Simple Woman's Daybook 09/29/2008

Outside my Window...my dogs are laying in the dirt in the shade, trying to stay cool.

I am thinking...I have got to find a way to get more sleep.

From the learning rooms...Josh has a California state project due in a few weeks and we had better get started on it early.

I am thankful for...my cousin Jina's pregnancy after 7-8 years of trying, I am thankful I could make it to her shower and spend the weekend with my parents.

From the kitchen...a running dishwasher and bare cupboards, I really need to go to the store.

I am wearing...gray capris and a pink shirt.

I am reading...Sunset by Karen Kingsbury.

I am hoping...our trip to Vegas gets cancelled next weekend.

I am creating...a list of things that need to get done this week.

I am hearing...the hum of my ceiling fan and nothing more.

Around the house...football cleats and gear all over.

One of my favorite things...cross stitching but I haven't had time to do it in at least 2 months.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...Same as always, gymnastics, football practice, brownies meeting, but I neeed to add for this week... Josh has a religious knot class on Friday afternoon (for cub scouts) and has homework for that. I think my dad is going to come visit this weekend, wish my mom could come too. So that means we gotta find time to really clean too.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...



My last baby lost her first upper tooth. It makes me so sad. When I told her that she said, mommy I will always be your baby.

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Things You'll Soon Discover With Your New Baby Girl!

I found this card tonight for my cousin.... Jina if you happen to read this before Saturday, don't go any further.

Anyway, I found the most perfect card for her baby shower. A little history on Jina... She is my very sweet cousin who has been married for 10 years and has spent I think about 7-8 years trying to get pregnant. She finally has a baby growing in her tummy and she informs me that I will see her belly before I see her. How cute is that? She and her husband Mike are going to make the most amazing parents.

The card reads...

Things you'll soon discover with your new baby girl...

That raising your own princess
beats any fairy tale.

That a lot of great big people
can be wrapped around
one tiny finger.

That a toothless smile can light up the world
like instant sunshine.

That watching her sleep
is (sometimes) more satisfying
than finding sleep yourself.

And most of all...
that there's no greater joy than having a little girl
to love.

Doesn't that card just bring tears to your eyes? It did for me.

I can't wait to go to see my parents tomorrow, just me and my mom and dad tomorrow night and all day Friday. Friday morning breakfast with my parents and brother. Mental note to get a picture of the four of us. Then Friday night I will see my cousin Jina and her hubby Mike, her sister Jennifir is coming in from TN whom I cannot wait to see either and my aunt and uncle from TX. A great family reunion. Saturday is Jina's shower and then Saturday night I am back home to my family. I am going to miss them so much and all week they have been telling me how much they will miss me but how happy they are that I get to see my parents. Don't you think it is amazing that my children (6, 9 and 12 y/o) have the mind set to think about that aspect? God thank you for my amazing family.

Things that make me happy...

My friend Lisa made a list of silly things that make her happy and asked if anyone would like to share... so here goes.

* Any book written by Karen Kingsbury
* Pink bubble gum ice cream
* Camping
* Mexican food
* Football
* Crashing waves at the beach
* Cross stitch
* Music
* Christmas morning
* The quiet moments in my house
* A message from God when I least expect it and need it most
* My dogs first thing in the morning
* Riding quads with my family
* A tidy house
* My kids giggling

The Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today .... September 22nd

Outside my Window... Is a gorgeous day... and I mean gorgeous. I am pretty picky about what is considered gorgeous, but is a clear beautiful 78* day.

From the kitchen... The ants are gone and the kitchen is fairly clean.

From the learning rooms... A 100% on a spelling test for my 1st grader and 4th grader. I am so incredibly proud of both of them. And my 4th grader got student of the month.

I am thankful for... tears. I went to a funeral this morning, I did not know the man, but his daughter's family attends our church. Tears always make me feel better, even when they sometimes are caused by painful memories of my sisters death or thoughts of when it will be one of my parents who I am burrying.

I am wearing... gray sweat capri's and a light blue t-shirt. If felt so good to get out of my black skirt and pink sweater after the funeral.

I am reading... A Thousand Tomorrow's by Karen Kingsbury.

I am hearing... The sound of country music on my radio as I work.

Around the house... is proof of a lived in home with 3 busy children and 2 busy parents. But hey, I do the best I can.

One of my favorite things... is going to my boys football games. I love to watch them play and cheer for them. Even when I have a ball in my gut when the game is a close one.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... Gymnastics for Courtney this evening, football practice for the boys, tomorrow is boy scouts for Luke, take my ring in to get the stone fixed AGAIN and Thursday I leave for Arizona to spend a couple of days with my parents without the kids.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

Since my thoughts are with my sister so much, I found these pictures of the two of us when we were about 3 and 4 or maybe 2 and 3. She is on the left in both pictures. She died 20 years ago when she was 16 years old. I have been calling my daughter Courtney, Karon, on accident recently. I don't even feel like she has been on my mind recently. And even my daughter called my sister in law Aunt Karon last night and she is Aunt Kimberly. How could that happen? I can kind of understand how I could call my daughter Karon, but Courtney messing it up????

Thanks Peggy for helping me to remember the simple things... http://thesimplewoman.blogspot.com/

Simple Woman's Daybook 09/16/2008

http://thesimplewoman.blogspot.com/

For Today...

Outside my Window... It is bright and sunny and very hot!

From the learning rooms... The kids will probably have a "hot day", kinda like snow days, but when it is over 100 they don't go out for recess.

From the kitchen... Roaming ants all over the counter. I don't know what else to do, I spray and spray where they are coming in and they make it through after it dries.

I am reading... A thousand tomorrows by Karen Kingsbury.

I am hoping...to be productive at work this week.

I am hearing...country music.

Around the house... Lots of laundry. We cleaned out our camper and all the blankets, jackets, bedding came in to be washed and it is throwing me all off.

One of my favorite things...Hearing my children play together.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...A fairly easy week, football practice and football pictures for the boys, Brownies for Courtney... but none of that until Friday.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...



My first real sewing project. I cross stitched a camping sampler and made it in to a pillow for my husband. This isn't the finished project, of course, but I was so excited to have gotten this far with very little sewing machine experience and no pattern for the pillow part. :)

Where was God on 9/11/2001?

I found this somewhere else on the internet, written a year ago...

Not long after the horrific events that occurred six years ago today, I heard several people ask, "Where was God on 9/11?" The best answer to that question came from a young woman who lived in New York City. I don't remember what the woman looked like, her age or what she wore. But what I do remember is what she said. She said that God was right there on 9/11. He was climbing 80 flights of stairs rescuing people from the towers; he was digging through the burning rubble trying to find survivors. He was comforting those that staggered through the smoke and dust looking for friends and co-workers. As this woman pointed out, God didn't desert this country on 9/11. The spirit of God was working in and through so many people. It was love in action on a scale that this country had not seen in many years. All I can say is, "Amen, sister."

My children's school had an assembly this morning where the principal explained the events of 09/11/2001 and the theme was HEROS. Some of the classes sang songs or recited poems. He asked military, fire, law enforcement personnel to come up and light candles and we observed a moment of silence to the song Taps. It was so moving.



Where were you and what were you doing the morning of this terrible tragedy?

It was early here, in California, I had just gotten up. My oldest had just started Kindergarten about 3 weeks earlier and I remember I didn't even want him to go to school. I had just, a week earlier, found out I was pregnant with our last child. It seemed so strange today when the principal said "some of you were not even born yet."

I am sure we all remember like yesterday the pain we felt in our hearts for the people in NY, PA and at the Pentagon. God was with us, God is always with us. Evil did this, God didn't let it happen... He just gives us the strength get through it.

Death is never easy.

There is a lady in our church who has been very ill and we have been expecting her to go meet our Heavenly Father for months now... well, yesterday was the day. She took her last breaths around 5 a.m. We do not know her or her husband very well, but John is their Lay Minister (elder) at church, he calls them and several other families every month to check in on them. He has made a couple of stops in to see her this summer and even one time, knowing that John has a beautiful voice, she asked him to sing What A Friend We Have In Jesus. He has never really lost anyone close to him. Of course his grandparents, but he was so young or not even born yet when they died, he has known people who have died, but he feels this sense of responsibility to them since they were on his call list. He had plans to go visit the family tonight. He hadn't acted like he wanted me to go so I didn't plan on it. As he was walking out the door he asked me to go with him. So we gave the kids explicit instructions on safety in the house and said we'd be back within 30 minutes, they live 2 minutes away from us. He asked me what he should say, he was so nervous. I lost my sister 20 years ago and deal daily with her death. I just told him to be himself, don't think about what he should say, search his heart for the words (in simple terms, don't be formal). We sat with him for about 20 minutes and John just sat there chiming in a little bit, but I asked about his children, about her last couple of days, about the few minutes before her death, the funeral and burial service and as we were walking out he said that Sunday would have been their 59th wedding anniversary... with John on one side and I on the other we hugged him and he just layed his head in towards our shoulders (kinda like a group hug) and he cried. He cried about how they came and took away all the medical equipment today. He looked so exhausted, I pray he gets some sleep these next couple of days. We got in the car and John said he was so glad I came along with him, that everything I did was perfect. That was a nice compliment coming from him in a situation that is so difficult. We were a little worried that since we are not real close to them that he would be polite to us for our sake and that we would feel like we were intruding, but it didn't feel that way at all.

When I was sitting and listening to him talk about his wife I couldn't help but think about what it was like as she was finally having the great honor of meeting Jesus. For my whole life I thought about death and what it does to the people who are left behind, not giving a lot of thought to the one who goes to Heaven. But in my studies and my prayers I have learned to not be afraid of death. Of course there is pain and you are never ready to say good-bye, even when it is so expected. But the joy of Heaven crosses my mind now. My prayers now are for this sweet little man who has been married to this woman for longer than I have been alive... by a long shot. I hope he finds peace in his memories with his wife and that his love for the Lord helps him through this week.

Simple Woman's Daybook 09/08/2008

Thanks to the Original Simple Woman for doing this. Visit her blog at http://">http://thesimplewoman.blogspot.com/ for the rules and her thoughts.

For Today...

Outside my Window...It doesn't look hot (but it is), the leaves are rustling in a light breeze and there are streams of white clouds against a beautiful blue sky.

I am thinking...I wonder if I will get results faster if I do sit ups more than once a day.

From the learning rooms...spelling words galore.

I am thankful... that my middle son got his room almost completely clean, closet is mostly done and that he is such a good boy.

From the kitchen... cleanness for a change.

I am wearing...blue denim shorts and a yellow t-shirt and bare feet.

I am reading... The Power of a Praying Parent.

I am hoping... we find out my boys football game schedules for the rest of the season soon, I am a serious planner and can't seem to relax about this.

I am creating... a cross stitch picture of a black, chocolate and yellow lab.

I am hearing... the sound of country music.

Around the house... are ants, ants and more ants. I can't wait for the heat to go away.

One of my favorite things... a fun day at the beach with my family.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...gymnastics this afternoon with Courtney, football practice and games for the boys and a youth group fundraiser at Jose's Mexican restaraunt where I hope to run into all of our friends and have dinner together. Boy Scouts for Luke and hopefully a relaxing couple of days for Josh in the middle of the week. He's not adjusting well to all the school work in 4th grade.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...


A picture of my family walking in front of me. I love that my husband is holding our little girl's hand and walking with his other arm draped over our oldest son's shoulder. In front of them is our middle son walking with a friend. To me the affection is completely obvious.

OK so I am doing it.

Last night I couldn't sleep, I had a big day yesterday, it was hot and my mind was just all over the place, so I didn't go to bed until about 12:45 and I prayed... I went through all the steps of confession, thankfulness and then my requests. It felt good. This morning I woke up, got the kids up and then decided to take a few minutes and did a set of 10 sit ups on the weight bench, 10 leg lifts, 10 arm exercises and then I did it all again. I realized that I have about 45 minutes in the morning before I have to take Josh and COurtney to school - A good time to exercise and then I come home and have about 45 minutes before I have to take Luke to school - A good time to shower and then I have to work until 3:30. So I am going to try that out. Maybe this week or next I will add it 15 minutes or so on either the treadmill or bike too. More than that and I will have to find another time to exercise because I still have to help them do a few things to get ready. Anyway, I am off to a good start and I feel good about it.

Seek the Lord Sunday

How has the Lord touched my heart lately? I am so ashamed of my place in life right now. I have been so busy with family and kids and work I have made no time for myself, exercise, let alone God. I know how important prayer is and how it changes my life, and yet I have made very little time for it recently. I had even gotten in the habit of prayer just as I got into bed at midnight after work, even if I was so tired and could only tell God this was going to have to be quick because I am about to fall asleep, I would utter as much as I could before falling off to sleep. Still made me feel so good to pray before I fell asleep. I used to pray every week with a friend, we would pray for our children, but we have not gotten back to doing that since school started again. I used to read all the time and am a chapter or two into the Power of a Praying Parent. I am so exhausted all the time, I am gaining a few pounds, the house isn't as clean as I like it, the laundry is behind, my work is not as good as it should be, I am not reading and I am not praying. So I guess my answer to how has the Lord touched my heart lately? is that He has touched my heart by realizing this. I keep Him close in my heart regularly, continually trying to be more Christ-like, but it doesn't feel good to try without His help. So, here are my thoughts, praying will resume tonight, exercising, even just a little bit will resume tomorrow, as well as healthier eating and working on my weight and focusing on work when I should be working. Hopefully the rest will fall in to place.

I thought God would work it out.

I really believe there is a plan for us all and God knows what he is doing. We signed our boys up for Pop Warner football against our better judgment of playing games on Sundays. It is a much better league for us compared to the other league in town. We had such a horrible season last year. Anyway, we thought God will work it out for us. It isn't working out perfect... okay... doable... but not perfect. Next week we can make it to church but will have to race home right after church, get on football gear and leave within 15 minutes or so.... to travel 45-60 minutes away for game 1 and somehow get kid #2 to his game 20 minutes from there. It will all work out and we will get home in time for Luke to make it to confirmation Sunday evening. But today we had a youth kick off event at church and Josh's game was throughout the whole party. Thankfully his game was home and by half time they were up 19-0 so Luke Courtney and I left at half time to go to the party. I am on the planning committe for youth events so it was important. Next weekend is our first children's worship service. We decided to do a service totally geared towards kids once a month during the sunday school hour. Well I will have to miss next week. I am so disappointed because we have so many fun things planned. The kids are missing Sunday School most if not all weeks and Luke's is doing a series called Grapple that I think is going to be so wonderful. And I am nearly positive we will miss the church picnic this year, unless both boys are playing at home in the morning. The most important one though is Josh's first communion is on 11/2 and I am so afraid we will have to miss football to do this.... most definitely this is more important, but I just hope we don't have to make the choice. I think I will feel so much better when the whole schedule comes out, they only have the first few weeks figured out right now. I am just on pins and needles about this. Next year will be a hard decision for us.... a league we don't like that plays on Saturdays or a league we like that plays on Sundays. And it is so expensive, we really need to put aside about $500 per kid, and Courtney will cheer next year, so that makes $1500. Anyway, this is a good test for me. It has been frustrating. I need to work this week, on relying on God to work it out the way it is supposed to work out and to accepting whatever comes our way and finding peace with what God has given us.

So now we know...

Who do you like as our new president and VP? McCain and Palin or Obama and Biden?

I wasn't too crazy about our republican choice for Pres, and when Palin was announced as his running mate I was pretty uncertain... but wow she has won me over. Her speech last night was amazing.

What direction are you leaning for voting on November 4th and why?