Happy New Year!!!!

The title says it all....HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Early openings!

So we opened a few gifts today (makes it easier for my mother in law to deal with tomorrow). We will open the rest tomorrow. So one of my biggest scores this year was this vacuum from my hubby and kids. As you can see I already used it. I COULDN'T HELP IT! My parents bought us a second digital camera cuz hubby uses the other for work mostly. I am going crazy with picture taking. We didn't need the second one (and I told them that when they asked about it) but they got it anyway. The children are having a blast. We were blessed this year and were able to afford some nicer things for the kids. I pray that all of you will be blessed this Christmas season and in the year to come.

'Tis the season

christmas images

Merry Christmas everyone! May the Lord bless you this Christmas season and in the year to come. Have a safe and happy one! *hugs*

Frozen to death.

Well the bat type resident is frozen to death. He fell off the window today. Saw him fall off and not fly away. Poor critter.

An idea stolen from Mountain Mama.

So one of my favorite ladies on the net (Mountain Mama) had a wonderful idea so I decided to copy her. Here are a few of my favorite Christmas decorations.

This picture is of a little church that you put a tealight inside and it lights up real pretty.
Ahhh...3 for 1. The top is an ornament my husband bought a few years ago, the cardinal is one he bought this year and the glass one is one I bought last year. Each year we get an ornament for the tree and these are some of my favorites other than those made by the children.
Awww! Our first tree ornament! I think it is adorable.
This cute little acorn opens up. I keep hoping one of these days I will open it and there will actually be something in there. HEY! A girl can hope can't she?

Our little friend.

I believe our little friend on the window is a little brown bat. His body is about 3-4 inches. I thought he might be an Indiana bat but they are only 2 inches or less. He will probably be there until it warms up. The kids know not to disturb him while he sleeps. The picture below is one I found searching the net for little brown bats.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

And to think....it's not even winter yet! I woke up to this lovely weather this morning. Everything is all clear now and starting to melt a little. My kids were so happy that they got a snow day.









The kids woke up to this little critter this morning. He is still alive but probably cold. We open the window every once in a while to let some warmth out. We have no other way to help him. Poor thing.

Thanksgiving

This is a picture of me and my grandmother (now deceased) on Thanksgiving many years ago.

Five things I am thankful for:

1.My Saviour
2.My husband
3.My children
4.All the new friends I have made on and off line
5.Turkey dinner!

Missing you!

So yesterday was Granparents day at my 2 youngests' school. We have no grandparents close by so they were kinda screwed. My son looks at me on the way to school and says it is all my fault because I moved to "insert my location here" and that he was upset with me for this. We have been invited to go "home" for Thanksgiving but my hubby has work and stuff. So we can't go. This makes me really sad. I miss my family like crazy! So if you have family nearby, treasure them. I mean really appreciate it for all it's worth. Both the good and the bad. Your reality may be my dream and my reality may be yours. Now go give them all a big hug!

Seglem or Herr

I was wondering if anyone out there recognized anyone in this picture? It is a family photo and I only know 2 people in here and they are my grandparents (the newlyweds in the front row). So if anyone out there knows anyone in this photo please leave me a comment. Thank you.

Halloween

I know a lot of people celebrate it but in my house we have chosen not to. It happens to be the birthday of one of my son's. That is not the reason we do not celebrate Halloween. As I have explained it to my children...it doesn't celebrate God or love or anything good. Just look at the decorations. Symbols of death and fear. The teachers are always understanding about this and I am thankful for that. I just wish that when we are out somewhere and somebody asks my kids what they are going to be for Halloween and we kindly explain to them we don't celebrate it that people wouldn't look at me as if I were insane or part of some cult. When I was growing up and I lived with my father and step-mother they celebrated Halloween and of course I got dressed up in some silly and some uncomfortable costumes. When I got older (think early teens) and was given by God another set of parents to have guardianship of me, they did not celebrate Halloween. I have chosen to follow in that and pray that my children understand the reasons why we have chosen to not celebrate this day. My family is of course understanding but my husbands family has a harder time understanding it. My mother in law has always insisted that it is not a bad day and that it's roots are in something good. It doesn't matter if that is true or not. I am not going to celebrate a day of fear. I have been freed of fear by the strypes of the Lamb. So every year I have to ask her not to get the chilren Halloween stuff and every year I hear the story of how it started out as a day for saints or something like that. I promise people...I am not insane or in a cult so you can quit looking at me that way. Is it really so rare that people don't celebrate Halloween? I know I have ranted on again but I just wanted to put this out there.

Let Heaven and Earth rejoice!!

My 3rd grade son led 4 of his classmates in the sinners prayer today at school! I could learn a thing or two from my lovely little one!

Mixup!

So I found out that my youngest needs glasses. So I took her over to get her eyes checked. She really wanted glasses so of course she tried really hard to need them. The doc said she needed glasses for reading. So I say okay and wait 10 days for the glasses to come in. I get there and they say she needs to wear them all the time. WHAT?! So after talking to them she got to see a different doc only to find out that the original prescription was wrong and she has astygmatism and will need to wear these glasses all the time. So here I am frustrated as can be that something as important as her eyes were misdiagnosed. This prescription is correct we had it double checked.

Another new addition!

Welcome to my new niece Sydney (I think that's how it's being spelled)! She was born this morning to my younger sister and both are happy and healthy.

An introduction.

This is my nephew Wiley. I thought I had introduced him to you but looking around it appears I did not. He was born on July 20th to my little brother and his wife. Welcome Wiley! Isn't he a cutie pie? I haven't seen him in person due to geographical issues but I still hold a special place in my heart for him.

The Importance of Your Mouth/Tongue

As taken from the NIV.
Proverbs 10:11
The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.
Proverbs 10:19 When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.
Proverbs 12:18 Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
Proverbs 12:19 Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.
Proverbs 13:3 He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.
Proverbs 16:24 Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
Proverbs 17:28 Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.
Proverbs 18:21 The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

These are just a few of the scriptures I have found relating to this subject and there are many more. We normally think of our mouth/tongue for just eating and drinking. But here we see that the mouth/tongue does more. What you say or don't say has a huge impact not just on those around you but you yourself as well. The following scripture even shows that when we come before God we should choose our words carefully.

Ecclesiastes 5:1-7
Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. As a dream comes when there are many cares, so the speech of a fool where there are many words. When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow.It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, "My vow was a mistake." Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands?Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God.

I could go on and on about this. I didn't even list all the scriptures (which I was really thinking of doing). I just pray that you take what is here to heart.

DMV sucks!

So I had to go renew my drivers license today. The last picture I had was okay. This one not okay! The lady says stand over here and the minute I looked up...SNAP! The picture was taken! UGH! As in UGLY! Do they try to give you a bad picture? Do they have contests to see who can take the most ugly pictures? What a way to start your birthday, at the DMV taking the worst picture in the world. I think that is the end of my ranting for the day. Maybe later I will have something worthwhile to say.

What?!

I was surfing around this morning and found this article. I thought of Alyfireman and how dangerous his job must really be.

Cat in tree leads to shots fired.

You have got to be kidding me!

One more picture.

Look closely because that is the only picture you will ever see with me in it. I am the one in the white shirt and the green shirted fella is my son.

Some pics from a recent trip.

We recently went on a trip and my hubby took some nice nature photos that I thought I would share with you. Enjoy! :D

Rude?

Out of respect for others I am always on time or a little early (5-10 minutes at the most). Maybe I am just a freak but to me being on time = respect. I find it disrespectful when people are always late. I have a friend who is always, and I mean always, late. She will call 10 minutes before she is supposed to be here and say she is just now leaving. She lives 25 minutes away. Which means she will be here in 35 minutes. At first I ignored it but it has become an ongoing problem. Today we had a certain amount of time we could spend with the kids at the zoo. Her lateness caused a ripple effect in the day. We spent less time enjoying ourselves (it takes 30 min. to get to zoo;had to leave by 1 p.m. so she could make it to pick up her hubby at 2; left 1 1/2 hours to see zoo and feed kids) and more time driving. Like I said...maybe I am a freak about this but I found it rude. I understand that it happens sometimes. Every time though?! I know some people are just late people. So in saying that wouldn't it have been responsible (knowing there is a time constraint) to show up on time? For those of you who fall into the late category I think 5-10 minutes is okay but anything more is kinda rude. The later than the 10 minute mark, I find it more disrespectful. So calling a few minutes before you are supposed to be there and saying you are just now leaving and live a bit away is quite rude and disrespectful. If you are already most of the way there and call is not as disrespectful. It at least shows you at least tried to get there on time. Like I said...maybe I'm a freak about this. Am I overreacting? I don't think I am. But if I am I'm sure one of you will let me know.

Good Morning!

Good Morning friends and neighbors! I just thought I would say good morning. That is all. Have a wonderful day!

Support? Hah!

Okay I have spent the last 2 days dealing with my computer support and several other people all because something was accidentally deleted which then caused a nasty chain reaction. I am not quite sure they should call these places "support" when all they do is take forever to get to a person and when you do you get somebody who you can barely understand. And what is with this "press this" a bazillion times?

Guess who?

Can anyone guess who this lovely little one is? If you guessed Emma you are correct. My beautiful niece that you all saw last year in the incubator. As you can see she is doing wonderfully well. I cannot find the picture of her that you first saw. I haven't met her yet (circumstances beyond my control) but that doesn't mean I can't oogle over her.

Angelina Jolie on CNN

I don't know how many of you watched this last night. I am not one who watches CNN but this caught my eye. She was talking of the children in places like Cambodia and the horrible lives they live. After watching things like this I cry and want to go adopt every kid in these places. So much more needs to be done for these little ones. Prayer seems not nearly enough sometimes. I am wondering what can we do to help these kids? What can we do to help make the lives of women and children in places like this better? I have such a passion for children that it breaks my heart to hear of the horrible things that happen to these children. Children don't deserve to be raped, tortured, mutilated, malnourished, and without proper medicines.

I can't stop watching!!!

Joe has turned me into an addict! I clicked this link and clicked Animal Cam and now I can't stop watching to see what may show up. I honestly have other things I need to do but keep staring at my screen.

More Pictures!

Mountain Mama has inspired me with all of the pictures she has taken. So that being said I have some more pictures of the sky that I would like to share with you.




Crown him with many crowns! As you can tell this one reminds me of a crown.















The last two have such beautiful colors!

Some pictures I took.

I took these pictures the other night. I am so amazed by the beauty the Lord creates with clouds and light.

The drain.

Well I cleaned up the mess that was left in my kitchen. I called the emergency maint. number and spoke to the guy on call. He said that there was nothing he could do until Monday. I understood and finished cleaning up. Yesterday morning I decided to do some laundry. Shouldn't cause any problems right? Wrong! I watched the drain start to come up as the washer emptied. So again I call the guy on call (I work with him here so he was a little more patient with me than I would expect him to be with somebody else.) and waited and waited and waited for a return call. Finally he came out yesterday afternoon and snaked the pipe. Come to find out that it was because of my garbage disposal. Somebody is putting stuff through without grinding it up and something slimey is going down it too. I don't put grease down it for fear of the stench so I don't know what the slimey stuff was. It is all fixed now. Mountain Mama was right about the conspiracy among our appliances. So with this in mind I am awaiting the next revolt.

A whole lotta nothing.

The topic says it all. You cannot say you were not warned. So if you have been having trouble sleeping lately, read on. On the other hand if you are having trouble staying awake you are best to stop reading now.


My daughter has decided to get her ears pierced. So I took her a couple of days ago. The price of getting two small holes put into your ears by some stranger has gone up. Granted the actual piercing is free but when you get to the counter to pay and the bill is $36.00 plus tax it makes you wonder. She is not having trouble sleeping it is the in and out motion when you put the solution on that bothers her. But overall she is extremely happy with the results.


So today I was talking with my boss and a topic I didn't expect to come up did. She said "You're a Christian, right?" . To which I replied " Yes I am.". Her "What church do you go to?". Me "(insert name of my church here)". Her "Do they let you read your Bible there?" This I thought was a strange question but I went on and told her of course. The reasoning behind this question was that she likes to read her Bible and wants to start attending a church that preaches the Bible and lets the congregation read theirs. She is not fond of the preachers that yell which is good. Ours speaks to us on a normal person level with some added humor to keep us interested. So I invited her to our church. What was nice was that she knew I was a Christian without me being pushy or anything like that. She knew just by me being me. That was such a wonderful thing to discover.


Why do I like blogging? This is a question that came to mind today. I think it has something to do with me being able to say whatever I want and not have people criticize me or act weird to me the next time they see me.


Oh my gosh!!!!! As I was sitting here writing this awful smell comes from my kitchen...my drain in the closet backed up completly into my kitchen, goose poop and all! UGH! Why? Now I am angry. I shouldn't type anymore when I am angry. I'll write some more later.

My tank.

This is a picture if the fish tank you all have heard so much about. The red one in front is Bullet, the silver on on the top is Arrowette, the silver one on the bottom is Arrow, the red one hiding is Bella, and Otto was in the plant somewhere.

This picture is of Catgirl our catfish. I was lucky to get a picture of her because she is always in her cave under the rocks.

Balancing Act Part 3

Okay so now the work and home thing is balanced it is time to balance personal life type things. This can become quite tricky. Let's see I have to get just the right balance of mom, wife, Daughter of the King, self, friend, and a few other things. I suppose it is like baking a cake or making a nice dinner. You must get the right kinds of ingredients and the right amounts in order for everything to turn out right. Food analogies...aren't they great?! So much can be compared to food. If any of you have any helpful suggestions on how to balance certain aspects of your life I am more than willing to listen.


Oh! I almost forgot. I am sure you have noticed my links have shrinked dramatically. I would like to visit more people and I was just starting to do that when things change. So...hopefully I will get around to looking at a few more people than I already do and if I like them I will add them here. It's just easier for me to find them if I put them here.

Of colds,allergies and other odds and ends.

So I recovered nicely from that 24 hour flu I had only to get a nasty cold which disappeared in time for those nasty seasonal allergies. Why? Why must I get these nasty allergies every Spring? UGH!

Soon enough the kids will be out for the Summer. I am not prepared for the truth that I will be the mother of a son in Junior High ( a.k.a. Middle School). I am too young, or at least I feel that way, to have a child going into the 6th grade. The years flew by so quickly. I have so much yet to teach him that I fear that if the next 6 school years go by as fast as the last 6, I will not have the time to teach him all he needs to know to go out into the cruel world all by himself. He has a heart for the military. He has since as far back as I can remember. He has known for quite some time that he wants to be a military man. The next 6 years will be crucial in teaching him so many things he will need to know and things he thinks he doesn't need to know. I pray that I will instill in him all he needs to be a God-fearing/loving man.

My daughter's handiwork.

My daughter had to make something out of wood for a project for school. While daddy nailed it together and mommy spray painted it white and hot glued the "diamonds" on she did the rest. I tried not to do too much of it for her. She chose where to put the "diamonds" and did all the pink and purple and the stenciling. Once she brings it back from school we will hang it up in her room. It sure is a girly birdfeeder. lol

A realization!

Upon visiting a friends blog I came to the realization that I have been blogging for a year this month. The actual day has passed but I am still in the right month. Wow! Time sure does fly. I went back and read some of my posts and enjoyed several of them and forgot I had written others. I should look back more often.

A very merry Friday!

A certain someone is having a birthday today. May your day be filled with many blessings! *huggles*

Todays Blessing

I really enjoyed this mornings service. It was a true blessing. During worship I was so in HIS presence. Hubby had other obligations this morning so it was just the kids and I. They have their own wonderful service and we have ours. Today I was able to completely emerse myself in the Lord. With hubby there I always feel hindered. I don't know why but I do. Even though I enjoyed myself today I feel the message (Wise Words) was something he should've been there for too. The thing the pastor said that just stuck with me was "Use your words to bring life." . So many times we don't always say things that bring glory to God. I took notes so that if hubby wants to know what the sermon was on he could go over them. I took down only scriptures so that he can get out of it what the Lord wants him to not what I got out of it. I know that the message itself is one I already know but it was a nice reminder that was well needed. Below are the scriptures the pastor used (I'm using NIV). I hope they are a blessing to you as they were for me.


Proverbs 11:12
A man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor, but a man of understanding holds his tongue.

Proverbs 15:1
A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Proverbs 15:4
The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.

Proverbs 17:28
Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.

Proverbs 18:8
The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man's inmost parts.

Proverbs 18:21
The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Proverbs 25:11-12
(11)A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.
(12)Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is a wise man's rebuke to a listening ear.

Proverbs 26:17
Like one who seizes a dog by the ears is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own.

Proverbs 26:28
A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin.

Proverbs 27:6
Wounds from a friend can be trusted but an enemy multiplies kisses.


Ahhhhh....I love Proverbs!

Huh?

Check this out! I thought it was a cool picture and found out what it was exactly (it was on my picture of the day thingy). It's funny to see something that is that small in your body that looks kinda cool.

A little fun.

Your Eyes Should Be Violet

Your eyes reflect: Mystery and allure What's hidden behind your eyes: A quiet passion

What Color Should Your Eyes Be?

Your Candy Heart Says "Hug Me"

A total sweetheart, you always have a lot of love to give out.Your heart is open to where ever love takes you! Your ideal Valentine's Day date: a surprise romantic evening that you've planned out Your flirting style: lots of listening and talking What turns you off: fighting and conflict Why you're hot: you're fearless about falling in love

What Does Your Candy Heart Say?

Snickers

Nutty and gooey - you always satisfy.

What Kind of Candy Are You?

Yucky!

Ugh! My whole family has been struck with a 24 hour flu bug. My oldest son got it on Wednesday and the rest of us ended up getting it Thursday night. My poor eldest. He was used like a slave. Get this please, can you do that please, I need help. This morning we are all feeling better. Taste buds still a little weird and stomachs not up to eating much, but better. I got to school on Thursday afternoon just to recieve a call from the school saying my daughter is in the office with a tummy ache. So I go in and get her and we wait for the boys. We get home and she didn't even make it to the door. So I go out to the store (I was waiting for a carpet shampooer to clean the hallway leading to our apt.) to pick up some necessary items and walk in the door to my husband sweating terribly sitting in the bathroom. So now the shampooer has arrived and I go clean up the mess and ask my youngest son to help so that the older one can be there for dad and sister. Guess what? Yep! We just made it back into the apt. before he got sick. I managed to keep it at bay until about midnight. Boy was it a rough 24 hours. It wouldn't have been so bad if it had been one at a time. But when mommy is down for the count and daddy is too it makes it hard to take care of the two sick kids.


Well I found that I have a passion for battered women and children. This weeks lesson helped me realize that. I also have a passion for kids in general. If I could I would have a whole bunch of kids. Yes give birth and all. But hubby doesn't want any more right now. I saw a lady on t.v. once who now has 16 children. She is braver than I in the fact that she homeschools them. I would have a hard time with doing that. I tend to want to do it for my kids. I tried once. Didn't do so well. Now I just have to find a way to use my passion. My heart just aches for the abused. Especially the kids.


We have added a new fish to the tank. His name is Otto. He is an ottosomethingorother that eats only algae. So far he is doing a fine job. He has managed to clean the algae off the side of the tank and the fake plant real well. They said that when he gets older he will not turn into a carnivore like the chinese algae eater we had. Thank goodness!

A praise!!!

Just the other day my two boys accepted Christ! I just wanted to share that little tidbit. My boys are re-born!

No passion?

So in Bible study we are using the book Pathway to Purpose for Women and today we were studying passions. Healthy passions and unhealthy passions. I came to the conclusion that I have no passions. Nothing that really makes me want to jump out of bed in the morning and get excited about it. Nothing that I am truly passionate about. We all go through dry spells. But come on! No passion?! Nothing?! I guess right now is one major dry spell. Life is kinda blah. Before I had kids and was married I had so many things that I was passionate about. Now there are things I like to do but nothing that ignites a true passion in me. So what do I do? I suppose the only thing to do is fully submit to God's will. As Psalm 37:4 states "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart". I see this in two ways. First I see it that He gives you desires (puts them in your heart). Second He then gives you those desires (fulfills them). So if I want something to be passionate about that the Lord can use I must first delight myself in Him. I must fully surrender to Him. When I fully submit to Him I can delight in Him. So now to surrender to Him. That is so much easier said than done. Stay tuned. This is sure to be an interesting journey.

Season Shock!

I know that the calender says it is Winter but it hasn't felt like it until recently. I am certainly no fan of this season. So I sit here patiently waiting for Spring. Winter can be pretty at times but the temperature that goes with it isn't as pretty. I suppose it is just like life. We all have seasons in our life we may not like but are necessary.

Well there will be a few more nieces or nephews in the family this year. My brother and his wife are expecting in July (their first) and my sister is expecting in September. I am so happy for them. My brother is also taking his bar exam this week. I am so proud of him. So if you stop by before Tues. and Wed. please say a prayer for him. He is rather nervous.

While I am on the topic of children I would like to tell you something about one of my sons. He is a brave soul. Why? He is boldly taking his Bible to school to read when he has free time. So far he has not had any problems with this. I so admire his boldness in the Lord. If only we could all have that. Just think of the outcome if we all were like that. Fearless. Would you take the Bible with you or would you be too afraid of what people would think of you? I personally keep a small Bible with me. I recieved it as a gift from my husband the weekend we got pregnant with this son. I keep it with me in my car but I must admit I don't take it out that often.

Some enjoyable reading.

Joe has a couple of posts that I just got a kick out of. If you are a parent (or not) you might enjoy it.

So little to say today.

Not much going on lately. I am expecting a couple of new babies in our family. Both my sister and sister in law are pregnant. So I'm happy for them. As you may have noticed I changed the colors around here. I was getting tired of the old dark one. I hope you like it. I think it is easier to read. Well that is about all. Like the title said "so little to say today". Hopefully I can come up with something worthwhile soon.

Balancing Act Part 2

Well I quit my job at the store. I got a better offer from somewhere else. It allows me complete freedom and I can be there for my kids if they are home or become sick. So all this week has been a trasitional week. Boy has it made me tired. But all is going good now.


We started another semester of Bible study. Our leader will be teaching out of the Pathways to Purpose for Women book. It looks like it is going to be a good one. She is such a wonderful woman. Our leader that is.


I am so sorry I haven't had the chance to come by and visit all of your blogs lately. Now that I have complete and total freedom with my time I hope to catch up on all my reading.

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year! May the Lord fill your year with blessings and good memories. *hugs*