J.E.N.E

Valentines Day Special!

2011-02-14T09:21:00.003-07:00

25% off your entire purchase today and today only on the Encore website!!!

Happy Valentines Day!

A quote and my thoughts

2011-01-18T04:13:00.000-07:00

"One woman will brag about her children, while another complains about hers; they could probably swap children without swapping tunes"
I found this quote (without author noted) and it really hit home to me. I have always tried very hard not to sound like a mother complaining about my children. Have I failed, YES, but I try each day to be ONLY thankful for my children and where we are. Do I complain about other things, more than I should...but why would I complain about one of the top three most amazing gifts God has blessed me with?
I know many women who have very little good to say about being a mother, or sharing the experience with their spouse. Is being a mother hard, YES! It is probably one of the most difficult hats I have to wear. But it is amazing, and I find it amazing how God has pieced our family together in His most perfect way! Now I know I have complained of situations before, but what do you hear fairly new mothers complain about out of the gates?
"I am so tired, this child wakes up for nightly feedings and I cannot sleep." I always found the night time feedings a blessing. The house is quiet, the lights are dim, and there are no distractions and absolutely nothing else for me to be doing but feeding that precious baby. I find this true of all my babies, even our foster babies, I have never minded getting up for that precious bonding time no matter what the hour.

"Changing diapers is for the birds, those blow outs are the worst." Here, I do tend to say that it isn't the most pleasant thing in the world to do...but having two children that struggled to go 'stinky' more than once a week as little ones I was always relieved when they would go...no matter how the outcome showed itself. Pleasant, no, but you had to know this was bound to happen when you started thinking about having children.

These are just a couple of things that I hear often even at baby showers when the blissful expectant mother is 'getting advise' from the already 'experienced' parents. It makes me sad that such things have to be brought into that precious happiness that expecting your first baby brings!

Now I am getting to experience a new level of parenthood. Both of my children to this point are adopted, because I was 'pre-menopausal' (however you spell it) and would not have any children after our 4th miscarriage. God prooved Himself to be still in the miracle business when in August of 2010 we discovered we were expecting! As I sit here now we are at 29 weeks and still doing well! You hear many women with a vast number of complaints about pregnancy. Here is another place I try very hard not to complain...this is a blessing, I know MANY people that would do almost anything to be in the state I am in right now. They wouldn't be caring about how much the scale has changed in 7 months or that they waddle everywhere they walk or they are not sleeping all the way through the night or that they cannot fit into 'normal' clothing or how uncomfortable they are or all the other things you often hear from pregnant women. Here again, I have tried very hard to not complain...have I failed, most likely, but my desire is to be thankful for this pregnancy that God has blessed me with. It has been exciting to get to experience the amazingness of a baby growing inside of my womb and feeling the kicks, and while my pregnancy hasn't been a bed of roses, even that has been somewhat exciting. We have had something like 7 ultrasounds since 6 weeks, 5 days and our last being just two weeks ago. I get to have at least one more before she is born too!

So going back to that quote, what kind of a mother do you want to be. If I were to constantly complain about my children, now that they are 4 years old, they would be hearing that and what would that do to them? Not only that, but what does it do to the people you are complaining to? Do they have children of their own? Do they not? Are they having trouble having children and are sitting there thinking 'lady if only you knew how much I would love to take your children off your hands and love on them' because of what they have been through? Our words strike farther than we think sometimes, and when dealing with such a precious gift as children we need to watch what we say....not only for ourselves, but for our children and people around us!

Countdown!

2010-11-10T08:45:00.000-07:00

I know it is crazy to think about, but on Saturday...just 3 days away, we will be at 20 weeks...half way through this pregnancy. This ultrasound was a week and a half ago, and Grasshopper was in a very strange and uncomfortable looking position!

But just as big as the half way point is the fact that in 7 {SEVEN} days we will have are big ultrasound and hopefully will know if we should plan pink or blue! This seems like it might really happen! We are thankful and trusting God!

A blessing!

2010-08-26T16:04:00.000-06:00

We had our second ultrasound today! Two weeks ago Grasshopper measured 6 weeks and 2 days with a heartbeat of 128. That put our due date at April 5th 2011! Today I went in nervous, with our history it just doesn't seem possible that we MIGHT have a great pregnancy with a full term healthy baby...but the doctor today said (while anything can happen) she didn't see any reason to worry at this point!

Grasshopper measured 8 weeks and 5 days today with a heartbeat of 180! What a blessing it was! I was able to hear the heartbeat and see Grasshoppers' little heart beating on the screen by way of a small little flicker!

I am slightly more excited now but they are going to have me come in for another ultrasound in 2 weeks just to check things out again! I am so excited, at that point I should be just shy of 11 weeks...that is almost all the way through my first trimester! Definately uncharted territory for us here! Praise the Lord!

Please forgive me...

2010-08-25T15:07:00.000-06:00

So I know everyone says I need to be excited, and I am! Do you not think that a couple who wanted to have a large family who finds out through 4 miscarriages that we no longer have a shot at having natural children because I am no longer ovulating even with fertility helps then 4+ years later finds herself pregnant is excited at the possibility of having a baby? Do you really not think we are excited?

But here is the thing, we HAVE had 4 miscarriages. We HAVE had no positive end to a pregnancy in the past. I HAVE been haveing sypmtoms, but that doesn't mean that it is just going to be OKAY!

Please forgive me for not jumping up and down, please forgive me if you do not think I am putting enough faith in God, please forgive me if you think I worry too much, please forgive me if you think I am being lazy, please forgive me if you think I am not counting my blessing.

Do you know how difficult it is to answer the question, "how many children do you have?" with the number 2 (before knowing of this pregnancy.) I want to scream from the rooftops that I have 6 children, just because the other four never lived a second on this earth doesn't mean they were not my children. But other people do not get that. I am greatful and blessed beyond all measure with the two beatufiul children I do have...and if God thought they were all we needed than I would be okay with that. But our hearts tell us different. We are still actively persuing adoption, and we have a baby that is 8 weeks and 1 day growing inside of me. We have passed the point of pregnancy of three of our four miscarriages and things are looking pretty good...but we are still early on.

So if you choose to talk with me, please remember that we have history. Please don't just assume because I am healthier now than ever that everything is going to be okay...please know the best thing to do is to pray. I am scared, and worried, and nervous that the ultrasound tomorrow is going to look the same as the one 2 weeks ago and show that my baby is not growing. I look toward the positive as much as possible, but at the end of the day the best I can do is, "this one is a fighter, we are going to be okay." I tell myself that often, and pray it to be true. But really, my heart will not stop the hurt until around 7 months from now I am holding my healthy happy baby in my arms.

Please forgive me...

~Encore Children's Boutique~

2010-07-21T22:09:00.000-06:00

You must go HERE! I have launched an online children's boutique I am calling ENCORE and we now have one client and 36 items posted with many more to come in the days/weeks ahead! Please go and shop and Encore for newborn through 6 at this point! If you need a place to consign your new or gently used children's clothing please feel free to post a comment and leave a way to contact you so that we can set it up! I look forward to doing business with you!

Check out this post...

2010-06-18T16:08:00.002-06:00

It is about matter of perspective and you can find it here!

The way things are...

2010-06-02T09:51:00.000-06:00

So. seriously, I have another 'gripe' to blog about. I could gripe every day most likely, but I try not to dwell on these things too much!

I am having the most difficult time with people...people that cannot be honest and that is in any avenue of life. It might be calling in sick when you don't want to work, or trying to bring your sick child to daycare while under the influence of tylenol. It just seems that it is ACCEPTED in today's society that telling a little lie isn't a lie at all and no one bats an eye! I don't know about you but that makes me uncomfortable. Especially when it comes to friends, I will tell you that my husband have a very small number of people that we acctually consider friends, which i ssad...but safe at the same time. We have had a large group of friends in the past and seemed to only be hurt or let down time and time again...and even now there are people in our community that once were friends...or so we thought, in actuallity they were only our friends because they needed something from us or needed Handsome to do some work for them. GGGGGRRRRRR

SeRiOuSlY pEoPlE!!!!

Lets just be honest and the world would be a better place, if you really do not want to be our friends but would like some help with something, just be honest about it. We are rather busy people and so it might not be right away, but most likely we will help in any way we can....because that is who we are!

Another thing, if you are in a position of helping people already...I mean your job puts you in with working with people, it could be a receptionist, a customer service rep., a pastor, or working in a restaurant (any job that involves people) DO NOT COMPLAIN ABOUT HAVING TO HELP PEOPLE! It does not matter how petty their problem it is YOUR JOB! I have to say that at times this one is difficult with me, I have some days where it seems that a client my not be understanding my hours or my rules or what have you and it gets a little frusterating so I complain to my husband or to one of my few friends.....and I need to do better.

But while I work on some of my weaknesses, can I challange you do to the same? If you work with people, have a people serving spirit!

God's Promises ...for BoYs...

2010-05-19T09:37:00.000-06:00

I recently have taken the time to read through this little devotional book for boys. I think it is a great book for both boys that can read and a nice reference book for parents of younger boys that are not yet able to read! My son is only three and with things like, "God's Promises when you need to be a good sport" and then they give a little poem, along with three scripture references. This book is full of great places to go to in the Bible to help little boys in certain situations in life!

The other part of the book is the wonderful illustrations! Each of the Promises has an illustration that goes with it and the poem! A great book for parents of boys both younger and early teens!

Happy Childcare Provider Day!

2010-05-07T10:45:00.000-06:00

A friend, who also has a daycare posted this on my fac.eboo.k page this morning...just had to share!

A CHILDCARE PROVIDER~ A willing partner for working moms,she comforts, pampers, soothes and calms With all the love she has to share,she's great to have when mommy can't be there.She loves to rock a fussy child,corrects the one that gets too wild.She hears her share of tearful pleas,and comforts those with skinned up k...nees.With little children she plays games of peek,for bigger ones it's hide and seek.She is an expert at each game,but somehow loses just the same.She helps them learn the alphabet,and gives them hugs when they're upset.She gently tucks them in their beds,with dreamland tales for sleepyheads.She is a true and trusted friend,who helps them learn and play pretend.Although she's paid, it's plain to see,she serves them with a love that's free.

You Are God Alone

2010-04-26T15:08:00.000-06:00

We sang this great song in church yesterday and the words are great!

You are not a god

Created by human hands

You are not a god

Dependant on any mortal man

You are not a god

In need of anything we can give

By Your plan, that's just the way it is

You are God alone

From before time began

You were on Your throne

Your are God alone

And right now

In the good times and bad

You are on Your throne

You are God alone

You're the only God

Whose power none can contend

You're the only God

Whose name and praise will never end

You're the only God

Who's worthy of everything we can give

You are God

And that's just the way it is

You are God alone

From before time began

You were on Your throne

Your are God alone

And right now

In the good times and bad

You are on Your throne

You are God alone

Unchangeable

Unshakable

Unstoppable

That's what You are

Unchangeable

Unshakable

Unstoppable

That's what You are

You are God alone

From before time began

You were on Your throne

Your are God alone

And right now

In the good times and bad

You are on Your throne

You are God alone

Check it out on youtube by Philips, Craig, & Dean!

In Need of Venting...

2010-04-24T18:46:00.000-06:00

So, I will probably get land blasted for this but seriously people....why is it that the only time 'long lost friends' (very loosly quoted) decide to contact you is when they have an ax to grind? I mean seriously....I only wish that people IRL (in real life) could be half as brutally honest as the 'long lost friends!'

I am a F.ace.Boo.k lover, I hop on it at least once a day, but usually several times a day to keep up with some very dear people that I just do not live very close to. It is also a was to promote my business and quickly touch base with local friends to invite over for a BBQ or something that they can get at their leisure, but lately FB has been bugging me in the sense that all these so called friends are sending friend requests and all of a sudden you have hundreds of 'friends' that are up in your business judging you. I know, I know...you are thinking that a person shouldn't A) be on FB at all or B) accept friends that are not truely friends. Well you see, some of them you don't suspect to be all knife in the back until it actually happens. Maybe I am to trusting, but seriously...I would not do that to someone, so I really do not expect others to do it to me.

Now for the IRLers that read my blogs. Lets get something straight...I am a big girl and I can take your honesty. If you have a bone to pick with me...lets get it off your chest and work on the Biblical thing of taking care of it!

Okay, so I just have alot on my mind right now and sometimes I feel as if I am about to burst because so many people are all sweet and kind when in fact they get together with girlfriends and dish about me when I am not around. If you don't want to be a real friend....lets stop kidding ourselves!

Seriously, I really am done now! Hope you are having a FANTASTIC weekend!

Review of An Honest Love

2010-04-07T14:23:00.000-06:00

So this is the first book of its kind that I have EVER read and I couldn't put it down! I found every excuse possible to sneak away for 10-30 minutes at a time just so I could see what was going to happen next! The only thing I didn't like about the book was at the end when it said I had to wait until September of this year before the next one came out! Kathleen Fuller seemed to be able to paint a mental picture so clear that it felt like I was standing right next to the characters! This is a great, clean book for anyone to read! I will be looking for "A Hand to Hold" in September!

Short and to the Point...

2010-03-30T16:03:00.000-06:00

I will make this short and to the point....do you know what is wrong with society these days? I can give you two things that are very real and make it very difficult for me to put myself out there to meet/trust new people.

1) Very few people really try to live their lives according to what God would have for them and what His Word says for us to do.

2) Very few people really care about anyone other than themselves....so many people are selfish and could care less about the hearts of others. You see this often on FB, people status' that rant about the latest gadget or what have you and there are tons of comments...but someone really puts their heart out there and expresses a real hurt and no one cares!

Anyway...just a little grrrr from me....I don't understand why more people cannot be a little more caring, but then again these two points kind of go hand in hand too!

Ideal Protein Diet

2010-03-24T10:26:00.000-06:00

So I have had several private messages and a few comments asking about the Ideal Protein Diet and I wanted to share a little bit of information on it for those of you that are interested.

The way that I found out about it was because of a dear friend of mine that has followed my struggles with PCOS and weight issues for a while...knowing I have had four miscarriages along the way. She had several other friends that had been on the IPD and had seen how well it worked for them (PCOS and all) and each person she knew that tried it and stuck to it was extremely successful! She also saw some of them go on to carry pregnancies full term and deliver healthy babies! So after seeing how well it worked she passed the information on to me...

Since her and I live a state a part, I didn't know where I could find a consultant to work with so I went to this website and emailed them. There just happened to be a wonderful lady right in my town that I meet with every single week! I started the 1st of January, not as a resolution...just because of the cost I wanted to wait until after Christmas so I didn't put trips to see family in jeopordy because of my diet! There is a one time only consultant fee at the beginning of $100 and then I also bought a week and a half of food...all the vitamins...the shaker...and a couple of dressings and what have you. You need to plan on around $90.00 a week for the diet but this include all food except 4 cups of veggies and one 5 oz portion of lean meat. In my opinion it is an amazing diet and the price is worth it. The first 5 days of the diet are a little rough as you are cleaning out your system...but on day 5 I started feeling amazing with more energy than I have had in a VERY long time (maybe since high school!) Since 1.1.10 I have lost 35 lbs and feel amazing! I am in a size 12 pant and started in between an 18 and a 20! The results are amazing! Several people have started since I have that I know and a bunch of them have even better results than me!

If you have any more questions please feel free to contact me through leaving your email in a comment and I would be happy to either answer them privately through email or publically on this blog!

If you choose the IPD you will not be sorry!

A Mama's Heart

2010-03-18T14:34:00.000-06:00

While I am a Mama in most sense of the word, I have never carried a baby in my womb for 9 months and birthed him or her. I do not look at my children and think, "wow, he has his Daddy's eyes" or "the poor girl has my nose" or what have you. But I have something even more special, I have the fact that God specifically place our Princess and our BooBear in our lives!

You see, while we have been able to conceive four beautiful babies that stayed with me for 6-8 weeks each, we never knew if they were boys or girls...or what color eyes they would have, or who's features they would carry. But in all four of those situations if we would have been able to carry them to full term we would most likely not pursued adoption, and thus our two would not be with us. Don't get me wrong, they are missed, and I deeply wish I would have been given the chance to be their Mama...but God had different plans.

And while we had 26 'matches' in adoption before we finally brought our Princess home from the hospital, again, if any one of those beautiful lives would have come to our home they would not have been the children that God intended to be with us.

I look at our Princess and see so much of my mother in her, right down to the teeth...but how is that possible? They are not even related by blood...and if you know is IRL they really do not have any resemblence of eachother either. But, boy oh boy, do they have similar personalities! Sometimes it scares me how much of my mother's personality my beautiful daughter carries...but you see that was Gods plan. He placed the Princess in our lives because she was the 'perfect' fit! It even cracks me up a little. The Princess is named after both Handsome and my paternal grandmothers for her first and middle name...both our grandmothers had an interesting wave ~both of them waved the same~ and our Princess waves that very way. Neither my husband or myself do, she just started doing it like that! Another great example is how my grandma used to cross her arms on her tummy when she was listening or talking or waiting and my daughter does that very same thing. Gods plan is the perfect plan.

I look at our BooBear and see that he looks SO MUCH like my husbands side of the family. I often look at pictures of his older boy cousin when he was at a simliar age and they look so much alike (to me) it is interesting. He does carry different physical features that are so much like my husbands family that most of the time people just figure he is our biological child. While we view him no differently than if he were our bio child, he is not...BUT, he is the BooBear God knew we needed and placed with us because again, he is are 'perfect fit.' There are even a few times I can look at him and see a glimpse of my brother when he was a wee one...every now and then! Gods plan is the perfect plan.

Not that it makes it any easier that we lost four perfect babies to miscarriage, or that it hurts any less that we received 26 phone calls stating we were to be parents and 26 more phone calls telling us something went backwards and it wouldn't be happening. I grieved for each of those 30 little angels...little angels that even though they were not really IN OUR LIVES they were and I loved them...before I even knew them!

Now, I am not preaching away for no reason...though we all do need a reminder of Gods plan and timing being perfect every now and then...

BUT, there is a reason for this. I do not know how many people read this blog on a regular basis...I do not know if you know me IRL or if you stumbled across this blog just by chance and are a first time reader...or a secret stalker that hasn't commented yet...but I do want to ask you one thing...

Please be in prayer for us, we have felt the desire to grow our family by way of adoption again. We do not know if it is tomorrow or two years from now...but we believe it is a desire God has placed in our hearts and we have been praying for a year already to bring our O.O.H. (boy) or E.D.H (girl) home. Our children are excited for the day that happens and pray daily (sometimes more than once and on their own) for bring a brother and/or a sister home. Now here is the thing, while we have enough to support more children on a daily basis, we do not have $25000 laying around to pay for the adoption. We did a fundraiser last year that helped us raise $250 towards the cause of our adoption...but that is all we have! We also have a laywer in town who is willing to do our states finalization for nothing...so that is another provision God has given to us. BUT, that isn't the total cost of the adoption. I believe God can do amazing things, and I believe that He could help us to raise the full amount and not have to take any debt out for this adoption...

That is where you, the faithful readers, come in to play. I am not asking you to all send me your money (though if you wanted to email me! lol) I am asking that you pray with us for the finacial provision so that we can grow our family again. I am also asking that if you know of any great fundraisers please leave in the comments how I can reasearch and look into them. My prayer every year is to bring our baby home for Christmas...I prayed that in 2008, in 2009, and I have been praying that for 2010...so if you have any advise or information to share with us, or if your church might be interested in doing a benefit to help an adoptive family out...please let me know!

Here's to bringing our bab(y)(ies) home this year~

The Flowering Cross by Beth Rayn

2010-03-18T09:25:00.000-06:00

We have read this book several times since it came in the mail and I cannot get enough of it and what is better is that my children and the Patch kids cannot either! What a way to use very real situations (I think everyone knows at least one 'Papa Jack' to teach children Biblical Principles!

I love how Beth Ryan uses this story to show children how to be a witness, even if they dont seem to be lovable; along with being kind and caring for others! I really love the Bible verses and a spiritual tidbits throughout the book geared towards children.

This is a beautiful book that will be an Easter tradition in our home!

This review is for BOOKSNEEZE...check them out here if you are a blogger and are interested in becoming reviewer for them!

Valentines Family Weekend...pt 2

2010-03-17T15:31:00.002-06:00

Can you see my little fish and her Daddy?

The hotel we stayed at was amazing, definately one we will keep in mind when we do this next year!

See the happy open mouth coming off the slide?

She just wanted to swim swim SWIM!

Very happy off the slide again!

"All by myself Daddy, you watch!"

"Love you Mama"

Going up the stairs to do the slide AGAIN!

Floating on her back, all by herself!

She was all smiles the two nights we went swimming!

Back float again

Motion picture...she then learned that jumping in was TONS of fun!

Splash!!!

She wanted to go again and again! I think she kind of tired Daddy out that night! Brave "Big Strong Girl" (as she says)

Brother wasn't as fond of the water as Sissy, in fact the second night him and Mommy sat on the sidelines and cheered on Daddy and Sissy! And he was okay with that...so was I, it allowed me a chance to take some fun pictures!

Kelle Hampton...amazing mother!

2010-03-17T12:51:00.002-06:00

I have been reading her enjoyingthesmallthings.blogspot.com blog since before little L was born almost three years ago. Little N was born this January with Down Syndrome and while I have always been amazed with her and how she handles life...it is truly amazing to see how she had taken the birth of Nella in stride! Keep up the amazing job Kelle!

A new obsession...

2010-03-16T15:25:00.000-06:00

If any one of you that read this knew me well say, oh, ten years ago you would probably think this was a joke...I even had a rather derogatory name for these marvelous wonders! It wasn't nice, trust me, it just wasn't...and as I pay respects to wonderful purse designers like my favorite *Kathy.Van.Zeeland* I must say, really I didn't know what I was missing...PLEASE forgive me!

One might say it is a vain obsession, one might say it is a waste of money, but seriously...with ~handbags~ as AWESOME as these, how could you resist!

Now it all started when I worked at this marvelous little consignment store downtown...before my babies were born! They got me into some pretty cute purses...I am thinking of one very adorable pink Liz.Claiborne. that looked like reptile skin, I still get visitation rights every now and then since I gave it to one of my friends! But what really got me into these things is when I bought my first K.V.Z bag! I was just trasitioning out of a diaper bag and wanted something big enough to carry one or two extra diapers and a small travel wipes case, along with all the other needs a girl might have of her own. The search was on, until one day the beautiful Kris from S.R. (the store I used to work at) gave me a call with a purse she thought was right up my ally...well, it was...that would be #5 in the picture. My very first KVZ bag with the baubles and all! It shimmered, it was still very neutral, and it was big enough...or so I thought. I ended up with a second black KVZ with gold detail that previously mentioned friend also received because again...it just was not big enough. ENTER ~ purses #1 & #3 in picture! Both are the great Kathy.Van.Zeelands work and I love LOVE them to pieces. I used the zebra for Spring/Summer and the steel mirrored one for Fall/Winter. Then I happened upon a GREAT deal in purse #2 just a few weeks ago, also a KVZ but TIGER STRIPE....seriously, for the price it was I just couldn't pass.it.up! It was so exciting when we returned home a couple weeks ago from East River and there was a nice large box sitting by the door welcoming me! And just on Sunday I was pegged...we went to the towns Home Show and there was a .Purse.Diva. booth there, I stopped to take a looksie and she got me with a, "you look like a lady who appreciates a fun purse." CanIGetA...mmmmmmmmhhhhhhmmmmmmm?!?!? So I came home with #4 the dreamy teal bag!

So it starts...most likely a life long relationship with these wonderful purses...I can still see a few colors missing from this line up that I would like to recruit for the team, so I signed up to host a Purse.Diva party on July 13th 2010....it will be an open house come and go as you please kind of party...come check it out and see if you can find something that you just cannot live without...trust me, you will never regret bringing home a new addition! You just might regret leaving the wonderful beauty there though! But seriously, I am still all KVZ, and I sorta feel like I cheated on her with the most recent purchase! But don't worry because I still have my eye on SEVERAL of your bags Kathy!

♫Denny's Song♫

2010-02-26T15:49:00.000-07:00

Denny's Song

Let there be light, God said,

And out of the darkness it came

He spoke the worlds to existence.

And everything in them the same.

And as He made them one by one,

"It is good," the Father said.

Until He saw a lonely man,

then these were His words instead.

"It is not good that man be alone

I'll give him a wife and they'll have a home.

Together as one the two shall be,

as man and wife," as you and me.

Once God saw a man who served Him

With no one to walk by his side

No one to meet every need of his heart,

And kiss away tears that he cried.

So God made a lady to love him,

And walk by his side all through life.

Some one that he'd call his very own,

His friend and his love, his wife.

"It is not good that man be alone.

I'll give him a wife and they'll have a home.

Together as one the two shall be,

As man as wife,"

As you and me.

From the Family.Love.Notes ~A.collection of songs for the Christ-centered wedding and the true Christian home by Cathy.Corle~

We had this song sung at our wedding on 8.10.02

Extramarital Affairs

2010-02-23T09:19:00.000-07:00

Did you know that an extramarital affair is just an escape from reality or a search for fulfillment outside of marriage? This means that an 'affair' can come in many different disguises! Think about it...
*Activities
*Materilaism
*Career
*Family
*Fantasy (which can include porn.ography and/or romance novels)
or
*An actual love affair

So are you the kind of person that seeks outside activities to be involved in a little too much, how many boards are you on? Are you the kind of person that needs the newest latest things to keep you happy? Are you a work-a-holic that just cannot say no because you are too busy getting ahead with your job to take time for your spouse? This one is very common, it seems like something for the greater good when you 'sacrifice' your relationship with your spouse to spend time with the family driving the kids to all their sports and recitals when you could be taking just one night a week to devote to your spouse? Do you have troubles with getting away into a fantasy land either in your thoughts or in what you watch/read and that tends to take the place of a relationship with your spouse or at the very least cause a gap between you? Or are you one that has taken it to the next level and actually been involved with someone other than your spouse? Each of these usually start with small steps and Satan can use those small steps to, in a sense, seduce you to get deeper and deeper until they have a stronghold in your life.

It is not what God has in mind for a marriage relationship. I am sure each marriage has suffered at least one of these 'affairs' at some point and time, but again...bring it back to the Bible and recommit yourself to finding joy and fulfillment in your spouse!

Not original to me...

2010-02-22T13:21:00.001-07:00

I just received an email from FamilyLife.com that was pretty sobering! It was called, "Googling Help for Marriages" and the idea behind it was using Googles autofill setting to see what the most popular searches are when it comes to marriage...so I tried a few of their suggested ones and this is what it said:

I typed "My Husband"

it offered...
...is annoying
...makes movie lyrics
...hates me
...doesn't love me
...is a jerk
...cheated on me
...ignores me
...'s three wives
...is an alcoholic
...is depressed

I typed "My Marriage"
it offered...
...is falling apart
...is in trouble
...is over
...is boring
...is failing
...was a mistake
...is dead
...trouble quiz
...is over now what
...needs help

I typed "How Can I Get My Wife"
it offered...
...to swing
...to shave
...in the mood
...to shut up
...to love me again
...to loose weight
...'s facebook password
...pregnant
...to
...back

I typed "How Can I Get My Husband"
it offered...
...to fall in love with me again
...to be more affectionate
...to leave the house
...to want me
...to be more romantic
...to help around the house
...to loose weight
...back
...to love me again
...to talk to me

Those are the top 10 auto fills for each of the phrases and the top ten are choosen by most popular searches.

Dave Boehi ends the FamilyLife.com email with this:
"This is just one piece of the picture of American marriage. But it's enough to show once again how many people are looking for help for their marriages and families.

There are answers to these problems--and those answers are found in a relationship with God and in the plan He provides in the Scriptures. Probably you know some people who need those answers.

When I read stories about marriages that have been saved or revived, I often notice that someone in that couple's life was courageous enough to step in and offer help. Perhaps a listening ear and a wise word of exhortation. Or an invitation to attend a Weekend to Remember® marriage conference or a HomeBuilders Couples Series® group.

In your family, in your church, and in your neighborhood there are people who are searching desperately for help. You can look at this as an overwhelming problem, or a tremendous opportunity."

We attended a Weekend to Remember last October and while we have a good relationship and strong marriage commitment, it is something I would encourage any couple (new and old alike) to attend. At our meeting the newest married couple was less than 24 hours and the longest married couple was 55 years! It helped us to understand where the other is coming from a little more, what God expects of us in our relationship and so much more! I reference my session binder where we had fill in the blank answers and homework and "making it personal" couple and individual activities to accomplish throughout the weekend. One of the things I learned there that I still think of almost daily is that when you are have a discussion it is best to meet fact with fact and emotion with emotion. My Handsome is a very factual person and I am an emotional person...he has learned that when I am struggling I do not want to hear all the facts about how to fix whatever the problem may be, but I need tender love and care (ex. hugs, kind understanding.) That turns around, when he is struggling with something I cannot get all emotional...I have to deal in facts (ex. instead of crying, have actual reasons for why that upsets me.) One of the best tools that I could ever have been equiped with! Wish I would have gotten it before 7 years of marriage!

If you know of a Weekend Remember retreat being help in your area, I highly recommend you to attend! It will be well worth your time and investment!

But as for the google for marriage...I would suggest going to the Bible and seeing what God has to say about the troubles in your marriage. Dr. Google isn't likely to give you Biblical advise in that department!

Love Your Heart by Tim McGraw

2010-02-19T12:07:00.000-07:00

So I have mentioned that I was going to be doing some reading and reviewing for BookSneeze and I received the first book in the mail on Wednesday and LOVE it! "Love Your Heart" is a great book! I read it to my 3 year olds and they thought it was great how much the Daddy loves his little Princess!

I think that the book does a great job of showing what kind of a connection a father/daughter team really has. As the pages turned coming closer and closer to the end I could never have imagined what the REAL lesson was going to be! When little Katie offers to help her friend and put her own desires behind that of her friend it teaches a lesson that some many children (and adults alike) miss these days, kindness. A selfless act is something I never tire of teaching to my little ones. I read the book to my daycare the next day and they all enjoyed it! A hit for sure, one my daughter has asked me to, "read me to it Mama" many times since and it has only been two days!

My opinion of the book is a must have for anyone that sees the special bond between Daddys and daughters! But as my son says, "It isn't just for girls, Mama! Boys can read this one too because we need to be good Daddy's some day!"

Pick this one up! And check out BookSneeze!

MckGiveaways are here!

2010-02-12T12:43:00.000-07:00

Over at MckGiveaways they are giving away a great Kelly Moore camera/diaper/catch all bag that looks amazing I have entered and would LOVE to win...go check it out here! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on the post!

Music

2010-02-11T15:36:00.000-07:00

I know I have been talking alot about music lately, but seriously....what better way to prepare your heart for God than with some good music full of scripturally based words?!?!? I LOVE music and have music going most of the day (when MickyMouseClubhouse and HandyManny are over.) It is so much fun to see all the little Pumpkins Running around the house singing and dancing to praise and worship music.

One day I do hope to be serving our Lord full time again...whatever capacity that may be I know music will go with us! I was thinking the other day about what happened if we were to loose our CD collection...it is full of so many different types of CDs from very traditional hymns to more comtemporary and some Southern Gospel thrown in there. I am thankful for music and all that it does for a person...it really can take you up or down, so what kind of music do you choose? Right now I hearing, "Cuz Jesus I am so in love with You" sung...hopefully that can be sung out of the depths of my heart every single day! And right on to "We fall down and lay our crowns at the feet of Jesus." WOW! Just start really listening to the music you have in your home and if like me, it is for extra noise to drown out the REAL noise...re-evaluate, even if you are not paying attention the little ears in your home are and we have decided to play 99% Christian music (I do still have to keep a few of my sappy love songs around for the times when I might need a reminder for how much I love my hubby ~not because of him, but because I usually need an attitude adjustment! ;-)

Anyway, just a random thought that popped into my head after hearing my 3 year old daughter as she was cleaning up singing along to "Rock of Ages."

Something along this line is the favorite songs of my kiddos...right now the Princess is loving "Every Move I Make" commonly known as "The WOOHOO Song" in our house...."Every move I make I make in you you make me move Jesus...every step I take I take in you you are my way WOOHOO"

My BooBear loves "Today is the Day" and can sing the entire thing without music (when he wants to...he is three ya know!) In the mornings it is common to hear him sitting in his bed bursting at the top of his lungs "TODAY IS THE DAY YOU HAVE MADE I WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT OhOhOh OhOhOh"

Before we moved here I cared for a little 3 year old boy that ran around singing "Man, I feel like a woman" and that was before we had our own kids. But at that point I realized that it really is about what you as parents put into your kids' brains that helps mold them to be who they will be...and I would love for all of my children to grow up loving God and serving Him too!

People

2010-02-10T10:04:00.000-07:00

So, if you know me IRL you know that there were many trials that we faced in the middle of our marriage (almost 7 1/2 years) and many of those trials came about because we didn't fit into a certain mold that other people believed Christians should be. The purpose of this blog is still not completely clear to me, but it seems that it is my {just have to get it off my chest} kind of blog!

Well these last few weeks have been those of trying to seek and hear God. I believe we are on the right track, but it seems that every time something good is coming around one of the above mentioned people step out from the past and lash out. Or maybe it just seems that way, my husband preached an AWESOME message on Sunday. He gets to preach every once in a while at our church to give the pastor a break or while he is away, but this message seemed to be exactly what was heavy on my heart the last while!

It was titled Success is Loving! He talked about how Peter denied the Lord, he said that he didn't even know "the man." We all know that Jesus heard all of this. I liked how my husband said that "the meeting of their eyes has to be one of the most painful exchanges in human experience." After this Peter wept bitterly the Bible says.

He then went on to talk of when the Lord said, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" Speaking of the other disciples. Peter responded "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." But Jesus had asked him if he had the agape (selfless unconditional spiritual) love and Peter responded with Philia (a friendship affectionate type) love.

Jesus asked him again with the agape and Peter again answered with the Philia. Then Jesus goes on to ask him a third time, but this time he did ask if he had the Philia (friendship) type love for him. Peter then aswered but saying, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Speaking of the Philia love!

This started with three questions followed by three denials and come to a point where there were three questions from Jesus and three times that Peter could tell Him of the love he had for Him!

Deuteronomy 6:4-5 says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your stregnth."

It is possible to do most anything without loving God, and some may not even know. Your heart is only completely known by you and God. You can pastor, work, teach Sunday School, work on a bus route, or be a missionary without loving God. But we need to get our priorities back in order and put loving God back on top of service to Him!

My husband also said on Sunday, "Realizing that loving God is the ground of all true success is truly liberating." And he left us with three ingredients to loving God!

#1~An absolute honesty regarding our love for God.
#2~Cultivate earnestly the conscious inner ability to love Him while we serve Him.
#3~Spend special time with Him.

I was touched by this message. Loving God is the most important thing and it is really what my husband and I try to base our every decision around! Have we failed, YES....will we fail again, YES! But that doesn't mean we aren't Christian, it just means we are sinful humans like everyone else.

The praise team followed this up by singing "Here I Am":

"Something in my heart

Burning like a fire

I want to live for You

Need Your touch right now

Fill me with Your power

Power to live for You my God

I will not be moved

I will stand for You

I will go where You send me

Jesus take me now I am Yours

I am Yours

Lay my life on the altar

Everything I give to You alone

Here I am

Here I am

Here I am send me"

Which seemed so perfect, but they didn't know what he was preaching and he didn't know what they were singing! I couldn't control my tears as we sang that song....it was like someone had stabbed a hole in my heart so that every bit of emotion rolled out through the words of this song! It will be interesting to see what God does. I believe that there are amazing things going to happen...soon, and we will be here ready and waiting! But until then, our day to day life is to love and serve Him!

Hope this was as much of an encouragement to you as it was to me! Maybe this is more just a reminder for me before the details esacpe my mind! But I have now realized that the people that think we are not Christian because of how we dress, or decisions we have made really do not matter. What matters is that we love God with everything in us and that each decision we have made we have made through prayer and following God! That is how we plan to continue!

How Deep The Father's Love For Us

2010-02-05T11:24:00.000-07:00

I am a HUGE fan of songs that not only worship, but also can speak to the heart and get ahold of a heart issue! The song "How Deep the Father's Love For Us" has been one of my favorites (I know I have MANY) of them...but with Valentines Day rolling around the corner I think it is important to remember what love is the purest of all...that is God's love for us! Enjoy the lyrics and I will see what I can do to get the music to auto play so you can hear it! LOVE.THIS.SONG!

How deep the Father's love for us,

How vast beyond all measure

That He should give His only Son

To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,

The Father turns His face away

As wounds which mar the chosen One,

Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,

My sin upon His shoulders

Ashamed I hear my mocing voice,

Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that helf Him there

Until it was accomplished

His dying breath has brought me life

I knoww that it is finished

I will not boast in anything

No gifts, no power, no wisdom

But I will boast inJesus Christ

His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?

I cannot give an answer

But this I know with all my heart

His wounds have paid my ransom

(REPEAT)

If you would be interested in a CD with this song on it the Steve Pettie Evangelistic Team has a great one called "Jesus, My Lord, My God, My All" and you can get it here!

BookSneeze

2010-02-02T15:23:00.000-07:00

I am really excited, I heard about this sight from another blogger...terrible but cannot remember which one to link you up this time...but I filled out the application this morning and they accepted it. So I was able to go back to their website and choose which book I wanted to review first from their available list....

I will be receiving...

...in the mail shortly

Once I get it look for my review!

Hey and you can go here if you are a blogger and join the fun too!

7.5 inches!

2010-01-20T21:55:00.000-07:00

So I am pretty excited! At the official weigh in tonight I was down 14 pounds (my 16.6 is morning weight) and after measuring I have 7.5 inches less to my body! It may not seem like much to some of you...but to me it is huge! PCOS really took a good chunk of the last few years away from me in some way, shape, or form and this is about fighting back and finally getting victory instead of constant defeat!

I shall march on!

Music!

2010-01-16T23:08:00.000-07:00

There is nothing like a good worship song to get your heart and mind ready for church! Sometimes we let the business of the day or yuckiness of the week get us down...but then music can turn you right around! Sometimes music can even be convicting! There is a Casting Crowns song "If We Are The Body" that talks about what the Body of Christ should be doing and often is not! You really think about those words and if you are true to yourself it should be a daggar to the heart!

What are some of your favorite 'make you think' songs? Would love for some of your creepers to come out of the woodwork and leave some comments so lets get started with this!

***I know you readers are out there! This blog hasn't been around too long and the numbers keep going out!

Moms of Mulitples in the Media

2010-01-15T16:20:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed that for several years that the newest MUST HAVE addition to the Celeberty lifestyle isn't a new purse or pair of heels? In fact it would seem that these days the famous people that so many follow just keep having/adopting children! We see pictures of mother's out at the park holding 2 tiny babies and not being very careful...almost dropping one of them! We see other mother's seemingly using their children to make mucho dinero while they travel around the country for obligations and leave the children at home with nannies or what have you, but it just kind of gets under my skin. It is no deep secret to those that know me that I LOVE the Dugg.ar F.amily and watch whenever I get a chance. You see the difference I see between these other infamous Mother's/Families and the Dugg.ar is what their lives are based around. While many of them are fame and fortune I see the D's as a family that bases their lives around God and His Word and what His plan for their lives would be. Granted, they are {I am sure} making money of off the show but I know so many times I have heard them talk about having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and fully trusting in Him! You see, while they are NOT a missionary family, what a ministry it is that .TLC. has allowed this family into the homes of many Americans weekly to publicly put forth the Ds faith in God. You see them trust, you hear them pray, talk about salvation, you witness them having devotions, but one of the biggest things in my book is that you see them live the life they preach. How many people can honestly say they do that? I also love how each of the children down to the littlest ones during the interviews will most of the time talk about a blessing from God...weather it be their thrifty shoes or their indoor playground. That family has taught their children to work, to play, and to respect authority...but most importantly they are instilling into each of their children's lives the importance of living for, serving, and trusting God in every single moment of their earthly life!

I applaude you Dugg.ar F.amily! Keep up the great work, I will watch your show as long as it is on air and as long and re-runs continue! Keep showing people that you can build your life around faith in God! I have watched and learned many things from your show...and read your book, several times! Thank you for putting something worth watching on the TV!

Australia Hillsongs - Let The Peace Of God Reign Lyrics

2010-01-12T07:52:00.000-07:00

This song was sung last week at church and the words have just been rolling through my head over and over again since!

*You may want to pause the playlist at the bottom*

Father of life draw me closer

Lord, my heart is set on you

Let me run the race of time

With you life unfolding mine

And let the peace of God

Let it reign

Oh Holy Spirit you're my comfort

Strengthen me hold my head up high

And I stand upon your truth

Bringing glory unto you

And let the peace of God

Let it reign

(Chorus)

Oh Lord I hunger for more of you

Rise up within me let me know your truth

Oh Holy Spirit, saturate my soul

And let the life of God

Fill me now

Let your healing power

Breathe life and make me whole

And the peace of God

Let it reign

Oh Holy Spirit you're my comfort

Strengthen me hold my head up high

And I stand upon your truth

Bringing glory unto you

And let the peace of God

Let it reign

(Repeat chorus twice)

And let the life of God

Fill me now

Let your healing power

Breathe life and make me whole

And the peace of God

Let it reign

(repeat)

The Ideal Protein Diet

2010-01-04T19:42:00.000-07:00

So I started the Ideal.Protein.Diet on January 1st 2010 and I am already very excited about it! I have my weight loss ticker up on the top of this blog now to keep that in front of my face on a daily basis! I started at 212 and this morning the scale weighed me in at 204.5! This is a diet that does help you loose your weight rather quickly but in a healthy manor! I have around 80 lbs I am looking to loose to get me back to where I was in high school. But the weight loss isn't even the most exciting part of it! I have energy, a pretty good amount of it and I have not had excess energy for a LONG time! This diet works for ladies with PCOS VERY well! Seriously...the 7.5 lbs that are gone already are lbs I had been trying to shed in the gym since July! It helps the body to stop overproducing insolin (a PCOS problem) and get your innerds to start working the way they should! I look forward to actually attaining my goal in short order!

I am excited...and on that note, I need to go make my Pina Colada smoothie so it can be gone by 8!

Seriously...can we all just figured it out?!?!?

2009-12-24T03:28:00.000-07:00

I have one little pet peeve (or a few more than that) and that is if you have some beef with me or my family please do not run around 'seeking advise' {aka ~ gossiping} to every tom.dick.n.harry before even mentioning it to us. Or my personal favorite, putting it on the 'Prayer List' all in the name of being little kindergarteners and sharing YOUR dirty laundry to make someone else look like less of a person!

Bottom line, if you are having issues GO TO THE PERSON WITH WHOM THE ISSUES ARE and get them taken care of, seriously...this is not rocket science people! GGGrrrr...let's all work at being Christ-like and sharing the Gosspel for Eternity. Do we not realize that division between Believers only pushes those we are trying to reach away?

PS~ and please do not send someone else to do your dirty work for you!

Honesty

2009-12-11T10:25:00.000-07:00

So, really? Is it so terribly difficult for people to be honest with you? My husband and I strive daily to be who we are and say what we mean. It does seem that might be offensive to some people, seeings how we are Christians and wish people a Merry Christmas and things of that nature. But I see it every where...the lies I mean...people not being truthful about what their business makes, people not being truthful to their spouse/significant other (in my mind parents should be two people that have been married and are living the life God intended one man and one woman!) about money and things of that nature.

The sad thing is that you even run into lies and 'misunderstandings' in church. That break my heart, but in my flesh it makes me mad! A fellow believer should be one you can trust, one that you can go to if you are struggling with anything in life. It does seem more and more difficult to find someone that will be honest with you 100% off the time.

My husband and I are fortunate enough to have friends, a married couple, with whom we really honestly could share anything and they with us. It is sad to only have one 'set' of friends like that, but you know what...we are thankful for them! I teased the wife this summer about how they cannot ever go anywhere because we need them in the nursing home playing pinochle with us!

So, to all who read this please take into consideration trying to be honest throughout today...and if you want to take it a step farther lets go for an entire week. It really isn't difficult, and once you get to the point of being an honest person you sleep much better at night!

"Never Fear" lyrics...

2009-12-10T01:46:00.000-07:00

Over a month ago I promised the lyrics to a great song and now I am following through on that promise....sorry it is a little late!

~Never Fear~

Just a precious jewel from God

Loaned to us awhile,

Though we thought of you as ours,

We always knew you were God's child.

He kept you here on earth

So your beauty here could shine,

But He's chosen to take you Home with Him

In His perfect time.

That precious jewel shines in Heaven now

Much brighter and more clear.

God's perfect and more clear.

God's perfect plan has been fulfilled,

And we must never fear.

{Chorus}

Never fear, trust in God

Though you don't understand;

He'll help you through by leading you

With His tender loving hand.

Never fear, trust in God,

He'll be your faithful guide.

He'll walk with you through trials of life,

He is ever by your side.

A great song!

Hello....a post, no really....a REAL post!

2009-12-09T13:39:00.000-07:00

I realize that my blogging has really gone away in the last few months...and that somewhat bothers me and it somewhat didn't! Until I realized that my VENTING wasn't getting out...

I have been torn between stopping all together because I really do not want people to know me THAT well and really starting to log my life completely here...

Maybe it is time for me to really embrace the inner me, the Michelle Duggar, the Mama that wants to have to drive a BUS! Well, maybe 18 kids isn't for everyone...but you know what? If it were an option I wouldn't say no, in fact it would be a blessing.

I know, I know...our fundraiser this summer showed me that many people think that I am being selfish and that I have already 'stolen' two children from deserving mothers and wonder why I would want to take more children away. Well that isn't at all how I feel about adoption and they are not going to stop me from trying my hardest to bring home Baby E or Baby O! We are currently in a process of getting all of our debt paid off (exept our home) in the next 4 1/2 years and you better believe that at that point if we have not already we will be signing paperwork with our marvelous adoption agency! So our fundraiser was a flop, well not completely...we raised $230 of our $9000 goal! Ultimately we are needing around $25000 for our adoption, but if we can get 9-10k we could contract! It will take a miracle for us to be able to come up with that kind of cash before the 4.5 years is up...but God can do anything and His timing is most important.

Adoption is what is on my heart and what is on my mind most days....I love my little peanuts, and they would love a brother and a sister {so would their Mama!}

HP TouchSmart giveaway at MckMama

2009-12-09T13:25:00.000-07:00

MckMama is giving away a GREAT HP TouchSmart 600 and you should check out the contest on her blog! I am entered...are you?

Some excitement...

2009-12-02T14:34:00.000-07:00

So, maybe some break through in this terrible PCOS weight battle. Not at the moment, but once I scrounge up $350 to get started on the Ideal.Protein Diet. A friend was kind enough to pass along some information to me and it is healthy and safe, and the people that work with you get PCOS and understand what the battles are. Like working out faithfully at the gym for half a year now and GAINING 12 pounds! My husband put it best, he told me that he thinks I could eat nothing for a month and still gain weight...oh the wonderful blessing of PCOS! I am ready to be healthy, I am ready to not look like I could be pregnant, I am ready to not have my second child figure I have a baby in my tummy (my first child went there last night), I am ready to be the pretty person that my husband married 7 years ago....though he loves me the way that I am. Goal: get some money saved up and start no later than February 1st 2010. Sounds like if you have some will power it can work pretty quickly for a person...I am game, I AM GAME! Bring it!

New Movie!

2009-11-16T09:54:00.000-07:00

I do not have any major details but as some of you may or may not know we are big fans of Sherwood Pictures that have brought three FINE movies to us (Flywheel, Facing the Giants, and Fireproof) so it is no surprise when I found out last night that #4 is in the works! Courageous the Movie...details at this point are slim, but I will be following this and looking forward to the chance to see it!

Our Little Angels

2009-11-09T18:40:00.000-07:00

Due to a few different reasons, I have been thinking of our little angels...both the ones that are here with us and the four that are in heaven with God. And when I get to thinking of the four precious lives that were with me for 6-8 weeks each and the impact they have had on the rest of my life I go back to a certain CD that helped me cope with the hard times after each of them were called to heaven. The CD is called 'From Heaven With Love' by the Hooker.Family. This is a great Christian family with six daughters that sing very beautifully together! The CD itseld was made in memory of two children that passed away in a train wreck and another that passed away in a car accident.

This is what the back of the CD says:

'When tragedies occur in our lives, it is hard not to question, 'Why Lord?' This is especially true when tragedy involves the Home-going of a precious child. Recently, God took RL (10) and LL (8) Home with Him via a train wreck in Illinois. They were the children of dear friends of ours, M&CL, from Tennessee. Both girls had received assurance of their salvation from their parents just a few weeks before the accident. It has been a great source of comfort to them to know their children were saved. Within a week's time of the train accident, our preacher lost his grandson JDH (5) in a car accident. Our church was heartbroken for his parents, D&BH, and the H family. Both sets of the children's parents have exhibited unbelievable strength, courage and faith, in spite of exruciating pain. To them and all who have ever lost a little one, we dedicate this tape. The poem, From Heaven With Love, and the two songs, The Touch of Angels and Never Fear, were written especially for them. How about you, dear reader? If tragedy were to occur to you or someone you love, do you know where you or your loved one would spend eternity? There are verses from the Bible included on the inside of this recording that can help you know." It ends with the verse Hebrews 13:2, "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertaied angels unawares."

The songs are each just wonderful songs to have!

But the two songs they speak of are FANTASTIC!

"From Heaven With Love" is spoken by a young girl:

Mama, Daddy, don't cry for me
I'm not so far away.
I'm having so much fun, you see,
All I do is play.
The streets are of the purest gold,
Amazing just to see.
And the gates of Heaven are of pearl;
Hard to climb - even for me!

There's a stream of crystal and water.
I love to splash around.
Only, Mom, there's no snakes or worms to dig,
Not a spider to be found!
I got to sit with Jesus,
On His very knee!
I didn't burp or squirm too much,
You'd have been so proud of me.

Don't worry 'bout my clothes either,
They do a trick up here that's neat.
Our clothes don't get dirty or full of holes
And the shoes grow with our feet!
There's lots of other boys and girls
For me to have to play.
So I'm not lonely, not a bit,
And, oh Dad, by the way,
Since there is no night here
I don't get scared at all.
I can't look up and see the shadow
Of a monster on my wall.
And I get to help groom horses
Jesus has up here in stalls.
He says we'll get to ride them
When the angel Garbriel calls.

So, you see, you shouldn't worry
Or cry or be so sad
If you can pretend that I'm at camp
I know you will be glad.
I love it here! It's an awesome place!
There's so much to see and do.
I'd like to stay and not come home
If that's okay with you.

Tell everyone I love them,
Can't wait 'til you all get here.
'Cause Heaven is a real neat place
I sure am glad I'm here.

And then is goes into the song, "Touch of Angels"

♫Sometimes God lets us see a bit of Heaven't shore,
By sending little angels down to fill our lives with joy.
Innocent laughter, smiling eyes,
The touch of cherub hands,
Unmarred faith, unwavering love,
Untainted trust that firmly stands.

Little angels missed so much
Your message still was clear,
Heaven't real and I'll be there
One day to share it, dears.
So, until we meet again,
I'll tell everyone I know
How we were touched by angels
And the path to Heaven show

Though not ours on earth for very long, Jesus we did see.
And Heaven is a sweeter place, than e're it used to be.
We're more caring, loveing too,
Because of your sweet lives.
We've learned to live beyond ourselves
And you are the reason why.

Jesus, tell my babies please, their lives were not in vain.
For they showed us how to love you more
And bear sweet sorrow's pain.
I'll never take another day for granted, oh you see,
For a day with a loved one is a gift
More Precious now to me.♫

It is amazing. You can get the CD here...if you know someone who has been babylost or you yourself...this is a great way to be reminded that God is taking care and knows what is best!

Tomorrow: "Never Fear!"

Today

2009-10-31T00:01:00.002-06:00

Many people have asked why we do not celebrate or take part in anything to do with H.alloween. Not even a pumpkin with a face on it! Well, I read a blog today that really puts it the best and you can check it out here.

And basically, the bottom line has to do with that the day has so much to do with things that are not of God. It is a day that Satan uses innocent looking pumpkins and cute little ghosts to run free...it is also a day that has close ties to witch craft and S.atanic worship. While and I am not as well versed or studied as Mrs.Fink is, I do know that those types of things are what I personally want to stear clear of and I also do not want to raise my children in it either. I appreciate my husbands firm stand in this area...and if you really do want to understand better...please check out this blog.

May you prayerfully consider if this is truely something that a born again Christian needs to be a part of...

My husbands blog!

2009-10-29T08:30:00.000-06:00

My husband had mentioned a while back that he was interested in having a blog of his own...so yesterday I decided to set one up for him since he just had never gotten around to it! Our family has recently adopted a new motto, if you will, in our qwest to serve God with everything and that motto is:

"No Reserve, No Retreat, No Regrets" Which actually is a quote out of the Bible of William Borden who died at the age of 25 serving God with his life. You can read more about him here.

But my husbands blog is his own, but it is noreserveretreatorregrets.blogspot.com! You should go check it out, and if you feel so inclined add it to your RSS feed! Who knows how often there will be something there, but I do hope it to be a way that he can share what I believe to be one of the most godly minds/hearts I have personally met. I have not met a man who desires to serve God more than my husband, and it doesn't matter what the cost. I am blessed beyond measure to have him as my spouse!

Daycare in Elmira, New York

2009-10-28T11:42:00.000-06:00

If anyone is looking for a good in home daycare in Elmira, New York go and check out my friend Joy's blog for information. Her 'Bundles of Joy Daycare' would be a great place for your child!

October 15th ~ Pregnancy & Infant Loss Remembrance Day

2009-10-15T16:19:00.002-06:00

Today is a day that we are to remember what some try to forget, a day that those of us to desperately want to be parents pain for. Today is a day to nationally remember those who have miscarried and lost children. I have a book that came in the mail to me after one of our miscarriages...I still have no idea who it came from! But there are several things in it that still stick with me!

"Grief, by definition, is painful-emotionally and spiritually. It is especially painful when associated with the loss of a baby through miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, stillbirth, or newborn death. We may face more intense feelings and deeper doubts in these circumstances than we have ever experienced before."

"Accepting what cannot be changed is possible when God is the foundation of our lives. But even that firm foundation can be shaken by the death of a baby."

"Your baby is gone. No one can change this fact. Nothing can bring your baby back. This is the heartbreak of miscarriage. You were looking forward to being this child's parent. You were storing up love, ready to lavish it on this new child. You were ready to welcome her into your life and to cherish her with the love only a parent can give. Suddenly, before you even had a chance to really hold your baby, she slipped beyond your grasp. Now, all your expectations and hopes for this child are gone, and all your preparations seem pointless."

"One mother described her feelings after her miscarriage by recalling an incident that happened when she and her husband were newlyweds. While swimming in a river, her wedding ring slipped off into the swift current. Despite their frantic searching, her ring was gone forever. She felt sickened, disappointed, and inconsolable. She valued her wedding ring tremendously. She blamed her own carelessness. Her husband tried to comfort her by offering to replace it. He meant well, but she became angry. It was her ring, and it was gone. To her, there was no replacement for the ring that symbolized their love and commitment. The loss of this intimate part of her life was the closet she could come to describing her anguish after her miscarriage."

"Slow down and take a few quiet moments to consider what is happening to you and how you can handle the events and emotions flooding you right now. The, after this quiet time, you can make decisions and take the appropriate actions."

These are just little nuggets from the small book, "When Your Baby Dies ~ Through Miscarriage or Stillbirth" by Louis A. Gamino & Ann Taylor Cooney

Weekend to Remember

2009-10-12T14:25:00.002-06:00

So this past weekend my husband and I were able to attend our first ever Weekend.To.Remember! Let me tell you, anyone that has not done this before SHOULD do it right away! We had three speakers at the conference: Greg.Speck, and Doug&Patti.Daily...each of them were great speakers and really brought out some serious issues in marriage and how to achieve oneness...no matter what stage of your marriage you are in!

They break the conference into 10 sessions, 9 or them are spent together as a couple and session 8 is broken into one session for men and another for women. This is mostly based around how to have a godly relationship with your spouse, but it does offer up ideas for parenting as well (very few in comparison to the marriage.) The best thing about it is that it is all about 'owning YOUR stuff!' So if you do choose to go to one please know you are not going to go and get your spouse fixed up and you will just sit their while THEY change...

My husband and I went with a very good attitude, in fact on the way there it was a longer trip than expected due to bad weather and I told him, "I am kind of nervous" He asked why and I told him, "because I am going to find out all the things I am doing wrong." You know what, I did see many areas I needed to improve...but it is presented in such a none offensive way that I walked away actually thinking I had a chance! We are excited to work on the things that we recognized as needing attention and we look forward to what God has in store for us in the future!

This is definitely something that we will do again sometime...as a 'refresher' course. I once heard someone say that we spend months and months preparing for our wedding day, but very few hours actually preparing for marriage. This Weekend.To.Remember is just that, helping you get the tools that you need to make your marriage a success!

Check one out! We had people from every stage of wedded bliss there...some engaged couples, a newly married (as in THAT day), some that had been married for a matter of weeks, and some that were married as long as 38 years! There were also happily married couples there, along with couples that came as a last resort before divorce! So really...no matter where your marriage falls, it is for YOU!

LOVE this song!

2009-10-08T07:05:00.000-06:00

"Famous One"
~Chris Tomlin~

You are the Lord
The famous one
Famous one
Great is your name
In all the earth
The heavens declare
You're glorious, glorious
Great is your fame
Beyond the earth

You are the Lord
The famous one
Famous one
Great is your name
In all the earth
The heavens declare
You're glorious, glorious
Great is your fame
Beyond the earth

And for all you've done
And yet to do
With every breath
I'm praising you
Desire of nations
And every heart
You alone are God
You alone are God

You are the Lord
The famous one
The famous one
Great is your name
In all the earth
The heavens declare
You're glorious, glorious
Great is your fame
Beyond the earth

The morning star
Is shining through
And every eye
Is watching you
Revealed by nature
And miracles
You are beautiful
You are beautiful

You are the Lord
The famous one
Famous one
Great is your name
In all the earth
The heavens declare
You're glorious, glorious
Great is your fame
Beyond the earth

Are you kidding me???

2009-10-04T01:45:00.002-06:00

So we are praying so hard for our E & O to come home...A & E are at 3 years (both adopted) and we cannot imagine loving any child more than we love them! My heart just breaks for this child "D" and the fact that after 18 months with a family he is being GIVEN UP! Poor child, I don't know what went wrong here but PLEASE know that "D" has done nothing in his 18 short months on earth to deserve being left by a road and then adopted into a 'FOREVER FAMILY' just to be given up because SHE DIDN'T BOND with the child. Seriously?!?

You can read the story here....what is this world coming to?

Out of the mouth of Princess

2009-09-25T02:47:00.000-06:00

So for the first time at the Patch (my daycare) we have kiddos in school. We actually have two that started kindergarden and both seem to be loving it! Well little 2 year old J asked my 2 year old Princess where his sissy was. My Princess responded by saying, "she is at the GARDEN shop!" As in kinderGARDEN!

Too cute!

GAP contest

2009-09-24T10:04:00.002-06:00

Please vote for Ethan & Ada Grace in the Gap casting call here {vote for us} you can search me but member name ashleyjene....you can vote once a day per child through November 17th....the leader is at 265 votes already E has 2 and AG has 2...please help us out!

Stealing Money~

2009-09-23T13:00:00.002-06:00

This is going to be a gripe post...

I work HARD for my money...caring for children is very rewarding and many times a ton of fun...but it is hard work! My husband works VERY hard for his money...yesterday he spent a good part of the morning bent over in a trench pulling wires and putting pipes together. When you take our money combined (we have a combined checking account and there really is no his money/my money...it is all OURS!)

But there are companies out there preying on those of us that are stand up people and taking our money away. It used to be a big deal to get a cusotmer service workers name & ID number now they throw them at you without even asking for it. The reason? Big companies have no customer service and they will have some reason that the lie that their cus.rep. gave doesn't matter, your verbal agreement isn't backed up by our company policies...GGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRR!

This is Wednesday, every day this week I have had to battle people for money that was taken out of our account and what their company policy says vs what their cus.rep told us and try to get 5 different charges in 5 different types of situations returned.

#1 & 2 ~ We signed up for frontier.airlines cards while on our trip to Chicago last year for the fact that we got 40000 free miles, after a year of having the card we were charged $49 a piece for an annual fee ($98 total)....we were told that we signed up for a annual fee free card! We paid it (lest we get interest on it too!) and I called to cancel the card. The lady said "well mam, if you would like to keep the card I can refund the charge you are on the fee free program!" I said that would be great...we only use them in emergency situations anyway and do not carry a balance at all! So that was the end of the conversation because she couldn't help me with my husband account. He called and got someone completely different but asked to have the fee refunded and to make sure that he was on the fee free program so this didn't happen again! Much to our suprise the women said he wasn't eligable and that would not be possible. If you are going to have a card you are going to have to pay the consequenses! We battled for over an hour before I finally was able to get the fee refunded!

#3 ~ a charge came onto our check card from a MAGPROSUSA in the amount of $75 and we had no idea where it came from. They put up a {small} fight at first but said the refunded the money but it may take 2 business cycles to show up...that means they get my $75 for 60 days while I sit there needing that money to put food on the table! We are still waiting!

#4 ~ I had looked into bargain network to see about the really cheap houses in forclosure...I fell for their free 30 day trial and was told by Natasha #154425 that the was all I was signed up for and the monthly fee of around $60 would not be charged to my account...WELL here comes a charge of $59.80! To make matters worse, when I called to rectify the situation they transferred me to supervisor Melvin #154055 who graciously undertood where I was coming from and said our company would like to refund you $29 for the misunderstanding...if I am not mistaken that is about $30.80 short! When pressing issue that it was not an authorized withdrawl they said I am sorry but this is company policy and it is all that we can do. You can write 9500 W Dodge RD Omaha NE 68114 to further take matters into your own hands. I asked to speak to someone higher up and they said it was impossible...apparently Melvin is the owner of the company! He hung up on me, so I called back...got dear Melvin again...who hung up on me AGAIN! So I called back..got a different sup that wouldn't said her # more than once and I didn't get it all down the first time...who also hung up on me! That is where it stands...

#5 ~ The breate of fresh air. A $69.95 charge shows up on my account from InvesterSparks 01 or something like that. Apparently by using the bargainnetwork site you authorize these people to charge your account...NOT EVER STATED BY ANYONE! However, upon calling them (you have to get their phone number from the bargain network people) I got a VERY {for real he was a peach!} Jordan # 23779 and said he was sorry for the inconveinience and the refund would show up in 2-4 business days. I thanked him 5 times for being so kind and actually dealing with me!

So in 2 of the situations we are still fighting for our money back and in three of them it turned out okay...but when you have $302.75 STOLEN out of your checking account in a weeks time it hurts...and overdraft fees add up...heres to hopin that the other ones show up soon!

God is Good!

2009-08-30T17:17:00.002-06:00

I just have to say that it is incredible how God works. It seems that when you least expect it He sneaks up on you and has this amazing plan all in order that you could not have put together better if you tried! That being said, our plan is still in the works. But, there are so many things that are coming together and surprizing details that 'pop' up....it is AMAZING~which seems like a terrible understatement at this point.

But with all of this we need to pray and then pray some more. There are many details that are lining up, but still many details that need to be worked out and we covet your prayers. God knows the answer, and I tend to get impatient...but His timing is the best and that is what needs to come around!

Customer Service

2009-08-19T12:58:00.002-06:00

So this is a big *rant* post...customer service to me is worth much more than a good deal. Unfortunately today, with all of these big corporate owned businesses customer service isn't a huge need for the company...they will get your money whether they are good to you or not and if they don't get my money they will get someone else's!

We had a terrible experience with AWFUL customer service at a hotel recently that just makes me sad to think that we live in this country with this kind of people 'serving' us!

We stayed at a hotel in a tourist town and received a good price for a nice room...nice meaning it could accommodate the 6 of us very well...not meaning exceptionally clean or modern or something to that affect! We got into the room Friday evening around 7:15 and decided it would maybe be best to go swimming since we had all day Saturday to 'be tourists' around town! The pool wasn't anything fancy, but it was nice enough and we enjoyed our chance to let the kiddos swim. We went up to the room and decided to go for a night stroll on the 'boardwalk' in town. It was a beautiful evening. We arrived back into our room at 10:00 and turned on the TV...we had 3 or 4 channels. Handsome went to the front desk to ask what we needed to do to make it work (thinking there was a button or something) and he was treated very rudely and told that in fact the satellite had been out since the last storm...which was before we reserved the room...and no one felt the need to let us know that when the reservation was made OR when we checked it. While he was waiting there the woman turned to the guy behind the desk and said she was tired of the walking noise from room #205 and wanted him to call and fake a noise complaint...#205 happened to my our room number and my husband (who she didn't know) happened to be able to hear this. He came up stairs to check and see if we had received a call and immediately returned to the front desk...long story short she was caught and scared, she actually called the manager on his personal cell and talked to him...but after talking to him her attitude returned and my husband was yelled at! He lined up a time to chat with the manager in the morning before check out.

That morning we all went down about an hour and a half before actual check out (they didn't have continental breakfast and 2 two year olds are hungry in the morning!) We were able to 'chat' with Chris and he was not so nice either. On an expensive room they first were going to do nothing and they didn't think it was a big deal. We asked to talk to someone with some pull...and he got offended and short. We turned in our room keys with the understanding that we wanted to talk to someone about the kind of service this hotel was providing to its guests and said they had not authorization to charge the card that was used to 'hold' the room at reservation. We had no intentions of not paying, but we wanted to talk to someone to at least hear they were sorry for their staff being so rude and untruthful! They said they would call us after talking to the general manager. When he called about a half hour later he told us that he didn't see the problem and if we were not out of our room in short order we would be double charged! We were already out! We walked back to the hotel and were told that they had charged the card that we told them not to and when we challenged the legality of doing that and asked why we were being treated so terribly after proof of their staff lieing to us he tried to kick us out of the hotel. We asked them to call the cops, he refused...

To make a long story short they ended up refunding the charge on the card, allowing us to pay for it the way we wanted (we were going to split it 3 ways) and gave us $10 off! Never once did they admit that someone screwed up or that their staff had done something wrong...

How rude!

On the plus side...buy all the good.y hair products you could ever want! My daughter uses the classic.goody.barrettes (lots of them) and I cannot find them ANYWHERE around here any more. So I called the company and asked how I could order some and not only did they give me a phone number where I can talk to a REAL person and order how ever much I wanted they sent us two packages of them for the inconvenience! GO GOOD.Y!

Seven Years

2009-08-10T22:33:00.002-06:00

*So you may not think this to be a normal Anniversary post...and you may not even like it...but you don't have to read it if you do not want to!*

So today is our anniversary, EXCITING I know. But the thing is that it wasn't all that exciting or for that matter grand. Not because we aren't OKAY or anything, just because the last year has been so upside down.

You see when you are married to a person for seven year, you all of a sudden do not just figure them out...no, quite opposite actually. Just when you have them figured out they go and change. Sometimes it is a good change that the Holy Spirit has been working and sometimes it isn't such a great change that happens because, well because you have been stomped on too many times and you aren't going to let it happen again.

Enter where I am...I have struggles that are medically fairly difficult to cope with emotionally anyway (thank you extreme PCOS) but throw the junk that we have been through in our face and it is melt down. I don't even know who I am any more. The things I used to love I despise and the things I used to want do not matter any more. This makes it difficult to plan...

I am not gonna lie, the hurts that have come from the church *family* that we have been a part of over the course of our seven years have about killed me...I was once a VERY trusting person and now have a very difficult time buying one word from anyone! Face value seems to mean nothing to anyone any more, and when you {Jason & myself} are who we are no matter what it seems to cause troubles. You see folks just because we do not hang our heads on the ground and mope around because the cards delt to us stink (and we have had some stinky hands handed out) doens't mean that we are okay...doesn't mean that you can take more...and doesn't mean that we are going to just keep going with no trouble.

No that is not the case. I am a real person and I have no shame in hiding who we are. I just ask the courtesy from you that you PLEASE be honest with us and that you PLEASE take us into consideration when making plans that involve us.

So, after seven years we may not have celebrated in a fancy fairy tale manor (we don't have money in our checking account so we couldn't have if we wanted to!) but we do know that while we have seven years under our belt...we have many more to come because we are there for each other. God was too good to us when he put us together...we have the same ideals (mostly, mine include some things that most people never could afford~my poor husband still puts up with me) we have the same beliefs...we both try VERY hard to be who we are and nothing less...we both want to love each other for the rest of our earthly life.

God has plans for my husband...great plans, and I do pray that those plans unfold quickly...because the faster they unfold the faster we can get on to His service! Thank you for the seven years together honey...they have been a rollercoaster, but at the end of the day we are together whether it be at the top just about to fall or at the bottom making the climb...we are side by side and that makes the world a better place!

For those of you that are reading this and feeling something...you need to know that this isn't written with names or faces in mind, but if you are reading it and feeling like you are sinking a little lower in your seat...maybe you have some things that you need to deal with...just sayin'

J.E.N.E.

2009-08-07T15:36:00.002-06:00

So this is going to be a rather random post...maybe a rant post...about several things that are roaming around in my mind that really do not make up enough of a post on their own.

~Read at YOUR own Risk~

*So I don't know what is going on with BLOG.GER lately...when I upload my pictures to my blogs they come up in the <.html.> print or something and not the actual picture...this makes it difficult to rearrange them according to order because all I see is letters and numbers that make no sense. I have found where my picture title is and I use the persons 3 initials and then the date followed by the letter of the alphabet. {Complicated I know} Say your name was Alice Gertrude Hansen and the picture was taken on August 10th 2007 and it was the 5th picture of Alice that day it would be labeled: AGH8-10-07e

Does that help? Anyway, since I have found where the title of the picture is in that mess of code I can have my photo program open and at least put a caption under the picture...but it is more work than when the picture itself was just there. Also, I can no longer 'justify' 'center' or 'right side align' my text any more...what happened to this? And then there is the choosing of 'extra small' 'small' ect. ect. font size and the type of font I want to use is gone too. Anyone know what is going on here? Moving on...

*I have been blogging and reading blogs for about 1 year and 4 months now and in that time my trend of types of blogs I read have changed drastically. I know have a HUGE list of blogs I subscribe to and magically they 'pop up' when there is a new post and I read...SO THANKFUL FOR THE RSS FEED! But my blogs of choice are now of people struggling to become parents...the infertile, adoptive parents in waiting, IVF, IUI, PCOS victim, would do anything to have children blogs. Not because I am a depressive person...but sometimes it is nice to know that you are not alone, and in knowing that you are not alone (having been through a good chunk of that stuff) trying to be some sort of an encouragement to those that are not yet blessed with children. Which brings me to...

*Why is it that just because we have two children that should make me happy and we do not need any more? Seriously, it never ceases to amaze me at the boldness of people that either A) have a quiver full of their own that any time he looked at her she was great with child or B) had their 2 and took care of business so there would be no more children....SERIOUSLY just because I am different and cannot carry children to full term means that I should be limited to 2 and be happy? Now do NOT get me wrong here...I am more than happy that the Lord has blessed me with the two best children in the WORLD that I so do not even deserve...but even they are desiring Baby Emi or Baby Owen to come home SOON! I digress...my heart goes out to the ladies that have been hurt badly this week with miscarriages...MOandWill, Susan, Kate

And then there are these ladies that are doing everything humanly possible to keep their babies in just a little longer taking it one day at a time to be able to hold their precious ones. MiaandPeter and Carrie and this lady our prayers are with you!

If you have been there before or are just an encouraging type person check them all out and leave an uplifting note...

*So there you have it, there are so many more things rolling around in my mind, but it is late and we just had a great time this evening with some GREAT friends....so will save some for later!

Happy weekend!

What August 1st means to me...

2009-08-01T22:15:00.004-06:00

Today is a wonderful blessed day! Today was the 1 year mark from the day that we were able to finalize our Boo Boo's adoption! We celebrated family style.

We woke up and brought the kids into our bed for some Saturday morning cartoons...I love it when we are able to start out a little lazy on Saturdays! We then got the kiddos breakfast, gave them a bath, got ourselves ready and gave Boo is gift....his very own smell good like Daddys!

After that we went to the rest-a-want of his choice (it just happens to also be Mommy's favorite!) Then Daddy took Boo on their first father/son hike, we had just gotten one of those hiking backpacks for kids to ride in and they enjoyed their time together...even though they ended up in the middle of several rattle noises (I would have freaked...those snakes scare me silly!) Apparently Boo said his famous, "wats dat?" and lifted his feet up a little higher! They were gone about 2 hours and the Princess and I enjoyed some shopping and chatting with a friend while they were gone.

We all came home a took a nap...woke up and went to Dairy.Queen for supper and ice cream, came home and had some family fun and now the kiddos are sleeping very soundly in their cozy little beds.

If any of you know us IRL, you know the fight we had to get to a year ago today...to legally make him ours. Now he would have been 'ours' forever even if the state would not have allowed us to adopt him, when you bring a little one home at 6 days old and have him for 21 months he WILL be yours forever...

Thankfully that day ~August 1st 2008~ came and we had a BIG celebration! Boo managed to fill the courtroom and then some to standing room only because there were so many people that were so excited that this was finally going to happen! Then we went home to have an open house celebration with cheezy turkey sandwhiches, yummy cake, and punch...after which we had a smaller time with close friends and family at the very same rest-a-want that is now his favorite!

The day was filled with so many memories...how mad I was at my father for missing the first part of the hearing (adoption hearings aren't very long...15-20 minutes tops) what could be so important that he HAD to be on his phone NOW! It was my Aunt from Chicago and her daughter-in-law with 2 daughters and the brand new baby boy and they didn't have directions to the courthouse! I forgave my dad and burst into tears because I didn't know they were coming and it was a nice suprize! How the judge reacted when our lawyer said what the adoption was costing us (a wopping $75 ~ it is good to make your lawyer your best friend...thanks Eric! You can have all the pork chops you want on us...any time!) All the wonderful people that we had with us that day. And the pictures that we took because our lawyer had our son drinking out of a shot glass...thankfully it was only lime juice! The fact that DSS was SHOCKED at the number of people that showed up to the finalization, and the fact that DSS just didn't know what to say about that.

Oh I could go on forever and ever, and that is just about the adoption process. Not the health fight and eventually victory that Boo went through, not the process of terminating his cleary not so capable birthmother's rights (I wish more than anything that when the Lord brings us another baby, that this time we will be able to have a HAPPY story to tell our child about his/her first mother.) And then the battle with DSS about the fact that my husband was a pastor and we were not giving Boo the freedom to make his own religeous decisions (hello...he came to our home at six days old and at finalization he was 21 months old...what kind of religeous thoughts does a child of this age have?)

Anyway, the Lord had greatly blessed us with our Princess and our Boo. Now we just keep praying for EDH and/or OOH to come home soon! We love you already and cannot wait to meet you one day and learn your story/walk your journey with you!

Memories!

2009-07-28T23:38:00.003-06:00

I know that my children are only almost 3, but it seems that so much has happened in their short little lives! We have lived in 3 different 'homes' and had so many changes!

The most recent move was not one that we chose, but looking back it was for the best. Tonight we had the chance to walk back into that house and visit with some a friend from our very first church as a married couple and his new wife. They were staying in our old home, the parsonage, and asked if it were not to awekward that we might come and talk for a while. So we dressed the kiddos (they were in their jammies) and headed out the door at 9:45 pm excited to see our friends, with little time to think of where we were going. I expected my daughter who remembers everything to remember our 'old house' since it was just 7 months ago and she remembers things from before that...but for some strange reason they didn't remember it. Maybe because our things were not in it, or because there was ALOT of stress for most of the time that we lived there....or just because they love their life and home so much now they do not need to think about the past at this point. Either way, I remember...

Everything was pretty much the same, just a few minor things had been done since we moved out 7 months ago (VERY MINOR) the carpet, paint, light fixtures, etc. were all the very same. Which maybe only made it easier to think, to think of the victories our son won while we lived there...to think of the mile stones our children acheived behind those four walls.

It was fun and tormenting all at the same time. I watched my son who was suppose to never walk jump down the stairs into the sunk-in living room tonight, the very stairs that were once a huge hurdle for him to the point they were a barrior. The very stairs that he first climbed after being told he wouldn't. And now tonight, those very stairs he was jumping off!

I saw knicks in the walls where our children's toys (specific incidents) bumped, and spots in the carpet where dirt from my plant was thrown while looking through the windows at us after the kids had locked us out!

I saw the very corner that I cried in just days before we were told we needed to leave, that corner was where I prayed and cried knowing that our time there was limited. The banister where my children used to try to squeeze their little cheeks through and look down over my husband and I on the couch...the details my husband put into the house to make it our home.

Yes, tonight brought back a slew of emotions and thoughts. But with all of those memories (and as far as the family part of it goes ~ happy memories) it still didn't hurt to walk away again. It didn't hurt the first time, nor did it hurt this time. I would guess that we will not be back in that house again...and I would also guess that if the church people really knew we were there they may not be too impressed. But I count it as a blessing from God.

First, we were able to catch up with someone who we (mostly my husband) spent many an hour talking to and I thought was such a great guy for making the decisions that he did. Meet his sweetheart of a wife, and have some great time of fellowship.

But second, God allowed me a 'rewind' button tonight. I was just telling my husband the other day that I didn't remember much about our children as babies. That isn't true, and God helped me see that tonight. The memories are tucked away back in my mind to pop up here and there with a trigger. I can have glimpses of that part of their lives here and there, but now...now I need to enjoy where they are a lock away more memories because we all know they grow up TOO fast!

I wouldn't change anything about our lives now, (except for a little bit larger home for daycare & maybe having a baby or two ;) ) But really those things are up to God, not us, and our life is good. Most nights (5 or 6 a week) we have daddy/husband around where before we were lucky to get him one, our kids are happy, and we own our house. We have learned who are real friends are, and those friends are GREAT!

Thank you Lord, for the glimpse into the past...

HELP!!!!!

2009-07-27T15:51:00.002-06:00

So, sadly, it is time to start planning birthday parties around here again...and by 'sadly' I mean that I cannot believe the year has gone by already and that my kiddos will be 3 soon!

But I need some help, I know there are great ways to make your own good quality photo invites and send them to a printer to have them printed...but I need HELP! The kids' themes are Mickey (for Boo) & Minnie (for the Princess) Mouse. I would like to put different elements together on my own and send them to a photo procceser, but do not know how to start or get the background/bourder for the foundation....if there is anyone what would have some insight to share I would appreciate it! Thanks so much!

Don't you wish you wouldda thought of it?

2009-07-23T20:48:00.002-06:00

The Mind Works Overtime!

2009-07-21T10:21:00.002-06:00

Sometimes I just wonder why it is that your mind works the way it does. You want something so badly that they mind tricks you into believing it has to be true! That is until 3 minutes later and it is most definitely NOT true!

I guess it might have something to do with that fact that babies are all around, it seems that there is no circle that we are a part of that there isn't a newborn or one on the way. Seeing the babies all around just makes me want our little EDH or OOH that much more! I don't know why sometimes my mind works the way it does, I know my body is broken...

Congrats to those of you that are having a baby or have just had a baby...you have a blessing!

The mind of The Princess

2009-07-14T09:25:00.002-06:00

So it just cracks me up how children think sometimes, and then there are other times that I am in awe because of how their mind works! Well yesterday there was one of the laugh out loud times with my little Princess.

I was scrolling through the channels trying to find something worth watching and one of the locals must have been knocked off air by the storm and upon coming across that channel it showed the colorful stripes running up and down the screen, not moving. We have all seen this before, I am sure....ANYWAY, I quickly moved passed this one because, seriously, how fun is it to watch a non moving stripe of different colors? BUT, the Princess was upset when I changed the channel and said, "Mommy, want to watch color crayons back!" So while it was somewhat of a stressful day, I couldn't help but laugh like crazy at that!

Hope it brings a smile to your face!

Gym Time & a Deal!

2009-07-10T18:18:00.002-06:00

So I am really excited, my husband has gotten us a gym membership and we are using it! It helps to finally have him beside me and pushing me rather than to have to go do something by myself all the time...I think I will stick to it! Anyway, we made a deal...I officially want to loose 58 pounds total, as of my last weigh in I was 57 away from that {down 1 pound}. But I made a deal with Handsome and if I get down 43 {15 away from my final but most likely unreachable - due to PCOS - goal} he is going to allow me to get the Black.Hills.Gold. toe ring I have wanted for my right foot since I got the one for my left foot as a senior in high school!

I am really excited, and hope to be able to loose a bunch of weight, at least enough to wow his family when we see them at Christmas!

What kind of world?

2009-07-07T14:05:00.002-06:00

I have not spoken much to anyone about the death of Michael.Jackson. Though today during the kids' lunch & nap times I did have his memorial service on FOX.News and I must say that it was an amazing service to watch, though sad.

The thing that caught my ear first was the many times that he was ALMOST compared to God. Do not get me wrong, I know that MJ is a legend of his own right when it comes to Pop...and there are even a few songs that I enjoy, but he was a man.

The other thing has nothing to do with MJ himself, just the sad world that we live in. There were two different times (I didn't watch the entire service so there could have been more) that people speaking of Christian faith had to ask for a pardon, so to speak. The first one that I noticed was when Representative Sheila.Jackson.Lee went to compare Jackson to the New Testament parable of the Good Samaritan. Before speaking of the parable, she made a statement along the lines of, 'I recognize that there are many of you from many different religions here and we in America respect that,' and the second came at the end when the pastor, Lucious.Smith got up to end the service with a prayer. Just before the prayer he felt the need to say, "If you are so inclined to do so, please bow your heads with me."

Why is it that we need to ask people to forgive us or turn a cheek to the fact that there are still some people that want to worship and serve the very God that created this world and our very being?

But lastly I want to point out his daughter Paris, she spoke briefly toward the end of the service and made a comment about since she was born that he had been the very best and she loves her Daddy very much. I had never thought of MJ in the 'Daddy' role before...he had come to mind as many different things, but not as a father. But he was, and his children do love him very much. Maybe the labels that he acquired over the years where a little harsh, or maybe they were deserved....but at the end of the day, he was Daddy.

Nothing better than...

2009-07-03T09:58:00.002-06:00

So I am sure we have all had the Better than *** cake, right? Well while I was getting ready this morning I discovered something that I only get to discover 2-3 times a year that just beats all!

A BRAND NEW TUBE OF MASCARA!

Am I right girls? I mean seriously, you open that non gunked up tube and your eyes look amazing because it slides on so easy and covers every.last.lash!

So I am going to have a good day, that was like Christmas in a tube this morning...I loved it!

PCOS is taking my life one day at a time!

2009-07-02T09:59:00.003-06:00

So I just need a post to vent. Yesterday was an awful day, PCOS took my day away from me. There are times when it gets so bad that I just do not see any reason to smile, to enjoy life, to have fun. Yesterday was one of those days. Please know, this isn't a crazy not right in the head kind of thing...just sometimes it is hard to smile. If you do not have PCOS and think your hormones affect your life something terrible multiply that by 100 and that is what we get!

But, as usual, today proves to be a better day and for this I am SOOOOO thankful! It is a long weekend, my mom is here....Dad is coming soon, and we are going SHOPPING! So excited!

She is better...

2009-06-30T07:41:00.003-06:00

So it just must have been a very short lived bug that the Princess had yesterday because after her 5 hour nap she woke up just fine!

A Mamas Heart...

2009-06-29T13:15:00.002-06:00

Something that any Mama knows is the pain that your heart has when your little is not feeling well, and particularly when there isn't much you can do to help them feel better!

My daughter had a VERY bad case of diarrhea yesterday, I mean the scrubbing the carpet in 2 1/2 rooms a few times, kind of bad! She felt terrible as we have been potty training and she had mastered the stinky end of training and we were just waiting on the 'tinkle' part to be 100%!

Well today she woke up and was better for a short time and then after being up and having a little cereal she started having it again, on a much smaller scale. But after 3 messy diapers she was at the point of just crying and crying. She doesn't have a temp, but she does seem to have discomfort...

So, this is just tearing me to pieces. We are not the run your child to the doctor for every little thing kind of folk...I held her in my arms and hugged her and loved her and kissed her then she wanted to lay down. She is sleeping now, but if anyone reads this and has some advise I would be happy to receive it!

Soaking it ↑ Up!

2009-06-27T21:06:00.003-06:00

So I do apologize for the fact that this blog is so young and I have been vacant from it for a few days now...it doesn't mean that my mind is blank, just that I have my wonderful Mother here to hug on her grand babies {that aren't so baby any more 8~( } and we have been enjoying time as a family of 5.

Today we visited a fairly local attraction, Reptile Gardens. We told Princess on Wednesday that we were going to see some snakes and she couldn't wait until she had the chance to say 'hi' to them! All 3 of us adults had been there before, and that was nice. We were able to soak up all the reactions the kids gave us to the different things that we did. Look to my other blog in a couple of weeks for pictures!

If I am not an every day poster for the next week, please forgive me. We are blessed enough to have my Mom here for 10 days and my Dad will be joining us sometime late next week! So excited!

Inside Jokes

2009-06-25T15:21:00.002-06:00

So I have had inside jokes with people my whole life...some of them were always pretty obvious to most people around and some were a little more sneaky, but regardless, they were always fun!

I enjoy a good joke as much {or more} than the next person, and really have enjoyed having the kind of people around me as friends that enjoy joking around just as much. It wasn't until yesterday that I had the opportunity to see an inside joke that has been going on for 10 or so years continue once again. The funny thing to me was that I had the chance to 'step out' of it for a little bit when someone asked me what was meant by it and I had not realized before that while it may make perfect sense to those involved....it can be clear as mud to everyone else!

Anyway, I would love to have comments about inside jokes that you have been a part of and how long they have been running....

So today is my birthday...

2009-06-24T09:17:00.002-06:00

And Birthdays are a BIG deal to me. I went to sleep last night at 12:01, so it was my birthday then....this made me happy, to be able to enjoy it from the very first minute! There were already several warm wishes on my Face.book at that point (since we are an hour later than many of my friends!) and then I was able to wake up to so many more. Many of them I haven't really communicated with much lately...and I don't know their spouses or how many children they have, but the fact that they took a few seconds to come to my profile page and post on my wall means something! It made me feel special. Now all the daycare kiddos are taking a nap (not normal for this time of day, but I will take it on my birthday to have a few extra minutes to myself!)

But I have been thinking, why is it that Birthdays mean so much to me? So many people wish that they didn't have to get older, thus wishing away birthdays. If it were up to me your birthday should be an automatic day off....to celebrate. I am 26 years young today (I know, just a baby) and proud of that fact! With each special day I look forward to the next one that much more! My husband (not-so-much a romantic) has been working extra hard to make this one special THANK YOU HONEY! I received my birthday gift on the 13th (because there was no place to hide it!) and then least night he brought home a dozen red roses because if he waited until today after he got off work they would be late! Tonight we are going out for supper.

So to get back to the question, why Birthdays mean so much to me. It is a day that should automatically have something special planned with special people in your life. It could be just your immediate family or an all out birthday bash with your friends...either way you get to be around special people. Tonight, it seems that we are just going to be us. Handsome, Princess, Boo, and myself ~ but this Mommy is great with that...because 3 years ago on my birthday it seemed that it would never be more than Handsome and myself! Princess & Boo are so special to me and I never want to take them for granted, NOT.ONE.DAY!

So, to any of you out there who are lucky enough to share a birthday HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

I know there are a few, and I know of at least 2 wedding anniversaries....what a wonderful day it is!

To 'House' Jesus

2009-06-23T10:21:00.002-06:00

Last night while praying with our children, something came out of my daughters mouth that hit me like a ton of bricks! We have been praying for God to bring us a baby brother and/or sister, a friend to find a job, another friend to be able to overcome his cancer and his wife while going through the process, and several other things. We always pray for different people to accept Christ as their savior, two of them being our 2 1/2 year old son & daughter. The way we pray with them at this point is that Daddy says a sentence or a few words and then they repeat after him. It is always interesting to see what words they pick and choose to say, or change completely. Well last night one of the words that Princess subbed for one of her Daddy's seemed very fitting, and it challenged me!

My husband prayed for several people and Princess (daughter) and Boo (son) to 'accept Jesus soon'. Somehow Princess translated that into 'house Jesus soon.' This may not mean much to you all, but to me this was almost convicting. Life has thrown so many curve balls at us in the past 3 years, and while I have accepted Jesus and TRY to live for Him daily....do I always house Him in my life? The easy answer would be to say, "YES!" But if you really look back at what the Lord has brought you through in the past have you in each situation made it a point to keep Him #1 all the way through?

I know I have much work to do with this! Oh what we can learn from the little ones!

Randy Travis Concert

2009-06-20T10:39:00.004-06:00

So we had a great time at the Randy.Travis concert last night...it was amazing. Sitting out under the starts, in the 9th row that by itself was wonderful. Throw in the smell of pine trees and an every once in a while smell of the camp fires, it was just about the best date my husband and I had ever been on!

So much fun

2009-06-19T14:42:00.002-06:00

One of the things I do is run Pumpkin Patch Daycare, which is a small at home daycare so we can keep a family type setting.

Well today was the first day this week we were able to get out of the house because the rain finally stopped (Praise the Lord) and we put some water in the pools and had some fun. We like most things in life...the kids really got into it when it was time to be done. But we got into a water fit today...4 kids vs. ME!

How much cuter could anything be than 4 little ones running around in sun hats & swimsuits squealing hoping they are the next ones I pick to 'get' all the while pretending they do not want to be! What a great time it was...now off to finish packing and then a shower so I can be ready the minute the last Pumpkin goes home for the Randy Travis concert tonight! And then the long drive to my parents house.

I have always remembered...

2009-06-19T07:15:00.003-06:00

I was raised on a farm, and that has effected my eating habits my ENTIRE life! Meaning, there will be no vegan meals in my house! Someone recently sent one of those Face.book surveys to me in which I was asked, 'what is your favorite animal?' My response: Probably cows because they provide us with milk and steak! God blessed this earth with animals so we would have food to eat and hide to keep us warm....and that is why I find the whole P.ETA thing so funny!

Especially now, with them sending a live trap to O.bama so that he can capture the flies in the white house without killing them and the set them 'free' outside! SERIOUSLY, is there not enough of these little pests flying around this world that we cannot do without a few here and there!

Somewhere in my tween years my dad would tell a joke and I don't remember everything to it...except that P.ETA stands for People Eating Tasty Animals! I have always remembered this, and THAT is the group I belong in!

J.E.N.E

2009-06-18T11:52:00.001-06:00

J.ust E.xactly N.othing E.xciting is my new blog that will have a few pictures, a few verses, very few words of wisdom, but mostly just the little things here and there that come across my mind. Do not look for it to always make sense, and please be advised there may be some talk about fertility, adoption, and life with 2 children 3 months apart! It is going to be far different than Children Are God's Gift, in that the only purpose of this blog is to be my journal...where I write thoughts about silly things. There may be links to stories I have come across, or just a bible verse that 'pops out' at me during devotions.

It will be interesting to see what direction this blog takes, but I have been wanting to start a new one for a while.

J.E.N.E

Valentines Day Special!

A quote and my thoughts

Countdown!

A blessing!

Please forgive me...

~~~Encore Children's Boutique~~~

Check out this post...

The way things are...

God's Promises ...for BoYs...

Happy Childcare Provider Day!

You Are God Alone

In Need of Venting...

Review of An Honest Love

Short and to the Point...

Ideal Protein Diet

A Mama's Heart

The Flowering Cross by Beth Rayn

Valentines Family Weekend...pt 2

Kelle Hampton...amazing mother!

A new obsession...

♫Denny's Song♫

Extramarital Affairs

Not original to me...

Love Your Heart by Tim McGraw

MckGiveaways are here!

Music

People

How Deep The Father's Love For Us

BookSneeze

7.5 inches!

Music!

Moms of Mulitples in the Media

Australia Hillsongs - Let The Peace Of God Reign Lyrics

The Ideal Protein Diet

Seriously...can we all just figured it out?!?!?

Honesty

"Never Fear" lyrics...

Hello....a post, no really....a REAL post!

HP TouchSmart giveaway at MckMama

Some excitement...

New Movie!

Our Little Angels

Today

My husbands blog!

Daycare in Elmira, New York

October 15th ~ Pregnancy & Infant Loss Remembrance Day

Weekend to Remember

LOVE this song!

Are you kidding me???

Out of the mouth of Princess

GAP contest

Stealing Money~

God is Good!

Customer Service

Seven Years

J.E.N.E.

What August 1st means to me...

Memories!

HELP!!!!!

Don't you wish you wouldda thought of it?

The Mind Works Overtime!

The mind of The Princess

Gym Time & a Deal!

What kind of world?

Nothing better than...

PCOS is taking my life one day at a time!

She is better...

A Mamas Heart...

Soaking it ↑ Up!

Inside Jokes

So today is my birthday...

To 'House' Jesus

Randy Travis Concert

So much fun

I have always remembered...

J.E.N.E

~Encore Children's Boutique~