Christmas pictures

I was desperate to have some good pictures of my girls to frame this year. I got them together at home and had a photo shoot. Not a one really turned out. The camera I was using was on the fritz and every picture came out with lines through it. Out of probably 50 shots, these were the only decent ones I got:

Sooo, off we went that same night to find a "real" photographer with a "real" camera. Here is what we got. I think they turned out beautiful!

And my absolute favorite...

Happy New Year from our family to yours!

8 Years!

Apparently I put too many pictures on this one and it's not working as an embedded object. Sunday was my sweet Maia's 8th birthday. Click here to check out the scrapblog I made for her.

Blog Writer's Block...and a little meme

So I haven't posted in a LOOOOONNNNGGGG time! Sorry, guys! Just been so busy and haven't had the brain power to sit down and compose a post that will interest you. So I found this over at Happy To Be Called Mommy's blog and thought it would be easy enough to repost. I'll be back in full force later this week as I'm working on a special post for my oldest daughter's birthday.

A special meme about my hubby -

1. He’s sitting in front of the TV: what is on the screen? FOOTBALL!
2. You’re out to eat. What kind of dressing does he get on his salad? Ranch or French
3. What is one food he doesn’t like? Casseroles, meatloaf, anything with dumplings
4. You go out to the bar. What does he order? We don't go to bars or drink
5. Where did he go to high school? Public school for 2 years, then Christian school with me for last 2
6. What size shoe does he wear? 13
7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? He currently collects old computers and parts...not officially, but I've got a half a room full of them. A real collection favorite would have to be Ravens memorabilia.
8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? ummm...I think it depends on his mood, but possibly a Reuben or Chicken Cheesesteak
9. What would the Husband eat every day if he could? potato chips...I think he does actually eat them every day
10. What is his favorite cereal? Corn Flakes
11. What would he never wear? A dress. Makeup. lol (Ditto on that one, Bethany)
12. What is his favorite sports team? RAVENS!
13. Who is his best friend? Me.
14. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn’t do? Lose or forget things...I'm a little absent-minded
15. How many states has he lived in? just one
16. What is his heritage? I'm so embarrassed! I forgot!
17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind? It would have to be a pie. He doesn't really like cake
18. Did he play sports in high school? Track team - focus on discus
19. What could he spend hours doing? watching football

Your turn to repost...Let us know in the comments if you did so we can see yours :)

In Sweet Memory

The due date for our little one that we lost in May came and went this weekend, with no labor pains and no big "It's a ________" balloons in the yard. It was just a regular weekend of laundry and errands and shopping. Although I'm now 13 weeks along in my pregnancy with this baby, I will never, ever forget our sweet beloved baby waiting for us in Heaven.

Humbled

If only we could all look at all of our trials and troubles this way. I read with tears streaming down my face. Please take a minute to read this post by Darren Leblanc, the youth pastor from NJ who just lost his wife Misty to brain cancer.

A sigh of relief

I had my 12 week sono on Friday. To say I was nervous would be a understatement. After losing my last baby at 11 weeks, I had been preparing myself for bad news. But God has been so good to me. What a wonderful thing it was to see my baby alive and moving! I had never had an ultrasound at 12 weeks before. I compared this photo with my 6 week sono. I had no idea how much development occurs in just 6 short weeks. Our Creator is AMAZING!

For My Nana

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

We Elfed Ourselves!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Here's my Flashback Friday!

Back when we were a one-child family, I was the friendly neighborhood Pampered Chef Lady. I love Pampered Chef products! I earned many for FREE or at half-price. I was miserable! It's not that I didn't LOVE doing the shows. I really got into the whole cooking show thing. I love meeting new people. I love sharing nifty ideas and cooking hints. I HATED depending on other people buying in order to pay our bills. And I really hated jumping into my car to leave as my hubby was walking in the door from work. "Bye babe! Dinner's on the counter. Have a good night!"



I'd come home and climb into bed and the question that always came from my half-asleep hubby was "How did it go?" --which translated into --"How much did you make?" To which I would usually reply "ummm....well...I got a booking...and I'm only at about $40 profit, but more orders might come in..." It just wasn't worth missing out on our nights together as a family. I am very grateful for the friends I made in the process, and for all the FREE baking stones and kitchen knives and cookbooks. But, I'm also so thankful that God later blessed me with my part-time job at our church. It really is my dream job and I can keep my family with me!

Irony

To quote another blog:

Innocent Victims of an Obama Presidency
by Marcia Segelstein

The good news out of Election 2008 is that all the predictions that racism would ultimately prevent Barack Obama being elected did not come true. There is, however, a tragic irony that may well also occur as a result of this election. James Kushiner, publisher of Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity, writes about it on the magazine’s website:

“[W]hile blacks have risen from the indignities and injustice of slavery in which their bodies were sold and consumed as property, and have endured segregation and second-class citizen status and racial discrimination, and have now one of their own elected to the highest office in the land, this very president-elect, Barack Obama, will increase the death toll among black human beings if he fulfills his promise to enact a Freedom of Choice Act, which will serve as a firewall around Roe v. Wade, the Dred Scott decision of our times…Discrimination based on the color of one’s skin is not now the burning issue of our time…It’s that we’ve forgotten the value of human skin in the first place.”

A Legacy

A year ago yesterday, an amazing and dearly loved man left this earth to be with his Saviour.

He was a loving husband...

and father.

"Pappy's" eyes lit up when any one of his grandchildren walked into the room.

His passion was hunting!

A woman couldn't ask for a kinder, more protecting and loving father-in-law.

We miss you so much, Pappy!

Time to wake up and get busy!

Ok. So this morning I wanted to climb back under the covers and stay there. I have shed my many tears over the future of our nation, but now it's time to pick ourselves up off the floor, dust ourselves off and get busy. We need to get busy sharing the gospel with an urgency like never before - while we still have the precious freedom to do so publically. Since we cannot count on laws to protect the precious lives of the unborn, we need to work even harder at finding other ways to protect them - intervening in the lives of those with unwanted pregnancies before they make a decision that will haunt them forever. We still need to pray fervently for God's mercy on our country. Maybe this is what we Christians need to wake us up and get us out of our comfortable lives and spur us to immediate action. Although it is a very dark day, God is still on the throne and in control.

"See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil." Eph.5:15-16

Another reason...

"In Isaiah 41:11 the Lord is promising Israel "All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish."

Newspaper 'suppressing' Obama link to anti-Israel professor

Good advice?

"Follow your heart!"
Sounds good. Romantic. Even noble, right? That's the advice given in all great fairy tales. Disney's really got it down. I know I've had a little fixation with the movie Fireproof this week, but there was this one line in the movie that really gripped me. It was so piognant! There is a part in the movie when Ken says to Caleb, "DON'T follow your heart. LEAD your heart!" It totally went against all great love story movie advice.

Think about it. The bank robber from the next town over followed his heart. So did the child molester and the serial killer. My heart in it's human, sinful state cares only about one person - ME! Without the saving, transforming grace of Jesus, my heart is dark and selfish. Imagine a world where people (especially Christians) stopped following their heart, and instead surrendered it completely to Christ. Maybe instead of chatting it up with our best friends at church, we might spend some time getting to know that person who's visited every week for a month and still sits alone, . Maybe we'd take our oldest child with us to the grocery store just this once and really focus in on them instead of claiming those few minutes of "me" time. Maybe we'd stop arguing with our spouse about our plans long enough to really hear his dreams.

Maybe we're all too busy listening to the advice of fairy tales and following our hearts to notice the person right next to us.

"For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander." Matt. 15:19

"I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun." Eccl. 2:10-11

"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Psalm 51:10

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." Ezekiel 36:26

Great worship song!

I fell in love with this song when we went to see Fireproof! I looked it up today, and not only found the song, but the video with scenes from the movie on YouTube. I was so excited! My husband (the worship leader at our church) is hoping to have the worship team learn it soon. YAY! I just love the ladder scene. I can think of times in my life when waiting and trusting God felt just like that! What a powerful song!

Here's my Friday Flashback

This picture is of Maia (now almost 8) climbing into Daddy's suitcase as I was unpacking and repacking it for yet another business trip. During this stage of our lives, Tom was working for IBM and travelling whole weeks or more at a time to install new machines all over the east coast. He would come home for a few days, and then head right out again. It was such a hard time for us as a family with him having to be gone so much. I took this picture for him with a caption "Take me with you, Daddy". We are so thankful for the job he now has that keeps him close to home.

**IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR MY IRL FRIENDS: If you are here because I sent you an e-mail saying to check out the cute picture on my blog, this isn't it. Scroll down to Wednesday's post!**

There are no secrets in the family of God...

Secrets are really, really hard to keep around here! I mean, really, really hard! So my secret is out and maybe God just wanted it that way. For those of you who didn't already find out through divine intervention of sorts, here is a little picture to clue you in...

Yes, we are just about 7 weeks pregnant! My due date is June 7th. I had planned all along to wait until Thanksgiving to reveal our little surprise, as I would be past the first trimester by then, but I believe God just had other plans. From running into my sister while waiting for my ultrasound appointment, to others just out right asking (I could never tell a lie!), maybe it was a secret that was just never meant to be kept. *BTW:This is relatively new news, so if you asked recently and I told you no...I really thought the answer was no at the time.* Those who now know keep saying "how could we pray if we didn't know?" They are right.

So this is my prayer request as well. That God will protect this little one and bring it safely into this world, and that He would grant me the peace that I will need just 5 months after such a painful loss. Thank you to all of my friends and family who have been praying and praying, and waiting, and praying... And to those crazy bestest friends of mine who even secretly kept track of my cycle and were watching each month for any tiny little sign that I might maybe possibly be pregnant...you know who you are and I know about your little scheming :0)

Amazingly, I have already seen a healthy heartbeat by ultrasound. The u/s tech was astonished that she was able to find it so early (not even 6 weeks at the time). I felt like that was just a little gift from God to ease my fears that day. I have been feeling quite nauseated, which is a new thing for me, and chronically exhausted. So I'm not sure how long I would have been able to keep it a secret anyway. It isn't easy to act like my normal happy enthusiastic self when I feel like I need to puke and go to bed for a week.

BTW: I would still like to wait until after my next ultrasound to tell the girls, so please try to keep it quiet when they're nearby. It would be nice if this just trickled quietly through the grapevine.

My Treasures

Whenever I need some inspiration, I just turn to one of my blog buddies. Today, in response to Tuesdays Treasures by Storing Up Treasures (once again), I have posted some pictures of my own little treasures. This also inspired me to take some pictures, something I often forget to do. So I marched around the house and found my oldest treasure working hard on her math book.

She was very happy to stop for a picture or two.

I found my youngest treasure feverishly studying her Hop on Pop book while reclining in her bed (it was naptime at the homeskoolmommy house).

I just couldn't resist climbing in for a nap myself. Naptime cuddles are real treasures!

Flashback Friday

In response to Storing Up Treasures post, here is my "flashback."

It was January 2007 when we realized that Hannah had more than just a lazy eye. Up until that time, we had heard from the nurse practitioner (whom I will never trust again) that she just had lazy eye muscles and would outgrow her problem. We were finally convinced it was not going to clear up on it's own and I asked her doctor about it. He sent her to an opthamologist who immediately sent her for an MRI. The MRI was quite traumatic enough, since 2 year old must be put under general anesthesia for such a test. It was discovered that Hannah had a large tumor growing quite rapidly behind her left eye.

We were sent to a top-notch hospital with a top-notch eye surgeon to have it removed. When I was told that they would have to cut the bone away from between her eye and temple and then screw it back into place, I felt like I would be sick! My poor sweet baby girl!

But God's grace and peace were abundant and she came through surgery just fine. Recovery was quick and the tumor was benign! Praise God for his protection and the strengthening of our faith through it all.

Precious Paul

What a precious little boy! Paul is doing better! He is breathing on his own and holding his body temperature. His jaundice is nearly gone. The only problem is that he is still too weak to stay awake long enough to nurse for more than a minute or two. Because of that, he is being fed through a tube inserted in his nose and down into his stomach. My sister has been released from the hospital, but she and her husband have been allowed to stay on a complimentary basis so long as their room isn't needed. Praise God for his wonderful blessings!

Praise God for His protection...again!

My "baby" sister, Laura just gave birth to her first child, a precious baby boy, yesterday (more than a month early). He weighed in at 3 lbs 3 oz. There had been problems with the placenta and he was growing very slowly. They had already planned to induce her this coming Monday, but we never made it that far. Laura began having excruciating pain under her ribs and her husband rushed her to the hospital in the wee hours of Friday morning. Her blood pressure was sooo dangerously high, so they put her to sleep and quickly delivered baby Paul by emergency C-section. Laura was in pretty bad shape, showing a several of the symptoms of HELLP sydrome. Praise God that today, she and baby Paul are doing much better! Paul did not need to be sent to a NICU, but is just steps away in the Intesive Care section of the regular nursery. Laura has had a rough recovery, but is doing well. I know she is so heartbroken that she has yet to see Paul. Please pray that she is able to see and hold her new baby soon and that God would give her peace. But PRAISE Him for His protection over them both! I have a new nephew!

A Love Story

A beautiful woman of faith was healed of brain cancer last night. Although she was not healed here on earth as we had so yearned for, she is in fact completely whole and rejoicing in the presence of her Savior right now. Our hearts break for her husband, daughter, parents and other family in the immense pain of their loss. Please pray God's unending grace and peace that passes all understanding over them. You can view Darren's most recent post here.

God's protection

Last night was my first mommy experience with a breathing emergency. It was so scary! I woke up to some faint sounds coming from the girls' room, and went to check on them. Hannah was rolling around on her bed and desperately struggling to take a breath. She was in a panic and trying to cry or talk, but couldn't get in enough air to do either. I rushed her into the bathroom and sat on the side of the tub with the hot shower running. Trying to get her to calm down required both myself and my husband. Finally, after about 1/2 hour, she was breathing normally (though croupy) again. Tom spent the night holding her upright on the couch since she couldn't lay down without problems. The doctor diagnosed her with croup today and put her on steroids to avoid another such episode tonight.

I am so thankful for my restless sleep last night. If I had been sleeping soundly, I really don't know what would have become of my sweet girl. It is so scary to think of what could have happened. I know that God was keeping me awake last night so that I would hear her and rescue her in time. He had His hand of protection upon her. I am so humbled and thankful!

Support Godly entertainment

Go see this movie! It opens this weekend!

Urgent prayer needed!

Many of you who follow my blog also follow Darren's blog for Misty. If not, or if you haven't already heard, Misty just slipped into a coma yesterday and is now on life support. Please be praying fervently for her healing and for her husband, Darren and their little girl, Olivia. Here is the link to their site:

Do you trust Me?

Octamom just posted a wonderfully written blog on reproductive decisions. She ended with the following questions, so I thought I’d dive in and try to answer.

“So what about you? So how about your family? Are you done? Are you just beginning? What questions, fears, dreams have shaped the number of people in your family? How do you know if there may be someone else lining up for membership in your family club? How do you know when the club is complete?”

Did you ever play that game as a child where you stand facing away from a friend, close your eyes and fall backwards…trusting them to catch you? I believe the name of the game was actually called “Trust”. I played it many times. I can remember wondering if they would really catch me, or just watch me fall. I was sure that my true friends would try to catch me…but what if they dropped me?! I always knew that there was really only one person I could totally trust to catch me – my Dad. It was such a cool game if you could really totally trust the person behind you to catch you!

After 11 years of wondering how I really feel about family planning, God has recently brought me to a place of totally trusting Him. I know that if I leave it completely in His hands, He will not let me down. Like that game of trust, I know that He will never leave me or drop me. He knows so much better than I do what is best for me and my family. I have always felt that by using “birth control”, I was trying to take my future out of God’s hands and “control” it myself.

In no way am I saying I believe it is wrong or a sin to prevent pregnancy. I believe that there are times when serious health issues require prevention of pregnancy, and God uses medical science and our doctors to direct us. What I am saying is that for me, it is a matter of trust and complete surrender to God. It is saying “God, You are sovereign. Your ways are higher than my ways. You see the beginning from the end. I trust Your plan.”

Some would say it is easy for me to think like that because I don’t get pregnant very easily. It has always taken years of trying. I don’t have to worry about having children a year apart or having 3 in diapers. But right now, God has me on the other side of the issue – yearning for another child and trusting that His timing is perfect. The same convictions still apply. He is the opener and closer of wombs. Although I desperately want more children and at times feel impatient (ok, lots of times), again, I still must leave it in His hands and surrender my hopes and dreams completely to Him.

I LOVE the way that Octamom put it. I hope she doesn’t mind my quoting her:
“So in the end, the answer is this: we are standing on holy ground. To be invited by an infinitely creative Creator to participate in such an amazing way to make people is holy. To see those people enter our lives is miraculous.” She goes on to say of her 8 children, “To look in each of the faces around our dinner table, to know that we thought we were probably done with the baby thing after 1, then after 2, then after 3...sometimes my heart is in my throat as I think, "What if I had called it quits? You wouldn't be here! I would have missed the amazing miracle of you..."...wow. That's heavy.”

So I’ve answered the question from my heart. All that being said, I cannot leave my answer as it is and not warn anyone who doesn’t already know the disturbing and horrifying facts about “The Pill” that I have just recently learned over the past few years. It breaks my heart to know that I took those pills for nearly 3 years altogether without ever knowing exactly how they work. Most doctors will not volunteer this information, but after hours upon hours of research, I have found enough evidence that I will never use “the Pill” again. Although I have found many sources, the video below is the simplest explanation I've found. Pastor and author Randy Alcorn has also done extensive research on the subject and has posted his findings here, as well as in his book titled Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortion? which includes endorsments from many doctors. Please watch!

Please pray...

...for my sister, Laura, who is pregnant with her first baby. Below is a copy of the post she sent out yesterday.

Hello dear friends,

I have a request. As you all know, I am 33 weeks pregnant with a little boy, Paul Matthew. I went in for an ultrasound today and found that our little one is only measuring about 2 and a half pounds. My placenta is not working properly and the doctors are concerned that he is not getting the proper nutrients. They want to monitor me twice a week and if things do not change I will have to deliver early. I know the Lord has it all under control and that little Paul is in His hands, but the more prayer there is, the better. It is so interesting for me to think about his name. When we first found out that we were having a boy, his name was already determined. Paul after the Apostle Paul and Matthew after my husband. I am really big into the meaning of names. Well, Matthew means "Gift of God," and Paul means "Small, or humble." I feel that God is just confirming his name that he truly is a small gift from Him. So if you could please keep this small gift in your prayers that would mean a whole lot. Thank you so much. Laura

Horsing Around

So today my dear friend, Stephanie, invited my girls and I on a field trip to the horse farm where she works. Oh, how excited they were! Here are some pictures of their day of fun. Unfortunately, I realized later that we never got a picture of the girls with Stephanie :(

Maia even got to "fix" a tractor and "drive" another. Wink, wink. Stephanie got some other cute pictures. I'll have to post them another day.

Thank you, Mrs. Stephanie!

Disturbed!

Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little, when we arrive safely because we have sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess, we have lost our thirst for the waters of life; having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity; and in our efforts to build a new Earth, we have allowed our vision of the new heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas where storms will show your mastery; where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. We ask you to push back the horizons of our hopes; and to push into the future in strength, courage, hope, and love."

-Sir Francis Drake, explorer and naval pioneer during the Elizabethan era

I found this quote by Sir Francis Drake yesterday while looking for something gripping to add to the weekly church newsletter. It gripped me! How often are our dreams about living the good life, the American "dream", and not about our lost loved ones and neighbors giving their lives to Christ, embracing the cross, and finding victory in Him? How often do we sail through safe "waters" so that we don't "rock the boat" with the Truth? How often are we so distracted by all of our stuff that fills us up so that we aren't even thirsty for Him any longer?

My prayer is that I would become more "disturbed" by the Lord! That I would venture out onto those wild seas, in faith knowing that He is the one controlling them. That I would not remain in the comfortable safety of the lukewarm and apathetic, but dare to boldly venture out into the storm, my hand in His. That I would forget those things that moths and rust destroy, and lose myself in what is eternal.

Fun little quiz

I found this over at my friend, Lifenut's blog. I had so much fun with it, that I thought I'd share it with all my friends here. Check it out here and then leave me a comment to let me know what your style is. By the way, my style was Classic Country. Surprise, surprise!

If you've been lurking (as MandyMom puts it) around my site, please leave me a comment and let me know you stopped by. I'd love to hear from you :)

A little whisper from Him

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;" Proverbs 3:5

I have the Women's Devotional Bible and just happened to open to the devotional written for this verse yesterday. My recent reading has been in 1 Corinthians, so it wasn't planned. It just caught my eye. Below is the devotion that I read, written by Ann Kiemel Anderson:

This is another verse with a command: "TRUST...LEAN NOT on your own understanding"; and a promise: "he WILL make your paths straight" (caps mine).
Trust is such a lovely word in a world thoroughly self-indulged and complicated. It is quiet, simple. It represents freedom. Rest. Letting go.

A favorite, old hymn my father would often sing was, "tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take him at his word...just to REST upon his promise..." Most of us are too busy and noisy to hear the "still, small voice." To identify it. To trust in its power above our human strivings.

Friends of ours, who had been down the battered road of infertility, longed for another baby. A perfect situation came about. A young birth mother who felt the only answer for her baby was adoption.

A precious baby girl was born. I loved the birth mother and knew that this was a very painful decision. The adoptive couple came from another city to meet the birth mother and to take their new baby home. It was Thanksgiving week. Relatives had flown in for a family celebration. The birth mother signed the papers, releasing the baby from the hospital. But in the courtroom, days later, she broke down. She just couldn't give up her baby. She drove hundreds of miles on Thanksgiving Day to take back her baby.

The couple's celebration turned to heartbreak. Immediately, they began to trust. Not to figure it all out, or judge the birth mother. They waited quietly. In a year, twin girls were born and theirs was the chosen family. They lost one, and God gave them back two.

There are very many unknowns in life. A husband's job. Our children's struggles. A tentative move. Critical talk behind our backs. A search for our own identity. Bills to pay. Aged parents to look after. Let go completely. Trust. Live with it all in an open hand before God. Jesus promises he WILL work it all out. I do believe for you, always...a new sunrise.

I totally believe this was a little gift from God, as I had just discovered that once again, this month I am not pregnant. Not even 5 minutes after this disappointment, God opened my Bible and drew my eyes to His word for me for that moment. I LOVE the way God works! I LOVE that He cares so much about our little disappointments. I LOVE that He cares enough to send us encouragement that is so obviously straight from Him!

A very special day with a very special lady

Here are some pictures from our day at the park. I called my grandmother and asked her to go with us. The girls were so happy to have Nana along for our picnic in the park. She brought her new camera and we had some fun with it.

The Bathroom Door is Closed

I found this yesterday when I was looking for the last poem I posted. I loved it and couldn't resist posting it. I can soooo relate!

Please do not stand here and talk, whine, or ask questions.

Wait until I get out.

Yes, it is locked.

I want it that way.

It is not broken, and I am not trapped.

I know I have left it unlocked, and even open at times, since you were born, because I was afraid some horrible tragedy might occur while I was in there, but it's been 10 years and

I want some PRIVACY.

Do not ask me how long I will be.

I will come out when I am done.

Do not bring the phone to the bathroom door.

Do not go running back to the phone yelling "She's in the BATHROOM!"

Do not begin to fight as soon as I go in.

Do not stick your little fingers under the door and wiggle them.

This was funny when you were two.

Do not slide pennies, LEGOs, or notes under the door.

Even when you were two this got a little tiresome.

If you have followed me down the hall talking, and are still talking as you face this closed door, please turn around, walk away, and wait for me in another room.

I will be glad to listen to you when I am done.

And yes, I still love you.

Mom ...

Author Unknown

Priorities

"I hope that my children look back on today
And see a mom who had time to play.
There will be years ahead for cleaning and cooking,
For children grow up while we're not even looking. "
Author: Unknown

We're going to the park today!

Octamom is contagious!

So I decided to take Octamom's advice and play around on scrapblog.com. I had sooo much fun! I made a scrapblog of my sister's wedding last November. I've caught the bug!

A teachable moment

So I was just over at my friend MandyMom's page, and she was talking about the trap of materialism and the way it screams at us everywhere we look. Our culture is soooo saturated in it! So I felt compelled to share a discussion I just had with Maia this morning on the topic. It went something like this:

"Mom, I REALLY, REALLY want a horse. (HA!) If we all put our money together, you, me and Dad, couldn't we have enough money to buy a horse?" Then she went on to say, "If we go on Who Wants To Be A Millionare, Dad could win a million dollars and then we could buy a horse, right Mom? We could buy lots of stuff then!"

Aha! Prime "teaching moment". So I said that yes, we could buy a horse if we had a million dollars. There are many things we could buy for ourselves. And there is nothing wrong with buying a horse, or things for ourselves. But, whatever we have actually belongs to God. He is just blessing us with it, so that we can in turn bless others. If we use it selfishly, than why should God bless us with anything? We talked about ways that we could use a million dollars to bless others. We could adopt a child (or more...a lifelong desire of mine) who had no family to call their own; we could help fund other adoptions for childless couples; we could buy ultrasound machines for Crisis Pregnancy Centers that would save the lives of helpless unborn babies; we could build homes for the poor in Peru where Grandma and Pop went last summer; we could build an addition onto our church building and make needed repairs so that we could reach more people for Jesus; we could do so much that would bless others and honor God. I hope that I maybe made a slight difference in her thinking. But...maybe not. 3 minutes later she was telling me about a Pogo stick she REALLY wanted that she saw on a commercial. And about 10 minutes after that, she wanted a Gameboy. Hopefully, it will someday sink in :)

Some pics from our sorta vacation :)

I took lots of pictures from our week of the girls in the hammock, swinging, etc. I was soooo bummed when I discovered that there was something wrong with the memory card, and only these few turned out. We had a wonderful week!

Maia LOVES Rocky!

Aaaand Rocky loves Maia :)

Rocky loves Hannah too, but Hannah hates doggy kisses.

Hannah loves Lucy, and Lucy doesn't give kisses.

Maia and Lucy cuddling on the floor.

Whenever we wanted to find Hannah, we just looked for Lucy and there she was...always cuddled up on the floor. Hannah's in love :)


Soooo, that was our week with the dogs. We did lots more, but I think this was the favorite pasttime for the girls.