The Art of Making a Home Joyful

It Is Finished (but still in the works)

2009-08-27T07:25:00.002-05:00

I am a silly one. I maintain 3 blogs and they're all about our family! My intention was to have a separate blog for separate subjects; one blog for family updates with monthly summaries of the going ons in our home, one blog for capturing precious moments with my children, and one blog for me to just release all other thoughts running in my head pertaining to life, faith, childrearing, marriage, the home, etc...

Well, I've been trying to simplify life by sorting, purging, and organizing and it became apparent that maintaining 3 blogs is unnecessary. I have merged all 3 blogs into 1. There is an export and import option available here on Blogger. It's under the Settings tab. I exported 2 of my blogs, the one about my children and the one for my own personal thoughts, and have imported them into a new blog, In Pursuit of His Call. I am now in the process of organizing previous posts under main categories like Faith, Ministry as a Wife, Ministry as a Mom, Ministry in the Home, Recipes, Tips, and Other Home Life Ramblings.

When you enter the site, you will see the going ons of our day through pictures and some comments about our day; this is content that would have been posted on my children's blog. All other topics will be posted in their appropriate categories. The merging of the blogs is finished, but what's still in the works is the organizing of posts.

I am excited for this new blog! Come and visit me there:
In Pursuit of His Call

Home Life...Today We Celebrate 10 Years!!!

2009-08-21T23:10:00.003-05:00

Things to remember about today:
- When we decided not to go to the beach house vacation in North Carolina, we also decided that DearHubby would not be going to his high school's best buddy's wedding this weekend for the same reason; lack of funds. However, today, as I was looking at our wedding pictures, DearHubby's buddy was in a lot of the pictures reminding me how dear a friend he was to DearHubby. So, for his anniversary present, I wanted to tell DearHubby to go to the wedding, but I knew that our financial situation still had not changed. I prayed about it and asked another friend to pray about it. Well, DearHubby's buddy called me and asked if he had paid for his room yet. I told him no because we were still undecided if he was really going down for the wedding or not. So, his buddy said, "Well, I just called to tell him that he can crash at my house after the wedding!" DearHubby doesn't have to pay for any lodging at all! So, that made our decision easy, I told him to go, as my present to him. He left around 11pm tonight.

- Our lender that we were trying to get the refinancing from called today and after talking to the supervisor of our loan processor, he said he would take the Denial off of our record and go back to their underwriters to see how we can work together to get our loan approved. I just hope they're not going to ask for the world. We still continue to pray that the underwriters will give us some guidelines that we can actually meet.

- Renewed our driver's licenses today.

- Ate at home. Grilled steaks with steamed brocolli and rice.

- Went to my chiropractic appointment.

- Took some family pictures to remind us of this day.

Home Life...Being Stewarts of Our Money

2009-08-20T09:16:00.002-05:00

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." (Matthew 6:24)

While we were waiting for the results of our refinancing we were given a once in a lifetime opportunity to go on a beach house vacation in North Carolina. There are a group of people from our church who rented a beach house on the outer banks of North Carolina, but a few families will be leaving the house early. Since the house was already paid for, the rest of the group decided to extend a free room on the beach house to our family. All we needed to pay for was our transportation, food, and extra costs. Below is a letter DearHubby and I wrote to the group about our decision:

Hi Beach House Vacation Coordinators,

An opportunity to stay at a magnificent beach house for free comes only once in a lifetime and worth every penny to spend, especially when it would be with brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Unfortunately, due to our current financial situation, we do not even have that one penny to spend. We are quite torn about our decision as we so much wanted to join all the families for this once in a lifetime opportunity, but after much prayer and consideration, we will need to decline the offer. Although our lodging at this wonderful vacation spot would be free, the transportation, food, and extra costs would still be too much for our very modest budget.

One lesson we have learned from this experience is being better stewarts of our money and putting our hope and trust in God over silver or rubies. We were putting our hope on the refinancing of our home and spending money that we did not have and that was not ours. If we had been stewarts of our money, we would have still watched our spending despite our pending refinancing. We received word this week that our application was denied. Our false hope was crushed.

The beach house offer was our test. Do we take the offer because it is a once in a lifetime opportunity or do we decline it because we don't have the funds? What is the best decision? We are already in debt, something we have not been in for over 5 years now, so what's another few hundred dollars? Through much prayer and consideration, over and over again, the Lord has told us no. Both DearHubby and I are torn, sad, mad, frustrated, etc... over this, but we know we have to do God's will.

Thank you so much for extending this offer to us! Have a blessed time!

In Pursuit of His Call

Snippet from the Day...

2009-08-19T22:17:00.000-05:00

We just had a wonderful evening with prospect missionaries to Ethiopia! It's so encouraging spending time with other brothers and sisters so on fire for the Lord and it's such a reminder of God's steadfast love and His bountiful saving grace!!!

Snippet from the Day...

2009-08-19T14:47:00.000-05:00

I am having a challenging day :( and I am having a difficult time trusting and rejoicing, even when I know from His Word and in my life that God is steadfast in love and He has dealt bountifully with me...

Home Life...

2009-08-17T05:30:00.004-05:00

Our lender received the appraisal report for our home and from it we were given 2 conditions to meet for the approval of our refinancing loan:
1. We need to tear down the buildings on the back of our property (old chicken coops).

2. We need to show proof that our addition passed the final inspection and meets all codes.

We received this notice on Thursday and I just broke down in tears. We have been trying to refinance since January and there has been one obstacle after another that has kept us from getting refinanced. It was quite frustrating as DearHubby and I think we are perfect candidates for a bank to give money to. Our credit score is higher than 750, which puts us in the Excellent category and our house is appraised much higher than what we needed for this loan. Either way one looks at it, the bank will get their money. If we keep the loan, then they can be assured that it will be paid monthly. If we can't keep the loan, for some reason, and we foreclose and the bank takes over our property, they would be able to sell our home for more than double what we're borrowing. So, it has been very disheartening to go through so many loop holes just to get this loan.

In response, we told the bank that we are able to show proof that our addition passed final inspection and meets all codes and that's what DearHubby worked on this weekend. He took Friday off to start work on all the final details of the addition (and even hallway); in other words, trim installation. We hope to get our final inspection done on Wednesday.

In response to the first condition, DearHubby told the bank that we will not be tearing down the buildings as they are valuable to us since they serve as storage areas for us now. The bank forwarded our response to their underwriters and we are now just waiting for our loan results, whether we have been approved or disapproved.

Although it's a very frustrating situation, we know that God is in control and whatever decision the underwriters make, we know it is God's will. Yet, we do pray for God's grace on our behalf and move the hearts of the underwriters to approve our loan. We were due to close on this loan on August 26th.

Notes...A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George

2009-08-12T06:16:00.004-05:00

CHAPTER 8 (1st half of chapter)

Scriptures used in chapter:
Admonish the young women to love their husbands. (Titus 2:4, NKJV)

Ointment and perfume delight the heart, And the sweetness of a man’s friend gives delight by hearty counsel. (Proverbs 27:9, NKJV)

The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, But the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil. (Proverbs 15:28, NKJV)

Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad. (Proverbs 12:25, NKJV)

Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:5, NKJV)

But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. (Luke 6:35, NKJV)

Key points (from previous notes):
- You are to hold your husband first in your heart after God

Yes, But How?

- What can you do to show your husband affectionate, indulgent, friendship love?

...3. Prepare for Your Husband Daily - "Let the wife make her husband glad to come home." (Martin Luther)

.....- Prepare the house - communicate to your husband "I'm glad you're home."

.....- Prepare your appearance

.....- Prepare your greeting

.....- Set the table

.....- "The king is in the castle!"

.....- "The party!" - Rejoice that the best part of the day has arrived - when your husband gets home and the party is about to begin!

.....- Clear out all visitors

.....- Stay off the phone

For wives arriving after husband:

.....- Prepare all the way home

.....- Pray all the way home

Tip...Auto Soak It

2009-08-11T20:15:00.002-05:00

Did you know that there is an Auto Soak setting on your washer? I have a 15 minute Auto Soak and a 30 minute Auto Soak. Wow, has this been a time saver for me! I have 3 little girls so I have to preserve my eldest's clothes for hand me downs. Well, I used to hand wash all the clothes that had stains on them until I discovered Oxi-Clean and Auto Soak. I spray the stained clothing with the Oxi-Clean spray, put a scoop of Oxi-Clean powder (along with regular detergent) in with the load, and set the washer to Hot and a 30 minute Auto Soak. No fail, the stains are gone at the end of the wash cycle! No more hand washing!

Tip...If It's a Valid Complaint, Make It

2009-08-11T20:00:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago while I was at Wal-Mart, I got into a little accident. As a pulled into the parking lot, the cart stalls were overflowing with carts, past the metal stopper on the ground. I left the girls in the car to get a cart from one of the overflowing cart stalls and as I pulled the cart out, 3 carts started rolling away towards the cars in front of it. I went after the 1st cart, retrieved it, and parked it back into the overflowing cart stall. As I pushed the cart in, about 6 or 7 carts, stuck together, started rolling away towards the car in front of it. I went to stop the carts by jumping in front of it and the carts knocked me down and ran over me. A lady, drove by, stuck her head out the window and said, "I saw carts flying and I was waiting for you to go down." I told her I did go down. So she went into Wal-Mart to complain about the carts. When I got myself together and the girls in a cart, I also went in to make a complaint. None of the associates behind the Customer Service desk asked me if I wanted to file an Incident Report, something I was not aware existed. Instead, they told me that another lady already complained and the situation was being taken care of. When I went back out, 45 minutes later, after shopping, the carts were all still there. They had not cleared the overflowing cart stalls. Unfortunately, I did not return to the store to complain again.

I was feeling uneasy about the situation because I felt like my complaint was ignored. Some one could have easily gotten injured, especially a little child, like one of my girls, if I had them with me getting a cart. So, I went to the Wal-Mart website and filled out one of the customer feedback forms. In about a day, a manager from Wal-Mart called me and asked me to go back to the store to file an Incident Report. They also gave me the number of their insurance company just in case I was injured. I did have some achiness afterwards, but it went away, so I didn't pursue going to the doctor.

Well, I am so glad I made that complaint because I have gone back to Wal-Mart at least 3 times since filing that report and the cart stalls were either empty or they had employees out in the parking lot collecting the carts. I would like to think that my complaint made a difference and I am now a firm believer that if you have a valid complaint, make it.

Home Life...

2009-08-11T19:27:00.002-05:00

I was inspired by a Facebook friend to take pictures of my children daily. As a result, it's been precious because it has helped me cherish my girls all the more. These daily pictures are posted on their blog, Their Big World.

Last Wednesday I celebrated my 34th birthday. It was a hard day to get through because I struggled with a hardened heart all day. To make a long story short, things didn't go the way I wanted them to. I was looking forward to a quiet and low key celebration with my family, but instead it turned out to be a very stressful day. As a result of feeling so overwhelmed and stressed out, I responded many times out of impatience and anger.

As I struggled through the day and gave in to my fleshly responses of impatience and anger, I came across this verse that really struck and convicted my heart, "Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?" (Romans 6:16, ESV). Through Jesus Christ, we have been set free from the bondage of sin and with His strength, we are now able to turn from sin and go towards righteousness. Yet, when I respond according to my sinful nature, I am presenting myself as an obedient slave to it, which I am not. I am a slave to righteousness through Christ and sin does not have dominion over me, so why do I act like it?

I am so thankful that God is a God of reconciliation and restoration and that I can seek for His forgiveness and also forgiveness from the ones I sinned against. Well, in the end, I still had a nice celebration dinner with some friends and we also went out for dessert afterwards.

Other than my hardened heart on my actual birthday, my DearHubby actually made my birthday really special. He's been working hard at work and at home lately and the girls and I have barely seen him. My only birthday wish was for us to spend some time together and that's what he gave me. He gave us time when he took us to the beach to look for Cape May Diamonds the Saturday before my birthday. Then, every day afterwards, until my birthday, he had a surprise for me. At the end of my birthday, he held his arms wide open and said he had one last surprise. He gave me the biggest hug and told me what a wonderful wife and mother I am and how much more he loves me now than when we first married. It was quite romantic.

This week, we're working on getting all of our refinancing paperwork in. We pray that we can be approved for a lowered interest rate to save ourselves some money.

Kids Activity Idea...A Spontaneous Picnic in the Park

2009-08-10T10:43:00.003-05:00

On a nice day, call up a friend, pack up a few sandwiches, cookies, chips, fruit, and napkins. Put in a few juice boxes, soda, and water in a handy portable cooler. Don't forget a blanket. Pick a park and go!

August 9-15, 2009

2009-08-10T10:16:00.006-05:00

Weekly Devotions: Romans 8-15, Psalm 6-10

Projects of the Week:
- Weekly Budget
- Bathroom cleaning
- Organize paperwork
- Catch up on laundry
- Bake and freeze more Zucchini Blueberry Muffins
- Submit refinancing paperwork
- Resolve FSA VISA issues
DearDaughter1: Workbook pp.19-28
DearDaughter2: Shapes and Colors book
DearDaughter3: Work on grasping skills and rolling over skills

Bathroom Area of the Week: Clean tub & toilet, Surface clean overall bathroom

Sunday: The Lord's Day!
3pm - Small Group BBQ
Monday:
Fold laundry, Clean up from weekend, Finish paperwork organization from last week
Tuesday:
10am - Get together w/ friends, 7pm - Small Groups
Wednesday:
5:40pm - Family Pictures
Thursday:

Friday:

Saturday:

__________ project:
1.

To Buy list:
1. Soft Soap
2. Juice
3. PAM

Snippet from the Day...

2009-08-04T10:01:00.001-05:00

I am feeling so blessed. I just overheard DearDaughter2, age 2, sing the whole 1st verse and chorus to "It Is Well (With My Soul)" and DearDaughter1, age 3, sing 2 verses of "Amazing Grace" during their playtime. Wow, God is good ALL THE TIME!!!

August 2 - 8, 2009

2009-08-03T12:30:00.006-05:00

Weekly Devotions: Romans 1-7, Psalm 1-5

Projects of the Week:
- Complete July Budget and start August Budget
- Bake Zucchini Blueberry Muffins
- Organize paperwork
- Order trim
- Resolve FSA VISA issues
DearDaughter1: Workbook pp.9-18
DearDaughter2: Shapes and Colors book
DearDaughter3: Work on grasping skills and rolling over skills

Bathroom Area of the Week: Clean tub & toilet, Surface clean overall bathroom

Sunday: The Lord's Day!
Monday:
Grocery run, Budget, Fold laundry
Tuesday:
1pm - DearDaughter2 and DearDaughter3 appointment, Bake Zucchini Blueberry Muffins, Order trim
Wednesday:
Paperwork, 5:30pm - Dinner w/ T's and out for waterice
Thursday:
Girls' pictures, Bathroom cleaning
Friday:
Swim day at the C's, Resolve FSA VISA issues, 5:30 - Chiropractic appointment
Saturday:

__________ project:
1.

To Buy list:
1. ~~Paper~~
2. Soft Soap
3. ~~AA Batteries~~

Notes...A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George

2009-08-03T05:15:00.004-05:00

CHAPTER 7 (2nd half of chapter)

Scriptures used in chapter:
Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. (James 5:16, NKJV)

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9, NKJV)

...who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:4, NKJV)

Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror. (1 Peter 3:1-6, NKJV)

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21, NKJV)

The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty. (Proverbs 21:5, NKJV)

Key points (from previous notes):
- You are to hold your husband first in your heart after God

Yes, But How?

- Ask of your lifestyle, "Am I spoiling my husband rotten?"

...1. Pray for Your Husband Daily - As you invest your time, your heart, and your life in prayer for your husband, you'll wake up one day and find arguments decreasing and a mellowing - even a warming - in your heart toward your husband. Truly, it's impossible to hate or neglect a person you are praying for!...Focusing on your husband in prayer will help you focus on him in your heart, your thoughts, and your actions. You'll also be surprised at the fruit born in your own life from this prayer - the fruit of understanding, cheerfulness, patience, helpfulness, and calmness.

...2. Plan for Your Husband Daily

......- Plan special deeds of kindness: "What is something I can do for DearHubby today that would help him, cheer him up, make him feel special, lighten his load?"

......- Plan special dinners

......- Plan special times alone

......- Plan spcial dinners alone

......- Plan an early bedtime for children

......- Plan to go to bed at the same time

Kids Activity Idea...Hunting for "Diamonds"

2009-08-01T20:46:00.002-05:00

The girls woke up this morning not knowing what laid ahead of them for the day...

We had pancakes and eggs for breakfast. Here, DearDaughter1 actually tried some eggs because she didn't want her younger sister to show her up, who was really enjoying her eggs and kept asking for more...

After breakfast, we got dressed and packed up, ready to go to the beach. We left our house around 10:30am and didn't get to Sunset Beach until about 2pm. It was longer than a 3 hour ride, but all worth it :)

DearHubby chose this particular beach to take all his girls hunting for "diamonds", Cape May diamonds, for Mommy's birthday. While we were there, a photographer of a travel magazine saw us hunting for diamonds and requested our permission to take a few shots of us. Mommy was nursing DearDaughter3 at the time, so just the 2 older girls and DearHubby were photographed.

Here are random shots from our day...

It was an enjoyable day with the family and Mommy enjoyed her birthday celebration!

After the beach we had dinner at Sonic...Had the best milkshake ever, Peanut Butter Fudge! Yummy!!!

It was a wonderful day! Good night :)

**Pictures hosted by www.flickr.com

Kids Activity Idea...Make a Rock Band

2009-07-30T05:42:00.004-05:00

A guitar out of construction paper, spatula, rubber bands, and a small rectangular container.

A drum out of a bucket and 2 spatulas.

Moroccos made of rocks in water bottles.

**Pictures hosted by www.flickr.com

Kids Activity Idea...Handprint Fun

2009-07-29T06:13:00.003-05:00

**Pictures hosted by www.flickr.com

Home Life...A Sigh of Relief

2009-07-29T06:01:00.002-05:00

Every morning I can now wake up to a nice clean/picked up house and not worry about what toy I'm stepping on or what toy is missing and if the girls don't pick up their toys the night before, it's OK. Ahhhhhhhh...

Home Life...And the Wall Came Tumbling Down

2009-07-28T12:16:00.005-05:00

We sent in an application to refinance our house last week and part of the process was an inspection of our house by an appraiser. We didn't think the process would go so quickly and DearHubby and DearFriend H did a quick finish on the addition last night and brought down the plastic wall.

The girls were surprised by all the room when they woke up this morning and after having them play in the addition all morning, I am now a firm believer of personal space! Things were stressful in our home while under construction because we all just didn't have enough personal space and we were all intruding into one another's personal space, "stepping on one another's toes." Now that there is enough room for the girls to play, they haven't been fighting as much today nor have they been getting into stuff they're not supposed to! Even DearDaughter3 could be put on the floor for floor time without being bothered by her sisters.

I also feel like I have a house back and a space where I can work!!! I am looking forward to starting an organizational project. We have bins and bins of stuff that is just being stored in our undone master bedroom. I would like to sort through them, purge unnecessary things out, and inventory and label each bin properly. I am excited that I now have room to do this!!!

We had some undone shelves in our hallway and DearHubby was worried that the incomplete shelf would be an eye sore for the appraiser. I took some time to dress the shelves up and was pleased with the end result.

That's a quick summary of our home life. I'm going to spend some time with DearDaughter1 today on some workbook work. Her preschool books came in yesterday and I'm excited to start them. However, I told myself that I would finish up those preparatory workbooks first, so we better get moving...

**Photos hosted by www.flickr.com

Zucchini Blueberry Bread

2009-07-28T10:45:00.008-05:00

Zucchini Blueberry Bread
by Laura

from allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup vegetable oil
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups white sugar
2 cups shredded zucchini
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 pint fresh blueberries

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 4 mini-loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar. Fold in the zucchini. Beat in the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Gently fold in the blueberries. Transfer to the prepared mini-loaf pans.
3. Bake 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes in pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

***For muffins, bake 22 minutes.

CRUMB TOPPING:

Add to top of bread before baking:

1 cup flour

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup butter (softened not melted)

Mix all ingredients by hand and add to top of muffins before baking.

Homeschooling...In the Beginning...

2009-07-21T14:43:00.003-05:00

Well, DearDaughter1 has always been a fast learner and has been a self-motivator towards learning. She "taught" herself how to write her own name and she is just eager to absorb, absorb, absorb.

This week is our church's VBS. I was hesitant about sending DearDaughter1 to VBS because of a conviction on me. It was hard enough juggling 2 little ones and so when DearDaughter3 was added to our family, it became even harder juggling 3 little ones. So, as noted here on this blog, I literally sat down to write out a schedule so that I knew when I would spend one on one time with each of my girls. I was doing well with our routine and was having a lot of fun with each one of my children, until we went on vacation. I have not been able to get back to a good routine again and haven't had good one on one time with any of them. When a DearFriend reminded me about VBS, I became convicted of the lack of one on one time I was spending with my girls. I thought about how parents are called to teach their children about God, but how I have not taken the opportunity to do that lately. I've just been trying to survive. So, it made me feel bad that I was sending DearDaughter1 to VBS so that someone else would teach her about God and Jesus. She should be hearing about those things first from her parents, not from an "outsider."

When I talked my concerns over with DearHubby he told me that it's good that I was convicted and VBS could now be a stepping stone or catalyst to my teaching our children here at home. Well, I have taken advantage of the momentum of VBS and I am so excited to launch our efforts at homeschooling. After VBS, DearDaughter1 and I have been spending time recapping her day, her lesson, and her memory verse. It's great as VBS has provided us with some structure this week on our Bible Lesson time. I have then been printing out activity sheets from 3 preparatory workbooks for preschool. The activities so far has been working on some motor skills, like drawing a line, and coloring as well as matching skills (ie the same as). I also ordered Rod and Staff's preschool curriculum and after we finish these preparatory workbooks, I will begin DearDaughter1 on the preschool curriculum.

•Adventures with Books
•Bible Stories to Read
•Bible Pictures to Color
•Counting with Numbers
•Do It Carefully
•Everywhere We Go
•Finding the Answers

At this time I would like to focus on a few priorities:
•Getting DearDaughter1 used to reading the Bible every day
•Biblically based character training
•Getting DearDaughter1 used to "reading" easy to read stories
•Practicing her fine motor skills
•If she's ready, start DearDaughter in a phonics program, reading, writing, and math

I am very excited as I have found a place to start!

Notes...A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George

2009-07-17T06:58:00.003-05:00

CHAPTER 7 (1st half of chapter)

Scriptures used in chapter:
...the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things— that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,... (Titus 2:3-4, NKJV)

Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. (Genesis 2:24, NKJV)

Key points:
- You are to hold your husband first in your heart after God

Heartfelt Yet Practical Love

- But when God instructs us to "love" our husbands in Titus 2:4, the word is phileo, meaning friendship love - a love that cherishes, enjoys, and likes our husbands! Each of us is to value our husband as our best friend and want to be with him more than with any other person.

Yes, But How?

- Decide to make your husband your Number One human relationship - Your husband is to be Number One in your life (after God) - and he needs to know it. And everyone else needs to know it too.

- Begin to choose your husband over all other human relationships - The wise woman remembers she will begin and end as a wife

Snippet from the Day...

2009-07-13T10:01:00.002-05:00

I hope that we have come to the end of our illnesses. DearDaughter3's high was 102.3(F) on TuesdayAM, DearDaughter2's high was 103.1(F) on ThursdayPM, my high was 101.8(F) on FridayPM, DearDaughter1's high was 101.3 on SaturdayPM. DearHubby has not shown any symptoms and we hope that God spared him from it. It was not fun as the fever was accompanied with aches, chills, and throwing up and crept up on us when we thought it was done.

Snippet from the Day...

2009-07-10T20:54:00.000-05:00

I have caught the illness that the girls had all week and as I speak, my fever is about 102(F) and am shivering while the room is 78(F). I often thank God for illnesses because I am always brought down to my weakest point and need to depend on Christ's strength to make it through. However, I pray that God would protect Ty's good health as he participates in the building of the playground memorial tomorrow at church.

Home Life and Faith...Am I treating my husband as I would treat Christ?

2009-07-10T09:23:00.008-05:00

It's Friday but I wish it were Monday because it finally feels like things are getting back to "normal." The girls are finally starting to feel better from all their "malfunctioning bodily symptoms" and I was able to start my day with my weekly devotions. I don't know why when things are chaotic I want to just take things into my own hands rather than leave it in God's. When I did my devotions this morning, my soul was so renewed with strength and faith. Hmmmm...

Vacation was really nice and I thank God that He led DearHubby's decision to go to Illinois, where his family lives. There were a few situations that could have been an obstacle to taking a vacation and I'm thankful that DearHubby did not get side-tracked by those obstacles; one of those obstacles was me. I saw a lot of burdens on DearHubby's shoulders and I thought that if we stayed home for his vacation time, he would be able to lessen those burdens because he would have the time to address those burdens. Our vacation in Illinois didn't lessen those burdens, but it allowed DearHubby to just physically and mentally rest and come back home "refreshed."

What I enjoyed most on vacation was the refuge we found in my in-laws' home and the country Illinois "culture". DearHubby's brother and sister came by almost every day and it was fun just sitting around "like bums", as my sister in called it, fellowshipping and enjoying one another's company. Since DearHubby's brother and sister were around, so were their kids, and our girls had so much fun getting along with their cousins. It was also nice having the opportunity to plan a date night with DearHubby and not have to worry about who would babysit the girls because Papa and Nana were right there. Lastly, DearHubby has kept in touch with his high school friends throughout the years as well as made some new ones, and it was nice to just pick up the phone and say, "Hey, can we come over and hang out?" It was a simple vacation with no pressures and that's what made the time so refreshing.

While we were on vacation, DearHubby said that for the first time he wouldn't mind permanently returning back to Illinois because he realized the ministry we would be to his family. As we thought about missing family we prayed about our own ministry where God put us now. The same ministry we could be to his family (or mine) we could be to those around us where we are now. Therefore, in our prayer, we prayed for God to reveal to us how we are to be used. Not that we haven't been a ministry to others already, but to reveal to us a more long term ministry. One particular area we prayed for better direction in is how the Lord can help us use our home because we have invested so much time and money into it. If our home will not be opened up for ministry purposes, all that work would have been done in vain.

One ministry I have been working on is my ministry to my husband. I have been reading A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George and one quote that has stuck to my head was a quote by Billy Graham's wife who said, "My husband is my career." What a convicting statement, especially as I have poured a lot of my energy towards my young children. I don't want to lose focus on my ministry towards my children, but I am realizing that how I minister to my husband is also a big ministry for my children to see as it would be teaching them how a husband and wife, the reflection of Christ and His bride, ought to relate to one another in the Lord.

I started off with something small, like buying ice cream for DearHubby. We get ice cream as a special dessert when we go out to eat, but a serving of ice cream at a restaurant or Ice Cream shop can cost as much as or more than a box of ice cream at the grocery store. So, I got DearHubby a box of Chocolate ice cream. That small act of buying the ice cream turned into me scooping DearHubby an ice cream cone, something I would normally have him do himself. It was a nice surprise for him that he appreciated greatly.

Our vacation in Illinois did not lighten up DearHubby's burdens here at home and as we pulled into our driveway he looked at the tall grass and said, "Whoa, it looks like my first priority this week will have to be mowing." When DearHubby is stressed with burdens like this, I am also stressed because we never get to see him. DearHubby just has more on his plate than there is time to take care of what's on his plate. It's an accumelation of little things, but when there's little time, little things become big things, and our family usually sacrifices time with DearHubby so that he can work. So, I offered to mow the lawn for him. As a result of me mowing the lawn for him, his time has been freed up to help out at the church this Saturday on a playground memorial. My whole motive behind mowing the lawn for DearHubby was to have more time with him, but it didn't work out that way and I was really disappointed. However, as we saw how his time was freed up to be a part of this playground ministry, we decided that God's reason for me mowing the lawn was just for that. In addition, when DearHubby saw how hard I was working to spend time with him, he stopped his work to give me time with him.

Another extra chore the girls and I did for DearHubby was clean our Ford Focus Wagon. It's the car that the girls and I use daily and DearHubby hardly uses it, but he has commented numerous times about how dirty the car is. DearHubby is the one who usually cleans our cars and so the girls and I took the time to wash the car so that there would be one less thing on DearHubby's To Do list.

The next practical advice from Mrs. George that I would like to implement is to respond to DearHubby positively. It's easy to do things for DearHubby because I can still do things grudgingly. It's harder to do things for DearHubby with a joyful and positive attitude.

We have had some issues with our health insurance's FSA account and the VISA card that comes along with that has been stopped for several weeks now. I gathered up all the paperwork for DearHubby to address the issue with our health insurance, but he just hasn't had time to address it. Last night he finally told me that he just does not have the time and that if I took care of it, that would be a huge help to him. I grew angry inside because the discrepancy is between DearHubby's allergist and the insurance company and DearHubby knows the situation much better than I do. I gave DearHubby such a hard time about it, trying to think of a good excuse of why he should address the issue over me. When he finally said that it would be a huge help to him, that's when I resigned my will and still grudgingly agreed to do it. This example shows how much work is still needed in my heart to respond to DearHubby with a joyful and positive attitude. Mrs. George asks this one question, "Am I treating my husband as I would treat Christ?" Convicting, isn't it?

So, that's our current Home Life and how the Lord's been working in our hearts. Praise God for His faithfulness :)

Notes...A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George

2009-07-10T06:21:00.004-05:00

CHAPTER 6 (2nd half of chapter)

Scriptures used in chapter:
Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. (Ephesians 5:24, NKJV)

For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror. (1 Peter 3:5-6, NKJV)

And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” (Luke 17:5, NKJV)

...that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed. (Titus 2:4-5, NKJV)

Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. (Ephesians 5:33, NKJV)

Key points:
- You are on assignment from God to follow you husband's leadership

Something to Think About

- What is the scope of your submission to your husband?

- On what matters, decisions, and situations are we to submit?

- SUBMIT IN EVERYTHING to follow and honor your husband

A Life of Faith

- The main reason why we wives hesitate to follow our husband's leadership is fear. We are afraid of what will happen if our husbands do things their way instead of our way. FAITH IS THE OPPOSITE OF FEAR.

- By faith you believe God works in your life directly through our husband

- By faith you trust that God knows your husband's decisions and the end results of those decisions and that God redeems and guides those decisions

The Root...The Motive for Submission

- God has commanded submissions and given you the faith in Him to be able to obey His Word - and He is honored when you do

- Your respect and deference to your husband testifies to all who are watching that God's Word and His way are right

Yes, But How?

- Dedicate your heart to honoring your husband - make up your mind to practice honoring your husband

- Remember to respect - A good way to measure our respect for our husbands is to answer the question, Am I treating my husband as I would treat Christ? Do you ask your husband to do something or do you tell him? Do you stop, look, and listen to him when he's talking? Do you speak about him with respect to your children, your parents, and others?

- Respond to your husband's words and actions positively

...- Phase One: Say nothing! - You don't always have to express your opinions - especially after your husband made a decision.

...- Phase Two: Respond with a single positive word - like "SURE". Once you've begun to respond positively to the small things, you'll quickly find it becoming easier and even natural to respond positively to larger and larger issues

- Ask of each word, act, and attitude, "Am I bending or bucking?"

Home Life...

2009-07-07T22:57:00.003-05:00

For the past (almost) 10 years, DearHubby and I have made it a point to go to bed at the same time. If he's needed to stay up, I stay up and wait for him and vice versa. Then, right before bedtime we read our daily Scripture reading and pray together and then it's off to sleep. Therefore, I am so thankful to DearHubby for allowing me to stay up past him, after our devotion time, these past couple of nights just to finish my house work. I've been having a difficult time getting back into the swing of things. Well, it was already hard maintaining a regular routine before vacation, and so when you're behind in extra tasks, it just makes it all the more a challenge to get back to a normal routine after vacation.

In addition, the 2 littlests ones have been under the weather. DearDaughter2 broke out with a skin rash yesterday all over her body and DearDaughter3 has had a fever all day long. I took them to the doctor today, another break in routine, to get them checked out. DearDaughter2 was given Benadryl and a steroid itch cream. I was told to monitor DearDaughter3. If her fever doesn't break with Tylenol by tomorrow then I am to return for a UTI test. I'm not looking forward to that as they would need to take the sample through a cathedar. So, I am praying that the fever breaks.

It was an eye opener to me when I didn't have 5 other people in the room with me to keep an eye on the girls. It's no wonder being on vacation was so much easier, I had 10 eyes on them when we were on vacation versus my only 2 here at home.

Well, I'm off to bed. I hope things will start to settle back to "normal" soon.

Home Life...eVites and Invites

2009-07-07T00:40:00.004-05:00

It's 1:40am and I'm having trouble sleeping. When DearHubby came home from work today, one of the first things he said was, "I miss the slow pace of vacation in Illinois." He was right! Vacation is so nice because you can just get away from the hustle and bustle of things; you don't have to worry about anything except resting. I'm having trouble sleeping because I'm feeling anxious about getting back into the swing of things. I want vacation to last.

When I checked, we had 3 eVites in our Inbox and 1 invitation in our (snail) mailbox. We missed 1 of the events because we were on vacation. We are going to miss another event because it is for tomorrow and it is for couples only; a dinner and game night. It's too late for us to find a last minute babysitter. The 3rd eVite is for a ladies night out with no hubbies or kiddos at the beach for this Sunday. I don't know what to do, whether to accept or decline, because I am nursing. The last invitation is for a graduation party.

Then, there are 2 weddings we are invited to this summer. The first wedding we will need to decline because we are having DearDaughter2's 2nd birthday party on the same day. The second wedding is of DearHubby's good buddy from high school. It is on the weekend that we celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary.

Lastly, a very DearFriend from college just had her first baby on July 1st. He is being baptized this Sunday. They live 1,300 miles from us.

Of all the events, there are 3 that my heart is truly set on. The first is celebrating our 10th year anniversary the way we want to on our anniversary weekend. The second is celebrating DearDaughter2's 2nd birthday party. The third is driving 1,300 miles to see my very DearFriend's newborn be baptized.

So, it bothers me that there are conflicting events on each of those dates and we will need to decline some invitations. Most likely, we will plan a trip to South Carolina to attend DearHubby's buddy's wedding, so we will be celebrating our 10th anniversary at a wedding. We will definitely be celebrating DearDaughter2's birthday, but will be declining 2 other events for that day. Lastly, driving 1,300 miles or 21+ hours, right after a long trip seems unlikely, which leaves me open for the ladies night out, an event I'm not too excited about. DearHubby is encouraging me to go because I hardly go out on any sort of ladies' night out.

I'm not too excited about this ladies' night out because I hardly know any of the women and I would need to take DearDaughter3 with me since I am nursing. They are leaving straight after church and won't be back until after dinner. Even if I have milk in the freezer, that is a long span of time not to nurse; it would be about 20 hours. My sister went to a wedding once and didn't nurse for that span of time. Regardless of how often she put her baby to the breast afterwards, her milk production went down and she had to completely switch to formula. If I take DearDaughter3 with me I would be focusing much of my time tending to her needs and will have very little opportunity to get to know the ladies or have much fun. If I don't take DearDaughter3 with me I would risk my milk production and I don't want to do that.

Maybe I'm just old fashioned. Some times I am jealous that there are mommies and other parents who have many opportunities to take a break from their children to do things they like to do, but many times I feel like there's too many events requiring mommies or parents to be away from their children and there's great zeal from mommies or parents to be away from their children. It's a struggle enough to find contentment when each day is a challenge with 3 little ones. These events that say "no kids allowed" reinforces the idea that children are a burden instead of encouraging me to persevere in the work that God has called us to with our children and to find that call a joy and a privilege. My idea of a nice ladies' night out is spending time with a close friend, sharing our struggles as a mommy, commiserating, encouraging one another in Scripture to persevere, and all this over a nice cup of coffee or hot tea at a cafe.

A ladies' night at the beach with ladies I don't know doesn't sound too appealing to me, especially if I also bring DearDaughter3, but I don't know that I should decline the invite. Well, I'm afraid to decline because we've declined so many invites already and I don't want our inviters to think that we don't like them.

Anyway, I thought jotting down these thoughts that were bothering me would help me feel sleepy, but I don't. Hmmm...

Notes...A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George

2009-06-22T10:29:00.003-05:00

CHAPTER 6 (1st half of chapter)

Scriptures used in chapter:
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. (Ephesians 5:22, NKJV)

...submitting to one another in the fear of God. (Ephesians 5:21, NKJV)

...that you also submit to such, and to everyone who works and labors with us. (1 Corinthians 16:16, NKJV)

Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. (Hebrews 13:17, NKJV)

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:7, NKJV)

Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— (1 Peter 2:13-15, NKJV)

Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. (1 Peter 2:18, NKJV)

Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “ God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5, NKJV)

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. (Colossians 3:18, NKJV)

But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. (1 Corinthians 11:3, NKJV)

She opens her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the law of kindness. (Proverbs 31:26, NKJV)

Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. (1 Timothy 2:11, NKJV)

Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives,... (1 Peter 3:1, NKJV)

And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,... (Collosians 3:23, NKJV)

Key points:
- You are on assignment from God to follow you husband's leadership

"Be Submissive One to Another"

- The Christian lifestyle - for men as well as women - is one of submission; God's desire for us is to honor, serve, and subject ourselves to one another

- When it comes to marriage, God arranged for the sake of order that the husband lead and the wife follow

- "Head of the house" does not mean that your husband barks out orders, throws his weight around, and demand submission for his wife; it simply means that he is the one finally responsible...In the end, the husband is accountable to God for his leadership decisions, and you are accountable to God for how we follow that leadership

The Privilege of Choice

- Submission is a wife's choice...You must decide to choose to defer to your husband and follow his leadership

- Are you giving the gift of headship?

An Important Distinction

- The "who" of submission for a wife is clear; "Wives, submit to your own husbands," not to other people we admire and respect

- The one exception to following your husband's advice is if he asks you to violate some teaching from God's Word, asks you to do something illegal or immoral - Go to a trusted pastor or counselor if he does

Looking Up Helps

- Look up and think about following the Lord because it has nothing to do with your husband but it has everything to do with the Lord

Snippet from the Day

2009-06-20T09:02:00.002-05:00

Wow, DearDaughter3 slept for 10 hours last night and I didn't reap the benefits of it, only getting about 4 hours straight myself :(

Well, we own a Ford ZX2, a sporty Escort, and on his way home from Illinois, DearHubby decided to drive with some ZX2 internet forum buddies to Columbus, Ohio for a ZX2 meet. On the way to the meet, about 50 miles from their destination, DearHubby lost his wallet at a McDonald's, around 4pm. As soon as he discovered this loss he immediately called me and we prayed. He found the number of the McDonald’s and miraculously someone turned in the wallet. There was another ZX2er who was lagging behind and DearHubby contacted him to stop by the McDonald’s to pick up the wallet. This fellow got stuck in traffic and DearHubby didn’t get his wallet back until 10pm. Nothing was missing!

It was too late for DearHubby to drive back to Jersey so he decided to stay as he was offered a free room earlier. However, the fellow who offered the room went to enjoy the ZX2 activities, drag racing, and didn’t return until after midnight. By this time, the room was committed to someone else. To make a long story short, DearHubby ultimately found another family who offered the couch and floor in their room. They didn’t get back to the motel until past 2am. In the meanwhile, I, Gen, sat at home, waiting, wondering, and worrying about what was going on, especially since DearDaughter1 was with DearHubby. What a lesson in waiting and I didn’t do a very good job at it. Well, I’m not sure what time DearHubby and DearDaughter1 were planning to leave Ohio. I pray for traveling mercies as this has been such a rough trip for all.

Faith...Being Stiff-Necked

2009-06-18T09:18:00.005-05:00

I bought a sling for the first time in my Motherhood career and my sister gave me one of the more expensive carriers on the market to help make getting around with 3 children easier. I was really enjoying the freedom the sling and carrier was giving me. I could carry our new little one in the carrier and have one hand free for DearDaughter1 and the other hand free for DearDaughter2. Both the sling and the carrier are good things.

Unfortunately, I found out that you CAN have too much of a good thing. I overused both the sling and the carrier. I was using them to run errands, like grocery shopping, for visits, for fruit picking, for going out to eat, for going to church, etc...Any time I needed my hands free and DearDaughter3 needed some comforting, I would put on my sling or carrier and comfort her in them.

Well, with the overuse of these items, I actually injured my neck to what my chiropractor called a "Whiplash type injury." "From a carrier?!" I exclaimed. Apparently, the weight on my shoulders put a lot of strain on my neck muscles which caused my muscle spasms. I started to feel this kink in my neck at the beginning of last week and thought it was the way I was sleeping. It would go away during the day and I didn't think it was the carrier or the sling. Then, as I was chatting with a friend last Wednesday afternoon, I expressed that I was feeling very achy. This past Saturday, I woke up and could not move my neck or head at all. You don't realize the muscles you use in your neck until you can't use them. Although the rest of my body was fine, I couldn't use my body at all because any type of movement would hurt. It was actually worse than any lower back pain I've ever had!!! There was NO comfortable position. I couldn't even open my mouth to eat or chew :( A single movement would shoot this sharp pain up my neck and spread out into my head, even my ears...Ouch! Being stiff-necked made me immobile.

After this experience I realized why God uses rebellion or a hardenend heart and the term stiff-necked hand in hand. A stiff-necked person is unable to move. When a person resists the Holy Sprit he becomes stiff necked or becomes a person with a hardened heart unable to move or obey God. God warns us that if you remain stiff-necked you will suddenly be destroyed (Proverbs 29:1) because a stiff-necked person does not listen or pay attention to God. One who is stiff-necked will do evil.

All of us fight against sin and even fall into sin, this weight and burden on our shoulders. When we do not know Christ Jesus as our Savior or when we do not guard our hearts in Christ Jesus as our Savior, sin will put a kink in our relationship with God. Let us not remain stiff-necked! Our God is a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Let us listen and respond to the Holy Spirit, trusting in His grace, compassion, and forgiveness, and He will loosen up that kink to keep us mobile in this race to glory!

Notes...A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George

2009-06-18T08:42:00.003-05:00

CHAPTER 5

Scriptures used in chapter:
And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” (Genesis 2:18, NKJV)

...just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28, NKJV)

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. (Philippians 2:3, NKJV)

Key points:
Called to Serve

- A woman after God's own heart is a woman who carefully cultivates a servant spirit who desires to follow in the steps of Jesus which calls for lifelong attention to the heart attitude of serving

- For a married woman, that attitude and service starts at home and more specifically with your husband, not running parallel in competition to him, but behind him, encouraging him

- You are on assignment from God to help your husband; your husband is your career

- This mind-set, especially towards your husband, to esteem him as better than yourself and commit yourself to service, this servant spirit, will help you be more like Christ

Yes, But How?
1. Make a commitment to help your husband

- Let your words reflect YOUR DECISION to help your husband, to be a team with him, and to make helping him the priority focus of your every day

2. Focus on your husband

- Focus on his tasks, his goals, his responsibilities

- Say, "You first!" and ask every day

"What can I do for you today?"

"What can I do to help you make better use of your time today?"

- You want your husband to know that he is your highest human priority. You want to ease his life by helping him.

- Whether you are married or not, serving the people in your life is part of God's will for you. It pleases Him when you follow His will, benefits the lives of those you serve, and shows Christ to the world.
3. Ask of your actions, Will this help or hinder my husband?

Snippet from the Day

2009-06-17T14:18:00.001-05:00

DearHubby and DearDaughter1 just left for Illinois to attend Grandma Smith's (DearHubby's Grandma) funeral while I and the 2 other girls are staying back in New Jersey. Hoping for safety and mercy for us all.

Housekeeping...10 Unexpected Natural Cleaners

2009-06-12T05:39:00.002-05:00

10 Unexpected Natural Cleaners
By Nicole SforzaAround-the-house staples that moonlight as dirt-busting superstars.
original article found on MSN Lifestyle

White Bread
Use white bread to: Dust an oil painting. Gently dab a slice of white bread over the surface to pick up dirt and grime.

Ketchup
Use ketchup to: Remove tarnish from copper and brass cookware. Squeeze ketchup onto a cloth and rub it on pots and pans. They should go back to their coppery color in minutes. Rinse with warm water and dry with a towel.

Oatmeal
Use it to: Scrub very dirty hands. Make a thick paste of oatmeal and water; rinse well.

Rice
Use it to: Clean the inside of a vase or a thin-necked bottle. Fill three quarters of the vessel with warm water and add a tablespoon of uncooked rice. Cup your hand over the opening, shake vigorously, and rinse.

Tea
Use it to: Scour rusty garden tools. Brew a few pots of strong black tea. When cool, pour into a bucket. Soak the tools for a few hours. Wipe each one with a cloth. (Wear rubber gloves or your hands will be stained.)

Glycerin
Use it to: Remove dried wax drippings from candlesticks. Peel off as much wax as possible, then moisten a cotton ball with glycerin and rub until clean.

Club Soda and
Use club soda to: Shine up a scuffed stainless-steel sink. Buff with a cloth dampened with club soda, then wipe dry with another clean cloth.

Hydrogen Peroxide
Use hydrogen peroxide to: Disinfect a keyboard. Dip a cotton swab in hydrogen peroxide to get into those nooks and crannies.

Cornstarch
Use it to: Clean grease spills on carpets. Pour cornstarch onto spots and let sit for 15 to 30 minutes before vacuuming.

Rubbing Alcohol
Use it to: Erase permanent-marker stains from finished wood floors or solid-surface countertops. Pour rubbing alcohol onto a cotton ball and apply.

Snippet from the Day

2009-06-11T21:44:00.001-05:00

It seems like when ever we add to our family we also add to our house. I guess if we're looking to have a mansion, we should just keep having children...Well, tonight was THE night we tore down the wall between our living room and living room addition. It's true, as our family grows, so does our house :)

[A plastic wall was put up to protect the current living area from the construction dust and to cover up the BIG reveal!!!]

Snippet from the Day...

2009-06-10T15:18:00.002-05:00

I am thankful for God's abounding grace and strength to get me through this busy day: a birthday visit with some friends in the morning and strawberry and pea picking this afternoon. All with 3 little ones by my side. And blessedly they remained fairly patient through all the activities :) DearDaughter2 and DearDaughter3 will be going down for a nap shortly and DearDaughter1 and I will, Lord willing, have time to rest too :)

Notes...A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George

2009-06-08T05:47:00.003-05:00

CHAPTER 4

Scriptures used in chapter:
And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will. (Acts 13:22)

Saul’s Unlawful Sacrifice
1 Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel, 2 Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the mountains of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent away, every man to his tent.
3 And Jonathan attacked the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!” 4 Now all Israel heard it said that Saul had attacked a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel had also become an abomination to the Philistines. And the people were called together to Saul at Gilgal.
5 Then the Philistines gathered together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. And they came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of Beth Aven. 6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in danger (for the people were distressed), then the people hid in caves, in thickets, in rocks, in holes, and in pits. 7 And some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead.
As for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. 8 Then he waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. 9 So Saul said, “Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me.” And he offered the burnt offering. 10 Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him.
11 And Samuel said, “What have you done?”
Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, 12 then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the LORD.’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.”
13 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.”
15 Then Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people present with him, about six hundred men.

No Weapons for the Army

16 Saul, Jonathan his son, and the people present with them remained in Gibeah of Benjamin. But the Philistines encamped in Michmash. 17 Then raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned onto the road to Ophrah, to the land of Shual, 18 another company turned to the road to Beth Horon, and another company turned to the road of the border that overlooks the Valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.
19 Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make swords or spears.” 20 But all the Israelites would go down to the Philistines to sharpen each man’s plowshare, his mattock, his ax, and his sickle; 21 and the charge for a sharpening was a pim for the plowshares, the mattocks, the forks, and the axes, and to set the points of the goads. 22 So it came about, on the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan. But they were found with Saul and Jonathan his son.
23 And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash. (1 Samuel 13, NKJV)

So Samuel said: “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. (1 Samuel 15:22, NKJV)

But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you. (1 Samuel 13:14, NKJV)

The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1, NKJV)

Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. (Proverbs 4:23, NKJV)

Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil. (Proverbs 4:25-27, NKJV)

In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:6, NKJV)

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (James 1:5, NKJV)

Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. (James 4:17, NKJV)

But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin. (Romans 14:23, NKJV)

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. (Philippians 4:8, NKJV)

For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted. (Hebrews 2:18, NKJV)

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:8-9, NKJV)

He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. (Proverbs 28:13, NKJV)

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14, NKJV)

Key points:
- Obedience goes into making you a woman after God's own heart

Two Kinds of Hearts

- A heart willing to obey vs. a heart satisfied with merely external acts of sacrifice

- A heart that serves God vs. a heart that serves yourself and did things your way

- A heart concerned with following God's will vs. a heart that cares solely for your own will

- A heart centered on God vs. a heart centere on self

- A heart that obeys for time vs. a heart devoted to God impulsively and sporadically

- A heart that humbly depends upon God, trusting in Him, and repeatedly acknowledging that He is the strength of your life vs. a heart that relies on his own skill, his own wisdom and judgment, and his arm of flesh

The first kind of heart learns, grows, excels, and lifts the hearts and souls of others as he fine tunes himself to the Almighty
The second kind of heart creates immature, irregular, discordant sounds that fade away

Yes, But How?
If we keep our hearts, if we diligently attend to them and guard them, then all of the issues, the actions, the "ongoings and the out-goings" of life will be handled God's way. A heart responsive to God and His ways leads to a life of obedience.

1. Concentrate on doing what is right

- Don't do anything until you know what is right

- Ask God for guidance

- Take time to pray, to think, to search the Scriptures, and to ask advice from someone more seasoned in Christ

- If a person is asking you to do something you are unsure of, simply say, "I'm going to have to give this some thought and prayer. I'll let you know later."

- When in doubt, don't
2. Cease doing what is wrong

- The split second you think or do anything contrary to God's heart, stop immediately!
3. Confess any wrong

- Call sin "sin," and by doing so you train your heart to be more responsive to God's convicting Spirit.
4. Clear up things with others

- When it is appropriate, we need to admit our wrongful behavior to the person involved

5. Continue on as soon as possible

- Once you've acknowledged and dealt with your failure to follow God wholeheartedly, once you've addressed your acts of disobedience, you are to forget those things from the past and go on. We are to remember the lessons learned, but we are also to train our hearts to obey by obeying this command from God to go on.

Home Life...An Afternoon with the Duggars

2009-06-08T05:43:00.000-05:00

We had the opportunity to meet and spend time with the Duggars today. We spent time talking, playing softball, eating dinner, and enjoying good fellowship with them.

In speaking with Mrs. Michelle Duggar about raising children in the Lord, she quoted Galatians 6:9, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

Thank you DearFriend V's for allowing us to share this time with your friends! You all are an encouragement to us!

Home Life...

2009-06-05T15:19:00.002-05:00

I actually need some cheering today...

The Lord's been answering my prayers...For quite some time I've been discouraged about Motherhood because I just felt like all I was doing during the day was just struggling to get through it, fighting fires all day, rather than enjoying these little girls the Lord has blessed us with. As DearHubby and I read Lamentations 3 last night, the author said some words that I have thought, "He has filled me with bitterness,...my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say, 'My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD.'" Yeah, I was feeling like this about Motherhood. So, for some time now, every day, I have prayed that the Lord would show me how to enjoy and savor these little blessings.

Well, as Lamentations 3 goes on, the author says, "The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 'The LORD is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in him.'"

Yeah, great is HIS faithfulness because He has answered my prayers about my little blessings! For the past several weeks I've been spending as much time here at home trying to find the best routine for us. This Monday, I finally sat down and wrote out a very detailed daily routine. I tested it out on Tuesday and tweeked it a little. I tested it out on Wednesday and Thursday and I have been enjoying and having so much fun with my girls! I have time to spend one on one time with them and I have time to get chores done. For once I can truly say that I ENJOY being a mom.

Well, today, I am just feeling a bit blue...I am tired...

Motherhood is such a permanent job and there is no day off...Today is just one of those day, where if I were at work, and had a lot of vacation time, I would take a vacation day to just rest...[Sigh]

Part of this new daily routine is planning out my day with the girls...Their morning and afternoon activities together, their morning and afternoon activities by themselves, their morning and afternoon activities with mommy together, and their morning and afternoon activities with mommy one on one. It's good that I planned for today, last night, because I would not have had the zeal to spend time with my girls and probably would have just depended on the TV to keep them entertained for most of the day. However, I've been so mechanical because I feel so drained...It doesn't help that it is raining out...

I keep wondering if this blah feeling has something to do with the UTI that I have also?

Last week I felt uncomfortable and went to the doctor for a urine test. It came out negative at the office, but they had it sent out. I knew I had an infection and had hoped they would just give me the antibiotics, but they didn't because of the negative test results. Well, finally, one week later, they called in and told me that the lab results showed I was negative for a UTI. I haven't had the opportunity to go out today to pick up my medicine, but I wonder what effects a UTI has on a body after 1 week of hanging around? [Sigh]

Anyway, I'm going to have some one on one time with DearDaughter1 and get a few chores taken care of before having to feed DearDaughter3 and get dinner started...DearHubby's been working on our addition and he has some help over tonight, which means having to put the girls to bed by myself, again...So tired...[Sigh]

Snippet from the Day

2009-06-04T09:27:00.001-05:00

We have waited 9 weeks for this day to come...DearDaughter3 slept for 8 1/2 hours last night, from 11:15 to 7:45 this morning!!! We like sleep :)

Snippet from the Day...Out of the Minds of Babes

2009-06-03T19:19:00.003-05:00

So DearDaughter2 was talking to my mom today and as they said their good-byes, Grandma said "I love you" to her. In response DearDaughter2 said "I love you" too and gave the phone a hug. Awwww, only out of the minds of babes.

Notes...A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George

2009-06-01T15:08:00.002-05:00

CHAPTER 3

Scriptures used in chapter:
I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.(Psalm 121:1-2, NKJV)

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33, NKJV)

...casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7, NKJV)

God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1, NKJV)

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,... (Luke 18:1, NKJV)

Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. (1 Timothy 3:11, NKJV)

...the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things—... (Titus 2:3, NKJV)

If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. (Matthew 5:29-30, NKJV)

And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. (1 John 3:3, NKJV)

For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10, NKJV)

And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.' (Acts 13:22, NKJV)

But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,... (Matthew 5:44, NKJV)

For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly. (Psalm 84:11, NKJV)

Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. (Psalm 100:2, NKJV)

I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart.” (Psalm 40:8, NKJV)

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! (Psalm 34:8, NKJV)

...praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—... (Ephesians 6:18, NKJV)

Key points:
- Develop a meaningful PRAYER life.

Blessing #1: A Deeper Relationship with God
- Prayer increases faith: keep a prayer list and pay close attention to how God answers the list

- Prayer provides a place to unload burdens: give all the cares of life to God in prayer and be relieved and freed from the heavy weights and let the Master take your burdens

- Prayer teaches us that God is always near: God is present in EVERY condition

- Prayer trains us not to panic: replace your tendency to panic at the first hint of any problem with God's strength through prayer

- Prayer changes lives

Blessing #2: Greater Purity
- Becoming pure is a process of spiritual growth, and taking seriously the confession of sin during prayer time moves that process along, causing us to purge our life of practices that displease God.

- Confess sin as an offense to God each time sin is committed and real change begins.

Blessing #3: Confidence in Making Decisions

- Make no decision without prayer. If there is no time for prayer, the general answer should be "no" because you want to be certain your decisions are actually God's choices. This principle will keep you from rushing in and committing yourself before you consult God. It guards you against people-pleasing and your tendency to second-guess your commitments will end.

Blessing #4: Improved Relationships

- You cannot think about yourself and others at the same time: prayer helps you focus outward, away from self and on to others

- You cannot hate the person you are praying for: God changes our hearts when we pray for others

- You cannot neglect the person you are praying for: As you invest yourself in prayer for other people, you find yourself involved in their lives

Blessing #5: Contentment

- Place everything in God's hands, letting it be His job to meet your needs, "If He doesn't meet it, you didn't need it!"

Blessing #6: God-Confidence

- When you make choices that honor God, the Holy Spirit fills you with His power for ministry. You will find His divine life in us overflowing into the lives of others.

- As the events you've prayed about and committed to arrive, you can enjoy the settled assurance that they are God's will and can enter into them with delight, anticipation, and courage.

Blessing #7: The Ministry of Prayer

- Prayer makes a difference in history. Prayer changes the lives of others. Our prayers make a difference!

Yes, But How?
1. Start a prayer log to record requests and responses as you travel your own personal journey of prayer
2. Set aside some time each day to linger with the Lord in prayer and remember that something is better than nothing. Begin small - and watch for the mighty effects!
3. Pray always and in all places, enjoying God's presence with you wherever you go
4. Pray faithfully for others - including your enemies

5. Take seriously the powerful privilege of the ministry of prayer

Revisiting MyRoutine 2

2009-06-01T10:07:00.009-05:00

EveryDay Tasks:
1. Devotions
2. One Load of Laundry (washed and folded)
3. Dishes cleaned
4. PersonalShower/Dressed by 12pm
5. Cook/make meals
6. Beds made, toys put away, things put in their place
7. Trash
8. Sort through mail
9. Surface vacuum

WeekEnd Task: Grocery Shopping

Weekly focus on ONE Room: Vacuum, dust, purge and organize as many areas that week

CHORES:
Sunday: The Lord's Day!
Monday: Bathroom cleaning
Tuesday: Look over budget, file paperwork, or pay bills
Wednesday: Change sheets and towels, Dust/Deep Clean ONE Room
Thursday: Vacuum ONE Room, Exercise
Friday: Purge and Organize ONE Room, Plan menu for following week
Saturday: Grocery Day (6am-8am)

Monday thru Friday Schedule
5am Hour: DD3's 1st feeding
7:00
Mommy: Get up, breakfast (Mon, Thurs), dedicated time of prayer (Mon), read weekly devotion notes (Tue-Fri), get morning toys out
8:00
DD1 & DD2: Get up, breakfast
DD3: 2nd feeding/Mommy time
8:30
Mommy: Breakfast (Tue, Wed, Fri)
DD1 & DD2: Sibling play time
DD3: Bath (Monday, Thursday), Waketime Activity (Tue, Wed, Fri)
9:00
DD1 & DD2: Bath (Monday, Thursday), Mommy time (Tue, Wed, Fri)
DD3: Naptime
9:30
Mommy: Clean-up from Bath (Monday, Thursday), Chore time (Tue, Wed, Fri)
DD1 & DD2: Sibling play time
9:45
DD1 & DD2: Snack time
10:00
Mommy: Write out weekly devotion notes (Monday), Chore/Computer time (Tue, Wed, Fri)
DD1: TV time
DD2: Nap
11:00
DD1: Free Playtime
DD3: 3rd feeding/Mommy time
11:30
DD3: Waketime Activity
12:00
DD1 & DD2: Lunch
DD3: Nap
12:30
Mommy: Lunch
DD1 & DD2: Sibling playtime
1:00
DD1: Roomtime
DD2: Mommy time
1:30
Mommy: switch out morning toys
DD2: TV time
2:00
DD1 & DD2: Sibling playtime
DD3: 4th feeding/Mommy time
2:30
DD1 & DD2: Mommy time
DD3: Waketime Activity
2:45
Snack time
3:00
DD1: Mommy time
DD2 & DD3: Nap
3:30
Mommy: Chore time/Part of Dinner prep
DD1: Structured Activity
4:00
DD1: Free Playtime
4:30
DD1: TV time
5:00
DD1 & DD2: Sibling playtime
DD3: 5th feeding/Mommy time
5:30
DD1 & DD2: Mommy/Daddy time
DD3: Waketime Activity
6:00
Mommy: Dinner prep
DD1 & DD2: Sibling playtime
DD3: Nap
6:30: Family Dinner
7:00
DD1 & DD2: Clean-up time (toys away)
7:15
DD1 & DD2: Bedtime routine
8:00
DD3: 6th feeding & Bedtime
8:30
Mommy: Chore time
9:30
Mommy: Shower
10:00
DD3: 7th feeding & Bedtime
10:30
Mommy: Plan out next day's activities
11:00
Daddy & Mommy: Devotions/Prayer, Bedtime

DD1 = DearDaughter1
DD2 = DearDaughter2
DD3 = DearDaughter3

Home Life...A Funny Story of Faith and Courage

2009-05-31T21:14:00.009-05:00

Picture hosted by www.photobucket.com

A few weeks ago, at the doctor's office, the nurse asked me where'd I get the names of my children, "Did you get them from a book?" DearHubby and I purposely named our children what we did because we wanted a way to open up an opportunity for us to share the gospel without being so forward. However, I never considered what I would say when I was really asked about their names. So when the nurse asked me where I got the names of my children I froze and gave her a very watered down answer.

The next day at our Women's study, I told my DearFriend D about my situation at the doctor's office. Later on, she called me with a revelation. "Your birth announcement has exactly what you need to say! You could start off by saying, 'My husband and I wanted a way to share our Christian faith and so we named our children these names to do that,' then you could just say what you wrote on your birth announcement!"

I thought, "Good point!"

Well, this past Friday, while we were at Chick-Fil-A for dinner, I had the opportunity to share the gospel with someone using my children's names. There was a family sitting next to us who had a newborn also. We asked the age of our newborns and found out that our babies were the same age. So, we got to exchanging the names of our babies. The husband then asked me, "Why did you name your daughter that?" As he asked this question, I grew really nervous, but I also worked up the courage to answer the question because I had practiced in my head what I would say; I would just repeat everything I wrote on the birth announcement. After I gave my whole spiel, the husband said, "Oh, I wondered if you knew what the meaning of your baby's name is because I'm a pastor." As he said this, a bit of disappointment ran through my mind...Here I was thinking that I worked up the courage to share the gospel with someone who didn't know it and all along I was sharing it with a pastor...

DearHubby and I joked about it in the car, on the way home. At first we joked and said it was "wasted" courage, but then we said that it was great practice. DearHubby also said that the pastor actually seemed encouraged by my sharing of the gospel; that there are brothers and sisters out there willing to set forth the gospel of Christ.

God is so good :) He allowed me the opportunity to share the gospel and the opportunity to work up the courage and tell of his story as practice...And as I shared this story with my DearFriend D she said, "Who knows, although you weren't directly sharing with someone who didn't know the gospel, who knows who could have heard you while you were sharing it?"

Notes...A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George

2009-05-19T10:26:00.002-05:00

CHAPTER 2

Scriptures used in chapter:
For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river,... (Jeremiah 17:8, NKJV)

A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; (Ecclesiastes 3:2, NKJV)

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. (John 10:10, NKJV)

He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. (Psalm 1:3, NKJV)

They go from strength to strength; Each one appears before God in Zion. (Psalm 84:7, NKJV)

...and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7, NKJV)

...the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things— that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed. (Titus 2:3-5, NKJV)

Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. (Proverbs 4:23, NKJV)

Key points:
- We must nurture a root system! Roots make all the difference in the health of a plant, and their presence or absence ultimately becomes known to all. The health of anything-whether a garden plant or a heart devoted to God-reflects what is going on (or not going on!) underground.

Drawing Life from God's Word
- We must develop a root system anchored deep in Him.

- We are to draw from Him all that we need to live the abundant life He has promised His children.

- We must seek to live our lives near to God-indeed, hidden in Him!

Roots are unseen
- We want what other people see of our lives-the public portion-to stir up [a] kind of awe and wonder. We want our strength in public to be explained by what goes on in private between us and God. The impact of your ministry to people will be in direct proportion to the time you spend away from people and with God. So that our roots grow deep into Him, God calls us away from this world.

Roots are for taking in
- When we spend time with Christ, He supplies us with strength and encourages us in the pursuit of His ways. [This is the] "great exchange." Away from the world and hiden from public view, you exchange your weariness for His strength, your weakness for His power, your darkness for His light, your problems for His solutions, your burdens for His freedom, your frustrations for His peace, your turmoil for His calm, your hopes for His promises, your afflictions for His balm of comfort, your questions for His answers, your confusion for His knowledge, your doubt for his assurance, your nothingness for His awesomeness, the temporal for the eternal, and the impossible for the possible.

Roots are for storage

- Roots serve as a reservoir of what we need. As a result:

...- You will not be afraid of fiery trials, no matter how long they last because the reservoir you have stored up from God's Word will sustain you.

...- You will bear fruit faithfully even in times of drought. As you regularly draw needed refreshment from God's Word, He creates in us a reservoir of hope and strength in Him. Then, when times are rough, we won't be depleted, dried up, disintegrated, or die...You will be able to go from "strength to strength."

- Find strength in Scriptures you memorize

- Gain spiritual energy from psalms read, studied, and prayed through in earlier (and quieter) times alone with God.

- Tap into God's power through prayer

Roots are for support

- Without a well-developed root system, we become top heavy-lots of leafy, heavy foliage appears above ground but nothing supports it from underneath.

- The support of a healthy root system is vital for standing strong in the Lord!

Yes, But How?
1. Develop the habit of drawing near to God
- Aim for habitual, scheduled time with God whether you feel like it or not, whether it seems like the best use of your time or not. You must draw near to God.

- Chose to have a devotional time with God, even if it couldn't be as long as you hoped for.
2. Design a personal time for drawing near to God
- WHEN: Pick a time that matches your lifestyle. (ie. some moms of newborns have their time with the Lord in the middle of the night when they are awakened by a crying baby...)
- WHERE: Do what you need to do to make a specific spot your place to meet with the Lord.

- WHAT AIDS?: a good reading light, highlighters, pens, pencils, markers, sticky notes, 3"x5" cards, legal pads for writing, a prayer notebook, a box of tixxues, a hymnal or CD player, a journal, a Bible-reading schedule, a devotional book, or some reference books.
3. Dream of being a woman after God's heart!
- Motivation is key when it comes to nurturing a heart of devotion, and dreaming helps motivate us.

- Describe the woman you want to be spiritually in one year.

...- attack a weak area in your Christian life and gain the victory, read through the entire Bible, prepare for the mission field, be mentored by an older woman, mentor a younger one, complete a counseling training curriculum or some training in evangelism, finish a one-year Bible school course, memorize xx verses from the Bible, read a dozen quality Christian books...DREAM ON-AND DO IT!

- Describe the woman you want to be spiritually in ten years from now.

...- jot your present age and write underneath it the age you will be in ten years. Imagine what those intervening ten years might hold, and you'll see that you will need God for the events of those years!

- God will take you as far as you want to go, as fast as you want to go. So how far...and how fast...do you want to move toward becoming the woman of your dreams?

Notes...A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George

2009-05-12T09:36:00.005-05:00

CHAPTER 1

Scriptures used in chapter:
But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her. (Luke 10:42, NKJV)

For we walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7, NKJV)

Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42, NKJV)

In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:6, NKJV)

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. (Psalm 32:8, NKJV)

Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left. (Isaiah 31:21, NKJV)

...and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. (Romans 8:17, NKJV)

I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.(Revelation 3:15-16, NKJV)

For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. (Luke 1:49, NKJV)

Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples. (Psalm 96:3, NKJV)

Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy... (Psalm 107:2, NKJV)

Key points:
- Every one of us has a body that will someday fail us - and that someday is not necessarily too far off.
- Seek to make life count every day and for eternity.
- Choose with your whole heart to seek to live your life for God, love God, worship God, walk with God, serve God, and look forward to being with Him in eternity.

A Heart Devoted to God
1. Discern the one thing needed
- Make the choice that indicates your heart's devotion: know it is important to cease your busyness, stop all activity, and set aside secondary things in order to focus wholly on the Lord.
2. Choose the one thing needed
- Be preoccupied with one thing at all times - God!
- Choose to spend time worshiping God: nothing can take the place of time in God's presence which fuels and focuses all acts of service, time spent hearing and worshiping God can never be taken away, for it is time spent in eternal pursuits, time that earns permanent and everlasting dividends.

Yes, But How?
1. Choose God's ways at every opportunity
- Commit yourself to actively choose God and His ways in your decisions, words, thoughts, and responses.
- Proverbs 3:6: consult with God regarding our decisions, thoughts, words spoken, or responses. Before we move ahead or merely react, we need to stop and pray first, "God what would you have me do-or think or say-here?"...And then God takes over and does His part-He directs your paths. He guides you in what to do, how to act, and what to say.

- The saying "good, better, best":

Good, better, best
never let it rest,
until your good is better, and your better best.

Strive to make the best choice, choose the best way.
- Standing in awe of God: Don't be robbed of even one of God's riches by not taking time to let Him invade your life, by not listening to what He is telling you, by allowing the routine, pressing matters of your minutes to bankrupt you of time for the most exciting, most fulfilling relationship in life. Stand in awe of God and what He wants to do in you, for you, and through you.
2. Commit yourself to God daily
- Start fresh with God by giving Him all that you are, all that you have...now...forever...and daily.
- Give God your life, your body, your health, your husband, each child, your home, your possessions. Nurture the habit of placing these blessings in God's loving hands to do with them what He will. After all, they are not ours-they are His! A daily prayer of commitment helps us to release what we think are our rights to these gifts.
3. Cultivate a hot heart
- Our heart for God should be like a boiling pot, characterized by God-given and intense passion for our Lord, fiery and excited about God, and God will fuel our fire.
- Overflow with His goodness and praise.
- Speak of the great things He has done for you.
- Tell of His wonders.

Snippet from the Day

2009-05-12T08:29:00.003-05:00

I just made my first pot of coffee for myself in the new Black & Decker coffee maker DearHubby's parents gave...I am VERY sentimental and I'm surprised that I, without a 2nd thought, easily gave up my 10+ years old coffee maker that I sent out for in college and didn't even take a picture of it; it was one of those free coffee makers you get when you order Gevalia coffee. I had a black one.

Snippet from the Day

2009-05-11T16:44:00.002-05:00

I had an interesting time grocery shopping at Wal-Mart with all 3 girls alone; DearDaughter3 was in a sling, DearDaughter2 was in the cart's seat, while DearDaughter1 rode up front...DearDaughter2 drank too much juice for lunch and I forgot to bring extra supplies. The sales clerk from the kids' department thought I stole the new diapers and clothes I was changing DearDaughter2 into and DearDaughter1 had my receipt who was in a stall herself :o

Home Life...

2009-05-11T06:18:00.002-05:00

I wish I could say that I had a happy mother's day...Well, maybe before I continue on, perhaps I should take some time to thank God for all the good things that happened...

Thank you, Lord, that we made it to church on time to join in with the church family to praise and worship you!

Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to talk to some people after church and to hear how you've been answering their prayers.

Thank you, Lord, for providing our family with an abundance of food!

Thank you, Lord, for a beautiful bright sunny day.

So, I shared Mother's Day with DearHubby's birthday and I decided that since Mother's Day wasn't a real holiday anyway we would do what DearHubby wanted to do for his birthday. DearHubby wanted to go back home and nap.

We had leftovers for lunch and afterwards we prepared the afternoon for a nap. Before DearHubby and I had children, our Sunday afternoon "tradition" was to nap during the afternoon in between the morning and evening services. However, since DearDaughter1 stopped her afternoon naps, I have not napped on Sunday afternoons.

Well, we have been struggling with DearDaughter1's disobedience in the evenings and we decided that it's because she's tired from the day that she has these horrible meltdowns. I wanted to work on "rest" time this week with DearDaughter1 and decided that we could start our first "rest" time this Mother's Day so that I could have a nap too. Both DearDaughter1 and DearDaughter2 are now sharing a room and we thought that if both girls were in there for "rest" time, neither one would really rest. DearDaughter2 still naps in her crib, so it was an obvious decision to move DearDaughter1 out of the room for this time. We set up her little couch in our room.

Every one was down for a nap by 3:30pm, even our new little one, and I was excited to finally get some sleep. As I prepared to lay down, DearDaughter1 said she couldn't sleep. I told her to get some books and to "read" and when she gets tired, then to lay the books aside and lay down. The books kept her busy for a short time, but as I was just about to fall asleep, DearDaughter1 tapped me on the arm and said that she still wasn't tired. I sent her back to her couch to lay down. Once again, as I was just about to fall asleep, DearDaughter1 tapped me on the arm and said that she still wasn't tired. This continued on until 5pm. By this time, DearHubby had 2 hours of uninterrupted naptime and so I woke him up and asked him if I could just have 30 minutes of uninterrupted time too. He took DearDaughter1 into the living room and turned on a video for her while he browsed the internet.

After my uninterrupted time was over, I got up and got a snack. DearDaughter1 asked if she could have a snack too. DearHubby reminded me that it was nearing dinner and that DearDaughter1 should not get a snack. I looked at the clock and noticed that we had about 45 minutes before our normal dinner time and asked DearHubby if she could have a little fruit snack to just hold her over. He agreed. When DearDaughter1 finished her snack, she wanted more, but DearHubby refused her more. DearDaughter1 didn't like DearHubby's answer and threw a fit. Her fit grew worse even after being disciplined and she was yelling and screaming and crying at the top of her lungs. Nothing DearHubby did would calm her and after much patience with DearDaughter1, DearHubby got angry.

The evening just wasn't the same afterwards. I reminded DearHubby that since DearDaughter1 is not yet in Christ that her tendency is to do what is wrong and that it is our responsibility to exemplify Christ-like responses. If we do not persevere in doing what is right and respond in an un-Christ-like manner, then that's the response we are going to get from our children.

Though I admitted to being more impatient and more sinful in my reaction towards my children, there was just tension between DearHubby and I the rest of the evening. Whatever dinner plans he had for the evening was squashed by this situation and I ended up making a frozen meal for dinner. After dinner, we put the girls to bed, DearHubby straightened out the house while I nursed our little one, and then we got ready for bed. Before going to sleep I asked DearHubby if there was anything on his mind and he said he was fine. I turned over and resisted the temptation to "talk" it out and that was the evening.

Before DearDaughter1 went to bed she asked DearHubby if he had a fun birthday party. He asked her what she meant. DearDaughter1 was excited for DearHubby's birthday party and asked me when were all his friends coming over. I told her that daddy's birthday party was our rest time and that our birthday gift to him was a nice nap. "Daddy, did you have a fun birthday party? Your nap time?"

I was thinking of making up for a sour day by buying a birthday cake for DearHubby today and preparing a small surprise family birthday party with the girls. I hope all goes well with the girls to do this...

Snippet from the Day

2009-04-17T11:51:00.003-05:00

Housekeeping...It amazes me how I am motivated to clean when I have guests coming over. My in-laws will be with us next week and my parents the week after. I deep cleaned our kitchen counter, stove, microwave, and kitchen window yesterday. Today I cleaned out our pantry. They all needed the cleaning badly... So, is it because I'm lazy or are my priorities in other places? Where should cleaning come on the priority list?

I need to remember my Housekeeping Mission Statement to find that answer and "balance".

Kiddos...I wondered (on Wednesday) what DearDaughter2 will come up with next (after marker scribbles all over her face on Tuesday and then chocolate frosting covered living room on Wednesday)...Well, today, it's a broken glass mug. Blessedly, I heard the breaking glass and ran out before one of the girls got hurt. This was DearHubby's favorite mug... I hope I can find a replacement mug :-(

Thankful Thursday

2009-04-16T09:26:00.002-05:00

1. Thank you, Lord, for giving us 3 children. Though we don't deserve them, you have entrusted them to us.

2. Thank you, Lord, for being in control of the weather, whether it be dreary and rainy or bright and sunny! We should be thankful for every day!

3. Thank you, Lord, for your faithfulness and bringing us back on the straight and narrow when we wander off the path.

Verse of the Day from BibleGateway.com:
“[Love, for the Day is Near] Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.” (Romans 13:8, NIV)

Thankful Thursday originally posted on A Forum for Christian Women.

Snippet from the Day

2009-04-15T13:01:00.001-05:00

I wonder how DearDaughter2 comes up with all her mischief. Every time I leave the room for a second DearDaughter2's already executed her misconduct. Yesterday her face was covered with marker scribbles and so was the couch (I'm sad there's no pictures of the face). Today it was chocolate frosting on her face, couch, camera, and whatever else she touched... What will she come up with next?

Home Life...Adjusting

2009-04-14T10:06:00.006-05:00

We went to Chick-Fil-A last night...I know, I know, we have food in the freezer from the abundance of food we received last week and we even have a whole cooked chicken and mashed potatoes in the refrigerator, so we had no excuse to spend money to eat out, but I'm beginning to get cabin fever and just needed to get out of the house.

Anyway, when I was pregnant and went out to eat, I usually sat on the outside to make it easier for me to get in and out. Last night, when I came back with our food, I noticed all the outside seats were taken and my family sat me on the inside, near the window. I was shocked to find out that I could actually squeeze through to the back without hitting anything, anybody, or myself. My big belly is gone!

A few nights after coming home from the hospital I sat down to relax with DearHubby to watch a missed episode of The Office, our favorite TV show, and I went to prop my arms on my belly and my arm rest was gone. Hmmmm :}

Yeah, although DearDaughter3 is now with us, everything has still been so surreal and I am still in disbelief that she is with us and that I am no longer pregnant. I still keep thinking of April 18th, her due date, and waiting for it to come. Everything has gone by so quickly, from the birthing experience to bringing her home, that it just doesn't seem real. DearHubby seems to think the same thing as he commented that he can't believe DearDaughter3 is actually a real person here with us. Yet, daily, we see my stomach shrinking and our Little One IS here.

Last week was a bit difficult being home with the girls alone. Though God has been very merciful to me by giving me an easier recovery from this C-section versus the recovery from my C-section with DearDaughter1, I was still in a bit of pain last week. My desire was to just concentrate on myself and DearDaughter3. I was glad when Thursday afternoon came along and DearHubby arrived home from work. Since DearHubby works in a Christian company he had Good Friday off and I was relieved for his short work week so that he could help me out. The most difficult part so far has been caring for my 2 older girls...DearDaughter3 sleeps a lot, but I am feeding her every 3 hours and giving her that undivided attention for at least 30 minutes and up to 45 minutes. It's during that time when the older girls want my attention and really act up by being disobedient or whiny.

Blessing...God has been very merciful as I have not taken any pain medications since Resurrection Day Sunday!

This is my first full week home with the girls alone. I've got a lot of things running through my mind like when will I get this done and when will I get that done and how will I meet her need or her need or her need?...Ahhh (sigh)...

So, how do you juggle 3 children? One child at a time.

How do you juggle 3 children and a house full of chores and in laws coming next week and parents coming the week after next?

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:4-7, 13)

Music...You Are My King (Amazing Love)

2009-04-11T21:45:00.002-05:00

You Are My King (Amazing Love)
from Billy and Cindy Foote's I Have a River

I'm forgiven because You were forsaken
I'm accepted, You were condemned
I'm alive and well, Your Spirit is within me
Because You died and rose again

Amazing love, how can it be
That You, my King, would die for me?
Amazing love, I know it's true
It's my joy to honor You

I'm forgiven because You were forsaken
I'm accepted, You were condemned
I'm alive and well, Your Spirit is within me
Because You died and rose again

Amazing love, how can it be
That You, my King, would die for me?
Amazing love, I know it's true
It's my joy to honor You

In all I do I honor You
You are my King
You are my King
Jesus, You are my King
Jesus, You are my King

Amazing love, how can it be
That You, my King, would die for me?
Amazing love, I know it's true
It's my joy to honor You

In all I do I honor You

Music...Beautiful Scandalous Night

2009-04-11T21:37:00.006-05:00

Beautiful Scandalous Night
from City on a Hill's The Gathering

Go on up to the mountain of mercy
To the crimson perpetual tide
Kneel down on the shore
Be thirsty no more
Go under and be purified

Follow Christ to the Holy mountain
Sinner, sorry and wrecked by the fall
Cleanse your heart and your soul
In the fountain that flows
For you and for me and for all

CHORUS:
At the wonderful tragic mysterious tree
On that beautiful scandalous night you and me
Were atoned by His blood and forever washed white
On that beautiful scandalous night

On the hillside you will be delivered
At the foot of the cross, justified
And your spirit restored
By the river that pours
From our blessed Saviour's side

BRIDGE:
You carry the sin of mankind on your back
And the sky went black
Go on up to the mountain of mercy
Go the crimson perpetual tide
Kneel down on the shore
Be thirsty no more
Go under and be purified

On that beautiful scandalous night
Beautiful scandalous
Miraculous night

Pregnancy...The C-section Couldn't Be Avoided

2009-04-09T21:09:00.003-05:00

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It's been over a week since I've posted anything...We've been really busy around here.

Our Little One arrived on March 31, 2009 @ 12:31am.

I started feeling consistent contractions on Monday, March 30th, @ 5pm. They were coming every 8-10 minutes and lasting between 60-90 seconds. We called the doctor and he said to go to the hospital immediately because he didn't want me to labor at home.

We arrived at the hospital @ 9:30pm and an ultrasound of Little One was taken. She was still in a transverse (side lying) position and her back was towards my cervix. At this point, I was already 4.75cm dilated, already in active labor. When we inquired about turning the baby, the OB said that it was too late to turn the baby as I was already in active labor and a baby cannot be turned while the uterus is contracting. This was a medical condition for a C-section delivery.

I was prepared for a C-section at 11:30pm, brought into the Operating Room at 12am, and our Little One was born at 12:31am.

I initially said to DearHubby that this was like preparing for a race and not being able to even start it, but later realized that God just wanted to remind us that He is in complete control. Therefore, rather than us not being able to finish the race, we consider this situation as God finishing the race for us :)

We are very blessed with a beautiful and healthy baby, even at only 37 weeks :) She was 8lbs 6oz and 19.5 inches long!!!

Her big sisters are already so in awe of their little sister and we had a fun birthday party for Little One at the hospital!

Our church family has been so wonderful in providing help for our family during this time and it was such a testimony of Christ's love while I was in the hospital. There was a nurse who visited me every day and she always asked who was watching our other 2 girls. Every day I told her that a different friend was watching the girls and this nurse was very impressed by the love and care that our friends showed towards us. The nurse said, "Wow, I have never seen such love and care by just friends before. Usually you only see that kind of love and care by family." So I explained to her that these friends are a part of our church family and I exclaimed how our church family IS our family. Then, she asked me if we had any help when DearHubby goes back to work and I told her that we didn't have to worry because we were confident that our church family will be there to offer help.

We have had an outpouring of help from people watching our girls both day and night, to driving me to the doctor, to an abundance of food!!! It is such a testimony of God's love and we are grateful for God's faithfulness!

Yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love!!!

As far as my recovery, God has been very merciful! The pain has been very minimal and I am even able to get up and out of bed on her own; very different from my first C-section with DearDaughter1. In fact, I was feeling good on Sunday that the family was able to go to church, only days after being released from the hospital! Many were surprised to see us there! On Tuesday, April 7th, DearHubby went back to work and I survived the day, by God's loving grace! I am very tired, but have made it! My staples have also been removed and the incision is healing well!

The girls are adjusting well to the new baby and the new baby is fitting right in with the family. The girls wish they could actually see their little sister more, but she needs her sleep and so she's mostly eating or sleeping. Mommy is glad that our Little One is eating well because she was a little jaundice and needs to get those bowels moving to get that biliruben number down.

DearHubby's been a wonderful daddy and has held up the fort really well! When the girls didn't see their daddy on Tuesday morning, they cried out for him. Mommy missed him too :(

Pregnancy...A Prayer Request

2009-03-27T06:31:00.003-05:00

On Monday, March 23rd, I had a non-stress test for the baby and an ultrasound done to check the amniotic fluid level. Praise God, the results for both tests were normal! However, during the ultrasound, the technician discovered that Little One #3 is not in position yet, she was laying sideways and not head-down. I will be considered full-term by tomorrow, Saturday. I saw the midwife last night and checked the position of the baby again and she was still fully sideways.

I am scheduled for an external version on Monday @ 10am. The doctor will basically use an ultrasound to aid him in manually turning the baby. The risk for this procedure is an immediate C-section if the baby goes in distress. The good news is that the doctor who will be doing this will not force the baby to move if he doesn't think she will and he has never had to do a C-section during this procedure.

If the external version is successful and the baby is turned, then I would be set to go into labor.

If the external version is not successful and the baby is still in a transverse position, fully laying sideways, when I go into labor, a C-section is required. There is no way to vaginally deliver a transverse baby.

In the meantime, the midwife has given us some things to do to encourage the baby to move into position. One is the get on all 4s and rub the baby towards the direction she needs to go. Another is to get mysel upside down or at least my bottom higher to encourage the Little One's head to float up, which might encourage her to move in the right direction. Another is to shine a flash light where her head should be because Little Ones are inquisitive and she may want to see what the light is all about. Another is to just lean forward over the counter to give enough room for the Little One to move. We will be doing these things throughout the weekend.

We hope all our endeavors work.

Our hope and desire is to avoid a C-section.

"One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple. For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock." -Psalm 27:4,5

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, 'My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'" -Psalm 91:1,2

Home Life...

2009-03-20T06:24:00.003-05:00

Last night DearHubby and I attended an Open House for a school, Stratford Classical Christian Academy. They had such an encouraging and uplifting presentation about our God given role, responsibility, and privilege to train up our children in the ways of the Lord that the love for my children was once again renewed.

I have also started reading a book entitled Ina May's Guide to Child Birth by Ina May Gaskin. Ina May is a leading mid-wife and her book speaks about the miracle of natural childbirth. In the 2 chapters I have read so far I am being reminded of how wondrous God made our bodies to be able to present a new life into this world.

I have also made it a point, even when I'm tired, to once again start my day with God, while my children are still asleep. I was very diligent in spending time with our Father up until I started feeling overwhelmed about my pregnancy, about mid-February, and I was sporatic about that time, maybe only 1 day a week. I have decided, even when I'm tired, I am going to keep to my commitment to spend time with the one who loves me because He is always commited to spend time with me. Even when I don't go to Him, He is still here. And even if my motions may be mechanical, my desire is still to spend time with God and to learn His ways, and I trust and have confidence that God will bless those desires!

With the combination of a renewed love for my children, the awe of how God created the woman's body to endure child birth, and spending time with God daily, my outlook towards the arrival of Little One #3 is much brighter than it was at the beginning of the week. Last night I got as little sleep as I did on Monday, but I don't feel as overwhelmed and I actually feel more motivated to continue running this race!

It's amazing how God allowed a time of "darkness" so that I can see His wonderful "light"! I am so thankful for His faithfulness, always!

Well, I "cheated" on my healthy eating habits yesterday as I went to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and then had pizza for dinner last night and a piece of browny for dessert. However, I think I needed a break and a cheat day, but I kept wondering if indulging myself was biblical. As I think about it though, the Bible talks about learning self-control and as I ate my Dunkin Donuts croissant sandwich and drank my coffee or had my pizza dinner or even my browny dessert, I didn't eat as a glutton would, without self-control.

Anyway, the healthy eating habits have been a benefit to my family. I needed to cut out sugars and processed foods out of my diet because the mid-wife I'm seeing thinks that will help keep the size of Little One #3 down, as she was measuring in the 97th percentile. So, I've upped the fiber and protein, upped the fruits and veggies, and pretty much cut out everything "white" like white rice, pasta, and bread and substituted them with "brown" rice, whole wheat pasta and bread! With these great food choices around the house, whether we're eating a snack or a meal, it's packed with good calories for the body. Even if I feel like I'm eating more, I've actually lost weight in my pregnancy :) That weight loss just goes to show how the food choices we were making were not necessarily the best for our bodies, even if we were practicing self-control (as my family are not big eaters).

"Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." Ephesians 6:4, NIV

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires." Galatians 5:22-24, NIV

Pregnancy...

2009-03-16T09:01:00.003-05:00

I had a hard time sleeping last night and got very little of it, if any. There were a lot of things running through my mind, especially the idea of having a third Little One to care for in less than 5 weeks. I'm getting quite anxious about it.

DearHubby and I spent most of this weekend with a lot of tension between us. We finally found reconciliation and resolution to our issues last night when we both were finally willing to talk and discovered that the main reason we've both been so on edge lately is because we've been getting very little rest. I, especially, like to take advantage of the time after the girls are in bed. I like to get the house ready for the next day during this time and sometimes it takes me 'til 10pm to get all that I want done done. It's so hard getting chores done during the day while the girls are running around. There's an interruption every 5 minutes and it sometimes takes longer to do a chore while they're up versus when they're down. DearDaughter2 is also at a stage where she's very clingy and sometimes whiny, which is understandable. Her attention span is still so short and she cannot stay on an activity for very long and still needs a lot of direction. So, it is twice as hard to get anything accomplished while DearDaughter2 is up as she demands lots of time from me. In addition, she's transitioning from 2 naps to 1 and on some days I don't start my day until the afternoon and by that time I am just so tired. I'm not even talking about the days where we've got appointments to make and we have to leave the house by 8am. And then, the chores I'm talking about isn't even like cleaning chores. Cleaning and dusting is such a foreign term in this house right now. It's just mere survival chores like getting groceries, cooking, dishes, laundry, sorting of mail, paying of bills, and taking out trash that I have a hard time keeping up with. In addition to getting those chores done, I've been trying to get some extra projects squeezed in so that when my parents are here they'll have room in the laundry room to put their luggage and DearHubby can start work on our addition.

Yeah, it sometimes takes me 2 to 3 weeks just to even get to cleaning our toilet, when there's mold starting to form. I don't even know when was the last time I touched our bath tub.

This Saturday we moved DearDaughter2 into DearDaughter1's room and before we placed any furniture down, I dusted and vacuumed the area. I haven't cleaned DearDaughter1's room for over a year and there were dust bunnies and cakes of dust everywhere.

What makes things even more of a challenge is just the physical challenge of being pregnant. Carrying this big belly is really such a chore and with the combination of a lack of rest, it is really difficult to make my body get up and go.

So, as I think about the condition of this house, especially the difficulty of keeping up with chores now, I am feeling a bit anxious about adding another Little One to care for. Breastfeeding alone will take up a lot of time...

DearHubby set a time limit for us last night to aim for a 10pm bedtime. So, I listed all the reasons why we don't get to bed by 10pm now. He has volunteered to help me with some chores and now we have a division of labor. However, I also agreed to save some chores for the day time and that has me a little nervous as the chores I save at night are the ones that take the most time and concentration.

It's probably me being so tired that my outlook on things are just so negative. Maybe if I get more rest my outlook will be brighter.

Funday Friday...The Philadelphia Zoo

2009-03-12T10:13:00.002-05:00

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On Friday, February 27th, the girls and I went to the zoo with Mrs. L and Little A. The Philly Zoo has a special in February where you "pay the weather". So, on days that are 40 degrees, you would pay $4, on days that are 50 degrees, you would pay $5, and so on. It beats the regular winter price of $12.95 per person. On this day, the temperature high, I guess, was in the 60s because I paid $6 for me and DearDaughter1. The biggest expenditure was parking, $12, YIKES!

We met Mrs. L and Little A near the entrance and had corn chicken soup for lunch accompanied with some sandwiches, apples, and ginger snaps!

After lunch we walked around for a couple of hours. The girls all loved naming the animals and Little A was the fearless one on this outing as she chased after whatever animal she could, especially at the petting zoo. DearDaughter2 came a close second for most fearless as she didn't mind chasing after the goats at the petting zoo, but she was still too shy to pet them. DearDaughter1 wasn't at all interested in petting any animal. She was ok being a mere spectator.

It was scheduled to rain at 3pm and the girls and I made it back to the car just in time, before the hard rain hit us!

Project...Laundry Room Clean-Up

2009-03-10T11:16:00.006-05:00

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My next home project is the clean-up of our laundry room. Every year the laundry room becomes a catch all room and by the end of the year we can barely move through it. So, here we go again...

To Do List:
~~- Move all toys on the floor into the temporary storage area (Master Bedroom)~~
~~- Pack up all gift items and store in temporary storage area~~
~~- Pack up Princess tent and store in temporary storage area~~
~~- Store baby rocking chair in temporary storage area~~
~~- Store toy car and bike in temporary storage area~~
- Purchase bin to store new baby accessories
- Purchase bin to store books (small)
- Purchase bin to store photo items (small)
- Purchase bin to store miscellaneous items (small)
- Store car seat
- Store DearHubby's miscellaneous items
- Organize shoe cubby
- Wash pillows
- Address "OUT" boxes
-...more to be added as project progresses

Project...Master Bedroom Clean-Up Update 1

2009-03-10T11:01:00.002-05:00

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We have decided to keep the carpet in the room. When we applied to refinance our mortgage a few weeks ago our application was denied because we had construction going on in our home. Apparently, one cannot be approved for refinancing if there's construction going on. Our addition needs to be completed, meaning there needs to be dry-wall and flooring installed, and not just subflooring, but completed flooring. Therefore, we decided to keep this carpet in so that this room remains in a "completed" state.

Here is the after picture with the new garage shelf installed and the girls' toys organized.

The whole goal is to turn this room into a temporary storage area and so the next step is bringing in all the storage bins of items we want to keep readily available. This next step of turning the master bedroom into a temporary storage area will be the first steps to clearing out the addition that needs to be completed and the laundry room.

Last item on the list that needs to be addressed for this room:
- Purchase bin to store baskets, video tapes, miscellaneous objects, knee brace

Recipe...Peanut Butter Blossoms

2009-03-04T10:21:00.001-05:00

Peanut Butter Blossoms
recipe found at Hershey's Kitchen

INGREDIENTS:
48 HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Milk Chocolates
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup REESE'S Creamy Peanut Butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Granulated sugar

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from chocolates.
2. Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.
3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate into center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 4 dozen cookies.

Humor/Faith...Stethoscope

2009-03-03T15:33:00.002-05:00

Southern Hills Church of Christ, Abilene, Texas. Man finds a stethoscope with unusual powers. He discovers what soundtrack is playing inside him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYI_aOyCn9Y

Health...America’s Top 10 Healthiest Fast Food Restaurants

2009-03-03T11:30:00.002-05:00

America’s Top 10 Healthiest Fast Food Restaurants
By Tracy Minkin and Brittani Renaud
From Health magazine
See entire article here: http://living.health.com/2009/02/19/americas-healthiest-fast-food-restaurants/

1. Panera Bread Over 1,230 locations nationwide
Try it: Delicious, nutrient-packed combos like half a Turkey Artichoke on focaccia bread with a bowl of black bean or garden vegetable soup.
Danger zone: Sticky buns and cheese Danishes are on display at the counter.

2. Jason's Deli 206 locations in the West, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, South
Try it: Any sandwich on an organic whole-wheat wrap.
Danger zone: High-sodium counts on some sandwiches.

3. Au Bon Pain 280 locations nationwide
Try it: Low-calorie soups, from Jamaican Black Bean to Fire Roasted Exotic Grains and Vegetables.
Danger zone: The sodium counts can get high if you don't pay attention.

4. Noodles and Company 204 locations in West, Midwest, South
Try it: The whole-grain linguine-usually hard to find when eating out.
Danger zone: The desserts.

5. Corner Bakery café 111 locations in West, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, South
Try it: Healthy oven-roasted chicken that comes with most pastas and salads.
Danger zone: You have to go to their Web site to get nutritional info.

6. Chipotle 800+ locations nationwide
Try it: Burrito Bowls, which let you skip the tortilla-and the extra carbs.
Danger zone: Make sure you go light on cheese and sour cream.

7. Atlanta Bread 106 locations in 24 states (Southeast, West, and North)
Try it: The entrée salads like Salsa Fresca Salmon Salad
Danger zone: Pasta entrees at some locations are offered with bread … that's a whole lot of carbs!

8. McDonald's 14,000 locations nationwide
Try it: The chain's 260- to 270-calorie Snack Wraps (choose grilled chicken) for protein without a lot of unwanted carbs.
Danger zone: Although McDonald's made our list, this is still the land of super-sizing and giant sodas. It's up to you to request a small.

9. Einstein Bros. Bagels 649 locations nationwide
Try it: The high-fiber Veg Out on a sesame seed bagel.
Danger zone: "Overstuffed" size sandwiches are a calorie nightmare.

10. Taco Del Mar 270 locations in 22 states
Try it: The 460- to 555-calorie Mondito-size burrito, which fills you up but keeps fat and sodium in check.
Danger zone: The breakfasts. In particular, steer clear of the Mondo Breakfast Burritos, which are more than 1,000 calories.

Humor...Mall Wants Manilow Music to Drive Out Unruly Teens

2009-03-03T11:11:00.005-05:00

I found the following article very funny!

MALL WANTS MANILOW MUSIC TO DRIVE OUT UNRULY TEENS
See original article here: http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-general/20090303/AS.ODD.New.Zealand.Mall.Rats/

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — It'll be Barry Manilow versus the mall rats. The New Zealand city of Christchurch hopes that putting the American crooner's smooth and gentle tones into the mix of music to be broadcast through the central mall district can pacify unruly teens who congregate there_ or at least convince them to go elsewhere.

"The intention is to change the environment in a positive way ... so nobody feels threatened or intimidated," Central City Business Association manager Paul Lonsdale told The Associated Press. "I did not say Barry Manilow is a weapon of mass destruction."

A group of several dozen young people regularly spread rubbish, spray graffiti, get intoxicated, use drugs, swear and intimidate patrons at the outdoor mall, he said.

The city council, police and local property owners covering 410 businesses agree that "nice, easy listening" music like Manilow's "Can't Smile Without You," "Mandy" and other hits might change the behavior of loitering teens.

But one 16-year-old told The Press newspaper that...(click here to read the rest of the article).

Pregnancy...Decision Update and Eating Healthier

2009-03-03T07:19:00.006-05:00

On Monday, February 23rd, I had a consult meeting with a mid-wife at the potential practice I was looking at. I addressed these concerns:

- Was it too late for me to switch practices since I was 32 weeks along? No.

- Does she have any problems with me doing a VBAC since the baby was measuring big and I was carrying too much amniotic fluid? No. She will do everything she can to deliver this baby vaginally.

- I would rather be delivered by a mid-wife. The practice has 2 mid-wives, whom I will see for the rest of my pregnancy, and if they are not on call, then there are several other mid-wives who moonlight that would be there.

- What happens if there is a complication during labor? There will be a doctor at the hospital on stand-by just in case an emergency C-section is needed.

- What does she think about induction? Not in favor of it and would rather wait for spontaneous labor.

I was pleased with the consult and switched practices immediately by signing the record of release form and scheduling my first visit.

As I saw the new mid-wife yesterday, we briefly discussed last week's ultrasound results, which showed the Little One measuring over 5 pounds, putting it in the 81st percentile, and my amniotic fluid level was about 20cc (? - still unsure of the unit measurement), which the doctor said is borderline high, but much better than last time, which was at 30cc. The mid-wife was still concerned about the size of the baby and the amount of fluid present, but did not think a weekly screening is necessary, in contrast to the perinatal doctor's suggestion. I was relieved about that. I cancelled my appointment for this week's screening immediately. However, she was still concerned that I may still have gestational diabetes and has me taking another blood sugar level test the next time.

So, I went grocery shopping last night to purchase some healthier foods for me. I purchased whole wheat bread, whole wheat bagels, Khashi cereal that was high in protein and fiber, strawberries, peaches, bananas, cottage cheese, raspberry preserves that is sweetened with fruit and fruit juices only, roasted tomato and olive oil Triscuits, neuftatel cheese, and cheddar cheese. These foods were mainly purchased for breakfast, lunch, and snack time. My friend gave me brown rice and I already had salad ingredients at home. I'll just make normal dinners, just substituting the white rice I normally use with the brown rice.

My whole family should be eating like this, and before children, I was more healthy eating conscious, but is there a cheaper way? I spent $30 on just food for me alone. It's so sad to say, but junk food is so much cheaper and easier to serve, which is why I started in that direction with my family. I'll need to be more diligent and conscious about what I feed my family. Maybe if I bought more fruits for their snacks and cut out the junk snacks like animal crackers, Club House crackers, Gerber puffs, etc..., maybe the cost would even out? I'll also have to make more of an effort to make the time for healthy decisions. That may mean cutting out some activity in our lives...at least until a good routine is established?

Miscellaneous...Random Thoughts

2009-03-02T11:19:00.005-05:00

1. I would rather be realistic with my children and tell them I will not be able to do an activity with them than give them false hope by telling them "maybe" and then the "maybe"s always end up being "no"s and disappointing them. That way I can work hard towards doing this activity with them and if I've told them that I will not be able to and then I make time to, the children will be surprised and appreciative, and if I am still not able to, the children already knew what to expect.

2. I don't like hand washing my children's clothes, but I know I have to do it if I'm going to have to pass on the clothes from one child to the next. I've tried stain removers, but I've found that on certain stains, if I don't hand wash them first, the stains don't come off, then they're set in. I've tried bibs, but bibs can only cover so much.

3. During her third trimester, it really is difficult for a pregnant woman to be at 100% physically which makes everything that much more difficult to do because there is just that heavy and protruding weight in the front, but I don't think husbands realize that.

4. Little toddlers (from about the time they start moving to about 2 1/2 years old) are a challenge to care for because they require almost 100% of your time to give them direction. Even if you try to give them direction so that you can do other things, like a house chore, their attention span is only about 15 minutes, and you have to stop what you're doing to change their activity. By the time you remember to get back to what you were doing, you find that it's time to do something else, like go out for an appointment or start dinner or snack time, and you have to stop what you were doing and continue it another time, whenever that is.

5. I wish my husband could read my mind because it just seems like we often misunderstand each other because we often are talking about 2 different pages in a book.

6. There's only 4 people living in this house, but why does it feel like there's 20 people living here by the amount of laundry that needs to be washed?

...More random thoughts will be posted as they come up...

Chicken Corn Soup

2009-02-27T21:52:00.003-05:00

Chicken Corn Soup
by Christine Abrahims

INGREDIENTS:
1 Rotisserie Chicken
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
2 cans of chicken and rice soup
1 can of creamed corn
8 oz. of frozen white corn
4 hardboiled eggs cut up
Chicken broth as needed to thin soup if too thick
Potatoes (optional and to taste)
Salt (optional and to taste)
Pepper (optional and to taste)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Shred chicken and place in soup pot.
2. Add all other ingredients.
3. Cook on low until boiling when cooked on stove.
4. Serve with corn bread/muffins.

Faith...Suffering the Consequences to My Pride and Impatience

2009-02-23T06:24:00.003-05:00

"Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word...It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes." (Psalm 119:67, 71 ESV)

"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:28-31 ESV)

Today is going to be a challenging day, but I pray that the Lord will give me the power to persevere in His strength and wisdom to do His will and not mine.

Last Thursday I pulled my back and by the end of the day I was not able to move. However, by the grace of God and with the knowledge of back care, I was able to "mend" my back back to 85% normal by Friday. DearHubby and I even went to the gym and I physically felt good after the work out.

As a result of this quick recovery, my ego swelled, thinking my body is indestructible.

This swelled ego, combined with impatience caused me to lift something I should not have lifted on Saturday and my back went out on me AGAIN, even worse than it did on Thursday. By Saturday evening I was again not able to move, and even with the same care I gave it on Thursday, my back got worse than better.

What a humbling experience as I could do nothing for myself by Sunday morning. My wonderful and sweet DearHubby had to do everything for me. He had to help me get out of bed, he had to help me walk, he had to help me sit, etc...The most humbling or should I say humiliating experience was when I went to use the potty and could not even clean myself up. DearHubby was so patient and kind enough to do that for me. I cried the whole time.

At the end of the day, I wondered if this was God's way of punishing me for being so prideful and impatient. It wasn't. When I think of the term "punishment" I think of a negative penalty as a consequence of an offense. I might have sinned against God by my pride and impatience, but God is a loving God towards His children and His main purpose for His children is to make us like His Son, Jesus Christ. When I think of punishment, I see no good in the end. I only see an offender suffering, but not turning.

God allowed me to suffer the consequences of my pride and impatience as a form of discipline to remind me of my pride and impatience and to turn from it. As a result of my suffering, I was humbled. I had no choice but to call for help and even in calling for that help, I still needed to wait on the one who was helping me.

What a lesson for me to learn as I was so stressed out last week. I don't know if it's that nesting instinct that just kicked in, but everything just seemed very overwhelming. I was feeling the pressure of our Little One's arrival and how soon that day is coming. I was seeing all the work around the house that "needed" to be done before her arrival. I was seeing the lack of time in the day to get all these things done. I got overwhelmed and stressed and mostly took it out on my children because by my anger I was feeling in control.

God needed to put a stop to my sins and needed to remind me of what pleases Him the most, to keep His word and obey, and to wait on Him to help me keep His word.

So, today is going to be a challenging day because my DearHubby is at work. There is literally no one here to physically help me and the only ONE I can truly depend on today is the Lord. I do pray that the Lord will give me the power to persevere in His strength and wisdom to do His will and not mine.

---

I shared the hymn "It Is Well With My Soul" in my previous post because this verse touched my heart:

My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought
My sin not in part but the whole
Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more
Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, oh my soul

I knew I wasn't being punished when I was reminded that ALL, not part of, my sins was nailed to the cross.

Music...It Is Well With My Soul

2009-02-22T13:13:00.004-05:00

It Is Well With My Soul
from Jars Of Clay Redemption Songs

When peace like a river attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
What ever my lot you have taught me to say
It is well, it is well with my soul

Though the devil will ruin, though trials may come
Let this blessed assurance control
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate
And He shed His own blood for my soul

It is well (2x), with my soul (2x)
It is well, it is well with my soul

My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought
My sin not in part but the whole
Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more
Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, oh my soul

And Lord haste the day when my faith shall be sight
And the clouds be rolled back as a scroll
The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend
Even so, it is well with my soul

Home Life...Dessert Social and a Movie

2009-02-21T19:56:00.003-05:00

So we had a dessert social last night at the church and I signed up to bring a favorite dessert. When I signed up, I didn't see anyone list chocolate chip cookies and that's what I decided to bring. I thought I had all the ingredients at home and I didn't leave any room to go shopping if I needed to. All went well until I got to the butter part. I normally have a good butter stock in the fridge, but I guess I forgot to restock and I did not have any butter at all and the recipe called for 3/4 cups of butter. I did, however, have Country Crock spread and decided that I could use that for a substitute. They turned out to be the YUCKIEST tasting cookies I've ever made. I was so embarrassed to even bring them to the social. I wanted to just slip in and place the plate of cookies on the table without being noticed, but we walked in a little late and I had to walk past every one to get to the dessert table. So, as I made my way over to the table, people stuck their hands out to grab a cookie from the plate. There went my plan to be incognito as the baker of THOSE cookies. To my surprise, though, at the end of the night, the plate of cookies was empty. There must have been enough individuals to take 1 cookie because as DearHubby tasted them, he said, "I would not have gone back for seconds and I love chocolate chip cookies."

Well, the whole purpose for last night's gathering at the church was to watch the movie Fireproof. If you haven't seen the movie yet, I would highly recommend it! It's about a couple who is having marital problems and are on the verge of divorce. The husband was given a love dare by his own father to learn what unconditional love means in 40 days to save his marriage. This is an awesome movie for anyone as the message of the gospel is shared to the audience, the movie is clean with no swearing, no sex or sexual innuendos, and no violence. As I watched this movie, I thought that this is the kind of movie that should fill movie theatres. Everything about it is so positive and the gospel is preached. I cannot say enough about this movie, except..."Go see it!"

The church provided child care and so it was a nice date night for DearHubby and I. It was a nice evening.

Pregnancy...Feeling Back Pains and a No Sweet Sorrow Parting

2009-02-19T10:04:00.008-05:00

Today is one of those days where I wish I could just have some time to myself.

DearHubby and I worked out at the gym last night. We went back after a 2 month break (because of the holidays and illnesses) on Saturday and it felt really good!!! I even felt really good last night after our workout. We changed my workout routine a bit to fit my pregnancy, but I still work up a pretty good sweat and I am always filled with a lot of energy when I exercise. Anyway, so DearHubby and I are trying to get back to a good exercise routine again.

Well, yesterday, DearDaughter2's nose started running in the afternoon. By the evening time, her nose was stuffed up and she couldn't breathe. Despite my efforts to suck out the mucus, she still stayed stuffed up and could not go to sleep. Every 15 minutes she was up and standing at her crib railing crying out for "Mommy". So I had to roll over, get up, and put her down to bed. The previous night, DearHubby struggled with DearDaughter2's wakings (now we know why she was waking up, she wasn't feeling too well) and so I told DearHubby that I'd take care of DearDaughter2 last night. I probably got in and out of bed until 1am.

Combined with the exercise workout, the rolling in and out of bed, and the lack of rest, my back gave out on me this morning. It's not as bad as it has been in the past because I can still walk, but my back is tight and I get a spasm every so often. It makes lifting DearDaughter2 painful and she's been asking to be held a lot this morning for comfort's sake.

My DearFriends have offered to watch the girls when ever I feel like I need time alone...It's so nice of them...But with this sore back, I don't want to get the girls' diaper bag prepared nor do I want to go through the hastle of trying to round them up to get their coats and shoes on nor do I want to chase after them to get them in the car nor do I want to bend over to buckle them in their car seats nor do I want to drive 10 to 20 minutes to get to a friend's house, spend another 10 to 20 minutes getting the girls unloaded and settled, and then another 10 to 20 minutes driving back home. I'm already tired and sore just thinking about that and then by the time I get home to try to get some rest, my mind would be so busy thinking about the things I could be doing while the girls are out, and then I'd probably only have an hour at home alone, before I'd have to go back and get the girls again. I don't know...

So, onto other pregnancy news, yesterday I had an OB appointment and after seeing the Nurse Practitioner I wanted to meet with my doctor in her private office to have a nice private talk with her about switching practices. I wanted to tell her that it's been a hard decision, but unfortunately DearHubby and I are thinking about switching practices. I wanted to let her know how much I really appreciated the care she's provided to me for the past 5 years. I wanted to let her know that this would be a hard parting since she was with me through my miscarriage and with me as we delivered both my girls. However, as I tried to schedule an appointment with my doctor, the receptionist had no sympathy to my request and said, "You're not scheduled to come in for another 2 weeks. You need to wait the 2 weeks. That doctor is not available anyway until 2 weeks." I pleaded with the receptionist and said, "I really need to meet with this doctor next week. It's really an urgent issue and I need to talk to her." She looked around the room at the other receptionists and had to consult them about it and they all said that because I was scheduled to come in in 2 weeks anyway, then I would need to wait the 2 weeks. As I was in the middle of this conversation, this doctor walked in and I asked the receptionist if I could speak to her now. She was really hesitant to give the doctor a holler and so I called the doctor over. It wasn't the way I wanted to say all the things I wanted to say and I didn't even get to say all the things I wanted to say. I just informed my doctor of our desire to switch practices, all the while everyone around us is trying to hear our conversation. The doctor was disappointed in this decision, but since we were out in public, we could not talk in detail about this decision. All my doctor could do was say, "You will need to sign a record release form to take your records." It was an awkward parting and though I made an appointment to see her in 2 weeks, if all goes well with my consult with this new practice, this might have been the last time for me to see this doctor. This parting was not such sweet sorrow.

I have a consult meeting with a midwife at the new practice on Monday, February 23rd.

Miscellaneous...I Need to Get Motivated Today

2009-02-17T07:41:00.000-05:00

People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing - that’s why we recommend it daily.- Zig Ziglar

California Club Sandwich

2009-02-16T20:24:00.006-05:00

Picture hosted by www.Photobucket.com

CALIFORNIA CLUB SANDWICH

by In Pursuit of His Call

INGREDIENTS:

2 slices of Sundried Tomato Roasted Garlic bread (check bakery in your grocery store or use bread of your liking)

Mayonaise to spread on each slice of bread

Slices of deli Turkey breasts*

Slices of Mozzarella cheese*

Slices of Cheddar cheese*

Slices of bacon*

Slices of tomato*

Slices of Romaine lettuce*

Slices of avocado*

* to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Layer all ingredients in bread slices according to your liking

2. Enjoy

Project...Master Bedroom Clean-Up

2009-02-16T18:12:00.005-05:00

Picture hosted by www.photobucket.com

I am at it again with another clean-up project.

Life just seems to get away with little ones and our master bedroom is proof of it.

We moved out of our master bedroom last year when DearHubby got Pneumonia. We discovered that there was mold growing beneath us in the basement and it was mold in his lungs that caused his Pneumonia. We decided to move out of our master bedroom into the room we intended for both girls. When we moved out, we took the bed and left everything else in there. They have all been collecting dust since then, except for our clothes, of course.

As Little One #3's birth day approaches, the pressure to get the house in order has arrived. After talking it over with DearHubby, we have decided to turn the master bedroom into a temporary storage area. Well, for some reason, every year, my laundry room becomes a catch all room. In 2007, I spent months organizing the area to only go back in 2008 to reorganize it again. It is 2009 and once again we can hardly walk through the laundry room. This time, all the girls' toys are being stored there. My living room was beginning to get over run with toys and I started to feel closed in by all the clutter of the toys. So, I moved all the toys into the laundry room, only taking toys out 1 at a time for the girls to play with. It's a great idea for toy rotation because they get a new and different toy to play with every day. However, toy storage is so difficult, especially if there's no designated room for them. Cleaning up the master bedroom is the first step to cleaning out the laundry room. Once the master bedroom is cleared, we will strip out the moldy carpet, then purchase a garage shelf for all the toys. In addition, there are bins of clothes in our new addition which we will also be moving into the master bedroom.

I walked through the bedroom today and below is my to do list to get the room prepared for the carpet stripping:
~~- Clean out baskets on night stand~~
~~- Wash and hang up loose clothing~~
~~- Pack up air beds~~
~~- Wash, dry, and store pillows~~
- Clean Boppy and store
~~- Pack and store luggages~~
- Organize/store knee brace "stuff"
~~- Organize hospital "stuff"~~
~~- Clean out cradle~~
- Move: bed support, air filter, bed step
~~- Trash Kleenex box~~
~~- Store jewelry~~
~~- Clean off top of dresser~~
- Purchase bin to store baskets, video tapes, miscellaneous objects, knee brace

Funday Friday...Kid Junction

2009-02-16T16:14:00.005-05:00

We had a play date at Kid Junction. It was a good place to hang out for a windy winter's day.

The admission price for children under 2 are $6.95 and children older than 2 are $8.95. Adults are FREE!

As you enter, there is a kids' arcade area, which you pay tokens for. We didn't have money to pay for the tokens so we went straight into the play area.

There's a playground/slide set for older kids and then next to it in the "Jail" area is a playground/slide set for the little toddlers. It was great because the gate at the door kept the little toddlers in and they could run and play around as much they wanted.

What makes Kid Junction a great place is that it stimulates the imaginations of children from age 1 and up! There's a little Post Office, a Vet's Office, a Pizza Parlor, a Grocery Store, and a theatrical stage with costumes ready for use.

We had a little play date with the girls' almost 2 year old friend. I thought 2 hours would be enough time to play, but that time went by so fast and when we finally looked down at our watches, 3 hours had already gone by. The girls were having so much fun that they didn't even notice it was past lunch time. Well, DearDaughter2 got fussy in the end which is why I finally looked down at my watch. She was hungry and tired as she didn't get her morning nap or snack. Yet, if she was held over for 3 hours without a fuss, that's how fun the place truly was. The girls were thoroughly occupied that it even gave time for DearFriend J and I to catch up a little.

There's a little cafe there for food purchase. Since I had spent about $16 on admission I didn't want to spend any more money and decided to just go home. On the way home, DearDaughter1 had asked for pizza and had actually been asking for pizza since she was sick with the stomach flu. I hadn't planned on going to Pizza Hut, but I felt sorry for DearDaughter1 who was craving pizza and we did stop by Pizza Hut where I spent another $13.

It was a pricey Funday Friday, more than I usually spend, but it was worth spending the time with my girls and our friends.

Pregnancy...A Little Nervous

2009-02-16T10:59:00.004-05:00

I am a little nervous this morning. I will be making the phone call of a lifetime.

DearHubby and I have prayed about switching OB/GYN practices and today is the day I am calling to inquire about a potential practice we've been looking at. I am nervous because it is so late in my pregnancy. I am 31 weeks along, so only about 8+ more weeks to go. It's a little scary making such a BIG change at such a late stage and once a switch is made, there's no going back, at least this time. I really need to make sure that I will be comfortable with this potential practice before making THE DECISION, but the decision needs to also be made VERY quickly...

I was already uncomfortable with my current practice when I was pregnant with DearDaughter2, but I stayed on with them because I love the OB I was with when she had her private practice. Providentially and blessedly, she delivered both my girls. She moved with this group in the middle of my pregnancy with DearDaughter2 and though I was not comfortable with the other doctors, I was still a little hesitant about switching because of how I really like this particular OB. I would consider her a cross between a mid-wife and a doctor.

A few developments have occurred that has pushed me into switching practices. First, I have never felt supported by the other doctors in this practice. I wanted to do a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After C-Section) with DearDaughter2 and except for my own OB, all the other doctors opposed it, encouraging me to have another C-Section. Well, I had a successful NATURAL VBAC with DearDaughter2.

Currently, this Little One is measuring in the 97th percentile and she is predicted to be a 10 pound baby. As a result, there's been a lot of monitoring of the Little One and a lot of tests on me. There's also been the push, again, for another C-Section or even induction. I am just afraid that if my OB is not on call when I go into labor and I get any other doctor, they will push for medical intervention rather than allowing me to progress and labor as I'd want.

Lastly, this practice switched hospitals where I will deliver and the new hospital is 40 minutes away (without traffic) compared to the 15 minutes that my local hospital is.

The potential practice I am looking at has mid-wives and I have many friends who have delivered naturally who have highly recommended this practice.

My only hesitation is that my current practice has all female OB/GYNs. I have NEVER seen a male doctor in my life. That's another scary part for me because I am very shy about being seen by a male doctor. Oh, I take that back...I have seen a male doctor before...It was my first Gynelogical exam when I joined the US Coast Guard Academy and I cried the whole time because I was still a virgin and I had never had anything poked down in that area before...Anyway, this potential practice I am looking at has a couple of male doctors and that makes me uncomfortable. I feel like I would need my husband with me at all my visits, especially when they do that internal. Hopefully, I will not need to see a male doctor and I can just stick to the mid-wives...

So, I will be making this phone call shortly. I just wanted to get some of this nervousness out. Then, I will spend some time in prayer for wisdom...

In Pursuit of His Call

Pregnancy...Some Thoughts

2009-02-10T10:49:00.004-05:00

I am a bit upset and need to vent this way before the tears start rolling.

At my 27th week OB appointment the nurse practitioner who examined me was concerned by my uterus measurement. She said that I was measuring 32 weeks instead of 27. As a result, she sent me for an ultrasound. The ultrasound results correlated with her concerns and the baby was measuring 3 pounds 13 ounces, or in the 97th percentile. Another concern they found was extra amniotic fluid.

When I went back to my 29th week OB appointment, the OB I saw read the ultrasound results and wanted my sugar levels rechecked again. I passed the 3 hour glucose test and so she ordered another blood test to be taken, one where I would fast in the morning, go to the lab, eat breakfast, and then return 2 hours after breakfast for a second blood test. It sounds easy enough.

Well, today was a perfect day for me to go out and do the blood test. I would wake the girls up, get to the lab by 7:30am, go to Chick-Fil-A for their free breakfast and play date, and then return after a nice morning of play with the girls.

Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out that way.

I did wake the girls up and we did get to the lab by 7:45am. However, since the girls were awoken from their sleep and then hadn't had breakfast, they were really cranky at the lab. It was difficult keeping them settled for the 10 minutes we were there. When I heard my name called I was relieved to know it was my turn...It wasn't my turn. The OB forgot to write the diagnostic code on the script, they called the OB office for the code, but they were not open yet, and they could not draw my blood. I need to return to the lab. Tears almost started rolling right there at the lab. It was such an inconvenience getting the girls up just for a quick blood draw and they couldn't even do it. I was not looking forward to going through that another time.

I tried not to let the situation get to me, especially while we were at Chick-Fil-A, and thought I'd get everything straightened out afterwards. I called the OB office hoping they'd be able to give me the code over the phone, but the nurse couldn't. She suggested the lab call the office and I told her that the time I need to be at the lab is the time they're not open. I was hoping that if I explained that she'd then give me the code. To no avail, she was not going to give me the code over the phone. I now need to take an extra trip to the doctor's office and this is where I am really upset.

The next available time I can do this blood test is Thursday morning, but in between that time, I have so many other appointments. It's hard enough squeezing in a short grocery run...The doctor's office is not even on the way to any of the places that I need to go and it's a 20 to 25 minutes drive there and back. That's a whole hour just to get this code that's going to be written on the script, which I could have gotten over the phone and wrote it on the script myself.

The hardest part about all this is trying to keep a good attitude about the whole situation. I really cannot think of anything positive about it and that's what's making me want to cry the most. All I can think of is the challenge of juggling everything around so that I can make that extra trip to the OB's office. It would be easy if I could do everything by myself, but I always have 2 little girls by my side. You can't just pick up and go with 2 little ones. It takes planning to go anywhere. A 1 hour run for a single person can end up to be 3 hours for a mom with 2 little ones...Where's that time going to come from?

Lord, God, help me...Now, the tears are rolling...

Humor...Bear Attack

2009-02-09T09:21:00.003-05:00

Attack in Churchill , Manitoba , Canada.

These are pictures of an actual polar bear attack in Churchill.These pictures were taken while people watched and could do nothing to stop the attack!Reports from the local newspaper say that the victim will make a full recovery.

The photos are below.

Miscellaneous...ANOTHER Bad Experience at Outback

2009-02-07T23:12:00.004-05:00

We went through one of the worse dinner experiences tonight.

I had a $25 gift card to Outback and after a wonderful day with the family, we thought we'd enjoy a wonderful dinner. Thinking ahead, we got to the restaurant at 5:30pm. Well, even at 5:30pm, the wait was already at 60 to 75 minutes long. Apparently, you can call ahead to get your name in. I didn't know that. We do not eat out at Outback often. In fact, this was only our 2nd time there. My first experience was horrible too and I swore never to return. However, after a good friend raved about it, I decided to give Outback another chance.

After getting my name on the list I went back out to ask DearHubby what he thought we should do while we wait. Not wanting to give up a good parking space, because the lot was PACKED, and not wanting to miss our name being called, DearHubby suggested just waiting.

Our wait turned out to be 1 hour and 40 minutes...At the hour of our wait, I went back to the receptionist to make sure we weren't forgotten. He told me it would only be another 5 to 10 minutes. That 5 to 10 minutes turned into another 40 minutes. We finally got seated around 7:15pm. It took another 30 minutes before we got our food, around 7:45pm.

Imagine a 3 year old and a 1 year old waiting for over 2 hours just to eat!!!

To top off our WONDERFUL evening, my steak was really tough and fatty while DearHubby's steak was basically raw and the $25 gift card didn't even cover everything! The food at Outback is SOOOOOOO expensive. We went $12 over (including tip) and I just got water.

I tried to keep a positive outlook and the one thing I can be thankful for is that our stomachs were all full at the end of the evening.

I would never go back to Outback again and would never recommend anyone go there!!!

Funday Saturday...A Family Day at the Mall

2009-02-07T23:06:00.003-05:00

Today Daddy and Mommy took the girls to a local Westfield Mall. Instead of shopping, we enjoyed all the activities they have set up for the kids...

In the playground area...

Then, we went to the pet store...

DearDaughter1 rode on the Merry Go Round...

Since DearDaughter2 was too small to ride on the Merry Go Round, she and her big sister got to ride on the Mickey Car ride...

It was great spending this time with the family and we didn't spend an outrageous amount of money...We bought an Auntie Ann's pretzel for a snack with a cup of water, we paid $2 for the Merry Go Round ride, and $0.75 for the Mickey car ride, and of course the pet store was FREE...In addition, at the end of the night, our bellies were full because we ate at Outback with a $25 gift card (but we still spent $12+ over).

It was truly a Funday Saturday!

Funday Saturday...Snow Much Fun

2009-02-07T13:03:00.000-05:00

Funday Friday...

2009-02-07T12:30:00.001-05:00

With all the hustle and bustle of the holidays, it's been awhile since Mommy has purposely set aside Fridays just for the girls. Well, after being in the house all week, we were all feeling cabin fever by Friday and were ready to have some fun!

Mommy had a few errands to run in the morning, but after lunch and DearDaughter2's morning nap, we headed to the mall...

Here, the girls are walking themselves to the car. I asked them to wait by the house door while I locked up, but DearDaughter2 took DearDaughter1's hand and they walked themselves to the car. They were just too excited to get out of the house.

Mommy needed to pick up the girls' monthly pictures from JC Penny's.

Afterwards, we bought a large Ice Dream Cone from Chick-Fil-A and enjoyed sharing it together...

Here is DearDaughter2 enjoying her turn...

After eating our Ice Dream Cone, DearDaughter1 asked where else we were going. I responded, "Home." DearDaughter1 was not ready to go home and just wanted to walk through the mall. We went into the Disney Store just to look at all the cool Disney "stuff". Then, we went to The Children's Place to see if there were any good deals. DearDaughter1 was intrigued by The Place's door handle and wanted her picture next to it.

We came home afterwards and just had a laid back afternoon at home. Both girls took a nap while Mommy had some time to get the house straightened up before Daddy got home.

Music...My Jesus I Love Thee/'Tis So Sweet

2009-02-06T07:13:00.003-05:00

My Jesus I Love Thee/'Tis So Sweet
from Bart Millard's Hymned No. 1

My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou
If ever I loved Thee, My Jesus 'tis now

'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus
Just to take Him at His Word
Just to rest upon His promise
Just to know, "Thus saith the Lord"

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him
How I've proved Him o'er and o'er
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus
O for grace to trust Him more ;

Yes, 'tis sweet to trust in Jesus
Just from sin and self to cease
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest, and joy and peace

I'm so glad I learned to trust Thee
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend
And I know that He is with me
Will be with me to the end

Faith...White As Snow

2009-02-04T09:29:00.002-05:00

"Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." Isaiah 1:16

White as snow (2x)

Though my sins are as scarlet

Lord I know (2x)

That I'm clean and forgiven

Through the power of your blood

Through the wonder of your love

Through faith in you I know

That I can be

White as snow!

Childrearing...Teaching Children Contentment, Part 1

2009-02-03T16:50:00.003-05:00

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." (1 Timothy 6:6-10)

"...for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:11-13)

I have a great burden in my heart. I am finding that my children are often discontent. Aside from the word "NO" coming from their mouths, the next word you'll hear them say is "MORE!"

Nothing satisfies and it's really wearing.

This discontentment in my children needs to be addressed and perhaps it's a reflection of what I'm teaching them.

Stay in touch for further updates as I focus on teaching the value of contentment to my children (and perhaps even myself).

Articles to read as resources:
Teaching Values: Contentment by Jeff Asher
End Quarreling with Contentment and Gratefulness by Joy Marie Dunlap
Cultivating Contentment- Part 1 by Rebecca Jones
Cultivating Contentment- Part 2 by Rebecca Jones
Teaching Your Child to Serve with Contentment by Dr. Don Dunlap
Learning Contentment from Crown Financial Ministries

Home Life...Getting Through the Worse and A Big Job Ahead

2009-02-03T10:31:00.004-05:00

I have never been so sick in my life as I was yesterday.

Both my girls caught a stomach virus last week, which my friend and I think it was during our playdate at Chick-Fil-A. DearDaughter2 showed symptoms of it first last Thursday when she threw up while we were in the middle of my ultra-sound consult. As the doctor was in the middle of his sonagram review, DearDaughter2 just let it all out. Blessedly, she still had her coat on and made most of the mess on it, but it also got on her pants and all over the consult table and floor. I had an extra pair of DearDaughter1's undies and so I put DearDaughter2 in that just to keep her "warm". On the way home, DearDaughter2 threw up some more while in her car seat. I felt so bad for her because I didn't want to stop to clean her up and told her to just wait until we got home. I didn't think it would do any good to try to clean her up in the middle of the winter's cold. So, she bathed in her vomit for about 10 minutes. Poor girl. Well, after throwing up, DearDaughter2 was fine. No fever and no other bouts of throwing up. So, I thought that was the end of it.

Then, on Friday, DearDaughter1 was acting very different. At first I thought she was just being disobedient because she didn't want to go to the mall to get their update pictures done. Well, I finally realized she was sick when she said she felt like throwing up and we ran to the bathroom so that she could lean over the toilet to throw up. We waited for awhile, but nothing came out, so I grabbed a clean and empty garbage bag from the trash can and told DearDaughter1 to hold it up against her mouth until we got to the car. She didn't throw up at all that day. However, that evening she started burning up, temperature reaching 102 degrees (F). We gave her Tylenol and she was fine for the rest of the evening and even all day Saturday. Then, Saturday evening, DearDaughter1 started burning up again and even after giving her Tylenol her fever didn't go down, so we alternated Ibuprofen with the Tylenol for awhile. Then, in the middle of the night, DearDaughter1 finally threw up. On Sunday morning, DearDaughter1's fever got up to 104.8 degrees (F), but we still decided to wait it out before calling the doctor and taking her to the ER. We gave her several more doses of Ibuprofen and by Sunday evening, it seemed like DearDaughter1 had gotten over the worse of her illness. The fever was gone and she was back to her normal, talkative self.

Thinking everything was over and that we'd get back to a normal routine, I started to feel very nauseated when we went to bed on Sunday evening. I hardly slept at all as I could feel my stomach boiling inside. I started my bathroom trips around 3am. DearHubby got up for work on Monday at 6am and was about ready to leave when I asked him if he could hang out for a little while until I felt better. That little while turned out to be the whole day. Standing up just made me feel really nauseated and I could not get out of bed except for bathroom runs. I could never understand when DearHubby got sick how he could stay in bed all day until yesterday. No matter how much I tried to get up, I could barely stand it and needed to go back and lay down. In addition, since I could not eat anything, by the end of the day, I just felt worse because I was so weak from going to the bathroom 24 times. Well, my stomach was boiling up until this morning, but I was able to eat breakfast. I'm still a little weak from not eating at all yesterday, but I'm taking the eating easy today and not stuffing myself as I'm afraid I might upset my stomach again and throw everything up. However, I think the worse is over.

We're just waiting for DearHubby to come down with the virus next.

Well, as DearHubby stayed home yesterday, he worked on a computer project for a message board that he's a part of. He's posted some pictures on there and wanted to do some organization. When he went to his post he discovered that his pictures were not coming up. He mentioned it to me because we use the same image hosting service. It turns out that some people were abusing the hosting service and the pictures are not available for viewing. That almost made me cry as I host all my blog photos on there; I don't use blogger's photo upload. I am not diligent in keeping scrap books and so when DearDaughter1 was only a few months old I started a blog for my children just to jot down precious moments. Now, I am in a dilemma about what to do about these unavailable blog photos. It is going to be a big job to go back through 3 years of photos, find the right photos, download them on a new photo hosting service, and then put them back on the blog, and that's if I can even remember what picture I used. Do I start that arduous task or just forget about it and move on? For now, I am going to work backwards, starting from the most current photos and get as far as I can.

UPDATE ON THE BIG TASK:
After assessing the amount of pictures that need to be recovered, I have decided not to recover them. I have only recovered the pictures on the current Home page. It just showed me how unreliable the internet really is and if I want to really save those precious moments, then a hard copy scrapbook is still the best route to go. Therefore, I am glad I still have those stories I jotted down on my blog to help me remember those moments and rather than spending the time to recover those pictures back onto the internet, I have decided to put them in a scrapbook.

California Vacation '08/'09: Dec 25 - Jan 10

2009-02-01T22:43:00.006-05:00

Home Life...Catching Up

2009-01-29T11:20:00.004-05:00

I had quite a busy 1st half of the week.

Monday was an errand running day in preparation for Tuesday and Wednesday.

On Tuesday I had a playdate in the morning, a doctor's appointment for DearDaughter2 in the afternoon, and a Bible study in the evening. No time at home...

Yesterday I had a chiropractic appointment, a Bible study scheduled, and then a luncheon at my house. Blessedly, the Bible study was cancelled due to bad weather and that gave me more time to prepare for my luncheon, like being able to shovel a walkway to my door. My lunch guests started arriving around 11:45am and my last guest left at 5pm and I was beat. No complaints about it though because it was a joy to open up my home and provide a nice warm lunch for my church family guests.

Well, I am still feeling the effects of working so hard at the beginning of the week and so I've been taking it easy this morning, especially catching up with some correspondences here online. I'm even still in my PJ's.

I do have an ultrasound scheduled for 1pm, so I guess I need to get dressed soon, along with the girls.

I'm kind of glad for this low key day and that nothing was on the schedule except for the ultrasound. I'm tired and I need a day of rest.

Home Life...Keeping Joy in Trials

2009-01-29T09:07:00.007-05:00

Since we've been home from California, DearHubby's company has been working him hard and with long hours, but the worse is over! DearHubby had been leaving for work by 4:30am and coming home at 7pm. Then, this Monday and Tuesday, he went in at 4am and didn't come home until 10:30pm on Monday and 9pm on Tuesday. Through all this, DearHubby was such a light and example of what persevering under stress looked like. He did not once get frustrated about the situation nor did he complain. It was quite an amazing example of depending on God's provided strength and I thank DearHubby for exemplifying such faith and self-control! Well, last night, DearHubby came home at his normal time and the girls were so glad to see Daddy as they hadn't seen him for 2 days.

As for me, my whole response to those long days without Daddy was not very good. I was just such a big grouch, again, not depending on the Lord.

As I witnessed DearHubby going through this stressful time, I was convicted of my own response to his long working hours and the one passage I've meditated on is James 1:2-6:
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt...

And the question I've been asking myself is, "How do you keep joy under a trial?"

As I've meditated on this question, the one command that kept coming back to mind is to "Be holy because I am holy."

God IS a holy God and hates sin. He desires that all His children be holy and as James explains, these trials that God have set before us works to make us complete. Therefore, these trials, though hard, are working for our good to make us holy because He loves us!

God, then, also being a gracious God, has given us the Holy Spirit to empower us to always respond in righteousness. During those hard and struggling trials, there is a temptation to sin by responding in the flesh, getting impatient, angry, frustrated, and even sometimes doubting. So, it is comforting to know that "no temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." (1 Corinthians 10:13) When under a trial and tempted to respond in the flesh, God will always provide an "option" to do what is right in His eyes and we should never think that our only choice is to sin.

So how does this all relate to keeping joy under a trial? Joy is not necessarily just a feeling but it is something deeper. It is remembering that we are all sinful people and yet God made the ultimate sacrifice to wash away our sins. It is remembering that we don't deserve God's love and yet through Christ He loves us so much that He would continue His sanctifying work in us to make us more holy. It is thinking on all those things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy that is pleasing in God's sight. It is being thankful for all that God did and does for us and how His mercies are new every morning. And this is how joy is made real in our hearts, knowing that God is holy and wants us to be holy too, and as we think on that, our trials are made less burdensome because we desire to persevere in righteousness out of our love for God!

Miserly Mom...Christmas Sales and Beginning of the Year Clearance Sales

2009-01-26T06:32:00.005-05:00

I am not an expert, but this year, I paid a little more attention to sales and bargains than I normally do, and I noticed that during the Christmas season, stores and businesses will do anything, especially during these tough economic times, to get you shopping there.

One such promotion was at a chain grocery store in our area. Their promotion was to spend $75 on certain brand foods and you get a free $25 gift card to either the grocery store or to a restaurant. I went online and made my grocery list to get the prices of items so that when I got to the store I would just spend the $75 and I would know exactly what to get. Unfortunately, their site was not specific enough and didn't give all the details and some of the items I purchased were not part of the promotion. I was a little disappointed because I had such a great plan, but since I was already on the way to earning my $75, I spent the $25 I needed to just to get my gift card. These were all groceries that I needed so nothing was really lost in that sense and I still came out below my usual grocery budget.

I got all the details of this promotion for a friend and told her my strategy and plan and she succeeded with it. She ended up only spending $75 and a few cents and got her free $25 gift card.

I chose a $25 gift card to TGI Fridays.

Another promotion was from Old Navy, one of their door busters. The deal was to be at their doors before opening and you'd get a numbered bracelet. When you spend $20 and present your bracelet, you'd get 4 free movie tickets. I got bracelet #18 and I spent $1 and got my 4 free movie tickets!

A few days earlier I received a $20 gift certificate for just using my Old Navy Visa 4 times before December 31st. Well, DearDaughter1 needed a winter coat for next winter and they were on sale at Old Navy for 50% off. The original price of the coat was $42 and on sale for $21. Since I had my $20 gift certificate with me, the total cost of the coat was $1! I felt really good with this deal because I spent $1 on Old Navy while they gave me $100 worth of merchandise (4 movie tickets and a coat).

For the past couple years, I've noticed that stores have clearance sales in January. They need to get rid of last year's items to prepare for all their new items. I wasn't quite sure when clearance sales occur, but it seems that Christmas stuff go on clearance immediately after Christmas and last about a week. Last year, I purchased all my Christmas cards for about 90% off. It was great because I got an awesome card that declared our Saviour's birth and there was a lot leftover. I am assuming that the "religious" cards don't get sold as quickly as other generic and politically correct cards. So, I was bummed that I missed out on the Christmas clearance this year because we were in California and I'm not sure what I'm going to do about Christmas cards this year.

Anyway, stores really get desperate for selling off last years' items by mid- to late January and that's when you can see items on sale for 30%-50% off their ALREADY marked down clearance items.

I especially like driving past The Children's Place and Old Navy because they usually have a huge sign on their window declaring these good deals. If the sign is up, I make the stop with the girls, if not, I just keep on driving. That way I don't get tempted to buy anything less than bargain prices.

I did more stocking up for the girls at The Children's Place and Old Navy and my total cost was an average of 75%-77% off the original prices. Many of the clothes I purchased were between $1-$3.

I also made up a maternity care package for my friend who is pregnant for the first time by purchasing her maternity clothes from Old Navy. My total cost was 85% off the original prices...and you know how expensive maternity clothes are!!!

Lastly, I did my birthday and Christmas shopping for the girls' friends at Old Navy for 2009. My total cost was also an average of 75%-77% off the original prices.

Target does clearance sales too, but so far, I've only seen mark downs from the original prices, which range between 30%-75% off. I bought a brand new plush Boppy for our little one for 50% off. I also bought a brand new crib sheet set for 30% off. I bought a few more other items, like birthday and Christmas toys for the girls, on sale and in total, I got about a 44% savings. I was just ok with these buys as my normal rule of thumb is to try to get items at 50% off or more.

Borders Books had a 75% clearance sale also and I purchased 3 classics for just $5. These books are not gifts, just ones I wanted to add to our collection, as I am planning to home school.

Speaking of books, http://www.christianbook.com/, has a mid-week special every week, between Tuesdays and Thursdays. A select number of books are marked down, up to 90%+ off original prices. These select books are changed each week. I bought my local friends' Christmas present 2 weeks ago from this deal!

One last observation...Wal-Mart has disappointing clearance sales, except for Christmas cards. I think because Wal-Mart already sells their items at such a low price and they don't have much to put on clearance, I've found that their clearance selection is low and clearance prices higher than other stores. So, if you do need to buy an item that is off season and not on sale, then Wal-Mart is probably the best store to go to for a good and low original prices, but not a very good place to go for clearance items.

Yeah, it seems like I've already spent a lot of money and it's only January, but I think these expenditures are great investments. It beats last minute shopping for gifts and spending orginal prices when I know I could have gotten a good deal on them. Again, I try to stay practical with gifts, sticking to clothes, toys, and books for children and good and encouraging Christian books for adults, maybe a Christian music CD. With these items I know they will be used.

Anyway, deals are out there...Just keep your eyes open and be willing to do a little foot work and a little investing.

(Note...I still need to figure out a convenient way for me to be a miserly mom with food.)

Home Life...

2009-01-22T10:50:00.009-05:00

It's been almost a month since I've posted anything on this blog and it's hard to tell where to begin...

Our vacation in California turned out to be everything we didn't expect. On the plane ride there DearHubby excitedly said the one thing he looked forward to was the opportunity to ask my parents to watch the girls while we take some time to rest, maybe go out on a date, and have some time to nurture our own relationship. I agreed.

Our time in California turned out to be quite a stressful time, at least for me.

- My parents' home has been under renovation for the past 3 or 4 years and since the start of their renovations we have always stayed with my sister. However, my sister's in-laws were with them this year and my parents had to make room for us to stay with them. Though I am grateful for the hard work my parents put into clearing out the clutter from the renovation work, the house was still very dirty and not very child proof. In addition, because my parents have been empty nesters for several years now, there were no toys in the house and I asked my parents not to buy the girls any toys for Christmas because I didn't want to transport them home. Every day that we were at my parents' home it was a constant struggle watching over the girls to keep them out of things. I also spent about $60 in toys and activities just to keep them occupied (I am so glad for after Christmas sales as I was able to get all the toys on clearance from Target).

- My parents' vehicles were in poor condition and DearHubby spent the first half of our first week helping my dad fix the cars. We took a vacation in California in 2006 and most of that time there, DearHubby helped my dad install new flooring in their home. Since we were staying with my sister at that time, who lives an hour away from my parents, I hardly saw my DearHubby at all during that vacation. When I discovered that my dad needed help with the work on the cars, I got really frustrated because I wanted time with my DearHubby as I hardly have time with him here at home and I didn't want this vacation time to be just like it was in 2006.

- DearHubby got a tooth infection which caused him to be bedridden for a couple of days. DearHubby had to see a dentist and an endontist. He was given 2 anti-biotics and Vicodin for pain. He missed out on our New Year's Eve celebration and we even postponed our trip to southern California.

- With DearHubby helping my dad and being bedridden, I watched the girls like I normally do here at home. This frustrated me as I felt like we wasted our money flying out to California for doing what I do here at home.

- When we finally did go to Southern California, DearHubby and I offered to pay for things, but my mom insisted that we not pay for anything because she budgeted a certain amount of cash for the trip. At the end of the trip, my mom made a few comments towards me which expressed some resentment about how we spent their money, which made me feel indebted towards their "generous" giving.

- My mom didn't like the way we disciplined our children and approached me about it. When I tried to explain to her that we discipline our children according to the way we believe Scripture prescribes she made a comment that just made me cry afterwards because she made me feel like we were bad parents and that the method of discipline we are implementing is ineffective, "Your children are always disobedient!" The temptation there was for me to just slam my mom about her parenting, but I thank God for allowing me to keep my composure and respond to her with words from the Scripture and I encouraged her to find out what Scripture says about discipline.

- DearDaughter2 cried on the plane about 80% of the time to and from California.

Despite the list of stressful times there are lots to be thankful for and I think the thankful list trumps all the stressful times:

- My mom did give me a break from housework and I didn't have to worry about cooking and cleaning for 2 whole weeks. Since I had some "spare" time, I was able to get a good laundry routine going while in California which I took back with me. I do miss having food at the table waiting for us and I do miss not having to run to the grocery store.

- Although my parents have a lot of their old ways in them, they have also changed a lot because of their growing love for Jesus Christ. They are very involved in sharing the gospel with others and being a light for him. They are purposeful in much of their lifestyle to do things for His glory and that was very comforting!

- My parents did pay for most of our stay in California and we didn't have to spend money we didn't have.

- The weather and the sights in California were beautiful and by them we were reminded of God's wondrous power as our creator and His sovereignty!

- I love filipino food and there was an abundance of it!

- It was a joy to visit with my sister and her children again, to see my mom's sister and her family, and to see my dad's sister and parents (my grandparents) and even celebrate their 57th wedding anniversary with them!

- We went to Disneyland and the San Diego Zoo, and stayed in a beautiful resort for free, thanks to my parents!

- I had time to read the book I gave to my dad for Christmas, The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges. Good book! I'm planning to get it for our family, some time.

- DearHubby and I did go out to see a movie, Yes Man starring Jim Carey.

- And the list can go on...

Since we've been back, I've been trying to get back into a normal routine.

One of the areas I've been working on, especially, has been paper clutter. One of my greatest weaknesses is keeping paper clutter and though I am an organized person, I still have paper clutter tucked away. One thing I usually do is keep paperwork before I address them, thinking I'd get back to them later, so that the paper clutter isn't in our living space. Well, the saying "out of sight, out of mind" then applies because when it does go out of my sight, then later never comes because I usually forget about what I kept and some things never get addressed. So, one of the things I've been working on since we've been home is addressing paperwork/mail, the day we receive it. I've been trying not to put anything away until it is addressed and since I don't like paper clutter in my sight, that's been motivation for me to address the paperwork.

However, I'm finding that keeping up with all that paperwork IS very time consuming and now I'm trying to work out how to streamline the process to make it less time consuming.

I've also been able to hit some sales at Target, The Children's Place, and Borders. I've gotten some good buys at 75% off!!! These CLEARANCE racks at the end of Christmas and the beginning of the year is GREAT!!!

I took my glucose tolerance test and had my 27th week OB appointment. There is a little bit of a concern that the baby is too big. My uterus measured 32 weeks when I am only 27. We're waiting for the glucose test results to see if I have gestational diabetes. If the baby has macrosomia, the doctors will encourage a C-section, and I'd prefer another VBAC.

The girls have also been sick and I seemed to have come down with a cold too, so we've just been taking it easy here at home.

Well, the girls are waiting on their lunch. I thought I'd just catch up a little.

In Pusuit Of His Call

Handmade Craft - (Already Made) Scrapbook for Mom

2008-12-24T07:34:00.003-05:00

2 great things: already made scrapbooks and technology!

A few months ago I got a free already made scrapbook at JC Penny as a promotional. It's your typical 12"x12" scrapbook and really nice looking, but it wasn't practical for me to use it for my pictures as I would then need to start a collection of 12"x12" scrapbooks, which we do not have room for. Therefore, as I thought about what to do with the scrapbook, I decided to give it to my mom for Christmas. I talked to my sister and we decided that it would be a scrapbook for my mom with all the grandchildren's pictures in it.

I am not a scrapbooker and with 2 little ones, coming up with page ideas would have taken soooo much time. The already made scrapbook comes with pages already made up and all I had to do was add the pictures!!! It was perfect... I just needed to decide what sort of pictures would go on each page, crop the pictures, and stick them on.

Well, there were enough pages to have a picture of my mom and dad, a picture of my mom, dad, sister, and I, and a page of both our families, in addition to 2 pages for each grandchild, 4 miscellaneous picture pages, and a page for a picture with my mom and dad with all their grandchildren.

My sister lives in California and I live in New Jersey...Right, cross country...Yet, through technology, we were able to coordinate things and get this memory book made for my mom, in time for Christmas.

It only took me several hours to print, crop, and stick all the pictures in the book. The already made scrapbook also came with stickers and other accessories, so I didn't even have to think about fillers. So, without worrying about captions on the pictures and just sticking the pictures in the book, the memory book was completed by the end of the day!

I would never have had the time to do something like this from scratch. I am thankful for conveniences like the already made scrapbook and technology. Amazing!!!

Home Life - Our Christmas Celebration

2008-12-22T10:30:00.008-05:00

Well, it's December 22nd and our hustle and bustle is over...

Our family is traveling to California on Christmas Day and so we did our family Christmas here at home on Saturday. DearHubby and I were actually going to postpone our Christmas celebration until later in the day and had hoped to go to a memorial service for Little Lily, a little 5 day old baby who died of anecephaly, on Wednesday. However, we were unable to find childcare for our 2 little ones and when our babysitter contacted us to let us know that our girls couldn't be watched, we decided to just go ahead with our Christmas celebration.

Our Christmas celebration didn't turn out to be as I had hoped. I really wanted to get up and cook breakfast for my family, but DearHubby and I were up late on Friday evening tidying up the house and wrapping presents and I didn't get up early enough. So, DearHubby went to WaWa to grab us some breakfast sandwiches and donuts.

After breakfast, we read a story about Jesus' birthday and explained to our girls that we celebrate Christmas because we want to remember the day of our Savior's birth. I love that we started this tradition of telling the gospel story to our children before opening our Christmas gifts because now our girls know why we celebrate Christmas! DearDaughter1 will tell you that Christmas is all about Jesus. She doesn't even know who Santa is!

I used to dislike giving gifts on Christmas because I always felt the materialism of the gift giving got in the way of the true meaning of Christmas. However, I have changed my mind about gift giving, especially now that I have children. I spent most of last week preparing Christmas cards, cookies, and Christmas gifts to deliver to friends around us. As I prepared for all these things, DearDaughter1 always asked me who those gifts were for. It was neat to explain to DearDaughter1 that the gifts were for others because we want to express our love for them as well as send them joy. In addition, when we were purchasing gifts for others, it taught DearDaughter1 how to enjoy choosing gifts for her friends and enjoy giving gifts to her friends. It wasn't all about the getting for our girls, but about the giving!!!

We were sent money from my in-laws to purchase gifts and I purchased some gifts for the girls, however, I kept my girls' gifts to a minimum. They received a few toys, but the most important gifts I wanted them to receive were the books about God we gave to them. We gave DearDaughter1 "The Beginner's Bible" and I am excited to go through this with her. Earlier in the year I bought her "The Child's Story Bible" by Catherine Vos and though it's a wonderful story bible for children, it was a little too old for DearDaughter1. It didn't keep her interest because the stories were too long for a little 2 year old (at the time). I also bought DearDaughter1 "The Jesus Storybook Bible" which we have decided to save for next Christmas. I bought DearDaughter2 a series of 6 books called "Learning About God". It's a set of 6 board books with titles like "God is Faithful", "God Knows Everything", "God Never Changes".

After opening our presents and enjoying them, DearHubby took us on a fun adventure! He belongs to an internet forum called Adventure Riders and there's one thread that's like a scavenger hunt where people from New Jersey have posted historical sites they've been to and others on the forum need to find the site. There was a picture of a historical water tower near our house that DearHubby wanted to find and so off we went. Well, our drive turned into a wild goose chase...We went to a pre-Revolutionary war village and asked directions to this water tower. Either the historian we talked to didn't know what we were talking about or she decided to send us on a wild goose chase. We ended up deep in the pine barrens of New Jersey and spent most of our afternoon finding our way out. We finally got out of the woods right as the sun was setting. The irony of all this was our cell phone reception. We hardly have any bars at home, but deep in the woods, our reception was perfect! Go figure?

So, we ended up going to the mall for dinner. I actually wanted to go to Old Country Buffet to at least give us a home style cooking feel, but the line was so long that it was out the door. We decided to just go to the food court at the mall, which I didn't want to do because I knew the mall would be crowded with last minute shoppers. We ended up eating at my favorite Japanese "restaurant", but since I wasn't in the mood for it, it wasn't as enjoyable.

When we got home we let the girls play with their toys a little longer and then we put them to bed. So, that was our family Christmas celebration. It wasn't my ideal celebration, but it was wonderful because I was with my DearHubby and children.

We did Jesus' birthday cake the next day after church. We invited some friends over for dessert and they enjoyed the cake with us!

For the next 3 days I'll be focusing on just preparing for our trip. I do have a few more Christmas cards to send out, but we are mainly done with our hustle and bustle. I have a few preparations to make for the Christmas gifts we're giving to my family in California, like put together a scrap book for my mom in the next 2 days, but I hope that will not be a stressful project.

Happy birthday Jesus and a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to you!

Home Life...Taking a Break from the Hustle and Bustle

2008-12-18T22:31:00.002-05:00

I have been working on Christmas cards, baking cookies, and delivering gifts all week! As a result, the house looked like a tornado ran right through it. I didn't think I'd have time today to get chores done, but providentially DearHubby left work late and his buddy, who was stranded on a bridge going home, called him for help. DearHubby and I had planned to exercise at the gym tonight, but his buddy's call for help gave me time to take a break from the hustle and bustle and get things tidied up here at home. Tonight was also my night to take a break from cooking and we went out for pizza. There's a local hoagie shop that sells upside down pizza, yummy, for 1/2 price on Thursdays. A large pizza, which will provide our family with 2 dinners, cost us less than $7 on 1/2 price night!!! What an awesome deal!!! So, I was able to get all the dishes done and not worry about any more getting dirty for the day. I feel so relieved because I can finally see my table top, counter top, couch, and floor again!

Some chores I need to get done still: bathroom cleaning and laundry. I hope I can get to them some time this weekend. Tomorrow I have a brunch with a local DearFriend whom I haven't seen in almost 6 months. It's so crazy...She lives only 10 minutes away from me and yet with our busy schedules, mosty because she went back to work, we have not been able to catch up (and every time we try to talk on the phone, the girls always seem to get into some sort of "trouble"). We're doing our family Christmas on Saturday because we are flying out to California on Christmas day. Then, on Sunday, I am hoping to have the V's over. We had planned to have them over for dessert last night, but that didn't work out as the lady of the household was sick. So, I am hoping to reschedule for Sunday as we do have some gifts to give to them...

I had an interesting talk to my chiropractor yesterday. He told me that he thought Christmas was a silly holiday. Then he asked me if I was the one that didn't celebrate Christmas. I told him that I was the one that does not do Santa Clause, but yes, we do celebrate Christmas. I told him that we tell our children that we celebrate Christmas because it's Jesus' birthday...Then, he changed the subject to Easter and how he thought that was a sillier holiday with the Easter bunny and all. I told him that we celebrate Easter as a time of remembering Jesus dying on the cross for our sins and being raised back up to life again. His comment, "Yeah, people have lost the true meaning of these holidays." It was an interesting conversation and though we didn't get to talk much, I hope that even the little words of truth I said will work in his heart.

Off to bed...

Home Life...Displaying Love for One Another

2008-12-15T06:30:00.003-05:00

I am so thankful to DearHubby for doing my chores for me yesterday.

We had a small Christmas dinner party at our home on Thursday evening that I had spent the beginning of the week preparing for. It was a busy Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and even Thursday as the house was still in quite a disarray from the previous week and our Christmas decorations were not yet up. I also had lunch with DearHubby, a Bible Study, and working out at the gym to fit in. All in addition to my already busy day with caring for the girls and the home.

Needless to say, I wore myself out. I did not get sick, but I just crashed on Friday. I wouldn't have crashed if I just went to sleep, but for some reason, I couldn't sleep well on Thursday evening. DearDaughter1 woke up at 1am to go to the potty and from that time on, I laid in bed tossing and turning. I was so tired on Friday that every time I sat down, I nodded off. Imagine how frustrated my girls were when they turned to see Mommy asleep.

So, the dishes from our Thursday Christmas dinner sat on our counter on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

I guess DearHubby could foresee the time that I would need to bake cookies and finish up our Christmas cards and so he did all the dishes for me, vacuumed for me, and went grocery shopping with me. Initially, I got angry at him because I felt guilty for not doing all these chores myself and for letting them sit for days. DearHubby then told me that he did those things not to make me feel guilty but because he loves me. I was very touched, but I still had a hard time saying "Thank You."

While DearHubby vacuumed for me, DearDaughter1 called out to me because she couldn't fall asleep with all the noise.

DearDaughter1: Mommy, I can't sleep. There's too much noise out there.

Mommy: Daddy's done vacuuming. We won't make any more noise.

DearDaughter1: Why did Daddy vacuum?

Mommy: Because Daddy loves Mommy very much and he wanted to do something nice for Mommy.

DearDaughter1: Oh, OK!

With that explanation, DearDaughter1 laid her head down and fell asleep. I guess just hearing how much Daddy and Mommy loves each other comforted her that much.

So, I am grateful for my husband and the love he displayed for me, even in helping me do my chores. After my conversation with DearDaughter1, I realized that DearHubby did do all these things because he loves me and I properly expressed my appreciation to him. In response, he said, "I hope I helped you in ways that you needed," and in all honesty, I responded with a big "YES! VERY MUCH SO!"