Grieving

On Sunday, my pastor spoke about grieving and how to deal with it.  My first reaction was I know this topic all to well after loosing both my grandmothers.  But, it did prepare me for the news I received last night that my Great Aunt Janice passed away.  Then today we received news that was really upsetting but I was asked not to share what it is on the internet.  I am full of sadness right now.

God has plans for us.  He knows when it is our time.  He also has a place for you in his kingdom when you die.  Last night I felt him wrap his arms around me and show me his presence when I heard the news of my aunt died.  I will trust him with his plans for my other family member that is going through something really hard right now.  I wish I could be the one there wrapping my arms around them and helping them through this difficult time.

I pray that God gives my family the strength they need to get through some of these difficult times ahead.  I pray that God shines his light to them and they will know him and that his plan is what you should trust.


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How do I answer a call from God?

I am really struggling with knowing if I am being called into missionary work. 

I have always enjoyed doing things for other people.  I am quick to help if I have the means to do so.  My heart has been heavy and I want to answer God's call.  

I want to put my medical training to a good use without having to take on a full time job. There are so many opportunities for me to go on mission trips as a medical assistant.  

So my question is how do I answer my call?

I have never felt so passionate for something.  

I want to do what is right for me and my family.  

I know that it means leaving my family behind while I travel the world but I really feel that this is what I need to do. 

Will you please pray for me as I struggle with this decision. 

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Happy 1st Blogiversary

I am late in posting this... but 1-1-11 was my 1 year blogiversary!!!!! You would have thought since it was such an unique date I would have remembered to make sure I posted about it. But you see I have been so so busy this past week.  I am playing an extra in the play "To Kill A Mockingbird"  It opens tonight.  I haven't seemed to take a break in my days since the 1st of the year it has been crazy.  I am hoping to get back to blogging and my life back in order starting next week, but there is no gaurntees that is for sure.

Our exchange student "H" is doing great, she is a real joy to have in our home.  She is active and likes spending time with Sephy.  She is liking school alright and she has made friends with girls at church.  I am glad we chose to host her.  She is really a fun person to be around.

Sephy now on the other hand is trying to be a mini-teenager and oh my let me tell you she is driving me crazy. I think she is trying to test her limits now that "H" is here.  I have had to get on to her a lot the last few days and I really hate having to be the mean mom but lately she is just at my wits ends, someone send me some chill pills for the chicka so I can make it through her teenage years.. =)  

Well I hope that this post finds everyone well!! I hope you have a blessed rest of the week!




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We are going to be a Host Family!!

It is official!! 

We will become a host family for exchange students starting in 2011!!! Whoo hoo!!!! 

I am excited.  Can ya tell?? 

We have hosted in the past when Sephy was little.  It has been over 4 years since we have had an exchange student.  We had our ups and downs in the past with them but I contribute a lot of it to the fact that we where so young.  Sephy was 4 and 5 and Dusty and I where still in our 20's.  The kids where like not even 10 years younger than us.  It is kindda hard to be taking care of teenagers when you your self aren't grown up yet.  So, we stopped and decided to grow up some more, be set financially helps too.  Although you do not have to pay for them to live here, you do have to provide, food and shelter.  Since we can provide this for them with out it putting a financial drain on us we started to look into it.  

We choose a company that is our of California.  It is called AYUSA.  I have had a great experience with them so far.  Great Communication! I strike that, We are looking forward to hosting.  Sephy is overly excited because she will have someone to "hang" with.  

We have our student picked already for next school year.  She has a lot of the same interest as Sephy. She jumped out at us when we where looking at students the other night.  When I get to start communicating with her I will ask if I can share about her.  

I am so excited about this! I can't wait! 

If you are interested in hosting an exchange student and would like more information let me know and I can help you out! 

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Life Passes us by..

Life passes us by every day.  Sometimes we don't mean for it to happen it just does.

Here lately I have been so consumed by what has been going on in my life that I forget about letting others know what it is.  I don't have any excused for not blogging.  I just really haven't had anything to say.  I don't want you to think that the only reason I blog is to show you a new product so I am going to try and post at least 3 times a week.  If I forget please don't get upset.  I promise I am still around and still visiting your blogs and reading them.  I might not always comment by trust me I am popping in and reading.

Love to you all!!

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Casting my Cares

What do you do when things just never seem to go right?

I know I seem to fret a lot about things. I tend to be a natural worrier. I worry even when there is nothing to worry about.

We started the process a few months ago to try to have a baby. I want this so much.  I have prayed about it and prayed about it for years.  Parts of my prayers have been answered; it seems, but not the actual getting pregnant part.  It is frustrating.  I want to scream and holler. 

I need to take a step back and go if this is in God’s plan then it will happen.  I know that sometimes we don’t want to wait for God.  But we have to wait for him.  It is his call.  God answers prayers and I will trust him with his plan.  So for now I am casting my cares to the Lord.  I will wait for him to bless me with another baby.

 

Casting all your care upon Him, because He cares about you. (1 Peter 5:7)

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You cant get Oranges from a Lemon Tree

Today, my pastor was preaching in Galatians.  It got me thinking, do I sow goodness in my family and my friends.

I tend to feel that I do. I sure hope that I show it through my actions. 

I have always shown goodness to others even when they do not show it to me. 

I teach my daughter that you have to treat everyone with kindness, no matter how mean they might be to her, if she shows her the kindness she wants to see then it will shine through and in the end they will treat you the same. 

My pastor said that if you sow something like turnips then you will get turnips in the end. You can’t expect to get squash if you planted turnips.  To me he was saying if you plant in others what you want in return then you will get that in return. 

In the end if you plant a Lemon tree don’t expect to get oranges because it isn’t going to happen. 

Galatians 7-10: ⁷Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. ⁸The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. ⁹Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ¹⁰Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

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I wanted to share this post with iFellowship so I linked it for today.
 

What's in your medicine cabinet?

I think we are all a little guilty of wanting to look and see what is inside someone's medicine cabinets. 

It is like lets see if we can find out a little bit about a person by what's inside that little cabinet behind the mirror.

I decided I would give you a look into my Medicine Cabinets.  I have two of them. One behind the mirror and the other above the toilet.  These only thing I did was size them smaller.  I didn't remove anything.  

This was behind the mirror.  Most of the stuff in here is my hubby's.  There are a few things I stuck in there because there wasn't room for them in the other cabinet and they where small and all the free samples I keep getting.  The top shelf has: Hotel Lotions, Drakkar, Sample Deodorants, Travel Shaving Cream, HeadLube (lotion for my hubby's bald head), Tummy med, Gummy Vitamins, and a sample Toothpaste. The Middle shelf:  Razor, nose spray, contact case and saline, antibacterial hand gel, and cold sore med. The bottom shelf:  Teeth stuff, a comb, old razor, vitamins, and toothpaste samples. There are a couple of rubber bands in there too. 

This one is my catch all cabinet.  There is way to much in here that I am not going to label it all out.  

So what is in your Medicine Cabinet?? 

Let me know if you make a post so I can make sure I jump over there and check out what's in your medicine cabinet.  

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My Memorial Day Weekend!

Thursday night I was sitting here reading blogs and trying to figure out what we where going to do this weekend. 

I kept talking to my Hubby saying that I really need to be in Texas this weekend. 

I need to see my family. This weekend is hard enough being 8 to 10 hrs away.  So I talked him into taking a road trip. 

It was just going to be me.  I was going to drive with Sephy and take her to her Mawma Trisha's. 

Friday Morning, hubby wakes up and starts getting ready for work and tells me to wait till the afternoon and he would go with me.  I talked him in to just calling in.  So he called in to work for Friday and Monday so he could take the sudden road trip with me to Texas.  I was glad.  It was nice for him to go with me.  

We head out at 8:30am.  No one knew we where coming down to Texas on Friday so we took our time. 

We stopped in Vicksburg and checked out the town. Visited the Old Courthouse Museum. 

Sephy made a friend. 

Read about Abraham Lincoln 

Really got in to it.  I love when she reads and wants to know more. 

First Flag after the Civil War.  They added the red chunk so that it did not appear to be a surrender.

We got to Mesquite and visited with family all evening Friday night. 

Saturday we got up early and headed to the brake place because I was under warranty and there isn't a Midas in this area so I had them check out my brakes. After we where done there we headed towards the cemeteries.  

First stop was my Grandma Bristow's.  She passed away a year ago May 29, 2009.  It has been a hard year for the whole family.  She was very dear to anyone that knew her.  She is very missed.  

The next stop was my Grandma Rose's.  She passed away June 1, 2000.  It has been 10 years.  I miss everyday too.  

The rest of the weekend I forgot my camera at the house,  so I didn't get any more pictures. 

We spent a lot of time with our family.  It was so nice because it had been since Christmas since I saw them last. I had a really good trip. Now my baby girl stayed in Texas for the month.  It is going to be a long month with out her.  I exchanged her for my teenage nephew "J" which I am going to use as a model while she is gone. I need new subjects to photograph anyways.  

I am glad to be home. Just wish it didn't end with my lip being the size of  my nose.   

I was trying to be pouty.  Just made it look even bigger.  haha

How did you spend your Memorial Day Weekend?? 

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I made Jelly!

I wanted to try my hand at making Strawberry Jelly. 

I went to the store and got all the things we needed.

I bought the Ball No Cook Freezer Jelly Mix. 

4lbs of Strawberries

Some Sugar.  

Cutting up 4lbs of Strawberries take for ever. 

Sephy had to try one.  Since they are so good! 

She even helped stir it up! 

The finished product! 

It was simple and easy to do and it taste so much better than regular store bought strawberry jelly. 

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Cyber Bully say what??

Recently some things have come to light with perspective.  Where to one person they might think that they are just sharing their opinion but they are actually hurting people around them. Even if they don't use your name you know they are talking about you because they are one of the few people that might know what is going on.  All though my incident is not cyber harassment it was still hurtful and hurtful to others around me.  I know that everyone is entitled to their own opinions but when you are in a support group, you need to be supportive and not try to play the devil's advocate.  It goes back to that saying when you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all.  More and more people just seem to say what is on their minds and they don't care who's feelings they hurt.  It is like to heck with you, I don't care because you know what, I don't need you in my life.  Well if that is the case then by golly get on your way with out saying something mean and degrading. 

I feel that Adults need a lesson in this just as much as children do.   In the Adult world it is not called bullying although it is the same.  It is called harassment.  It is a punishable crime for both adults and children.  Most of what I found when researching this was more for children and youth. But it does apply for adults too.  Adults can feel the same way children and youth do.  

Did you know that "Traditional bullying victims were 1.7 times more likely and traditional bullying offenders were 2.1 times more likely to have attempted suicide than those who were not traditional victims or offenders. Similarly, cyberbullying victims were 1.9 times more likely and cyberbullying offenders were 1.5 times more likely to have attempted suicide than those who were not cyberbullying victims or offenders."(quoted from here)

What is cyberbullying, exactly?

"'Cyberbullying' is when a child, preteen or teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones. It has to have a minor on both sides, or at least have been instigated by a minor against another minor. Once adults become involved, it is plain and simple cyber-harassment or cyberstalking. Adult cyber-harassment or cyberstalking is NEVER called cyberbullying."(quoted from here)

How can we prevent it??

There are lots of approaches to this.  My opinion is that it starts at home. 

As a Christian it is my duty to train/raise my child to be in Christ’s image. By doing this we teach them right from wrong.  If you don’t teach your children to be kind to others, then how do you expect them to be kind as adults?  If you show your children that it is okay to degrade people by name calling or by gripping about something, then in return they will do the same as you do when they are an adult because that is what they have seen growing up. 

Teach them to love themselves.  If a child has good self esteem they will be able to know what that person is saying about them is not true.

Teach your children what it is to be a bully and why it is wrong. This site has a good teaching lesson what is a bully and what to do from a Christian perspective.

Set up a Google Alert so that you are notified if your name or your child’s name is published on any website.  (This works.  I have it set up for my blog, my name, my child’s name, my husband’s name and my email addresses)

“God has shown you, O man, what is good.

And what does the LORD require of you?

To act justly, and to love mercy, and to

Walk humbly with your God.”

                                       Micah 6:8

What to do if it is happening to you:

STOP, BLOCK, and TELL

"STOP!
Don't do anything. Take 5! to calm down. Get up away from the computer.

Block!
Block the cyberbully or limit all communications to those on your buddy list.

And Tell!
Tell a trusted adult, you don't have to face this alone."(quoted from here) (If you are the adult, talk to a trusted friend, spouse, and your boss if it is happening at work.)

If the bullying is happening on a social media networking site:

You can block the user from your site. Report them to the site for harassment. If it continues, contact the local law enforcement where you live. 

If it is happening at work.  Save all emails or communications.  Contact your HR Rep. or your boss.  Alert them to what is going on.  Lots of companies have procedures to follow when this is happening.  

If this is happening at Church.  Save all emails and communications.  Take it to your pastor.  It should be dealt within the church and then if that doesn't work go to your local law enforcement. 

NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO TREAT YOU POORLY!!!

YOU ARE A GIFT FROM GOD AND YOU ARE LOVED NO MATTER WHAT!

For more information on Cyber Bullying and Bullying Visit these sites:

http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/index2.html

http://www.christianaction.org.za/articles/bullying_biblical_perspective.htm

http://www.cyberbullying.us/

http://www.crosswalk.com/parenting/11595601/#Close

http://www.openbible.info/topics/bullying

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Post-It Note Tuesday #2 ~Dear Lord

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The Birth Story of My Princess

How my baby girl came into the world. 

Sephy was due on August 11th. They scheduled me to be induced at midnight, which was a Wednesday. They started the pitocin and I never really had real contractions so they SENT ME HOME!! 

I was like what! Why are you sending me home?? 

They where like she just isn't ready to come into the world yet.  

They set me back up to come back in on Thursday/Friday at Midnight.  

So we start the process all over again.  Pitocin and then in the early hours my blood pressure went up.  They gave me the magnesium.  

Around 9 or 10am everyone that was there waiting it out with US decided to go down stairs to get some food.  

My daddy stayed with me.  I told him that I needed to go pee.  I stood up to go to the restroom and my dad was standing there and I "peed" on myself.  I was so upset.  I just started to cry and stood there with this "pee" running all over the place and saying I can't believe I just "peed" on myself in front of my dad.  My dad ran to get a nurse to help me since I was in shock.  The nurse comes in and goes sweetie you didn't pee on yourself.  Your water just broke.  As soon as she said that and I took a deep breath my contractions started coming really hard. 

My dad ran or walked I don't really know since I was in my room, and went to get Dusty and let him know that my water broke.  

The doctor came in and said I think that it is time to get an epidural and I told her I really didn't want one.  She said sweetheart you are going to need one because the baby's heart rate keeps going up and down.  

So I get my epi.  The nurse and the anesthesiologist where shocked because I stayed so still even through off the chart contractions.  To be honest they really weren't that bad.  Just like a really bad cramp.  

I slept off and on after I got my Epi. around 4ish the doctor comes in and says well we need to take her and take her now because your still not dilated and her heart rate keeps changing.  They get me prepped and off to the OR I go to have a c-section. 

Sephy was born into this world at 5:45pm on Friday August 13, 1999. She weighed 6lbs 10oz and was 19inches long. 

Yes I have a FRIDAY the 13th Baby!!! 

This was the first time I got to see her.

They are weighing my baby girl.

I can't believe how young and small I look.

This is part of Mother's Day Mania brought to you by Mama M.

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