Sharing our Life

I got this from David's sister the other day and it touched my heart. I don't know about you, but as a mother I do sometimes feel invisible. I many times have a 'woe-is-me' attitude and want an 'atta girl' or a pat on the back every now and then. This made me realize that I am getting the recognition from the most important Person there is - and that is (or at least should be) enough! Thanks, Kim, for sharing this! It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask me a question. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously, not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? ...

Remember this post ? Well, I thought a bead up the nose for $30 was rather expensive - HA! Thirty dollars would be nice. I just got the explanation of benefits from the insurance company and they considered this a surgery (who knew - tweezers up the nose was surgery?). So, now the price of the bead is $225! I wonder what I could fetch for this prized bead on e-bay!? David will be calling the insurance company tomorrow - he's much more diplomatic than I am. I'll keep you posted! Next time I'm going to Dr. Akin - I believe Aimee said he would have removed it for much cheaper! Just a side note on my behalf - I have removed objects from my children's noses before. I felt this was too far up to be safe and I didn't want to push it up any further.

I've been following Savannah Grace's story (see link on the right) and there's just been another update that those who might be interested would like to see. I know there are others who have lost children. I have never experienced that and I could not even pretend to know what to say or what not to say. My prayers are with this family and I'd ask that your prayers be with them as well.

Another keeper from David's uncle. I have it in a nice table format on my email - it doesn't transfer over here as pretty. YOU SAY/GOD SAYS/BIBLE VERSES You say: "It's impossible" God says: All things are possible (Luke 18:27) You say: "I'm too tired" God says: I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28-30) You say: "Nobody really loves me" God says: I love you (John 3:1 6 & John3:34 ) You say: "I can't go on" God says: My grace is sufficient (II Corinthians 12:9 & Psalm 91:15) You say: "I can't figure things out" God says: I will direct your steps (Proverbs 3:5- 6) You say: "I can't do it" God says: You can do all things (Philippians 4:13) You say: "I'm not able" God says: I am able (II Corinthians 9:8) You say: "It's not worth it" God says: It will be worth it (Roman 8:28 ) You say: "I can't forgive myself" God says: I Forgive you (I John 1:9 & Roma...

I got a chuckle from these! David's uncle sent them our way. I don't know about you, but I found many (not all) of these to be true for me. (1) Fine : This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up. (2) Five Minutes : If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house. (3) Nothing : This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fire. (4) Go Ahead : This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It! (5) Loud Sigh : This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to # 3 for the meaning of nothing.) (6) That's Okay : This is one of...

With wonderful family and friends! I'm starting this post Monday morning - will I finish it today?? Maybe! (note - yes I did. It didn't take me as long as I thought!) We got back last night (Sunday) from our trip to Nebraska and Kansas. It was such a blessing to see my family in Nebraska. I have such a wonderful family. My mom and dad are the most loving and generous parents anyone could wish for. They love us unconditionally and will do anything for us. I'm sure they are resting up now - they aren't as young as they used to be, but they still put full effort into playing with the kids - they love their 'Gaga' and 'Papa'! We celebrated Eric's 6th birthday while we were there. We traveled up to Omaha to have a party at my brother and sister-in-law's house (also named David and Laura!). What a treat to see them and my 3 nephews. My brother and sister-in-law have been married much longer than us (27 years) and therefore got started on kids earlier....

Every Friday the kids get the opportunity to participate in a P.E. class offered by a wonderful family! The kids love it and are always anxious for Friday's to come around. The past few weeks, they've been learning some ball handling skills. Tonight, they had a Ball Skills Carnival where the kids were divided into teams to compete against each other with different ball handling games. In 2 weeks, they'll start soccer. The first part of the class is instruction on the fundamentals of soccer and then they practice. The last part of class is a scrimmage against each other. Here are a few pictures of the fun they had tonight. Everyone got a medal and the first place team got some cool sunglasses! Jaelyn is on the Red team, Eric is on the Yellow team, and Jessica is on the Blue team!

The homeschool group here offers classes for the kids each Wednesday. The kids have fun at ELO (Extended Learning Opportunity) and look forward to going each week. Jessica is studying insects in science, the election process and presidents, and has a music class. Eric is learning about community helpers (firemen, policemen, farmers, etc.). He is also learning Spanish and does P.E. Jaelyn does P.E. and other projects that 4 year olds do! Here are a few pictures from their class.

I don't know about you, but I usually try to find a good voters' guide to see the candidates' position on issues. This seems to be a pretty good one which includes local candidates as well. You can either download it or they'll mail you one for free.

To US!! We are celebrating 13 years of marriage today and I just wanted to post a quick picture of the beautiful flowers my dear, sweet husband surprised me with - he's a keeper!

I was inspired by another post (Laura) and the link to the article on ways to pray for your children. Just in the last couple of days, I've thought of posting this list that I got several years ago and just haven't done. So, thanks, Laura, for the inspiration to include it. It may be a duplicate of some of the thinks the article mentioned, but when it comes to praying for your children, I don't think that's all bad. I have definitely added the 40 things mentioned to my list! That they learn to know the true and living God. That they will treasure God's word in their hearts. As they hear and read God's word, a genuine love for God will develop. That the word of God will be the basis for every decision that they make. That God will open their eyes to spiritual truth and keep them from backsliding and compromising their faith. To have a deep desire to accept God's will for their lives. That God will raise them up to be successful in the work He has planned ...

Last night, I went in our room to put Jaelyn in her own bed and we found her like this! She moved the pillow on top of a storage tote that was by the side of our bed (a good 2-3 inches below the bed!) so her head was laying off the side of the bed while her body was elevated a couple of inches above. I can't imagine this would have been too comfortable?!

I was reminding my children on the way home from the ROC today about their attitude and tone of voice. I told them that it doesn't matter what someone else may say or do to them, they are in full control of how they respond. I reminded them (and myself as well) that they can choose to respond in a nasty tone or in a positive tone and that it is completely in their control - they can't blame anyone else for how they react. I needed this reminder as I sometimes (actually quite often) let the behavior or actions of my children control how I respond. As I was giving them this mini lecture, I was reminded of the quote by Chuck Swindoll - it was perfect for the situation so I thought I would share it. ATTITUDE by: Charles Swindoll The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people th...

I just liked this picture:

Kind of pricey for a bead, don't you think? That's how much Taylor Medical charged me (the copay) to get the bead out of Jaelyn's nose! That's my day - off to finish school!

We were blessed to be the recipient of some tickets to go on the Texas State Railroad to see the Lone Ranger. The bad guys came to rob the train and who comes to save the day, but the Lone Ranger! (and of course Tonto). The kids each got a 'silver bullet' necklace at the end. There were some other activities as well that the kids enjoyed. They had a great time and I just thought I'd share some pics. The first picture is of the kids getting ready to go - they each wanted cowboy boots. Eric already had some and fortunately, the Good Will came through for the girls. Thanks, Laura H, for the slide show idea!

Yeah - Jessica made $42.16 at her bake sale today. Thanks to everyone who purchased some of her goods and thanks to those who said 'keep the change'! Here are a couple of photos - thanks to Caroline C. for helping her throughout the day!

Jessica is having a bake sale to raise money for the church. Aimee and Kara have been so kind to allow her to come to the consignment sale on Thursday to sell her goods. That was a big answer to prayer as I wasn't really sure where or how she would accomplish her goal of raising some money. This afternoon we are preparing our goods. She'll have cookies, cake balls (Aimee's recipe), muffins, and some chex mix. She'll also have some hot chocolate, pop, water, and lemonade. Hope to see you there! She's very excited. So, continued prayers for success. She has such a big heart for this and I'd love to see her succeed. It would be a good 'life' lesson of Who really provided the success. P.S. If anyone needs to know where the consignment sale is, let me know. Although I'm pretty sure the only folks who read this locally already know.