A Sad Day

On Sunday night we lost our sweet little dog, Azima (pronounced Ozzie-ma). She was the best dog I have ever owned, and trust me I have had a few! She got sick on Saturday and died in just over 24 hours. We have no idea what happened.
I blame the dog food (got to blame something right) so I have been cooking for our other two dogs for all of this week. I can honestly say, I love them, but this is getting old! Of course I won't feed them the dog food in question, I will buy new.
Our dear sweet little dog left behind 4 beautiful, healthy little pups. Three of which will make some family very happy pet owners. Yes, you read right three. Ok, so that runt is the one my husband is "undecided on keeping". Clearly we have all decided that keeping him is a good idea. I mean Azima would have wanted that, right? And certainly we can't have just two dogs! Our youngest isn't allowed to sleep in our bed yet, I don't want him to sleep alone. Not to mention we are insane around here and one more dog wouldn't be noticed...much.
We will all miss Azima very much. She was playful yet laid back, you could always count on her to give you loves when you needed it most. We rescued her and gave her a wonderful life.
My girls have learned to much about death in the past year. Time for a new lesson. Time to rediscover how wonderfully complicated life can be, yet simple at the same time. Time to notice the little things. Time to slow down and be thankful for everything, not just the good, but the bad to. Yes, that means thankful for even the pee on the floor that we have to clean up caused by the two healthy puppies we have. Going to pat their sweet little heads and clean up the trash they just pulled out now! =)

Sorry, This is Just Plain Ranting!

Ok, I know I promised you all that I would post about my feelings on Political Correctness. I am sure you were all waiting on the edge of your seats for those profound words. Well something else is stuck in my craw and you will just have to hear a little about that.
So, Christmas has come and gone. School has resumed and brought the promises of L.E.A.P right along with it. For those of you outside of Louisiana, L.E.A.P is a standardized test that fourth and eighth graders take. If they don't pass this test they will fail for the year. Doesn't matter what your grades for the year are (I mean you could have straight A's and still fail for the year) you will not pass.
Now personally L.E.A.P makes me want to do just that LEAP and not in a good way, like in the abandon ship way! I really think that all the pressure and stress that is being put on young children is appalling. Really I think it should be considered a form of child abuse! So far I have heard "The teacher says the test is real hard." "We are practicing our essays for L.E.A.P." "Tomorrow we have to practice the math part of L.E.A.P" So, where is Art, Music, or heck Reading, Spelling ect.? Oh I know they are in there too, but right now its all about stressing our kids out beyond belief. Like they don't have a lifetime to experience stress, lets add some adult created junk to the mix. What happened to just being able to be kids? What happened to Reading, Writing and Arithmetic? Its gone, all gone. Now reading counts for something, math has all new definitions of its own, and writing...well writing is directed and prompted.
Now I understand bullying, they are taking their frustrations out on other students! Yes, I know that is not necessarily a fact, but think about it....
L.E.A.P needs to go. Plain and simple it needs to go. It doesn't create better students or better teachers or even better schools. Its all about Federal Funding, REALLY?!?!?! The government makes schools EARN money to teach our kids at the sacrifice of our children.
Now don't you just feel warm and fuzzy inside?
Oh, and don't worry I promise to enlighten you with my thoughts on Political Correctness one day soon! Just kidding....maybe?

The World and Discontent and Other Rantings!

Theory of Relativity: No two objects can occupy the same space at the same time.
In the same way, my heart, my life, my soul cannot be occupied by both the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world at the same time.
Technology, I LOVE it! I have to admit, if someone offered me unlimited spending at any store of my choice I would pick Best Buy! Everyone would have the newest electronic devices, my TV would be powered by Google, my appliances would be top of the line...then what? What would be next? Really those things would be out of date by the time we walked out of the store. Wow, technology moves fast.
Wants move just as fast. My children want all the time. One wants a Barbie Jeep, one doesn't really know what she wants, EVER! Contentment never seems to come. As a adult it took major life events to reach contentment. God won't give you more until you are content with what he has given to you. Just like as parents we try not to overload our children with things that they are ungrateful for, God won't overload us until we show gratitude. How do you get this thru to a 10 year old or a 6 year old?
The world tells them they have to have more and more and more. Their friends tell them they have the best of the best, making them feel inferior.
Ah to go back to the simple life! George Carlin said it best "Do kids even play with sticks anymore?" Society has created indoor kids that don't have to use their imagination anymore. Schools tell them what to learn, how to learn it, and when to learn it. They color in the lines are told what to write about in their journals and that what they wrote isn't long enough or good enough.
Society tells adults that they don't do enough, make enough, have enough. They measure success by the car you drive, the house you live in, the clothes you wear, where you shop, where you get your hair done, the job you have, oh the list could go on. Who is setting these standards?
The MEDIA! All over TV we are told we are to fat, not politically correct (don't get me started on THAT one, that is a topic for another post), we need to stop bullying (again don't get me started) we have to accept everyone and everything that they do (oh and we HAVE to LIKE it!), that the government is on our side (LOL)ect......this list could go on forever.
When did we stop thinking for ourselves? Society has taught adults to color in the lines right along with our children. They even tell us how we should raise our children and how we should take care of our pets!
You can't have two Masters. Even Christians fall into the society rat trap. They pretend to live to a standard that they really can't meet. We are to strive to be Christ like, we can't obtain that. God knows this, he knows your heart, he knows your thoughts before they leave your lips. You can't hide from those thoughts and you sure can't hide them from God! Presenting yourself to others as perfect because you go to church isn't realistic. You turn to God because you are not perfect! He created you, He knows you, He loves you in spite of yourself!!
Discontentment comes because we have strayed away from being free thinkers. We have lost sight of what is really important. I am NOT pointing fingers at anyone, every single one of us are guilty of it at one time or another. God recognized this when he wrote the Ten Commandments. You know the ones, Thou shall not Kill ect...have you ever thought about the last one:
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Exodus 20:17. We covet all the time! How do you avoid doing this? Is it even possible? Clearly God knows it isn't.
So, back to my original statement...its time to get rid of this stinkin thinkin that society has pushed on us. Time to truly get our hearts, lives and souls occupied by the Kingdom of God not the Kingdom of Best Buy, Walmart, Disney ect.....Will we be perfect at this, I doubt it, will our imperfection be forgiven, DEFINITELY!! Will God help us attain it, sure He will all you have to do is ask. Will you trip over the latest and greatest new thing you just have to have, yeppers! (just being a realist here)When you do, just ask again. We really have to get back to basics!

What a Day!

Well, I say "What a Day!", but really it started yesterday about 2:30pm. That was when I got the phone call from school saying my little one was running fever. I headed out and picked up both girls. We gave Magic Motrin and all seemed fine. Of course we woke up with fever again this morning. No big deal, fevers come and go, but this time it brought a rash! YIKES! What the heck is that? Of course I called the Dr.s office and went in. We are the proud owners of a virus. Yep, we are right up there with the rest of the world. Guess it was only a matter of time before something hit us. I will take it, so far its a mild little thing just causing us to slow down and get some rest. Rest is good!
Soooo, I come home to my poor hubby looking so sad sitting at the kitchen table. I tell you he had tears in his eyes. Did I mention that our 6 month old puppy was locked in the dog crate desperately pleading his case? Still not sure what happened, I hated to ask actually, but of course I went there. Hubby had come in and caught the puppy in the middle of the kitchen table. No big deal...right? Nope, he had knocked over a glass of Coke, which of course spread across the entire table top right under (here is the tears in his eyes part) my precious laptop!!! Bless my hubby's heart, right after disciplining the dog he took to drying my laptop for a half and hour. I could tell how much it pained him to tell me all of this! Well the dog was blessed with the grace of God and my laptop is just fine.
Sooo, I took out a pack of frozen pork chops to cook for dinner. Did I mention that something is wrong with our central heat, it just doesn't seem to be doing the best job in the world. Kind of explains the almost 300.00 light bill! YIKES! Ok, so I digress (get used to it, I do it often) Anyway, the pork chops, I come home from the doctors office and after the laptop fun, I realize it was time to start dinner. Now I am really trying to cook home way more often, no stop laughing, I mean it really! Can you believe it, they are still frozen solid!! Dollar menu here we come. I was so annoyed!
Ah so this day will pass. All the things that need to get done will get done, somehow. The list is long for this week and the week is running out. Somehow I have to get out back and help clean this nice new kitchen so we can get work started, however right now I am going to give this day back to the Lord and relax! I guess you could say I quit, at least for now! LOL

UGH!!!!! Quit Stirring in God's Kool-aid!

UGH!!! Ever feel like that? That is exactly how I felt this afternoon. My poor, dear, sweet friend happened to call me during this UGH moment. Bless her sweet heart she listened to my ranting and raving and venting, I feel so bad that I still don't even know the reason for her call. (so sorry chickie!!) I can't tell you how thankful I was that she just listened to me!
Now I know that this UGH moment was just that feisty devil stirring in my Kool-aid. And, sadly, I let him stir away. I think he even tried to change the flavor!
Ever forget that God really is in control, that He set plans in motion and has the end of those plans in His hands. Ever try to take that mess on by yourself and forget to stop and ask for His help. I am so guilty of that this afternoon.
I am over it now, God will prevail, His plan will be unfolded and successful. I just have to remember to quit stirring in God's Kool-aid!!!!!

How Can You Not Be Proud of That!!!!

I was reading my dear friends blog this evening, with my two kiddos "helping" over my shoulder. On the side of her blog are buttons for an organization which helps families adopt children from overseas who have Downs Syndrome. It is called Reece's Rainbow. These adoptions are very expensive and RR raises funding for grants to help with the costs. Please check this out! These children need homes, there future is not a good one if they stay where they are, but I don't want to get into that now.
As I was reading I was sharing the cutie bug pics of these sweet babies with my family. I was saying how if I had unlimited funds we would have a huge house with tons of adopted babies to share our life with us. Now my girls fight, not all the time, but they do get sick of each other and would at times love to be an only child! I was so happy to hear them both say "that would be so cool!" My babies!!!
So...please check out the button to your left, no, no the one at the top left. You see it the one with the cutie bug kiddos! If you can't donate, please pray that others who can will. Pray for these babies and those God has chosen to bring them home. Or you can just pray I win the Power Ball and they would all have homes!=)

What a Great Idea!!!

I was just reading a short article in the "Focus on the Family" magazine called "thriving family". If you don't get this magazine, I highly suggest you start! They have great articles, wonderful age appropriate ideas for the kiddos and great info on sharing the Gospel with your children using teachable moments.
Anyway...they had a list of 50 unique New Years Resolutions. Everything from turning off the televsion one night and spending family time to writing last years resolutions on toilet paper and having a flushing party. Here is my favorite "have ice cream for breakfast and cereal for dinner"!
Thanks to my cousin (although my kids think it was my novel idea, all the credit goes to my cuz)my kiddos get to eat anything they want for breakfast on Saturday mornings. They love it! We have been doing this for about 8 years now. Ice cream, been there done that. My favorite breakfast was when B made Jo an Hershey's syrup and jelly bean sandwich! Clearly this was done when we were sleeping! They decided quickly that it was not the best sandwich in the world and haven't made it again.
Oh I know breakfast is the most important meal of the day...blah, blah, blah. Ice cream, candy, chips, left overs whatever it is they want its FUN!!!! For them Saturday mornings is the "coolest ever!" and they look forward to it. I have even heard them planning earlier in the week what they plan to find on Saturday.
So this week or next week, give it a try! Oh, but try to skip the Hershey/jelly bean sandwich!!

Insanity....nah! Just random thoughts

A dear friend of mine told me last night that "you remind me of one of those old ladies who goes to the grocery after church with a ton of coupons and makes 10 extra stops to save a buck!" Boy did she peg me. Ok, so I don't go on a Sunday, the stores are to crowded for me, but I do all the rest proudly!!
Call me cheap, thrifty or whatever, but I will save a dollar where I can! I scour sale ads, cut coupons or print them off the net, answer surveys on the back of receipts for free food..the list goes on! If its legit I am in!!! So far my hubby and I have eaten lunch at Burger King for $1.08 total, breakfast at Chick-fil-La for $1.42 total! I am have a code for a free chicken sandwich and will have a code for a free Whopper by tomorrow! Last month when I did my grocery shopping, between coupons and sales I saved roughly $80.00.
Ok, so did any of you see the crazy coupon people on TLC? I am not that bad. I only buy what I need, I don't stock pile stuff just because I can get it cheap. I have to admit if I was getting it free, I might think about it! I really couldn't finish watching that show, I don't know why, it was to much for me.
Oh, I do answer surveys and read paid emails. It only takes a few clicks and about an hour a day. It has taken me only a few weeks to earn money. I am realizing thru doing all of this that it isn't completely the saving of money that drives me to do it. It is the thrill of finding that really great deal.
So this was a totally random thought for the day. If you want to know about any of the survey sites or paid email sites, just ask! As for me I will continue to be the little old lady with coupons!

Thoughts on God

I have been thinking a lot about God and His purpose for our lives.  Ok so to be fair someone put these thoughts in motion, I am just running with them.  I hear all about God's purpose for our lives.  We need to find His purpose and fulfill it.  Here is my thought on that.  What is the difference in us finding purpose in our lives that God has set for us and Oprah or Dr. Phil telling us we need to have purpose?  Just because its used in a Godly sense the idea is still the same.  What purpose exactly are we looking for and why do we HAVE to have one?  The sense of having purpose is a comforting feeling that our lives have meaning.  If you don't find your purpose does that mean your  life had no meaning?  NO! I don't think so!!!

As a couple we decided to have children.  We didn't have a specific purpose in mind for their lives or existence.  We are blessed with two beautiful children who daily give us joy.  Yes, they sometimes give us grief, but how does their behavior differ from our behavior through God's eyes? As parents we love, teach and delight in our children.  Doesn't God do the same with us?  He teaches through His Word, loves us and delights in us.  He created us to have relationship with Him.  He didn't create us with a specific job in mind.  What I mean is he didn't create me to specifically be a doctor.  How do I know? Easy, He knew me before I was born, He knew me at the creation of the Earth.  He created the Earth with no sickness, the fall brought that mess. There was no need for doctors or specific job titles in general.   

So to say He has a specific job in mind for us baffles me.  I believe he wants us to be successful (wouldn't you want that for your children), He wants us to show Him through our walk in life to others so they may choose to come to know Him.  To have that relationship we were created to have with Him.  I believe that He does open and close doors for us, but not to show us that path to our purpose, but to show us the path to His will. There is a difference between His will for us and His purpose for us.

I think that to often we make our walk with God hard on ourselves.  God wants us to enjoy our lives! Don't you love watching your children enjoying life.  Isn't it delightful to hear giggles of children blowing bubbles, or playing in the beautiful outdoors.  Don't you think God smiles when we stop to watch a sunset He created or smell a flower?  How do I know God wants us to enjoy His creation to the fullest.....ready....He created fire flies.  Yep, fire flies.  What purpose do fire flies really serve to the eco system. Ok, so don't go google it, I am just making a point.  God took the time to create a bug who's butt lights up for our amusement.  What a cool God! Come on, you know just thinking about them makes you smile, you can almost smell a hint of summer air.  Oh and if you are lucky enough to live in the south you can even smell the night jasmine while thinking about it!!!

If fire flies, sunsets, flowers and many other things were created for us to enjoy in life.  Why can't our God ordained purpose be to delight God in every way? It doesn't matter your job title, status in society, or any other social demand, if you what you do for the Glory of God, if your light shines bright for all to see, if you make one person smile because you were kind, did you not fulfill your purpose?

Wrapping up 2010

Wow, what a roller coaster of a year! Ok so every year ends that way doesn't it.  Looking back at the past 12 months, thinking "Wow some of that was really hard! Can't wait for a new year to start!".  Really is any year different from each other.  Oh the events change, the scenes change and even the people in the story change, but in reality the mountains we had in January usually seem like mole hills in December.

Our year started out on a high, went down to what we thought was a low and is ending higher than ever.  Our mountains aren't even mole hills now.  

Our family lost some great members, we lost a great friend.  All were welcomed into the arms of Christ.  Our sadness in losing them selfish in wanting more time to spend with them here.  I say selfish...oh to wake to the beautiful face of our Lord and Savior! Dancing in heaven, pain and sickness free, waiting for us to join them..now that's the life! We think of them often, very often.  Donald duck on tv..yep that's my Uncle Donald.  Poor man couldn't walk in the house when we were little without us (ok ME) wanting him to talk like a duck! He acted like he didn't want to, but did it anyway (shhh don't tell but I think he liked it too!) Man he could boil crawfish like no other!  My Mamaw, now there is a woman of strength down to the end of her life.  She taught us so much, things she didn't even realize she was teaching us.  Now if she just would have taught us how to make her famous raspberry squares! Can't get them to come out the same.  Funny the things that remind me of her...banana Laffy Taffy, dog treats (yes dog treats you read that right), paper plates, I could go on and on!  Funny the things that bring back memories.  Then there is Dr. Phil.  Can't remember how we ended up calling him Dr. Phil, it just became his nick name.  Wow he had a smile that could light up a room!  Always a kind word, he just brightened your day by being him.  Then there was Baby. I know most people wouldn't put their family pet right up there with loved one's but in our family pets don't know they aren't human and I am not about to be the one to let them in on that secret. Such a great dog! She was always so sweet to let my daddy use her recliner!

One business closed.  That was a shocker to us.  So many people poured their love out on us during that rough time.  How many times did we hear "You will look back on this and realize it was a blessing!" I knew they were right, but in the midst of it all it is hard to see that far ahead.  Well here it goes....they were right.  We have been truly blessed by God to have the opportunity to work from home.  We get to continue to spend all of our time together and love every second of it.  No worrying about sitters for the girls when they are off of school!  We have truly learned the value of family and spending time together.  Yes that mountain is what it was when we were facing it...we just couldn't see around it.  Funny I think we were just to close to it.  God took us back and from here you can see it is a tiny little mound.  Having that business brought us many dear friends.  Some we are still close to today.  Some came and shared a small part of our lives, many stayed and we are thankful to still have them in our lives.  One of our dearest and oldest came back in our life and we are so happy to have regained that relationship, she is one of those that gives life that extra dose of sparkle.  Not a glitter sparkle, a huge firework display sparkle, girl we love you and you know exactly who you are!!!!

New friends.  Yep, gotta love new friends.  Those that have their own special part in your story and you know that your story wouldn't be the same without them.  Ok, some of them make life just plain interesting.  Some add so much humor that you can't help but to love them. Some ground you and some give you wings, but each one is important, they make life so much sweeter!

On with the new.  I am excited to see what God has in store for us in the coming year.  I love that He is giving us hints that He is up to something.  Little things that make us stop and think "why on Earth..." are His little hints of whats to come.

I am sure I have forgotten something, but hey I wouldn't be me if I didn't!  May all my friends and family near and far look forward to an exciting New Year.  Look forward to the speed bumps, and yes sometimes mountains, that life will throw at us all.  Take the time to learn from each experience, embrace it, lean on you loved ones and friends and when its all over look back and praise God for carrying you through it.  Blessings to you all!!!!!