition. :-)

3. I bought some cute sandals with my birthday money that I had gotten. Both pairs were so cute! I wore one pair and loved them. Then the other sandals I wore to work and had only had them on for maybe an hour and realized how much I hated them! So I ended up taking them back. Thank you Kohl's for taking them back with no problems.

4. Saturday Lacey and I were able to go to EA's show over in Loganville at Greystone Church. It was a long haul (a little over an hour away). And the funny thing is that I was using my GPS. Well, apparently the address isn't in the GPS yet and it took me into this huge public park and said I reached my destination. LOL...um no I hadn't! Thankfully, Josh and the guys at the church were able to direct me in the right way. I was only like 7 minutes away. Also, I hadn't been feeling well and as the night went on the worse I started to feel. So, the drive home just seemed like it took forever.

5. I took Lacey to her doctor's appointment today. I'm so glad that Josh was able to go with me. I was so nervous because I didn't know how Lacey's weight was going to be. As you know, she has real bad reflux and has been underweight since about 2 months. We haven't been back to the GI specialist in a month because he said she was doing well. So, anyway, I was really nervous. As a mommy you want everything to be perfect and do everything perfectly for your child. And I have felt really bad about this thinking it was my fault...even though I know it wasn't my fault. Anyway, we saw the pediatrician today and she was really pleased with Lacey's development. She's still on the small side only weighing 11 pounds 5 ounces. But, she said she thinks that a big part of it is that Lacey is just going to be a petite little girl. I was soooo relieved! She said that we were doing a good job and that just made me breathe a sigh of relief!
I'm so thankful for a good report! Lacey also ended up having to get more vaccinations today. Now she's sleeping it off. LOL.

Tomorrow we are taking Lacey to a modeling audition. There is a certain baby brand that is looking for baby models around Lacey's age and she was asked to go. So, we shall see. I'll let you know how that goes. Should be interesting!
Nikki


I’ve had so much to say and now that I have the opportunity to, I have forgotten it! Are ya’ll like that? Anyway, these past few weeks for the Poole family have been very quiet and uneventful. Journey turned 8 months on the 30th of April. Wow! How time is flying. Jayce finished up his last baseball practice last night, and I have had the chance to see the band play a couple of times which was exciting. Other than that, things are just normal for us. We are winding down our school year, so the light at the end of the tunnel is finally getting brighter.



At the beginning of the year I fasted for several things and over the course of these past few months, I have seen the Lord work. I have a few family members that I prayed and fasted would get into church. I found out that last weekend one of them went to church all by herself on Easter. She said it was great and boy, did that bless my heart! I think she is going to go back!! Also, one of the first verses the Lord showed me at the beginning of the Fast was from the Lord’s Prayer about giving us this day our daily bread. I have mentioned about daily bread before, but still never really embraced this concept because I did not like this idea. I like to know where my weekly, monthly, yearly bread is going to come from- not just daily. I would say that within the last week or so, this verse has really resonated in my soul and I truly have a peace about it!!! I know now why the Lord seems to take a while to answer our prayers. During this waiting period he is working and providing. At the time we may not see it, but afterwards we can see how much our faith and trust were being built.
Emily
SOOOOO we are up and running again! Yay!!! The problem we were having was actually because of you guys the fans!!! We were getting too much traffic for the bandwidth allowed by the blog! That is an awesome problem to have and we are so thankful to all of you who read our blog and keep us in your prayers. We have truly stayed afloat because you lift us up.

Here is what happened in the last 10 days in the Heffinger household.....We went for a tour of our son's new school. He will be starting Kindergarten in August. I can not believe it!!!! He is so big and so ready for this step and I am so weak and not ready. His school is public and is very nice. It is only about 6 years old. We would have loved to have had the option to send him to private school (we have some very nice ones oh so close to us) but it is just not in the finance cards for us. But we really liked the school and have peace about it. He is so excited. He likes the gym the best of course. Trey liked the art room and music room and I really liked the interactive learning equipment.

Easter Sunday was great. I was invited to sing at Liberty Hill and had a blast. It was such a blessing for me. Trey was actually singing at another church! But we did meet for lunch with family at my aunt's house. We always have so much fun.

Last week was my precious mom's birthday. We had a surprise party for her this past Saturday. My sister and I planned this months ago and she was sooooo shocked. A lot of friends and family came, even from out of town! She is such a wonderful person and it was a blessing to honor her. Next weekend we are sending she and my dad on a mountain getaway. They deserve it. They have been married 40 years this month!!!! Their example, and Christ, is the foundation my marriage is based on. Thank you both for loving the Lord and each other!!!

Thank you all for making this BLOG a success. Keep following and tell all your friends. Stay tuned, because the BLOG is going to get a facelift.