Slight change back

 I know this is trivial, but  I'm changing my blog back to having to enter those annoying sequence of letters and numbers to post a comment.  I get so much spam each day and some of it is absolutely inappropriate and I really don't want to have any of my readers/followers exposed to this nonsense. Since I really don't have a lot of people commenting as they are just reading, I hope you won't let this small inconvenience prevent you from stopping by from time to time or leaving a message. 

I'm not always able to get on the computer each day to delete and monitor the spam, but   maybe after a couple of months, I can revert back to the less troublesome way of ya'll posting a message. Does it matter to you?  Do you have a preference?  Love to hear what you think!

Whew!  Now that this is out of the way, I'll try to get back to "regular" life!  

What I'm reading and who I visited this week

It's always a treat when I can find a few minutes to visit friends and people, via blogs. Many times, I find the messages written there are somehow just what I needed to read. I'd like to share some of the post and blogs that really inspired, educated, and touched me.  

• Jamie at PrudentBaby showed her readers how to make Sun Butter.  I have a few friends who have have children with severe Peanut/Nut allergies (one is air born)  and I was so excited to see Jamie's post.  I know that Sun Butter (like peanut butter, but made from sunflower seeds is very expensive to purchase, but safe for those with peanut allergies). Made sure I passed this on to those friends, but I'm tempted to try it myself!

• Christina from Denmark, (Photographer and Life Coach) at Divas and Dreams really spoke to my heart when she honestly wrote how Comparison Kills and self esteem.
  

  When our "inner critic monster" wants to sabotage our passion and creativity by comparing itself to another, it distract us from our flow, owning our value and unique contribution. 

• Jhen Stark at From Here to Eternity for her honest post that lead me to Christina
  

• The Money Saving Queen wrote about being The Balance Queen

For the sake of complete honesty, this area has become a major struggle for me. I'm only mentioning it today because I know God is all about balance and if you are out of balance you can also easily take yourself out from the blessings of God as well. I've seen this in my own life. It is important to keep balance in all things

• I loved Robin Dance's post at incourage about Just Breathe (marriage)

• If you're needing a fun and simple experiment to do with your kids, try this experiment with "Magic Milk" and food coloring.  Can you guess what we're going to study and do this week with the girls?  Cows and milk! 

I'm so glad you stopped by for a short visit.  I would love to hear what has been going on with you this week!

Spring Break?

I'm in a bit of a funk... Today is really the next to the last day of Spring Break.  While I must confess it was a much more relaxing week with just Miss H, I'm not quite ready for the week to end. I enjoyed sleeping in  30 minutes, relaxing by reading One Thousand Gifts each morning and actually having the brain to think and write some scripture and gifts down. 


Honey and I enjoyed dinner and took advantage of a movie gift certificate we had to see, Red Riding Hood (his choice).  I enjoyed our dinner time, but I DID NOT like the movie.  I so needed to find a really happy place after we got home, but we found our wonderful German Shepard tore into a poopy diaper in our bathroom because Youngest failed to empty all the trash. We had poo on our bedroom floor.  Yes, I was so mad at big scary black wolves and a poo eating dog that night - our date did not end well... Honey said he really liked it and was exaggerating, but this is my blog and I'm telling you, it was suspenseful and scary!

Only was babysitting for friends and they sent home their wonderful Bissell Carpet Cleaner.  I wasn't planning on cleaning the carpets, but they do look much nicer and they did need it.  I'm still not happy with the dog, but I've forgiven her.

Nap time for Miss H provided uninterrupted time to work on my Blissful Confection quilt.  After some research and "play time" I finally figured out the magic to FMQ (free motion quilting) and already have half of it finished.  Will post pictures when it is completed.  It was so much fun being free from the fear of anxiety of all the mess-ups I was anticipating!  Wahoo!!!

Youngest took off on Wednesday for the Katy Trail in MO, for a  3-day bike ride.  They rode 27 (yes, you read that correctly) MILES the first day, but returned two days early because they were unprepared for the SNOW!!! Yikes!  We were expecting temps in the 60's and only packed a light jacket, the jeans he had on, and short to ride in.

Honey and Oldest headed to his parents to roof their carport and storage building, so that left Only and I to fend for our selves.  It was delightfully quiet, but I missed the guys.  We enjoyed a nice dinner with my friend Ester at Cracker Barrel, stopped at Red Box for the movie Like Dandelion Dust and Life as We Know It.  I highly recommend skipping Red Riding Hood and seeing Like Dandelion Dust.


Only and I decided to head off on an adventure of our own.  Heading off to Sally's Beauty Supply with the awesome notes and hints that Raine (my sweet cousin) sent me, we purchased color to cover my ghastly gray and color to put highlights in our hair.  Needless to say, Only got some Honey highlights that she is perfectly happy with, and I have no more gray. I hope we can work on putting highlights in mine sometime this week. Have you ever highlighted someone else's hair?  How did it turn out?

Honey replaced our leaking kitchen faucet  and hoses that survived the food with Noah, cleaned under the sink (the dark place I don't like to go), and did a great job.  I'm so thankful he is able to do these things!

Here are a few post that I want to share with you.  I hope you'll take a minute to visit them:

• Shannon at Rock in My Dryer made me cry with her post of a Mystery that happened with her son.  Sigh, I'm living this as I order Graduation Invites/Announcements for Oldest.  This IS NOT happening, please tell me Oldest didn't grow up in the blink of an eye.
  
• Chris shed some light on Darwin, Ds (Downs Syndrome) and Evolving Thoughts on Evolution. I loved her perspective!
  
• The Vintage Rose has me longing to visit her shop in Tasmania - her "All you Need is Love" photo is quite beautiful!
  
  
• Lorie touched my heart writing about words that have haunted her: Mental Retardation and what it means in regards to Autism and Fragile X. She is gifted photographer, has a true heart for Christ, and is a great mommy to her kids.
  
• I  was glad to hear that Debra and her kids made it safe to TX after evacuating from Japan, where they were stationed. 
  
  
• mamaslaundrytalk.com  Mama shared tips proper care of kitchen towels and cloths.

  
  

  

  I'm so glad you stopped by today and I hope you had a good week.  I'd love to hear a tidbit of what you've been doing and any great post you've read this week.  It is a great encouragement when I read your comments!

Recaping the week: Sickness, blessings, and possibilities

How are you doing?  I mean REALLY doing?  Did you have a great week, an okay one, or are you thankful for the weekend? Are you ready for this coming week?

We've had two sweet little little girls, The Princess and "H", were diagnosed with RSV as well and we can't figure out where they picked it up from. Both have had meds to help with the coughing, of which they act like crazy little happy monkeys after taking it. I feel so bad for them. 


Did you know it is entirely possible to go through an ENTIRE roll of Charmin Jumbo roll TP in one day just by blowing one's nose?  Yep, it's been one of those kind of colds! 

On the 9th, I started reading One Thousand Gifts by Voskamp, and I've slowly, paragraph by paragraph, page by page, made it to chapter 4 writing down thoughts and scripture.  It is slowly teaching and revealing to me that inside each event, person, thing, experience... to look for the blessing - even if it's not always easy.  I'm not great at this, but I'm learning. It has made me think differently about Jesus during the Passover Feast with his apostles in Luke 22:19.  Which lead me to Philippians 4:11-12 and Ephesians 5:20. I'm up to #17 on my own list. 

This coming Tuesday, I will welcome the third sweet little girl(15 months old) to our crew, whom I will be caring for during the day.  There will be many adjustments for all.

Many of you know that we have a German Shepard who is terrified of storms, loud noises, hates riding in the truck,and gets terribly anxious when I leave the house. I was so excited when friends of ours told us about a "Thunder shirt" that they got their dog in dealing with anxieties and acceptance. They said they thought of us when they were talking with their pet therapist about it (I know, I'm in the wrong profession), so I did some research.  Could this be the solution that helps our Lady to feel less anxious? Next week I'm going to see about getting her one of these - I've had enough of sleeping on the couch with her!  



Here are posts that really touched me as I visited them.

• Pickie Palate posted about the most sinful looking Brownie Stuffed Chocolate Chip cookies.  Just the name makes me melt! You should see these beauties!  
• TracyLou at Where a Second Glance made a great business card holder - She's one  creative and gifted lady. 
• Glenda blessed with by allowing us a glimpse in the studio of talented Drenda Duff
• Lisa really blessed and challenged me in writing Your Life is NOT about you! Being on the worship team (I play the flute), sometimes one may lose focus, distracted by technical malfunctions, or a song set in a strange key that only guitars like, but that's not why I'm really there. It's all about Him.
• Lorie at Thinking Out Loud, in grief about the sudden death their pastor LAST NIGHT.  I cannot imagine the grief of their congregation, family, or the people that he touched.  Can you join us in praying for that congregation, his family, and community?
  

  "When life takes an unexpected turn what do we do?
  We turn to God..." Bishop from First United Methodist

    "Grief is the Price we pay for love" CS Lewis
  

I need to sign off and get some things done, but I want to leave you with a new song I hear  "This Is The Stuff" by Francesca Battistelli 

"This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff that's getting to me lately
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I'm blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
But I gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing
It might not be what I would choose
But this is the stuff You use"

Recaping the week

Was it us, or has this been a busy and chilly week? 

 

•  Snow: You would think that the previous week's inch or two of ice would have been plenty but NO! We got a whopping 6", which is very slight compared to those around us who got 12-24"  It shut down school from Wed - Friday.  They say we're supposed to have temps close to 65-70º this coming week!  No wonder there have been so many people sick.

"J"'s Daddy in the hospital

  

• Visitors:  We had three young visitors (ages 3,5,8)staying with us while their daddy was in the hospital.  They certainly kept us hopping!
  
• Taxes:  I don't know how you do you taxes, but we do our own using Turbo Tax.  Honey and I certainly disagree on appropriate filing systems.  He likes to throw everything in a shoe box and I like to put everything in a specific file folder in the file cabinet. 
• I started reading One Thousand Gifts.  I'm finding I need to take it nice and slow with this one, taking plenty of notes.   
• Sewing:  I find a little time today to work a little more on my Blissful Confection quilt by putting the first border on it.  Just one final border to go and then I can start putting it together and quilting it.  Need to get it done before winter is over!  
• Honey and I had a early Valentine's dinner on Friday at Cheddars. 

 
This week, I enjoyed some blog reading:

• Holly talked about Grace in the midst of failure
• Megan at Simply Thrifty posted how to extend the life of your dishwasher
• Mr. Watkins has fantastic links for science helps
• The Momma had me grabbing for my tissues when she wrote about her son's giving heart at Find Joy in the Little Things
• Alexis at Tales from the Back Acher: Losing the "sparkly" in her life and the blahs. 
• Sandy from Celebrating Life just found out she has Rheumatoid Arthritis. What was incredibly touching was her Honey's response.  

Have you had some snow days this last week?  How did you use your time? Did you catch up on reading of a book, some blog posts, or time with your family?   I'd love to hear about it.

Catching up and a little ennui

Kernels are popping, butter is melting - a sure sign that it's Sunday evening at our house.  Honey and Only are watching Winter XGames and football.  Yep, Honey has control of the remote.

 Sunday - it's a day I usually do lesson plans in the evening while the kids are at youth group, Honey relaxes by watching some game (this is a fancy way of saying he's taking a nap) or we'll sit and talk.  All weekend I meant to get out my sewing and work on my quilt, but the weather was just beautiful!  So what did I do?  I took some time to catch up on some blogs and friends I've missed reading.

Glenda over at Gg is settling in her new home and received a lovely blog award - she has a rich and wonderful story to share - always encouraging.

My friend Kelly is expecting another miracle

The Momma found a way to find joy in laundry  (she masquerades as the Quilt Lady)

Lorie is celebrating her momma moving closer to her

My friend EM is finding her week a little more calm and answers to questions being answered.


and where did all this lead me?  Blog surfing!  I found this lovely blog that Felicity from Australia, Gifts of serendipity.    She posed a lovely idea of creating a strand of Lustrous Pearls honoring women in our lives:

"They are women we admire, they are women we care about.

They inspire us, they help us reflect on our own lives and give thanks for what we have."

 I loved perusing, being encouraged, and I love her Word of the Week!  Something I learned today that I wanted to share with you.

ennui

[n] mental weariness from lack of occupation or interest.

The feeling of being bored by something tedious.

Listlessness, tedium, lassitude, languor.

Do you see where I'm going with this?  Finally a fancy name for The Blahs!  Now if I only knew how to pronounce it!  Well, I'm  must confess that I feel ennui at the thought of heading out into the night for last minute groceries, when I'd rather stay home and watch the Hallmark movie The Lost Valentine...