Happy New Year!

Tomorrow will be 2009. WOW! It's really hard to say that because it's impossible for me to believe that 2008 is already over!

My littlest baby will turn 4 this year--that's probably the hardest thing to swallow. I mean, she was just born!

Tonight, Mike and I are headed to Stillwater, Oklahome to meet up with some friends... I'm not exactly sure what the plan is at the moment, but I believe (and hope!) that we'll get to eat at Eskimo Joe's.

Our girls will be spending the night with Granny & PaPa, as will their three cousins... so hopefully Granny & PaPa will still have their hearing tomorrow. lol!

I have started to think about my goals for the coming year... I need to try and write down some things I hope to accomplish in 2009. Hopefully I will get my list together soon, as I would like to share it.

Whatever your plans for tonight, I hope that you will be safe. I pray that everyone has a wonderful year!

The Day-You-Were-Born Song

This is fun. :)

Go here: http://www.joshhosler.biz/NumberOneInHistory/SelectMonth.htm
(you'll have to copy & paste)

My song is "I Honestly Love You" by Olivia Newton-John.

Funny thing is, I had an Olivia Newton-John record (yes, the big ol' vinyl albums!) when I was a kid that had this song on it... so I actually KNOW the words to my song. I played that record over and over on my Fisher Price record player. lol!

A gentle reminder about Christmas

This was in an e-mail I received from a friend, and I wanted to share it with the world... I only wish I knew the author because I think that person deserves to be credited...


A woman was out Christmas shopping with her two children.


After many hours of looking at row after row of toys and everything
else imaginable, and after hours of hearing both her children asking for
everything they saw on those many shelves, she finally made it to the
elevator with her two kids. She was feeling what so many of us feel during
the holiday season, overwhelming pressure to go to every party, every
housewarming, taste all the holiday food and treats, get that perfect gift
for every single person on our shopping list, make sure we don't forget
anyone on our card list, and the pressure of making sure we respond
to everyone who sent us a card.

Finally the elevator doors opened, and there was already a
crowd in the elevator. She pushed her way in and dragged her two
kids in with her and all the shopping bags. When the doors closed, she
couldn't take it anymore and stated, "Whoever started this whole Christmas
thing should be found, strung up, and shot."

From the back, everyone heard a quiet, calm voice respond, "Don't worry.
We already crucified him." For the rest of the trip down the elevator, it
was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

Don't forget this year to keep the one who started this whole Christmas
thing in your every thought, deed, purchase, and word. If we all did it,
just think how different this whole world would be.

Jesus is the reason for the season!!!

Getting to Know You... Christmas Edition :)

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
I like both... it depends on the gift & the receiver, really!

2. Real tree or Artificial?
I love a real tree, but my allergies do not. It's artificial for us... we may try a real tree again someday though. :)

3. When do you put up the tree?
Usually a few weeks before Christmas.

4. When do you take the tree down?
A couple of days after Christmas--usually before New Years Day!

5. Do you like eggnog?
Yes. But I have never had homemade egg nog--only the non-alcoholic kind in a carton!

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Oh boy. I will never forget the Christmas that my parents bought me a ring, and my dad wrapped in box inside of box inside of box... with all sorts of little fillers like rocks and cans of pineapple to throw me off! :p

7. Hardest person to buy for?
My mother-in-law.

8. Easiest person to buy for?
My husband & my kids.

9. Do you have a nativity scene?
I only have a Fisher Price Little People one. And only 'cause it's child-friendly. :)

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail! And we try to always include a family picture. :)

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
Hmmm... I can't think of anything that was memorably awful. lol

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
Elf, A Christmas Story

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Just before Thanksgiving. I try to spread it out a little so that it isn't as financially painful. :p

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Probably... but I can't think what it might have been.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Everything! I really love fudge, and Christmas is the only time I make it.

16. Lights on the tree?
Of course! Usually multi-colored ones.

17. Favorite Christmas song?
I like so many... Away In a Manger, Silent Night... I can't think of any others right now.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay at home?
Our parents & grandparents are within 20 miles, so that's our big holiday travel! :p

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeers?
Yes! Of course, it helps that I know the words to "Rudolph" ;-)

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
We have both, but I always use the angel.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Christmas morning. We sometimes let the kids open one gift each on Christmas Eve, just because the morning is hurried for us.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
Impatient and pushy people (generally crowds of shoppers!) who seem to have lost their Christmas spirit!!

23. What theme or color are you using?
We like all colors, so we usually go multi-colored! Red, green, gold, etc.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?
Turkey & dressing, mashed potatoes & gravy, green bean casserole, corn, cinnamon applesauce, pumpkin pie.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
Not sure... I just bought myself a new camera, so that may be my gift. We shall see what happens! I would love to have a new wedding ring to replace the one that was stolen about 3.5 yrs ago.

Swagbucks

I just found out about this... sounds like a great way to earn some money, easy peasy!

I first heard about it from a friend who e-mailed me a link to check it out, and then learned even more about it here: http://www.moneysavingmom.com/money_saving_mom/2008/11/swagbucks-earn-gift-cards-for-searching-online.html

Sounds great to me! If you would like to sign up, click the link below 'cause I'd love to refer you! :)
http://swagbucks.prodege.com/?cmd=sb-register&rb=245546

Have a great day!

The dry air has hit!

Well... get out the anti-static spray and the lotion because the dry air has hit at our house!

Between the girls and myself, we have three heads of long hair. We all have static. In the mornings, we're a mess! lol! We have all sorts of potions we've tried to tame our wild hair. We've rubbed fabric softener sheets in our hair and on our clothes, and that seems to help for a while. We have sprayed the stinky Static Guard, but everyone gags at the smell. We have used hairspray. We've used extra conditioner or leave-in conditioner. We tried the anti-static spray for hair that Avon put out last year, and that seemed to work well without being stinky! I'm so glad I bought a couple of extra bottles and stashed them away because I've yet to see it in the catalog this year!

We also have a lot of dry skin. I worry about Jenna because this time of year seems to be when her eczema rears its ugly head. So far I've only seen one spot, so I'm praying it will not return with the vengeance as it did last year. I'm prepared with the Nioxin shampoo and scalp treatment just in case it decides to creep onto her head like it has before. And I have my Renew lotion (from Melaleuca) ready to slather on as well...

Speaking of lotion, Jenna decided to lotion herself up tonight after she took her bath. When she went to bed, she was pretty slick... I really hope she doesn't slide out of the bed. lol!

Yesterday was interesting

Yesterday we went to church with my mother-in-law. I had never been to her church, so it was interesting to see how different it is than what I'm used to. I am a member and regularly attend a Pentecostal church, and hers is a Church of Christ. There is a lot of difference, and it was interesting to see what different people refer to as worship. It all seemed very methodical to me. Carefully planned-out. I'm used to a place where the Spirit is allowed to lead. It was just different.

After church, we went over to my husband's grandparents' house for dinner. When we got there, Mike's mom told him that she went on a date the night before. He did not take the news well at all. In fact, he practically flipped out.

Mike and I have talked about the possibility of her seeing someone else, but I don't think it prepared him at all to hear those words from his mom. I was glad though that he and I had talked about it because I felt like I was able to tell her about those conversations while Mike went outside to cool off.

He says it is not the fact that she wants a companion, but rather who the person was that she went out with. Honestly, I don't know that anyone will ever be "good enough" for his mom in his eyes. She made it very clear that she has no intention of trying to replace his dad--that nobody could ever fill those shoes.

His dad has been gone three years this month. And yesterday was his birthday--he would have been 57 (and MIL actually said that today was probably not the best day to have told dh about her date, but that she did not want him to hear it from someone else). But instead of celebrating an earthly birthday, he now celebrates every day with Jesus! I think sometimes it's hard to rejoice in that fact because we miss a person so much.

I was surprised at how much emotion the news brought out in myself. I am blessed to still have both of my parents living, but it made me think about how I would feel.

I can understand not wanting to be alone, needing a companion and a helper. I pray that my mother-in-law will find someone who makes her very happy and takes good care of her. I think she deserves it. She has been through more than one person should have to go through.

Memories of Homecoming

We drove past the football stadium tonight so that my girls could see why there were fireworks going off in September... and why there were police cars followed by a pickup truck load of screaming cheerleaders coming down the street earlier today. It's homecoming tonight...

It looked REALLY packed. We parked across the street from the stadium just long enough for the girls to see the halftime show, which included a dance routine by the cheerleaders and a performance by the marching band. The announcer told the names of the band's drum majors, and one of them had the same last name as us. Delaney asked, "Is that my cousin?" I said yes. (Sad that my kids don't know their own first cousins on their dad's side, isn't it? That's just the way they play... but that isn't what this post is about.) I believe they had four drum majors... and they said that the band has 155 members! That's way more than we had, I'm sure. And I only remember having one drum major. (Judiemae's dh was one of them! :) )

From my house, I can hear the announcer loud and clear if the windows are open. The fireworks really pop, and you can even hear the crowd cheer. I think it's cool to live right down the street from the high school I attended myself as a teenager, but that will soon change... We're getting a new high school way across town. (I don't think it will ever be the same, but I am not one of those people who handles change very well!)

I haven't been to one homecoming since I graduated from high school. Neither has my husband. We talk about it every year, but we never do go... Would it even be the same if you aren't seventeen? You wouldn't get to buy a new outfit complete with shoes to match (well, you might--but you'd have to buy it yourself instead of mom & dad!), and you wouldn't get to go to the dance with some cute boy in his souped-up pickup truck. The boys would buy their girlfriends a giant mum corsage with maroon pipe cleaners shaped into "SS" on the top for our school name... And somebody always got in trouble at the dance for dancing too close together. The pep rallies and parades and spirit days were always fun, too.

Ahh, the memories. *sigh* lol!

By the way... I can hear the band playing right now! :)

I'll give you a good laugh at my expense...

I'll take one for the team here 'cause I know a lot of you out there need a good laugh! :p

I was going through some clothes I got my DDs at a consignment sale last week, getting ready to wash everything and hang them in the closets.

I was unloading bags of stuff from 2 different sales. I got to the second bag of clothes, and pulled out a dress that I had JUST seen. I thought to myself, "I just took the tag off of this one!"

No. I'm wrong. I've bought two of the same dress. Light pink, Gymboree, same print, size 4T. They are exactly alike. Only difference is that I gave $8 for one, $5 for the other (different consignment sales/shops, obviously).

I'm thinking Camryn (whom I babysit and is close to Jenna's size) is getting a new dress just like Jenna's... lol

I think maybe the next time I go shopping, I need to bring a photo album of all the clothes I've already bought my children.

It's ok. Laugh and roll your eyes. I did! :)

My Plan vs. God's Plan~Patience and Trust

You know... no matter what i plan for, it seems that something happens to mess it up. It's becoming obvious to me that the Lord has something for me that I can't see yet!

Mike informed me on Monday that he is ready to sell our Peterbilt. It's now been listed for sale. I e-mailed pictures to the salesman on Monday evening.

I have no idea what life has in store for us when or if the truck sells. Mike said that maybe we can get something cheap that we can pay off quicker so that he won't have to be gone so much... OR maybe he can get a good job here at home.

Do you know that I have not had my husband at home for more than a couple of weeks at a time in seven and a half years? That's a long time to sleep by yourself and wonder where your husband is and if he's ok!

Do you have any idea how difficult this is for me? I have NO idea where he will work. I don't know if he will have a job. I don't know if the truck will sell or when.

I am not the kind of girl who likes surprises. If I could ask God for an itinerary for my life, I would definitely have it in my hands, memorizing every single entry! I want to know what is going to happen and when it's going to happen. I need to know now. I don't like to wait. I've never been accused of being patient.

The fear of the unknown is really taking over my life right now in more areas than one. But then, I suppose that we never really know if we'll even wake up tomorrow.

I met a lady a couple of weeks ago that works in a furniture store part-time. Her name is Linda. Something about her really stuck with me. I feel very drawn to her, and I know that God put her in my path for a reason. Perhaps it was to teach me a lesson. She is really sweet and friendly, and somehow she and Mike got on the subject of trucking. Her husband was a trucker, and he owned a company for 25 years. Last year, they crawled in bed to go to sleep... but when she woke up in the morning, her husband was dead. My heart ached for her! I knew that I could be in her shoes one day. We truly never know what lies ahead for us.

She said she wished she had known he it was his time, but Mike disagreed with her. He told her about how awful it was to watch his dad die slowly, over the period of three years. He talked about how he lost the use of his legs, and then the pain-killing drugs took over his mind to the point that he was no longer himself. Mike said that he didn't want to know when it's his time--he didn't want to go slow, but rather all at once because he thought it would be easier for everyone.

We all have our own opinions about what is best. And of course, we all think we know what's best because, after all, don't we know ourselves better than anyone? Sometimes I think I need to tell God what I need, what I want. But HE knows better than I do what I need, so who am I to try and tell Him? Trusting has never been easy for me--it seems like I always trust the wrong person at the wrong time or for the wrong reasons. But right now, with all that is going on in my life, I feel like God is telling me to surrender it all to Him. Only HE can work out for the best. I can't control this! I can't control any of it. It's far beyond what I can handle alone. I have no choice but to trust Him.

What reason do I have to fear? God said in His Word that He has not given me a spirit of fear, but of sound mind! He also promised in His Word that He will never leave me nor forsake me, and that my children will not beg for bread. That tells me that He will provide for the needs of my family. I am going to take Him at His word because I have to trust that His Word is truth!

My mind is full of all kinds of questions about all sorts of things, and my heart knows that they will be answered in God's time... but that doesn't make the wait any easier.

Truck woes--sort of a vent

Mike called me yesterday, wanting to know if he should pay for his two new steer tires from our checking account, or if he should charge them to Fred's account and pay them out. (Fred is the owner of the company we're leased to.) I told him to go ahead and pay for them, since we actually had enough money for a change. He charged them.

He called me a few minutes later and said one of his batteries blew up. Good thing he didn't pay for the tires out of our checking account because there would not have been enough money to fix both problems! He went to Peterbilt and got batteries. They were $120 each--the truck takes FOUR!

Geesh. That's $500 just for batteries. The tires were almost $700. So there went $1,200 in only one day. And the truck needs a new air compressor. Guess what? It ain't gonna happen this week! Trucking is incredibly expensive... which is about half the reason I despise it.

After doing all that late yesterday, he was too tired to make it all the way home. So I called him at 7 am to wake him up. He spent the night in Tulsa, only 100 miles from home. How disappointing.

And there you go--the other reason I despise trucking. My husband is always too tired to make it home. He almost always has to stop somewhere along the way to rest just to make it here. And then he ends up spending almost no time with his family because he's tired. He ends up sleeping most of the weekend to "catch up" so that he can go another week.

Have I mentioned that I don't like trucking? Ugh. I really would like to have my husband back... but he seems to belong to the open road instead of to me. :(

Second Grade... Coming Soon!

Delaney will start school on August 18. She will be in the second grade, and it's only 3 days away!

We had gotten a letter earlier this week about open house. It had a little bit about her teacher, a list of students that will be in her classroom, and a class schedule. Delaney immediately started to cry! She only knew one little girl in her class, and we were having trouble trying to figure out how to pronounce the teacher's name.

Last night, we went to open house at school. We met her teacher, Mrs. Mansilla (pronounced man-SEE-uh), and she is very nice! She was very sweet and friendly, and seems to have a great love for the kids. I'm so relieved to have met her because I think I get more nervous about school and the teachers than Delaney does!

Allen Elementary seems so huge. There are several halls of classrooms for the second grade students! Last year we were told that at last count, there were 305 first-graders. Wow. That's a lot of kiddos!

When we were getting all of Delaney's things together to take to her new class last night, Jenna got herself a backpack and wanted to take "her" things to school, too. LOL... Thankfully, it will be a couple more years before we have to worry about Jenna going to school. I'm not quite ready for that yet!

Going with hubby for a week

Tonight I'm leaving with Mike in the truck. The kids will be staying with my parents... I'm sure they're ready for a break from me, and I'm looking forward to spending some much-needed time with my husband!

I'm hoping to keep a journal of the places we go & things we see--and hopefully take lots of pictures of things I've never seen before, lol!

I hope we get a load to Florida, but the dispatcher is still working out the details on that one... So far I know we'll pick up cows in Warren, Arkansas tomorrow morning then head to Wheeler, Texas. That's the plan as of now, but I have no idea where we'll go after that!

We plan to be gone til about Saturday.... so I'll do my best to update when we get back in. :)

What color are you?

You Are a Red Crayon

Your world is colored with bright, vivid, wild colors.
You have a deep, complex personality - and you are always expressing something about yourself.
Bold and dominant, you are a natural leader. You have an energy that is intense... and sometimes overwhelming.
Your reaction to everything tends to be strong. You are the master of love-hate relationships.

Your color wheel opposite is green. Green people are way too mellow to understand what drives your energy.

Take the quiz here:
http://www.blogthings.com/whatcolorcrayonareyouquiz/

Who am I?

Have you ever thought about who you are? Really?

I think I've taken on the identity of mother and wife, and I don't even know who I am on my own anymore... I'm so confused.

This is something that my pastor's wife and I talked about yesterday, and I realized that I have no idea who I am anymore. She asked me to write down a list of what I like, what I don't like, and who I am. I don't even know where to begin. I started making a list last night, and then realized that I don't even know if that is me! I feel a little bit lost... I don't even know myself anymore. How sad is that!?

I think I'm so used to taking care of kids all the time and concerning myself with what THEY like and don't like, that it doesn't even matter to me what I like or don't anymore. I've taken on their likes & dislikes... as well as my husband's.

You would think that as much time as I spend apart from Mike, I wouldn't have done that with him. But I think I have. I try to do things in the house like HE would like them. And I think I've just decided that I like it that way, too. Do I really? I don't even know. I think I spend a lot of time trying to be happy when I don't even know if I am...

If anyone out there happens to see someone who looks like me wandering around... can you please direct me to myself?

Fun with Jenna at the park this morning!

Jenna begged to go to the park this morning as we drove past... we go past the park every morning after we drop Delaney off at school.

It is really not unusual for her to beg to go to the park to see the ducks, but this morning I said yes--that is the unusual part... :p

Here's Jenna chasing the ducks...

I like this picture... maybe it would be a good black & white?

Here are a couple more I really liked...

And of course we had to slide a few times!

Going up...

And coming down...

There were so many kids this morning that it was hard to play... and they didn't seem to notice that they were running over Jenna (they were bigger), so we didn't stay there long. :(

Memorial Weekend

Yesterday afternoon, the girls and I went with my parents & my aunt to the cemetery to put flowers on our family members' graves... Mike was supposed to be home by the time we finished, and we were all going to go out to eat together. But that didn't happen because he had to lay down for a nap. Seems like he's always too tired to do anything but sleep when he's at home... it's sort of depressing!

Last night he told me some things that had been said (he didn't even know who had said them--just some things he had heard over the cb radio)--things that really bothered me. I pray protection over him daily, but now I feel even more like it's got to be a constant, consistent prayer. I worry about him anyhow, and now I will probably only worry more. I try to give it to God, but it still seems to stay constantly on my mind.

He has to leave out tonight... he barely gets to be here 24 hours. I really don't like it when the weekends go like this. I would much rather he be home for 3 days since he only gets to be here every other weekend... :(

Feeling very burdened about many things

I don't understand what I'm feeling right now... I am feeling so incredibly burdened in my heart for the Steven Curtis Chapman family who lost their daughter, as well as the family in our town whose father was killed.

My bro & sil are adopting, and she has met the birth mother... they received news this week that birth mom has lost her job, and her best friend (also her roommate) has been diagnosed w/ terminal cancer, and had to move back home to let her parents take care of her... so birth mom is left alone, trying to figure out how to pay the full amount of rent with no job, and she's about 4 weeks from giving birth.

I feel such a burden for these situations that I am actually sick to my stomach. I feel pain in my body--for people I do not even know personally. I do not understand this at all... I've felt it before, but never quite this strong.

Our pastor & wife are on sabbatical, and we have had others filling in in their absence. Sis Kelly preached last night, and she gave a wonderful message about the storms we face in life... it was based on Isaiah 43:1-2. This was actually a verse given to me in prophecy several months back when I was facing my own personal storm.... but I could hardly even concentrate on her message because the family in our town was weighing so heavy on my heart and mind!

What is this that I'm experiencing? I feel like I need some kind of answers, but I don't really know exactly where to go to get them... Can somebody help me? What do I need to do? Is this some sort of spiritual gift I've been given? And if so, what do I do with it? I've been praying for these people, but somehow it doesn't seem enough...

I'm ready for my pastor's wife to come back... I need her advice and insight right now!

Tragedy sometimes makes us realize our own blessings

Earlier this week, a family in our little town lost a husband and father. I really didn't know them except in business dealings, but I thought they seemed like awfully nice people. The man was unloading a bulldozer from his trailer, and it fell on him and killed him. His 17-year-old son was there with him.

I feel so terribly sad for this family, even though I really don't know them. I can't even begin to imagine what the family is feeling--especially the son who was there with him at the time of the accident. I feel like they are going to need a lot of prayers and support to get through this. I don't even know them, and yet I want to do something--anything--to bring them some comfort.

There are just some days I feel like I am terribly blessed to wake up and see the sun in the morning and to play with my kids and talk to my husband. And if I make it alive to the end of the day to be able to put my kids to bed and go to sleep, I am even more blessed. Every day I am able to spend with my two little girls and my husband is such a gift!

I hope that anyone reading this will realize that your life is truly a gift from God--every moment, every breath. We never know when it's our time to go, and I want to know beyond the shadow of a doubt that I will be with my Savior for all eternity! So please don't go another minute unprepared for your last minute.

Ever tasted baby powder?

Blech.

An entire new container of baby powder was emptied in Jenna's room this morning... and the little boy that I babysit (G, age 4) was her little helper. Poor little girl (C, age 18 mos) was totally covered, and so was Jenna--their clothes, shoes, dresses, hair... And Jenna's room.

Two little girls just got a bath, and I shook out theire dresses in the back yard.

Jenna and G (boy) both had a time out to think about it, and both were asked to apologize & both did.

I have vacuumed, swiped, swept and mopped... and I can still see powder. I can still taste it, too. Yuck. All I can say is at least it isn't something stinky.

This is my last week babysitting... I'm kind of glad. Jenna didn't get into quite so many ornery little things on her own!

I'm sure you're probably wondering where I was when all this took place. I was in the kitchen putting dishes in the dishwasher. The kids were back in Jenna's room, and I could hear toys playing (music)... then they all started to giggle a little too much. By the time I got back there, it was too late.

Oh, what a mess. And I got in such a hurry to get it all cleaned up (because I was tasting it!) that I never thought to take a picture until just now. Oh well.

We got a dog!

When I was a little girl, we had a cocker spaniel named Brandy. She died from poisoning, and I was heartbroken! I've wanted another cocker ever since.

Last Saturday, we went with a friend to see a cocker spaniel that a friend of hers was wanting to give away, and we fell in love with her instantly!

Meet Bella...

Isn't she a cutie!! :)

Delaney said that she is my mother's day gift, lol... She's really taken to her, and she feeds her and likes to walk her on the leash. Jenna started off a little timid because Bella was so excited she would jump on her, but she's already started to calm down and play better with Jenna.

I think Mike even likes her. Now THAT's saying something. :p

Last night's storm

Remember that pretty bradford pear tree in my front yard by the corner?

Well... it's gone. At least, three fourths of it is gone. Laying out in the street. It's blocking my driveway, and I'm going to have to drive over the curb by the mailbox to get out. All that's left standing is a sprig... it looks pretty pitiful!

And the beautiful blue tarp on my hubby's lovely pickup blew off, so I get to go fix that. It's sort of necessary to put the tarp back on since the hood and one of the doors are taking up valuable space inside my garage. (Otherwise I would leave the silly thing!) Oh, happy day. lol

I am very grateful this is our only damage from the storm last night. I could not believe how hard the wind was blowing!


School is canceled today due to the weather... and being the curious bird that I am, I want to get out and drive around to survey the damage. If I do get to that, I'll take my camera & post what I find... I have a feeling there must be power lines down in some places or they would not have canceled school.


Where we live there is an electric box right beside the house. They put it in for the casino across the street, to ensure that their electric did not go out for more than a minute. It works because that's about how long ours was out this morning... (Of course, we all probably know that Cherokee Nation decided to use someone else for their electricity AFTER our city spent oodles and gobs of money on that project (and tore the heck out of my front yard all summer last year!), but that's another story altogether!)


I know my parents were out of electricity at 4:20 am... not sure if it's back on yet. My mom said they had trees down all over (of course the dead tree in the front was still standing, the stinker!), and she thought there may have been a power line down on their street, too.


I think maybe I was called to be a reporter. Just thinking about it, I'm really itching to get out and see what's going on everywhere else! lol!

My kids are outgrowing all their things!

Wow... I hate to say this (or maybe it's just really hard to admit to myself!), but Jenna is starting to outgrow some of the toys we have in our back yard. And Delaney is getting to big for our small swing set. What happened to my little girls? They're growing way too fast.

I don't think I had prepared myself for this... I knew they would need new clothes for the summer, but new play equipment, too? Yikes. Delaney is STILL growing so fast it's hard to keep her in clothes for one season. I thought (hoped!) she would slow down at some point! And Jenna is so tall and skinny that it's hard to get pants that fit her right... if they're small enough in the waist, they're too short. I'm so glad it's finally time for capris and shorts! She may have to wear dresses from here on out if she doesn't put on some weight around the middle. lol!
I guess I'm just feeling a little sentimental this morning... missing the little bitty kids I had at one point.

I mean... they're supposed to look like this!

Gosh... it's so hard to believe that was three years ago, and now they look like this!

Jenna just turned 3 this month

And Delaney is 7 1/2. HOW did THAT happen!?

Ok... I'm gonna go cry now.

Ice Cream & Potato Chips... Yeah, it's PMS alright!

I always know it's really PMS when I have the craving for ice cream & potato chips. Not together or at the same time, but I crave both of them! It's like I need something sweet, then I need to follow it up with something salty. Like french fries with a chocolate Frosty. Strange, but yummy. And necessary, it almost seems!

Am I the only one who craves things like that?

I also feel like I can't stop eating. I can't have one handful of chips. I'll seriously eat half the bag. And then I'll find something else to munch on! And then, of course I feel really terrible after eating like that!

If anyone tells my kids I had Brownie Batter ice cream (yummy!) after they went to bed, I'm gonna be really mad! I think they already believe there's a party here after they're asleep! lol! ;-)

P.S. No, I am NOT pregnant... just figured I'd just go ahead and clear that up before anyone asks. :-D

Please tell me I'm not alone here! Not that I want anyone else to be like this, but it makes me feel better to know I'm not the only one out there!!

10 on the 10th

Here are 10 pictures I took today! My theme for today is "Signs of Spring".

This first one is downtown... it rained so much over night that the creek was coming out of its banks!

Here's a different view... there's a bridge under there!

This is what it looks like in my back yard. There is water way up around the pool, and it's a soggy mess back there!

Tulips...

Azaleas are blooming...

Creeping Phlox is beautiful out by the little goldfish pond... Apple tree is all blossomed out, so pray we don't have a hard freeze! :)

Here's the pile of lumber we bought to finish out our privacy fence in the back yard...

Here's where it's supposed to go, and I pray that it gets done before Christmas 2010! Ha ha... :pAnd here's the little spot I cleared out by accident when I set the leaves on fire over the winter... (for those who don't recall, I dumped out ashes I thought were cold, but it turned out they were still hot and set some leaves on fire!). It was a little bit brushy back there, but not anymore! Oops!

ABCs of the things I love

ABCs of the things I love!

A-apples, avocados, antiques

B-babies, blueberry pancakes, butterflies, beach, blackberry cobbler

C-Coke, church, cross, candles, chocolate, cherries, coffee, Christmas, cake

D-Delaney, daughters, dad, dogwoods

E-egg salad, enchiladas, earrings

F-flip flops, French fries, friends

G-guacamole, gum, giggling

H-husband, hyacinths, hugs from my babies

I-internet, ice cream, iced tea

J-Jenna, jelly, Jesus, jewelry

K-kids, kisses from my sweeties

L-lasagna, little girls, laughter

M-Mike, mom, movies, music

N-naps, nachos

O-Old Navy, ocean

P-potato soup, pasta, peaches (esp. peach cobbler!), photography, pictures, pajamas, purple, petit fours

Q-quilts

R-rainbows, restaurants, relaxing

S-singing, sunny days, stamping, scrapbooking, shoes, snacks, summer

T-Tinkerbell, tamales, tulips, tacos, traveling, tea parties

U-under the covers (sleep!), USA, underwear that stays put!

V-vacation, vanilla

W-washing machine, waterfalls, webkinz, weddings

X-Xyron

Y-yogurt, yellow roses

Z-zoo, zany moods

Easter Egg Hunt

We had our church's Easter egg hunt today... the girls & I all went, along with my parents, my sister-in-law & my nieces.

I was in charge of the nursery age group since I'm the nursery class coordinator, so I had Jenna's group. She got 7 eggs in her basket, and she was excited to open them up and find candy inside.

Delaney was in a different group, so I didn't get to see much of her. She came home with 33 eggs!

I would love to post pictures of them, but I am still working with an old-fashioned film camera... so perhaps I can post pictures of them in a few days! :)

Mike is on his way home, and he will probably arrive around 5 am. I really don't know that he will make it to church with us tomorrow morning, but I can hope!

We're supposed to go to Mike's mom's house tomorrow afternoon, so we'll see if I get the chance to finish up my roll of film and get the pictures developed. I may just need to take the girls out in our back yard for a mini photo-shoot to finish it off!

Just A Relaxing Day

Well... today wasn't exactly an exciting day, but we did have fun!

We slept in, then went to the library for story hour... Delaney is getting too old, I think. She spent most of the time coloring in another area! It was just me & Delaney--Jenna went to Granny's house while we went to the library. She tends to run up and down the aisles and scream. Yikes.

When we finished at the library, we went to pick up Jenna and Granny. Took them to lunch at the Covered Wagon... pretty yummy.

Dropped Granny off at her house, then the girls and I went to Lowe's for some mulch. We bought 6 bags. Came back home and mulched 2 of the flower beds. Just a couple more to go! Hopefully we bought enough. I only have 3 bags left!

The girls rode their bikes (Delaney on her bicycle, Jenna on her tricycle!) and scooters in the driveway for a while, and two of the neighbors from across the street (both older gentlemen) came over to chat... One of them brought the girls over a Little Debbie rice krispies treat. They loved that. :)

We came in about an hour before dark, had supper, cleaned up and put jammies on, then the girls settled down in my bed watching a movie... so I'm actually enjoying a little bit of quiet time by myself tonight. :) Well, except that Mike has called me about 6 times to ask me to look up directions. lol

Feeling a little down

I have seen and heard some things in the past several months that have been bothering me a lot lately... things I really can't talk about here because they might affect someone I know. (And I'm really not sure who reads my blog, lol!)

Anyhow... if you're reading this, would you please just say a prayer for me and for the person/people who may be affected... I just need to feel a peace about the whole thing! Right now it's really affecting my mood and my outlook on life. I have been sitting back and watching, and I almost feel like things are going in the wrong direction, in a sense...

Thanks. :)

Funny things from Jenna recently :)

Ok... I'm typing it out like she pronounces it, so you'll probably notice that "L"s and "R"s don't come out correctly! ;-)

A couple of days ago, we were at my parents' house when a helicopter went overhead. Jenna hollers, "Wook! A Hewwo Kitty Copter!"

Today we were in the van and the kids had gotten kids' meals at Wendy's that had little floppy frisbees in them... Jenna asked Delaney, "Dawaney, can you give me my fwizz ball?"

And right now Delaney is upstairs working on a card for her teacher (our upstairs is one room, which I've dubbed for crafts!)... Jenna is marching up and down the stairs like it's a real treat because I keep it gated off. Jenna just came down with a winter stocking hat on her head and said, "Wook at me! I a no-man!"

Jenna is carrying an old frisbee up and down the stairs (upside down like a serving tray), pretending to be a waitress... She just asked me if it was ok for Delaney to have Pepsi. She promptly went back upstairs to Delaney and said, "Here go! I need a dollar for dat!"

I just wanted to share because I thought it was so funny!!

Haven't heard from my hubby in 2 days

It's now Monday morning, 7:25 am. The last time I heard a word from Mike was Friday afternoon around 1:30 pm... I've tried to call him all weekend and had to leave voice mails because there's been no answer!

I'm really starting to worry. It is not normal for him to leave me hanging this long... I don't even know what state my husband is in! The only thing I can think of is that he must be in a "dead" area... or that he's lying dead on the side of the highway somewhere. Man, I just need him to call me.

I sent him a text message late last night, and I still have not heard back. If he was moving around, he should have gotten the message by now and replied. Maybe he's parked in a spot where there's no phone signal.

If I haven't heard from him by 8:30 this morning, I'm calling dispatch. I need to know that he's alive!!

I don't understand why it's ok to just let me worry. And HE is the one with the ulcers. You would think my stomach would be eaten up with them! Ugh.


UPDATE:
He finally called me about 9:10 am, and he's ok. His phone is not working correctly, so he didn't know he was getting phone calls. The company called another guy's cell phone (who he was with) to get in touch with him!

He did get the text though, so he has no excuse for not answering that! :( So I'm trying not to be angry with him right now!!

Sunday night dinner after church

I really love Sundays... they're generally pretty relaxing.

Tonight after church we had dinner in the fellowship hall of our church to raise money for the youth group. We sat at a table with my parents and some other people I really love! Miss Teresa sat on the other side of Jenna from me... She made sure that Jenna had bread and butter (a whole little container, lol!) and a baked potato and chicken and ribs... and she shared her strawberry pie with her, too. I think Miss Teresa will make a really good grandma someday. :)

I just love the people in our church. They're all so much like family.

Jenna's choice of breakfast

This morning I asked the kids what they wanted for breakfast, and they both said they weren't hungry yet.

A few minutes later, I walk into the kitchen. The box of frozen waffles is sitting on the floor; they are half thawed. And Jenna is sitting at the table with a cold hot dog in her hand, munching away.

Oh, my. What a lovely breakfast, my dear... I decided to just put away the waffles and fix her a cup of chocolate milk!

Hmmm... maybe I should look into putting some sort of locking device on the fridge.

Looking forward to spring break

This week has been pretty good... The weather has been great these past few days, and we have spent a lot of time in the back yard. The kids have been able to get out and run, swing and slide!

Finally the sun is shining, and I think it's lifted my mood a bit... I don't feel as grumpy as I've been feeling. I had gotten to a point where I felt like I could tear something up, and I don't like feeling that way!

I am glad for spring break next week, as I could use a little break from getting up at 6 am to be sure Delaney and I are both ready for the day... and I could also use a break from babysitting. It's nice to get a week "off" to relax! So relax is what we plan to do most. We might do a movie one day. Maybe lunch out someplace fun... We'll just have to see what the budget allows.

I really hope to buy both of the girls something new for Easter next week... Hopefully we'll be able to spend a little time shopping, even though we don't have an over-abundance of money to spend. Right now I'm just grateful that we have enough to keep the electricity on and all of us fed. I feel like I'm learning as I go... :)

Mommy said no!

Jenna (who will be 3 next month) brought me a bag of chips just now. "Open these! I want one! Plleeeeeeezzzeeee!"

Well, I don't think we're going to have chips for breakfast! I told her no.

She got upset. She jumped up & down one time and said to me, "I want one! You can't tell me no!"

Excuse me? I'm trying not to laugh as I say to her, "Well, I said no. And when mommy says no, that's the end of it!"

Delaney (in her 7 1/2 years of knowledge) pipes in with, "Yeah, Jenna. You're not going to win against Mommy, so you might as well just give up! She won't change her mind after she already said no."

HA! At least one of them gets it.

Surrender--what does it mean?

This past month has been hard on me... First, I had Jenna to the doctor twice and spent $300 on doctor office visits and prescriptions! This week, I had Delaney at home for two days with a stomach bug.

All the while, we're still feeling the extreme financial stress. I have feared losing our house for several months.

Last Sunday night, I went to the altar to have some of our prayer team pray over Jenna for healing of her skin infection. They annointed her forehead with oil and layed hands on her and prayed for healing in her body. When she was finished, she decided it would be fun to run up and down the aisles of the sanctuary, lol... But the ladies who had prayed for Jenna started to pray for me. I heard diffeent prayers from different ones--one saying she sensed how tired I was, and asked for rest. Another smiled big at me and whispered in my ear, "The Lord gave me a word for you. It's one word. The word is 'surrender'."

Surrender. What does that word really mean? I picture myself waving a white flag.

I looked up the meaning of the word... here is what dictionary.com says:

sur·ren·der
–verb (used with object)
1. to yield (something) to the possession or power of another; deliver up possession of on demand or under duress: to surrender the fort to the enemy; to surrender the stolen goods to the police.
2. to give (oneself) up, as to the police.
3. to give (oneself) up to some influence, course, emotion, etc.: He surrendered himself to a life of hardship.
4. to give up, abandon, or relinquish (comfort, hope, etc.).
5. to yield or resign (an office, privilege, etc.) in favor of another. –verb (used without object)
6. to give oneself up, as into the power of another; submit or yield. –noun
7. the act or an instance of surrendering.
8. Insurance. the voluntary abandonment of a life-insurance policy by the owner for any of its nonforfeiture values.
9. the deed by which a legal surrendering is made.

Synonyms for the word "surrender" include the following:

abandonment, abdication, acquiescence, appeasement, capitulation, cessation, dedition, delivery, giving way, relenting, relinquishment, renunciation, resignation, submission, succumbing, white flag*, yielding

I have a feeling that this "surrender" has everything to do with the circumstances in my life right now. I am dependent on Mike to bring home our income. I constantly fight worrying about him, his job, the truck, our kids, our house, how we will make our next month's payments, and on and on... I can let myself become very stressed over all of these things in a matter of minutes.

I have a feeling that this "surrender" is supposed to be me turning over everything to God. I am supposed to give it all to Him. Put it all in His hands. I am to trust Him. Trust. That's a big thing for me because I don't just trust. I am stepping out on the water, but I don't feel like I have the faith that Peter did when he stepped out of that boat. He had his eyes on Jesus. He had complete faith and trust in Him. I allow my eyes to become so focused on so many things--things that are not Jesus--that I forget to trust Him.

Lord, I pray that you will help me to learn to put my complete trust in you. Help me to let go of the other things I put my focus on so that I may focus on You alone. I believe that you want to help me. I believe that you want to bless me, as in my dream. I believe Your Word says that you have a plan for me, a plan to prosper me and not to harm me. You have promised me in Your Word that you would never leave me or forsake me. You promised to take care of all of my needs according to Your riches in Glory in Christ Jesus! Father, help me now to stand on those promises and to believe them with all my heart. Help me to keep my eye on the "prize" that is Heaven--not the things of this earth! For I know that the earth will pass away, but I will soon live in glory with you forever in Heaven! Thank you for your promises, Lord. Father, I'm sorry for the mistakes I have made in the past. Please help me to learn from them and not to repeat them. Bind my mind to the mind of Christ so that I might have knowledge to do Your will. Bind my tongue to Your tongue so that I might speak the right words. Lord, I surrender to Your will for my life. I give you my worries. I give you all my concerns. Father, you know my needs. You know them better than I do. I believe that You will take care of my needs! I put my trust in You alone, Lord. I give you praise and glory, for you are the Creator of all things, you are the all-knowing God, and you alone are my strength. My hope is in You all day long! Thank you, Lord! In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Almost $240 (and more to come!) and 2 doctor visits later

I found out today that Jenna has folliculitis. That's what the "rash" is all over her bottom. Poor baby has suffered with it for weeks! It would look like it was drying up, then come back again with a vengeance. She would tell me not to touch her "boo boo" because it hurt. The bumps would get stiff and even look bright red, purple, or be filled with pus! It was nasty!

Last week we were in the doctor's office for a fever & sore throat (I thought it was her ears)... and I showed it to the dr then, but it looked dried up... so we thought it was fine.

This morning, it looked really bad. So I called the doctor. The doctor we usually see was not in today, so we saw a different one & I liked him a lot. I may ask for him next time!

Anyhow... he said it is folliculitis, which I guess it infected hair follicles if I understand correctly. He prescribed a strong oral antibiotic, plus an antibiotic cream that we're ALL supposed to swab inside our nostrils because that's how it spreads!

Since we don't have any type of health insurance, the dr visit was $85 (last week's dr visit w/a strep test was $115)... the oral antibiotic was $35... and we have not filled the prescription for the cream yet b/c it's $99!! The pharmacist is going to call the dr tomorrow to see if we can get ointment instead of cream b/c it is HALF the price. Then we'll get that, too... so the cost of all of this will be nearly $300 when it's all said and done! Insanity, I tell ya!! (Ugh! It's no darn wonder we're so broke!) Maybe that's the kick in the rear I needed to apply for ARKids First... I guess I'll give it a try.

After reading about folliculitis online, I really wonder if she got it so easily because she tends to break out with eczema. The doctor said that someone in our house is probably a "carrier" for it. Delaney had a spot on her leg several weeks ago that started it all, so I have to wonder where this all started. Mike drags in all kinds of stuff on his clothes and boots since he's out hauling livestock... so there is no telling where it really started.

So... that's what we've been dealing with all this time. I'm glad we finally have an answer as to what it is, and I will be so glad when my poor baby is finally over this!

The note inside my refrigerator that made my day

Have you ever just had one of those days? Well, last week I had one of those days... all week long!

ByFriday night, I'd had more than I could take. I got the girls ready, told them to get in the car, and we all went to Cracker Barrel! I needed out of the house so bad I'd have probably been happy to go to McDonald's. LOL!

After Cracker Barrel, we went to Kohls. All we did in there was use the bathroom and chase Jenna! So we left for Target, where I strapped Jenna in a shopping cart! LOL! We didn't really even buy anything, but we looked at shoes and pretty dresses and Easter baskets... it just felt good to see signs of SPRING!!

My poor husband had been listening to me all week. He could tell I was really down!! He had listened to me whine and been pretty patient with me... On Saturday night he told me that he really appreciated what I was doing to try and help out (I've taken on babysitting two kids to try and relieve our financial stress, which I sometimes feel is more stressful than working at a "real" job!).

At about 4:15 am on Sunday morning, the phone rang. It was Mike, and he was trying to get in the door through the garage. I had to go let him in... he was home just long enough to take a shower and head to where he was picking up a load of cows.

When I got up at 7 am, I noticed a black handprint on the handle of the refrigerator, and I almost got upset! I started to scrub it off, and opened up the fridge for some milk to put in my coffee... I saw two cans of Dr Pepper (which is like a little stess relief in a can for me, lol)... between them was a note on a little yellow piece of paper that said, "I love you... Mike".

How sweet! It really made my day. So much that I took a picture of the inside of my refrigerator!

Funny how two cans of pop and a little yellow piece of paper really made my whole day better. ;-)

THIS is the man I married. I haven't seen this part of him in a long time... and I really needed to see that in him again.

I'm sooo ready for spring!

There's talk in the weather forecast that we'll get snow and/or ice today and tonight. I don't want snow and ice. I need sunshine!

I need out of this house so bad... All I can do the last couple of days is cry. Winter is always so hard on me, but it's especially hard when Mike doesn't have enough work to do, but he's still gone all the time... we're so behind on our bills. I feel like I just worry! I've noticed that I'm getting frown lines and white hairs. I'm too young for that stuff! My husband actually told me to go get some hair color. Well then! That made me feel all wonderful and happy inside, dontcha know... We can't afford hair color anyhow!

I've not blogged in over a week... mainly because I can't seem to find a happy thought. Everything feels crappy and gray right now.

I have a history of depression... I sooo don't want to go there. I don't want to take those meds again. Is it too much to ask that I just feel happy!? Ugh!

It would be so nice to have another adult in the house. I could really use just an hour to myself, but I can't seem get away from children in this house. They follow me wherever I go, and they're only making me grumpy with their whining and arguing. Of course, I don't know that I really want to go out in public right now. There is so much sickness everywhere, and I sure don't want to catch anything! But it's so depressing, being cooped up in the house all the time... I don't know how much more of this I can handle... Lord, please help me to get past this funk I'm in!

Why I do not like Valentine's Day

I dislike Valentine's Day. No, I hate it! There are many reasons I dislike Valentine's Day so much, and every single one of them has something to do with my husband.

Before we got married, he gave me gifts for Valentine's Day. Before we were married, he also gave gifts for my birthday and Christmas, but now I'm getting off the subject. It seems as if the marriage license has afforded him a reason to stop giving any kind of gifts altogether. He never gives me ANYTHING. Never. And I hate it. I need so much more attention than this man gives me! He KNOWS this. Why won't he change it? I don't know. I don't think I'd even know how to react anymore if he brought me a gift. I really don't!

I hear some women say, "Oh, I don't need a gift. My husband does things and gives me things all the time, so why would I expect something on a certain day?" Well... that's not my husband either. He just does not give anything. Ever. He does not give gifts, and he does not like to get them. Obviously "gifts" is NOT his love language! Sometimes I think his love language must be complete ignorance. Ok, so I know that is not one of the love languages... Maybe I should write a book of my own about love. Or maybe I need to whack him over the head with a book. Nah, it probably wouldn't help.

I get so tired of listening to other women say, "Oh! My hubby is so sweet! He sent me (flowers, candy, etc) or took me wherever".... I just hate it! I'd love to put my fingers in my ears and sing a song... maybe something like, "Love Bites!" Ugh!

These are the days that I allow myself to feel crappy. I know there is nothing coming for me, and I manage to allow me to feel sorry for myself!

I really am not unhappy in my marriage, but it seems like I always feel extremely unloved on these stupid days. I know I'm not... but I manage to let myself feel like it!

I'm ready to wake up tomorrow. Stupid Valentine's Day will be over with, and I can go on with my life. At least until September, when my darling husband will forget it's our anniversary because it doesn't matter to him. How could I have been married to this man for nearly 10 years and still get upset every single holiday?

Ok, I think I'm finished... So I'm off to clean up my face and put on some more mascara since mine is now mostly gone. I need to make myself look presentable and find my fake smile so that I can go help with Delaney's class Valentine party today!

Praise the Lord--he kept my husband safe from the storm!

On Tuesday night, I was watching a mean and nasty storm that was ripping right through a part of the country that my husband was headed straight toward in the truck... It had passed through where we live in the early afternoon, but it seemed like it was just getting stronger and stronger. I was really worried about him, and I must have called him twenty times to check and make sure he was ok and knew where the storm was!

At one point, he told me that he and the other guy he was running with had just seen a tornado behind them. This was in Missouri, and they were headed east--same direction the storm was going. Their plan was to run along just north of the Tennessee border through Kentucky to Bowling Green.

I prayed that God would protect them. It's all I know to do in this kind of situation! I just prayed... I finally talked to him the next morning, and they had pulled over to stay for the night in Charleston, MO (which is just east of the MO/KY state line... Thank goodness they did!

On Wednesday, they drove on to their destination. Mike said that they went through town after town that was just flattened, completely taken out by tornadoes. He could have tried to drive right through the middle of all of that, but I'm so glad he listened when he felt the urge to pull over and stay put for the night. I believe that God was telling him that it wasn't safe.

Prayer works--I'm saying this for people who might be reading and may have some doubts. God protected my husband as well as his friend. He was safe, and I am so grateful! Praise God!!

ABCs of Me

ABC of Me

The Letter A
Are you available?: Nope... happily married.
What is your age?: 33
What annoys you?: Lots of things! LOL! I can't stand when someone lies to me, and I don't like to be argued with.

The Letter B
Do you live in a big house?: I guess so... it's about 2400 square feet. Is that big? It's certainly bigger than any house I've lived in before!
When is your birthday?: October 11th
Who is your best friend?: I have good friends, but I'd say my hubby is my best friend.

The Letter C
What's your favorite candy?: Anything chocolate!
Who's your crush?: I don't think married people are supposed to have crushes. lol
When was the last time you cried?: Last night.

The Letter D
Do you daydream?: Of course! Doesn't everyone? :)
What's your favorite kind of dog?: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel or Cocker Spaniel--they're the cutest things ever!
What day of the week is it?: Wednesday

The Letter E
How do you like your eggs?: Scrambled... or fried (soft, not runny)
Have you ever been in the emergency room?: Yes--for myself, and also with my littlest girl!
What's the easiest thing ever to do?: Sleep! lol!

The Letter F
Have you ever flown in a plane?: Yes, but it was a 4-seater... never been in a big one!
Do you use fly swatters?: Yes
Have you ever used a foghorn?: Not sure what a foghorn is, but I like Foghorn Leghorn. LOL!!

The Letter G
Do you chew gum?: Yes! Orbit CinnaMint is my favorite. :)
Are you a giver or a taker?: Both... depends on the situation, I guess!
Do you like gummy candies?: Sometimes

The Letter H
How are you?: I am tired! Thanks for asking! ;-)
What color is your hair?: Strawberry blonde

The Letter I
What's your favorite ice cream?: Triple Fudge Brownie or Cappuccino Chunky Chocolate
Have you ever ice skated?: I have tried, but I wasn't exactly successful.
Do you play an instrument?: I pick at the piano, and I played flute in the high school band

The Letter JWhat's your favorite jelly bean brand?: Jelly Belly is the best! :)
Do you wear jewelry?: Yes, but not much

The Letter K
Who do you want to kill?: What kind of question is that!?
Do you want kids?: Already have two. I'd take more if God wants to give them to me. :)
Where did you go for kindergarten?: Northside Elementary in Siloam Springs, AR

The Letter L
Are you laid back?: Mostly... sometimes I can be uptight though!
Do you lie?: No! Well, not intentionally!

The Letter M
Whats your favorite movie?: The Notebook
Do you still watch Disney movies?: Yes, especially with my girls.
Do you like mangos?: Not really

The Letter N
Do you have a nickname?: No, but my uncles used to call me Little Red
What is your real name?: Stacy
Whats your favorite number?: 27
Do you prefer night over day?: Depends what for!

The Letter O
What's your one wish?: I have so many... how could I choose only one?
Are you an only child?: Nope. I have a younger brother.

The Letter P
What one fear are you most paranoid about? Losing someone I love... especially my husband or one of my kids
What are your pet peeves?: Bad grammar is a real turnoff for me. LOL!
What's a personality trait you look for in people?: Kindness, loyalty, honesty

The Letter Q
What's your favorite quote?: "Don't marry the person you think you can live with; marry only the individual you think you can't live without. " ~James C. Dobson
Are you quick to judge people?: Not usually

The Letter R
Do you think you're always right?: Uh... yes. Is that bad? ;)
Are you one to cry?: Oh yes. You can count on it!

The Letter S
Do you prefer sun or rain?: Sun!!
Do you like snow?: NO! And I don't like cold either!

The Letter T
What time is it?: 3:42 pm
What time did you wake up?: 6:00 am
When was the last time you slept in a tent?: When I was a kid!

The Letter U
Are you wearing underwear?: Of course!
Underwear or boxers?: LOL... I prefer ladies underwear, thanks!

The Letter V
What's the worst veggie?: Ummm.... I don't know! Onions. It's the only one I can think of that I don't like.
Where do you want to go on vacation?: Anywhere. Who's taking me? :)

The Letter W
What's your worst habit?: I bite my nails
Where do you live?: Siloam Springs, AR
What's your worst fear?: Losing someone I love... like my dh or one of my kids.

The Letter X
Have you ever had an x-ray?: Yes--my back.
Have you seen the x-games?: Nope
Do you own a xylophone?: Does a toy one count?

The Letter Y
Do you like the color yellow?: Not really
What's one thing you yearn for?: Right now, financial peace!!

The Letter Z
Whats your zodiac sign?: Libra
Do you believe in the zodiac?: No
Favorite zoo animal?: Monkeys

I think Murphy likes me

You've heard of Murphy's Law... if it can go wrong, it will. Well, I feel like I'm only proving it right!

Yesterday, I almost let the fire go out in the fireplace insert... then it started to get really cold! I got the fire going really good again, and then tried to put in a piece of wood that was probably just too big. I tried to close the door, and it rolled. I had put it in at an angle to get it to fit. I closed the door on it, and broke the glass in the fireplace door!

Ugh! Why did I do that? I immediately started to panic. I made the mistake of calling Mike, and I just hung up when he asked me what I did.

I called my mom. I needed help! It took her longer to get across town than it did for me to get all the wood out of the fireplace and outside. I hosed it all off to make sure it was out! I don't need any more fires in the back yard!

All is ok. We're fine. The glass is still in the door, but it's all broken up.

My friend's hubby, who is a glass man, came over last night to check it out. The silly man didn't know my kids go to bed at 8, and he was ringing the doorbell like a crazy fool at 8:35. LOL! Anyhow, he told me about how much the piece of glass will cost.

I have started taking Dave Ramsey financial classes at our church, and I've mapped out a plan to get our emergency fund into place. Thank goodness I've managed to save the last 2 weeks of babysitting money or we would really have nothing to pay for replacing the glass! Of course it puts me back behind again on saving, but I still have a plan for saving! :)

All in all, I'm very thankful that the glass didn't shatter all over the room. It could have been a real disaster! I'm also thankful that we have central heat so that we won't freeze to death while we wait for 2 days for the piece of glass to be ordered.

It could be so much worse.

Thinking about all of this, I realized that we've been through a time that was much worse. Delaney was a little baby, and we ran out of propane. We lived in a trailer house in the middle of nowhere, and it was the coldest night ever. Thank goodness we had a small electric heater that we used in the bathroom! We put that little heater in our bedroom, and Delaney slept with us that night. We didn't freeze. We made it through just fine. And I think I probably wrote a hot check to buy propane the next day. Bad decision? Probably, but we didn't freeze. (As a side note... It's times like that night that I think of when my mother-in-law likes to say, "You kids don't know what hard times are." That only makes my blood boil. No wonder I like to stay home.)

I'm very thankful that we're still staying warm, in spite of not being able to keep a fire in the fireplace insert. We still have heat. We will have the door fixed soon so that we can have a fire again, and all will be fine.

Lack of Sleep

Last night I went to a class at our church, and my mom came over to give the girls a bath and put them in bed.

Delaney is the easy one these days, which is a real change that's only happened lately.

Jenna was still awake when I got home at 9 pm. She kept telling Granny that she needed Mommy to rock her! So I rocked her for about 30 minutes, hoping she would go to sleep quickly because I had laundry to fold and a dishwasher full of clean dishes waiting to be put away...

I finally told her I was going to lay her down, and she begged to go to my bed. So I laid her down, telling her I would be back in a few minutes. At 10:45, I finally had to go to bed without finishing my chores because she kept hollering for me. I figured it was the only way to get her to sleep at this point!

I laid down and went to sleep quickly. I'm not even sure she was alseep when I drifted off.

This morning she woke me up at 4:55, asking for chocolate milk. I went ahead & got her some, hoping she would go back to sleep. It didn't happen!

I got up just before 6 to get in the shower because I wasn't going back to sleep with a toddler kicking me in the ribs.

She managed to wake her sister up at 6:25. Delaney usually gets up at 6:45 to be ready for school, so she didn't lose too much sleep. Thank goodness.

We took Delaney to school, and then off to pick up one of the kids I babysit... Jenna was asleep when we got back home. She's now been asleep for almost 2 1/2 hours in her bed. Hopefully she will be rested up after her nap, and I hope she will be ready for bed tonight!! Mommy's worn out!

Why is it so hard to be thankful?

This morning, I got up and decided that I was just going to be thankful for this new day. It's sort of like a chance to make things good all over again.

Delaney went to school this morning upset with me. She's had a spot on her leg for 3 days that she won't let me touch. She says it hurts. It's red, swollen, looks like an infected ingrown hair or something. Finally she let the nurse look at it at school, and the nurse called me & said it's ok. If it looks worse or she gets a fever, take her to the doctor. I took some ibuprofen to the school for her. I pray it goes away soon. With all the talk of staph infection, it really concerned me!

I made quiche for dinner last night, and realized that we only had 1 egg left. I was worried about where I was going to find money to buy eggs! Ugh. I'm so tired of being this broke. What did we do to deserve this!?

Anyhow, I remembered I had a Walgreens gift card because I had filed for a rebate a couple of months ago. It's only $8, but it would buy eggs! So I went into Walgreens for eggs. I bought the last 2 dozen because they were cheaper than Wal-Mart anyhow! Praise the Lord!

I came home, and I figured I'd better vacuum since Mike's coming home tonight (yes, I crisis clean before my hubby comes home. lol!)... I was vacuuming along, thanking God that we were able to pay the electric bill this month so that I could vacuum the carpet. Then all of a sudden, I smelled something. I think the belt is going bad on the vacuum cleaner.

Why does something that I am thanking God for become something that seems like such a burden so quickly!? God knows I have $3 in my wallet. He knows that our checking account is empty. He knows that I have the feeling there won't be a paycheck this week. He knows that both of the moms I babysit for both forgot to pay me this week, for some unknown reason. Why does this stuff have to happen when I can't do a darn thing about it?

Ugh. I stewed for a few minutes, and remembered again how thankful I was to have electricity. And gas to run the furnace and water heater. And firewood to keep us warm. And so much more!

Why can't I just be thankful all the time instead of getting myself into a pity party over the silliest little thing!? Sometimes it is so hard, but I try to count my blessings anyhow. It seeems to make me feel better to remember my blessings instead of miserable like the pity party makes me feel!

Second part of my dream~it just gets better :)

This is a continuation from my last post... I wanted to make sure I knew what I was talking about when I wrote about this part. lol!

I called C to pick her brain, and she laughed. She told me exactly what she felt God was trying to tell me when the dream. She's so insightful! Love that woman. :)

The dream...
Remember that my house was on fire, so I was determined to get everyone out.

When I came out of the house into the garage, I buckled all of the kids into the van (I had the two I have been babysitting plus my own two). I looked back up from buckling everyone, my garage was no longer the same. It had become a giant expanse. There was Mike's semi truck parked behind mine, and there were two other semi trucks.

I started trying to find the door to get out, and I didn't see one. The door to get back into my house had disappeared. The van was suddenly gone. I was in this huge, open space with 3 semi trucks.


The interpretation...
Basically, the Lord is sending me a message of prosperity that I could not understand. I had worked out little pieces, but I needed help!

C told me that God is trying to tell me that if I will only trust Him, He will make a way through all of our troubles. That He wants to give us a tremendous blessing beyond what we can comprehend. That He is ready to give us that, but we have to believe for it. We must trust God to get us through this rough time. All we have to do is trust Him!

Right now we're believing Him to provide for milk! How could He do this for us? I know that God alone has the power. I believe. I have faith. I must remain standing. I must be strong and keep on believing. I must not allow my faith to waiver! No matter what the enemy tries to throw at me.

Why would God want to do such a thing for me? Because He loves me beyond anything I can comprehend. I am His child!

So, there you have it. That's my dream... and the interpretation from someone I trust very much. I believe it is a message from the Lord.

Last Night's Dream

Last night I had a dream that my house was on fire. It was on the roof, but it didn't really seem to be spreading at all. It didn't really even seem to be causing any damage!

I am pretty sure I know the meaning of this dream. We're behind on all of our bills, and our situation is starting to feel completely hopeless. It's like we're completely consumed.

A couple of months ago, a lady at church (D) told me that she'd had a dream about me and my family, and she and I talked about it with another lady who we both believed could give us some insight. C is an intercessor, and she is one of those people who often receives a word from the Lord about a situation.

D had dreamed that she was at my house, and it was a house built right next to the water (not sure if it was lake or ocean--just a large body of water). There was a storm coming in, and it got violent. The waves crashed against the house, pounding really hard. We all feared that the windows would break and that the house would wash away. But when the storm was over, nothing was damaged. The foundation of the house was just the same...

The other lady (C) just smiled a very knowing smile and said she knew exactly what that meant, and she gave me a verse. Isaiah 43:2 says, "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, the flames will not set you ablaze."

C said that we are about to go through a big storm, and that things are going to look very hopeless and very bad. But that when the storm is over, we will look as if it had never touched us. She instructed me to keep this verse handy, and to remind the Lord often that He promised us that He would see us through the storm unharmed. I was told to claim the promise that was given to me.

I feel like that's what my dream last night was about as well. The fire kept burning, but it didn't seem to be hurting anything. It was like flames were shooting from the roof, but it wasn't burning anything up. But that didn't make it any less scary when I was looking at it!

Mike and I talked about our situation last night right before I went to bed, so I prayed that I wouldn't have bad dreams. I seem to be have them after we've had those conversations! Usually it's something pretty scary, but I know those dreams are not from God!

There was a little more to the dream, but I didn't understand that part... I want to ask C about it next time I see her and see if she has any insight before I talk about it. :)

I'll have a couple of both

When I ask Jenna a question like, "Would you rather have a hamburger or chicken nuggets?" She almost always replies with, "I want a couple of both." Well... that really wasn't the question. I was giving you a choice between the two.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm like that in my own life. For example... If I were given the choice between electricity and natural gas, I think I'd probably want to choose both.... there are advantages to each one. Each of them keeps me happy in some way--the gas heats our house and runs the water heater, the electricity keeps the lights on, cooks the food and washes the dirty clothes. See what I mean? Everything has its purpose, right? Even when it's a hamburger or chicken nuggets. I'm sure that each must satisfy her tummy in a different way.

Just made me feel good :)

Delaney was out sick from school yesterday, and I forgot to send her a note this morning... so I e-mailed her teacher to let her know why Delaney was absent yesterday.

There came a reply that said, "Thank you! I'm so glad Delaney is back today!"

After having talked with her about Delaney before (she'stold me more than once that Delaney is a "joy to have in her classroom"), it just made me feel good all over again.... I really do love her teacher. :)

Interview with the kiddos

Have you ever interviewed your kids? I thought this would be fun this morning... since I'm trying to be more fun and less of a stick-in-the-mud. LOL!

Here are the results of our interview... I think they're kinda funny. :)


DELANEY (age 7)

Favorite....Color(s): pink
Food: oranges & grapes
Drink: tea
Candy: flavored candy canes
Ice Cream: cookie dough
Dessert: chocolate pie
Game: polly pocket or webkinz (websites)
Movie: Alvin and the Chipmunks
Song: one from church, but I can’t remember what it’s called
Music Group: the church group
Book: Polly Pocket & Strawberry Shortcake books
Animal: little Chihuahuas like Molly
Outfit: My bright orange one
When I grow up, I want to be: a teacher (maybe)
My best Friend is: Makayla
because: I like to play with her.
My other friends: Lilly, Faith, Madison from school, and her last name is Hodge. And Tita Lor and Ashley.
I like to collect: marbles, beads (sometimes)


JENNA (age 2 1/2)

Favorite....
Color(s): orange
Food: fruit, bananas, apples
Drink: tea (lol, she never drinks tea!)
Candy: chocolate
Ice Cream: chocolate
Dessert: MM's
Game: Ashes, Ring 'round a rosie (these are the same thing)
Movie: Elmo (I don't think she’s ever even watched Elmo! LOL!), Wiggles
Song: ABCs, Twinkle Little Star, Bitsy Spider
Music Group: Don't know!
Book: Ducky
Animal: puppy dog
Outfit: dress
When I grow up, I want to be: ummm.... person
My best Friend is: ummmm…. I don’t know! I like to play with Camryn.
My other friends: Garrett, Allie, Logan, Grant, Morgan (these are all kids in the church nursery!)
What do you like to collect? I like to collect! I like baby dolls.

Good Imagination

When I picked up Delaney from school yesterday afternoon, we drove through the 4-way stop downtown on the way home. This is the part of down where the oldest buildings stand. They are built of bricks and/or cinder blocks, and one building in particular has some rusty-looking metal stars along the top of it. (For those who live here in Siloam, it is the building where Dr. Lewis's office is located.)

We were pulling up to the stop sign when she said, "Hey Mom, I think it would be really cool if those stars on the side of that building were big water sprinklers that could shoot water out of them. And if they worked with a lightswitch, you could turn them on so they could spray the building across the street if it was on fire. Don't you think that would be great, Mom? And then they could put them on all the buildings, and maybe there wouldn't be any more fires!"

She was so excited about her big idea that I almost laughed out loud! I just smiled and agreed that it sounded like a great idea.

I can't believe what a wild imagination she has sometimes. She comes up with some really crazy ideas like that one from yesterday afternoon... and I think I need to write more of them down!

So stinkin' tired!

We've had a couple of weeks off from school due to the Christmas & New Years holidays, and I'm having trouble getting back into the swing of things! We've stayed up late and slept in, and it's been a hard adjustment this week with school starting again.

I feel like I cannot wake up! I nod all day, trying not to go to sleep! I have 2 kids I am babysitting along with my 2 yr old--which means I have 3 little kids all day, so it's not like I can just take a nap. If I could, I probably could have slept several hours today!

I hope and pray that we can get to bed early tonight so that Delaney & I both can try and catch up on some sleep! I can't take much more of this--and I know Delaney is tired, too. Jenna's the lucky one who can nap whenever she wants. lol

Severe storms passed us by last night

Last night we had a pretty big storm in our area... and most of it passed us by, thank the Lord!

When I heard the storm sirens go off, I checked the radar on our local news station. Each time, there were cloud rotations close to us. Once it went to the east, once it went to the west, and once it formed just north of our town! When I heard the "T" word (tornado), I started to panic! But Delaney & I decided it was a much better idea to pray!

I was very grateful to wake up this morning and find the only thing that happened is that the chairs on my front porch blew from one end to the other.

Some places north of us weren't as fortunate. I heard that two people were killed around Springfield. That was the same storm that went through here!

I thank God for keeping us safe last night... I know that He heard our prayers asking for protection!

New Year's Resolutions for 2008

I've been thinking about making some resolutions for the new year... but I have made them before and not followed through! I want to make sure that what I am resolving to do is something I CAN and WILL actually do!

After much thought, I have decided that I am going to:

1) Read through the entire Bible (with the help/guidance of this site: http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/)

2) Do a devotion/Bible study daily (and if I can include the kids and maybe even a memory verse, that will be even better!)

I would also like to include the traditional "get more organized" and "lose weight"... but I am also resolving NOT to set myself up for failure or disappointment! LOL!! Although I must say that my file cabinet is actually starting to look like a place where I could actually find something I was looking for. And with Mike getting his own authority, the organization would definitely come in very handy since I'll be the one keeping up with everything from now on!

I feel like these two things I've listed are actually doable for me... and I'm going to write them and post them on the refrigerator door!!

So... Anyone else making any resolutions??