Come with me.

 

 

For the past 3 months I have been the unofficial secretary for my small group at my church.  Every week I send out a newsletter reminding people of what chapter needs to be read for next week, special dates, birthdays and prayer requests.  I also try to include a poem or story that relates to what we had been talking about… so I google all over the internet finding just the right verse for each week and story…

Well one week I came across the following poem.  I didn’t use it in my newsletter, but it has stuck with me and I think about it often.  I realized that I have been living with strength but had no courage.  That has changed recently, I am gaining courage and it has proven to be rewarding.

I wish you all courage…

Strength & Courage

 

It takes strength to be firm.
It takes courage to be gentle.

It takes strength to stand guard.
It takes courage to let down your guard.

It takes strength to conquer.
It takes courage to surrender.

It takes strength to be certain.
It takes courage to have doubt.

It takes strength to fit in.
It takes courage to stand out.

It takes strength to feel a friend’s pain.
It takes courage to feel your own pain.

It takes strength to hide your own pains.
It takes courage to show them.

It takes strength to endure abuse.
It takes courage to stop it.

It takes strength to stand alone.
It takes courage to lean on another.

It takes strength to love.
It takes courage to be loved.

It takes strength to survive.
It takes courage to live.

Author Unknown

Hubby was on the computer so it's more like 10:30 est... sorry for the delay...

 

First of all, I want to thank everyone for playing...

Second you are all invited to my Thanksgiving dinner next year, since you proved you aren't all that picky

Third - The pan had Homemade noodles and I ran out of serving dishes.

 

The actual answer is

 

 

I didn't even realize I did that until I took it out of the oven. Lol... 

 

So... no one technically won but I had one person tried really really really hard so the winner is...

 

 

I would link to your blog at this point, but I have no idea how...  So send me a private message with your address and I will mail you your apron that I finished this morning...

 

So for two days I have been tripping out because I couldn't find my cord to hook my camera to the computer, I still can't find it but I remembered that our computer has a slot for my memory card!!!!  Duh!  So now I have my pictures and I can finally post!

 

Ok, so Thanksgiving dinner went SO well that I was truely afraid that I had missed something major!  At one point I actually had ot slow down or we'd be eating WAY too soon.  I made Sweet potato casserole for the first time ever and my MIL even tried some!  OK, that's huge people, she does not like new things. I mentioned that I messed up one thing... remember?  ok so here are my pictures of the dinner.

 

Hmmm it is going to take a well trained eye to find my boo boo... Oh maybe I'll make it interesting, See I am making aprons for my family for Christmas...how about, if you can find what I did wrong I'll make you an apron... How about that? a Bon a fied contest.  Sorry BFF, you are excluded since I think I already told you what I did wrong... lol.

 

Speaking of aprons, here is the material I am going to use to make the gifts and the winners apron

 

oh and did you know I collect aprons?  here are the aprons I have collected so far (all found in antique shops)

 

This one was a gift and I use it daily

 

Ok, I think i used up my space for this entry, so I will have to show you the two I made my kids another time...

Don't forget to comment me as to what's wrong in my Thanksgiving picture...  The first person to figure it out wins a Home made apron from me... Seriously what could possibly be cooler?

 

PS - BFF, I though you shoudl know that I put away my everyday dishes and pulled out my Christmas dishes. :-)

 

Feeling MUCH better today, the house is clean, and I am moving around furniture to try and figure out a new lay out, one that will accomidate a tree.  Remember this is out first year in this house so...

 

I tried calling a couple friends, neither of which were available, Hmph.  Ther eis one friend that probably could come, but she is super super sweet and quiet, and I need someone oponionated for this task, you know?

 

Any ways... Doing much better, thanks for your comments yesterday, Once I get my thanksgiving picture posted, you all take a look adn see if you can figure out the one wrong thing in the picture...

I really want to tell you all about my nearly perfect Thanksgiving Dinner, and the blessings that I have gotten over the past week, but truth be told, I'm sad.  I can't seem to stop being sad.  I have been eating my emotions which is making me uber fat, which makes me even more sad.  Getting fat has stressed me out which has made my face break out, so that leaves me with a pimple face, fat, sad self. Do you see where I am going here?  I can't find a Good full time job that would be worth putting the kids in day care.  I can't find anything part-time to fit my schedule.

 

I thought about calling my cousin, but as soon as I even THINK about talking to her I start to cry, by BFF has got to be sick of hearing me cry. My mom makes me react like a complete lunatic.  So that leaves you...  random blog reader... I am spilling my guts to you.

 

Sorry... I am just having one of those days...

 

I am going to go clean.

I just don't feel good today, my nose is runny, my throat is scratchy, my body is achy and my boobs feel bowling balls... (when they are c cups) Of all days I work on Mondays... ugh, I have to go to the store and get some medicine, because everythignin the cabinet is night time medicine... Wah wah wah...

 

ok I'm done whining... for now.

So my hubby’s BFF called him the other day and asked him to come over, no explanation, just come over.  So hubby went, and his wife is in love with someone else, she wants a divorce… etc etc etc…

So I just finished reading Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers and wow, I cried throughout the book, it was SO good.  So yesterday I took that book and a note from me and dropped them off at her house.  Hubby’s BFF was there and we chatted for a while, I told him to take his wife and go see “Fireproof”.

So today is where things get a little strange… Hubby’s BFF called me, me. Told me about the movie (I still am dying to see it) hopes it planted a seed in her heart.  Then he started asking me if I Scott and I were saved, ha, funny you should ask, as a matter of fact, I am saved.  He said he wished he and his wife could wash away the sins of the past and start new.  I told him she couldn’t do that until she was ready herself, but he could do something about himself.  He said he wishes he could walk in the doors of a church and say “Help me” I said… Let’s go, I’ll take you if you want.

So now I am driving over to hubby’s BFF’s house and I have to call hubby… I am a bit apprehensive about what he might say, but I knew this:

1.       Hubby’s BFF needed help beyond what I could give

2.       I believed that the right person would be there to fulfill his need

3.       He could not walk through those doors alone

4.       My intensions were pure, to help him

So I mustard up the gumption and called hubby… He responded in a confused “ok, call me later”

When I got to his house he started having doubt, I waited until he was ready and drove him to my church, we walked in and I asked the lady if there was anyone available that could pray with him.  When someone walked out, I introduced him and went to wait in the lobby and saw him walk away with tears in his eyes…

I texted hubby to let him know and to assure him I was in the lobby and me and his BFF weren’t having some sort of spiritual “moment”.  When he walked out, he hugged me, said “thank you” and I took him home.

I wish I knew if he was saved in there, did I do the right thing, he never said and I suppose it isn’t about me but I feel very confident that I did God’s will today. Wow…

Wanna know the real miracle today?  I made a decision to call hubby and tell him everything as quickly as I could.  In the past I usually leaned toward the cowardly do now, confess later, take lumps. Even though hubby wasn’t real comfortable with his BFF confiding in me, we (or should I say) I was an adult about it, upfront and there was no fight, no lumps no confession. Look at me, all growed up!

I sure do love that hubby of mine... When I told him what I had JUST realized he laughed...

My daughter fell in the creek, then then put her sneakers in the dryer...  This is what I found

 

 

Do you see that? The mud in my dryer?  It's no wonder mothers have gray hair, crying fits and can't remember if they put deodrant on each day...

 

 

Oh on another note, I have fallen in love, with a dog.  He is beautiful, he won't go home and I want to put a collar around his neck and give hime to hubby as a Christmas present

ok, I know snow isn't exciting for most, but it has been 6 years since I've seen snow and the first my kids will remember (we moved to Florida when they were 2 and 4) I can't wait to wake them up....

 

My dog is in heat - Yes I am a bad pet parent, no she isn't fixed...

 

There is a big beautiful black lab that is hanging out at our house more and more, I don't know who he belongs to, if anyone because this morning at 5 am he was on our porch, it snowed last night! He shoud be in a warm house!  Why didn't I let him in, you ask? Well a couple reasons, I am allergic to him, number one and number two he is not fixed either...  Heat dog + boy dog = puppies (Mini schnauser/lab mix???) NO THANK YOU

 

At this very moment my dog is crying to get outside and see the boy dog, yesterday I caught the boy dog licking my dog's "hoo haa" -gross-

 

Tee hee... this is funny...  A couple days ago the phone rang and P was sitting at the computer desk where the corded phone resides, I walked over looked at the caller ID and told P to answer it while I went and got the cordless.  When she hung up hubby said to her...

H - P, who was on the phone?

P - Mommy

H - I mean other than mommy

P - Me

H - No I mean who else

P - (annoyed) Mommy!

H - Who called for mommy?!?!

P - Oh, I don't know

 

That just makes me think of the Calvin and Hobbs cartoon when Calvin is pounding nails in to the coffe table and his mom comes in screaming "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"  he stops and looks at her and says "Is that some sort of trick question?"

 

 

THe other night I had prepared baked potatos to go along with our dinner... Little P and I were the only ones left at the table and she says...

 

P - Guess what?

Me - What?

P - I like snake skin now.

Me - Snake SKIN?

P - Yea, on the out side of the potato

Me - That's not snake skin, it's potato skin.

P - Well, what animal does potato skin come from?

Me - It doesn't come from an animal, that just what we call the outside of a potato. Potatos are grown in the ground!

P - Oh.

Finally, It uploaded my pictures... I was on the verge of leaving you spaces.  So anyways... this is the cake that I made for less than 30 dollars.  Took me about an hour to decorate, and I had a hard time cutting it :-)  Now I just hope noone here sends this in to http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/

ok so you know the mothers have been here, I also hosted a sleep over for eight 10-11 yr old squeeling girls and the back hoe is due to arrive ina few minutes to start cleaning up after all the chaos... But I just had to tell you this real quick... A was turning 11 and spotted this cake at a HUGE nation wide superstore ofter refered to as wally world.

 

Ok it's a really bad picture but they wanted 108.00 dollars for it... it was all white icing and air brushed with green and blue... So I decided to make it for myself and this is how it turned out...

 

Freaking SPACES... WON'T UPLOAD MY PICTURE... aaaaaaaaarggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 

Both my mother and mother in law are occupying my house this week... (PRAY FOR ME!)

 

I was thinking about making a mud pit and letting them mud wrestle for the light weight title of

 

First of all I wanted to thank everyone for their support yesterday; I made it through my interview without crying.  (I totally cried at my last interview, did I tell you that?)

Ok, so a lot has happened and I am going to try and organize my thoughts the best I can here.

Ok, well it’s no secret that the projected cash flow reports have been enough to turn a business belly up, but being that we are a family and not a business we just keep on trucking… Riding the wave as I like to say.  So anyways, I haven’t been getting my payment stubs for my car loan for months… Literally at least 5 or 6 months, and no it’s not because I moved, I had a forwarding address.  So I have been just writing a check, writing in my loan number and addressing an envelope and saying a prayer… Which mostly worked, but I did get behind a payment in August, when I was in the hospital, I forgot, I guess, I know ALL our bill were late that month. So the next month when I made my payment, it went to the previous month, but there we late fees so it was still considered unpaid, then Hubby’s work announced the furlough and they messed up hubby’s check, so we forgo the payment right now until the $ is flowing as scheduled, so during this time, the next payment came up due also, so now according to them I am 3 months behind, not 1 plus current….  Ok so are you all with me here?

Thursday, I pick up the A from school, P was home sick with the squirts… we went to wally world for Halloween candy, Dog food, and dishwasher detergent.  30 minutes later, we walk out and my car is gone. P starts to cry, A is holding up, I call the police, and he says he won’t file a stolen report until I verify it wasn’t repossessed. OMG, I hadn’t even thought of that.  I left my cell phone at home, I don’t know anyone number but hubby’s and he doesn’t answer because he doesn’t recognize the number.  I am leaving messages on his cell that between sobs, sounded a little like Darth Vader.  We return everything but the candy, use the potty and head out to walk 5+ miles home.  THANK GOD, just as we got through the parking lot and to the highway, hubby pulled up like a knight in shining armor.  I totally cried my face OFF then.

I have never been SO embarrassed in my whole life.  Hubby said, I’m not supposed to care what the Joneses think, I wish I could say I didn’t care… but a little bit of me does.

Yes I feel a little bit like a loser, It was hard letting go of the car, and on my prayer card for small group this week, I asked for our needs to be met during this difficult time.  I suppose my car wasn’t a “need”, but a “want”?

I have more to talk about, like… Have you ever prayed for something and gotten exactly what you asked for, only it wasn’t what you meant at all?” or “I feel like I am constantly letting my hubby down, I feel like a huge disappointment to him sometimes” and “ Despite all this, I don’t want to go back to work and thinking about it makes me cry”

I’ll talk about all that stuff later… This is getting long, and I’m not sure what kind of attention span ya’ll have.

Ok, so alot has happened in the past few days, stuff that can break ya down, make you feel like a loser, question your prayers, and challenge your attachment to material items...

But I don't have time to talk about any of that because I have an interview at 10am today.  I also have to make an appt for P, she has been sick all weeks and make something for the bake sale tomorrow and drop it off by 3:30 and be ready to pick up hubby at work at 4:30... 

 

Yea me.

 

Ok, so not to get side tracked, prayers for the right job, 10 am.  Got it?

 

Thanks.

An ode to my BFF on her Birthday

 

Although we are spread across the mile, our daily chats always bring a smile.

There are times I come to you in tears, but you always seem to comfort my fears.

You are as true as true friends come, because only you will tell me when I am being dumb.

You know all about me yet love me still, If I had anything I’d put you in my will.

So off you go to your chic village pub, I have to stay and get the kids in the tub.

Gather all of your local peers, and rise up a glass and say “cheers”

Congrats on your birthday number thirty-three, it sucks that you will always be younger than me.

Happy Birthday Autumn