Freebie: Summer themed Wallpaper

I'm WAY behind on my designs ... hobby ;) I hope as summer gets into gear we can find routine again where I'll be able to create more things. I decided it was time to change wallpapers so I pulled up the pictures from the kid's end of year picnic. I got some WONDERFUL ones, so I used those for my own wallpaper, see?



So I changed it up a bit for all of you!



Credits:
I used a freebie kit by Ellie Lash that was suprisingly not named.
The blue bracket on the left side was created by Farrah (please pray for her, she's been deaing with some serious health issues in recent months)
The pictures are from Stock Xchng.

My hope is to start sharing freebies on a regular basis. I will be using 4shared for my files to be downloaded. 4shared shows how many people(/times) the file has been download. I know it should be needless to say, but after years of following awesome designers and seeing it for myself- the world as a whole has not caught on to the attitude of gratitude- so this is a reminder that it REALLY encourages people who share freebies, to see comments from the people who have downloaded their files, to say thank you. It's also nice to know how people found freebie posts, too!

Terms of Use:
Do not email this file to anyone, or "share" in any way. Only email the link to this post for the people to read this through, first.
Do not email the link to 4shared to anyone, or "share" in any way. Only email the link to this post for the people to read this through, first.
Do not alter this file in any way.

Feedback is appreciated :o)

Download here ...

Freebie: Under the Sea Quick Page

Some of you might remember this layout from this post.



I thought I would share this with you as a quick page so you can enter in your own pictures. It is a 12x12 layout, but you can resize it to a smaller size if you should want to. The file is a PNG fie so any program that has the layers option can edit it. (Needless to say I took my personal additions to the page out ;)
Hope you enjoy it! I'd love to see what you do with it, please think of me when you finish and leave me a link! (credits)

My hope is to start sharing freebies on a regular basis. I will be using 4shared for my files to be downloaded. 4shared shows how many people(/times) the file has been download. I know it should be needless to say, but after years of following awesome designers and seeing it for myself- the world as a whole has not caught on to the attitude of gratitude- so this is a reminder that it REALLY encourages people who share freebies, to see comments from the people who have downloaded their files, to say thank you. It's also nice to know how people found freebie posts, too!

Terms of Use:
Do not email this file to anyone, or "share" in any way. Only email the link to this post for the people to read this through, first.
Do not email the link to 4shared to anyone, or "share" in any way. Only email the link to this post for the people to read this through, first.
Do not claim the layout as your own!

Feedback is appreciated :o)

Download here ....

Parent Adventures: Part Two

Yesterday I shared the adventures I've had with an ailing mother over the past week. Five hours at the doctors office with mom, gathering the patience needed to endure sitting in a waiting room for an hour. Sitting in the examination room for thirty minutes at a time. Listening to mom with her tendancy to be glass half empty (I'm glass half full). But there was another part of that equation- Hannah (7 years old) was outside in the waiting room with my dad.

My Dad. He can digress his attention away from a child very easily, especialy if get gets drawn into conversation with another adult, or if in a store finds a display that catches his interest. I remember when Jackson was four, and we were at Myrtle Beach. I left Jackson with dad in one isle while I went a few isles over to get something. When I went back, dad was there, but Jackson wasn't. Not being as close to the Lord then as I am now, I had some strong feelings going on inside me at the thought that he paid so little attention to Jackson that Jackson was able to wander away from him. I knew it was honest by the look on his face, that's why I've never really been upset with dad, that's just dad. I learned better that day.

Mom, dad, and I (with 1 yo Hannah in tow) were all over that store looking for him, and about the time my heart sank as I walked towards the door envisioning seeing my boy being stuffed into another vehicle by a stranger, I heard the sweetest words any mother could hear during a time like that- over the loudspeaker: "Will Jackson's mom come to the front desk please? He is looking for you". I turn around as I was literally in the exit doors, to see my little boy so grown, on his tip toes at the customer service desk trying to look at the worker as he was watching her call me over the phone receiver. I immediately realized my failure as a parent at that moment because that was not something I had taught Jackson to do- to go to the front desk and ask a worker for help if he ever got lost. He was such an ACTIVE (=wild) child that I always had a hand on him, and always kept him in sight because I knew how quickly he could get away when he decided to make a run for it. (That's why I could not be mad at dad, after all, he was getting "old" and I knew Jackson's temperament was totally foreign to dad).

The worker asked me if I was his mom, and I said yes. They asked him and he said yes, with a huge smile on his face. They told me he walked up and said he could not find his mommy. They asked him what her name was and they could call her, and he said "mommy" - awww my melting heart! It was that week we started practicing him remembering mine and Jay's actual names.

So from then on I have to remind dad he can't walk as fast because little feet cannot keep up; that short people have a shorter attention span and he has to remind them to stay close by.

Fast forward six years to yesterday:
Hannah and dad are in the waiting room. Hannah's patience was worn thin. She has to go to the bathroom, which is right across the hallway from said waiting room. Dad stands in the doorway of the waiting room, waiting for her to come back from the bathroom. He gets to talking to another man waiting for his wife ... and some 30 minutes later he realizes Hannah had not complained to him in a while. He looks around and she's not there! He actually processes the idea that like him, Hannah meets NO stranger.

Dad freaks. He takes off to the front of the building (this place is like a doctor "complex" with multiple offices for varying things, very large, open building)- she's not there. He goes back where he gave blood earlier (and Hannah was with him), she's not there. He goes back to the waiting room we were in for when mom got her Xays abd utrasound ... she's not there, either.

He's ready to panic, and goes back to the first waiting room to check again, and he doesn't see her. Then another eldery man sitting in a corner points to another corner and asks "does she belong to you?", pointing to Hannah passed out on a couch on the opposite side of the room from where dad had been in previous conversation. Talk about relief! I'm just glad I was not out there and he was able to work that out on his own. Maybe future ventures he'll make a point to try and pay closer attention? Who knows. But hearing the story come from him was priceless.

Our last stop was the pharmacy across the street from the office building. We're all four in the car and I say "Dad you can go in and get the medicine" to which Hannah answers "Yeh and Papa don't get in any conversations with anyone!"

Dear North Carolina legislator(s)

I am on the Americans for Prosperity newsletter list. If you do not know who they are, I encourage you to read about them asap. Being behind on my email as I am, I've only been scanning the subject lines the past couple of weeks, to only notice there was another TEA party coming up. I had assumed they were getting organized for the July 4th party, but double checking since dad and I were talking about it today, I just looked it up and am glad I did! There's another party in Raleigh next week (June 3rd)!



and Joe the Plumber is gonna be there! Wooo-Hoooo!!

I love grassroots organizers and my goal is to become more involved in local type grassroots efforts that impacts my own community- not just looking at the national stage. Yes, what happens in Washington effects us, but the local politics effects us even more. Did you know every week commissioners meet to discuss the spending of our tax dollars, the pubic is welcome, and once a month, each citizen gets three minutes to address the county commissioners? I didn't until the Tax Day TEA party (2)!
Americans for Prosperity has a form on their website where you can compile a letter for an email, or for print to be mailed, and you can choose from their snippets how long or short your letter is. Seeing I'm not very brilliant with words, I appreciate this as it does get my thoughts across.

The following is what can be sent through Americans for Prosperity, and boy, is it an eye opener or what?!

This is not the time to raise taxes in anyway.

I understand it is hard to write a budget this year because the state is not collecting the taxes it expected. Please do not make it easier on yourself by passing a spend-and-tax budget that makes it harder for my family to make ends meet. Higher taxes would slow our economic recovery and cause more hardships for the 11 percent of people without a job.

In 1991 and 2001, your colleagues and predecessors raised taxes to pay for spending programs taxpayers could no longer afford. As a result, North Carolina now has the twentieth highest tax burden in the country, and one of the highest in the South. We have one of the highest income tax rates in the country, and it starts at a lower level of income than most states. We also have the highest corporate income tax rate in the Southeast.

The spending and tax plans presented by Gov. Perdue and Senate Democrats would repeat the pattern with up to $1 per pack more for cigarettes, a 280 percent increase in taxes on other kinds of tobacco, higher taxes on beer and alcohol, higher and more complicated income taxes, higher taxes for businesses, and a new six-percent sales tax on everything I do online, plus home repairs, car repairs, extended warranties, or even a haircut.

For those of us who do not itemize deductions for our federal tax returns, we will now have to go through that effort for our state taxes so we can claim tax credits or end up paying more. Those of us who do itemize will have to do another round of calculations to determine our state tax credits in addition to our federal deductions. Isn�t the purpose of tax reform to make the process easier?

If I manage to make my mortgage payments to keep my house, even though my federal taxes also pay the mortgage for less responsible borrowers, my reward will be a new six percent tax to keep it in good shape.

If I manage to make my car payments, even though my federal taxes also pay for cars I will never see, my reward will be a new six percent tax to keep it running.

If I manage to find a new job in another part of the state, I will have to pay a new six percent tax on my moving expenses.

If I lose my job or health insurance or if my 401(k) has become a 201(k), my taxes still go to pay for the salaries, pensions, and health insurance of state employees who earn more in salary and benefits than people in the private sector.

The problem with the budget this year is not that tax revenues are down. The problem is that state spending has grown beyond the means of taxpayers. The General Fund budget grew 34 percent during Gov. Easley's second term while former Speaker Jim Black was taking money in IHOP bathrooms, and the former governor was flying and driving everywhere in free vehicles.

Adjusted for inflation, state spending has grown twice as fast as population over the last 25 years. Even after the fall in revenue, the state will collect more in the next fiscal year, again adjusted for population and inflation, than in any year before the dot-com bubble of 1999.

It must be difficult to consider cutting jobs, and not just reassigning state employees as the governor would have done. But too many programs in state government are ineffective or unproven. The more funding they receive, the less will be available for essential programs. Companies have had to shrink and lay off significant numbers of employees- even those that received bailouts.

I am not alone in my desire that you look for ways to save money and cut spending instead of raising taxes. Recent polls from the Civitas Institute show that 68 percent of people think cuts to existing programs are the best way to balance the budget. And 73 percent think lower taxes are a better way to stimulate the economy than higher government spending.

Thoughts?

Family Friday: Parent Adventures

It's Family Friday time again! Family Friday is hosted by HomemakerBarbi.com, thank you Danielle!

This post is likely not going to be what you initially thought of. Most blogs of mothers, when referring to parent adventures, is likely talking about their own children. Today- this blogging mother is posting about her own mother.
I have seen my mother HIGH twice this week!

My mother has had five back surgeries in the past ten years, each time on the right side of her spine. Saturday her and dad were outside planting tomato plants in planters. Mom was more supervising than actually doing the work, because it can be hard for her to bend over at times. They babysat so Jay and I could go out for lunch Saturday afternoon. When we dropped the kids off mom mentioned how her left leg had started hurting bad not long before we got there. It wasn't better when we picked them up so I told mom to call me if she felt we needed to go to the hospital. It was odd those words flew out of my mouth because my mom has never went to the emergency room.

Around 6 she called for me to come get her. They said it was her sciatic nerve and she had a bladder infection. Gave her three shots while we were there, tordol, dilaudid, and phenegryn; sent her home with three prescriptions- morphine, a steroid, and an antibiotic. She was flying high by the time we left. I got home about 1am Sunday morning. Monday afternoon Jay and I went to check on her, and she had not even started taking the steroids! So I get on to her, because she was complaining "what they gave" wasn't working. Well? When you're not taking everything as directed, you're NOT going to feel better! So she doubles her doses of the steroids to get "caught up" (sigh).

Tuesday I go over to take dad to work, and she's broke out in hives- allergic to the steroids. By Tuesday evening the hives were settling. Having been instructed at the ER to follow up with her regular provider, I ask if she's made an appointment. No. Wednesday I'm at my non-biological, but nonetheless "aunt's" house all day working on her computer (problems). Dad calls around 11 saying mom wanted to hit the walk in clinic, wanting to know when I can come. I say I'll be over between 1-2 pm. Finish at my aunt's, get over there, and she doesn't want to go, "wait until tomorrow". So today, after dropping my carpool kids off at school Hannah and I go pick her up. We get there around nine.

God sent an ANGEL to care for her today! She was SO thorough with mom, I've NEVER seen a Doctor care for a patient so carefully! (She even helped me with a problem, LOL!!) However, covering all bases, they done seven X rays and an ultrasound of mom's knee to rule out a cyst or blood clot. The decision, four hours later, was cortisone shots in her hip and between her fourth and fifth vertebrae, where her last surgery was. The disks were sitting lopsided on each other and she felt confident there could be nerves getting pinched there. We left with the shots- which again, made mom HIGH again, and even more funny than Saturday (lol) along with a change in her regular pain meds (and an increase in dosage); additional antibiotics because her white blood cells were still higher than she thought they should be- and we found out mom has a mild form of scoliosis! (My sister was just diagnosed last year.)

So I sat either waiting for mom, or with mom for the Doctor, for five hours today. That's a lot of bonding time! I believe I got a glimpse of what my future is going to be like today. Prayerfully, mom is not headed for another back surgery. As of tonight, her pain level is down from a nine to a seven, when she's sitting. She needs to stay off her feet, but she keeps getting up and waking around.
How do you get your mother to obey doctor's orders?

Oh, you think this concludes my parent adventures? I have more- my dad was at the doctors' today, with Hannah- waiting on mom and I- for five hours!
Click here for the daddy tales, and it's a doozy!

raising foodies 5-28

Not long ago I posted about our venture with apple slaw. We really liked it, and enjoyed making it together. The same night I prepared a large pack of chicken so I could do garlic-onion crock pot chicken. I'm totally sold on the crock pot now, and think I'm going to try and snag mom's crock pot tomorrow when I am over there! Have you tried anything new in the crockpot latey?

This particular night I decided to let Hannah try her hand at a knife. This is something I have not been looking forward to considering she cut her knuckle using a hand grater. She done really good with the broccoli though! Her job was to cut the "trees" off the stalk.

I might add here, that Jackson took these pictures with my Mother's Day gift, and NO EDITING was done to these before posting! Awesome, right?

Do you have a recent post about cooking with kids? Leave a comment so I can come see your post! Are you looking for information about raising a toddler foodie? Hop on over to Grace's Kitchen and see what other moms of toddlers are up to in the kitchen with their little ones!

Tell me Thursday: Catch up edition

I realized on Monday I did not post a Tell me Thursday post past Thursday ... oops! To view last week's Wordless Wednesday, click here.

Picture #1-
"What happens when ..."

you miss the ball? That really good player from the other team will come and get it.
OR
you're born three days apart? One day you'll end up playing on opposing soccer teams (next year, we're going to find out before sign ups if they're playing and ask to be on their team!)

This pic is so special. The boy is the son of dear friends of ours we don't get to see very much anymore. (He was born 12-17 and she was born 12-20.) His older brother of a year is also on the "blue" team, and boy are they good. We've enjoyed getting to see them each week. What's also cute with the pic is Hannah is #6 and he is #7 (and the other one is #8, lol)

Picture #2-
"What happens when ..."

you let the girl get past you? she scores! LOL!

This is probably one of the best goals of the season, she done such a good job getting past Jackson (lol)! everyone laughed at his reaction, and I was so happy to find how detailed this pic turned out considering I took it zoomed in 15x from the other side of the field- lengthwise!

Picture #3-
"What happens when ..."

You choose not to put on your chin guards during practice? You get kicked in the chins!

This week's Wordless Wednesday was "Skate dude at work".
I explained some about it in my contest entry here. We had such a good time trying to get those pics. I had a hard time choosing which one to enter in the contest, as you can see. I chose the one for the contest for the height he had and his form- not to mention the hints of orange from his hair you could see at the top of his head! But these were equally as awesome and I really think I'm going to create a poster with the second one. I LOVE the angle of the third though, with the blades of grass- just how I planned it! He's getting really good at skating, I believe. I just realized today I had a video already uploaded of him, check him out-



Not all that fancy, but hey, he's an amateur! He's got some good stuff- trust me, there's more skate videos in your future if you're a regular visitor here :o)

Are you participating in Tell Me Thursday? If so, please leave a comment so I can come visit your post!

Visit tellmethursday.com for more entries; you can follow them on Twitter too!

Wordless Wednesday Skate-dude at work

Come back tomorrow for more of the story behind these pics, the beginning is right here.

I ♥ Faces: Silhouettes

Click to view more entries

I was SO excited when I learned about this category a couple of weeks ago because I had the perfect idea, Voila! The soccer field has the most beautiful sunset and since I'm there every Tuesday for two hours ... I took advantage of some special time with Jackson when his practice ended and Hannah's began ;o) and I just want to thank Bizzie Mommy, if not for her participating and my seeing it in her RSS feed, I would have missed this!

I can safely say I am so proud of this shot, the contest is secondary to the fun we had trying to get it *g*

Memorial Day thoughts

I visited my friend Amanda's blog today (actually, it's her daughter's blog), and found the most wonderful Memorial Day thoughts in today's message. So you may easily view it, I'm going to post it here because her posts cannot be indidividually linked to and it will eventually get buried after a few months:

Throughout the years...

How many little ones have told their mommies that they wanted to be soldiers?

How many of those little ones grew up and did just that?

It's easy to "clump" them together--because it takes so many hundreds of thousands for a victory.

But, behind each one of those soldiers...

are a mom and dad.

Hopes, dreams, health, strength....

Sacrificed in a moment.

These were not "sick babies" unexpected to live.

These were not "cancer cursed" bodies.

These were strong and healthy men and women--
who gave all.

Talking, walking, smiling, living--and in seconds--gone forever.

For me.

For you.

For my Haddon and Gracie.

For my protection and safety.

For my freedom.

For our future.....

even though they never knew us....

What a sacrifice for others!

What a story of hope to cling to!

We must not take our freedom for granted...

FOR IT CAME WITH A PRICE.

I can talk about the Lord Jesus and His sacrifice freely...

Because of the price they paid for my freedom.

They gave all.

Mommies and daddies gave all.

Wives and children gave all....

**Many graves will be visited today. Many memories will return of those little ones sitting on their mommy's knee saying how they wanted to be a soldier when they grow up...

Many mothers will go and talk to a stone today with silent tears and sadness.

Yes, to die is such a loss...

But, to not die in vain--what joy!

When we know that their loss teaches us of Him....

Gracie is remembered because of her life and how she

showed God's power.

Our soldiers are a beautiful picture of the sacrifice of Christ

for us all.

There is no better example of the sacrifice of Jesus for us as the sacrifice of our soldiers.

For freedom.

Freedom for today--

and freedom from fear of tomorrow....because

Jesus paid it all.

Many of the early victories our soldiers won were fought with the guidance of the Lord on the battlefield.

Today...we still need Him! To guide our leaders, to fight our battles, to comfort our hearts when we lose those we love.

Without Him--what cause would we even fight for?

LET MEMORIAL DAY BE A MEMORIAL TO THOSE WHO GAVE ALL...AND TO JESUS CHRIST.

I do strongly encourage you to visit her blog, and learn about her precious daughter Gracie. Gracie was born a month after Jordan, and lived six months longer. Her testimony is nothing short but amazing as God showed His amazing power through this "heart baby".

Are you a Matthew 6:33 Christian?

Matthew 6:33
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

The Pledge:

"I will read a portion of God's Word daily"

"I will pray for my Pastor and church daily"

"I will faithfully attend church services"

"I will give faithfully to the Lord's work" (tithe)

"I will involve myself in church ministries"

"I will seek to be a faithful witness"

ALL of us fall short in one of these areas.

James 5:16
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

What area could you use some prayer in?

Wordless Wednesday: What happens when

Be sure to come back tomorrow for @Tellmethursday to learn the stories behind my pics :)

When kids get grounded

So its been an interesting week this past week. Hannah has entered a very selfish, angry, defiant type of stage. I'm chalking it up to her little attitude getting amplified with the sudden school change she has experienced this month. It's not that she doesn't want to be there, she does. She REALLY does- she loves being back there. But she got in a LOT of trouble last week, and has lost her computer and TV priviledges totally, indefinately. Because of this, her whole world is disjointed :p She has no idea what to do to fill her time these days. She's slowly figuring it out though. Like today- I tell her to go to her room and play. She says she has nothing to do in there. I remind her she has a room full of toys in there, if she's not going to use them I can get rid of them quickly! She goes in her room.

A lttle bit later, she brings me this, to show me what she's taking to school tomorrow:


(Click here to view larger version)

Do you notice the same thing I'm seeing?
There's something interesting about this pic, I wonder if anyone else will see it.

Isn't she sweeeeeett? uh huh.

Gratituesday 5-19

Click here to view more GT posts

This week is really easy. This week, I am so incredibly grateful for a heavenly father that will never leave me or forsake me. This is one of His promises I cling to the most it seems. How about you?

Hebrews 13:5
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

I'd love to read your Gratituesday post, please leave your link in the comments section!

PLEASE tell me

Did anyone else watch Grey's Anatomy last night? What did you think? I think my heart is STILL pounding. Just when you think you can predict Shonda Rhimes she throws you a curveball!!

If you don't watch Grey's- which shows are you watching these days? Any?

Tell Me Thursday: Sleeping Beauties

The Story:

There's been a bag of scrapbooking supplies traveling with us through two moves. I just keep moving it from here to there, it's like m best friend now. However, I have not looked in this bag in a good three years at least! So the other day I decided, I'm never going to use this stuff- how about I give them away here on CalvaryGirl? So I went through the bag seeing what I had, and found a small envelope with just a few pictures in it. All but three were of Jackson's k4 Heritage program class performance (awwww!). One was a pic off of the balcony at our old apartment once when it snowed.

The last two were these precious pics of my babies sleeping in the cutest positions! Hannah was 1 and Jackson was 4 in these pictures. I remember finding Hannah a lot of times in that position. (The blanket she's snuggled to was my "huggie blanket" when I was little.) Jackson had fallen asleep watching TV early one night when that picture was taken. I remember laughing so hard when I walked in his room and found him in that position. He had gotten too quiet so I had went in to check on him ;o)

They say I'm "always" taking pictures of them while they're sleeping and ask why. I simply say it's because they're so peaceful that way! But obviously I'm not sneaking into the bedrooms as much as I used to cause I had to look back to my JANUARY file to find the most recent sleepy-pics!





Check out more Tell me Thursday posts on Twitter @tellmethursday

Do you have a Tell me Thursday post explaining your Wordless Wednesday pictures? PLEASE, I'd love to visit your post! Just leave me a link, ok? :) See you soon!

Wordless Wednesday Sleeping Beauties

Gratituesday 5-12

Click here to view more posts

Join me on Twitter @CalvaryGirl and share what you're
thankful for using the #gratituesday hashtag!!

This week, I just had to share this with you. This is so cute. It's an email from Jackson's teacher the day before their big field trip last week. I know with differing screen resolutions and browser settings text shows up different on each person's screen, so this makes it all the more funny to me, LOL

Talk about a teacher being organized and getting her point across! :p
I'm SO grateful for this woman, really. It's been two weeks and she's already been such a blessing to us.

I ♥ apple slaw by Hungry Girl

I ♥ Hungry Girl!! @HungryGirl
I've gotten her emails for years it seems. Jay got me Hungry Girl: 200 Under 200: 200 Recipes Under 200 Calories week before last. I was so proud of him. We had been at Target not over a week before, and as we were passing the magazine stand I stopped at the endcap and pointed out both of her books (the other one was Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World) along with the new Gosselin book (Eight Little Faces), and said "Here, here, and here. If there's ever a moment you might think you'd want to suprise me with something, either of these books will work". (I had already read Multiple Bles8ings: Surviving to Thriving with Twins and Sextuplets when I was laid up in bed with strep throat back in January when Target didn;t have the third season of Grey's Anatomy DVD in stock!). So he come home bearing gifts a couple of weeks ago. Whatta guy!

SO - I've been pouring over this book for the past week and a half, and have been shopping, picking up what I need to make my Hungry Girl recipes. This slaw is GOOD. I made my own broccoli slaw so it was less expensive, too. I love that it is so simple.

1 medium Fuji apple
1 medium Granny Smith apple
2 C dry broccoli slaw mix
1/2 C plain FF yogurt
1/2 Tbsp honey
3/4 tsp granulated Splenda

Cut the apples ito matchsticks. Mix with the slaw.

Mix the wet ingredients- add to the slaw- chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Love this recipe? Get the book for yourself! :o)

How was your Mother's day?

Mine was splendid. This year, we done NOTHING different. ~Whew!~ It was church - lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant - home for nap - back to church. Yes we spoke with our mothers but this year it was ... peaceful. Oh, did I mention my new digital camera I got Friday night? :D YES! I was surprised with a new Sony ... something .... (let me go get the box). Okay as I go in the living room to get the box, Jay reminds me bragging is a sin. (Is it?) I asked if that included bragging on your husband, he had no comment. Just a giggle. "Men", right?

Okay, so it's a Sony Cyber Shot DSC-H50 9.1MP 15X optical zoom, ISO3200, Advanced Sports shooting mode, and more! Woo-Hooo!!

Look at how good my foot looks in a picture taken by this camera-

No editing at all! :p Can you tell I'm very excited? Oh, that was my new coat of polish from mine and Hannah's day trip on Friday (we went to the "nail spa").

How was your Mother's day? What did you do?

a good time for a headache?

Every month I have a migraine. I'm guaranteed one, at least. That one, I know is from hormone surges so it's not like I can avoid it. I started getting that flicker of pain on my right temple earlier this week. I just knew it was coming. I was preparing myself. Every day I got up with baited breath, just thinking about whether that day was 'the day' I would be bedbound. Tuesday was a field trip with school- I pushed through the right side flickers. I even had floaters, and the traditional upper neck pain, but it never really come through to completion. As each day passed, I was more confident that it was near, and I needed to be prepared.

Jackson had a field trip planned Friday, and this field trip was two hours away, and it was an allll day trip. The very idea of getting on that bus with 20+ kids and a migraine kicking in was enough to set in anxiety over the issue. The good thing was, he was ok with the idea of me not going, since he is back at his current school. When the 4th grade classes (at his now-former) went in March for the same trip, he made it CLEAR he wanted me to be there (I'm sure it was trust issues). So erring on the side of caution, I skip the trip yesterday. Sure enough, I had a good sized headache yesterday, but it didn't reach "the" status. It was manageable if I kept all the lights and TVs off in the house. I picked up Hannah from school and we set out on a girl bonding trip of necessary shopping at the happy place @WholeFoods and the nail salon for a new coat. (We also hit Dollar Tree and Target).

By the time we got home, I knew "it" was here. "It" was at a 6 when we got home, an 8 by the time we got to bed. It was like, things were "normal". I think I was relieved to know it was here. Why is that? The kids have soccer this morning- there's no skipping out on soccer games! I have three games to keep up with, and here I sit with my head just POUNDING. You know, Monday or Wednesday would have been a better time for this to happen ...

412 Family Friday with a Jay update

I just found the cutest site I cannot wait to dive into reading, homemakerbarbi.com . I found her through Twitter @HomemakerBarbi. Her Friday Meme is Family Friday.

From her website:
"Family Friday is a blog carnival at HomemakerBarbi.com where you can link your best family-oriented blog posts or website articles each week. "

So now I've met a meme that matches with what I've noticed is a weakness of mine- I don't really post that much family related topics here! I really need to, I believe. What do you think?

So, family related, I need to update everyone on Jay. He went to the appointment on Monday, to learn it was a "pre op" appointment. No one told him. He had fasted the whole day! According to this specialist, after looking at the test results from the test Friday, he did have the hiatal hernia, but they also believed him to have esophogeal spasms, as well. After scheduling the endoscopy for next Monday, they prescribed him some medication. He took it Monday evening, and woke around 1am having an allergic reaction! He could barely swallow! But what does every man usually do? He never woke me to tell me. So he suffered through the night breathing swallow waiting for the swelling to go down in his throat. (I could have ringed his throat after he told me what happened.) So no more medicine for him. So the test is this coming Monday (5-11) at 3pm. Please pray! (I also have a special unspoken concerning this issue, the Lord knows what it is but if you would pray along with me, I'd appreciate it.)

More family posts:
Awesome soccer picture of Jackson, and the story behind it.
How the kids are doing in their new school.
Remotes. That's all I'm sayin'- check it out ;o)

Any Gosselin fans out there?

I love them. How about you?
I just found this interview of Kate addressing what's been flying around the gossip stands.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

What are your thoughts?

Tell Me Thursday: Just about

So what's the story behind my Wordless Wednesday picture? Well obviously it's Jackson playing soccer, but for those who are new to this blog- this is the kid's first season playing soccer. Jackson "plays" it at school, but has never learned the sport, much less Hannah. They're both catching on quickly to the rules, which is good.

I'm trying to make better use of my camera and am loving trying to get good shots of them at their ballgames. Jackson is LOVING playing goalie. He's pretty much the main one, though they do alternate them out at practices and in the games so everyone has the opportunity to learn every position (which, in 4th grade, is what it should be!). He's really enjoying goalie though- which suprises me considering how ACTIVE he has always been. Hannah likes to play goalie, but that's because she tires so easily running around, LOL I keep trying to tell her if she ate less processed foods she'd have more energy. Oh well.

I had about five goalie type shots to choose from, but this one was my favorite. Little do you know I had to crop out a grownup from the shot because the coaches for that particular team has no problem walking in front of us parents of the other team, and standing in our way! :p

Wordless Wednesday Just about

408 Cool Verses: Job

Job 27:
2As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul;

3All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;

4My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.

5God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.

Job 28:
18No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies.

28And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

Gratituesday 5-5

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thankful for using the #gratituesday hashtag!!

This week is SO simple, if you have seen last week's post. (By the way, the last two videos in that post should be available now, there were some reports of complications with those two.). In the past week, my son has went from being miserable on a daily basis, to now his worst "problem" is his sister. He gets up in the morning without protest, and gets ready just as fast. He is open spiritually. We were actually able to have a conversation last night about him responding to his sister in a godly manner and he was actually listening, open to what I had to say- even though what I was saying did not sit right with his flesh. He is willing to TRY.

This is a stark contrast to what we've dealt with this year. I believe he thought God had left him. Now that his prayers have been answered, I believe he's on the road to restoring his relationship with the Lord- they had not been having a two way conversation for a long while I think (Jackson once asked me what good it done to pray! MY Jackson!). I'm so grateful for this. I have no doubt the road we've been on with the charter school was the one the Lord had us take, but I am SO grateful that we are through this trial! Now I need to work on myself and my fears of a school bill each month ;o)

It's funny because they went back at the perfect time. Last Tuesday was an "off" day because of assembly type gatherings, Wednesday was 'normal', Thursday was a community service day so they were on a "field trip" (Hannah ran into a gate at the park and got a bad goose egg on her temple, she's recovering); Friday was ... Friday ;) That day Jackson fell off the parallel bars on the playground and go a scratch on his forehead, go figure. Yesterday they had no homework (scratch that, Jackson didn't, Hannah did- homework was a sore spot for Jackson at the old school) because guess why? We're going on a field trip today! The annual trip to a huge park about 45 minutes away. I remember last year the decision had been made already that they weren't coming back, the intentions then was to homeschool- what a change in plans!

Then Friday Jackson and I are going BACK to Raleigh with his class (we just done the same trip in March with the old school, LOL). Hannah brought home a permission slip yesterday about a field trip for her class. How perfect could this be for a 1st grader and a 4th grader?

Happy Gratituesday!

No! No! I'll do it now!

Isn't it a common theme with children- you tell them not do to something for their own good, but they do it anyway? Then when they get hurt, they come running back to mom and dad. When the children are small, it's not as frustrating, I don't believe, as when they are older and questioning your competence, it would seem. The same thing goes for responsibilities as well. You can instruct them until you're blue in the face to clean their room, but they continue to let it get worse and worse. Yet, when they want a friend to come and spend the night, you have inconvenienced them by asking about the state of their bedroom! Only THEN do they take what we've been saying all along seriously, and then it's "No! No! I'll clean it! I'll do it now!".

The more I read, and reread the Old Testament, the more I realize just how much we in this modern day, are like the Israelites. Children especially, but we all act like the Israelites, don't we? As adults, I think we do more so in some ways, especially when it comes to fighting the bigger fights of our lives, such as our fears. When we are fearful about things in our lives, a natural tendency is to look at everything around us, instead of looking UP, to God, for the answers. I remember years ago going through tough times someone said "well I guess all we got left to do is to pray" after I had exhausted all of the options I could think of for the situation. I don't even remember what it was about, but I do remember hearing that saying and the Lord really dealt with me on that, and how praying should had been the FIRST thing I done, not the LAST thing. It saves so much more energy when you just seek the wisdom of God first in a situation and wait for His guidance than to look to my own knowledge and reasoning, cause as an adoptive Israelite, I have no idea what I'm doing here! None of us do!

We are all fighting battles in our lives, and some of these battles are God ordained ones. God told the Israelites to fight a battle, He even assured them victory (sound familiar? we have that, too!):

Deuteronomy 1:
29Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them.
30The LORD your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes;

But the Israelites got stubborn, and leaned to their own reasoning instead of trusting God. Choosing NOT to follow God when He is leading you somewhere, is choosing to NOT BELIEVE God and His promises to you. God is not a liar!

32Yet in this thing ye did not believe the LORD your God,

But then they said "Oh no! No! we'll do it!" when they realized their folly before the Lord and in their situation:

40But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by
the way of the Red sea.
41Then ye answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the LORD, we will go up and fight, according to all that the LORD our God commanded us. And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye were ready to go up into the hill.

Then God proverbially said "It's too late in the week to plan your sleepover, there's too much work to do in your room. There are things growing underneath your bed and I have too many errands this week to help you. You're going to have to pass on the sleepover this weekend to work on your room and get it right the way it's supposed to be, then maybe next weekend, we can plan something. ... Maybe this will be a lesson learned that you need to keep your room clean daily like I've been telling you, not a path to your bed cleared out! Now look, you want a friend to come over and you can't do it."

42And the LORD said unto me, Say unto them. Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies.
43So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD, and went presumptuously up into the hill.
44And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah.
45And ye returned and wept before the LORD; but the LORD would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you.

Have you ever had a situation in your life where you looked to your own wisdom and reasoning instead of God's, and things went bad? I believe we all have at some point in our Christian walks. Lets make a point to follow God in the beginning, and realize our dependence upon Him. Is you think God is your "co pilot", now would be a good time to understand how important it is to get out of the cockpit! Realize that not seeking the Lord for guidance, and trusting the Lord will care for you in the battles of your life, is exactly what the Israelites done and they were defeated. Do you want to live a defeated life, or a victorious one?

Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

Question of the Week: remotes

Last week was about fairies- if you haven't had a chance to join in on that subject please feel free to still join in!

This week: the remote control. In your home, who controls the remote?

When Jay and I are watching TV together in the livingroom, he is the holder of the remote. In the event we're both watching TV in the bedroom, I am in control- until I fall asleep. I'm assuming that's why it is the way it is, cause he knows it's only a matter of minutes before I'm snoozing.

So how about you?

Parenting "Fail"

Happy Saturday!


Parenting Fail - Click here for the funniest movie of the week

Please pray for us today- important

Update: Fri night 11pm
He's still very sick and now has a headache along with it. Please continue to pray for him! (Hannah's also complaining about her head hurting, too, totally unrelated to Jay though.)

Update: (Friday, 1:35 pm)
He come home very sick to his stomach. They first done a "swallowing" test where he took a swallow of some extremely nasty drink, and they took x rays of it going down his throat. They done this in a couple positions. He is VERY sick to his stomach now, and has been for a couple of hours, ever since he got home. Poor thing. Since he is so sick, they've moved up the other test until Monday because that test requires them numbing his throat and if he's currently vomiting they cannot do that for his safety. He just finished some wonton soup I went and got him 5 minutes ago and it's already .... uh hum.

So keep the prayers coming, now that this mixture runs a quick course and doesn't ruin his weekend!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Jay is leaving shortly to have more tests done from his appointment with the dr yesterday. They believe it is a hiatal hernia that has grown to the point it is pressing down on two arties of his heart, and his lung. Apparently the sharp pains he's been having is the same pain one feels when they're having a heartattack :o(

If the tests turn out like his dr believes it will, they're going to do SURGERY- THIS MORNING!

Please pray for him, the drs, and everyone involved in this that things turn out well. Thanks!

Giveaway Winner: Love as a Way of Life

Out of 51 entries, it was:

and who was that? It was:



Congrats Emilie!!