been a long time

Don't know if there's any one who even still looks at this, but....I'll give it a shot.
Yes, it's been a long time since I've been here. Life has been crazy~ I'm sure you can't even begin to relate(watch out for dripping sarcasm). Yes, life is crazy for all of us, some of us just manage it better than others.
So for those of you who prayed for my nephew, Adam, he passed away just over a month ago. In fact, a month ago today we were at his calling hours(wake, for some of you). It just seems so surreal.

So, I started cleaning at my church this week. This is not a volunteer position, rather a paid position. This is the first job I've had since I became pregnant with my girls. Well, I babysit for my landlord at least 1 day a week, and have been doing that since my girls were about a year. But to me that doesn't really count.
So 3 people on staff at my church said to me, "I started out cleaning, here." In my mind, I'm saying, "GRRREEEAAATTT!!!!! God, what are you trying to tell me??? That I'm going to be on staff here in the near future???" I certainly don't feel that calling, although God did call me out of a massage therapy career to go to Bible college. Hmmmmmmmmmmm

Change is definitely in the air in my life. And while I don't feel like it is to be on staff at my church other than the cleaning person, I do feel like God is calling me to a new level. He's been trying to deal with me in regards to my marriage~ on many different fronts. (Honey, if you're reading this don't worry, it's all good!) And about my personal life, how I am eating, spending my time, etc.
Some scriptures he's been giving me: Matt. 6:21 ~For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. And today he gave me Col. 3:23-24 ~Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

My Pastor came & talked to me today while I was working. He just wanted to welcome me and in not so many words re-iterate what the Lord had already been telling me in Col. 3:23-24. It was nice to hear the encouragement and reinforcement.

God is soooo good. Hope you are having a blessed life. (btw~ that doesn't mean it will be trouble free.) I am praying for you.

Oh, yeah & just so you didn't think I forgot; it is amazing to me that it has been 8 years since 9-11. I was getting ready for work when all the commotion started, yep, life can definitely be surreal at times.

HAPPY RESURRECTION DAY and another pet peeve, and some shout outs

Hi There! Bet you've been wondering where I've been. No? Well, that's okay. I'm going to tell you anyway. I have been sucked into the proverbial waste of time called Facebook. One of my other bloggy friends called Facebook the lazy person's blog. And to some degree that is true. It is a bit of an easier way to keep up with people other than reading a bunch of blogs. I don't like that I have allowed myself to be sucked into spending sooo much time on Facebook; yet on the other hand, I have connected with people from grade school, high school and beyond. To me, that is awesome. People I haven't seen or heard from in over (gasp)25 years! (where has the time gone? didn't I just graduate from high school only a few years ago???)

So today is Easter! HAPPY EASTER! HE HAS RISEN INDEED!!! Thank you Jesus for dying on the cross for my sins & saving my life.

Are you curious what another of my pet peeves is? No? Guess what, I'm going to tell you anyway. Why? Because it is my blog & I can write about what I want.

Like I said a paragraph above the previous one, today is Easter. This is 1 of 2 important "holidays" or holy days in Christianity (the other being Christmas, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.) Why? Because Jesus Christ died on the cross for ALL of our sins & then rose again 3 days later. There is not a gosh darned thing any one of us can do to earn, work or otherwise cajole our way into heaven. You either believe it or you don't. If you don't, you may want to ask yourself what would happen to you if you keeled over & died while reading this post. Where would you go?

This brings me back to my pet peeve. People will say to me, "Oh, so you are religious?" RELIGION & RELIGIOUS, YES, THAT IS MY PET PEEVE! NO PEOPLE, I AM NOT ANY MORE RELIGIOUS THAN YOU ARE.

While some "denominations" have "religious" services, Christianity is about a relationship. A relationship with Jesus Christ. Do I do religious things? Absolutely! And I bet you do too! Do you brush your teeth regularly (on a schedule)? Then you do that religiously. Take a shower, go to the bathroom, or eat a meal at a specific time of day? You do those things religiously. I could go on & on, but I'm sure you get my drift. A relationship with Jesus Christ; what does that mean? It means that you believe he was man and God; was born of a virgin; crucified on a cross, died & rose again 3 days later & now resides in heaven at the right hand of God, the Father. Now you may be saying, okay, I've never seen him, how do I know he exists? Have you ever seen the wind? You've felt the wind, you've seen the wind move the trees, but have you ever seen the wind itself? So how do you know the wind exists? For me, I just know! But if you doubt- ask Him. He'll show you. You may be asking how do I have a relationship with Him? How do you have a relationship with your friends? You have to talk to them right? So talk to Jesus. Ask Him to come live in your heart. He will do it. He did it for me, & he did it for the thief on the cross next to him so many years ago. And He has done it for many other people. Does that mean I don't sin any more? HECK NO! I sin daily, but He will forgive all of our sins. This might seem all too simple for you, I promise you it really is that simple.

Okay, I think I'm done ranting about my pet peeves. Now for some shout outs!
Well, since it has been almost 3 months since I last posted, there have been A LOT OF BIRTHDAYS! A couple of the ones more dearer to my heart- my nephew, Adam- turned a quarter of a century, my nephew, Dylan turned 8, my baby girls turned 4!!! And there are many others, who I hopefully wished happy birthday to on their special day. Also my niece, Lyla, made her way into the world and a special friend, Andrew James, made his way into the world- I got to witness this one! Oh how beautiful it was. To read more about,click here .

I guess that about wraps this up tonight. I hope you had a joyous day celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. I don't purport to have any of the answers, but hey maybe we can figure out this thing called "life" together. God Bless.

Things going on

You may have noticed I added a new blog to my list of "blogs that inspire me." I've been reading this blog for quite awhile actually & should have added it a long time ago. Forgive me for not doing so, but I am now going to encourage you to go check out Joe Sangl. My girlfriend nick-named him "Dave Ramsey lite." Either way, whether you read Joe or you need a lot more detail & need to read Dave Ramsey - go do it. This stuff works- well, it works if you are at your "I have had enough" point.
Let me just tell you it has all been God, but my husband has been unemployed (and is still) since the end of June, and we have managed to drop debt even during this very difficult time.

On another note, another blog I read that is usually very comical is Because I Said So; she has 6 children, 3 of each. She has a review blog & well, a lot of people read her. She's kind of like the next "Erma Bombeck." She posted a few weeks ago about a giveaway on another blog, so I hopped on over to check it out. And guess what happened?! I WON! I WON!! I WON!!! (Great,~ now I have another blog to add to my list of blogs I read. Just kidding, Rick!)I won a doodle drawing from Rick over at Organized Doodles. He posted rules as to what we could pick for a doodle so I picked this one titled: Holy Ghost Riders ~Doesn't it look great!~

I have to explain, my husband & I both ride motorcycles; a passion I got my husband into. In fact I created a monster, but it is a good one. We are also Christians, meaning we believe in & do our best to follow Jesus Christ & his Word. So I thought that while ALL Rick's drawings were great, Holy Ghost Riders was the most apropos for me. The original post has this scripture -Matthew 3:11. Unfortunately he left it off the doodle he sent me, but that's okay. Thanks Rick! I absolutely love the doodle & when the finances return I plan on getting more.

Busy week and a half

I've been wanting to post this since last week, but I wasn't going to do so, until I could get my husband to dump the pictures from his camera onto the computer. Finally after much nagging asking nicely, he got it done today! YAY! I guess I could learn how to do it myself, but that would be too easy. So without further ado, here's what's been going on in our busy lives. The Friday before Christmas we finally got our first 'real' snow of the season. It snowed into Sunday, with a bit of a reprieve here & there. Alas, Friday & Saturday it was a powdery fine snow, not good at all for making snowmen, but the girls learned how to make snow angels. By Sunday afternoon, it started turning to rain; good enough for packing & making a snowman. WOOHOO! Well, Saturday, late in the afternoon as it was turning dark we let the girls go out and play in it. This picture is my 2 girls and the landlord's daughter who's a few months younger than mine.
L-R Emily, Rachel, Maddie

And unfortunately, we didn't get a picture of the snowman, but he was about 6' tall. As he started to melt on Tuesday, my husband said he must be an Obama supporter. I asked why, and I shouldn't have. He said, "Because he's leaning left." I married this comedian.

Tuesday morning came and we loaded up the van and headed up to Lunenburg, MA to visit my cousin, Chriztine and my aunt Nita, who had just flown in from Ohio. Boy what a trip that woman had. Here she is 82 years young, they cancel her flight Sunday, due to weather. Monday, they let her sit in the Cleveland airport for 4 hours(she's from Columbus), try to reroute her to Boston(she was suppose to fly into Manchester, NH)and then lose her luggage. It showed up Wednesday morning at 1:30. UGH!
We were going up to bake Christmas cookies, visit, (I hadn't seen my aunt since my mom passed away almost 2 years ago) do a little sledding since they had almost 2 feet of snow there and go eat some lobsta'. Here are some pictures from the day at Chriztine's.
these are the sugar cookies, the girls & I decorated.
this is my Rudolph
this is Emmy's gingerbread woman she decorated, she was a bit heavy handed with the colored sugar.
L-R my Aunt Nita, me, my cousin Chriztine
this is me as I just crashed into Rae, at the bottom of the picture you can see Em's bum

Christmas morning came, we read the girls the story of Jesus' birth and then tore into the presents. At this particular time in life, my girls are into Cars & princesses. In case you couldn't tell from the pictures. Emmy all excited that Santa brought her Mater socks.
the girls in their new princess robes & lightning "the queen" slippers (this what they say instead of McQueen)
After all of the excitement of opening presents, the girls & I said a fond farewell to their Elmo slippers that were getting too small & had holes in the bottoms.

Emmy's in red & Rae's in black, yes, Em can be my clown at times, but they both have their moments.

I hope you and your family had a very MERRY CHRISTmas.

Wisdom

I think I've made this confession before, I am addicted to blog reading. Some of the blogs I read are my friends & it allows me to catch up on the comical things going on in their lives. Most of them are other Christians, who many times have great words of wisdom to share. I really enjoy reading Perry Noble's blog, as he usually has great things to say. As do Lots of Scotts & Bring the Rain. But today Perry linked to another post, the title is a bit shocking, but the post itself speaks great truth to those of us that are Christians. It definitely made me say OUCH! So without further ado, hop on over & read this.

Things my momma taught me(a little tribute)

I know, I know, don't faint that I'm doing 2 posts in one day. Actually wanted to do this one last year, but just wasn't in the place to do it. And I didn't really ever call her momma, it was always Mom, Mommy, or as I got older & if I was annoyed with her it was Mother(spoken with an attitude & heaviness on the ther). But my girls call me momma, so thus the title.

Probably first & foremost, my mom pounded into my head & heart that "God always provides." Seeing as how we are still among the unemployed, this is truly a good thing to know & have heart knowledge of, not just head knowledge. She taught me the principles of giving (and receiving, but I'm not always a gracious receiver). She taught me honesty and integrity. She taught me that if I'm going to do things to do my very best, do it right the first time & you won't have to do it over again. And she taught me that can't never did anything. Huh? you may be saying. If you say you can't do something you are right- you can't & you will never do anything in life if you continue to say "I can't do____."
She told me that wait broke the wagon down & makes it too hard to carry. No that isn't a typo- she wasn't talking about weight, but when I was little & would say "wait, mommy, wait!"
As a teenager & young adult in my early 20's, my mom and I had open and honest conversations about sex. My mom knew I tried many things(sex, drugs & rock n' roll) after the fact and she didn't necessarily condone them, but she loved me none the less.
She almost always let me sit in her lap; even well into my 20's. I remember I had gotten one of the Beatrix Potter books at the gas station & I sat in her lap & she read it to me. She was the coolest mom. I remember when I turned 21 & she took me out for my 1st "official" drink. But she didn't want me to drink & drive & so when I went out for my 25th b-day & was too drunk to drive, she came & picked me up.

We didn't always have the best relationship. I remember shortly after my folks got divorced and I must not have been too happy with the rules at our house. I wrote her a letter telling her I wanted a divorce too. She kept that letter in her wallet, I think until the day she died. I remember when I realized that going to church wasn't just something we did on Sundays, but it was about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ; I said some not very nice things about my parents and how they had raised me in "religion" and not taught me anything. I later realized that what they did teach me gave me the foundation I have today. I remember her not being very happy with me when I told her I wanted to be baptized again, because it was a choice my parents had made for me. It wasn't a very good conversation & shortly after that conversation she thought I had joined a cult. Thankfully, she realized that I hadn't joined a cult & we repaired our relationship.

I hope I can be as good a mom to my girls, as my mother was for me. Miss you lots, Lucy!

Birthday shout outs, and other miscellaneous rants

I have a WHOLE LOT of birthday shout outs that I'm combining into 1 post, so here goes. Today is/was(which is proper-since she is deceased?)my mom's b-day. She always told me she shared her birthday with Beethoven & Bach, but in researching it, I didn't find Bach; & that the Boston tea party happened on her birthday too.(wow, that seems like a nice run-on sentence.) I was always a bit envious, because the only somewhat famous person/object who shares my b-day is Bugs bunny. Well, today is also my good friend Dawn's son's b-day. So Happy b-day W-bear. To see a picture of the over the top cake she did for his b-day go here.
In other b-day shout outs, my sis-in-law, Jess, turned 30 yesterday. Yep, I posted her age, 'cuz she's just a young whipper snapper. :) Some dear friends of mine, Tim & Melissia(who also happened to whine about turning 30), their b-days are the 21st & 10th respectively. Also, my BFF Renae's daughter, Jill's b-day is the 9th. My step-mom's b-day is the 19th. And I certainly can not forget the Christmas brigade of b-day's either. My cousin, Amy's is the 24th, my good friend Hollie's is the 25th, & my big brother, Mikey's is the 26th. It is kind of cool that my cousin & brother are exactly 2 days apart and their 1st born children are about 1 week apart. There are other b-days, but some of these people I haven't talked to in awhile, so I won't bore you with listing them.

Missing my mom. Emotionally, I'm okay, most days. But I miss just being able to pick up the phone & whining about telling her how the girls are doing; what funny things they have said or done lately. I miss the fact that my girls won't really remember "Mimi Lucy." Lucy was my nickname for my mom & the girls call my mom & my mom-in-law "Mimi;" they couldn't really say Grammy, so it turned into Mimi. They know that Mimi Lucy is with Jesus in heaven.

I know I was going to post about some other stuff, thus the title for this post, but for the life of me, I can't remember what it was. I hate when I lose my mind. So, I guess good night for now.