Friday, May 29, 2009

Decorating for Free or Almost Free

Hello, it's me again. You know I usually don't like to post pictures of myself because I am not a skinny little thing like I used to be. But, since I created my excel sheet chore list for myself and one of my daily chores is exercising (being goal oriented I can't stand not to cross off something on my list!!) I have actually started exercising and I lost 1.5 lbs last week. YIPEE!! So I thought I'd put my little chubby cheeked self up to say yay for me.

Knowing I am blessed because God loves me & refusing to moan about not having any money to make my home the place I want it to be.... I have been having fun this year creating decor or finding decor on the cheap that has transformed my house into a home. I haven't done anything for a couple of months because I literally didn't have even a dime extra and traveling around blog land there are so many inspiring decorating blogs, it just kills me to not be able to decorate on the cheap even. I used to own Southern Charm Home Decor so you know, I just love decorating. Being broke I wanted to decorate my hubby's office which has bare walls (anybody remember the bye bye garage post?).

So this is what I did this morning. I said I know there is something I can do something with in this house with for FREE. I found it. FREE stuff, yea baby.

My husband loves eagles. Me no likey eagles but I found these 8 years ago on ebay and bought them for him. I had planned to make pillows for him or something. I actually can like these eagles. SO, being me, they have sat in my closet for 8 years. Today they will make their debut in the new office. But how you say?

Remember Home Interiors home parties? I loved those parties. I had this print for like 18 years and it has faded and doesn't match my home anymore. Miss Victorian lady has been in the closet or the laundry room for various years. Love the big frame, can't use the print. Hmmm....


Won't he be surprised? This wall is just off center from some french doors and right in front of his desk. I think it may be something nice he can stare at when he is contemplating construction stuff. I didn't have a frame for the other guy who is much longer. I have some ideas for him to maybe hang over the french doors. I have some rectangular scrap wood and I think maybe to cover it with some neutral fabric and then attach the long eagle to it so the piece becomes much larger and is in scale with the french doors. Then it will be more of a work of art. I have the wood, the staple gun and the tapestry. All I need is some good cheap clearance fabric from Wal Mart or Goodwill. Can you believe we don't have any fabric stores closer than 40 min away? Stinks. What do you think? I am happy with it and I got to do some decorating for free. God has really been working hard on my heart to give up worrying and being content in my circumstance. Which if you can't supply basic needs is difficult but boy am I so close to saying I am content in all things. So today I chose not to mope about not being able to indulge in my passion and I found a way to do it. I'm not going to wait on things to get better before I get my happy groove on!!
Some other great finds I found this year? Take a look.



My big barn star in my laundry room. He is big and I super duper love him. $10 at Hobby Lobby. See the print next to it? That is a .59 cent scrapbook paper put into a spare frame that I painted just like I did the eagle. .59 cents for new artwork. yea, baby.


I made this one too. It hangs on the opposite side of the barn star. Spare ole frame painted black and a .59 cent piece of scrapbook paper. $1.18 for two new pieces of artwork and a $10 barn star decorated an entire laundry room wall for $11.18. Who can't afford that? Okay, me at this moment, ha ha.


Still in the laundry room. $10 sign half price from $19.99 at Hobby Lobby. Boy, somebody spilled some soap on the wall didn't they? It blends in with the natural lighting in the room. That dang flash lighting exposes everything doesn't it? I will have to clean that up today. The Mount Sockmore you see are our socks in black baskets waited to be sorted. I had natural colored ones for years scattered about the house. To coordinate with all the new black in the room I took leftover black paint in the garage that I also used on the frames and painted the baskets. FREE.


$2 and change at Hobby Lobby clearance aisle. Also in my laundry room Yes, I have a vase of silk flowers in there too. If I'm gonna spend time in there I want to enjoy it.


Okay, the flash made this so bright but being impatient as I am I don't know how to photoshop yet. Maybe when the 2 year old is older..... So, I had this for sale in my home decor store that sadly had to close in Jan. Stinkin economy. I loved this rooster arrangement & it was on consignment. Never could I afford him. He was like $175!! I almost sold him several times but during the bad economy people just didn't want to spend. When I closed the store the lady who had several arrangements in my store said I could keep any piece I wanted. I refused, I'm just not comfortable taking things. But she insisted and I loved my rooster so much so here he is!! FREE. I got lucky on that one.


Another great barn star in my guest bath/Brandon's bathroom. $10 at Hobby Lobby. Me likey.



A view from the throne. Two candle holders from Goodwill for $1.91. I love these. They look brand new. This room is a work in progress.
Well, it's Friday and I wanted to end the week with a happy note about something I love to do. Decorate. What a great lesson to learn that there isn't much keeping me from doing what I love to do but my own little self. Has anyone noticed the FREE VINTAGE ART button on the sidebar? Own a color copier? Copy some of those bad boys, make a statement and use your own old frames if you need it to be free!! I'd suggest painting the frames if you make a collage of them. I will be working on that this weekend as well as my 1Timothy scripture I want to frame. Don't wait to do what you LOVE!!!!!!!!!
I am linking up with Julia's Hooked On Houses weekly blog party. Some great links here guys, go check 'em out.
Love y'all,
Jennifer

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

A Mighty Move of God

Boy, I never truly realized how much we look alike until I saw this picture. Like mother, like daughter.

What a busy weekend we had. Not with doing things but with all of the miracles God is working in our lives. There is so much going on I feel like I could write 50 posts! My head is spinning trying to get things all worked out in my head. There are some wonderful things I'd like to share.

1. Hubby came back from his retreat a changed man. Literally. He came home just after 11pm Saturday smelling like BBQ. He said they had a bonfire going and that is where they had their devotionals and cooked all the food. So manly. That night we had some firsts. For the first time my husband and I prayed together. He took my hands and prayed out loud over our marriage. I was stunned. He asked me if I wanted to say anything but I really couldn't because I was too in shock and I was crying. That was a huge step for him, it couldn't have been easy to put himself out there like that and his prayer was like one of a seasoned pastor. He couldn't have done it better. So happy for him. Another first..... I asked him how was the retreat and he said with a smile "I'm still filled with the Holy Spirit.". Now that was huge. He has been so frustrated that he has never felt called to God or that close personal relationship that some of us have. He's never felt the Holy Spirit he would say. He finally received, he was finally called to God. He was pulled in to an everlasting embrace. He is forever changed and I can't begin to convey my feelings on this subject.

2. The answer to countless prayers has been answered. My family as it functions is changing to a biblical one. My husband is now the spiritual head of the home. He loves God now and seeks a personal relationship with Him. The function of the home is different when both parents have a love for God and pursue him passionately. It's less about us, more about Him. It's just way different around here, that's all I can say. He has filled up my husband with love and peace. The answer to countless prayers is happening right before my eyes. Not only did God answer the prayers for my husband but he has done it in a big way. No small gift, Mike is on FIRE. In such a short time he has seemed to learn so much and be able to apply it to his and our lives in such a way that it is just stunning. Only God's grace is capable of this. I simply cannot believe my eyes, truly, it is just beyond what I could have ever imagined or asked for.

3. God gave me favor at Ingles Monday. We have been eating scraps and whatever was hanging around, which was fine. Nobody was dying over what they had to eat. But let's just say the fridge and pantry were empty on Monday. We were told we would get paid Tuesday so I went shopping for food praying the check would be there. Anyway, God knows I had the bare minimum to spend and I planned out budget meals for practically nothing and planned to spend as little as possible. I followed my list and when I was done I had a full cart past the brim of the cart. I feed six y'all. When I was done I couldn't believe it. I thought, how can I have all this stuff when I planned for so little? But I felt like I should not put anything back so I checked out. My bill was $130 and the pantry and fridge is completely full. Normally I struggle to pay between $180 to $200 for our groceries, we're still in diapers & those bad boys are expensive too. I claim that is favor as I have never spent $130 on groceries for food for a week. I have to feed myself, Braxton and Brandon lunch everyday too. It's not like I can only buy cereal and stuff for dinners. So I just took it as favor. Thank you Lord.

4. Lysa TerKeurst's book "What Happens When Women Say Yes To God" is just flipping amazing. I read something last night that I think I shall never forget. It was this, "Each time I feel my heart being pulled down into the pit of ungratefulness and grumbling, I recognize it as a call to draw near to the Lord." I was a major grumbler the last couple of years. Last year especially was hard on our family financially and I just fell into the trap of why me. Why me Lord when I have been such a devoted daughter? Having a baby & two year old who is just beyond anything I can control doesn't help either. I became very negative and a major grumbler. I set about in November to conquer this bad behavior and these words really helped me. Even this weekend I felt myself falling into the trap of grumbling about us not having the ability to buy food or some necessities we need. But after reading these words now I think instead of grumbling I will turn my thoughts to God and draw near to Him. There is so much good stuff in this book. I am so grateful to Kelly for giving it to me.

5. I realized this weekend that I had not given our money to God fully as I thought I had. I am so ashamed of myself. I have no problem tithing. Been there, done that. I was always taught that you were to tithe 10% of what you took home. Now being a bible reader I realize that the bible says 10% period. They obviously did not have payroll taxes back then. So all my Christian life where I have been I was told 10% of what you bring home in your paycheck. Well, my husband came home from this retreat telling me that we needed to begin to tithe. (Y'all we don't even know what his income even is. He gets paid, pays payroll, pays his sub contractors and the rest goes to bills. Whatever is left goes for groceries which sometimes does not happen and we eat scraps.) I want to tithe too and have felt bad that I was writing checks hoping it was close to what he brought in for the week. He explained that he met a gentleman who tithes his business to God. He is a general contractor like my husband is, doing remodeling work. The exact same thing as hubby. All income is generated from both these men's businesses. He said since it is the business that supplies the income the business must be tithed. His business is flourishing right now which is unheard of for construction guys. Soooo, I have no problem with that either really. A little scared because every penny is spent already for bills but I was willing to step out in that faith. Then, he said the guy told him 10% of gross profits and la de da my sinful little greed popped out. I said, it's supposed to be from take home pay. Hubby then proceeds to tell me that no, the word says 10% of your fruits. He says if the farmer planted and harvested a crop of 100 bushels of fruit he was to give God 10 bushels, right? Yes I said. Well, the farmer was still taxed on 100 bushels even though he only had 90 to sell. My mind begins to scramble at how I can argue this. But I was always told 10% of take home I say. He says no. If we are to do this correctly he needs to better track each job. We are to take our revenue from each job & pay the subs & his crew. Whatever is left after that is to be tithed and you know what? I was not happy about it. I just kept thinking but we are already broke!!! If we can't pay it all on time now what will happen when we are giving so much away? Then I realized I had not truly given our money to God. Oh boy. Then I also realized that it didn't matter who was right about what the true rule is which I still have to admit I'd like to know what the true tithe is biblicaly supposed to be. What mattered is that my Lord took my husband to another godly man who "just happened" to be in the exact same business as my husband and who faced the exact same challenges in this wretched economy and told my husband how he came to run his business on the tithe and he is now flourishing. My husband was brought to this man for a reason and my husband knows better than I do what bills we have. He works like an animal to pay them. And yet he still was excited and compelled to tithe 10% of the gross profits, meaning before taxes. That was all that mattered. I shut up. Lysa speaks in her book of having her fist closed tight around something in her life she did not want to give up and she had to learn to open her fist and present it to God. I thought I had done that with everything and God has shown me that I have indeed not done that. I am operating in the spirit of fear concerning our money. I prayed this morning and opened up my fists to God presenting him my holding back our finances to Him. That I was unwilling to give him more than 10% of net pay unless I chose to do was a sin. I only wanted that part to be God's so I could pay our already late bills. Then I was horrified as I prayed on my knees holding out my open hands to God giving him all of our money that I had thoughts of fear and doubt popping in right in the middle of my prayer!!! How horrendous is that? Here you go God, I have sinned and withheld what is yours, take it and please forgive me. Oh but what if I can't pay my bills? What happens if I write a check on Sunday and it literally leaves me zero dollars for food? I was actually thinking this as I wanted more than anything to give it all to God. Where did these even come from? I just began to talk to God at that point and gave him my concerns and told him that despite these horrid thoughts I wanted to give it to Him and to please help me conquer this spirit of fear. Oh boy. Now I still don't know if I gave Him our money or not. I guess we'll see on Sunday when it's check writing time right?

6. My new church has put me on the solo singing list!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Are you freaking kidding me? I have never sang a solo before. Who put me on that list? I never asked to sing a solo. NEVER would I ask to sing a solo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can sing but I don't think my voice is pretty enough for a solo. Really, I'm not just saying that. I spoke with the choir director yesterday and he just laughed at me and told me I was operating in the spirit of fear and doubt and I would do fine. June 28 I am to sing a solo. I told him I didn't want to and he laughed at me again and said I would be fine. But you've never heard me sing I said. He said, if you love to sing you will do fine. WHAT??????????????? I want to crawl in a hole. I've never even heard myself sing alone before. What do I even sound like? Lord, why are you doing this to me? Then I remembered that God will ask you to things that are beyond you. That is where he can operate and receive the glory. I love love love to sing. Oh, I love it. I have often in joking with God asked him to bless me with a beautiful singing voice. Oh Lord. Is this a God thing? This is so beyond me. The song "Hungry" came to my mind immediately as I was speaking to the choir director. Was that God? It's one of my most favorite songs. Oh boy.

Could there be any more going on over here? YES. This post got too long so I'm stopping. Sheesh. Yet I am feeling so wonderfully blessed. I also have a blog award I am going to post about this afternoon from Shanda at A Teachable Heart. Love her blog. I think I need to go conquer that cleaning list on my fridge right now, fun fun.

I am linking this in to Melissa's Beautiful Life series over at the Inspired Room. A great series with Mr. Linky, please check it out. Truly seeking God and allowing him to fully live out every aspect in our lives has just beeen a tremendous blessing.


Friday, May 22, 2009

Stay At Home Mom Life Made More Easier

Excel has saved my life!! Okay maybe I exaggerate a little, maybe something more like..... Excel has changed my life!!

Ever so tired of feeling like I did not accomplish much for the day or not being able to fit in my daily exercising that I can never find the time to do I felt a strange urge to create a doable excel sheet. I also (even though he rarely says a word) had a feeling like sometimes my husband wondered what in the heck I had been doing all day. So it has been on the fridge even though I am a hater of putting things on the fridge. (Me likey things neat and orderly)

It was there for the world to see just what mom had been up to. Cleaning wise that is.
I also put in exercise for all six days of the week. Sunday I have the day off. I only cook. Guess what? After never exercising I have done 30 min. every day this week but Wednesday. Wed. was chaos. Lawyer stuff and all. That is a miracle in itself. Here is what I did.


I could not for the life of me figure out how to post this except to take a picture. Can you read it? I hope so. I have each day of the week and then Major Room. Under major room I list all the major rooms of the house. Then I list all the chores I think are doable for the day. I have a wild 2 year old so he takes a lot of time. You know?

Since it's hard to read here is an example of Monday:

Monday

Major room

Family room

Kitchen

Sunroom

M. bedroom

M. bath

laundry room

Laundry

shop for meats

cook dinner

exercise


As I do a chore I circle it. Major room stands for this: I pick one major room a day to do a complete & thorough clean. This means sweeping, mopping, dusting, wiping down of doors, baseboards, cabinets are wiped down, washing machines are cleaned, every surface is cleaned, glass is cleaned. I pick one room a day. Then I do the other things. Under exercise I write down what I did for that day. It has kept me accountable & I have actually done it AND I feel like I have accomplished something!! Yay.

S.A.H. M. 's take a lot of poo on themselves for doing the greatest job in the world & the hardest mental job in the world. Their husbands a lot of times don't realize what they do OR especially the VALUE of having a S.A.H.M. (Stay At Home Mom) in their family. We also beat ourselves up and under value ourselves. So for me, this has been a big accomplishment as I am a goal oriented person. I also don't like the "mental guilt" I feel or slight resentment I feel when my husband doesn't think I have particularly worked hard enough that day. And if I didn't so what? Being around small children all day will make a person crazy. I like that Mike can see what Jenn has been up to all day so it removes any self doubt or feelings of failure that I place on myself.

If I do any other things/chores I write them down below. This also frees me up to take Braxy to the park once or twice a week. I don't feel like I have to everything every day. Now, since I have implemented this I have put back into place some chore schedules for the older kids to help "maintain" our home. I am nobody's maid. None of should be. Lexi is in charge of the kitchen. It is her job to keep it orderly. Of course I am still in the kitchen doing dishes & cleaning but if I don't get to it then she knows whatever I have not done she needs to complete after dinner. Brandon is in charge of the family room which includes the foyer and dining room. It's his job to pick up daily in there. Amber has the sun room which is the smallest living room area off the kitchen. They have to maintain their own rooms and bathrooms. Once it is clean, if everyone picks up after themselves & the assigned child keeps it up it will take only 5 to 10 minutes of general cleaning. It will get the big "major" clean once a week as I get to it. This way the entire house stays neat all day.

So far, it has worked. The house is neat, clean & I love it. I have the sun room left to do tomorrow. I will say that I have had to stay on them all week to pick up after themselves. I have my eagle eye out and call them back into a room when I walk by and see someone left a mess or toy or anything laying about. I figure after a couple of weeks they will be in the habit. I love that I am exercising again & I was the only thing keeping me from accomplishing my goal. I realized that about a week or two ago. I have a lot of things that keeps me from many things I want to do but exercising is something that I keep myself from doing. I don't have to be in a gym to get fit. I brought out my beloved Jane Fonda Step (she has the most amazing step video from the middle 90's. ) And I keep it in my room and even the kids are stepping to a Disney show. That's 30 minutes and they are distracted from the bore of exercising while watching Zack & Cody. (Those twins need a good spanking. Anybody with me on that one?)

Anybody else use a chore list for themselves? I am just loving this.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

How to Find Contentment

1 Timothy 6: 6-11


But godliness with contentment is great gain.
For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.
But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.
People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness

It's 3:55am. Been up since 2am. Between Braxton kicking me, the cat on my head & Amber (when did she get in my room?) making tons of noise and rolling into the wall & kicking the contents of my bed table Braxton emptied yesterday I can't sleep. Bedtime started out beautifully. I kept Braxton from a nap so he would go to sleep early. Around 8:30 I took him to my bed to lay down and watch Dumbo (I need Elephants he says). I love bedtime with Braxton because it is the only time he lets me be close to him and love on him. He snuggled in to me and let out the longest sigh. I did the same. I thought to myself how wonderfully content I was and I would just close my eyes and go to sleep too. Lots of late nights lately.

I'd like to say my family let me sleep but y'all know they kept coming in waking me up out of a beautiful and deep sleep. I kept thinking, don't they see my eyes are closed? Anyhoo, I thought it funny that I went to bed feeling so contented and then here in the middle of the night I read the scripture above. I love http://www.christianity.com/ 's Bible In A Year. I decided to log on and read a little and that scripture really jumped out at me.

I've learned a lot this past year about how important it is to be content with my circumstances as they are. I don't always succeed but of course I have come a long way. I have been seeing a lot of people lately wanting to get back to basics . (??? I was watching my favorite food network chef Ina Garten do some shows "Back to Basics" and she made Lobster Pot Pie. ??? Huh? Those Hampton people....) Simplicity. Many of us are yearning for it but have no idea how to get back to it.

The scripture says godliness with contentment is great gain. Joyce Meyer has hammered that into me too. To be content where you are. Sometimes that is a really hard thing to do. Sometimes you have to start at finding moments that you can be content with. That is what I had to do. It started with small moments and gradually I have built into large blocks of time that I feel quite content. I also find that due to our financial circumstances I have learned to be very content at being able to have the basic necessities in life. To have a home, to have food, utilities, gas in my car, clothing. It may be old and worn but it fits and it covers right? These are things that I used to take for granted and now just having them makes me feel like the luckiest person in the world. The scripture said if we have food and clothing we will be content with that. Yep.


Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. Okay, I could go on and on about this one part of the scripture! So true so true. Some may read that and think it concerns people doing things immoral or illegal. I think not. Might this apply to some of us who are eager for our "stuff", our networking, working like dogs so we can afford our "stuff" so much so that there is no time for God in our lives and no time for contentment?
"I'm too tired to go to Church. I worked hard all week and I just want to rest." Wouldn't you like to have a dollar for every time you ever heard or said that?

Verse 11 says But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.

You know,it's all right there. How we should all live our lives and we would find contentment, happiness and a personal relationship with God. It's all right there in 1 Timothy 6:11. Six things to do. Six things we can't seem to do.

Don't pursue a 5,000 sq. foot house with brick and stone?

Don't pursue a $200 purse?

Don't pursue an expensive car that shows people how well we are doing?

Don't pursue a life of finery, club memberships, and every kind of indulgence that will make our lives easier?

Aren't these the things that make us happy? A big house, a nice car, trendy clothes and accessories, the mani/pedi ? Don't those things fill the void? Don't they make us happy?

Society would tell you that those things will make you happy. And they do have their place, don't get me wrong. But I have learned that those are not the things that need to be what I am pursuing, what I am going after. They cannot be the foremost things on my mind. They are better left as rewards and treats. Not my whole being. For awhile now I have realized these things in my own life. If it were possible I would sell my home and down size. I would and I am getting rid of a lot of my "stuff". I don't want to be a slave any longer to my "stuff". I don't want to owe anybody anything. We used to be a cash only family except for the mortgage and cars. I am getting back to that. I want less TV, less computer, less stuff and more Bible study with my kids. More time on the trampoline. More time at the park. More picnics with the entire family. More laughter. More of God. More of Jesus. That sounds so much better than the pursuit of money. Being content, God wants that for us. And I see how silly I am because it's all right there. All we have to do is read it and do it. Why is it so hard to figure out? I had no idea before that I was working so hard to pay for my stuff. I was so tired out and couldn't enjoy my life because I worked so many hours so I could have such nice stuff. I thought that stuff was what was going to make me happy? How can you be happy if you are too tired to enjoy your life? Or too stressed out to enjoy your life, to enjoy your kids, to enjoy your spouse?

I think I need to print out this scripture. I know there are nice fonts I can download and I will print this out and place it in a frame. It shall hang on the wall as a reminder. I'll have to take a picture when I get it done. This really spoke to me. I don't ever want to go back to where we were. Sure we had great stuff but we had no true contentment. I find so much more contentment when I am relaxed and full of Him. Now that's contentment.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Black Belt Testing

Brandon tested for his Black Belt on Saturday after just over 3 years of hard work. Did he get it?
First he does his form for judging.

Some self defense.

Awesome instructors.


Some fighting. Mine is the guy on top.



Some more fighting. This shot was seconds before the kid couldn't pull back quick enough to make contact with Brandon's face. They aren't supposed to make "real" contact during testing.


Brandon checking for blood.



One proud papa.


More sparing. Brandon is sparing our current Georgia State Champion. They have a thing about beating each other up. Brandon has to be careful though because the champ is a 2nd degree black belt.


I can say I knew her when. Ms. Katherine has been approved by Food Network to be on a Food Network Cake Decorating Challenge. You know, one of the best shows on TV!!!!


Some board breaking. They broke plastic and wood boards.


Testing is over. It's decision time. He is finding out if he is promoted to 1st degree black belt.


And here he is, my little black belt!!!!!!!!!!!! Hurray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



What a cool day it was!
My teenager was promoted to decided brown belt and Amber was promoted to red belt. A great day.
My anniversary was awesome! We went out with friends and didn't get home until midnight. First we were at an Irish Pub that was just awesome and then an English Pub. We laughed all night. So much fun.












Saturday, May 16, 2009

An Anniversary & A Black Belt

Today is the day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3 years of karate 3 days a week (most of the time) and today is the day!!!!!

Brandon goes for his black belt today. I am beside myself and covered in goose bumps. This is a very big deal!! The school is having a special testing too that they don't usually have and a lot of the other ATA schools are coming over to test their black belts going for their first belt and black belts going for their 2nd and 3rd degrees. Man are we in for a show!! Flying kicks, board breaking, serious bad mamajamma forms. LOVE IT. I am so excited for Brandon. Please pray for Brandon to keep his focus. He has to do some hard board breaks too.

Today is also my 11th wedding anniversary!!! It's a big day all around. This morning started off fun too. I never set the alarm because I always wake up at 6am no matter what. Well, guess who slept in. I looked at the clock and y'all I need contacts to see properly otherwise everything is fuzzy. So I look at the clock & in my eyes I see 8:48. Okay, testing starts at 9am. I jumped up yelling & thankfully my hubby who has good eyes told me the correct time. So I toddled over to the coffee pot all adrenaline filled and distraught to see roses from our garden and a unbelievably beautiful card made from his computer with patterns and such?? He must have used a program. It was filled with a letter to me and I cried like a baby. Do you know what he said to me? He said I was his shining glory. Tears tears tears.

Have a great day & I'll post about Brandon later!! Hurray!!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Hooked on Memories

It's that time again! Hooked On Houses fabulous blog party hosted by Julia is every Friday. I love her Friday blog parties because everyone always has such interesting posts and it has been a great way to meet other bloggers.

What am I hooked on this week? Memories, I love a good photo tied to a wonderful memory. I have tons of photos and unfortunately for me I had a few hundred organized in a closet waiting to be put in an album when I walked into my closet to see this.


Oops, somebody wasn't watching the 2 year old very well. I knew he was playing but I had no idea it was that bad. This is after I had already been cleaning up for awhile. He pulled shelves down even, hangers, Christmas bows for next year too. Stinker. As I was fretfully putting my now unorganized photos back in their boxes I had the best time looking at the photos. Which is why I take so many pictures. Want to see some of my favorites?

Me in 1986 in a Biology class. You don't think we paid attention in class do you?

Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta a couple of weeks after the bombing during the Olympics. Lexi was such a little girl and loved the water spraying up from the ground. Could it really be that long ago? She is 17 now.



This is how you give your baby a bath when a Hurricane has just destroyed your home. Thank heavens for large rubbermaid containers. My mom liked to give her evening baths.



My hubby with Brandon. Both my men hate to be inside. We were always at the park. Good memories of the park with the whole family. Brandon is almost 12 now. Dang Mike looks good.


Welcoming Amber into the world in '99. I turned 30 two weeks later.


We've all had one of "those" New Year's Eve parties haven't we?


Everyone else keeps those Chuck E Cheese photos too don't they?


Love Chuck E Cheese's photo booth. Can you tell?


Had to have at least one nice one.



Does anyone else take photographs of your kids on the rides at Walmart? Please tell me I'm not alone here.

Some of us like to put off remodeling our homes until we have to. Hurricane Andrew took care of all of Homestead's procrastinators!! I didn't see any shots of my home but this was my childhood home. Poor mom and dad. Do you see the curtains hanging outside the front window? My mom freaked. She just had those custom made, ha ha. At least we were still alive.


Here come the dump trucks to take away our stuff. That was actually a good day because the stench of mildewy carpet was gone. You have to rip out all your carpet and throw it in piles along with all your furniture. Then this happens.
After that I said no more hurricanes for me and moved to metro Atlanta. I love it here. Except it's not quite as South as it used to be. Lots of people moving here & I miss all that Southern friendliness and hospitality.

I hope you enjoyed my trip down memory lane & had a couple of laughs. I sure did. I just love my pictures. How about you? I'm off to see what everybody else is hooked on this week.
Have a great day,
Jennifer





A Submissive Wife.....

As a part of Melissa's Beautiful Life series over at the Inspired Room I thought I'd participate with a wonderful thing God is teaching me about harmony in my marriage. Thanks Melissa for hosting the get together. Thank you for visiting from the Inspired Room and for anyone who has not visited her blog please do. She has a wonderful blog that will inspire you in many ways.



Here we are in all our marital glory.





When I hear the word submissive or submit I do not associate it with a good feelings. There is only one exception to this and that is when I hear that word associated with the Lord. I don't mind saying "I submit to the Lord. I submit to Jesus." one single bit. Okay, great. Now try saying out loud "I submit to my husband". (Go ahead, try it.)





How did that feel?

Could you even say it?

Did you cringe?

Did you roll your eyes?

Did you laugh? (I laughed)

Did you say "Not in a million bleeping years. That man is a (insert word)?

Did you feel comfortable saying it?(I hope you felt comfortable saying it.)


I just tried saying it again and I still laughed (he he).



I have often struggled with this issue and especially this word. Submit. Didn't God know men were selfish lustful morons when he made them? Sometimes I look at men and I shake my head and think "I'm supposed to submit to that?" Are you freaking kidding me?

In my religious upbringing being a submissive wife was hammered into us at my Southern Baptist Private School & at our Church. Even as a young child this really irritated the poo out of me and I would argue with my Sunday School & Bible teachers. I would say "Why should my mom submit to my dad when he doesn't do any of the work around the house, she works and all he does is go fishing and look at other women.". They never really did have a good answer for me. They just said she should do it. My first husband was a control freak and somewhat abusive physically but mostly verbally. Submit to him? Not on your life baby. I say this only to preface my issues with a submissive wife and I forgot.... most of the men in our Church were not very kind to their wives. I don't think many of them were happy. Which is why I always though it was so ridiculous to let a man abuse and trample over a woman. Or just simply sit back and not argue/discuss bad decision making etc. There are a whole multitude of reasons why some men are not "worthy" of a submissive wife. Which brings me to the point.



I have discovered that a worthy man is deserving of a submissive wife.


Yep, that's right I said it.


In reading Ephesians 5 & I mean the whole chapter but particularly where it discusses marriage I believe Paul is pretty clear about both roles of marriage and I feel certain that even Paul himself would agree that this "submissive" thing wouldn't work in making a happy marriage if only one of the marriage partners was fulfilling their Holy matrimonial obligations. I don't think Paul was just listing how marriage should be for the sake of giving rules, it was on how to have a happy marriage. You know, marriage is really harder for the man than the woman if it is done Biblicaly. They have a lot of responsibilities and one of those major responsibilities is for the men to love their wives, just as Christ loved the Church. Just how much do we all believe Jesus loves the Church? To make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but whole and blameless. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church-for we are members of his body. Thought I'd quote me a little scripture there.



Now, that's a lot of work for the man. But ladies, I think we all know how most women react when their man is being wonderful to them. We want to do nice things for them and make them happy. Also, when momma is happy everyone is happy. When my hubby is being wonderful to me I find myself going out of my way to be a good wife to him. To do things that will please him. That's just how we women roll.

Recently God has just grabbed ahold of my hubby and wonderful things are happening around here. He is developing a personal relationship with God. He has been reading the Bible every day and truly seeking. He has a pastor friend who is mentoring him. He is wanting to change our family structure to a biblical one. Although my husband was a doo doo head for Mother's Day he is really changing and he wants to become the spiritual head of the home. I think this is huge as he knows lots of stuff but he knows I know way more. It could be a little intimidating for him to take over what has been my role but he did it and I am proud of him. He knows he does not have all the knowledge but he knows his role now and he wants to fulfill it. That leaves me with the white elephant in the room (the submissive wife role that I must fulfill).

I have to say, I don't mind it. I am enjoying it actually. How crazy is that?


You see, now that I am experiencing for the first time snippets of what Paul was talking about concerning the man's role in loving his woman it is easy to submit to my husband. If I can see he is being gentle and loving towards me and not selfish but considerate of me and the children also then his decision making or requests do not bother me at all. He also has been discussing things more and wanting to come to agreements first. He is not trying to be a ruler/tyrant. He is trying to be the spiritual head and I am more than happy to help. I like being treated this way. I talked in Feb. about the whole men want respect women want love thing. I see that being completed here.

I know some women who say you should be submissive no matter if your husband is fulfilling his obligations listed along in Eph. 5. Well, that's another post but if your hubby is not treating you the way you deserve or how you should be I don't think you should submit yourself into being a doormat.

I find it interesting that God has shown me so much this past year and yet he still continues to teach me new things. My biggest fear is that I have learned so much in such a short time that I will forget it all and mix things together. I think maybe that is a large part of why God spoke to my heart to start blogging. He knew I would record everything & I could just go back at any time to review it all. And I have, many times. Now I am learning about being a submissive wife and that is a subject I truly didn't think I could ever grasp ahold of. Now, I by no means have a true grasp on this subject but I am beginning to learn. This should be another fun journey that God takes the family down and boy oh boy, I sure do hope my hubby continues on this way. I can hardly contain my excitement!! I also like my new lovey dovey kinda sorta guy. Hey, he's still new at it too.

I was wondering if anybody had any helpful thoughts on marriage concerning both people's roles and how to be a better submissive wife. What can I do to help him continue on with his new role and stay with it and be an encourager?

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Fun In The Sun

It's Outdoor Wednesday over at http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/. This is a great blog so please hop on over and participate if you can or just visit all the lovely ladies over there today.


We have been doing a lot of this lately now that it is nice and sunny again here in North Ga.


Jumping on the trampoline!! Or as Braxton calls it the "ampoline". This is my daughter Lexi and my son Braxton. 2 of the 4. We have been hanging out on this crazy thing 3 or 4 times a day as it is Braxton's favorite new discovery. We will lay on our backs and watch the clouds and since our backyard is heavily wooded we watch the birds flutter around the trees overhead. It is a delight to watch Braxton discover new creatures. Yesterday we saw the longest earth worm I have ever seen. It was doing such crazy things and we watched him for about 30 minutes. That crazy worm crawled up on a swing that was laying on the ground getting some repairs and when it touched the hot metal chain the worm started jumping way up in the air and flailing about wildly. I though Braxton jumped a mile and right into my arms that worm scared him so bad. I think he may have scorched himself on the metal. But I love laying outside with Braxton and watching all the animals together. We have geese in the lake behind our house and sometimes we watch the fish jump out of the water. That is a lot of fun.





Here is my little monkey at the park. He loves the park. "I want to play park" is part of his daily vocabulary. He likes to watch the ducks at the duck pond at our park. If I am not looking closely he tries to get in with them. Stinker.

The next couple of weeks I am going to try to do something with our boring back deck. Not too pretty, it's just boring wood. But it has to all be free so that should be fun to see what I can do!!

Have a great day,

Jenn

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Girl Scouts, I'm ready to talk

Okay, I'm ready to talk about the Girl Scouts thing. Mostly because I want to remember details because we aren't done with this yet. Mama is pretty angry and when mama gets riled up about her kids she doesn't take it lying down.

So as I said last week the Girl Scout leader called and wanted a private face to face meeting. She asked me not to bring Amber because she didn't want her to see me get upset. I knew then it wasn't going to be a good meeting. As it turns out she ended up talking to me over the phone because she was upset about finding out that the school was having to fire four para pros which she is one of and she knows she will probably get fired. So she does it over the phone instead which was great for me because I ended up sobbing loudly and my eyes swelled up so I probably couldn't have driven home if I was over there.

So here is the dirt and I am wondering if anyone would care to weigh in anon even what they think. I am a little biased. Okay, I am furious!! G.S.L. (Girl Scout Leader) tells me that she has had 3 girls (third graders) tell her that they will not be signing up for G.S. next year if Amber stays in the troop. She says one parent came to her after the meeting last week to say that she would not be signing up her daughter next year if Amber stays in the troop. I have no idea if this parent was a parent of one of the three girls or if this is a fourth girl. I suspect her daughter is one of the three as mom/daughter would have talked about it.

Let's stop right there. 3 girls & one parent have come to her saying they will not come back if Amber stays in the troop. At this point I am so supremely hurt and shaking. How could these girls hate my little Amber so much? So I ask her why. She tells me that she had no idea Amber's behavior was bothering the girls so much and that because of my mom's stroke and my having to close my business and the stress she has not told me about Amber's behavior in G.S. but that she didn't think it was that bad. I say, what is she doing? She says Amber gets upset a lot and feels like the girls are picking on her. She will cry if her feelings get hurt or go in a corner and cry. She pouts and crosses her arms and becomes defensive when she feels some injustice has been done to her. I ask if this happens at every meeting and she said sometimes it is just for a little moment and sometimes she has to take 10 minutes to stop Amber from crying and she said the girls all said they are tired of dealing with Amber's emotions and crying. Then she asks me something which I can't remember and I say to her that I can't answer because I am still stuck on 3 girls and one parent telling her what they did. I told her that she should have told them sorry to see you go if you feel you must. Why don't we try to work things out instead? I told her she should have told them goodbye. It is not good for little girls to learn to manipulate so early in life and they probably would not have quit anyway. I told her I thought she was being manipulated by little girls who just don't like Amber and one girl and her mom made the decision to quit the troop or say they would and she told some of her G.S. friends and they said, "yeah, we are not gonna sign back up too.". I told her she was being manipulated and she should have told the parent goodbye too. How petty of a parent to do that? There was no "I have a concern, lets try to work something out". No, it was just a flat out threat from the parent. That screams manipulation and bullying to me. Why was there no phone call or meeting to say my daughter is not enjoying G.S. like she used to. She says Amber is getting upset and it is disrupting to her and some of the other girls. What can we do? Someone who skips that process should be told goodbye in my opinion.

I told her she should have told me about this. She had been telling me things were fine with Amber. She called me in the Fall to tell me about Amber doing these things and Amber and I worked on this and she told me things were much better. So if she tells me things are fine and they are not whose fault is it?

So she tells me that she wants to see what we can do to fix things and work things out. Then in the very next breath she says she wants me to see if Amber wants to stay in G.S. . Ask her if she wants to leave? That's when I got furious. Beyond furious. Beyond wounded. Are you freaking kidding me? Basically she was letting me know she would like this to just be easy and if Amber left it would all be over and fine.

In my opinion, I don't think she should have ever told me about girls wanting to leave G.S. She made that mess, not me. I think she should not have inflicted that kind of hurt upon a mother. She did not do her due diligence by letting me know we still needed to work on Amber's pouting. I also informed her that the girls pick on Amber and that needed to be worked out too when we talked in the Fall. They still pick at her and won't let her sit with them and such many times. One of them pushed her last week. You know, I guess I am saying there is a popularity thing going on and some slight bullying also. It is not just a situation of everyone gets along wonderfully and Amber is just having random fits of pouting and crying. So I think she should have called me and said look, I haven't been honest with you. Some of the girls are complaining about taking time away from G.S. to calm Amber down and I think we need to work with her quickly. Period. Imagine if you can your coach, dance instructor, G.S. leader calling to say some of the kids want your kid gone and one parent too. Then they ask if you want to leave which is really code for "I don't want to deal with this so would you just mind leaving.". I am not a dummy. Imagine how hurt you would be if you also knew the kids pick on your kid a lot. It was just too much for me and I sobbed to hard I couldn't talk. Really, I couldn't even get my words out. It was just a jumble of blah blah blah 'cause I am sure nobody could understand me.

In the G.S. defense I know since Braxton was born Amber developed very needy tendencies. She needs attention and affirmation quite regularly. I know this and it is something we work on. Amber is a free spirit. She is creative prone to whimsey and spontaneity. She would have made a beautiful hippie. I know she can get a feeling of being wronged and pout and cross her arms and be a good pain in the butt for 5 to 10 minutes if you try to deal with her. If you choose you can ignore her pouts and she gets over it. I know this too. I know she can be a pain in the butt, I am not naive in that aspect either.

In Amber's defense she is a sweet little girl. She will hug you more than anyone has ever hugged you in your life. She has the sweetest smile (watch the video below) and loves to lift people up. It is a God given gift Amber has. She loves to make people feel special and love on them. Every one who knows her says she would make a great missionary. She loves the Lord, prays out loud & she just lives to do special things for people in need. She is the best nurse you could ask for when you are sick. If you look tired Amber will offer a back rub and foot massage. She will make you a special dessert if you are cranky after dinner. She is super sweet and loving. She is not a bully and mean. Her leader even said she has to take time out to deal with Amber sometimes but not in such a way that she ever thought it was bothering the girls. So obviously she is not completely disrupting in any way. I also talked with Amber's teacher and she said Amber never disrupts class. She just tries to mother the kids and do things for them and some times she cries and pouts when she feels like somebody did her a wrong. No big deal.

So, my conclusion is that I need to continue to work on Amber's pouting but it is nowhere close to being a disruption that would cause these girls and a mom who does not even attend meetings to say they are leaving because of Amber. My conclusion is that they just don't like her and are sick of her and want her gone. I think they are trying to manipulate the G.S. leader into asking Amber to leave. Which I told her she had fallen right into their manipulative trap. She didn't appreciate that part but what do I care at this point. I think it was a plot by a couple of girls who also got one mom to say something to get Amber to leave. I have been to G.S. meetings before and they are not quiet. Mostly they girls are talking loudly and yelling & every meeting I went to my thought was these girls are out of control and the leader spent half the time asking them to stop talking and do the project. I have seen other girls cry and pout. I know for my own eyes have seen that this behavior is not just done by Amber alone. That is why also I think she is being manipulated.

But I was so hurt and so tired of Amber being picked on. I was so tired of working on this pouting thing with Amber. Why can't she just stop? I just sobbed out that if that was how she felt about Amber that we would just leave the troop and I would be pulling her out of school and just home school her too and she could go back and tell the girls and the parent and they could all just go celebrate together and then I hung up on her. I think if she had said another word to me I would have to have driven over there and had a throw down with her. I am not a quitter and it bothers me that they are going to learn that whenever they don't like somebody they can manipulate an adult into getting rid of someone they don't like. Learning manipulation as a third grader is not good. I emailed the leader to tell her that I thought she had let herself be manipulated by third graders and a petty parent. I told her that she was teaching them manipulation and blackmail work. Whatever, I think she is a disgrace to the name of Girl Scouts and she should be trained in how to handle little petty girls. She actually called to ask us in a round about way to leave and I want so badly to call the Girl Scout people who are in charge and complain because that is a disgrace to what Girl Scouting is all about. Why couldn't they all just work together to get along? Why did she let them do that? Why didn't she just call me and say we need to work this thing out and we have to get the other girls to stop picking on Amber so she is not so sensitive too. I am so hurt and Amber is depressed. Amber is now in the school counselor's office having weekly meetings I guess. Her teacher thought it was the right thing to do since she has been kinda depressed about it at school even. She already had one session and has another on Wed.I told this leader that what she and the kids have done will probably leave a scar on Amber because she is so young. Finding out some girls in your troop want you gone and have threatened to leave if you stay is so incredibly hurtful, especially for a nine year old. Imagine if that happened to you in your Bible Study group? I would cry like a baby and I am almost 40??

Stupid freaking girl scouts and stupid freaking Girl Scout leader.

On a lighter note, my hubby has read the Bible every day for like two weeks now and you just wouldn't belive what is going on over here. Holy Cow!! I love answered prayers like these.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

A Funny Video

This just makes my day every single time. My daughter is in the pink hat.




Have a great day,



Jennifer






Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Got God?

That's my teen up there. The one with her tongue hanging out. I'm on her laptop right now & I was browsing through her photos and like, every other photo somebody has their tongue hanging out. And they think grown ups are weird???

So does anybody remember my post about saying yes to God? BTW, please please follow Lysa's blog. You won't regret it. Well, in my extreme excitement about finding out how easy it is to know God's will for me is I learned a very important thing.

You have to be able to hear God to hear Him.

I can't believe how easy it is to be so busy that you just simply couldn't hear from God if He was yelling from Heaven. How ridiculous is that? So the last week or two I have recognized a serious need to simplify. We have our modern lives so complicated with "stuff" and "things" that must be done. Just running the kids to karate back and forth 3 days a week and keeping up with their gees/uniforms is a massive task. It keeps me very busy. Running after Braxy keeps me busy. Cleaning, accounting..... all of this I do with eyes wide closed, with ears wide shut. It has seriously affected me in ways that I am not sure what to do about.

For the moment I have chosen to just try to talk to God as much as I can. Rare moments in the car alone are spent with the radio off and I give God a call so to speak. Showering, yes I pray in the shower. I'm alone in there & it's quiet and I can focus on him. God has seen me naked, I'm sure he doesn't mind. I think He'd rather hear from me than not. Let's hope. I saw a comment on an Online Bible Study I am doing over at http://womensayyestogod.blogspot.com/2009/04/say-yes.html . You've got to join in this Online Bible Study pretty pretty please!! One of the commenter's posted that it is amazing how familiar we are with God but are not aware of Him in our day to day lives. That was pretty powerful to me. It's frustrating now that I have realized it and I am not quite sure how to quiet myself inside. How can I hear from God if I don't shut up? My mind is always thinking, always conversing with itself. Is anyone else like that? Quiet is a rarity.

I remember much simpler times and it makes me yearn for them. I am old enough to remember life way before cable was invented. I think I was in the fifth or sixth grade when the first type of cable came out. I remember I was in ninth grade & watched the debut of MTV. I remember when Atari's came out? Anybody remember that? Who knew that innocent little tennis game would turn into what video gaming has? Not me. I remember life way before cell phones. Personal computers? Those didn't exist when I was growing up.

Everyone likes to say that America has abandoned God by our behaviors in our TV and other avenues of socialization. But you know what I think? I think that even us good ole Christian folk have pushed God aside too. With our stuff. With our computers (ouch, if I wasn't blogging what else could I be doing? yes, I know the blogging stuff is beneficial too like great Christian blogs that help & inspire but y'all know we waste a lot of time on this dumbputer too or at least I do), with our cable TV, Facebooking & My Spacing, Googling, have you noticed women lately at the grocery store or the park? They are talking on their cell phones constantly, what if we talked to God while we had that silent time? Are we ignoring God, yes, even us good Christian folk? We want to blame the "unsaved" or the liberal left for our troubles and taking prayer out of the schools and such but I have really felt God speaking to me that we have basically just shut him out of our lives. That really stings. But I know in my life that it is hard to keep silent enough to hear from Him.

So I have definitely learned that I can't just pray in the morning "Lord, I am eagerly anticipating You today. I want to say yes to you today. What ever it is you want to do in and through me today I say yes. Please help me to hear you when you call. Amen." Yeah, um, it doesn't help if after I pray that I get myself so busied up that I forget to be focused on Him. My friend Tasha once told me that when her kids were young and she was struggling with this kind of stuff she would just say that every diaper she changed she changed for the Lord. You know, that's pretty great stuff!! I've never forgotten her telling me that. I was sweeping & mopping the other day and I said I am doing this for the Lord. If I keep Him in every thing that I do then how can I not hear from Him because He is right there with me in my mind. I didn't shut Him out. Right? Well, it's a focus of mine. Doing every thing I do for the Lord. Me having a mini meltdown in the kitchen tonight? Okay, that I didn't do for the Lord, ha ha. All four of my kids were talking at once and would not stop even though I kept asking them to let me cook dinner and let me be for awhile. Y'all I was broiling, microwaving, cooking on the stovetop and two ovens!!! Thare she blows!! Okay, it wasn't that bad but Lord, those kids were hurting my brain.

Simplify simplify, listen and dedicate all that I do except my mini tantrums to the Lord. Sounds like a plan.

I have to meet with Amber's Girl Scout Leader today. She called last night around 9pm to say she needs a private meeting and won't discuss it over the phone. Two days ago Amber's teacher called to say she is not doing her work and she didn't finish 2 of the GRCT's or what ever they are called tests that have to be passed to be promoted to the next grade. If she didn't get enough of it done she will fail or maybe have to do summer school. This from a straight A student? I refused to talk with the teacher since from the second week of school she was on me to put Amber on ADD drugs. I have never had a problem with her before and no other teacher had ever complained & two weeks in this one wants her drugged up? I gave her to the hubby. I'm gonna need the Lord with me tonight with the Girl Scout leader y'all. I'm a good and saved Christian girl but don't start picking on my kids. I forget myself. ahem. So there are some mean and nasty girls in that group, some are bully's and are well on their way to supreme bit@hdome. So for her to call me in for a special meeting already has me irritated. She wants to discuss behavior but I talk to her about Amber all the time and she rarely complains. You know I don't want to hear poo about my kid in her group when she allows all those nasty girls to push all the others including my kid around. I will need to get prayed up for this one. Lordy Lordy.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Rainy Day in Georgia

A Southern Daydreamer is having Outdoor Wednesday Linky love today. I thought I'd join in the fun. Visit her blog to see all the great posts at http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/


I am pretty sure it rained the entire day yesterday. I can't remember the last time it rained the entire day! We are drought plagued here in North Georgia. I can't remember the last time it has rained so many days in a row over here. This is a huge blessing & it is supposed to rain every day this week but one.





Only one problem with so much rain!! Bored kids. Braxton decided to stand in the rain for the first time in his life & he was screaming with delight. So of course I ran to get my camera & he stopped just before I could get filming. I thought I'd load the video though because I'm always talking about Braxy and Brandon my two co horts in mischief and it's always fun to watch a cute video.




p.s. It rained so much yesterday that the trees dumped so much "stuff" in our gutters that hubby had to get up on the roof to unclog them and fix our roof. Water was spewing over them like huge waterfalls y'all.



Have a great day!! Thank you for visiting.

Monday, May 4, 2009

Oh Happy Day

I looked outside the other day and I immediately jumped to my feet with fear. The picture doesn't do it justice. I think perhaps if you clicked on the picture to enlarge it would present a better real life scene. But....
I was sure of three things when I saw this.
1. A huge fireball was coming towards my house. This thing was bright!
2. The tribulation had begun.
3. Jesus was coming!
Ha ha, Am I silly? Wow, what a view. I don't know what happened in the atmosphere to create such an orange/yellow glow but once I realized we weren't about to burn to death it sure was pretty. Had to get a photo. I know, I'm a goof.

Welcome to our new Church
I had to take a photo! I'm a big Church girl y'all. My Churches have always been big with lots of programs and studies and big huge choirs that I sang in and well, just big. I have never been to a small Church before. Especially one in a trailer still. But, I just knew there was going to be something special about this one. This is the Church I have been talking about that we were invited to by my hubby's friend. (God bless that man.) The one that he actually liked!!


When we drove in I just knew it would feel like home and when we walked in those doors, I knew I was home.
Thank you Lord! Now, the double wide is full up in there. They are starting to build but all that takes time. My big ole family hogs a whole row. But oh my yesterday was wonderful. We went to both services and we stood outside talking for almost an hour after Church for the a.m. service. Look at what the kids do when Church is over.


That's my two year old out there playing football. The kids were great to Braxton and he actually caught the ball most of the time. What a beautiful piece of land!!!! Love it. This is the kind of stuff that doesn't happen at my big Churches and the kind of stuff hubby loves. He wants relationship and teaching and now he has it. He is busy making friends and the pastor of the Church is already a friend by baseball. Everyone has just loved on us and really talked to us. Not just chatter, but talked to us like the wanted us to be their friends. Love y'all, it was love.
The sermons were powerful and this guys is way annointed. Hubby went and bought himself a Bible yesterday and I cried and cried. We joined the Church too, they brought us up front and the entire Church shook all of our hands and hugged us and I cried and cried out of sheer happiness. What a baby I am, ha ha. Tears and tears of pure happiness. Could my entire family now be coming to Church? It is looking good. The pastor and our pastor friend Randy have a hold on Mike and I pray neither lets go. Randy came by to visit for two hours on Saturday and the two men sat alone in Mike's office and I just knew it was God. Randy told me he felt God moving him to come over unannounced and he did. He was on his way to work and he just made his way over to us. Luckily he is kinda his own boss and can do that. That is big man. God is pulling on the hubster and I have cried my eyes silly out of gratitude.
Yesterday's sermon was on the wilderness and trust. Trust is hard in my flesh when it concerns being able to support the family but he said if you can't trust for the whole picture then you just take each day and say Lord I trust you today and you start there. We are scared right now, trying not to be but sometimes we are. Boy, oh boy, so much wonderful stuff happening right now in the midst of so much horrible. I sure would like to end that cycle. I have to file with the county clerk this week as I am being sued by my landlord. What a ridiculous thing to do in this economy. Businesses are closing left and right and most landlords are letting people out of their leases or renegotiating them, not mine. I just get sued for six figures and have to file bankruptcy. That is sooooo much fun. They are suing hubby too and that affects his business. Of course we can't pay them six figures and we can't afford a lawyer to fight the lawsuit so that means him filing bankruptcy too but if he files all his credit will be taken away and how is he supposed to buy supplies for his business with no credit? Hmmmm? Lots of hard decisions and although I having been praying about it, hubby to no clear direction from God on what to do. Major life changing decisions being made. Stress, stress stress. It's easy to just say I will trust God but when you are self employed and you still have to make hard tough decisions daily you still have to do "stuff" yourself so it is frustrating when you don't know what to do and pray and still don't know what to do. It's not like we are just employed and can just sit back and say. "I trust God.". We still have to do things. So I still pray for wisdom for hubby. Wisdom wisdom wisdom. Need that bad right now.


But, what a wonderful weekend and the kids were tired after a long Church filled day and so was I. Oh Happy Day indeed.