For Such a Time as This

I've Moved!!

2011-07-14T19:15:00.000-07:00

I've moved my blog over to Wordpress, mostly because the way Wordpress works makes more sense in my head. Please come over to my new blog and follow me!! I would love to have you!!

Happy Birthday

2010-06-24T05:09:00.000-07:00

My husband was carving our first pumpkin as a married couple. We were living in a one room apartment and had been married all of two weeks. Maybe it was three...regardless...it was less than a month! We got married on October 3, 2003 and he was carving our pumpkin, so I know it was before October 31st! I'm sure I have the correct date written down somewhere, but lets get on with the story...

Six years and about nine months ago today, Danny was carving our first pumpkin as a married couple. I asked him to stop for a minute so I could show him the pregnancy test I had just taken. positive. wow. Here we go. I don't remember the exact words, but I remember the feeling. I was beyond thrilled. Our honeymoon baby would be with us well before our 1st anniversary. Over the next nine months I would encounter people assuming and even daring to say to my face things insinuating that I had been pregnant before our marriage. It was hurtful. In addition to that, I would get comments from people about how we were "moving to fast" and how we "should have taken your time." Praise the Lord that in addition to all of the people that spoke dread, fear and curses over our precious pregnancy were the sweet family and friends that rejoiced with us and immediately started loving our little angel. It was a long nine months with a very sick, pregnant new bride. I was teaching school, throwing up an unimaginable amount of the time, and sure I knew exactly the kind of mother I would be. I remember saying to my friends "I've babysat for years, I've taught kindergarten, I've seen good parents and bad ones. I know EXACTLY how to be a good mom." I laugh now as I remember it. And cringe. How could I have been so arrogant and naive? I had no clue.

Six years ago today I went into the hospital scared to death about the delivery that I knew was coming. The nurses, Dr.s, and my husband had strict instructions. #1 rule for my husband: "I cannot be left alone at any point" I told him, "Don't leave my side for a second." Twelve hours later, at 8:05 PM, I was in an OR having a c-section and didn't know the sex of my baby yet. I was so cold and I remember the weight of the heated blanket on top of me. I was in and out from the sedatives they had given me, but I jerked awake when I heard the cry. I looked at my husband.

"go ahead and tell mom, Dad" the Nurse said.

"It's a girl!" Danny said.

"Ruthie?" I asked.

"Ruthie." he said.

I cried as he brought her over to me, clean and wrapped at this point. immediately I knew a love I only thought I knew when she was living in my womb. This love was something I had never felt before. They went to take her to do all the stuff they do to newborns and I looked at Danny who was standing beside me. As instructed. "Go with her" I said "don't leave her side for a second." I knew at that moment that I no longer mattered. It no longer mattered that I was left in a room to have my uterus and abdomen sewn back together with no one by my side. Now, SHE MATTERED MORE. I knew that for the rest of my life I would lay down my own desires, wants and needs to love and protect this precious child. Becoming a mother changed me.

Ruthie was born to parents barely in their twenties who had hardly learned anything about living life, and knew even less about being married or raising children. We have made many mistakes and I'm sure have many more to make, but by the grace of a very loving God, today we have a wonderful, well adjusted, smart, kind, energetic, loving 6 year old. I love my Ruthie for who she is, for what she is becoming, for the things God is already doing in her heart and in her life. I love how fun-loving she is, the way she thinks, the funny things she says and does, the amazing lessons I have learned because of her. I love watching her be a big sister, an oldest daughter, a leader. I love when she is independent and I love when she needs and wants her Mom to help her. I love that she loves to learn and read and that she loves to play and be silly. I love that she adores nature and appreciates so much about God's creation at such a young age. I loved watching her pull up for the first time, take her first steps, speak her first words, go to her first birthday party, make her first friend. I loved watching her color her first picture, pet her first animal, sleep in her first "big girl" bed. I loved watching her ride a horse for the first time, go to her first day of school, accept Christ as her savior. I have loved watching my baby grow into a beautiful child...inside and out.

Happy Birthday, Ruthie!

Ruthie's Story

2010-02-15T18:59:00.000-08:00

It is the third week of February and this is my 2nd post of the month. If you read my post, my funk, then you know I should be on my 3rd post at this point. It's okay though. I'm not going to live under law and condemn myself for being behind. Although satan would love it if I did. Which only gives me more of a reason not to! No, I'm living under grace so I know that it's okay that I'm only on my 2nd post. And I can tell you that it's only by the grace of God that I have time (and energy!) right now to sit down and write this one! And not because I am holding myself to it, but because they are basically already written in my head, I will probably be posting twice this week anyway. Sigh of relief for all of you list makers. :)

Last week was a busy week. Tuesday we had to take our youngest daughter to the ER for what turned out to be a migraine. That was traumatic. Wednesday we had church and so, on Thursday afternoon, I was thinking we were going to have a calm, peaceful night. And we did. More peaceful than I thought it could be! I was on the computer, checking facebook or my email no doubt, and my five year old daughter, Ruthie, said from the floor where she was playing, "Mommy, I don't know if I'm saved" Well, of course this got my attention quickly. "what do you mean?" I asked her. "Well," she said, in her precious, little five year old voice, "last year, when I told you I wanted to get saved and you wouldn't let me, I prayed anyway. So I don't know if I'm saved." The "year ago" that she is referring to, was actually about six months ago and she was asking alot of questions, but didn't seem ready. So I told her I didn't think she was ready but that we would keep praying about it. Well, apparently, she didn't take my word for it and prayed anyway. I love that kind of faith! Especially in my daughter.
Well, right in that moment I felt fear, and I, for a moment, (or five!), I gave in to it. I don't want to tell you this part, but I will. I'm making myself. Okay, here goes. Prepare to laugh at me as I prepare to be humiliated.
I said to Ruthie, "Mommy has to go to the potty. I will be right back and we will finish this conversation. So I went to the back of the house, and hiding from a five year old, I called a much wiser than I friend and said, "Ruthie's asking questions about being saved...tell me what to do!" Well, I obviously knew what to do, but I did want to make sure that I asked the right questions that really got to the heart of what was going on and would really reveal to me if she was ready. The friend gave me advice and Ruthie and I laid on her bed for the next twenty minutes or so and had a conversation that I will never forget. At the end of the conversation She prayed and asked Jesus to forgive her sins and to live in her heart! PEACE.
That night after prayer time, I heard her whisper, "Jesus is my savior."
Sunday night she wanted to go tell the preacher that she got saved. She didn't go to the front of the church, I guess she wasn't ready for that quite yet. Which is so fine. But she did go up to him afterwards and I heard him ask her where she was when she got saved and then, "Who talked to you about it?" to which she replied, "God." I LOVE IT. LOVE IT. I am, and will always be eternally thankful to my savior for drawing my little girls heart to his own. And I know he has great plans for her. I Know that for as long as I live I am going to love watching his love and his grace work in her heart and through her life.

2010-02-05T18:16:00.001-08:00

This morning I woke up to the rain pouring down. Which is a lovely sound when you can stay at home, snuggled up under the electric blanket. But of course, I had to get out in it. Any other day I would be dreading this. But today was different. Today I hoped right up, started getting dressed and didn't even care that I was about to encounter a monsoon.

Today was Beth Moore day.

I met Jenny in the Target parking lot at 8 and we headed to Marietta. I so wish I had pictures of the traffic when we first got on 75 (cars were backed all the way up the entrance ramp), the rain as it poured down, our shocked faces as somehow the traffic cleared in just the right places for us to make it to the HOV lane, (which we are both certain shaved hours off our travel time), us realizing we had made it 50 miles in a little less than an hour (despite the odds of the weather and the traffic!), us going the wrong way off the exit, making illegal u-turns, having no idea what the directions really said, and especially I wish I could share pictures of us passing chick-fil-a's, dunkin donuts and Starbucks, with our stomachs roaring their disapproval of our decision to trudge on--all in the name of meeting Beth Moore. But more than all of that I wish I could show you us doing our happy squeals complete with a happy dance as we caught sight of the Boarders book store (we had already mistaken sears for it once and were highly disappointed) and realized the parking lot didn't look that full after all. Or as we got a parking spot right in front. I wish I could show you us running in the pouring rain, sharing Jenny's umbrella, or the cashiers laughing at our excitement over getting "first color tickets." I can't share any pictures of those memories with you but I hope your imagination took you there with us. Now, thanks to Jenny and her wonderfully working camera (mine's been broken for months!), I can show you pictures of what I like to call

The Best Day Ever

First, A little history so you can see WHY this is such a BIG DEAL to me...

When I was 18 I was invited to take a bible study class. It was a DVD bible study by someone named Beth Moore, whom I had never heard of before. I sat in the class, called "breaking free" and thought to myself, "this woman's pretty good at teaching." I didn't really understand alot of what she was teaching, but she was entertaining. She was funny and she kept my attention. I did none of the at home homework that went along with the study, telling myself I was just "too busy", and pretty soon I dropped out of the class completely. Five years after that bible study I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal savior. It had to nothing to do with the bible study, and everything to do with my savior pursuing me and capturing me with his love. Soon after I got saved a friend of mine gave me a Beth Moore day-by-day devotional book. I remembered her from that first bible study I had started taking and things I had heard in that class started coming back to me. I remember reading or hearing her say at some point that two things she loved were the sound of bible pages turning and the smell of coffee--both of which she enjoyed every morning. I now think of that every morning as I'm enjoying my coffee, along with my scripture reading. I pray as my girls grow up they will look back and have memories of laying in their beds in the wee morning hours hearing from the living room the sound of bible pages turning and the smell of coffee.

Over the years, I read some things by Beth Moore and listened to her on the radio during a time when we drove a jeep that didn't have a working FM radio station. I grew to really respect this woman. She had amazing insight into scripture and she had a way of teaching I had never encountered before. It was like she was talking directly to me--right out of the radio. I also came to know that she had been set free from years and years of generational bondage. I was captured by what little of her story I knew, and what little of her teaching I heard. Some time after that, our church did a Saturday event for women and featured a Beth Moore video, "Loving Well" in which I learned I had no idea what real love was. I was confused and frustrated afterwards. I pushed it out of my head. A couple of years after that, Four years after coming to know Christ as my savior, I was privilaged to be going through discipleship training with some of the wisest, most godly people I know and I was learning things about my God I had never known before. I was raised in a Southern Baptist church and I was learning things I had NEVER HEARD BEFORE. The Lord was drawing me to himself and revealing unimaginable things to me. And he still is. It was and is a hard place with personal struggle and brokenness and right at the beginning of it a friend asked me to go to a Beth Moore bible study with her. It was "Esther", which, honestly, I thought was going to be boring. I remember thinking that I wish it was going to be on something I could relate to. I had NO CLUE what I was getting into. God used the things I learned in that Esther bible study to change parts of my heart that I didn't know needed to be changed. I was once again enamored by Beth Moore and her teaching style, her understanding of scripture and her love for our God. But most of all I was astonished at how what I learned drew me nearer to my God. Just so you can see a little glimpse of what I'm talking about, here is an excerpt from the "Esther: it's Tough Being a Woman" bible study. I still have this hanging on my fridge, now, a year and a half after taking the class...

"something is always wrong! I live in the real world where I get my feelings hurt, go to funerals, get rejected, catch stomach viruses and age overnight....but here's the good news...

the ending to each story is happy, but before that happy ending, much grief occurs.

...when we trust our lives to the hand and pen of an ever present God, he will write our lives into His story and every last one of them will turn out to be a great read.

With a grand ending.

And not just in spite of those catastrophes. Often because of them.

Don't just wait and see. Live and see."

I hope this shows you just a little bit of how powerful that bible study is. So much to be learned in Esther. So Much! Anyway, after that bible study I started Reading the Living Proof Ministries blog and quickly became a "siesta". Around October of 2009 I heard that Beth Moore was coming to Atlanta the following April for the conference "So long, insecurity." I was SO excited! I wanted so badly to go. The tickets were $50 and I knew I couldn't swing that at the time....right before a very expensive surgery I had to have and right before Christmas. It was NOT going to happen. I was sad about it but I was also at peace with it. Then on Christmas morning I opened a present from my sister. A wonderful pair of socks. They were the really fuzzy kind that you wear around the house instead of slippers. They're even infused with cocoa butter. I went to put them on and there was something stuck inside. I pulled it out, thinking it was some kind of tag on the sock and it was a ticket to the Beth Moore conference! (yes, I have the greatest sister ever!) I was soooooo excited! Excited doesn't even describe it. I was ecstatic. Elated. All of those kinds of words. And more.

....I hope you see from me going through this whole saga that I am not obsessed with Beth Moore because she's Beth Moore. I'm an adoring fan because the Holy spirit has used this woman's teaching in my life over the last few, insanely crucial, incredibly hard, unbelievably special years of my life to draw me ever closer to him and lead me out of places of bondage and into places of freedom. And it wasn't all Beth Moore's teaching. That is for sure. There have been several friends, mentors, pastors and teachers that God has used in my life and is still using in unimaginable ways to teach me what the abundant life in Christ really is. But he definitely used Beth Moore, her message, her story and her amazing way of explaining scripture to women. And that is why she means so much to me.

So you know that when my friend April called me Monday to tell me that Beth Moore was doing a book signing in none other than ATLANTA on Friday I just could have died. In a good way. I thought for a time it wasn't going to work out to go to the book signing, but my wonderful Heavenly Father who works out all things for me made a way. Here are the pictures from

THE BEST DAY EVER.

My Friend Jenny and I waiting in line.

Jenny's a missionary. She's on deputation.

Click here to go to her website and read all about

her wonderful self.
This is me after I ralized Beth was in the store and was willing to take pictures with each and every one of her guests.
Hugging Beth!

I told Beth something I was struggling with

and she took the time to give me advice. It

was so special to me!

My Funk

2010-01-28T17:02:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe that I'm coming up on the one month marker of the last time I blogged. Wasn't my New Years Resolution to blog more?? I think it's the word "year" in New years resolution that overwhelms me. A year is overwhelming when I think about it all at once. So I have a new plan! A February resolution. I resolve to blog once a week during the month of February. Let's see if this line of thinking works better for me! My blogging is obviously a work in progress, which so am I, and that's actually what I have been thinking about tonight...

Besides being overwhelmed by the scary "year" word, I will be honest and tell you that I have been in such a funk the last couple of weeks! A funk that no amount of coffee, facebook, TV or even pioneer woman cooking could fix. And let me just say, for anyone that has never tried her cinnamon rolls, chicken spaghetti or meatballs that is QUITE. A. FUNK. There are not many funks that woman's food can not fix. Or at least take your mind off of for awhile.

For several days I was trying to figure out if I was in the middle of a hormonal funk or a spiritual funk and finally decided it was both. As women, when we are in a hormonal funk, it seems to make our spiritual warfare that much more difficult. Or is it only me? When my feelings feel so real and so justified and so true, how do I keep them in check? How do I NOT live out of my feelings? And it's when I'm feeling down, of course, that a lie from Satan will hit me and instead of "taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one", I tend to just agree with the lies (fiery darts) that are being thrown my way.

I hear a lie like... "you're not good enough", "this is just your lot in life" or "no one understands me" and instead of taking up the shield of faith and distinguishing those fiery darts with the TRUTH like...'I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength", "All things work together for the good of those who love him and have been called according to his purpose" or "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms", I let that thought take up residence in my mind.

And then I go a step further by believing it. I believe a lie from none other than my enemy. My enemy that I know wants only to kill, steal and destroy me. It's like superman believing something that Lex Luther says. Not that I'm superman. But you get the point. I hope. I choose to agree with my enemy and by agreeing with him I live like what he says is true.

Saying it now, out loud, it seems so silly. But so often I do just that. I accept the lie as truth, which makes me feel like the lie is true, which makes me act like the lie is true which makes me LIVE LIKE THE LIE IS TRUE. God forbid! Right? God forbid that I live like a lie straight out of hell is TRUE. So what do I do? How do I get out of this ugly cycle?

I am convinced that freedom from believing these lies comes from 2 Corinthians 10:5..." we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." The freedom is in capturing those thoughts, those lies from satan before they play out in our lives as truth. We capture them at the threshold of the mind. We recognize the ploys of an enemy who "walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." Right there, in the instant that a lie pops into our head, we confront it with the truth. So much easier said than done! For me, anyway. I honestly say to you that this is a struggle for me. It is a struggle for me to, in the moment, recognize a lie for a lie and confront it with the truth. But that is my prayer. I am determined to stand firm and trust my God, rely on my God and believe my God. No longer will I beleive my enemy. I will beleive my God.

My January 1st

2010-01-05T18:57:00.000-08:00

I love the feeling of a new year. It's like clothes right out of the dryer--all warm and refreshing and the smell....yes, January definitely has a fresh clean laundry kind of smell! Don't you think?? It's like a clean slate or a fresh box of crayons. Oh, I love it. Well, this January has been a little strange for me. I was wondering why I didn't feel all fresh and new. I had not had even one frantic urge to get in shape, organize, clean and just do...well... fresh, clean, January things that we all do. I was starting to wonder what was wrong with me.

UNTIL TODAY.

Today is my January. I should have known all along that my January wonderfulness wouldn't kick in until the 5th. See, now that I have a school aged child, our break lasts until January 5th. And we have been livin. it. up. Jammie days, movie days, cookie days, you name it...if it's fun and relaxing and TASTES GOOD...that's what we've been doing at my house.

UNTIL TODAY.

Today my alarm went off at 6 AM again.
Today I had to get the kids up, fed, dressed and out the door by 7:30.
Today I had to (brace yourself)... WORK OUT.

It's been longer than two weeks on that one. I had surgery in mid November, and had not even LOOKED at the treadmill since then. But today my routine kicked in...FULL GEAR. And let me tell you what--it was grand. So wonderful. Me, my children and even my husband slipped back into our routine so wonderfully. But of course today it was even better because it's January. And January makes all things better. At least in my head. Snicker.
I did sit down today and map out my goals and directions for fitness, nutrition, parenting, and a few other things today. I will be sharing these things at some point, but for now I have got to go to bed...the alarm will be sounding off in 8 short hours. so I bid you all farewell. And Happy warm, fuzzy, laundry smelling January to you all.

"Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind ? Should old acquaintance be forgot, and old lang syne?..."

2009-12-31T23:01:00.000-08:00

I don't know that it was my best New Years, but I am certain it was not my worst. I was 15, I think. My sister and I had our best friends, Sara and Emily, at our house in Illinois for a visit. We had a great time at midnight going out into the snow covered yard and singing "auld lang syne." After that we went walked around the neighborhood screaming "Happy New Year" to everyone we saw, even being warned by one concerned woman, "you girls be careful...there's crazies out tonight." We thought it was so funny, and now, 12 years later, I still remember it, and warned myself (in my head of course!) on the way home from New Years Eve festivities tonight, "be careful, Sarah...there's crazies out tonight". So funny how things like that stick with you.

But tonight, it is not that memory that I am reflecting on the most. Tonight I am remembering the past year. My 2009....

It was a hard year. Very hard year. I wish I had documented the events and happenings better than I did, but unfortunately most of the years memories can only be found in my mind and in my heart instead of in a journal. But, even though they are not all written out, I remember them. And how dear and precious this hard year has been to me. Without this year, I don't know where I would be. Because, you see, this year, I have hurt, I have cried, I have panicked and I have suffered. But praise the Lord that is not all that happened this year. This year I have learned, I have been comforted, I have grown.

When I think back to where I was 1 year ago--in January of 2009--I remember my luke warm relationship with God. I remember my life of legalism and expectations. I was living to perform for my God and I was failing miserably. In 2009 I faced personal struggles and even personal crisis that caused me to have nowhere to turn but to my God. A God that I was treating as though he lived inside a scripture in an old dusty bible instead of IN ME. In 2009 God brought me to my knees...no, to my FACE before him. He brought me to a place of surrender, a place of hurting, and finally, a place of brokenness-a place of brokenness so bad that I thought I couldn't take it and then amazingly the brokenness turned into something else. It turned into a place of healing, a place of growing and a wonderful place of true, meaningful relationship with my Savior. A place I had never been before. I walked through hard situations and hard circumstances and through it all my God was revealing things to me. He was teaching me how to forgive, how to pray, how to depend on him. He was breaking down strongholds, freeing me from sin and transforming my heart. And he's still doing it. God is teaching me things so real and so true it amazes me. I know that as hard as this past year was, and as hard as some parts of my life still are, that I wouldn't change it. I wouldn't want him to take it away, because I know that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose. I cling to the truth that God is working when I see it and when I don't see it. I believe that my savior loves me with an unimaginable love and is fighting battles for me everyday. That he is for me, and that everything he allows me to walk through is for my good and his glory. And I say that knowing full well that 2010 will bring it's own struggles, it's own hardships and it's own trials. But praise the Lord for his wonderful Grace that is sufficient for me!

"...there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. ¹⁰That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Jesus Love Me...this I know

2009-03-18T20:09:00.000-07:00

Tonight my four year old and Two year old climbed in my lap for a prayer time before going to bed. "Mommy! Sing us a song!" Ruthie begged, "Sing us 'Jesus loves me this I know'!"

Jesus loves me-this I know...words we have all heard over and over and over again. But to hear that sweet, four year old voice ask for her favorite song put chills all over me. She didn't just ask for "Jesus loves me", but "Jesus loves me- THIS I KNOW."

As we sang the song together, "Jesus loves me this I know, for the bible tells me so",

I found myself really contemplating the words. Jesus LOVES me-I don't THINK he does, I don't HOPE he does, I don't WONDER if he does...I KNOW he does! And how do I know? Because the BIBLE tells me so! It doesn't get much more simplistically wonderful than that, does it?

As adults I think too many times we get caught up in thinking we are only loved by God when we make the "right" decisions. When we are "good" parents, when we are treating our spouse well-or are being treated well by our spouse. When we have the perfect job, the nice car, the big home, the comfortable income. We base our love from God and for God on our feelings instead of on the truth. The truth is what God says. What does God think about us? What does he say about us?

He Says...

He will love you and bless you

(Deuteronomy 7:13)

He Says...

He will rejoice over you

(Isaiah 62:5)

He Says...

He will quiet you with his love

(Zephaniah 3:17)

He Says...

He will love you freely

(Hosea 14:4)

He Says...

we can rely on the love He has for us.

He says...

He is love

(1 John 4:16)

He says...

We love because He first loved us

(1 John 4:19)

He says...

He, our Father, has loved us and by his grace has given us eternal encouragement and good hope

(2 Thessalonians 2:16)

He says...
This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins

(1 John 4:10)

As I read from the bible about the things I KNOW to be true, it got me thinking: What does the world know to be true?

Several years ago I watched a popular afternoon talk show quite regularly and the host would often ask her famous guests the same question, "What do you know for sure?" As I researched answers to the question tonight, one of the most disturbing that I came across was from famous make-up artist, Brandy Gomez-Duplessis, who said,

"I know that I will always be a brand, I will always make money and I will always have a successful business."

In a drastic contrast, pop singer Michael Jackson, said:

"...I can't say that I know anything for sure. I really believe that."

Whether, as the former, the world claims to know and be sure of the confidence in itself or, as the latter, in desperation admits that they are not sure and do not know if they have confidence in anything, we as Christ followers can know for sure that the LORD will be our confidence (Proverbs 3:26) and that he has loved us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). Praise God that based on nothing I have done and based on everything that Christ has done for me, I can answer this question with confidence in my Savior....

What do I know for sure? Jesus love me----this I KNOW.

Snow Day

2009-03-01T15:14:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that only three short days after my post, "Spring in the Air" I am now posting a blog entitled, "Snow Day."

As alot of you know, we no longer have a TV at our house. Well, we do have a TV, but with no cable or sattelite service, it's not really functional. So, we don't really keep up with the news. Which is wonderful in some aspects, I've never been a fan of watching the news. And in other ways it's not really great-like a couple weeks ago when we headed out to church saying, "it looks kind of stormy out" and by the time we got to Jodeco road, there was hail falling and tornado sirens going off.

So, you think I would have learned my lesson, but Saturday when someone mentioned the "coming snow" I thought they were crazy!! Hadn't I just had my first day of spring play with my girls?? Well, believe it or not, it DID snow. As as the morning service was over on Sunday, we walked out of the sanctuary to see beautiful, white, fluffy snow falling!! It was very exciting!

That afternoon we took the girls out to play. Here are a few pictures from our snow day.

Sophie was not a friend to the cold. SHe kept trying to cover up her face!

Sophie gave up quickly and went inside to get warm.

She would come to the glass door and stare at us like we were crazy for being outside!

Danny and Ruthie braved the cold for a loooong time, and even built a snowman together!

Spring in the Air

2009-02-27T09:07:00.000-08:00

I don't know that I have a favorite season. I enjoy all of them and throughout my life have had wonderful memories of each; spending all day roaming the streets of our small town by foot or bike, with my cousins and sister during the summer; feeling the fall breeze as we walked the streets of the local Jubilee, the smell of corn on the cob, Carmel apples and funnel cakes all around us; during the winter I remember piling on long underwear, eating cream of wheat for breakfast, and trying to warm up by squeezing in close to the wood stove with my sister; and finally...Spring! In particular that time between winter and Spring, the days you could actually smell the Flowers in the air, notice the bees buzzing around once more, and see the brown grass turning green. It was warm enough to play outside in our short sleeve shirts, but with the winter breeze still lingering, it was cool enough to not get too hot. We never had to stop our play to lay in the shade and cool down or run inside to guzzle down some water and take a rest. Yes, on those days you knew-Spring Was In The Air.

That's the kind of day we had yesterday. I knew as soon as I walked outside to get the mail and was met with that old, familiar smell. That smell that you can describe no other way than "It smells like Spring today!" Which is exactly what I said to my Girls when I got back inside from getting the mail. At once we got dressed, got our lunch ready and headed out the door-for that first day of Spring play after what has seemed like a long winter!

We went to Noah's Ark for a picnic

The Lion was Sophie's favorite, and Ruthie liked the Tiger the best. If you look closely, maybe you can see too drool dripping from the tiger's mouth. He was pacing back and forth drooling the whole time...I think he though we looking like a tasty treat!

Sweet Sisters!

Lent

2009-02-24T10:59:00.000-08:00

I was driving in the car this morning, listening to the radio in between my four year olds stories about everything from her friends at church to the butterfly she saw out of her window, to Toby Mac (who, by the way, she thinks should be our next president-too funny not to mention!!).
Ruthie does not have many times when she doesn't feel the need to chat, and even fewer times when she has nothing to say. Today, however, she happened to quiet down right in time for a news break on the radio. They were talking about Lent and the article from the Wall Street Journal, that is getting a lot of attention, about adults giving up Facebook for Lent. Which got me thinking...

As a stay at home Mom, life can become lonely, routine and tiring. Facebook is an outlet. A link to the rest of the world. It started as something fun, a way to keep in touch with other stay at home Moms, with friends I don't see very often and with family that live out of state. But all too soon, what was a fun game became a dangerous addiction. Am I staying at home with my kids so that I can sit at the computer and see who tagged who in a picture, who "has ended their relationship" or "poked" me? When was the last time I took my kids for a walk or sat down and played a board game with them? I can tell you this-it's A LOT fewer and far between then my facebook activity! Am I spending more time on facebook then I am showering my kids with love and much needed attention? Without a doubt!
Now let's dig a little deeper...Am I spending more time with facebook than I am spending with my Savior? Where do I go when:
I wake up in the morning? To check my facebook.
I feel frustrated? To check my facebook.
I feel sad? To check my facebook.
I feel overwhelmed? To check my Facebook.
I feel lonely? To check my facebook.
It is embarrassing enough to admit these things to myself, it is mortifying to admit them to you. But here I am, in honesty, saying, Facebook has become an idol in my life. All too often I am running to facebook to forget my hurts instead of running to my saviour to heal my hurts. But giving it up?? Last week I tried to check my facebook twice a DAY and it felt like torture, and I only lasted ONE....yes, ONE day! Could God honestly be calling me out of facebook for FORTY days???...I've never even THOUGHT about lent! Why now? Why today? Why this? As soon as I got home I sat down and started my research...

The observance of Lent has been around for thousands of years. Research on the subject reveals that the 40 days of fasting is meant to mirror the 40 days that Christ spent in the desert, being tempted by Satan. Traditionally, the church was given specific instructions on fasting from food; what kind of food, for how long, and at what meals. Over the years, the meals changed, snacks were added and now a lot of people that observe lent give up only an item of food, such as sugar or soft drinks, and others choose another route-giving up a bad habit or a hobby for 40 days.
The purpose of Lent is to deny yourself, and focus on Christ. It is to be an act of prayer, patience and self denial. Many people, such as myself, think of lent as a Catholic event but as I researched it this afternoon I was surprised to find out that in addition to the Catholic church, several Christian denominations observe Lent to some degree. It is a touchy subject, many Christians thinking it a legalistic ritual and believing that the free in Christ should not take part in it, while others believe it to be not an obligation, but a personal choice to be decided individually as the Holy Spirit leads. and what do I think?...
I absolutely know that to the Christian, lent is not an obligation, but a choice. And so what do I choose? I choose Christ. I choose to take these next several weeks before Easter to reflect on and spend time with my God. To focus on everything that Christ has done and is doing for me, and to run to him when life is too much. I choose to sacrifice an idol in my life, as I remember the sacrifice He made for me on the cross.

"Then he said to them all: 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.'
Luke 9:23

Please pray for me during this time as I make this ever so small sacrifice of an idol in my life. My prayer is that God will teach me something through this and that he will reveal other things in my life that I have not surrendered to him.

You can read the Wall Street Journal article at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123509424821028985.html

2008-12-23T19:46:00.000-08:00

FOR TODAY...December 23, 2008

Outside my window...Is a yard full of leaves...I LOVE it!

I am thinking...I should be in bed!

I am thankful for... Jesus!!

From the learning rooms...we're taking a break...we are working on Loving God and Loving People, though

From the kitchen...tomorrow we are covwrinf pretzels with choc., and baking pies! YUM!

I am wearing...pj's and my warm robe-and I'm still freezing!! :)

I am creating...a more peacful environment for my family...that's the plan, anyway...

I am going...to grow closer to the Lord this next year!

I am reading...nothing. Honestly, I am reading NOTHING right now, and that makes me SO SAD :(

I am hoping...My kids have a great, memorable amazing Christmas

I am hearing...my stomach growl-I think I forgot to eat dinner!

Around the house...I am getting ready for my sis and BIL to come into town tomorrow!! And I am planning ion baking with my angels tomorrow!

One of my favorite things...Christmas time! Baking! Candles, fires, coffee, hot chocoalte...everything about this season!

A few plans for the rest of the week:CHRISTMAS!! And my husband has FIVE days off!! WOO HOO!

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

Coupons!

2008-11-06T16:42:00.000-08:00

Okay, so for years...I have been trying to coupon. I clip and clip and clip....only to get to the store and it seems like I can only use like ONE or TWO coupons and my grand savings are usually around, oh, I don't know...$2.00 or so! So then I "quit"...I give away or throw away (yes, I have done it!) my coupons in frustration! Then several months later I will hear people talking about their GREAT savings and amazing stories of getting things for 25 cents, 50 cents, and in some cases even FREE!

I have read articles, blogs and even BOOKS on couponing trying my best with my little mind to comprehend ALL of this overwhelming information! So then, once again, I will clip, clip, clip and it all starts OVER AGAIN!!!!.....This has been going on, for.....let's see....pretty much since I've been married, so about 5 years!

All of this brings me to my AMAZING friend, April Brumm. April and I go to church together and she, honestly, is one of the nicest, most sincere people I have ever met. She is always talking, e-mailing and telling unbelievable stories of "couponing", and not just saving 1 or 2 dollars like I had always done, but saving REAL amounts of money! I have always been amazed... and a little jealous...of these stories.

Well, a month ago, I once again started my trend of clipping coupons and feeling OUT OF CONTROL with the chaos of it all, when I put on my facebook status something to the effect of giving up on coupons forever! And what Happened???...

Lovely April Brumm came to my rescue! Within MINUTES she offered to help and by the end of the day, she had called and told me to come over one day soon and "learn" her tricks! I can NOT TELL YOU how excited I was!

The girls and I went over on Tuesday, and while her wonderfully patient and kind husband, Chuck, watched all SEVEN KIDS (my two, April's two and 3 others she was babysitting!!), April made me coffee...(I told she's GREAT!!)....and taught me how to "coupon."

So, today I started...I had my list, my coupons, And I headed out to the store WITHOUT children, which I have to say, is SO wonderful! I almost felt like I was at the spa... Driving to and walking through Kroger with NO children...It was pure goodness!

And I have to say, I did GREAT! Here is what I got:

And I just WISH the picture could do it justice!!!! There is TONS of meat, fresh veggies, bread, condiments, cleaning supplies and tons more....

For....here goes.....a SAVINGS of $70.18!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OOP was $68.23, which means...I SAVED more than I spent!!! And I MUST add, I got....EIGHT FREE ITEMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am SOOOOOOO excited that I FINALLY am understanding how to coupon and coupon the RIGHT way!!!!

THANK YOU APRIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

November 4, 2008...A Day I will Never Forget!

2008-11-04T20:26:00.000-08:00

On election night, I started writing, as I often do, and I wanted to share it with all of you. Before you read my first thoughts, please read my ending thoughts, which, I will start with...

As a Child, I became obsessed with Martin Luther King, Jr. As I read books on the great, strong man, I became, even as a little girl, concerned for racism and prejudice. I love all the races and different people that God created, I love to learn about all of the amazing cultures around the world. I am a white person, who is friends with African American people, related to Jewish people and married a Hispanic person. There are not many things I want more than to raise my children in a world where racial prejudice will not effect them.

I know the historical importance of the presidential election tonight. I am Happy, YES, happy, for Barrack Obama and his family. What a wonderful accomplishment and historical moment, not only for them, but for America. I will pray for him, for his choices, for his views, and for our country. I will not, most assuredly, agree with a lot of what he does as a president, but I will respect his position while opposing his views. I congratulate Barrack Obama on being the First African American President of the United States of America.

A Day I will Never Forget

As I sit up late and hear the words I've been dreading, stream out of my Internet from a leading news source, "Barrack Obama is the next president of the United States!", I stop. Stop. No thoughts. No movement. I swallow hard and look around the room...at no one. I am here alone. My husband is working and my daughters are asleep.

My mind starts racing with a million thoughts, my stomach is full of butterflies. And chills. I have chills? yes. Chills. I feel myself start to shake. I'm not crying, just shocked. But then, haven't I been the one saying that this would happen? Am I shocked? Or just lost....confused....in a daze?

"My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" Comes to my mind, but No! No! "I will never leave thee or forsake thee," quickly follows.

And then...calmness....like I can't believe. A calm, a warmth comes over me and I hear, not with my ears, but with my spirit, "Let not your heart be troubled..."

"It's okay, It's okay" I'm talking out loud now...to an empty room!

And suddenly I am assured...it is not about an election, or a party, it's not about an elephant, a donkey or abortion. It's not about gay marriage or the right to own a gun, it's not about taxes or the economy or any other issue that we have heard talked about for the last weeks with what seemed, without end! There is so much more to life than arguing over our own agendas, fighting for our own selfish desires and feeling like life as we know it is "over", just because our candidate of choice was defeated.

It is so important to stand up for what we believe in and to defend our faith, and I am not for one second suggesting that we "give up"on what we know to be true and right, but I am saying that more than believing in prayers in school, the right to life and the sacred union of one man and one woman, I believe in a God that is bigger than an election, in a God that loves Barrack Obama just as much as he loves me, in a God that is NOT asleep, is NOT taking a break and is VERY MUCH in control of everything I can see and everything I can NOT see, in everything I can understand and everything I can NOT understand.

So now as I sit in my living room, at my computer, I am comforted by my God.

"what time I am afraid I will put my trust in thee" comes to my mind,

followed by, "lean not on your own understanding," and, "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped."

I praise God in this second for his comfort and his love. I praise him for my home, for my husband and children, for my family and my church and the friends that I have, I praise him for not being surprised by anything that happens and for holding me so tightly when I am surprised by everything that happens. I praise him for my country. I praise him for AMERICA and I pray for America.

2008-11-03T19:06:00.000-08:00

For Today Monday November 3, 2008...

Outside my Window... It's dark...of course....I'm always doing this at night!!

From the learning rooms...We are working on vowels in Phonics, 1-20 in Numbers, writing vowels, our name and "1, 2 & 3" in Handwriting, Presidents in Social Studies, memorizing our address and phone Numer in Readiness Skills and today in Art we made the letter "Ii" out of glitter and in Bible we learned about the tower of Babel.

I am thankful for...God helping me get up early this morning!!

From the kitchen... Sloppy Joes!

I am reading...Lifetime Guarantee, preschool curriculum, A Fish out of Water, everything and Anything Dr. Suess, recipes!

I am creating... A routine for my Children

I am hearing... quiet

Around the house... It is peacful! Candles are lit, everything is straightened (for THIS five minutes, at least!) and put away.

One of my favorite things... My kids laughing together

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... I'm learning how to coupon tomorrow!! YAY!

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

Pumpkin Carving with my Babes!

The many Super Heros of Ruthie!

2008-10-25T07:27:00.000-07:00

We are in a MAJOR Super Hero phase at our house!! Ruthie is being "Bat girl" for Halloween and most everyday she is dressed up like some sort of super hero, running around the house saving everyone in her imagination from harms way. Here are a few pictures of her best creations...

Her Side Kick...

Pumpkin Painting!

2008-10-22T10:00:00.000-07:00

When I taught kindergarten, my favorite thing to do with my kids in the fall was to PAINT PUMPKINS! Not actual pumpkins, but pictures of pumpkins. It was SOOOO much fun, and then we would put them up on the bulletin board for everyone to see. I LOVED it!

"what a great idea!" I thought this morning, at the idea of painting pumpkins with my own children. I went on the search for supplies right away. I of course, found that I was out of orange paint, so the day started with me mixing red and yellow paint together. "No, that's too red", "No, Mommy it needs a little more yellow" Ruthie would say until we finally had the Perfect shade of orange for our pumpkins.

I stripped the girls down, because, let's face it-we're talking about RUTHIE. And then, we were ready. Why we didn't do this project OUTSIDE, I have NO idea, but at the kitchen table we sat. Our pumpkin papers, our paint, and two excited little girls...

The Beginning

It was so nice...we were talking about fall, the girls were painting their pumpkins with their "two finger" paint brushes, just how Mommy taught them...

Show Mommy your orange hands!!

The Mess

Ruthie soon realized how "cool" the orange paint looked when you made it cover your whole hand (as opposed to the "two finger" paint brush).

Sophie was really struggling with the whole mess thing...she kept wiping her hands and just couldn't get them clean enough...She did not get that from her sister!

The Disaster

(you knew it was coming!)

I was helping Sophie when out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ruthie....what was she

doing?? Is she painting her stomach??

"Ruthie!" I say, in my firmest Mommy voice, as I take Sophie's pumpkin over to the counter to dry, "do not get the paint on your stomach."

When it took her too long to answer me, I turn around to see...

"It's just a little, Mommy...I didn't mean to!" She says, and I'm believing her until, suddenly I notice...

HER BACK!!!

"Ruthie!" I say again, pulling out my Mommy tone, "This is NOT funny....but stay right there and let me get a picture!!" Needless to say, it's hard to convince a four year old that you are serious about it not being funny when you are snapping pictures like a mad woman....

"It is funny, Mommy! You're laughing!! She says, "It is funny to paint on you!"

I turn, to get a picture of Sophie, still trying to clean her hands, by the way....

And when I turn back around....

The Clean-up (if you can call it that!!)

Ruthie washing her hands in the bathroom...and the front of the cabinet when she was done washing her hands!!...can we actually call this cleaning up??

The Finished Product

Despite the adventure, we did get come great looking Pumpkin's out of it!

Ruthie's!

Sophie's!

Mommy's!

We will never forget our Pumpkin Painting Day!

2008-10-13T18:50:00.000-07:00

For Today... Monday October 13th, 2008

Outside my Window...It's NIGHT and a little chilly...

I am thinking... I should be folding laundry or washing dishes

From the kitchen...we had Mac & cheese for dinner...yes, you will see a trend..Monday is my grocery day, not my cooking day...

I am wearing... jeans and a t-shirt

I am reading...lifetime guarantee...kind of...

I am thankful for...A fellow "night shift" wife to talk to at night after my husband has gone to work

I am hoping...to get to sleep until 8 in the morning

I am creating...a shedule for myself...this is transition week!!

I am hearing...the hum of the computer

Around the house...are summer clothes being packed up and winter clothes being brought down from the attic...in other words, CHAOS!

One of my favorite things...the stage both of my girls are in right now...they are getting SO big and I am loving it!!

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you…

MORE FALL FUN!!

2008-10-10T17:15:00.000-07:00

Okay, so as many of you know (which is funny, because only 1 person follows my blog!!-well at least I can pretend!) my camera is on it's sick bed. :(.....It's actually the lenses that are broken, but needless to say, I feel like my children's lives are slipping away unphotographed. Thank the Lord I have friends who are just as photo crazy as I am, so I am still getting some good shots! The ones I added earlier today were "stolen" from my dear friend Shandra (who also provided the camera for the haircut incident!). My friend Melissa also took some Pumpkin patch pictures, and I wanted to share them as well. So, here's a few more from our fun day at the Farm...

Choosing our pumkins wa interesting! Sophie would have nothing to do with ANY of the fun, so Ruthie picked one for her, which I am holding since Sophie wouldn't touch it. And then it took Ruthie FOREVER to choose hers, but that's okay...it seemed to be going that way with all of the girls!

Ephraim and Sophie
Ephraim, Garrett and Ruthie
Ruthie

My good Friend Melissa, and her sweet baby, Levi.

Melissa's other handsome boy, Ephraim.

The kids had fun playing in the corn!

Some of the girls: Anna, Ruthie and Lynley

Me, with my angel girls!

FALL DAYS!!

2008-10-10T10:06:00.000-07:00

Happy Fall! Happy Pumkin time!!! I LOVE the fall, October is one of my FAVORITE months! It is the month I got married, and I just celebrated my five year anniversary with my husband. It's also my Husbands birthday month-he will be 28 tomorrow! It is also the time of year that I take my kids to the local farms, the pumkin patch, and most of all.....the time of year that we GO CRAZY at my house making cool fall crafts, yummy fall treats and of course....Pumkin Chocolate Chip muffins! YUM!!

Our first Fall trip of 2008 was yesterday-We went to a local Pumkin Patch. It was so much fun!! We saw all kind of animals, went on a hayride, and got to pick out a mini pumkin to bring home. We went with a group from our church and the girls had a GREAT time....and so did I!

Mommy and Sophie on the hayride...this is pretty much what Sophie did the whole day....well, she occasionally got down....when I made her! :)
Ruthie Playing in the Hay!!

Sophie trting to climb IN with the pigs!! One thing my children do NOT have is FEAR!

Ruthie and Sophie coming out of the "tunnel" slide!

Waiting to go in the Corn maze...The little kids were FAR more interested in stomping on ants!

Ruthie and her Good Buddy, Kyle, finding their way through the Corn maze....and Sophie tagging along, too!

The Whole Gang...except Sophie, who was clinging to Mommy!

More Fall pictures and stories to come!! This is my FAVORITE time of year!!

The Simple Woman

2008-10-06T20:09:00.000-07:00

Go her to do this FABULOUS little blog post....

http://thesimplewoman.blogspot.com/2008/10/simple-womens-daybook.html

For Today... Monday October 6th, 2008

Outside my Window...It's dark!

I am thinking...I am sooo tired!! I should be in the bed!

From the kitchen...oh, well, not much! I didn't cook today!! We ahve been gone ALL day, but I am planning on bacon wrapped Chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans with my fabulous yeast rolls for tomorrow...YUM!!

I am wearing... a brown skirt and and a peach tank top....and wondering why am I not in my PJs at 11:24 at night?!

I am reading...nothing right now...:(

I am thankful for...God's Love!

I am hoping...to get the house cleaned SOON!

I am creating...fall crafts!!

I am hearing...the train and teh fish tank

Around the house...It is a MESS! Toys, laundry....you name it!

One of my favorite things...is coffee on my porch in the fall breeze

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you….my lifelong friend, Emily got married this weekend!...there I am, 3rd from the left

Ruthie's 1st time cutting hair....hers AND Sophies!

2008-10-03T20:00:00.000-07:00

My most wonderful childhood friend, Emily, known dearly to me as my Emmie Lou is getting married tomorrow!! I, as one of the bridesmaids, had to be at the rehersal (in ATLANTA!) at 4:45 today. My wonderfully gracious Friend, Melissa, said she would babysit the girls for me. Trying to "pay" her the only way I can afford-by baking with love-was in the kitchen mixing ingredients for a pie when Ruthie came running in the room.

"Mommy!" She yelled excitedly, "You have GOT to come see! Sophie got a haircut!!! I GAVE Sophie a haircut!!"

Oh, Oh.....My stomach is in my throat.....anger....no, excitement.....no, PANIC.....oh, yeah....there it is! PANIC!!!

"I have to leave in a few hours and I'm on a time schedule today!" I'm thinking as I assure myself inside,

"IT CAN'T BE TOOOO BAD."

Just then, Sophie cames running around the corner....stark naked I might add (how did THAT happen?!).....oh, you just can't imagine the sight! All of her curls were gone! She looked like a...a....a BOY!

Oh, goodness, in a panic I get in touch with my friend, Shandra, who is a whizz of a hair cutter and she said I could come right over!

Out on her deck I sat, taking pictures as my little Sophie got her "mainged puppy" haircut turned into comething quite decent! Thanks Shandra!!!

To add to the sheer panic of my day, I realized Ruthie had given HERSELF a haircut as well! A good CHUNK of the back of her hair had been wacked off! Shandra ended up cutting a bob for her, and I must say....it looks SO lovely and Ruthie ADORES it!!

So needless to say, my children look totally different from the way they did when they woke up this morning, but, of course, they are still GORGEOUS!!

And, YES, I did finish the pie, finish a load of laundry, iron my husbands clothes for him (!!!!) AND make it to Emmie's rehersal dinner ON TIME!

So, the one thing I did not add, is that today is my 5th wedding anniversary! So, in the middle of this drama, my mind wonders back.....

October 3, 2003 1PM: I had a hair appointment to get my "up do" for my wedding with my beautiful veil, where from there I RUSHED to the church to be a princess for a day.

And compares....

October 3, 2008 1PM: while in my horribly MESSY kitchen I try to make a pie, do laundry and am so pleased that the girls aren't fussing (all while in my jammies, mind you!) when suddenly my whole day changes and I, once again, RUSH, this time to get my kids hair "fixed" instead of my own.

And, so, I marvel at how things change in as little as 5 years!!

So, of course, I am looking for the meaning in all of this....the lesson to be learned...and I realize, that while five years ago, I got to be the princess for a day, now I live with two princesses (in training!)everyday....And for THAT, I am very grateful.

LAUNDRY!!!

2008-09-30T18:43:00.000-07:00

Okay, so today I am drowning in laundry....and you think I'm kidding! The basket in the kids room is OVERFLOWING with dirty four year old and two year old laundry....
you don't even want to see my closet! Our laundry hasn't been touched in two weeks (and yes, we still have things to wear...that's how spoiled we are!)
And I can not even get started on the amount of peed on sheets I have to wash!! I mean, I'm trying not to buy pull ups to put the girls in at night...because honestly, why do we potty train if we STILL have to buy pull ups...and that just encourages the little one, Sophie, to pee all the more! So, every night I say..."not too much water at dinner...we don't want pee pee accidents"....and more mornings than not I get up to wet children! "pee "i" my be....moommmie!" says Sophie, with, of course, the sweetest smile ever imagined.
So, anyway, I have been trying to catch up on all the other laundry, so needless to say, these sheets keep piling up and piling up! At this point I haven't a clue how I will EVER catch up!!!
I feel like I'm in a huge ocean of laundry and the waves keep coming and coming..."wait let me get up!" I cry...and another wave of little girl jammies and panties come flying at me from the deep..."HELP! I'm drowning", I yell to another wave of my husbands dirty jeans and smelly t-shirts. oh no!!! a BIG ONE! It's sheets....pink ones, blue ones, polka dot ones! And waht's that smell.....oh, yes! The ever present smell of urine that I know now is a constant fragrance in the life of a potty training mommy......
WILL I EVER GET UP out of this endless ocean of laundry?! And I know the answer is yes, beacuse I always catch up....I always do though I don't know how because the odds are so painstakingly AGAINST me, but somehow I come through the piles of stink smellies and I know, deep down, that 'this, too, shall pass"...