Tulip Girl

What a new mom and a super model have in common is frequent wardrobe changes accept I suspect a super model gets better clothes but for me, as a mom, its more fulfilling. I once wanted so badly to be a model. That was about as likely as me becoming a worship leader, oh, wait I do that...can't sing, but still do it from time to time. Life is funny that way. My migraine from last Sunday landed me in bed and unable to lead the worship music. Bummer. I also missed a duet by a friend and her sister. Total bummer. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The prayer cottage went awesome last night. As we get closer to a Revival discussing spiritual warfare, there is definitely spiritual warfare. Our youth pastor has H1N1. Please pray as he has a baby daughter. Our pastor is feeling particularly vulnerable. I know of a few other people participating that also are dealing with some junk. I have a few choice words for Satan but I will refrain from writing them on this public forum.... though I ...

Tonight our house will be a prayer cottage. I am so excited! I've been saying that a lot lately. I am. I am preparing homemade white bread, pumpkin bread with chocolate chips, tea, coffee and candy corns for tonight. I've already got my pumpkin candles out and ready to light. All the windows are open and fans going to make sure the house smells good (you laugh at me, but I'm paranoid about smells from a stinky house to bad breath, its a complex). Dan and I have been praying everyday for the last few days for each of those men who will be speaking at our Revival next week, Matthew, Matt, Joe, Todd and Dan. Considering that we are focusing on spiritual warfare, well, I'm sure there will be spiritual warfare over this. I don't always know what to pray though so when ever I can I write down scripture prayers. This prayer I want to share with you is one I have posted about before. This is a prayer that I've prayed for our speakers and their families. No d...

As I have traveled about the blogosphere finding exciting new blogs and making new blog friends, one friend in particular I am thankful to have is Minister Warren Baldwin at his blog Family Fountain . His blog posts about family and Bible studies have been a real joy for me. I am thankful to have this Minister Baldwin guest blogging here today. I pray his words will be as much a blessing to you as they have been to me. LEAVING, CLEAVING, WEAVING "The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, for she was taken out of man.’ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." Genesis 2:23-24 No human relationship is as exclusive as that of marriage. We share parents with other siblings; we share friends with other friends; we even share our children with another parent, but we share our spouses with no one else. We share an intimate connection with our spouse that ...

October 6, Dan will be a guest preacher for our annual church revival. I love that here in the south churches have revivals. He will be talking about a couple different pieces of the armor of God. I'm so excited for him. He is so great. This next Tuesday in preparation for the revival, our home will be a prayer cottage to pray for this event. I'm so so so excited about this. I've already started getting my home ready to welcome all my wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ. I'm so excited to bring them in and go to God with them. I've already bought some different teas (already have coffee) and will be making chocolate chip pumpkin bread (maybe a loaf with some nuts). The pumpkin candles are out as are my cozy quilts, autumn wreaths and garlands, throw blankets and pillows...autumn is God's most precious season to me...until February... then it's spring. ;) God has been drawing Dan and I out and doing an overhaul on our perception of what this l...

Today is a big day! My baby girl is 7 months old today! What an amazing little blessing she is! I don't know how we got so blessed but we did. I am so amazed to have been watching her growing and developing. Her babbling is so cute. She loves her baby food. Sarah thinks her daddy is the funnest person on earth and she stares at me with such trusting eyes. I love those big beautiful cheeks and how her eyes scrunch up when she smiles. Too cute. What a big responsibility. My heart overflows. I know I am going to make so many mistakes. I am so glad God is bigger than me and my sin. I pray God's light shines clear through everything else and Sarah chooses Him over all else. We are looking forward to going to Arizona to see family. I don't doubt she will be crawling by then, almost 8 months old by then.

Thank you first of all to you who have prayed for my migraine. It has been a doozie but the pain has finally subsided. My brain is still fuzzy but better. Thank you Tiffany, Kristen and April. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So about texting while driving. When I taught preschool years ago, there came the clothing trend of low rise jeans a thong under wear, also known as g-strings. I was watching my students one sunny afternoon (it's Arizona, what afternoon isn't sunny?) and as I passed the window of another class room there sat a college student washing out paint trays at the child level sink in a child size chair. Thats normal of course, everything in the room is child level. My eyes bugged out of my head because the woman sitting there had, you guessed it, low rise jeans and a g-string on. I immediately poked my head in and brought her attention to what I thought would be a major embarrassing situation. She simply giggled, made a lame attempt to pull her pants up, sat back down, ...

Hope all is well with ya'll. I've got a migraine no amount of Excedrin can even dent. Pray for me. Thanks.

I looked at the speed-o-meter as I drove through our neighborhood this afternoon and it said 90 miles an hour! Dan borrowed our pastor, Todd's, truck today to go get a desk we bought for Sarah so when I went back to church this evening I drove the truck back. Before you write me a nasty gram in the comment section, know that my Pastor Todd's speed-o-meter is broken. I was going slower than the kids riding their bikes. I share this not just to grab your attention...well, maybe I am. My purpose is that I had an epiphany as the dashboard told me that lie. Sometimes in our own life especially in our walk with God we think we are running the race, gliding along the proverbial race track like a graceful gazelle and then we are hit with the realization we haven't budged an inch out of the pit we have been stranded in since who knows when. Just a thought.

So my hubby had a stern talk with my about my discouragement over my ability or lack there of at keeping anything structured. I was quite excited about all the plans this month for my blog, but of course when even the smallest snags hit, I felt they were monumental. Some might say that I take it to seriously after all this is just a blog. Those people don't understand blogging like we bloggers do. I love blogging. I rarely stick to anything. My hubby jokes that I am the first real commitment I have ever made. I joke that if it weren't for his discipline, then I would have never finished my degree. I have been blogging for about three years now. That is a long long time for me and I love love love it! I love writing, I love sharing my life and I like the support and encouragement I can get and give through blogging. I am also thankful for my blogger buddies I have made and am thankful for this outlet for my writing. I love writing. I have tons of short stories from hi...

I think lately I have gotten to some point where I have been focusing to much on the negative and at the end of the day I have been expecting Dan to come home and help me de-stress. This has in turn been stressing Dan out the last few weeks because he gets up at 4:30 or 5am and drives about 1.5 hours to work and back not making it home until after Sarah is already in bed. I realized I need to make some changes when I started expecting him to do certain things and then get more stressed when he just didn't do it. I was taking care of him, getting stuff done at home, running errands and such but then I was struck by something I read recently in the book For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahm. I realized that I was doing things for Dan to help him, but I wasn't doing the things he wanted done to help him de-stress. He was doing what he could to help me de-stress but my requests of him were really starting to bring him down. So this week I made some changes. My to do list was st...

Dan recently took the Meyers Brigg. We found that we really are complete opposites. While he likes a plan, an agenda and a good list, I do not. I only want to know where the beaten path is so I can make sure not to walk on it. So making plans like scheduling what I will write everyday has turned out to be some what not in my ability...or my computer for that matter. To many glitches in this old beast. Haven't gotten the new one yet. I would post pictures but that isn't quite working out right now either. Glitchy little thing this computer is (wow, I write like Yoda). Anyway, I have made about five new necklaces and will be giving them to my nieces as Christmas presents. Don't hate me but I have been neglecting Dan's extended family for Christmas. Well, finally this year I will be able to give the kids presents. Dan's cousins are like my siblings, its taken a while to get that. I'm slow. Sarah is officially having breakfast and dinner. She has had bab...

Monday my SIL shared how she affirms her spouse while being a part time pet groomer, a full time mom to two little girls and pregnant Tuesday my SIL, Julie shared with us some of the ways she is able to spend smartly and still have fun. Today I would like to welcome my sister, Michelle who has a blog, Candy&Ladybugs. I am excited that she is guest blogging here today sharing some ways she is able to make time for her two girls. Michelle recently moved to a new town in a new state all while juggling family and getting a masters in education. I am very proud of my sister and all of the work she has done with special needs students. I am also excited to share with you her wisdom as well as learn some new ideas myself. Kick back, pull out a note pad and read on. :) Making time for Kids 1. Dates: Every other week, or every other third week I like to take my girls on a date. My oldest daughter and I like to get a pedicure. We go to a place near our house and get some pampering and ...

Julie at Read BeTeen the Lines. Let's face it, times are hard. I try to raised my kids to know the value of a dollar and to be grateful for all gifts, whether spiritual or physical. However I feel that my children should not have to feel the burden of financial mistakes I made in the past. They can want for things, but they shouldn't be deprived of things they need and a surprise gift is okay from time to time. Here are some tips I use to be smart when it comes to gifting and daily money spending. First, I follow a great site called www.pinchingyourpennies.com . It is free to use and I love it. It covers on-line deals, in-store deals, and grocery deals. It gives weekly guides, codes, and coupons for everything. It has so many forums that you could surf for hours. Secondly, I shop off season. I wait to buy things until it is clearanced. I love doing this at Kohl's, Old Navy , Gap, and Target. I always look at clearance racks first, and I usually have a coupon wit...

I am excited to have my blogging sisters guest blog this week. Today we have my SIL, Laura, guest blogging five great ways to affirm you spouse. Tomorrow, Tuesday will be my SIL, Julie and Wed. will be my sister, Michelle. How I connect with my Husband (while working PT out of the house and FT mother) Using the 5 Love Languages 1.) QUALITY TIME: For my hubby and me, our ideas of quality time are totally different from one another. Sometimes, I feel that just me being in the same room is enough for him. LOL I have found out, though, after 7 years of marriage that the best quality time that the two of us, alone, have is when we sit and talk with each other. This can be about our kids, our days, or even almost a bible study of sorts. Just as long as there are no other distractions, like the television or the kids, to interrupt that bonding time. I also find that, more often that not, our time as our whole family together is the best quality time spent! 2.) WORDS OF AFFIRMATION: This is my...

When I first started blogging years ago, I don't remember what I read. I do know the last couple years I read a lot of blogs about parents with sick children and mommy blogs. Lately I have read a lot of DIY blogs. I suppose I'm kinda a mommy and DIY blog. I don't really have any defining blog theme like some seem too. I'm not a person with a theme in general anyway. Once I try to nail my blog down to something, I rebel against it. Weird . I thought about being super cheery, all DIY , all mommy, all Christian studies. I guess since I'm part all of that, I'll just let my blog be that too. One thing I will add today is the not cheery side. I'm just going to let this post go where it wants too. I am stressed out ya'll ! A couple things I have had to deal with since my early teens is both migraines and intense hormonally driven mood swings. Picture yesterday; morning started with such an intense high you would have thought I had a caffeine IV ...

I did not think through planning blog posts on certain days when I had a Beach Trip planned. Shortly before we arrived at our rented beach house for the Labor Day Weekend, the owners cut off the Internet service. Bummer. Yes, I could have gone to the Dunkin' Doughnuts and gotten free Wi - Fi but that would have meant being pulled away from this cutie. Miss Wiggles does not like the bright sun (she is a fair skinned red head so I suppose its only natural) so she loved loved loved her sunglasses. Never once did she try to pull them off or attempted to touch them. I think 'cause she sees me where mine, she just knew. In the DIY blogging world, there have been so many neat table arrangements, and arranging every where else from bed sides, dressers , mantles, windows, etc. that I felt I should try my novice hand at artfully arranging my side table to the cozy leather chair in my library (aka, home office). So hear it is. I had this silver platter fit for a Thanksgiving Tur...

Here is a wonderful guest blog entry from my pastor and good friend, Brother Todd Estes. I hope you enjoy his perspective and wisdom as much as I have over these last two years. A Little Labor Day Poking Labor Day – a day that started as a protest to working conditions has turned into a national holiday to celebrate our work and relax with a day off. Or even more accurate, it has turned into a day for stores to run sales before the early Christmas sales begin. Oh, you have to love our system. Recently I have been returning to a certain text of Scripture – Hebrews 10:24 ((And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works- NKJV)). Three big thought keep popping into this little brain of mine. 1 – Consider. Not just briefly thinking about, but give thought to, ponder over, really looking into something. And in this case – consider one another. Take a minute to go through your contact list, peruse your address book, skim through your year book, and take a walk ...

Dan called this morning and asked me to get his shirt he wore yesterday. He didn't even need to tell me I emmediately knew from the tone in his voice what was wrong. I picked the shirt out of the hamper, looked in the breast pocket. Yup, there it was his ID to get on base and his only way to gain access to computers to work once he got there. We live an hour and a half from his work. Yes, we are trying to sell our house but that is a story for another time. This was a large straw on the back of his camel. I felt his frustration as I too have been dealing with circumstances outside of my control. On the phone this morning with a heavy sigh, he said he just decided to turn over a new leaf at work, try a different way of dealing with things and then stuff like that has been happening all week. It hits me, Dan and I both have decided to turn over a new leaf, just not the leaf God is turning over in us. I love the song Alone by Barlow Girls. It talks about not feeling God...

My DIY is actually my SIL's Julie's creation. Julie makes burp cloths out of terry cloth towels and flannel fabrick. Here is a picture of Sarah modeling one for us. She is lookin' cute under that purple terry cloth and butterfly flannel burp cloth. That was back when she was small enough to use it as a blanket. Seems like forever ago even though it was mere months. Heavy sigh. I have quite a few of these and each of them has embroidered words on them like "Daddy's Angel", "Mommy's Miricle", "Cuddle" and of course Sarah's name. I can't tell you how awesome these burp bloths have been. They are great for bath time, spit up, spills and what not. I have a particularely spitty baby and the terri cloth has been a life saver for soaking up the mess. They have also been a great pillow when I have to change Sarah in a public place. Julie and I would like to offer as a giveway this beautiful set of three burp cloths shown belo...

I've never done this, but I want you to tell me what Leo the cat is thinking (I took this picture with my phone so forgive the quality). I was about to post the pic of my furry first born but couldn't come up with a catchy sentence or what not. I so need a vacation. Nags Head here I come! Sorry, no prize. Well, I mean, knowing your the winner is a good prize. King (or Queen) of the Hill as the old kids game goes. Come back on Thursday for a giveway then. Please tell me what my fur baby is thinking!