Mom stuff...

What am I doing this weekend, you ask? Well, actually I'm pretending you want to really know, therefore I will give you an answer. :) Here is my "TO DO" list:

1. Wash the dishes...some I have to do a rewash on. One of the jobs I give my kids to do each day when they come home from school is they need to load the dishwasher. Every once in a while they will not all fit and a few have to be washed by hand. One day this past week, my daughter was in charge of dish duty. However, she was not in the mood. If you know my daughter, then you know if she is not in the mood to do it, it ends up being a job half done. She had to wash out the crystal light jug by hand and then make some more. I poured me a drink that night, took a sip and realized my mouth was on fire! Mothers didn't use to wash kids mouths out with soap for no reason...it burns! My daughter hadn't rinsed all the dish washing soap out of the jug before making more of the drink mix. Ugh! I can still taste it!

2. Fold clothes...but I will not complain. My "laundry hero" is still at it, he just doesn't like to fold. Well that makes two of us, however since I don't have to do most of the washing these days, I guess I had better start folding, huh?

3. Pay bills. Yuck! Anyone want to trade places with me? Or give me a loan?

4. Go to the store. Now I like shopping, but these days I can't find anything I want at my Walmart, for they decide to rearrange every five minutes. I also don't consider groceries true shopping. I kin of get depressed every time I go. I end up spending to much, even with my coupons. Besides the fact that my kids eat me out of house and home and a buggy full of food will be gone in two to three days! Where do they put it all?!

5. Take down my Christmas trees. Yep! They are all still up. Sad, huh? I have not had a free weekend to do it all. I either have been sick or doing something. I'm hoping I can get it done today. Kev says I could just leave them up year round. Nah...that takes away the specialness (if that is a word) of decorating for Christmas every year. Too bad Santa doesn't send elves to help us out after Christmas!

Well, I probably have loads more than that to do, but I will be doing great if I get all of this done today. I was chatting with one of our seventh grade youth girls this morning on Facebook. She asked what I was doing today... I had to answer honestly, "Mom stuff." Need I say more?

Say what?

Have you ever been totally frustrated, yet can't do anything about the situation, that is totally out of your control? I'm there today. I don't even know what to say except to ask for prayer. It is related to my job and I can't go into details, for it is not my goal to hurt anyone's feelings. I just have to say this; "Why do people make things so complicated sometimes?!"

Yes, life would be so much easier if we didn't have to deal with people wouldn't it? Yet, who wants to be stuck talking to a ball, like Tom Hanks, because you're all alone and need a listening ear? But wait, in a way that's what I'm doing right now isn't it...bending the ear of a material object? How do I know you are reading this post? Here I am typing my feelings into a computer and... well, I'm so BLAH! right now I've gone off on a tangent. Forgive me! I'm afraid I just needed a listening ear so I could vent a moment.

All better.

On a totally different note... pray for my family. My parents and extended family are iced in with no electricity. My dad just might be looking for a ball to talk to pretty soon, himself! :)

"90 in '09..."

That is a quote, my husband is borrowing from the lead singer of the Christian group, Big Daddy Weave, Mike Weaver. He is on the heavy side and is determined to lose ninety pounds in 2009. Well, my hubby has decided to try and do the same, if not more. I'm very proud of him right now because he is sticking to it. He is doing the Atkins diet, mainly because he doesn't want to "have to think about anything!" Slowly, but steadily the pounds are coming off.

Please pray for him, that he will have the drive and determination to continue on...for health reasons he really does need to lose the weight.

On a side note, our whole family is trying to do better in the eating department. I'm excited because I have lost 12 pounds, myself! Yeah!

After the last two days I've had...that is certainly something to smile about! Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Patience...what is it again?

I think I discovered what the Lord is trying to teach me this week. I was taking a shower last night, contemplating how my week has gone (Good gracious, it was ONLY Monday!) and asking a lot of "why?"'s in there, while trying to counter it with a few "why not?"'s. (I do my best thinking and praying in the shower...must be that it is the only place I can get away from everything else! Or should I say EVERYONE else?)

Anyway, my conclusion was: PATIENCE. Sweet and simple, God is trying to teach me how to have some more patience. Don't know why? But how else can I explain my life and my attitude??

I mean when your husband runs out of his Blood pressure meds over the weekend and you are the one that ends up feeling guilty about it when he didn't remind you, yada yada, yada... You have to have patience with him. (I couldn't get mad...I couldn't risk a heart attack!!!)

Of course when the same man tells you that a church member told him that a "few" people are frustrated with him because "he is not doing enough..." I had to have patience. (Not doing enough?!!! I barely see him as it is! He works hard! Not doing enough? Yes, I needed patience last night! I was close to strangling someone! No one is allowed to talk to or about my man like that...I am the only one that has that privilege! I earned it!!!)

Patience is when you look at the money coming in, and the money going out and the stack of bills still to pay and wonder when I'm going to be that blessed person that wins the lottery or gets Oprah to pay everything off?

Patience is when you show up to work, at a child care center and have 10 babies before 8:00a.m., only to realize your partner has jury duty, the director has to help you and has no back up plans when she realizes she has to stay the whole day with you, since your co worker got chosen!!! If that sentence made sense then you are praying for me, if it didn't well just know I'm having to have MUCH patience!

When a friend has tests run and the doctor says they will not know the results for two weeks, but it doesn't look good...well one must have patience. Say a pray for her, please.

When you leave a list of chores for your kids to accomplish before you come home and they chose the worst day to not do them...well a mom has to have patience.

When you come home and cook dinner, only for your husband to have to work late...it takes patience.

To have the courage to continue on your journey, when Monday and Tuesday haven't turned out so hot, well I am just asking for a little strength...this God's timing thing...it takes patience, doesn't it?

Yes, that is only a sampling of my week so far. I know things could be a lot worse. I also know that God will supply everything I need to handle each situation as it comes my way. The truth is, I know He allows these days, so that we will learn to count our blessings, remember who is really in charge and to teach us a lesson or two along the way.

This week, mine is PATIENCE. Anyone in the class with me? I'll be praying for you...

Heaven...

I am going to start this post with a little bragging... my husband can sing! Sure he has a nice voice and all, I mean people ask him to sing at weddings, funerals, special programs, etc... all the time. Actually what I am talking about is "SINGING!" You know the kind when you feel the emotion behind the song, singing? Well, he blew me away this morning. I was torn between not paying attention to the message of the song because i was so proud and forgetting to listen close for how he did, because I was listening to the "heart" behind the song. Did that sentence even make sense to anybody but me?

Our pastor has been doing a series of messages on Heaven. Right now Kevin is filling in as our worship leader at church, until we can find someone. He decided to sing one of his favorite songs, sung by one of his favorite singers, David Phelps. The song is called "No More Night." It is a pretty powerful song in itself...it can make you weep just reading the words.

I've heard Kevin sing it many times. Every time it touches my heart...it is beautiful. Today, though, I had my wife radar on. Kevin practiced at home perfect and told me later that he had practiced this morning perfect. However, after a few bars during the service, I could tell something was up. Don't get me wrong, he still sang it beautifully. I could just tell he was working hard at not crying, to the point that he choked up a couple of times.

The minor flub was no big deal, for you could tell it had to do with him keeping his emotions in check. However, wait until I tell you what was the cause of his emotion. He told me after church today, that while he was singing about Heaven, and no more pain, he looked out and there was this young man that goes to our church, singing with him prayerfully. The thing that got him, is that this certain young man is in a wheelchair and can not walk. Here, was an individual, who will never walk and live what we would consider a "normal" life, singing about Heaven. Kevin said, as he was singing on stage watching him, it shook him up... Heaven for this young man represented, something even more special than I can personally imagine.

It got me to thinking...Heaven. What does it represent for me? What do I picture or long for when I think of Heaven? When I was young I liked to think of it as this super duper golden playground, probably because I had a brother who passed away as a baby. When I was in high school, I didn't want to think about it much at all... teenagers tend to believe that nothing "bad" will happen to them until it does and then they just want to be angry! As a young adult, I came to believe it was a place for the very sick to go... to find peace. My Nanny, a few years ago called it "home, and that she was ready to see Jesus!" I like that definition. HOME.

As Kevin was singing and my pastor was preaching, I realized that Heaven is something beautiful. Something we should be longing for, not dreading. There should be no fear, but a true longing for, like our young friend in the wheelchair. All the little problems that surface in day to day life seem insignificant when you think about Heaven. What are we striving for everyday, anyway?

I don't have any deep thoughts today or words of wisdom that will change your life and how you think. All I have today is the testimony of a young man that has suffered a lot in this world, yet finds the time to praise God daily. He lives for HEAVEN!

I am now challenged to, too...

Lord, I truly want to live to glorify you and look forward to that beautiful place you have prepared for me...

Oh, and Lord, I really do hope there is no jealousy in Heaven, among your angels, because MY HUSBAND REALLY CAN SING! :)

I need a pat on the back, thank you very much!

Several months ago I revealed how horribly unorganized my office/scrapbook room/library/ work out room was. In fact it was just a flat out mess! It has now officially taken me a year and three months to whip the room in shape. But, I am now proud to say; "I deserve a pat on the back!!!" With the exception of some boxes I still need to go through, I think the room looks pretty good. (The boxes are stacked nicely out of the way.)

Here is what the room looked like before...

Now if I may have a drum roll please...

Yeah! You can actually see the floor! :) This is my work out area. I am going to try hard to really use it for that... I can always get a real coat rack to hang things on!

This is the library part of my room. With the exception of a handful of study books, Bibles and wood shop books, these are all mine. I love to read! I like buying my favorites, so that I can read them over and over... The bottom shelf also holds my scrapbooks for right now.

This is my scrapbook area. Kevin made me the desk a few years ago and I love it!

This little cart is also part of my scrapbook/craft area. It holds my sewing machine and my cameras. It belonged to my Nanny. She use to have it in her kitchen, but I love finding other uses for objects... it gives a room more character, I think.

This corner of my room holds my office. The desk was mine when I was a young girl. My dad had it built for me, when my family lived in Bangladesh, so I would have a place to "home school" everyday. The painting was painted by my Grandpa Jack and is very dear to my heart. Of course, I spend a lot of my free time in this little corner, with my friend the computer. Tell me again, how did we ever survive without them?!

Well, there you have it. It isn't perfect, for I still have some organizing to do. I could do without the paneled walls, but who has time to paint these days? And the lighting is not great, as you can tell from the photos, but I'm happy to have the space. I'm ecstatic that it is clean and I can now enjoy it; reading, scraping, blogging, working out (well, one can hope!), etc... might just be a little more enjoyable.