Simply Complicated... That's Just Me...

Family Fun Friday!

2012-01-13T10:44:00.000-08:00

It's Family Fun Friday!

What's on the Menu:

Homemade Pizza:
   -Biscuit Dough
   -Prego Pasta Sauce
   - Grated Mozzarella Cheese
   -Pepperoni

Garlic Knots:
   -Pizza Dough
   -Minced Garlic
   -Parsley
   -Olive Oil & Butter

Funnel Cake:
   Thank you The Dessert Factory!

Activities:

Bedtime Stories:

Tonite's Story: Patch's Lucky Star

Tonite's Reading: Genesis 3

Is Anyone Out There?

2012-01-12T11:32:00.000-08:00


Click Photo for Credit

I've had this blog since 2009. I was sooo excited when I started it up. I thought that for sure like all the blogs I read I would have people commenting like crazy. But that's not what I've found. After 2 years most of my posts are left uncommented on. Which leaves me to wonder...

Is anyone out there? Or am I here all alone?

Miracles & Blessings,

Confession of a Repentant Mom

2012-01-08T22:50:00.000-08:00

Photo Credit

I don't know what came over me this morning or how this was able to enter my thoughts, let alone escape my lips. But before I was even aware of what it was, there it was, something I will NEVER be able to take back.

There's a saying we learn as children, "Sticks and stones my break my bones, but words will never hurt me." This is a lie from the pit of hell! Sticks and stones may break bones that have the ability to heal, but words... words can cut you to the core. Words can bruise the soul and have the ability to alter your future if you allow them to.

As you all know I have a five year old daughter, who on here, I refer to as "Little Miss". She's very much like me in attitude and deed. You reap what you sow, right?

So here it is, my confession...
This morning she got a slight attitude about what she was going to wear to church. *sigh* Normally, this would be ignored, but today, today was different. I can't even tell you exactly what I said, other than the crime committed. In my frustration, I called her a "dummy". (Is that not something a five year old would say? Not a 30 year old mom of two! SMH) It came out faster than it even registered. I vividly remember her face though. I could tell it hurt her feelings. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the shock on my husband's face while he slowly shook his head. That's when it registered. I couldn't even look at him.

I walked away still in my annoyed frustration. I was hit immediately with an overwhelming sense of guilt and nausea. I found myself walking into my daughter's room while she was alone. I sat on her bed eye to eye with her. I apologized to her and asked her to forgive me. I've never meant this more than ever before. I left her and went into the kitchen, stood at the sink, and cried. Lord, please forgive me. Never felt more guilty in my life.

We went to church, but I wasn't even able to completely focus. Not through the praise and worship, the message, nothing. Yes, the Word brought forth was a little cleansing, but my heart was still heavy. When we got home I asked my husband if I was a bad mom. His response: "For what?" It was as if the morning had never happened.

I hope you see my heart on this matter and not persecute me for my crime. (Yes, it was definitely a crime.) I know I'm not the only mother in the world to have done such a thing. I am hoping, however, to not continue to add to my list.

Have you ever needed to ask your child for forgiveness? Were you able to? Why or why not? If not, it's never too late.

Humbly,

Family Fun Friday!

2012-01-06T09:57:00.000-08:00

It's here! Our first Family Fun Friday of the new year.

Here's what's on the agenda for the evening:

Dinner:

Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken (Babycenter.com)
Serves 4

1 1/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (thighs would be fine too)
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons diced onion
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
2 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 3 Tablespoons water
Sesame seeds
Season both sides of chicken with lightly with salt and pepper, put into crock pot. In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 hours, or just until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from crock pot, leave sauce. Dissolve 2 teaspoons of cornstarch in 3 tablespoons of water and pour into crock pot. Stir to combine with sauce. Replace lid and cook sauce on high for ten more minutes or until slightly thickened. Cut chicken into bite size pieces, then return to pot and toss with sauce before serving. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve over rice or noodles.
Stirfry Veggies
White Rice

Games: My kids received these as Christmas gifts. I made them wait to open them for tonight.

Bedtime Stories:

Does your family have a weekly date night? How much planning goes into your Family Nite? How do you decide what's on the agenda? What will you all be doing tonight to spend time with your family?

Family Fun Friday Results are in!

Cootie:
1st Place: Mr.
2nd Place: Little Mama
3rd Place: Papa-Son
4th Place: Me

Curious George Matching:
1st Place Mr. (18) "I'm somethin' like a Champ!"
Tied for 2nd Place: Little Mama & Me (8)
3rd Place: Papa-Son (2)

Miracles & Blessings,

2012-01-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

Wishing You & Yours a Very Blessed New Year!

Miracles & Blessings,

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T07:52:00.000-08:00

Photo Credit

Hark! The herald angels sing,

"Glory to the new born King!"

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas

From my family to yours.

Miracles & Blessings,

Happy Hanukkah!

2011-12-20T11:33:00.000-08:00

Credit: Jews for Jesus

HANUKKAH

December 20 - 28, 2011

Miracles & Blessings,

Disney Bedtime Favorites

2011-12-18T20:24:00.000-08:00

Click here to purchase from Amazon.com

The kids and I have been reading through this book at bedtime. They've looked forward to every night! Finally, tonight we completed the last story.

I asked them both what was their favorite story and why. Here were their responses:

Papa Son, who's 3, giggles, "My favorite was Mickey Mouse (Mickey Mouse and the Pet Shop) because Pluto licked Mickey."

Little Miss, who's 5, thoughtfully said, "My first favorite was Snow White (Dream Tales) because the best part of going to sleep is dreams."

This book has 19 Disney stories. Each story has a bedtime theme based on the characters from you child's favorite Disney movies. I loved this book and would recommend it to any and all Disney lovers.

And the bonus is there are 200 stickers in the back! A nice idea for a reading log.

Miracles & Blessings,

Menu Plan Monday: Dec. 12 - Dec. 18, 2011

2011-12-14T14:45:00.000-08:00

Menu Plan for the week of Dec. 12th - Dec. 18th:

Meatless Monday-
Breakfast: Cinnamon Apples
Lunch: PB & J
Dinner: Provided by Papa Son's Christmas Program

Tuesday-
Breakfast: Pancakes
Lunch: Turkey Sandwich
Dinner: Hot Dogs & Chips

Quick Fix Wednesday-
Breakfast: Cereal in warm milk
Lunch: PB&J, Mystery Lunch for Little Miss provided by classroom parents
Dinner: Chicken, rice, veggies

Thursday-
Breakfast: Pancakes
Lunch: PB&J Sandwich
Dinner: Tuna Melts

Family Friday-
Breakfast: Eggie in a Basket
Lunch: Pizza (Little Miss), PB&J (Papa Son)
Dinner: Provided by PTO for Little Miss's Christmas Program

Saturday-
Breakfast: Omlet
Lunch: Turkey Sandwich
Dinner: Orange Chicken, Rice, Broccoli

Sunday-
Breakfast: Pancakes
Lunch: TBD
Dinner: TBD

Miracles & Blessings,

Christmas Craft #2- Christmas Countdown Calendar

2011-12-14T11:52:00.000-08:00

This year I decided that I wanted to incorporate more family tradition into the holiday. I looked online and found sooo many great ideas to put some tradition in place. I found this thing called and Advent Calendar. I'd never heard of this before. I did remember having something like this that counted down Christmas when I was a little girl in school.

I decided that I would love to create something like this with my kids. Not having any money to spend on a ton of new Christmas decorations or art supplies, my mind went to running. I went through my Christmas bins to see what I could find. And like pieces to a puzzle it all began to come together.

So here's what Little Miss calls our Christmas Countdown Calendar:

These were the items I found in my home. A bag of bows, a gold ribbon, and my clothes pins.

We glue sticked the clothespins to our bows.

Here they all are.

Then I found these gift tags. Perfect for our numbers! I used a silver, blue, red, and green Sharpie to add the numbers.

I tied the ribbon into a nice bow and thumb tacked it to the wall.

Little Miss was in charge of handing the bows.

Papa Son had a little lesson in number identification mixed in as well.

He found it!

Our calendar in progress...

The finished product!

Silliness...


Goofs!

We started our countdown a little late. It began on the 8th of December. I used mini Post-It notes to add our tasks. Here are the tasks that we included.

25 (18) Days to Christmas Countdown:

8. Story Nite
9. Christmas Cards Part 1- Hand prints on post cards
10. Christmas Cards Part 2- Jewels and feathers
11. Christmas Movie, Ice Cream & Hot Chocolate- The Polar Express
12. Papa Son's Christmas Program
13. Family Game Nite
14. Christmas Candy From Mommy
15. Story Nite
16. Little Miss's Christmas Program
17. Make a Donation- 15 Items
18. Story Nite
19. What God Wants for Christmas- #1
20. What God Wants for Christmas- #2
21. What God Wants for Christmas- #3
22. What God Wants for Christmas- #4
23. What God Wants for Christmas- #5 & Christmas Lights and Hot Chocolate
24. What God Wants for Christmas- #6 & Family Dessert & Game Nite
25. What God Wants for Christmas- #7

What does your family do to countdown Christmas? What are your family traditions?

Miracles & Blessings,

Romotes Contained

2011-12-09T12:03:00.000-08:00

Quick Tip: Need a place for remotes that's not an eyesore?

I had this idea during a declutter moment Jan. of 2010. Just came across the picture again and thought I'd share it.

Miracles & Blessings,

Menu Plan Monday: Dec. 5 - Dec. 11, 2011

2011-12-05T13:30:00.000-08:00

Menu Plan for the week of Dec. 5th - Dec. 11th:

Meatless Monday-
Breakfast:Oatmeal
Lunch: PB & J
Dinner: Asian Vegetable Stir Fry with Rice

Tuesday-
Breakfast: Cereal
Lunch: Tuna Sandwich
Dinner: Ground Turkey Tacos with Salad

Quick Fix Wednesday-
Breakfast: Pancakes
Lunch: PB & J
Dinner: Salad

Thursday-
Breakfast: Cereal
Lunch: Turkey Sandwich
Dinner: Mushroom Chicken with Green Beans

Family Friday-
Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Pizza
Dinner: Chili Mac

Saturday-
Breakfast: Pancakes, Bacon, Eggs
Lunch: Turkey Sandwich
Dinner: Party @ Friends Home

Sunday-
Breakfast: Cereal
Lunch: PB & J
Dinner: Enchilada Soup

Miracles & Blessings,

Christmas Craft #1- Table Decoration

2011-12-05T09:59:00.000-08:00

This is my very first Christmas craft ever! I would love to say that it was all planned out and was my intentions all along to get crafty, but I would be lying. It was desperation that drove me to this place.

I must give a quick shout out to my Mommy for handing down her craftiness to me. If it weren't for her I don't know what my house would look like this holiday season. Thanks Mom!

So here it is, my very first Chirstmas craft. Let me know what you think. I really love it.

It all started with this glitter pail that I'd purchased from the 99 Cent Store. I had no clue what I was going to do with it at the time. I just thought it was cute.


I used a Target shopping bag to fill the bottom of the pail.

Originally, I'd stuffed a sales mailer into the pail to give lift. But I could see the paper. Then, EUREEKA! I thought, if I'm gonna see what's inside it could at least blend in. So I ran into the kitchen and grabbed some aluminum foil to wrap the mailer.

Here's the beginning of something... I can see it already. Looks like a festive Jiffy Pop. LOL!

Pulled out my handy dandy glue gun and let the games begin! The Christmas balls are also from the 99. I love that place.

Here's a side shot.

And now it's really coming together. Love it already.

Here it is! My creation! You can see the foil through the balls. That could've been *gasp* paper! o_O

Tah Dah!!! Here's my very 1st Christmas Craft. My very own table decoration. Now, I just need a table. LOL!

Miracles & Blessings,

Menu Plan Monday: Nov. 28 - Dec. 3, 2011

2011-12-03T18:21:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to get back to Menu Planning for a very long time. I finally was able to plan on Monday, but didn't have the time to post. So here it is, late to post, but done. Would you believe I even planned breakfast and lunch this time?

Menu Plan for the week of Nov. 28th - Dec. 3rd:

Meatless Monday-
Breakfast: Pancakes
Lunch: PB & J
Dinner: Asian Vegetable Stir Fry with Rice

Tuesday-
Breakfast: Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal
Lunch: Turkey Sandwich
Dinner: Italian Chicken Pasta with Salad

Quick Fix Wednesday-
Breakfast: Eggie in a Basket
Lunch: PB & J
Dinner: Grilled Chicken Salad

Thursday-
Breakfast: Pumpkin Spice & Maple Oatmeal
Lunch: Tuna Sandwich
Dinner: Chicken Tacos with Salad

Family Friday-
Breakfast: Cereal & Milk
Lunch: Pizza
Dinner: French Toast & Scrambled Eggs

Saturday-
Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs & Grits
Lunch: Pizza
Dinner: Grilled Chicken, Green Beans, Yellow Rice

Sunday- Undecided.

Miracles & Blessings,

Unemployed Graduate

2011-11-25T20:57:00.000-08:00

I wish I knew who the original writer of this story was. It is very moving and I would love to give them credit for it. A friend of mine posted it on Facebook. I thought it was worth sharing.

UNEMPLOYED GRADUATE

An unemployed graduate woke up one morning and checked his pocket. All he had left was $10. He decided to use it to buy food and then wait for death as he was too proud to go begging. He was frustrated as he could find no job, and nobody was ready to help him.

He bought food and as he sat down to eat, an old man and two little children came along and asked him to help them with food as they had not eaten for almost a week. He looked at them. They were so lean that he could see their bones coming out. Their eyes had gone into the socket.. With the last bit of compassion he had, he gave them the food.

The old man and children prayed that God would bless and prosper him and then gave him a very old coin. With no money, no job, no food, the young graduate went under the bridge to rest and wait for death. As he was about to sleep, he saw an old newspaper on the ground. He picked it up, and suddenly he saw an advertisement for people with old coins to come to a certain address.

He decided to go there with the old coin the old man had given him. On getting to the place, he gave the proprietor the coin. The proprietor screamed, brought out a big book and showed the young graduate a photograph. This same old coin was worth 3 million dollars. The young graduate was overjoyed as the proprietor gave him a bank draft for 3 million dollars within an hour. He collected the Bank Draft and went in search of the old man and little children.

By the time he got to where he left them eating, they had gone. He asked the owner of the canteen if he knew them. He said no but they left a note for you. He quickly opened the note thinking it would lead him to find them.

This is what the note said: 'You gave us your all and we have rewarded you back with the coin,' signed God the Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost.

1 Kings17:10-16; Matthew 11:28-30

PRAYER: Here is your financial blessing! It's a simple prayer, you've got 30 seconds. If you need a financial blessing, continue reading this message.

Heavenly Father, most Gracious and Loving God, I pray to you that you abundantly Bless my family and me. I know you recognize a family is more than just a mother, father, sister, brother, husband and wife, but all who believe and trust in you.

Father, I send up a prayer request for financial blessing for not only the person who sent this to me, but for Me and all that I have forwarded this message on to. And that the power of joined prayer by those who believe and trust in you is more powerful than anything.

I thank you in advance for your blessings. Father God, deliver the person reading this right now and those who will read it in the near future from debt and debt burdens. Release your Godly wisdom that I may be a good steward over all that You have given me Father, for I know how wonderful and mighty You are and how if we just obey You and walk in Your word and have the faith of a Mustard seed You will pour out blessings.

I thank You now Lord for the recent blessings I have received and for the blessings yet to come Because I know You are not done with me yet. In Jesus name, I pray, Amen.

Miracles & Blessings,

Happy, Happy!!! Joy, Joy!!!

2011-11-24T11:47:00.000-08:00

Happy, Happy!!! Joy, Joy!!!

Today you're 3 Baby Boy!

Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you. We love you and are so blessed to have you in our lives.

Miracles & Blessings,

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

May your day be filled with Family, Friends, Lots of Love, Great Food, & Memories to Last a Lifetime.

Miracles & Blessing from my family to yours,

Holiday Birthdays

2011-11-22T10:05:00.000-08:00

Here's a question that has continued to stump me for a while. Moreso now than before because this year it happened twice.

My daughter was born the week of Mother's Day. This year her birthday was on Mother's Day. My son was born the week of Thanksgiving. This year it's on Thanksgiving Day. Now, I realize that these holidays in particular the date and day don't always meet. But in years like this how do you make it work?

What do you do when you have a Holiday Baby? How do you celebrate birthdays and holidays? Do you split them? Are they co-celebrated? Have you found that people are less likely to acknowledge the child's birthday because of the holiday it falls on?

I can only imagine what Christmas babies feel like. My heart goes out to you.

Miracles & Blessings,

Today...

2011-11-16T12:16:00.000-08:00

Since 2008, I have been a SAHM (stay-at-home mom). Yes, there was a year filled with a very fast paced business ownership venture and a couple of months recently where I became a working mom again. But, all-in-all I've been a wife, mother, and aspiring homemaker.

When my husband and I decided I would stay home it was exciting! We had a one year old daughter and I was pregnant with our second child (our son). But very quickly a harsh reality set in. I had no idea how to be a stay-home mom! Our life was willy nilly! No set schedule, no routines, C.H.A.O.S.!

Needing to have some kind of plan I found this website, FlyLady.net. There was so much information for how to pull my life all together. How to become not a maid/slave, but a homemaker. (Cue the singing angels from Heaven) I must've studied her site for a week. I knew people would think I was crazy, but I didn't care. The FlyLady had the answers I was looking for. So I decided to dive in.

Folders, dividers, lists (typed out), routines, markers, pens, paper, calendars, stickers, oh my! I went all out! It was beautiful. My Control Journal was my masterpiece. A labor of love. I was up early, had a routine, was cooking planned dinners, making lunch and breakfast for my husband before he went off to work in the morning, homeschooling our daughter, had a clean house, looked pulled together, knew where I was going that day.... All for about two weeks. Then I fell off the Fly Wagon.

Why? Why did it not work for me? I couldn't figure it out! But one night, I got it. I'd jumped in head first. I forgot FlyLady's main motto of "Babysteps". I had overwhelmed myself and burnt out. Not because her plan doesn't work, but because I had not worked it correctly, nor did I personalize it for what my household needed. I also didn't have the support I needed.

Now, rather quickly, I found a great support team when I'd discovered Twitter. There are sooo many "FlyBabies". No, I've never met these ladies in person, but they've helped to keep me sane. We encourage each other to pull it together, reach down to pull the lost one back on the the wagon when they fall off. They helped me to realize just because I am a SAHM, I'm not gonna have it all together all the time. My house will get unruly, dinner may not be a Food Network favorite, I may have Mt. Washmore (laundry) to climb, but it's okay. Eventually it will all get done.

So here we are three years later and I'm still on and off the wagon. I just so happen to be on today. My house is clean (not spotless), I woke up and did what I call a self-rescue (shower, dress to shoes, etc.), got my kids fed and off to school on time, dinner was planned and an easy fix, my scripture reading is done, I know exactly what's on the schedule for today, and I even have time to sit here in the peace and quiet of my home and tell you what's on my heart. How's that for F.L.Y.ing?

Thank you FlyLady for the "You can do it!" Here's to being on the wagon again, but I'm taking babysteps the rest of the way.

Question of the Day: Are you on or off the FLY wagon? And how do you stay more on than off?

Miracles & Blessings,

11/11/11

2011-11-11T23:11:00.000-08:00

11/11/11

2011-11-11T11:11:00.001-08:00

***It's not my intention to support the website above. I just really like the picture and thought it absolutely appropriate for the day. He (Christ) Is The One.***

Happy Birthday!!! It's My Birthday!!!

2011-11-11T00:00:00.000-08:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/xochiquetcal/4095673304/

Counting Down...

2011-11-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

Counting Down...

2011-11-09T00:00:00.000-08:00

Counting Down...

2011-11-08T00:00:00.000-08:00

Counting Down...

2011-11-07T00:00:00.000-08:00

Counting Down...

2011-11-06T18:43:00.000-08:00

Counting Down...

2011-11-02T10:58:00.000-07:00

FAITH KINGDOM 30/30 IS BACK!

2011-05-24T10:30:00.000-07:00

JOIN FAITH KINGDOM'S 30/30

May 24th - June 22nd, 2011

30 Minutes of Prayer for 30 Days

***Please go to the bottom left of the page and pause the music before watching the video.***

Obey the Prophet and you shall be established!

2 Chronicles 20:20

Be sure to follow Faith Kingdom on FaceBook and Twitter @fkpasadena

Grace & Mercy

2011-04-12T12:59:00.000-07:00

I received an e-mail this afternoon from my aunt. It contained this little story. I'm not one for passing on messages that say "you'll be blessed if..." or "you'll have luck if..." I believe I am blessed already and don't believe in luck. But I did find that I loved the story and thought it worth posting. If it touches you at all please feel free to share it. I have no idea who the original author is or I would definitely give them credit. Enjoy.

Miracles & Blessings~

Just Me...

PANTS

Come with me to a third grade classroom....

There is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has happened. It's never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they'll never speak to him again as long as he lives...

The boy believes his heart is going to stop; he puts his head down and prays this prayer, 'Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now I'm dead meat.'

He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been
discovered.

As the teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy's lap.

The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, 'Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!'

Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy. The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out. All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is wonderful . But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to someone else - Susie.

She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. 'You've done enough, you klutz!'

Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, 'You did that on purpose, didn't you?' Susie whispers back, 'I wet my pants once too..'

May God help us see the opportunities that are always around us to do good...

Remember.......Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car..

Each and everyone one of us is going through tough times right now, but God is getting ready to bless you in a way that only He can. Keep the faith.

My instructions were to pick four (4) people that I wanted God to bless, and I picked you... Please pass this to at least four (4) people you want to be blessed and a copy back to me.

This prayer is powerful, and prayer is one of the best gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let's continue to pray for one another.

The Prayer:

Father, I ask You to bless my friends, relatives and those that I care deeply for, who are reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of Your love and power, Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to their spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through Your grace. Where there is need, I ask you to fulfill their needs. Bless their homes, families, finances, their goings and their comings. Amen.

(If the Lord lays upon your heart to send this to more than four '4' people, you are truly blessed)

"I'm Salty" by Apostle Nessive Watson

2011-04-01T15:23:00.000-07:00

Good Nite Sweet Angel

2010-12-22T08:00:00.000-08:00

Rafael Cruz

(July 29, 1917 - December 22, 2010)

Te amo siempre, Abuelito. Bendiciones a usted.

"Love Dare" Pause

2010-08-10T10:58:00.000-07:00

Here it is Aug. 10th. 21 more days til the "Love Dare" Challenge ends.

I am finding myself two weeks behind. 12 days to be exact. Yes, I'm still on Day 7. At first, for about the first few days I was stuck. This challenge is a tough one for me. Especially in light of all that took place around that time. But for the second week that followed there was a lot going on. Too much. I couldn't concentrate on the task. Had to take a Pause.

I have to admit to you all, I'm a little disappointed that I did not go straight through. But I am still excited and motivated to finish what I've began. I was able to get away this past weekend, just me and my husband. We went away on a business retreat. And I have to tell you, it was a blessing. Those 2.5 days allowed me to see my husband in a new light. It helped me to now be able to write out the list Day 7 requires.

So, here we are, Tuesday, August 10th and I'm on Day 7. Getting back in the game. Looking forward to the finish line.

I'm thankful and excited about the next 33 days. I look forward to the shift in my marriage as I allow the Lord to open me up and pour in. "A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies..." -Proverbs 31:10

Miracles & Blessings~

Just Me...

Day 7: Love Believes the Best

Today's Dare

For today's dare, get two sheets of paper. On the first one, spend a few minutes writing out positive things about your spouse. Then do the same with negative things on the second sheet. Place both sheets in a secret place for another day. There is a different purpose and plan for each. At some point during the remainder of the day, pick a positive attribute from the first list and thank your spouse for having this characteristic.

P.S.

If you're only reading the dare, you're missing out. Even if you're actually doing it wholeheartedly. YOU MUST PURCHASE THE BOOK! There is so much more to this process than just carrying out the task alone. The evolution comes from the rest of the information that goes along with each Dare. It's the "Why's" that you miss out on when you don't have the book. The basic principles are lost. You can purchase the book by visiting my "What I'm Readin'" Carousel on the right. Just click on The Love Dare book. It will change your life and marriage forever.

"Love Dare"- Day 7: Love Believes The Best

2010-07-31T17:39:00.000-07:00

"Love believes all things, hopes all things..." - 1 Corinthians 13:7

The original posting date for this post was July 29th.

My thoughts...

I can't do this... Not on this day. I wasn't prepared for this. It's gonna take me a min. I remember I got stuck here last time.

My experience...

I'm thankful and excited about the next 33 days. I look forward to the shift in my marriage as I allow the Lord to open me up and pour in. "A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies..." -Proverbs 31:10

"If there is anything praiseworthy––meditate on these things" - Phillipians 4:8

Miracles & Blessings~

Just Me...

"Love Dare"- Day 6: Love Is Not Irritable

2010-07-29T15:42:00.000-07:00

"He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who captures a city." -Proverbs 16:32

My thoughts...

My experience:

I'm thankful and excited about the next 34 days. I look forward to the shift in my marriage as I allow the Lord to open me up and pour in. "A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies..." -Proverbs 31:10

"I always do my best to have a clear conscience toward God and men." -Acts 24:16

Miracles & Blessings~

Just Me...

"Love Dare"- Day 5: Love is Not Rude

2010-07-27T23:14:00.000-07:00

"He who blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the morning it will be reckoned as a curse to him." -Proverbs 27:14

My Thoughts: Ask him for 3 things that cause him discomfort or irritation...?! Oddly enough we had just had this conversation a few days ago. What I found out was that my "lack" was contributing to him feeling overwhelmed. Surprisingly, I took it in. Didn't say anything to defend myself. Didn't even interrupt. I listened, really listened, and waited. I actually waited until he said he was done.

My response surprised me! Rather than pointing fingers or blaming, I apologized. I don't want to cause him harm. In anyway. So I apologized for adding more to his already existing feelings. I made no promises. Just an apology. One that actually came from the heart.

In my heart, though, I made a commitment to do better. Yes, I've been slacking. For one reason or another. All selfish, I have to admit. But there is no reason why he should be feeling so burdened with things that should not be his concern.

Another thing brought to my attention after reading was that I do have a habit of making unnecessary comments. Not in an effort to hurt, but just out of pure annoyance. I definitely will be working on this one. Life and death are in the power of the tongue, right?

My Experience: Today was victorious!!! When I got up this morning the normal routine began. I decided to let him take the car to work. This way there was no possibility of me leaving and aborting my plan. I got our daughter ready for the day. As he started to make her lunch along with his own, I told him not to worry about it. I'd take care of it. Freeing him up to do whatever else he needed to do before he headed out. I had them out the door on time. Kisses and hugs, have a blessed day.

Rather than climbing back into bed, which was soooo tempting I decided to get up. I "rescued" myself all the way to shoes. Dealt with my son, breakfast, dressed, etc. Then I was a woman on a mission.

One of the things I loathe is laundry. It seems never ending!!! Washing and drying are the easy part. It's the folding and putting away that is my enemy. LOL! But today I decided I was gonna catch up on ALL the laundry. I had preloaded and washed a load to be complete by 6 a.m. (thanks to my delay start timer). It was ready to go. So I did a "laundry reboot" (FlyLady term) and grabbed the already full basket that had been sitting in the back office for over a week! Shameful, I know.

As the day went on I washed, dried, folded, put away, washed, dried, folded, put away. Over and over again. I went completely through six loads!!! It might have been seven. LOL! Either way, they are completely done. Not to mention this was all done while stopping to keep my 20 month old occupied. We read A LOT of books today.

Dinner was decided, pulled out, marinated and ready to be cooked. It was cooked on time. It tasted good. And I even cleaned as I went. My sink is clean and empty. My daughter's lunch is prepared and packed. I even offered to pack my husband's. (I forgot he's fasting tomorrow so I'll have to keep that for tomorrow evening.) The kids were bathed and in bed on time.

Now I know this might all sound like typical stuff that is supposed to happen. But lately, like I said, I've been a slacker. Not overly slacked, but just not giving it my all. So the point for me today was to do take care of something that is an issue for my husband. I have to be honest, as I was putting his clothes away, I can't remember the last time his drawers were full of clean clothes! He actually has enough underwear for 2 stacks in his drawer! (TMI- Sorry, I just didn't know.) Nothing says I love you like clean underwear and socks.

It took that small visual to have a big impact on me. How rude is it for my husband to have to search out clean underwear?! It IS rude. Well, no more. Today was the day of new beginnings.

I'm thankful and excited about the next 35 days. I look forward to the shift in my marriage as I allow the Lord to open me up and pour in. "A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies..." -Proverbs 31:10

"The words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious." - Ecclesiastes 10:12

Miracles & Blessings~

Just Me...

Unplugged...

2010-07-27T09:25:00.000-07:00

I apologize for my absence. My family went on a camping trip for the weekend. Don't know why I thought that I would have service in the middle of the mountains. Keeping hope alive I guess. LOL!

But instead, I was unplugged! No cell phone. Not a single bar!!! It was a blessing in disguise I suppose. To be completely disconnected and have to engage with people.

I will be posting and updating. It may take a min. But I will bring the site current on the Love Dare. We are on Day 5 "Love Is Not Rude". I will be posting on this by this evening.

Blessings.

~Just Me

"Love Dare"- Day 1: Love is Patient

2010-07-23T09:27:00.000-07:00

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."—Ephesians 4:2 NIV

If you can, come join us on this journey. Leave your comments and let's be there for one another.

Read up for tomorrow:

Day 2: Love is Kind

~Just Me...

The "Love Dare Challenge"- Jul. 23 - Aug. 31, 2010

2010-07-12T10:52:00.000-07:00

July 23rd - August 31st, 2010

"The Love Dare personally leads you through daily devotionals, records your thoughts and experiences, and ends each day daring you to perform a simple act of love for your spouse. This 40-Day journey equips you to melt h...ardened, separated hearts into an enduring love that can withstand the flames of fear, pride and temptation. The Love Dare book will help you reinforce and enrich your marriage, earn back a love you thought was lost, and hear more about the One who not only designed unconditional, sacrificial love—He illustrated it.

In a world that attacks, devalues, and redefines relationships every day, learn how to rescue and protect your marriage from the firestorm. Take The Love Dare and FIREPROOF your relationship."- www.thelovedare.com

I began this process once. Failed to complete it. I'm excited to begin again. In this new place in God I am looking forward to how much more the Love of Christ can be infused into this covenant.

My marriage is not falling apart. It's not even in jeopardy. My goal is to see just how far I am willing to push myself to find/discover a Christ-like love for my husband.

I'm hoping to keep this up-to-date daily about my process and progress. If you can, come join me on this journey.

Miracles &Blessings.

~Just Me

It's Time to Be About My Father's Business

2010-06-08T13:36:00.000-07:00

I am ready for whatever the Lord allows this day. I am ready.

I pray for eyes to see & ears to hear, a bridled tongue, anchored feet, and open heart. Amen!

Today, I am ready to open my arms wider. To make sure the seeds I sow have broad borders. Ready to reap the blessings of Father Abraham.

Now that we've found our connection in the Man and Woman of God... It's on! Lord, have your way with me.

Miracles & Blessings!

2010-01-03T15:15:00.001-08:00

Really wanting to get back to
blogging. Not sure about what yet. But I've set up everything possible to help this process along.

So, I'm sending this from my phone via text message. I'm hoping that it works. (fingers crossed)

It's My Baby's Birthday!!!

2009-11-24T14:55:00.000-08:00

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY BABY BOY!!!

These photos were taken last nite.

More photos from today coming soon.

Love you FOREVER,

MOMMY

Happy Birthday to Me

2009-11-11T20:13:00.000-08:00

Another year gone by and I don't feel more accomplished. Not too many things have changed in the last year.

I do have another addition to my family. A beautiful baby boy whose turning one on the 24th.

I had a wonderful day. I'll elaborate soon.

I just wanted to take a moment to thank God for allowing me to get to this point in my life. I am so grateful.

Amen.

Late Night Thinkin'

2009-11-01T01:02:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm still up. Yes, I need to carry myself off to bed. I just wanted to clear my head before I lay down. Please forgive me in advance for the lack of rhyme or reason... I'm just purging.

I've been on hold with this Love Dare thing. I don't know why... I'm just really stuck on Day 6. Marginalizing my life seems almost impossible since I don't have anything laid out. I'm so needing to get back on the Flylady wagon. this lack of scheduling just has me left spinning and quite unproductive. It's borderlining on depressive.

I've been watching Clean House for the last two days. I feel like I'm on the verge of becoming like those families. Now, truthfully, is my home anywhere near Clean House worthy? NO. But in my mind it's not far from. It's just so overwhelming at times. The way it gets so out of control so quickly. Seems like I just can't stay on top of it.

I know that it drives my husband nuts. And to be honest, I do feel bad. Here he is going to work everyday and I'm here at home. Well... what have I done ALL DAY? Nothing. Not a single thing. I really don't even know where to begin. And the kitchen seems to be the worst place. That and the laundry issues. Ugh, what a pain! I hate doing laundry!!! I didn't used to hate the total process. Now I do. Cause one step leads to the next. Then I'm stuck with baskets of clothes needing to be folded and put away. Ugh!

What's sad is that I have these moments where it seems like I've got it under control. Where I see a light at the end of the tunnel and I've got the schedule down pact. The problem is that it just doesn't last. Nothing that I set out to do lasts beyond 3-5 days. Oh, this truth is soooo sad. I don't know why I'm so inconsistent. This makes me a not so great wife, mother, sister, friend, etc. I really need someone to be accountable to other than myself. The problem with that is that no one else I know is very consistent either. "Birds of a feather flock together", right?

Taking a brief intermission cause I hear my son crying. I'll probably not return to this post. G'nite.

Weekly Menu for Oct. 26th - Nov. 1st

2009-10-27T14:51:00.000-07:00

I know this is a day late, but...

This is the Menu Plan for the week of Oct. 26th - Nov. 1st:

Monday- Shrimp and broccoli sautéd in butter, onions, and garlic. Served on top of buttery white rice.

Tuesday- Shrimp and sausage jambalaya. Not from scratch. It's Zataran's with my meat additions. Could that be Semi-homemade? LOL! Sweet corn bread.

Wednesday- Left overs.

Thursday- Family Nite: Chicken & veggie stir-fry with white rice (brown rice for my son).

Friday- Chicken strips, mac n' cheese, and broccoli.

Saturday- Left overs. Might be at a birthday party.

Sunday- Crock pot meal. Undecided.

P.S. If you have a Twitter account and found this post useful or just want to share it, please click on the button. Thank you.

Children's Ministry for October: Faith

2009-10-25T18:06:00.000-07:00

Today I completed teaching the October curriculum for our Children's Ministry. I have one more night of recap and prizes for the kids. I can say that I was quite pleased with the outcome. It was my first time putting together a curriculum. I will continue to search out Children's Ministry material and post information and links that I find helpful.

"Love Dare"- Day 5: Love is Not Rude

2009-10-24T22:52:00.000-07:00

He who blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be reckoned a curse to him. —Proverbs 27:14

My thoughts...

This is where I'm choosing to begin again. Right here. Why? Well, because this is where it got difficult. Why? I dunno.

Generally speaking, I don't think I'm a rude person. Not really. Now, if as the book states that being rude is by making it things unpleasant for my spouse then I might be guilty. Not intentionally. But I will admit that I don't go out of my way to make things more comfortable. And I am totally guilty of doing more for others than my husband. And I definitely say things, that are not the nicest or necessary out of frustration. Yes, ok, I'm a little rude. So I'll work on this.

Here goes nothing... Tomorrow will tell. I'm kinda feeling that it'll be an easy day since he'll be gone for most of it. Maybe I'll check out Day 6 and work on that one too since it requires some introspection and I'll be able to do this without distraction from my husband. Hmmm... Yep, that sounds good to me.

My experience...

So I completed the dare. I only did Day 5 cause once I read the dare it was loaded. As we sat in bed watching t.v. I asked him in a sweet, kind tone. "Babe, I need you to tell me 3 things that I do that annoy or irritate you about myself. I won't say anything back about it. But please don't use this as a moment to attack me."

This is what he said:
1. It seems as if I'm not aware of my surroundings or the things that are happening around me. He used the example of me asking him about a bible that had been thrown in the trash. From my perspective he was vacuuming the house. He throws things away all the time. So I figured maybe he threw it away because our son had torn it up or something. Innocent question. Asked just matter-of-factly. But from his perspective he couldn't understand why I would assume first that he had done it rather than the baby. He even said that it wasnt' my tone or anything, but my assumption that bothered him.

2. I don't seem to be able to maintain my schedule whenever he's home. This is very true. I don't know why it is. It just happens. I guess maybe because I try to take advantage of the fact that he's home and do things with him instead of just cleaning and acting as if he's not there. He says I should be utilizing him being home and being able to help with the kids. That's true, but honestly, he's not that big a help.

Surprisingly, even after 2 days, he didn't have a #3. So I will take the liberty of remembering a conversation we had a while back and give myself the third.

3. I don't initiate intimacy. I could go on and on about why that is. But the fact of the matter is that I don't. I do, but it's so far and few between that the efforts really don't count. All I can say is that I hope that once this journey is complete this fact will have changed.

All in all the challenge wasn't so bad. I was waiting for him to just unload a laundry list of things. But all I got was two.

We did however have a moment of testing. The very next day we got into an argument about clothing. I made the mistake of asking him (innocently) about an outfit he was wearing to church. It was a little dressier than I think he normally goes. He had a fit about the question. Apparently he thinks that he dresses like that all the time. And then it came... #1 was thrown in my face. And to add insult to injury he throws in, "See! That just proves my point!"

I didn't argue really. Did my best to hold my piece and walk away. But then after it set in, my feelings were hurt. So in the car on the way to church I asked him, "Why do you feel like you had to prove a point to something that I never argued you down about or denied?" I told him that I was sorry that the morning had gone the way that it had and that I didn't want this to be the set up for the rest of the day. He said that I always act as if it's just that moment that causes him to blow up. I told him then he needs to stop letting things pile up. It's not fair to me for him to hold on to things until he hits a boiling point. I started to cry a bit, but quickly pulled myself together. Once we got to church I was fine.

I'm hopeful for what the next 35 days hold. It may take longer, but I'm going to complete this journey. I have to. My marriage is desperately needing to take a turn for the better. On the path it's currently on, it isn't going to last.

I look forward to allowing God to make me over again and renew my relationship with Him and my husband.

If you can, come join me on this journey. Leave your comments and let's be there for one another.

Read up for tomorrow:

Day 6: Love is Not Irritable

Getting My Heart Right

2009-10-22T09:38:00.000-07:00

After much consideration and knowing what this Love Dare journey requires, I've decided to go back a few days. I very quickly lost focus on the goal. My heart is no longer in it like it was. I just really need to focus on this. Not be sidetracked or distracted or even discouraged. I no longer want to "give the devil a foothold" in my marriage. (Eph 4:27)

What I found in the last week is that there was a calm before the storm. My husband and I had gotten along fine for a while. Everything seemed like it was going well. I thought that this challenge was gonna be easy. but I forgot the key word... "Challenge".

I had a conversation with a girlfriend of mine recently. She and I had a major disagreement. She doesn't believe that love is a choice. I do. And I've got to make the choice every day to show up in love for my God, my husband, my marriage, my kids, my family. And maybe somewhere in the end, be able to show up in love for myself.

This has been a very humbling experience thus far. One that I am glad to have decided to take. One that I am glad to not have to do on my own. One that I am glad to share. I'm hoping that the end result will be testimony to what God can do to, as Mrs. Pat Ashley would put it, "resurrect that which is dead."

I'm sure I've said this before, that my marriage is not in jeopardy of being over. But it definitely needs to be revived. And I am committed to doing all that I can to make sure that it lasts. I took a vow and made a covenant with God about my husband. I'm just not willing to go back on my word.

I heard today on Focus on the Family that without the proper resources we will have problems we can't deal with. Without the skills we will be overwhelmed. "If the responsibility is your life is higher than your skill level you'll be overwhelmed." So I'm on a mission to acquire the resources and skill to be able to not just survive the rest of my life in this marriage, but to honor the Lord, bless my spouse and children, and experience life to the fullest intent that God has for us.

In Jesus' Name.

So I'm going back to Day 5. Where I think my heart fell out of the equation.

I'm hopeful for what the next 35 days hold. I look forward to allowing God to make me over again and renew my relationship with Him and my husband.

If you can, come join me on this journey. Please leave your comments, suggestions, and prayers. Let's be there for one another. Uplift one another as we move forward in God's design for marriage.

This is where I will begin again:

Day 5: Love is Not Rude

"Love Dare"- Day 4: Love is Thoughtful

2009-10-15T08:59:00.000-07:00

How precious also are Your thoughts to me. . . .How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. —Psalm 139:17–18

"Love thinks." How true that is. When my husband and I met we were in high school. I was 15 years old. He was 16. I remember how it was before we were in a relationship. Oh my goodness, I was crazy about him. I would've flipped over backwards for him. And as the book says I thought about him constantly. What he wanted, what he thought, needed, liked, didn't like. It was all about him. He very quickly consumed my world.

And unfortunately also like the book says, our burning flames of romance have turned into very gray, very cold ash. And if I was brutally honest then I would have to say that our flames began to dim after the first year of our relationship. That was 11 years ago. It took 5 years fro our relationship to finally come to an end. We spent a little time apart and reunited once again. Talk about flames! Boy, oh boy, we were smokin'. And we eloped! But even then the flames began to dim and now here I am 5 years later without even an ember.

"Thoughtlessness is a silent enemy to a loving relationship." Ouch! In an effort to not point fingers I won't even defend myself here. All I will say is this is absolutely right. I have been incredibly thoughtless. And the sad thing about it is that in most cases I didn't even know it. Here I was thinking that it was all for him. That I was putting him and his needs first and forgetting all about me. What a crock! It's been about me for a long time. Disguised by the my "putting my wants and needs on the back burner". What a mess!

I could keep going, but I won't. What I will do is share what happened to me on this day...

Today's task was relatively easy, again. My husband was home today. He owns a business and was preparing to go set up for an event. So in an effort to complete the challenge I asked him if there was anything that I could do to help. He told me no. So I did my best just to be kind. And that seemed to work to get us through the rest of the day. Easy peasy!

Now on page 18 of the Love Dare book it asks, "When was the last time you spent a few minutes thinking about how you could better understand and demonstrate love to your spouse? What immediate need can you meet? What the next event (anniversary, birthday, holiday) you could be preparing for? Great marriages come from great thinking." So here is my final thought... This is something that I should be trying to commit to every day. And as I told a good friend of mine recently we have got to learn to do things with no strings attached. That's where the pain lies. So here's a being a thoughtful person. Simply me... no strings attached.

I thank God in all my remembrance of you. - Phillipians 1:3

I'm hopeful for what the next 36 days hold. I look forward to allowing God to make me over again and renew my relationship with Him and my husband.

If you can, come join me on this journey. Leave your comments and let's be there for one another.

Read up for tomorrow:

Day 5: Love is Not Rude

"Love Dare"- Day 3: Love is Not Selfish

2009-10-14T08:40:00.000-07:00

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor.—Romans 12:10

Ok, so it's official... I need the "Love Dare" book. I've been using the website for my daily info. Needless to say I was unaware of how much more information the book contains. So after reading Krista's post which shares some of the books content (Thank you Krista), I'm very much aware of how selfish I actually am. Not just as a wife, but as a mom, sister, friend, fill in the blank. I suck! Absolutely and completely.

So now I'm dealing with that revelation what do I do? How do I change the form of thinking I've had for so long? "What about me? Who's gonna take care of me? Me, me, me..."

And here I am on Day 3: Love is not selfish. Ok, so I have to buy my husband something. Well we don't have much money, so what do I do? Well, dispite the fact that I'm sick and all I really want to do is sleep I got up to cook dinner. And let me just say that it was not for me in the least. I haven't had much of an appetite in a while. But then something happened. My husband said I didn't have to cook! I was shocked. I couldn't have agreed any faster. LOL! So off to Mickey D's we went.

Once again my day was rather uneventful. And I must admit that I'm a bit happy that I'm sick otherwise these last few days may not have been as easy as they have.

Now I have to deal with being selfish. Again I say, where does that leave me? Well, I need to stop being selfish. It will have to be a conscious effort for sure. But I need to take the time to give to others. Not things, but my time and effort. I would elaborate on this, but right now I just can't. I will one day.

Thank you Day 3.

I'm hopeful for what the next 37 days hold. I look forward to allowing God to make me over again and renew my relationship with Him and my husband.

If you can, come join me on this journey. Leave your comments and let's be there for one another.

Read up for tomorrow:

Day 3: Love is Thoughtful

P.S. I made good on Day 2. ;-)

"Love Dare"- Day 2: Love is Kind

2009-10-13T16:38:00.000-07:00

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor. —Romans 12:10

Thanking God for, yet another, uneventful day. Part of that is because I find my self 6ft deep under the weather.

So today the task was to do an act of kindness on top of the Day 1 Challenge. Well, unfortunately the planned act of kindness just did not work out. At least not yet. The plan was to initiate a night of passion between my husband and myself. He says that it's not something that I do often. He's right, but it's because I'm tired, overworked, and, and, and... You know how that goes.

So needless to say my plans were foiled. No, not by my cold, but by a 10 month old little boy who refused to go to sleep. Ugh! And to think that I didn't even speak the plans to the air for fear of failure! I promise my kids have Lo-Jack or something on my body! They never fail to throw a wrench in the mix. LOL!

You know, I have to share this with you all though... I don't know what's going on over here at my house, if it's the Lord blessing for the intentions behind this journey, but I am so touched to say that today DH cooked for us twice! For lunch he made my special cinnamon & brown sugar pancakes and for dinner we had kielbasa sausage, rice, and corn. Now did he clean up? No, but I appreciate the fact that he cooked. I made sure to say so. Perhaps that was my act of kindness for the day. It is rare that I show appreciation to him for "helping out".

We did have an incident today that was rather touching. Just to give a bit of background: My husband's been off work going on three weeks now. He was suspended (mandatory) for a small fender bender at work. Now, this was only supposed to be 3-5 days, but is still in effect. Apparently their "investigation" is still underway. But when he told me the news today that we were going into the third week I almost cried. This means another month without any income. Don't get me wrong, I know the Lord is my source and shield. But I still felt it. Rather than freaking out or getting angry at him for what was an accident, we prayed. I hugged my husband and we agreed in prayer that everything was gonna work itself out and we had no reason to fear. It was a beautiful moment.

Well, I just wanted to share quickly before I turn in. Now that my son is sleeping maybe I can make good on my challenge. ;-)

I'm hopeful for what the next 38 days hold. I look forward to allowing God to make me over again and renew my relationship with Him and my husband.

If you can, come join me on this journey. Leave your comments and let's be there for one another.

Read up for tomorrow:

Day 3: Love is Not Selfish

"Love Dare"- Day 1: Love is Patient

2009-10-12T22:43:00.000-07:00

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."—Ephesians 4:2 NIV

Today was the first day of my "Love Dare" journey. I started this day off nervous. Afraid that I was bound to fail at some point and might have to start over. Fortunately for me, today was not so hard. Actually, I'd have to admit that it was rather easy. We didn't fight, argue, differ in opinion, etc. Nothing.

The most I had to deal with was my husband acidentally knocking my coffee cup off of my bedside table onto my journal and a few other things. I could've gotten an attitude because he didn't wipe any of it off. But he did wipe up the carpet. And would you believe that I actually considered apologizing for leaving it there?

Well, I thank the Lord for the ease of the day. I remain hopeful for what the next 39 days holds.

If you can, come join us on this journey. Leave your comments and let's be there for one another.

Read up for tomorrow:

Day 2: Love is Kind

"Love Dare" Journey Begins

2009-10-11T07:10:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the day I begin this journey to hopefully rekindle the love between my husband and me. Now, don't get me wrong. We still love each other, but I'm praying for us to fall in love again. It's been a long time since I've felt that way. I'm sure it's the same for him.

I haven't told him that I'm doing this. I didn't ask him to participate. For one, I don't think he would, and two, WE wouldn't finish. So I'm flying solo on this journey. Not completely alone though. I do have some of my Twitter friends who have decided to join me. They will also be following this journey on their own and together we will uplift, encourage, and hopefully pray for each other to finish the course, no matter how hard it may get.

I'm hopeful for what the next 40 days hold. I look forward to allowing God to make me over again and renew my relationship with Him and my husband.

If you can, come join me on this journey. Leave your comments and let's be there for one another.

Read up for tomorrow:

Day 1: Love is Patient

Kitchen...

2009-09-29T20:43:00.000-07:00

Post Coming Soon. Stay Tuned!

Living Room & Dining Room...

2009-09-29T20:42:00.000-07:00

Post Coming Soon. Stay Tuned!

I’m Taking It Back. For Our Sake… Pt. 2

2009-09-18T21:55:00.000-07:00

*Quick follow up on Wednesday’s post- The remainder of the evening/ early morning went off without a hitch. The baby slept until 3:19 a.m. Then when he woke up we nursed. I took him with me to turn off his sister’s tank light. (It’s being used as a temporary nightlight.) Then once I returned to our room I laid him back down. He let out a small whimper and then he was out again. Didn't hear from him until 6:30 a.m.! (Happy dance resembling the Cabbage Patch.) And so began Day 2.

Day 2 was not as tough as Day 1. For nap time I nursed and laid him down in his bed and left him. He only cried for 12 minutes this time before he was out. This nap was short lived. About 30 minutes later I heard crying. Poor thing sounded so stressed out. So I went in and rescued him.

Bedtime was a little different. I called it our “cheat night”. We had our bi-weekly family night at my brother’s house this week. Unfortunately, but fortunately, we weren’t home for the normal bedtime routine. When we got home my little man was asleep. All I had to do was change him. But instead while changing him I tried to wake him gently. We nursed briefly and in the bed he went. Just like before, he whimpered a bit then went back to sleep.

At about 2:30 – 3ish a.m. he woke up. I made an attempt to not pick him up at all. It was unsuccessful. He started to get a little loud so I picked him up so he wouldn’t wake his dad. This time we didn’t nurse. I rocked him, gave him his pacifier, and he went to sleep. Didn’t wake up until 6:30 a.m.! And then we welcomed Day 3.

Today, we went a slightly different route. I’m starting to feel a little bad about the trauma that the baby seems to be experiencing. I can’t even motion towards or lean over his bed without him bursting into hysterics. But I’m still trying to hang tough. Still trying to stay the course.

At naptime I took a slightly different approach with the same end goal in mind. As he approached exhaustion he began insisting on nursing himself to sleep. We nursed sitting in my bed and I talked to him and kissed his hands in a valiant effort to keep him awake. My attempt was successful. After he released me I moved him into his bed. This time the difference was I stayed with him. Once I laid him down I rubbed his legs to calm him as he approached anxiety. Then slowly but surely I began to back away from him. From his legs to leaning on the edge, from the edge to sitting on my bed close by, from the bed to the door. Every time I moved away he started to fuss. “No, no, no,” would get him to pull himself together.

Finally I made it out. That process took 15 minutes. But the result was minimal tears. At least I thought so. Once I walked out the door he started up the real drama. But the bright side was he did that for about 15 more minutes. (sigh) I should of just done that to begin with and saved myself valuable time. Oh well, lesson learned. Once again he slept for about 30 minutes before waking up right back in his fit.

Now, here’s where I learned a real lesson. I went in to him too soon. My mistake. I’ll have to test this theory to confirm. (Keep you posted). He didn’t realize that I was there. As I watched, slowly he began to try to go back to sleep. He was putting up a really good fight. Still crying and calling my name, he grabbed his elephant and lay back down. At that point I realized, “Dang!, I shoulda waited.” Sit up, lay down, cry, don’t cry… Until he finally realized I was there. He stopped crying. There we were looking at each other. For about five minutes neither one of us did anything. Then the drama continued…

I waited trying to not pick him up in the midst of the crying. I don’t want him to think that a tantrum will get him what he wants. It had escalated to the point that his cry was silent. After calming him off the ledge to just a cry I picked him up. Would you believe that he stopped immediately as though nothing had ever happened?! That little booger.

Remember, he was still sleepy. He laid his head down on my chest and I rocked him a bit. Then I had a bright idea! Let me climb my tail into his bed. At least try to get him to see that his bed is not the enemy. In we went. (Please keep in mind that his bed is a Pack n’ Play.) I sat with him and eventually made him lay down. He spread himself so both arms were on my legs and his legs were in my lap. In other words, I was not moving without him knowing about it. LOL.

I was able to slowly pull myself from underneath him while he wasn’t completely sleeping. As I moved he adjusted and drifted further. Eventually, he was asleep again.

Bedtime tonight was relatively easy. For whatever reason he was exhausted. I bathed him and attempted to nurse him. I guess since he just ate he wasn’t really interested. I gave him his pacifier, rocked him until his eyes began to roll. In the bed he went. I turned off all the lights accept an extremely dim night light. I rubbed his leg for a bit and then began the easing away. In about five minutes he was asleep and I was out! Mission complete!

I’m going to see what happens if I don’t go to him when he wakes up tonight. Stay tuned.

Miracles & Blessings.

I’m Taking It Back. For Our Sake...

2009-09-16T23:17:00.000-07:00

Today was the day. I decided that TODAY was the day that I take it back! For our sake. My bedroom for the last four years (I’m including pregnancy time with my daughter who is now 3 years old.) has been taken over by our children. And believe me when I say my relationship with my husband has suffered for it greatly. Yes, I decided to breastfeed both of my children. Yes, I decided cosleeping would be best to promote breastfeeding and bonding, not to mention the ease of just being able to roll over and plug in. No bottle making necessary. But, DANG! No one told me once I started that process it would take blood, sweat, and tears to reverse it.

Our daughter slept with us EVERY night. Then slowly but surely we decided that she had a lovely room and a nice bed that were not being used and it was time for her to move in. So the daunting process began. I had read many articles about making the change and attempted to put them into practice, but to no avail; at least not at first. The problem was we, my husband and I, were very inconsistent. We would always give in. Finally we saw light at the end of the tunnel and more and more she began to at first fall asleep and then eventually stay in her bed. At that point I think we heard angels singing. LOL.

Once we got pregnant though, something clicked in her. I think with all of the change she began to regress. But this time we weren’t havin’ it. Not again. So we told her she could not sleep in our bed, but could sleep in our room. So a little bed was made for her on the floor with her blanket and pillows. That seemed to work. Then she decided she would sleep in the Pack N’ Play since the now newborn baby was sleeping in our bed. She compromised (wink, wink).

Now, let me make myself clear. I had no intentions on restarting the process, but it just kinda happened. I tried to put him in the basinet, but he was too far away. I couldn’t see him…, you know how it goes. So I moved him in. And there he stayed. Now almost 10 months later I’m here… writing about how I’m reclaiming our space.

I made an attempt not long ago to put him in his bed for naptime. He screamed and cried for 20 mins. before losing the battle and knocking out.

This was the result of that battle. No, I didn't leave him like this.

Today though… Today was it. Something inside me clicked and I am ready. So at naptime I nursed him and placed him in his bed. With the support of a new friend, Dr. Kim (Check out her blog.) on Twitter, I was able to tough it out and let him cry. Back and forth she and I went. Thank goodness for her. After about the same 20 minutes he was out. I vowed that this was it! In order to not cause him any trauma we are gonna make this happen!

Battle #2. Me 2: Baby 0

Normally, at night, I nurse him in the side-laying position and eventually he detaches, turns over and goes totally to sleep. I let him stay there for a bit and then move him into his bed. Some time in the middle of the night we wakes and will not go back to sleep until he’s in our bed. Apparently our bed has some sort of drug within its fibers because he’s back to sleep before he even gets in good. And there he stays until morning.

Tonight was different. I prepared my husband and told him what the plan was. Explained that what ever he needed to cover the next 20 minutes or so he needed to grab because he could not go back into our room until the baby was asleep. And the process began. I nursed the baby as usual. But this time I nursed him sitting up. Once I was sure that he was done and ready to do the “turn over” I placed him in his bed with his pacifier. Poor thing. Before he could even touch down he began to cry. But I held strong and placed him down, turned on a very dim light and closed my bedroom door behind me. Yes, screeching my name did follow. He can be soooo pitiful. But, would you believe it only took him seven minutes to go down? So now the only thing left to work out is the middle of the night. I’ll have to keep you posted on that one.

Down for the count. 3:0, but who's counting. ;-)

Day 1 is complete! (Sorta)

Miracles & Blessings.

Our First Day of School…

2009-09-15T00:38:00.000-07:00

September 14, 2009

Sitting here tonight reflecting on the event of the day… My little girl had her first day of school. I can’t believe how quickly time flies. Yes, it’s only Pre-K, but still. She’s my first baby.

I was so excited to wake her this morning. 6:30a I kissed her and sung her a little song that I made up when she was a baby. “Good morning. Good morning. Good morning to you. Good morning. Good morning. How do you do? Good morning. Good morning. Good morning to you. Good morning. Good morning. How do you doooooooo?!!!” Add in a few light tickles and you’ve got a smiling face when she actually comes to.

I explained what I expected from her this morning before her feet even touched the floor. We turned on one of our favorite cds “Car Ride Fun: Kids’ Sing-Along with Nikki Loney” Then we were off! Thank goodness I put my FlyLady habit of preparing for the morning before bed (BBR) into play. We were ready to FLY. Already bathed, we brushed teeth, washed face, pottied, dressed, brushed hair, and were ready to go without a single hiccup! Excellent morning!

To add to the awesomeness of the day my husband, her dad, took the morning off to be present for drop off and pick up! So we said a quick family prayer, left the house, dropped off the baby with my grandmother (you know, so we would be able to provide undivided attention.), and made it to school with time to spare. I signed her in, introduced her dad to her teacher, received a super cute name tag (an apple with her name on it), and we headed to class.

Once all the kids had arrived we walked in, found her hook, got her settled in, kisses and hugs, and said our “See ya later”s. As the teacher lined them all up to wash up for breakfast, I looked back as the door closed to hear, “Bye Mommy.” (My eyes are welling up as I remember. Silly, I know.)

Time for pick up…

Had to make sure we were early. I wanted to be there before they let out. I just didn’t want her to have to wait for me to arrive, or (gasp) be the last child to be picked up. So we made it. Not knowing what to do (remember this is my first day of school too! LOL) I went to her class and peeked in. The teachers aide asked me to wait at the front of the school. By that time other parents picking up and dropping off their little ones had collected at the designated area.

Here they came. Each child’s eyes lighting up as they saw their parent(s) waiting for them. It was so precious. Then…, there she was, beaming like the sun… my love. “Mommy!!!” You would have thought we had been separated for days. It was only three hours! I scooped her up. Kisses and hugs galore! I spoke to her teacher. Excellent reports all around.

As we walked to the car she told me about her day. They had breakfast (she had a bagel with “white cheese”), did arts & crafts (leaving blue glue on her pants), sang songs, got a tour around the classroom to see where they could play, and played. They didn’t get to play outside. Once we arrived at the car the story began again because her dad was in the car. Surprise, surprise! He asked her what she learned. At first she said, “nothing”, but then started listing off all of the basic rules that a classroom should have. She did, however, make sure to emphasize that you can not hug anyone unless you ask them first!

So day one went very well. She had a GREAT day. We will be back tomorrow.

Miracles & Blessings.

Let Us Remember...

2009-09-11T12:02:00.000-07:00

Let us take a moment to remember all those lost on Sept. 11th. Not to be captivated by the sadness of that day, but to appreciate the selflessness of those who gave their lives to save a stranger. Say a prayer for the families who grieve their loses, yet continue to press on.

Let us also not forget those who continue to lay their lives on the line and fight for our safety and freedoms everyday. And in that time of reflection and prayer please remember to send blessings and protection their way. It is these very moments that should make you grateful that you reside in this country.
May God Bless the USA.
Thank you Leylan for choosing to be one of those people. My Hero.
*I also want to take just a minute to remember a great man. My grandfather Barrie James Sweetland Mayo. May you rest in peace. He left this earth on Sept. 11, 1999 and still his memories live on. Papa, I miss you and love you still.

Miracles & Blessings!

Homeward Bound...

2009-09-11T00:52:00.000-07:00

I walked through my house this afternoon taking it all in, the different rooms and all of their possibilities. How my walls have no pictures and the décor leaves much to be desired. We still have newspaper taped on windows! I’m realizing that after living here for the last three years my house still doesn’t feel like a home. Yes, we live here, my children are growing up here, and we have a lot of great memories, but I don’t know. Something is still missing.

The hard part is while I desire that “home” feeling I know this is not my home. Not somewhere we will stay. My husband and I have actively begun looking for homes. So maybe in the back of my mind is where my hard time resides. I don’t want to put more into this house than necessary because I know it’s temporary. But in the meantime I’m need to be able to create a home atmosphere for my family and myself.

A challenge I’m facing is a very, very tight budget. We are operating on a single income and don’t have much wiggle room. What I need to learn is how to make my visions come alive with little to no money.

With the season about to change and the holidays fast approaching I find myself wanting to seize the opportunity to start fresh. Take this house and turn it into the home that we deserve. Create an atmosphere that captures the feelings these upcoming seasons invoke. All while reflecting our character, style and creating traditions for our relatively new family.

So here’s the plan…

I’m going to declutter (using www.flylady.net, of course), clean, organize, repurpose, and decorate. The goal is to refocus the functions and purpose of this house, rid the CHAOS, and finally create our home. I’m going to start in one room and take on each one a little at a time. Which one, has yet to be decided. I’m thinking to start in the obvious place, the living room. However, there are seven spaces so stay tuned.

Miracles & Blessings!

Welcome to my world...

2009-09-09T00:49:00.000-07:00

Yes, folks! Finally I've done it. I've got my own blog!!! (insert happy dance here) Now if I could just decide what I'm gonna write about I'd be good to go. Still have a lot of figuring out to do, but I'm game.

So, welcome. I hope you enjoy what you read. I pray as I make my way through this life I am able to share the many blessings given me. Yes, sometimes it's a little chaotic. Sometimes it's a bit, well... simply complicated. But hey, that's just me.

Miracles & Blessings!