It's Bowl Time...

Today OSU is playing in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego...we all wish that we were there for sure!! In celebration the boys and I made some Go Pokes Cupp Cakes! :) Yum (like we needed anymore sweets after all the Christmas food...anyway).....Go Pokes!!

Oh Christmas Tree...

My New Momma Rocker!

Well Christmas was really pretty sweet this year. We spent Christmas Eve with Mimi, Papa, Granny and some special guests: Kitty and Carl Horiess and Gregg and Kathy Cupp. Dustin and Kitty grew up together and I met her in highschool...it was a really neat time to share in fellowship with them and thier family. We hadn't seen Kitty in three years! Christmas Eve was eventful. The boys couldn't hardley wait to make The Happy Birthday Jesus Cake with Mimi...that was pretty neat. Andrew was loving the sprinkles and Carson just loved dipping his finger into the extra icing this year and eating it! Yum! After the cake was decorated they were off and ready to open the presents!! It was fun to see how so very excited they both were this year in opening some fun toys and then on Christmas morning finding the "Choo-Choo Roller Coster and Hotwheels Rollercoster" set that Santa left. I think Andrew's favorite thing was his new Christmas Thomas Movie and Carson really loved his Hotwheels Rollercoster best. Christmas morning we went to my family's home and celebrated with them. The boys got yet another rollercoster type car play set and lots more toys. Carson and Andrew helped Nay-Nay open baby Peyton's gifts....that was fun...he will be here before we know it...only 4 more weeks till he is due! That night Dustin and I came back to Tulsa to work and the boys were able to stay with Mimi & Papa until Sat morning when we would come back to OKC. My favorite thing this Christmas was a visa gift card and christmas money. I have been wanting a rocking chair to rock Abiagail in and have been very reluctant to purchase one because of how expensive they all are. Dustin and I went Friday after he got off to Mathis and got a steal...we found a rocker recliner that was origionally $500. 00 and it was on sale for $128.00. I was so very excited!! Anyway, I included a pic...I love my Momma Rocker...we got it home that night and I rocked Abigail (in the womb of course) in it....how fun! That night we watched a movie that was so very sad to me, "Pursuit of Happiness". How timely that God would use this to remind us how very fortunate we are, He has blessed us so very much this past year. We do not deserve His goodness and so many blessings that he bestows upon us so very much. Truly what an awesome God we serve! We arrived back in Oklahoma City Saturday to celebrate with Dustin's Mom and Dad, otherwise known as Mimi & Papa. It was thier 40th wedding anniversary! I will have to say that I did not do a very good job this past week taking pictures to document all that we did...my camera was giving me fits...I later realized that it was a set of bad batteries. Anyways, Dustin's sister Angela and her family joined us for dinner at Charleston's to celebrate and then we went on to Downtown OKC for the Myriad Gardens Light Tour. It was a really nice night and we got to see two choo choo trains!! Which of course the boys loved! The lights were beautiful and so romantic! What a neat night to celebrate the 40 years that the Lord has blessed them with together. On a side note, we also got free Hornets tickets for the New Years Eve game so that was kind of cool, too. Although, we are all exhausted from the traveling and may just gift them on to someone else. What a Christmas....Carson and Andrew are so excited about thier new things....and new things are fun, but as Christmas is now officially "wrapped up" we are so thankful for His gift to us in Jesus and His love for us and for His ever compassionate hand upon us, guiding us and providing for us along the way. We look forward to what lies ahead in 2009 as we continue to trust in Him....

3 Days Till Christmas....

The boys and I went this morning to JoAnns to order some more fabric backing for the new spring line and then on to Academy to finish a little Christmas shopping for Daddy. They boys were such troopers with all the crazy busy stores and holiday shoppers. We utterly wore Andrew Maddox out! Too cute huh? The boys are so excited for Christmas....only 3 days left!!

8 Days till Christmas...

It was Andrew's turn today to take down the number....only 8 days left till Christmas. Hooray! We have officially been iced in for the third day in a row. I am actually really enjoying getting alot of cleaning done around here and playing with the boys. Yesterday we got our carpets cleaned. Oh, how I love clean carpet! It is so soft that your feet pretty much melt into it...yum! Anyways, things that are going on with us...... Baby Abigail is growing and growing, today she is 11 1/2 inches long and weighs about a pound, a little bigger than a bag of oreos, double stuffed, of course! Her little kicks are getting alot more forceful these days and actually jar me at times. At night you can see her little kicks and movements now as my belly moves with her body...that is pretty fun to watch! These next two months are the best part of pregnancy...I feel like my energy is back and I am only on occasion still throwing up! Hooray! Only four more months and she will be here! Another thing that is going on with us is we are really praying about and researching other communities to relocate and practice medicine in. We are unsure as to how the contract with Enid will actually end up, if we ever recieve it. We have only been waiting to actually recieve the contract since April. Dustin talked to the CEO of St. Mary's last week and we were very dissapointed that the $150,000 in student loans that they had said they were going to pay they have decided that they are not going to now.....maybe we can still negotiate that, maybe not......It is kind of strange... I feel like we are back to the drawing board again, so to speak. Dustin has contacted a couple more towns that we would be interested in going to: Guthrie, Stillwater, Ponca City....ect. What will the Lord have in store I wonder? Please pray for us as we seek the Lord and what His plans would be for our family in where He would want us to serve in the years ahead. We rejoice and know that He will work all things out for good! We are so thankful for all that He has so abundantly blessed us with this year. What a wonderful time to reflect on the goodness of the Lord for those that love Him......only 8 Days till Christmas!

"He is a shield to all who trust in Him." Psalm 18:30

Compromise

As most of you know we own a business, Deo Volente Designs, that manufactures and distributes The Modest Mommy Nursing Cover. I wanted to share with you today a request from one of our wholesale accounts. They emailed me asking "One more question ... is it possible to receive the NC's without the Father's Letter insert? We have a population of customers who wouldn't appreciate it due to their own religious beliefs. " My Father's Letter insert is a track that we have included in all of our Nursing Covers that shares how much God loves them and that He wants them to have a relationship with him. The poem is below. How interesting that this request, which of course we will not ever compromise on, would come at Christmas time when so many are trying to force out the very presence of God and the real reason for Christmas, the birth of His son, Jesus. They are essentially asking us to compromise the mission that this business was founded on and that is simply glorifying God through giving to the Lottie Moon Foreign Missions Offering and through these tracks that have been sent out with over 7,000 Nursing Covers now. Absolutley not....we will not compromise who we are or what we have been called to do! Crazy, huh...

My Child.....You may not know me, but I know everything about you. (Psalm 139:1)I know when you sit down and when you rise up. (Psalm 139:2) I am familiar with all your ways. Psalm 139:3
Even the very hairs on your head are numbered. (Matthew 10:29-31) For you were made in my image. (Genesis 1:27) In me you live and move and have your being.(Acts 17:28) For you are my offspring. (Acts 17:28) I knew you even before you were conceived. (Jeremiah 1:4-5) I chose you when I planned creation. (Ephesians 1:11-12) You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book. (Psalm 139:15-16) I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live. (Acts 17:26) You are fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:14) I knit you together in your mother's womb. (Psalm 139:13) And brought you forth on the day you were born. (Psalm 71:6) I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me.(John 8:41-44) I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love. (1 John 4:16) And it is my desire to lavish my love on you. (1 John 3:1) Simply because you are my child and I am your Father. (1 John 3:1) I offer you more than your earthly father ever could. (Matthew 7:11)
For I am the perfect father. (Matthew 5:48) Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand. (James 1:17) For I am your provider and I meet all your needs. (Matthew 6:31-33) My plan for your future has always been filled with hope. (Jeremiah 29:11) Because I love you with an everlasting love. (Jeremiah 31:3) My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore.(Psalms 139:17-18) And I rejoice over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17) I will never stop doing good to you. (Jeremiah 32:40) For you are my treasured possession. (Exodus 19:5)
I desire to establish youwith all my heart and all my soul. (Jeremiah 32:41) And I want to show you great and marvelous things. (Jeremiah 33:3) If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me. (Deuteronomy 4:29) Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4) For it is I who gave you those desires. (Philippians 2:13)I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine. (Ephesians 3:20) For I am your greatest encourager. (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17) I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you. (Psalm 34:18) As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart. (Isaiah 40:11) One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes. (Revelation 21:3-4) And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth.(Revelation 21:3-4) I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus. (John 17:23)
For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed. (John 17:26) He is the exact representation of my being. (Hebrews 1:3) He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you. (Romans 8:31)
And to tell you that I am not counting your sins.(2 Corinthians 5:18-19) Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled. (2 Corinthians 5:18-19) His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you. (1 John 4:10) I gave up everything I lovedthat I might gain your love. (Romans 8:31-32 ) If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me. (1 John 2:23) And nothing will ever separate you from my love again.(Romans 8:38-39) Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen.(Luke 15:7) I have always been Father, and will always be Father.(Ephesians 3:14-15) My question is…Will you be my child? (John 1:12-13) I am waiting for you. (Luke 15:11-32)

Love, Your Dad

Almighty God

The call came at 5:38 am....

We recieved a phone call at 5:38AM this morning from Jenks Public Schools informing us that because of the icy road conditions school would be canceled today....as I do appreciate the warning I think that 5:30 in the morning is a little early for a call regarding a program that does not start until 1:15pm. It was so startling...you know those phone calls that awake you in the middle of the night or early morning, you immeadiately think who could that be and what could be wrong? However it is just a day to celebrate....being iced in! Yeah! Carson was telling me the other day that Christmas can't come until it snows.....well the ice is kind of white on the ground. When we told Carson this morning that thier would be no school he said great! and Daddy doesn't have to go to work either? Not so....Daddy still had to go to work tonight. We have a girls bible study party scheduled this evening and I guess that we will just wait and see what the weather does. I have all this food....little smokies, rotel, supplies to make choc covered pretzels and christmas cookies! Maybe it will be better this afternoon. Tonight, if we meet, we will finish up an 8 week study that has been fantastic. I have so enjoyed this ministry and yet at the same time realize what hard work it truly is. About two weeks ago I was a little discouraged in the ministry and asking the Lord "Where is the fruit, Lord"...as we spend many hours with these girls and in preparation for the bible study I often have a desire to see where God is moving hearts and inturn will cause them to act where thier fruit will overflow where we can actually see it! God reminded me ever so gently that sometimes we will water....and water.....and water and we may not ever be able to truly see the little sprout of fruit but that just may not be our job at the time. At the same time I wanted to share with you two evidences of what God has been doing in this ministry that has encouraged me with during this time. One of the girls in our group's mother reported that she had to actually change her shirt before school because the shirt was questionable in modesty after going through our "The Cover Up" study. Another girl's mother reported that her daughter's older boyfriend broke up with her only because she refused to do anything more than kiss him. She made a chioce not to compromise herself before marriage. Praise God!! Isn't that exciting! We are planning on starting another 6 week study in January and we are holding the 1st ever Girls Retreat the 30-31st at the church. Courtney Bullard with ID Ministries is coming.....this is a neat story....The girls were telling me about how wonderful this speaker was at Super Summer and when I asked who it was and they told me Courtney Bullard....I all but laughed. What a small world, I played basketball with Courtney Smith, at the time, in highschool. How neat that God would cross our paths again, it has been such a joy talking to her about the girls retreat and I look forward to hearing more about what God has done in her life over the years....truly what a small world that God would knit us together in the past and then again in the present to serve together to glorify Him! Anyways...a day iced in I guess calls for laundry and cleaning to be done if we are to meet here tonight.....

12 Days Till Christmas....

The Countdown has officially begun in our home. Carson, Andrew and I made some ornaments and numbered them with the number of days left until Christmas. Every morning the boys will take turns taking the ornaments down as we count down the days till baby Jesus birthday! They were so excited and couldn't wait to show Daddy thier "stickers" when he got home from work last night. Today was Carson's turn.....12 Days left!!

A new year is coming and so is a new website design!

A new year is coming....and that means NEW FABRICS! Yeah!! I find myself getting so tired of the same fabrics over and over and am so excited that we will be getting some new fresh fabrics in between now and march! We are also undergoing a huge website update.....we have been using the same design for over two and a half years now. Almost three years....it still seems amazing to me that we have been in business so long and what all we have been able to accomplish in that amount of time. Praise the Lord! He has continued to be so faithful to us time and time again to show us his direction for this business and to line up such wonderful and resourceful people to help us along the way. Today I met with my sewing girls and I cannot tell you how thankful I am for them....they are such an incredible blessing to me! I currently have two ladies sewing for me full time. One has been with me almost two years now! Sharing life with them over these years has been so neat to see what God has been doing not only in the business but in thier lives as well. The sewing girl that has been with me for two years now is finally close to being debt free! All because God provided for her and her family through giving her a job with Deo Volente Designs. How cool is that? I can't help but wonder what this year will hold? I am unsure as to how long this business will be able to sustain itself on a smaller market, just in Dallas right now. One thing I know for sure though, is if we will continue to seek Him and His will for this business He will surely lead the way. Praise the Lord that we serve such an awesome God! Looking forward to all the new things that 2009 will hold.....

The ornaments are now painted....

Andrew asked, "Mommy, can I drink it?"

Pretty sure the plate is not an ornament!

Andrew really enjoyed tasting the paint....can you tell...he has a paint mustache!

Andrew's Masterpieces...

Carson's Masterpieces....He decided Rudolph should have an orange nose this year! Why not?

Every year we try to paint some wood ornaments for the boy's little tree that is in thier room. They love looking at them each year and commenting on what wonderful painters they are so again this year we continued the tradition and now the ornaments are officially painted! It was a fun time and little Andrew kept us laughing. He would either paint himself, eat the paint or repeatedly try to drink the murky water that we used to wash of our brushes...silly Drew.
Even Dad painted one this year....I will have to say that it took him the same amount of time to paint one that it took the boys to paint all three of thiers...I wonder why? He!

Making the Gingerbread House...

Well one of the things that the boys love about the holidays is making a Gingerbread house. Normally we wait and Mimi and Papa are the construction and decoration crew, but this year a friend of Carson's gave him a Gingerbread House kit and he was ready to get it going since we wouldn't see Mimi and Papa for another two weeks. So....off we went putting it together and eating the candy gumdrops! I will have to say that Mimi makes this job look oh so easy....decorating with icing is not for me! The boys had a great time putting it together and now as soon as anyone new comes into our home they are able to show them thier wonderful Gingerbread House right away :)......

A Little Christmas Cheer for you....

So I figured out how to capture video with my camera today! This is a sneak peek into our home at 9:00pm on Sunday evening as the silly Cupp brothers are filling it with a little Christmas Cheer. They love singing Jingle Bells...enjoy!

For: Linda Grace Tumlison

For: Linda Grace Tumlison

From: Carson Wayne Cupp

Christmas is coming....

Amanda's getting....Fat! He! Well with a good excuse! Baby Abigail is growing and growing. This week we are 20 weeks...we are half way there! My funny little pregnancy book says that she is as big as a glass bottle of root beer or about 7 1/2 inches long!
Carson and Andrew are pumped about Christmas. They loved putting the Christmas tree up and the lights with dad. This year we bought a "yard ornament". It is a nativity scene that blows up and illuminates. The boys love to watch it come to life when it gets dark outside. This year Christmas is different....Carson gets it! Like he truly understands what all the hustle and bustle is all about. Every fun toy or game that comes on he tells us....Hey, I want that for Christmas! How amazing is that....a four year old! We are intentionally spending time with the boys talking about the true celebration of Christmas and what that means for us in the gift of baby Jesus, which they totally associate with baby Abigail, of course. What a fun age, where they ask so many questions and love the excitement that is in the air! So many parties and fun activities in December. This weekend we are taking some friends to our Christmas Dinner Theatre at our Church. I am so excited about it. Eight of the girls in our Girl's Ministry at church are in it and I can't hardly wait to see them!! What a blessing they are...I am so proud of them! Christmas is definitely coming and it seems a little more quickly this year......

Done!

Hooray! I have completed the mission....Abigail's bedding is done. Well for the most part. I do still need to quilt the blanket together. It turned out so cute! I was so worried about making the bumber pad but it really was pretty easy it just took quite a bit of time. Too Fun! Andrew helped me tie the bumber pad to the crib and he told me "Mommy, I like the orange." (but of course, he does!) I asked him if he thought Abigail would like it and he said "yah!" She is after all going to have orange eyes....the boys have decided that she will have orange eyes and geen hair....we have tried to persuade them that it would be more likely that she would have green eyes and orange hair, but they don't agree! :) Go figure! The other pic is a sweet book that Daddy bought Abigail and yesterday when we were at Walmart Carson said "Mommy, won't Baby Abigail need some shoes?.....she doesn't have any shoes?" ....good thinking!....so we proceeded to the baby section and Carson picked out some shoes for his baby sister. What fun!

Getting busy....

The Bow Keeper...Check out her headbands, bows and flowers...wow!

Abigail Ruth Cupp..

Just a peak into her room from the hallway.

So I have this totally crazy thing that once I have started something I absolutely have to keep at it until it is complete....it is crazy... Dustin doesn't quite understand....we do afterall have 5 more months to wait for her arrival, oh that seems so long....anyways so Abigail's room is officially under construction and here are a few pics. My most favorite thing that I made today was her bow keeper. I bought the "rack" at Michael's and painted it green then added ribbon to be able to hold her clip on bows and flowers. It turned out perfect!! Only the bumper and a few changing pad covers to do....well better go and get busy!... :)

Using the Pattern

So this weekend I have been working on making Abigail's bedding. Yes sewing it myself, which really seemed daunting at first. As I contemplated fabric and a plan.....how was I going to accomplish this? I can make a blanket, no problem, but a bumper and fitted crib sheets....hmmm....at one point I wondered, wow.... where do I even start? I have to know first off how much fabric I will need for each item and I guess go from there. Then it dawned on me...hey, I have a crib quilt pattern somewhere that I am sure has a pattern to make a bumper and fitted sheet. The hunt began for the pattern and at last was sucessful! What a blessing....a pattern...who would have known that it could possibly be so easy to make crib sheets....15 minutes, so easy and they are beautiful!! I am still working cutting and sewing the pieces together for the bumber but am confident in the pattern and that it will be successful. As I was sewing Sunday afternoon God really spoke to me through the blessing of finding this pattern...things are so much easier if someone has gone before us and marked the way and accomplished the task successfully. Just like this sewing pattern, God has left a pattern for us in His word. He wants His best for us...His abundant life. If only we will stop trying to figure it out ourselves and truly listen and obey His word. How much easier it all was sewing the bedding using a simple pattern and in turn how much easier and fulfilling life can truly be if we will willingly follow His pattern through His word!!.......thank you God that you love us so much that you would not only send your son Jesus to die for us but also that you would want your best for us while on this earth.....that you have so graciously left us such a pattern to follow in your word. I pray that we will truly use it as a pattern of our lives, as a lamp unto our feet so that when people see us and the way we live our lives they might glorify You!

"Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds." Romans 12:2

What a Day....

Sister Bear

Andrew's Choo Choo Blanket

The Finished Quilt

Fabric Cut into Strips and Sewn together

Wow! We had a wild and crazy and too fun day today. I started the day creating!! I love creating things. I have been thinking through a design for Abigail's crib quilt and found a really easy pattern yesterday online that looked perfect. Andrew and I went to the fabric store yesterday to get a few more coordinating fabrics and some ribbon. Andrew fell in love with some Choo Choo flannel that he insisted we get and make him a blanket of and so we did. I had so much fun putting the fabrics together and of course asking Dustin his opinion of which ones he liked and in what order and so forth....he really likes a say in all this....of course most times he doesn't like what I do. He! Anyways it was actually very simple. I sewed the stips together and then cut them into strips again and sewed them together to make a hodge podge of a quilt! The concept was so easy and I think that the pattern was made for people like me who do not like perfection....making all the lines add up and they inevitibly never do....anyways I am very happy with it. Then we proceeded to work on Andrew's Choo Choo blanket which from the picture you can tell that he was so proud of it. He wanted to "wear it." He immediately proceeded to the couch to lay down and cuddle up with it. So funny! After lunch we went to Build a Bear at the Mall so that the boys could build a bear for sister Abigail. Carson was so into it....he was very adamant at the bear he wanted and was so very excited to stuff it. It was fun to see the boys so excited about making something for thier sister. They named the her Sister Bear. Carson even made sure to buckle her in with the seat belt so that she would be safe on the way home....he is going to be such a great big brother and protector for Abigail.