Blessing upon blessing

62. The abundance of friends who sought out to help us while we're looking for a home.

63. That my mom doesn't say, "I told you so!" when I finally decide that 900 sq ft is not big enough for a family of 7.

64. Great ideas to help Protector learn the letter Bb :)

65. Narnia.

66. My YMCA blesses me with childcare while I work myself until I can't breath.

67. Pain killers to bless me after I leave the YMCA.

68. Hot, hot, hot showers.

69. My hot, hot, hot hubby :)

70. The Father working in mysterious ways.

Join me and others as we give thanks:

Confessions....

I discovered a new blog today, In The Name Of Love, that I thoroughly enjoyed. While cruising through some posts, I noticed that one of them was titled "confessions..." Always interesting.... Bianca was spilling her guts and asked others to do the same. Some were humerous, some serious, but all confessions, just the same. Confession is good for the soul.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

- James 5:16

So, in the spirit of healing.... here is some dirty laundry that needs to be aired...

- I love eating icing straight out of the container

- I drink milk from the jug.... in front of my kids

- I love to give away money, but have done so to the detriment of my family at times

- I don't think I've ever finished a thing in my life. I love to start things, but I just don't have an ounce of "follow through" in me

- If I throw gum out the window of the car (*GASP*) I'm always a little worried that there will be a murder nearby and CSI will find my DNA on the gum and accuse me of murder.

- I love the smell of markers, rubber cement, and paint. Yeah, I'm the reason there's a warning label...

There... I feel better :)

Anything you need to share?

So many gifts...

52. The strength to go on.

53. Homeschool conventions :)

54. A new camera bag to keep my goodies safe.

55. A new doctor for my kiddos.

56. Lots of good medicine to make my baby feel better.

57. Bedtime laughter.

58. The simple love of a child.

59. Bread pudding... yeah, I know... I'm not supposed to like it.

60. Rubber cement and lapbooks.

61. A hubby who will dig through the shed for hours for the one little folder I want.

I'm spoiled by a Great God!

Join me and others as we give thanks:

Seeing Dr. V.

I hate going to the doctor. Really, I do. It's not because I'm afraid of shots, or that I don't like their attitude, or don't approve of their poking and prodding. It's just that every time I go, something new is wrong with me. Do you know what that does to a persons psyche? For those of you who don't know, I'm diabetic.... VERY diabetic. My last A1C was 11.5. I'm taking my insulin, my pills, exercising... I just can't kick the sugar habit. I like carbs... a lot. In any form, really. Candy. Bread. Potatoes. Fruit. I can do good for a few days, but then I get mad because everyone else can enjoy potato soup, chocolate, etc, and I just can't seem to stop. It's so frustrating. So, even though there is no one out there reading this blog as often as I update it, I will pretend that there is, and will try to update on this site, my daily levels.... we'll see how that goes. Feel free to admonish me as needed :)

30 Day Photo Project

Day 6: Photo of a person you would love to trade places with

Ah, to be carefree again. Not a worry in the world except to try to figure out why people are making those funny faces at you. Love my Baby Girl!

30 Day Photo Project

Day 5: Photo of an Old Memory

Just over 2 years ago, Prince Charming and I were waiting patiently to have a foster baby placed in our home. We were so excited. All we requested for Christmas that year was gifts for the little one we were anticipating. Our spare room was wonderful. Crib, changing table, glider, even a twin bed for me to crash on if necessary.

Then... THIS happened

Not a baby, TWO TODDLERS!!!!! This was the day our life flipped upside down. And certainly one of my absolute favorite memories. Especially when Cuddlebug couldn't stand to be separated from Protector and would sneak int his bed at night.

Ah, how's that for a memory :)

Laundry with cow guts??

I try to do little things to cut corners on our budget here and there. One thing that I started doing, was making our own laundry soap. It has saved bunches of $$$ already, and will continue to do so. I discovered the Duggar's recipe for laundry soap and set out to make my own. I had to refill my smaller laundry soap container today, so Muscles helped me out. He played with the 5 gallon bucket of concentrate that I use.

His response? "If I were on Dirty Jobs, this is what cow guts would feel like."

Yuck.

I love my kids.

30 Day Photo Project

Day 4: Photo of Your Night

Well, tonight anyway...way, way, WAY past bedtime...

This may be the ONLY picture you see of my Baby Girl crying. She rarely does so. She wanted so badly to get out of her crib and play with the other kids... but they were busy getting in an incredible amount of trouble for playing when they should be in bed.

This was Cuddlebug in trouble for getting out of bed for the 25th time (no, I'm not exaggerating) tonight.

Princess, seeing a camera in action, said "I want to say sorry too!!!" and posed for her pic.

Finally, Baby Girl realizes that this isn't going to get her out of bed, so she gives up. This is where she sits when she's frustrated with Mommy.

Journal Entry from Africa

After college, I spent 2 years in Kenya. I loved it!! This is an entry from my journal that a friend wanted to read, so I figured I'd post it... enjoy.

Mt. Kilimanjaro is a beautiful thing I’ve heard. I can’t tell you for certain. I’ve never actually seen it with my own two eyes. I must admit that there is a touch of jealousy in me. In the 2+ years that I’ve lived in East Africa, I have passed that mountain at least 12 times. It’s always too cloudy, or too dark, or I’m simply in the back seat asleep. For whatever reason, I have yet to behold the glory of Kilimanjaro.

There are people on this mission trip with me that have spent a grand total of 2 ½ weeks in Tanzania who have seen Kilimanjaro… more than once. It just doesn’t seem fair. Deep down though, I know that I could see it if I really wanted to. I could just sit at the base of the mountain until the clouds pass, or wait in anticipation for the sun to rise, or simply wake up from my slumber in the back seat and open my eyes. The best way to see the mountain though, is to grab your gear and start climbing.

It’s funny how we can be the same way with God. Some people start the Christian life knowing that they are going to be in it for the long haul, so they think that there is no real need to rush to see and do everything. There is plenty of time. Their view of God may be clouded (by the things they busy themselves with), or dark (because of the sin in their lives), or perhaps they are just in the back seat sleeping (while others around them are telling them what to believe or how do live). Then there are those who are so excited about their new faith that they rush to see, taste, feel, hear, and experience every bit of God that they can at every moment that they can.

Many of us are like I am with Kili, we want to see the beauty of God, but we want Him to be visible whenever we happen to pass by. Some of us need to just sit still at His feet and wait for the clouds to pass so that we can see Him more clearly. Some of us just need to hold on for a few short hours until the dawn comes with the Son and pierces the darkness. Some of us need to get off our backsides and simply open our eyes and look at Him. Just as the best way to see the mountain is to climb it, the best way to see the glory of God is to grab our gear and seek after Him with all of our hearts. Scripture tells us that if we drawn near to Him, He will drawn near to us.

You know, I have always thought that Mt. Kilimanjaro is a nice place, but my friends that have been up that mountain… they love it.

Peaceful eyes.

Today was the first day back to school after Christmas break. Our kiddo's social worker came over today also. I was worried that Muscles would have a rough day and come home ready for a fight. His worker was at our house when he got home and he was incredibly pleasant. I could see the peace in his eyes. I was so excited. We had some disappointing thing happen this evening, but he didn't throw a fit. He cried a bit, but moved on very quickly. He is learning to control his emotions. It's a long, uphill battle, but I think he can do it :)

52. Medicine that helps.

53. Sugar free snacks

54. Online freebies

55. Forgiveness

56. Honesty from those I love

57. Cribs that can't be climbed out of

58. cell phone games

59. YMCA

30 Day Photo Project

This one is a no brainer, with a very close tie for 2nd place, so I'll add them both.

Day 3: Photo of Cast of your favorite TV show

NCIS

Criminal Minds