Wings As Eagles

What is He Trying to Tell Us?

2011-10-12T16:09:00.000-04:00

¹¹ I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³ I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Phillipians 4:11-13

Verse 13 is a very common verse to read, hear, and see in Christian circles. But the verses preceding 11 are often left off. The Lord has shown Pete and each these verses 3 times in the past 3 days! We don't know why but we are holding very tight to them.

Evan Ernst

2011-06-15T09:16:00.002-04:00

Welcome to the world! Evan Ernst is my newest nephew. Such a BIG and handsome little guy!

Happy SIXTH Bithday to my baby girl Kenadie!

2010-07-08T11:11:00.004-04:00

It's hard to believe that it was six years ago already that we welcomed you into our family. You've been making me pay for that planned early c-section every day since but I wouldn't change it for anything! I love you more and more each day baby girl. Mommy and Daddy have been so blessed you watch you grow. I look forward to each new day with you, watching you blossom into the lovely girl that God has made you to be.

Too Funny Not To Share

2010-05-07T15:04:00.001-04:00

"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

Book Club

2010-01-18T19:54:00.002-05:00

One of my goals for this year is to read at least one book per week, ideally 2. I figure if I can stop reading so many blogs/emails and dedicate that time to my long list of books, then this is an easily accomplished goal for the year. I do need some accountability so I'm going to join two on-line book clubs. I choose these two simply because they are hosted by bloggers that I read frequently AND they are reading books that are on my list.

Kierstyn's Endoscopy

2009-09-30T16:33:00.002-04:00

Kierstyn had her endoscopy today at St. John Hospital & Medical Center with Dr. Lyons in Detroit. She was originally scheduled for 10:45 am. but the nurse called yesterday afternoon to change her to 9:00 am. I was happier with that. She had to fast after midnight so the less time she had to go without eating, the better.

She was such a trooper! She is a strong little girl. She was not anxious at all. Since Kaeterina had this procedure done in March of this year, I already knew what to expect and so could explain it all to her ahead of time.

The procedure took less than 30 minutes. When Dr. Lyons was done, he came out to find me in the waiting room to let me know immediately that it all went well and he didn't find anything to be concerned about. That is wonderful news. Except that we are still left with uncontrolled reflux with accompanying headaches. She is to come back in next week to see him for a follow-up and stay on the Nexium in the meantime to see if it decides to work. She can only take it for 8 weeks and we are starting week 3 already with zero changes.

Tomorrow we see the neurosurgeon for the headaches and dizziness.

Week-end To Remember Drop-Outs

2009-09-28T16:48:00.001-04:00

Well, Pete and I are now Week-end to Remember drop-outs although it still was a memorable week-end for us. After the first 2 sessions on Saturday morning, we had a 50 minute break so we decided to go find something to eat since neither of us had eaten breakfast before the start of the conference. We had to be up at 6 am (after not going to bed until 1 am)in order to drop the kids off are two different sets of parents houses and get to Dearborn from Troy in time for the 8:30 am start time.

After that break, we were supposed to go back for another 50 minute session, then one and half hours for lunch, and then back again for 2 more sessions. It was a well planned out week-end with excellent speakers. However, neither one of us was really into it. I don't know how to explain it. It wasn't a bad conference just not a conference for us. So while we were enjoying our mid-morning snack, Pete said, "Let's just not go back." I had already been thinking that so I was THRILLED that he felt the same way. We left immediately.

We spent the rest of Saturday enjoying an early dinner at one of my favorite gluten free friendly restaurants, PFChangs, running errands, and then picking up the girls. My niece was having an ice skating birthday party at the Troy Sports Arena near our house that night as well. We put the girls to bed and watched a movie. Nothing exciting but we had a wonderful afternoon just being together.

We were both happy to not have to get up quite so early on Sunday to drive to Dearborn again. And especially because my Man and my Dad ended up having to drive to Ann Arbor to help Briggys with his new to him broken down car.

New Wedding Band

2009-09-26T17:02:00.005-04:00

Tonight my man gave me a new wedding band to match his. Almost 2 years ago I donated my wedding band and engagement ring to City Mission to auction to raise funds for their programs. This was just before our 10 year wedding anniversary. Pete had said for a few years that he would buy me an additional band for my ring for our 10 year anniversary. I decided for many reasons that I actually wanted a completely new ring. It has taken 2 years from that point for us to be ready to buy a new one. This one is much plainer and simpler than my first one. I think it is more 'me' than my old one. Pete also had it engraved to match his too with "Just Like Heaven 10/18/97". I can't believe we have been married for almost 12 years already!

More of Kierstyn

2009-09-14T13:40:00.003-04:00

K2 had her long awaited appointment today with Dr. Lyons, our pediatric gastroenterologist. Yes, I did say our. K1 saw him February/March when she was having all of her GI issues that still remain undiagnosed but she's on the better side of things now. Dr. Lyons remembered us from 6 months ago. I don't consider that a good thing. He thinks she has reflux just as her pediatrician did. He changed her medication (this is the third one that we are trying). If it works, then we will go back in 6 weeks for a follow-up. If it hasn't worked within 2 weeks, then we are to call him to discuss our next step. He is not going to do any invasive testing at this time because her symptoms seem cut and dry. I'm going to continue to have her eat gluten just in case until the 2 weeks is up so if he does decide to do more testing, then she's been eating the gluten already.

We also need to pay closer attention to her headaches to see if she complains about them at the same time as the stomach/throat complaints because she could be getting digestive migraines. Great. We see our pediatric neurologist in 3 weeks to discuss her headaches that she has had since July as well.

Dr. Nadarajah (her regular pediatrician) wants me to call her back in 2 weeks as well. If she isn't improving, then she'll re-run her blood tests. She still thinks her levels were high due to the pneumonia but since she's still pale and not herself yet, we'll follow up with that.

Just as we get a 'clean bill of health' so to speak for K4, K2 starts not being so well. To say the least, we are all getting flu shots this year! If the kids can get this sick in the summertime, who knows how they'll be come the wintertime. Maybe we'll just hibernate this winter : )

Happy 9th Birthday Big Girl!

2009-09-08T07:48:00.001-04:00

My oldest child, oldest daughter, turns 9 years old today. Where has the time gone!?! I know all too well that saying "They don't stay small for long." I can't believe she is half-way to 18 already. And today she told me that she only has 9 more years to go until she can go sky-diving with her Daddy. Normally that would freak me out. But I know my Big Girl, she doesn't like heights, I'm not too worried about her actually jumping out of a perfectly safe airplane anytime too soon.

Kierstyn Update

2009-09-01T16:39:00.003-04:00

It feels like the only time I have anything to post anymore is an update on my latest sick child. I took Kierstyn back in to the pediatrician's office today because she woke me up yet again last night complaining of a pain on her lower left side. It's unlike her to wake up for anything. She is, after all, a Pfeiffer. And the Pfeiffers love to sleep!

I found out at the ped's office that her pneumonia is in her lower left lung. Well now that makes sense! The pediatrician suspected fluid build up in her lung. She said she always to try to narrow symptoms down to just one diagnosis but with all that Kierstyn is complaining about, it's hard to pull one thing out without considering the other. She also said she hopes we are just having a bad month and everyone is well by September! So do I! We've been in that office more this past month that in any entire year that I can remember. We'll definitely be getting flu shots this year!

Her blood work-up from Saturday was all normal except that her white blood count was up which makes sense with have pneumonia. Oh, and she's had mono at some point. Nice. Doc said we probably thought she just had a cold and was feeling under the weather but it was mono. Nothing we could have done anyways with that diagnosis anyways.

Dr. Foster sent us back to main St. John's in Detroit for another chest x-ray because her lungs still sounded bad and she had labored breathing. She said if we didn't mind, to go there because they would get her the results in less than an hour so off we went. Oh, and to wait for the reading if we could because if she had fluid in her lungs like she suspected, Kierstyn would have to be admitted to have it drained. But, oh yeah, I have 3 other kids so go ahead and go home to prepare for what to do with them just in case and she'd call me within an hour of me leaving the hospital.

I love St. John's! We were in and out of there in about 15 minutes total. No waiting to register. No waiting for the tech to come out and get her. And my Mom parked the car so no waiting for valet to bring me my car.

Dr. Foster's office nurse just called to tell me that, yes Kierstyn does have fluid in her left lung but it is a small amount. We need to have her rest and drink plenty of fluids. To call if any of her symptoms get worse, otherwise, to bring her back in on Friday for a re-check. Praise the Lord for that news!

K1 & K2 are supposed to leave at 2 pm on Friday for a week-end in NYC with Daddy and the Kelly crew. Her well check-up appoint is scheduled for 11 am. I sure hope she is healed by then so she can go on this trip. She'll be so disappointed if she can't go. She's been talking about it daily since we told her they were going.

GFCF Diet

2009-08-30T16:57:00.002-04:00

Kierstyn has an appointment in two weeks to see the pediatric gastroenterologist, Dr. Lyons for her reflux. She is on her second medicine, Prilosec, trying to control it. It seemed to work for one week but now it's not. We are in our 4th week of trying it. I have a feeling that he will do an endoscope like he did on Kaeterina earlier this year. I've had the whole family on a gluten free diet for most of the summer now. This means Kierstyn has to eat gluten again before the test if I want him to look for celiac disease, which of course I do since he'll be down that way anyways.

I've also been weaning them off of dairy and eggs. That has been much harder. Honestly, it's been much harder because I don't want to give those up either. I know I'm addicted to gluten. Life without bagels just doesn't seem worth living : ) Pete would only agree to the new diet for whole family if I agreed to do it for myself as well. Being that I'm such a ridiculously picky eater, giving up anything of the limited things that I do eat, is difficult. It has helped my weight loss goal though : ) We are trying to be fair to everyone in the house and if one person can't have something then neither can anyone else. Between Pete's celiac and food allergies and Kierstyn's GERD diet (nothing spicy nor greasy, no chocolate, tomatoes, onions, garlic, citrus, no just name a few) and her ADHD diet, we don't have a lot of options.

My cooking skills are being tested tremendously! I've been checking out new blogs and cookbooks from the library like crazy. But I do have to say that I am enjoying the experimenting in the kitchen again. It is really all in all an healthier way to eat in the long run. It does mean the house isn't quite as clean as it should be. Why mop if I'm just going to get it dirty immediately following : ) It's all a trade-off!

Sick Kiddos

2009-08-28T17:16:00.001-04:00

It seems that between the 4 kids, I've been to more doctors, specialists, labs & hospitals this summer alone than in the past 8 years. Of course we've had the on-going issues trying to medically diagnose Kaiden's severe developmental delays.

Additionally, Kierstyn has had health concerns on-going since July. It started with a concussion when Kaeterina dropped her while trying to do a headstand in the front yard. Lots of headaches have followed. She did pass the pediatrician's neuro test twice on two different occasions. That was quickly followed by reflux. The first medicine didn't work so we are in our 4th week now of trying another that doesn't seem to be working either. On top of that, I think she has allergies, possibly asthma too. Those do all seem to run in our family. I took her in to see the pediatrician last week because the headaches weren't getting any better, neither was the reflux.

Now she's been running a fever all week and complaining of a stomach ache. The stomach ache is probably the reflux. The fever has me concerned. I think Pete will take her in to see the pediatrician again tomorrow because I'll be at the Beth Moore live event at KCC.

I Know

2009-08-24T17:05:00.002-04:00

I know. I'm WAY behind in posting updates. 4 months to be exact. It's been a crazy, busy, sickly summer. Busier than normal and I hope not the new normal for us : ) I was trying to at least keep Kaiden's blog up but I've failed at doing even that over the past 3 months. I wasn't sure if I would keep this blog going since we weren't moving to NYC right now. I think I will. More goes on in our lives than just Kaiden. Although sometimes I'm not sure of that either.

Everyone is sick here AGAIN today and although it is gorgeous outside (80 degrees and sunny!), we are going to have a jammie day which will allow me to do some catch up work on the laptop. The girls LOVE jammie days. We just lounge around the house in our jammies reading, snacking, and watching dvds at will. We are on season 8 already of Little House on the Prairie. KiKi is anxious to see Laura have her baby so we'll see if we can get that far today.

FREE KFC Chicken Meal

2009-05-05T15:51:00.001-04:00

Hurry and print your coupon here today!

The Oprah Winfrey Show/Kentucky Grilled Chicken Two-Piece Meal Coupon

Get two pieces of grilled chicken, two individual sides and a biscuit!

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Go to unthinkfc.com to download your coupon!

Due to heavy demand, you may experience some slowness navigating to the website. Please be patient and try again later.

Free Chicken

2009-04-27T11:55:00.004-04:00

KFC is giving away a free piece of their new grilled chicken today ONLY, April 27. You don't need a coupon either, just stop in. Go here for more details.

Kaeterina

2009-04-06T15:04:00.003-04:00

Kaeterina had her follow-up appointment with the gastroenterologist today. All of her test results came back negative. She hasn't gained nor lost any weight. This was a huge relief since she's not drinking as much Pediasure as they said she should but she's not eating as much either. But at least is eating more. He said we could try something for possible reflux but we already did that with her pediatrician and it didn't seem to make a difference. He said to let's just give it time and see if her appetite continues to improve. So that is what we are going to do. Just take a wait and see approach. For school, we also started a 5 A Day study and are tracking all of our fruit & vegetable consumption. She loves to get rewards so she's trying extra hard to get in her 5 a day so that she can get a certificate next week. This week we are concentrating on just getting them in. Next week we'll concentrate on portion size.

We're Moving

2009-03-30T05:44:00.001-04:00

When the adoption began to look like it was going to happen sooner rather than later, we realized that this was God's plan all along. We were not moving to Manhattan. As crazy as moving there with 3 girls seemed, it seemed even crazier to move there with a new special needs baby in tow. Here in Michigan, we have a support system. Close friends and family that are there when we need them. Sure, we would have Communitas in NYC, but that wouldn't be the same as the relationships that we have here in Michigan. It also meant that an 800 sq ft two bedroom apartment would not be as doable as we thought it would be. That on top of many other factors, we knew we weren't moving to Manhattan. I'll save all of that for another day.

But now that we weren't moving to NYC, where were we moving? Somewhere else? In Michigan? Troy? Detroit? An apartment? Our old house? Both Pete and I agreed that we wouldn't make a decision until we both felt the same way. This left us in limbo for quite a few months. The most logical thing for us to do was to move back into the old house. The lease on that was not up until March 31, 2009 so we knew we had a few months to try to figure things out and hear from God.

By January I was sure that we were moving back to Troy. I thought our old house. But just to be sure, I thought we should look at buying another house. Pete agreed so I started talking with a real estate agent in February and looking at foreclosures. This only felt right if it was happening so that we get a great deal. We could potentially find a bigger house with 4 bedrooms, in a better school district, for less money. Eventually we went through the offering and declining process on two different houses. Both in Troy, essentially the same houses, with one slightly larger. Our prayer was always that if this was not the plan, the He would close the door. And close the doors he did. When we lost the offer on the second house to a lower bid, it was obvious that this was not His plan for us. But now what? Pete still felt drawn to D. Some days I do too but I'm not ready for that yet. Not now.

We again agreed (for those that know us both well, you know that us agreeing on anything is a big step in of itself : ) that we'd wait until we returned from China to make a final decision. We had an agreement with our renters now that the lease was ending, that we'd both give each other as close to 60 days notice as possible. They were in their own limbo and weren't prepared to re-new the lease either.

After 1.5 weeks in China, I just knew that we were supposed to move back into the old house. As frustrating as that idea was (having sold 80% of our belongings, of which we now need to buy at least 40% back again) it felt like the right thing to do. I needed safety, simplicity, and security. I know Troy. I know that house. Since we had prepped that house to sell originally, I knew that it wouldn't need much work. Maybe some painting and cleaning, but nothing else. Now if only Pete would feel the same way.

Eventually Pete came to same the conclusion. We'd move back into the old house. But not our old lives. Things have to be different this time around. We've released our attachment to 'stuff' and vowed not to accumulate so much again. We also know our lives need to mean more than our usual surburbia living. We don't know exactly what that means yet, but have faith that God will show us, step by step. He has already started to reveal a little by our growing involvement in the Cass Corridor area of Detroit.

Pete contacted our renters and terminated our lease. Because we don't have an exact move out date, we told them that we can be a little flexible with the beginning of May. I'm hoping to back in and settled for Mother's Day. But I also know not to count on what I want either.

Adoption Blog

2009-03-13T00:56:00.000-04:00

We are preparing to leave for China so I'll only be updating Kaiden's blog while we are away. You can keep up with us over there:

God's Plan - Our Journey to China

Leaving on a Jet Plane

2009-03-12T23:57:00.000-04:00

14 hours until take off.....

Update on Kaeterina

2009-03-11T21:18:00.004-04:00

Kaeterina arrived at St. John's Hospital in Detroit at 10:30 am today to have her endoscope with biopsy done at 12 noon. She was anxious about having it done but the nurses were SUPER! They made the whole experience as good as it could possibly given the circumstances. They talked her through everything that they were going to do. Then they let her pick out a movie to watch on a personal DVD player. After awhile the doc came in and explained how they were going to put her to sleep. Then the nurse brought her a sedative that made her sleepy. She doesn't even remember watching the end of the movie. The procedure went very quickly. I don't think she was away from us for even a full hour. After she started to wake up the nurses brought her back from recovery so we could sit with her. She was allowed to have as many popsicles as she wanted but she just wanted half of one red one. Then as we were wheeling her out in her wheelchair ride, the nurse let her pick one Beanie Baby to take home. She was very excited about that.

The good news is that everything looked good. The bad news is that everything looked good. We still do not have a diagnosis. The gastroenterologist took a biopsy of the stomach to rule out Celiac disease for sure but we don't think she has that. She has lost 2 more pounds so she is up to a total weight loss of 8 pounds in just less than 4 weeks. The gastro doc suggested anxiety or depression. While that would make perfect sense with all that is going on, I would have thought it would have happened sooner. It just started after the vomiting 4 weeks ago. We'll get the biopsy results on Monday (when we'll already be in China). We have to keep her on Pediasure to help her gain weight back and at the very least, stop her from loosing any more weight. It's hard to get her to drink as much as she needs because she keeps telling us that she's not hungry.

By Big Girl

2009-03-11T00:00:00.003-04:00

Well my big girl, K1 has started her own blog. It'll be a good learning experience for her. She'll get to practice her typing and her language arts all at once. And, get this, the girl is more popular than her mother. Not that that's any surprise to me. Who'd read what I have to when they could read the true reflections of an 8 year old who has been jaded by the world around her yet. We started it so she could journal her journey to China in a fun way. Her friends E and M started blogging this past week as well. She's had a lot of fun reading their entries too. I hope she's able to keep it up better than her mother is.

By the way, she picked this picture out herself to put on her own blog. She is looking like quite the silly girl! She was trying to catch snowflakes in her mouth at the BBQ with the homeless in Detroit back in January. She had a ton of fun that month with all of her friends.

Challenges

2009-03-06T11:28:00.004-05:00

I know I haven't been posting here much these days. I'm trying to keep our adoption blog up as best as I can. There is a lot going on in our lives right now. Not that there isn't normally a lot going on in our lives, in most peoples lives. It seems like more than normal right now. I like to have multiple balls up in the air at a time on most days. But even this has been too much for me. I told a good friend yesterday that I feel like I'm on the verge of a break-down. I'm not really and I don't know what that would feel like but I feel like it's getting close. I know that God will only give me as much as I can handle and that He'll give me the strength to handle all that He gives me, but gosh, I'd like a break today. I've tried having this conversation with Pete a few times about how I'd like to just have a normal life. Just for a little bit. Then I see this video today. Whatever. I'd like to lay down on the balance beam today. If only for just today. But I know I can't. Too much to do before we leave for China. Which is exactly one week from today.

"I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Phil 4:13

BBQ with the Homeless

2009-02-21T20:36:00.003-05:00

Today was our monthly BBQ with the homeless at Second & Selden in Detroit. These outings have really begun to become a part of our life. I still have a hard time interacting with the people that live in that area, but little by little, I'm starting to have a place in my heart for them. Not so much so for the drunk lady that wanted to start a fight with everyone. I also look forward to seeing the people that come from the suburbs to help out, since for the most part, I only see them at the BBQs as well. Each month, more and more people are attending. It's nice to see so many others are gettin involved and see it growing. A few guys from Pete's men's group came today for the first time. I'm thankful that the Kellys went for the very first time last January 2008 and paved the way for us to start going as well. I started to call it 'ours' today. In the past, it's always been 'Mike's'. I am beginning to feel that this is the ministry that God has called us to be a part of. I'm grateful to be able to be apart of it while the Kellys are still here. Normally the girls come with us but the Kelly girls are in Florida and E was spending the day with his Dad so the Pfeiffers girls stayed with my parents. It started to snow hard when we first arrived but it tappered off by the end. Now that we've helped Mike gather supplies and set - up, I can see why it was taking him ALL DAY to do it. Starting in April, we will be going twice per month, the first and third Saturdays. I'm glad Mike's ordered our own grill so next time, that's one less trip we'll have to make to Rochester and back to borrow one. Little by little, God is revealing His plan for us. I sure wish we'd have looked for his guidance many years earlier but I'm also thankful for His patience with us. Now if only I could remember that with my own children.

Frugal Friday

2009-02-13T16:57:00.003-05:00

I just completed a quick survey, less than one page in length, in order to receive a free one year subscription to Martha Stewart Living magazine. I'm a sucker for magazines but I won't pay the money for them so this will be a nice little present to myself monthly. Go here for yours.

2009-02-12T18:35:00.002-05:00

Hubby forwarded this to me today. I have to say, I do agree 100% with the author. I'm not saying that we should over spend. I always believe in getting the best deal possible on any purchase. But I also don't buy crap that isn't going to last. I'm believe in frugality - not being a cheapskate.

I have a few real life examples too. Take my Mom's kitchenaid mixer. She used it for about 20 years and then gave it to me only because she wanted a new color. My parents queen size mattresses. They bought new only because my Mom wanted new. I used them in my spare bedroom for a few years and then when my sister in law moved out, I sent them with her to use in her spare bedroom. And they are still mighty fine mattresses, kicking around 20+ years later. My hubby only buys Doc Marten shoes for the most part. He has one pair of boots that he's had for 15 years now. Still kicking around. I bought a blow dryer about 14 years ago. 13 years ago I decided I just wanted a new color. My sister in law just recently had to throw it away because it finally died. If I had to figure out the cost of the items over the years that they were used, it'd come out to just pennies a day!

Why I Can't Afford Cheap | February 9, 2009

I remember reading a story once about an octogenarian discussing her most prized possessions with a researcher. She shows the researcher an iron that's been going for over 40 years and explains how she had to scrimp and save to buy the product and how it ended up out living even her husband. Quizzed on why she spent so much money on the iron she said "I'm too poor to buy cheap!"

Too poor to buy cheap. That simple phase really resonated with me and has stuck with me ever since.

Cheap is quick. Cheap is dirty. Cheap is disposable.

Cheap breaks.

Cheap costs money. It costs money to fix, it costs money to replace.

Cheap seems like a good idea at the time but cheap fails when you most need it.

Cheap is flimsy and unsatisfying.

Cheap is inefficient.

Cheap gets in your way.

Cheap costs you time and it costs you customers.

Cheap always cost you more in the end. That's why I can't afford to buy cheap. Can you?

Gung Hay Fat Choy

2009-01-26T09:21:00.001-05:00

Happy Chinese New Year (Spring Festival)!

More Garrett Michel Photos

2009-01-22T17:50:00.004-05:00

I was able to visit with Sue and baby Garrett today. He's such a little peanut! I just love him! Jeff has already decided that his hockey and football numbers will be 21. He was born on 1/21 at 2:21 pm and was 21" long. He does have the longest fingers and feet I've ever seen on a baby. Kierstyn's were pretty long too but I think he beat her out on that.

Garrett is a true blessing to the Villemure family. Both parents anticipated a long journey to parenthood and God surprised them and blessed them before their 1 year anniversary. On top of him being a healthy baby boy, he was born via c-section (non-emergent) and thankfully so. He had the cord wrapped around his neck and they didn't even know that. They only suspected something because his monitoring was off a bit.

I was only able to visit for 1.5 hours because it took a bit longer than I expected to get there due to construction on M-59 and the the girls still needed to get some school in today. I'll take more tomorrow when I have my good camera back. Pete took it today to have for his photography class tonight. Here are my favorite photos:

Auntie Again

2009-01-21T21:56:00.004-05:00

Garrett Michel
(look at those hands!)

My sister in law (although she is more like my sister than my Man's - I just love her death!) delivered a healthy baby boy this afternoon via c-section. Garrett is my first nephew on the Pfeiffer side of the family and second on my side. I rarely visit with my first nephew anymore. He lives over an hour away and is 14. His idea of a good time is not exactly hanging out with his little girl cousins and "Auntie". He was the first to call me that and I love that sound! It's the second sweetest sound behind "Mommy". This photo was taken with Jeff's camera phone because I wasn't able to visit him today. I'll wait until tomorrow when I have more time and won't be rushed to meet him and visit with the V side of the family. I'm just thrilled for Sue & Jeff that they have a healthy, heafty baby boy. Now we know at least Kaiden will have one boy in the family to play with.

Homeless Video

2009-01-21T17:25:00.003-05:00

A few months ago, a friend of ours, Prem, from Arising Images, emailed Pete and others telling them that he felt that he needed to get involved in bringing awareness to the homeless population in Detroit. One step he took to that end, was to contact his friend, Don Pham, and asked him to do a video while he did some photos. Here is the finished project. Please feel free to share it anywhere and even post it in your own blog to promote awareness and hopefully get more people involved in the City. You can get the embedded tags here.

Homeless By . .
View in HD Download 1080p Version Visit . .'s ExposureRoom Videos Page

CVS Trip #2

2009-01-10T14:44:00.002-05:00

I only went to CVS again so that I could get the 30 free Soy Joy bars but of course they were all sold out by today. I knew that I should have gone back right away last Sunday but I didn't. I think we are set on medicines for this winter. This is what I was able to snag though instead.

2 Aleve 100 count @ $8 each
1 Children's Motrin @ $5.50
1 Tylenol PM @ $8.50
1 Tylenol Cold @ $6.00

Used:
5 $1.00 coupons
$30 ECB (from previous 30 free soy joy bars)

Spent $0.36 OOP

Earned $15 ECB for next visit
Aleve qualified for $10 rebate by mail

Saved $47.45 this trip

Frugal Friday

2009-01-09T15:57:00.006-05:00

One of my goals for 2009 is to take even better control of our grocery/toiletries spending. When I was keeping Frugal in Manhattan up to date, it was easier for me to do that. I had all of you (all 1 of my followers : ) to keep me accountable. Keeping up with this blog and the adoption blog is hard enough, let alone another one. So I have decided that for now, I'll just post once a week on this blog about what I'm doing to keep that in better check.

I've made 2 trips to CVS so far this week. I'm going to try to make a third one tomorrow if I can fit it in with another outing. I didn't think to take a picture of my first trip but I did remember today. I did much better earlier in the week but I still did OK today.

My favorite resource for finding the best weekly deals is Money Saving Mom and Keeping the Kingdom First for her weekly $5 CVS challenge for beginners.

Here is what I bought today:

1 Garnier shampoo $2.99 (FREE after coupons and ECB earned)
2 Tylenol Childrens @ $5.50
2 Tylenol Infants @ $5.50 (spend $20 in select Tylenol products and earn $10 ECB)

Total before coupons and ECB (extra care bucks) $31.46

Used:
2 $2.50/2 Tylenol coupon
1 $1.00 Garnier coupons
$14.77 in ECB

($6.00 coupons used and $14.77 ECB)

Total out of pocket spent $4.83

Earned $12 ECB ($2 Garnier and $10 Tylenol) for next visit

I've budgeted myself $5 per week to use at CVS/Walgreens/Rite Aid

Noteworthy - just this week I earned $60 at Rite Aid and $25 at Walgreens for transferring my prescriptions around. I have many of these pharmacies around my home so switching them was no more work for me to do and earned me a total of $85 in more FREE stuff. This will come quite in handy now that I have to begin buying diapers again!

Perspective

2009-01-08T16:51:00.002-05:00

Nothing like having lunch. With a good friend. Who is having a really hard time right now. Who's life is 100 times harder than mine right now. To put my life into perspective. I have a God that forgives me when I least deserve it. I have my health. I have a wonderful husband who adores me, believes in me and supports me (even when it doesn't feel like it : ). I have 3 beautiful, healthy daughters that love and challenge me. I have a handsome son waiting for me in China. I also have generally healthy Parents and In-laws who love me and my family. Additionally, I have all the food and clothing that I want, more than I need most days, and a toasty warm home to live in. Lastly, I have friends that are there for me in my crappiest moments. And I'm complaining. Really? Things could be a lot worse. A lot worse.

New Day

2009-01-08T10:03:00.003-05:00

So today is a new day.

It's going to be better than yesterday.

Got a few 'hate' emails. Got a few 'support' emails. But now it's over. I won't spend anymore time on this. I won't let this event cloud all of the good works that the Lord has done in our lives over the past 18 months.

I'm putting my laptops away after this post and not bringing them back out until tomorrow.

I've blocked a few people from sending me emails and 'unfriended' a few people on Facebook.

It's going to be a good day.

Off to have lunch with a good friend.

Really?

2009-01-07T22:51:00.002-05:00

Really? Is this how it is supposed to end? None of what happened today was a surprise to God. He knew how things were going to play out. I'm having a hard time believing though that this was His plan. I know after coming home from a SUPER New Community service that I should expect something. Maybe it was Satan attacking. Or maybe it was just humans being who we are. Sinners. Jerks. Meanies.

I was talking with C a few weeks ago about relationships. That is what is supposed to be most important to us all. Relationships. He asked probing questions about why I don't have many deep friendships. Why do I have so many acquaintances but very few best friends. Why do I keep a double thick brick wall up. Why do I always there for others but don't count on anyone to be there for me. This is why. People suck. You get hurt. I've had enough hurt in my life so far to last me an entire lifetime. Just when you trust someone and start to let them in, they disappoint. I'm sure I do the same thing. I'm not claiming to be perfect. I just don't see the point in putting yourself in that position.

I just had a nice, long phone conversation with Beaner. She's going through it too but taking it all alot better than I am. I am grateful to have her in my life right now. I never would have guessed that I'd be leaning on her a year ago. But God did. She's taking it better because she has lowered her expectations. I know I should too. I think I have lowered them. But just how low do you go?

I fully expected Mother Superiors response. But I wasn't expecting the response I got from a few others.

But really? I thought I was out of high school. Yes I did play my part in it. In my defense, I was caught off guard and hurt deeply. But still, I could have just let it all go. But I couldn't help myself.

Michelle says that icky things happen in 3s. I hope not. I know that deaths seem to happen in 3s. But I can't take anymore of yesterday again. At least not this week.

Please Lord, put a shed of protection around us and keep Satan at bay so that we can all continue to do your work.

This too shall pass.
Tomorrow is a new day.

NYC Move Update

2009-01-05T10:03:00.002-05:00

After a lot of prayer and discussion, we have decided that we're not going to continue to pursue moving to NYC. Many different things have happened over the past few months that are leading us to be connected in Detroit. We just found out Friday that our application has officially been accepted by China, and we'll be traveling to China to bring our son home at the beginning of March (as long as we get travel approval before they close for Chinese New Year in 2 weeks). The impact of that alone to our family is going to be significant. We're feeling like we need to settle things down and give the kids (and us) some stability for a while - something we haven't had for quite some time now. This, along with some of the people that have come into our lives recently, and the peace we have with this decision are leading us to believe this is the right thing for us to do.

We are going to stay living with my in-laws until they return from Florida at the beginning of April which should co-incide with when we return from China.

It has truly been a pleasure and an honor being a part of Communitas and to be part of the incredible things that God is doing. There is no doubt that we had to be a part of Communitas, even if we never made it to NYC. My mantra over the past few months has been, "it's all about the process and not the end destination". We couldn't continue to live our old lives anymore and Communitas was a huge catalyst that sped the transformation in our lives.

Now we look forward to our next great adventure!

He's Ours

2009-01-02T16:19:00.001-05:00

To see a picture of our new son, head over to my adoption blog:

God's Plan - Our Journey to China

(and yes, I know, it can't be 4kpgirls anymore : )

Scripture Memorization

2009-01-01T17:06:00.002-05:00

I have never been good at memorization of much of anything. I can read things and learn to understand them and then explain them in my own terms but rarely recite something back word for word. As part of the girls' school curriculum they are memorizing all sorts of different scriptures. They already have memorized more than I know.

On the LPM blog, they are going to work at memorizing 24 scriptures together this year. (1 every 2 weeks - to memorize or at least mediate on) I have been feeling like I this is something that I need to do since August but haven't done it. Now that I have others to be accountable to, I'm going to make it a goal of mine for this year.

Here is this weeks' verse:

Isaiah 33:6 (New International Version)

6 He will be the sure foundation for your times,
a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge;
the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.

Oma & The Girls

2008-12-25T11:22:00.000-05:00

This is a test post for me to see how to use YouTube to post my own videos. These are short videos of Oma playing Patty Cake with each of the girls on Christmas Eve.

And a little bit of wrestling as well:

Praise the Lord!

2008-12-18T09:30:00.004-05:00

He has been so faithful to us and it is really starting to show up in ways that I never dreamed possible just a few years ago. Due to having our priorities in the wrong spot and some things not going the way that we thought they were going to, we got ourselves dug into some DEEP debt. In February of 2007 I felt Him nudge me to begin a fast of Diet Coke. I was and still am very addicted to it, specially fountain Diet Coke from McDonald's. I LOVE it! After almost 2 years, I still get cravings. When I have a bad day, that's all that I want to pick me up. I didn't know why at the time but I left that New Community service and began my fast. It was the first time that I truly tried to fast from anything. A few months into the fast He told me it was to last until we were out of credit card debt. I wanted to cry. Our debt was in the mid 5 digit range. It would be YEARS before I could have a Diet Coke again. Or so I thought. I see the light at the end of the tunnel and I'm sure it's not a train : )

One thing that I watch monthly is my FICO score. At this point in my life, I don't care what it is because I hope to not have to worry about getting credit again (as long as we can stick with Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace plan). Here is my snapshop from this morning of my FICO score tracking for the past 12 months. It has gone up from 662 in January 2008 to 750 in December of 2008. The highest you can have is 850. It is down from July because in August I closed one of my cards when I paid it off so my ratio of available debt to debt limit came down. That's a good thing as far as I'm concerned. Only one credit card left to pay off and we will be credit card debt FREE! But all to the glory of Him because we certainly could not have done this on our own.

FICO® Score Tracking

Track your score for each month that you've been a customer, up to one year.

662	632	626	737	744	740	760	725	720	721	741	750

Jan 08	Feb 08	Mar 08	Apr 08	May 08	Jun 08	Jul 08	Aug 08	Sep 08	Oct 08	Nov 08	Dec 08

Provided by: TransUnion

Updated on: Dec 01,2008

Ebay Superstar

2008-12-15T09:49:00.003-05:00

This email was in my in-box this morning. I've been selling on eBay since September 15, 2001 - just over 7 years now. I didn't plan on buying nor selling that much. I thing I had only signed up in order to get some free points for something. But here I am now with over 1,000 positive transactions (1224 actually but you do not get more than 1 point from the same buyer/seller). That's a whole lot of crap to have sold! Which means that's a whole lot of crap to have owned! Granted, not all of the sales were my own things, but the vast majority of them were. I sold so much just last year that I became a PowerSeller. That is one recognition that I'd be happy to lose : )

Congratulations! You've earned a feedback rating of 1,000--earning you a Red Star on eBay!

We want you to know how much we appreciate your valuable contribution as an eBay community member. It's people like you who have helped make eBay, The World's Online Marketplace^TM, a safe and vibrant place to buy and sell. You are a guiding star, and we wouldn't be here without people like you!

We hope you'll download your Red Star Certificate and display it proudly. You've certainly earned it! (You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you don't have it, get it here.)

Again, congratulations on your stellar success, and keep shooting for the stars!

John Donahoe
President and CEO, eBay Inc.

Happy Blogiversary To Me!

2008-12-13T16:41:00.001-05:00

So one year ago I started this blog. That sure was a smart thing to do in the middle of holiday craziness and prepping the house to sell or rent and trying to eBay or Craiglist most of our belongings. But that seems so far away now! At that time we also thought our baby was years into the future as well. And now we are only a few months until our "Gotcha Day". God's timing is always perfect but just doesn't always seem to make sense in the present.

In a few days (5 to be exact) My Man will begin his 2 week vacation. That is the longest amount of time that he has ever taken off just to 'be' with us. Hopefully we won't all tire from each other and will have a happy quiet ending to the year. We are even going away. We are 'house/pet sitting' for T$'s Principal at his current school while her family goes off somewhere fun.

Special Post for My Dear Friend George

2008-12-13T11:26:00.005-05:00

George is so lucky to have a friend like me - one who latches on to something and never lets it go until it's been beaten dead. So, this is a special post for her.

God will never thank us. BUT we should always thank each other. So just for her (and any others recently married - 6 months ago for George - that have yet to send out their wedding card thank yous) I found some etiquette rules for thank yous. Here are the higlights:

"There is no way around it. After the wedding cake has been eaten, after the honeymoon is over, there is still one more wedding-related matter to attend to. It’s time for the newlyweds to send out their thank you cards. Most couples like to procrastinate when it comes to showing their gratitude, but all the experts agree, this is one area where etiquette must not be breached.

Perhaps you feel you’ve put it off for too long and it’s too late, or maybe you’re not sure how your note should be worded. Don’t let this keep you from letting your guests know how much you appreciated not only their generosity, but also that they were able to share your special day. It may seem like a daunting task to write a personal note to 250 guests, but if you work together as a couple, the time is sure to pass quickly. Before you know it, they’ll be in the mail and you can focus on other areas of marital bliss. Below are some guidelines to get you started.

- A thank you note must never be preprinted or typed. A personalized, handwritten note is expected. Many printers offer blank note cards printed in the same design as the wedding invitation specifically for this purpose. Photographers also offer blank thank you notes that come with a picture of the happy couple. The same rule applies to the envelope, it should be hand written, showing your guests they were each special enough for you to take this extra step.

- “Thank you for your gift” will not cut it. Each gift must be noted and discussed, even if more than one gift

was given. “Thank you for the toaster oven, what better way for us to start our morning than with warm bread and jam!” not only tells the gift giver the gift is appreciated, but it also lets him or her know you look forward to using the gift. If you receive a gift of money, never mention the amount or the words “money,” “cash,” or “check.” “Thank you for your generous gift. We’re putting it towards a down payment on a house” is not only a gracious way to acknowledge a money gift, but it also lets the reader know the gift will be put to good use."

And, yes God will never thank us but we should thank each other, and in person is not sufficient, a card with a stamp that is going to be thrown away and fill up our landfills is necessary.

God Isn't Grateful

December 13, 2008 | By: John Piper
Category: Commentary

It is good news that we will never be thanked by God.

Not thanking us is a form of love.

We need to adjust our expectations of what it feels like to be loved by God compared to what it feels like to be loved by men.

Good Times

2008-12-13T10:41:00.010-05:00

I sit here typing this as hubby nurses his G2. He's not hung-over, he just wants some Gatorade today. We had a FABULOUS time last night thanks to the hospitality of the Kellys. Once again Superstar outdid herself. Her lovely niece offered to come over and play with the kids so that the adults could enjoy each other's company without having to worry about them. She did this for FREE! What a generous gift that was to all of us parents (and those without kids because they didn't have to listen to our kids constantly interrupting us). She planned good food and games and movies and offered small gifts to keep
them occupied all night long. Then with the help of T$ and my Man, they served up a super fun mystery meal with a few more fun games after that. LOTS of veggies with dip and salsa with chips and chocolate covered pretzels were eaten, along with a bit of wine. I was quite crabby yesterday and didn't really feel like going out but I'm so THRILLED that I did. I love most of those people. We had so much fun that Banter had to take a nap mid-evening to be able to keep up with us.

Advent Conspiracy

2008-12-10T08:29:00.003-05:00

Christmas changed for us last year. We remembered 'the reason for the season' and celebrated accordingly. We had slowly been moving towards this but our pending move to NYC pushed us into it completely. Why should we buy more presents when we are selling everything we own? For the past few years, the in-laws had all agreed to give the girls money towards their college tuition savings program and give them something small just to open. My family would not agree to that so we continued to over-indulge buying the girls things that they didn't need and/or would get donated within a few months. They received so many presents that I used to keep some unopened stored in a closet to pull out and give to them at a later date so they wouldn't be so over-whelmed with everything that they got. My Mom lost her job last year so they finally had no choice but to scale Christmas giving back to one present only (that my Mom had already purchased before she lost her job) for each child. My MIL stresses about Christmas giving. This year my Dad is stressing about not having money to buy even one present for each grandchild. A 34 year old man was killed on Black Friday because of the madness. With the current economy, I would think that others would be pushed to remember the real reason for the season but I guess it hasn't done that. It's only created more stress on buying presents with money that they don't have. This year the girls will each get 3 presents, just like last year, because that is what Jesus got. But they will be small presents that aren't expensive and that don't take up a lot of room.

I won't be mailing out Christmas cards again this year. I don't have the time nor the desire to spend the money on cards and stamps only to them thrown into the trash within a few weeks. We will try to focus on the reason for the holiday and not the madness that surrounds it these days. We won't be buying presents for anyone else either. I'll do my holiday baking and pass out cookies and breads. We'll also give to Kensington's 'Christmas Has A Face' holiday campaign where all of the money collected will go towards needy families in the Metro Detroit area for food and clothing. We are so blessed to have more than we need.

Worthy and Easy Can Donation

2008-12-08T08:38:00.003-05:00

Friends of ours have decided to donate a canned good to a local food bank for every comment that they receive on their blog. Please visit them and leave a comment anywhere. I'd love to have them over-whelmed with comments. Please also pass this around to all of your friends and family.

http://arisingimages.com/blog/detroit-needs-our-cans/544/

Miracle on 34th Street

2008-12-06T09:21:00.004-05:00

Miracle on 34th Street is my #2 all time favorite Christmas movie. I watch it every single year. I had though that my Man watched it with me too. He reminded me that he DOESN'T.

Last night we went to the Redford Theatre with George and her family to see it. I thought everyone has seen this movie. It's a classic! Who hasn't seen it. Well not only had Pete not seen it, neither had they.

We met up for dinner at Outback Steakhouse for dinner before hand because they are one of the few restaurants around here that actually has a gluten free menu and don't look at you like you have 2 heads when you ask for one. When I walked into the place, I realized that we were a minority. I was not expecting that. It was an odd feeling. One that I'm getting used to little by little. This is how our baby is going to feel if we aren't intentional about the places that we go to.

The theatre is beautiful. It is old and historical. I've lived here all my life and I didn't know this place existed. They had a Santa in the lobby that the kids could visit and take pictures with. They had a village with moving people set up in front of the stage. They also had an organ and an organ player playing Christmas songs on it. They played a cartoon and the beginning and took an intermission. And it was only $4 per person! AND concessions were reasonable! We paid $13 for 3 pops, large popcorn, and 3 bags of candy. You can't get all that for that price at the regular theatre. That made it all the more enjoyable.

All in in all, it was a very fun night. The girls had a great time and I think Pete will watch it with me every year now.

They are playing The Sound of Music in the beginning of 2009. Again, these folks have not seen this classic either! I think we'll be planning another family movie night out there.

2 years ago I never would have imagined that I'd have become friends with George and her family. I've only known them for just over a year. I just love them! I can't imagine not doing life with them anymore. God's plan is always better than our own.

Swagbucks

2008-12-04T15:25:00.005-05:00

I just found out about a new way to earn free giftcards - just by doing searches that you would normally do anyways! You can go directly to the Swagbucks site or download their toolbar for ease of use and earn points towards free giftcards with every search that you do. The trick to earning mega points is through referrals so I'd suggest referring everyone in your contact list for your maximum chances of earning points.

I've been using MyPoints for over 8 years now. While I have earned a few gift cards, it takes me literally months to earn enough points by clicking on emails for free giftcards. Swagbucks allows earning at a much faster rate.

I read about it on Money Saving Mom. She said it best:

" don't know about you, but I do a lot of searching online. If I need to find the answer to just about anything, Google is my best friend.

So when Lavonne told me about Swagbucks -an online search engine that rewards you for searching online--I was all ears. Especially when she told me she had earned enough in Swagbucks in the last four months to receive hundreds of dollars in gift cards.

I did some investigation and learned that Swagbucks is very simple to sign up for. In fact, it takes all of about one minute. There are no fees, no credit card required, and no phone number or address requested.

After that, you are credited 3 points to your account and then download the toolbar and every day as you're searching online, you earn a few more points. After only 45 points earned, you can get a free Amazon gift card. Or at 50 points, you can get a Starbucks gift card. There are dozens of other prizes, too.

Now, you might be thinking, "What's the big deal if I only earn a $5 gift card every month?" Well, you're right, $5 isn't that exciting. It's something, but that's only the beginning. You see, your earnings will exponentially multiply when you refer others.

Do you know anyone else who searches online? I thought so. Well, tell them about Swagbucks, send them your referral link, and you'll not only instantly earn more points when they sign up, you'll also earn points for the searching they do online.

Tell lots of folks and you're well on your way to funding your entire Christmas budget with free gift cards from Swagbucks. I'm not kidding you, that's exactly what Lavonne did. See her post here with the details.

For those of you who have blogs, you'll especially want to jump on board with this. It's free, it won't take much of your time to do, and it could generate a nice stream of gift cards in your mailbox.

I don't know about you, but that sounds pretty sweet to me! So what are you waiting for? Go sign up here"

New Community

2008-12-03T21:51:00.002-05:00

New Community tonight was great! For one, we were able to see many of the kids we know at church perform on stage. They did a very cute Christmas number. It seemed shorter than normal and it must have been because we were out of service at 8 pm instead of the typical 8:30 pm on a performance night. K2 seemed a bit disappointed. She was thrilled to see her friends on stage but sad that she wasn't. It was the first time in that the girls watched instead of performed. We had thought we were going to be in NYC by this time so at the very last minute I un-enrolled the girls. Turns out we were here. It was still good for them to watch too and to realize that they can't always be on stage. I did sign them up for next session. We may not be here for performance night but I'm not going to plan that way. Since we don't know for sure, I'm just planning for what I do know and that is that we are here now. We maybe in China or NYC or Troy but I"m not worrying about that.

Second, the message was on our relationship with Christ. Steve Andrews did his message based on the book True Faced by Bill Thrall. Do we follow the road of trying to please God buy struggling with the door of effort and hang out in a room withe a bunch of people with masks on or do we follow the road of trusting God and hanging out in the room of grace where everyone is open and admits to being sinners but always knowing God is with them regardless. I have been following the road of trying to please Him. It's been hard lately. I've been feeling like I've failed Him in so many ways. This message was perfect timing for me. I'm getting on the road to trusting Him and knowing that He is with me and all my glorious faults. I'll still try to do the right things but I won't beat myself up as much thinking that I failed Him. I'll leave that for my earthly father to cope with.

K2 Has ADD

2008-12-02T17:00:00.003-05:00

I think I've known K2 would eventually be diagnosed with ADD (not to be confused with ADHD - she's not hyper beyond that of a normal 6 year old) as soon as she was walking. She would constantly walk into walls because she wouldn't look where she was going. My Man has it. It is hereditary. And while I was constantly nagging him for YEARS to get tested and medicated for it, I've been stalling with K2. I didn't want to label her. I didn't want to medicate her. I didn't want her to think something was wrong with her. I've tried all sorts of things - all the natural things to try. Read the boks. We've cut out gluten, sugar, food colorings and preservatives. We've given her all sorts of natural supplements. I've let her do her school work while bouncing on a yoga ball. Nothing helps. Not long term anyways. She even has a check-list. But she forgets what she is doing while she is doing it

If she was in public school, it wouldn't have been noticed. But since I homeschool her and am with her 24/7/365, I notice it. This past month I just couldn't ignore it anymore. This is a VERY bright girl (although only 6) who reads better than her older sister but yet can't seem to focus on anything. Can't get her work done that should only take her 2 hours. It was taking 4 plus hours and a lot of tears and nagging. Neither one of us was very happy. So I made the doctor's appointment. We took her in and did the standard questionnaire. She has ADD. She needs medication. She is starting on the lowest dose (5mg) of Adderall that we can get. It only last 4 hours. Typically they'd give her XR to last 8 hours or take the regular Adderall twice a day. I just want something to help her get through her bookwork. Then she can be who she is without the medication. I actually had to show my license in order to pick up her prescription. Insane. I'm trying to focus on the positives of this.

The medication has side effects as well. Most commonly are loss of appetite (she already doesn't eat enough), stomach aches, leg cramps, depression, difficulty sleeping, and tics. Here's praying to the least amount of side effects as possible and the most amount of increased attentiveness as possible. I pray that this was the right decision for her. If not, guess we can stop it at anytime.

New Hair Styles

2008-11-29T15:52:00.006-05:00

Just a bit over one year ago, I had my hair cut to donate to Children With Hair Loss. My brother in law's cousin is the Founder. They will take hair that has been dyed whereas most other foundations with not. Last year I still had a good chunk of hair that had been highlighted so I was happy to find out about them. This year all of my dyed hair is gone but having donated to them once already, I just thought it made sense to donate to them again. I digress. So after the girls watched me do it last year, they all wanted to do it too. So for the past year, all of us have been growing it out. It needs to be at least 8" (wet) in order to donate it. Mine is just barely that long but the girls was much longer (when wet). They have all been long ready to cut theirs but they were waiting for Mom to catch up. Today was the big day. All 4 of us went and got our hair hacked! And we all LOVE it! K#3 was not long enough to donate but she couldn't be left out all together. K#2 seemed to take it a little hard when she saw her ponytail but she quickly got over it.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T16:25:00.002-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving to ALL! Sadly I don't have any pictures to share. SIL took a few but she hasn't shared them with me yet.

This was one of the best Thanksgivings we have ever celebrated. It was very quiet and low key. Normally we put up our Christmas tree while watching the parade and then go over to my sister's for dinner and the football game. Since we don't have our own home this year, we've decided not to do a tree. My MIL put up a small one and her village a few days ago. We won't be home on Christmas morning anyways so just another reason not to put one up. I did sell my artificial tree last year in the downsizing (it took up TWO large boxes) so we'd have to spend money buying one. With the pending adoption, we are skimping and saving every penny that we can since it came so much sooner than we had most recently thought it would. I digress. With hubby's celiac disease now, I knew there wouldn't be much that he could eat for dinner at my sister's house as well. Traditional Thanksgiving dinner is just FILLED with gluten containing foods.

SIL and BIL came over for brunch. We were supposed to eat at 11 am but since I'm still getting used to this stove, it wasn't ready until 1130 am. We still had time to visit and they left to head to BIL's families home for dinner. Brunch was egg bake, berry baked french toast, and pumpkin bread - all gluten free so my Honey could eat it all.

We were staying home for dinner so after they left, I just had to turn the turkey on to cook. I had made the stuffing earlier in the day and the rest had to wait until closer to dinner to cook.

Thanks to T$ we had an opportunity as a family to do something for someone else today as well. Barefoot Mike called me Wednesday night to let me know that there was a young woman with a 5 year old daughter and 7 month old son with little heat and no warm clothes or blankets that was in dire need. Pete and I went out shopping late Wednesday night to Target and Salvation Army to get what we could for them. Then in between stuffing ourselves full today, we drove down to 2nd & Seldon to deliver some bags of warm clothing and blankets to a family in need. We are so thankful for all our blessings that we don't have to worry about clothing that we are able to help others when in need.

Dinner was traditional. Turkey stuffed with gluten free stuffing, gluten free cornbread, mashed potatoes and gluten free gravy, corn, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, gluten free pumpkin spice cake and gluten free pumpkin pie. I definitely over-cooked but now I won't have to all week-end : )

I am thankful for so many things but especially the grace of the Lord, my handsome husband and 3 beautiful daughers, my extended family and friends, my health and all so many blessings that I don't deserve!

2008 Santa Visit

2008-11-25T14:50:00.007-05:00

We visited Santa today. I realized last year that Santa actually arrives one week prior to Thanksgiving at our local mall. So again this year we took advantage of that and had our visit with him this week while hubby was off. It was nice to avoid the lines (or 6 am treks out to the mall to get our 'place' in line!).

What Animal Are You?

2008-11-18T19:58:00.002-05:00

Just for fun - take this quiz:

I'm a Beaver!

Beaver
Genera and species: Castor canadensis
Collective Term: A business of beavers

Description
Beavers are the workaholics of the animal world.

No animal personality places more emphasis, nor derives more self-esteem than beavers do from their careers. Organized and structured, their determined attitudes spill over into all aspects of their busy lives and they plan for the future almost unconsciously. Decisions made regarding their relationships, careers and families are methodically and practically prepared, and they are most comfortable at work or ensconced in their fastidiously decorated homes. In their spare time, beavers love to busy themselves around the house or tend their precisely manicured lawns.

The beaver is an eager lover and its relationships seem to survive the most difficult challenges, for once a beaver has made a commitment to its partner, it will move water and earth to uphold its promise. They are passionate but hardly imaginative in their lovemaking, for their partners' approval is too important to gamble with risky play. This makes the beaver unique amongst the water mammals who are usually willing to get their feet wet. But, even with their conservative libidos, beavers are still attracted to casual relationships with the free-spirited aquatic dolphins, sea lions, walruses, and otters.

While others are playing, beavers are usually hard at work. They are well prepared for any eventuality and their homes are well stocked with spare water, emergency radios and survival kits. Even the beaver is not sure why it spends such energy in securing its home, but it instinctively feel more comfortable when it does.

Beaver personalities come in all shapes and sizes. Generally in good physical condition, they find time to keep fit even with their busy work schedules. Their conscientious attitudes makes them dependable as friends and a commitment from a beaver is like money in the bank.

Family life is important to beavers although they generally have few offspring. As parents, they are predictably reliable but fight a tendency to be over-controlling. By keeping a close eye on their children's progress in school, their offspring are under constant pressure to perform to the beavers' high level of expectation. As they grow older, children are expected help with supporting the family.

Beavers are patient listeners although they rarely follow advice. While they might confide in a close friend about personal issues, they usually choose to internalize their feelings instead. And a beaver wouldn't dream of confronting someone with whom it has a problem. It would much rather blow off steam by complaining behind their backs or by punishing them in subtle ways

Careers and Hobbies
Engineer Naval Officer
Manager Judge

Gardening Woodworking
Collecting Sewing

Famous Beavers
Jimmy Carter, Alexander Graham Bell.

Breaking A Child's Spirit

2008-11-17T11:27:00.000-05:00

I don't think a day has gone by yet since giving birth over 8 years ago to K#1 where I wonder if I am doing a good enough job raising my daughters. With a potential son on the way, I'm thinking even more about this. What will I do with a boy? I don't know how to raise boys? Granted, I didn't know anything about raising girls either before I had K#1. But, I was a girl, so I thought I could figure it out easy enough. Since K#1's birth, I've grown to realize that I don't do a good enough job and never will. I'm not perfect. I can only do my best (and I even stink at doing that some days but that is another blog post) But, with God's strength, wisdom, patience, love, you know where I'm going with that, I can go to bed at night knowing that I haven't completely screwed things up, and, if I have, I have God's grace.

I was just reading an article about Chute's latest book coming out here. The author states that Mr. Chute had a bumper sticker on his truck that read “School Takes 13 Years Because That’s How Long It Takes to Break a Child’s Spirit.” I'm not about to bash the public school system nor private nor any other system. There are some wonder schools out there that are run by wonderful people that give above and beyond of themselves. They all have their flaws too - just like L'Ecole de Pfeiffer does. But that bumper sticker really struck a chord with me. My primary motivation for wanting to homeschool was due to my public schooling years. 13 years I'd prefer to NEVER have to live over again. They were awful - the good times were far and few between. I did have some SUPER teachers that left a lasting impression on me. But the system is geared to teach the majority, as it should have been. But, I was in the minority, and was BORED OUT OF MY GOURD most days and socially, well, let's just not go there. My spirit was definitely broken.

I have to pray regularly that the Lord helps me to not brake the spirit of my own children. They are all 3 different - each as their own personalities that are different - and of course, they each have their own learning styles. Somedays I am not able to customize the day for each of them and they get taught to the majority, but I often try to not make that the case. Praise HIM for Grace!

Homeless BBQ

2008-11-16T23:41:00.003-05:00

Due to the rain yesterday, the Homeless BBQ was re-scheduled to today. We were able to change our schedule around so that we could still attend. And I didn't serve. I was really bummed about that. As much as I complain to Superstar and George about it, I really look forward to doing it monthly. God works on my heart more and more each time we go. I had put a roast into the oven on HIGH so it would warm up quickly and when we were about 10 minutes from 2nd & Seldon, I realized I didn't have it. And I left it in the oven. So, I dropped my Man off with our other foods and headed back home to take it out so the house wouldn't blow up while we were gone. We live about 30 minutes from the park but it was snowing HARD so it took me 40 minutes each way. By the time I got back to the park, they were cleaning up.

On my way back I was praying and asking God what more could we do. He put an impression on my heart that we needed to do more than just show up with our soup & stew next month. But I didn't know what. While I was waiting for my Man to finish packing up the car, I had a few minutes to chat with T$. He has such a HUGE heart for the people of Hockeytown - unlike me. But God is working on me. He said he was feeling convicted about doing something for Detroit. I hadn't even told him about my chat with the Father on my way back. Cool! Maybe we could brainstorm something. We have a tentative plan. With God's provisions, we could bring Christmas Has a Face to 2nd & Seldon in a big way!

Thankful Thursday

2008-11-13T23:21:00.002-05:00

Turkey Day is just 2 weeks away.

Recently a friend shared with me the idea of writing down five things you were happy about every day before going to bed. It is supposed to increase your general happiness everyday. I'm going to aim at doing it once a week to begin with and see how it goes. Today being the first day, is easy.

1. God
2. My Man
3. K#1
4. K#2
5. K#3

And those just happen to be my order of priorities as well!

In NYC Again

2008-10-26T21:22:00.000-04:00

And I miss my honey and my baby girls! And that's all I've got for right now.

Sinking Submarine

2008-10-16T09:47:00.003-04:00

That is how I am feeling today. That is a CRAZY dream I had last night - that I was in a sinking submarine! Normally I don't remember my dreams. When I do, it is typically because I am over-come with stress. In my dream last night, my Man and I were out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary (which is in 2 days!) We were at a restaurant on the waterfront. Note - I DON'T like the waterfront except from a shallow beach. Then suddenly the restaurant turned into a ship. Then as we received our drinks, the ship turned into a submarine and started to sink. We couldn't get out of our seats. We were stuck in them. Everyone was screaming for air to breathe. Then just as we went under, air masks came down (like in an airplane) and we could breathe again while under the water. Then I woke up. And told Pete I wasn't ready to move to NYC yet.

I know this is the enemy's attack. This is EXACTLY what he wants me to do. But I'm having a hard time finding the strength the fight it. I fasted yesterday (which I had kind of slacked off for awhile doing) and prayed fervently all day. I desperately need wisdom and strength that only the Lord can give to me right now. I had 4 conversations yesterday with people that are having a really hard time right now. I know that is the enemy too. We're all just wanting to give up. We've let our guard down and now it's tough getting back into the battle...

Apt. #1

2008-10-13T21:57:00.004-04:00

After spending 3 days (about 4 - 5 hours each day) with a broker, we've decided we don't want to pursue either of the 2 apartments that we thought we were deciding between. I'm glad we had enough sense to take the time to fly home and process it before putting in an application (which is about $100 - $200) per apartment. But just for fun I thought I'd post pictures of the 2 that we narrowed it down to. We'd move into either one of them if they were NO FEE but both have a fee and both have condo fees in addition to that. With the economy the way it is right now, I'm sure we can find something without a fee and without condo fees on top of that.

This is what is considered a 2 bedroom loft. However, there are not any walls separating the two bedrooms upstairs - only the staircase. This one is in Gramercy Park at 24th & Second. The kitchen was tiny. BUT it had LOTS of closet space. And the best thing was the private 12 x 12 patio and the AWESOME rooftop deck.

The neighborhood school was OK and George said she'd be OK with sending her son there. I think I'd be OK sending the girls there if we feel that is what we need to do next year. We are looking at what school district we are in because we are hopeful that we won't have to move next year and in case the girls end up going to school so that I can go back to work.

Trip to NYC

2008-10-12T21:46:00.000-04:00

So we are home after 3 full grueling days in the Big Apple. This trip had an entirely different feeling than the previous 2. I suppose it was because we were actually looking at schools and apartments to actually move into. It's different when you visit. It's different when you visit (like we did in January - we knew we were going but didn't know the time line) even if you know you are moving there eventually. When the time finally comes to find the place to move to - and try to find it in just a few short days - it is EXHAUSTING! I didn't get to spend any quiet time alone with the Lord and I'm sure that didn't help. I was drained more and more each day that we were there. So, no update. My Man still doesn't have a job and we still don't have an apartment.

I am going back at the end of the month to scout out apartments without my Man but with George. She's a trip! LOVE HER! She was with us this last trip doing the same scouting as we were. I don't want to leave the girls again but Pete will be home with them for most of that time so I feel a bit better about going. I just really don't like leaving them for more than a day. Ever. This trip to NYC was only my 4th time in K#1 entire life (a whole 8 years) that I left them for more than a day. I know it's good for them and me but it's hard. Pete and I have a pretty good idea of where we feel we need to live, oddly enough, not where we had thought, and we have a pretty good idea of what we are looking for in an apartment. He trust me enough to find it on my own and know that he'll be happy with it. I'll take video and pictures but still he'll be leaving the final decision up to me. And that means praying that I find something that week so we can move 2 days after I return home.

And I thought life couldn't get any crazier!

Is Faith Always Dumb?

2008-09-30T11:20:00.002-04:00

I may offend, so if you are sensitive, stop reading now. This is more of a brain dump post for me today. A couple of weeks ago I had this exact conversation with C. He found it 'odd' that I said faith is dumb or it wouldn't be faith at all. Dumb as in the logical, well thought out thing. Not dumb as in believing and following God is dumb.

The American Heritage Dictionary gives one definition of faith as:

"2. Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. See Synonyms at belief, trust."

Taking a step in faith means to do something, believing that it is what God wants you to do, that probably does not make sense to anyone else but you.

Given our current situation, and the recent developments of many Communitas Launch Team members, faith is at the front of my mind.

If we are blessed to be able to move to NYC next month with Pete having his job still for another 60 days, then we are taking a HUGE step in faith. We believe it is what God wants us to do. It's the only door that has been (assuming it does) opened for us. We believe it is a blessing. We believe that God will provide my Man with a new job within that 60 days. He may not though. That may not be His plan. We pray that it is. But if it's not and we run out of money and have to move back to Michigan, did we hear wrong? Were we not walking in the right path? We pray that the Lord will set our path straight as we try to discern His will for us right now. So, that's dumb, right? To most people it would be. It's not logical. The logical thing is for us to wait here until my Man has a job there. Then move. But that's not allowing God's glory to shine through us. If this 'fails', then does that make God look bad? Or us? Or are we just dumb?

But then take E for example. She landed a SUPER job in NYC while still living here. She moved there after settling on a GREAT salary. She got a GREAT apartment. 7 weeks later her boss has told her that it's not working out. She did the logical thing. But she is still now without a job in 6 weeks if she can't find another one making close to the same salary in order to be able to pay her rent. That wasn't dumb but yet she is still having a hard time.

Brigzy moved to NYC 3 months ago without a job because he had faith that that is what God wanted him to do. 3 months later and he is still unemployed. Did he make a dumb move by moving there without a job? I don't think so. I think he was taking a step in faith and whether or not he finds a job and stays there or not, he is following the Lord.

We believe that if we are following God as best as we can and seeking Him daily, then that is what matters. What happens to us here on earth doesn't matter. It's what happens in eternity that matters. As M reminded me so clearly yesterday, Jesus suffered. Suffered the ultimate price. For us. And we don't deserve it.

So, No faith is not always dumb. That's the point of it being called faith. There is no emperical evidence for it.

I Must Be Getting Old

2008-09-29T10:57:00.003-04:00

My Man will be happy to read that post title today. He has always teased me about being old because I am 1.5 years older than him. It has never bothered me. I don't mind getting older, really I don't. I love the knowledge that I gain as I get older. I love grower closer to God as I mature. Except for one thing. I realized this week-end that I don't have to go-go-go attitude that I once did. Just over this past year I am feeling 'aged'. I know I'm not old in the sense that my parents or in-laws are old, not even as old as T$ and Superstar : ) but old in the sense that I can't seem to take as much on as I once did.

A year ago I considered myself much a 'carschooler'. We did our 3Rs at home and then we were off to bible study, gymnastics, dance, ice skating, karate, serving opportunities, meetings, etc. We learned on the go. This year I've put the brakes on most of that. We spend a good portion of our day on Wednesday on the road doing these types of activities but otherwise we are homeschooling at home - not in the car.

A year ago I'd start 7, 8, or even 9 projects at once. In fact, a year ago is when I started the simplification, downsizing project, prepped our house for sale (that mean painting the kitchen cupboards, remodeling the bathroom, re-finishing the basement, painting all the bedrooms) finished up our adoption paperwork, started on the NYC journey, and was full swing into homeschooling. That wore me out just typing it!

Now just praying for the Communitas team and all that every single member is going through wears me out. I know part of it is Satan. He wants me to quit. To give up. To not rely on God. It's hard. I don't feel like I have the strength to do it. In fact, I know I don't. I know God has to lift me up because I can't do it alone.

Maybe I'm having an emotional week but maybe I'm getting old too.

A Bit Humurous To Me

2008-09-25T08:38:00.003-04:00

But probably not to anyone else. But I'm back on my roller coaster ride of not wanting to move to NYC. The girls are watching a few grammar videos this morning. All 3 of them are, of course, different types of learners. This means we often cover the same subject via many different methods.

The teacher's name on the video, "Mrs. Gramercy". Class takes place in a school in NYC. The children are multi-ethnic.

One Proud Mommy

2008-09-22T09:23:00.006-04:00

I'm going to brag about my precious girls right now. So stop reading if you don't want to hear me go on and on about how proud of them I am right now. I try not to boast but I'm just over-whelmed with joy. Occasionally I wonder if the girls are really learning the virtues that we are trying to instill in them. Today was an instance where I'm sure they are taking it all to heart.

Today I took the girls to Target to buy their Halloween costumes. I told them last week that we were going to do this so they have had an entire week of anticipation leading up to it.

Some history first. For many years, my Mom bought the girls their Halloween costumes. When she lost her job last year, that came to an end. For their early years, I recycled them down to their siblings to get the most wear out of them. But by about 4, they had their own ideas of what they wanted to dress up as. When we started the "Big Purge of 07" last year, I told them flat out that I was not buying them a new costume and they would have to pick from what we had. In fact, we even purged most costumes that I could sell. In addition to Halloween costumes, we also had numerous dance recital outfits. Believe it or not, those are even more expensive than traditional costumes. So we got down to about the girls top 10 favorites and saved those. The girls still enjoy dress up and in fact, would probably do it everyday if allowed to. Now back to this year. A few weeks ago K#2 starting talking about what she wanted to be for Halloween. I really didn't want to spend the money on costumes nor did I know (and still don't know) if we'd be here for Halloween. I came up with a game plan.

I told each of the girls that I would give them $20 towards a costume and proceeded to hand each of them four $5 bills. Then I gave them a few suggestions. Most of the costumes were $35 - $50. There were some for less too. I pointed them all out and showed them how to find the prices. K#2 asked me what I would do. I told her I'd keep the money and use a costume that we already had. But another option would be to pick out something under $20 so that they could afford it or they could do extra work to earn extra money towards the additional expense of the costume that they wanted. Of course K#2 wanted a $35 plus a $9 wig. K#1 immediately said she was keeping her money and would use a purple dress that we have to be a princess. K#2 was very torn. She REALLY wanted to be Hannah Montana. She had it bad. But eventually she choose to skip spending her money. K#3 wanted to spend all of her money. She didn't care about saving it but I did talk her into keeping it like her older sisters were.

We had another opportunity for a lesson during this shopping trip. After this we went over to the kids clothing department. We talked to the girls about Daddy's bonus and how blessed we were that he received it and that it was more than it was supposed to be. I then explained to them about the kids at T$ school and how many of them didn't have uniforms or even socks to wear to school. They were familiar with this type of situation from prior years of doing backpacks for City Mission. I told them that we were using some of Daddy's bonus to buy packs of socks for some of the kids. Then K#1 said she would like to spend half of her money to buy 2 packages of socks and K#2 wanted to buy 1 pack. I was so proud of them! It was a wonderful moment of seeing them put into practice of their own choosing some of the values that we have tried to instill in them. Praise the Lord!

Beth Moore - Stepping Up

2008-09-19T16:50:00.003-04:00

Wednesday began the Fall semester of T3 (Topics that Transform) at our home church, Kensington. This semester we are studying Beth Moore's study entitled Stepping Up - A Journey Through the Psalms of Ascent.

From their website:

"Beth Moore's study, Stepping Up: A Journey Through the Psalms of Ascent, is an in-depth look at 15 Psalms. Just as a song or poem can express feelings of fear, doubt, hope, and joy, these 15 psalms model how study participants can voice their own petitions and praises to our God, who is always available and ready to hear us."

Honestly, I only signed up for this study because I enjoy Beth Moore's teachings. Over the past 1.5 years, God has spoken to me clearly via her studies. Her goal for us for this study is that "she expects nothing less than a new level of relationship and intimacy with God through these psalms." THAT is why I signed up. I'm not a big fan of the Psalms nor of poetry nor of most songs in general. If given a choice, the Psalms would be one of my last choices for a study. But I'm listening and obeying God as best as I can with His direction. I figured that if this was the study for this Fall, then this was the study that I needed to do.

I went into our video session on Wednesday with very few expectations. And I was over-whelmed by the time I left after 50 minutes with how God spoke to me via that video. I was just in awe. I still am as I sit here journaling about it and preparing to do my homework for the day. Every Beth Moore study that I've ever done requires daily homework for 5 days per week. I assume they are all like that but this is only my 4th one. Here are the quotes from the video that spoke loud and clear to me:

"Whatever we are going through, we aren't staying in it. Be sure to know that we will move - either forward or backward - depending on how we seek to follow Him. You are only passing through what you are currently in. This time period is only a flash of time in eternity."

She also said "women love sameness - security". Well yuppers - I sure as heck do! I HATE the unknown. It scares the dickens right out of me. But He is teaching me to embrace the unknown and trust that HE has it all figured out already.

Lastly, she said "We need to move up to the next level - just as the Psalms of Ascent do. We need to next the next leap of faith. I want adventure. I have been scared all of my life." Yuppers again! But daily He is stretching me and I'm learning to lean on Him and not my own understanding : )

In God's economy, we must go down to go up. She has set a challenge for us for this study. We are going to spend 2 days on each of the 15 Psalms 120-134. That is 30 days of homework. She has challenged us to get down on the floor, face down, in the posture of humility, before we begin our homework. So, I'm challenging you as well. To do the same before you begin you quiet time with Him. Just try it once (assuming you are physically able to do so). I've just done it once so far and I promise you that it will begin your day in a whole new way.

Forced From the Nest

2008-09-18T16:50:00.004-04:00

Obviously (or maybe not) I am fascinated by all things eagle. This is quite strange to me because my Dad's favorite animal/bird is an eagle. I grew up in a house FULL of eagle statues. Eagles just bugged me. Perhaps it was all of the hours of dusting in my childhood years. Yes, I do indeed hate to dust and keep as many things that require dusting out of my home. I was just reading this about eagles and found it interesting. Pay particular attention to the last paragraph. I feel like I am being forced out of the nest.

"The following is a quote from her book, "An Eagle to the Sky" (1970).

"The.....eaglet was now alone in the nest. Each time a parent came flying in toward the nest he called for food eagerly; but over and over again, it (the parent) came with empty feet, and the eaglet grew thinner. He pulled meat scraps from the old dried-up carcasses lying around the nest. He watched a sluggish carrion beetle, picked it up gingerly, and ate it. His first kill.

Days passed, and as he lost body fat he became quicker in his movements and paddled ever more lightly when the wind blew, scarcely touching the nest edge; from time to time he was airborne for a moment or two.

Parents often flew past and sometimes fed him. Beating his wings and teetering on the edge of the nest, he screamed for food whenever one flew by. And a parent often flew past just out of reach, carrying delectable meals: a half-grown jack rabbit or a plump rat raided from a dump. Although he was hungry almost all the time, he was becoming more playful as he lost his baby fat; sometimes, when no parent bird was in sight, he pounced ferociously on a scrap of prairie dog skin or on old bits of dried bone.

The male eaglet stayed by himself for the most part. He was no longer brooded at night. Hunger and the cold mountain nights were having their effect, not only on his body but on his disposition. A late frost hit the valley, and a night wind ruffled his feathers and chilled his body. When the sunlight reached the eyrie's (the brood in a nest of a bird of prey) edge, he sought its warmth; and soon, again, he was bounding in the wind, now light and firm-muscled.

A parent flew by, downwind, dangling a young marmot in its feet. The eaglet almost lost his balance in his eagerness for food. Then the parent swung by again, closer, upwind, and riding the updraft by the eyrie, as though daring him to fly. Lifted light by the wind, he was airborne, flying--or more gliding--for the first time in his life. He sailed across the valley to make a scrambling, almost tumbling landing on a bare knoll. As he turned to get his bearings the parent dropped the young marmot nearby. Half running, half flying he pounced on it, mantled, and ate his fill." [end of Frances’ quote]

I thought that story a profound parable of our journey with the Lord. When it’s time to leave our nest of comfort and learn to fly, we get so hungry for the Lord that we are willing to leave our comfortable surroundings and abandon old childhood habits, all for the taste and fill of strong meat dropped from heaven. Strong meat is not easily palatable, but when one becomes hungry enough, it is."

Quick Update

2008-09-17T23:10:00.003-04:00

Just a quick note to say that we don't have an update : ( Something is in the works that may allow us to move around November 1. We thought we would have a firm solution today but it turns out that it is going to be another 12 days at best. Just about a week before we leave for NYC to look for an apartment ... All is God's perfect timing. I'm OK with that right now. I just was really getting my hopes up to know SOON.

2008-09-15T20:50:00.000-04:00

Tonight at our Sunday Night Communitas Gathering (I'm not exactly sure what we are calling these meetings yet), Mother M shared a dream she had. It was incredible! It dealt with birds falling out of their nests and being carried by their Mamma bird back up to their nest. It immediately sounded to be like our eagles learn to fly so I shared with her the little bit that I knew about that. It sparked a renewed interest in eagles. I couldn't find my orignal email from CPopp that explained it but I was able to find information on a few other websites. I thought you might find this interesting. Copied from Natures Designs Online.

"*Eagle parents are very attentive and keep their eaglets warm and dry (under their wings) until after the young eagle has grown all their feathers. Then the parents will “stir up the nest”. This stirring means tossing out all the soft nesting material (rabbit fur, and feather down) and forces the young eagle to stand on their own feet in order to strengthen their muscles and talons in preparation for eagle life. Now Deuteronomy 32:11 “As an eagle stirreth up her nest -- so shall the Lord lead you” should make more sense. Bottom line: Eagle parents always have the best interest of the eaglets at heart even when it seems harsh. The young eagles must learn to stand before they fly.

*When young eagles are old enough to fly, they do not realize they are capable of flight. In fact they are still terrified of falling out of the nest (their comfort zones). The young eagles have spent their whole lives trying their best not to get close to the edge of the nest. Other birds (like ospreys) can coax their young out of the nest with food, but it is not so with eagles. Inevitably the day comes when the parents have to kick them out of the nest for their own good. Mama eagle must physically push them out of the nest while Daddy eagle circles nearby waiting to catch them if they are so paralyzed by fear they forget to open their wings and start gliding. Have you ever felt afraid to leave your comfort zone? Then you do know what it feels like.

The good news is if they can’t get the hang of gliding quickly, Daddy eagle will gently catch them before they hit the ground and he will return them to the nest. The bad news is, in a few more days Mama eagle has to kick them out again until they finally learn to fly. Did you know young eagles HAVE to be forced to leave their comfort zones and learn to trust the invisible world (air and wind) in order to learn do what they were predestined to do? Isn’t that very similar to the way humans must be forced to leave their comfort zones in order to conquer their fears, and take a leap of faith into the unknown invisible spirit world? Now at least you have a better idea of what God is referring to when He says “I carried you on eagles wings” (Exodus.19:4.)

After young eagles learn to fly, they love to soar up, up and away. That is what the Prophet Isaiah was referring to when he described “those who wait upon the Lord … THEY SHALL MOUNT UP WITH WINGS AS EAGLES” Is. 40:31. Eagles are the only birds that are known to fly up over the storms of life to the blue skies and the warm sunshine. Have you ever flown up over all the storms of life to the invisible God where the warm SON shines and there is nothing but blue skies? Bottom line: Do you have a real prayer life that fills you with comfort and hope even when the storms rage all around you, or is your prayer life pretty much screaming in fear and panic as you fall?

When eagles get sick from eating something they shouldn't’t have, they will fast for long periods of time until they are well. When eagles get old or their feathers have been damaged beyond repair, they will find to a high, safe place and pluck out all of their old feathers and “wait” until all new feathers grow in. They instinctively know what to do in hard times and come out of their trials looking like young eagles with their health and strength renewed. If you know these few eagle facts, the benefits of patience, fasting, solitude and prayer become increasingly beneficial. I hope these few eagle facts help you grasp the depth of meaning in Isaiah 40:31.

Can you see through God’s eagle creation how He always keeps our best interest in his heart no matter how much we distrust him, cry about what we don’t want, and complain about how he is not treating us right? Did you know than Jesus Christ taught people that God is like the invisible air around you? “ Though you cannot see the wind, you can see what the wind does”. He went on to ask a question that is just as vital today as it was 2000 years ago. “ If I speak to you of earthly things and you can’t grasp that, how can I speak to you of invisible heavenly things? Read John 3:1-21 for the whole story."

NYC Here We Come

2008-09-10T10:10:00.002-04:00

First, I know, it's been far too long since I've posted. I've had many things to post about BUT 1) We have had major internet issues around here and 2) Fall is here. I just love the Fall. It energies me. So I've ramped up for a new year of homeschooling. Yes we do school year round but we cut way back in the summer time.

Next, my Man has been working on some job prospects that have kept me on the edge of my seat. I haven't wanted to post until we know anything for sure. That could be another week or two so I thought I better give an quick update.

Today I booked a flight for my Man and I to head to NYC for THREE intense days of apartment searching October 8 - 11 via Spirit Airlines $9 Fare Club. Gotta love that! We did pay a little more to shorten our trip but it is still cheaper for both of us to fly than it was for Pete to fly alone back in June. I know I'll miss the girls if we stayed a full 6 days so this felt like the right plan for us. Plus, we didn't want to over-stay our welcome there either. Our prayers now are that this is the door that God wanted us to walk through and that He will provide us with the perfect apartment in 3 days : )

Date Night AGAIN

2008-08-30T22:11:00.007-04:00

Tonight my Man and I had ANOTHER date night! That is like 2 in a month for us! Record breaking really. We are praying that it was the last time that we have time for one before we move. Having big faith here.

We were supposed to drop the girls off at my parents at 5:30 pm but my Mom called me around 1:00 pm and suggested that I drop them off early so that they had time to play before dinner. So of course we obliged them and dropped them off at 3:00 pm. We were meeting our friends for dessert until 6:00 pm so we had some time to kill. Being the romantics that we are, we went to Meijer for some groceries since it was right were we were needing to be to meet the Popps. Unfortunately Meijer may have a large organic selection but their gluten free products are few and far between. Still time to kill so we tried Kroger. I knew they had at least one full aisle of gluten free/organic products. But I was watching the prices now that I am on a VERY tight grocery budget. I didn't buy a thing. We'll stop tomorrow at Whole Foods after church. Most people think WF is high priced. And I wouldn't argue that. On most things. But when something is on sale, they are reasonable. But I digress.

Since we were meeting at Starbucks for dessert, we decided to try Pei Wei for dinner. YUM-O! And they have a gluten free menu. Dinner was delicious and I had enough left-overs to bring home for lunch tomorrow. After dinner we met the Popps at Starbucks for tea and dessert. We haven't seen them in ages so it was nice to get together. We chatted for THREE hours. I guess we had a lot to catch up on.

I don't put any stock in 'fortune cookies'. But God does speak to me in unusual places. I've had a very rough week this past week. A lot of ups and downs re: the move to NYC. Tonight this was my fortune:

"Your eyes will soon be opened to a world full of beauty, charm, and adventure"

What a nice way to end my evening.

New Header

2008-08-29T14:36:00.002-04:00

I know, it's been over a week since I last posted. But in my defense, we were on our first family vacation of the YEAR! I had planned a few pre-posts but never got around to them. Sorry. BUT while I was gone, did you notice something change?

So what do you think of my new header? I won it FREE over at Healing Designs. Please visit Cathy and tell her if you like her design.

Schooling for the Fall

2008-08-20T09:06:00.000-04:00

It's that time of year again. Back to school time. Many of my friends look forward to this time of year. Time to send the kids back to school! Time to let their teachers handle them all day. Not me. I look forward to this time of year as a renewal. Renewed thanksgiving to the Lord that gave me the passion to home-school my children. Thankful to the Lord for putting it on my Man's heart to allow me to give this a try.

We are into our second year of homeschooling now. I wouldn't trade it for any other job. (Please feel free to remind me of this around November : ) I'm not a perfect teacher teaching perfect children. But with the Lord's strength and guidance, we are doing the best that we can. I cherish everyday that I have to have my children home with me. Not at school, preschool, or daycare. But home with me. It may not always be this way either, but for now, I am blessed.

The Lord says:
Proverbs 22:6 "6 Train a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not turn from it."

I read this verse every single day, reminding me of what I am commanded to do.

Now back to the library website to check-out the books that we will need for September.

To Move or Not To Move Now

2008-08-19T12:58:00.002-04:00

That is the question of the month. This week will now be 6 months that we have lived with my Man's parents. They have been very generous in not only allowing us to live with them (2 retired people whom are home all day and have not had anyone living with them since SIL moved out about 7 years ago) but they haven't allowed us to give them any money in the form of rent or even towards the utilities which you know for sure have increased since we moved in with them. We are also loud. All 5 of us. We sure have upset their quiet household.

We also don't do a lot in the way of housework. My MIL is quite hyper and usually does things faster than I would. I used to think I was quick to clean up around the house but not compared to her. If I think about vacuuming for my to-do list for tomorrow, she does it today. If Pete plans to cut the grass over the week-end, his Dad does it 2 days before. With 3 kids, I've had to learn to plan out these things a few days out so that I know I've allowed time to do it. Especially now that I home-school the girls, I have to make sure that I do their schooling before anything else. Last week Pete asked his Mom to leave the vacuuming for us to do over the week-ends but she said she didn't mind. I feel like we need to do some things but I also need to plan them out. I consciously try to run the dishwasher and empty it before she does but she often runs it when I don't think it's full enough. I try to do as many little 'green' things as I can in a day but now I find myself running it just so I can run it before her! How crazy is that?!

When Pete asked his Mom if we could live with them, he said it would probably be 6 months (I was thinking that maybe it'd just be 2 -3 months) Here we are now 6 months later. If it were just Pete and I, we'd move out. As adults, we don't mind change. I personally thrive on CHANGE! It does drive my Man crazy though. We have to think about how it impacts the girls though. For them, we told them that we would live with Oma & Opa until we moved to NYC. Now if we move into an apartment locally, what does that tell them about NYC? That God changed his mind? That we heard God wrong?

I wanted to live here as opposed to with my parents because I wanted the girls to have some quality time with my in-laws before we left because they probably won't ever have that chance again. I felt that this is where God wanted us to be as well. In the past, we didn't see my in-laws a lot so this would give them the opportunity to really get to know each other. They have had that chance now so I feel like we can move.

I don't want to overstay our welcome. I don't want my in-laws to think that we don't TRULY appreciate their generosity. I also don't want them to get frustrated with us being here and start to resent us for being here. I know that my MIL wants her fridge and kitchen back. I want my routine back. Is God ready to let us have that? Or is there still more for us to do here?

So, my Man spoke to his Dad. You know how men talk. Here is how I imagine the conversation went:

P: So Dad it doesn't look like I will have a job offer soon
D: Yeah
P: So we were thinking that maybe we should look for an apartment here
D: No sense moving now and then moving again in a few months. Just wait.
P: Are you sure Dad?
D: Yep - no sense

So, it looks like we will still live here for awhile longer. I pray for continued peace and patience on everyone's part while we wait for Pete to find the right job that God has lined up for him.

It's Fall now. Fall always feels like a time to start fresh. I REALLY thought we'd be in NYC to start the Fall. As much as I would miss the Kellys, Banters, KK, etc., I am ready to go. I know I have said that in the past, but I don't think I was honestly ready to go to NYC. Some days I still wished God had changed his mind. These days, I just want to follow His will for our lives. He's confirmed that that is in NYC. I am praying like I've never prayed before that His is timing is now. His timing is perfect though. I will continue to wait until he paves the way but I still pray that it is now.

Date Night

2008-08-18T09:05:00.012-04:00

What do Panera, Kensington, Starbucks, and Staples have to do with each other? They spell out a perfect date night with my Man.

Some couples do dinner and a movie. Others go to the bar and have a few drinks. We have a perfectly light dinner, go to church, have a relaxing Chai afterwards and chat, and cap it off with a browse through the local office supply store. Not exciting to most, but perfect for us.

We dropped the girls off at my parents house on Saturday after we left the homeless BBQ in Detroit. I asked hubby where he wanted to have dinner and he said somewhere that he could have a good salad (never mind that I had spent a fortune the day before at the fruit market buying all the fixins' for a perfect salad and had them at home) So we headed to Panera and he ordered a Fandago salad. I interrupted his ordering and said, minus the gorgonzola. We stepped down to watch them prepare our food and I had to ask the girl if she was going to put those walnuts on that salad and of course she replied yes. I had to ask her to leave them off. We grabbed our food and sat down. Pete looked down at a plate of greens and oranges. He said, "Not what I had in mind for a good salad tonight." So sad. It is really difficult for us to eat out anymore. I don't know why we even bother. Realistically though, a restaurant that is know for it's BREADS is probably not the place we should be eating - even if we are just having salad. Mark that restaurant off the list. One nice thing though is that more and more restaurants are becoming sensitive to food allergies and some like Outback and Chilli's, have a gluten free menu. It's basically plain meat without any seasonings, but at least it's a start.

Staples isn't so exciting. This I know. But, we're nerds and we LOVE office supplies! Pete likes to look at new pens and I'm all about looking at new pretty notebooks and organizers. We actually did need to go there to buy a box to ship something I sold on amazon so that gave us a good excuse to go there.

Servolution

2008-08-17T22:46:00.003-04:00

Just doing some quick blog reading in my google reader and read about Amy's church's annual Servolution where thousands of people from her congregation serve the city in areas such as:

handing out bottled water
painting houses
delivering food
manicures/pedicures
block party
lawn service
visiting the nursing homes
delivering gifts to the kids in the pediatrics ward at local hospitals
mobile medical and dental clinics
clean-up and repair of a local school
car washes

It was interesting to me to read about what her church did this week-end because it was coincidentally our church's (yes I know that takes you to Kensington CC but we still attend services there) annual week-end to ask for new volunteers to step up to serve each other in our own church in areas such as Treasure Island, Coffee, Security, Ushers, etc. It is my dream that Communitas members will do things like Amy's church did on a weekly basis, not just annually.

This week-end, our family spent a few hours on Saturday in Detroit serving the homeless community with a BBQ. It has become a monthly event for us. With our new small group that is forming, we are going to try to do a serving activity twice a month. It's not weekly, but it is a huge step from where we were one full year ago.

My Blog Wordle

2008-08-17T14:51:00.003-04:00

So my Man is supposed to have been working on his paper for the last 2 hours. He sends me this just now:

Cool huh? I like it. It's a Wordle based on my blog up until now.

I'm supposed to be preparing the girls lessons for this week. Guess I'm not doing what I'm supposed to be doing either.....

Coincidence?

2008-08-13T11:46:00.004-04:00

Early this morning I dropped KK off at the NWA terminal at Detroit Metro Airport. She is going to NYC for the next 5 days. KK doesn't have a plan other than asking God to re-confirm his calling on her life and spend a lot of quality time with Him. We know she's been called but it is sometimes hard to keep that focus when you are still here in Michigan, dealing with everyday life, and trying to find Joy in TODAY.

I was a bit jealous or more like envious. I texted Superstar as I was leaving to tell her this and she was kind enough to remind me that jealousy is a sin. Thanks for the support Sister! I really do love her still. Many people have gone back and forth between here and NYC for various reasons, including the final move there. None of those instances has impacted me. Maybe this time it did impact me because it was KK and we've become good friends over the past few months. It was the first time that I felt a part of my heart leaving me. Sure, I've wanted to move for quiet a few months now but only because we are out of our own house. This time, I had a longing to go 'home'. I haven't really ever felt that way about NYC.

So as I was driving home I prayed to Father God. It was the first time in awhile that I was alone with Him without any children needing anything from me for almost an hour. I prayed my usual prayers of praise and thanksgiving and went through my normal laundry list of things I would like Him to help me with. Then I said, God, we are still here in Michigan. I know from your confirmations that you want us to go to NYC. We've been ready to go for almost 6 months now. Obviously You want us here for a reason. Please show me why. Please show me what it is You want me to do. What is Your will for me right now? What am I not doing that I need to be doing for You? I went on with this conversation for at least 15 minutes. Then an Explorer pulls right in front of me with a license plate that read "God Mn 1" Hmm. Then I get off the freeway and see a sign that read "Begin each day by asking the Lord what is His will for you that day". Hmm. Answers to my questions or coincidence?

I know I have been slacking in my quiet time with Him. Pete and I actually made a pact on Sunday to get up together at 6 am everyday (week-ends too) and spend quiet time with Him. Monday didn't go so well but the last two days were better. We've committed to each other to get back on the track that we seem to have fallen off of this summer.

K#2 asked me yesterday why we haven't been doing our morning reading together. She always gets up first and we try to read a bible story together before the other girls wake up. Being the middle child, I am trying to make an intentional effort to spend quality time with her so she doesn't get lost in the shuffle. Her reminder was additional motivation that I need to do this.

Prayer Band

2008-08-12T14:19:00.003-04:00

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." Matthew 7:7,8

"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:16

The Pastor Jim Cymbala and The Brooklyn Tabernacle has been very inspirational in my transforming prayer life. I have a new belief and understanding in the power of prayer like never before. I am even a member of the Communitas Prayer Team - something that I never envisioned for myself.

The Brooklyn Tabernacle has a Prayer Band that meets at the church, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, all year long. They prayer over all prayers that come in via telephone, email, and mail for 30 days. That is amazing to me! On their website, you can submit a prayer request for them to pray for. I've known about this for a few months now but haven't asked for their prayers. Today, I am feeling like I need all the prayer that I can get so I've asked them to pray for me/us. That is a big step for me. If you feel that you need additional prayer, you can go to their website here to submit a request:

http://www.brooklyntabernacle.org/site/PageServer?pagename=BT_PrayerRequest

They also asked that you report back at a later date with Thanksgiving to the Lord. Answered prayers are always motivational to hear about.

As it says in Matthew 17:20-21, "For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”

Sparkling Gems From the Greek

2008-08-10T08:44:00.000-04:00

So last month, I was attempting to help my scrapbooking buddy with her garage sale. I don't know that I was much help. I did help her out by taking 6 books and a journal off of her hands : ) We spent the good part of 5 hours just chit chatting away. I had a wonderful time with her as I always learn a few new things when talking with her. She suggested the book Sparkling Gems by Rick Renner to me. Click on the title to go see it on-line. I'm always up for a new book so on Monday when the girls and I were out running errands, we ran to Family Christian bookstores in hopes of finding it. It wasn't in stock BUT it was on sale for 43% off PLUS I had a 25% off coupon that I was able to use on top of that and have them order it for me. At a price under $20, who could resist that? They called yesterday to say that it was in and since I needed to run a few more short errands, I ran over there to get it. I've been trying to keep all of my errands packed into one day with the price of gas these days but I just knew I needed to get that book! I can't wait to dive into it!

Family - Earthly and Spiritual

2008-08-09T13:00:00.002-04:00

We can all relate to earthly family strife. I can't think of a single person on the Communitas team that has not had some sort of family conflict over the past year. From financial struggles to marital discord to unexpected pregnancies, I think we've experienced it all. But we have been there to support each other as we work through these things with our families. I don't think one of us is not going to miss our families, as crazy as they all are, but it is comforting to know that we have each other as family as we make this move 650 miles away. I've never lived more than 10 miles away from my family and I'm currently living with family as well. This is going to be hard but this was in my in-box today. I hope it blesses you as it did me.

Our Spiritual Family Is for Eternity
by Rick Warren

See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are! 1 John 3:1 (NLT)

*** *** *** ***

Every human being was created by God, but not everyone is a child of God.

The only way to get into God’s family is by being born again into it. You became part of the human family by your first birth, but you become a member of God’s family by your second birth. God “has given us the privilege of being born again so that we are now members of God’s own family” (1 Peter 1:3 LB).

Your spiritual family is even more important than your physical family because it will last forever.

The invitation to be part of God’s family is universal, but there is one condition: faith in Jesus. The Bible says, “You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26 NLT).

Your spiritual family is even more important than your physical family because it will last forever. Our families on earth are wonderful gifts from God, but they are temporary and fragile, often broken by divorce, distance, growing old, and inevitably, death.

On the other hand, our spiritual family – our relationship to other believers – will continue throughout eternity. It is a much stronger union, a more permanent bond, than blood relationships.

Whenever Paul would stop to consider God’s eternal purpose for us together, he would break out into praise: “When I think of the wisdom and scope of his plan, I fall down on my knees and pray to the Father of all the great family of God – some of them already in heaven and some down here on earth” (Ephesians 3:14-15 LB).

Leadership Summitt

2008-08-07T21:12:00.003-04:00

Today and tomorrow I am spending the day at the Leadership Summitt being hosted by our home church, Kensington Community Church in Troy. It was the best 8 hours I've spent in a long time (it might even beat out the Beth Moore event from last week-end but it'll be close) I've wanted to attend for the past couple of years but have not. For 1) I've never considered myself a leader and 2) It is $119 for the 2 days. It is WELL worth the money but still, it is money spent. Last year hubby attended and it was the start of major changes in our lives.

A few friends are attending as well. When I talked about it with my prayer partner, I got very excited about going. But alas, the funds. How could I justify as we tried to get ready to leave for NYC. Then I bit the bullet and registered. Then a VERY generous friend offered to pay for half of my registration fee! How could I pass that up? I did try but she insisted so I let her bless me. It has been one of the best gifts that I have ever received. I can't wait until tomorrow to see what else we will learn.

I'm still processing all of the sessions from today but I just can't get over what a wonderful experience it has been!

It's Time

2008-08-06T21:46:00.003-04:00

I have been eating better. I have lost 8 pounds over the past 2 months. Not the greatest weight loss but still a loss. I know I need to get physically in shape - not just weight wise but also cardio wise. Hubby runs. I ran in a past life. I could never keep up with Hubby now. But maybe with his still sprained ankle I could : ) I've been convicted about this for quite some time now. Now I'm going to do it. I'm going to blog about it and let the whole world keep me accountable.

I'm going to do the Couch to 5K Running Plan. Check it out.

Superstar and M'chelle both do tri-athalons. If I'm going to hang with these chicks in NYC, I need to get my but in gear.

K#2 Birthday Week

2008-08-05T21:23:00.006-04:00

This year, K#2 6th birthday falls on Friday. Pete and I will be at the Leadership Summit until 630 pm that day. So, a little parental guilt on my part. I have never yet not spent the entire day with one of the girls on the birthdays. When I realized this conflict, I asked K#2 if it would be OK if I still went to the Summit but we would go out to dinner for her birthday to the restaurant of her choosing. We rarely go out to eat and if we do, it's normally breakfast or lunch because it's cheaper and quicker. She of course chose Chuck E Cheese's (Or Chuck E Diseases as I prefer to call it).

Aunt Sue and Uncle Jeff won't be around all week-end because Uncle Jeff has a race this week-end. We invited them over tonight for a special birthday dinner with K#2. She has now deemed it her birthday week and is all aglow in the glory. I guess this makes up for being the middle child. Whens she is older and lists all of the ways she was slighted, I can refer her back to her birthday week. Tomorrow night is off to Nanu and Papa's for a sleep-over and special birthday dinner with them. More presents too.

Here is a quick video of her cake and the blowing out of the candle. She said the candle stunk and she just wanted it blow it out the entire time. Check out the cake - it is a chocolate mouse cake with a chocolate basket of chocolate covered strawberries on top of it. I had it so together today that I didn't bother to realize it was a chocolate mouse cake and had it sitting out for a bit today while I started dinner and made room for it to fit into the fridge. It caved in a bit ....

Good Eats

2008-08-04T21:27:00.003-04:00

We just got home from a FABULOUS dinner out! A has been on the Communitas Team since the beginning so we've had a lot of time to get to know her. A and C were married at the end of June so we are just getting to know C. With their honeymoon and a new apartment and adjusting to a new life, we haven't been able to see each other. Tonight they invited us over to their apartment for a home cooked meal.

I asked A what could I bring. She said well lets talk about the menu. I say well, Pete can't eat pasta, bread, pretty much anything in a package. Can you deal with that? She says, Well that's pretty much how we always eat. Some meat, fresh veggies and fruits, fresh herbs. That's not so hard to work around. Love her! That's is how we like to eat too.

We thought it would be fun to practice what it will be like to socialize in NYC in 850 sq feet. It was so much fun that we went to the park across the street for dessert so the kids could spit out their watermelon seeds there. I pride myself on being a good cook but I generally don't eat anything I cook and therefore end up having salad or cereal for dinner. A and C are SUPER cooks! We loved the meal that they spent all day preparing for us and getting to chat with them wasn't too bad either : )

Yes, that is the bride in the bounce house that you see below. You just gotta love a woman that not only dyes her hair bright pink for her wedding day, but also gets in the bounce house that she had provided for all of the kids at her wedding to play in.

A Better Place To Be

2008-08-01T18:18:00.001-04:00

"Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper. Jeremiah 29:7 (NIV)"

*** *** *** ***
Have you ever been somewhere you didn’t want to be? Maybe it was a job, a town, or a marriage. Maybe it was a stage in life, like singlehood, or a state in life, like a disability. It’s very possible that as you read this, you’re wishing you were somewhere else – anywhere else – living a different life, but you know it’s not likely that anything is going to change any time soon.

God has a word for you. It’s the same word he gave a group of people when they were stuck in another country, exiled from their homeland. They’d folded their arms and said, “We’re going to wait this thing out, and when we get home, we’ll start living our lives.”

Through the prophet Jeremiah, God told them, “You’re not going home any time soon, so start making your lives here. Plant gardens, buy homes, let your children get married, and pray for the peace and prosperity of the place where you’re currently living because, by doing that, you too will be blessed with peace and prosperity” (Jeremiah 29:5-7).

Don’t invest your energy in hopes of leaving; instead invest your energy in the people around you. Don’t be physically present but mentally somewhere else, thinking of the future or the past, thinking of someplace else. Our journey with Jesus requires we be fully present in the present.

You may feel like you’re in exile too, but God is still working in your life; and his message to you is: Dig in and fully embrace the life around you." - Jon Walker

I've been feeling like this a lot lately. Things will change once we get to NYC. I can't wait until we get to NYC. When are we going to get to NYC? I've been missing out on the here and now. I don't want to think like this but what if I never get to NYC. What if this has been all about the process that God has been having me go through and the end result is not NYC? I've put my life 'on hold' so to speak in the last couple of months waiting to leave. I've made the decision TODAY to live for TODAY and not worry about tomorrow or the next day or really the day that we might get to NYC.

I've made the bold move to plan for next month. I've been afraid to do that because 'what if we leave?' I need to trust in God's timing. He knows what plans we have and what plans He has for us. I know it will all work out. What if we do leave? Then everything will work out. Maybe not the way that I want them to, but they will work out.

The Most Important Job For Me

2008-07-31T17:10:00.002-04:00

The most important job for me right now in my life is that of wife and mother. God comes first but after Him, comes my husband and my children.

A friend of mine recently expressed some feelings that she has been having. She feels like maybe it is a sort of pre-mid life crisis. She has spent the lat 12 years of her life being a Stay At Home Mom. Her husband is partners in his own business and works A LOT of hours. I understand how hard that must be. That will never change for him. When Pete first went into IT, he would easily work 70+ hours per week. I'm very thankful that he is now able to make it home at least a few nights per week for supper.

I've been praying for her over the last few days. She feels that she has 'sacrificed herself with little help and not a thank you'. I started to read some to see if the Lord will give me any words of comfort for her. What He has given me, I found comforting for myself as well.

The Bible states that parents have the job of training and teaching their children. Deuteronomy 6:4 - 7 NIV states:

" ⁴ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. ^[a] ⁵ Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."

Jesus said in Matthew 10:39 "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Committing to love and care for our children as God commands is the way to a full and abundant life. It may even mean putting their needs above our own over and over again. Often without a Thank You either. Our hours of hard work seem to go by unnoticed. We have to remember that our work does make a difference. What we do day in and day out as a Mom may not seem so wonderful but we are doing the most important thing in the world - that of raising the next generation. We are essential in our roles as wife and mother. There is no monetary value to it but it has eternal worth.

What Should I Do When I Grow Up

2008-07-30T16:23:00.001-04:00

"We worry when God seems silent on specific issues such as “What career should I choose?”

The truth is, there are many different careers that could be in God’s will for your life. What God cares about most is that whatever you do, you do in a Christlike manner (1 Corinthians 10:31; 1 Corinthians 16:14; Colossians 3:17, 23).

God is far more interested in who you are than in what you do. We are human beings, not human doings. God is much more concerned about your character than your career, because you will take your character into eternity, but not your career." - Rick Warren

Just over 8 years ago I quit my full time job as a Human Resources Rep to become a full time Mom. This was not a decision that I made easily. I made this choice only because I realized that I was working to pay someone else to raise my child. I began to wonder why did I even have a child in the first place? Why not just donate my money to an orphanage or something like that instead of having this baby of my own that I was barely able to see. K#1 had begun to have chronic ear infections - one right after another. When pushed for another alternative besides tubes in her ears, her pediatrician said to pull her out of daycare. What? She was in a wonderful, small center, 3 minutes from where I worked.

I had spent many years in college working towards my degree. In fact, I had just started on my MBA too. Why would I quit working to be stay at home Mom? Wasn't that what women did that didn't have any better career options? I was fast tracking it up the corporate career ladder. Why would I give that up to just sit home all day with a baby? I'm thankful for a very supportive husband who said, "Quit". We'll figure it out.

Well, it's taken a full 8 years to 'figure it out' but I think we finally have. We've both put God first in our lives. By doing that, the Lord has blessed us over and over in too many ways to list. God is molding me into the person that He wants me to be.

Up until a year ago, I still wanted to work - eventually. Always thinking about what career I would go back to. Always dreaming about what my days could look like. The grass is always greener on the other side. At first I thought I would go back to work when I had all 3 girls in school full time. Then we made the decision to homeschool. Now I realize that I am in the most important career that I could ever be in - that of a child of God, wife to a wonderful man, and mother to the most precious 3 little girls I know. Someday God may direct me to go into other work, but for now, this is my career and I wouldn't trade it for any corporate ladder.

Becoming Christ-Like

2008-07-29T16:41:00.003-04:00

"Becoming like Christ is a long, slow process of growth. Spiritual maturity is neither instant nor automatic; it is a gradual, progressive development that will take the rest of your life.

Referring to this process, Paul said, “This will continue until we are . . . mature, just as Christ is, and we will be completely like him” (Ephesians 4:13 CEV).

You are a work in progress. Your spiritual transformation in developing the character of Jesus will take the rest of your life, and even then it won’t be completed here on earth. It will only be finished when you get to heaven or when Jesus returns.

At that point, whatever unfinished work on your character is left will be wrapped up. The Bible says that when we are finally able to see Jesus perfectly, we will become perfectly like him: “We can’t even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is” (1 John 3:2 NLT)" - R. Warren

I often jokingly tell Peter that life has never been so hard as it has been since I gave my life to Christ! I thought it was supposed to be easier. I am a sinner but thankful that the Lord sent His only Son to pay the price for my sins. I will never be worthy of His forgiveness but I will get up every morning and try to be more like Him. I can not do it myself though. I can only do it with His strength and guidance.

Lately I found myself becoming somewhat lax and a bit self righteous saying "I'm not all that bad. I do mostly good. So I may occasionally judge others but it's not often. I could be a lot worse." I've started praying that the Lord would show me my sins. Just throw them right out there in my face. And He is. It's hard. But I'm thankful that He continues to try to mold me and He never gives up.

Women's Small Group

2008-07-28T20:23:00.001-04:00

God had been prompting me to start a Women's Small Group for the ladies on the Communitas team for quite sometime. I was trying to avoid it. I had a long list of reasons why I shouldn't. I'm not a leader. I've never led a group before. The Pastor and his wife will eventually start small groups. It's not my place to. I'm moving soon. I don't have a home to offer to host it. And the list goes on.

Finally, about one month ago, I gave in and listened. I spoke to a few ladies that I thought might be interested in doing it with me. I suggested a few ideas that I thought would be interesting and doable. They were open to what ever I choose. I asked for suggestions on where to meet. I asked Superstar if she would do the actually leading of the group gatherings. And we were off! We kind of had a bit of confusion in the first week but we ended up having 2 different small groups form. This allowed women to have an option as to what day/time worked best for their schedule. I think this worked out great for everyone that wanted to do it.

I have to admit that it has been a tremendous blessing to me! Why did I not listen sooner?! I've been in a women's small group for almost 2 years now. When summer came and I thought I'd be moving soon, I didn't pursue my current group any longer. I desperately missed that weekly accountability group! I missed sharing the word of Jesus! We chose a short study - only 6 weeks - just enough to get our feet wet. It's been fun to learn more about prayer. We have been doing When God's People Pray by Jim Cymbala The Brooklyn Tabernacle has been a huge inspiration to me in my prayer life! I'm so looking forward to the Fall when we will do a more in-depth bible study. I sure hope it's Beth Moore! I'm such a Beth Moore junkie!

Today’s Reading

2008-07-26T20:18:00.000-04:00

“You may be praying and waiting for something: a baby, a job, a husband, a ministry. Keep praying. Day and Night. He will answer in the way that he sees fit. The answer may not look like what you were imagining, but it will be for your good.” Paraphrased from Luke 18:7

Ask, Seek, Knock
Matthew 7:7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

God Answers Prayers
Jeremiah 33:3 “ Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unreachable things you do not know.”

Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present our requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finding Joy In Today

2008-07-25T20:13:00.000-04:00

Monday was a good day. Not much went as planned but yet it was still a good day. I was a bit grumpy Sunday so I was hoping I would not be so much Monday. School went very well with the girls this morning. That always seems to set the tone for the rest of the day. Then I headed over to my parents house to spend the afternoon. My Man had his monthly men’s small group gathering tonight which meant he wasn’t going to be home for dinner. Dinner and showers generally go better when I’m at my parents. I LOVE my Momma’s spaghetti! YUM-O. My parents are super helpful in getting the girls ready for bed too so that when I get home, all I have to do is put them to bed.

I also wanted to put a few things on eBay for my Mom which would be easier to do over there because the girls have a great time playing outside on the playground in their back yard. I took my laptop so I could get the work done. Additionally I brought a few books to do some reading and journaling. NONE of that happened! I packed and lugged all of that over there for no reason. Better over-prepared than under-prepared in my book.

My friend S from the Launch Team had asked me if I would help her with a budget for NYC. She is a young enthusiastic single woman. She is only 23 and giving up her comfortable life here to follow God’s calling on her life. At 23, there is NO WAY I’d be doing what she is doing. I am in awe of her courage and strength. S came by my parents just after I had gotten there and finished up lunch. I thought it would be 20 mins and S would high tail it out of there to get away from my crazy kiddos! No chance though! She loves the girls. She loves all kids I think. She has such a big heart for kids and the homeless and just people in general. It was wonderful for be able to spend a few hours with her just chatting and getting to know her. I felt so blessed to be able to hear her heart and get to know her better. Spending time with S was far more valuable than selling stuff on eBay. That stuff will still be there tomorrow.

Leaving This? Wordless (well, maybe just a few words) Wednesday

2008-07-23T20:10:00.000-04:00

This is a quickie shot of my 3 princess playing in their tiny inflatable pool in the back yard. This pool is so tiny! But yet they have a blast every single time I let them fill it up. They have more fun filling it up and emptying it out (by taking bucket fulls of water out and watering the flowers with it so as not to be so wasteful of our water resource) than they do playing in it. I’m sitting here just a few feet away in the kitchen at the table typing on my laptop in the air conditioning watching them. I’m very close in case of an accident. But they get to have a great time and I don’t have to be hot : ) This is the convenience of suburbia that we are leaving behind. It is one of the things that we will surely miss. In NYC, if we want to play in the water, it will take much more effort. Backing up a bag of drinks, snacks, etc. to take with us while we walk to what hopefully will be the close neighborhood pool. One plus though to NYC pools, they are FREE! Not the $8 per person I’m going to pay later in the day to go to our old community pool in Troy. Wonder what my property tax money goes towards here???

A Sad Day For My Man

2008-07-23T09:12:00.006-04:00

As if finding out that My Man had celiac disease was not bad news enough, he is now certain he is allergic to a whole lot of other things besides gluten.

He can no longer eat:
soy
almonds (all tree nuts)
bananas
barley
kiwi
melons (all melons)
tomatoes (no ketchup, salsa, spaghetti sauce)
strawberries

One food that has been a staple for Pete since he found out he had celiac was Mrs. Mays Trio Bars. They seem like the perfect food. Kosher, vegan, all natural, gluten free, etc. Oh, but they are made with 3 kinds of nuts! I've only been able to find them at Costco. We don't have a Costco membership so when I do get there, I tend to buy 3 boxes of them at a time to last us a month or so. They are expensive too. But well worth it to know that Pete was eating something healthy to sustain him during the day. Now he can't eat them. Of course I just bought 3 boxes this week-end! The girls are thrilled though because them love them and will now get to eat them all up.

I'm a picky eater. Ridiculously picky. Cooking has always been enjoyable for me because Pete and the girls (well except for Kaeterina) are not picky. That list may seem short but when I really think about the things that we eat - that is a lot of our favorite foods! Cooking will continue to be enjoyable - just more challenging now. I thought cutting out gluten was tough, and it was, but this is going to be doubly so. None of those allergies are life threatening like celiac disease can be but when your intestines are trying to heal from 32 years of abuse to them, adding undue stress does not help that process along any. Back to the cookbooks I go!

Still No Job

2008-07-21T20:09:00.000-04:00

Today my Man had an unofficial interview with a Director in another department with his current employer. Unofficial because they are peers (although D has a job title higher than my Man’s) D is sort of an internal customer of Pete’s. Don’t worry if that doesn’t make sense to you. It doesn’t make sense to me either but that is how he explained it to me. My Man didn’t see the point in even applying for it if D would not understand God’s plan for us. Although we don’t know the full details of the plan, we are still confident that at some point in the future, God wants us in NYC. We are just doing our best to enjoy the here and now and not worry about when exactly in the future that is. But I digress. Pete said it went well enough that he’s going to officially apply. D is comfortable with him doing the job remotely from NYC at some point. Again, very iffy as to when that might be. What does this mean? We don’t know. This might be the job or it might not be. This might give Pete more technical experience for a future job. It might just be something that will lead to something else or just something to keep me hoping until the right job does come along. I will say this for sure though, it feels comforting to know that it would be possible for us to not have to worry about COBRA and all those other wonderful benefits possibly going away. Because, having an HR background, I definitely factor in the ‘cost’ of those benefits into his salary. Having a company paid for cell phone, laptop, adoption assistance, bonus, etc. are all nice perks that don’t necessarily come as easily as they once did.

I’m just taking a short break from my reading tonight. This is what I just finished reading:

GOD is Always Working (that was the title for the days devotional)

The Bible says that God’s Word works in those who believe it. So no matter what you see today, believe that God is working on your breakthrough.

Wait Longer

2008-07-19T19:54:00.000-04:00

All week long in my quiet time, God told me to wait. Wait for what? I was very perplexed. After all, Pete had what appeared to be a final interview set up in NYC. It was surely God inspired. It didn’t make sense otherwise. I had us all packed up and ready to move over Labor Day week-end. Maybe that was the problem. The Lord had other plans. Plans that were not MY plans. We STILL don’t know what they are. But we are sure that there are plans. Still waiting on God’s perfect timing. It’s a good thing we can trust Him to work this all out for us because otherwise, I’m sure we would have mucked it all up by now. Now that we know this job was NOT the job for My Man, I know what the Lord meant by “Wait”. He was trying to prepare me for what was to come.

July 9 Wednesday evening at prayer group, the Lord said:

Not My Will
“The act of praying for what I want is like a child asking her father for what she wants. This is faith’s legitimate activity. Sometimes a father responds with a no. If God denies us what we want now, it is because He plans to give us something far better in the future. The will of God is always a better thing. But by asking specifically for what we want, now allows for the occasion for us to say “Not my will but thine be done.” His will is invariably the best thing for not only my life, but for those in my family as well.

July 10 Thursday morning women’s small group, the Lord said:
Wait …
“Those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles.” Isaiah 30:31 NKJV

Noah had to wait 120 years before the flood came.
Joshua had to wait 7 days until God brought the walls down.
Mary waited 9 months for Jesus’ birth.
Mary and Martha waited for Jesus to come to Bethany.
Jesus waited 3 days in the tomb for resurrection.

A person who lives in submissive obedience to Christ Jesus is a person who is often called to wait.
Take a moment to pray and ask God for HIS direction. Then wait until He answers you.

July 12 Reading
Praying and Waiting NIV Mom’s Devotional Bible
Habakkuk 2:1”I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.” Like a guard who waits through his watch with eyes peeled for a sign of movement, Habakkuk waited for God.

So must we. We must pray with a willingness to wait and wait with a willingness to pray. Waiting and praying go together. Like two shoes or a pair or two halves of a whole, they work as a team.

NYC Here We DON’T Come

2008-07-18T19:45:00.001-04:00

My Man heard back from the start-up company. It’s a no go. They went with someone who had more development experience. I guess the Lord didn’t want Pete in NYC this week. I think the fall was evidence of that. This just wasn’t the job for him. Now we wait to see if we find out what is the job for him.

Here is a few pictures of his foot. It’s getting worse instead of better. Hopefully in a few days it will start to improve.

Common Theme Forming Here

2008-07-16T10:13:00.000-04:00

Do you see a theme forming here on this blog about discouragement, doubt, worry, and fear? Are those qualities of a woman focusing her life on Jesus? I don't think so. That all needs to stop. Stopping now. Please help hold me accountable.

I was reading some older posts when I noticed that theme. I knew I had been having up and down moments with this call but the valleys seem to be happening more and more often. Perhaps it is because we've been at this for almost 10 months now. 10 months now preparing to leave. Wondering when we would leave. Trying not to change our minds and obediently follow our call. Other members are going through the same thing - it's not only be. So is that supposed to make me feel better? It doesn't. It makes me feel like I need to be stronger. Stronger in my trust in the Lord and His plan for me.

Sarah's Mom just sent me a text reminding me of what I already know but of course don't act like it. She reminded me that God is at work on my behalf and He has all the details in proper order. I need to trust in Jesus and stop trying to figure it out myself.

I met with C today. He said the same thing to me but a little harsher. I can always count on him to be bluntly honest with me. He said that I'm trying to read the tea leaves so to speak. Stop trying to figure out the future. Duh!?

I decided to just ask the Lord for confirmation AGAIN. I praise Him for his constant patience with me and His unwavering love for me! On the way home this afternoon, I had a short chat with Him. One sided. I said "Lord, I am willing to do whatever it is you want me to do whenever it is. I'm just not sure NYC is it anymore. Why aren't we there yet if that is the plan for us? Please give me my verse (Isiah 40:31) today - within 24 hours. I'm not sure I should even be allowed to ask you yet again but I just need it. Please give that to me." And then we got home and into the hustle and bustle of life and I forgot about it. Yes, I know, it is a very common verse. But I didn't know this when the Lord first gave it to me. Honestly, I don't read it very often. Here and there and usually only when I need it.

Sometimes I feel guilty for doubting and asking. Pastor says he always asks for confirmations 3 times over before believing. I guess I'm good then only ask for one : ) Superstar said she feels like she is testing Him. I do too sometimes but then I am reminded of Gideon in Judges 6.

" 36 Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised- 37 look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said." 38 And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.

39 Then Gideon said to God, "Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew." 40 That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew."

Fast forward about a whole 50 minutes. K#2 had asked me for help with one of her daily devotional questions this morning. We had to leave early for NCKids camp so I didn't have a chance to go over it with her. I asked her to get it and said we could finish it up. What was at the top of the page?

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength - Isiah 40:31"

Yup - right there. Exactly what I asked for - 23 hours sooner than I had expected it. Do I still not understand? Apparently not!

Hrm....

2008-07-15T20:10:00.000-04:00

I was just driving home from a short visit with my parents tonight. While there, I do always check my emails. I read a quick post on our Communitas forum from a member with an incredible message. So on the drive home, I was contemplating what I had read.

Then, Gotta just love those church bulletin boards, don't you? I read:

God's Website is Never Down IF Accessed by Prayer ...

HRMM >>>>

Was I just wondering why he hasn't been speaking VERY clearly to me lately? I was I just wondering why I feel so lost, disconnected, confused, and stressed lately?

Think I read that sign because, Oh, I don't know, our internet at home KEEPS going down on an hourly basis and I KNOW that is a sign that I'm not supposed to be on it. Wasn't it just last week that I self impossed a one hour time limit to the computer and that was to be AFTER my quite time with the Lord? Have I been doing that???