Late Thursday Thirteen

My family and I went to a 50th wedding anniversary party not to long ago and it was great I often think about what it will be like to be married 50 years and what it takes to make it that long. So in honor of my friends who have been married for 50 years Thursday Thirteen will be "Reasons I Love My Husband and will for 50+ years"
1. I'm in love even on the days I briefly have to remind myself about how much.
2. My spouse knows me inside and out. Good, bad,and the ugly.
3. He finally understand what I mean when I say "Nothing"
4. He is so neat about his dirty cloth and he doesn't nag me about my piles on the bathroom floor.
5. I love him because he cries first at all the sappy movies, and he's o.K. with that.
6. I love that he enjoys helping me, (he carries all my scrap booking stuff to the car for me when I go to crops)
7. I love to see his biceps when he carries it for me.
8. I love that he took care of me when I needed him most during my postpartum depression, he didn't dump me when the going got rough.
9. I love the look in his eyes when he looks at me (the one that makes me smile)
10. I love that he goes to work every day to make me proud and comes home every night to make me happy. \
11. I love that I have to remind him to wear black socks with his black shoes.
12. I love that he calls me from work everyday at least once usually more.
13. Most of all I love him because he makes me feel safe, loved, and wanted, who wouldn't want that for 50+ years.
I challenge everyone who reads this to think of there own 13 reason why they love there spouse and if you leave me a comment With a blog address I will read them. If you don't blog still leave a message.

P.S. Dear Hubby Happy Anniversary On Wednesday.

Ramblings

Hello, everyone who may read this. I hope that my blog hasn't been to boring I have to admit that I'm having a hard time getting to the casual writing thing. I had hoped when I started this blog it would be a way for me to express the many thoughts that run through my head each and every day, but I haven't been able to really write a whole lot, not to mention my brain is dusty to but it simple. I sometimes tell my friends you know if I'm talking to you and it doesn't sound really clear give me a few minute to transition to adult language from toddler language. There are several words that we as mothers of Toddlers use regularly and forget that when the children grow up and are 7 they don't want us to say "do you need to use the potty?" (close you eyes if you must) Sometimes I have to tell my son to not touch his wewe, Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about if you have sons I know I can't be the only mother who son still does that once in a while and if I am someone tell me how to get him to stop. Anyway back to my point and one day when I said that he ask me "why do you say wewe," I had to explain that if his younger sister hears me say the P word (penis) I was afraid she would repeat it in public and that would be and uncomfortable situation. I would feel the need to explain and apologize and I just didn't want to do that. I Hope that over the next couple of month I will be able to transition my rambling into more structures writings suitable for adults to read and understand. please let me know by commenting at the end of my blog if you could understand my rambling. Another reason I started my blog is to be able to keep in touch with my family and friend. We have a pretty average life so there isn't milestones that I write about every day but once in a while I will write about some great things that are happening with us so the family and friends we don't get to see often will be able to have an idea of what we are doing and that we care about them. I want to thank everyone who has read my blog and commented on it. Thank you for you support and encouragement, and if you haven't commented what are you waiting for:) :)(smiles).
Me

Scrape Happy

I made these for myself and a copy for my sister. It was of her oldest daughter and a trip we all took to Machinaw City in Michigan. I've not keep up with the weekly scraping blog but I'm going to try to from now on. I used eyelets and shaving cream paper. I put Shaving cream on a cookie sheet and then pick out colors from my ink refills and swirl it up lay my paper on top and press it down to make sure you press the whole sheet into the shaving cream. pull it out and take a rubber spatula and remove the extra cream then wipe it clean with paper towel. Repeat until colors have faded to much or the shaving cream looses its fluff. Let dry then you can use it for anything from scrapebooking to cards what ever you want.

what a gift of friendship

I'm so lucky to have such great friends. I'm reminded of a speaker I heard when I was at a Hearts at Home Conferece several years ago. She spoke about the Five friends and compared them to flowers in her garden. I'm not sure I can remember what they all were, but I do remember her talking about the friend who will do something outlandish in your honor even when your sure you didn't want to be the focus of anyones attention. ( but you love it that they cared and remebered). The friend you can go see at anytime and make yourself to home. We have friends who will go to great lengths to be where we are just because they know we will need to see a familar face, like at a funeral or something like that. There was a couple more, but they have escaped my mind for the moment. I do remember the speaker saying that we may not have all these types of friends in our lifetime, and if we were so lucky to have each one of these types of friends, it will probably not be all at the same time. I've been lucky in my adult life to have at least one of each of these friends, and to lose them as well mostly from relocation of one kind or another. You never fully lose them but it's not the same. I visited with one of my good friends resently and we haven't seen each other in a long time we don't talk on the phone or computer much at all, but we were able to pick up where we left off. It was great. If your lucky like I am I would say charish that and help it to grow because it will be one of the best investments you'll ever make. If you don't have those kinds of friends I would say find them work, work, work, to find one you'll be blessed by God.

How to get to God!!!

Last night I was enlightened by my 4 year old. We were driving home from a great birthday party and she was in the back seat talking. It's kinda hard sometime to tell if my children are talking to me or themselves. They play pretend or make believe, sometimes I will answer them and they will say I'm not talking to you or I'm pretending, and other times they were actually talking to me. Well on our way home I was listening to my daughter trying to decide if I should respond or not when she caught me off guard with how do we get to God through the water. I was a little taken aback and concerned what she meant. She went on to say there is a little grass on one side and there is a little grass on the other side how do we get across, so I said over a bridge. She very energetically said yes a bridge and the bridge is the cross. The fog was cleared away my wonderful daughter was trying to lead me to Christ right there on the way home from her friends birthday party. So to put it all together, if your on one side of the grass and God is on the other side of the grass and there is a huge space or water in between the only way to get to God is the bridge which doubles as the Cross. From the mouth of babes. One thing she didn't tell me that I'm going to share with you just because the only way to build that bridge is to ask Jesus into your heart. He gave his life on the cross so that we could have a more spiritually abundant life with God in heaven someday. If you don't build the relationship by asking Jesus into your heart you will never be able to meet God on the other side. Maybe my wonderful daughter will teach me that next time we are in the car or the next time I spend a little more time listening.

I've missed the Thursday thirteen thing due to a computer virus. So this week it will be Saturday Thirteen.
I'm going to stretch my mind a bit and Write Thirteen reasons becoming a recluse or hermit is a good thing.
1. You have only yourself to cook for.
2. Making yourself happy is the only thing that matters.
3. You get to run your own show, (life)
4. Others will be thrilled when you come around just because you did
5. Others will be understanding when you don't come around (that is just how you are)
6. You don't have to call or talk to anyone.
7. Gods creation is you refuge
8. You don't have to keep up with the Jones because there are no Jones.
9. Money is no object because you have no objects.
10. You don't have to be uptight about gas prices.
11. You don't have to remember phone numbers or addresses
12. No one expects Birthday Present or cards they are just excited if they get them.
13. You always look great because your the only one looking at you.

Isn't life funny in a way, I was thinking about how we come up with our expectations of people and why we don't just have the same expectations when it comes to everyone.
I've learned the hard way that it's hard to balance out our expectations of others. Sometimes we expect to little and that leave no place to go. Sometimes we expect to much which leaves no place but Failure for the person. I use to live my life thinking I don't expect anything from anyone simply because I didn't want to be disappointed if it didn't turn out the way I had hoped, and then I would be pleasantly surprised when it did. Accountability is a key component to life. For so many who are trying to eat healthy and lose weight, budget better to accommodate the gas prices, visit family equally, keep a tidy home, get chores accomplished, the list goes on and on, right down to praying everyday and teaching your children to love and honor God. Sometimes motivation is hard to find day in and day out. People ask me what I did today or this week. Most of the time I say " same old thing just a different day." How easy it is to lose momentum when your out look on life doesn't change from day to day. I guess what I'm saying is we need people to have loving expectations for us, who are willing to love and respect us when we fail as well as when we succeed. We need people in our live who we know will be there unconditionally and love us no matter what. I have one person I know 100% will not leave me or forsake me even when I make poor choice, and that is GOD. I have a few Close Friends who I'm 90% sure will stand with me no matter what. In 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 Tells us what Love really looks like, Love is Patient and Kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. verse 13 says Their are three things that will endure-faith, hope, and love - and the greatest of these is love. When I look at these I see a few that I personally need to work "Love is not irritable, I tend to get irritable easily, that just gained a spot on my to do list. How about yours. Having people in your life that love, and respect you is so important. Accountability is key, and we can only have true accountability with others if we have GOD's Love. Accountability is about telling People GOD's Truth which can be hard sometimes. Don't go out and start telling everyone you meet all kinds of truths that you observe about them or there lives. Accountability is reserved for close relationships and those who ask you to help them with something. I like to remind myself once in while that we as Christians need to tell the truth in love not love to tell the truth. There is a big difference, pray for Gods wisdom to know the difference.

New Scrapbooking Room Mascott

Hello, Everyone
I WON!!!!
I WON!!!!
I WON!!!!
I WON!!!!
I WON!!!!
I WON!!!!
I WON!!!!
I WON!!!!

Meet Loopa, the newest addition to the Scrap booking Room. I won her if you hadn't figured it out yet, with her pouch full of products my favorite being the new Merry glow round Light Box and Exacto knife, and empressor. How exciting for someone who doesn't usually win anything. What a gift to me from God. Don't think I'm crazy, but have you ever felt or heard that still small voice that tells you to do something or be somewhere? Sometimes we listen to it sometimes we don't. Some of us call this voice or feeling Women's intuition and some of us believe it is God speaking to us, or even just everyday feelings. I would have to say I felt that way Saturday I told my mom while we were celebrating at our local scrap booking stores anniversary that I thought they would do the drawing for loopa at 4:00. I wasn't sure because they wouldn't tell us and you had to be present to win. I had not planned to go back but God was nudging at my soul and saying go, go, go, so I left my house at around 3:15 and got there at about 3:40 and at 4:00 they drew for Loopa. Imagine my surprise when they called my name. Amazing I was shocked and I was happy. Loopa will have a happy and fulfilled home here at our home in my scrap booking room. It is hard to sometimes recognize God's voice and then obey it. I'm ashamed to say there has been may a times in my life that God has spoke to me in that voice and I didn't recognize it as God leading me and directing me. How great that I obied this time, it really was physically beneficial for me. but all those opportunities that I've not obied, because I didn't recognize it or even because I didn't choose to listen. How many spiritual Gifts have I missed out on because of my disobedience. I challenge everyone to listen hard and wait for that voice and obey it!!!! You will be so glad that you did.
Good Night.

Travel Post

Good Morning it is Thursday and I've not blogged for a week. There hasn't been much going on here. Schools coming to an end, which in it own right seems to be a little stressful. Memorial Day weekend is coming up this next weekend. We are planning on going to the Drive Inn. My son had one request when the new Spider man 3 movie came out, it was to go and see it at the Drive Inn, when it got to the Drive Inn so that is what we are going to do Sunday night since Mark doesn't have to work Monday. We have told everyone we know that is what we are doing, So please join us if you want. Jacob's favorite thing to do is the Drive in we have been there twice already this season and this will be the third time. I'm not sure how many Drive Inn's are out there still, I know there isn't as many as there use to be. I love the Drive Inn, I remember going to the Drive Inn when I was a child with my parents and it just heart warming to be able to share a fun piece of my childhood with my own children, and maybe someday they will be able to share that with there own children. We have been making plans for the summer mostly plans to stay close to home minus a reunion or two. I've been wanting to do the Thursday Thirteen thing but I haven't been able to get the little graphic to work so well just skip the graphic.



1. Gas prices are outrageous
2. Your in need of a vacation from your vacation
3. Traffic is crazy, to many motorist on the rode
4. Construction is in full force in the summer
5. no leg cramps or sleeping checks
6. At home you can take as many bathroom brakes as you need
7. Less packing need the less you travel
8. less house sitters or pet sitters needed
9. You spend less time deciding where your going to stay
10. Meal planning is much easier when your not on the road
11. Less fighting in a confined space
12. Less traveling allows us to take advantage of local events
13. Allows us to spend more time with friends, and having people over
Can you think of Thirteen reasons to travel less this summer or more if you don't travel at all.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


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Thursday Thirteen!!
Thirteen reasons to travel less.

Gift of Friendship

I was given a gift Yesterday. A gift of continuing friendship, there is a group of us who get together and crochet, yesterday the group had some signals crossed, most thought it was canceled and the rest thought it was moved to my house. I was one who thought it was moved to my house thankfully and then there was the wonderful friend of mine that is seasoned with wisdom and love who also showed up. I know that sometimes in life we are set apart to have a Divine appointment with someone that only God knows about and I think that yesterday was one of those days. My friend and I were set on a collision course for a Divine appointment set up by GOD. We spent several hours talking and getting to know each other better. She helped to set me back on a course I hadn't been diligent with. I believe that the one thing that God desires more then anything is a little of our time each day to get to know us better or should I say for us to get to know him better. God created man in order to have a relationship with him someone to shoot the breeze with, if you will. I had committed a little over a year ago to get up at 5:30a.m. and have that relationship with God. Not that I don't pray and have some time with him through out my day, but I decided that God didn't want my left overs and I was going to put him first. So what I did was made an appointment with God to meet him every morning at 5:30 to have a one on one meeting with him first thing in the day, my first fruits. It was great it was like I could feel God sitting there listening to me almost to a point where you could reach out and touch him. When you make an appointment he is there, he never cancels on us like we do him. I found myself after a period of time wanting to sleep in a little longer but he was still there. I could feel that still small voice or presence saying I'm here I'm waiting for you. I began not getting up and justifying in my heart and mind that I pray during the day it really doesn't matter that its not first thing in the morning, but it did matter for several reasons one I need to be a women of my word, even when God is the only one who truly knows if I'm keeping my word or not. Secondly and most importantly I desire to know Jesus. He has a Peace that passes all understanding and I need that Peace.

Happy Belated Mothers Day

I wanted to start out by saying Happy Mothers Day to all who it applies in a traditional sense or nontraditional sense. What a crazy week it was last week. I had two different mothers day tea one with each of the children and there school, plus I taught Art Outreach twice last week at the Elementary school, attended a women conference on Saturday featuring Kathy Troccoili, and her friend Elli. What a weekend and Sunday I worked at the visitor sign in booth at church it's to register the children who are visiting so they can attend Sunday school. What a weekend, sometimes I wonder how relaxing is Mothers Day for most MOMS. I guess the older the children the more relaxing it is. I don't know about other children but mine love mothers day, they love to make me cards and pictures, with my youngest everything she picks up and gives me is a mothers day present. A dirty sock picked up off the floor and handed to me is a mothers day present. How funny!!!!!!! It also is extended over several days not just on Sunday it starts Thursday and goes until around Tuesday. I'm not sure how much I will be able to write over the next couple of month it seem that June will be very busy for us but I will try to write at least once a week. Well I hope that everyone's days or weeks were fulfilling and happy.

My Thursday Thirteen is going to be thirteen things to do with my children over the summer!!!
1. Plan one Drive-Inn trip a month
2. Go to knights action park once at least this summer
3. Spend a couple hours once a week at the park with friends
4. Go to Michigan on Vacation once this summer.
5. Watch as many firework displays as we can find (the children love fireworks)
6. Take the family to see Spiderman 3 hopefully one of the drive-Inn trips
7. Read 4-5 books me, 100 books each of the kid age appropriate of course.
8. Work on scrapebooking with them at least once a week in there 9" books
9. Visit with the Cousins and Grandparents at least once this summer
10. Pick out some artsy crafts to do
11. Go to New Salem and have a picnic
12. Take advantage of some of the site seeing in springfield
13. Teach Jacob to ride his two wheeler bike

A Little of This and A Little of That, Summer Fun

I'm so excited my friend who also has a blog just posted that her husband has finished putting the children's new swing set together. What a great gift to there own children but to several others that spend time at there home. Mine are included in that I'm sure all the children will have hours of fun on that new swing set. If anyone who reads this wants to see the swing set or read about the journey her husband had in putting it together toknowhimjesus.blogspot.com is her blog what a great story.
On a new note just purely information my daughter has 3 more days of preschool and my son has about 3 more weeks. I usually feel a little overwhelmed at first thinking what am I going to do with them all summer put usually I get to the point where I can't believe the summer is over and I didn't even get to do half of the stuff I wanted to do. We will have to keep our travels to a minimum this summer due to skyrocketing gas prices but I'm sure the kids with be glad of that, they are getting to the age where they fight in the car and just can't seem to keep there hands to themselves. This last December we went to visit my family in Michigan for Christmas and it's quit a long drive for one day but not enough to stay the night somewhere, we decided to purchase one of those traveling DVD systems for the kid to help keep them form fighting so much. I very shortly began to wonder if that had been one of our brighter ideas or maybe one of our naivete's? About an hour and a half into the trip (or was it a minute and a half I'm not sure can't really remember) we began the threats "you need to turn that volume down or we are going to turn it off, stop fighting over which movie your watching , who cares which persons screen gets the DVD, you have to watch the whole movie before putting a new one in" and so it went on and on and on. Can anyone relate, it's like Calgon take me away:) Movie systems in the Car a life saver not so much for us at this stage in life maybe someday not today. Anyway that was a little tangent. We have a couple of family reunions to attend and a few trips to the Drive Inn to plan, it should be a full summer.

I just want to be myself today

Today as my son was getting ready for school he decided "I just want to be myself today" which meant please don't Mohawk my hair I'm going to leave it down. I just want to be myself today, I didn't realize he was being someone else. Are there days when we all feel like saying to the world I just want to be myself today? For me that would be staying home with my Pajamas on until Noon or so and then changing into my most comfortable cloths which sometimes consist of an upgrade to jogging pants ( which I never go out in public in). Mondays are usually my "I just want to be myself today" day so if you want to visit you could be in for a surprise. What day is your "I just want to be myself today" if you have one and why?

The Journey

When I think of a Journey there is so many ways to use that expression, right now as the school year comes to an end in millions of Schools around the country we will use that phrase as we talk with the seniors, we talk about the Journey as we talk about our parents, our children, and our selves.We have a small group in our home once a week. For those of you who know us this isn't entirely new information. We have been blessed with a melting pot of Christian men and women, a variety of ages, and stages of life. I want to mention one couple in particular that God has just brought to my mind. I will refer to them as The Runner and his Wife. The Runner in our group has a goal to run a Marathon in every state, and he is just a few Marathons away until he reaches his goal. At the moment he has taken a brake from the Marathons to hike The Appalachian Trail. If you embark on this particular Journey you start in Georgia and continue on until you get into Maine. He has to be very careful, he has to watch every step, every move he makes has to be very intentional in several area. He has to pack very light, he will be walking for five months and that's a long and heavy journey if you pack to much. Sometimes I think our journey with Christ is the same way. As Christians we have to watch what we say and do so we can always please God. We have to be very intentional in areas such as honesty and humility, we want others to see us as real people with real problems and a real GOD to help us. Shortly after our friend started his journey he had to send about five pounds of stuff to his daughter who lives in Tennessee because his load was to heavy. Isn't that true of us as Christians as well, we drudge along day in and day out with our packs to heavy not with cloth, or toothbrush and paste, but with worry, anxiety, guilt, shame, the list can go on and on. You don't have to go The Journey alone, there is someone who wants us to ask for his help and will give it with no strings attached, but the bigger question is will you let go, and let Jesus Christ Guide you and lead you through your JOURNEY. We ask him to take control of our live so he can guide us and lead us to do what he knows is best and wants for our lives yet we hold tight on to the steering wheel from the passengers seat, some of us are holding on from the back seat. I know that there are journeys in my own life that God has planned for me to go on if I will just let go of the steering wheel. Commit yourselves today to be open enough to take that Journey that you know GOD is telling you to take, respond to the nudge.

The Mohawk

This is the best picture I have of Jacob's new Mohawk. It was taken after a long day of school so it's a little worn but it still is standing. Jacob has wanted a Mohawk all winter. I managed to convince him to wait until the weather warmed up because his head would be cold and he didn't want to have to mess it up with a hat. Mark was such a trooper he was a reluctant at first, but finally came around and said it was just hair and would grow back not to mention he's young there are worst things in life then a few hairs sticking up. To be honest on a lot of days it's easier to get his hair to stand up then it is to lay down. He has course hair with several cowlicks so it naturally wants to stand up. The Mohawk makes fixing his hair much easier on a daily passes. Sometimes as parents it is so hard to remind ourselves that our children are not adults and one of our goals in life is to allow them to live a happy fulfilled childhood, among other things. To
be honest we have a couple varieties of Mohawks
the pointed and the messy Mohawk. Jacob likes
the pointed one and I like the messy. I'm just waiting for him to ask for us to bleach it or get those colored hair sprays to color it, and if he does we will. He's young and it doesn't really matter yet. The only people he is trying to impress is his friends especially the girls and they all think his hair is really cool. Jacob told us last night that they were counting down to the end of school and there is only 5 week WOW!! First grade has just flown by. I can't hardly believe it, people told me over and over again to enjoy the children when they were little because it goes so fast, and I thought " I can't imagine it going fast", you know the crying, whining, first walking and crawling, not to mention the infamous loosing of the teeth there were days when I couldn't wait for it to end. But as Jacob gets bigger and bigger I can't believe those days are gone. That is when I have to thank God for the wonderful gift of Photography and Scrap booking. I know for those of you who know me I have to bring everything back the scrape booking. Sorry!!!!!! I could go on and on but I wont. Have a wonderful day and remember some battles aren't worth fighting, let them be kids.