Who Would Have Guessed?

Please Pray

2009-05-05T19:35:00.000-07:00

This post is God inspired and I know that God will use it as He sees fit. I know that there are people who sometimes read this that have hundreds of people who read their blogs and I am hoping that this post reaches you.

Please pray for Pam. Her story is one of inspiration and faith that I could not even imagine. She was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer when she was pregnant with her son. This was two years ago. She decided to put her whole self in God's hands and did not get chemo. She instead used natural remedies and God to combat this enemy. Her tumors shrunk and she was doing VERY good. I would use the word remission, but don't know if that was a word she used or not. She was a marathon runner and is a mommy to two small children. She is also a nurse and her husband is a nurse. A few weeks ago she started having neck pain and back pain. I don't know many details as of now about how she was diagnosed, but her cancer has now spread to many places in her body. I don't know how much information to share right now because I have not spoken to the family about posting this. I am posting for PRAYERS for this family.

Please pray that God will give them direction on which way this should go in seeking treatment. Please go to God on your knees for this woman. She is such a strong woman of God and I know would covet the prayers of many right now. I have been reading of miraculous things because of blog readers/prayer warriors. I pray that this reaches those women and men.

Summer Time!!!

2009-05-04T18:41:00.000-07:00

Today we went swimming because it was HOT!!! Kids had a great time and mom's did too!

Beautiful

2009-03-31T03:00:00.000-07:00

We were at Target walking down the shoe isle. I was getting very irritated with Madi because she was not paying attention or minding me. She was pulling shoes off the rack and asking to buy every flip flop they make. My breaking point came when she laid down on the floor of Target. I turned around and with a very mean voice told her she needed to "get up off that floor NOW!!" I did not realize what she was doing until after I said that. She was lying on the floor looking at herself in the mirror they have on the shoe stools. You know the ones we sit on to try on our shoes and then look at our feet in the mirror. She was smiling at herself in the mirror and her response to me was "OK Mama, but I so beautiful." What could I say to that? I started laughing the second it came out of her mouth. She was soooo precious lying on that floor. Time stopped for me at that moment. I just watched her looking at herself and was reminded just how special she is to me.

New Job

2009-03-29T20:38:00.000-07:00

Hello. I have not been posting because I just really haven't had much to say. I really want to give an update about this new journey our family is beginning. As most of you already know, I have a new job. I feel like I have been under spiritual attack ever since I decided to make this change. I know that it is what God has called us to for this time period. I have such a peace about this, and there are still a lot of unknowns. I am going to be working four days a week in the pediatric PACU. I will be working with kids after they come out of surgery and have to "recover" before they go back to their hospital room or home after day surgery. The events surrounding me getting this job could only have been from God. Please pray for us during this transition time.

This bible verse has been put on my heart and I would like to share.

James 1:5-6
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

Yee Haw....and learn how to dress!

2009-03-08T01:39:00.000-08:00

We went to the rodeo yesterday. Maybe it's because I am a mom now, or maybe because I am studying and realizing about Gods desire for women to be modest in our dress, but either way I need to let people know that wearing short shorts or short denim skirts with boots is SOOO not attractive. That style seems to always make a big comeback at rodeo time. I get the short shorts and skirts even though I don't agree, but what up with the boots combo? I did see one girl wearing a nice cotton brown dress and a tasteful pair of boots. Much more attractive than the other ensamble that most girls had on. But you want to know what's the funniest of all things. I was one of THOSE girls not too many years ago!!

2009-03-03T21:33:00.000-08:00

I just want to see if this works

Oh Asthma, How I Detest Thee!

2009-02-27T00:40:00.000-08:00

I have only slept two hours tonight due to Asthma. Madi has had a flair up again and poor baby keeps coughing. Please pray for her. We go to the pulmonologist Monday and it could not come sooner for me. We really need some guidance about what medications to use for her. I know this spell won't last forever, but it sure feels that way right now.

Jesus Is Better Than My Blog

2009-02-25T00:57:00.000-08:00

Let me start this post by saying I did not really understand the blog world until recently. The more that I read different blogs, the more I realize that I find myself wishing I could be as "cool" or comparing what I do to what they do. I have debated not reading blogs anymore or stopping it all together. I then decided that there are several key reasons I need blogging in my life.

I have family memebers who read my blog. They apparently like seeing my children and like to know what is going on in my life. I also like reading the blogs about being a mom because it motivates me to do the best job I can do, and Jesus gave me this position for a purpose. I like hearing about the faith of these christian women online. I will say that it has strengthened me in my walk with Christ. My desire to be more like Jesus. Plus what else would I do at 3:00am when everyone else is asleep?

Proverbs 27:17 (New International Version)17 As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another

So in the world of blog there are people who are for a lack of better word, popular. Some are this way I feel because God leads them to post things that people need to hear. They have hundreds and thousands of people who follow them just to read the next thing they have to say. I find myself wishing to have that type of popularity as well. They seem to be so much more together and better than me on my meager little blog. This is such a satan lie. We have to stop that type of thinking dead in its tracks when it starts. God uses different people in different ways to reach people for His kingdom. He knows how He does use and will use me in my life.

Tonight a dear friend was very excited about the fact that a certain blogger posted a comment on my blog. She asked me how I "got" her to post a comment. I have to admit that when that came out of her mouth I felt pride. I felt like my worth was in getting people to leave comments on my blog. This may not be a big deal for some people but for me it is. I have struggled my whole life with thinking people don't want to be my friend. I don't know why this is, I just know that I have always felt inadequate when it comes to people. It was also a big deal because I hold this friend in high esteem. She has a very prestigous job and she is very smart. I have felt inadequate compared to her. When she looked at me and thought WOW she is so cool, I wanted to set up camp in that pride and live in it. I was quickly humbled by the fact that I really didn't do anything besides ask for advice in my own life and someone cared enough to respond.

This has got me thinking about my walk with the Lord. Who is the greatest friend we can have. Jesus. His comment on our life is the only comment that matters. The advice He gives is the greatest advice of all. The best thing about this is that everyone can stand before God on the day they are called home and say "Jesus was my greatest friend." I pray that everyday God will use me to show people what they can have in Him. I pray that I keep as the main focus of my life the greatest command, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart with your soul with all your mind." Matthew 22:37.

I am overcome by the fact that God wants to know me personally. He wants to walk with me everyday and love on me everyday. He longs for me to speak to him and hear when He answers. God loves me so much that he sent His son to die for me.

This is my prayer for anyone who reads this. God spoke this verse to me last night when I needed to hear it the most. I pray that it reaches you.

So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did. Hebrews 3:7-9 See to it brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one anther daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end he confidence we had at first. Hebrews 3:12-14.

Christmas Pics!!

2009-02-20T13:11:00.000-08:00

Josh just scanned these and I wanted to post the babies. These turned out so good. My mother in law took them to get these made for our
Christmas present.

2009-02-19T21:21:00.000-08:00

So tonight I just really need to vent and since normal people are asleep at 11:30pm, my computer will be my friend. So I scheduled myself to work with my staffing agency two nights this week. Wednesday and Thursday night to be exact. Let me give you some background into the world of agency nursing. When you sign up for a shift, the staffing coordinators call you around 4pm to "confirm" or "cancel" the shift. I usually sleep sometime during the day if I know I have signed up to work that day.

Wednesday I took the girls to school at 9 and then came home to take a nap. Now when I say nap that means I usually sleep like 4 hours so I will be able to stay awake until 7am the next morning. So Wednesday I was waiting on my phone call to say if I was working or not. I don't usually get cancelled, so I was not expecting it that night. I waited, and waited, and my husband says "they are going to cancel you tonight." I asked him how he knew this. Well he pointed out to me the trend with staffing. I had never noticed this before, but when they call me early it means I will be working. When they call me around 5pm it means I will be cancelled. He is so observant that hubby of mine.

I was cancelled. I had slept all day and that meant I was not going to sleep until around 3am. What a waste of time. So today I did it all over again. I slept until the kids got home from school. Tonight I was supposed to work 11pm-7am because they didn't have a shift 7p-7a. The staffing agency confirmed me to work and I got ready, drove up to the hospital, and was told they didn't need me tonight. I am sooooo angry. Now I am going to be up until 3am again and have to try it all over agian tomorrow night. I really wanted to be off on Friday night. I like Friday night at home. Now I have to work and I don't want to. Did I already say that. Yeah I think I did. So here is my ranting for tonight. I am sure the two people who read this blog really wanted to know this. They are going to hear about it in person anyways!

At least now I feel like I have complained to someone besides my husband. He has to hear it by default!

Heartbreak

2009-02-16T00:34:00.000-08:00

I am at work tonight. I guess that is not a surprise to anyone who reads this blog. It is really sad to see some of the things I see. While it is not as bad as seeing PICU patients, these poor babies I take care of sometimes break my heart. They did not have a choice. They do not have a voice. They are the result of people unwilling to put there own personal desires aside to provide this child with a chance. Being a mother and having had two children grow inside of me, I can't understand how someone can do drugs while pregnant. I can't understand how you could not know that this is harmful. Please pray for these mother's and babies. Please pray for me to not judge them in their struggle. It is hard to take care of them. It is hard to look at them and not get emotionally involved. It is hard to seperate my feelings and make it just about the job. Thanks for the prayers.

Happy Birthday Madi!!

2009-02-14T14:52:00.000-08:00

Madison turns 3 on the 17th. We had her birthday party on Friday at Chuck E. Cheese. I made her a princess cake and we had a princess party. We invited a couple of friends from school and did not have that great of a turn out, but it didn't matter to her. She had a blast anyway. That is the cool thing about being little. You just don't really know about having your feelings hurt yet. Luke was there and her friend Parker from school. Of course Abi and Brady came too, but they aren't as fun to play with yet. I just wanted to post a few pictures from her day. She was so excited about this day for about a month. Now it is all over and I wonder if she is going to ask us when she gets to go to her party at Chuck E. Cheese! She has a habit of asking to do things that we have already done. I will say that it was probably the most stress free birthday party I have planned. And to be honest I don't think it would have made a difference if we had 50 kids running around. The parents are the only ones who would have noticed. So then I started thinking about birthday parties. I think at this age it is more about making us feel we are giving our child the best birthday ever and not so much about what our kids think is the best party. I know I struggled with this when deciding to invite only four children. My husband had to remind me to not get upset if it was just us at the party. I have to admit I was on the verge of having a melt down when only two kids came, but to my amazement I was the only one who felt that way. So from now on I will try not to be to obsessive over the toddler birthday party.

Sweetheart of a Cake

2009-02-13T19:53:00.000-08:00

So this is a project that I found on bakerella's blog. I really wanted to try it out so I made one for Madi's teacher. It was hard but it turned out really cute. The whole thing is all edible. The outside is fondant and the inside is red velvet cake. The truffles are actually cake balls that I made and decorated. Ms. Kim really liked the present. I hope ya'll enjoy!!

Potty Training Relapse....HELP!!

2009-02-07T22:25:00.000-08:00

Ok Moms....I need your help. Madi has been potty trained for several months now. She has never really had accidents and always goes when she needs to. For the last two weeks she has had accidents at least once a day. She will be sitting with us and all of a sudden pee. She was doing it when she was watching TV or playing outside so I thought it was just because she didn't want to miss what was happening. Now she will just do it even when nothing is going on. We don't get mad at her or punish. I would never do anything like that even though it is frustrating. When we ask her why she just tells us she doesn't want to be a big girl anymore. I tell her she will have to wear a diaper and then she says she wants too! I don't know what is going on. Is this a normal toddler thing or did something happen to her? I am really concerned and would love some input on this.

Thanks

Our First Hair Cut

2009-02-06T15:12:00.000-08:00

Last night I decided to give Abi a new haircut. She was looking like she had a mullet and I didn't want to repeat the hairstyle I had circa 1985. I still look at photos and shudder. So as I was doing this last night I wondered when I was going to get the experience of my children cutting their own hair. I remember my brother doing this when he wanted a flat top. He got really close to one, but just in the front. I also cut my own hair, but I did it because I wanted bangs hair sprayed ten inches into the air.

I certainly did not think it would happen at age 3. This morning Madi got the scissors that mommy forgot to put up last night. It was seconds before she had her hair and her sisters hair cut off. She was proud to announce, with scissors in hand, that she gave Abi a haircut.

I was in the bathroom and was alerted to the fun by my husband screaming my name. I thought someone had chopped off a finger and was bleeding onto the carpet. Well needless to say he was not happy with me for leaving the scissors out. I will NOT be doing that
again! I am thankful that she did not cut her curls off. I think I would be crying and unable to work tonight had that happened.

In the Bedroom....

2009-02-05T22:16:00.000-08:00

Since Valentine's day is coming up soon I am posting a link to a very useful website. I spent the last two hours devouring this site. If you need to spice up your sex life with your hubby this is for you!! These ladies have advice for everything in the bedroom from a christian point of view.
http://christiannymphos.org/

It is pretty racy stuff ya'll. Be a blessing to your husband and read it.

New Page

2009-02-04T19:44:00.000-08:00

Ya'll

I love this new background stuff!! I am so thankful Angie showed me how to do this. Now I feel all pretty. I had mucho funo at Pappasito's tonight ladies. Cheers to the girl in the black dress. Sister friend, someone needs to let you know that skin is not in!

Swing Set

2009-01-16T15:18:00.000-08:00

Angie
This is the swing set. I forgot to post it with the last one.

The Fence

2009-01-16T15:15:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics of our fence. Josh is putting up a new one because Ike took down the old one. He had 150ft to put back up. He has completed one side that backs up to the neighbors house. He is currently working on the back fence that goes up against the ditch. I will be glad when this fence is back up because the kids like to play outside. Mommy also likes the kids to play outside and let's just say playing by a ditch filled with snakes is not what I consider safe! So props to my husband for doing such a great job. Madi also let him know he was working hard. The other night she walked outside and said "great job dad!" It was all on her own. It was so sweet to see her compliment him in such a loving way. While he was doing this Angie and I took the kids to chick fil a. Funny stories happen there and today was no exception. It all started when I went to order food to go for Josh. I was waiting for my order and Angie brought Madi out to me. She had an accident in the playground. She was crying about how she "tee teed" her pants. She proceeded to pull them down in front of the whole restaurant. Abi was also next to us because she was having a fit I was not with her. Abi threw herself down on the floor right in the middle of the pee Madi had tracked to the front. Angie is trying to bend down with Brady on her hip and pick up my 16 month old throwing a fit. Madi is standing there crying with her pants to her ankles while people laugh. And what was I doing? Trying not to fall on the floor from laughing. It was actually very funny because it was so crazy. Sometimes if you don't laugh you might just cry.

2009-01-13T19:53:00.000-08:00

Here we go again on the blogging. Angie said I needed to keep up with it and I am listening to her. So today I painted my laundry room. It is something that I have wanted to do since we moved in. I chose this shade of blue because it reminds me of the beach. I love the beach and any day I can do laundry and think about this makes me happy. I am impressed with my work I must say. I did this all by myself. NO help from the husband. So this is one of them many projects I have on my list to complete. Next we are doing the bathroom. I will post more laundry pics when I have the shelves put up and it is completed.

GO ASTROS....OR NOT!

2008-07-20T19:51:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the Astros game. I know you are amazed that I came home and got 4 hours of sleep before getting up and going to the game. I amazed myself as well. The game was your average Astros game. Really expensive food (we spent $30.00 just for me and Josh to eat lunch), more Cubs fans than Astros fans, and we lost. My stepdad made that awesome sign. You can remove part of the P and it says Fence. "Pence to the Fence." Very clever I say. Madi had fun as usual. She held up her foam finger even when the cubs fans cheered. It was a good day.

So Here Goes Nothing....

2008-07-20T01:13:00.000-07:00

Ok so this is my first blog post. WHAT?!?!....I know, I know. I am the last person on earth without a blog. I recently was introduced to the world of blog by a friend from church. I was just browsing everyone's blogs thinking how wonderful it would be to share my thoughts with you all. I was truely inspired to start a blog of my own while reading the the story of Audrey Caroline. If you all have not been introduced to this blog, I suggested you read it. I hope that I can be as articulate in my posts as Angie is in hers (I doubt it). I read this woman's words and feel as if I know her. I would like to say something to her in the form of a comment, but I don't know what to say. I am so overwhelmed by her words that mine seem so small in comparison. Being a mother and a NICU nurse, formerly a PICU nurse, I understand the pain but can't imagine the experience of it. Maybe one day I will post a comment, but for now I just read and cry along with her.

So tonight while sitting at work doing dialysis, I decided it was time. I have been thinking about for weeks now. I know it seems like a silly thing to think about for weeks, but I just didn't know what I would say. My courage is up and now I will start talking and my never shut up. For now I am going to go back to dialysis and my baby.