Accomplishing SOMETHING!!!!!

Thank you for all your sweet comments, thoughts and prayers regarding my painful shoulders! I'm a little better, but still dealing with pain. I've decided that I will just ignore it for now though because I have too much to do to keep whining about it! (There's a true "sister of compassion"! You know who you are!!!)

Anywhoo, my hubby and I are busy getting ready for yet another garage sale. We still had lots left to deal with after the last one, so we packed it up, stuck in the shed, and now are ready to give this another go.

I'm also in the middle of tearing my house apart, taking down beds, rearranging furniture, cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning!!!

Yes, I'm definitely ignoring my shoulder. I figure if it's going to hurt when I rest, maybe the stretching, pulling, pushing of all the above will work out some of the kinks for me. Either way, it's going to hurt, and I'm determined to make my house a HOME!!! In every sense of the word.

I've had candles, floral arrangements, pictures, shelves, etc packed up or stuck on book shelves in a back room for months now. I'm sick of the clutter and SOOOO ready to get things out and PRETTY!!

Don't you agree? A pretty home is a welcoming home. Clean, uncluttered, care for, yet lived in...that's my goal!!! I may not reach it in my whole house this weekend because of the garage sale, but I'm going to at least get my living room spruced up.

We started by taking down the full size bed in our guest room. At this point, it was only a holding place for boxes and other stuff that's needed attention. I (well, more precisely, my husband and two other friends) moved (Picture three guys turning it on its end to get it around the tight corner!) my piano to the same spare room, opening up my living room for a more comfortable setting of the furniture. It's amazing how OPEN it feels now! I pulled, pushed and grunted my couches aroudn the living room this morning, until I found a new arrangement that would work better and still "feel" right. I think I may have finally settled on the configuration I can live with for a while. Now, I can work on getting pictures up on walls, candles out on tables and shelves. Yes, I can finally DECORATE!! YAY!!! I'd do a happy dance, but it would jar my shoulder too much! :)

Well, I've used my few minutes of break time to type this up. I'm off to tackle something else!!!

:)

Borrowed Thot

One of the best things a parent
can do for a child is make
that child feel that home is the
happiest place in the world.

A Mother Is Love

Rest is needful

I've been in PAIN today. For whatever reason, my shoulders keep getting so tightened up that it hurts to even be awake. It hurts to move. It hurts to be still. It hurts to sit. It hurts to lie down. It hurts to stand. You get my point. IT HURTS!! Throw in a little one that has wanted nothing but to be held and close to me today, and you get me--a very tired, slighty grumpy me.

I am also very much missing Ryan. He's been gone for over a week now, staying with Grandma for a visit. It's been so long since she has been up to having him, but I'm more than ready for him to come home. As it is right now though, it will be another week and a couple days before I get to hug him again. I'm sad. I may not make it that long. I may just have to call to tell them to bring my baby home!!!

It's nearly eleven now. Brandon has finally cried himself to sleep. Poor baby has chosen to take the hard road these last few nights and cry it out, instead of peacefully being cuddled to sleep. Boys are that way. Are girls? Maybe one day I'll have an answer to that.

I think that my body is tired enough now to possibly fall asleep even with the pain. I still can't hold my head up straight without sharp jabs down to my fingertips, but I need to rest.

Until the next moments of quiet, I'll leave you with this quote from my A Mother Is Love calendar.

For God is sheer beauty, all generous in love, loyal always and ever.
Psalm 100:5
THE MESSAGE

:)

Father and Son

Oldies, but goodies!

Lessons Learned :)

Here's an example of what happens when I forget to zip my purse. Ryan decided to put make up on Brandon. Fun times!!!!
:)

Borrowed Thots

The woman who creates and sustains a home...
is a creator second only to God.

Helen Hunt Jackson

Bear with me, people. I've been very uncreative when it comes to my blog of late. I have thoughts rolling around in my head, but when it comes to getting them in order and in the white box, there seems to be a lack of communication between my brain and my fingers.

So, stay tuned. Maybe I'll get the creative juices flowing again soon. Right now, I'm off to do a little housework before my love walks through the door.

:)

Forever Love

On June 17, 2000, I married my high school sweetheart, the love of my life. Now, eight years later, we are still so much in love and have so very much to be thankful for. It amazes me to think of everything we've been through together, everything we've experienced as a couple, everything that brought us together. God has been so good to us!!

To my husband~

Thank you so much for loving me, caring for our boys and me, providing for us, and just being here. You've always been my safe place when things are falling apart around us. Thank you for your strength. I am so grateful that the Lord put us together, that he joined our lives in such an awesome way. I pray that we will have MANY more years together, raising our children, loving and growing old together. Thank you for a wonderful day yesterday. I couldn't have wished for more! :)

I love you, today and always.

The Audrey Smith Story

Below are three vidoes that chronicle the journey that Todd and Angie Smith have gone through these last months. I'd encourage you to spend a few minutes listening to them tell the story of their daughter Audrey. I think it will bless you as it blessed me yesterday.

Joy and Sorrow

I spent some time this morning reading about Audrey Caroline Smith. I've shed many tears and been reminded that my Lord doeth all things well.

My heart and my arms ache for my own daughter, but I rejoice in the knowledge that she is with Audrey in heaven. They are safe and happy in the arms of Jesus. How can I wish them back to this world of hurt, sorrow and pain?

Oh, Jesus, help me to see You always in every storm and truly trust that You know and control every outcome. Thank you for allowing me to carry and love my Abigail while she was here with us.

June 10

Today is a special, special day for our family!!

Four years and nine months ago(or somewhere around that!) those two pink lines appeared! I can still remember how I felt. I was pretty sure of the outcome of that test, but to actually see it confirmed after such a difficult loss was almost overwhelming. But it was true!!! A few weeks later, my doctor told me that all was going well. We would welcome a new little baby the next June. I remember that first of many sonograms that revealed that we would be having a baby boy. With Steven and my parents there with me, it was a special moment we will all treasure.

I can't say that those nine months flew by, but eventually, we did come to this day four years ago. The day that we finally got to meet our little boy. The day we actually got to hold our baby and know for sure that everything was going to be ok. We had a son!

We welcomed into our life and our family Ryan David Walker. Weighing in at 6lbs, 6oz, he was just a little guy, but oh, how we loved him!! How we STILL love him!

Today he turns four years old. He getting so very big that it almost makes me sad. My tiny baby boy who needed me for everything imaginable is now a tall, skinny boy who has a definite independent streak.

I'm thankful that he still needs those hugs and snuggles every day though. Ryan is my cuddle boy. He has a hard time going to sleep if Mommy doesn't snuggle, hug, kiss and pray with him. I treasure these times because I know that soon enough he's going to be "too big" for those icky kisses. :)

So, happy birthday, my Ryan! We love you and are so thankful for this new year of life to watch you grow and change and learn new things.

Venting....

Here's reason NOT to have two CVS cards.

I have no problems buying what ever is on the ad with my two cards. I mostly get good service at checkout and have relatively very few problems.

However, last week was an exception. I bought the Tide that was on sale with ECB's. Guess what? I didn't get my ECB's either time that I checked out! Not a problem though, right? I can just call them up and get my account credited. Well, it turns out they would only credit one account because the limit is "per household" now. I'm only a little frustrated because they may "say" that, but they aren't enforcing it, unless of course you have problem like I had.

Argh...I'm frustrated. But at least I'm stocked up on Tide.

I'm just waiting for the next thing they will change. It has only been in the last few months that the ad has started to say "per household" on the limits. What else do they have in store, I wonder?

As usual, I'll get over this inconvenience and keep shopping CVS, but for right now, I needed to vent a little. It's hard to do the prep, get out to the store (have you SEEN the gas prices??) and not to mention, it's hard to shop with my boys in tow!!! Now, when I have a problem that I need help with, CVS has let me down. My thought is this--If they are going to say "per household" on the their limits, then actually make it "per household". Don't let me use my husband's card, except of course when their system has a kink in it that takes away my ECB's!!!!!!

Tired, but good!

Whew, what a few days it has been around here!!

I spent between five and six hours cleaning at my parent's house Friday. I was only able to get it all done because my wonderful husband kept my two boys busy. Saturday I spent the morning getting coupons together for my all-afternoon shopping trip to CVS and Walmart. It was a very full day that finally ended around 10:30, with my hubby and I falling, exhausted, into bed.

It was all good though!!! I'm so glad that I'm able to be here for my parents. I know that if I were not available to look after things at home, they wouldn't have as much liberty to travel to the mission field. It's the little something the Lord has enabled me to do to aid in the spread of the gospel to Asia! Amazing!

I have a VERY hectic week before me, so I better sign off for now. My days are packed full of activities, including an out of town trip to a MLB game this weekend for Ryan's fourth birthday!!! More about all that to come.

I'll sign off for now. My boys are still up and running, and I need to get them settled for the night.

:)