You know the Veggie Tales Jonah movie? And the part where the little catterpillar has the Jonah plush toy that says "A message from the Lord!" over and over? That was me a couple of Wednesday nights ago!
During the summer we have Sunday School on Wednesday nights at our church. Our class has been studying Phillipians and that Wed night we were talking about how Paul was saying that if you are mature in your faith you will want to live like Jesus even if it's hard or uncomfortable. So we got on the topic of parenting decisions and how once you have kids you really rethink a lot of the decisions you make because you know your kids are watching, etc. I could NOT stop thinking about this all night. About how some of the decisions I've made recently have been hard (like wearing only skirts or not "doing" Santa) because that's not how the world says you should be. And how many other moms there have to be in my church who WANT to make those hard decisions, or even have made them, but don't tell anyone because they don't want to get laughed at. Or how maybe there were moms who were like me a year or so ago who hadn't even thought about making decisions like that, but would be interested in knowing there were other options out there than just following the culture.
I could not go to sleep. I laid in bed from about 10 till 2 just rolling all this around and God kept telling me I need to start a Bible study/discussion group for moms so we can dig in deep and learn what the Bible says about what kinds of women/mothers/wives we should be. That it should be a place where we can pray for each other, our marriages and our kids and where we can support each other in making the hard decisions. God did not let me go to sleep Wednesday night until I got up and wrote a letter to invite people to this. I know this was all from God because even though I was up until 4am or so, when I woke up Thursday I was not tired at all.
I was all set to get a list together of who to send invites to Thursday but DH hadn't been able to pay the phone bill on time so it got cut off (along with our internet) and eventually a couple of days had passed and all these doubts are setting in. Should I really do this? What if no one comes? What if everyone I send invites to thinks I'm a freak and starts avoiding me at church? Do I even have time to take on one more thing? Ug! I knew it was the enemy trying to keep me from doing this, but it still made me doubt.
I've never even been to a Bible study before, so I don't even really know what I'm getting into. I envision it being very relaxed, so everyone will feel comfortable enough to talk about serious issues. I want them to have the option of bringing their kids, because I don't want childcare to be a reason not to come...I would host at my house so they could all play. I thought about it being more like a coffee house. I wanted to send out a list of possible topics on the invite to see what people would be interested in...like modesty, what it means to be a submissive wife, praying for our husbands, maybe a study on Bringing up Boys/Girls by Dobson, talking about the media's influence, Natural Family Planning vs birth control vs Quiverfull...all sorts of womanly/mothering/wifely topics. I decided on the name Great Worth from this verse:
Your beauty … should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. 1 Peter 3:3-4
I had expressed my doubts and fears on a forum I'm on and one of the women said that maybe God doesn't even intend anyone to come...maybe He just wants to see if I will obey be willing to step out of my comfort zone to start this. So I spoke with my pastor and my husband and they are both supportive. I'm going to send out an invitation to a bunch of women and see what a good day and time would be...or maybe it will just see if anyone is even interested. I'm getting excited again, and I think that is a good thing. I'm still scared though, but that's ok.
Prayer requests: Pray with me as our church looks for a new youth pastor. Pray for a relative who is dying of cancer. Pray for Great Worth and that it will be a good ministry.
Praises: Praise God for providing food for us to eat every day. We always have enough, even when we are completely broke. Praise God for 2 healthy children and a husband who has gotten so much more healthy in the past few months.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Busy Weekend
We've had a fairly busy past few days around our house. First and foremost, Zollie has officially made the jump from crawling to walking. I keep telling him he's too little to be walking, but apparently he thinks that whatever will get him caught up with his big brother faster is a good thing. He's so funny to watch...he walks with his hands out in front of him like Frankenstein's monster, all wobbly. Then he'll get proud of himself and start clapping and grinning! He's so cute!
Ian is a bit frustrated that Zollie can catch up to him faster, now. Zollie follows his big brother around like a little puppy, and Ian isn't real pleased with that a lot of the time. He doesn't like having his toys taken away, his food grabbed at, or be tackled whenever he's sitting on the floor, but Zollie sure loves it. You can definately tell they really love each other...they are always falling and sitting on each other, squeeling and sharing toys. We are so blessed!
Saturday we decided to rearrange the house. We got most of it done and I'm really pleased at how the living room looks now. It doesn't necessarily look bigger, just different. I need different every now and then. That afternoon PG went to the gym to work out with Dave and I took the boys to a playgroup for residents' spouses and families. It was so nice to meet other people living a similar schedule to me, and I also know a few of the moms there share some of my crunchy tendencies...I talked cloth diapers and breastfeeding for a while...that always makes my day!
After the playgroup, we went and picked up PG and headed to the home of the chair of his department for their annual cookout. So much good food! And so many kids! There are really a ton of young kids in the department now and it was great to let them all play and roam together. While we were there, we heard squeeling tires and a crash on the street in front of his home. Of course, everyone went running to see what had happened. The call for "Is there a doctor in the house?" went out and everyone laughed...I guess if you are going to have a wreck, that was the place to have it. There were probably upwards of 20 doctors mingling around. Luckily no one was hurt, though a mailbox did seem to get demolished.
Sunday morning we went to church where PG was worship leader. He looks so good in his suit, especially now that he's lost so much weight! He's down 45 lbs since Zollie was born. It's amazing! I'm so proud of him for the dedication he's put in to working out and jogging. After church, his parents came over and we had a nice lunch, plus they got some playtime in with the boys, which they always adore. They were astounded to see how well Zollie is walking and also to hear Ian counting (he's up to firteen now!) and singing the ABC song.
My inlaws left after a few hours and we had a bit of time to rest and take a nap, then Suzanne and Dave came over. We fixed a great supper (Suzanne shocked me with her cooking prowess...the fried eggplant was delicious!) and watched some Shark Week.
This morning, I decided to go ahead and finish moving furniture around. I wanted the piano to go in the front hallway and figgured that since it had wheels, it should be pretty easy to move. I was wrong and now I have some seriously pulled muscles in my lower back. UG! Getting up and down out of a chair, much less off the floor, is a royal pain...literally! I think PG might have tomorrow off, which would be great, because I don't know if I'll be able to even get out of bed. I know these things are usually worse the second day.
Prayer/Praise: Please pray that my back gets better soon and that PG has tomorrow off to help me. Praises for my two smart boys who are learning and growing each day. My prayers go out to my friend Carli who lost her mother to cancer last week. Pray also for this coming weekend when my sisters will be moving into their new appartment and that everything goes smoothly.
Ian is a bit frustrated that Zollie can catch up to him faster, now. Zollie follows his big brother around like a little puppy, and Ian isn't real pleased with that a lot of the time. He doesn't like having his toys taken away, his food grabbed at, or be tackled whenever he's sitting on the floor, but Zollie sure loves it. You can definately tell they really love each other...they are always falling and sitting on each other, squeeling and sharing toys. We are so blessed!
Saturday we decided to rearrange the house. We got most of it done and I'm really pleased at how the living room looks now. It doesn't necessarily look bigger, just different. I need different every now and then. That afternoon PG went to the gym to work out with Dave and I took the boys to a playgroup for residents' spouses and families. It was so nice to meet other people living a similar schedule to me, and I also know a few of the moms there share some of my crunchy tendencies...I talked cloth diapers and breastfeeding for a while...that always makes my day!
After the playgroup, we went and picked up PG and headed to the home of the chair of his department for their annual cookout. So much good food! And so many kids! There are really a ton of young kids in the department now and it was great to let them all play and roam together. While we were there, we heard squeeling tires and a crash on the street in front of his home. Of course, everyone went running to see what had happened. The call for "Is there a doctor in the house?" went out and everyone laughed...I guess if you are going to have a wreck, that was the place to have it. There were probably upwards of 20 doctors mingling around. Luckily no one was hurt, though a mailbox did seem to get demolished.
Sunday morning we went to church where PG was worship leader. He looks so good in his suit, especially now that he's lost so much weight! He's down 45 lbs since Zollie was born. It's amazing! I'm so proud of him for the dedication he's put in to working out and jogging. After church, his parents came over and we had a nice lunch, plus they got some playtime in with the boys, which they always adore. They were astounded to see how well Zollie is walking and also to hear Ian counting (he's up to firteen now!) and singing the ABC song.
My inlaws left after a few hours and we had a bit of time to rest and take a nap, then Suzanne and Dave came over. We fixed a great supper (Suzanne shocked me with her cooking prowess...the fried eggplant was delicious!) and watched some Shark Week.
This morning, I decided to go ahead and finish moving furniture around. I wanted the piano to go in the front hallway and figgured that since it had wheels, it should be pretty easy to move. I was wrong and now I have some seriously pulled muscles in my lower back. UG! Getting up and down out of a chair, much less off the floor, is a royal pain...literally! I think PG might have tomorrow off, which would be great, because I don't know if I'll be able to even get out of bed. I know these things are usually worse the second day.
Prayer/Praise: Please pray that my back gets better soon and that PG has tomorrow off to help me. Praises for my two smart boys who are learning and growing each day. My prayers go out to my friend Carli who lost her mother to cancer last week. Pray also for this coming weekend when my sisters will be moving into their new appartment and that everything goes smoothly.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Six years together!
Six years ago, on July 4, PG and I were married. It's hard to believe that it's been six years already. We've been together as a couple for a whole decade. Wow. We were thinking back to when we met...my sisters were 8 and 10 years old. Now they are a freshman and junior in college. We met 2 days before classes began my freshman year. My friend Crystal and I (who had just met and become fast friends the night before at the Wesley Foundation open house) were walking through our dorm trying desperately to figgure out how to translate the bus schedule. Crystal spotted PG down the hall and said a sentence that would change my life forever: "Hey! He looks like an upper classman. Lets ask him!" I don't think my mother in law will ever forgive her...*snicker*
I was dating someone at the time, but PG - with all the suaveness of a future psychiatrist - convinced my boyfriend to break it off with me. Granted, my boyfriend had confided in PG that he really had liked me better as a friend and wanted to be free to date in college, but I was not told that part of the story for years to come. PG jumped in as my rebound guy and assured me that he was "only looking for a casual relationship...nothing long term". 10 years and 2 kids later, I love to remind him of that.
Where would we be now if we had never met? Well, at the time I was planning to be a medical missionary in Africa or some other far off land. I was so head over heels in love with PG by the end of our first semester, though, that I bunked my plans to transfer to a divinity college and just stayed at ECU so I could be near him. Apart from living worlds apart, we also wouldn't have our beautiful boys, so I guess God works everything out in the end.
To celebrate our anniversary this year, we invited Crystal (who I'm still best friends with) and her husband and children over to spend the night. We ate delicious food, and then watched the fireworks here in Farmville. I love to pretend they are shooting them off just for us. Then we got the boys in bed and played D&D until the wee hours of the morning, went to sleep, woke up Saturday and played all day. We had a blast. Who needs an expensive trip or gift to celebrate your anniversary? We spent ours with our match maker and our families and enjoyed every minute of it (besides, having company over is great motivation to get the house clean!)
Happy anniversary, dear. My prayer is that we have MANY more ahead of us!
I was dating someone at the time, but PG - with all the suaveness of a future psychiatrist - convinced my boyfriend to break it off with me. Granted, my boyfriend had confided in PG that he really had liked me better as a friend and wanted to be free to date in college, but I was not told that part of the story for years to come. PG jumped in as my rebound guy and assured me that he was "only looking for a casual relationship...nothing long term". 10 years and 2 kids later, I love to remind him of that.
Where would we be now if we had never met? Well, at the time I was planning to be a medical missionary in Africa or some other far off land. I was so head over heels in love with PG by the end of our first semester, though, that I bunked my plans to transfer to a divinity college and just stayed at ECU so I could be near him. Apart from living worlds apart, we also wouldn't have our beautiful boys, so I guess God works everything out in the end.
To celebrate our anniversary this year, we invited Crystal (who I'm still best friends with) and her husband and children over to spend the night. We ate delicious food, and then watched the fireworks here in Farmville. I love to pretend they are shooting them off just for us. Then we got the boys in bed and played D&D until the wee hours of the morning, went to sleep, woke up Saturday and played all day. We had a blast. Who needs an expensive trip or gift to celebrate your anniversary? We spent ours with our match maker and our families and enjoyed every minute of it (besides, having company over is great motivation to get the house clean!)
Happy anniversary, dear. My prayer is that we have MANY more ahead of us!
Friday, June 20, 2008
Fresh Fish!
Last year, as some of the moms in my church were planning to start a private homeschool together, I was asked to teach science for them. It ended up being 5 girls, all middle school aged, and we had a great year. It was a lot of fun to teach them, because we had the freedom to do lots of hands on activities and field trips. I've been asked to teach for them again next year, and I'm really looking forward to it.
One of the girls that I taught lives on a big farm. Her father plants a gigantic garden every year and told all of the teachers that he always plants way too much and can't eat it all, and invited us to sharecrop with him. We can go to the farm and put in time hoeing, weeding, and helping can stuff as it comes ripe, and in return we get free produce. My husband and I, who were already balking at how expensive food is getting, jumped at the chance. So for the last few weeks we've been going out to the farm a couple of times a week and spending an hour or two hoeing. Things have started coming ripe, and we've had so many delicious salads recently! There is a big stocked pond right beside the garden, and we had also been invited to fish there if we wanted. Today was the first day we had an opportunity to take them up on that.
At about 2:00, my husband, my sister Suzanne, her boyfriend Dave and I loaded the boys in the car and headed to the farm. We weeded the two rows of potatos (2 rows! We'll have potatos all year!) in record time with three of us weeding while Suzanne watched the boys. Then we headed to the pond, where we realized we had nothing to use for bait. Suzanne quickly caught a grasshopper and I found some crackers in the diaper bag that we crushed and tossed in the water, and we were off and running. Time ticked by with lots of nibbles but no bites. We decided we needed better bait.
After a bit of mourning the fact that we didn't have a net (because plenty of tiny brim were swarming at the surface to eat the cracker bits) I realized that I had a ring sling made of Solarveil in the car and hey, that's pretty close to a net, right? So we unstrung the sling out of the rings and lowered the center section into the water, sprinkled a few crackers over it and waited. In no time we had caught a little fish, the size of the palm of my hand! Ian thought it was super cool. He rubbed it and told me about its colors. Then we led him away while "Uncle Dave" chopped it up into bits for bait. PG and Dave fished for another hour or so with no luck. A storm was rolling in, so we were getting ready to pack it up. PG was reeling in his line so we could go when BAM! something hit on it! He reeled it in and had hooked a big bass, about as long as my forearm! We were just tickled pink! Dave cast his line out where PG had caught the fish and within minutes he had hooked something big as well. It took his line and pulled it out under the dock and snapped it right off. What a disapointment! The one that got away! The storm was getting closer so we tossed our things in the car, grabbed some potatos, squash, and onions from the garden, and headed home.
PG left shortly after to go on a hiking and camping trip for the weekend with some of our other friends. Suzanne played with the boys while Dave and I cleaned the fish and got dinner going. What a great meal! We had bass filets cooked with onions, garlic, and rosemary, boiled squash with onions, and cheesy mashed potatos. Everything tastes better when you grow it yourself! We can't wait to go fishing there again. Maybe Dave will catch that big one next time!
Praises/Prayers for the day:
Praise God for good food to eat and good times spent with family and friends. I praise Him for sending people into our lives who will share their bounty with us. We can rest in the knowledge that if things get really bad, or grocery money is not there, we can go to the farm and have food.
Please join me in praying for PG's safety this weekend, as well as our friends who went camping with him. They are planning to hike and camp for 4 days in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. They will be back country camping in tents for 3 nights. I'm praying that everyone comes home healthy and with great stories.
God Bless!
One of the girls that I taught lives on a big farm. Her father plants a gigantic garden every year and told all of the teachers that he always plants way too much and can't eat it all, and invited us to sharecrop with him. We can go to the farm and put in time hoeing, weeding, and helping can stuff as it comes ripe, and in return we get free produce. My husband and I, who were already balking at how expensive food is getting, jumped at the chance. So for the last few weeks we've been going out to the farm a couple of times a week and spending an hour or two hoeing. Things have started coming ripe, and we've had so many delicious salads recently! There is a big stocked pond right beside the garden, and we had also been invited to fish there if we wanted. Today was the first day we had an opportunity to take them up on that.
At about 2:00, my husband, my sister Suzanne, her boyfriend Dave and I loaded the boys in the car and headed to the farm. We weeded the two rows of potatos (2 rows! We'll have potatos all year!) in record time with three of us weeding while Suzanne watched the boys. Then we headed to the pond, where we realized we had nothing to use for bait. Suzanne quickly caught a grasshopper and I found some crackers in the diaper bag that we crushed and tossed in the water, and we were off and running. Time ticked by with lots of nibbles but no bites. We decided we needed better bait.
After a bit of mourning the fact that we didn't have a net (because plenty of tiny brim were swarming at the surface to eat the cracker bits) I realized that I had a ring sling made of Solarveil in the car and hey, that's pretty close to a net, right? So we unstrung the sling out of the rings and lowered the center section into the water, sprinkled a few crackers over it and waited. In no time we had caught a little fish, the size of the palm of my hand! Ian thought it was super cool. He rubbed it and told me about its colors. Then we led him away while "Uncle Dave" chopped it up into bits for bait. PG and Dave fished for another hour or so with no luck. A storm was rolling in, so we were getting ready to pack it up. PG was reeling in his line so we could go when BAM! something hit on it! He reeled it in and had hooked a big bass, about as long as my forearm! We were just tickled pink! Dave cast his line out where PG had caught the fish and within minutes he had hooked something big as well. It took his line and pulled it out under the dock and snapped it right off. What a disapointment! The one that got away! The storm was getting closer so we tossed our things in the car, grabbed some potatos, squash, and onions from the garden, and headed home.
PG left shortly after to go on a hiking and camping trip for the weekend with some of our other friends. Suzanne played with the boys while Dave and I cleaned the fish and got dinner going. What a great meal! We had bass filets cooked with onions, garlic, and rosemary, boiled squash with onions, and cheesy mashed potatos. Everything tastes better when you grow it yourself! We can't wait to go fishing there again. Maybe Dave will catch that big one next time!
Praises/Prayers for the day:
Praise God for good food to eat and good times spent with family and friends. I praise Him for sending people into our lives who will share their bounty with us. We can rest in the knowledge that if things get really bad, or grocery money is not there, we can go to the farm and have food.
Please join me in praying for PG's safety this weekend, as well as our friends who went camping with him. They are planning to hike and camp for 4 days in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. They will be back country camping in tents for 3 nights. I'm praying that everyone comes home healthy and with great stories.
God Bless!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Neighbors helping neighbors
We had a tragedy on our street this week: the home of one of my neighbors burned down. This family - husband, wife, and 1yr old son - live about three houses down and across the street from me. Sadly I don't know their names. We've lived this close to them for 3 years now, but have only waved to them in passing. What a horrible way to meet your neighbors, huh? I stopped and talked to them for a moment yesterday as we walked home from Wednesday night church. The poor woman was just in tears in the front yard. How hard it must be to know you lost everything material that was important to you. Baby books, picture albums, old Mother's Day cards, family heirlooms, wedding dress...all gone in a flash.
Thankfully, no one was hurt. The father is a fire chief and was in Hyde Co fighting the wildfire there, and the mother and son got out safely. I do believe the lost their dog, though. Poor thing. When I talked to her yesterday and asked her what they needed, she said everything...towels, sheets, clothes. What must it be like to not be able to take a shower because you don't have a towel to dry off with nor clothes to put on afterwards?
I've put the word out to my Natural Mamas group and my church to try to find some things for them. I was hoping I would see them outside again today so I could talk to her more in depth, find out her name, introduce myself properly, and get more details about what they need and where to take things. I don't know these people, but it just seems like the neighborly thing to do. It's what Jesus would do, right? Do unto the least of these. This family, newly homeless, without anything of value but their lives. Do they know Christ? Do they have His peace through this? Or are they feeling alone and vulnerable? Will they see His Light through my actions?
There are opportunities to help our neighbors all around us: volunteering at the soup kitchen or the local Boys and Girls Club, teaching Sunday School or VBS, donating food to the food pantry, or just helping gather items for a family in need. We are poor, we can barely pay our bills, but helping the least of these doesn't require spending money. Sometimes it just requres good listening skills or a bit of time or willingness to get dirty. Being a Christian isn't about sitting back and saying "Oh those poor people...what a shame", being a Christian is about helping pick up the pieces and comforting the hurting, even if it makes you uncomfortable. I'm very bad at confrontation...and I always get nervous when I am talking to someone I don't know. But I'm going to push through past my comfort zone and go talk to this family. Offer my help and a supper or two, find out their needs, and hopefully show them the love of Jesus through His willing servant.
Prayers / Praises for the day:
Please pray for this dear family as they try to rebuild their lives. And Praise God that they were not injured!
Praise God that my husband got a great report from his doctor today...he's lost over 30 lbs and his HDL went from 14 to 40, while his LDL went from 120 to 80-something!!!
God Bless!
Thankfully, no one was hurt. The father is a fire chief and was in Hyde Co fighting the wildfire there, and the mother and son got out safely. I do believe the lost their dog, though. Poor thing. When I talked to her yesterday and asked her what they needed, she said everything...towels, sheets, clothes. What must it be like to not be able to take a shower because you don't have a towel to dry off with nor clothes to put on afterwards?
I've put the word out to my Natural Mamas group and my church to try to find some things for them. I was hoping I would see them outside again today so I could talk to her more in depth, find out her name, introduce myself properly, and get more details about what they need and where to take things. I don't know these people, but it just seems like the neighborly thing to do. It's what Jesus would do, right? Do unto the least of these. This family, newly homeless, without anything of value but their lives. Do they know Christ? Do they have His peace through this? Or are they feeling alone and vulnerable? Will they see His Light through my actions?
There are opportunities to help our neighbors all around us: volunteering at the soup kitchen or the local Boys and Girls Club, teaching Sunday School or VBS, donating food to the food pantry, or just helping gather items for a family in need. We are poor, we can barely pay our bills, but helping the least of these doesn't require spending money. Sometimes it just requres good listening skills or a bit of time or willingness to get dirty. Being a Christian isn't about sitting back and saying "Oh those poor people...what a shame", being a Christian is about helping pick up the pieces and comforting the hurting, even if it makes you uncomfortable. I'm very bad at confrontation...and I always get nervous when I am talking to someone I don't know. But I'm going to push through past my comfort zone and go talk to this family. Offer my help and a supper or two, find out their needs, and hopefully show them the love of Jesus through His willing servant.
Prayers / Praises for the day:
Please pray for this dear family as they try to rebuild their lives. And Praise God that they were not injured!
Praise God that my husband got a great report from his doctor today...he's lost over 30 lbs and his HDL went from 14 to 40, while his LDL went from 120 to 80-something!!!
God Bless!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Ahhh...me time
A rarity in our house has occured...both boys are asleep at the same time! I've been mildly productive: vacuumed and mopped the kitchen and pantry, washed a load of diapers and hung them to dry, and I'm fixing to wash the kids' clothes as well (right after I finish up here and get myself a bowl of much deserved ice cream!).
Last night my husband and I had quite a bit of fun as well. One of the residents he works with is finished with her program and is moving to South Carolina to work. She was having a going away party at her house and, knowing that eating at her house meant the promise of homemade Indian food, a herd of wild horses couldn't have kept him away. She has two small children who kept Ian entertained nearly the whole time, and my hubby and I got to enjoy adult conversation and excellent food while the rest of the residents played "pass the baby" with Zollie.
Father's Day is coming up this weekend. I never care much about the fact that we are barely skimming by money wise until a holiday comes up. I don't want to be rich, I just want to be able to buy nice gifts for my loved ones to show them how much they mean to me. What I really would love is to be able to buy a new computer or a bunch of camping gear or even the new D&D books for my husband. He is so wonderful, a hard worker, loving, and such a great dad...he really deserves it. But I'm stuck with about 10 dollars to do something with. I'm wanting to do a special dinner for him, and the boys made him a card, but that just doesn't seem like nearly enough to show our love. What's a poor woman to do?
Prayers/Praises for the day: Praise God for healthy kids and for the little bits of time I get to myself (Zollie just woke up...)
Praying that our meager Father's Day celebration will be enough to show my husband just how much we love and appreciate him.
God bless!
Last night my husband and I had quite a bit of fun as well. One of the residents he works with is finished with her program and is moving to South Carolina to work. She was having a going away party at her house and, knowing that eating at her house meant the promise of homemade Indian food, a herd of wild horses couldn't have kept him away. She has two small children who kept Ian entertained nearly the whole time, and my hubby and I got to enjoy adult conversation and excellent food while the rest of the residents played "pass the baby" with Zollie.
Father's Day is coming up this weekend. I never care much about the fact that we are barely skimming by money wise until a holiday comes up. I don't want to be rich, I just want to be able to buy nice gifts for my loved ones to show them how much they mean to me. What I really would love is to be able to buy a new computer or a bunch of camping gear or even the new D&D books for my husband. He is so wonderful, a hard worker, loving, and such a great dad...he really deserves it. But I'm stuck with about 10 dollars to do something with. I'm wanting to do a special dinner for him, and the boys made him a card, but that just doesn't seem like nearly enough to show our love. What's a poor woman to do?
Prayers/Praises for the day: Praise God for healthy kids and for the little bits of time I get to myself (Zollie just woke up...)
Praying that our meager Father's Day celebration will be enough to show my husband just how much we love and appreciate him.
God bless!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Monday Morning
Today has been a humdrum day so far. The boys woke me up at about 7:30. Ian loves to run in and yell "Mama! Mama! Downstairs now!" So down we went for diaper changes and breakfast (cereal and juice) and a cartoon. Then out onto the back porch to play in the kiddy pool before it got so oppressively hot that even water wasn't refreshing anymore. Today doesn't really feel like a Monday, though. My hubby had to work yesterday so it feels more like midweek, which will come back to bite me on Wednesday or Thursday when I feel like the week should be over already.
This coming weekend will offer no respite either, as we will be back in my hometown for my sister's highschool graduation. That will be bittersweet for her, I'm sure. She'll be leaving all of her friends behind and moving three hours away. It's great for me, though, because she'll be here! And convienent for my parents...all three of us will be ECU grads/students, so she only has to worry about buying accessories for one school. Highschool is one of those weird things...as a teenager you think that these people are your BEST friends, those that will be with you for the rest of your life, and then you graduate and fall away and never speak to most of them again. Oh well, I guess that's what Facebook and Myspace are for, right?
I had a ephiphany last night that I would like to share. We just went through a trauma at our house...Ian lost Blue for three days. Blue is his blanket. I crochetted it while I was pregnant with him. He's had it since (literally) the day he was born and it's really a part of him. Trying to get him to sleep without Blue is nigh impossible. Blue goes everywhere with Ian. So when we tried to find it for bed a few nights ago and couldn't, panic insued. We searched the house for Blue, but to no avail. I tried to substitute a yellow crochetted blanket, but my husband said he found Ian sitting in bed a bit later, quietly saying "where Blue go?" over and over. It was pitiful.
So a couple of days ago when I popped my head in the living room to find Ian snuggled up with Blue, watching cartoons, my heart leapt. I asked him where he found it, and he took me to the dining room and pointed to his kitchen set (we had looked in the kitchen set at least three times by three seperate people). But life in our house is markedly calmer now. Ian will take naps and go to bed without fussing, and there have been far fewer tantrums.
What I realized last night is that God is a lot like Blue. He's always with us, He's our comfort and our stability. But we take Him for granted too much. Just like Blue we drag God around through the dirt and leaves too often, and only turn to Him when we need something like comfort or warmth. We leave Him behind when we get busy doing our own thing and sometimes it's easy to forget that we really need Him with us all the time. I think that far too often we only realize how important God is in our lives when we try to do things on our own and fail...just like Ian trying to go to bed without Blue. We whine and complain and everyone around us is made miserable. Only when we seek Him out - in His Word, in church, in our prayer life - do we go running back into His arms and realize how much we missed Him.
Let's all strive to give God the important position He deserves in our life.
Prayers/Praises for today:
Praise God that we had enough money in our account today to pay a bill that we bounced a check on last week, and that the person we owed was graceous enough to be understanding and not to charge us a late fee.
Praise God for our new neighbor, who seems really nice and friendly. I pray that we will get to know him better and that he will see Christ's light shining through our family.
I'm praying that God will lay His hand on our finances, as we have recently had a lot of medical bills come due.
God Bless!
Vallere
This coming weekend will offer no respite either, as we will be back in my hometown for my sister's highschool graduation. That will be bittersweet for her, I'm sure. She'll be leaving all of her friends behind and moving three hours away. It's great for me, though, because she'll be here! And convienent for my parents...all three of us will be ECU grads/students, so she only has to worry about buying accessories for one school. Highschool is one of those weird things...as a teenager you think that these people are your BEST friends, those that will be with you for the rest of your life, and then you graduate and fall away and never speak to most of them again. Oh well, I guess that's what Facebook and Myspace are for, right?
I had a ephiphany last night that I would like to share. We just went through a trauma at our house...Ian lost Blue for three days. Blue is his blanket. I crochetted it while I was pregnant with him. He's had it since (literally) the day he was born and it's really a part of him. Trying to get him to sleep without Blue is nigh impossible. Blue goes everywhere with Ian. So when we tried to find it for bed a few nights ago and couldn't, panic insued. We searched the house for Blue, but to no avail. I tried to substitute a yellow crochetted blanket, but my husband said he found Ian sitting in bed a bit later, quietly saying "where Blue go?" over and over. It was pitiful.
So a couple of days ago when I popped my head in the living room to find Ian snuggled up with Blue, watching cartoons, my heart leapt. I asked him where he found it, and he took me to the dining room and pointed to his kitchen set (we had looked in the kitchen set at least three times by three seperate people). But life in our house is markedly calmer now. Ian will take naps and go to bed without fussing, and there have been far fewer tantrums.
What I realized last night is that God is a lot like Blue. He's always with us, He's our comfort and our stability. But we take Him for granted too much. Just like Blue we drag God around through the dirt and leaves too often, and only turn to Him when we need something like comfort or warmth. We leave Him behind when we get busy doing our own thing and sometimes it's easy to forget that we really need Him with us all the time. I think that far too often we only realize how important God is in our lives when we try to do things on our own and fail...just like Ian trying to go to bed without Blue. We whine and complain and everyone around us is made miserable. Only when we seek Him out - in His Word, in church, in our prayer life - do we go running back into His arms and realize how much we missed Him.
Let's all strive to give God the important position He deserves in our life.
Prayers/Praises for today:
Praise God that we had enough money in our account today to pay a bill that we bounced a check on last week, and that the person we owed was graceous enough to be understanding and not to charge us a late fee.
Praise God for our new neighbor, who seems really nice and friendly. I pray that we will get to know him better and that he will see Christ's light shining through our family.
I'm praying that God will lay His hand on our finances, as we have recently had a lot of medical bills come due.
God Bless!
Vallere
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